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.

Peter Parker’s secret is once more safe as Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits our cinema screens this week. But at what cost, following the events of the previous instalment?

The first appearance of our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man was all the way back in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy in 1962, and since then, he’s become one of the most popular and lucrative superheroes ever created. In the 70s, Marvel partnered with CBS to produce a TV adaptation of the character, and Spider-Man went through many iterations across different media forms until 1999, when Columbia acquired the rights to the character, and we were given the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, starring Tobey Maguire as the titular hero.

Andrew Garfield inherited the role from Tobey Maguire and held the post for two films, before the Marvel Universe took over multiplexes, eventually releasing three Spider-Man films with Tom Holland in the hot seat; and now, we have Brand New Day, a fourth instalment in this particular run that, of course, coincides and ties in with the Marvel Universe. The two animated features, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), are every bit as important, offering audiences another twist on the character, both of which are innovative and offer something different for younger audiences as well as engaging with Spidey fans of all ages.

The films range in quality, and in this list, we attempt to rank all eleven Spider-Man films from worst to best.

11. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

2007 was the summer of the threequels, with Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Shrek 3, and The Bourne Ultimatum all hitting our cinemas. Of these, Paul Greengrass’ offering was the only exceptional film. The rest were, for want of a better word, pants.

You could accept and pretty much expect Shrek 3 and Pirates 3 to be poor, but Spider-Man 3 was the most disappointing of the lot, considering Sam Raimi’s first two Spidey ventures were so strong. Add to that the fact that, at the time, it was the most expensive film ever made, and you begin to get an idea of just how much of a let-down this turned out to be. It wasn’t all Raimi’s fault; he wasn’t interested in the idea of Venom, preferring Sandman and Harry Osborn (James Franco) as the film’s central antagonists, but Sony insisted that the hugely popular comic-book villain be added.

The result was a mess and a half of a film, and despite the fact it took nearly a billion dollars, Spider-Man 3 remains a hugely expensive foul-up.

10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Andrew Garfield gets something of a bad rep for his performances as Spider-Man, yet he’s a lot more convincing than many have given him credit for.

Unfortunately, the films he starred in simply weren’t up to snuff, especially the second instalment. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 repeated many of the mistakes of Raimi’s third outing in the director’s chair, throwing far too much at the wall with little of it sticking. Emma Stone remains effective in the role of Gwen Stacy, yet her character’s arc ends in a way that seals off some of the stronger portions of this short run franchise.

There’s too much going on, and much of it far too familiar; and the film’s ending is one of the worst put to screen in terms of superhero fodder. The sight of Paul Giamatti as Rhino (and I love Giamatti) killed this incarnation of Spider-Man stone dead.

9. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

After the cancellation of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 in 2010, Sony swiftly moved to reboot, casting Andrew Garfield as the webbed hero and bringing on Marc Webb to direct. What we needed was a different direction, with Raimi’s efforts still very much fresh in the mind. Instead, we got another origin story, with Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as the Lizard joining the cast.

Although The Amazing Spider-Man is far from terrible, it simply feels like another retreading of a story that we’d heard very recently, while Peter’s prolonged search for his Uncle Ben’s murderer drags. Initially the idea was supposedly to integrate the story of Peter’s absent parents into proceedings, but this never really came to fruition.

Webb’s first outing as Spidey director passes the time, but you forget it very quickly.

8. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

After the success of Homecoming and the ending of Marvel’s Phase 3, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man returned to the suit, arriving in the immediate aftermath of Avengers: Endgame. It served both as a sequel to Homecoming and an epilogie to the entire Infinity Saga, exploring how Peter Parker attempts to deal with the loss of his mentor, Tony Stark, while trying to return to a teenage life.

Of course it’s impossible, and during a school trip across Europe, mysterious elemental creatures begin attacking cities across the world. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury recruits Peter to help alongside Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin Beck, an individual who turns out not to be as friendly as we all thought.

Far From Home functions well enough on the surface, with Gyllenhaal terrific in the role of Beck/Mysterio, and although it all gets a bit messy, Holland and the cast around him do enough to make Far From Home an enjoyable, if heavily flawed, entry into the franchise.

7. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

The newest addition to the Spider-Man story has received some bafflingly good reviews. It’s not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination; indeed, the opening 90 minutes or so are thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s impressive to see how the characters can still make you feel invested this far into Marvel’s cash cow.

With the help of Doctor Strange, any memories that MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) had of Peter have been wiped, in a bid to keep them safe from harm. Turns out that’s not possible, so Peter now has to deal with Sadie Sink’s new villain as she wreaks havoc on New York and makes a beeline for Peter’s nearest and dearest.

There’s enough going on here to keep you entertained for the first two thirds, despite it ultimately being more of the same, but the final half hour really stretches patience. The endless fight sequences with no jeopardy really take a toll, and although Sink’s character reveal is genuinely interesting, what comes after that is a trudge. A Brand New Day is what we needed, but this ends up being yet another retread, albeit an often entertaining one.

