Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Actor: Andy McPhee, Carmel Johnson, Claire Benito, Grant Piro, Nicholas Hope, Ralph Cotterill, Syd Brisbane, Ullie Birvé
Director: Rolf de Heer
If you’re ready to unleash your dark side, there are plenty of fantastic picks to enjoy, from pitch black comedy to crime thrillers and dystopian sci-fi. Here are the best and dark-themed movies and shows to stream right now.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Actor: Andy McPhee, Carmel Johnson, Claire Benito, Grant Piro, Nicholas Hope, Ralph Cotterill, Syd Brisbane, Ullie Birvé
Director: Rolf de Heer
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Actor: Charlotte Rampling, Dann Florek, Eliott Keener, Elizabeth Whitcraft, Judith Drake, Kathleen Wilhoite, Lisa Bonet, Mickey Rourke, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Robert De Niro, Stocker Fontelieu
Director: Alan Parker
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Actor: Ambre Hasaj, Arthur Igual, Catherine Morlot, Coralie Russier, Didier Sandre, Estelle Lescure, Gaël Kamilindi, Iliana Zabeth, Jean-Christophe Brétignière, Jehnny Beth, Niels Schneider, Pierre Salvadori, Régis Romele, Siegrid Alnoy, Simon Bakhouche, Virginie Efira
Director: Catherine Corsini
1899 is for viewers who love twisty big-budgeted shows in the vein of HBO's Westworld and Amazon Prime's Peripheral. It’s set in the titled year and follows migrants from all walks of life as they set sail for New York, the land of opportunity. There’s a priest from Spain, a couple from France, and a performer from China, all aboard a ship run by Danish sailors and a German captain. It’s a multilingual feat, but the twisty part arrives when they stop to help a steamship that’s been stranded for months. One horrific, mind-bending event follows another as they race to solve the mystery within the ship.
1899 comes from the creators of Dark, the German sci-fi hit that won critical acclaim for its originality and craftsmanship.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Alexandre Willaume, Andreas Pietschmann, Aneurin Barnard, Anton Lesser, Clara Rosager, Emily Beecham, Gabby Wong, Isaak Dentler, Isabella Wei, Jonas Bloquet, José Pimentão, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Maciej Musiał, Maria Erwolter, Mathilde Ollivier, Miguel Bernardeau, Rosalie Craig, Tino Mewes, Yann Gael
Many films that deal with the advent of some sort of apocalypse usually hit the ground running, but When Evil Lurks also keeps its sense of panic and paranoia right up to its bitter end. Even during moments of downtime—as this small group of "survivors" tries to keep moving—there is an overwhelming sense that they're only delaying their inevitable suffering, or that evil has existed long before any of them. There are passing mentions of this demonic presence having originated in the city, and how it manages to infiltrate the lives of those on the outskirts through modern things like electricity and gunfire. It's an intriguing angle that gives possession a new texture: these demons aren't just randomly manifesting, but invading and occupying.
And when the violence kicks in, When Evil Lurks really doesn't spare its characters, as shown by some pretty gnarly practical effects and vicious sound design. The constant escalation of the demonic threat can feel contrived at times—as the rules of how things operate in this world keep on being added or modified, at a rate that can be hard to process—but the anguish it leaves its characters in is suffocating all the same. There may not appear to be a moral at the end of all this, but it evokes a sense of hopelessness better than many other films.
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Actor: Demián Salomón, Diego Sampayo, Emilio Vodanovich, Ezequiel Rodríguez, Federico Liss, Isabel Quinteros, Jorge Prado, Luis Ziembrowski, Marcelo Michinaux, Paula Rubinsztein, Sebastián Muñiz, Silvina Sabater, Virginia Garófalo
Director: Demián Rugna
War Pony is not easy to get through. The film, helmed by first-time directors Riley Kough and Gina Gammell, is slow to move and tackles weighty subjects like poverty, child abuse, and cultural appropriation. You’d be forgiven for asking if it was all too much, especially as the film makes its 12-year-old lead (a stellar LaDainian Crazy Thunder, who plays Matho) perform appalling things children are usually protected from. But ultimately, it also feels necessary. Kough and Gammell co-wrote the script with real-life Rez residents Franklin Sioux Bob and Bill Reddy, whose personal experiences inform much of the film’s story. Additionally, indigenous actors inhabit most of the screen and turn in naturalistic performances, adding to the film’s sense of urgency. And War Pony also weaves traces of magic into its realistic tale, making it an awe-inspiring and beautiful (albeit heavy) watch.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Anjeliq Aurora, Ashley Shelton, Jordan Robinson
Director: Gina Gammell, Riley Keough
It would be easy to define Rose Plays Julie as a cross between Promising Young Woman and Killing Eve, but this psychological thriller turns the camp factor down to zero and makes even just the act of watching somebody else an existential experience. Directors Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy treat this story with stone-cold intensity (perhaps to a fault), transforming their title character from a confused girl to somebody who relishes the power they have to disrupt other people's lives through her mere existence. There's something eerie about it that crawls under your skin if you let it, like a ghost story told among the living.
