When it comes to cultural footprint, Ridley Scott’s filmography is up there with, and maybe even surpasses, the likes of Spielberg, Scorsese, Lucas, and Coppola. Blade Runner set the palette and vibe for a certain dystopia. Alien created a classic monster but is also chockful with classic set pieces. Both Gladiator and Thelma & Louise so permeated the zeitgeist that they were quoted and parodied on end.

But Scott isn’t as lauded as his contemporaries. Part of it might be his journeyman director approach. He’s a genre chameleon amongst a discourse that loves their auteurs to be thematically consistent. He’s also prolific, sometimes dropping two films in a single year, and his assembly line approach to film production gives his detractors fresh ammo every time a film underwhelms. Still, one never knows with Scott. His flops, Blade Runner being the ultimate example, become classics while his successful rebounds from flopland, Black Rain for instance, remain ridiculous.

In the spirit of Blade Runner, this list looks at the underappreciated entries in Scott’s filmography. Here are 10 films that might one day be iconic classics or simply reevaluated in a kinder light.

10. Matchstick Men (2003)

Scott’s early 2000s Nic Cage-starrer plays like a sort of time capsule of an era when breezy adventure comedies still made a splash in cinemas. Matchstick Men splits the difference between Oceans 11 and Cage’s own National Treasure franchise for a movie that’s divisive, silly as so many con movies are, and fun.

Cage was still in his blockbuster era headlining tentpoles. The latter part of the decade would see him taking job after job to pay back taxes, but here he’s firing on all of the neurotic but defiant charm he accrued as an Oscar winner turned action star. He plays a conman with OCD whose life is turned upside down when he’s tracked down by the daughter he didn’t know he had. Both director and star are having fun in their comfort zones, repeating beats they’d wielded to greater effect on other projects. Cage’s OCD con has a whiff of the soulfulness from his master turn in Leaving Las Vegas, and Scott keeps the tension humming with patience and flow that his later works sometimes lack.

9. Legend (1985)

Full disclosure: this spot almost when to 2023’s Napoleon, a film savaged by the discourse and not helped by Scott’s dismissals of historical inaccuracies but fortified by strong battle sequences and more fun than its detractors admit. Still, here’s as good a place as any to spotlight another Scott flop that’s now undergoing an appraisal. Legend hasn’t gone full Blade Runner by transitioning from dud to iconic, but it’s certainly endeared itself to a generation raised on fantasy and craving practical effects.

This is also a chance to give dearly departed Tim Curry his flowers. As the Lord of Darkness, he added to a stable of eventually-iconic performances (many of them with heavy makeup or prosthetics) that’s devious and delicious. A 2002 director’s cut – another Scott trademark – has also helped the film achieve something of cult status. But while this was initially a flop that served as a hiccup to Tom Cruise’s career and didn’t do much for Mia Sara’s, the film’s craft elements (especially the makeup and effects) were feted. On release, Legend was thought to have killed the appetite for big budget fantasy movies. Decades later, even Scott doesn’t make them like this anymore.

8. Body of Lies (2008)

In the early 2000s, Leonardo DiCaprio was still trying to shed his pretty boy image by going on a working tour of esteemed directors. It’s no surprise that a Scott film was part of that mission, alongside working with Spielberg and Scorcese. By folding himself into the Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe collaboration that was a couple films deep by this point, DiCaprio nailed one of his first beleaguered outsider roles with an intensity his critics didn’t think he had.

Body of Lies is very much a film of its time, and that time is the post-9/11 War on Terror. DiCaprio is the field agent on the ground in the Middle East taking orders from Crowe’s handler comfortably back in the American suburbs. Hollywood struggled to portray this era in ways that appealed to audiences or critics, but Scott got farther than most by focusing on the increasingly diffuse nature of the so-called dirty or forever wars and by not dressing up the murky moral landscape in which it was all unfolding. When so many movies were scrambling to find something insightful to say about the moment, Body of Lies sidestepped that pretension and righteousness by juxtaposing DiCaprio’s conflicted field agent with Crowe, brash and arrogant, calling the shots dressed in a bathrobe and standing in his garden.

7. Alien: Covenant (2017)

The Alien franchise has been treading water more or less since James Cameron delivered its showstopping sequel. Ridley Scott returned with 2012’s Prometheus, a film that underwhelmed narratively but performed well enough to greenlight this sequel. Covenant ditched the coyness of the Prometheus lore for something that was more familiar, and it’s arguably the best of the post-Aliens sequels or prequels because it’s so strange.

Alien sequels now come with a sort of checklist: dripping acid, a chase through a dark corridor, a haircut or outfit that calls back to Ripley. Covenant isn’t beyond those, but it finds a different antagonist to explore. Michael Fassbender’s android David was introduced in Prometheus but here he gets fleshed out to strange edges. He experiments with what it is to feel human. He encounters another version of himself. Covenant almost feels more interested in David’s story, so much so that when another spaceship trudges into the narrative with Katherine Waterston as the Ripley stand-in, the film practically falls into rote motions. Not the best Alien movie by any stretch, but a welcome episode in the universe.

6. The Duellists (1977)

Some director’s debut with a money job. Others tell you more or less who they are on the first go. Ridley Scott’s debut The Duellists adapts a Joseph Conrad short story set during the Napoleonic Wars, but it’s focus is on a smaller-scale conflict that outlasts the conflict which sparks it. It captures many of the themes Scott’s later work would focus on with an attention to the sumptuous details of its period setting

Harvey Keitel is a Bonapartist. Keith Carradine is a royalist. These two men keep encountering each other over 20 years, engaging in a series of duels that reflect the tumult of the times. Scott would follow this up with Alien two years later then a run of flops including Blade Runner, and in the slew of prolific work and surprise classics, it’s easy to forget how accomplished The Duellists, now overshadowed by Scott’s filmography, was. At Cannes that year, the jury unanimously awarded Scott the prize for best debut film (the Camera d’Or would be created the year after), and it competed in the main competition. Scott’s stories these days are rarely as expansive, but The Duellists is a reminder that he’s long been adept at capturing the breadth of history, using smaller stories as a way into epic ones.

The roots of the cop thriller (and its numerous subgenres) can be traced back to the early days of cinema, with Fritz Lang’s M (1931) standing as one of the earliest and most influential examples. Its gripping pursuit of a child murderer and detailed police investigation established many of the elements that would become fundamental to the genre, and throughout the 20th century we were treated to decades of ever-evolving takes on the central cop theme.

By the 80s, there was plenty of foundations in place, and the previous decade had seen some of the all-time greats released; Friedkin’s The French Connection (1971), Philip D’Antoni’s The Seven-Ups (1973), and Sidney Lumet’s Serpico (1973) all hit our screens and set down a marker for everything that was to follow. The 80s matched its preceding decade with gusto, and in this list, we look back at 10 of the very best the decade had to offer.

1. Cruising (1980)

Still one of Al Pacino’s finest performances to date (despite the fact he still doesn’t particularly like talking about it), in William Friedkin’s Cruising, he plays young NYPD officer Steve Burns, who is sent undercover to infiltrate the underground S&M and leather scene after a serial killer begins murdering gay men in New York.

Friedkin takes the grimy feel of New York that he nailed so brilliantly in The French Connection and transposes it to Cruising, albeit while covering a very different part of the city and themes. Pacino is superb as a cop gradually losing his sense of certainty and, in part, his identity as he becomes completely embroiled and obsessed with both the case and the scene he becomes a part of.

Notorious on release and only relatively recently available, Cruising is one of Friedkin’s most brilliant works, and the infamous missing 40 minutes were partially reconstructed in James Franco and Travis Mathews’ excellent meta-film blending documentary Interior. Leather Bar. (2013), which is also well worth a watch if you can track it down.

2. Prince of the City (1981)

While Prince of the City isn’t Sidney Lumet’s best film, its sprawling narrative and epic scope laid a marker for police-corruption thrillers to come. Treat Williams plays narcotics detective Daniel Ciello, who’s approached by federal prosecutors investigating corruption within the NYPD. Ciello agrees to cooperate, but only on the condition that he doesn’t have to betray fellow officers, but as the investigation goes deeper, he finds his own history in corruption makes things increasingly difficult for him.

It’s clear Prince of the City isn’t merely a world of good and bad; it blurs the lines and explores bureaucracy and procedure, and it was a huge influence on the superb television series The Shield (2002-2008). Lumet’s film was based on the true story of NYPD detective Robert Leuci, and Williams’ performance brilliantly explores the hysteria that comes with such a situation. We go through the journey with Ciello, as Lumet takes us through a deeply immersive portrait of a police department and the systems within systems that exist.

At times it rightly feels suffocating, and although it doesn’t quite have the heft of Serpico, Prince of the City remains a hugely important document within the cop thriller genre.

3. Nighthawks (1981)

Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams and Rutger Hauer all-star in Bruce Malmuth’s somewhat underappreciated cop thriller, with Stallone and Williams playing New York detectives who are transferred to an elite anti-terrorist unit after an international terrorist (Hauer) arrives in the city.