World champion bodybuilder. Blockbuster movie star. Governor of California. Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved massive feats for a country boy from a small town in Austria, certainly, and the legacy that still resonates the strongest is that of his movie career.

Although he attempted getting work in celluloid from the late 60s, Hollywood really took notice after the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” (1977), which followed his and Lou Ferrigno’s rivalry during the Mr Olympia competition of 1975, and showed he was a engaging presence in front of the camera. That led into him landing a role pitch-perfect for himself with “Conan the Barbarian” (1982); John Milius’ nihilistic epic of blood and steel showed Arnie was a force on screen and could hold the weight of a movie on his broad shoulders.

From that point on, until the mid-90s, it was pretty much hit after hit; “The Terminator” (1984) cemented him with superstardom and proved he wasn’t just the ‘Conan guy’, but several macho action milestones further proved the point, such as “Predator”, “Total Recall”, “Terminator 2”, “True Lies”. He even branched out successfully into comedy with “Twins” and “Kindergarten Cop” (let’s not mention “Junior” though), and even his B-tier movies like “Commando” and “The Running Man” are highly celebrated by action fans in retrospect.

His grip loosened on the box office, though, after his camp performance in the disastrous “Batman & Robin” (1997) and he soon hung up his spurs for politics. He did return to screens in the mid-2010s, but never hit those heights again, although it resulted in a slew of interesting ventures where he pushed his dramatic chops.

And therein lies the purpose of this list, from the early 80s to mid-90s, this Austrian oak made such huge movies that there are a few compelling and criminally underrated titles that slipped through the cracks, let’s explore those…

1. Stay Hungry (1976)

From mid-1967 to 1975, Arnold was reigning champ across the Mister Universe and Mister Olympia competitions, he was also becoming a crossover celebrity icon with talk shows and documentary crews following him around, and yet, Hollywood didn’t know what to do with him – he essentially was too big and too foreign. That was until major director Bob Rafelson built a movie around him linked to the rise of the burgeoning bodybuilding hype.

Jeff Bridges plays a successful Alabama businessman with a mission to build up a new block of property, with the only holdout a small gym that features a rising showpiece athlete, played by Schwarzenegger. Bridges gets pulled into the niche scene, befriends the bodybuilder, and falls in love with country girl Sally Field, all before things take a dark turn in the finale.

The film is a slight mess, a chaotic production might be the culprit, with it swerving from grassroots character drama, hillbilly comedy, a spotlight on bodybuilding, before turning into a disturbing third act, that has Bridges in a punch-up with R.G. Armstrong’s coach in a drug-fuelled meltdown. The movie attempts to be a lot, and doesn’t always stick the landing; however, it’s an entertaining ride.

What helps ground it are Bridges, who is always watchable, playing the stuck-up suit who warms to the low-key community, and Field, who is ever likeable and charming in her role. Arnold plays the third lead and does a counterpart to his later tough guy persona; he’s a gentle giant, full of sensitivity and insecurity. While his accent is rusty, and his drama nuance improved over time, he makes an impression, and certainly steals the movie as its heart, walking away with ‘Best New Star’ at the Golden Globes that year.

Director Rafelson was an important figure in 70s New Hollywood, having delivered “Five Easy Pieces” (1970) and “King of Marvin’s Gardens” (1972) years prior. That he chose to go for this bizarre mash-up of genres and subject matter is baffling, but also fascinating.

As mentioned, the movie is a mess, but it’s an always watchable one with a rare peek into Arnold before he had granite confidence in front of the camera – with that all changing the next year with the release of the milestone documentary “Pumping Iron”.

2. Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Arnie’s first venture as Conan is a bona fide classic, not to mention his first major leading man hit; it made him a bankable name in Hollywood, although he hadn’t hit the A-list. The sequel, however, is not held in the same regard due to a goofy family-friendly tone, compared to the grown-up R-rated themes in the original. Regardless, there’s fun to be had here.

Essentially picking up where the first left off, Conan is recruited by Sarah Douglas’ suspicious Queen to escort a princess (Olivia d’Abo) to find a relic in an evil sorcerer’s castle. He assembles a ragtag group, including trusty sidekick Tracey Walter, a suitably mad Grace Jones, and the towering Wilt Chamberlain.

The original’s director, John Milius, alongside screenwriter Oliver Stone, were enamoured with Robert E. Howard’s source material, and had always pictured the series as a trilogy – but producer Dino De Laurentiis had other ideas, wanting to lighten the tone and sell to a wide audience. Schwarzenegger wasn’t a fan of the change or Milius being booted, but was contracted to star.

