The Element of Crime
NR 1984 · 104 min · ★ 6.4 · Crime, Drama, Science Fiction
Fisher, an ex-detective, decides to take one final case when a mysterious serial killer claims the lives of several young girls. Fisher, unable to find the culprit, turns to Osbourne, a writer who was once respected for his contributions to the field of criminology. Fisher begins to use Osbourne's technique, which involves empathizing with serial killers; however, as the detective becomes increasingly engrossed in this method, things take a disturbing turn.
Directed by Lars von Trier · Written by Lars von Trier
Your Rating
Where to Watch
Cast
-
Michael Elphick Fisher -
Esmond Knight Osborne -
Me Me Lai Kim -
Jerold Wells Kramer -
Ahmed El Shenawi Therapist -
Astrid Henning-Jensen House Keeper - J Janos Hersko Coroner
-
Stig Larsson Coroner's Assistant - H Harry Harper Portier 1
- R Roman Moszkowicz Portier 2
-
Lars von Trier Schmuck of Ages - F Frederik Casby White Policeman
Make it a double feature
6h 19m togetherBoth from Lars von Trier.
More from Lars von TrierSee all →
Klovn · 2005Klovn
★ 8.42005
SeriesComedy
Klovn is a Danish sitcom, which first aired on the Danish TV channel TV2 Zulu. It focuses on the life of the main character Frank and Casper. The show builds its comedy around quiet everyday situations, social awkwardness, uncomfortable silences and general faux pas.
Klovn usually gets compared to the American sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm by Larry David. It’s also shot handheld, in a pseudo-realistic style. Some have also mistakenly compared the theme to Curb Your Enthusiasm’s, despite it being a direct reference to Jacques Tati’s Mr. Hulot movies. The poster for the first film can be seen in Casper and Frank’s offices throughout the series. Klovn initially ran 6 seasons on TV2 Zulu from 2005-2009 and was renewed with an additional 3 seasons that aired from 2018-2022.
Dancer in the Dark · 2000Dancer in the Dark
★ 7.82000
MovieDramaCrime
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her young son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life becomes increasingly difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
The Kingdom · 1994The Kingdom
★ 7.81994
MovieDramaFantasy
At The Kingdom, Denmark's most technologically advanced hospital, a number of strange and otherworldly events begin occurring, much to the dismay of its doctors and patients. A ghostly ambulance appears and disappears, the voice of a little girl calls to a patient in an elevator shaft, and a doctor's fetus begins growing at an alarming rate.
Dogville · 2003Dogville
★ 7.72003
MovieCrimeDrama
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
The Kingdom · 1994The Kingdom
★ 7.71994
SeriesComedyDrama
The Kingdom is the most technologically advanced hospital in Denmark, a gleaming bastion of medical science. A rash of uncanny occurrences, however, begins to weaken the staff's faith in science – a phantom ambulance pulls in every night, but disappears; voices echo in the elevator shaft; and a pregnant doctor's fetus seems to be developing much faster than is natural.
Breaking the Waves · 1996Breaking the Waves
★ 7.51996
MovieDramaRomance
In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.
Clandestine Summer · 1969Clandestine Summer
★ 7.51969
SeriesFamilyAction & Adventure
Summer vacation. But Lars remain in town for his parents must work. One day as he bikes around, he hears a scream from a garden.
A Royal Affair · 2012A Royal Affair
★ 7.32012
MovieDramaHistory
A young queen falls in love with her physician, and they start a revolution that changes their nation forever.
Europa · 1991Europa
★ 7.31991
MovieCrimeDrama
In 1945 Germany, following the end of World War II, Leopold Kessler, an American of German descent, is hired by his uncle as a sleeping car conductor on the Zentropa train line. Leopold's wish is to be neutral to the ongoing purges of loyalists by Allied forces and do what he can to help a hurting country, but ultimately finds himself being used by both sides.
