Can't get enough of noir? It's a genre with many faces, from the Nordic Noir that led the way to a brace of other gritty, gripping categories.
Nordic Noir
This is where it all began. Since its origins as a literary trend in the '90s, Nordic Noir has become a pop culture juggernaut. It’s not hard to figure out why: combining chilly and evocative settings with a view of crime that combines the personal with the political, it’s consistently served up gripping investigations driven by compelling characters. Want a mystery that’ll keep you guessing while leaving you feeling like you watched something with real substance? You’ve come to the right genre.
A prime example in this category is Wisting, Norway’s biggest Nordic Noir series. With a dogged investigator and plenty of twists and turns, it’s been hugely successful. A little more action-packed than some other classic Nordic Noir, it’s one to dive into if you like things noir and pacy.
Other examples you might enjoy include Swedish drama Fallen (led by The Bridge star Sofia Helin), a detective returning to Iceland to help hunt a serial killer in The Valhalla Murders, or Danish thriller Those Who Kill.
Reindeer Noir
If traditional Nordic Noir has a flaw, it’s that it’s not a genre big on laughs. Enter Reindeer Noir, the term for Nordic Noir’s slightly quirky, Lapland-based cousin. There’s still plenty of crime going on, and there’s no shortage of snow either, but with an extra layer of location-related eccentricity and cold-climate humour. Taking its tone from Santa’s home town of Rovaniemi, and the surrounding areas, right on the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, this snowy Noir sub-sector offers up dark humour, unpredictable storylines and multi-layered characters, often chasing (or committing) crime in small communities.
Reindeer Mafia might seem a little obvious as an example – it’s got Reindeer right there in the title! But as a look at a sprawling crime family that begins to tear itself apart after the death of its matriarch, it’s the perfect example of a crime series that goes places you might not expect.
While filmed further south, Finnish series The Man Who Died also boasts the same quirky cold-climate humour, as a mushroom farmer who has been poisoned tries to find the culprit before he dies.
Euro Noir
Whether it’s car chases on the streets of Paris or dodgy deals in the shadows in the port at Hamburg, Euro Noir has a vibe all its own. The stakes are often a little higher, whether it’s smuggling, terrorism, or serial killers who just keep on coming back. International co-operation is important (guess they learned that from The Bridge), but there’s plenty of lone wolf detectives out there too. It might not be as chilly as the crimes taking place up north or in the Alps, but the scenic backdrops of Italy and Spain are just as effective if you want to contrast the beauty of nature with the brutality of humanity. Plus, it’s not like the Mafia is going anywhere in a hurry.
Journey to the south of Italy in Cold Summer, a thrilling Noir based on a novel by a former anti-mafia prosecutor, which explores the origins of a violent mafia group in the city of Bari. With hidden truths around every corner and a string of murders, can one detective’s suspicions be enough to take down some of the city’s most feared figures?
Or go across borders in La Unidad, where the Spanish police find themselves entangled in violent terrorist plots, racing against the clock to thwart their schemes.
Romantic Noir
Noir doesn’t always have to be about the big crimes that rock society. Sometimes it only takes two (or three) to turn the whole world upside down. Falling in love with the wrong person can drop you into a world of crime, while trying to keep that special someone can drive you to some very dirty deeds. And let’s not forget those lovers who decide it’s them against the world; hitting the highway and living off robbing banks worked out pretty well for Bonnie and Clyde… just so long as you skip the final scene.
A blue-skies take on Nordic noir, Denmark's The Sommerdahl Murders might not seem all that romantic on the surface, but this long-running series about a trio that solves murders while dealing with an ongoing love triangle proves that not even a broken heart (or two) can stand in the way of justice.
What do you do when you find yourself falling for the lead suspect in an ongoing criminal investigation? If you’re an interpreter who finds herself torn between love and duty in Code of Silence, you end up walking a very dangerous line.
And then there’s Bonnie and Clyde. The archetypal cinematic doomed romance, this tale of love-struck bank-robbers terrorising rural America in the 1930s is thrilling, funny, and ultimately shocking.
American Noir
The original home of noir, the USA has fallen in and out of love with the genre over the decades. All that really means is that there’s a long list of classics there to check out if the current crop isn’t quite what you’re looking for. Big cities struggling with urban decay, small towns where things just aren’t right, powerful men willing to crush their enemies (or anyone they catch snooping around), and those still determined to bring the truth to light; it’s a big country, and it’s got plenty of room for all of them.
In Baltimore, there’s Homicide: Life on the Street. Gritty, raw, and with stories torn from the headlines, it set a new standard for the police procedural in the USA – and led directly to The Wire, amongst other crime classics
Out on the West Coast, you’ll find Bosch. With classic mysteries with a rough-around-the-edges lead and a supporting cast each worthy of their own spin-off, it’s the cream of the crop when it comes to current crime.
Want even more American Noir? You’ve come to the right place.
Film Noir
When French film buffs back in the 1940s noticed that a lot of recent US crime movies were pretty dark (both visually and in subject matter), they created a genre that turned cinema on its head. Isolated protagonists struggling in a world set against them, turning to crime as their only escape – even if they’re only escaping from themselves – it’s a genre that shines a spotlight on the darker corners of humanity. Plus, there’s often a bunch of cool characters getting up to gripping and sexy adventures before it all comes crashing down around them.
For example, the first film from director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood, One Battle After Another) is a constantly twisting look at three loners connected by the world of late-night gambling – and maybe something more.
A man gets in over his head for the love of a woman who may not have his best interests at heart; it doesn’t get more noir than Body Heat.
The French know a little something about film noir, and if you’re after a film that doubles down on style while sacrificing nothing when it comes to substance, The Red Circle is about as cool as crime can get.