Nighthawks is a brilliantly atmospheric piece of early-80s urban thriller filmmaking and would make an excellent double bill with Night of the Juggler, which was released a year before. Both Stallone and Williams make the whole thing feel authentic, and this never feels like two huge stars playing cops; it simply engulfs you in the story as it races along to its superb conclusion.

Nighthawks is a much darker and more distinctive cop thriller than its rather slight reputation suggests, elevated by Stallone’s impressively restrained performance and Rutger Hauer’s unforgettable villain.

4. Witness (1985)

Peter Weir’s filmography is impressive to say the least, yet he perhaps doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Witness is at least universally acclaimed, and for good reason. Harrison Ford gives one of his all-time great performances as Philadelphia detective John Book, who’s assigned to protect Amish boy Samuel Lapp, who has witnessed the murder of an undercover police officer. When Book realises the corruption reaches into his wn department, he is forced to hide with Samuel and the boy’s mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis) within their isolated Amish community.

Witness works so well because it takes a familiar murder investigation and places it in an environment completely removed from the world of conventional police movies. Ford’s performance is sensational, but he’s not on his own in that respect; Kelly McGillis is terrific as Rachel, while Lukas Haas is excellent as the young boy.

Weir combines police thriller, murder mystery, romance and throws in some very effective cultural drama to boot, resulting in one of the best films he’s ever made.

5. To Live and Die in L.A (1985)

William Friedkin had already delivered an astonishing car chase in 1971’s The French Connection, but in To Live and Die in L. A he took things one step further. The film stars William Petersen as Secret Service agent Richard Chance, who becomes obsessed with bringing down ruthless counterfeiter Eric ’Rick’ Masters, played with insane brilliance by Willem Dafoe. When Masters kills Chance’s partner, Chance goes on the rampage, taking matters into his own hands and, with fellow agent Vukovich (John Pankow), goes undercover into Los Angeles’ criminal underworld.

It’s one of the most stylish yet ferocious cop thrillers of the 1980s, and Dafoe and Peterson bring a real intensity to the central obsession. Los Angeles looks incredible, and the soundtrack is constantly pumping, giving To Live and Die in L. A a relentless and exhausting feel, in the best way possible.

During one chase sequence, Friedkin throws the cars into oncoming traffic on the freeway, with the cars travelling at terrifying speed and constantly changing direction. It’s reckless, it’s incredible, and it sums up the entire film rather well.

Consider this a thematic watchlist. By now, The Odyssey has become an undisputable hit. Critically successful. More than a billion in box office gross. Its multi-format screening options have put IMAX screens on demands, with waiting lists until October, and film bros shelling out for multiple screenings. Captured the discourse, at least before Spider-Man swung in. Part of the 2026 zeitgeist and likely to enjoy plenty more chatter as summer blockbuster season leads into movie awards season.

With all the chatter, many lists offer additional fare to watch from other retellings of classic myths (Clash of the Titans, Hercules), sword-and-sandal epics (Gladiator, Ben-Hur, Spartacus), Iliad and Odyssey remakes (Troy, Kirk Douglas’ 1954 Ulysses), and even unrelated medieval fare (Ran, The Green Knight). But Taste of Cinema does things differently, and we’d like to think that this list provides 10 double bill options that dig deeper, complement thematically, and make for a more satisfying movie night.

1. Helena (1924)

Younger audiences less versed in the classics might not be so aware of the Trojan War or the epic poem The Iliad which serves as a prequel to The Odyssey, but those audiences are in luck because Helena is readily available online. This 3-hour silent epic was initially released in two parts and was thought to be partially lost for several years until it turned up in Swiss archives. Helena is epic filmmaking that puts Nolan’s scope to shame. It involved thousands of extras and almost bankrupted its studio, but it endures today for audiences everywhere to watch for free (or with ads, anyway).

Those familiar with The Iliad will have some idea of what to expect. Its two parts – The Rape of Helen and The Fall of Troy – are now stitched together to run 20 minutes longer than Nolan’s version. But Helena is more than just a relic from the past. Those unaccustomed to silent, or even older films, might be surprised by how gripping and well-paced Helena is and by the expressiveness of the dialogue-free performances. Given that Nolan’s work was confined by IMAX camera filming limits, screen availability, and financial issues related to film time, here is a welcome and thorough explainer that can provide exposition that 2026’s The Odyssey sped through, in addition to sets, scale, and breadth that modern cinema can only aspire to today.

2. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

The Odyssey is the quintessential journey story, and so any movie about a prolonged trip home or an expansive search owes some debt to Homer’s epic. Indeed, movies are far flung as The Searchers and Cold Mountain, with their focus on grizzled veterans disenchanted by their wartime brutality, get name checked. But special mention must be paid to Preston Sturges’ Sullivan Travels, one of the greatest comedies, movies about making movies, and Odyssey riffs ever made.

Joel McCrea plays movie director John Sullivan. Sullivan’s had success with broad comedies, but he hits a wall when he tries to make the serious, realist drama O Brother, Where Art Thou? (more on that later). He goes undercover as a drifter to see how people really live and finds himself and severed from his past life. Sullivan’s Travels’ title might be a riff on Jonathan Swift’s satire about a traveler named Gulliver, but Sturges film is one of the most delightful Odyssey-adjacent films in history, one that understands that comedy is a trojan horse to engage empathy and use cheap laughs as a pathway to deeper truths.

3. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Really, this could go to any of the films featuring animator/effects guru Ray Harryhausen’s influential work. Clash of the Titans (1981) is a worthy entry that is perhaps more relevant to The Odyssey, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1973) actually contains a cyclops, but in terms of distilling Greek myths, there’s no better Nolan complement than 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts. Loosely based on the Greek epic poem The Argonautica, Don Chaffey’s film is an adventure classic immortalized by Harryhausen’s creature effects, especially the skeleton warriors.

What makes this a great double bill for Nolan’s Odyssey? The source material is set before Odysseus’ tale. Its sense of adventure set the tone and mood for many of the later-century sword-and-sandal epics from which Nolan took inspiration. Most of all, the energy and wonder of Harryhausen’s effects, here and in Clash of the Titans, inspired so much interest in the myths and how we interpret them as entertainment today. Nolan’s tone is certainly more brooding than what Harryhausen had to offer, but modern cinema’s patron saint of practical effects certainly owes a debt to Harryhausen’s groundbreaking work and infectious energy. The name of the dog is just a coincidence though.

4. Contempt (1963)

Jean-Luc Godard’s New Wave classic is actually more of an anti-Odyssey. Adapted from the novel Il Disprezzo, Contempt is a movie about storytelling that uses a troubled film production of The Odyssey as a framing device for the dissolution of a marriage. If The Odyssey is the story of a man struggling to return to his wife, Contempt is the story of a woman learning that he’s never truly returning to her.

Paul Javal (Michael Piccoli) is a playwright recruited by boorish US producer Jerry Prokosch (Jack Palance) to pen an adaptation of the Homeric epic for none other than Fritz Lang (playing himself). Paul’s wife Camille (Brigitte Bardot) senses that, far from being Paul’s Penelope, she’s being used as a tool in a wider mind game. Indeed, much of Contempt’s tension comes from Jerry and Fritz’s differing interpretations of The Odyssey, a dispute that makes pawns of Paul and Camille. Many Odyssey film recommendations want to highlight the setting, adventure, and time period of the original, but Contempt offers both a meditation on the meaning of the work and how Hollywood insists on twisting it to its own ends.

5. The Odyssey (1997)

There are many adaptations of The Odyssey such as the 1954 Kirk Douglas starrer, an Australian animated film, and a Yugoslavian miniseries, but the only straight retelling is this one. Including Andrei Konchalovsky’s 1997 Odyssey retelling from 1997 might be cheating a bit since it was a TV miniseries that played in the US on network television across two nights at a time when such event TV still existed. But given that Nolan’s film is just 3 minutes shorter than this, and taking into account how long films have gotten, it seems fair to honor Konchalovsky’s work here.

There is no doubt that Nolan’s Odyssey has higher production values and better effects than this version told in two parts. But, at least for a certain generation, this retelling feels more quintessential and in line with the voice of the epic. Armande Assante does better with Odysseus’ cunning, arrogance, and trickster personality than Damon’s more straightlaced approach, and on the whole this version captures that cocktail of mischievous energy intermixed with pained longing that’s helped The Odyssey endure as a pinnacle of storytelling. Its cheesy, low-fi aesthetic and frayed animal hide palette also captures a flavor of ancient Greece that’s perhaps not as polished as Nolan but is more fun. And that leads us to something an army of online film bros might not want to accept: when it comes to fun, this version outpaces Nolan’s by a mile.

It’s an obvious point to state, but so far, the 2020s have offered us a whole range of thrillers across many different sub genres. Christopher Nolan opened the decade in spectacular style with Tenet, a film that was every bit as ambitious as it was flawed. More than that though, Tenet was the blockbuster thriller that got people racing back to theatres in the wake of the Covid pandemic, and although it remains Nolan’s weakest film, it remains an important touchstone in cinematic history.

And earlier this year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (2025) was the big winner at the Oscars, including a first Best Director win for Anderson, in what was arguably his first full-on thriller. The film topped pretty much every year ending list, and even if it wasn’t your own personal favourite, it’s hard to argue against it being an utterly brilliant piece of film making.

