10 Best Crime Movies Like Pulp Fiction That You’ll Love

Once it came out in 1994, Movies like Pulp Fiction was one of that was really like it. It is still one of the best movies on Amazon Prime. Soon after, every other director wanted to copy the style of the insanely funny, highly quotable ensemble crime thriller that many now think is Quentin Tarantino’s best work.

We can’t deny, though, that some of these tonally similar films (and even some that are just straight-up copies) are just as valuable as whatever was in Marcellus’ suitcase. As one of the best movies of the 1990s turns 30 years old today, here are some classics and even underrated choices that make us think of movies like Pulp Fiction.

10 Best Crime Movies Like Pulp Fiction:

1. Jackie Brown (1997):

This was Quentin Tarantino’s second movie after Pulp Fiction. He had co-starred in and co-written From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996, though. It sticks out in his filmography because it has a lot less violent scenes than his other movies, even though the story still has crime, suspense, and death. It’s about a flight attendant named Jackie Brown who gets stuck between the police and a dangerous gun smuggler. Each side wants to use her for different reasons.

It has the same mood and laid-back coolness as some scenes in movies like Pulp Fiction. It’s a less frantic and more mature crime movie. Since this is Tarantino, both movies have really great music, and the casts are great too. For Jackie Brown, for example, Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, and Robert De Niro all play roles that are very different from what they usually do, which is hilarious.

2. Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995):

Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead was a stylish movie based on the song of the same name by the late, great Warren Zevon. It was about Jimmy, a former gangster who now runs a failed business making videos for dying people to show their loved ones after they die. Someone from the mob comes up to Jimmy and offers to pay him to try to get the mob boss’s son back together with his girlfriend. The mob boss’ son was arrested for child pornography, and the mob boss thinks that if his son’s ex-girlfriend takes him back, he will no longer be a pedophile.

It was Jimmy and his friends’ grand plan to get the girlfriend to give back the son, but they kill the girlfriend and her boyfriend by mistake. Another well-known hit man then goes after them for the rest of the movie. The terrible deaths and the chitchat between the killers sound like they belong in Pulp Fiction.

3. Four Rooms (1995):

On his first day as a hotel bellhop, Ted (Tim Roth) meets some very strange people and ends up getting a lot more than he expected. It’s an exciting New Year’s Eve.

Four Rooms is another quirky, star-studded, anthology-style comedy with interweaving plotlines and characters that Tarantino wrote, directed, and starred in one section from a year after movies like Pulp Fiction. There is also a Big Kahuna Burger sighting that connects to the Tarantinoverse.

4. Baby Driver (2017):

The way Pulp Fiction uses music and how it makes fun of the crime genre are two of the things that people will remember most about it. Many people know that Quentin Tarantino likes different kinds of pop music and uses it in his movies. His skill at making great soundtracks has inspired many other directors to do the same.

Movies like Pulp Fiction, Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is a funny and exciting new take on an old crime story. Following an escape driver (Ansel Elgort) who wants to leave the game but gets in trouble with a crime boss (Kevin Spacey) and falls in love with a pretty waitress (Lily James), but both are busy with other things. Aside from the unique ways it changed familiar plot points, “Baby Driver” is now known for its great 30-song music that includes old-school blues, arena rock by Queen, and glam rock by T. Rex. With these songs driving his car races, Wright turns the 2017 movie into a complicated set of musical scenes where the dancers are cars and the stakes are very high.

5. 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997):

In the movie 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, played by Joe Pesci, mafioso Tommy Spinelli tries to get back the bag with the severed heads of his boss’s enemies that he accidentally traded for a tourist’s bag during a trip. The story then switches between the tourist (who tries to find a way to get rid of the heads) and Tommy (who tries every idea he has to replace them). Pesci, Kristy Swanson, David Spade, George Hamilton, Dyan Cannon, Andy Comeau, and Todd Louiso are just a few of the big names in the group.

Even though the premise sounded interesting, the movie was a total waste of time. It was like throwing spaghetti in different directions to keep people interested. Still, the interesting characters, the complicated plots, and the failed tries at catchphrases are all here. People just couldn’t handle how big this dark comedy was, and they couldn’t find any of the Tarantino-like flavor in it.

6. Lucky Number Slevin (2006):

For a lot of its length, Lucky Number Slevin feels like it owes a lot to movies like Pulp Fiction, and its style in general is a lot like Tarantino’s. The movie tries to keep people on their toes by being truly unpredictable. In just the first few scenes, it seems to focus on one thing, then move on to something else, and then move on to something else again. Things do work out in the end, and Lucky Number Slevin turns out to be a bit of a revenge story.

