# Recommend me some dark comedies and psychological thrillers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918 "2010-04-30T22:57:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/21 "2010-05-03T01:52:30Z")
Se7en ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/22 "2010-05-03T02:00:45Z")
Dark comedies: _Eating Raoul_, thirded _Hot Fuzz_ _The Ladykillers_ - both the original and the remake are very good, IMHO, although very different Psychological thrillers: _In the Line of Fire_ - Clint Eastwood is great as a Secret Service agent squaring off against a crazy-like-a-fox assassin (John Malkovich) _Notorious_ - One of Hitchcock’s very best _Se7en_, seconded ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/23 "2010-05-03T02:16:58Z")
Second _In Bruges_, simply amazing. It’s old and you’ve probably seen it but I love _Primal Fear_ – it’s not funny but it’s probably my favorite psychological thriller. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/24 "2010-05-03T02:30:44Z")
I watched _36 Hours_ recently. Interesting premise: James Garner is a WWII staff officer who knows the details of the upcoming D-Day invasion. He’s captured by the Germans. The Gestapo wants to torture him but one German says that he’ll resist torture so it’ll take too long and they’ll have to figure out what information he gives is true. Instead, this German sets up this fake American occupation base in the middle of Germany in order to convince Garner that it’s 1951 and the war is over - so he can talk about D-Day freely now. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/25 "2010-05-03T02:53:01Z")
(these may be too obvious, but for black comedy) \*Harold and Maude Wonder Boys Throw Momma From the Train Little Miss Sunshine Fargo\* and psychological thriller, _The Talented Mr. Ripley_ ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/26 "2010-05-03T03:19:44Z")
psychological thriller: **Final Analysis** - with Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, and Uma Thurman. Gere is a psychiatrist who becomes involved with a woman that he’s not sure he can trust. dark comedy: **Keeping Mum** - with Rowan Atkinson, Kristen Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, and Patrick Swayze. An English country pastor is having marital problems, their new nanny has a dark secret, and bad things start happening to some of the locals. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/27 "2010-05-03T04:00:44Z")
Lots of my all time favorites have already been mentioned in this thread! Let me recommend some of the early work of John Dahl: “Red Rock West” and “The Last Seduction.” Both are about people skirting the edge of the law; good people who are sucked into doing what they know isn’t the best of ideas, but they are desperate. I don’t know if either was \*intended \*to be funny, but I found them hilarious. And I don’t mean that as an insult; I mean it as high praise in the ability of the director to show the absurdity of life while also showing the tragedy. You laugh so you don’t cry. ETA: “Rounders,” another John Dahl film, also fits that mold of doing things against your better judgment to tragi-comic effect. Also - just about anything by David Lynch or the Coen Brothers can count as a dark comedy to me…TRM ETA again: hmmmm, both Dahl and Lynch hail from Montana. Something in the water? ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/28 "2010-05-03T04:38:40Z")
Hardly anyone I know has seen it, but for dark comedy I _love_ _Drop Dead Gorgeous_ ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/29 "2010-05-03T04:48:56Z")
_House of Cards_. Recently watched this on a Netflix recommendation, and enjoyed every minute of it. For what it’s worth, though–it’s not a movie, it’s a series (twelve episodes, across three BBC ‘series’). It’s not primarily a dark comedy–rather, it’s a political thriller. But Francis Urquhart, the main character, has a delightfully dark, wry wit that he frequently shares with the audience. Furthermore, he definitely commits a number of crimes throughout the course of the series. 😉 It’s absolutely worth it–Ian Richardson as FU is spectacular. I somehow managed to cheer for and against him simultaneously at several points in the show. Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/30 "2010-05-03T05:05:29Z")
A classic (that I haven’t seen in years): The Trouble with Harry. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/31 "2010-05-03T07:12:17Z")
Two dark comedies I’ll recommend: _ **U-Turn** _ - An Oliver Stone film with a star-studded cast. I never heard of it and rented it once. It will make you laugh out loud. \*\*\*Payback \*\*\*- One of my favorite Mel Gibson films. And it’s a very funny movie with a ton of quotable lines. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/32 "2010-05-03T13:20:19Z")
I’ll enthusiastically second _Payback_ (the ad slogan was, “Get ready to root for the bad guy”) and _House of Cards_ (Ian Richardson deserves every acting award on the planet for playing Urquhart, a deliciously evil, ambitious and amoral politico). There are two sequels, also starring Richardson, but IMHO the original is far superior. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/33 "2010-05-05T18:26:41Z")
I second: World’s Greatest Dad Death To Smoochy Keeping Mum And I also suggest: One Hour Photo…It is not a comedy but a creepy…hmmm I hesitate to use the word thriller. It is laid back but so interesting that the pace of the movie is steadily moving forward simply because Robin Williams is so damn good. I know, four of these movies star Robin Williams, can you tell I’m a fan? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/34 "2010-05-05T19:45:07Z")
Third on _Keeping Mum_. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/35 "2010-05-05T21:04:38Z")
**Freeway** - dark, messed up, funny as hell. It’s little red riding hood, if red’s mama was a speed whore and the wolf was a serial killer in California. And while I’m suggesting Reece Witherspoon movies, try **Election**. Also effed up and funny. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/36 "2010-05-05T21:13:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _The Ladykillers_ - both the original and the remake are very good, IMHO, although very different Seconded, on both counts. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/37 "2010-05-05T21:46:39Z")
_[A Simple Plan](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/simple_plan/)_. Everybody has a choice, to do the right thing. But only once - after that, they have no more choice. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/38 "2010-05-05T22:56:02Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@detop](#): > > > > I’ll see yours and raise you with _Arsenic and Old Lace_. > > Yeah, but the main chracter doesn’t really commit a crime in that one. > And he rather shamelessly overacts, to boot. However, the main character’s two aunts and his brother are all serial killers, which rather makes up for the lack of crime on the part of the central character. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/39 "2010-05-05T23:00:33Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > Hardly anyone I know has seen it, but for dark comedy I _love_ _Drop Dead Gorgeous_ Worth seeing for Kirsten Dunst’s tap dance alone! 😉 I don’t know if it counts as a comedy, but [_Zentropa_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_%28film%29) (a/k/a _Europa)_ is pretty dark, all right, like the whole thought process was, “How dark can we make this? No, darker! Darker!” [_Dr. Caligari_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Caligari_%28film%29) – no, not the 1920 silent Expressionist classic; the 1989 surreal what the fuck was that?! cult classic. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918/40 "2010-05-05T23:04:57Z")
Oh, and of course, [_Naked Lunch_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Lunch_%28film%29) (dark comedy, psych thriller, works either way). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dark-comedies-and-psychological-thrillers/537918.md?page=3)