Top 20 Movies Like Seven: Discovering Suspenseful Crime Movies

Are you craving suspenseful story with cold-blooded scenes like in Seven? Being a suspense movie enthusiast, this is the movie that I have watched most. I have always been amazed by the mind-blowing plots and mysteries added to these types of movies. Watching crime movies like Seven regularly has given me experience, and I can share it with people to help them find the best movies they are looking for.

In this article, I’ve created a list of Seven similar movies. If you are looking for a movie like Seven, this list will help you find the best film you want to watch. However, all movies are the best, but it’s your choice which one you’ll pick. Crime thriller movies contain violence and ruthless scenes, and some even more. So, get ready to dive in the world on suspenseful mysteries!

20 Movies Like Seven

If you are a true crime thriller movie enthusiast, you should give a try to these breathtaking stories to give thrills to your body. These movies, similar to Seven, will not let down your expectations, and each story will make your head blow with extraordinary twists and turns.

Zodiac (2007)

Movie NameZodiac (2007)
DirectorDavid Fincher
ProducerMike Medavoy
Release DateFeb 28, 2007
Running Time157 minutes
Budget$65-85 million
Gross Profit$84.7 million

Zodiac is one of the movies like Seven in which a serial killer attacks multiple people and plays the game of cat-and-mouse with the police. The killer threatened and terrorized San Francisco in the late 1960s to 1980s. After His first attempt, he sends a message in coding letters to San Francisco Chronicles, calling himself “Zodiac.”

A political cartoonist who becomes an amateur detective, Robert Graysmith (Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal), starts an investigation about Zodiac and tells his senior, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), that the message does not contain his real identity. His senior makes fun of him, but after a short time Robert decodes the message, Paul starts sharing information with him.

Meanwhile, the killer attacks on next victim and kills him with a knife. The serial killer spreads his fear among the people in San Francisco. The movie has unexpected twists and a suspenseful story to give you an extra thrilling experience. 

Zodiac (2007)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Movie NameThe Silence of the Lambs (1991)
DirectorJonathan Demme
ProducerKenneth Utt
Release DateJan 30 – Feb 14, 1991
Running Time118 minutes
Budget$19 million
Gross Profit$272.7 million

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) plots a top and intelligent student, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) of the FBI, who is under training in the academy. Her boss, Jack Crawford, assigned a task to catch a serial killer named Buffalo Bills (Ted Levine), who only targets females and skins after killing them. In order to catch Buffalo Bills, she was assigned to interview a top psychiatrist named Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins) to get insights. Hannibal was also a psychopath and serial killer.

The movie shows violence as the serial killer skins his victims and kills them. Clarice finds clues and walks on the way to an unexpected and mysterious journey that turns into a dark truth. The movie has unexpected mysteries and moments that are enough to blow your mind. The movie contains blood scenes and ruthless violations of murders. 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Insomnia (2002)

Movie NameInsomnia (2002)
DirectorChristopher Nolan
ProducerPaul Junger Witt
Release DateMay 3 – May 24, 2002
Running Time118 minutes
Budget$46 million
Gross Profit$113.8 million

Insomnia (2002) centres around a 17-year-old boy who gets killed in a small fishing town in Alaska. The local police requested help, and the Los Angeles Police Department sent two most experienced detectives, Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), to investigate the incident. The local police detective Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), picked them up when they arrived.

While investigating the case, Dormer makes a move to trap the murderer by dragging him to the incident spot. However, the killer vanishes into the fog by shooting one of the police members. Dormer chases him, sees a shadow, and shoots. After rushing towards the fallen body, he discovers that he shot his colleague Hap Eckhart. Eckhart dies believing that Dormer killed him on purpose.

Dormer feels guilty for killing Hap Eckhart and gets plagued by insomnia. On the other hand, the killer calls him to say that he witnessed Hap Eckhart’s murder. The movie has an intense and puzzling story that has to be solved. The story has amazing psychological turns and twists that will make your mind go crazy.

Insomnia (2002)

Gone Girl (2014)

Movie NameGone Girl (2014)
DirectorDavid Fincher
ProducerArnon Milchan
Release DateSep 26 – Oct 3, 2014
Running Time149 minutes
Budget$61 million
Gross Profit$369.3 million

Gone Girl (2014) plots a happily living married couple, Nicholas Dunne (Ben Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike). The public knows them as an ideal married couple. However, things get worse when Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. Later, people found that the couple was not the same as they seemed before. The couple lost their job in New York City and moved to Nick’s mother’s house to support her in the last stage of life.

