Best South African crime movies

As a child, Ali Neuman narrowly escaped being murdered by Inkhata, a militant political party at war with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Only he and his mother survived the carnage of those years. But as with many survivors, the psychological scars remain.

A young South African boy from the Johannesburg ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster, leaves home as a child to get away from his helpless parents. Now a teenage thug, Tsotsi finds a baby in the back seat of a car he's just stolen. He decides that it is his responsibility to care for the infant and in the process learns that maybe the criminal life isn’t the best way.

After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.

Over the course of one fateful day, a corrupt businessman and his socialite wife race to save their daughter from a notorious crime lord.

When two corrupt police officers investigate the brutal murder of a young girl, tensions come to a head in their small, racially-segregated town.

This South African movie tracks the rise of a once-petty criminal to the heights of the criminal underworld. After cutting his teeth on hijacking, before moving onto bigger game, an ambitious man hits a setback when most of his gang are shot.

An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.

When an undercover cop is tasked with investigating a historic gold heist in Johannesburg, he’s forced to choose between his conscience and the law.

When his mistress threatens to expose the secret of their affair, a respected insurance broker seeks the help of his underworld brother to save his reputation.

Amandla is an anti-apartheid resistance slogan and means power. Apartheid in South Africa is still in full force when, in 1987, the two brothers Impi and Nkosana grew up on a farm as the sons of servants. The white owners are liberal people who aren't too particular about racial segregation. Black Africans have it relatively good there. Even a tender love bond develops between Impi and the blond daughter Elizabeth. But they have to be on their guard when neighboring farmers come to visit. When three racist upstart Boers arrive on the farm one day, tragic incidents occur with terrible consequences. The two Zulu boys are now on their own. Several years after surviving this childhood tragedy, the now grown brothers each find themselves on the opposing sides of the law. One is a gangster, the other is a police officer. A heinous gang crime tests their loyalty to one another.

When Chili Ncgobo, an honest but ambitious undercover cop, is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors, he infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.

In jail, a man discovers that he has a gift for telling stories and becomes the prison 'cinema' which earns him respect and status whilst his best friend becomes the concubine of the cell boss.

Two brothers are torn apart after they steal a bag of money and are hunted down by a ruthless killer.

Action-packed suspense thriller finds innocuous-looking purser Carter (Harris) the unlikely hero when the floating casino on which he works is hijacked by a heavily armed group of mercenaries, led by John Vernon. Complicating matters, a nuclear warhead has been smuggled aboard as collateral for a rendezvous with another ocean liner, loaded with gold bullion. A cast full of supernovas, dazzling set & stunt work, and a catchy theme tune by Jeff Wayne create a pleasing audio-visual experience light on logic but fast paced and entertaining nonetheless.

Wim and Kevin work at a laundromat. By day, things are boring, but when the sun sets they party in their clients’ clothes. During a party, they discover a chopped-off finger in a client’s suit’s jacket. The underhanded owner of the finger, his sons, and a ruthless traitor are hot on Wim and Kevin’s heels and have no regard for their safety.

Paul Taylor, a middle-aged man, is devastated after losing something that meant the world to him. He decides to give up everything and to go and teach at a reform school for young teens in the hope he would come to understand the criminal mind of a child.

An ex-soldier turned deliveryman is dragged into a local kingpin's bumbling gang to pull off a daring heist in an infamous South African township.

Abel is preparing for a special gift to himself on his 50th Birthday. He wants to find himself a new face, that of a beautiful young woman. Ella Nesser is the attractive, but inexperienced murder detective, in charge of the case to track down the serial killer who has been praying on the city's young woman. When Abel develops an obsession with not only her face, but also her tattooed skin - the Hunter becomes the Hunted.

New York City is in a panic caused by an insane murderer; Maria, a police officer is entrusted with the case; to do this, she pretends to be a prostitute. One night, she meets a possible suspect who holds her and her partner hostage.

Soccer player Senzo Meyiwa was a national hero before his killing shocked South Africa. Who did it, and why? This docuseries dives into the evidence.

When local soccer team The Eagles fall prey to a series of onslaughts from a mysterious gangster only a week before the championship final, the team turns to the one man that can help save their chances at victory – Joe Bullet (Ken Gampu). Joe will have to battle against villainous henchmen, escape booby-trap bombs and bring his martial arts expertise to the fore in order to survive an attack from a deadly assassin. In the end he will have to infiltrate the mysterious gangster’s hide-out in a dangerous cat-and-mouse rescue mission to save not only The Eagles’ two kidnapped star players, but that of his beautiful love interest, Beauty (Abigail Kubeka). The odds will be stacked against him, but he’s the man that fights crime, the man that no one can tie down! Joe Bullet!

The last time Hannetjie Stadler heard her daughter's voice was a voicemail as she called for help during a brutal murderous attack. In 2005 the popular tourist town of Knysna was shattered when two young women were murdered in a nightclub over a period of two months.

