105 Great Movies to Watch Alone
(Photo by © Focus Features)
For some, staying home right now can mean curling up with a loved one on the couch for a date-night flick or gathering the whole family together for movie night. For many others, it can mean flying solo – long days and nights of streaming by yourself. We’re here to help with some movie suggestions we think are tailor-made for that latter experience.
Just like going to the movie theater alone can be a singularly joyous “treat yo self” excursion, solo home-viewing can be a great experience too – if you choose the right film. There are movies out there that actually benefit from being watched alone: It might be that they require a level of concentration and focus that distracting friends and loved ones just won’t allow you, or that the maximum scare factor is best felt when you are completely isolated – just like the babysitter being stalked on screen. It might just be that the movie has the kind of awkward/titillating sexy bits that make watching it with a first date – or, let’s say, mom – not exactly ideal. Watch it alone – no judgment, no nervous giggles.
To help those solo-fliers get through the next little while, the RT team pulled together a list of movies perfect for watching alone for all of those reasons – and a bunch that are just guaranteed to put you in an awesome mood the moment they start. Which might be the best reason of all.
What’s your favorite movie to watch by yourself? Let us know in the comments.
Click on each movie’s title to find out more, including where to stream, rent, or buy.
#13
Adjusted Score: 99.317%
Critics Consensus: Christopher Nolan skillfully guides the audience through Memento’s fractured narrative, seeping his film in existential dread.
Synopsis: A man is determined to find justice after the loss of a loved one, even though he is incapable of… [More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 74.856%
Critics Consensus: Charlie Kaufman’s ambitious directorial debut occasionally strains to connect, but ultimately provides fascinating insight into a writer’s mind.
Synopsis: Theater director Caden Cotard is mounting a new play. His life catering to suburban blue-hairs at the local regional theater… [More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 115.39%
Critics Consensus: An epic gangster drama that earns its extended runtime, The Irishman finds Martin Scorsese revisiting familiar themes to poignant, funny, and profound effect.
Synopsis: This biographical crime thriller follows Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) as he recalls his past years working for the Bufalino… [More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 99.905%
Critics Consensus: Propelled by Charlie Kaufman’s smart, imaginative script and Michel Gondry’s equally daring directorial touch, Eternal Sunshine is a twisty yet heartfelt look at relationships and heartache.
Synopsis: The second feature from director Michel Gondry (Human Nature) finds the filmmaker reteaming with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman for this off-the-wall… [More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 101.142%
Critics Consensus: Annihilation backs up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious — and surprisingly strange — exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll.
Synopsis: Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy, Annihilation stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva… [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 89.514%
Critics Consensus: Critics say Magnolia is an ambitious, lengthy work that ultimately succeeds due to the interesting stories and excellent ensemble performances.
Synopsis: An intriguing and entertaining study in characters going through varying levels of crisis and introspection. This psychological drama leads you… [More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 94.185%
Critics Consensus: The plot’s a bit of a jumble, but excellent performances and mind-blowing plot twists make 12 Monkeys a kooky, effective experience.
Synopsis: An intense film about time travel, this sci-fi entry was directed by Terry Gilliam, a member of the comedy troupe… [More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 97.44%
Critics Consensus: A quiet, dialogue-driven thriller that delivers with scene after scene of gut-wrenching anxiety. David Fincher also spends more time illustrating nuances of his characters and recreating the mood of the 70s than he does on gory details of murder.
Synopsis: Based on the true story of the notorious serial killer and the intense manhunt he inspired, Zodiac is a superbly… [More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 94.535%
Critics Consensus: Silence ends Martin Scorsese’s decades-long creative quest with a thoughtful, emotionally resonant look at spirituality and human nature that stands among the director’s finest works.
Synopsis: Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE tells the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test… [More]
#4
Adjusted Score: 100.523%
Critics Consensus: Its greatness is blunted by its length and one-sided point of view, but the film’s weaknesses are overpowered by Michael Cimino’s sympathetic direction and a series of heartbreaking performances from Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken.
Synopsis: The Deer Hunter moves from the steel mills outside of Pittsburgh to the mountains of Pennsylvania to the jungles of… [More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 118.632%
Critics Consensus: An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in near-total command of his craft.