In this list we take a look at the best thrillers of the decade so far; some of which you’ll love, some of which you might disagree with, ensuring that subjectivity in cinema lives on.

1. Azor (2021)

Andreas Fontana’s low-key thriller is set in 1980 Argentina, and stars Fabrizio Rongione as private banker Yvan, from Geneva, who travels to Buenos Aires after his business partner mysteriously disappears. His official purpose is to reassure the bank’s wealthy clients and keep the business running, but he soon begins hearing unsettling stories about the missing man.

Moving through the lavish homes and private clubs of Argentina’s wealthy elite, Fontana’s film is all about implied tension rather than any outright violence. It’s a masterclass in minimal pauses, passing comments, and chilling conversation; this is a film that is paced to perfection and at barely an hour and forty minutes, uses its time wisely.

The cold calculation of individuals can be extremely unnerving, and this adds to the thrills of Azor. Set against the backdrop of Argentina’s military dictatorship, the film ensures that the casual acceptance of such a situation is equally chilling, and while it didn’t get much of a cinematic release, it’s absolutely superb.

2. The Forgiven (2022)

John Michael McDonagh built on his previous work for his third directorial feature, following two superb films, The Guard (2011) and Calvary (2014), which both fused comedy and drama to startling effect, managing to have you laughing one minute and shocked into silence the next.

McDonagh adapts Lawrence Osbourne’s 2012 novel of the same name, with Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain as a wealthy couple en route to Morocco to attend a lavish party in the middle of the desert. Fiennes’ David has been drinking all day (he describes himself early on as a ‘functioning alcoholic’), and he’s at the wheel when he hits a young Moroccan boy who is by the side of a desert road selling fossils, killing him. Once they reach the villa, with the child’s body, their host Richard (a fantastic Matt Smith) calls the local police and ensures that everything will be smoothed over.

The dead boy’s father shows up the next day and insists that David accompany him to their village to bury the boy. The film splits at this point as we switch between following David into the wilderness and watching his wife Jo enjoy the rest of the party filled weekend at the outrageous villa owned by Richard, that comes with plenty of servants, all of them local.

The film throws two completely different cultures together: one of them oozing debauchery for the duration, and the other having to clean up after them. The performances are really terrific across the board, and Chastain’s Jo goes the other way to David in terms of cultural enlightenment; but the insane wealth and hideous lack of care or awareness of anything beyond her immediate satisfaction is as infectious to watch as it is hateful to experience.

It’s a blast from start to finish.

3. Pacifiction (2022)

Pacifiction has been loosely described as a political thriller, an explanation that barely touches the sides of its two-hour, forty-five-minute runtime. Benoît Magimel stars as High Commissioner De Roller on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, a man who must investigate rumours of submarine sightings off the island, and a growing unease about the potential return of nuclear testing nearby.

From the beginning, the spectre of Armageddon looms large without anyone wanting to consider the potentially very real possibility of its arrival. Pacifiction is packed with lengthy conversations that are tension-filled and incredibly engaging; Serra poses the film with the audience always half a step behind, but it’s so engrossing you’re desperate to keep up, clawing at all the offered half meanings and reasons behind what may or may not be going on. The film’s final quarter throws everything up in the air for the audience’s interpretation as it becomes Gaspar Noé meets David Lynch.

Benoît Magimel is exceptional in the main role and is ably supported by a superb performance by Pahoa Mahagafana as Shannah, a dance choreographer who slowly becomes more and more entwined in De Roller’s world as he may or may not be falling in love with her.

Serra’s film ends in a way that, again, is open to interpretation but is nonetheless powerful, ending a near three hour run time that absolutely flies by, and cements its place as one of the decade’s most unusual yet engrossing thrillers.

4. Nitram (2022)

Based on the life of Martin Bryant, the man who murdered thirty-five people in a mass shooting known as the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, Nitram switches Bryant’s name to the film’s title (or simply Martin backwards if you like). Nitram is played, quite magnificently, by Caleb Landry Jones, as he struggles to find normality in his hometown, constantly bullied as his out-of-control behaviour finds him at odds with almost everyone he knows. His dad appears to be the one who sympathises with him the most; his mother consistently becomes frustrated and angry with him, seemingly already having given up on her son living a normal life.

Nitram eventually strikes up a bizarre friendship with a rich and reclusive heiress, Helen (a wonderful Essie Davis), after attempting to find work knocking on doors and offering to mow people’s lawns. Helen, understandably, appears to be grateful for the company; Nitram seems to be calm in her presence as she offers a quiet understanding that’s been so lacking from his recent life.

However, director Justin Kurzel makes sure that there’s no shying away from the atrocities that result from Nitram’s end at the film’s climax, although the film understandably courted controversy in Tasmania on release. Kurzel stops short of showing us the horrifying scenes at Port Arthur, but the degree of menace he builds throughout the film, accompanied by a minimalist brooding score, keeps the tension ratcheted up for the duration. It’s a chilling and horrific true-life tale in the vein of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003), and it’s every bit effective.

5. Decision to Leave (2022)

Park Chan-wook is one of the greatest directors working in cinema today, and his latest release, No Other Choice, hit cinemas late last year. His best work remains, arguably, 2003’s Oldboy, but 2022’s Decision to Leave is one of his finest films.

Ha-il Park plays a seasoned detective who is already under pressure from his superiors to wrap up a previous case when he is forced to undertake a further investigation after a climber is found dead at the base of a mountain range. Everything points to suicide, but after interviewing the dead man’s wife, suspicions are raised at her seeming total lack of empathy and surprise.

Tang Wei plays said wife and is one of the best actresses of her generation, previously astonishing in Ang Lee’s superb Lust, Caution (2007, and arguably his greatest film to date). Here again her performance is flawless, sweeping Park’s Jang into an obsession with his suspect, a relationship that confuses and confounds as much as it intrigues.

Decision to Leave has plenty of femme fatale stories to draw influence from, all the way from Detour (1945) to a mini revival of the genre in the nineties with Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992) or Disclosure (1994), to name but a few. Chan-wook’s film is a multi-layered crime drama, also offering plenty of gripping police procedural in a slow-paced thriller; one that makes the slow burn even more effective.

6. Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Winner of the Palme d’Or, Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall features a tour-de-force performance from Sandra Hüller, captivating as Sandra, a mother who’s accused of murdering her husband, Samuel; a death that occurs in the opening scenes of the film. Anatomy of a Fall wears its influences on its sleeve, quite literally, in fact; Triet names Anatomy of a Murder (1959) as a major touchpoint, and once the film shifts into its second act, it’s also easy to conjure similarities with 12 Angry Men (1957), and certainly Marriage Story (2019).

Triet’s film falls into gripping courtroom drama, with the prosecutor cross examining every inch of Sandra’s marriage to Samuel, almost focusing less on the scene of the crime than the two individuals potentially involved. Sandra’s frustration boils over to the point where she poignantly points out that if one or two other areas or incidents within her marriage were scrutinised in this much detail, an entirely different portrait of her marriage would be painted. There’s also her son Daniel (a brilliant Milo Machado Graner) whose sight has been impaired since a childhood accident (the fallout from which also becomes key later) who develops into the film’s key in some respect.

The truth balances on a knife’s edge throughout the entire film, and it’s to Hüller’s immense credit that you have no idea whether she’s guilty or not. Graner also ensures that we’re torn about how the film’s going to go; his relationship with his dad was a very good one, and his thoughts and feelings are etched on his face as he slowly comes to terms with the fact that his Mum might well be a murderer.

7. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Based on the horrifying true story and non-fiction book by David Grann, Martin Scorsese’s epic film tells the story of a series of murders of wealthy Osage people in the early 1920’s, after large oil deposits had been discovered beneath their land, with the Osage people the legal beneficiaries of the ensuing oil profits.

Featuring terrific turns from Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and most notably, an astonishing display from Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon is an exercise in Scorsese doing what he does best: creating a world in which you become fully immersed, especially in the stunning town, in which several of the structures were built from scratch.

For all intents and purposes, Killers of the Flower Moon is another Scorsese mob movie, and generally this is where he’s in his comfort zone (Mean Streets [1973], Goodfellas [1990], Casino [1995]). However, what’s impressive about this picture is the way he weaves the mob movie around a very humanistic and family tale that also offers much consideration to religion and ceremony.

It’s a hugely engrossing piece of work, a fascinating and terrifying historical tale, and Scorsese admirably tells much of it from the Osage point of view, having spent a huge amount of time with the Osage people themselves, before and during filming, absorbing himself in the culture (DiCaprio and De Niro also mastered the Osage language to shoot the film).

8. The Killer (2023)

It’s a shame that David Fincher’s latest feature received such a small theatrical release, having been backed by Netflix, because it deserved to be seen by everyone on the big screen. It also saw Fincher back on top form, following the surprisingly dull Mank (2020).