Oedipus and Punishment (2005) is an adaptation of a pre-existent sketch in Aryan Kaganof's early masterpiece Ten Monologues from the Lives of the Serial Killers (1994), which the auteur made when he still went by his birth name 'Ian Kerkhof.' The film features a monologue from American serial killer Edmund Kemper who is noted for his imposing size and high intelligence, standing 6 ft 9 inches (2.06 m) and weighing over 300 pounds (140 kg), and having an IQ in the 140 range – attributes that left his victims with little chance to overcome him.

A petty gangster inevitably becomes involved in the growing anti-apartheid struggle and is forced to choose between individual gain and a united stand against the system.

Snaaks Genoeg (Funny Enough) is an entertaining and poignant dark comedy, which explores the pain inflicted by humour on the average human being. The film, an original piece written and directed by David Moore, follows a down-and-out comedian (Casper de Vries) who drifts from one small town to another. Having alienated his audience with his crude comments and dirty humours, his popularity has faded. He hits the road fighting not only for survival, but also to find the spark he once had. He has been reduced to doing shows in small towns and working for food and accommodation. As he drifts from remote location to remote location, successful comedians are being kidnapped, tortured and murdered in bizarre ways, and he seems to be riding right into the centre of this storm.

A psycho college janitor threatens to start killing female students if he isn't given a million dollars.

After a well-executed jewelry store heist, two amateur thugs go on the run. But the police are not too far behind, and after a chase through the countryside, the thugs are apprehended - but only after they stash their loot in a clump of nearby bushes. When two best friends head off into the wilderness on a camping expedition together, luck seems to be on their side when they discover the hidden stash of diamonds.

When Kay Kay, a powerful, ruthless businessman sets out on a mission of revenge against two men accused of killing his brother, he strong-arms the local sheriff into forming a posse of thugs to aid in his vendetta.

Cops, Robbers and Bunny Chow - Loosely based on a true story about one of the biggest robberies in South African history. Brothers Ronnie (Jack Devnarain) and Jugs (Rahul Brijnath), two police man from Chatsworth, hatch a plot to seize 31 million rand from a cash deposit facility. Its high stakes when the cops are assigned to investigate their own heist.

When a highly trained bodyguard is hired to protect a wealthy businessman’s pampered daughter, he will have his work cut out for him. The beautiful young woman doesn’t want or believe she needs protection.

South African crime/comedy movie. Forced to spend the night at a creepy old holiday resort, two wannabe gangsters run into trouble when, unpacking the car, their box of cash splits open, spilling a million bucks in eye-catching bundles all over the driveway

A ragtag bunch of musicians are forced to rob a bank during the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival in the hope they will save their iconic, but in-debt nightclub in the Bo Kaap.

The police discover trace the perpetrators of a bank robbery to a group of organized criminals. The criminals attempt to use the sister of a deceased gang member to infiltrate the cops, but when she learns the gang was responsible for her brothers' death, she turns coat and assists the police in foiling the gang's plans.

This TV movie revolves around a husband and wife struggling to pay their debts while getting involved in thoughts about human trafficking. The plot follows the tension when two men are kidnapped and held as hostages, raising the question of whether they will escape or remain trapped. It's a gripping story that delves into the complexities of human trafficking and its impact on individuals. The film provides a dramatic exploration of the challenging realities of human trafficking.

Michael Cardiff is a professional revolutionary highly trained in a variety of techniques of assassination, infiltration and evading law enforcement. After escaping from prison he places identification items on a decomposed body to make him appear dead as he plans his revenge against the government. Cardiff uses his skills to murder a prominent judge making his death look like an accident in order to plant an improvised explosive device at his funeral attended by the movers and shakers of the regime. Only one non conformist police captain is on to his plans.

Steve is a zoologist who does research on poisonous snakes with the help of his friend Thabo. He and his wife Katrien are newly weds and very much in love but Steve's dangerous occupation casts a shadow over Katrien's happiness and causes tension between them. Sonja, an aspiring artist and Katrien's best friend, visits the couple and seeks inspiration for her paintings. She becomes aware of sinister undercurrents and a series of strange murders start feeding her anxiety. Will an unexpected discovery seal her fate?

‘Snuff film’ with a little boy witnessing a real life on-camera murder.

When a wealthy businessman’s wife is abducted by three thugs looking for a R20,000 ransom fee, the man will have to play a very clever game if he hopes to ever see his wife again.

The film deals with Zelida, an eccentric spinster, whose jewellery is stolen. She and her cousin use the insurance money to undertake a cruise from South Africa to Venice. She is completely unaware of the fact that a fellow passenger, an ambassador, actually is a detective. Meanwhile, the robber, his beautiful girlfriend and the looted jewels are on the same cruise ship. In addition, an orphan stowaway is making matters worse.

In an unstable African country, US psychiatrist Martin Cypher teams up with a street-smart poacher to save his patient and her uncle Kingsley, who runs a diamond mine, from some rebels led by white mercenaries, who took them for ransom.

When Mr. Dlamini, a wealthy businessman, and his wife, Gugu, fall victim to a trio of crooks seeking revenge and money, they are forced to flee to their beach house.

No overview found.

A nightclub singer must flee after being involved in a crime.