Thrillers arguably have more riding on their opening pages than almost any other kind of literary genre. After all, they need to grab the reader’s attention quickly and reel them in, all in just a scene or two. Plenty succeed at producing an effective hook, but the truly great ones offer something more.

The titles below all establish immediate, undeniable stakes, whether that’s through visceral violence, a shocking revelation, a particularly memorable character, or simply gorgeous, atmospheric prose. From the sci-fi tension of Dark Matter to the masterful true-crime of London Falling, here are some thrillers that start strong and sustain that quality till the end.

‘Killing Floor’ (1997)

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“I was arrested in Eno’s Diner.” It’s difficult to imagine a more efficient introduction to Jack Reacher. Killing Floor, the first entry in the Reacher series, begins with its wandering protagonist quietly eating breakfast in a Georgia diner when police arrive and arrest him for murder. Lee Child doesn’t waste time on an elaborate introduction or pages of backstory. Reacher is dropped straight into trouble. And thus one of the most iconic action/thriller protagonists was born.

The character’s unusual lifestyle is fascinating from the outset. He owns almost nothing, has nowhere particular to be, and can therefore walk directly into situations most sensible people would flee. In other words, Reacher is the quintessential “lone wolf” folk hero. On the prose side, author Lee Child writes all this in short, rapid-fire, punchy sentences, with no-nonsense first-person narration stripping away all filler.

‘Her Last Breath’ (2026)

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“By the time they found her, she had been dead for hours.” The majority of the book is set deep inside “Devil’s Staircase,” a remote, pitch-black cave system in the Cascade Range. Main character Tess reluctantly agrees to join her friend Allie for a caving expedition, only for them to be preyed upon by a mysterious man. The plot switches back and forth between Tess’ ordeal in the caves and her interview with the police the following day, where dark secrets about Allie’s begin to come to light.

The tale is full of twists, and it really hits the ground running. From the beginning, we’re dealing with rockfalls, trapped characters, a dead body with a gunshot wound, and police suspicions falling on the protagonist. Ultimately, Her Last Breath is an intense, claustrophobic book, perfectly capturing the terror of isolation and tight crawlspaces.

‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ (2022)

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“Jen is waiting for her son to come home.” In this one, Jen waits up late for her teenage son Todd, watches him approach the house, and then sees him stab a stranger. Her ordinary life is destroyed in seconds. She eventually falls asleep after the nightmare of his arrest… only to wake up the previous morning, before the murder has happened. Then she wakes up another day earlier. Author Gillian McAllister turns that time-travel device into an ingenious mystery structure.

Rather than just being a gimmick, the time-travel becomes a procedural puzzle. To stop the future murder, Jen must play detective in her own past, searching for the chain of events that eventually leads her son to commit an apparently inexplicable act of violence. Sci-fi and domestic thriller mechanics fit together surprisingly naturally here, serving as a way to engage with themes of regret, parental guilty, and the difficult of really knowing another person, even family.

‘Dark Matter’ (2016)

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“Are you happy with your life?” This is a fantastic sci-fi thriller by Blake Crouch, who also wrote the Wayward Pines trilogy (adapted into a TV show starring Matt Dillon and Carla Gugino). In this one, protagonist Jason Dessen is a physics professor with a wife and son. He loves his family, yet there are roads not taken lingering beneath that happiness. This becomes frighteningly real when Jason is abducted by a masked stranger, drugged, and wakes in a reality where the life he remembers apparently never happened.

From here, Crouch takes a concept rooted in quantum mechanics and gives it the momentum of a chase thriller. The science matters in this book, but the character’s emotions matter more. Jason doesn’t want to explore infinite realities for their own sake; he wants to get home. While the mechanics of the multiverse are vast and dizzying, the thriller stays grounded because Jason’s motivation is simple and pure: love.

‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ (2018)

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“Ayoola summons me with these words: Korede, I killed him.” Protagonist Korede’s younger sister Ayoola has killed another boyfriend, and Korede is once again called upon to help clean up the mess. There is no prolonged mystery about whether Ayoola is responsible and very little initial interest in why she did it. The darkly funny question is considerably more practical: what exactly do you do when someone you love keeps murdering people?

So begins Oyinkan Braithwaite’s subversively funny, razor-sharp satirical thriller, one that took home a bevy of crime fiction awards on release. The tone is delightfully dry and cynical. For example, there are scenes that contrast the horrific reality of scrubbing blood out of car trunks with everyday sibling annoyances, like Ayoola posting glam shots on Instagram while her boyfriend is missing. Yet beneath the comedy, My Sister, the Serial Killer has a lot to say about toxic bonds and the dark side of family loyalty.