The media and people blame Nick for his wife’s disappearance. While investigating, Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) finds multiple evidence in the house. She finds untold truths about Amy, that She is pregnant and even tried to buy a gun. Moreover, Nick was in an affair with one of his students, Andie Hardy (Emily Ratajkowski). The movie reveals one truth after another and showcases psychological trauma. 

Gone Girl (2014)

I Saw the Devil (2010)

Movie NameI Saw The Devil (2010)
DirectorKim Jee-Woon
ProducerKim Hyun-woo
Release DateAug 12, 2010
Running Time144 minutes
Budget$6 million
Gross Profit$12.9 million

I Saw the Devil (2010) is a crime thriller movie in which a school bus driver encounters a woman named Oh San-Ah (Joo-Yun) on the road. She asks for help, and the driver, Jang Kyung-Chul (Choi Min-Sik), tells her that he will fix her flat tire. The Chul attacks the girl and takes her home, where he cuts her body parts into pieces and drowns them in a river. Local police reported that someone saw a female head in the river.

The father of Joo-Yun is a squad chief, Jang (Jeon Gook-Hwan), and he leads the search case for murdering her daughter. Her fiancé NIS agent, Kim Soo-Hyun (Lee Byung-Hun), vows to take her revenge by hunting down the killer. Kim Soo-Hyun finds the killer and brutally beats him. But after beating, he lets him go and does nothing.

Then, the serial killer again attempted murders and was again found by Kim Soo-Hyun. Kim beats him again and leaves him wounded. Kim wants to torture the killer till his death. The movie gets more intense with blooded scenes and a puzzling story. 

I Saw the Devil (2010)

Nightcrawler (2014)

Movie NameNightcrawler (2014)
DirectorDan Gilroy
ProducerMichel Litvak
Release DateSep 5 – Oct 31, 2014
Running Time117 minutes
Budget$8.5 million
Gross Profit$50.3 million

Nightcrawler (2014) is a suspenseful and crime thriller movie in which a petty thief, Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), tries to steal some material from the railyard. He gets caught by a security guard who tries to stop him. But Lou attacks the guard, steals the things he wants, and leaves. He sells the stuff at a pawn shop and asks the boss for a job. In reply, the shop owner says he does not hire thieves. On the way back home, Lou sees a car crash and pulls over. He sees two police officers pulling a woman from a crashed car’s wreck.

Some people recorded the video, and one of them was Joe Loder (Bill Paxton). Joe tells Lou that they can sell this footage to a local news station and get some money. Joe finds this idea useful, steals a bicycle, and pawns it for a police radio scanner and camcorder. He attempts to record some incidents to make money, but he remains unsuccessful twice. The third time, he records a brutal carjacking and records it.

He successfully records the video and sells it to KWLA 6, where Nina Romina(Rene Russo) is the morning news director. Nina tells Lou that she is interested in this type of footage and wants to work with him. However, the movie has twists and turns and gives goosebumps. 

Nightcrawler (2014)

Vengeance Is Mine (1979)

Movie NameVengeance Is Mine (1979)
DirectorShōhei Imamura
ProducerKazuo Inoue
Release DateApril 21, 1979
Running Time140 minutes

Vengeance is Mine (1979) plots a serial killer who is taken to the police station for interrogation. Angry journalists surround him, and police force him to give answers to the questions, but he refuses. Then, the movie showcases flashback sequences about his first murder attempt. Enokizu was a serial killer who tricked and killed two people and stole their money.

Police start searching for him, and to save himself, he travels to another city and asks a taxi driver to take him to a lodge where he can stay. He tells the innkeeper, Haru (Mayumi Ogawa), that he is a professor and teaches at Kyoto University. The film contains flashback scenes to give insights into the story and the murders he attempted. The movie is full of surprises and puzzles.

Vengeance Is Mine (1979)

Prisoners (2013)

Movie NamePrisoners (2013)
DirectorDenis Villeneuve
ProducerBroderick Johnson
Release DateAug 30 – Sep 20, 2013
Running Time153 minutes
Budget$46 million
Gross Profit$122.1 million

Prisoners (2013) is a thriller story in which two families, Dover and Birch, celebrate Thanksgiving get-together. After the meal, two girls, Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich)and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons), go out to play. Soon, their families realize that the girls are missing while playing in a parked RV. Their parents call the police, and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) responds to the given description and arrests the RV owner, Alex Jones (Paul Dano). Loki interrogates him and realizes that Alex’s mental health cannot do such things as kidnapping.