Regardless, the Austrian oak delivers; at the time, this was his trademark role, with a granite physique, a stern no-nonsense glare, and impressive swordplay, it fits him like hand-in-glove. The rest of the cast have a blast too, with Jones a natural fit as a fierce warrior, and Chamberlain’s formidable height overshadowing Arnie at points.

What we’re left with, is a movie that isn’t befitting the first, but if you can look past it, it is an enjoyably cheesy piece of 80s fantasy, with every generic trope chucked in. Certainly, Milius’ auteur-like handling is missing, with journeyman director Richard Fleischer (Soylent Green, Narrow Margin) taking over, but fully understanding the assignment, and making it a fun ride from beginning to end.

3. Red Heat (1988)

By the late 80s, Arnold was a megastar, having enjoyed massive success with “Commando” (1985) and “Predator” (1987) (and even mediocre movies like “Red Sonja” and “Raw Deal” making bank). The buddy cop formula was at an all-time high, so the concept to give him his own similar vehicle was quickly formulated.

Schwarzenegger is a tough ‘shoot-first’ Soviet police captain, on the chase of a nefarious criminal (an absolute dynamite Ed O’Ross), who flees to the States, with the hero following closely after. The bullish Russian has to team with a wisecracking Chicago cop (Belushi) in a pairing that at first clashes, before inevitably putting their differences aside to take down the bad guy.

Schwarzenegger is captivating as the hard-man with zero tolerance for nonsense, not to mention, he plays up the ‘fish-out-of-water’ aspects to enjoyable comedic effect. Belushi, as his loudmouth partner, is… fine. This was the brief period where it was expected he would hit superstardom, but in this A-list project, it’s clear he doesn’t have the gravitas or pedigree of Arnie, and the film slacks due to it; It’s no Gibson-Glover level pairing, with Schwarzengger stealing the show, and Belushi looking slight.

Luckily, the rest of the cast is great, with solid character actors like Laurence Fishburne, Richard Bright, and Peter Boyle filling out the support list. And of course, O’Ross is intimidating as the frightening badman, who makes for a strong counterpart to Arnie’s unstoppable crusader.

Macho filmmaker, Walter Hill, had enjoyed his first major hit in Hollywood with “48 Hrs.” (1982), and had gotten carte blanche to do whatever he wanted, which lead to a series of ambitious flops (like cult classic “Streets of Fire”). On his back-foot, this had him concocting a safe studio movie; luckily, he was operating at his peak as a director and brings gritty visceral action scenes that really hit the pulse, with an especially gripping opening scene, featuring Arnold infiltrating a hot steam bath filled with threatening Russian mobsters.

It made good box office at the time, but isn’t remembered in the same sentence as Schwarzenegger classics, likely due to Belushi not holding up his end of the pairing. Regardless, this is a rip-roaring good piece of late 80s action cinema with a solid use of the Arnie persona.

4. Last Action Hero (1993)

After reigning supreme as Box Office king in the 80s, with Arnold switching between big action and successful comedies, cinema began to change in the 90s, with the hunger for A-list muscle men lessening, and he suffered his first costly flop with this ambitious title.

Austin O’Brien plays a loner high schooler who is obsessed with the Jack Slater film series, a franchise consisting of excessive action films starring Schwarzenegger. Being given access to watch the latest entry pre-premiere by his projectionist friend (Robert Prosky), he becomes pulled into the film by a magic ticket, with him living inside the movie world filled with exploding cars, over-the-top bad guys, and befriending Slater himself.

O’Brien is ultimately the heart of the movie, an isolated kid who is an encyclopaedia of 80s action movies, and while critics found him grating at the time, the young actor manages to be a believable anchor throughout the movie, dropping bucketloads of exposition while giving us someone to root for. Arnold is strong as well, playing into his trademark persona while also mocking it, and as the film progresses, it gives his one-note character a glimpse of humanity, particularly around his painful realisation that the murder of his son was all some Hollywood screenwriter’s doing. The support is great as well, Prosky is warm, Mercedes Ruehl is loveable as O’Brien’s working-class mother, and Charles Dance as the villain is at his screen-chewing best.

The film is directed by action maestro John McTiernan (Die Hard, Predator) at a point where he was only rivalled by James Cameron when it came to packaging exciting blockbusters with strong characters and satisfying gunfights. He doesn’t disappoint, as he is one of the inventors of the conventions and is able to make the movie-world aspects feel authentic and overblown, while contrasting that with the reality of a grimy New York when the movie returns to the real world. It was the last time he was given this sort of budget and freedom in Hollywood, and the action and comedy blend flawlessly.

Sadly, “Last Action Hero” was a costly flop, which is a shame as it’s a cracking satire on the dying fade of the time, while managing to deliver bombastic action and some heartfelt emotion. This is Arnold’s most unsung tentpole movie that deserves to stand next to his classics.

