For better or worse, Andrew Dominik is on everyone’s lips following his long-anticipated Marilyn Monroe biopic starring Ana de Armas. Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ eponymous, if also widely disputed, 700-page novel, ‘Blonde’ trails the legendary actress’ trajectory from her troubled childhood, rise to stardom, and tragic death. Upon its world premiere at Venice, when it officially became Netflix’ first NC-17 rated release, the film let loose a firestorm of wrath, dividing critics and audiences alike for its controversial treatment of the blonde bombshell.

The heavy curtain of discourse has closely followed the film and the director for the past few months now, punctuated by an incendiary press tour during which Dominik didn’t exactly do himself any favors. With that being said, the film is bound to become one of the biggest awards contenders by Netflix and registered over 13.4 million views through its first week on streaming.

While the Hollywood gossip mill goes into overdrive, what better time than now to look back and go through Dominik’s already impressive body of work? A quick glance at his films reveal a few traits that ripple throughout most of his films: a penchant for artistic freedom, an obsession for notorious criminals and American idols, top-tier craftsmanship, and an unconditional love for Nick Cave. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

6. This Much I Know to be True (2022)

2022 has been quite an eventful year so far for Mr. Dominik. A few months prior to his hotly anticipated Netflix biopic, the director premiered his second documentary on Australian musician Nick Cave at the Berlin film festival (now available on Mubi). Though ‘This Much I Know to Be True’ can be thoroughly enjoyed in and for itself, it is strongly suggested to check out its lovely companion piece, the 2016 ‘One More Time with Feeling’ first.

Andrew Dominik, who famously used one of Nick Cave-penned songs ‘Release the Bats’ back in his 2000 debut film ‘Chopper’, plunges head-on into the artist’s mind, splitting its focus between Cave and fellow band member Warren Ellis. Shot on the heels of the pandemic, the central musical performances are all captured with dazzling camerawork and intimate detail, intertwined with extended conversation segments that venture on Cave and Ellis’ unique partnership, personal relationship, and unique creative thought process. Whether you’re already a devoted fan of the group or not, the evident passion that bleeds through both in front and behind the camera is enough to resonate with newcomers too.

5. Killing Them Softly (2012)

“America’s not a country. It’s a business. Now fucking pay me.”

Bookended by this bombshell of a monologue delivered by a pitch-perfect Brad Pitt, Andrew Dominik’s fatalistic crime caper is best described as a disconsolate indictment of corporate America. Set at the height of the 2008 Recession, the film plunges the viewer head-on into a crime-infested milieu of hit men, mobsters, illegal bookies, and petty robbers all paddling frantically to keep their head above the water.

Dominik uses a high-stakes poker game and a string of misunderstandings as the baseline to cast an unwavering eye on the systemic failings that continues to rot out North America, suggesting that bureaucratic inertia and corruption ripples through every structure of power, regardless of which side of the law it may stand on. Juxtaposing the ruthless ecosystem of underground mobsters with the callous practices of corporate America makes for a few wryly clever parallels. But the central thesis to the film, as compelling as it is on paper, is hammered ad nauseam throughout the film with the subtlety of a freight train. By the gazillion time Barack Obama’s campaign billboards and victory speeches loom in the background, Dominik’s persuasiveness wears off.

4. Chopper (2000)

A few minutes into Dominik’s irreverent feature-length debut, Mark “Chopper” Read, one of Australia’s most notorious criminals, describes himself as a “normal bloke who likes a bit of torture”.

Loosely adapted from his best-selling memoir book, ‘Chopper’ is a character study on a human dynamo with a rage boiling underneath and who’s incapable of walking the straight and narrow without fumbling himself — and everyone who crosses path with him — into chaotic predicaments. Though not as technically refined as his future outings, the film ticks off many of Dominik’s pet interests; most notably society’s inexorable obsession to celebrity and mythmaking — a thematic underpinning that would later on find a better expression in ‘Jesse James’ and ‘Blonde’.

The film suggests that its volatile protagonist acts the way he does — which is to say, as if the laws of man and nature didn’t apply to him — as a means of building a reputation. During a scene that occurs right after he’s repeatedly stabbed a fellow prison inmate, Chopper is handed a newspaper and, much to his delight, he sees a picture of his mug shot printed right on the front page. “Beethoven had his critics too, Keith,” he candidly says. “See if you can name three of them.” Though the film runs a bit out of steam during its second half, its sustained manic energy and darkly comic tone is enough to keep you engrossed all throughout. But if there’s someone truly holding the fort in this one, that’s Eric Bana, who spent two days living with the real Read and delivers a live-wire performance that rightfully put him on the map as a force to be reckoned with. As long as you tune in to its wavelength, this film is a riot.

If stealing is indeed the sign of a great artist, then Quentin Tarantino is by far the best of them all. In the past twenty years throughout a tenfold catalog, the former video store has littered his work with a barrage of nods, thinly-veiled homages, and shameless pastiches of everything from ’40s classic film noir, obscure B-movie slashers, to martial arts staples.

Having spent much of his early adulthood as a store clerk at the now defunct Video Archives in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles, Tarantino is perhaps the world’s most famous movie geek, boasting an encyclopedic knowledge of the seventh art that extends far beyond the widely-accepted canon of classics. Even long after becoming the poster boy of American independent cinema and one of the most popular directors in the last quarter century, the Tennessee-born filmmaker has continued to wax poetic about ‘70s exploitation movies, Hong Kong cinema, and underground classics.

The recently published ‘Cinema Speculation’, Tarantino’s long-awaited debut non-fiction book, is a joyously infectious love letter to cinema that goes through many of the films he first experienced growing up. On the heels of this special occasion, we’ve decided to pull from its passages as well as a plethora of interviews to round up ten stunners endorsed by the mastermind behind ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Kill Bill’.

1. Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, 1976)

Though often swept under the rug and dismissed as a sort of test run for the more refined, and widely revered 1982 ‘The Thing’, John Carpenter’s cabin fever thriller is nevertheless a delightfully exhilarating watch that retains its blistering power almost 50 years on.

Simmering tensions begin to boil around South Central L.A., after some dirty cops slaughter members of an interracial street gang, prompting a Highway Patrol officer, two criminals and a station secretary to join forces in an unlikely allegiance to fend off an all-out assault on a defunct police station. Shot for a meager $100,000, Carpenter’s film is a high-water mark in DIY filmmaking that echoed the runaway success of George Romero’s seminal zombie flick and in turn heavily inspired Tarantino’s debut. The latter claimed during an interview with Don Gibalevich he’d “follow Assault on Precinct 13’ wherever the hell it was playing”, and would later tip his hat to Carpenter’s cult classic in ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’, where Ernest Liu can be seen wearing a ‘Precinct 13’ tee.

2. Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 1977)

Revenge is a big thematic lynchpin that ripples across Tarantino’s entire oeuvre, a key ingredient burrowed deep into his directorial DNA, from ‘Kill Bill’ and ‘Django Unchained’ all the way to ‘Once Upon a Time’. It is no wonder then, that the Tennessee native fell head over heels in love with this gritty revenge-action penned by veteran screenwriter Paul Schrader. “Whenever I’d read it was playing at the Palace Theater, I’d take the bus to Long Beach just to see it”.

Out of the slew of hard-boiled revenge-action films to come out of the post-Vietnam era, John Flynn’s unsung masterpiece stands out as one of the finest, centering around a grizzled veteran (William Devane) who comes back from service as a hero only to be brutally attacked by two thugs upon his return. Tarantino not only listed the film among his 12 favorite films in the 2012 Sight & Sound poll, but named his own distribution company after it. “To me, it’s the greatest combo of action film and character study ever made. If you like revenge movies, this is the best revenge movie to see.”

3. The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956)

Throughout the decades, many have noted the striking similarities between Stanley Kubrick’s breakout hit and Tarantino’s 1992 directorial debut, two films that happen to revolve around an elaborate big-time heist that ultimately goes wrong in wildly unexpected ways, and which is cunningly told in non-linear fashion to keep viewers at arm’s length and leverage their expectations to great effect.

“[In ‘Reservoir Dogs’], I didn’t go out of my way to do a rip-off of ‘The Killing’, but I did think of it as my ‘Killing’, my take on that kind of heist,” told the director during an interview with the Seattle Times in 1992. Aficionados of Tarantino’s tongue-in-cheek debut, however, owe it to themselves to watch Sterling Hayden, Vince Edwards, and their colorful group of misfits meticulously hatch a plan to steal millions from a racetrack.

4. Coffy (Jack Hill, 1973)

“The film that just knocked my socks off the most was Coffy, from the moment she shot the guy in the head with the sawn-off shotgun and his head exploded like a watermelon!”

It is no secret that Quentin Tarantino has a soft spot for the low-budget ’70s blaxploitation cinema, an outspoken love that bleeds into the narrative style of his movies (most evidently ‘Django Unchained’ and ‘Jackie Brown’) and extends all the way back to the early seventies where he spent his afternoons venturing to the now-defunct Carson Twin Cinema in California.

Starring underground icon and future ‘Jackie Brown’ lead star Pam Grier as a vengeful nurse out to get revenge on the drug pushers and mobsters that have turned her sister into a dope fiend, ‘Coffy’ is an exhilarating, blood-spattered rollercoaster that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. Jack Hill’s cult film not only made the director’s top 10 in the 2002 Sight and Sound poll, but has also been screened on many occasions at Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in downtown L.A.

5. The Driver (Walter Hill, 1978)

It’s impossible to discuss this slick slice of neo-noir without acknowledging the influence it has wielded on an array of modern high-profile filmmakers, from Michael Mann (who emulated the neon-soaked, gritty atmosphere of L.A. in ‘Heat’ and ‘Collateral’) to Christopher Nolan (‘The Dark Knight’). Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Drive’ and Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’ are perhaps two of the biggest tentpole releases that have recently taken a cue from Ryan O’Neal’s stoic character—a professional, no-nonsense getaway driver who takes up gig jobs for a hefty cut and is perpetually chased by the police.

Quentin Tarantino ranks amongst the film’s biggest admirers, having mentioned it as one of the coolest movies of all time according to Wesley Clarkson. The director further discussed Walter Hill’s classic film in his latest book, noting how the point of this ‘Melville-like chase masterpiece’ is that the character is devoid of personality, “an aspect that the film’s lead, Ryan O’Neal, conveyed superbly”.

Science fiction has yielded many great films over the past decades, from arthouse cult classics to mainstream blockbusters. Whereas these films continue to attract large audiences, many independent sci-fi films have garnered much less attention. This list will shine a light on the lesser-known sci-films of the past 50 years, from Japan to France.

This list is not comprehensive, of course, so we’d love to hear which titles you’d have included.

1. The Face of Another (1966)

The Face of Another, directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and based on Kōbō Abe’s novel of the same name, tells the story of Okuyama (Tatsuya Nakadai), a burn victim who receives a brand new face in the shape of a realistic mask.

The film opens with Okuyama completely covered in bandages and wearing sunglasses — his face hidden from the camera. His wife (Machikō Kyo) now serves as his carer. Both pitying and fearing him, she shies away from his slightest touch, yet tends to his every need. Okuyama is rendered furious by his predicament, he berates his wife for the way she treats him and hates that his has been completely disfigured.

Okuyama is approached by a doctor who specialises in reconstructive surgery. The doctor offers cutting-edge surgery that consists of grafting a prosthetic mask onto Okuyama’s face. Okuyama reluctantly agrees.

Nakadai’s film is interested in the inherent link between mind and matter, face and identity. The Face of Another points to the physicalness of identity and presents the callous treatment to which people with disfigurements are subjected. Interspersed between Okuyama’s arc is the story of a young woman who has been disfigured during World War Two. Once beautiful, she is now considered repulsive due to her disfigurement. The film focuses on doubling, both as a visual motif and to point to the dichotomy of identities — Okuyama’s “real” burnt face and his new mask identity.

The Face of Another is a must-watch for fans of surgery horror. Nakadai’s film offers a more philosophical approach to the surgery horror genre, however, much like the equally brilliant Eyes Without a Face (1960). Both films portray the perceived loss of identity caused by disfigurement, and the subsequent effort to reclaim identity through surgery.

2. Seconds (1966)

Another surgery horror film, Seconds follows Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph), a banker who, going through a mid-life crisis, decides to change his face through plastic surgery. This surgery is performed by a clinic called “The Company.”

The surgery is known as a “rebirth”; in order to adopt a new identity, Arthur will need to fake his death beforehand. The surgery itself is much more extensive than the one undergone in The Face of Another. More than just fixing a mask to his face, doctor’s change his facial structure, his voice and even his fingerprints. The original Arthur is thus totally erased: Arthur becomes Tony Wilson (played by Rock Hudson).

The film is directed by John Frankenheimer, known for the Korean War film The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and action film Ronin (1992). Like The Manchurian Candidate, Seconds is notable for its use of paranoia throughout the film.

Throughout the film, Arthur/Tony is entirely at the mercy of the doctors operating on him. They treat him like a hostage at times, blindfolding and drugging him without his knowledge. The power wielded by the doctors raises questions surrounding medical ethics and authority.

3. Dark City (1998)

Whereas most audiences are aware of The Matrix, far fewer know about Dark City, a neo-noir sci-fi released the year prior. Much like The Matrix, Dark City focuses on the nature of reality, questioning the trustworthiness of perception.

Dark City, directed by Alex Proyas–known for The Crow (1998) and I, Robot (2009), is set in a city set perpetually at night. Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a bath without any memories. Next to him, however, is a dead body, leading him to think that he has committed murder. Murdoch cannot believe that he is a killer, so undergoes a journey to uncover his true identity. Through Murdoch’s journey, Proyas’ film explores the link between memory and identity.

Dark City offers beautiful set design, strikingly reminiscent of 1940s noirs but with a twisted, uncanny edge. The also has a great supporting cast, with Kiefer Sutherland giving a pitch-perfect camp performance of a mad doctor, Jennifer Connelly embodying the femme fatale, and Richard O’Brien (of Rocky Horror Picture Show fame) also bringing his dose of camp to the film.

4. Fantastic Planet (1973)

The only animated film on the list, Fantastic Planet takes place on an uncanny planet ruled by a race of gigantic blue beings called Traags. Humans, called Oms in the film, also live on the planet, but are either kept as pets or viciously hunted by the Traags. The humans who are not kept in domesticity are pushed to the outskirts of the planet, living in fear of the dominating Traag race.

The animated film is a French and Czechoslovakian co-production, with French animator René Laloux directing and co-writing and French artist Roland Topor co-writing and responsible for the production design. Animation took place in Prague.

With a score by Alain Goraguer, Fantastic Planet is rich with 1970s psychedelic funk and jazz. The film creates an eerily alluring atmosphere with its soundtrack and striking production design, combining beauty and haunting violence.

A poignant philosophical film, Fantastic Planet underlines the violence in domesticating animals considered inferior — humans are kept as playthings and violently reprimanded if they refuse to comply. The film depicts genocidal scenes in which humans are squashed like ants. Fantastic Planet forces its viewer to reconsider their relationship to other species and question inherited ideas of racial superiority.

5. Alphaville (1965)

Known for his pioneering of the French New Wave, Jean-Luc Goddard had a foray into science-fiction with his dystopian neo-noir Alphaville. Set in a remote corner of the galaxy, Alphaville depicts a city ruled by a tyrannical dictator, who uses mind control on the city’s inhabitants. Freedom of thought and speech are banned in the city, much in the vein of George Orwell’s 1984. The film follows Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine), a detective who is sent to Alphaville in order to find Alpha 60, the mind-control machine. Godard regular Anna Karina also stars in the film as the dictator’s daughter. As is often the case, she is a pure delight to watch on screen.

Though set in a dystopian future, Alphaville was filmed entirely in the streets of Paris, without the use of “futuristic” sets. Glass buildings, considered the height of architectural modernity at the time, were used instead to symbolise the modernity of the city.

Allusions to Nazi-controlled France abound in the film, pointing clearly to the Second World War’s impact on the director. Although he spent much of the war in Switzerland, he had to escape Paris at the beginning of the war. He did this with much difficulty.

Alphaville, much like 1984, serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of totalitarianism.

Science fiction movies provide at once a window into our past and a mesmerizing glimpse into the distant future; taking us to places and worlds all across the universe that exceed our imagination but speak to broader issues in our society.

In the hands of visionary directors such as Fritz Lang, Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, or Andrei Tarkovsky, the sci-fi genre has evoked mankind’s greatest hopes and darkest fears; imbuing generations upon generations of moviegoers with a sense of greater purpose in far-reaching explorations of the human condition and the unfathomable mysteries of the cosmos.

From the art deco skyscrapers of ‘Metropolis’, the congested dystopia seen in ‘Akira’, the smog-choked alleyways of ‘Blade Runner’, the barren wasteland of ‘Stalker’, or the dungy swamps of Dagobah where Luke Skywalker trains to become a Jedi in ‘Star Wars’—we’ve pulled from over a century of cinematic history to round up the 20 best sci-fi films of all time.

20. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

Mankind’s insatiable fascination with the great beyond is captured with mighty rapture in Spielberg’s heartfelt UFO classic, in which everyman line mechanic Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) drifts further and further apart from his family after catching a glimpse at forces beyond comprehension.

Few filmmakers have left a bigger mark on the sci-fi genre as Steven Spielberg, whose credentials include a handful of stone-cold classics that could’ve easily earned a place in the present list (‘E.T.’, ‘Minority Report’, and ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ come to mind). However, ’Close Encounters’ stands as the clearest, yet most mature, expression of his unique vision—a film that not only signaled the director’s nascent status as one of Hollywood’s preeminent voices, but also set the template for almost every first contact movie that followed.

19. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

Technological overdependence, bureaucratic inertia, and totalitarian oppression rear their ugly head in Terry Gilliam’s delightfully provocative dystopian parable, in which a downtrodden clerk named Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) unwittingly fumbles himself into a cacophony of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, state cover-ups, and massive corporate conspiracies.