Synopsis: Bong Joon Ho brings his work home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale. Meet the Park Family: the picture… [More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 94.172%
Critics Consensus: Smart and solidly engrossing, The Master extends Paul Thomas Anderson’s winning streak of challenging films for serious audiences.
Synopsis: A striking portrait of drifters and seekers in post World War II America, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master unfolds the… [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 76.049%
Critics Consensus: The ending could use a little work but this is otherwise another sterling example of David Fincher’s iron grip on atmosphere and storytelling.
Synopsis: Director David Fincher followed the success of his dark and atmospheric crime thriller Seven (1995) with another exercise in stylish… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 83.18%
Critics Consensus: Inherent Vice may prove frustrating for viewers who demand absolute coherence, but it does justice to its acclaimed source material — and should satisfy fans of director P.T. Anderson.
Synopsis: «Inherent Vice,» is the seventh feature from Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaption of a Thomas Pynchon… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 102.739%
Critics Consensus: Burning patiently lures audiences into a slow-burning character study that ultimately rewards the viewer’s patience — and subverts many of their expectations.
Synopsis: BURNING tells the story of three individuals and a mysterious incident they experience. Jongsu bumps into an old friend, Haemi,… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 106.753%
Critics Consensus: An unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful meditation on love, loss, and human comfort.
Synopsis: Dismissed when first released, later heralded as one of director Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films (and, according to Hitchcock, his most… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 92.73%
Critics Consensus: Terrence Malick’s singularly deliberate style may prove unrewarding for some, but for patient viewers, Tree of Life is an emotional as well as visual treat.
Synopsis: From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line,… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 81.698%
Critics Consensus: Full of twists and turns, The Prestige is a dazzling period piece that never stops challenging the audience.
Synopsis: In 1878, two young stage magicians clash in a darkened salon during the course of a fraudulent seance. From this… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 94.458%
Critics Consensus: Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerizing performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.
Synopsis: From visionary director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) comes a stunning career transformation, a masterpiece of existential science fiction that… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 84.266%
Critics Consensus: Intelligent and scientifically provocative, Gattaca is an absorbing sci fi drama that poses important interesting ethical questions about the nature of science.
Synopsis: In a futuristic society where commerce has overridden more humanistic concerns, the rich and successful, eager to obtain physical and… [More]
#13
Adjusted Score: 85.291%
Critics Consensus: Benigni’s earnest charm, when not overstepping its bounds into the unnecessarily treacly, offers the possibility of hope in the face of unflinching horror.
Synopsis: In this WW II tragicomedy, famed Italian funnyman Roberto Benigni (The Monster) portrays Guido, who moves during the ’30s from… [More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 103.013%
Critics Consensus: Pan’s Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable.
Synopsis: Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro returns to the phantasmagorical cinema that defined such early fare as Cronos and The Devil’s… [More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 41.679%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Based on a novel by Iris Rainer Dart, Beaches traces the 30-year oil-and-water friendship between free-spirited Bronx Jew CC Bloom… [More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 71.719%
Critics Consensus: Steel Magnolias has jokes and characters to spare, which makes it more dangerous (and effective) when it goes for the full melodrama by the end.
Synopsis: Six women come together in this hilarious and heartwarming story of life, love and loss in a small Louisiana parish…. [More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 49.764%
Critics Consensus: Solid work from Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon isn’t enough to save Stepmom from a story whose manipulations dilute the effectiveness of a potentially affecting drama.
Synopsis: The story of an unlikely friendship that develops between two remarkable women: Jackie (Sarandon), a divorced mother of two, and… [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 82.803%
Critics Consensus: A sentimental tale that reveals great emotional truths in American history.
Synopsis: Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple spans the years 1909 to 1949, relating the… [More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 82.419%
Critics Consensus: A classic tearjerker, Terms of Endearment isn’t shy about reaching for the heartstrings — but is so well-acted and smartly scripted that it’s almost impossible to resist.
Synopsis: Terms of Endearment covers three decades in the lives of widow Aurora Greenaway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra… [More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 107.312%
Critics Consensus: Deftly blending comedy, adventure, and honest emotion, Toy Story 3 is a rare second sequel that really works.