5. Eraser (1996)

By the mid-90s, hip Indie cinema had taken hold of the zeitgeist. Action movies still made bank, but the mandate was to do ‘big concepts’ and cast unconventional actors (e.g. Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Nicolas Cage) in action roles, with the need for musclemen waning. Arnold still managed to knock out one major hit during this point, in this fun action film that remains overlooked in retrospect.

Schwarzenegger is a U.S. Marshal that specialises in the Witness Protection program; he essentially erases the witness’ past, giving them a brand new identity. When Vanessa Williams’ corporate executive discovers a conspiracy, Arnold is put on her case, but soon has his organisation turning on them both with them needing to go on the run.

Arnold’s assignment on this one was to play his one-man-army archetype, and he does it in one last hurrah for the 90s. He struggled later this decade trying to spin more depth in his roles, but his Marshal doesn’t sweat the small stuff; he’s as good with a gun as he is with a one-liner. Williams is a likeable human counterpart to the tough-man, and good support fills up the screen with reliable retro character actors like James Cromwell, James Coburn, and specifically James Caan, playing Arnold’s former colleague turned slimy villain.

Director Chuck Russell exploded onto the horror scene before transitioning into the mainstream with the massive Jim Carrey hit “The Mask” (1994). He was at a point where he could execute mainstream polish with (at the time) cutting-edge effects, alongside some R-rated bloodletting, and the movie delivers with some inventive set-pieces, such as Arnold’s airplane escape, or a finale that features the star toting a duo of Sci-Fi rifles and taking out a small militia of bad guys.

The film never strives to be more than a satisfying Arnold actioneer told with A-list polish, and it achieves the assignment without fail, even if it’s less memorable than the actor’s milestones.

There’s no doubt that Christopher Nolan has changed the face of cinema, and with The Odyssey, he’s created more history by giving us the first film shot entirely in IMAX. Like James Cameron before him, new technology has had to be invented for him to achieve his vision, but unlike Cameron, every Nolan film to date has been relevant in one form or another.

From his hour-long 1998 debut Following to 2026’s The Odyssey, he has wowed cinema-goers, with every Nolan film now treated as event cinema. Oppenheimer (2023) was part of the cultrual ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, his Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012) forced us to look differently at superhero films (despite Batman not being a superhero), and Interstellar (2014) persuaded us that time travel using black holes might just be possible.

His films can be flawed and frustrating, but each one gives us something that we can sink our teeth into, and they’re never anything other than an absolute must-see. In this list, we attempt to rank every Nolan film to date.

13. Tenet (2020)

Tenet had the added burden of being the first major blockbuster released in the wake of the COVID pandemic, and still today is chastised more than it perhaps should be. It’s easily the most dismissed of Nolan’s back catalogue, yet is nowhere near the stinker that some claim. The story concerns John David Washington’s CIA operative known only as the Protagonist, who survives a failed mission before being recruited into a secret organisation attempting to prevent a catastrophe that threatens not just the future, but the past.

The palindromic nature of the film, with its time-travel remit, confused many, and it was suggested that multiple viewings would clear up any loose ends. But in fact, Tenet is pretty straightforward to follow; it’s just quite messy and often underwhelming. Robert Pattinson is effortlessly charismatic as Neil, injecting warmth and humour into a story that is lacking in that department. At the same time, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh are hysterical and ridiculous in ways that frequently threaten to derail the film completely.

But despite its many flaws, Tenet is an enjoyable action romp, with many claiming it might well be the closest Nolan ever gets to making a Bond film. It entertains in buckets, but remains his least vital work.

12. Insomnia (2002)

Another film that’s solid without ever being spectacular, Insomnia suffers from being an English-language remake of a Danish film that was perfectly decent in the first place. In fact, the original is excellent. That’s not to say Nolan’s version isn’t rather enjoyable, with Al Pacino and Robin Williams in excellent form as veteran Los Angeles detective Will and murderer Walter respectively. Will is sent to a small Alaskan town to investigate the murder of a teenage girl, but accidentally shoots his partner in thick fog and allows the blame to fall elsewhere.

Walter finds out the truth, and begins to manipulate the exhaustive detective, turning the investigation into a psychological battle that holds Insomnia together and keeps you on tenterhooks. The film lacks the structural mayhem of Nolan’s later work, but it’s a fascinating exploration of guilt with two excellent performances at the centre of it.

It’s not as adventurous as what was to follow, and it’s not as good as the original, a battle that Nolan was constantly fighting and never quite overcame. But once again there’s plenty to like here from a director very quickly finding his feet in film.

11. Following (1998)

Nolan’s debut feature naturally, in hindsight, is a far more important document now than anyone realised at the time. Made for a paltry $6,000, Following was shot over the course of a year whenever cast and crew were free at weekends, while Nolan himself was still working a full-time job and writing the script specifically around locations he could access for free. He also hired actors that were available without pay.

