Subgenre Sampler
Rental > New Zealand > Suspense/Crime: 70 Films to Rent
- Muru (2022)
- Dir. Tearepa Kahi
Feat. Cliff Curtis, Jay Ryan, Manu Bennett…
- A riveting local action–thriller that boldly fictionalizes events surrounding the Nga Tuhoe raids of 2007.
Our finest actor Cliff Curtis…
- Coming Home in the Dark (2021)
- Dir. James Ashcroft
Feat. Miriama McDowell, Erik Thomson, Daniel Gillies…
- Not for the faint of heart, this Kiwi thriller is confrontingly grim yet takes the psycho–killer genre into thematic territory it rarely…
- Savage (2020)
- Dir. Sam Kelly
Feat. Jake Ryan, John Tui, Chelsie Preston-Crayford
- Powerful drama inspired by the history of NZ's gangs, following a young boy in three different stages of life from the 1960's to the 1980's, as he…
- Sounds, The (TV Mini-series) (2020)
- Dir. Peter Stebbings
Feat. Matt Whelen, Rachelle Lefevre, Matt Nable…
- Kiwi mystery drama series from writer Sarah–Kate Lynch (800 WORDS), about a Canadian couple who move to the Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere region in…
- This Town (2020)
- Dir. David White
Feat. Robyn Malcolm, Alice May Connolly, David White…
- Goofy small–town NZ rom–com about a socially awkward man (played by writer–director David White) who finds unlikely romance despite…
- Blue Moon (2019)
- Dir. Stefen Harris
Feat. Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Olivia Hadlow
- Shot on entirely on an iphone in and around a Motueka petrol station, this twisty thriller from enterprising indie Mainlander Stefen Harris follows a…
- Lowdown Dirty Criminals (2019)
- Dir. Paul Murphy
Feat. James Rolleston, Samuel Austin, Robbie Magasiva…
- Kiwi crime caper set in Wellington, with likeably formless best buddies Freddy (James Rolleston, THE BREAKER UPPERERS) and Marvin (newcomer Samuel…
- Bad Seed, The (TV Mini-series) (2018)
- Dir. Helena Brooks
Feat. Dean O'Gorman, Matt Minto, Madeleine Sami…
- Four–part New Zealand crime series based on the books by Charlotte Grimshaw telling the story of two brothers from a dysfunctional family with…
- Girl vs. Boy (TV Series) (2016)
- Feat. Will Robertson, Emma Draper, Courtney Abbot
- Kiwi romantic whodunit set in "The Bay", where an amateur detective takes it upon herself to solve the mystery behind the divisions in her tight knit…
- True New Zealand Crime Stories (How to Murder Your Wife; Monster of Mangatiti; Venus and Mars; Bloodlines; Siege) (2015)
- Dir. Riccardo Pellizzeri, John Laing, Peter Burger
Feat. Mark Mitchinson, Craig Hall, Sara Wiseman…
- How to Murder Your Wife: A black comedy based on the true story of Alfred Benning's outlandish attempts to murder his overbearing wife in 1977.…
- Brokenwood Mysteries, The (TV Series) (2014-2017)
- Feat. Neill Rea, Fern Sutherland
- A local stab at the ever popular murder mystery genre with this Kiwiana policier featuring two mismatched detectives investigating a series of…
- Cure, The (2014)
- Dir. David Gould
Feat. Antonia Prebble, Stephen Lovatt, John Bach…
- An American–accented medical thriller in which Antonia Prebble plays a scientist who discovers that the pharmaceutical company she works for is…
- Blue Rose, The (TV Series) (2013)
- Feat. Antonia Prebble, Siobhan Marshall, Jennifer Ludlam
- An inquisitive office temp (Prebble) learns that the woman she is replacing in a law firm has been murdered, and becomes obsessed with solving the…
- Harry (TV Series) (2013)
- Feat. Oscar Kightley, Sam Neill, Hunter Kamuhemu…
- Oscar Kightley plays a grieving South Auckland detective swamped by a series of armed robberies in this dark, authentic local policier, a welcome…
- Top of the Lake (TV Series) (2013)
- Dir. Jane Campion, Gerard Lee
Feat. Elisabeth Moss, Peter Mullan, David Wenham…
- An unnerving, atmosphere–rich 'feminist' policier from Australasian auteur Jane Campion, centred on the mystery of a 12–year–old…
- Safe House (2012)
- Feat. Errol Shand, Peter Elliot, Morgana O’Reilly…
- The infancy of witness protection in New Zealand is given a suspenseful retelling in this quality feature–length production from TVNZ's Sunday…
- Siege (2012)
- Feat. Mark Mitchinson, Joel Tobeck, Kirk Torrance