Synopsis: «Toy Story 3» welcomes Woody, Buzz and the whole gang back to the big screen as Andy prepares to depart… [More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 89.55%
Critics Consensus: Wise, funny, and heartbreaking without resorting to exploitation, The Fault In Our Stars does right by its bestselling source material.
Synopsis: Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 91.688%
Critics Consensus: Michelle Williams gives a heartbreaking performance in Wendy and Lucy, a timely portrait of loneliness and struggle.
Synopsis: Old Joy director Kelly Reichardt crafts this intimate tale of Wendy, an alienated Indiana woman who packs up her car… [More]
#4
Adjusted Score: 53.508%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Vada’s (Anna Chlumsky) world is turned upside down when her widowed mortician father Harry (Dan Aykroyd) decides to marry… [More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 67.326%
Critics Consensus: Selena occasionally struggles to tell its subject’s story with depth or perspective, but those flaws are rendered largely irrelevant by Jennifer Lopez in the title role.
Synopsis: Selena Quintanilla was a major figure in Tejano music, a Grammy-winning recording artist, a beloved star in the American Southwest… [More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 107.623%
Critics Consensus: An exciting, funny, and poignant adventure, Up offers an impeccably crafted story told with wit and arranged with depth, as well as yet another visual Pixar treat.
Synopsis: A feisty septuagenarian teams with a fearless wilderness ranger to do battle with a vicious band of beasts and villains… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 111.062%
Critics Consensus: Playing as both an exciting sci-fi adventure and a remarkable portrait of childhood, Steven Spielberg’s touching tale of a homesick alien remains a piece of movie magic for young and old.
Synopsis: Both a classic movie for kids and a remarkable portrait of childhood, E.T. is a sci-fi adventure that captures that… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 88.792%
Critics Consensus: Beautifully scripted and perfectly cast, Me & Earl & the Dying Girl is a coming-of-age movie with uncommon charm and insight.
Synopsis: Winner of the 2015 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 99.128%
Critics Consensus: In Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley plays with the documentary format to explore the nature of memory and storytelling, crafting a thoughtful, compelling narrative that unfolds like a mystery.
Synopsis: In this inspired, genre-twisting new film, Oscar (R)-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who’s telling it…. [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 102.206%
Critics Consensus: Old Yeller is an exemplary coming of age tale, packing an emotional wallop through smart pacing and a keen understanding of the elemental bonding between humanity and their furry best friends.
Synopsis: While his father is away on a cattle drive, 15-year-old Tommy Kirk manages the family farm. Kirk is irritated when… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 66.839%
Critics Consensus: Pet owners should love it, but Marley and Me is only sporadically successful in wringing drama and laughs from its scenario.
Synopsis: As the snow falls on their wedding night, newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan decide to leave behind the harsh winters… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 29.426%
Critics Consensus: Though wholesome, the Mandy Moore vehicle A Walk to Remember is also bland and oppressively syrupy.
Synopsis: The best-seller by sentimental novelist Nicholas Sparks becomes this teen melodrama set in a coastal North Carolina port. Cocky, popular… [More]
#13
Adjusted Score: 102.131%
Critics Consensus: Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best.
Synopsis: Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story… [More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 102.308%
Critics Consensus: Smart, sweet, and inventive, Groundhog Day highlights Murray’s dramatic gifts while still leaving plenty of room for laughs.
Synopsis: Bill Murray plays Phil, a TV weatherman working for a local station in Pennsylvania but convinced that national news stardom… [More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 74.34%
Critics Consensus: An energetic, sometimes noisy mix of Speilbergian sentiment and funhouse tricks that will appeal to kids and nostalgic adults alike.
Synopsis: Leonard Maltin wasn’t alone when he noticed similarities between Goonies and the 1934 Our Gang comedy Mama’s Little Pirate. Adapted… [More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 110.844%
Critics Consensus: Clever, incisive, and funny, Singin’ in the Rain is a masterpiece of the classical Hollywood musical.
Synopsis: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor star in Singin’ in the Rain, one of the greatest and most successful… [More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 93.955%
Critics Consensus: The feel-good Amelie is a lively, fanciful charmer, showcasing Audrey Tautou as its delightful heroine.
