Movies: Cleaning up after a murder

November 8, 2012 7:30 PM

Looking for movies where there is a suspenseful scene of one or two people cleaning up after a murder and/or concealing a body.

The scene should be tense and show regular people (not habitual gangsters/criminals) trying to avoid detection. Also, it should be an unplanned cleanup and not part of a premeditated crime. I am looking for mystery/suspense movies and not so much horror/gore.

Two examples would be China Moon (1994, Ed Harris and Madeline Stowe) and The Morning After (1986, Jane Fonda).

Can anyone think of others? Thank you.

posted by 99percentfake to media & arts (23 answers total)

Blood Simple
posted by ODiV at 7:43 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

TV show, not movie; but the second episode of Breaking Bad involves two novice murderers trying to wrangle the logistics of destroying a corpse.
posted by Greg Nog at 7:43 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Boy, that sounds like the whole premise of Rope.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:44 PM on November 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

Psycho has a great murder cleanup scene.
posted by The Deej at 7:46 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Very Bad Things.
posted by sacrifix at 7:50 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Shallow Grave," an excellent Scottish movie featuring a couple of unknowns like Christopher Eccleston and Ewan MacGregor. In this case, there was no murder, but the late man's property gave them a few hundred thousand reasons to vanish the corpse.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:58 PM on November 8, 2012 [11 favorites]

Two examples of concealing the body after a drug overdose:

Shallow Grave
Morvern Callar
posted by mochapickle at 7:59 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

And of course there's "Pulp Fiction," in which the murder and cleanup are played for comedy, but suspense is created by some circumstances of proximate characters.
posted by Sunburnt at 8:00 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Beautiful Creatures
Little Shop of Horrors, where the corpse starts out as premeditated but ends up being serendipity. Terrific scene of Seymour dragging Orrin down through the greasy alleys of Skid Row (and finding an axe!)
posted by mochapickle at 8:08 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Probably at least two of Pedro Almodovar's movies have scenes like you're looking for. Volver, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and I feel like maybe one more but for sure at least those two.
posted by TheTingTangTong at 8:18 PM on November 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Fargo, after the silent guy shoots the cop. Buscemi's character tries to drag the body out of sight before the approaching car drives by.
posted by JenMarie at 8:45 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Possibly not quite what you're after but....Eating Raoul?
posted by ninazer0 at 8:55 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Breaking bad had that scene where the decomposed corpse falls through the floor
posted by Mai2k3 at 9:39 PM on November 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

There was the scene in Deadwood where Powers Boothe's nasty character takes care of cleaning and covering up the murder to 3 prostitutes, television of course. There were certainly lots or throats slit in that show, seemed like at least one a week. Ian Mcshane usually stayed on top of stain removal in his joint. Boy was he good in that role.
posted by PaulBGoode at 11:05 PM on November 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Volver
posted by Right On Red at 4:23 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Lots of Coen Bros examples here, another one is Barton Fink.

Not exactly regular people though.
posted by Kiwi at 4:44 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Unfaithful with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Lots of other good suspenseful scenes too!
posted by prettymightyflighty at 5:07 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Frenzy
posted by katieanne at 6:52 AM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Pulp Fiction falls in the category only because the accidental shooting.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:09 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Unfaithful. Aww crud, too late. :D
posted by Glinn at 9:36 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

In the Bedroom.
posted by gatorae at 3:30 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think Diabolique qualifies (see the 1955 French original, not the US 1996 remake), although it is premeditated. It definitely meets your mystery/suspense preference, I can tell you that.
posted by pmurray63 at 9:43 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for all of these answers. Some of them I had seen but forgotten about! Plus some new ones to look up.

Barton Fink - ?
Beautiful Creatures
Blood Simple
Breaking Bad (TV show)
Deadwood (TV show) - premeditated?
Diabolique (1955 original) - premeditated but two people
Eating Raoul - ?
Fargo
Frenzy
In the Bedroom - premeditated but two people
Little Shop of Horrors - ?
Morvern Callar - overdose
Psycho - disposing of car w/ money
Pulp Fiction - nonsuspense
Rope - premeditated
Shallow Grave - hiding overdose
Unfaithful
Very Bad Things
Volver
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

plus now I remember:
Drugstore Cowboy - burying overdose
posted by 99percentfake at 7:36 AM on November 10, 2012