- Napier's recent siege crisis in which small–time cannabis grower Jan Molenaar barricaded himself in his home after shooting a Senior Constable…
- Bloodlines (2010)
- Dir. Peter Burger
Feat. Mark Mitchinson, Nathalie Boltt, Craig Hall…
- The intimidating Mark Mitchinson plays another hihg–profile Kiwi criminal in this solid tele–movie of South African–born,…
- Predicament (2010)
- Dir. Jason Stutter
Feat. Jemaine Clement, Heath Franklin, Hayden Frost…
- A macabre comic adventure of murder and blackmail in rural Taranaki in the 30's, this follows CAME A HOT FRIDAY, THE SCARECROW and PALLET ON THE…
- Stolen (2010)
- Dir. Britta Hawkins
Feat. Miriama Smith, Scott Wills, George Henare…
- TV thriller based on the real life 2002 kidnapping of Baby Kahu Durie, which saturated NZ media at the time. Held for $3 million ransom, the child…
- This is Not My Life (TV Series) (2010)
- Dir. Robert Sarkies
Feat. Charles Mesure, Tania Nolan, Ariana Brunet…
- Set in a fictional New Zealand town in the 2020s, this high–end Kiwi production runs with a number of well–worn science–fiction…
- Cult, The (TV Series) (2009)
- Feat. Renato Bartolomei, Latham Gaines, Danielle Cormack…
- A group of brainwashed cult members are desperate to escape the mysterious compound and its deranged leader they're imprisoned by in this ambitious…
- I'm Not Harry Jenson (2009)
- Dir. James Napier Robertson
Feat. Gareth Reeves, Ian Mune, Marshall Napier…
- Tensely conceived, enterprising Kiwi thriller finds a true crime novelist so deeply invested in the violent subject of his latest book, that he…
- Down By the Riverside (2007)
- Dir. Brad Davison, Marama Killen
Feat. Rebecca Trelease
- Stylised rural noir concerns the mystery of a notorious country house used for abortions in the 20s, and the subsequent investigation into its dark…
- Five (2007)
- Dir. Amit Tripuraneni
Feat. Richard Thompson
- Exploratory sophomore feature from the dir. of MEMORIES OF TOMORROW leeches the mind–bending surrealism of David Lynch to intriguing,…
- Tattooist, The (2007)
- Dir. Peter Burger
Feat. Jason Behr, Mia Blake, David Fane…
- A supernatural thriller that forges the disparate worlds of urban tattoo counter–culture with Samoan cultural taboo, Jason Behr plays an…
- When Night Falls (2007)
- Dir. Alex Galvin
Feat. Tania Nolan, Rosella Hart
- Creeping Wairarapa–set thriller fixed on two nurses holed up in a remote country house caring for a patient while trying to steer clear of a…
- You Move You Die (2007)
- Dir. Ketzal Sterling
Feat. Ketzal Sterling, Bruce Hopkins
- Ad hoc gangster thriller out of Auckland concerns a stolen engagement ring, and its ensuing recovery by a desperate fiancée and his posse of…
- Out of the Blue (Aramoana) (2006)
- Dir. Robert Sarkies
Feat. Karl Urban, Matthew Sunderland, Simon Ferry…
- A moving, uncomfortably harrowing account of New Zealand’s worst mass murder, bringing the trauma of 1990’s Aramoana massacre to the screen with…
- Luella Miller (2005)
- Dir. Dane Giraud
Feat. Sara Wiseman, Philip Brown, Sia Trokenheim
- Competent local drama set in a small country town, where quiet lifestyle and gentle intrigues are disrupted by the arrival of an enigmatic young…
- Fracture (2004)
- Dir. Larry Parr
Feat. Kate Elliot, Miranda Harcourt, Jennifer Ward-Lealand…
- An impressively staged adaptation of Maurice Gee's novel "Crime Story", set around two equally fractured families who enter each other's orbit after…
- In My Father's Den (2004)
- Dir. Brad McGann
Feat. Matthew MacFadyen, Emily Barclay, Miranda Otto…
- Achieving a new high watermark in production terms at least, this vivid New Zealand melodrama harnesses the complexities of Maurice Gee's…
- Memories of Tomorrow (2004)
- Dir. Amit Tripuraneni
Feat. Richard Thompson, Rachel Gilchrist, Ray Trickitt
- An artful psychological thriller set around a man's (Thompson) frustrating amnesia of a past which seemingly involves commando training and…
- Offensive Behaviour (2004)
- Dir. Patrick Gillies
- Amiable though underwritten exercise in Kiwi bad taste, revolving around one afternoon’s goings on in a block of flats.