‘Mr Mercedes’ (2014)

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“Augie Odenkirk was the first of the city-center hopefuls to get up that morning.” Mr Mercedes is a gripping, old-school cat-and-mouse detective thriller from the master himself, Stephen King, and it opens with an act of violence that ranks among the most disturbing scenes the author has written (which is truly saying something). In it, hundreds of desperate people are gathered outside a job fair before dawn. King spends time introducing several of them, creating little lives and relationships within the crowd. Then a Mercedes emerges from the fog and deliberately plows into them.

The driver escapes, leaving eight people dead and many more injured. From here, the plot focuses on Bill Hodges, a depressed, retired homicide detective on the brink of suicide, and the unhinged Brady Hartsfield, who sends Bill taunting letters taking credit for the crime. The suspense comes from watching both characters try to outsmart and manipulate the other.

‘Gone Girl’ (2012)

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“When I think of my wife, I always think of her head.” A landmark of 2010s thriller writing, Gone Girl begins when Amy Dunne disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. Her husband Nick naturally becomes the center of suspicion, and his strange behavior hardly helps his case. From the very first pages (heck, even the first paragraph), the writing sounds affectionate and vaguely sinister at the same time, immediately establishing the uneasy ambiguity that will define the whole book.

Indeed, the masterstroke here is making the reader’s relationship with information itself unstable. Nick narrates the present while entries from Amy’s diary gradually reconstruct their marriage, and the discrepancies between those accounts become impossible to ignore. There are unreliable narrators, juicy twists, shocking bursts of violence, and a savage autopsy of a modern marriage soured by resentment and unmet expectations.

‘In Cold Blood’ (1966)

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“The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call ‘out there.’” This iconic book, a cornerstone of modern crime writing, is a novel that recounts a true story. The opening pages describe the isolated rural community of Holcomb, Kansas, a sleepy place where nothing particularly extraordinary seems likely to happen. Yet the reader already knows that something did. In 1959, Herbert and Bonnie Clutter and two of their children, Nancy and Kenyon, were killed inside their home.

That knowledge hangs over Truman Capote‘s descriptions of the Clutter family and their final ordinary day, transforming mundane details into sources of dread. Over the rest of the book, he reconstructs the crime and its aftermath while also zooming in on the killers, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. In the process, he practically single-handedly created what we now call true crime.

‘The Secret History’ (1992)

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“Does such a thing as ‘the fatal flaw,’ that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature?” The Secret History doesn’t make readers wait long to discover that Bunny Corcoran is dead. Author Donna Tartt reveals his murder almost immediately, then turns backward to explain how a group of privileged classics students at an elite Vermont college reached the point where killing one of their friends seemed necessary. It’s an opening that inverts the usual machinery of a thriller.

The question isn’t really who committed the murder, but why, and what living with it will do to everyone involved. Indeed, the novel brilliantly explores the characters’ psychology, particularly their guilt and paranoia. This comes through on the prose level, too. Unlike fast-paced techno-thrillers, The Secret History is a slow-burn literary thriller. Tartt’s writing is rich, decadent, and deeply immersive, paying homage to Greek tragedy.

‘London Falling’ (2026)

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“A whole life that was just an edifice of lies.” This is another work of nonfiction, but it’s as tense and compelling as any made-up thriller. Written by Say Nothing‘s Patrick Radden Keefe, it tells the story of Zac Brettler, a 19-year-old middle-class teenager who leaped to his death from a luxury balcony into the River Thames in 2019. Through interviews and investigations, Keefe reveals that Zac had been socializing with sleazy London businesspeople and even gangsters… and that he had been telling them he was the son of an uber-wealthy Russian oligarch.

The book meticulously pieces together a character study of Zac, asking why he began spinning these elaborate lies, as well as reconstructing the timeline of events that led up to him plunging into the cold water below. In doing so, Keefe paints a broader, damning portrait of a city unmoored and morally bankrupt. Compulsively readable yet sobering and eerie.

Days of Our Lives fans know that Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) is gone right now, but she returns to Salem this fall and brings back somebody shocking with her. So, could it be a DiMera thought to be dead or some other stunning return? Knowing Kristen, it honestly could be somebody truly horrifying.

Days of our Lives: Kristen Takes Off

So, let’s dive in. As you know, Kristen DiMera left Salem late this summer to protect her daughter Rachel Black (Lorelei Olivia Mote) from EJ DiMera‘s (Dan Feuerriegel) wrath. Although, let’s be real, EJ DiMera never intended to hurt Rachel. He just wanted to put a scare into Kristen because she tried to kill his son Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman). Crazy Kristen of course blamed EJ for Rachel shooting him because the tween was upset that EJ sent her grandmother Rachel Blake (Roslyn Gentle) away.