At the intersection of Orwellian satire, idiosyncratic romance, retro-futuristic fantasy, and no-holds-barred political statement, ‘Brazil’ makes its anti-authoritarian tenor clear; playfully illustrating the dangers of conformity when technology goes awry. Bolstered by boundlessly inventive set designs and immersive world-building, Gilliam’s opus announced itself as one of the most prescient sci-fi movies of the late 20th century, growing more depressingly pertinent with each passing day.

18. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)

Speaking of bleak dystopias that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end by envisioning a near-future all too recognizable to our own, Alfonso Cuarón delivered one of the most gut-punching prognoses of the new millennium with this gloomy adaptation of PD James’ novel.

Lushly photographed by virtuoso cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, ‘Children of Men’ transports us to 2027 England, where entropy reigns supreme after a global fertility crisis pushes the world order all but to the brink of collapse. With no baby being born in the past 18 years and mankind’s survival hanging by a thread, disillusioned civil servant Theo (Clive Owen) takes it upon himself to smuggle a miraculously pregnant refugee all the way to a safe sanctuary at sea. Not to be missed.

17. The Matrix (Lilly & Lana Wachowski, 1999)

The Wachowskis ended the century on a high note with this frat boy staple, a film which single-handedly brought trench coats, wraparound shades, and black leather back in style while spawning an endless stream of barbershop talk and online chatter on the nature of existence, red-pilling and glitched simulations.

After being buried under popular acclaim and shamelessly ripped-off for almost 25 years now, it’s easy to forget how refreshing and provocative ‘The Matrix’ once felt. Set in the 22nd century, this cockeyed fusion of cyberpunk sci-fi, martial arts galore, thinly-veiled religious analogies, and dorm-room level philosophy instantly seeped into the broader cultural imagination. Three sequels and countless knockoffs later, the original ‘Matrix’ remains one of a kind.

16. Fantastic Planet (René Laloux, 1973)

Both as a brazenly courageous act of political activism and an insurmountable feat in hand-drawn animation, this trippy French classic retains its blistering power some 50 years after it was released. Brought to life by a team of Czech animators amid a Soviet invasion, ‘Fantastic Planet’ drops us in the bizarre planet of Ygam, where a blue giant race called the Draags subjugates a smaller and more primitive human race, the Oms; viciously hunting them down and reducing them to witless playthings.

At once wondrously imaginative and disarmingly unsettling, René Laloux’s psychedelic acid trip tears at the very fabric of colonization, genocide, racism, animal cruelty and oppression. Whether you’re looking for an assault to the senses that will engulf you at a purely sensory level, or a politically charged allegory that will challenge your preconceived notions about our world order, ‘Fantastic Planet’ will not disappoint.

15. The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)

In the past fifty years, few filmmakers have crossed genre boundaries and swerved around with such swaggering confidence as David Cronenberg’s. Having carved a perfect niche for himself in the eighties and nineties as the undisputed cinematic master of the flesh, the Canadian auteur cut a deep gash with this gnarly remake of Vincent Price’s 1958 monster flick, which briskly but chillingly conveys the extremities and fragility of the human body.

At once a campy romantic comedy and repulsive B-horror, ‘The Fly’ centers around an eccentric scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who gets a lot more than he bargained for while conducting some run tests for his revolutionary teleportation device. Deceptively simple yet surprisingly profound, Cronenberg’s film will make you ponder about your own mortality.

14. The Face of Another (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966)

Courtesy of Japanese iconoclast director Hiroshi Teshigahara comes this expertly crafted and endlessly thought-provoking existential exploration of the meaning of individuality and self-identity that casts an unwavering eye on our ever-alienating and soulless society.

Lacing its jabs on a despondent businessman (the great Tatsuya Nakadai) who’s burned and disfigured during a work-related accident, the film charts his descent into madness and diminishing sense of self; punctuated by an experimental face transplant he goes through in which he’s given a lifelike mask created from the mold of a stranger. This provides the character with an intriguing opportunity of assuming a new identity and perhaps a new life altogether and gives audiences a lot to chew on once the credits roll.

13. La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)

Past, present, and future collide and muddle together in this evocative meditation on memory, war, and the human soul, in which a prisoner living in a post-World War III Parisian bunker tries to navigate through the faint echoes of his own past, and perhaps, unlock the power to journey back and forth in time and space to simpler times.

Overturning convention and challenging traditional ideas of filmmaking, ‘La Jetée’ is as slippery as childhood memories and as ineffable as the inner workings of the human mind—composed entirely of still monochrome photographs loosely strung together by the basic concept of yearning. Though the film clocks in at a breezy 28 minutes, it is overflowing with images and sounds so arresting that can lodge into one’s mind for an entire lifetime.

12. Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004)

Time travel will never be the same once you plunge into this deliberately impenetrable yet endlessly riveting Möbius strip of a movie, in which a bootstrapping software engineer (Shane Carruth) and his best buddy (David Sullivan) take advantage of the revolutionary device they inadvertently build together in their basement.

Allegedly shot for a meager $7000, Shane Carruth’s brain-melter is an astounding feat of DIY filmmaking as well as one of the most grounded and cleverly constructed depictions of time travel ever put into celluloid; one that swerves around most of its well-trodden conceits and dares to grapple with the moral pickles and existential quandaries that come with it. If you don’t mind putting your brain through the wringer and rushing to Wikipedia plot synopsis once the credits roll, ‘Primer’ will make good on its high-concept promise.

11. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)

Not even the ongoing debasement of this once great IP (that went all downhill from here) can sour the sheer force and cinematic splendor of ‘Empire’, a stone-cold cultural touchstone whose shadow looms darkly over every summer blockbuster and sequel released in the past forty years.

There is little to add about what’s already been universally codified about the movie that breathed new life and expanded George Lucas’ galaxy by taking its mythos and tableau of characters into bold, unexpected directions. Darker, deeper, and richer than the original, ‘Empire’ improved upon the stew of Westerns, jidaigeki and space adventure serials by upping the stakes and reaching for the sublime. The result is a space adventure with heart, pathos, unmatched rewatchability, and the greatest rug pull of all time—one that’s been mythically embedded in our psyche ever since.

As cinefiles, it’s relatively easy to come up with a list of generally unfavored directors. But that’s too easy, and “punching down” isn’t what true film criticism is about. So in the interest of keeping things interesting, as well as fair, what about a list of the good films they’ve made? That’s significantly more interesting, and in an underdog kind of way, it’s important to give credit where due. Yes, even to Uwe Boll.

1. Event Horizon (1997, Paul W.S. Anderson)

Hot off the heels of the wildly successful Mortal Kombat film adaptation, director Paul W.S. Anderson and producing partner Jeremy Bolt earned the freedom to be more choosy about their next project. Although Paramount Pictures rushed production when James Cameron’s Titanic had been delayed, once again, it didn’t stop Anderson from making one of the 1990’s best sci-fi horror films.

Heavily inspired by the 1963 film ‘The Haunting,’ ‘Horizon’ dared to be a classic chamber-piece horror film, set in space. With Sam Neill and Lawrence Fishburne taking top billing, the film had some star power, but it seemed destined to be a cult favorite, as its darker themes and moody atmosphere narrowed wide appeal. Finding a second life on home video, Anderson’s film quickly gained a reputation for its eerie tone, nightmarish imagery, and exceptional art design. Anderson has gone on record to say the ship was fashioned out of a real cathedral, subconsciously tapping into gothic themes. It’s these baked in ideas that render the film more than just another sci-fi scare fest.

Fun Fact: The original 130-minute cut of the film contained extended footage of the Hellish torture dimension that we only see short glimpses of in the current print. It’s become a well-known bit of movie trivia. Anderson claimed he would love to release a director’s cut, but it’s up to Paramount to sanction it. The next best thing is Anderson and Bolt’s DVD commentary, which you should absolutely check out.

2. Rampage (2009, Uwe Boll)

Much like Ed Wood, Boll has become infamous through his notoriously bad films, especially his downright shameful video game adaptations. Has anyone seen Bloodrayne? Don’t. Although seeing Billy Zane pampered to look like a young prince, and Meatloaf’s horrendous wig of long blonde locks is admittedly entertaining. Instead, Taste of Cinema urges you to give at least one of his films a chance.

Rampage seemingly came out of nowhere, and what it lacked in fanfare/exposure, was made up for with its controversial narrative, and its rebellious “bad taste” humor. No, it’s not Fight Club, but it garnered a similar, albeit smaller “coolness” factor, which would attract a very particular type of crowd. There’s no denying it’s an irresponsible film, reveling in its pitch black themes of killing the weak and thinning the sheep. The “protagonist” (if you can call him that) literally runs around a small town, pumping rounds into unsuspecting locals, simply for existing. And yet, it’s competently made, and technically proficient.

Rampage is shot well, paced tightly, and criminally underrated actor Brendan Fletcher commands the lead role. Leave your morals at the door, and give this Boll film a shot.

3. Deep Blue Sea (1999, Renny Harlin)

Though not as “bad” as some of the others on this list, Renny Harlin certainly has had his fair share of duds. Anyone remember Driven? We barely do either. But how could anyone forget that late 90’s shark film, where Samuel L. Jackson gets chomped on right after a riveting speech? Deep Blue Sea is a buttery bag of popcorn, dripping with cheesy B movie greatness, and… LL Cool J! This isn’t “fine cinema” and doesn’t pretend to be. A total product of its time, ‘Deep’ thrives on the tried and true horror formula of picking off a large ensemble of characters one at a time. A young Thomas Jane is a perfect fit for the male lead, and leads the pack convincingly.

Furthermore, the special effects are impressive to this day. Sure, The CGI hasn’t aged so well, but every practical effect (and there are a lot look stellar. Harlin ensures there are plenty of “big movie” set pieces, too. One of the highlights is a flooding elevator shaft, with the finned beast circling below, getting ever closer to its prey. The combination of a sinking set, animatronic sharks, and CGI peppered in for the final touches, is a production triumph. Harlin may not have the best track record, but no one can take his action credibility away. He knows what he’s doing when things go boom.

4. The Lost Boys (1987, Joel Shchumacher)

Joel Schumacher is too easy of a target. We all know Batman & Robin is the biggest joke in comic book movie history, but do you really want to bash a director, who is now deceased, when we have The Lost Boys to thank him for? A product of its time, the Corey Feldman, Corey Haim vehicle is a nostalgic echo of late 80’s horror. More than that though, it’s just a really fun movie.

With a family-centric plot grounding things, Schumacher knows when to go loud, and when to pull back. Not to mention, the makeup and special effects are top notch. But it’s really the vibrant color palette that makes the whole thing pop. From the neon-soaked boardwalk of Santa Carla, to the high contrast blacks that practically shimmer off the leather costumes, The Lost Boys is a looker.

5. Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Irvine Kirshner)

With stinkers like Robocop 2, and Steven Segal film On Deadly Ground under his belt, it’s sometimes hard to believe Kirshner is the same man who directed what is arguably the best Star Wars film. Building on the characters set up in A New Hope, the anticipated sequel takes them to new heights, literally and figuratively.

‘Empire’ expanded the universe of Star Wars, adding now iconic characters like Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian. Of course, there are many who think Kirshner was more of an “organizer” rather than having much creative input. Regardless, it was his film to direct, and considering it’s widely referred to as the “fan favorite,” there’s little reason to believe he didn’t play a big part in that.

All in all, the past 22 years have been an excellent cinematic vintage that has yielded instantly-canonized masterpieces and a plethora of underrated movies that have slowly gained deeper resonance over time.

Having already surveyed the very best the horror genre had to offer, we thought we’d plug the gap by checking with his not-so-distant cousin, the thriller, and see how it has looked like since 2000. Serial killers, doppelgängers, cops, reporters, ex-cons, amnesiacs, and psychotic ballerinas—they’re all here in our definitive canon of movies that have managed to keep us on the edge of our seats since the turn of the millennium. Let us know what we got right and what we missed in the comments, and here’s to the next 22 years.

20. Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford, 2016)

Few moments in modern cinema are as genuinely nerve-racking as the highway scene in Tom Ford’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’. Conjuring up the stylized bloodshed of Nicolas Winding Refn, with ample doses of David Lynch and David Fincher for good measure, the former Gucci fashion designer crafted one of the intricately woven and poised thrillers to come out in the past decade.

Fiction and reality muddle together as we dive head-on into the fractured relationship between a successful L.A. art mogul (Amy Adams) and her vengeful ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal), who communicate with each other through the latter’s unpublished novel. Bolstered by tensely controlled performances, stunning cinematography, and brooding atmosphere, ‘Nocturnal Animals’ overcomes its narrative shortcomings to deliver an unnerving experience you’ll have a hard time shaking off.

19. Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004)

By the early aughts, nobody could question Michael Mann’s stature as one of America’s greatest living directors. Having established himself as the king of crime drama in the late 20th century, there was no doubt in everyone’s minds that he would deliver the goods with his next jaw-dropper.

The fates of a meek taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) and a cold-blooded hitman (Tom Cruise) intertwine in a nocturnal odyssey through L.A.’s criminal underworld, during which they’re forced to contend with each other’s conflicting philosophies. Deceptively simple in its premise, ‘Collateral’ is a first-rate popcorn movie full of twists and turns that nevertheless outgrows its well-trodden genre conceits. By casting the biggest movie star on the planet as a heartless assassin, the film also dares the viewer not to root for him—something that proves easier said than done.

18. Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky, 2010)

The initial hype and enthusiasm surrounding this five-time Oscar nominee may have been slightly dampened throughout the years by the slow realization of how clearly derivative it is. But if Aronofsky’s critical darling admittedly owes a big debt to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘The Double’ and Satoshi Kon’s ‘Perfect Blue’, it is so exquisitely engrossing and virtuosic in and of itself that such quibbles are needless.

A poignant meditation on the steep price of success and the agonies of artistic obsession, ‘Black Swan’ plunges deep into the dark recesses of a young ballerina’s fractured mind (a pitch-perfect Natalie Portman) in the lead-up to the premiere of her Swan Lake production. Though higher in style than substance, Aronofsky makes good on the promise of his show-off genius with a ravishing display of stylistic flourishes and visual panache.

17. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2017)

Rarely does a filmmaker of Yorgos Lanthimos’ sensibilities break into the mainstream and achieve cult status. However, if you’re looking for thrillers deliberately designed to get under your skin and keep you wondrously uncomfortable all throughout, the Greek provocateur’s work is always a safe bet.

Treading the line between pitch-black comedy, existential horror, and high-concept genre mash-up, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ plunges viewers into the dizzying depths of family strife in a domestic drama where a seemingly idyllic suburban household implodes from within after a fateful encounter. Steep in unsettling atmosphere, cluttered symbolism, and tonal idiosyncrasy, ‘Sacred Deer’ refuses to let viewers off the hook; digging its claws into them before going right for the jugular with a blood-curling climax that will give you chills for years to come.

16. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)

The evil specters of France’s colonial past and the 1961 Paris massacre haunt this wonderfully warped examination of collective guilt in which a successful TV host (Daniel Auteuil) is forced to confront his past after finding a series of surveillance tapes on his front porch.

This intriguing set-up serves as a jumping-off point for Austrian iconoclast Michael Haneke to cast a defiant eye over bourgeoisie complacency, blind privilege, and self-delusional amnesia, and put the collective French consciousness under the microscope. In pure Haneke tradition, ‘Caché’ laces its critical jabs with genuine menace and pulls no punches to get its incisive points across. Many of its scorching questions will linger with you for a long time.

15. Good Time (Josh & Benny Safdie, 2017)

Rightfully remembered as the film that kickstarted the Robert Pattinson renaissance by providing the former teenage heartthrob with his post-Twilight era breakout role, this candy-coated crime chiller courtesy of the Safdie Brothers comes at you thick and fast.

Unfolding at a frantic pace over one tumultuous night across the five boroughs, the film charts the feverish endeavors of Connie—a manipulative lowlife addicted to trouble—as he glides around the Big Apple to rescue his brother (Benny Safdie) away from police custody. This ignites a cacophony of misunderstandings, double-crosses, and cruel twists of fate with the Safdies’ fingerprints smeared all over it—which is to say, a dazzling assault on the senses deliberately conceived to put the lead character, as well as the audience, through the wringer for 100 emotionally-fraught minutes.

14. Irréversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)

Throughout the years, Argentinian enfant terrible Gaspar Noé has garnered a global reputation for pushing boundaries and swerving around accepted norms, mingling grand intentions and sadistic inadequacy in almost equal measure. The director cut a deep gash with this incendiary, no-holds-barred thriller that split fans and critics for its disturbing violence, but which still remains his most ambitious experiment in style.

Chronicling the tragic events of one dire Parisian night in reverse-chronological order, ‘Irréversible’ toes the line of miserabilism to examine the inexorable stranglehold of fate, and how our lives continue to be governed by its cruel twists. You’ll certainly need a strong stomach for this ride, but as long as you can weather it, this French film will give you a lot to chew on.

13. Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)

Peerless international stardom might have evaded director Bong Joon-ho until ‘Parasite’ took the world by storm in 2019, but the Korean maestro had already established himself as a force to be reckoned with back in his sophomore effort.

In the tradition of ‘All the President’s Men’, with its weighty sense of fatalism albeit nothing resembling its cathartic resolution, ‘Memories of Murder’ reinvents the crime procedural with radical confidence—thrusting viewers in the middle of a labyrinthine crime investigation full of false leads and dead-ends. Comparisons to David Fincher’s ‘Zodiac’ (more on that film later) are not without merit given their thematic and real-life echoes yet feel somewhat reductive. Make no mistake; what Bong achieved here was a genre-splicing juggernaut that manages to be its own beast and stands tall as a milestone in the genre.

12. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)

A desperate runaway named Grace (Nicole Kidman) finds shelter in a secluded, small-town shortly after being pursued by criminals, but gets a lot more than she bargained for during her stay.

At the interjection between feature film and theater play, ‘Dogville’ may be the closest cinema will ever get to encompassing the unsavory implications of collective hatred and groupthink morality directly into celluloid. The banality of evil, greed, and oppression—how it’s exerted, enacted, systematized and narrativized—are the dramatic linchpins in Lars von Trier’s opus. Visceral, repulsive, misanthropist, obnoxious… The Danish director might not always hit the mark with his films, but once you tune in to his twisted wavelength, you’ll find a bitterly revelatory text here: a revolting indictment of herd mentality that cunningly leverages our expectations to stunning effect.

11. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)

Paranoia and obsession are at the forefront in this seminal thriller, in which David Fincher weaves through decades-worth of real-life investigation on the eponymous unidentified serial killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the late sixties and seventies. Much like many other of his films, the genius of ‘Zodiac’ is that the filmmaker knows better than to patronize its audience with naive platitudes or moral certainties. We live in a crooked world full of crooked people, and when it’s all said and done, justice and happy endings are two things one shouldn’t hold out for.

For the heroic characters we follow for a little over 2-and-a-half hours, lack of closure is the ultimate punishment; an unbearable reality that keeps eating them away. ‘Zodiac’ is still a hard pill to swallow for viewers—more so when you remind yourself that what you just watched isn’t pulp entertainment but a dark page in our history.

Independent film in America got its start way back in the 1950s. But it wasn’t until the 90s that it became a vehicle for filmmakers and actors to catapult themselves into the mainstream. This was in part due to the help of the Sundance Film Festival. The Utah-based festival quickly became the mecca for independent cinema in America and enabled their selections to get a wider audience. During the decade, filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Rodriguez, the Coen brothers, and many more turned themselves into household names.

Indie hits like Raising Arizona, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Reservoir Dogs, Clerks, and Dazed and Confused became instant classics and convinced the industry to fund more projects of this ilk. But not every indie film of the period has survived the test of time. In fact, not even every great film of the period has. Many 90s indie films were quickly forgotten or never got the acclaim they deserved. Let me tell you about ten of them.

1. Sink or Swim (1990, Su Friedrich)

We’ll start at the very beginning of the decade. Su Friedrich was never going to be a Hollywood filmmaker, and she was never interested in being one. The Connecticut-born artist made her first short when she was 24 years old, and as she worked on her craft, began to receive more and more buzz and recognition in art circles for her work. The way she combined aspects of narrative, documentary, and experimental cinema to deal with such verboten subject matter as homosexuality and gender roles in America was eye-catching. She soon became a celebrated artist.

In 35 years, Friedrich made eighteen films. Most of which were made with an almost nonexistent budget. Sink or Swim, her 1990 48-minute long film, is probably her greatest work. The film is divided into twenty-six chapters. Each one tells a short story through narration, paired with asynchronous footage that vaguely relates to the narration. As the film progresses, one slowly starts to see a story emerging. Through seemingly unrelated scenes, Friedrich brings to life the relationship between a girl and her father. Of course, this is the story of Friedrich and her own father.

If there’s anything that the 90s independent film movement proved is that you can make a film about anything, especially about yourself. Much of Friedrich’s cinema delves into her own past and psyche, and it’s what in turn makes it so emotive. Combine that with extremely original editing that plays with the free association of images and a powerful script, and you get an avant-garde masterpiece.

The formal complexity of Friedrich’s film has cemented its place in the canon of experimental cinema and made it part of many film schools’ curriculums. In 2015 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Although most film lovers aren’t aware of her existence, it’s great to see an innovative and virtuoso filmmaker like Friedrich get recognized for her talent.

2. Poison (1991, Todd Haynes)

Haynes already had a reputation before his first feature, Poison, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 1987, while still a student at Bard College, he made a short based on the life of the deceased pop singer Karen Carpenter, using Barbie dolls as actors. The film explicitly portrays Carpenter’s eating disorders and her toxic relationship with her family. Haynes used music from the Carpenter’s discography, which prompted a lawsuit from Karen’s brother Richard, who was also part of the band.

To this day, the film can’t be viewed by the public, although bootleg copies are constantly popping up on the internet. So Haynes was already dipping his toes into film fame when Poison was slated to play in Sundance, After it did, he was fully plunged into it. Poison won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and turned its filmmaker into a cinematic maverick.

The film is made up of three intercut stories, each of a different genre. One is about a boy who shoots his abusive father and disappears. It’s presented as a documentary tabloid TV episode. The second one introduces us to a cooky scientist who isolates the “elixir of human sexuality” and after drinking it he transforms into a monster. It’s presented like a 60s exploitation horror film. Finally, the third one tells the story of two homosexual prison inmates, a part adaptation of Jean Genet’s Miracle of the Rose. It was Haynes’ first collaboration with producer Christine Vachon, who would go on to produce all of his films.

The film was in part controversial for containing a gay sex scene and multiple references to homosexuality and AIDS. Since Haynes made it partly with the money from a government grant, a lot of conservatives were not pleased. When it played in Sundance, America was in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to Seth Abramovich from The Hollywood Reporter. “Along with Paris Is Burning, which took top documentary honors at Sundance that year, Poison is credited with kick-starting the New Queer Cinema movement.”

During the 90s, Haynes and other LGBT filmmakers like Gregg Araki, Gus Van Sant, and Tom Kalin made films that often unapologetically portrayed gay sex and portrayed heterosexual culture negatively. It’s easy for Poison’s story and controversy to overshadow the film itself, which is undoubtedly underrated when it comes to Haynes’ filmography and the overall indie movement. Haynes’ use of symbolism, technical skill, and complete directorial command make Poison a must-see. From this film alone one can see the immense potential Haynes has gone on to fulfill as a filmmaker.

3. A Little Stiff (1991, Caveh Zahedi)

Zahedi’s film also played at 1991’s Sundance Film Festival, but with a completely different reception from Poison’s. Zahedi recalls seeing multiple people walk out halfway through. “They were bored!” he said in a recent interview. But for a film made by students with a minimal budget, the fact that it even got into festivals is a laudable feat. “I never expected it to go to Sundance,” Zahedi admits. “I knew it was a really great film but I wasn’t thinking about audiences or distribution while making it. It’s a very quiet and very subtle film. It played with Poison, and I remember thinking ‘that’s the kind of film that wins awards’”.

Zahedi’s film truly has had a hard time getting seen. It was picked up by Strand Release in the 90s but only played for a night, and it later briefly played on German television. But it has never gotten the distribution apt for a film of its caliber. Indeed, audiences don’t generally swarm to watch B&W experimental docudramas, but the emotional subtlety and technical skill present in A Little Stiff make it a must-watch. Zahedi made the film while still a student, and the people in the film, including Zahedi, play themselves.

The film is a reenactment of a crush Zahedi had on an art student at his school. According to him, almost everything in the film happened in reality. This is interesting to fathom when one sees the natural hilarity and quirkiness the film is full of. Zahedi continued his filmmaking exploits and has been working for almost thirty years. Many of his films deal also portray aspects of his personal life and include reenactments. According to him, “Whenever I try to play a character that isn’t me it feels really fake. There’s something about reality that’s really true, something that’s really unpredictable. When you start to make things up is when things get predictable.” Zahedi’s work was never going to be mainstream, but the fact that something as interesting as A Little Stiff has less than 200 ratings on IMDb just goes to show that the history of film is full of diamonds in the rough.

4. Queen of Diamonds (1991, Nina Menkes)

Menkes’ debut feature is one of the most clever critiques of capitalism ever put on film. She made the film on a minimal budget and shot on location in Las Vegas. What better place to personify the soullessness of capitalism? Writer Christopher Moore describes Sin City as a place “where you go if you want to f*ck up your life and you don’t have a lot of time to do it in”, (Moore, Coyote Blue). Menkes seems to agree with that statement.

Queen of Diamonds follows Fridaus played by Tinka Menkes, the director’s sister, a blackjack dealer being suffocated by the world around her. Throughout the series of long takes that make up the film, Menkes displays full control of screen language and filmmaking techniques. Her film unravels through repetition, by this she manages to perfectly characterize the tedium Fridaus feels towards her condition. However, Menkes never makes direct judgments, she instead presents us with the facts and leaves us to figure out what it all means.

This is partly why the film succeeds, it’s so subtle yet so effective at developing its ideas. As well-made as it is, it’s not surprising that the film has never seen notoriety. It’s a very challenging film that demands the viewer’s patience. But that patience is definitely rewarded by the creativity and power the film abounds with. Queen of Diamonds currently has a mere 243 ratings on IMDb, and an overall rating of 6.3/10. This probably makes it the least well-rated film on this list, and many will agree that it deserves much more attention.

5. The Indian Runner (1991, Sean Penn)

Sean Penn is one of the most famous American actors of the last 40 years. But many people don’t know that he’s also had a successful career as a director. Considering how strong his debut, The Indian Runner, is, this comes as no surprise. Penn’s film is one of the films on this list with the highest budget, at around 7 million dollars. That it only made 200,000 at the box office is just the beginning of this film’s disappointing legacy. Penn wrote the screenplay and managed to get it picked up by producer Thom Mount.

The film was never going to be a box-office hit, it was initially rejected by producers because the story was not “satisfying” in a Hollywood way. The Indian Runner is set in 1960s Nebraska and stars Viggo Mortensen and David Morse as two brothers on the opposite side of the law. Morse’s Joe is a deputy sheriff in a small town, and his brother Frank (Mortensen) is an ex-con and criminal. Mortensen’s character is also a Vietnam veteran, and part of the film’s critique is directed toward American society’s inability to socially reincorporate veterans.

The film is an interesting portrait of masculinity and midwestern American values, and it does a great job portraying 60s Nebraska. Morse and Mortensen give great performances, and the supporting cast led by Patricia Arquette and Hollywood legends Charles Bronson, Dennis Hopper, and Sandy Dennis shines as well. It’s an intense character study that was generally well-received but has since faded into the past. The film has a 6.9/10 rating on IMDb, and 3.4/5 on Letterboxd. While these aren’t technically bad reviews, it’s definitely a bit low for what the film manages to achieve. Some of the filmmaking techniques might be a little dated, but Mortensen, Morse, the supporting cast, and the excellent pacing make this one another surprisingly good 90s indie flick.

Horror is a tricky genre, especially in cinema. Some films terrify the audience, while others fail in scaring the viewers, instead making them laugh. Some directors drift into the genre from time to time, while others build their careers on providing the cinema goers with a certain level of thrills.

It seems obvious that directors who are not specialists in the genre may fail in their attempts to scare the genre aficionados. Directors who made their name making horror movies manage to provide the viewers with quality fright. But, sometimes, even masters of horror can fail with their flicks. There can be many reasons behind that. Sometimes directors are just exhausted. Sometimes the misfire can be blamed on the interference of studio executives. Regardless of that, being a master of horror doesn’t guarantee that your next feature won’t turn out to be a misfire.

1. The Guardian (1990) directed by William Friedkin

William Friedkin is not strictly a horror movie director, but he made his name, while not exclusively but largely, by directing “The Exorcist” (1973). This landmark work can be blamed for his next film “Sorcerer” (1977) flopping at the box office, and for all the problems with “The Guardian”.

The movie is based on Dan Greenburg’s novel “The Nanny”. Sam Raimi had been originally attached to direct the film but withdrew from the project due to scheduling conflicts. Then Universal Pictures opted to hire William Friedkin. Steven Volk, who wrote the original script that was suitable for Sam Raimi’s tongue-in-cheek manner, tried rewriting the script to make it a supernatural horror film, but Friedkin dismissed the idea.

The screenplay was rewritten the second time, this time being closer to the source material: about a demented nanny who steals children. But Universal Pictures objected to the idea, believing that this movie would gain more success as a supernatural horror movie by the director who shocked the world with “The Exorcist”.

According to Jenny Seagrove, the star of the film, the script was changing all the time, which did contribute to the messy final product. In the end, the viewers were exposed to a half-baked horror movie partly inspired by Druid mythology.

At a running time of 92 minutes, the movie has no place to breathe. It looks just like any random direct-to-video horror movie from the early 1990s, but not like a work from the director who brought you “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist”. When you realize that it was directed by William Friedkin, you may get the feeling that you are probably watching some strange cut of the film, with approximately one hour being edited out. Although Friedkin’s filmography is full of hits and misses, “The Guardian” will probably remain one of the biggest misfires of his career.

While the film has a cult following, Friedkin, in a retrospect, said the following about “The Guardian”: “…I don’t think [it] works”.

2. My Soul To Take (2010) directed by Wes Craven

Wes Craven has provided moviegoers with a vast array of memorable horror films. From the chilling re-imagining of Ingmar Bergman’s “The Virgin Spring” (1960) in “The Last House on the Left” (1972) to a brutal re-imagining of a Scottish legend in “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977). Later, Craven reshaped the slasher genre with “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), which introduced audiences to one of the most memorable antagonists in the history of cinema – Fred Kruger. Craven managed to reshape the genre once again with “Scream” (1996), which parodied the typical slasher movie tropes. That has been said. While Craven’s filmography includes more than twenty films, he is mostly known for “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Scream”. The rest of his filmography is more or less obscure.

In 2010 “My Soul to Take” was released to a commercial disappointment and a slew of negative reviews. Despite all that, Wes Craven was still proud of his film. And it is easy to understand both the viewers and the director.

Although Craven had directed more than ten films from the early 1990s to his death in 2015, “My Soul to Take” was the first film in 15 years that Craven not only directed but wrote. And you can see that the movie has very much in common with “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. But viewers hated it because the movie was reductive and didn’t have patience. Within the first eight minutes of the film, at least ten people die, and then the viewers learn that it’s only the prologue.

The movie fails to provide the viewers with memorable and likable characters. The antagonist is boring, and his story is presented hastily. In the end, the viewer may get the feeling that they are watching a half-baked version of “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. Maybe viewers can forgive other directors for ripping off Craven’s work, but it is impossible to forgive the master for ripping off his own films.

3. Djinn (2013) directed by Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper took cinema by storm with “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974), which became one of the most influential and the most profitable horror films of all time. He is also known for “Poltergeist” (1982), which received three Academy Award nominations. He also directed “The Funhouse” (1981) and “Lifeforce” (1985), both of which enjoy a cult following.

His filmography had its misfires, however, none of them can compare to “Djinn” (2013). One can blame the time it took from the conception to the release of the film, as the idea was conceived in 2010 and the movie saw its wide release only in 2013. Another reason why the movie flopped may lie in the language, as the movie is shot in Arabic and English, and subtitles often scare viewers away. But the movie turned out to be a disappointment for a different reason.

“Djinn” is a dull attempt to make a J-horror movie with an Arabic flavor. The movie got good reviews in the United Arab Emirates, which studio produced the film, but worldwide the movie about a genie who torments a couple after they lose the baby was met with unanimously bad reviews. “Djinn” constitutes the failure of the attempt to capitalize on the chance to bring Arabic flavor into horror movies. But the main disappointment lies in the fact that such a dull and uninspired movie had been directed by the person responsible for “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and ” Salem’s Lot”.

4. The Mother of Tears (2007) directed by Dario Argento

Throughout most of the 1970s, Dario Argento was known as the master of Giallo. But then in 1977, he directed a film based on the screenplay co-written with his then romantic partner Daria Nicolodi. That film was “Suspiria”. A movie that had spawned two sequels (both directed by Argento) and a recent remake by Luca Guadagnino.

“Suspiria” was met rather cold by his Italian fans, as no one expected a director, whose body of work mainly consisted of movies of the genre from which the American slasher originated, to direct a horror film about witches. Still, the movie became a worldwide success and is still considered to be one of the scariest films of all time. Moreover, “Suspiria” opened a possibility for Argento to mix fantasy and Giallo in his later works, like “Phenomena” (1985).

While “Inferno” (1980), a sequel to “Suspiria”, had gone almost unnoticed upon its release, it still enjoys a cult following and is considered by many critics and directors to be a pure art film. Argento directed a lot of successful films, either worldwide or locally, after the “Inferno”. But fans of “Suspiria” and “Inferno” were hoping that the Italian master of horror films would finally complete the “Three Mothers Trilogy”.

By the early noughties, Argento’s new releases tended to become critical and commercial duds. That’s when he opted for finishing his trilogy about witches. Without any screenwriting involvement from Daria Nicolodi, who had co-written “Suspiria” and, although uncredited, “Inferno”, the move failed to become a glorious return for the director.

While “The Mother of Tears” was commercially successful upon its release, the movie received a slew of bad reviews. It holds the lowest rating on Rotten Tomatoes of all the films of the trilogy. The movie is filled with a lot of unnecessary gore and at the running time of 100 minutes, it feels extremely long and dull.

All in all, fans of the trilogy like to pretend that “The Mother of Tears” had never happened, and even those who detested Guadagnino’s take on “Suspiria” raise their brows when they hear Argento’s reaction to the remake. The director is claiming that Luca Guadagnino has betrayed the “spirit of the original film”, which is strange to hear from someone who directed “The Mother of Tears”.

5. Ghosts of Mars (2001) directed by John Carpenter

John Carpenter made his name synonymous with the horror genre thanks to movies like “Halloween” (1978), “The Fog” (1980), and “The Thing” (1982). While the first two films were commercially successful upon their releases (“Halloween” had been the most profitable independent movie before the release of “The Blair Witch Project”), “The Thing” flopped upon its release, but quickly gained the cult following when it was released on video. Most of his films, whether commercial hits or not, became cult classics. But there was one film that made Carpenter retire from filmmaking for almost a decade. That movie was “Ghosts of Mars” (2001).

With a whopping 21% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film had made $14 million on a $28 million budget. The flop can be partially attributed to the audience’s expectations. Carpenter was attempting to make a mindless and silly action flick, while the audiences expected him to shoot a serious horror movie. Still, “Ghosts of Mars” has its flaws.

At the running time of 98 minutes, the movie feels too long. It is campy, but not funny enough. It has some scary scenes, but all in all, the movie is not scary enough. The screenplay is underdeveloped, and the movie suffers from the bad acting of the main cast.

People love to complain about the myriad of streaming services available to consumers. They claim that, within the next few years, the average household will be paying more than they used to for cable. To an extent, this is a valid criticism, especially when you consider the fact that so many of these streaming services offer similar content. Netflix used to house so many of the world’s best sitcoms, but today, these comedy classics are scattered across countless competitors, making it almost impossible to catch all of your favorites on one service.