Melancholia · 2011Melancholia
★ 7.12011
MovieDramaScience Fiction
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
The House That Jack Built · 2018The House That Jack Built
★ 7.12018
MovieDramaHorror
Failed architect, engineer and vicious murderer Jack narrates the details of some of his most elaborately orchestrated crimes, each of them a towering piece of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer for twelve years.
Manderlay · 2005Manderlay
★ 6.92005
MovieDrama
In 1933, a young woman and her father discover an Alabama plantation whose inhabitants live as if slavery had never been abolished. Feeling a sense of duty to those behind the heavy gates, she stays to liberate the people and see them through their first harvest. With four of her father's colleagues and a lawyer, she faces the daunting task of resurrecting the place known as Manderlay.
The Five Obstructions · 2003The Five Obstructions
★ 6.92003
MovieDocumentary
In 1967, experimental filmmaker Jorgen Leth created a striking short film, The Perfect Human, starring a man and women sitting in a box while a narrator poses questions about their relationship and humanity. Years later, Danish director Lars von Trier made a deal with Leth to remake his film five times, each under a different set of circumstances and with von Trier's strictly prescribed rules. As Leth completes each challenge, von Trier creates increasingly further elaborate stipulations.
Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital · 2004Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital
★ 6.92004
SeriesMysteryDrama
Kingdom is a hospital whose bizarre population includes a brilliant surgeon who lives in the basement, a nearly blind security guard and a nurse who regularly faints at the sight of blood. But when patients and staff hear the voice of a girl crying through the halls and a patient destined for life as a paraplegic miraculously recovers, they are dismissive of any suggestion of mysticism or unseen powers... at their own peril.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I · 2013Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
★ 6.82013
MovieDrama
A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II · 2013Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
★ 6.72013
MovieDramaMystery
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
More Like This
2 Days in the Valley · 19962 Days in the Valley
★ 6.21996
MovieComedyCrime
In a sleepy bedroom community of LA's San Fernando Valley, the murder of a professional athlete by two hit men sets into motion a chain of events that puts the mundane lives of a dozen residents on a collision course. This clever tale tells the story of two hit men, a mistress, a nurse, a vindictive ex-wife, a wealthy art dealer and his lovelorn assistant, a suicidal writer and his dog, and a bitter cop and his partner.
Red Corner · 1997Red Corner
★ 6.31997
MovieCrimeDrama
An American attorney on business in China, ends up wrongfully on trial for murder and his only key to innocence is a female defense lawyer from the country.
Fallen · 1998Fallen
★ 6.81998
MovieCrimeDrama
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Disturbing Behavior · 1998Disturbing Behavior
★ 5.81998
MovieMysteryHorror
Steve Clark is a newcomer in the town of Cradle Bay, and he quickly realizes that there's something odd about his high school classmates. The clique known as the "Blue Ribbons" are the eerie embodiment of academic excellence and clean living. But, like the rest of the town, they're a little too perfect. When Steve's rebellious friend Gavin mysteriously joins their ranks, Steve searches for the truth with fellow misfit Rachel.
The Edge · 1997The Edge
★ 6.91997
MovieActionAdventure
The plane carrying wealthy Charles Morse crashes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Together with the two other passengers, photographer Robert and assistant Stephen, Charles devises a plan to help them reach civilization. However, his biggest obstacle might not be the elements, or even the Kodiak bear stalking them -- it could be Robert, whom Charles suspects is having an affair with his wife and would not mind seeing him dead.
