Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Rivals Season 2, Episode 1.Rivals Season 2 premiered on Hulu and Disney+, and it opened with a bang. As always, Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) are at each other’s throats (spoiler: Baddingham is very much still alive), and the Cotswolds elite are unstoppable when it comes to scheming, being perpetually horny, and attempting to fill their lives with enough expensive liquor, affairs, secrets, and work. Rivals is a perfect soapy camp drama, shot in stunning scenery and starring a lively and talented cast.

If you enjoy the high-stakes rivalries, ’80s excess, and untamed steaminess of Dame Jilly Cooper‘s Rivals, it can be difficult to find a show that perfectly balances many of those dynamics. But there are series, from financial camp and political scandals to 1970s feminist magazines and location-based revenge plots, that are full of ambition, betrayal, and shady characters who can’t keep their pants on. These are the shows to watch if you love Rivals.

‘Joan’ (2024)

Image via The CW

For those mesmerized by the ’80s setting and tone of Rivals, Joan is an ideal follow‑up—but it’s not a show many people have heard of. Joan is packed with bold fashion, a compelling anti-heroine, and a story filled with affairs and double-crosses, all based on the real life of a woman, who had an incredible shift in her “career,” so to speak, going from a single mother to one of Britain’s most notorious jewel thieves. We love women in men’s fields. Joan’s relationship with her dangerous lover, her loyalty to her daughter, and her flirtations with scores keep the tension high, while the bonkers true story of Joan’s life echoes the phrase “life imitates art” because it is so poetic and chaotic that it feels like it could only have been made up.

Based on a true story, Joan follows Joan Hannington (Sophie Turner), a struggling mother in 1980s London trapped in a violent marriage. When her husband goes on the run, she seizes the chance to take control of her life by turning to crime, quickly becoming one of Britain’s most infamous jewel thieves, known as “The Godmother.” The series is a glamorous, fast‑paced saga of heists, romance, and high‑stakes deception, and Sophie Turner delivers a charismatic and powerful performance, which many critics called the best of her career.

‘Minx’ (2022–2023)

Minx is primarily a comedy, but its DNA is pure Rivals: it takes place in a glamorous, cutthroat industry (publishing) during a decadent period (the 1970s). The central couple, a buttoned-up feminist and a shady, charming hustler, share the same love-hate dynamic as Rupert and the majority of his competitors. The show is unapologetically naked, but never sleazy; it is intelligent about sex and even more so about power. If you enjoyed Rivals‘ combination of sharp social commentary and steamy fun, Minx will be your new obsession. HBO Max abruptly cancelled the series after two seasons, but it remains one of the most memorable, unfairly cut shows that evokes a specific time period and sentiment.

Minx is set in Los Angeles in 1972 and follows Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond), an earnest, Ivy League-educated feminist who wishes to launch an edgy magazine for women. The problem is that no publisher is interested in that. Enter Doug (Jake Johnson), a cash-strapped porn magnate, who sees an opportunity in Joyce’s idea, and “Minx,” the first erotic magazine for women, is created. Minx features an odd-couple partnership that explores clashing values, unexpected attraction, and heartfelt collaborations. As they battle censorship, sexism, and their own beautiful chemistry, the show sends a raunchy, clever love letter to the sexual revolution. If you enjoy Rivals‘ raunchy side, Minx provides that plus some.

‘Scandal’ (2012–2018)

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Scandal is the epitome of twisty, soapy, sexy drama. It boasts a tumultuous relationship between Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) that threatens to destabilize the government and has rapid-fire dialogue and constant cliffhangers that make it incredibly bingeable. However, the main takeaway is the chemistry between Washington and Goldwyn, which still seems to exist, as their off-screen appearances often feel too good to be true. Scandal is a must-see for Rivals fans who enjoyed the dangerous flirtation between the characters and the undeniable chemistry between Rupert and Taggie (Bella Maclean). This Shonda Rhimes classic defined the 2010s.

Scandal revolves around Olivia Pope, a professional “fixer” in Washington, D.C., who handles the most explosive crises for the political elite. Her firm is staffed by a team of brilliant, damaged misfits, but her most important client is also her biggest secret: the President of the United States, with whom she is having an affair. As she deals with high-stakes spin control, election rigging, and murder cover-ups, her personal and professional lives collide dramatically. Washington’s performance earned her two Emmy nominations, and the show popularized the practice of live-tweeting during an episode, making Scandal a game-changing series in more ways than one.

‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ (2025–Present)

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Your Friends & Neighbors is a recent Apple TV thriller created by Jonathan Tropper, but it’s not like his usual action-packed stints; this one is more of a suburban drama with hints of crime thriller and black comedy. Jon Hamm stars and brings all of his Mad Men charisma to the role of a man whose life is in disarray, forcing him to take a step back and rethink his own existence within a microcosm of the conveniently wealthy lifestyle. Your Friends & Neighbors, like Rivals, is full of suburban secrets, sexual tension, and moral ambiguity, but it’s about realizing that living “the life” has more consequences than you think.