The deviants inside…
- Back River Rd (2003)
- Dir. Peter Tait
- A roughly–hewn thriller set in the backroads of northern New Zealand, where various characters in the dope–growing scene vie for success.…
- For Good (2003)
- Dir. Stuart McKenzie
Feat. Michelle Langstone, Timothy Balme, Miranda Harcourt…
- Deserving of a wider audience, this assured and well–focused NZ feature debut belies its limited budget with a pertinent crime story executed…
- Nemesis Game (2003)
- Dir. Jesse Warn
Feat. Carly Pope, Ian McShane, Rena Owen
- Twisted, overly enigmatic thriller shot in New Zealand, that concerns a student's obsession with a high–stakes game of riddles.
Noticing…
- Perfect Strangers (2003)
- Dir. Gaylene Preston
Feat. Sam Neill, Rachael Blake, Joel Tobeck
- Thriller of possessive love, set effectively on the rugged coastline of New Zealand’s West Coast, that changes tack mid–way into blackly…
- Cupid's Prey (2002)
- Dir. Dale G. Bradley
Feat. Joanna Pacula
- Low end US production filmed in New Zealand, in which a young woman holidays with her boyfriend's troublesome family. Strictly run of the mill.
- Mataku (TV Series) (2002-2005)
- Dir. Michael Bennett, Peter Berger
Feat. Temuera Morrison
- A well–mounted anthology of contemporary one–off dramas, adapted from the unique and mystical world of Maori supernatural legends. The…
- Orphans and Angels (2002)
- Dir. Harold Brodie
Feat. Emmeline Hawthorne, Christopher Brown, Cal Wilson
- Risk–taking psychodrama set in a fairytale version of Auckland's seamy subcultures, and possibly NZ's most lurid excursion since ANGEL…
- Snakeskin (2001)
- Dir. Gillian Ashurst
Feat. Melanie Lynskey, Dean O'Gorman, Boyd Kestner…
- Searching for a little excitement in those hills due west of Christchurch, NZ, Melanie Lynsky and Dean O’Gorman are sucked into a series of private…
- Vector File, The (2001)
- Dir. Eliot Christopher
Feat. Casper Van Dien, Catherine Oxenberg
- A scientific–political thriller concerning a mutant strain of smallpox virus sought after by Russian bio–terrorists. B–grade…
- When Strangers Appear (Shearer's Breakfast) (2001)
- Dir. Scott Reynolds
Feat. Radha Mitchell, Barry Watson, Kevin Anderson…
- A piquant little thriller set at a lonely country rest–stop – Foxton standing in for Oregon – with dir. Reynold’s (HEAVEN, THE…
- Exposure (2000)
- Dir. David Blyth
Feat. Ron Silver, Alexandra Paul, Paul Gittins…
- Moody thriller about a former war photographer, now washed up doing nude shots in New Zealand, who becomes embroiled in a murder…
- Stickmen (2000)
- Dir. Hamish Rothwell
Feat. Robbie Magasiva, Scott Wills, Simone Kessell…
- A crowd–pleasing and assured sports–fetish movie, this doesn't shy from being dubbed 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Pool Cues', with its…
- Channeling Baby (1999)
- Dir. Christine Parker
Feat. Danielle Cormack, Kevin Smith
- 'First sight' romance between a blind pacifist and a shell–shocked soldier in the 70s ended in heartbreak after the tragic 'disappearance' of…
- Heaven (1999)
- Dir. Scott Reynolds
Feat. Martin Donovan, Joanna Going, Danny Edwards…
- Banished into virtual anonymity by Miramax studio indifference, we can only assume they found this 'arty' thriller too slippery to pigeonhole and…
- Scarfies (1999)
- Dir. Robert Sarkies
Feat. Neill Rea, Taika Waititi, Willa O'Neill…
- Kiwi icons – Dunedin, rugby, Flying Nun music, student life – upholster a formula but well–executed crime plot in which five…
- Lost Valley (1997)
- Dir. Dale G Bradley
Feat. Andrea Thompson, Meg Foster, Mandie Gillette…
- Straight–to–video local thriller concerning two backpackers (Meg Foster and Andrea Thompson) and their daughters (Mandie Gillette and…
- Last Tattoo, The (1995)
- Dir. John Reid
Feat. Kerry Fox, Rod Steiger, Robert Loggia…
- Kerry Fox stars in this American–Kiwi co–produced WW2 drama as a public health nurse who uncovers a murder mystery and conspiracy…
- Heavenly Creatures (1994)
- Dir. Peter Jackson
Feat. Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse
- Peter Jackson follows his zombie trilogy with this Oscar–nominated tour–de–force based on the Parker–Hulme murders of the…
- Jack Be Nimble (1993)
- Dir. Garth Maxwell
Feat. Alexis Arquette
- Alexis Arquette gets his American tongue around a Kiwi accent to portray an abused twin who finally reunites with his estranged sister. Though this…
- Returning, The (1991)
- Dir. John Day
Feat. Phillip Gordon, Alison Routledge, Max Cullen
- An enigmatic thriller following the fortunes of a high–strung attorney who inherits a rural homestead and finds himself drawn into an obsessive…
- Undercover (1990)
- Dir. Yvonne MacKay
Feat. William Brandt
- Telemovie depiction of the lifestyle of an undercover detective in NZ's drug underworld. A bit rough around the edges, but perhaps worth a look.
