Stewart “Stew” McLean was best known for appearing in Virgin River before his disappearance and death made headlines in May 2026.

On May 18, 2026, McLean was reported missing to the Squamish Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after last being seen at his Lions Bay, British Columbia home three days prior.

Three days after McLean’s disappearance was being investigated as a missing person’s case, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team stepped in to help with the search. The police’s running theory is that McLean could potentially be a murder victim.

On May 22, Canada’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced via a press release that McLean’s remains had been found in the Lions Bay area.

The authorities have yet to reveal if there are any suspects in the case or theories about what may have happened to McLean.

Keep scrolling for everything to know about McLean following his death:

Who Did Stewart McLean Play in ‘Virgin River’?

Virgin River was McLean’s last project before his disappearance. The actor played a barfly on season 7 of the Netflix drama, which premiered in March 2026. According to McLean’s IMDB page, he appeared in one episode.

What Other Acting Roles Has Stewart McLean Had?

McLean made his acting debut in an uncredited role in the student film Snow Falcon. He has appeared in multiple shows including Supernatural, Arrow, Blue Steele, Travelers, Beyond, The 100, Siren, Murder in a Small Town and more. He also starred in the series Cloud Van Tales, which aired from 2019 to 2020.

In addition to appearing in several TV series, McLean was best known for his work on short films. He had roles in 2015’s Buddy Cops, 2016’s Detective Williams, 2017’s Uniforms, 2018’s Return to Sender and more.

Has Stewart McLean Received Any Awards?

McLean was recognized alongside the rest of the cast of the 2017 short film Uniforms. They received a nomination for Best Ensemble at the Houston Comedy Film Festival at the time.

What Happened to Stewart McLean?

The Squamish RCMP began looking into McLean’s disappearance on May 18, 2026. The following day, the police asked for public assistance in locating the actor as the Lions Bays Search and Rescue led the initial search. Two days later, it was revealed that authorities were theorizing McLean could be a homicide victim.

“On May 20, IHIT deployed and assumed conduct of the investigation. Squamish RCMP continues to work closely with IHIT and the Integrated Forensic Identification Service (IFIS) to advance the investigation,” the press release read. “Squamish RCMP initiated an investigation and, through investigative efforts, uncovered evidence that led investigators to believe Mr. McLean was a victim of homicide.”

When was Stewart McLean found dead?

Canada’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced via a press release on May 22 that McLean had been found dead in Lions Bay following his disappearance.

His death was also confirmed by Lucas Talent Inc. talent agent, Jodi Caplan, who shared a tribute via Facebook the same day.

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“It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved client, Stew McLean,” the statement read. “I was fortunate to have worked with Stew for more than 10 years.”

The statement continued: “He was always such a pleasure to deal with — dedicated, professional, eager, and endlessly funny. Many casting directors have reached out to share their condolences with Stew’s family and with our agency, and every message says the same thing: what a truly great guy he was, and how deeply he will be missed. Rest in peace, Stew. xo”

Law enforcement is asking that anyone with information regarding McLean’s disappearance or the investigation call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp–grc.gc.ca.

Zendaya reportedly made her fiancé, Tom Holland, and costar Matt Damon green with jealousy on the set of Christopher Nolan’s epic “The Odyssey” after receiving major praise from the filmmaker.

The theme has seemingly come up one too many times, as reports also suggest the actress previously seethed over Holland’s close interaction with Sydney Sweeney on the set of “Euphoria.”

Zendaya has since reflected on starring in “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man” with Holland, saying the experience felt like “coming home.”

Zendaya’s actions on the set of her and Holland’s upcoming film, “The Odyssey,” reportedly left the actor jealous, according to revelations from their costar Matt Damon.

In a recent interview with ELLE, the actor explained that he and Holland bonded over some hilarious behind-the-scenes jealousy, as they could not get over the effusive praise Nolan heaped on the 29-year-old actress while on set.

“Chris is known for being very circumspect,” Damon said. “[But for] Zendaya, there were takes where she did one thing, she did this amazing scene, and he said, ‘Cut.’ And then he went, ‘Perfect!’”

He continued, “Literally, Tom and I were obsessed with this. She got a ‘perfect?’ I’ve never even gotten a ‘great.’ She got a ‘perfect?’ He and I b-tched about it for the entire rest of the film. ‘Did you get anything today?’ ‘No, I got a ‘good’ — moving on.’ ‘Yeah, me too.’”