Despite the tiny budget, Following does a whole lot with very little. An unemployed aspiring writer spends his days following strangers around London’s streets, convincing himself the habit will inspire his work. But things take a dangerous turn when he’s caught by a burglar, who introduces him to a world of break-ins and deception. It’s a premise that works wonders in terms of the film’s low budget, and the film lays down the Nolan marker of fractured narritive which works even better with the film being shot on black and white 16mm stock.

Knowing what Nolan would go on to achieve makes Following even more impressive, and almost every obsession that’s central to his filmmaking today is present in his very first feature.

10. The Odyssey (2026)

Nolan’s latest feature might well be his most ambitious, but it is undeniably flawed and not the masterpiece many have made it out to be. Starring Matt Damon as King Odysseus, The Odyssey tracks his journey home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy, part of a long war which has caused him to be away from his family for many years. He and his crew face the wrath of the Gods and almost every terror and hardship you could imagine on their journey home, something told in flashbacks as Nolan once again straddles many time frames in telling us Homer’s epic tale in IMAX form.

The cast list is impressive, with Anne Hathaway as Penelope, wife of Odysseus, Tom Hollander as their son Telemachus, Lupito Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, and many more. But the entire film is swept from under all of them by Samantha Morton as Circe, daughter of Helios, who is utterly sublime in her small role.

The scope is astonishing, the scale is ridiculous, and there’s so much going on it’s often overwhelming, leaving some characters underserved. There’s no doubting Nolan was the man to pick to put this adaptation on screen, and he duly serves us up a treat, but this remains a flawed beast and not quite up there with his best work.

9. Dunkirk (2017)

When Nolan announced he was making a war film, it understandably sent pulses racing. Would this be Saving Private Ryan (1998) mark II? Turning his attention to one of the defining moments of the Second World War, Nolan builds Dunkirk around three intersecting timelines, one week on the beach, one day at sea, and one hour in the air.

The narratives unfold simultaneously before converging in the final act, creating a unique cinematic experience built around tension and designed to be seen on the biggest screen possible. This means Dunkirk feels like you’re right there and central to the horrors on the beach, and although it probably never quite matches the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan in terms of intensity, Dunkirk added yet another impressive string to Nolan’s ever-growing bow.

It’s not his best film, and it’s probably not one of the best war films ever put to screen, but it is undoubtedly one of the most interesting in terms of ambition and execution.

8. Interstellar (2014)

From here on in, certainly if you’re a big Nolan fan, it’s all going to be at the very least, very good. Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey as Cooper, a former NASA pilot who leaves his family behind to join a mission searching for a new home for humanity with Earth becoming increasingly uninhabitle. A location has been found beyond a wormhole near Saturn, and travelling alongside a team of scientists, Cooper encounters hostile planets, devastating time dilation and impossible choices while his daughter Murph remains on Earth trying to solve the equation that could save mankind.

For all its spectacle, Interstellar is about the relationship between a father and his daughter, and McConaughey is sensational as Cooper, with Jessica Chastain equally as good as a grown-up Murph. The ambition is unsurprisingly staggering, and the efforts to keep everything scientifically accurate are admirable if sometimes misplaced. Visually it’s astounding, with the water planet especially impressive, and effectively terrifying.

Hans Zimmer serves up another incredible score which you continue to hear everywhere today, and although Interstellar remains one of the more divisive films in the Nolan canon, it’s hugely engaging and frequently mind blowing.

It takes more than gore to make a movie disturbing, but it certainly helps. The most disturbing cinema of this decade so far is sometimes gory, sometimes suggestive, but almost always tense. This list is a space for eye gouging, non-medical surgery, bullying, brutalizing, and high, high, high tension. But it’s also a place of icy remove, static cinematography, and haunting sound design.

Given the popularity of horror in the 2020s, it’s no surprise that this decade has been chock-full of disturbing cinema. What might surprise some is how many of the most unsettling, eerie, and disturbing entries aren’t actually horror, or at least straight horror. Past decades had torture porn, European extremity, and visceral social thrillers, but the 2020s have been a mash-up of genre, tone, anxiety, and rage. If the decade lacks an overarching ethos, there’s still plenty of transgressive, boundary-pushing offerings dotting fantastic film festivals the world over.

Entries like this are notoriously subjective. The movies here aren’t meant to be scary, though many of them are. They don’t all have gore or extreme situations or fucked-up themes, but many of them do. What unites them is an underlying tone of menace, bullying, tension, unease, and the sensation that something fundamental to our humanity and personal autonomy is coming undone in real time.

If you think there’s something more disturbing (but also good) that isn’t here, then let us know. Otherwise, the list:

25. Civil War (2024)

Alex Garland’s Civil War traces decades of post-WW2 atrocity imagery onto the American landscape. While many bristled at its refusal to simply echo contemporary US partisan talking points, Garland’s film hit on the more disturbing, disarming nature of sectarian conflict: namely that politics becomes an afterthought to bloodlust, survival, and opportunities to wreak cruelty on those perceived to deserve it.