- Kitchen Sink (1989)
- Dir. Alison Maclean
Feat. Theresa Healy, Peter Tait, Anagretta Christian
- Three shorts from director Alison Maclean. Her 1989 award–winning Gothic horror is here paired with two earlier works, TALKBACK (1987), and the…
- Grasscutter, The (1988)
- Dir. Ian Mune
Feat. Terence Cooper, Joel Tobeck, Martin Maguire
- A new life and identity in Dunedin proves to be no escape for a former IRA gunman who gave evidence that put 23 fellow terrorists behind bars.…
- Short Takes: Dark Tales (1988-1994)
- Dir. Scott Reynolds, Simon Bare, Don McGlashan
- A choice selection of short and shady New Zealand films:
Game With No Rules (Dir. Scott Reynolds) 17m.
Eau De La Vie (Dir. Simon Bare) 13m.
The…
- Dangerous Orphans (1987)
- Dir. John Laing
Feat. Peter Stevens, Michael Hurst, Jennifer Ward-Lealand
- Three orphans act on their plan to avenge the death of their father but must undermine an elaborate crime ring to carry it out. With Peter Stevens,…
- Bridge to Nowhere (1986)
- Dir. Ian Mune
Feat. Bruno Lawrence
- Young backpackers go bush and find themselves in a conflict of survival with bad–egg Bruno Lawrence.
- Lost Tribe, The (1985)
- Dir. John Laing
Feat. John Bach, Darien Takle, Martyn Sanderson…
- John Bach's performance is the highlight of this mysterious drama in which he plays a man suspected of murdering his anthropologist brother who has…
- Mesmerized (1985)
- Dir. Michael Laughlin
Feat. Jodie Foster, John Lithgow, Michael Murphy…
- Jodie Foster plays a young woman in colonial NZ who flees an orphanage but finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage to a much older business man…
- Mr. Wrong (1985)
- Dir. Gaylene Preston
Feat. Heather Bolton
- A young woman acquires a Mark 2 Jaguar that appears to be harbouring the ghost a past owner. Some well executed thrills keep Heather Bolton…
- Should I Be Good or Should I Be Evil? (1985)
- Dir. Graham McLean
Feat. Beaver , Harry Lyon
- Musos Beaver and Harry Lyon from Hello Sailor have a bash at acting in a story based on the Mr Asia drug–ring. Music by Hammond Gamble.
- Trial Run (1984)
- Dir. Melanie Read
Feat. Annie Whittle
- Eerie occurences manifest into the worst nightmare for a wildlife photographer posted at an isolated cottage. Annie Whittle gives it heck as the…
- Next of Kin (1982)
- Dir. Tony Williams
Feat. Jacki Kerin, John Jarratt, Alex Scott
- Moody Australian haunted house flick about a young woman who inherits a retirement home possibly contaminated with a malevolent spirit. Not a classic…
- Scarecrow, The (1982)
- Dir. Sam Pillsbury
Feat. Jono Smith, Tracey Mann, Daniel McLaren…
- A fine film adaptation of Ronald Hugh Morrieson's classic New Zealand novel about a crazed killer who instills fear and paranoia in a small rural…
- Bad Blood (1981)
- Dir. Mike Newell
Feat. Jack Thompson, Carol Burns, Denis Lill
- A gripping drama based on the factual account of Stan Graham, who in 1941 murdered four policemen and sparked one of the greatest manhunts in New…
- Dead Kids (Strange Behaviour) (1981)
- Dir. Michael Laughlin
Feat. Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher
- Minor cult item concerning a series of nasty murders in a small town, which may be connected to a deranged scientist and his psychology experiments.…
- Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1980)
- Dir. John Laing
Feat. David Hemmings, John Hargreaves
- Probing account of events surrounding the much–publicised Crew murders that put an innocent farmer, Arthur Allan Thomas, behind bars for ten…