Lucky Number Slevin has a lot of plot lines that take a while to come together. The dialogue is also a lot like Tarantino’s, with a lot of asides and references to movies and TV shows (though they’re not always done well). There are also two players in it who are known for working with Tarantino: Bruce Willis, who was in Pulp Fiction, and Lucy Liu, who played a major role in Kill Bill Vol. 1.

7. Reindeer Games (2000):

Reindeer Games, John Frankenheimer’s last movie as a director, starred Ben Affleck as Rudy, a prisoner who got out of jail just before Christmas. Nick, Rudy’s roommate, was writing letters to a woman named Ashley. Nick was sadly killed before he could get out, so Rudy pretends to be Nick. He doesn’t know that Nick and Ashley’s brother were caught in a casino robbery, though.

A lot of things happen that aren’t what they seem, just movies like Pulp Fiction, and people betray each other throughout the story. Though it has more action than Pulp Fiction, the mood is still very much there.

8. Snatch (2000):

People who aren’t guilty and experienced thieves are both racing against the clock to get their hands on an important diamond that was stolen in England and is now missing.

People have said that Snatch, one of Guy Ritchie’s best movies, is a lot movies like Pulp Fiction in that it’s a crime drama with a comedic edge and a lot of different plots that come together thanks to a great cast.

9. The Boondock Saints (1999):

Pulp Fiction is a movie about people who are real, likeable, and believable who get caught in different criminal webs. The reason we like them isn’t always because they’re funny or smart. Sometimes it’s because they’re doing the wrong thing for the right reason. That movie, which is mostly about two smooth hitmen, may not have been directly based on Troy Duffy’s “The Boondock Saints,” but it’s easy to see how they are similar.

The movie came out in 1999, right after Pulp Fiction, and it was a big hit for crime movies. It’s about two Irish working-class brothers, played by Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus, who are told by God to punish the evil for the sake of the good. They decided to become hitmen and were told to only kill bad people. This puts them in direct conflict with the Russian mob and a smart FBI agent (Willem Dafoe) who knows how important their case is. Movies like Pulp Fiction, it’s funny, violent, and full of references to classic action movies and other genre icons. Because of its connection to crime film fans, it was a flop at the box office but became a cult favorite.

10. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998):

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which came out in 1998 and was directed by Guy Ritchie, was a major event in the history of British movies. With Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones, and Jason Flemyng in the lead roles. The movie became famous because of its lively style, clever dialogue, and complicated plot about a high-stakes card game that goes horribly wrong.

It got good reviews for having a unique, non-linear story and a lot of strange characters that lived in London’s seedy criminal underbelly. The film went on to be a big critical hit, making Ritchie one of the most interesting directors in the business.

People often compare Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to Pulp Fiction because it has the same mix of humor, fast-paced dialogue, and linked plots. It also has a spirit of irreverence and stylistic innovation. Like Tarantino’s masterpiece, it has a large group of interesting people whose lives get tangled up in a web of crime and chaos.

The movie’s non-linear plot, sharp wit, and unexpected turns, along with its rocking music, are all very Tarantino. Many of Tarantino’s trademarks were “copied” by Ritchie, but unlike many of the other movies on this list, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a well-reviewed and highly praised follow up to Tarantino’s famous work. This is because of Ritchie’s skill as a director and the film’s unique British flavor.

Conclusion:

You’re not the only one who’s still looking for that thrilling, genre-bending thrill that Pulp Fiction gave you in 1994. These 10 crime movies are a lot like Tarantino’s cult classic, whether it’s through non-linear plots, razor-sharp language, memorable characters, or dark humor. Each movie on this list, from Jackie Brown by Quentin Tarantino to Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels by Guy Ritchie, brings something different and fun to the table.

If you want to watch more crime movies like Pulp Fiction, here is a list of stylish, dark, and completely unique movies that you should add to your list. These movies have the same thrilling energy that made Pulp Fiction an instant classic, whether you’re in the mood for strange hitmen, failed heists, or antiheroes with complicated morals.

Get ready to go back to the world of dark comedy and crime? Watch these crime movies in the style of Pulp Fiction right now to remember why we love our bad guys so much.Also Read: 10 Intense Horror Movies Like Saw You Shouldn’t Miss