Christopher Nolan Gushes Over His Star’s ‘Goddess Energy’

In the film, Damon plays Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, whose story follows his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War.

Zendaya stars as Athena, the goddess of wisdom who protects Odysseus during his long voyage, while Holland plays Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, portrayed by Anne Hathaway.

Nolan gushed over how well the “Euphoria” star brought her character to life, even while juggling a demanding schedule. The actress recalled being on the set of the HBO drama series while simultaneously perfecting her lines for “Dune.”

Despite missing some of her lines, Nolan took it in stride and praised how she handled the pressure.

“I mean, she’s literally playing a goddess; it’s a tall order. She’s a true movie star, but also an incredible actor,” Nolan said.

How Holland Reportedly Made Zendaya Jealous

Meanwhile, jealousy is said to have arisen earlier between the “Euphoria” star and her rumored secret husband.

Reports suggested that Zendaya was uneasy about Holland’s close interactions with co-star Sweeney whenever he visited the set of “Euphoria,” and allegedly did not want the actress getting too close to him.

According to reports, Holland’s behavior was not flirtatious or inappropriate. However, Zendaya was still reportedly uncomfortable with the pair talking because she did not trust Sweeney.

While apparently not trying to control who Holland spoke to, Zendaya allegedly did not want someone she “doesn’t necessarily trust getting close to her fiancé.”

The Actress Says Working With Holland Is ‘A Dream’

Sadly for Zendaya, she did not get to film any scenes with Holland in “The Odyssey.” However, she revealed that reprising her role in the latest “Spider-Man” film felt like “coming home.”

The couple first met on the set of “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the first installment in the franchise led by Holland.

Speaking about working on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” she called the experience a “dream,” explaining that going to work felt like a “family affair.”

“And then ‘Spider-Man’ was a dream; I get to go to work every day with my best friend, the person that I love,” she added about Holland. “We bring our dogs to work; it’s like a family affair. We grew up on those movies! It’s like coming home.”

Zendaya Is Ready To Slip Into ‘Auntie Mode’

In her conversation with ELLE, Zendaya also revealed she is looking forward to slowing down and slipping into “auntie mode,” which means spending more time attending school plays for her nieces and nephews, showing up for their games, and helping with other family projects.

During a recent trip to her hometown of Oakland, where many of her family members still live, the actress reportedly helped one of her nieces redecorate her bedroom.

Her grandmother’s kitchen was another recent family effort. “I call my big brother, and he brings his tools, and then it’s YouTube university, and we just start doing stuff,” she said.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 19 seconds ago

What do you think the most important superhero movie ever made was? You might be tempted to throw out films like Avengers: Endgame, which many still consider the peak of tights-and-flights cinema. Alternatively, you might throw out classic films, like the 1978 Superman or 1989 Batman, which proved superheroes had a place on the big screen. Arguably, though, the most important superhero film was Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie. It created the template (a combination of action, humor, and killer set pieces) that almost all 21st century cape content would follow, and it influenced the Marvel Cinematic Universe so much that Toby Maguire’s web-head played a pivotal role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. 

That film also saw the return of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, a foe first introduced in Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie. Dafoe was instantly iconic in this role, and his captivatingly crazy performance is a big part of why that film works so well. However, would you believe that Dafoe almost didn’t get the part? Nicolas Cage recently disclosed that he had spoken directly to Raimi about playing the cackling supervillain, and Dafoe only got cast once Cage backed out of the project.

No Cage For This Spider

Nicolas Cage dropped this juicy morsel of gossip in a recent interview with People. Ironically enough, he spoke to the outlet at the recent premiere of Spider-Noir, the live-action solo show dedicated to the character he voiced in the Spider-Verse films. He disclosed that, back in 2002, he spoke to director Sam Raimi and had the option of starring as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man. However, he turned the opportunity down to star in Adaptation instead, a decision he believes was “the right choice.”

While Cage believed this was the right choice for his career, it was also the right choice for the movie. At the time, Cage was arguably a bit too iconic to play the role, having established himself as major Hollywood force in the ‘80s with hit films like Peggy Sue Got Married and Raising Arizona. In the ‘90s, he became an action hero in films like The Rock and Con Air, and he got to play both villain and hero in Face/Off. Throw in his highly-public attempt to star as Superman, and Cage was just too big for the role of Green Goblin compared to Willem Dafoe, who had spent decades playing quirky outsiders.

