The 1990s were truly a golden age for inventive, gritty, and unforgettable films. Yet somehow, many of the quirky greats got lost in the sauce over the years. This can mainly be attributed to the bevy of more mainstream movies that dominate the 90s cinema conversation (Seven, Fight Club, L.A. Confidential, The Shawshank Redemption, etc.) — but the rare gems of the alternative filmic underworld need to be revisited and thoroughly enjoyed, all over again.

The noir film, mastered in the 1940s, is one of the cooler sub-genres of crime thrillers. While there was a glorious resurgence of noirs in the 80s and 90s, dubbed “neo-noirs,” the 2000s saw a brash rash of highly entertaining, gritty, and memorable films in this sultry subset.