Civil War is essentially a road trip movie focused on photojournalism, and it captures truly disturbing imagery from necklacing to mass graves, and recreational torture. Its most memorable scene, with Jesse Plemons as part of a nativist kill squad, encapsulates its brutal, bloody lens as his ruthless, eerie calm punctures everything that came before it. Civil War wasn’t the film US audiences expected, and it’s all the more disturbing for it.

24. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)

Shirts off! Even mid-way through, 2026 has delivered a squad of heavy, heartily disturbing films that catapult across genres and tones with disconcerting ease. The Bone Temple picks up right where 2025’s 28 Years Later ended, as young protagonist Spike must prove himself to the Jimmy gang. This roving band of marauders bookended the first entry of this legacy trilogy, leaving some with tonal whiplash. But while they made for an energetic, final scene in that film, The Bone Temple begins with the grim. We finally meet the gang through gray tones, menacing music, and primal taunting as Spike is pushed around and forced into brutal choices.

Part of what makes The Bone Temple so disturbing is the nature of the Jimmy gang. They model themselves after notorious predator and celebrity Jimmy Saville – who in this alternate reality was never unmasked (albeit posthumously) for the monster he was – and recreate Teletubby antics as if they were sacred lore. That none of this is really explained only adds to the weirdness and the terror. Like its predecessor, The Bone Temple was divisive, but in its grimness and the sadism of its chief antagonists, it offers an experience that spurred disgust and walkouts.

23. Pearl (2022)

Ti West’s low-key prequel to retro slasher X is a slow-burn surprise that becomes increasingly unnerving as the titular character’s sanity unravels. If X was an exercise in conventionality – taking the time-worn slasher paradigm and executing it with love, attention, and care – then Pearl is an exercise in mixing up conventions and finding horror in unlikely places, particularly Mia Goth’s desperate, unhinged smile.

Goth did double duty in X, and here she again is the key. Pearl is so disturbing precisely because of her performance. She’s as committed as her character, who bristles under tradition and her family obligations until her quest for stardom leaves her demeaned, ashamed, and bitter. In the mindfucking department, Goth gets help from an array of bizarre imagery including maggots, rotting flesh, scarecrows, and a fetid, rotting American dream. A climatic set piece hinges on Goth’s monologue, and with it she and West cement Pearl as one of the great psychological unraveling horrors a la Repulsion and Possession.

22. Obsession (2026)

Obsession is a proven horror hit: a box office smash with solid reviews and a sizable cultural footprint. At least part of what got it there was writer/director Curry Barker’s sure-handed approach to time-worn horror tropes. This might be a riff on the Monkey’s Paw trope, but its scares feel fresh and well-crafted.

What makes it so disturbing? There’s the love hex element, which subtly echoes themes of codependency, toxic relationships, and gaslighting. There’s the dispossession element. The unrelenting bleakness. A sense of inevitability that makes even the most predictable plot points into jump scares. And then there’s Nikki’s party monologue, a twisted seemingly first-person account of an extreme Hansel & Gretel story, delivered at a party during a drinking game, that’s as awkward as it is unnerving. Though in the end it’s how all of these elements fold into an experience that’s suffocating and unrelentingly bleak.

21. Sick of Myself (2022)

Kristoffer Borgli crossed absurdist comedy with body horror with this film that brought him to international attention. Signe is a barista who’s jealous of the attention boyfriend Thomas receives for his sculptures made from stolen furniture. She craves attention but struggles to cultivate it in an attention economy obsessed with the performative. That is until she fakes an allergic reaction and finds her way into the discourse.

Borgli’s film clearly has things to say about social media and how it fosters unhealthy relationships to attention, and this would be enough for many other films content to make the same rote points over and over. But what makes Sick of Myself truly disturbing is the skin-peeling, blistering, rotting horrors that Signe inflicts on herself to keep eyes on her and the charade going. The film’s remote, icy tone also adds to the disconcerting effect, with any room for moralizing taken over by dark humor and human vapidness that will be all too familiar to anyone who’s spent time on social media.

20. Get In (2020)

Get In, or Furie in its native French, could technically be considered 2019, but since it hit international cinemas in 2020, it’s included here. Olivier Abbou’s film is a social thriller about powerlessness in which tension ramps up until it explodes through the walls. The Diallo family – mild-mannered husband/father Paul, wife Chloe who grew up in the area, and child Louise — come home from holiday to find that their house sitters have become squatters.

The family struggles without much help from the law as tensions between Paul, an outsider, and Chloe, a local, only add to the tension. As Paul takes up more with local Mickey and his friends, his calm nature is called into question as the movie interrogates masculinity, entitlement, and victimhood. Abbou borrows more than a bit from films like Straw Dogs in its depiction of how social niceties and perceived weakness culminate in violence, and Get In gets quite brutal as its characters grow weary, frustrated, and then furious with each other. It’s a blistering film that finds ugliness in every corner of human behavior.