Synopsis: One woman decides to change the world by changing the lives of the people she knows in this charming and… [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 103.157%
Critics Consensus: A delightfully postmodern fairy tale, The Princess Bride is a deft, intelligent mix of swashbuckling, romance, and comedy that takes an age-old damsel-in-distress story and makes it fresh.
Synopsis: Robin Wright and Cary Elwes star in this fairytale adventure about a beautiful princess and the gallant hero who rescues… [More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 81.251%
Critics Consensus: Mike Nichols wrangles agreeably amusing performances from Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in this fun, if not quite essential, remake of the French comedy La Cage aux Folles.
Synopsis: Armand Goldman owns a popular drag nightclub in South Miami Beach. His long-time lover, Albert, stars there as Starina. «Their»… [More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 86.101%
Critics Consensus: Matthew Broderick charms in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a light and irrepressibly fun movie about being young and having fun.
Synopsis: Teenaged Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a legend in his own time thanks to his uncanny skill at cutting classes… [More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 85.148%
Critics Consensus: Though there was controversy over the choice of casting, Zellweger’s Bridget Jones is a sympathetic, likable, funny character, giving this romantic comedy a lot of charm.
Synopsis: Based on Helen Fielding’s hugely popular novel, this romantic comedy follows Bridget (Renee Zellweger), a post-feminist, thirty-something British woman who… [More]
#4
Adjusted Score: 82.876%
Critics Consensus: A funny and clever reshaping of Emma, Clueless offers a soft satire that pokes as much fun at teen films as it does at the Beverly Hills glitterati.
Synopsis: Jane Austen might never have imagined that her 1816 novel Emma could be turned into a fresh and satirical look… [More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 78.086%
Critics Consensus: It handles its potentially prickly subject matter with kid gloves, but Intouchables gets by thanks to its strong cast and some remarkably sensitive direction.
Synopsis: An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility, The Intouchables has broken box office records in its native… [More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 44.328%
Critics Consensus: Though it benefits from the comic charms of its two leads, Tommy Boy too often feels like a familiar sketch stretched thin.
Synopsis: Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley had his first starring role in this frankly lowbrow comedy, which teamed him with… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 98.317%
Critics Consensus: Little Miss Sunshine succeeds thanks to a strong ensemble cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, and Abigail Breslin, as well as a delightfully funny script.
Synopsis: When a pudgy, bespectacled seven-year-old, Olive (Abigail Breslin), voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 98.399%
Critics Consensus: Cheeky and infectiously good-natured, The Full Monty bares its big beating heart with a sly dose of ribald comedy.
Synopsis: Six guys with nothing left to lose try losing their clothing for fun and profit in this international hit comedy…. [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 60.646%
Critics Consensus: This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and a campy tone might not make you feel like «You Can Dance» the whole 90 minutes.
Synopsis: Longing to discover the identity of her true father before she exchanges her wedding vows, the daughter of a once-rebellious… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 88.92%
Critics Consensus: Billy Elliot is a charming movie that can evoke both laughter and tears.
Synopsis: The life of a miner’s son in Northern England is forever changed one day when he stumbles upon a ballet… [More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 55.477%
Critics Consensus: Provides lots of laughs with Myers at the healm; as funny or funnier than the original.
Synopsis: Austin Powers — fashion photographer, denizen of Swingin’ London, international espionage agent, and bane of dental hygienists everywhere — returns… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 62.57%
Critics Consensus: Step Brothers indulges in a cheerfully relentless immaturity that will quickly turn off viewers unamused by Ferrell and Reilly — and delight those who find their antics hilarious.
Synopsis: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby co-stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly re-team with that film’s director, Adam… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 69.769%
Critics Consensus: Eddie Murphy was in full control at this point, starkly evident in Coming to America’s John Landis’ coasting direction.
Synopsis: Coming to America casts comedian Eddie Murphy as pampered African prince Akeem, who rebels against an arranged marriage and heads… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 102.745%
Critics Consensus: Though unabashedly juvenile and silly, Airplane! is nevertheless an uproarious spoof comedy full of quotable lines and slapstick gags that endure to this day.