Your Friends & Neighbors follows Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Hamm), a recently divorced hedge fund manager who loses his job and thus his ability to maintain his upscale lifestyle in Westmont Village, a gated community. Desperate to hide his ruin, he resorts to burglary, targeting the homes of his wealthy neighbors. However, when he breaks into the wrong house and discovers a dead body, he becomes both a thief and the prime suspect, forced to solve the crime while keeping his double life hidden. Amanda Peet, Hoon Lee, and Olivia Munn join Hamm, and James Marsden appears as Coop’s mysterious frenemy in Season 2. It’s entertaining and set in a gated community like Rivals, depicting how the wealthy spend their days in the modern world.

‘Industry’ (2020–Present)

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Industry enjoys being a messy, backstabbing camp drama that makes finance appear to be the most exciting and certainly the horniest industry to be a part of, thereby maintaining HBO’s prestige one-hour drama’s elite status. The show uses sex as the primary arena for its characters’ ruthlessly transactional power plays, and many of their tastes and preferences reflect their career decisions and characteristics. It is not for the faint of heart, but it could be a transformative experience for anyone who has never witnessed such dynamics between its leads. In the best way possible, Industry retains a supremely nasty edge that captures Rivals’ untamed, brutal energy.

Set in the pressure-cooker world of London’s elite investment banking, Industry follows a group of young, ruthless graduates who claw and sleep their way through the cutthroat ranks of the prestigious firm Pierpoint & Co. The core trio—brilliant but volatile Harper Stern (Myha’la), the dangerously charismatic Rob (Harry Lawtey), and the wealthy but desperately insecure Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela)—soon discover that their careers, friendships, and darkest desires have become inescapably linked. The show’s co-creators, both former bankers, have made authenticity the show’s selling point, making Industry a show for those who enjoy dangerous flirtation and moral ambiguity.

‘Revenge’ (2011–2015)

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Revenge is pure, unapologetic soap opera TV, but it’s also a gripping thriller series. Everyone is sleeping with everyone in it; there are revenge plots, sexy poolside scenes, lavish parties, and steamy hookups, but it also captures the class war tension and backstabbing drama depicted in Rivals. All of this, however, is amplified in Revenge, creating an unforgettable viewing experience. As an added bonus, the Hamptons setting is similar to the Cotswolds in terms of glamorous escapism. The series aired for four seasons and is considered one of the most memorable of the 2010s.

Revenge follows Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), who arrives in the Hamptons with the goal of destroying those who framed her father for a terrorist conspiracy. She rents a beachfront cottage near the powerful Grayson family, launching her elaborate scheme; she infiltrates high-society parties, seduces the son of her enemy, and gradually destroys each target from within. The series was loosely inspired by the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, and many analysts see Emily as a modern female version of the novel’s protagonist, Edmond Dantès; her desire for vengeance makes her sympathetic, making Revenge a quintessential “eat the rich” revenge story.

‘Mad Men’ (2007–2015)

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If you love Rivals‘ stylish period setting and exploration of a hedonistic, competitive industry, Mad Men is a must-see. It explores the same themes: professional ambition, personal betrayal, and the conflict between old and new money. The affairs are legendary, the man at the center is volatile but incredibly attractive, and the dynamics have blurred the lines between them to the point where you never know who is truly a friend and who is a hidden foe. It’s a slow-burning, beautifully crafted show that rewards attentive viewing. It’s another show on the list that features Jon Hamm, but Don Draper is unquestionably his most memorable role.

Mad Men is set in the glamorous and sexist world of a 1960s New York advertising agency and follows Don Draper (Hamm), the brilliant but deeply flawed creative director. The show follows his personal and professional lives, as well as those of his coworkers, as they navigate cutthroat business deals, shifting social norms, and their own existential crises against the backdrop of heavy drinking, smoking, and secret affairs. The show won four Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series and is regarded as one of the best TV dramas ever made.

‘The Morning Show’ (2019–Present)

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The Morning Show, like Rivals, is a cutthroat drama set in broadcast media, capturing the same power struggles and professional jealousy that we see in the British drama. The boardroom battles over talent and ratings mirror Tony Baddingham’s struggle for power, while the romantic entanglements between co-anchors and executives add the perfect soapy touch. The series stars Billy Crudup, who won two Emmys for his portrayal of a brilliantly insane network executive, as well as Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell.

The Morning Show takes place in the high-pressure world of morning network television; a popular anchor, Mitch Kessler (Carell), is fired after several sexual misconduct allegations, causing the entire network to collapse. The show delves into the complicated personal lives of the anchors, producers, and executives who fight to stay on top—and threaten to destroy them. The series was based on Brian Stelter‘s book Top of the Morning and each season is inspired by real-life events such as the MeToo movement, COVID-19, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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The Morning Show

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Release Date

November 1, 2019

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Apple TV

Directors

Stacie Passon, Miguel Arteta, Millicent Shelton, Tucker Gates, David Frankel, Jennifer Getzinger, Jessica Yu, Kevin Bray, Lesli Linka Glatter, Michelle MacLaren, Roxann Dawson, Thomas Carter, Victoria Mahoney, Lynn Shelton

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As a beauty industry expert of over 10 years, the drugstore is my bread and butter when it comes to shopping for beauty products. I specifically stock up on affordable finds at CVS that consistently outperform products that cost triple the price. Between the affordable prices, reputable brands and weekly beauty offers, it’s a treasure trove of goodies for beauty gurus like me.

Not only does the retailer carry some of the best affordable brands in the business, but it doubles as a place to grab everyday essentials on the same trip (at heavily discounted prices, might I add). As someone who tests beauty products for a living, these are the CVS finds I keep on rotation.

Affordable Beauty Staples I Always Restock at CVS

1. Customizable Skin Tint: What I love about this under-$20 skin tint from Maybelline is its versatility. Layer it on for a more full glam moment, or sheer it out with just a few drops.

2. Sun-Kissed Glow: If a bronzer can warm up your complexion without turning you orange, it’s a winner in my book. This super blendable pick from Physician’s Choice does just that.

3. Baked Blush Staple: Milani baked blush formula never appears chalky, and it instantly enhances the texture of your skin — all for just $13! Plus, there are eight gorgeous shades to choose from.

4. Hydrating Facial Spray: My dry skin drinks this glycerin-infused spray right up. Great for throwing in your gym bag, beach tote or car for on-the-go hydration!

5. Gentle Face Wash: Sensitive skin, rejoice! La Roche Posay’s creamy cleanser removes makeup, oil and grime, prepping it for whatever skincare you put on top.

Related: 13 Suncare Products From CVS That Go Beyond Just SPF

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6. Dazzle and Glow: Highlight powders are a quick way to add luminosity to your complexion. This incredibly soft formula has a silky texture that melts in for a second-skin finish.

7. Under-$6 Concealer: I’m a huge fan of the brush-tip applicator on this lightweight concealer — it allows the product to go on evenly without running the risk of over-application.

8. Tint-Highlighter Hybrid: On days I’m feeling extra dry, this luminous skin tint is what I reach for — it has coverage, gives my skin a dew and can even be applied to just the tops of the cheekbones for a natural-looking highlight.

9. Frizz Tamer: Right out of the shower, this frizz-defying spray gets spritzed in my hair. The result: soft, shiny and smooth strands no matter what style I go for.

10. Va Va Volume: Red carpet hair, but make it drugstore. For a hairspray that locks in my style without the crunch, this volume-boosting formula is it.

11. Makeup Remover: This micellar water has served as my first step of a double cleansing routine for decades. The reason? It doesn’t dry my skin out.

12. Plumping Moisturizer: What hydrates deeply, looks good under makeup and protects from harsh UV rays? This $14 moisturizer.

13. Acne Saviors: I like these invisible pimple patches because they’re discreet, gentle and absorb acne-causing gunk overnight.

We all love a good mind game as the central cog of a story. It’s a major factor in why psychological thrillers remain a sought-after subgenre within the bigger thriller umbrella. Whether it’s self-inflicted psychological drama or actions by others, the stories in these films are utterly fascinating to watch unfold.

The 21st century has offered some of cinema’s greatest films, and psychological thrillers have flourished. We’re going to celebrate 10 films that have gone above and beyond to be the best psychological thrillers of the past 20 years. From a descent into madness through the lens of ballet to the mind games of a dangerous class war, these films epitomize the thriller. Spanning from 2006 to 2026, these 10 movies have shaped the genre in a variety of ways.

10

‘Don’t Worry Darling’ (2022)

Image via Warner Bros.

One film that fulfills the brief of a psychological thriller on screen is the truly fascinating Don’t Worry Darling. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the film tells the story of Alice (Florence Pugh), a 1950s housewife living in a utopian desert community called “Victory.” While her husband Jack (Harry Styles) works for the mysterious Victory Project, Alice discovers that their perfect life masks sinister, controlling secrets, leading her to question her reality. A story about a woman’s reality that is manipulated and gaslit, Don’t Worry Darling is a terrifying tale of control, autonomy, and patriarchal paranoia.

The primary plot of Don’t Worry Darling revolves around the oppression of women, with the Victory Project acting as a metaphor for extreme patriarchal control where men are in charge, and women are blissfully unaware or repressed. Using a highly polished, 1950s aesthetic to hide a dark, misogynistic, and dystopian reality, Wilde’s tale is a clear and present danger that we can see, but the characters, sans Alice, are blinded to the truth. Through unsettling imagery, you’re thrust into Alice’s mind as she descends into a fight against the literal man. Chris Pine’s near-perfect performance as Frank epitomizes the mission of the psychological thriller, working flawlessly against Pugh’s career-high. A technically gorgeous film depicting a masterful dystopia, the juxtaposition provides a Stepford Wives-esque atmosphere that makes the narrative even more twisted. Derivative or not, in terms of strong thrillers, it’s delectable.

9

‘Nightcrawler’ (2014)

Image via Open Road Films

Fervent individuals seeking recognition often go to great lengths to achieve their success — even if those lengths put others in danger. That’s the story for Jake Gyllenhaal’s Louis “Lou” Bloom in the brilliant Nightcrawler. Directed by Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler follows Bloom, a driven and unhinged loner and petty thief who discovers the lucrative underworld of Los Angeles freelance crime journalism. By monitoring police scanners, he films violent crimes and accidents to sell to local news stations, eventually escalating to manufacturing the carnage himself. A fascinating journey about an individual who can literally get away with murder through manipulation and a grift, Nightcrawler is a chilling thriller about a sociopath with an obsession with success.

