5 Must-See Action-Packed Thrillers for Rainy Fall Evenings
Mysterious murders, gritty cities, and gloomy detectives.
Fall and melancholy go hand in hand – sometimes there is no better solution than to spend a Sunday watching dark and gloomy thrillers.
1. Road to Perdition, 2002
Sam Mendes' gangster drama offered its own take on the Great Depression. Tom Hanks played a family man and part-time criminal who took on the Mafia to protect his son.
The frame is shrouded in fog, and in the climactic scenes it rains incessantly, washing the fedoras pulled down over the gangsters' eyes. Looking at the stormy landscapes, you can't help but wonder if you're going to catch a cold after the movie.
2. Hard Rain, 1998
When a city suffers from bad weather and is drenched in rain, the last thing you want to think about is a flood. Mikael Salomon's Hard Rain is a mix of a disaster movie and a crime thriller, as security guard Tom crawls out from under the elements and from the clutches of criminals who have decided to rob an armored car.
The emotional and climatic whirlwind throws the characters' lives into chaos – and there may be no more enjoyable moment than watching Hard Rain in the comfort of your own home.
3. Prisoners, 2013
Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners has been the darkest fall thriller since its release. As Hugh Jackman's character searches for his missing daughters while a quiet Pennsylvania town is inundated by torrential rains, the space in the frame becomes more oppressive and unfriendly with each twist of the plot.
Dry trees, one-story houses, and impenetrable darkness – Prisoners seems to emphasize that horror exists right next door, leading the characters through hopeless labyrinths in search of the children.
4. Memories of Murder, 2003
A series of murders that law enforcement officials have been unable to solve for years is not a situation that inspires optimism. It is even worse when the story of an uncaught madman and police incompetence unfolds in the harsh panoramas of a Korean province.
In Memories of Murder, the gray darkness has shackled both the witnesses and the investigators, who are hopelessly searching for the killer. The murder scenes, the visits to the crime scene, and the brilliant, cathartic finale are all pervaded by the melancholy that becomes an important mood key of the film.
5. A Walk Among the Tombstones, 2014
Scott Frank's A Walk Among the Tombstones immerses the viewer in the sleepy everyday life of New York – noir, full of grief and lined with tombstones. Liam Neeson, accustomed to images of retired military and police officers, plays Detective Scudder, searching for the killer of the wife of a powerful drug lord.
Perhaps the plot is not the strong point of the movie, but Scott Frank emphasized the cold screen climate. The setting is sometimes uncomfortable, but at the same time it is almost impossible to tear yourself away from the movie.