01 Two families' beach holiday turns into a surreal standoff with a predatory resort corporation.
Directed by Sebastián Hofmann · 1h 36m
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Sky Store
10 Best Mexican Thrillers and Crime Films
By Vlad Zakh · January 26, 2026
Mexico Action intensethought provoking
Mexican crime cinema rarely glamourises the cartels and gangs it shows, favouring the people dragged into that world by accident who can’t find the way out. Museo recounts the audacious 1985 theft of Mayan artefacts from the national museum, After Lucia turns a grieving teenager’s new school into a bullying nightmare, and Time Share puts two families’ beach holiday into a surreal standoff. Sin Nombre, Heli, Miss Bala, I’m No Longer Here, The Chambermaid and 600 Miles round out the list.
01 
02 A fractured, dreamlike portrait of a family living outside Mexico City, deliberately hard to pin down.
Directed by Carlos Reygadas · 1h 55m · Rated NR
03 A grieving teenager's new school turns into a relentless bullying campaign that spirals out of control.
Directed by Michel Franco · 1h 43m
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
04 Two friends pull off a real, audacious 1985 theft of Mayan artefacts from Mexico City's national museum.
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios · 2h 06m
Where to watch
Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
05 A hotel maid's quiet routine exposes the invisible class line running through her workplace.
Directed by Lila Avilés · 1h 42m
Where to watch
Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, BFI Player, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Kino Film Collection, Kino Film Collection Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
06 A young gun smuggler kidnaps the ATF agent investigating him, and neither man knows how it will end.
Directed by Gabriel Ripstein · 1h 25m · Rated R
Where to watch
Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Buy: Sky Store
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
07 A teenager flees to New York after a rival gang targets his dance crew back home.
Directed by Luis Fernando Frías de la Parra · 1h 52m · Rated R
Where to watch
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix
08 A gang member and a migrant girl form an uneasy alliance while riding freight trains toward the US border.
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga · 1h 36m · Rated R
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent: Amazon Video
09 A stolen drug shipment drags one working-class family into brutal cartel retaliation.
Directed by Amat Escalante · 1h 45m · Rated NR
Where to watch
Stream: MUBI · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent: BFI Player · Buy: Apple TV Store
Stream: MUBI · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
10 A beauty pageant contestant is forced into working for a cartel after witnessing the wrong thing.
Directed by Gerardo Naranjo · 1h 53m · Rated R
Where to watch
Rent: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Stream: Beamafilm · Rent: Beamafilm
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
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