Nightcrawler may be considered an undiscovered gem to some, but when you find it, it shimmers. In a career-best for Gyllenhaal, the film thrives on character-driven tension. Bloom is a riveting character study — a sociopathic antihero whose lack of emotional connection provides him the freedom to coldly manipulate individuals and situations. The film maintains its intrigue because you want to see how far Bloom can go and whether he might experience a downfall. And if he doesn’t, what does that reveal about others like him? A story about how news and consumers are complicit in creating a monster who feeds on tragedy, Nightcrawler continues to age like fine wine. Through a tense, neon neo-noir atmosphere, Nightcrawler is a sharp picture of an amoral narrative.

8

‘Midsommar’ (2019)

Image via A24

The world of low-budget horror was given a boost after the massive success of Ari Aster’s brightly set Midsommar. A film in which nightmares are born, Midsommar chronicles Dani (Florence Pugh), a traumatized young woman, who travels with her toxic boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and his friends, Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), Mark (Will Poulter), and Josh (William Jackson Harper), to a remote Swedish commune for a midsummer festival. What begins as an idyllic summer retreat quickly devolves into a terrifying nightmare as the group becomes entangled in the rituals of a murderous pagan cult. A viscerally symbolic exploration of grief and the dissolution of a relationship, Midsommar gets your mind moving as your fears follow fast.

Aster’s masterpiece is a psychologically torturous story, but a deliciously juicy one at that. Midsommar is a journey through emotional turmoil. The scares come as Dani comes face to face with grief, trauma, and toxic codependency, so when she finds a slight solace, everything changes. The film depicts how emotional manipulation can drive an individual to dark places by tapping into the greatest fears and vulnerabilities. As soon as Dani feels a sense of belonging, her ultimate decision may be shocking at first, but given the history, it becomes warranted. The jarring juxtaposition of a subversive visceral horror in bright daylight gives Midsommar the legs on which it dominates. A slow-burning thriller, it has so many wonderful elements to dissect that prove just how brilliant and influential a project it is.

7

‘Parasite’ (2019)

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The mastery of Bong Joon Ho’s black-comedy psychological thriller lies in the tension built in the claustrophobic atmosphere. The Academy Award-winning film Parasite explores extreme class disparity and social inequality as the Kims, a poor family, skillfully infiltrate the household of the Parks, a wealthy family, by posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals. Subverting the traits of a home invasion story, Parasite inflicts psychological class warfare through a morally ambiguous narrative where both families serve as parasites to one another. Filled with shocking twists and mental and social entrapment, Parasite is meticulously crafted, providing sharp commentary in flawless fashion.

A brilliant genre-bending thriller, Parasite’s seamless movement from dark comedy to terrifying drama is achieved through its tonal shifts and striking twists. As the struggle to survive becomes literal, the social commentary and the effects class and wealth have on an individual are tackled head-on. Depending on your personal vantage, you may begin identifying with one family, only for your own morality to be questioned by the end. It’s how Bong captures and retains your attention from start to finish. His direction is precise and purposeful. Every frame is filled with subtext and metaphor, in which each camera movement and blocking tells its own story. Parasite’s scenic design plays a fascinating role in the storytelling. Whether tightly trapped in a small home or basement or in the vast expanse of a mansion, the physical presence of each creates its own mind games. Social disparities, envy, and anger rise to the top, setting up an enhanced psychological thriller like none before it.

6

‘Get Out’ (2017)

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The world of horror forever changed thanks to Jordan Peele’s groundbreaking Get Out. Generating terror through mental manipulation, paranoia, and social commentary rather than just physical gore, Get Out put a new face on the psychological horror of being trapped, gaslit, and losing autonomy over one’s own mind and body. The masterpiece tells the story of Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a Black photographer who visits his white girlfriend Rose Armitage’s (Allison Williams) family estate for a weekend. While the family, namely her parents, Dean and Missy (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener), appear outwardly accommodating, Chris begins to notice deeply disturbing behavior and uncovers a horrifying conspiracy where wealthy, elderly white people abduct Black individuals to transplant their own consciousness into their bodies. A tight, suspenseful, and layered story, Get Out offers a well-defined satirical critique of modern liberal racism, forcing viewers to ponder their own personal realities.

Get Out is masterfully uncomfortable for everyone involved. Get Out’s story is built around mind games and pushing its targets into isolation and despair via the sunken place hypnosis. There, it serves as a metaphor for racial exploitation and loss of control. As Peele alerts you to his narrative mission, the darker the thriller becomes, subverting typical horror tropes along the way. The horror is built around the psychological trauma of being invalidated, with the family’s “liberal” pretenses masking their dark, menacing secrets. Gaslighting is an easy sign of manipulation, and Get Out makes it more terrifying than ever. Peele has described his film as a “social thriller,” and there’s yet to be a more accurate depiction. Thanks to this masterpiece, if you see a teacup with a spoon, it’s best to get out!

5

‘Gone Girl’ (2017)

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As a highly anticipated film adaptation, many fans of Gillian Flynn’s novel knew what was coming, but seeing it realized enhanced it. Directed by David Fincher, the big-screen adaptation of Gone Girl chronicles the mysterious disappearance of Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) on her fifth wedding anniversary, as her husband, Nick (Ben Affleck), becomes the prime suspect due to his suspicious behavior and a deteriorating marriage. Through meticulous plotting, it’s soon revealed that her disappearance may be tied to an act of revenge. A fascinating game of manipulation and the terrors of media sensationalism, Gone Girl is a twisted thriller that pulls the worst out of humanity as psychological traps are proven to be an endless game.

Many psychological thrillers keep the mind playing with the characters, but in this story, with an unreliable narrator, Gone Girl forces you to question everything and everyone. In doing so, the thrill ride is more unrelenting the more that is unearthed. A fervent story of deception, revenge, and sociopathic behavior, the character-driven drama builds tension through shock. At its core, Gone Girl examines trauma, narcissistic personality traits, and the dark consequences of societal pressures on mental health. Through Fincher’s signature cold take, he perfects the deteriorating individuals as the situation becomes more unsettling. Both Pike and Affleck’s performances are revelatory. It may be her best performance to date. Many films have tried to capitalize on the success of Flynn’s story, but very few have even come close. ​​​​​​​

4

‘Saltburn’ (2023)

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Very few films took the world by storm quite like Saltburn. Written, directed, and produced by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn tells the tale of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), an awkward scholarship student at Oxford who becomes dangerously obsessed with a wealthy, aristocratic classmate, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). After an invitation to spend the summer at his sprawling family estate, his initial admiration spirals into an unsettling, manipulative quest to take over their lives and wealth. A fabulously sick and twisted story, Saltburn pushes the psychological thriller to unimaginable depths through an unsettling amount of obsession and desire. An intense watch, Saltburn keeps you hooked through its standout story and exceptional character studies.

Set against a mid-2000s backdrop, Saltburn centralizes the topic of duality. Many of the characters hide their true selves behind social etiquette or false personas, but as their secrets are unearthed, the facades are dropped, and their downfalls come to fruition. Saltburn capitalizes on traumatizing and delightfully disturbing, keeping viewers on their toes. The unpredictability of its delicious twists redefines relationships and journeys, lending itself to a masterpiece of storytelling. Through Fennell’s guidance in opulent imagery and a dreamlike vision, Saltburn’s provocative social satire shines through. It’s an uncomfortable look at the lives of the wealthy who work to maintain their luxurious lifestyles. Then, through Oliver’s eyes, his mission was to topple them. As an antihero, he may be calculating, but it’s mesmerizing to see him in action. We may all see ourselves in Oliver in terms of societal jealousy, but by the end, if you’re still enamored with him as Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” plays, it’s because Keoghan was so magnetic. Saltburn remains a cinematic game changer. ​​​​​​​

3

‘The Invisible Man’ (2020)

Image via Universal Pictures

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The themes of emotional manipulation and gaslighting take a classic story and bring it to the 21st century. Perfectly directed by Leigh Whannell, the classic H.G. Wells novel The Invisible Man is recontextualized from a general horror story into a sci-fi psychological thriller with a modern edge. The story follows Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss), who escapes her abusive, wealthy scientist boyfriend, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). After Adrian supposedly commits suicide, Cecilia is haunted by an invisible presence she believes is him. She soon deduces that he faked his death to gaslight and terrorize her, forcing her to fight back against an unseen foe. A terrifying example of toxic relationships and how they truly never leave us, The Invisible Man reinvented the familiar into something hauntingly accessible with a modern perspective.

Though Whannell does sprinkle jumpscares when warranted, The Invisible Man uses mental scares to serve as an allegory for domestic abuse through the themes of trauma, gaslighting, and paranoia. Then, using a brilliant science fiction element, the power of invincibility represents the lingering, inescapable control of a toxic partner. Whannell traps his viewers inside Cecelia’s brutal predicament. In doing so, the shots are often framed with empty space to capture the growing anxiety and doubt. A performance-driven film, Moss, who already had a profound resume, does her greatest work in The Invisible Man. Her forced descent into insanity resonates because she finds the raw emotion with ease. An underrated gem that was muddled amid a messy release period, The Invisible Man is a must-watch in today’s social climate.

2

‘Black Swan’ (2010)

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Passion and obsession never looked so stunning as they did in Darren Aronofsky’s masterpiece thriller Black Swan. Infusing body horror into the rich psychological thriller, Black Swan chronicles Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a dedicated ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose obsessive quest to play the lead in “Swan Lake” drives her into madness. It tackles themes of perfectionism, artistic obsession, and a fracturing sense of reality as Nina struggles to embody both the innocent White Swan and the dark, sensual Black Swan, all while seeking artistic success and validation. A captivating depiction of one artist’s descent into madness, Black Swan is a fervent character study into disturbing desperation and mental destruction.

Black Swan is a no-holds-barred deep dive into the dangers of a rapid mental breakdown created by the environment one is thrust into. Using intense surrealism, hallucinations, and body horror, Aronofsky captures the ballerina’s paranoid perspective, creating an unreliable narrator out of her. Black Swan may focus on ballet, but it serves as a broader examination of the mental cost of achieving greatness in the arts. Constantly comparing herself to her rival, Lily (Mila Kunis), it becomes the fuel to the already smoldering fire. Aronofsky’s vision, filled with haunting shots, mirrors, and visceral bodily imagery, pushed the viewer into an anxious, disoriented state. Portman delights, giving a full-throttle performance that easily earned her an Oscar. Though we can only hope that Portman’s journey to achieve perfection here was nothing like her character’s, Black Swan remains a top-tier thriller. ​​​​​​​

1

‘Inception’ (2010)

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Christopher Nolan is a prolific director. His body of work, spanning multiple genres, has established him as one of the greatest visionaries of our generation. Given the confines of this list, Memento missed the list, but had it been the entire new millennium, it would have been paired alongside his exceptional film, Inception. Set inside a blistering dreamscape, Inception follows Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a skilled thief who extracts corporate secrets by infiltrating people’s dreams. To clear his criminal record and reunite with his children, he is offered one final, impossible job: “inception,” which means planting a new idea into a target’s subconscious. Weaving an intense psychological thriller with a heist narrative, Inception explores the human psyche’s inner landscape, using dreams as a setting for a thriller about grief, memory, and the fragility of reality.

Literally built through the exploration of the mind, Inception is driven through the mental navigation Dom and his team embark upon as deep-seated emotional turmoil comes to light. As the lines between illusion and truth blur, the dangers of being trapped in one’s memories are heightened. The mind heist serves as a means for Dom to move on as he’s stuck within his own subconscious. Nolan’s ability to force the viewer to question whether the characters are in reality or a dream is a hallmark of the narrative’s psychological suspense. Through groundbreaking visual effects and high-concept action, all anchored by a profound story, Inception emerges as a wholly immersive thriller that has left a lasting legacy. That final shot is still debated today.

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Release Date

July 16, 2010

Runtime

148 minutes

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Inception

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By Robert Scucci
| Updated 1 hour ago

Here’s some free advice for anybody who doesn’t like living outside of a jail cell or a coffin. If you hire somebody to commit crimes on your behalf, the kind of crimes that result in the death penalty if you get caught, make sure you properly vet the person you’re working with. Because they don’t in 2011’s Killer Joe, and everything goes exactly how you’d expect. The crime in question is murdering a family member to cash in on their life insurance policy, and the desired criminal is actually a cop who moonlights as a contract killer.

I’d call Killer Joe a comedy of errors, because it certainly feels like it falls into that territory, but make no mistake. This movie goes beyond dark, and most of the humor, outside of Matthew McConaughey’s pithy observations, is situational. Here we have two would-be criminals who are too cowardly to do the deed themselves, but don’t have the funds to outsource it, culminating in the kind of family-annihilating disaster that could only truly be captured with a gritty Southern Gothic aesthetic.

It Won’t End Well For Adele

Killer Joe boasts a stupid-simple premise, but it doesn’t take much to understand the stakes. We’re introduced to Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch), a young drug dealer who owes $6,000 he doesn’t have to his supplier, Digger Soames (Marc Macaulay). The reason he owes money is because his abusive mother, Adele, stole the drugs he was supposed to sell and kicked him out of the house. Confiding in his not-so-bright, trailer park-inhabiting father, Ansel (Thomas Haden Church), who’s also not on the best of terms with Adele, his ex-wife, Chris comes up with what, in his mind, is the most logical plan: kill Adele, collect her $50,000 life insurance policy, and split the money evenly with Sharla (Gina Gershon), Ansel’s current wife.

The problem is that Chris and Ansel are profoundly stupid and unwilling to carry out the dastardly deed themselves. Chris has a solution in the form of “Killer Joe” Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a respected detective with a dark streak and secret double life as a contract killer. The terms of the deal are simple: Joe kills Adele, her insurance payout goes to Dottie (Juno Temple), Chris’ younger sister and the sole beneficiary of the policy, and everybody splits the money.

Here’s where things get very messy. Joe demands a $25,000 advance and has very strict operating rules since his day job puts him on the right side of the law while his extracurricular activities could land him in a whole heap of trouble. Unable to pay the advance, Chris and Ansel reluctantly agree to use Dottie as his “retainer” because she’s allegedly a virgin and Joe is very interested in her, with the promise that everybody will go their separate ways once the deed has been done.

As you would expect from this arrangement, nothing goes according to plan. Joe very quickly marks his territory by seducing Dottie, who often says cryptic things suggesting she knows about the entire murder plot even though nobody told her about it. She even recalls an incident from infancy when Adele allegedly tried to kill her. Joe’s presence is intrusive, invasive, and aggressive, and he’s hellbent on not only finishing the job, but also running off into the sunset with Dottie if he can help it.

Alright, Alright, Alright … 

Everything goes horribly wrong for Chris, Ansel, Sharla, and Adele in Killer Joe while Dottie, naive enough to not know any better, sits in horror on the sidelines. Loyalties are betrayed, motives are revealed to be dubious, and the third act gets so violent, among other things, that it’s hard to maintain eye contact with the screen but equally hard to look away. If you’re not quite picking up what I’m throwing down, here’s a spoiler-free hint: the most upsetting sequence in this movie involves a bucket of fried chicken, Matthew McConaughey’s performative Southern charm thinly veiling his sadistic tendencies, and everybody at the table trying to act like they didn’t completely screw up what should have been an incredibly simple job.

