Movies Like Se7en That Crime Thriller Fans Need To See

Grim, foreboding, and openly loaded with symbolism, philosophy, and mythology, "Prisoners" is a tough ride to go on — but in structure, tone, and content, it's hands down one of the films out there that's the most like "Se7en."

It starts off as a relatively grounded crime thriller: Two little girls go missing over Thanksgiving. But then we get a detective named Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), who unravels the case to gradually reveal a "war on God" that involves labyrinths, snakes, and parental vengeance. The little girls' parents — especially one father, Keller, played by a defiantly uncharming Hugh Jackman — pursue their own horrific line of investigation. Keller remains convinced that Alex (Paul Dano), the intellectually disabled man the police initially arrested, is responsible for the girls' disappearance. His solution? Torture the information out of him, using a brutally simplistic, easily rigged system that will haunt the viewer. As Loki closes in on the truth, Keller's journey into his own heart of darkness leads him in similar directions ... but may play right into the kidnappers' hands.

Throw in some distinctive, starkly beautiful visuals and another killer ending, and you have a movie that's both nightmarish and memorable.