19. The Ugly Stepsister (2025)

Emilie Blichfeldt’s dark retelling of Cinderella focuses on the titular trope, an ugly stepsister who’s pushed by society, but especially her social climbing mother, to entrance a prince. Showing rather than telling, Blichfeldt deftly conveys the unfair expectations placed on women’s appearances by dragging her character from one ghastly indignity to another, all in the name of cosmetic perfection.

Lea Myren is Elvira, the stepsister in question, and the horrors she endures are delivered bluntly in scenes more akin to Scandi-noir than fairy tales. Many modern fairy tales go for campiness or seek to correct outdated views on women, their looks, and their role in society. The Ugly Stepsister becomes so disturbing by leaning into the contemporary realities of those horrors, ranging from crude rhinoplasties to stomach-churning diets.

18. Bring Her Back (2025)

The Phillipou brothers’ follow-up to Talk to Me is horror drained of life and hope. Stepsiblings Andy and Piper are taken in by foster mother Laura. All three of them are grieving: Andy and Piper for their father, Laura for her daughter. Also in the mix is Oliver, a creepy, pasty boy whose face is drained of emotion and who doesn’t speak. Naturally, not all is what it seems and something is afoot.

And that something is absolutely drowned in misery. This is an Australia drained of almost all color but gray. Every interaction in this foster home is halting, cautious, and sad. Andy finds that his foster mother isn’t much kinder than his departed father. Two set pieces involving Oliver are truly unnerving, with the filmmakers ramping up the sound design to horrifying effect. There are jump scares and gore aplenty, but what most lingers with Bring Her Back is the absolute lack of hope.

Event cinema returns to our screens, or strictly speaking, our IMAX screens if you witness The Odyssey in the way that Christopher Nolan intends. The last time Nolan blasted onto our screens was back in 2023 with Oppenheimer, a film that became a cultural phenomenon as part of the ‘Barbenheimer’ double bill, itself amassing nearly $1 billion worldwide while Greta Gerwig’s counterpart took in almost $1.5 billion.

It would be very interesting to see what Oppenheimer would have made had Barbie not been part of the cinematic landscape at the time, and perhaps the box-office takings for The Odyssey will offer a clue. Unless, of course, a cultural event involving Nolan’s latest and the new Minions movies suddenly appeals to the masses overnight. Either way, The Odyssey is going to dominate the box office for the foreseeable future.

It’s been over seventy years since Hollywood last adapted Homer’s “Odyssey” for the big screen (although 2024’s The Return starring Ralph Fiennes is worth a mention despite its low-key release) and one struggles to think of a director with the ambition, skill, and studio backing to take on the epic tale in a worthy way. But of course, Nolan would be one of them, as well as perhaps Denis Villeneuve; a man currently busy with the job of plotting the next Bond adventure, having just completed work on Dune Part III.

Nolan himself has been almost tirelessly linked with the Bond franchise, but one might argue that we’ve already had his own version of such a film with 2020’s Tenet, a film that was released to a post-COVID world, struggling to come to terms with just what exactly was going on in their own lives, let alone Nolan’s messy palindromic tale.

And The Odyssey is released to a planet in which people allow themselves to have their opinions dictated to them, or jump on the bandwagon of the last opinion they heard. I flag this up because The Odyssey has had quite a backlash before its release, when casting news dropped some time ago.

To claim that virtue signalling and woke agenda doesn’t exist in the cinema is to quite ignorantly dismiss something that undoubtedly occurs, and some high-profile critics- in my opinion- have fallen foul of desperately not trying to offend anyone in their own reviews of various films over the last few years. But it’s just as important to look at the other side too, with pure hatred spouted by people who crowbar issues into such debates when no such thing exists. Both sides can, and have, been damaging. The main crimes of Nolan, it seems, are having cast Lupito Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as Sinon. Initially it was rumoured Page was playing Achilles, something that greatly upset people, but it is ultimately a moot point, having turned out to be false. And as for Nyong’o, one of the finest actresses working today, it seems churlish to claim that a black woman can’t possibly play a mythical figure.

Whatever your thoughts with regard to these perceived issues, they’re not enough to pass judgement on the entire film as a result. The Odyssey is a sweeping swords-and-sandals epic; the scale of which is sometimes difficult to comprehend and one that reinvents Homer’s legend in ways not seen before on screen. There’s a lot going on in the first hour or so, and there’s a little too much thrown at the wall. Nolan loves to provide us with separate narrative threads and timelines and has successfully done so before with much of his work, but The Odyssey drags as it tries to get everything into place so the mechanical structure of the film can run more smoothly as we enter the middle section of a film which is just shy of three hours.