Neo Noir
When a genre becomes popular, there’s always a twist. Neo Noir takes the tropes of Film Noir and gives them a good shake, pushing things beyond their limits – or just flipping them over to see what really makes them tick. Sometimes it’s classic noir characters in unfamiliar settings; other times it might be all new crimes looked at through a stylish noir lens. Familiar but surprising, it’s a genre that’s focused on keeping things fresh – and taking you on a wild ride in the process.
Speaking of which, rides don’t get much wilder than the one in A Bloody Lucky Day, where a cab driver finds himself delivering a serial killer to a string of victims, before realising that the only way to escape is to embrace the darkness within himself.
With The Man Who Wasn’t There, the Coen Brothers – directors who know a fair bit about all kinds of Noir – take a traditional twisty tale of sex, murder and revenge and drop slap bang in the middle a man (Billy Bob Thornton) who wants nothing more than to be left out of the whole messy affair.
Noir is never more effective than when it comes out of real situations, and in The Yellow Sea, a Korean thriller about a Chinese man who sneaks into South Korea to find his missing wife – oh, and also to kill a man for his local crime boss – it’s the harsh reality of his ever worsening plight that makes his desperation (and the rising body count around him) really hit home.
Asian Noir
Asian noir has been around for decades: just take a look at the doomed protagonists of any number of Japanese Yakuza movies from the 1970s. But in recent years, it’s been their neighbours that have stepped up to the plate, firing off a string of stories centred around often surreal crimes and deeply disturbed killers. Japan may still hold a slim lead when it comes to neon-drenched style, but all across Asia their noir competitors are hot on their heels.
Doctors have always been a central figure in Noir - think of all the times criminals have checked in with some shady specialist to get their gunshot wounds treated. And The Outlaw Doctor, about a Vietnamese doctor who travels to Taiwan to help their mother, only to find themselves plunged into a world of backroom surgeries, human trafficking and murder, is medical noir at its finest.
Australian Noir
If the Scandinavian nations have trademarked the sight of blood sprayed across pristine snow, Australia has done a pretty good job of locking down the sweaty, dusty, sweltering side of crime. Not that every classic crime story Down Under has to take place in the Outback: our small towns see more than their fair share of murder mysteries, and there’s always the big cities if you’re looking for crime that reflects out multicultural makeup. But there’s no denying that when it comes to pure visual impact, there’s nothing like heading out bush… and then stumbling across a corpse.
In Dead Lucky a killer is back on the streets of Sydney, and for one cop, it’s a chance to clear up some unfinished business. But the more they investigate, the more complicated it gets – how many shattered lives will it take before they finally get their man?
Built around a vivid sense of place and community, True Colours weaves a compelling crime story together with a sharp-eyed look at exactly what it takes to be a part of an outback community, as detective Toni Alma finds her world turned upside down during what seems to be a routine investigation outside Alice Springs.
Based on actual events, Deep Water takes two detectives on a journey through the underbelly of 1990s Sydney as they investigate the brutal murder of a young gay man. It’s the kind of crime everyone else would rather ignore; the deeper they dig, the more secrets they bring to light, and soon some very powerful people are becoming very uncomfortable about where things might be heading. (The real events the series draws from is also explored in documentary Deep Water: The Real Story).
Aotearoa Noir
In the last decade or so, New Zealand has reinvented itself as the Land of the Long White Cloud… that conceals a murderer. Once again, it’s the scenery that gives them the edge: big mountains, majestic valleys, a general “didn’t I see that on The Lord of the Rings?” vibe, and then pow – the small town is full of secrets, the locals don’t like outsiders snooping around, and all that scenery starts to look like a great place to stash a body.
In The Gone, the picturesque town of Mount Affinity becomes the site of a deadly murder investigation in a gripping noir series that sees an Irish detective team up with a recently promoted local cop. Unlikely allies make for the best of teams, it turns out.
Celtic Noir
Ireland’s hardly new to the idea of troubled protagonists and brutal murder. But being a gateway to the EU has brought with it a new type of global crime, and it’s found a natural home in Ireland’s rolling hills (and more importantly, its cities and ports). Gone are the days when the local cop cycled around checking in on the neighbours; now it’s all high-tech offices and warehouse raids, organised crime families and desperate types willing to do what it takes to get ahead. At least when it all gets too much for the tortured cops and tormented gangsters, Irish whiskey remains as reliable as ever.
Bombs, diamonds, drug dealers and detectives... and that’s just the very first episode of Irish crime drama Hidden Assets. Step right into the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau as it cracks down on crime and never takes a break (sorry, aforementioned whiskey, you will simply have to wait).
In Safe Harbor, only one thing is guaranteed: the harbour will not be safe. Game of Thrones stars Alfie Allen and Jack Gleeson (who is near-unrecognisable with his ‘70s stache) join this fantastic thriller centred around the dangerous world of the Irish mafia, where drug trafficking and hard crime is just another Tuesday.
Brit Noir
The UK’s been at the forefront of Cosy Crime for so long, it’s easy to forget that they’re just as skilled when it comes to murders that don’t involve a stately manor or surprisingly death-prone village. Bent cops, violent hooligans, or just people trapped in situations where the only way out is murder: whether it’s on the mean streets of London, the bleak council estates scattered across the country, or the small towns with a dark heart, crime is on the prowl. Good thing there’s a steady flow of well-meaning do-gooders, drunken detectives, and police officers with frankly shocking private lives to tackle it head-on.
Rebus has been a mainstay of British crime television for decades, but this prequel – showing him as a young cop on the way up in Edinburgh – is a new, grittier take on the much-loved detective, taking us back to a time when his inner demons were still raging.
For more Brit Noir, check out these fantastic dramas:
Can't get enough of Noir? Dive into THE NOIRVEMBER COLLECTION at SBS On Demand:
