Themes

Intense violence and sexual transgression 

  • A History of Violence
  • 8MM
  • Nocturnal Animals
  • The Last House on the Left
  • Hard Candy
  • The Last House on the Left
  • Blue Velvet
  • Stoker
  • The Skin I Live In
  • Elle
  • The Butterfly Effect
  • Oldboy
  • Promising Young Woman
  • Midsommar
  • Prisoners
  • Orphan

Moving relationship stories 

  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Boyhood
  • The Notebook
  • American Beauty
  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Splendor in the Grass
  • Remember Me
  • Finding Neverland
  • Ordinary People
  • Call Me by Your Name
  • Lolita
  • The Last Picture Show
  • The Whale
  • Paris, Texas
  • Life as a House
  • The Time Traveler's Wife

Humanity and the world around us 

  • Donnie Darko
  • Citizen Kane
  • Mulholland Drive
  • Magnolia
  • The Fountain
  • Frida
  • Children of Men
  • Eyes Wide Shut
  • Love Streams
  • Talk to Her
  • Everything Everywhere All at Once
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  • Poor Things
  • Eraserhead
  • The Truman Show
  • Pink Floyd: The Wall

Crime, drugs and gangsters 

  • American Gangster
  • City of God
  • Thief
  • GoodFellas
  • The Departed
  • Scarface
  • Training Day
  • King of New York
  • Public Enemies
  • Reservoir Dogs
  • Scarface
  • Bonnie and Clyde
  • End of Watch
  • Payback
  • Running Scared
  • Jackie Brown

Powerful stories of heartbreak and suffering 

  • Still Alice
  • Ordinary People
  • Reign Over Me
  • Finding Neverland
  • Rabbit Hole
  • A Monster Calls
  • Remember Me
  • My Sister's Keeper
  • All of Us Strangers
  • When a Man Loves a Woman
  • Room
  • The Son
  • The Whale
  • Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
  • Amour
  • I've Loved You So Long

Gripping, intense violent crime 

  • We Need to Talk About Kevin
  • Eye for an Eye
  • Mystic River
  • In the Bedroom
  • Monster
  • In Cold Blood
  • The Pledge
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  • A Time to Kill
  • The Lovely Bones
  • Seven Days
  • Léon: The Professional
  • The Virgin Spring
  • Wind River
  • Elle
  • The United States of Leland

Challenging or sexual themes & twists 

  • Dogtooth
  • Ken Park
  • Visitor Q
  • Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
  • Bully
  • Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
  • Blue Velvet
  • Antichrist
  • Killer Joe
  • Poor Things
  • The Piano Teacher
  • Crash
  • A Clockwork Orange
  • Infinity Pool
  • I Stand Alone
  • Jimmy and Judy

Emotional and captivating fantasy storytelling 

  • Spirited Away
  • Kubo and the Two Strings
  • Castle in the Sky
  • Suzume
  • Your Name.
  • The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
  • My Neighbor Totoro
  • Princess Mononoke
  • Kiki's Delivery Service
  • Only Yesterday
  • Song of the Sea
  • Howl's Moving Castle
  • The Secret World of Arrietty
  • How to Train Your Dragon 2
  • Belle
  • Raya and the Last Dragon

Graphic violence and brutal revenge 

  • I Spit on Your Grave
  • The Last House on the Left
  • I Spit on Your Grave
  • The Last House on the Left
  • A Clockwork Orange
  • Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
  • Ichi the Killer
  • Chaos
  • 8MM
  • The Devil's Rejects
  • Murder-Set-Pieces
  • I Saw the Devil
  • I Spit on Your Grave 2
  • Brimstone
  • Hostel
  • Island of Death