And with Kristen bringing somebody back with her, I initially wondered if it might be Sophia Choi (Rachel Boyd) only because she’s been name dropped a lot lately with Holly Jonas (Ashley Puzemis) and this new guy Mason Whitfield (Brandon Butler). But as far as Kristen knows, Sophia is dead.

Dead DiMera Resurrected   on DOOL

And after Kristen clocked her in the head with a rock, I just doubt Sophia would hang out with her. I have a feeling that we’re going to see Kristen’s big return during November sweeps, which kicks off the last week of October on the 29th. And yeah, Kristen might bring back a dead DiMera with her, or one who’s presumed dead, but she found alive. Or it could be somebody alive but just not seen yet.

So aside from Sophia, the first person that sprung to my mind is Dominic Marino. We know he’s got Stefano DiMera‘s (Joseph Mascolo) ring on his finger and Rita’s loyalty and Dominic bought the Kiriakis mansion and he had Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti) try to make sure Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier) didn’t win at the poker table and that way Philip couldn’t save the mansion. And of course Xander Cook (Paul Telfer) didn’t get the text and went ahead and signed the papers. But Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) and Philip gambled big at the roulette wheel and hopefully they’re still going to be able to save Titan.

We know Dominic’s still in Italy and Kristen might wind up there while she’s on the run. Dominic may introduce himself to Kristen, the sister he’s never met. By the end of this week, Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) gets Dominic’s birth certificate from Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) and Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso). And it shows Dominic is Stefano’s son. And it looks like he is also going to be Marlena Evans‘s (Deidre Hall) son, which is truly terrible.

Days of our Lives: Kristen Targets EJ

So, I know Kristen would love to see EJ squirm. Dominic may know from Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney) that Kristen and EJ are at odds. While we expect Dominic in Salem soon, November Sweeps makes a lot of sense for his big debut. Given how much Kristen hates EJ right now, there’s no telling what she might do. And I could totally see Kristen making an alliance with Dominic and embracing him as Stefano’s true heir.

And that would absolutely infuriate EJ. But another person Kristen might bring back with her is her nephew Dmitri von Leuschner DiMera (Peter Porte) because he still wants to prove that EJ and Gwen Rizczech (Emily O’Brien) were the ones who kidnapped him and held him captive in Alamania. So, Dmitri may offer Kristen protection from EJ because he’s got all his ISA double agent skills, and he’s ruthless.

Kristen Helps Dimitri on Days

Dmitri may ask for Kristen’s help proving what EJ and Gwen did in exchange for keeping her safe. And since Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) and Javi Hernandez (Jacob Martinez) are finally reuniting, it would be terrible timing for Kristen to show back up with Leo’s hunky ex, Dmitri. I think Kristen would make an alliance with absolutely anybody if it would save her from EJ’s wrath. So, there’s also the chance that Kristen brings back her brother Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) with her to Salem.

That wouldn’t be shocking though. But that being said, Kristen has sought Tony out countless times when she’s making a power grab or if she needs backup against the rest of the family. Kristen and Tony could return and take sides in the Dominic versus EJ war that I feel is coming soon. Recently, Sydney DiMera (Sydney Malakeh) mentioned that she saw Tony during fashion week in Milan. The writers often drop little foreshadowing hints.

Kristen Laying Low on DOOL

So, I always pay attention to the offscreen characters that are mentioned. So, Kristen is hiding out over in Italy. She might even be staying with Tony and Anna DiMera (Leann Hunley), hiding out from EJ. On the weird flip side, Kristen may bring back somebody who was presumed dead. Now, we know her brother Peter Blake (Dan Gauthier), who’s an adopted DiMera, died after the Crypt crew kidnappings. Dr. Wilhelm Rolf (Richard Wharton) snuck into his room and injected Peter and then he flatlined and obviously it looks like Dr. Rolf staged Peter’s death and he probably stuck him in a cryo-pod. That seems like something Dr. Rolf would do on Days of our Lives.

And if you recall, Peter was furious at Kristen for turning against him during the kidnappings. And it was Kristen’s actions that led to Peter being impaled on one of Stefano’s loose bones, and that made him so sick. But before all of that, Kristen and Peter had been really close. So, if Kristen finds out Peter’s in a cryo-pod, she may have Dr. Rolf resurrect her biological brother and hand him over. And then Kristen may bring Peter back to Salem with her for help in taking down EJ. Peter’s insane, but so is Kristen. I mean, so is their mom, Rachel Blake. Hopefully, it’s not Peter.

Days of our Lives: Abigail Back from the Dead

Now, there is another dead DiMera that Kristen might find while she’s on the run. That wouldn’t be quite so scary, but it would be shocking. We’ve all been waiting to find out if Abigail Deveraux DiMera (AnnaLynne McCord) is really dead or alive. Her name was dropped again recently when Chad DiMera (Connor Floyd) and Belle Black (Martha Madison) were talking about Cat Greene‘s (AnnaLynne McCord) fakery. If you remember when Chad and Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) had Abigail’s grave exhumed, there were no remains inside.

That was done partly to help Cat carry out her subterfuge that Clyde Weston (James Read) was making her do. And if you remember, Cat’s brother Mark Greene (Jonah Robinson) faked the DNA test. But since then, Abigail’s remains have never been found. And on Days of Our Lives, that means that person is likely not dead. It is the perfect time for Abigail to come back since Chad is falling for Belle and Cat’s no longer in his life. So, it could be that Kristen finds Abigail while she’s on the run, maybe hidden somewhere by hillbilly Clyde, who as far as we know is still in a coma.

Sophia Returns to Days

And if Kristen returned to Salem with Abigail and reunited her with Chad, that means Chad would probably side with Kristen in a family battle with EJ. It feels like they’ve been hinting around about Abigail’s return for a while. So maybe that’ll manifest.

And while Kristen did seem to have murdered Sophia, the fact that her body was never found is a red flag. So yes, Sophia might return at some point. I don’t think Kristen would be the one to bring her back unless it was to torment EJ’s ex-stepdaughter, Holly. I feel like Sophia is a long shot for the person to come back with Kristen. I’m leaning towards Kristen showing up in town with Dominic because that would be the biggest slap in EJ’s face.

It would be kind of interesting if Kristen and Dominic set up an alternate DiMera family base over at the former Kiriakis mansion. You know, DiMera 2.0. And then they start pulling other DiMeras over to their side. I won’t call it the dark side because EJ is also dark. It feels like they’re going to be two DiMera dark sides and Kristen would definitely be on the darker side of those two. And I think that lands with Dominic. So maybe those two come to town together, which would be truly terrifying.

It’s a precious enough rarity to find a book that’s genuinely great, but to find one that’s downright perfect? That’s the sort of thing that tells you that the pages in your hand are truly special. But while many of history’s greatest literary masterpieces are so dense that they make re-reads daunting, there are others that, for one reason or another, make the idea of re-visiting their world and characters immediately irresistible.

From mind-bending surrealist masterpieces like I’m Thinking of Ending Things to cornerstones of postmodern literature like If on a winter’s night a traveler, these are books that aren’t just re-readable: They make you want to start over right after you get to the final period of the story. Whether it’s because of plot twists, mind-twisting elements, or simply just a tremendous level of quality, they’re the sort of novels that you’ve only ever fully experienced if you’ve read them twice.

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‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ (2016)

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Canadian literature has offered plenty of masters and plenty of masterpieces over the years, and recently Iain Reid gave us his remarkable debut novel, the psychological horror thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things. It follows a young woman who has many doubts about her relationship with her boyfriend, and is specifically structured as a sort of psychological puzzle box that feels like exploring the fractured psyche of a fascinating protagonist.

Upon publication, most critics hailed I’m Thinking of Ending Things as one of the boldest, most creative, and most philosophically dense thrillers that bookstore shelves had seen in years—but in spite of that density and its undeniably bleak tone, it nevertheless makes an instant re-read irresistibly tempting. As it slowly moves and then dramatically careens toward its ending, the book keeps recontextualizing itself in all sorts of engrossing ways. By the time it’s all over, you practically need a re-visit in order to properly understand everything you’ve just experienced.

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‘Piranesi’ (2020)

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People who love books that are structured like puzzle boxes ought to consider Susanna Clarke‘s Piranesi a must-read. After Clarke wrote her Hugo-winning debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, she suffered almost two decades’ worth of a severe, debilitating case of chronic fatigue syndrome. Powering through her illness, she finally put Piranesi out into the world. Not only was the result worth it: It’s one of the best fantasy books published since 2020.

Structured like a journal and following a gentle man living in a seemingly infinite building known as the House, it’s such a powerful thematic exploration of memory and identity that its enrapturing emotional atmosphere alone makes it worth a re-read. Add to that some of the most beautifully dreamlike world-building and some of the most memorable prose that the fantasy genre has seen in some time, and you get a book that’s bound to be remembered as a 2020s classic a couple of decades from now.