A Little Too Zany

Now, I love Nicolas Cage, both in his vintage hits and in more recent films, like the sublime Mandy. But when someone casts Cage in a movie, they do so knowing that he only has one setting: intense. Sometimes, you get the over-the-top line deliveries and manic energy that has been lovingly labeled “Cage Rage” by his fans. But even when Cage isn’t actively freaking out onscreen, his intensity smolders so hot that it seems it could boil over at any time. Does this make for captivating movies? Of course! But the intensity makes it that much harder for Cage to play a man with two lives.

That’s part of why he would have been terrible as Green Goblin, a character who is a CEO and father figure by day and a murderous supervillain by night. Cage wouldn’t have been able to pull this off because we would always see the Goblin simmering under the surface of Norman Osborne. But Willem Dafoe is so deft in his performance as the supervillain that he often seems like two completely different characters trapped in one body. The transformation from Jekyll to Hyde is stunning to witness, and it’s no surprise that most of the early Spider-Man memes focused on Dafoe’s character.

Begun, The Noir Wars Have

There are other reasons why Nicolas Cage would have been a terrible Green Goblin, including the fact that he would have overshadowed everyone else in the film. Mostly, though, the movie would have been a waste of his particular talents. Cage always brings a wacky trademark energy to films that would have been out of place in Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie. However, that energy made him weirdly perfect to voice Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. That character proved so popular that he’s now getting his own solo show on Prime Video.

Nicolas Cage makes his live-action debut as Spider-Noir on May 27th. The eight-episode series will be in black and white, giving audiences an extensive look at how well Cage can bring this surprise favorite character to life. Will he lend some of his over-the-top energy to this Prime Video show? If so, be sure to close your eyes and really soak up the experience. After all, this might be the closest we’ll ever come to seeing (or not seeing, if you still have your eyes closed like a good boy!) this acclaimed actor play as the Green Goblin.

Max Thieriot broke his silence on how season 5 of Fire Country will differ following a showrunner shakeup, a possible time jump and more.

The season 4 finale, which aired on Friday, May 22, ended on a surprisingly happy note with everyone celebrating at Jake’s (Jordan Calloway) wedding without any last minute deaths or dangerous emergencies in Edgewater.

“When we started off the year, we weren’t certain if we wanted to leave some things really up in the air or have a hopeful and joyful ending,” Thieriot, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly. “We want to leave somewhere that really feels like next season we get to see that new chapter and all these characters’ lives.”

Thieriot called it the “strongest decision.”

Related: Which ‘Fire Country’ Stars Are — And Aren’t — Returning for Season 5?

Fire Country has experienced cast — and showrunner — departures amid budget cuts, so which cast members are and aren’t returning for season 5? The CBS series, which premiered in 2022, introduced Us to the town of Edgewater after inmate Bode (Max Thieriot) returned home and began volunteering for the California Conservation Camp Program. By […]

“You want to be left with something but also this will give us a chance to really get to see these characters evolve and get to see them take the next steps in their lives. There is real progression for them,” he hinted. “After losing Vince [played by Billy Burke] at the beginning of the year, a wedding is symbolic of new beginnings.”

He continued: “We want to start next season with new stuff and bring in some new characters and really build out new story lines for each character. It’s a fun and fresh way to end and it gives us a really great fresh start for the next season.”

Looking ahead at season 5, Thieriot promised some surprises, saying, “You don’t want to miss too much, so I think we’re going to pick up shortly after. But we get to find these people in that next phase of their life and then it really builds stories for the season that are new chapters for each character.”

Keep scrolling as Thieriot breaks down that name drop, the showrunner change and more:

Will There Be a Time Jump?

Thieriot noted that season 5 wouldn’t be a “direct pickup” but there wouldn’t be too much time lost, adding, “It is new season, new challenges, new faces — not that we’re exiting people but just allowing the show to evolve and find new fresh things.”

How Will a New Showrunner Evolve the Voice of the Show?

Following Tia Napolitano‘s exit from the show, Fire Country is preparing to usher in Eric Guggenheim as the new showrunner for season 5.