The Killer opens with Michael Fassbender’s titular character on a job in Paris, and in a lengthy voice-over he explains his meticulous planning and execution of an assassination. Fassbender is, as you might expect, excellent as a Hitman. Unsurprisingly, something goes awry during the Paris job, and the Killer is on the run, in a sequence that recalls the latter Mission: Impossible films and Paul Greengrass’ three Bourne vehicles.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross once more provide the sounds for Fincher, reaping the backdrop of a killer thriller to weave a purposeful and pulsating accompaniment that takes Fassbender from Paris to the Dominican Republic (where he owns a remote luxurious mansion for downtime), then on to New Orleans, Florida, New York and Chicago.

Despite not wandering far from the tree in terms of a formulaic Hitman thriller, Fincher provides something so pleasurable and well executed; any foibles you might have with the film can happily wait until at least a second or third viewing. It was a joy to see Fincher firing on all cylinders again, and even more thrilling to see Fassbender back on our screens after what felt like a while off them.

9. Rotting in the Sun (2023)

One of the most bizarre films on this list, Rotting in the Sun is also one of the most innovatively brilliant. Sebastián Silva portrays a version of himself here: a director called Sebastián Silva who lives in Mexico City, spending his time snorting ketamine, googling his own name and researching suicide methods while he’s supposed to be working.

This is an unflattering portrayal of self-obsession, narcissism and navel gazing, but the self-awareness that Silva provides from behind the camera is where it really shines. Silva (the character) takes a trip to the coast to snap out of his self-inflicted depression, staying at a gay partying spot, a beach packed with naked men. Silva (the director) manages here to shove an astonishing number of penises in your face, but there’s nothing gratuitous here; the point of it is a depiction of gay culture whilst proving the hedonistic mindset of Silva. The only disgust here comes from Silva, and yet it’s clearly both a dream and a nightmare for him. He is outwardly repulsed but can’t stay away; so self-indulgent is he that he wants to feel hatred but needs (and wants) the attention.

Silva’s film is a triumph of black comedy, and was one of 2023’s most original pieces of work, with Silva’s self-awareness of self-obsession something that all would do well to take note of.

10. Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Rose Glass gave us a hugely impressive debut with 2019’s Saint Maud and followed it up with the arguably even more imposing Love Lies Bleeding, an enthralling tale of love and revenge starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. Stewart’s Lou is a reclusive gym manager while O’Brian’s Jackie is an aspiring bodybuilder, and the pair become romantically and criminally entwined after events conspire against them in a small New Mexican desert town.

Glass touches on the idea of male fear of female strength, and you’re frequently reminded of Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise (1991), with which Loves Lies Bleeding shares plenty of DNA. The film toys with the idea of magical realism amongst the crime elements, and the romantic storyline that runs through it always feels urgent and never saccharine. This is filmmaking of the highest order and owes a debt to the grindhouse films of the seventies.

But the performances and mise-en-scene of the film drive it superbly, with Ed Harris and Dave Franco also turning up as particularly nasty individuals. Love Lies Bleeding enhances Glass’ reputation still further, and it will be fascinating to see what she does next.

It’s a given that studios often don’t know what will be a success until audiences have spoken and voted with their wallets. Then, whatever is popular, you can bet executives will get their chequebooks out and make as much of it as humanly possible. We saw the ‘slasher’ craze take over the industry once “Halloween” hit big in 1978, while we’re still being flooded with superhero movies after “X-Men” and “Spider-Man” broke records in the early 2000s. A certain type of movie, fitting a certain genre, will take over the release schedule until audiences grow tired of it and it stops making bank.

Yet, there are even more blatant attempts at copying a trend: films that veer so close to the formula they’re inspired by that you could easily call them knock-offs, clones, or rip-offs. Most of the time, these are films whose sole purpose is to eat a meal off the plate of a much better or more popular movie and ride its success towards a quick payday. More often than not, that’s exactly what they are – but sometimes, just sometimes, the resulting movie can actually be surprisingly strong on its own.

From big-budget Hollywood clones to low-budget Roger Corman rip-offs, let’s explore films that were clear imitators of highly regarded blockbusters but still managed to be surprisingly watchable and good in their own way.

1. The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991) – Die Hard (1988)

When “Die Hard” launched in cinemas in 1988, it took the action scene by storm and made TV star Bruce Willis an immediate A-lister, in a move that was unprecedented at the time. Throughout the ’90s, the concept became a trademark formula for blockbusters, with several big stars doing variations on it over the years; Stallone’s “Cliffhanger” was ‘Die Hard on a mountain’, Seagal’s “Under Siege” was ‘Die Hard on a boat’, and Keanu Reeves’s “Speed” was ‘Die Hard on a bus’. One movie, though, tried quite quickly and blatantly to ride its coattails and was dismissed as a carbon copy, even though it actually came closest to capturing the first movie’s essence perfectly.

“Beverly Hills” spun the formula from an isolated office building to an entire L.A. neighbourhood held under siege by corrupt cops and mercenaries headed by the suitably sinister Robert Davi, with only unlikely hero Ken Wahl, teaming up with Matt Frewer’s bumbling cop, to take down the bad guys.

Unlike later spins on the formula, which simply swapped locations, “Hills” attempts to really replicate what made the film so special, from its mix of hard R-rated bloodletting with light-hearted wisecracking, to its satirical jabs at authority and bureaucracy, to even attempting to make Wahl, then well-known on TV’s “Wiseguy”, an explosive superstar like Willis. Audiences caught on and rejected the film, which is a grand shame because it is an absolute blast.

Wahl is charming and believable in the main role, good with the quips, handsome enough for the ladies, and strong enough when it comes to the action. His pairing with Frewer and their off-kilter chemistry really holds the film together and has you rooting for the two. Davi (a Die Hard alumnus) was one of the stronger action villains of this era, and he doesn’t disappoint, playing his bad guy as strangely sympathetic, a man scorned by love and now ruthlessly going for his objective.

The entire spectacle is handled with the deft hand of Sidney J. Furie (“The Ipcress File”), a criminally underrated genre director who could knock out slick action thrillers on zero budget, and here he makes the movie feel just as big and exciting as the movie it is clearly aping. All in all, it makes for a must-watch for action fans.

2. Carnosaur (1993) – Jurassic Park (1993)

From the 50s to the 90s, there was no filmmaker prouder to wear the title of ‘rip-off’ king than Roger Corman. He had a long history of knocking out quick titles to feed off the hype of bigger movies; usually, the films were tepid cash-ins, but sometimes (as seen later in this list), they actually managed to be quite enjoyable send-ups. “Jurassic Park” took the world by storm in 1993, and Corman had been holding onto the rights to a dinosaur-related pulp novel, published in 1984, since 1991. Seeing the opportunity, he fast-tracked production in order to beat Spielberg’s classic adventure movie to screens with an enjoyably madcap dino pic.

Set in the isolated deserts of the American Southwest, the plot features Diane Ladd’s insane scientist unleashing contaminated poultry products into civilisation, resulting in a pandemic of females impregnated with strange creatures, and a vicious genetically engineered dinosaur violently murdering anything that stands in its path.

‘Park’ was one of the biggest event movies of the early ’90s, a horror-influenced thrill ride that could be viewed by the whole family; Corman’s variation is very much hard-R, scuzzy, and stomach-churningly gory. It caters to gorehounds and actually features a bevy of impressive practical effects by SFX maestro John Carl Buechler. Of course, it’s not on the level of the blockbuster it apes, but considering its budget, the dinosaur attacks are surprisingly effective, with some strong action set pieces to boot.

It helps that the movie is helmed by genre underdog Adam Simon (“Brain Dead”); he manages to direct the scenes slickly with a tinge of suspense, but also infuses proceedings with an off-kilter sense of humour, no doubt fuelled by its nonsense plot. Ladd’s scientist is in on the joke, but still manages to give the character a frightening, dark ruthlessness, whilst genre stalwarts like Clint Howard and Ned Bellamy do their best to steal their scenes. The main duo of Raphael Sbarge and Jennifer Runyon are fairly vanilla, but their arcs are paid off in a shocking, downbeat final scene that will flabbergast viewers.

All in all, it was a blatant rip-off of a much better movie, but it has enough style, surprises, and decent effects to be an enjoyable watch on its own merits, not to mention it is arguably more charming and inventive than some of the later ‘Jurassic’ sequels.

3. Salute of the Jugger (1989) – Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

George Miller’s classic “Mad Max” spread ‘Ozploitation’ internationally and gave Mel Gibson his breakthrough performance, but it was its sequel, “The Road Warrior”, that created the iconic post-apocalyptic landscape that is still etched into our collective idea of what the end of the world looks like cinematically. Several movies attempted to rip off the same type of minimal plot and aesthetic, from big-budget (“Waterworld”) to low-budget (“Steel Dawn”); all came up short in matching the Australian-set inspiration. However, one often-overlooked film copied the world almost verbatim, but told a completely different type of story within it.

In a future where civilisation has crumbled, a group of survivors, led by Rutger Hauer’s gruff leader, are Juggers, skilled travelling players of a sport that makes “Rollerball” look sanitised. As they move from town to town, Joan Chen’s determined protagonist finds purpose as a new member, whilst they train to challenge the elite League of the sport.

“Jugger” lifts Miller’s world almost wholesale; shot in the Australian desert by the first “Mad Max” DoP, David Eggby, it features a bleak environment where survivors wear makeshift armour and have sand-worn faces – and yet, it’s a rough-and-ready sports movie, and one unlike any other that comes to mind.

Hauer is fantastic as the brittle alpha leader, ruthless yet charismatic; it’s a performance that deserves to sit next to his other peak international performances of the time, with Chen holding her own as the green yet fierce upstart who gets taken under his wing. The rest of the crew is filled with several fantastic character actors, such as Vincent D’Onofrio and Delroy Lindo, all embellishing the setting nicely.

That said, what truly elevates the film is the talent behind the camera, namely legendary screenwriter David Webb Peoples (“Unforgiven”, “12 Monkeys”, “Blade Runner”) making his sole directorial effort. The story, as is his trademark, is airtight and engaging; a genre world filled with three-dimensional beings. But he also directs the film with strong confidence for a first stab, with brutal and bloody game matches set in an impressively bleak, hellish world that really impress. Yet these characters manage to find a smidgeon of hope to fight towards, in what becomes a surprisingly human tale.

4. Piranha (1978) – Jaws (1975)

Steven Spielberg undoubtedly changed the film landscape forever in the ’70s with “Jaws”; at a point where experimental character pieces and hard-boiled thrillers were the most appealing film fodder, his exhilarating monster movie took hold of audiences and essentially created the modern summer blockbuster. So, of course, everyone and their mother wanted to create a similar product, from cheap rip-offs (Tentacles) to Hollywood repeats (Orca), all failing to come close. Surprisingly, one of the best was Roger Corman’s attempt, replacing a giant shark with vicious Amazonian fish, and it even had Spielberg himself singing its praises.

Summertime in rural Texas, and something is not right in the water. After a few random people get taken down in grisly attacks, Heather Menzies’ investigator teams with Bradford Dillman’s recluse to get to the bottom of things, with their findings leading to the revelation that genetically enhanced piranhas are loose in the lakes, after escaping a military facility.

Plot-wise, it ticks all the same tropes as “Jaws”: a shocking opening attack, creepy underwater POVs, and authorities who ignore the protagonists’ warnings in the name of big business – yet it does so with a sly knowing nod to its classic inspiration, not attempting to outdo it, but to be a fun variation on proceedings. It helps that the main duo of Dillman and Menzies are enjoyable characters who share enough chemistry and chops to make them engaging as leads. It’s also filled to the brim with appearances from genre legends like Kevin McCarthy, Barbara Steele, Paul Bartel, and Keenan Wynn.

Being a late-’70s Corman production, behind the scenes it is chock-full of future Hollywood players, from future big-name Joe Dante (The Howling) making his solo feature directorial debut, indie auteur John Sayles (Lone Star) handling the scripting, future SFX legends Rob Bottin and Phil Tippett working in the effects department, and even renowned genre producer Jon Davison (RoboCop) producing. With this high level of talent, of course the movie is a watchable product, with Spielberg being so impressed with Dante’s movie that they later collaborated on “Twilight Zone: The Movie”, before Dante being personally offered the job on what would become his A-list breakthrough movie, “Gremlins”.

5. Demons (1985) – The Evil Dead (1981)

Sam Raimi’s low-budget horror thrillfest, “The Evil Dead”, took the movie world by storm. Filmed on a shoestring budget, infused with a subversive and manic style, and with a mandate to shock and gross out audiences at all costs, it pretty much created the setup of ‘kids go to a cabin in the woods’ as a jumping-off point for countless horror movies since. It must be said, too, it managed to create a movie monster species that was completely original, terrifying and darkly comic: the Deadites. Evil spirits possessing hapless humans, playing like a mix of Linda Blair’s Regan and a Romero zombie, they were unique creatures that were so infused into the film’s thematics that many filmmakers have not bothered to try and replicate them, aside from this gonzo Italian horror concocted by the dream-team of Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento.

Set in ’80s West Berlin, a bunch of random civilians get invited to a mysterious horror movie screening by a masked weirdo. Locked inside the theatre, the movie-within-the-movie is about a haunted mask that turns unsuspecting humans into demonic hosts, with it coming to real life as audience members become possessed and turn into monstrous beings as well.

The plot is fun and quite original, even if the one-note characters are basically gore fodder. But the ‘demons’ that torment the cinema are very much ripped out of Raimi’s classic movie, albeit with fewer one-liners and a penchant for being even more sadistic. Regardless, it feels less like a copy and more like an original spin on the other film’s template due to its unique setting (with one particular sequence even being homaged in “Scream 2” later on). And in a weird twist, its lesser sequel, “Demons 2”, placed the possession pandemic in an urban high-rise, which ended up becoming the setting for “Evil Dead Rise”, in a coincidental turn that came full circle.

Argento, as co-writer/producer, is game to push for a movie that’s gross, suspenseful and full of wild plot swerves. This is also probably one of Bava’s strongest films, with his other productions lower on the quality scale compared to his ’80s Italian directing peers; the movie looks slick and colourful, and he’s able to ratchet up the tension nicely before an apocalyptic third-act escalation turns everything into fun, bloody chaos, featuring an incredible motorcycle/samurai sword rampage fueled by a heart-pounding soundtrack filled with heavy metal greats (e.g., Mötley Crüe).

Bong Joon Ho exploded into mainstream cinema with his Oscar winning Parasite back in 2019. But he’d been directing feature films for nearly two decades by that point; far from being simply the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture, Parasite’s win was one that had been years in the making.

He’s one of the most fascinating filmmakers working today, and one of the few that can be simultaneously hilarious, horrifying, politically charged, and completely absurd, yet it never feels like his films are pulling in different directions. Across just eight features, Bong has moved from low-key comedy to murder mystery, creature feature, dystopian science fiction, before taking home the biggest of gongs with social satire Parasite.

There’s a sheer unpredictability with his filmmaking that ensures that he’s constantly engrossing and always has something interesting to say; there’s always relevance to his films. There’s ambition, there’s scope, and there are flaws; just like all the greatest directors. Here, we attempt to rank his eight feature-length films.

8. Mickey 17 (2025)

Set in a distant future, Micky 17 surrounds Robert Pattinson’s Mickey Barnes, who signs up for a seemingly straightforward job: to become an ‘expendable’ on a mission to colonise the frozen planet Niflheim. Whenever Mickey dies, his body is regenerated, allowing the expedition to repeatedly send him into situations no sane person would willingly enter. After an accident leaves Mickey 17 presumed dead, however, Mickey 18 is unexpectedly printed while his predecessor is still alive, meaning there are now two versions of the same man existing.

While the setup might sound vaguely familiar in terms of general science fiction dystopia, Bong Joon Ho injects plenty of innovative ideas into it to keep it thoroughly entertaining. The reason it’s at the bottom of this list is that it’s not as consistent as most of his work, and although the performances across the board are terrific (Pattinson is excellent alongside Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Ackie), it lacks the heart of some of his previous work.

Many would have this much further up this list, however, and critically Mickey 17 proved something of a hit. But it feels very stretched at nearly two and a half hours, and the satire can feel a bit obvious, far more so than we’re used to with Bong. Still, Mickey 17 is far from a dud, and is undeniably entertaining.

7. Mother (2009)

This is an example of Bong Joon Ho turning a murder mystery into something more than it sounds like at base level. He’d successfully done this before with Memories of Murder back in 2000, but Mother is a completely different film, yet in many ways equally impressive.

Kim Hye-ja is astonishing as an unnamed mother in a small South Korean town who lives with her intellectually disabled son Do-joon (Won Bin), who is heavily dependent on her. When a teenage girl is found murdered, Do-joon is quickly arrested after being spotted near the crime scene. His mother, convinced her son is incapable of such violence, launches her own investigation when the authorities seem more interested in quickly wrapping the case up at the expense of the truth, and the film becomes something that feels truly original.

The entire film rests on Kim Hye-je, and she is sublime, giving the entire undertaking a beating heart and soul, anchoring something that is both strange and wonderful. There are times when the investigation can feel somewhat contrived, but for the most part this was yet another example of Bong Joon Ho finding yet another string to his bow.

6. The Host (2006)

We’ve most recently seen what Bong Joon Ho can do in terms of impressing us with otherworldly creatures on screen with Mickey 17, but The Host is an even more impressive beast. When a grotesque creature emerges from Seoul’s Han River and begins attacking people along the waterfront, the Park family is thrown into chaos. During the creature’s assault, Gang-du’s (Song Kang-ho) daughter is snatched away and is believed to be dead.

But she somehow manages to contact them to reveal she is still alive, trapped somewhere in the creature’s lair. The family set out to find the monster while the authorities struggle to get a hold on what’s unfurling. You’d be hard pressed to find a better monster movie/ family drama mash up than The Host, and Bong doesn’t hold back with the political satire either.

In some ways this is him reinventing the monster movie; the beast itself isn’t the main focus. Rather, it’s the relationship of the dysfunctional family at the film’s center, and The Host is every bit as darkly comedic as it is thrilling. It combines a criticism of American military influence with environmental issues to offer us something that is original in every possible way you can imagine.

5. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

Yoon-ju (Lee Sung-ja) is an unemployed academic living in an apartment complex with his pregnant wife, Eun-sil (Kim Ho-jung). Frustrated by is lack of success in finding a position at a university, he becomes increasingly irritated by the barking dogs belonging to his neighbours. This frustration leads to obsession, and is followed by him abducting and killing several dogs within the complex, while a bored young woman (Bae Doona) becomes fascinated by the mystery if the missing pets and sets out to uncover what’s happening.

This was Bong’s first feature, and you can see all the hallmarks of what would become a brilliant career. The frustration of Yoon-ju doesn’t lie with the dogs; it’s more his stifling and dead-end life, which he feels is going nowhere. Class anxiety and ambition that’s being held back is what drives his actions, and Bong weaves it all into a narrative that’s strange, gripping, and hugely impressive.

Barking Dogs Never Bite can lack the precision of his later work, but the raw feel that this gives is often equally impressive and is a fantastic insight into what was to come. It’s also just a bloody good film.

The 2020s, so far, have been smothered in directorial debuts. Fresh new voices announce themselves each year (especially 2022). More access to filmmaking tools, more people making movies, more movies in general, and the result: Aftersun, Hundreds of Beavers, Past Lives, American Fiction, Promising Young Woman, Azor, Nickel Boys…and the list of debuts that hit big goes on.

Nowhere has the injection of new talent been more steadily felt than the horror and thriller genres. Maybe it’s because this decade kicked off like an actual horror movie with a global pandemic, threats of nuclear war, rioting, zombie-like conformity on social media, killer cops, etc., but everyone from YouTubers to famous actors to film students and comedians have turned to the genre for their first spin in the director’s chair.

This list was capped at 15 (expanded from 10), and could’ve easily been longer. Among those who just missed the cut-off were Parker Finn’s Smile and Damian McCarthy’s Caveat (both solid debuts that led to better, more intense work projects), Emilie Blichfeld’s The Ugly Stepsister, Valdimar Jóhannsson’s Lamb, and Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform. The 15 top horror/thriller debuts of the decade so far:

15. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2022)

Jane Schoenbrun’s debut is a scrappy, grimy, micro-budget analog horror that speaks to the experience of growing up online in the early 2000s. It’s divisive but surprisingly self-assured in how it turns its limited budget and meditative, testing pacing into genuine strengths that create a unique, format-busting experience.

Anna Cobb plays teenager Casey who embarks on an in-film viral challenge. She posts her video and vows to post if she experiences “changes”, an ambiguous term that sets the terms for the rest of the film. Molasses-slow shots twist faces in ways that wouldn’t be so well used until 2026’s Obsession. Casey’s behavior becomes more unhinged though whether its transformation or performance is unclear. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair doesn’t just use 2000s internet as its setting, it also recreates the experience and gently, confidently places horror within it. There are more polished debuts, but few as silently despairing and idiosyncratic as We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.

14. Best Wishes to All (2023)

Yûta Shimotsu expanded his short film into this unassuming, stripped-down debut. Best Wishes to All starts like a fever dream and ends as a nightmare. An example of how cream can rise to the top when a community is so content-focused, Best Wishes to All had its festival debut in 2023, a domestic release in early 2024, and blew up internationally when it hit streaming in mid-2025, with steady word-of-mouth paving its way from cult favorite to hidden gem to new classic.

An unnamed nursing student in Tokyo travels to her grandparents’ rural village several days before a planned family reunion. Despite the love and good wishes on offer, she finds the locale unsettling, a fact not helped by the locals’ odd behavior. Best Wishes to All takes an absurd, metaphorical approach to the question of what it means to be happy and successful, and the film is uncanny in how it is both on the nose and endlessly aloof.

13. You Won’t Be Alone (2022)

Goran Stolevski’s debut is meditative, oddly beautiful folk horror that’s less about scares than it is about mood. The Australian-North Macedonian filmmaker has since gone on to make a handful of intimate dramas but has yet to surpass his horror offering. It’s a testament to the genre’s prowess that even less genre-oriented filmmakers come to horror to make their mark before trying different tones.

You Won’t Be Alone is essentially a witch’s tale. Stolevski eschews traditional horror beats to instead offer a contemplative tale that becomes all the more foreboding for the way it uses silence and mood. At the start of the film, the horrors onscreen are matter of fact. At the end, they’re heartbreaking and meaningful. Few recent films have been as evocative of their medieval setting or as true to the ‘folk’ of folk horror. While Stolevski has been more content to play in the drama sandbox with his later features, here’s hoping he returns to horror.

12. It’s What’s Inside (2024)

Greg Jardin’s debut is an impressive balancing act. Its high-concept, sci-fi/horror storytelling that demands economy and efficiency in storytelling. Jardin wastes no time in establishing his ensemble friend group and their internal dynamics before he unleashes his premise. One of this friend group has invented a body swap machine, and these longtime friends are going to use it to play the ultimate game of Guess Who.

It’s a given that things spiral out of control, but throughout Jardin keeps a firm grasp on who’s who and what they’re after. A premise like this invites infinite possibilities, but It’s What’s Inside is surprisingly focused without feeling small. Many horror movies use high-concept premises as scaffolding for frustratingly intimate stories, but It’s What’s Inside finds ways to bring us into the characters’ heads, keep us centered, and deliver a body swap that’s interesting, funny, and horrific.

11. Backrooms (2026)

Kane Parsons’ youth has been the subject of much online chatter, with haters insisting the 20-year-old couldn’t have directed Backrooms himself, especially given the presence of storied filmmakers Oz Perkins and Mark Duplass as producers. But that does a disservice to Parsons and his debut film. Those claims conveniently ignored that he shepherded this creepypasta of a premise into a successful YouTube series, and Backrooms’ strong pacing, intriguing but menacing mood, and evocative palette reflect that skill and confidence.

Obviously, Parsons’ debut shines for its production design and its mood, which has become (at least for now) the quintessential distillation of liminal horror. These would be enough, but Backrooms also boasts a strong script that’s satisfying and offers closure while still leaving the, ahem, door open for more as well as strong performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renata Reinsve, inhabiting characters that are deeper than mere archetypes. But Parsons’ secret weapon is the way Backrooms taps into nostalgia for a pre-internet era when department stores weren’t ominously empty and the glimpse of the underworld of suburbia was still a source of intrigue rather than cynicism.

10. Saint Maud (2020)

Rose Glass premiered Saint Maud on the 2019 festival circuit, but the film’s 2020 release was a mixed blessing to say the least. It’s not hard to imagine Saint Maud being a success at the box office. Reviews were welcoming and its deft balance of horror with themes of faith and mental health could’ve easily made it the next elevated horror hit. At the same time, few films spoke as strongly to the Covid lockdown experience – the voices, the isolation, the medical fears – as this story of a caretaker who believes she’s being visited by a higher power.

Saint Maud centers around a performance by Morfydd Clark as Maud, a young nurse who turns to faith after a tragic accident. Clinging to her newfound faith, she becomes determined to redeem the soul of her patient, played by Jennifer Ehle, who employs her as a private carer, and the interplay between the two characters – polar opposites in terms of physical and mental health – draws out the tension while the blurred line faith and fanaticism draws out the horror. Critics praised the performances, but it’s Glass’ impressive craft and control that’s center-stage here and that made her sophomore feature, Love Lies Bleeding, so hotly anticipated.

9. Buffet Infinity (2026)

Simon Glassman’s 2026 debut may not have the box office or buzz of Backrooms or Obsession, but it’s one of the great horror debuts of the year and decade so far. Told through a series of low-budget commercials for local businesses in a Canadian suburb, Buffet Infinity is a riot of a film. It’s challenging and perhaps too obtuse for those unfamiliar with the style of media in which it communicates, but for those on its wavelength, it’s a full meal.

A new buffet-style restaurant opens in a strip mall, setting off a rivalry with the local sandwich shop and upending the local economy. Everyone from the neighborhood pawnshop to the local law firm gets involved. Buffet Infinity is an ode to scrappy, unpolished media, inspired by Canada’s SCTV and manifesting Adult Swim energy. It is also the latest and perhaps greatest in a sub-genre of format-busting, fourth-wall breaking films that insist on conveying narrative through unconventional, analog means. Where Glassman goes next remains to be seen, but chalk Buffet Infinity up as one of the most creative, original, and fun horror debuts of this decade.

Despite Hollywood’s monopoly on film, some of the best and most imaginative thrillers have come from elsewhere. As ever, with the culture of consumption in the world as it is today, visibility for many of these films is limited. Dare I say it, there are still many out there who baulk at the very idea of subtitles, a baffling problem, you might agree.

For these reasons, there are hundreds of thrillers that have never gotten the opportunity to shine in the way they deserve, and there are many that we’re still unable to enjoy. Hopefully, that will change in time, and for some of the ones mentioned in this list, they’ve only become widely available in the last few years.

Here we look at ten international thrillers that deserve your attention.

1. The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971)

A Eurocrime film only recently released on Blu-ray for the first time, Damiano Damiani’s terrific prison-set crime drama throws morals out the window for a piece that taps into the gritty realism of Italian society in the early 1970s.

Franco Nero plays an architect, Vanzi, who ends up in prison accused of involuntary manslaughter and failing to provide assistance following a traffic accident. Thrown in alongside both petty criminals and hardened murderers and rapists, he becomes a witness to the hideous reality of Italian prisons and the corruption that goes on both inside and outside the prison walls.

Damiani’s film addresses the bleak side of humanity, not shying away from the grim reality of incarceration or the violence of the era. Whilst these are themes that many of the Italian exploitation films of the era tackled, The Case is Closed builds to a horrifying climax that feels like a gut punch, and not simply just the culmination of a film that uses violence for the sake of it to pull audiences in. It’s an excellent piece of work and well worth your time and money.

2. The Man from Hong Kong (1975)

A truly mad romp, a film posing as an A-lister with a cast including former James Bond George Lazenby, this is an Ozploitation thriller that could almost be straight from the Grindhouse scene. Jimmy Wang Yu’s Hong Kong special branch agent is brought in by the Sydney police department to interrogate a drug mule, hoping the information garnered will lead to the man behind the trafficking itself, who may or may not be George Lazenby.

It’s hard not to think of the previous year’s Roger Moore-fronted Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, and although on a technical level the Bond film is of course superior, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t more fun.

It’s ridiculous in all the right ways, but the choreography in the fight scenes is impressive; it’s insanely violent, and there are also clear influences on some of Tarantino’s work, especially the Crazy 88 fight in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).

It’s a terrific B-movie that has enough in it to justify its posing as an A-lister, and it will have a smile on your face for all the right reasons.

3. A Queen’s Ransom (1976)

Also known as The International Assassin, A Queen’s Ransom was written and directed by Ting Shan-hsi and stars Jimmy Wang Yu, Angelo Mao, and George Lazenby, who, it turns out, actually offered plenty more to cinema than his one outing as James Bond.

This is every bit as madcap and entertaining as The Man from Hong Kong and centres around a plot by some international villains to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II as she visits Hong Kong. We flit between the state police as they fret with the security of the visit, along with some information that hints at an assassination attempt and spending an equal amount of time with the group of criminals gearing up for their plan, which initially seems to be the assassination but unfurls to become something else entirely.

A Queen’s Ransom is hugely entertaining, and a recent Blu-ray transfer by Eureka gives the visuals a stunning sheen, whilst the characters on offer are both amusing and highly likeable. It veers into proper exploitation cinema, which only adds to the mayhem, and this would serve as an excellent George Lazenby double bill with The Man from Hong Kong.

4. The Iron Prefect (1977)

Another film to only become physically available recently, Pasquale Squitieri’s The Iron Prefect is one of his most successful films, even privately screened for US President Jimmy Carter. The film tells the story of Prefect Cesare Mori (Giuliano Gemma), who is sent to a region of Sicily by the fascist authorities to do something about the mafia, who have the locals exactly where they want them.

Mori’s justice is swift and violent, yet not everyone appreciates his help, leading to further problems for Mori as he tries to clean up the area. There are shades of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies (2009) with Christian Bale’s Melvin Purvis sent in to capture Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger, as well as Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), and Mori’s methods are morally troubling despite the apparent intent.

The sweeping landscape often gives The Iron Prefect a western feel, and the short and sharp violence that permeates the film plays into that cliche, as does the epic scale of what Mori is attempting. It’s terrific to see the film now readily available, and if you haven’t seen it, now’s the time to put that right.

5. 13 Tzameti (2005)

Gela Babluani’s stunning debut feature was made when he was only twenty-six years old. Shot in black and white, the film throws you straight into the life of Sebastian (Gela’s brother George), a Georgian immigrant builder in France who’s repairing the roof of a house lived in by the strange Godon and his wife.

Gordon is clearly in some sort of financial trouble, as well as being under surveillance by the police, and when he dies of an overdose, his widow is unable to pay Sebastian for his work. Quietly enraged by this, Sebastien steals an envelope that held instructions for a job that Godon was supposedly going to bag potentially big money from, without having any idea what the job is. He follows the instructions in the envelope and travels to a location where he is picked up by a man in a car and driven to a large house in the middle of a forest.

What follows is an utterly gripping hour or so; the ‘job’ that Sebastien has unwittingly signed himself up for is essentially a game of Russian roulette with willing (or unwilling) participants standing in a circle, pointing a gun at the person in front of them, and pulling the trigger—a bullet has been loaded into the cylinder and then randomly spun.

There’s no backstory for Sebastien and no rhyme or reason to what’s happening in front of us, but this makes the whole thing more hard-hitting. You don’t question what or why because you’re so gripped by what’s unfolding. 13 Tzameti is as much about gambling as it is about the shortness of life and the idea of chance—Sebastien’s decision, originally made through some sense of revenge and perhaps even desperation, plants him in a death match whilst being followed by the police. It’s truly astonishing filmmaking.

Well this is something of a thankless task. One could argue there is no bigger name in Hollywood in terms of directors than Steven Spielberg, and across his thirty five feature length films (as well as directing a segment of the 1983 Twilight Zone movie) he has wowed audiences with his ability to blend spectacle and emotion, not to mention storytelling, on a scale that few filmmakers in history have ever matched.

From giving us the original summer blockbuster 50 years ago with Jaws, to producing some of the most beloved family films ever made, he’s flitted effortlessly between science-fiction, adventure, historical drama, war films, as well as very personal stories. Ranking his films feels like an impossible thing to do, as each and every film will almost certainly mean something to someone, and of course, everyone will have their own favourite. But, here we go.

35. Always (1989)

One of Spielberg’s all-time flops, Always tells the story of a dead pilot (Richard Dreyfuss) whose ghost mentors a newer pilot (Brad Johnson), but the new pilot falls in love with the girlfriend he left behind on earth (Holly Hunter). Sound silly?

A loose remake of the 1943 film A Guy Named Joe, Spielberg’s Always is overwhelmed by the sentimentality at its core, and while it’s not a truly shocking film, it’s very low don the pecking order in terms of what we know the man to be capable of. It’s difficult to sympathise with Dreyfuss’s Pete, and that makes the whole thing a bit of a trudge.

In some ways it was a fascinating failure, in others, it’s just plain dull.

34. 1941 (1979)

1941 has its champions, and it’s hard to argue it’s not a better film than Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor. Set in the aftermath of that attack, the film imagines a fictional Japanese submarine attack on California that sends Los Angeles into a state of mass panic. As the city prepares for an invasion that may never come, a collection of soldiers, civilians, and more spiral into increasingly absurd situations.

This was Spielberg’s first major studio production after Jaws, so in some ways it was set up to fail. How can you possible follow Jaws? Well, you can’t in any way that’s going to satisfy everyone, and there is something admirable about Spielberg’s attempt to not simply repeat the formula that made him a superstar.

1941 is patchy at best, and although many would disagree, it’s easily one of his lesser works.

33. Ready Player One (2018)

Adapted from Ernest Cline’s terrifically readable sci-fi novel, the news that Spielberg was going to be behind the cinematic portrayal was news to be celebrated. Cline’s post-apocalyptic story, in which much of humanity escapes reality through a vast virtual world called the OASIS, seemed ripe for the big screen with teenager Wade Watts one of millions of players searching for a hidden Easter egg left behind by the platform’s creator, James Halliday, and in the process, inheriting Halliday’s fortune and control of the OASIS.

But Spielberg’s films fires blanks, and although there’s much to enjoy, including an astonishing amount of Easter eggs for our own enjoyment, Ready Player One is strangely hollow. It’s one of the biggest disappointments of Spielberg’s career.

32. Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Apart from Harrison Ford and Cate Blanchett, the only redeeming feature of the fourth Indiana Jones film is that it’s better than the one that came after (Dial of Destiny, not directed by Spielberg). It was admirable to attempt to bring the whip slinging Indy back to our screens, but Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a mess and a half of a film, with the CGI compounding a poor script, and destroying everything that made the original trilogy so good.

Spielberg at least has the claim that he wasn’t behind the camera for the staggeringly dull Dial of Destiny, but Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn’t much better, with the wit and elegance of previous instalments completely absent from proceedings.

31. Hook (1991)

We’ve seen many iterations of Peter Pan on film, and although Hook might not be the worst, it’s also not much cop. Spielberg himself is no fan of the film. Robin Williams does his best as Peter Banning, a successful lawyer who has lost touch with the imagination and sense of adventure he had as a child. When his two children are captured by the vengeful Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), Peter discovers that he is actually the grown-up Peter Pan.

The premise might sound like a new and interesting take on the tale, and there are elements of Hook that work rather well, but this strips away the mystery of it all in a bid to explain absolutely everything, ripping the magic from us. It’s also insanely long; at two and half hours it stretches its points well beyond the stage where you still care.

30. Disclosure Day (2026)

One of the biggest disappointments of the year, Disclosure Day promised so much yet delivered so little. Emily Blunt and Josh O’ Connor are both perfectly decent as two adults who, as kids, were abducted by aliens but returned to earth for reasons that aren’t immediately clear. Strange things are happening on earth, and these two are the key to it all.