While there are valid points to be made, it’s hard to complain about niche streaming services like Shudder. Since Shudder debuted in 2015, it has had one goal – cater to horror fans. It doesn’t entice potential subscribers with Emmy winning dramas from the early aughts; it simply tries to please one very particular fanbase, and it does a phenomenal job.

In less than a decade, Shudder has continued to expand and improve. What once housed a small list of previously released horror flicks now houses countless original films, and although not all of them are winners, there are plenty worth seeing.

Below, you’ll find the fifteen best original releases on Shudder. To be considered a Shudder Original, movies have to be listed under the “Exclusive & Original” category. While some of these films are available on other services, they debuted exclusively on Shudder and continue to be associated with the streaming service. With that information in mind, feel free to read on in order to seek out creative, stomach churning horror highlights.

1. One Cut of the Dead (2017)

For certain movies, it’s fine to say that a majority of the positive qualities are based around spoilers and leave it at that. It’s not that simple with One Cut of the Dead because, honestly, nearly every redeeming quality comes as a result of a completely unexpected narrative structure. Because of this, it’s advised that readers simply trust the article and go into the movie blind. However, more curious readers are welcome to read on as long as they understand that we are approaching spoiler territory.

One Cut of the Dead immediately throws viewers into the action. Within seconds, we are aware that a film crew is tasked with filming a zombie movie. We can also come to the conclusion that something will soon go awry because it is foreshadowed again and again. When things do inevitably go awry, viewers are made to think that they were haphazardly thrown into a one-take zombie movie, and while that’s technically true, things aren’t that simple.

Before the halfway mark, things shift gears. After the “credits” roll, we learn that the opening segment is actually a movie within a movie. That’s particularly important because the opening segment is, for lack of a better word, rough. The acting is inconsistent, the cinematography is shoddy, and certain story beats don’t make any sense. This is all intentional.

See, One Cut of the Dead is a movie about making movies. After the shoddy zombie flick concludes, we get to experience the fictional behind the scenes process. Basically, after we watch this bizarre movie-making process, every awkward shot and character inconsistency makes sense. It’s all on purpose, and that’s the big twist that makes the movie special.

Of course, this big twist unfortunately means that viewers have to suffer through forty minutes of sloppy filmmaking, but the payoff is beyond worth it. As one big reveal follows the next, viewers uncover just how meticulously crafted this movie is. The cheeky sense of humor only heightens the absurdity of the unconventional structure, resulting in a movie that mightily stands out among its contemporaries.

2. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)

There are a surprising number of documentaries about horror films. Horror Noire, Room 237, Masters of Horror, and Doc of the Dead all focus on horror filmmaking in one way or another, and they all do so pretty successfully. That being said, it’s hard to find a more comprehensive horror documentary than Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror.

This documentary, which focuses on a wide array of folk horror films, goes on for three hours and fourteen minutes. Throughout that runtime, viewers learn about the most influential films, the lesser-known gems, and everything in between. It’s honestly hard to find a folk horror movie that isn’t covered to some degree.

Just like Horror Noire, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched isn’t content with passively mentioning movies. It wants to analyze each and every little part, and it wants to do so with unabashed erudition. This is not a clip show; it’s a massive visual encyclopedia with layers upon layers of depth.

This approach can be overwhelming, especially for the viewers who don’t want to break everything down into miniscule pieces. Still, genre enthusiasts will lap this up with unbridled fervor. It’s a dense, meticulous documentary that values horror fans beyond all else.

3. Mandy (2018)

Eight years after the release of cult classic Beyond the Black Rainbow, Panos Cosmatos gave us one of the most insane action horror movies of the decade with Mandy. This Nicolas Cage-led tour de force is an ultra-stylized, neon soaked trip to hell. In other words, it’s essential viewing.

Mandy sits comfortably between arthouse and conventional horror. It doesn’t tell a neat and tidy story, but it’s not exactly a metaphor-heavy cinematic experiment. It’s more like a pulpy, ultra-violent acid trip, which is probably what makes it essential viewing.

Simply put, Mandy is just really fun. It helps that it’s also fun to look at, but beyond anything, it’s just stupidly entertaining. Maybe that’s not the right describing word for one of the best movies on an entire streaming service, but honestly, it’s an apt description.

4. Speak No Evil (2022)

Christian Tafdrup’s sinister social satire can be hard to sit through; there’s no other way around it. From the excessive violence to the massive amounts of secondhand embarrassment, Speak No Evil is a rough watch. This unfortunately means that it can’t be recommended to everyone; it’s just too unsettling. However, anyone willing to embrace the absolute chaos that is Speak No Evil should continue reading.

In Speak No Evil, we’re introduced to Bjørn and Louise, a mild-mannered Danish family who form a connection with an unusual Dutch family composed of Patrick, Karin, and their son Abel. After this spark is ignited, Bjorn and Louise decide to stay with Patrick and Karin for the weekend, and while things initially seem rather cheery, it doesn’t take long for warning signs to pop up; Patrick and Karin are clearly not what they seem.

This all leads to the social satire aspect. How far are people willing to go in order to appear polite? How many red flags can appear before people decide to run for the hills? Those are the central questions in Speak No Evil. Frankly, it would have been easy to bash viewers over the head with themes like this, but Tafdrup carefully approaches these big questions without metaphorically shouting at viewers.

On the one hand, Speak No Evil is subtle in its approach. On the other hand, it’s never boring. Snarky dialogue exchanges demand attention in the first half, and an onslaught of dramatic twists pile up in the latter half. It all adds up to one of the best horror films of 2022 and one of the best movies on Shudder.

5. Impetigore (2019)

Of the two Joko Anwar movies on this list, Impetigore tends to be favored among fans of the genre. Whereas Satan’s Slaves takes its time to get to the more creative moments, Impetigore immediately transports viewers into unfamiliar territory. By basing the script around Indonesian folklore, a majority of viewers get to sit through a story that is completely new to them. In an era with an abundance of been-there-done-that horror movies, it’s refreshing to see something based around an unorthodox concept.

As with Satan’s Slaves, Impetigore can best be described as a slow-burn. Characters take time to develop and the conflict slowly unravels, but it’s easy to surmise that this slow pacing will eventually lead somewhere, and it does. Anwar knows how to keep his viewers guessing, and thanks to an interesting premise, it’s easy to stay engaged. Once Impetigore reaches its climax, it’s hard to look away. Viewers with a little patience will no doubt be rewarded by Impetigore’s creativity and craftsmanship.

6. Host (2020)

Rob Savage’s pandemic-era found footage flick seemingly came out of nowhere. The micro budget release quietly found its way to Shudder where it slowly picked up an unfathomable amount of steam. Now, two years later, it has an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. 94 certified critics gave this movie a positive review, and there wasn’t a single detractor. Considering the $35,000 budget and nearly nonexistent marketing, that’s quite a victory.

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear; the critics are correct. Host is an endlessly creative horror movie with a cast of performers who frequently find ways to elevate the material beyond generic supernatural thrills. On the surface, Host tells a story that could be considered uninspired, but the way the story is told clearly proves that Savage can spin things into uncharted territories. All in all, viewers should have no trouble assessing the merits of this critical darling.

7. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)

Xavier Burgin’s enlightening documentary makes one thing absolutely evident; we’ve come a long way when it comes to representation in horror. We’ve still got a long way to go of course, but significant progress has been made since the days of Universal monster movies. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror takes viewers on a hundred-year journey, outlining the evolution of black horror throughout various eras. It’s a thorough history lesson that consistently asks thought-provoking questions; it’s also incredibly entertaining.

By interviewing some of the most influential faces of black horror, Horror Noire provides significant insight into the constantly evolving genre. Over the past century, black voices have grown louder, and as such, representation has shifted to the forefront of so many horror movies. Things have changed dramatically, and by breaking down individual films, viewers can see how that has happened.

This film doesn’t just put culturally impactful films front and center; it contextualizes them as well. It analyzes their impact and breaks things down. In other words, it avoids coming off as a cinematic Wikipedia article. By the end, viewers will likely have a hefty watchlist of influential black horror movies, and they’ll firmly understand why these movies mean so much to so many people.

Who doesn’t like a good scare? Audiences have flocked to horror films ever since their very inception. Serial killers, ghosts, vampires, and all sorts of monsters, even those within ourselves, have sent shivers down our spine, raised goosebumps, and quickened our breath on the big screen. Drawing up the greatest horror movies of all time all into one list is a challenging task, but with Halloween approaching, we’ve decided to pull from over a century of cinematic history to round up the cream of the crop.

Horror encompasses a wide range of films, and while there may be a few regrettable omissions, we tried our best to capture the diversity of the genre — from silent era touchstones, Giallo slashers, supernatural shockers, J-horror ghost stories, and elevated psychodramas from all kinds of eras and countries. So, in the interest of fairness, we had to lay down a few ground rules: a director or franchise could only be represented once, and no comedy spoofs were allowed (sorry, ‘Shaun of the Dead’ fans!). Not all the entries in this list strictly abide by the standard genre norms, but all 20 are guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Proceed with caution.

20. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

Long before ‘Psycho’, ‘Jaws’, or ‘Alien’ — or even ‘Nosferatu’ for that matter — there was ‘Dr. Caligari’. Described by Roger Ebert as the ‘first true horror film’, it’s virtually impossible to talk about the watershed movie of German expressionism without referencing the influence it wielded on set design, storytelling, and the horror genre as a whole in the past century.

The very concept of an unreliable narrator as a narrative device to re-frame the story later on has been emulated in everything from ‘Rashomōn’ to ‘Shutter Island’. That’s without mentioning the haunting world of shadowy alleys, vertiginous staircases, and stark buildings that ushered in a new era in filmmaking and still remains a visual wonder today. Even though the centenarian story, concerning a demented hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit horrific murders, will hardly quicken your breath, this is still essential viewing for any horror enthusiast worth their salt.

19. Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)

So suspenseful and cleverly constructed that the unofficial tagline for this film simply reads “the best film Hitchcock never made”, HenriGeorges Clouzot’s opus withstands the lofty comparisons with a masterful treatise in misdirection that will keep you guessing for two heart-squeezing hours.

The bruised dignity of an abused wife and a vengeful mistress is captured with mighty rapture in ‘Les Diaboliques’, where two resentful women hatch a murder plot together to off the cruel headmaster of a boarding school that keeps tormenting them. Things take a sudden turn, however, when his deceased corpse suddenly vanishes into thin air — or so it seems. Keeping the viewer at arm’s length, ‘Les Diaboliques’ will keep you glued to the screen before knocking your socks off with one of the greatest rug pulls ever put on film.

18. Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)

Few films have instantly seeped into pop culture the way ‘Get Out’ did five years ago. Jettisoning comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele to international prominence, this film tells the story of a young African American photographer (Daniel Kaluuya) who travels upstate to visit her white girlfriend’s liberal parents. On the heels of the turbulent 2016 election, Peele’s walloping directorial debut touched a raw nerve by delivering an uncompromising portrait of race dynamics and privilege in contemporary North America.

It certainly helps that the first-time director managed to expose these terrifying realities with such pinpoint accuracy, but much of the film’s staying power lies in how the political subtext is seamlessly incorporated into a disarmingly-funny thriller — one that grows more disturbingly urgent with each passing day.

17. Nosferatu the Vampyre (Werner Herzog, 1979)

Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula is the most adapted literary character in film history, with over 500 recorded filmic outings to his name according to the Guinness World Record. Among that rich cinematic heritage, a handful of entries stand out. The purists will point out Murnau’s 1922 silent classic, an unauthorized portrayal that revolutionized cinema as we know it. Other highlights include the 1931 Universal film starring Bela Lugosi, the ’70s Hammer movies with Christopher Lee, and the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola rendition.

But although all of the aforementioned titles deserve praise for cementing his legacy in the pantheon of horror villains, Werner Herzog’s is still to this day the quintessential incarnation of the Transylvanian prince of darkness. The broad strokes remain the same; but Herzog’s reverential homage to Murnau and Stroker delivers a breathless convergence of poetic imagery, primal fear, and mass hysteria only upstaged by two knockout performances by Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani. Not to be missed.

16. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

Partially inspired by the real-life story of a ’50s Wisconsin serial killer, a group of five friends traveling across the sun-blazed Texas countryside stumble upon a cannibalistic clan featuring a chainsaw-swinging, masked maniac. If the barebones synopsis for Tobe Hooper gnarly slasher feels overtly derivative nowadays, it’s only due to the countless films that it inspired in its wake.

Shot for just $140,000 with unknown actors, the original ‘Chainsaw Massacre’ is the godfather of the modern slasher as we know it. Even though its gory slash fest rattled censors at the time and slapped an R-rating on the film, it instantly became a smash hit in the box office, ushering in a new era for DIY, low-budget horror. One could argue that its budget limitations play to the film’s strength, instilling it with a raw, primitive intensity that far glossier Hollywood spectacles have struggled to replicate. ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ beckons to be revisited every once in a while. First-timers, however, will have a tough time shaking this blistering jolt of terror out of their systems.

15. The Cremator (Juraj Herz, 1969)

From the very first frame, you can sense that there’s something uncannily wrong with Mr. Kopfrkingl, an off-beat, megalomaniac crematorium manager who believes his job ‘liberates the souls of the dead’, and who guides us through his daily routines, family dinners, and meetings with old war buddies in 1930s Nazi-occupied Prague.

At the intersection of pitch-black comedy, absurdist surrealism, and no-holds-barred political statement, ‘The Cremator’ bluntly illustrates the banality of evil, and the willful denial required to live through the worst atrocities known to mankind. As our delusional titular character conforms to the expectations of those in power to keep his head above the water during the Nazi occupation, we begin to realize how deep the director is prepared to burrow into the pit of human misery. Not a film for everyone, but one so morbidly provocative you’ll have a hard time prying your eyes away from it.

14. The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015)

Robert Eggers announced himself in striking fashion with this scorching indictment of religious zealotry set in 17th century New England, in which a Puritan family gradually implodes from within after being exiled to the fringe of the Massachusetts wilderness. What follows is an effective brew of gnawing paranoia, foreboding mood, and an intersection of misfortunes pinned down on young Thomasin (Anna Taylor-Joy) — all leading up to an ungodly gut punch that had genre fans shrieking.

‘The Witch’ launched its director and lead actress onto the world stage and instantly became the definitive emblem of A24 and ‘elevated horror’. Whether you’re a fan of the studio or that particular terminology, there’s no denying the fact that it’s become the measuring stick by which all occult-tinged movies are judged these days.

13. Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 1997)

‘Funny Games’ isn’t a movie you recommend to someone so much as one you inflict on them. A home invasion movie where a bourgeoisie family is brutally tortured by a pair of sadistic psychopaths, this nihilist Austrian film puts its characters through the wringer for 109 emotionally-fraught minutes and chastises the audience for pleasurably spectating the carnage through their screens.

If Wes Craven set the stage for a wave of self-referential scares that poke fun at the audience and themselves with ‘New Nightmare’ and ‘Scream’, then Michael Haneke’s incendiary thriller burned that trend to the ground. Are we guilty of all the schlocky, morbid violence we pleasurably spectate from the comforts of our seats? You will have to wrestle with this and many other moral quandaries once you’re finished with ‘Funny Games’, or rather, when ‘Funny Games’ is finished with you.

12. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

If one were to arbitrarily demark the history of horror cinema, then few films would make for a worthier line than Alfred Hitchcock’s opus. There’s clearly a before ‘Psycho’ and an after ‘Psycho’ both in the entertainment industry and the broader pop-cultural imagination.

Topping off an unrivaled directorial streak preceded by ‘Vertigo’ and ‘North by Northwest’, the master of suspense unleashed an unshakable cinematic experience in the fall of 1960, treating viewers with a horror film like nothing else that came before it. Few sights have endured the test of time as gracefully as Psycho’s 45-second shower scene, in which Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane meets her unfortunate fate at the hands of one of cinema’s capital-V Villains. Its legacy as a cultural touchstone is practically unmatched, but make no mistake, even today’s audiences will need a strong stomach for this ride.

11. The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988)

Horror villains come in different shapes and forms, from deranged psychopaths, Satanic monsters, and ghostly spirits. The best ones never fail to send shivers down our spines, quicken our breath, or even skip a heartbeat. Few, however, will ever get under your skin like the seemingly ordinary man at the crux of this European nail-biter.

A Dutch couple is enjoying a biking holiday in France when they decide to make a quick stop at a gas station. Suddenly, the girlfriend disappears. What follows is a bleak examination of grief, obsession, and despair masquerading as a standard cat-and-mouse game that culminates in a viscerally dispiriting climax — one that will seep into your bones and keep you up at night for years to come. Proceed with caution.

Science Fiction is a genre of ideas, societal and philosophical as well as scientific. As such it only relies on the imagination and curiosity of its creators not on special effects or budgets. It can come from all over the world, be formally daring, even experimental. This list consists of films that are defined by their ambition, films that are underseen, but which all have legitimate sci-fi pedigree.

Some are based on properties by legendary sci-fi authors with more exalted adaptations elsewhere. Others mark ambitious low scale debuts of filmmakers that have gone on to define modern franchise science-fiction. Some are films that push formal limits and small budgets to explore fantastical world with invention and ambition. So, from around this world and many others, spanning from 1960s to the present day via some jumps into the future and back to the past. Here are ten films that are guaranteed to push the boundaries of your imagination if you give them the chance.

1. Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

When fossils for a missing link in human evolution are found along with a strange unearthly structure, physicist Bernard Quatermass makes some shocking discoveries about strange things long doormat in humanity. Quatermass was the creation of British Sci-Fi writer Nigel Kneale. A recuring character in early BBC television serials then graduating to the cinema in a slew of films produced by legendary Hammer Studios. These stories of space exploration and cosmic horror are an essential edition to sci fi horror genre, although they are criminally overlooked.

Quatermass and the Pitt is perhaps the best, it’s script an exquisite piece of sci fi writing. It brims with complex ideas about collective conscious, evolutionary engineering, interplanetary colonization. Most impressively such complex and potentially far-fetched ideas are seamlessly and subtly implemented in a way that prefigures explorations in films like 2001: a Space Odyssey or Prometheus. This is all helped by some still unsettling special effects and design, tense direction and performances that truly make us feel the terror of the unknown.