There’s also no forensic evidence of kidnapping in the RV. Police release Alex, but the father of one of the missing girls, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), threatens him in front of the police station. As Loki doesn’t find any clue, Keller Dover kidnaps Alex and asks about his daughter and friends by torturing him. Loki and Dover crave to hunt down the kidnapper in their own ways. The story is unbelievably amazing and has a twisted story to give goosebumps.

Prisoners (2013)

Memories of Murder (2003)

Movie NameMemories of Murder (2003)
DirectorBong Joon-Ho
ProducerCha Seung-Jae
Release DateMay 2, 2003
Running Time131 minutes
Budget$2.8 million
Gross Profit$1.2 million

Memories of Murder (2003) centres around Korean police detectives, who are investigating about two rapped and murdered females. They have never seen this kind of murder in Korea before. Their forensic department does not have any kind of modern equipment to collect evidence from the bodies or the crime place. Detective Park Doo-Man (Song Kang-Ho) and his partner, Detective Cho Yong-Koo (Kim Roi-Ha), are puzzled by this incident.

After some time, the killer attempts several attacks and kills more victims. Another detective, Seo Tae-Yoon (Kim Sang-Kyung), comes from Seol to provide a helping hand through his scientific training in crime scene analysis. They work hard on the case to hunt down Korea’s first-ever serial killer by solving riddles. The movie contains intense turns and twists with terrifying and bloody scenes.

Memories of Murder (2003)

The House That Jack Built (2018)

Movie NameThe House That Jack Built (2018)
DirectorLars Von Trier
ProducerLouise Vesth
Release DateNov 28, 2018
Running Time155 minutes
Budget$9.9 million
Gross Profit$5.6 million

The House That Jack Built (2018) plots a man named Jack (Matt Dillon) with an architect failure in his life. The pain of loss makes him a serial killer, which he admits to Vigil, whom he calls Verge (Bruno Ganz). Jack goes through the Nine Circles of the Hell as Verge leads. The flashback shows each of his murder and helpless victims in detail without regret. The story showcases how ruthless he was.

Five incidents have been seen in the movie so far. The film is so horror and terrifying that it will raise your body hair, and you will also feel the fear in your heart as he attempts different styles to kill a person. I recommend this movie; it might not be for light-hearted people as it contains crazy violence and bloody scenes. 

The House That Jack Built (2018)

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Movie NameHenry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
DirectorJohn McNaughton
ProducerLisa Dedmond
Release DateSep 24, 1986
Running Time83 minutes
Budget$110k
Gross Profit$609k

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) is about a serial killer, Henry (Michael Rooker), who is passionate about killing and torturing people. He kills as many people as he likes, no matter if the victim is a male, female, or child. He killed his mother and served his sentence in jail. After being released from prison, he travels throughout America and migrates to Chicago. He eats dinner somewhere in Chicago and Kills an old local person and several women brutally in the restaurant.

Then he meets his friend Otis (Tom Towles), and he convinces him to join his evil side to kill people. They both started killing people together. Killing people in new styles and different ways makes them feel good, and it is the best way to keep their identity low profile so that no one can figure out that all murders have been done by one man or group.

The movie has unbelievable twists and turns when Otis’s sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) shows up in the film and gets attached to his friend Henry. Things get worse, and they fight each other. Moreover, the ending of the story is more tragic.

Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Psycho Raman (2016)

Movie NamePsycho Raman (2016)
DirectorAnurag Kashyap
ProducerAnurag Kashyap
Release DateJune 24, 2016
Running Time127 minutes
Budget3.5 Crore Indian
Gross Profit7 Crore Indian

Psycho Raman (2016) is a crime thriller and psychopath killer movie. At the movie’s start, a high-positioned police officer visits Mumbai to meet a drug dealer. The deal couldn’t go as planned as the dealer and another man got murdered. The police officer Raghavan Amrendra Singh Umbi (Vicky Kaushal) investigated the murders the next day. While searching, he received a hammer following an unknown phone call.

The next scene shows Ramanna (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a serial killer who confesses his crimes with nine murders after surrendering. Police detain and beat him, but somehow, he manages to escape and travels to his sister’s house. He argues with his brother-in-law and leaves the house in anger. Suddenly, he returns and kills his sister, her husband, and their only little son.

He then again manages to escape the police and starts stalking Commissioner Raghavan. The movie reveals hidden truths in the story of their life. Ramanna tells Raghavan that they have some connection with each other. The film has puzzling turns and twists to make people go crazy.

Psycho Raman (2016)

Manhunter (1986)

Movie NameManhunter (1986)
DirectorMichael Mann
ProducerRichard A. Roth
Release DateAug 15, 1986
Running Time120 minutes
Budget$14-15 million
Gross Profit$4-8.6 million

Manhunter (1986) is about a serial killer named The Tooth Fairy (Tom Noonan) who continuously murders people and toying with the police department. FBI agent Will Graham (William L. Peterson) is in charge of the case and is on a mission to hunt down the killer. But, it is not as easy as it looks. Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox) is in jail and is the ideal character for Tooth Fairy.

The Tooth Fairy targets a family and kills all the members ruthlessly with different methods. These scenes will blow your mind out of your head. As the movie continues, the FBI and Will Graham find themselves in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the Serial Killer, Lecter, and an interfering journalist.

Manhunter (1986)

Peeping Tom (1960)

Movie NamePeeping Tom (1960)
DirectorMichael Powell
ProducerMichael Powell
Release DateApril 7, 1960
Running Time101 minutes
Budget$140k

Peeping Tom (1960) centres around a photographer, Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm), who works all day to take racy pictures of women and sell them under the table. He is a shy psychopath who kills females and spies with a hidden camera in his coat. The killer wants to become a filmmaker and wants to make a film of fear in which he kills the victims and films their reactions while killing them.

A young female, Helen Stephen (Anna Massey), who lives below Mark’s apartment, finds Mark spying and filming her on her 21st birthday. She befriends Mark and wants to know more about him. She sneaks into his apartment and sees all the work Mark’s doing. Mark catches her, and the movie becomes more curious at this point. The film has fearful moments with bloody murder scenes.

Peeping Tom (1960)

M (1931)

Movie NameM (1931)
DirectorFritz Lang
ProducerSeymour Nebenzal
Release DateMay 11, 1931
Running Time111 minutes

M (1931) is a German thriller movie in which a psychopath named Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) preys on children to kill. He becomes the most wanted man in Berlin, and the police department craves to hunt this man down. On the other hand, Beckert finds his victim and traps them by buying balloons and snacks.

However, alongside the cops, some criminals are also behind the serial killer. They all try their methods to catch Beckert, and a gang finally catches the killer in a building. The film has old picture quality but still gives goosebumps and is a message for parents to teach their children to avoid strangers. 

M (1931)

The Chaser (2008)

Movie NameThe Chaser (2008)
DirectorNa Hong-jin
ProducerKim Su-jin
Release DateFeb 14, 2008
Running Time124 minutes
Budget$2.6 million
Gross Profit$35.8 million

The Chaser (2008) early scenes, Joong-ho Eom (Kim Yoon-Seok), a dishonored and dishonest ex-detective, becomes a pimp. He starts his own business with some prostitutes. One night, a man named Yeong-min (Ha Jung-wo) asks for service. Yoong-ho remembers him as his last customer when her two girls went missing. He thinks that this man is a human trafficker and that his two prostitutes are also his victims.

He forces Mi-jin (Seo Young-hee) to service the customer and call after approaching his address. However, things do not go as Yoong-ho planned. This movie is a definition of fear and has many exciting twists and turns to put fear into your heart. Some movie scenes might be offensive, but the film is surprisingly impressive.

The Chaser (2008)

The Vanishing (1988)

Movie NameThe Vanishing (1988)
DirectorGeorge Sluizer
ProducerAnne Lordon
Release DateOct 27, 1988
Running Time107 minutes

The Vanishing (1988) centres around a young Dutch couple, Saskia (Johanna Ter Steege) and Rex (Gene Bervoets), on vacation in France. As they drive, they promise each other that they will be together no matter what. Suddenly, their car stops as the fuel of the car ends. They stop, sit under a tree, and bury coins as a symptom of their love. In the meantime, a man arrives in the car and does a false sling to fake the accident.