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‘Fight Club’ (1996)

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Is the book better or is David Fincher‘s iconic film adaptation better? It doesn’t really matter, since the fact of it is that Chuck Palahniuk‘s satirical novel Fight Club is among the greatest American novels of the ’90s. It was Palahniuk’s debut novel, and it’s about an unnamed insomniac protagonist who finds relief in a series of support groups, where he eventually meets a mysterious man with whom he establishes an underground fighting club.

What at first starts reading as a thrilling story about a weak-willed man and a charismatic nihilist gradually starts revealing itself to be something far more sinister, and the book’s iconic twist completely flips everything that came before on its head. Even knowing the reveal beforehand, re-reading Fight Club becomes immediately enticing upon finishing it, all thanks to the engrossing character writing and Palahniuk’s punchy, transgressive writing style.

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‘Annihilation’ (2014)

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Written by American author and critic Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation is the first book of the Southern Reach series, and it’s about a team of women sent into a government-managed, deserted location called Area X to study and survey the land. Winner of the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel, this cosmic horror sci-fi gem is an absolute page turner whose 208 pages feel even shorter.

What makes Annihilation so deeply re-readable is a big part of what makes it so special, and it’s not just the dreamlike atmosphere and fast-moving pace of VanderMeer’s writing. Where many instantly re-readable novels tend to rely on a big twist that shifts the meaning of the whole story, Annihilation‘s re-readability instead comes from how, on a second visit, you start to gradually notice the exact moments the influence of Area X alters the narrator’s perceptions and memories. For how brilliantly written these mysteries are, this is easily one of the best American books of the last 15 years.

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‘The Secret History’ (1992)

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The first novel written by Donna Tartt, The Secret History has aged beautifully as one of the most acclaimed English-language fiction books of the ’90s. A cornerstone of the campus novel and a pioneer of the dark academia genre, it’s one of those books that are real page-turners from start to finish, a fresh twist on the tropes of the murder mystery genre which has only gotten better with age.

What makes Secret History so unique and so instantly re-readable is the fact that Tartt structured it as a sort of inverted whodunnit—a whydunnit, if you will. We open by knowing exactly who died and exactly who killed him, and by granting the reader the logistical answers to the crime right off the bat, Tartt makes the whole mystery about why this could have possibly happened. It’s a delectably genius creative decision that makes re-visits of The Secret History endlessly rewarding.

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‘If on a winter’s night a traveller’ (1979)

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Postmodernism was born in the Western world right after World War II, rejecting the dogmas of modernism and the Enlightenment as a result of post-war disillusionment. From this movement came several of the greatest masters of 20th century literature, which includes Italian writer Italo Calvino. His If on a winter’s night a traveller is one of the best books of the 1970s, and is about an unnamed Reader who buys a new book and discovers that a printing error cuts the story short and repeats the first chapter.

This genius piece of masterful metafiction is pretty much entirely and purposely designed specifically to be re-read, since it’s a book that’s overtly about the physical and psychological act of reading. The book’s final sentence loops directly back to complete the structure of page one, and as such, no reading of If on a winter’s night a traveller could ever be comprehensive without at least two read-throughs. The best part? This is one of those postmodern classics that feel not at all like a chore, but like a proper delight to experience.

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‘Peace’ (1975)

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Gene Wolfe was one of the most respected and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of modern times, perhaps best known for his magnum opus, the tetralogy The Book of the New Sun. Since that science fantasy epic is such a perfect masterpiece, it often overshadows the rest of Wolfe’s masterpieces—which definitely includes Peace, a ghost story about a man from a small Midwestern town who narrates various memories from different parts of his life.

Neil Gaiman once famously called Peace “a gentle Midwestern memoir the first time you read it, and a horror novel the second time.” Instead of feeding you the big twist that makes the novel instantly re-readable, Wolfe forces you to do the detective work yourself, finding the contextual clues that reveal you’ve been reading a ghost tale all along. As such, it’s impossible to finish reading Peace and not want to pick it back up for another go instantly.

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‘Gone Girl’ (2012)

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Gillian Flynn‘s Gone Girl, one of those mystery book masterpieces that became the blueprint for the genre going forward, altogether revolutionized the domestic thriller genre by shattering its usual tropes. It’s a psychological thriller about a husband who becomes the prime suspect of his wife’s mysterious disappearance. The suspense then comes from wondering whether the husband actually is or isn’t behind the disappearance, and it makes for one of the most riveting reading experiences that any thriller from this century has had to offer.

You don’t have to wait too long to find out what’s really going on, and that earth-shattering midpoint twist not only makes your recollection of everything you’ve read up to that point collapse into itself, but also makes a re-read pretty much mandatory. On a re-read, Gone Girl‘s thought-provoking themes and intricately-plotted story become even more worthy of admiration.

