A private eye navigates sun-drenched 1930s Los Angeles, uncovering a pulpy web of crime and deceit.
Suspenseful and melancholy. A full-attention watch at a measured pace. Emotionally it is devastating.
Streaming on Kanopy (free) and Hoopla (free).
The thing to know: strong sex and nudity, more than an R usually carries. Beyond that, strong violence and some strong language.
How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
No. Brace yourself.
Se7en (1995)Properly scary · extreme gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingTwo detectives hunt a serial killer whose gruesome crimes are meticulously based on the seven deadly sins.
L.A. Confidential (1997)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally heavyThree Los Angeles detectives navigate 1950s corruption and pulpy violence to expose a dark conspiracy.
The Batman (2022)Gritty · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA measured, gritty mystery unfolds as Batman confronts Gotham's corruption and a darkly-comic serial killer.
Zodiac (2007)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyJournalists and an amateur cartoonist obsess over an elusive serial killer, even as the public forgets.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)Gritty · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA disgraced journalist and a punk hacker uncover immense corruption in a bleak, gritty mystery.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally heavyA botched jewel heist unravels into a darkly comic, bloody standoff among double-crossing criminals.
Memento (2000)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA man with no short-term memory hunts his wife's killer, piecing together a gritty, cerebral puzzle.
Shutter Island (2010)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA marshal's investigation into a missing patient unravels amidst chilling visions and a pervasive sense of dread.Chinatown is on our Whodunits, Noir and neo-noir, Set in Los Angeles, 1970s and Kanopy lists.
Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.
Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.
Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.