“We’ve done so many episodes and I have so much respect for Tia. What she’s done with the show to get us to this point [is so important]. Eric is new to me, and new to a lot of us and he has his own ideas and he’s very collaborative,” Thieriot told Us. “Having new voices is fun, right? Because you get new ideas, new thoughts and new perspective. It allows us to also stand back and hear different perspective on things.”

Thieriot promised “new possibilities” for the show.

“Eric really brings in a lot of experience with all of his previous work and the shows that he’s been involved with. At the same time, he knows what the show is and respects what’s been built,” he continued. “He’s not trying to totally change what this series is. He’s just bringing in a fresh take and fresh look and fresh perspective. It’s helping explore new avenues for the characters.”

How Will the Show Keep Honoring the Characters Who Left?

“Obviously, Vince and Gabs are huge parts of the show and will always be. You don’t want those characters to just disappear,” he said about Billy Burke and Stephanie Arcila’s departures from the show. “They affect and will continue to affect the decisions other characters make going forward.”

Thieriot specifically mentioned Gabriela getting name-dropped in the finale.

“Honestly [keeping their memory alive without them around] was more challenging than everybody expected as we started going into season 4. They’re two very important characters to show and it changes dynamics. It changes how we see certain scenes,” he noted. “It creates its own set of challenges with the writing process. Throughout the season, we started to figure out what that was.”

The actor also pointed out the addition of new faces, adding, “Bringing in some new characters will allow us to have new fresh stories. It’s not just the same people we’re talking about everything with each other. That’s something that I’m looking forward to is getting to see who we’re going to bring in and how they’re going to not only impact our characters but how they’re going to play a part in the series.”

What About Bode’s Love Life?

In addition to Gabriela, Bode said goodbye to girlfriend Audrey (Leven Rambin) in season 4. Now the main character has found love with Chloe (Alona Tal), who will presumably stick around into season 5.

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“Their relationship is a more mature relationship in a lot of ways than he’s had,” Thieriot said. “Her outlook on life and the life that she lived at this point is more mature in a lot of ways. It has been easy for him and has kept him a little more stable.”

Could Gabriela Return?

“We try and leave as many doors open as we always can,” Thieriot explained. “Just because they’re not together anymore doesn’t mean that we’ll never see her again.”

When asked if the new spinoff medical series in the works could be a way to bring Gabriela back, Thieriot teased, “We’re actively fleshing out those stories and the development process. What we’re cooking up is really exciting and feels very, very Edgewater. But it is also unique in the landscape of medical TV shows.”

Shailene Woodley made a rare comment about her friendship with former costar Ansel Elgort.

“Ansel Elgort is to this day one of my best friends,” Woodley, 34, said in an interview with Variety shared via the outlet’s YouTube page on Thursday, May 21. “I feel like he transcends the label of best friend. He is like family to me. I love him so, so deeply.”

Woodley and Elgort, 32, worked together on both The Fault in Our Stars and the Divergent films. They met for the first time on the set of the first Divergent film, which premiered in 2014. Woodley and Elgort played siblings Tris and Caleb, respectively. As they got to know each other on set, they formed a fast friendship.

“When we were doing the first divergent movie, we really connected, and we became sort of instant siblings,” she recalled on Thursday, “The dynamic between us is always very sweet, and it was very supportive, and he would come over to my house, and we would cook and just talk for hours after work.”

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These actors have enjoyed working with one another so much that they continued to score roles in the same projects. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling had perfect onscreen chemistry in projects like Crazy, Stupid, Love, Gangster Squad and La La Land, which inspired a real friendship between the pair. “I can’t even imagine what my […]

After working on that movie, Woodley and Elgort reunited to star in the 2014 movie The Fault in Our Stars, where they ended up playing love interests Hazel and Gus, respectively.

“When I heard he was auditioning for Fault in Our Stars. I was like ‘Oh that’s sweet, but like obviously it’s never gonna happen because he’s my brother in Divergent, like there’s no world where [that happens] … And then he was cast,” she said. “You know, he’s kind of the only person on Earth who could’ve played Gus.”

Woodley explained that her and Elgort’s real-life connection made their characters’ chemistry stronger on screen.

“I think actually what made our relationship in that movie as tender as it was and as truly like unconditionally loving as it was [because] Ansel and I do genuinely love one another,” she shared. “It’s so rare that you get to see love explored without intimacy, and although there is intimacy between Hazel and Gus, the core of it is just unconditional love. It’s two people walking each other home. It’s two people who have a desire to only be supportive to one another, and make the other person feel a little less lonely in a chaotic world.”