2. Planet of the Vampires (1965)

From Italian horror maestro Mario Bava comes a particularly pulpy slice of early sixties sci-fi. An Italian, American, Spanish co-production complete with ‘Speed Racer’ style dubbed actors spouting cosmic technobabble. However, it is full of memorably stylish sets and costumes, most strikingly the full body leather space suits, possibly the best space suit in cinema. Furthermore, on a limited budget it captures an eerie atmosphere especially through its creepy score and sound design.

Most notably it has been seen to have foreshadowed the plot of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Likewise, the story here is about a spaceship with a large crew responding to a distress signal from an unknown planet. There is also a visual comparison when to crew discover an ancient ship complete with the colossal skeletal remains of a long dead alien race. Instead of Face Huggers here we get an alien force resurrecting and possessing the dead members of the crew. This leads to one mesmerising shot of bodies emerging from the grave tearing themselves out of plastic coverings. The lurid colour cinematography gives the alien landscape a misty pulsating energy, complete with plenty of hyperactive crash zooms. All this makes for a film that has seared itself into the iconography of science-fiction despite not enough people seeing it.

3. Ikarie Xb-1 (1963)

Another tale of space exploration from the mind of Solaris writer Stanislaw Lem, made in the Soviet era Czech Republic. Rather than Solaris’ individual phycological examination, Ikarie Xb-1 explores what happens within group dynamics when people living together are confronted with alien life and the unknown. In the year 2163 spaceship Ikarie is carrying a large group of scientists deep into a new star system in the search for Alien life.

The cool modernist interiors of the ship and the sterling special effects put it on the same technical level as any other American Sci Fi film of the era. There are also automatic doors wrongly accredited as being first conceived by Star Trek, along with time dilation, pre-figuring Interstellar and the Eastern Blocs answer to Robbie the robot, Patrick. The crew discover a mysterious vessel floating in space along with a mysterious “dark star” which bring disease, madness, and a reminder of the failures of humanity in the twentieth century. However, this self-reflection on the era the film was made in doesn’t give way to cold war, mid-century, nihilism. Instead, we arrive at an optimistic conclusion regarding the discovery of alien worlds and the future of humanity.

4. The Congress (2013)

Another adaptation of a Stanislav Lem work, this time it is a very loose adaptation of his novella the Futurist Congress. Director Ari Folman transposes a framework of Hollywood satire onto this story of hallucination being used as an escape in a dystopian future. Robin Wright plays a version of herself imagined as a washed-up actress who is being strong armed by a studio to sell her entire image and likeness, which using advanced technology can photo-realistically recreate her forever. Halfway through things drastically shift when Wright enters a surrealistically animated future world representing an augmented drug fuelled virtual reality.

The film really comes alive in the animated sections, showing off Folman’s skills in the medium. The technique captures an absurdist world where people can be anything they want by using the image of others to make their own reality. Images that are bought and decimated by companies more concerned with creating greater virtual pleasures then using their technology to help the real world. As such the film asks deep questions about the control people have over their own identity, the fracturing of human experience through virtual reality and how much control we give technology over our very human essence.

5. The Boys from Brazil (1978)

Probably the third most famous cinematic adaptation of author Ira Levin’s work. The first two obviously being the iconic horror of Rosemary’s Baby and the more sci fi inflected Stepford Wives. This film is famous for having an outrageous premise albeit one with a competent basis in the theoretical knowledge science had of cloning at the time. That premise is often used up front to sum up the film, but it is really meant to be a big reveal in the narrative. The answer to a hideous conspiracy dreamed up by prominent Nazis who escaped allied justice.

One of the real world’s most infamous members of this diabolical group Dr Josef Mengele is given the role of mastermind of this plot. He is played with bile spitting venomous hatred in an admittedly over the top performance by Gregory Peck. However, it matches the fevered, violent but somewhat ridiculous tone the film creates. Levin was the king of the disturbing conspiracy; he captured the nefarious injustice of conspiracy like no one else and here it is given extra exploitation energy by the real-life horrors the story draws on. Veteran director Franklin Schaffner realises this in broad muscular strokes perhaps missing the subtlety of other Levin adaptations. Yet it makes for a pulpy, thrilling ride which also manages to be deeply unsettling and disturbing.

In case you don’t know what the list is about, A24 is an independent film company that mostly distributes and sometimes produces films. However, they’re known for not only releasing mostly acclaimed films but also they don’t know how to sell themselves as a brand. That’s how it’s a rare kind of company that actually have fans.

Of course, it’s great that the company helps independent filmmakers and does actually introduce great indie films to wider audiences, it’s important to note that A24 is not a genre. So by saying “this is a typical A24 horror”, you might actually diminish the work of the people who worked on the film. When you look at some of those films, for example, “X”, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “The Lighthouse” are nothing alike but they all are great in their own way. That’s what we celebrate here. Now let’s rank and look at the diverse but always interesting titles the company has given us.

24. Slice (2018)

When you do a ranking of somebody’s filmography or catalog of some company as in this case, it’s always hard to start because you give an intro full of praise, and then right after you need to talk about their absolute worst.  The film follows the murders of several pizza deliverymen in the Ghost Town neighborhood of Kingfisher, and if you think about it, it has a fine premise..

It could be turned into a decent horror/comedy, instead of “Slice” which basically has no idea what it’s doing. It feels like a film consisting only just ideas rather than a plot and even those ideas don’t come together. However, A24 knows when they went wrong and they surely how to make the film disappear. They released this on VOD and we almost didn’t hear anything about it. Probably it’s for the best.

23. Tusk (2014)

Kevin Smith was a big deal in the 90s, he was the hero of comic book lovers and a fresh voice in independent cinema. Hard to believe now but “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” were great films and “Mallrats” was funny, “Dogma” was courageous. However, it’s been decades that Smith is not the same old guy, it’s like he’s stuck in his own era and the best thing he can offer is the nostalgic sequels to his early successful films.

“Tusk” has gained some cult following because it indeed has some funny or interesting sides but most of it? Just doesn’t work. The film, which is based on one of Smith’s own podcasts feels mostly pointless, gross, and strange in a bad way. Justin Long is such an unappealing lead and there’s also an insufferable level of ham served by Johnny Depp’s terrible performance. He doubles it down in the spin-off “Yoga Hosers” which is even worse.

22. False Positive (2021)

In search of a doctor to fulfill her long-awaited desire to have children, Lucy ends up with Dr. Hindle. At first, it seems as if he was able to help her. She is pregnant and her belly is growing and growing. But then Lucy has the feeling that all is not as it seems at the clinic.

Pregnancy is a theme too common in the horror genre and there had been lots of strong films about it but this A24-produced, Hulu-distributed film is rather a weak one. It doesn’t find the right one and for a satire, it lacks wit. Some of the themes keep you engaged but the ending is unfortunately a letdown. At least, the performances are fine. Pierce Brosnan in particular is turning out to be one of the best “leading-actor-turned-character-actor” stars around these days.

21. Men (2022)

Alex Garland is certainly an intelligent man, he wrote great films for Danny Boyle and others and made good films by himself also, including “Ex-Machina” for A24. This is why “Men” feels so bizarre. It’s almost admirable how weird it is and how much it’s willing to go there but also you can find the revelation and the whole metaphor incredibly silly and weak.

It’s “mother!” of 2022 because just like that film, it has a premise that some might find intriguing and some others might find stupid. Some might say it’s original and others might think it’s a student film-level pretentious. The cinematography and the acting are fine but the film also feels a bit repetitive even if you like the idea. There’s a totally bonkers scene close to the end that even if you won’t like, at least you can appreciate the fact that you probably haven’t seen it anywhere else before.

20. It Comes at Night (2017)

A deadly infectious disease has wiped out almost all life on earth. Seventeen-year-old Travis (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) and his parents Paul (Joel Edgerton) and Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) are among the last survivors. Heavily armed, they live in a lonely house in the woods. Driven by fear and paranoia, the family struggles to survive on their meager supplies when a desperate young couple (Riley Keough, Christopher Abbott) and their young son seek shelter with them.

Post-apocalyptic psychological horror is a slow-burn and not for everyone. It’s stylish, has a great soundtrack, and mostly engrossing but then again, the ending is underwhelming and the plot is not too original can turn this into an underwhelming experience for some.

19. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)

Joan makes a cumbersome and determined journey through a frozen landscape in order to arrive at an all-girls private school where Rose and Kat await the arrival of their parents. When the woman is confronted with the girls’ gazes, terrifying visions arise in Kat’s head as Rose watches as her friend begins to be possessed by an unseen force of evil.

The good thing about A24 is that we’re still early on the list but we’ve already reached the good films but the problem is, maybe because it was released on VOD by DirecTV or something like that, this movie is much less known than most other A24 releases. This is a strong debut starring a couple of well-known names, the atmosphere is great and the film doesn’t stop being intriguing. Obviously not easy to like for everyone but it’s not like A24 keeps delivering crowd-pleasing films anyway.

18. Climax (2018)

Maybe this will anger some fans as Gaspar Noe is beloved by some cinephiles and this film has a lot of admiration. It’s understandable, the film is full of impressive dance choreography that many seem to like and then everything goes into hell but when it comes to plot, the movie is somewhat thin. It doesn’t have much to offer, the dialogues feel either silly or pretentious.

Noe is someone who’s a bit obsessed with the shock value and cheap provocations. At least this one, compared to his previous films, is better on the technical side. Since the cast is full of non-actors, it’s really hard to get through their line readings also. Still, his technical work here is enough to please many genre lovers. If you like anxiety-inducing cinema without much depth, then this might be a ride worth taking for you.

17. The Monster (2016)

In the middle of the night, a single mother, accompanied by her daughter Lizzy, drives down small country roads to visit her ex-husband. Tired of taking care of her abusive, alcoholic mother, daughter Lizzy makes it clear she wants to live with her father from now on. After hitting an animal, they try to get out of the forest which they are lost. But they are the prey of a supernatural creature…

Just like the previous title, “The Monster” is another one that didn’t get enough attention. It’s a fairly simple movie and the concept isn’t something you haven’t seen before but it works, mostly because of strong direction and powerful performance from Zoe Kazan. It’s not long also, so you don’t ever get bored. Horror always loves to explore motherhood and while this one is not incredibly complex, still good enough to satisfy the fans who’re interested in such topics. Cool sound work also.

16. Life After Beth (2014)

Bethany, Zachary’s young girlfriend, was bitten by a snake one day while she was hiking alone and died. But one evening, Beth is mysteriously brought back to life. Zach, after learning the news from Beth’s parents, initially believes the story of the zombies, but then becomes convinced that it is a resurrection and that he deserved a second chance to start a new life with Beth but soon things change..

The film got a lot of criticism that it’s too long and would work better as a short film or whatever but unless you have sky-high expectations from the film, it’s an entertaining ride and not too long anyway. The story doesn’t necessarily surprise but Aubrey Plaza is so strong and so committed here that it’s impossible to look away. Plaza had been showing great range recently with projects like “Black Bear” and “Emily the Criminal” but “Life after Beth” is a good reminder of her deadpan comic skills.

15. High Life (2018)

A group of convicts and death row inmates is headed, in a spaceship, far from the solar system because they are part of a scientific experiment that aims to investigate black holes. It’s one of those films that could be skipped on the list to appear on the science fiction list but then again it has a great balance between being a horror film and a sci-fi, and it’s so many other things too. So it’s hard to classify, and it’s not the only film of that kind that appears on the list.

The first English language film from celebrated French filmmaker Claire Denis is the kind of film you’d expect from her. Deeply unsettling, challenging, haunting and thought-provoking. The story is not necessarily flawless and the film is not involving all the time but thanks to the involving atmosphere, and fine performances from the cast, the film keeps your attention no matter what.

14. In Fabric (2018)

In a Thames Valley town in 1993, the busy winter sales season is in full swing. Sheila, a bank teller who recently separated from her husband, enters the store with her son Vince and his new girlfriend Gwen. She opts for a stunning red dress, which turns out to be an unfortunate decision… Peter Strickland is an original filmmaker, whose atmospheric Berberian Sound Studio (2012) and the erotic The Duke of Burgundy (2014) have stood in the horror films of the last decade.

“In Fabric” is the stylishly fun In Fabric, a work in the spirit of the Italian giallos. Originally designed for six haunted house-style stories, Strickland was financially limited to two but that’s okay ‘cause the film still feels complete. The story remains unpredictable, the style is very obvious and the colors are wonderful. Strickland doesn’t focus on the classic supernatural horror film elements such as the logical explanation of why the dress is haunted and whether all the clothes in the mysterious shop have a similar effect because it’s not important. Important is the experience and the film delivers a good one.

13. The Hole in the Ground (2019)

Sarah O’Neill tries to escape her broken past and makes a new life for herself on the outskirts of a rural upstate town with her young son Chris. An awkward encounter with a mysterious neighbor throws Sarah into a maddened nightmare of paranoia and distrust. With his captivating and impressive debut film, Lee Cronin has created a true genre gem full of atmosphere and suspense. Seána Kerslake shines as a young mother whose son becomes a source of horror.

Obviously, some of the themes here have been explored much better in some of the classics like “Don’t Look Now” and more recently, “The Babadook” because as it’s been mentioned in one of the previous entries, motherhood and parental fears have always been among the favorite subjects of the horror genre. How to make it work is not always about to say something new about these topics but more like how to say it. “The Hole in the Ground” finds a good way to say it that feels fresh and involving.

As spooky season creeps up on us once again, we’ve decided to help you embrace the Halloween spirit by putting together the very best the horror genre had to offer since 2000. Into the new millennium, a long list of talented young filmmakers has put their stamp on what not that long ago appeared to be a watered-down genre on its last legs. And though it’s easy to bemoan the current trend of vapid sequels, focus-tested gore-fests, and predictable jump-scares that has become endemic in our multiplexes, once you dig a little deeper beyond the boilerplate stuff, you’ll realize we’ve been spoiled for choice.

Horror comes in different shapes and forms, and we tried to touch on all the tropes: supernatural shockers, Giallo-inspired slashers, J-horror ghost stories, actually-good remakes, biting political allegories, and all the gems in-between. That means we had to lay down a few ground rules in the interest of fairness and keeping things diverse, so before you yell at your computer screen because your favorite movie isn’t down below, know that a director could only be represented once (that means no ‘Midsommar’ and ‘Us’) and no spoofs were allowed (sorry, ‘Shaun of the Dead’ fans!).

Not all the entries in this list strictly abide by the standard genre norms, but all 20 are guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. And as a little extra treat, we’ve included additional recommendations for every film so you can add even more to your Halloween binge.

20. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

As much a horror film as a deeply affecting exploration of friendship and adolescent loneliness, ‘Let the Right One In’ presents vampirism as a proxy for social exclusion rather than some irredeemable evil, updating it for a contemporary age in a way few do.

Set against the chilly backdrop of wintry Stockholm, this Swedish film splits its focus between two social misfits who find refuge in each other’s company. Oskar, an introverted and perpetually bullied 12-year-old kid, finds a kindred spirit and unlikely ally in Eli, a young vampiress with a tender heart who just moved in next door. The film navigates this relationship with delicacy and rare insight, while providing all the gory, blood-sucking thrills one has come to expect in films of this ilk.

Recommended Viewing: The Addiction (1995), Thirst (2009), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013).

19. The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

Set five years before the events of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, this gothic ghost story similarly transposes the real world’s tragedy with supernatural fantasy in Guillermo del Toro’s first probing into the horrors of the Spanish Civil War.

Told from the perspective of a 12-year-old orphan who arrives at a remote orphanage during wartime, ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ very much feels like a companion piece to the 2006 bittersweet fairy-tale, though not least ambitious for its resemblance and shared language. Del Toro’s uncanny vision and evocative storytelling is in full display here, drawing on the dingy reality of an impoverished countryside ravaged by war and the childlike wonder of those doomed to live through it.

Recommended Viewing: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), The Orphanage (2007), Coraline (2009).

18. Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 2007)

‘Funny Games’ isn’t a movie you recommend to someone so much as one you inflict on them. The story of a bourgeoisie family who’s brutally attacked by a pair of sadistic psychopaths, it is an unforgiving film that toes the line of miserabilism almost to a morally reprehensible degree — putting its characters through the wringer and chastising the audience for pleasurably spectating the carnage through their screens.

When approached by American studios about a potential English remake of his 1997 film of the same name, Austrian iconoclast Michael Haneke figured he was the best man for the job and orchestrated a shot-for-shot faithful recreation a decade later. Those familiar with the original can look forward to Naomi Watts’ best turn since ‘Mulholland Drive’. The newbies on other hand, will have a hard time shaking this blistering jolt of existential terror out of their systems.

Recommended Viewing: Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), Funny Games (1997), Us (2019).

17. The Wolf House (2018, Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña)

The evil specters of the past continue to haunt and ripple through this wonderfully warped Chilean stop-motion animated horror. Clocking in at a breezy 75 minutes, ‘The Wolf House’ tells the dark story of a traumatized young woman who seeks shelter in a secluded house after barely escaping from a malevolent German sect. The film is inspired by the real-life Colonia Dignidad, which was founded by the notorious Nazi fugitive Paul Schäfer, growing in notoriety during Pinochet’s dictatorship as a key enclave for war dissidents in the aftermath of WWII.

Both as a bravado act of political activism and an insurmountable feat in animation, ‘The Wolf House’ is a high-water mark in modern horror. Despite flying under the radar for the past few years, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a word-of-mouth classic.

Recommended Viewing: The Cremator (1969), House (1977), Alice (1988).

16. The Host (Bong Joon-ho, 2006)

Long before ‘Parasite’ broke all records in the history books and jettisoned him to international prominence, Korean maestro Bong Joon-ho was already making rounds in his homeland with gloriously irreverent political parables. On a surface level, ’The Host’ is a delightfully entertaining monster flick with enough thrills and scares to satisfy any horror enthusiast. However, in typical Bong-ian fashion, it’s also much more than that.

The film uses its monster set-up to cast an unwavering eye on the failed leadership and bureaucratic incompetence responsible for the real-life incident that inspired it, in which the U.S. military dumped gallons of toxic waste down the drain and to the Han River. Expect the excruciating attention to detail, first-class craftsmanship and shrewd social commentary that Bong Joon-ho has accustomed us to.