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‘The Sound and the Fury’ (1929)

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William Faulkner was one of the definitive architects of early 20th-century American literature, a radically revolutionary writer who unsurprisingly won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. That prize would have most likely never come, however, were it not for how unprecedentedly groundbreaking the modernist Southern Gothic masterpiece The Sound and the Fury was. Written quite experimentally as a sort of stream of consciousness, it’s about the collapse and moral decay of a once-aristocratic family in Mississippi.

Though it wasn’t commercially successful, the book started growing in popularity after the publishing of Faulkner’s 1931 novel Sanctuary. Today, it’s widely regarded as one of the top contenders for the title of The Great American Novel. It’s one of those books that may feel like a true test of patience on one’s first read-through, but as Faulkner gradually starts to make everything feel clearer as the novel goes on, a second read-through immediately becomes a must.

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‘Pedro Páramo’ (1955)

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Between the 1960s and 1970s, Latin America became the epicenter of world literature, and Mexican writer Juan Rulfo was one of this cultural wave’s most important writers. He was far and away one of the most critical and foundational voices in the history of modern magical realism, largely thanks to what’s universally recognized not just as his magnum opus, but at times even referred to as the greatest Mexican book of all time: Pedro Páramo, about a man who travels to a desolate ghost town to fulfill the promise he made to his dying mother: that he’d find his estranged father and demand what he is owed.

Everything that ensues from that fascinating premise makes Pedro Páramo one of the best book masterpieces of the 20th century. Rather than a linear story, it’s a remarkably challenging collection of echoes that doesn’t quite become entirely clear even after one’s nth reading—and that impenetrability is an essential part of the book’s timeless charm. It may sound cheesy, but Pedro Páramo is a book to be experienced, not understood. Decoding the many nuances of the story of the town of Comala is something that takes several re-visits.

The latest season of Ryan Murphy‘s American Horror Story kicked off by playfully mocking Taylor Swift‘s fans.

During the season 13 premiere on Thursday, September 24, Madelaine Petsch took on the role of a fictional Swiftie whose boyfriend, Ben (Joey Pollari), has triskaidekaphobia — a.k.a the fear of the number 13. (At this point, the whole world knows 13 is the singer’s lucky number.)

“Are you not a Taylor fan? You lied to me? You’re not a Swiftie?” Kira asked Ben in a scene from Thursday’s episode. “I have 13 of my best girl friends going on this trip and I told them, ‘[He’s] the greatest. You are going to meet him and fall in love with him.’ And what am I going to tell them now?”

Ben assured Kira that he “really” likes Swift — with Evermore being his favorite album. Elsewhere in the episode, Kira reunited with her other Swiftie friends, but their flight had issues and they ended up in a plane crash.

Related: ‘American Horror Story’ Guest Stars You Already Forgot About

While it’s not hard to remember recurring favorites on American Horror Story like Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Jessica Lange, the same can’t be said for one season — or even one episode — guest stars, such as Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan and Naomi Campbell. Lena Dunham, for example, starred in one episode of Cult […]

While he may have poked fun at Swift’s fan base, Murphy, 60, has previously spoken about his dream of working with the Grammy winner.

“I’ve talked to Taylor’s people about various things through the years, and all I will say is that I think she’s great and if she ever has time to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “I think she’s one of the greats.”

Murphy — who cast Swift’s now-husband, Travis Kelce, in his show Grotesquerie — recalled being “so shy” about bringing up Swift, 36, while on set.

“But he’s very sweet about it and respectful,” he added of the tight end. “They are a pop-culture phenomenon. It’s a very interesting dynamic, the way they’ve captured the imagination of the world.”

Kelce, 36, made his TV debut playing an orderly at a hospital in Murphy’s FX series.

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Related: ‘American Horror Story’ Cast Guide: Who’s Been on Which Season?

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“[It was] not necessarily that it wasn’t for me. I was part of a really good cast. I think I got a lot of help and a lot of pointers from them,” the athlete said on a July 2025 episode of the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast. “So they helped make me feel comfortable in the moment.”

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Kelce admitted “preparation” was his biggest issue, adding, “I’m so prepared for an NFL game. I get an entire week to figure out a scheme of how I’m going to attack somebody and how I’m going to, like, handle certain specific situations. When you go into acting, I just don’t feel as prepared.”

While filming Murphy’s horror show, Kelce found himself struggling to adjust to life on set.

“I don’t know that professionalism before the cameras are on. I just hadn’t found that yet. I’m just going over the lines and I thought I could work something out,” he continued. “How many times am I going to read this same line and think that. You know what I mean? I gotta find the professional [in me].”