The problem is, it’s a mash up of previous Spielberg outings, and each film he references from his own back catalogue are far better than the dismal plod that Disclosure Day becomes. It’s all about information and truth being suppressed to humanity, but on a deeper level it’s far more disturbing, veering into Gnosticism and the idea of consent.

Personally I couldn’t wait for a nostalgia blast from the great man, but ultimately Disclosure Day ends up being one of his weakest films to date, thinking it’s far more important than it actually is, and in the process, reducing you to sleep.

29. The Sugarland Express (1974)

Somewhat forgotten now, The Sugarland Express was technically Spielberg’s feature debut film (with Duel originally being released for TV). Based on a true story, the film follows Lou (Goldie Hawn) young woman desperate to reunite with her husband Clovis (William Atherton) after he escapes from prison. The whole thing becomes a national spectacle when they take a police officer hostage, and there are elements here that it feels like Spielberg used recently in Disclosure Day.

This doesn’t come off like a feature debut, instead despite its many flaws, The Sugarland Express shows a confidence and identity that would come to define Spielberg. The chase sequences in particular are a treat, and the influence they would have on future films is clear.

It’s no masterpiece, but it remains a particularly important document in the evolution of Spielberg’s work.

28. The BFG (2016)

There’s nothing particularly bad about Spielberg’s take on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel, it’s just that it all seems very middling. There’s some impressive CGI blended with live action actors, and everyone involved does a decent job, but after Spielberg had attempted this sort of thing before with The Adventures of Tintin (2011), The BFG just lacked a bit of oomph.

Mark Rylance does good work as the elderly giant, and the storybook atmosphere-telling the tale of a friendship between a ten-year-old girl and said giant- is harmless enough. But the whole thing just feels a bit redundant, and the lack of danger or jeopardy means this ends up being the definition of middling Spielberg.

27. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

And speaking of that Tintin film, here it is, sneaking in at number 28. The advantage it has over The BFG is mainly that it came before it, and there are segments of the film that are visually enthralling. One early chase sequence is particularly spectacular, and the fact that this was Spielberg’s first 3D motion-capture film is impressive.

Adapting such a loved character for the big screen was always going to be a challenge, and while the film is undeniably flawed, there’s enough here to impress, certainly in the visuals. Spielberg captures the visuals and spirit of Herge’s world, and the end product had both kids and grown-ups enjoying themselves. The decision in combining multiple Tintin adventures into one narrative was understandable but means the film is ultimately somewhat overloaded.

It’s not essential Spielberg, but it’s still an important picture in terms of his own back catalogue.

26. Amistad (1997)

There’s an impressive cast list on display in Amistad, including Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, and Morgan Freeman, amongst others, for Spielberg’s 1997 legal drama. Set in 1839, a group of enslaved Africans seize control of the Spanish slave ship La Amistad while being transported across the Atlantic. After killing most of the crew they attempt to sail home but are captured of the cost of America and imprisoned.

The resulting legal battle becomes a national controversy, as questions emerge over whether the men are murderers, illegally enslaved people or free individuals defending their own rights. This is a historical drama that explores slavery, justice, and the fight between human dignity and institutional power. Spielberg pulls great performances from his cast, and Amistad is a good, if not great, piece of film making.

It’s a lengthy and unevenly paced film, and it’s a film that simplifies complex history in a way that sometimes feels forced, but it remains a very solid entry into the Spielberg canon.

25. War Horse (2011)

War Horse is one of those Spielberg films that still splits opinion, and really this is another case of solid rather than spectacular film making. By the time War Horse was released, Spielberg probably could have made it in his sleep, and at certain points in the film, it arguably shows. Still, the film, based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel and the stage adaptation that followed, War Horse is something of a sweeping war epic about friendship, loyalty, and the cost of human conflict that manages to pull on the heartstrings.

The film follows young Albert (Jeremy Irvine), who forms a bond with a horse named Joey, only to be devastated when his father Ted sells the animal to the British Army as World War I begins. Unable to forget his companion, Albert promises to find Joey again, despite the fact that Ted is then sent into the chaos of battle.

There are some impressive moments, especially on the battlefields, and War Horse is simply one of those films which it’s almost impossible not to like, but also hard to love.

The best thrillers of 2026 so far don’t look, sound, and feel like the traditional thrillers of old. Horror might be cinematic gold right now, but the modern thriller is having something of an existential crisis. Once the home of adult-oriented storytelling, the genre now finds itself struggling to make it off streaming sites and back onto big screens.

As a genre, the term ‘thriller’ covers a lot of ground from dramas with menace to horror sans the supernatural to cozy mysteries. This list draws a line between genres, so movies with horror, action, sci fi elements were included when they were thriller-forward. Obsession and Backrooms are out because they’re definitively horror. Send Help was already featured on our horror list (due to its Raimi-horror tone and devilish glee) though its genre is debatable.

Finally, honorable mentions to Rosebush Pruning and How to Make a Killing, two eat-the-rich thriller-adjacent comedies both too reliant on voiceover though their differences make them a most formidable double bill. And to Mother Mary, David Lowery’s formidable two-hander that is sometimes a thriller but also too many other things.

10. Normal

Bob Odenkirk may be one of the most unlikely action heroes, but in indie/genre stalwart Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers) he finds a kindred, scrappy spirit. The result is a better vehicle for Odenkirk’s quirky, resigned brawler than the Nobody films, and one that’s as hapless as Odenkirk’s onscreen persona often is.

Odenkirk plays a traveling sheriff temporarily relocated to the town of Normal for what’s supposed to an easy assignment as he nurses injuries physical and emotional. The townsfolk, led by Henry Winkler, are incredibly welcoming, and the town is postcard picturesque. The façade doesn’t last long, and Normal gets a lot of mileage out of not milking its various reveals. Made by people who know you’ve seen similar, Normal brings a frantic but folksy energy that keeps everything barreling along for a fun ride that doesn’t overstay its welcome. If John Wick decided to join the production from Waiting for Guffman, it might look something like Normal.

9. Apex

Netflix loves its solo woman hunted while out in nature sub-genre, and Apex is a solid thriller fortified by two charismatic actors giving effective performances. Charlize Theron is an extreme sports adventurer mourning a tragic loss. Taron Egerton, adding to a spate of impressive character-driven performances, is the taunting, teasing psychopath that sees her as fair game.

Apex succeeds largely on the strength of its performances. For most of its runtime, it’s a two-hander that benefits from its game leads. Theron ably plays the grieving protagonist, tough and resilient. Egerton gets the more fun role as he flits between friendly and psychotic with an affable, friendly demeanor that hides his love for the hunt. Also working to the film’s benefit is the Australian landscape that serves as the film’s setting and is lushly photographed in aerial drone shots and during frantic chases.

8. Two Prosecutors

Sergei Loznitsa’s Two Prosecutors might be a thriller in the loosest sense of the word. Meditative, cautious, and punishingly slow by design, Two Prosecutors might be easier to appreciate than it is to enjoy, but that is the point. Few films, if any, paint such an immersive picture of bureaucracy, corruption, and authoritarianism.

Set in 1937 during the Soviet Union’s Great Purge and adapted from the 1967 novella by Georgy Demidov, Two Prosecutors focuses on young, idealistic law school graduate Kornyev who arrives at a remote prison after receiving a letter from a prisoner alleging corruption. Kornyev’s diligence and persistence run up against a system rooted in weaponized incompetency and obfuscation, and Loznitsa makes the most of the experience. In capturing mundanity, Two Prosecutor’s is almost an anti-thriller but one that makes its horrifying point ultimately clear. It’s not intense, but it is soul-crushing.

7. Redux Redux

Redux Redux fits across a few genres. Its central conceit makes it science fiction. Many critics and commentators filed it under horror, and its dissection of grief certainly lends it drama. But for our money, Redux Redux is firmly thriller for how it teases intrigue and tension. It’s high-concept, low-budget true crime blasted into the multiverse.

Brothers Kevin and Matthew McManus direct sister Michaela as a grieving mother who’s found a unique outlet for revenge. A family affair behind the scenes that explores what makes a family onscreen, Redux Redux gradually settles into a thriller groove as the protagonist’s quest for revenge leads to a game of cat-and-mouse that strips away the sci fi and ups the tension. Plotwise, Redux Redux comes with many bells and whistles, but it’s most at ease when it’s in thriller mode.

6. Wasteman

Set in the British prison system, Wasteman is a gritty thriller centered around David Jonsson’s performance as a con whose chance at parole is jeopardized by his new cellmate. Jonsson plays Taylor, a former drug dealer turned prison barber whose decade-plus stint in the can has left him a shell of a man. Towards the beginning, funding issues inadvertently offer him a ray of light as the state looks to release well-behaved prisoners to reduce prison costs.

In walks Dee (played by Tom Blyth), a swaggering career criminal whose ambitions fail to consider the existing prison ecosystem. Taylor is attracted to the money, gear, treats, and friendship of his new cellmate even as Dee’s volatility brings the prison to a boil. Wasteman takes an honest approach to human behavior, and its lack of sentimentality adds to the tension and makes the stakes feel doubly intense. Taylor’s struggle for freedom is a war against himself, others, and the system that unfolds in a hotbed of crime and desperation that makes Wasteman one of the year’s best thrillers.