Recommended Viewing: Godzilla (1954), Tremors (1990), Train to Busan (2016).

15. Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino, 2018)

Considering Hollywood’s dismal track record when it comes to milking iconic IP’s that should be best left alone, one can’t fault audiences for greeting the news of a ‘Suspiria’ remake with a healthy dose of skepticism. Fortunately, contrary to recent efforts (‘The Wicker Man’, ‘Poltergeist’ and ‘Carnival of Souls’ come to mind), Luca Guadagnino avoided the common pitfalls of these futile endeavors by taking the source material in a surprisingly bold direction while echoing the mysticism that made us fall in love with the classic Giallo in the first place.

The broad strokes stay the same, with a young American dancer (Dakota Johnson) arriving at the world-famous but sinister Helena Markos Dance Company in ’70s Berlin. But within that framework, the 2018 ‘Suspiria’ breathes new life into the world rather than sucking all the air out of it. Though we’re not going to argue that it should be mentioned in the same breath as Dario Argento’s rendition — after all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? — but this is the rare breed of a remake that thoroughly stands on its own.

Recommended Viewing: Haxan (1922), Suspiria (1977), The Neon Demon (2016).

14. Raw (Julia Ducournau, 2016)

Cannibalism and the growing pains of early adulthood fuse together in this radical, and gloriously irreverent new take on the coming-of-age story. Teeming with moments that will cling to you like barnacles for the rest of your life, Julia Ducournau’s incendiary debut follows Justine, a meek vegetarian college student who catches an insatiable craving for flesh after heading off to vet school — a gruesome awakening that involves everything from raw rabbit to severed bits of human bodies.

Taking a cue from David Cronenberg’s body-horror classics, the first-time French director uses this juicy set-up to make salient points about intergenerational trauma, social prejudice, and peer pressure through a refreshing female perspective. Though ‘Raw’ is cut from the same cloth as ‘Titane’, calling the film a test-run for the 2021 Palme d’Or winner would be selling it short. In any case, you’ll need a strong stomach for this ride.

Recommended Viewing: Rabid (1977), A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), Titane (2021).

13. I Saw the Devil (Kim Jee-woon, 2010)

The predator becomes the prey in this intricately woven and ultra-stylized morality play after a secret service agent (Lee Byung-hun) decides to track down the sadistic serial killer (Oldboy’s Choi Min-sik) that murdered his pregnant wife.

‘I Saw the Devil’ takes an overtly familiar cat-and-mouse game set up many steps further — unleashing an unforgiving onslaught of violence that slowly dissolves the boundaries between good and evil. As we watch our scornful vigilante leave no stone unturned in his elaborate quest for vengeance, we begin to realize how deep the director is prepared to burrow into the pit of human misery — dwelling on the emptiness of his endeavor and bluntly illustrating the brutality humans are capable of. As long as you have the stomach for it, this film will give you a lot to chew on.

Recommended Viewing: A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), Oldboy (2003), Prisoners (2013).

12. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2017)

The work of Greek provocateur Yorgos Lanthimos very seldom fit into the mold of any established criteria. Treading the line between pitch-black comedy, full-blown surrealism, and high-concept genre mash-up, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ plunges viewers into the dizzying depths of family strife in a domestic drama that quickly curdles into nightmare fuel.

Finding its roots in an ancient Greek tragedy, the film transpires in a seemingly idyllic household where things take a dark turn after the family’s patriarch and renowned cardiac surgeon befriends the teenage son of a patient who died during one of his surgeries. Steep in unsettling atmosphere, cluttered symbolism, and macabre violence, ‘Sacred Deer’ refuses to let viewers off the hook, digging its claws into them before going straight to the jugular with a blood-curling climax that will give you chills for years to come.

Recommended Viewing: Audition (1999), Antichrist (2009), Borgman (2013).

11. Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001)

As the internet became more closely linked with our identities, not only as a source of information but as a digital realm where we exist and live every day, many films at the dawn of the new millennium tried to capture the infinite (and terrifying) possibilities that came with it. Japanese maestro Kiyoshi Kurosawa carved a perfect niche for himself in early-aughts cinema with ‘Pulse’, a digital ghost story way ahead of its time that ponders on the all-pervasive presence of technology in our lives.

‘Serial Experiments Lain’ may have set the stage for this kind of cautionary fables, but this film burned that sub-genre to the ground. ‘Pulse’ is as close as cinema can get to encompassing the all-consuming dread of existential isolation in the age of interconnectivity. If the moody atmosphere and masterful build-up isn’t enough to send shivers down your spine, its chillingly prescient message will.

Recommended Viewing: Serial Experiments Lain (1998), Suicide Club (2001), Creepy (2016).

It is very safe to say Jordan Peele holds a special place in film lovers’ hearts. Ever since taking the world by storm in 2017 with ‘Get Out’, the director has only further solidified his newfound status as one of the figureheads of the horror genre and biggest trendsetters in the industry, despite having merely three outings on the director’s chair under his belt.

But long before he started directing films, Peele was already a savvy student of the seventh art, as evidenced in the cornucopia of references, easter eggs, and homages to classic movies that are littered all over his work. In February of 2017, the once-comedian curated an eclectic selection of films that inspired him to celebrate the release of ‘Get Out’ for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The series was called “The Art of the Social Thriller” and featured thirteen titles, from iconoclastic hair-risers to ’90s actioners to renowned classics. Additionally, the director gave the cast a list of 11 movies to watch before shooting ‘Us’.

Drawing from these two sources in addition to a plethora of interviews he’s conducted throughout the years, we have rounded up ten thrilling titles that influenced the ‘Nope’ director and that you should be looking forward to seeing off the heels of his latest release.

1. North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)

In the past few years, Jordan Peele has been touted as the modern-day Hitchcock by critics and fans alike. Those are some big shoes to fill indeed, and only three films into his directorial career, the comparisons might admittedly be too hurried. With that being said, Peele has already shown a knack for building tension and keeping us on the edge of our seats that evokes the towering work of master of suspense.

“I think I often ask myself, what if Hitchcock worked with black actors? Those are my favorite movies that have never been made. That’s kind of what I’m here to do.” Peele has certainly kept his side of the bargain so far. As to which of Hitchcock’s films have served as blueprints, Peele cited everything from ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Birds’ to ‘Vertigo’. But during the commentary track for ‘Get Out’, the director revealed a less noticeable influence that helped him come up with one of the most startling moments in his debut. The sequence where Walter the groundskeeper (Marcus Henderson), runs directly at the camera as we take on Chris’ (Daniel Kaluuya) point of view was modeled after the iconic crop duster scene ‘North by Northwest’. As Peele explained, “Somebody running towards you just creates a visceral and physical reaction for the audience.”

2. The Sixth Sense (1999, M. Night Shyamalan)

M. Night Shyamalan is easily one of the most polarizing directors today, in no small part thanks to a handful of forgettable films that have almost turned him into self-parody. But at the turn of the millennium, the Indian director — much like Peele in recent times — took the world by storm with a string of shrewdly constructed thrillers full of twists and turns that instantly became zeitgeist smashes. Before ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Signs’, M. Night knocked everyone’s socks off with ‘The Sixth Sense’, a film so ingrained into our collective consciousness that is now virtually impossible to discuss without citing its iconic shocker ending.

“There’s that amazing twist that everyone knows now”, said Peele during a 2019 interview for Rotten Tomatoes. “But one of the ways the film is particularly special is the acting. The performances in that movie are just incredible.” The ‘Nope’ director cited Toni Colette’s scene at the end as one that never fails to make him cry, and credited Shyamalan for bringing “such an elevated contribution to the horror genre”. “That movie scared the shit out of me”. Peele included the 1999 thriller in the movie watchlist given to Lupita Nyong’o in preparation for ‘Us’.

3. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, Kim Jee-woon)

Sharing the spotlight with two stone-cold classics of South Korean cinema in ‘Oldboy’ and ‘Memories of Murder’ upon release, Kim Jee-woon’s 2003 nail-biter continues to be slept on two decades later. One could argue that ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ holds up just as well, with its manic editing, haunting sound design, and stylized framing still heavily employed by thrillers today.

The film follows a recently institutionalized young girl upon her return home, where she has to navigate her rocky relationship with her mischievous step-mother and distant father, while an evil, ghostly presence lurks right around the corner. This a film that bides its time and plays its cards close to the chest, before delivering a dramatic twist that recontextualizes the whole story and begs for repeated viewings.

Peele included the Korean thriller in the list of films the ‘Us’ cast watched before filming, with lead star Lupita Nyong’o confessing to spending most of the runtime peeping from behind a friend’s shoulder. It’s hard to blame her, as the rawness of this domestic drama is enough to linger with you for days.

4. Sisters (1972, Brian De Palma)

Cribbing from Hitchcock, Giallo, and sleazy B-horror tropes in almost equal measure with a dash of Cronenberg’s sci-fi horror, De Palma hit for the fences with this delightfully provocative, if slightly rough around the edges, psycho-thriller.

‘Sisters’ is a brisk hour and a half, and yet you practically experience the entire lifetime of the titular twin sisters. The film sketches many themes and visual elements that would become synonymous with De Palma, including a clever use of a split diopter shot, which allowed him to keep both characters in the same sharp focus despite being on opposite sides of the frame. The veteran director has championed the use of this tool thoroughly in his work, most notably in his 1980 neo-noir ‘Blow Out’, making it one of his stylish calling cards.

In ‘Us’ — a film that also happens to follow a seemingly normal young woman and her murderous, evil twin — Jordan Peele borrowed the technique during the classroom scene between Adelaide and Red in a not-so-subtle nod to this cult thriller.

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Jonathan Demme)

Today’s bookshop shelves, streaming schedules and podcast charts are heaving with murder mysteries and whodunnits. A plethora of movies and TV shows have recently tried to give us a peek into the minds of serial killers, but few have succeeded in doing so to the extent of Jonathan Demme’s 1991 opus — a film that gifted us with one of the defining villains in recent memory in Hannibal Lecter.

Jordan Peele turned to ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ for inspiration during the production of ‘Get Out’, as revealed on the director’s commentary. The filmmaker claims that he was trying to evoke Clarice and Hannibal’s iconic face-off during the intense hypnotherapy sessions between Daniel Kaluuya and Catherine Keener. Additionally, with the first appearance of Georgina (Betty Gabriel), Peele tried to instill the viewer with the same feeling of dread and uneasiness of meeting Lecter for the first time. “It’s basically like seeing ‘The Shining’ twins down the hallway, or when we first meet Hannibal Lecter. Just the whole vibe of coming up on somebody waiting for you patiently is creepy.”

‘The Silence of the Lambs’ was included in Peele’s 2017 curated film series for the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

When considering the greatest horror movies ever made, we often think of the ones that send a chill down our spine. The ones that fill us with dread and make it hard to sleep at night. In other words, the ones we can take seriously. And who can blame us? Horror as a genre is designed to unnerve, disturb, and terrify us in all sorts of unique ways.

But what about the horror movies that make us laugh? The movies that aren’t exactly horror comedies, but are so enveloped in their own schlocky charm and gruesome absurdity that they make you smile? In preparation for the Halloween season, here are ten horror movies if you’re looking for a good laugh, but can handle blood and guts.

10. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Night of the Living Dead is known by many as one of the most influential horror movies of all time. It’s played a large part in shaping our modern depictions of zombies and the typical tropes we’ve come to associate with them. However, you shouldn’t let this movie’s title fool you. It is absolutely NOT a sequel to it. Instead, Night of the Living Dead exists within this film’s universe.

Freddy Hanscom is a new employee working at a warehouse with his boss Frank. To impress the boy, he tells him that Night of the Living Dead was secretly based on true events and that the toxic gas that brought the bodies to life is stored down in their basement. After the gas is accidentally released, the bodies within their tanks and a nearby cemetery arise from the dead and wage terror upon the living.

What really makes The Return a fun watch is its punk flavoring and appeal to the radical youth of the 80’s. Frank’s friends are major characters within the film and they are as wild, ruthless, and hilariously vulgar as any viewer could want. The movie is riddled with the various hard rock songs of its era and an incredibly morbid sense of humor, which makes it an absolute goofy treat. On top of that, it arguably has the most horrifyingly badass zombie designs in all of cinema. What’s not to love?

9. Malignant (2021)

Of all the auteurs of modern horror, few are quite as successful as James Wan. He has made a name for himself amongst mainstream audiences with huge hits such as The Conjuring, Insidious, and the first Saw movie. He’s definitely mastered the art of making accessible popcorn films that rely heavily on supernatural scares. But in 2021, Wan’s newest film made the bold direction of being his most stylish, yet out there movie yet.

The film is about a woman named Madison, who just lost her unborn baby in a miscarriage. After the death of her child, she is mysteriously plagued by visions of murder and horrible violence, which seem to be affecting reality. As the mystery unravels, she soon discovers that the source of the killings may be coming from within herself all along.

Malignant stands out amongst Wan’s filmography for not being the typical horror film with jumpscares and creepy ghosts. Instead, it’s incredibly in-your-face, gruesomely gory, and just revelling in its own madness. Its bizarre tone has caused many to speculate if the film is completely sincere in its attempt to be creepy or just a tongue-in-cheek self-indulgent experiment. Whether it’s either of those things, it’s already established itself as a favorite among many and an immediate cult hit. Even if you don’t love this movie, it’s worth seeing just for the twist alone.

8. Society (1989)

One of the many advantages of horror is its ability to provide social commentary on a number of issues. There are many horror films that have tackled topics such as bigotry, the rise of technology, isolation, and conformity. Society itself is a horror movie about class divide, the exploitation of the poor, and cultish manipulation from the elite.

In Beverly Hills, California, a young man named Bill Whitney is given a strange tape containing an audio recording of his family engaging in an explicit orgy. From this, he begins to suspect that there may be something up with his family, as well as the other rich citizens of Beverly Hill. His suspicions lead him down a rabbit hole involving a secret cult, intense orgies, and incest. Truly, high society is just a shiny veneer for an inhuman cacophony of sex and violence.

For the most part, Society holds itself back throughout its first two acts. It has a rather off sense of humor here and there, but there’s nothing outright brutal throughout most of the runtime. However, that all changes once Bill is actually brought to the murderous cult and witnesses what their orgies are like. The result is a revolting, slimy, positively atrocious fever dream that David Cronenberg wishes he could’ve made. It’s one of the most famous examples of body horror in all of cinema, and the sheer insanity of its climax is more than enough to put it on this list.

7. Street Trash (1987)

While Street Trash is arguably the most obscure film on this list, it’s still made quite a name for itself as a cult classic over the years. It’s beloved by many as a cheesy 80’s splatter masterpiece and is one of the shining examples of “melt horror”, a subgenre dedicated to everything oozing, gooey, and disgusting in life.

Street Trash takes place in Brooklyn, New York, and more specifically, in a neighborhood full of homeless bums. In his basement, the owner of a cheap liquor store discovers “Viper”, a mysterious brand of alcohol. Despite clearly being expired, he decides to sell the booze regardless. Shockingly, the drink causes anyone to drink it to rapidly melt in colorful, bubbling messes of acidic goop.

Right from the start, Street Trash is a filthy piece of work loaded with character. The streets of Greenpoint fill the screen with irresistible grime and the film’s comedy definitely reflects that. Even aside from its technicolor gore, its sense of humor is black as night and extremely crude. You’ll either find it absolutely hilarious or absolutely obnoxious, but that’s part of the charm. There’s always something admirable about a film that knows its inhumane filth, no matter how you feel about it personally. Besides, seeing people dissolve into screaming, pulsating piles of mush will always be worth the price of admission.

6. Brain Damage (1988)

Part of the major appeal of cult cinema and the dedicated followings that spawn from it is how it can bring films that’ve been buried by the sands of time back into the light. While one would hesitate to call Brain Damage a well-known film, it’s certainly gathered more attention now than when it was first released, where it was practically ignored by everyone. Like Street Trash, it’s an underground favorite with a strongly dedicated fanbase.

While experiencing terrifying hallucinations, Brain soon finds out that his body is now the home of an oddly polite worm demon named Aylmer. The demon strikes a deal with him, promising to inject him with a powerful chemical that’ll put his mind to sleep. Brain agrees, allowing Alymer to burrow himself into his head and take full control of him while he’s unconscious. With the boy becoming increasingly addicted to the chemical, he uses him to commit several murders around town.

From that summary, it’s clear that Brain Damage is making a statement on drug addiction and its damaging effects. It’s certainly admirable, but that’s not the film’s biggest draw. What IS the film’s biggest draw is its trippy imagery, neon-soaked atmosphere, and creepy creativity. It’s not a film that’ll win awards for its acting quality any time soon, but who cares? The cheesy performances only add to its absurd fever dream quality, and that’s something to be treasured. Ironically, it’s a drug trip in its own right.

New York City has a unique cinematic heritage, backdrop to some of the most iconic films to ever grace the silver screen as well as the favorite playground of a long list of legendary directors. Throughout the decades, cinema has explored every last corner of the five boroughs, from the blinding lights of Times Square to the murky streets of the Bronx — depicting it both as a mecca for intellectuals and multicultural wonderland, and a den of debauchery and urban wasteland.

In the past fifty years, few directors have had their finger on the pulse of the city that never sleeps quite like Martin Scorsese. Not only is he one of the greatest living filmmakers, but also a voracious film viewer with an eclectic taste and encyclopedic knowledge. As such, we’ve decided to root through various interviews with the Queens native to stockpile ten essential New York movies that should immediately jump to the top of your watchlist. That being said, for the purpose of this list, being set in New York isn’t enough. Each of the following titles immortalize, in one way or another, the distinct hum and drum; the unique feel and hurried existence of living in this concrete jungle — rendering the city with all of its intimacy, grandeur, and allure. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

1. Shadows (1959, John Cassavetes)

Most of the writing around John Cassavetes homes in on his outsized influence as a trailblazer of the New York indie scene — and for good reason. Even though “to be ahead of its time” has become an all-purpose truism in film criticism, Cassavetes’ films clearly fit the bill. His avant-garde 1959 debut would become the watershed film in the American New Wave and a fascinating window that looked into what the future of independent cinema was going to look like.