Blockbuster movies have been a huge factor in how Hollywood functions. While the ‘90s served as a huge turning point in the expectations of blockbusters, the turn of the century took the baton and went even harder and faster. The 2000s played host to an assortment of incredible blockbusters, but there are only 10 titles that truly represent the decade.

From franchise-starting hits to game-changing cinematic experiences, these movies are how we fondly remember the turn of the century. Though there are many films that fall into the honorable mention category, these 10 tend to remain top of mind as pop culture-influencing masterpieces. How many did you see at the cinema, and moreover, how many did you own on DVD?

‘Avatar’ (2009)

Image via 20th Century Studios

James Cameron has never been a stranger to big-budget blockbusters, and Avatar was proof that the visionary still had the magical cinematic gift. The film follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed former Marine who joins a human mission to the alien moon of Pandora and fights to protect its native inhabitants, the Na’vi. Coming at the very end of the decade, Avatar served as the ultimate culmination of 2000s CGI advancement and the peak of the modern theatrical monoculture.

Avatar helped shift filmmaking in a new direction as virtual environments, 3D shooting, and an aggressive push into global markets became the new Hollywood frontier. The virtual camera system and facial-capture head rigs allowed for unprecedented emotional nuance in entirely digital characters. It may have borrowed common themes and storylines for a familiar tale, but the film is beloved for its revolutionary visual technology. At a time when major franchises were built around recognizable IP, Avatar proved original concepts could still prevail.

‘Finding Nemo’ (2003)

Image via Pixar Animation Studios

Though set underwater, Finding Nemo is an emotionally sound, resonant story about the anxiety of an overprotective parent. Produced by Pixar and released by Disney, it brought a new kind of adventure under the sea. The story follows an overprotective clownfish named Marlin (Albert Brooks) as he is joined by a forgetful regal blue tang named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) to find his missing son, Nemo (Alexander Gould).

A massive global success with an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature— the first for Pixar—Finding Nemo brilliantly blends deep emotional themes, groundbreaking underwater animation, and a funny, fast-paced adventure that appeals to both children and adults. With iconic quotable lines that turned into profound mantras, Finding Nemo was bigger than just an animated classic. It set a new visual benchmark for 3D computer graphics, proving that digital animation could bring us anywhere our imagination could dream up.

‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (2001)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Very few franchises had quite a stronghold on pop culture like the Wizarding World. Lifted straight from the page, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone follows young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who learns he is a famous wizard and embarks on a whirlwind first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, an English boarding school for magic. Alongside his new friends Ron Weasley (Emma Watson) and Hermione Granger (Rupert Grint), they uncover a plot involving the hidden Sorcerer’s Stone.

With a stellar ensemble of British faithfuls, a strong vision by Chris Columbus, and a whimsical score by John Williams, everything that could make this film brilliant was present. At the time, it finished as the highest-grossing film of 2001 and the second-highest-grossing movie in history at the time, behind Titanic, solidifying the viability of multi-film, decade-spanning adaptations. Growing up alongside the core cast, the franchise remains a special place in our hearts.

‘Iron Man’ (2008)

Image via Marvel Studios

The truth of the matter is, had Iron Man not been a massive success, the Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn’t be what it is today. Chronicling the origin story of the titular character, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) becomes Iron Man after he is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan and builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. With a fresh origin story led by a career-defining performance, Iron Man was perfect in every way.

At a time when gizmos and gadgets like the iPhone were coming into play, Iron Man was a technically sleek film that pristinely captured the moment, focusing on realistic tech, gritty workshop sequences, and a balanced yet humorous tone. Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man tapped into a post-9/11 mindset by allowing a snarky hero to take the edge off reality, directly tackling American military intervention, war profiteering, and the fear of high-tech weapons falling into the hands of insurgent groups like the Ten Rings. When he proudly revealed, “I am Iron Man,” the entire superhero game was changed.​​​

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ (2006)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

While the first film set up the franchise, it’s the sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, that truly took off. The swashbuckler adventure film directed by Gore Verbinski picks up as Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) learns that his soul belongs to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), the terrifying ruler of the ocean depths who captains the ghost ship Flying Dutchman. Hoping to escape his blood oath, Jack and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) search for the mystical chest that holds Davy Jones’s beating heart as they dodge the Kraken.

The movie scaled up practical location shooting while enhancing its supernatural elements. The sequences with the Kraken defined the decade, and the photorealistic CGI creation of Davy Jones won a richly deserved Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Depp continued to elevate his eccentric character, ensuring he wasn’t just a one-hit wonder, and the entire cast also lived up to the standard. Though it did end on a cliffhanger, its mammoth success ensured audiences would be back for the next iteration.​

‘Spider-Man’ (2002)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

After X-Men proved that audiences beyond the fandom were eager for Marvel on the big screen, Spider-Man kept the ball rolling. Serving as the first origin story, the Sam Raimi-directed superhero flick follows high school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) who miraculously gains spider-like superpowers after being bitten by a genetically modified spider during a school field trip. With great power comes great responsibility, and Peter vows to fight crime as the masked hero, Spider-Man.