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Related: Shailene! Channing! Stars Who Have Taken Acting Roles They Later Regret

Reconsidering the past? Some actors aren’t proud of every project they’ve been a part of — even the ones that skyrockets their careers. Shailene Woodley scored her big break on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, but the experience came with its own issues. After playing teen mother Amy Juergens from 2008 until 2013, […]

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In the film, which is based on the best-selling novel written by John Green, Woodley and Elgort’s characters had multiple romantic scenes. The Big Little Lies actress confessed it was “awkward” to film those intimate moments with Elgort.

“Of course it was awkward when we had to do intimacy scenes together, cause I remember [us] laughing in between takes a little bit together,” she said. “I know everything about you, that is so weird that we have to take our shirts off.”

Woodley and Elgort last worked together in 2016 on the final installment of the Divergent series. Since then, they have remained close and even took a trip to Italy together in 2022.

Brooke Hogan is addressing the online backlash she is facing months after the death of her father, wrestling icon Hulk Hogan.

The former reality TV star defended herself against criticism over a bikini photo shared in a post paying tribute to her dad, after she was accused of seeking attention.

Brooke Hogan previously opened up about their strained relationship and her growing regrets over removing herself from Hulk Hogan’s will before his death.

Brooke, daughter of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, has finally spoken out after facing backlash online for sharing a bikini photo as part of an emotional tribute to her late father.

The 38-year-old recently posted a series of Instagram photos honoring Hogan, who died from a heart attack at age 71 last July.

However, some social media users criticized the first image in the post, which showed Brooke relaxing on a beach in a bikini, with several commenters mocking the photo and questioning her choice to include it in a post about grief.

In response, Brooke returned to Instagram with a strongly worded message defending herself and challenging the criticism.

Sharing unflattering edited beach photos of her body, she questioned whether people would have viewed her grief as more sincere if she looked different, writing: “Would my post have been more sincere if THIS girl were at the beach mourning her dad?”

Brooke Hogan Says She Doesn’t Have To Explain How She Grieves To ‘Ignorant People Who Haven’t Walked’ In Her Shoes

Brooke explained that the beach and ocean hold deep emotional significance because she spent much of her childhood by the water with her father along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

She said the photo she posted was never intended to be provocative and revealed that after taking it, she spent time processing her emotions and looking through old pictures of her dad.

The former reality TV star also opened up about the complicated nature of her relationship with Hogan in his final years.

Although she said they loved each other deeply, Brooke explained that she eventually chose to distance herself from him for the sake of her “safety and sanity” after years of trying to repair their relationship.

In a lengthy caption, Brooke criticized people for judging experiences they knew nothing about, saying she was under no obligation to “explain to ignorant people who haven’t walked in my shoes – how I lost my dad – before I lost my dad.”

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Hulk Hogan’s Daughter Says ‘Trolls’ Need To Go Back Under Their ‘Bridge’

Brooke later addressed critics more directly, expressing frustration with online commenters who she said acted as though they fully understood her relationship with her father.

She wrote in the caption of her post, “I understand that not a lot of the world gets that. But this is my home. This is me. This is my one of many days I grieved my dad. Shame on anyone for demonizing it.”

Brooke emphasized that both she and Hulk Hogan were human and that outsiders could never truly know what happened behind closed doors.

“I am a human. My father was human,” she noted. “And you people have the nerve to act like you’re experts on ANY topic or know anything about my experience with him? Even my closest family has no clue what I know and have experienced.”

“And you come at me with your ignorant opinions and nasty comments, hiding behind your screens? Go back under your bridge, trolls,” the angry reality star concluded.

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Brooke Hogan Reflects On Strained Family History And Past Trauma

Brooke, who is married to former NHL player Steven Oleksy, shares twins Oliver and Molly with him.

She previously appeared with her family on a VH1 reality series before becoming estranged from both of her parents following their 2009 divorce and the show’s conclusion.

One of the most painful moments in Brooke’s relationship with her father came after the release of Hogan’s leaked 2015 sex tape, which included racist comments about Brooke and her then-boyfriend, Yannique Barker.

Reflecting on the scandal in an earlier interview with Us Weekly, Brooke said the emotional impact on the family was often overlooked while public sympathy focused largely on Hogan himself.

