Movie

Clay Pigeons

1998 · 104 min

A wry, uneasy black comedy that keeps you off-balance with sudden violence and deadpan small-town absurdity.

Directed by: David Dobkin
Genres: Crime, Comedy, Drama
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo

Tagline: Lester Long never forgets a friend.
Overview: Clay is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend, Earl, kill himself because of the ongoing affair that Clay was having with the man's wife, Amanda. Feeling guilty, Clay now resists the widow when she presses him to continue with the affair. Clay unknowingly befriends a serial killer named Lester Long who murders the widow in an attempt to "help" his "fishing buddy."

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: Clay Pigeons

In the USNot loaded yet.

Directed by: David Dobkin
Genres: Crime, Comedy, Drama
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: darkstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 2 of 3
satiricalstrength 1 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: guilt
deception
isolation
crime
betrayal
Places: small town
countryside
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: twist ending
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language strong
Violence strong
Sex strong

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	3
Humour	5
Realism	7
Romance	2
Tension	6
Darkness	7
Complexity	5
Emotional weight	5

Titles like Clay Pigeons

Movie

Fargo

1996

A wry, snowbound crime story that balances quirky humor with sudden violence and a warm, pregnant detective's calm persistence.

Dark, cynical · about deception and crime · twist ending

Via: dark
cynical
deception
crime
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 98 min

Details

FargoHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Blood Simple

1984

A sweaty, slow-burning nightmare of mistrust and violence, full of tense set pieces and blackly funny touches.

Dark, cynical · about guilt and deception · twist ending

Via: dark
cynical
guilt
deception
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 97 min

Details

Blood SimpleHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Insomnia

2002

A slow, suffocating descent into guilt and sleeplessness, where endless daylight and moral compromise blur together.

Dark · about guilt and isolation · twist ending

Via: dark
guilt
isolation
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 118 min

Details

InsomniaHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Death of Dick Long

2019

A queasy, deadpan dive into small-town panic, mixing cringe comedy with creeping dread as a bizarre secret unravels.

Dark · about guilt and deception · twist ending

Via: dark
guilt
deception
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 100 min

Details

The Death of Dick LongHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Gone Girl

2014

A cold, gripping plunge into a poisonous marriage where every scene tightens the screw and nothing can be trusted.

Dark, cynical · about deception and betrayal · twist ending

Via: dark
cynical
deception
betrayal
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 149 min

Details

Gone GirlHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Last Seduction

1994

A sleek, nasty neo-noir that keeps you off-balance with its icy, manipulative protagonist and sharp, darkly funny twists.

Dark, cynical · about deception and crime · twist ending

Via: dark
cynical
deception
crime
twist ending
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 110 min

Details

The Last SeductionHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Misericordia

2024

A deadpan, quietly unsettling village noir where desire and guilt drift like fog, leaving you amused and unnerved in equal measure.

About guilt and deception · twist ending

Via: guilt
deception
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 104 min

Details

MisericordiaHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Bernie

2012

A wry, offbeat true-crime tale that balances small-town charm with unsettling obsession, told through gossipy interviews and a killer's disarming warmth.

Dark · about deception and isolation