Saskia enters the station to buy some drinks while Rex fills his car’s fuel tank. He waited, but Saskia didn’t come back as someone kidnapped her. Rex searches for her for three long years but finds no clue about her. After three years, he received an anonymous letter. This movie has a unique story that gives thrills to the body.

The Vanishing (1988)

Cure (1997)

Movie NameCure (1997)
DirectorKiyoshi Kurosawa
ProducerJunyuki Shimoba
Release DateDec 27, 1997
Running Time112 minutes
Budget$1 million

Cure (1997) is a Japanese crime thriller movie in which a Tokyo Metropolitan police detective, Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho), is investigating a murder spree. Each time they examine the crime scene, they find the murderer close to the victim. They arrested him and started interrogating the killer.

But, they realized that the serial killer Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) has schizophrenia, a short-term memory loss. They put him in jail, and Takabe’s friend Sakuma helps him solve the case. The movie has an exciting story with mind-blowing ending scenes.

Cure (1997)

Memento (2000)

Movie NameMemento (2000)
DirectorChristopher Nolan
ProducerSuzanne Todd
Release DateSep 5, 2000
Running Time113 minutes
Budget$5-9 million
Gross Profit$40.1 million

Memento (2000) is a hidden truth, mystery, and thriller movie that dives into the life of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), whose wife gets rapped and murdered. He was an ex-insurance investigator, and now all he remembers is that her wife got murdered, and he wants revenge. But he loses all his memory after every fifteen minutes.

He keeps a camera to take photos, so after memory loss, he can remember what he did or where he was fifteen minutes before. The movie has storylines; one represents the present, and the other line goes back to the past by showing the story in detail. 

Memento (2000)

Taken (2008)

Movie NameTaken (2008)
DirectorPierre Morel
ProducerLuc Besson
Release DateFeb 27, 2008
Running Time90 minutes
Budget$25 million
Gross Profit$226.8 million

Taken (2008) is an action and thriller movie that stars Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), who is a former Green Beret and CIA officer. He wants to build a close relationship with his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). She lives with her mother, Lenore (Famke Janssen). Kim and her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) go to Paris and get kidnapped by an illegal organization selling girls by auction.

Bryan has four days to save his daughter from being auctioned. He catches some criminals who work for the organization and asks about Kim and Amanda. The movie is full of action and has exciting twists.

Taken (2008)

About Seven (1995)

Movie NameSeven (1995)
DirectorDavid Fincher
ProducerArnold Kopelson
Release DateSep 22, 1995
Running Time147 minutes
Total Budget$33-34 million
Gross Profit$327.3 million

Seven (1995) Plot

Seven movie plots in a city where crimes and corruption are at their peak, and a senior police detective, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), is going to retire after a week, confronts a final case of his service. He partnered with a newly transferred detective, David Mills (Brad Pitt), who has shifted to the city with his wife, Tracy, a pregnant woman. They face numerous murdered victims with different signs written on the wall.

They search for the Killer, and soon they realize that all murders are connected, and a serial killer has killed them. The serial killer targeted people whom he thinks represent one of the seven deadly sins. Detective David Mills’s wife, Tracy, is afraid and does not want to raise his child in a city full of crimes. The movie has multiple twists and turns, with mysteries hidden in messages.

Seven (1995) Plot

Seven (2007) Cast

  • Brad Pitt as Detective David Mills
  • Morgan Freeman as Detective William Somerset
  • Gwyneth Kate Paltrow Falchuk as Tracy Mills
  • Kevin Spacey as John Doe

Box Office Collection

Running Time127 minutes
Production Budget$33-34 million
Total Gross Profit$327.3 million

Conclusion

These are the best movies similar to Seven that I’ve found. I’ve created this list of 20 movies like Seven to help you find the favorite content you are looking for. Each film is described with its movie characters and a short story to help you pick the one that suits your mood. Remember, some movies have offensive content, as movie scenes contain blood and ruthless murders. Now, prepare popcorn and drink and set the TV to enjoy the film you selected.

Photo of author

Jordan Counsel

Jordan Counsel is a passionate movie enthusiast with a keen eye for cinematic details. With years of experience in the film world, Jordan brings a unique perspective to the art of movie analysis and critique. Whether dissecting the latest blockbuster or delving into the nuances of independent cinema, Jordan's writing provides readers with insightful and engaging content. When not glued to the silver screen, Jordan enjoys exploring the world of cinema, attending film festivals, and sharing recommendations for movie lovers everywhere.