“My dad got so much, like, ‘Oh my gosh, poor Hulk,’” she told the publication. “He’s going through this. He’s fighting the s-x tape thing.’ I’m like, ‘What about us?’ We were the subject of it.”

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Brooke Hogan Reflects On Painful Fallout From Removing Herself From Hulk Hogan’s Will And Calls Situation A ‘Nightmare’

Brooke has also recently spoken candidly about the fallout from removing herself from her father’s will before his death.

In 2023, while estranged from Hogan, she reportedly asked to be removed from the will in an effort to avoid future family conflict and initially said she had no regrets about the decision.

Now, months after Hogan’s death, Brooke admits the situation has become far more difficult than she anticipated.

Speaking to Page Six, she described feeling powerless when it comes to protecting or helping manage her father’s legacy, calling the aftermath a “nightmare.”

“I can’t do anything to help my dad after his death, or to find out answers,” she said, adding that “the people that I so badly wanted to get away from are now running the show, which is even more of a nightmare.”

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According to reports, Hogan’s son, Nick Hogan, inherited the estate, while Hogan’s third wife, Sky Daily, is listed as a surviving spouse.

Brooke also alleged that when she requested sentimental belongings connected to her father, including a crucifix, she instead received only “a pair of flip-flops and a couple of T-shirts he never wore.” 

Despite the ongoing tension, Brooke insisted her concerns are not about money or inheritance, but about losing any ability to protect her father’s memory and legacy.

Looking back, she admitted there are things she “would definitely be doing differently” if given another chance.

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For decades, no one has perfected the art of horror in a small town quite like Stephen King. The king of horror for a reason, the renowned author explores the brutality beneath the surface of seemingly banal locations. Salem’s Lot was the first to show how even the most innocuous places can have a seedy underbelly — and that’s before the vampires arrive. Stories like It and Pet Sematary also demonstrate how small communities in Maine harbor dark secrets, and now a new 10-part horror Apple TV series has ambitiously taken on that mantle.

Currently in its debut season, Widow’s Bay is a delightful homage to the best parts of King’s work. Also set in a remote community in Maine, the series follows Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), who is intent on making his local island town the next Martha’s Vineyard. Things go awry when the titular town falters under a mysterious curse. During Tom’s mad dash to make his town relevant, he and the rest of the citizens endure spooky happenings that could only come from a King novel.

‘Widow’s Bay’ Perfectly Melds Humor and Horror

Stephen King may have perfected the spooky town with a ragtag but unified group of citizens, but Widow’s Bay makes the concept its own. Every episode, Tom encounters a different aspect of the cursed town while butting heads with local character, Wyck (Stephen Root). The townspeople of Widow’s Bay are a superstitious bunch because of how their town was founded, but there is a thin line between superstition and belief.

Most of the citizens don’t believe the town is truly cursed until they start sharing terrifying experiences. What sets Widow’s Bay apart is the humor interspersed with genuine scares. Tom and the rest of the characters are quirky and idiosyncratic, making for laugh-out-loud moments. Just as Severance finds humor in the strange, Widow’s Bay does this too, while sticking to horror tropes.

Wyck fills the role of the colorful local character who insists that everything is real, while Tom is the typical everyman who is dragged through the weirdness, kicking and screaming. Slowly but surely, Tom starts to accept that this town isn’t like the others. He and Wyck finally agree to find out how the town has become cursed, all the while dealing with personal foibles and trauma.

The tongue-in-cheek humor is incredibly self-aware but doesn’t make its characters a joke. As quick as the series is to wink at the audience, it also does a 180 and shows the painful past of the townspeople. Each episode brings characters closer to the truth as they have to acknowledge that something has been strange about this place for a very long time. The episodes fly by, making for an engaging viewing experience.

Widow’s Bay doesn’t try to be anything other than it is, and episodes are as long as they need to be. This means easily digestible arcs in episodes that typically don’t go over 40 minutes. It doesn’t tip its hand too early, as viewers follow Tom as he tries to figure out what’s going on. While the season has yet to conclude, viewers will want to binge all the episodes at once. Widow’s Bay is slated for 10 episodes, with the finale set to debut on June 17. Viewers should make sure to catch this unique take on familiar archetypes before it comes to a close.