Synopsis: This spoof of the Airport series of disaster movies relies on ridiculous sight gags, groan-inducing dialogue, and deadpan acting –… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 95.511%
Critics Consensus: With a talented cast turned loose on a loaded premise — and a sharp script loaded with dark comedy and unexpected twists — Game Night might be more fun than the real thing.
Synopsis: Bateman and McAdams star as Max and Annie, whose weekly couples game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 96.396%
Critics Consensus: Earnest without being didactic and uplifting without stooping to sentimentality, Pride is a joyous crowd-pleaser that genuinely works.
Synopsis: PRIDE is inspired by an extraordinary true story. It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 85.144%
Critics Consensus: Pitch Perfect’s plot is formulaic, but the performances are excellent and the musical numbers are toe-tapping as well.
Synopsis: Beca (Anna Kendrick) is that girl who’d rather listen to what’s coming out of her headphones than what’s coming out… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 97.696%
Critics Consensus: The brilliant minds behind Shaun of the Dead successfully take a shot at the buddy cop genre with Hot Fuzz. The result is a bitingly satiric and hugely entertaining parody.
Synopsis: A top London cop who is so good at his job that he makes his fellow officers look like slackers… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 42.885%
Critics Consensus: Undisciplined, scatological, profoundly silly, and often utterly groan-worthy, Robin Hood: Men in Tights still has an amiable, anything-goes goofiness that has made it a cult favorite.
Synopsis: Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote this satiric comedy which lampoons a number of cinematic treatments of the legend of Sherwood… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 102.751%
Critics Consensus: Sing Street is a feel-good musical with huge heart and irresistible optimism, and its charmimg cast and hummable tunes help to elevate its familiar plotting.
Synopsis: From director John Carney (ONCE, BEGIN AGAIN), SING STREET takes us back to 1980s Dublin seen through the eyes of… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 102.64%
Critics Consensus: Refreshingly sweet and undeniably funny, Big is a showcase for Tom Hanks, who dives into his role and infuses it with charm and surprising poignancy.
Synopsis: More than anything else, 13-year old New Jerseyite Josh (David Moscow) wants to be «big». That’s the wish he makes… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 106.068%
Critics Consensus: With a terrific cast and a surfeit of visual razzle dazzle, Crazy Rich Asians takes a satisfying step forward for screen representation while deftly drawing inspiration from the classic — and still effective — rom-com formula.
Synopsis: «Crazy Rich Asians» follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Golding), to… [More]
#13
Adjusted Score: 74.759%
Critics Consensus: Magic Mike XXL has enough narrative thrust and beefy charm to deliver another helping of well-oiled entertainment, even if this sequel isn’t quite as pleasurable as its predecessor.
Synopsis: Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game,… [More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 57.389%
Critics Consensus: Unevenly echoing the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Basic Instinct contains a star-making performance from Sharon Stone but is ultimately undone by its problematic, overly lurid plot.
Synopsis: Michael Douglas stars with red-hot Sharon Stone in this groundbreaking and controversial film that redefined the genre of the sexy… [More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 96.265%
Critics Consensus: A road movie that’s not only sexy, but intelligent as well.
Synopsis: Alfonso Cuarón directed and co-wrote this sexy art-house hit from Mexico. The funny and moving coming-of-age story centers on two… [More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 64.259%
Critics Consensus: Though lushly atmospheric, The Dreamers doesn’t engage or provoke as much as it should.
Synopsis: The tumultuous political landscape of Paris in 1968 serves as the backdrop for a tale about three young cineastes who… [More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 76.573%
Critics Consensus: Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution is a tense, sensual and beautifully-shot espionage film.
Synopsis: Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee adapts this Eileen Chang story set in World War II-era Shanghai that details the political… [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 75.391%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Sex, religion, and morality are the key ingredients in this Australian comedy set in the 1930s. Rev. Anthony Campion (Hugh… [More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 80.189%
Critics Consensus: Maggie Gyllenhaal impresses in this romantic comedy with a kinky twist.
