For fifteen years, fans of the gritty crime Red Riding films have gained an almost cult following. They were released in the UK with a very limited showing in the US in 2010, and have moved to relative obscurity ever since. Critics and viewers who happened to watch the films raved about the artful blending of historical true crime with fictional characters, creating a riveting and realistic crime drama that is both immersive and addictive.
Now, for the first time in fifteen years, you can stream the trilogy. But we know that once you’ve binged them, you’re going to want more. Here are ten movies like Red Riding that you can stream right now.
Seven
Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is working with his replacement, David Mills (Brad Pitt). It’s supposed to be his last case, but when they discover a series of gruesome murders, they realize they’re hunting a serial killer. Each victim represents one of the seven deadly sins. Only the killer turns himself in before the septet is complete. He’s willing to confess to each of his crimes as long as the two detectives accompany him to the final crime scene where his masterpiece awaits.
Memories of Murder
When detectives Park (Song Kang-ho) and Cho (Kim Roi-ha) are assigned a double murder investigation in a South Korean province, they are baffled. They’ve never encountered such brutality before. But when more murders occur following the same pattern, they soon realize they’re dealing with the country’s first serial killer. They’re not equipped for such a case, but have no choice but to pursue the killer. Armed with basic tools and skills, they set out to examine the clues and piece together the evidence so that they can solve this harrowing case.
The Pledge
Just after detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) retires, a young girl is found murdered. He moves to the neighborhood where the killing occurred, hoping to find the killer before he strikes again. When he meets a mother of a young daughter, Jerry has even more reason to succeed. But there’s no evidence the murderer will come back and all his colleagues consider the case long closed. Is there a killer on the prowl? Or is Jerry obsessed with the case that got away?
Texas Killing Fields
Between Houston and Galveston is a 30-mile stretch known as the killing fields. When another woman goes missing and her car is found near the fields, Detectives Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) begin hunting the killer despite the crime scene being outside of their jurisdiction. But the killer suddenly changes tactics and begins hunting the detectives back. When he takes a local girl, the two detectives race against time to save her life.
Mystic River
Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), and Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) grew up together, but one tragic event tore their childhood apart. Now, Jimmy is an ex-con, Sean is a police detective, and Dave is a blue-collar worker still traumatized by his childhood. When Jimmy’s daughter is murdered and Dave is the last person to see her alive, Sean has to work quickly to find the killer before Jimmy takes matters into his own hands.
Prisoners
When Keller Dover’s (Hugh Jackman) six-year-old daughter is abducted, the only suspect is the owner of a motorhome that has been suspiciously parked on their street. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests the man (Paul Dano), but there isn’t enough evidence to charge him. With time ticking down, Keller knows that every minute he waits is bringing his daughter closer to death. So, he does the only thing he can think of: He goes after the man he suspects is a killer.
Zodiac
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, a serial killer only known as the Zodiac killer prowled the streets of the Bay Area. The killer taunted police with letters, bloody clothing, and ciphers. Two detectives (Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards) and two reporters (Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr.) become obsessed with trying to solve the ciphers so they can learn the identity of the killer and end his reign of terror.
L.A. Confidential
An unsolved murder at a downtown coffee shop brings three detectives together, each with their own agenda. Detective Exley (Guy Pearce) wants to avenge his father’s murder. Officer White (Russell Crowe) has a vendetta against Exley. And Sergeant Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) feeds into a tabloid to capitalize on high-profile arrests. Their paths all intersect as the case points to internal corruption within their own department.
Resurrection Man
Loosely based on the real Shankill Butchers, a Protestant paramilitary gang targeting Catholics gets a new recruit. Victor Kelly (Stuart Townsend) quickly rises through the ranks as his homicidal rage takes the group from simple protests to violent and gruesome murder.
Citizen X
In the 1980s, over the course of eight years, serial killer Andrei Chikatilo (Jeffrey DeMunn) murdered 52 people. The Soviet government insists a Party member could not be the killer. But Lt. Viktor Burakov (Stephen Rea) refuses to let a murderer go free. With only his jaded supervisor (Donald Sutherland) and a terrified psychiatrist (Max von Sydow) on his side, he embarks on the difficult path to catch Chikatilo red-handed.
Featured still from “Seven” via New Line Cinema