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Release Date

April 29, 2026

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Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

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Katie Dippold

Directors

Hiro Murai

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Writers

Katie Dippold, Kelly Galuska

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Thrillers thrill, and so do movies that belong to other genres, admittedly, so you will find a few below that also fit within the horror genre, and at least that’s sort of an action movie, too. If something could be considered either wholly or partially as a thriller, though, and was also a movie that stood out for being quite disturbing in a particularly relentless way, then it qualifies for present purposes.

Basically, if you want a nice and relaxing time while watching something, say after a difficult or kind of stressful day, then these movies aren’t very easy to recommend. But if you know what you’re in for, and you want something that’ll get under your skin, then any of the titles below that you might not be familiar with are well worth tracking down.

10

‘Lost Highway’ (1997)

Image via October Films

Lost Highway is one of many great and also greatly disturbing David Lynch films, with a bit more of an emphasis on being a psychological thriller than the arguably more confronting Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which is mostly a psychological horror film. Honorable mention to that one, of course, but Lost Highway is here because it moves at a pretty mean pace and feels unpredictable, to the point where it is hard to break down exactly what it’s about.

That it’s about a lot of things is part of what keeps it all engaging and (obviously) intriguing, with surveillance and doppelgängers playing a pretty big role in the narrative, or what there is to find of a narrative, alongside other chaos. Lost Highway all makes a dreamy sort of sense, or maybe it just lacks sense in the right kind of way. Anyway, the result from all of this is a mystery/thriller film that succeeds in being consistently unnerving for its entire 134-minute runtime.

9

‘The Experiment’ (2001)

Image via Senator Film

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A study that involves a simulation of a prison environment is what The Experiment is largely about. There are 20 participants all up, with some being given roles as prison guards, and others made to be prisoners. If that all sounds a bit familiar, it’s because there was a real-life study dubbed the Stanford prison experiment that was conducted in 1971, but The Experiment is inspired by that, and not intended to be a retelling of what actually happened.

The result is a genuinely underrated film, and one that manages to be consistently intense throughout. There’s a lot said here regarding human nature and psychology, and then even if you don’t really want to engage with it thematically, it remains uneasily engaging in terms of how it feels. Calling it entertaining wouldn’t exactly be accurate, nor fair, but The Experiment is certainly gripping.

8

‘I Saw the Devil’ (2010)

Image via Showbox

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When you break down what I Saw the Devil is about, it all sounds very simple, in opposition to something like Lost Highway. It stays interesting because of the new extremes it continually manages to go to, and how far it pushes the straightforward premise that involves one man hunting for a serial killer and then planning to enact a complex vengeance-fueled plan upon him, once found.

So, yes, cat-and-mouse stuff, just with a good deal more bloodshed than you might expect, plus some scenes that go into outright horror territory (though not supernatural horror, even if “Devil” is in the title). As long as you’ve got the stomach to handle some very grisly sights, I Saw the Devil is very much worth devoting nearly two and a half inevitably stress-filled hours to.

7

‘Zodiac’ (2007)

As you can usually expect with David Fincher, there’s a real commitment to recreating the historical setting of Zodiac throughout (San Francisco in the late 1960s and onward, over a number of years), and that makes so much of what’s already an intense story feel all the more engrossing and nerve-wracking. As you might expect from the title, this is a movie about the Zodiac Killer, and a sufficiently long one to explore what happened when he was at large, and then also spend time on how he continued to haunt and affect certain people even after the killings were over.

Zodiac commits to being a mortifying movie about a serial killer for roughly its first half, and then proves somehow even more disturbing as a story about obsession and the eeriness of a mystery that keeps refusing to be definitively solved. It is also, it must be said, one of the clearest examples of a great movie being made from a disappointing book (as a work of non-fiction, Robert Graysmith’s 1986 book is poorly structured and sometimes even amateurishly written).

6

‘Memories of Murder’ (2003)

Image via CJ Entertainment

Okay, to keep the serial killer thing going for a bit, right after mentioning both I Saw the Devil and Zodiac, here’s Memories of Murder, which is another South Korean movie, like I Saw the Devil. Various detectives are trying to catch a particularly elusive serial killer, and the sense of desperation and obsession becomes heightened in the second half, sort of mirroring Zodiac (which came later in the decade) in that regard.

Also, like Zodiac, Memories of Murder was inspired by a then-unsolved case, of which there were some developments in (or at least genuine proof relating to it) that came to light years after the film was released. Even with more answers than there may have been back when the film was being made, Memories of Murder does still manage to feel tremendously unsettling, and it’s up there as one of the greatest thrillers of its decade for sure.