Synopsis: Sadomasochism provides the backdrop for a very unusual employer/employee relationship in this very offbeat romantic drama from filmmaker Steven Shainberg…. [More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 97.206%
Critics Consensus: Grounded in strong characters, bold themes, and subtle storytelling, Boogie Nights is a groundbreaking film both for director P.T. Anderson and star Mark Wahlberg.
Synopsis: Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack… [More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 65.821%
Critics Consensus: Wild Things is a delightfully salacious, flesh-exposed romp that also requires a high degree of love for trash cinema.
Synopsis: Think of it as endless endings. John McNaughton’s playful erotic thriller about a larcenous school teacher, a pair of greedy… [More]
#4
Adjusted Score: 54.521%
Critics Consensus: Diane Lane shines in the role, but the movie adds nothing new to the genre and the resolution is unsatisfying.
Synopsis: Diane Lane is a wayward wife and Richard Gere is her suspicious husband in Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful. Connie (Lane) leaves… [More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 89.912%
Critics Consensus: Bound’s more titillating elements attracted attention, but it’s the stylish direction, solid performances, and entertaining neo-noir caper plot that make it worth a watch.
Synopsis: Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly nearly set the screen on fire in this clever, female-powered twist on the standard Mob… [More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 87.158%
Critics Consensus: A sensual thriller with two engaging performers demanding our undivided attention.
Synopsis: Sarah Morton is a famous British mystery author. Tired of London and seeking inspiration for her new novel, she accepts… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 88.878%
Critics Consensus: David Lynch’s dreamlike and mysterious Mulholland Drive is a twisty neo-noir with an unconventional structure that features a mesmirizing performance from Naomi Watts as a woman on the dark fringes of Hollywood.
Synopsis: Along Mulholland Drive nothing is what it seems. In the unreal universe of Los Angeles, the city bares its schizophrenic… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 82.028%
Critics Consensus: Kubrick’s intense study of the human psyche yields an impressive cinematic work.
Synopsis: After learning of his wife’s flirtatious behavior, Dr. William Harford goes on an odyssey of his own…. [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 96.93%
Critics Consensus: It may be a chamber piece but Weekend’s revelations on modern sexuality expand far beyond the modest setting.
Synopsis: Weekend follows Russell (newcomer Tom Cullen, Best Actor winner at Nashville), who, after randomly picking up artist Glen (Chris New)… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 100.849%
Critics Consensus: Made from classic noir ingredients and flavored with a heaping helping of steamy modern spice, Body Heat more than lives up to its evocative title.
Synopsis: Lawrence Kasdan’s first directorial effort is a throwback to the early days of film noir. The scene is a beastly… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 85.638%
Critics Consensus: Boasting stellar performances by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, Shame is a powerful plunge into the mania of addiction affliction.
Synopsis: Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a New Yorker who shuns intimacy with women but feeds his desires with a compulsive addiction… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 25.179%
Critics Consensus: Vile, contemptible, garish, and misogynistic — and that might just be exactly Showgirls’ point.
Synopsis: Nomi, an attractive drifter, arrives in Las Vegas with plans to become a dancer. Soon she gets a job stripping… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 35.652%
Critics Consensus: While creatively better endowed than its print counterpart, Fifty Shades of Grey is a less than satisfying experience on the screen.
Synopsis: E.L. James’ kinky best-seller gets the big screen treatment with this Universal Pictures/Focus Features co-production. The steamy tale details a… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 45.303%
Critics Consensus: Fear has an appealing young cast, but their efforts aren’t enough to consistently distract from an increasingly overblown – and illogical – teen stalker story.
Synopsis: Mark Wahlberg stars in one of his first features as a hoodlum drug dealer from the wrong side of the… [More]
#13
Adjusted Score: 90.808%
Critics Consensus: Deft direction and strong performances from its all-female cast guide The Descent, a riveting, claustrophobic horror film.
Synopsis: A group of close female friends on a yearly adventure vacation find themselves trapped and hunted in a series of… [More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 111.196%
Critics Consensus: A Quiet Place artfully plays on elemental fears with a ruthlessly intelligent creature feature that’s as original as it is scary — and establishes director John Krasinski as a rising talent.
