The noir genre of film is one of the most influential styles of the art form. It is characterized by dark shadows, grim stories of crime and deceit, and the classic trenchcoat and fedora look. The expansive nature of the genre has extended into almost all forms of media, including video games, music, and comics. The “neo” tag gets slapped on anything past the '60s, symbolizing a line between the old-school black and white films and the new breed it influenced.
Nightmare Alley succeeds in melding these two noir eras together by taking its seedy story from the original 1947 movie and giving a facelift via Guillermo del Toro’s stylized filmmaking. There is something remarkably interesting about the way neo-noir films capture the energy of evil, often in the way the characters and story are portrayed.
8 L.A. Confidential
This seedy 1997 film is a modern neo-noir classic. The film weaves together a story of police corruption and Hollywood scandal in 1950s L.A., helped by a powerhouse cast including Danny DeVito, Russell Crowe, and Kim Basinger.
Heavily stylized in a '90s crime movie ambiance, but chock-full of 1950’s clothes, cars, and cigarettes, L.A. Confidential is a deep look at the underbelly of the City of Angels. The story is one twist after another and audiences are likely to be more than a little surprised by the end.
7 Blue Velvet
One of the weirder neo-noir movies thanks to David Lynch’s directing, Blue Velvet is a small-town noir, trading in the concrete alleyways and bars of the big city’s shadow for the unsuspecting evil of rural America. After a college student home to visit his sick father discovers a severed ear in a vacant lot, he finds himself wrapped up in a devious plot involving a lounge singer and a violent drug lord.
David Lynch takes risks in his films and Blue Velvet is no exception. The movie includes surreal and dreamy time lapses, unsettling psychopaths, and a criminal conspiracy that is as eerie as it is engrossing.
6 Chinatown
Some might say Chinatown is the first official neo-noir, starting the genre trend back in the '70s. Following a disturbing waterfall of mystery and crime, Jack Nicholson shines as hard-boiled snoop, Jake Gittes. 1930s California is an awesome setting and it’s easy to see the influence of Chinatown in countless forms of noir, from subsequent films to video games.
Not only is the setting fantastic, but the story is a marvel to behold of itself, racking in some truly shocking twists that are just as heinous now as they were in 1974.
5 Blood Simple
The Coen Brothers have made a few different films that could be characterized as neo-noir, but Blood Simple seems like the truest to form. A love triangle in the heart of Texas gets bloody once hitmen and murder are thrown on the table, but the real star of the show is the Coen Brothers' brilliant use of shadows and camera angles to convey tension.
A dark and grim story, the dry desert of the Texas setting makes for an excellent backdrop of criminal endeavors.
4 Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Certainly not the most hard-boiled neo-noir, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is still a beautiful ode to the genre. A clever amalgamation via Golden Age cartoons and the pulpy detective fiction of the day, the film combines the two for a clever and engaging story.
Cartoons and reality blend seamlessly, merging humor and intrigue together. When a cartoon rabbit star of the silver screen is framed for murder, he hires a private eye to clear his name, although the plot thickens when a mysterious figure enters the picture.
3 Blow Out
A creepy mystery that captures the thriller aspects of the noir genre, Blow Out is a masterpiece in suspense. When a sound effects artist accidentally records what appears to be evidence of an assassination attempt of a political candidate, he finds himself thrown into the gauntlet of conspiracy.
The pressure is on as shadowy figures move in for what could very well be a cover-up. A dark and ghostly film, Blow Out is the perfect example of how neo-noir films engage audiences through realistic horror and brutalist camera angles.
2 In Bruges
A shakeup with regards to setting, In Bruges uses its unusual medieval city backdrop to its storytelling advantage. By no means a 1940s urban sprawl, Bruges still manages to have a seedy underbelly.
The film follows two hitmen laying low in the quiet city after a hit gets botched, although things get complex when their allegiances are tested. Equal parts dark comedy and neo-noir crime drama, the movie explores the darkly humorous side of being a career criminal in the 21st century.
1 Manhunter
While not nearly as famous as the infamous Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter is more of a neo-noir than a psychological thriller due to its dark lighting and hard-boiled storytelling. The 1986 movie is also directed by Michael Mann, who would go on to work on Heat, The Insider, and Collateral.
Manhunter is about the search for a creepy serial killer hunting families, focusing less on Hannibal Lector and more on the police procedure of manhunting a dangerous deranged killer. It’s a chilling tale that is certain to entertain fans of crime fiction.