5

‘964 Pinocchio’ (1991)

Image via Honekoubou

Calling 964 Pinocchio a thriller might not be entirely accurate, since it’s primarily a horror film, but Letterboxd was used as a source to help with selecting the movies that are appearing in this ranking, and this film’s listed as a sci-fi/horror/thriller movie on that site. It’s also oddly thrilling, but in an admittedly horrific way, as it’s a movie that admirably – and exhaustingly – never lets up, and never stops pushing things well beyond the bounds of “just” going to 11.

The sci-fi elements come in because there’s a cyborg sex slave on the run, the thriller elements come about because people are trying to track down said cyborg, and then the whole thing’s ultimately a work of horror because of how it’s presented, being stylistically chaotic and honestly quite nauseating. 964 Pinocchio is hard to watch, yet potentially also a cult classic because of such difficulty.

4

‘Dead Ringers’ (1988)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Dead Ringers is a David Cronenberg movie about a pair of twins who are both womanizers and more than a little manipulative, and is eventually focused on things falling apart when one of the twins is himself deceived. Like a good many psychological thrillers, there’s plenty more to Dead Ringers beyond the premise, and the fun (or dread) that comes from a movie like this is, obviously, seeing where it could conceivably go.

Jeremy Irons plays both twins, and it’s one of the all-time great “twin roles done by one actor” performances, and Dead Ringers does a surprisingly good job at making you forget it’s really only one person interacting with himself for so much of the film. This is also a dark horse candidate for the crown of best David Cronenberg film, or should at least be considered alongside slightly more famous films of his from the same decade, like Videodrome and The Fly.

3

‘Revenge’ (2017)

Image via Rezo Films

Eventually, Revenge does become an action movie about obtaining the titular thing, but much of it’s also a thriller, and it takes until the second half before things get action-packed. Though “action-packed” in a fairly small-scale way, because while the film does look quite epic at times, and certain set pieces do go on for a while, it’s ultimately just one woman getting revenge, and she only has three targets to track down and eliminate.

“Can this really sustain a movie for 108 minutes?,” you might ask yourself, looking at an overview of the film before watching it, and then if you do watch it, 108 minutes later, you’ll probably say, “Yep, I guess it can.” You might realize that before all 108 minutes are up, honestly. This is a real rush of a film and also one of the most brutal action/thriller movies in recent memory, albeit some scenes of violence (mostly in the second half, and after the inciting incident, obviously, which is horrific), do contain immense catharsis, too.

2

‘Angst’ (1983)

Image via Les Films Jacques Leitienne

One more film that simultaneously works as a thriller and a horror movie, here’s Angst, which is another one here that’s about a serial killer, but not really about the hunt for one. Like, the killer here is the protagonist (not to be mixed up with a hero, because a protagonist and a hero are not necessarily the same thing), and the movie is about him breaking into a home and terrorizing the family that lives there.

Just how visceral Angst ends up being does have to be seen to be believed, and properly felt, but it’s also intense enough that you might not necessarily want to see and/or feel it. The presentation here does so much to make an already grim narrative (or lack thereof) feel extra queasy, and there’s a no-nonsense approach to depicting what happens that makes it feel particularly real.

1

‘Straw Dogs’ (1971)

Image via 20th Century Studios

The most iconic Sam Peckinpah movie is understandably The Wild Bunch, which was about as heavy-going as Westerns got, at the time it was released, and it still packs quite the punch to this day. There are various other heavy-going movies Peckinpah made, including others broadly classifiable as Westerns, plus Straw Dogs, which certainly wasn’t a Western, and ultimately felt (arguably) more confronting than even The Wild Bunch, for its time.

This one’s a thriller about a married couple who begin living what they think will be a peaceful countryside lifestyle, only to have various people in the area begin tormenting them, first in casual and slight ways, before things gradually start to get progressively violent. Straw Dogs is very much a bad time, albeit a very well-made and well-executed bad time that pushed boundaries enough, by 1971 standards, to still feel quite shocking when watched today, some five and a half decades later.

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Straw Dogs

Release Date

December 22, 1971

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Runtime

116 Minutes

Director

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Sam Peckinpah

Writers

Sam Peckinpah, Gordon Williams, David Zelag Goodman

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  T. P. McKenna

  Maj. John Scott

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