Matt Damon is excellent as King Odysseus, who, after the fall of Troy, begins the long journey home to Ithaca, told in various flashbacks and across different time periods. His quest lasts years and provides the thrust of everything that unfurls, as he yearns to reunite with his wife Penelope (a superb Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland). In Odysseus’s absence, Penelope is pressured to take a new husband with no shortage of suitors in Ithaca, chief of whom is Robert Pattinson’s Antinous. Pattinson is sensational, his snake-like and cowardly demeanour presenting us with an oily presence in the kingdom of Ithaca and a constant problem for Penelope and Telemachus.

The film slowly explores Odysseus’s guilt and shame over the Trojan war, and some have claimed the heart and soul of the film belongs to Page’s Sinon, whom Odysseus deceived and left as a blood sacrifice by the side of the daunting image of the Trojan horse, half buried in the sand of the beach, invoking the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes (1968). But really this is all about Odysseus’ unending shame as he begins to realise the futility of the war, the consequences of which are catastrophic. The taking of Troy is led by Benny Safdie’s Greek king Agamemnon, who is killed when he returns home; and as Odysseus and his men experience hunger, loss, disorientation and disaster on their struggle home, it becomes clear that the Gods have their own ideas of how the war’s aftermath plays out.

Their treacherous journey home consists of some truly memorable sequences. A cave meeting with the Cyclops is astonishing, and arguably where the film picks up the baton of urgency, which until this point was somewhat lacking. From here there’s a meeting with Samantha Morton’s Circe, a performance that, although slight, nearly steals the film from everyone around her as she taunts, teases and traps the crew. And we visit the underworld as Odysseus must converse with the dead, in a sequence that is as eerie as it is impressive. Some of the visuals in The Odyssey are jaw-dropping, and we’re lucky enough to witness even more through the eyes of Telemachus as he sets off on his own voyage to find evidence of his father’s whereabouts or existence, in a bid to save his mother from having to take another husband.

The performances across the board are terrific; even Tom Holland, who some have found fault with here, for my money does a very good job. Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and John Leguizamo all provide sterling work amongst many others; indeed, the cast list is seemingly endless. It’s a shame that Lupito Nyong’o only briefly appears, albeit in dual roles as Helen and her twin sister Clytemnestra. There’s a lot going on, even by Nolan’s standards, and he does an admirable job of trying to tie everything together. The last hour or so is pure cinema, building and building to a conclusion amplified and beautifully accompanied by the pulsing Ludwig Göransson score, which is constant throughout, the same way his work on Oppenheimer was.

We saw the fall of Troy depicted on screen by Wolfgang Peterson over twenty years ago, a film that starred Brad Pitt as Achilles and Orlando Bloom as Paris. But Troy (2004) is about as far as you could possibly get from The Odyssey, despite the similar subject matter. The sacking of Troy, which we see in stages of flashback, is breathtaking, and often a tough watch. There’s no Orlando Bloom prancing about like a berk, as he did in both Troy and Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Like Peterson, Nolan takes liberties with his source material, adjusting and omitting from literary sources, but whereas Troy did away with Gods entirely, Nolan gives us appearances from Gods and humans entangled in Greek mythology. You’re also reminded of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and The Odyssey also invokes Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000), an inevitable comparison that actually serves Scott’s Oscar-winning film rather well. At a mere two and a half hours, Gladiator doesn’t outstay its welcome, but there’s no doubt The Odyssey could shed twenty-five minutes of its run time.

But by the same token, it would take a brave editor to work out just where to chop and change here. There are bits and pieces of The Odyssey that plod, there’s no doubt about it, and this isn’t the masterpiece that many have claimed. However, you’re so quickly swept up in whatever comes next that it’s easy to forget these niggles while it’s unfolding in front of you, and the final hour will have you glued to the screen as it snowballs to its hugely satisfying finale.

Odysseus’s journey home is a horrifying, painful, and traumatic experience to say the least. It might even be argued that he himself wants it to be so and expects it as some form of self-torture; a punishment for his actions in the war which have made him feel unworthy of happiness. Damon captures all of this and more in what is a truly fantastic, understated and world-weary performance. Thankfully, as an audience, our journey through Nolan’s Odyssey is far less arduous than Odysseus’s plight. Quite the opposite in fact. This is cinema in its purest form, and we’re lucky to have someone as brilliant as Christopher Nolan to bring it to us. It will take a few more viewings to form a more fully rounded opinion, like all his work, and there is no getting around the fact that The Odyssey makes false steps. This is ambition on a scale to match Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptations; and yet just like those cinematic voyages to Arrakis, Nolan’s Odyssey falls just short of greatness.

Author Bio: Christian Keane is a film critic who explores overlooked gems, cult classics, and cinema’s hidden corners. He believes it’s great to disagree — everyone’s perspective matters — and shares his thoughts on his website and across his socials at Keane on Film, which you can find here https://linktr.ee/christiankeane7. You can also find him on Tiktok @keane.on.film and Instagram @keaneonfilm.