Synopsis: In the modern horror thriller A QUIET PLACE, a family of four must navigate their lives in silence after mysterious… [More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 45.075%
Critics Consensus: There is indeed a good amount of tension in this French slasher, but the dubbing is bad and the end twist unbelievable.
Synopsis: French filmmaker Alexandre Aja writes and directs the slasher film Haute Tension, given the English title Switchblade Romance. Best friends… [More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 53.889%
Critics Consensus: The Strangers has a handful of genuinely scary moments, but they’re not enough to elevate the end results above standard slasher fare.
Synopsis: Explore your worst fears imaginable in this Unrated version, now with never-before-viewed scenes too shocking and intense for theaters! After… [More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 91.494%
Critics Consensus: Hush navigates the bloody waters of home invasion thrillers and incisive slashers for a contemporary horror puree.
Synopsis: In this heart-pounding thriller from acclaimed writer and director Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Before I Wake), silence takes on a terrifying… [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 93.704%
Critics Consensus: Kinetically directed by Danny Boyle, 28 Days Later is both a terrifying zombie movie and a sharp political allegory.
Synopsis: After breaking into a primate research facility, a group of animal rights activists discover caged chimps chained up before banks… [More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 108.566%
Critics Consensus: A modern classic, Alien blends science fiction, horror and bleak poetry into a seamless whole.
Synopsis: «In space, no one can hear you scream.» A close encounter of the third kind becomes a Jaws-style nightmare when… [More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 22.033%
Critics Consensus: More tasteful than recent slasher flicks, but Dead Silence is undone by boring characters, bland dialogue, and an unnecessary and obvious twist ending.
Synopsis: There is an old ghost story in the sleepy town of Ravens Fair about Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist who went… [More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 89.541%
Critics Consensus: Though its underlying themes are familiar, House of the Devil effectively sheds the loud and gory cliches of contemporary horror to deliver a tense, slowly building throwback to the fright flicks of decades past.
Synopsis: Sam is a pretty college sophomore, so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 88.225%
Critics Consensus: The Others is a spooky thriller that reminds us that a movie doesn’t need expensive special effects to be creepy.
Synopsis: On the secluded Isle of Jersey in the final days of World War II, a young woman waits in vain… [More]
#4
Adjusted Score: 96.648%
Critics Consensus: Don’t Breathe smartly twists its sturdy premise to offer a satisfyingly tense, chilling addition to the home invasion genre that’s all the more effective for its simplicity.
Synopsis: A trio of reckless thieves breaks into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they’ll get away with the… [More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 93.742%
Critics Consensus: Though it deviates from Stephen King’s novel, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness — exemplified by an unforgettable turn from Jack Nicholson.
Synopsis: «All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy» — or, rather, a homicidal boy in Stanley Kubrick’s eerie… [More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 96.556%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Wait Until Dark is an innovative, highly entertaining and suspenseful thriller about a blind housewife, Susy Hendrix (Audrey Hepburn). Independent… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 93.277%
Critics Consensus: Well-crafted and gleefully creepy, The Conjuring ratchets up dread through a series of effective old-school scares.
Synopsis: Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. «The Conjuring» tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson,… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 38.69%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this thriller, a baby-sitter is terrorized by an anonymous telephone caller who turns out to be a particularly persistent… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 47.452%
Critics Consensus: Silent House is more technically proficient and ambitious than most fright-fests, but it also suffers from a disappointing payoff.
Synopsis: From the directors of the hit film Open Water, Silent House is a uniquely unsettling horror thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 97.249%
Critics Consensus: It Comes at Night makes lethally effective use of its bare-bones trappings while proving once again that what’s left unseen can be just as horrifying as anything on the screen.
Synopsis: Imagine the end of the world. Now imagine something worse. Award-winning filmmaker Trey Edward Shults follows his incredible debut feature… [More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 92.711%
Critics Consensus: Deeply unnerving and surprisingly poignant, The Orphanage is an atmospheric, beautifully crafted haunted house horror film that earns scares with a minimum of blood.
Synopsis: Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro produces director Juan Antonio Bayona’s gothic frightener about a long-abandoned orphanage with a particularly… [More]
Thumbnail image: Everett Collection, Paramount Pictures, Focus Features
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Rotten Tomatoes