Killer Joe is a uncomfortable viewing experience, and every character in it is the worst person you’ve ever met. They’re so stupid, though, that you can’t help but laugh at their misfortune, of which there is plenty, when everything begins to backfire and they have nobody to blame but themselves.

As of this writing, Killer Joe is streaming on Netflix.

Whew, Roommates! K. Michelle still isn’t letting up on Tamar Braxton. Fans know they have been beefing for a minute, and it looks like the smoke isn’t clearing anytime soon. Even though K. still isn’t cool with her, she’s now suggesting that they do a Verzuz together, and of course the internet is seated waiting to see if Tamar accepts.

RELATED: K. Michelle Gets Real About Why It Took Her Husband 10 Years To Marry Her (VIDEO)

K. Michelle Keeps The Pressure On Tamar Braxton With Verzuz Talk

Okay, so BOOM! K. Michelle recently sat down with Shannon Sharpe and chopped it up about her career, love life, and beefs. While chatting with Shannon, K. seemingly spoke about her issues with Tamar Braxton and she didn’t hold back. When Shannon asked if she’d do a Verzuz, she said she was definitely down. Then, when he asked who she would face off with, she didn’t drop any names, but fans quickly caught the subliminal shade. “Probably the muppet.” She continued, “I’ve been quiet on your attack, so get up there and do your Verzuz little lady.” 

From there, she kept going in, saying Tamar has spent years acting like she was better than her, but she’s the one who keeps getting caught up in a lot of different situations.

“She’s suppose to be so much better than me […] as an elitist and Black person and she’s so refined, but she’s the one with teeth knocked out sleeping with married men, not me!”

More About K. & Tamar’s Long-Simmering Beef

K. Michelle and Tamar have literally been going at it for 40 days and 40 nights. K. shared her side of their beef during her 2025 interview with Cam Newton. She told Cam Tamar keeps poking at her behind the scenes, and she ‘s tired of her speaking on her name.

“All because you ain’t got no edges. All because your sister really star. This is what this is really about. All because the man that you loved tried to talk to me before you, in the middle of you, and after you. She continued, “All because I’m from the country, but you are the bumpkin. It is always something with this loud mouth coyote.”

K. Sets The Record Straight On Where She Stands With Porsha Williams

K. Michelle has been airing out her past exchanges recently. She also set the record straight on where she stands with Porsha Williams after they previously traded words on social media. The ladies went back and forth after K. reacted to an episode of ‘RHOA.’ That led Porsha to step in and tell her to bring that energy to her “front door.” THat’s when K. fired back and accused her of allegedly being intimate with her ex. Now, K. Michelle says she’s open to clearing things up with Porsha.

“When it comes to her, I feel like she feels like it’s her show or whatever.” She continued, “So hopefully, you know I’m always open. Especially in this type of arena and things you have to forgive.”

She also said she doesn’t have any ill feelings towards her. “I don’t hate her. That’s not that.” 

RELATED: K. Michelle Shocks Fans After Admitting She Was In Love & Intimate With R. Kelly But “Wasn’t The Woman He Wanted” (VIDEO) 

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

Confession time: when I heard that Nicolas Cage would be acting in a live-action Spider-Noir TV show, I thought it was the worst idea I had heard in a good, long time. Sure, Cage had done an excellent job voicing this Spider-Man variant in Into the Spider-Verse, but I always thought his casting was a bit of cheeky meta-humor. The idea of putting the 62-year-old actor in spandex and actually having him fight crime on a prestige TV show? Now, that seemed laughable in the worst kinds of ways.

Now, the trailer for this show (premiering on Prime Video on May 27th) has me eating a few healthy heaps of humble pie. It seems like Spider-Noir is going to find that elusive balance between being a superhero show and being (what else?) a noirish detective show. Similarly, it found just the right amount of humor, all while leaning into Cage’s quirkiest strengths as an actor. If the actual show can deliver the goods, then Spider-Noir is shaping up to be the rare Sony production with the potential to blow the MCU out of the water.

Letting Cage Be Cage

To my surprise and relief, one of the first things the Spider-Noir trailer does is address the fact that Nicolas Cage is seemingly too old to play a high-flying superhero. Instead of being a plucky hero suiting up for the first time, Cage plays a character who has happily hung up his spandex, leaving his wall-crawling days behind him. Now, though, with his city going to hell thanks to a Kingpin-like criminal (played by Silvio Manfredi), he returns to having two lives: private eye by day and spectacular superhero by night. 

If the trailer is any indication, Spider-Noir also leans into Cage’s larger-than-life screen presence as one of Hollywood’s weirdest actors. He gruffs his way through some appropriately noirish lines (including an ironic “Because with no power, there’s no responsibility), but there’s also some of Cage’s wonderfully weird humor. When asked if he’s “going to be a dick about” starting his life anew, the actor replies, “Uh yes, actually, a private dick, to be exact!” It’s such a delightfully strange delivery of such a basic line, which gives me hope that Cage will be able to elevate the source whenever the writing is lacking.