The Nameless · 1999The Nameless
★ 5.71999
MovieThrillerMystery
The mutilated body of a six year old girl is found in a water hole. The girl is identified as the missing daughter of Claudia. However, only two peices of evidence could be used to identify her; a bracelet with her name on it near the crime scene, and the fact that her right leg was three inches longer than her left. All other methods of identification were removed from her body. Five years later Claudia, now addicted to tranquilizers, receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her daughter, asking for her mother to come find her before 'they' kill her. Other mysterious clues show up, further indicating that Claudia's daughter is indeed still alive, and very much in danger. Claudia, a run-down ex-cop, and a parapsychology reporter put together the clues to discover Angela's whereabouts
The Wraith · 1986The Wraith
★ 6.41986
MovieActionScience Fiction
Packard Walsh and his motorized gang control and terrorize an Arizona desert town where they force drivers to drag-race so they can 'win' their vehicles. After Walsh beats the decent teenager Jamie Hankins to death after finding him with his girlfriend, a mysterious power creates Jake Kesey, an extremely cool motor-biker who has a car which is invincible. Jake befriends Jamie's girlfriend Keri Johnson, takes Jamie's sweet brother Bill under his wing and manages what Sheriff Loomis couldn't; eliminate Packard's criminal gang the hard way...
Very Bad Things · 1998Very Bad Things
★ 6.31998
MovieComedyCrime
Kyle Fisher has one last night to celebrate life as a single man before marrying Laura, so he sets out to Vegas with four of his best buddies. But a drug and alcohol filled night on the town with a stripper who goes all the way, turns into a cold night in the desert with shovels when the stripper goes all the way into a body bag after dying in their bathroom. And that's just the first of the bodies to pile up before Kyle can walk down the aisle...
Windstruck · 2004Windstruck
★ 7.12004
MovieComedyRomance
Kyung-jin, a police officer who finds herself chasing down a suspected bag-snatcher on her day off. However, the man she catches turns out to be Myungwoo, a passer-by who was himself trying to apprehend the real criminal.
U Turn · 1997U Turn
★ 6.61997
MovieCrimeDrama
When a desperate man’s car breaks down in a bizarre desert town while evading vengeful bookies, he becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle. Caught between a married couple, he’s faced with deadly contracts to kill them both.
Marked for Death · 1990Marked for Death
★ 6.11990
MovieActionCrime
Just retired from the Drug Enforcement Agency, John Hatcher returns to his hometown and quickly discovers that drugs have infiltrated his old neighborhood. Determined to drive the dealers out, Hatcher crosses paths with a ferocious Jamaican drug lord who vows that Hatcher and his family are now marked for death.
Ravenous · 1999Ravenous
★ 6.81999
MovieAdventureWestern
After arriving at his new, remote Army outpost, Capt. John Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.
A Simple Plan · 1998A Simple Plan
★ 7.21998
MovieCrimeDrama
Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.
The Honeymoon Killers · 1970The Honeymoon Killers
★ 6.51970
MovieCrimeDrama
Martha Beck, an obese nurse who is desperately lonely, joins a "correspondence club" and finds a romantic pen pal in Ray Fernandez. Martha falls hard for Ray, and is intent on sticking with him even when she discovers he's a con man who seduces lonely single women, kills them and then takes their money. She poses as Ray's sister and joins Ray on a wild killing spree, fueled by her lingering concern that Ray will leave her for one of his marks.
Animal · 2005Animal
★ 5.72005
MovieActionDrama
His name: infamous. His reputation: ruthless. But when James "Animal"Allen is locked up in a maximum security prison, he meets a revolutionary who changes his life. Now a reformed man, James is released only to find that his own son has assumed a life of crime and violence. Can a father haunted by his past redeem his family from the very streets he created, or will he be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice?
Born to Fight · 2004Born to Fight
★ 6.52004
MovieCrimeAction
When a remote Thai village is overrun by terrorists armed with a nuclear missile, an elite undercover operative leads the most unique fighting force ever assembled in a heroic bid to save their nation.
Nightcap · 2000Nightcap
★ 6.32000
MovieThrillerDrama
Mika, heiress to a Swiss chocolate company, is married to celebrated pianist André and stepmother to his son, Guillaume, whose mother died in a car wreck on his tenth birthday. Their lives are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Jeanne, a young woman who has learned she was almost switched with Guillaume at birth.