Mostly improvised and shot on location without permits, ‘Shadows’ was a bracingly progressive cutting-edge work at the height of the civil rights era that followed the romance between a light-skinned woman and a white man. “All of Cassavetes’ films were epics of the human soul,” says Scorsese. “He embodied the emergence of a new school of guerrilla filmmaking in New York, combining interpretive drama and an emphasis on character with a style that seemed to have the immediacy of documentary. In the process, he broke all the rules.”

During the early ’70s, Cassavetes became a mentor for Scorsese and welcomed him with open arms, getting him one of his first gigs ever as an assistant sound editor in one of his films. After ‘Shadows’, there were no more excuses for aspiring filmmakers, according to Scorsese. “If he could do it, so could we!”.

2. Sweet Smell of Success (1957, Alexander Mackendrick)

Alexander Mackendrick’s unsavory opus cast a mean eye on Broadway’s cesspool of depravity through a power-hungry press agent (Tony Curtis) and vicious gossip columnist (Burt Lancaster), who exercise all their power and pull every dirty trick in the book to smear an up-and-coming jazz musician.

In discussion with the American Film Institute, Martin Scorsese sung its praises as one of the hallmarks of the ’50s, a period he claims “show business, and what you could say in a movie” was beginning to change. “You had Stanley Kramer and Elia Kazan making very social conscious films, and then you had Otto Preminger breaking everything,” argued the veteran director. “At the same time, United Artists made ‘Sweet Smell of Success’, which is one of the most daring, startling, savage movies ever made about show business and power in this country coming out of the era of McCarthyism.”

The Great White Way has certainly never seemed as grimly sinister as it does in Mackendrick’s unflattering portrait of NYC.

3. Klute (1971, Alan J. Pakula)

By the time the 1970s rolled around, the city seemed to be caving in under his feet. Many films — most notably Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ — tried to encapsulate the seedy underbelly of the Watergate-era New York City. But few directors did it with as much gusto as Alan J. Pakula, whose informal noir trilogy deftly articulated the cloud of fear and feverish paranoia that suffocated the five boroughs at the time. The first entry in the series, ‘Klute’, sees a mild-mannered small-town detective (Donald Sutherland) navigate the New York underworld with the help of a cynical call girl (Jane Fonda).

“There are movies that change the whole way in which films are made, like ‘Klute’, where Gordon Willis’ photography on the film is so textured, and, they said, too dark,” stated Scorsese, who included the pulpy thriller in the 85-movie list every filmmaker should see. “At first this was alarming to people, because they’re used to a certain way things are done within the studio system. And the studio is selling a product, so they were wary of people thinking that it’s too dark.”

4. Pickup on South Street (1953, Samuel Fuller)

Petty pickpocket (Richard Widmark) sets off a cacophony of misunderstandings after stealing the wallet on the New York subway, inadvertently coming into the possession of a stolen government microfilm and triggering a manhunt by FBI agents and Communist sleeper agents alike.

Fuller, who worked as a New York crime reporter before sitting on the director’s chair, loaded this feel-bad story with noir flourishes before pushing its seemingly plain set-up many steps further — peeling back the curtain to expose the Red Scare hysteria of the ’50s. “It’s been said that if you don’t like the Rolling Stones, then you just don’t like rock and roll,” wrote Scorsese in his introduction to Fuller’s memoir. “By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you just don’t like cinema”.

Scorsese would go on to say that Fuller was one of the bravest and moral artists he’d known, and that it was impossible to imagine his own work without his influence and example. “Sam’s movies are blunt, pulpy, and occasionally crude,” he candidly stated. “But those are simply reflections of his temperament, his journalistic training, and his sense of urgency.” ‘Pickup on South Street’, often touted as Fuller’s crowning achievement, was featured on the 85-movie list the Italian-American personally curated for Fast Company.

5. Do the Right Thing (1989, Spike Lee)

Over roughly twenty-four hours during the hottest day of the summer, simmering tensions begin to boil over on one block of Brooklyn’s pre-gentrified Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Spike Lee’s no-holds-barred treatise on racial warfare runs the gamut from cheerfully vibrant to scathingly somber — all with a disarming sense of urgency. For Scorsese, these comic swings shouldn’t be surprising for any New Yorker; as “living in the city has always been funny, ironic and brutal — at times ugly, but also beautiful — a grand opera just to get something done.”

He shares a close friendship with director Spike Lee ever since meeting at NYU, later on joining forces on the 1995 film ‘Clockers’ where he served as a producer. In conversation with Jason Bailey, the Italian-American noted how the film mirrors the sense of desperation and violence felt during that critical moment. “It was all there; you could taste it in the air. Hot summers — like in ‘Do the Right Thing’ — with the heat, everybody’s outside, they have no air conditioning, getting on each other’s nerves. The whole city was like that.”

When it comes to screen adaptations, Stephen King easily pops on the list of authors (living or dead) with the most films and TV adaptations. At the time of writing, King has forty-eight film and thirty-four TV adaptations of his works. Some of them, like Brian De Palma’s “Carrie” (1976) and Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980) became pop culture staples on their own.

King’s, arguably, most seminal novel “It” was adapted twice. Tim Curry’s Pennywise scared the kids via the TV screen, attracting around 40 million viewers in the early 1990s. Bill Skarsgård’s take on the role scared people from the big screen. The 2017 “It” grossed over 700 million, and for a brief period was the second highest-grossing R-rated film in history. Actually, there’s a 52-episode Indian horror series called “Woh”, released in 1998, which is a loosely based on “It”.

Novels like “Pet Sematary” and “Firestarter”, were also adapted several times. And here we come to the problem with Stephen King’s adaptations. The original “Pet Sematary” adaptation was successful at the box office and became a cult classic. The second adaptation also had good box office performance, but three years since its release, it’s completely forgotten. Both attempts to transfer “Firestarter” to the screen were unsuccessful. Both 1984 and 2022 adaptations failed critically and financially.

King’s adaptations are hit or miss. One may suspect that it has something to do with the author’s involvement, but things don’t always work that way. Yes, King penned the screenplay for the first adaptation of “Pet Sematary”, and it was successful. However, “Carrie” and “The Shining” were done with little to no involvement of the best-selling author. King even hated Kubrick’s take on his haunted hotel story. The TV adaptation of “The Shinning”, which King penned himself, had a great viewership, but the critical reception paled compared with Kubrick’s film.

The strong cast didn’t save the TV adaptation from the drab literalism, and cheesy 1990s CGI (hello “The Langoliers”). The miniseries follows the novel extremely closely, and as a result, everything which was scary and exciting in the book became boring on the TV screen. At times, you may wonder if Danny is going to write “GNIROB” instead of “REDRUM”.

Sometimes the adaptation suffers from following the source material too closely. Also, it may suffer from deviating too much from the source material. Such cases include “The Lawnmower Man” (1992), which basically was an in-name-only adaptation of Stephen King’s short story. Actually, the author sued the filmmakers to have his name removed from the credits.

With so many successful and unsuccessful adaptations, it makes no surprise that some of them slipped under the radar. So, let’s check out some fairly and unfairly adaptions of Stephen King’s work.

1. Riding the Bullet (2004) Directed by Mick Garris

In 2002, Stephen King made his debut on the internet by releasing the “Riding the Bullet” novella as a digital exclusive. The novella broke the e-book records at the time, selling over 400,000 copies in just one day. Two years later, the movie based on the novella was released to less than successful results.

“Riding the Bullet” follows a University of Maine student, who hitchhikes his way to his hometown, where his mother was taken to the hospital after having a stroke. One of the drivers giving him a lift turns out to be a dead man, who offers the protagonist to choose who’s going to die — him or his mother. If he fails to make a choice, they both die.

The movie adaptation was written and directed by Mich Garris, who can be considered a veteran of the king of horror adaptations. He was in charge of adapting King’s longest novel “The Stand” in 1994, which was extremely well received. Also, he directed the TV adaptation of “The Shining”, and the critically panned “Sleepwalkers”. His work with King is hit or miss. So what exactly went wrong with “Riding the Bullet”?

Well, the movie follows the story pretty closely, and this time for its own good. The dialogue of the characters is left almost unaltered. Unfortunately, a 65 pages long novella cannot be turned into a feature-length film. Which forced Mick Garris into adding some nonsense for the prologue of the movie, which doesn’t really help its tone.

All of a sudden, the main protagonist is a goth-like painter who is obsessed with death and has a failed suicide attempt after contemplating that his girlfriend is about to leave him. Unfortunately, those additions feel like fillers to extend the movie’s run-time.

The film was given a limited release, with plans to expand later. The expansion never happened, and the movie ended up grossing a bit over $130,000 in North America. Since its failed theatrical release, “Riding the Bullet” was aired several times on TV. Nowadays, you can buy it on DVD or stream it on services like Tubi and Vudu.

2. The Mangler (1995) Directed by Tobe Hooper

At first glance, “The Mangler” had all the ingredients of a successful film. Aside from being an adaptation of Stephen King’s story, the movie was directed by Tobe Hooper, the guy behind masterpieces like “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “The Poltergeist”. The movie features Robert Englund, the star of A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, and Ted Levine, who portrayed Buffalo Bill in “The Silence of the Lambs”. Have you heard of “The Mangler”? Possible. Does it appear on the list of the best Stephen King adaptations? Nope. So, what went wrong with “The Mangler”?

The fact that “The Mangler” tanked at the box office (it earned $1 million from 800 screens in its first weekend, and had a total gross of $1.8 million), can be explained by the period when the film was released. Before Wes Craven revitalized the horror genre with “Scream” in 1996, the nineties weren’t that kind toward straightforward horror films. Even sequels of successful franchises, those that weren’t put on hold, were struggling.

But the time of its release is not the only problem. “The Mangler” didn’t generate any critical praise upon its release, and it rarely gets good retrospective reviews. The simple story about the possessed mangler got a running-for-centuries conspiracy subplot. The goofy dialogue doesn’t help as well. Yes, the concept of the story itself is silly, but Stephen King masterfully turned it into a thrill ride. Especially, thanks to its terrifying open ending. Its movie counterpart goes for a “demons spoiled our love story”-ending.

All in all, it feels like “The Mangler” didn’t aim high to begin with. It didn’t generate much buzz upon its release, and never got a cult following. However, the movie has two direct-to-video (if not the garbage can) sequels, which have little to nothing in common with the original plot.

3. Sometimes They Come Back (1991) Directed by Tom McLoughlin

King’s short story “Sometimes They Come Back” follows the school teacher, haunted by his childhood traumatic experience of witnessing greasers killing his brother. His students start dying one by one, being replaced by the greasers. Sometimes they do come back, and the protagonist has to relive his nightmares and even use black magic to fight the greasers.

The movie follows the story closely, except avoiding certain gruesome elements, such as the death of the protagonist’s wife, and adding a melodramatic turn with the return of his brother. It was aired on CBS on May 7th, 1991, and despite being followed by two direct-to-video sequels, never had a cult following.

In no way, “Sometimes They Come Back” is a bad film. It’s just average. The movie was directed by Tom McLoughlin. Considering his filmography, one would wish that horror-wise “Sometimes They Come Back” would be closer to “One Dark Night” or “Jason Lives”. Unfortunately, the movie suffers on its melodramatic side as well, being way too far from McLoughlin’s “Something To Live For”.

4. Graveyard Shift (1990) Directed by Ralph S. Singleton

Just like the two previous entries, “Graveyard Shift” is based on the short story from King’s first short story collection, “Night Shift”. The story follows a textile mill, which is infested by giant mutated rodents that seem to have developed an ecosystem of their own in the sub-basements of the mill.

The story, although just a dozen pages long, takes its time before revealing the monsters. We get acquainted with the characters and learn about the tension between them. And, typical for Stephen King’s short story, it has an open ending.

The movie adaptation deviates from its source material. Firstly, there’s only one giant rodent, but the one to behold. Just like the story, it gets viewers acquainted with the characters and the tension between them. But here it fails a bit. The film opens with the murder, making the viewers anticipate the next one, instead of following the development of the relationships between the characters.

David Andrews and Stephen Macht give solid performances in the film, but they are completely overshadowed by Brad Dourif as an eccentric exterminator. Actually, Dourif and the monster rodent are so effective in chewing scenery, no pun intended, that they are the only aspects that stick after watching the movie.

“Graveyard Shift” was released on October 26, 1990, barely recouped its budget, and attracted negative reviews from audiences and critics alike. Stephen King himself hated the movie, calling it “a quick exploitative picture”. Still, “Graveyard Shift” is not so bad. Surely, it doesn’t match King’s adaptations that became pop-cultural phenomena. As eco-horror, it’s not “Jaws” or “Grizzly”, but it works pretty well as a simple monster movie for a Halloween party.

5. Bag of Bones (2011) Directed by Mick Garris

With 64 novels in King’s biography, it’s quite easy to miss some of them. “Bag of Bones” was King’s first novel under the publishing deal with Simon & Schuster. The book was an immediate bestseller, with the hardcover edition having a print run of over 1 million copies. Despite all of its commercial success and critical praise, this “haunted love story” rarely pops up on the list of Stephen King’s best works. The novel is not bad, but not the most memorable one.

Twelve years after the release of the novel, the miniseries of the same name were released. “Bag of Bones” was directed by Mick Garris, which signifies that it was either hit or miss. The miniseries stars post-James Bond fame Pierce Brosnan as Mike Noonan, a best-selling author suffering writer’s block after the death of his wife. Strange events force him to investigate his wife’s past, which can solve an old curse and help him find solace.

Just like the book, the miniseries was quite successful. Upon its original airing on A&E, it attracted a 6 million viewership. Just like its source material, it received some critical praise, however more restrained. Regardless of that, “Bag of Bones” is almost completely forgotten. It may seem that even Stephen King’s die-hard fans remain oblivious about the existence of the series.

So, what went wrong? “Bag of Bones” tries too hard to keep up with the novel’s pace, the same mistake that haunts the recent adaptation of “Lisey’s Story”, a reverse-“Bag of Bones” of sorts. Also, the novel’s core idea seems buried under the fruitless attempts to scare the viewer. Still, if you enjoy haunted love stories or want to check out an alternative and more supernatural take on Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca”, you can give “Bag of Bones” a try.

Throughout the years, the science fiction genre has paved the way for enormous blockbusters. This year, for example, we’ve gotten big-budget juggernauts like Moonfall, Nope, and Prey. On top of that, some of the most memorable cinematic classics fall into the category. Over the past century, people continue to talk about Alien, Back to the Future, and Brazil. Without question, this can be attributed to the sci-fi genre’s ability to bring awe-inspiring spectacle to the big screen.

The baffling box office hauls make it abundantly clear that these are movies that people are willing to see. That being said, there will always be films that fly under the radar. It’s hard to compete with Robocop, Spaceballs, and Predator. That probably explains why The Hidden, Jack Sholder’s campy body snatching caper, rarely comes up in conversation.

While there are countless unrecognized gems to speak of, this list in particular will focus on underseen classics. In other words, modern releases will not be included. The entries range from heady arthouse dramas to adrenaline-pumping B movies, but they all fit into the broad category of science fiction. Note that the entries are ranked alphabetically, so there is no definitive ranking by quality. Given the varying styles and subgenres, the goal is to allow readers to determine their next watch based on the descriptions alone. In theory, readers should find something to scratch their various itches.

1. 964 Pinocchio (1991)

Folks looking for a conventional sci-fi film should stay far away from 964 Pinocchio. Shozin Fukui’s bizarre cyberpunk flick does everything it can to evade normality. Instead, viewers will get a bloodsoaked thrill ride that bombards viewers with violent, abstract imagery. Some viewers will find it bewildering; others will find it

Your mileage really depends on how much you value storytelling because, frankly, there isn’t much of a traditional story here. You could probably fill out a plot diagram if you thought hard enough, but this is a movie that’s clearly more focused on the visuals and action. It’s nonstop insanity for 97 minutes, and that insanity is a sight to behold. Just don’t overthink it.

2. August in the Water (1995)

Gakuryū Ishii isn’t a household name or anything, but if he’s known for anything, it’s his punk films. Crazy Thunder Road and Burst City, two of his earlier releases, perfectly encapsulate the counterculture of the era. They’re messy, gritty, and raw. In other words, they’re the polar opposite of August in the Water, a poetic headtrip that came after the director’s punk era.

Basically, Ishii shifts away from the in-your-face style of his previous works and eases into something calmer. August in the Water is a slow-paced, female-centered story that’s far more concerned with character development than it is with rapid, methodical action. This results in his most mature, and arguably most acclaimed, feature. Though it represents a shift in style, it doesn’t represent a shift in skill.

3. Born in Flames (1983)

Lizzie Borden’s documentary-style dystopian drama is positively punk rock, but more importantly, it’s as relevant now as it was in 1983. Honestly, you’ll probably see that statement a lot if you look up user reviews, so excuse the repetition, but it’s hard to talk about Born in Flames without bringing up its timelessness. Given the recent political unrest, it’s fascinating to take in a film that echoes so many modern sentiments.

Borden’s film is less concerned with entertainment and more concerned with making a bold political statement, but that doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining. The pseudo-documentary presentation ultimately allows viewers to enter a parallel America. The citizens of this alternative socialist democracy recognize that even a political revolution can’t squash racism, sexism, and homophobia. The more politically charged scenes brought about by these themes force viewers to question human nature. Such big questions will challenge viewers, and the messy structure further pushes things in new directions.

The spontaneity of its storytelling can initially throw viewers off, but the messy presentation practically acts as a parallel to this messy version of society. Morality and equality aren’t black-and-white, and Born in Flames makes that abundantly clear. It’s a sloppy, confounding experiment that defies genre. It’s also brilliant.

4. Destination Moon (1950)

Your ability to appreciate Destination Moon depends entirely on how willing you are to accept it for what it is. Some films are timeless; Destination Moon is not. Compared to the sci-fi movies of today, this hard sci-fi flick feels slow and even occasionally underdeveloped. This probably isn’t the best way to start a recommendation, but it serves as a preface to what will be said next.