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Actor: Aidan Gillen, Alan Howley, Ann Skelly, Annabell Rickerby, Catherine Walker, Jack McEvoy, Joanne Crawford, Lochlann O'Mearáin, Orla Brady, Sadie Soverall
Director: Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor
In my own wished-for parallel universe, French actors Vincent Cassell and Emanuelle Devos are voted the sexiest actors alive. I find them both transfixing and appealing in every role they’ve performed, and they are quite the pair here. Devos plays Carla, a put-upon assistant at a property management company. While good at her job, there is little room for her to advance her career, as she is one of the only women at her company and also has a hearing deficiency. Into her humdrum life walks ex-convict Paul (Cassell), who Carla hires as a personal assistant. It turns out that what Paul lacks in secretarial skills he makes up for in other ways. The first half of the film plays almost like a dark workplace comedy, before taking a dangerous turn towards psychological crime thriller. Overall, it’s a dark and sexy character study of two mismatched outsiders who turn out to complement each other perfectly.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Actor: Bernard Alane, Bô Gaultier de Kermoal, Celine Samie, Chloé Mons, Christiane Cohendy, Christophe Van de Velde, Christophe Vandevelde, David Saracino, Emmanuelle Devos, Francois Loriquet, Gladys Gambie, Isabelle Caubère, Nathalie Lacroix, Olivia Bonamy, Olivier Gourmet, Olivier Perrier, Patrick Steltzer, Pierre Diot, Serge Boutleroff, Serge Onteniente, Vincent Cassel
Director: Jacques Audiard
Taking the Frankenstein story to its low-budget '80s extremes, Re-Animator finds lots of dry humor and gory thrills in the simple story of a mad scientist in medical school. But instead of any Frankenstein's monster terrorizing the university, it's the hubris of man and their arrogance in denying the inevitability of death that constantly threatens every other innocent person in the film. The scare to minute ratio here is refreshingly low, meaning Re-Animator isn't driven by a need to manipulate audiences, but by the primal thrills of fake guts and blood—and a sharp, snarky performance from Jeffrey Combs.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
Actor: Al Berry, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, Bunny Summers, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, David Gale, Gene Scherer, Gerry Black, Ian Patrick Williams, Jeffrey Combs, Peter Kent, Robert Sampson
Director: Stuart Gordon
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Actor: Gordon Kennedy, Gyda Hansen, Jesper Lohmann, Karsten Schrøder, Kim Bodnia, Lars Bom, Laura Drasbæk, Levino Jensen, Lisbeth Rasmussen, Liv Corfixen, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael Hasselflug, Nicolas Winding Refn, Peter Andersson, Slavko Labović, Thomas Bo Larsen, Vanja Bajicic, Zlatko Burić
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Belinda Davey, Cliff Ellen, Daniel Pollock, Frank Gallacher, Frankie J. Holden, Geneviève Picot, Heather Mitchell, Hugo Weaving, Jeffrey Walker, Russell Crowe, Saskia Post
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Genre: Drama
Actor: Cho Min-soo, Heo Joon-seok, Jin Yong-uk, Kang Eun-jin, Kim Jae-rok, Kwon Yul, Lee Jung-jin, Woo Ki-hong, Yoo Ha-bok
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Jeon So-nee, Kim In-kwon, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kwon Hae-hyo, Lee Jung-hyun
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
If there's one thing South Korea has a lock on, it's great revenge stories. This thrilling and intense series follows the journey of a determined woman turning to a powerful crime ring to help her seek revenge for her father's death. With a fast-paced storyline and expertly executed action sequences, the show keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish within a neat eight episodes.
Supported by Han So-Hee's strong performances, a tight script, and the unrelenting bloody fights, My Name delivers a satisfying blend of suspense and drama making it a must-watch for fans of crime thrillers.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Actor: Ahn Bo-hyun, Back Joo-hee, Chang Ryul, Han So-hee, Im Gi-hong, Kim Sang-ho, Park Hee-soon
Director: Kim Jin-min
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Actor: Dara Devaney, Dónall Ó Héalai, Dudura O'Gionnáin, Eoin O'Dubhghaill, Michael McElhatton, Peter Coonan, Saise Quinn, Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Siobhán O'Kelly
Director: Tomás Ó Súilleabháin