15 Crime Dramas That Are Highly Rewatchable

This list is all about those lesser-known movies that are 100% rewatchable.

1. Wind River (2017)

Cory Lambert, a wildlife tracker, discovers a young Native American woman's body in the snow. Enter Jane Banner, an FBI agent not used to the Wyoming winters. Together, they have to solve the murder. During their investigation, they find out the young woman had a boyfriend, who's also found dead. This duo realizes they're dealing with drug dealers and a lethal security team.

2. Prisoners (2013)

Hugh Jackman goes full beast mode but not in the way you'd expect. He's a father, Keller Dover, whose daughter and her friend go missing. Detective Loki, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is on the case but is too slow for Keller's liking. Keller takes matters into his own hands, kidnapping a suspect and trying to force a confession. All this, while Loki is juggling multiple leads, including mazes drawn in a book and a suspicious priest.

3. Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Ben Affleck's directorial debut. A child is kidnapped in Boston, and private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro are hired to supplement the police investigation. They discover a web of drug dealers, molesters, and corrupt cops. In a surprising turn, they find the missing girl living happily with a police captain who orchestrated the whole thing to rescue her from her neglectful mother.

4. Nightcrawler (2014)

Lou Bloom, an ambitious guy, finds his calling as a freelance videographer, capturing crimes and accidents in L.A. The more graphic, the better, at least for TV news. He starts manipulating crime scenes for the perfect shot and even withholds information about a home invasion to capture the culprits himself on camera. Lou's actions escalate to a dangerous level, and you can't help but ask, how far will he go for the perfect story?

5. Eastern Promises (2007)

Anna, a midwife, delivers a baby from a 14-year-old Russian girl who dies in childbirth. Trying to find the family, she gets entangled with the Russian Mafia, specifically Nikolai, a driver, and "cleaner" for the mob. As they dive deeper into the human trafficking ring, Nikolai turns out to be an undercover FSB agent.

6. A Prophet (2009)

In this French thriller, Malik El Djebena, a 19-year-old, lands in prison. Illiterate and inexperienced, he becomes an easy target. That is until he's roped in by the Corsican mafia to kill a fellow Muslim inmate. After the deed, Malik gains the mafia's protection and learns to read and write. He then starts a drug-running operation while still in prison and eventually takes over the Corsican operations. Sounds like a one-man empire, right? Watch it unfold.

7. Layer Cake (2004)

Before Daniel Craig was James Bond, he was an unnamed drug dealer in this Matthew Vaughn crime movie trying to retire. But crime doesn't let go easily, does it? Our protagonist finds himself entangled in two messy jobs: finding a missing girl and selling a million ecstasy tablets stolen from a Serbian drug lord. What could go wrong? He discovers betrayals and plot twists at every corner, and you won't believe who's pulling the strings in the end.

8. Brick (2005)

Ever wondered what a crime drama would look like set in a high school? Meet Brendan, a teenage loner who receives a desperate call from his ex-girlfriend Emily. She's in trouble, to put it mildly. Brendan finds her dead body and sets off to unravel what happened. Drug dealers, the school's queen bee, and even the vice principal become suspects.

9. The Lives of Others (2006)

East Germany in 1984. A Stasi agent, Gerd Wiesler, is assigned to spy on a playwright and his actress-girlfriend. The surveillance starts as a routine job, but Wiesler becomes increasingly involved in their lives. He starts tampering with reports to protect them, essentially committing treason.

10. The Drop (2014)

Tom Hardy plays Bob, a bartender in Brooklyn who gets mixed up in a robbery gone wrong. The bar where he works is a "drop bar" used by local gangsters to funnel dirty money. Bob finds a wounded puppy and rescues it, meeting its owner Nadia. As they navigate a world of organized crime, it turns out Bob is not as innocent as he seems.

11. Animal Kingdom (2010)

Set in Melbourne's gritty underbelly, this Australian drama centers on a young lad named J. After his mom dies of a heroin overdose, he moves in with his grandma, Smurf. Sounds innocent, right? Wrong. Smurf is the matriarch of a criminal family. J gets entangled in the family's activities, including a 'bad-blood' situation with the police that spirals into murder.

12. Donnie Brasco (1997)

A Johnny Depp film but not the one you're thinking. Depp is Joe Pistone, an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the Mafia using the name Donnie Brasco. He befriends Lefty, a hitman, and as Joe sinks deeper into the mob lifestyle, the lines between his real life and his undercover life blur. Will he rat out Lefty or let his new friend take the fall?

13. In Bruges (2008)

Two Irish hitmen, Ray and Ken, are sent to Bruges, Belgium, to lay low after a job goes wrong. Ray hates the historic city, while Ken loves it. Turns out, their boss Harry sent them there as a weird form of penance, intending for Ken to kill Ray for his mistake. The story spirals into a bloody showdown involving a dwarf actor, a racist monologue, and Harry enforcing his own moral code in the most brutal way.

14. Fracture (2007)

Ted Crawford shoots his wife and calmly waits for the police. Hotshot attorney Willy Beachum takes the seemingly open-and-shut case. Oh, how wrong he is. Ted manipulated the evidence, leaving Willy scrambling. This becomes a cat-and-mouse courtroom drama where Ted's mind games almost dismantle Willy's career. Almost, because our boy Willy isn't giving up that easily.

15. Collateral (2004)

Tom Cruise as a hitman, Vincent, is something you didn't know you needed. He hijacks Max's cab and forces him to drive around L.A. to complete five assassinations. Max is terrified but starts becoming resourceful, trying to prevent the final murder.