In spite of its age, Destination Moon remains fascinating today. It’s one of the earliest examples of a “smart” sci-fi movie. Before 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Day the Earth Stood Still, this came in and tried to present more grandiose ideas to viewers who were likely used to simple afternoon entertainment. The film’s willingness to think big really makes it worth watching even if, at times, it feels like a relic from another era.

5. The Hidden (1987)

The Hidden opens with a seemingly mild-mannered citizen calmly robbing a Los Angeles Wells Fargo bank. His expressionless face immediately tells the audience that something isn’t quite right, and as the film unfolds, everything becomes clearer. It becomes evident that the stone-faced robber has had his identity stolen, or to use a more genre-appropriate term, he has had his body snatched.

The body snatching trope is nearly as old as the science fiction genre itself. Countless works of fiction have attempted to tell exciting stories about mind-stealing extraterrestrial beings, but not all of them have been successful. While The Hidden isn’t exactly successful in terms of its mainstream success, it is a delightfully pulpy slice of science fiction escapism.

Director Jack Sholder, who is perhaps best known for his work on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, has so much fun with the premise. Action scenes play out frantically, plot twists are thrown at viewers with reckless abandon, and the cast hams it up throughout all of this. The Hidden initially appears to be too cheesy for its own good, but deep down, there’s something surprisingly engaging about the whole thing. Sholder and company know how to cast a spell, and it works.

Rotoscoping, for those who may be unfamiliar with the term, is the technique of animating over film footage to create more realistic or lifelike characterizations. Created by animator and cartoonist Max Fleischer in 1915, the method was originally dubbed the “Fleischer process,” and utilized a device called a rotoscope to project film images onto a glass surface for the artists to trace or embellish as they wished. Today, rotoscoping often involves digital mediums to create the composite images, and the results are quite diverse, combining digital footage with a variety of modern or classic animation styles.

This process, as mentioned in the examples below, can vary a great deal in both style and proportion, with some animators using a lighter touch to emphasize the film footage while others use the footage more as a reference for more heavily animated sequences. In fact, rotoscoping is not just used for animated features but has become a staple of modern visual effects, used as much for omission as for inclusion or accentuation. Yet despite its ubiquitousness as an effects tool, the rotoscope form remains a style and a subgenre of animation, valued for its realism and admired for its versatility as a fusion of live action and animated conventions.

When rotoscoping was adopted by animators at Disney and other major Hollywood studios, it was often used sparingly. Some animators preferred the squash and stretch principles of classic animation to the realism of rotoscope. But others, such as the rotoscope pioneer Ralph Bakshi, would eventually embrace the technique entirely, initiating a golden age for the form in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with films like the original animated “Lord of the Rings” (1978) and popular sci-fi and fantasy epics “Wizards” (1977) and “Fire and Ice” (1983), the latter of which was collaboration with artist Frank Frazetta, one of the most renowned fantasy illustrators of the 20th century. Bakshi was known for his blending of realistic, slightly touched up film footage with more animated settings and characters, even making use of newsreels and other stock footage to give his films a sense of veracity beyond the scope of conventional animated fare. Other films of the period, like the cult anthology “Heavy Metal” (1981), used a similar style to Bakshi’s, and it was in this era that the rotoscope film became a subgenre title associated with adult animation.

While there are similarities between modern rotoscoping and motion capture techniques used with CGI, there are some distinctions as well. Motion capture, for example, does not involve tracing by animators but instead uses specially designed programs to record objects or bodies in motion and translate (or render) them into the animation software. There can be crossover, of course, and some animators may even disagree about what actually qualifies as rotoscopy, but fans of the technique enjoy the form in its entire gamut, from hand-drawn traditionalism to the interpolated effects of modern digital composite animations. As long as the technique is used as a creative means to good storytelling, audiences tend to appreciate the effort, whether it’s a polished high-budget production or a labor of love.

The following list includes some of the most highly regarded rotoscope films created since the turn of the present century. Some are Hollywood productions while others were created outside of the American motion-picture industry. Diverse in form as well as in content, the films on this list demonstrate a considerable range of uniquely creative rotoscope styles. Each establishes its own individual niche in the overall culture of the form, and without question, every entry will have lasting significance in the future of animated cinema.

1. Waking Life (2001)

Director Richard Linklater’s first animated feature, “Waking Life,” is a meditation on lucid dreaming and the nature of consciousness. The film is animated using Rotoshop, a form of interpolated rotoscoping that allows for multiple mattes from single key frames. In other words, the programming allows for the automatic generation of intermediate frames, which are referred to in animation as in-betweens or tweening for short. This is, essentially, the digitization of rotoscoping, and it reduces the heavy workload of animating individual frames for each sequence. But what makes “Waking Life” so groundbreaking isn’t merely the efficiency of the technique. It’s the film’s use of that technology to tell a compelling, nuanced and transcendent story that may have lost its most alluring aspects had it taken another form.

In “Waking Life,” scenes are contextualized by an evolving style of animation that takes full advantage of the versatile capabilities of the rotoscope method. Some scenes are more spare with the animation, resembling slightly highlighted live-action footage, while other scenes are more animated, fluid and abstract. These alternating styles are presented not merely as eye candy but as accurate depictions of a dream world grounded in lucid consciousness, and every shift in the balance serves a narrative purpose.

With a narrative structure similar to that of Linklater’s breakout classic “Slacker” in 1990, “Waking Life” follows an unnamed protagonist (Willy Wiggins) as he explores his dream life, sometimes interacting with the people he meets and other times fading momentarily from the action as other characters take over the narrative. And like “Slacker,” “Waking Life” aims to resonate with its viewers. Its stories within stories often have a reflective nature that dissolves the fourth wall between audience and medium with layers of allusion and self-referential significance.

The frame narrative that follows the unnamed protagonist is like a stream-of-consciousness shadowing that observes the mise en abyme of other character paths, each of them as fleeting as his own proves to be in the end. But like a lucid dream itself, the film concludes without the conspicuous resolution of traditional Hollywood fare. It ends with an awakening, as many would expect, but not from the dream. It is an existential awakening that acts as a film version of a Zen koan, meant more as a question than an answer.

2. A Scanner Darkly (2006)

“A Scanner Darkly” is Linklater’s second animated feature. Created using the same Rotoshop technology as he used for “Waking Life,” “A Scanner Darkly” is much more grounded in a singular format and style. While on its surface, it appears very realistic, with clearly recognizable actors and settings, it is also subdued, hypnotic and at times, psychedelic in tone.

Based on a surreal and paranoia-infused novel by science fiction author Philip K. Dick, the story of “A Scanner Darkly” reads almost prophetic in relation to both the American drug problem and mass surveillance. Written in 1977, just before the popularization of drugs like crack, meth and ecstasy, the book depicts a dystopian future where a fifth of Americans are addicted to a new drug called Substance D. As the story’s protagonist (played by Keanu Reeves in the film) lives a double life as an addict and a government agent, the conflicting nature of his experience becomes both morally and psychologically complex. Thus, in the film version, the rotoscope form provides a fitting context for a schizophrenic character arc that is rooted in reality but becomes increasingly abstracted and hallucinatory as the tale unfolds (and especially fitting for science fiction that borders on speculative).

Rotoscope, at its best, is a tool that helps artists accentuate and reinterpret what is captured by the camera, and Linklater’s animated films are consistent examples of the method used confidently and to worthwhile effect, even if they do blur the line between rotoscope and motion capture CGI. With the accomplishments of “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darky” (as well as a new feature film, “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood,” released in the spring of this year), Linklater and his team have not only created some of the most highly regarded rotoscope features in the post-2000 era, but their films have been instrumental in the use and development of modern digital rotoscope technology.

3. Chico & Rita (2010)

Created by Directors Fernando Trueba and Tono Errando, along with the Spanish Designer Javier Marical, “Chico and Rita” was the first Spanish-language film to receive a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the American Academy Awards. At first glance, some scenes in “Chico and Rita” may not appear rotoscoped due to its rigid animation style, but the technique is used extensively throughout. In this film, the character style is minimalistic while the settings and backgrounds are more elaborate and detailed, a contrast that emphasizes the film’s evolving sense of place. What makes this film stand out, aside from the pairing of rotoscope with simple and expressionistic features, is the romantic atmosphere created by its combination of exceptionally captivating music in a historical setting (late ‘40s onward).

The jazz score, composed by Bebo Valdés and performed by various artists, is a centerpoint and a driving force throughout the film, at times drawing attention away from the main storyline as the tunes themselves become animated and lifelike. In the tradition of a Latin balad called a bolero, the story of “Chico and Rita” follows the long-term, often tempestuous romance of its two main characters (Chico, voiced by Eman Xor Oña, and Rita, voiced by Limara Meneses), a saga of seduction and loss that seems to repeat itself indefinitely through the ages.

Spanning several decades and taking place in Havana, New York, Paris, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, “Chico and Rita” is far from a traditional cinematic romance. The on-and-never-quite-off affair between a nightclub pianist and pseudo-famous jazz singer is as much about music as it is about love, and the artistry of the images adds true-to-life flavor to those passions as they appear in the film. Without rotoscope, the film would still be a well designed animated feature, but the touch of realism allowed by the roto form is one of the reasons for its high level of seductiveness and emotional appeal, as well as a major reason for the film’s success.

4. Alois Nebel (2011)

“Alois Nebel” is the first full-length feature film by Czech Director Tomáš Luňák. A black-and-white animated noir drama based on the graphic novel series by Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír Švejdík (known as Jaromir 99), “Alois Nebel” is set in the 1980s in a small Czech village where a lonely railroad employee encounters ghostly scenes from the period of German expulsion following the Second World War. As expected, the black-and-white rotoscope style is well suited for the dark subject matter, and its use of high contrast makes for a rather jarring visual experience that adds further tension to the scenes, particularly during the post-war images.

Moreover, the film’s tracing and outlining are uniquely dense, giving the characters a prominence in the frame that is slightly reminiscent of shadow plays or cutout animation, at some points appearing as if layered in three dimensions. The overall effect is like a blending of American noir with Eastern European historical significance, as both the story and the war are presented in a kind of timeless cultural environment.

Receiving a Best Animated Film Award at the 2012 European Film Awards (as well as being selected as the Czech entry for a Best Foreign Language Film nomination at the 84th Academy Awards), “Alois Nebel” has been recognized both for its animation style and its controversial subject matter. Expelling Germans from the region was a backlash to the horrors of German occupation during the war years, but many locals continued to feel conflicted about the period and its aftermath. Thus, the struggles of the eponymous Alois Nebel, both social and psychological, are temporarily subdued by chance romance and social progress (i.e. the falling of the Berlin Wall), but as a force of history, are never truly resolved.

5. The Case of Hana & Alice (2015)

Rotoscoping has been used in anime films in the past, to varying degrees, but not always successfully. As recently as 2013 the television adaptation of the popular manga series “Flowers of Evil” received some criticism for its stylistic departures from the source material. But in “The Case of Hana and Alice,” directed by Shunji Iwai and based on the manga series drawn and written by Shūzō Oshimi, the rotoscope method does well to preserve the character and appearance of the original comic. While the style of the film is much more realistic than the art of the manga series—and in full color, rather than black and white— its characters still have the likeness of those in the comic, and its animation is so well done that audiences are likely more willing to forgive some of the obvious differences.

The prequel to Iwai’s live-action film titled simply “Hana and Alice” (2004), “The Case of Hana and Alice” follows the couple’s initial meeting and first adventure together in middle school. Like the series, it is a youth drama but also a mystery—or more accurately, several mysteries. And in the manga tradition, much of the film is focused on the couple’s emerging friendship, reuniting the actresses Anne Suzuki (Hana) and Yū Aoi (Alice) from the original live-action sequel. “The Case of Hana and Alice” may not be the most groundbreaking film on this list, but it does have its charm, and was the winner of the Bronze Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the 19th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. Further print adaptations of the Hana and Alice storyline continue to be published as Manga serials.

As one of the most prolific and best loved genres in film there is an overabundance of quality cinematic thrillers. Amongst so much competition it is easy to miss out on hidden gems. What is more there are so many flavours of suspense, tension, chase, twists and all the other ingredients that make a good thriller. There are also so many different combinations of genre, tone, and theme, as well as the expansive span of cinema history to choose from.

This list will endeavour to present a host of thrillers that for one reason or another are underseen and underappreciated. Some are from well-known directors whose more famous work in the genre overshadows these offerings. Others are more contemplative character-based thrillers which might be lost in the flashier action-packed alternatives. A few are genre hybrids that are sometime hard to categorise but are thrillers to their core. They are all worthy additions to perhaps the oldest cinematic genre, built to quicken an audience heartbeat and get them on the edge of their seat. A genre that thrills but also that makes you contemplate sticky moral conundrums and the darker side of human nature like no other. These thrillers although lesser-known offerings combine these elements seamlessly and deserve your attention.

1. This Gun for Hire (1942)

Somewhat lost in the noir canon of the 1940s, this film is historically notable for many reasons. It introduced actor Alan Ladd, and his cinematic paring with actress Veronica Lake. This Gun for Hire is lumped into that ambiguous genre but in many ways, it feels like a more traditional action thriller. It involves a killer on the run Raven, a damaged loner, and assassin for hire. Raven is out for revenge against the employers who double crossed him. Lake plays, Ellen, a more morally heroic version of the icy blonde femme fatale. She gets to be on the side of the angels or more accurately Uncle Sam, but not without losing her streetwise independence and sardonic wit.

Despite the patriotic overtones, this is a dark tale, with some surprisingly fetishist elements. Raven as played by Ladd is a prototype for the ritualistically perfectionist antihero. A figure that forms the basis of Jeff Costello in La Samourai and recurs in Hollywood cinema from Travis Bickle to Ryan Gosling’s The Driver. While Raven is really a supporting antagonistic character, he steals the show and stands as an icon of the thriller genre and the movies in general. An icon that shouldn’t be lost amongst a larger film history movement.

2. The Man Between (1953)

Coming after his two more famous political thrillers Odd Man Out and The Third Man Carol Reed made a worthy but underseen follow up in The Man Between. Once again, we are in a post-war European city this time a divided and flattened Berlin. Into this treacherous environment comes innocent British school teacher Susanne visiting her Army officer Brother and his mysterious German wife.

James Mason gives a usually mercurial performance as German Ivo, both exploiting the porous border between West and East and trapped between it. Much like the city Ivo carries the ghosts of a nation imprisoned by both the Nazi past and the cold war present. We get the usual intrigue of the spy thriller foreign agents in old style hats and coats, questioned loyalties, chases through shadowy streets. All shot in the familiar expressionistic lighting and skewed camera angles of the more famous The Third Man. However, A Man Between is a more sombre almost John Le Carré esque story about national identity and shame. As such it stands out as a foundational text in the cinematic cold war thriller.

3. Le Boucher (1970)

A psychological thriller with precise gallic cool, directed by the “French Hitchcock” Claude Chabrol. It is easy to see shades of Shadow of a Doubt and Notorious in this tale of murder and suspicion. True to his influence Claude Chabrol utilises the blonde hair of his heroine, the schoolteacher Hélène, fixing the camera on the back of her head on several occasions. This perhaps is also to represent her coolness, her rejection of desire in contrast to the Butcher of the title. On the other hand, his murderous compulsion is shown through the striking use of red. Red that appears subtlety throughout, as well as vividly on the bodies of the woman he has killed.

Like Shadow of a Doubt, it explores unexamined perversity lurking in an idyllic small-town setting. Likewise, it explores the fear that someone close to us might be capable of evil and how we can react with denial. What sets it apart though is the disturbing idea that perhaps these two lost souls might offer each other some sort of redemption. That they both provide relief for each other’s sexual peculiarities. As such Le Boucher feels like a bridge between the subtle perversity of old school phycological thrillers and the more extreme psychosexual cinematic forms that where emerging, a la Brian de Palma. Chabrol became a master of this new tradition, and he remains a criminally underseen director. Le Boucher is the perfect place to start.

4. Winter Kills (1979)

This satirical conspiracy thriller uses the Kennedy assassination as its inspiration with Kafkaesque results. Jeff Bridges stars as Nick the member of a Kennedy-esque dynasty, the Kegans, trying to uncover who killed his half-brother a JFK like President. John Houston not only carries his mantle from Chinatown of being the embodiment of corrupted evil he turns it up to eleven. This time as Winter the patriarch of the Kegan family, a lecherous, corrupt tycoon, with tentacles in every facet of American financial and political power.

Winter Kills was lost in the strong competition of 70s paranoid conspiracy thrillers. It is perhaps the final say on that genre and era of filmmaking. It is a satire on the very concept of conspiracy itself. Cranking up the absurdity and corruption of American political and capitalistic power to comically dizzying effect. Ironically in its exploration of dodgy mafia dealings and defence contracts it is quite faithful to conspiracies surrounding JFK’s own rise to power and relationship with his father. Even stranger the film had a very short cinematic run, with the filmmakers speculating that it might have displeased some powerful people. Top that, Oliver Stone.

5. Cutter’s Way (1981)

Jeff Bridges is at it again this time in a sunny Santa Barbara which is rotten to the core. Cutter’s Way comes at the beginning of those slick early 80s thrillers, (Body Heat came out in the same year). However, it feels like a throwback in its exploration of American corruption or perhaps a hangover from it.

It’s set in a world that is moving on from such countercultural freak-out, but our heroes haven’t quite got the message. Bridges is Bone, a charming but aimless gigolo who stews in alcoholic self-pity with abrasive disabled Vietnam veteran Alex Cutter and Cutter’s tragically despairing wife Mo. Their investigation of a murder involving an Oil tycoon brings up moral, political and interpersonal conflicts amongst these damaged friends.

This is a somewhat talky neo noir, a thriller of ideas and characters. For Cutter bringing down the murderer is a way of making a final stand against all those who think they can get away with it. Those who betrayed him to a life of disability and pain all for a greater political lie. His way of doing so leads to a thrilling climax and one of the most satisfyingly abrupt endings in cinema. It is a thriller that leaves you thinking about it long after it is over.