The Anti-MCU Is Here

Based on the trailer, the writing for the show is solid and shows a remarkable amount of restraint. I feared that producers would try to jam Spider-Noir with Spider-Verse levels of chaos or otherwise try to one-up the MCU with multiversal superhero shenanigans. But the trailer makes it seem like the show will mostly be a grounded, noir-style story, one in which special powers are treated like something more than a bit frightening. That’s kind of an exciting prospect, really: a low-tech fictional universe where superpowers are treated with horror instead of reverence? It’s basically the anti-MCU, and I’m here for it.

Overall, the trailer did a gangbusters job of making a show I had no interest in seem like appointment television. I still have a few doubts about the show. For example, I think it’s super-cowardly to provide audiences with both color and black-and-white viewing options (if you wanna go noir, guys, then go freakin’ noir!). But this trailer presents a superhero show that is drenched in style, one that has found the perfect balance between humor, world-building, and even horror. Will it stick the landing, or will this show have its own long goodbye in the ratings? Fans and haters can find out together when Spider-Noir comes out on Prime Video on May 27th.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 18 seconds ago

Not all RoboCop imitations are created equal, but I keep watching them whenever I get the chance because some are a whole lot of fun. Upgrade (2018) takes a classic revenge-thriller approach not unlike the John Wick movies, while films like Nemesis (1992) lean hard into shadow government conspiracies and all-out cybernetic warfare. 1995’s The Demolitionist does some heavy lifting of its own by asking the question we’re all dying to have answered: what if RoboCop was a smoking hot blonde, and every villain was so comically evil that you could fully switch your brain to the off position?

I recently reviewed Future Force (1989), and the biggest problem I had with that film was how unlikeable its protagonist (portrayed by David Carradine) is. He’s a fascist police officer who carries out the “law” as oppressively and aggressively as possible without ever considering the consequences of his actions. The Demolitionist is the exact opposite, which allows it to go as ultra-violent as its $1 million budget can afford, and you never once have to question who you’re rooting for.

It’s a simple good gal versus very bad guy story, and it’s such an enjoyable watch because of how simple it is.

Girl Gets Dead, Pumps Bad Guys With Lead

The Demolitionist kicks off by introducing us to “Mad Dog” Burne (Richard Grieco) and his little brother and right-hand man, “Little Henry” (Randy Vasquez), two street criminals who are comically evil. They escape from death row and kill everybody in their sight on the night of their well-deserved execution and immediately go back to their old tricks, which mostly involve assaulting women and shooting their guns in the air. Working undercover, Alyssa Lloyd (Nicole Eggert), along with her partner Daniel Dupre (Andras Jones), has been trying to take down their gang. When her cover is blown, Mad Dog kills her, and that’s the end of that. Or so he thinks.

What Mad Dog isn’t prepared for, however, is Doctor Jack Crowley’s (Bruce Abbott) Lazarus-style project, which allows Alyssa to come back from the dead with advanced healing powers, superhuman strength, and enhanced reflexes. The project is funded by Mayor Eleanor Grimbaum (Susan Tyrell), who’s also comically evil, though mostly for political reasons. She knows Mad Dog’s antics are tanking her approval ratings, and all she cares about is the upcoming election.

With all of that setup out of the way, The Demolitionist becomes a supremely fun action thriller because the formula is completely locked in. We’ve got the well-meaning but God-playing scientist, the corrupt politician bankrolling his crime-stopping project, the criminal ringleader who’s so blatantly horrible, and finally Alyssa Lloyd, who’s hellbent on revenge and equipped with a brand-new, perfectly form-fitting tactical suit that highlights all of her best physical attributes, along with a bunch of cool future tech to help her along the way.

As Alyssa takes on her new alter ego, The Demolitionist, she actually feels morally conflicted in a way similar hero archetypes in lesser films rarely do. Her arc plays out firmly on the right side of history because the villains she’s fighting are so over-the-top that you never once question her moral compass. When she’s put in compromising positions, though, like having to choose between saving a girl who accidentally picked up a grenade or continuing to chase the bad guy, she chooses the latter, forcing her to wonder if she sold her soul just to help Jack fulfill his primary objective: shoot bad guys.

Low-Budget, Scenery-Chewing, B-Movie Fun

The Demolitionist is not a satire like RoboCop, and it’s not preachy with its messaging. It’s a simple story about a woman who’s killed, turned into a soulless killing machine, and driven by revenge, only for her conscience to occasionally remind her that she’s no longer the person she used to be. That’s all you need to know to enjoy this movie, and that’s all this movie aspires to be.

There are plenty of practical effects holding the action sequences together, and nearly every bad guy you see on screen is somehow cheesier than the one before him. When every villain has names like Boxer, Hammerhead, Skin, Ram, Wolf, or Lipps, you know exactly what kind of leather-jacket-wearing, bandana-sporting, switchblade-wielding, gun-toting maniacs you’re about to deal with.

My favorite bad guy, however, has to be “One Eye” (David Anthony Marshall), yet another Snake Plissken wannabe floating around this subgenre. His finest moment comes after he gets shot in the butt by our hero and dragged back to Mad Dog’s home base, only to learn the bullet contains a tracking device while everybody, including a smiling, uncredited Bruce Campbell, giggles with delight.

If you like your action thrillers hot, violent, and packed with walking, talking stereotypes who shamelessly lean into every single genre trope imaginable, The Demolitionist should be the next thing you watch on Tubi, where it’s currently streaming for free.