Dominating pop culture, Spider-Man showcased how to achieve unprecedented, mainstream mega-blockbuster status. At first, the film delivered a self-contained emotional arc focused on Peter Parker’s coming-of-age journey. By keeping the central focus on the core story, it allowed for daring, breathtaking action sequences, iconic moments, and a driving force that reminded us why we adore the neighborhood-friendly Spider-Man. Casting is key, and Raimi and company nailed it. Maguire and Dafoe were perfect foils, and Kirsten Dunst’s sincerity as Mary Jane Watson and James Franco’s grit were the perfect colors to allow the comic book works to come alive.

‘Star Wars: Episode III— Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)

Image via Lucasfilm

Star Wars: Episode III— Revenge of the Sith proved that new Star Wars stories were well worth it. The final chapter in this trilogy depicts the tragic fall of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the dark side of the Force and the fall of the Galactic Republic. Establishing the action for the Skywalker Saga, Revenge of the Sith merged cutting-edge filmmaking, a massive pre-release internet culture, and dark, timely political themes into a defining cultural moment.

In a time before social media dominated our lives, the film thrived from word of mouth via trailer leaks, message board chatter, and the brilliant tie-in to video games and the Clone Wars series. Despite the mixed reactions from the previous films, audiences showed up finishing as the highest-grossing domestic release of 2005. Revenge of the Sith remains an integral product in the greater Star Wars universe as it gave a high-stakes payoff that had been anticipated for decades. With epic battles, stunning cinema technology, and a darker story, Revenge of the Sith ended properly.

‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

Image via Warner Bros.

Hyperbole or not, The Dark Knight reshaped Hollywood forever. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight transcends the traditional superhero genre to function as a gritty, intelligent crime thriller. It follows Batman (Christian Bale), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as they try to dismantle Gotham City’s organized crime, only to face an anarchistic criminal mastermind named the Joker (Heath Ledger).

Elevating a standard comic book story into a gritty, complex story, The Dark Knight showcased how audiences sought out more psychological and philosophical themes alongside the bangs and booms, becoming the benchmark for superhero flicks. Its influence can still be felt today. By exploring post-9/11 themes and anxieties, The Dark Knight politically resonated, masterfully encapsulating the decade’s fears that fighting chaos only breeds more chaotic retaliation. The Dark Knight was a story about the philosophical battle for the soul of a city, enhanced by Ledger’s legendary performance.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

Image via New Line Cinema

Sometimes, you just have to let the awards do the talking. The greatest chapter in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a masterclass in state-of-the-art practical effects, sweeping emotional resonance, and a long-game adaptation. Directed by Peter Jackson, the third part wraps up the war for Middle-earth as Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) travel to Mordor to destroy the ring as Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is crowned King of Gondor.

A thrilling and satisfying payoff that concluded one of the greatest trilogies in cinema history, The Return of the King grossed over $1 billion globally and walked away with a clean sweep at the Oscars. Jackson did not skimp on the action, with the Siege of Gondor and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields setting the bar high for the scale of action. But for those who went on the journey for emotional reasons, the closure was divine. A 3.5-hour epic that became a holiday event that became a communal experience, it served as the perfect victory lap and goalpost for future fantasy epics.

‘Transformers’ (2007)

Image via Paramount Pictures

It was inevitable that a Transformers film would happen, but with Michael Bay at the helm, the Hasbro toys were going to be brought to life properly. The story follows Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) as he gets caught in an ancient war between the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the Decepticons, led by Megatron, over the life-giving artifact, the AllSpark. A high-stakes, epic action popcorn flick, Transformers perfected the era’s signature blend of hyper-saturated military realism, cutting-edge cinema technology, and unrelenting cinematic spectacle.

Transformers is complete “Bayhem,” with frenetic editing, sweeping 360-spins, and a plethora of hero shots. Bay established an action-packed vocabulary that made the film more than just a visual wonder. Watching the iconic characters like Optimus Prime come to life was worth the watch, perfecting the toy-to-movie blueprint that is still used today.

Brandi Glanville is addressing comments about how she looked during her brief stint on Special Forces.

“I know I look scarier than a corpse,” Glanville, 53, wrote via X on Thursday, September 24. “I’ve been trying to tell doctors for three years if something’s wrong with me and I finally got to somewhat of an answer but it’s been a humbling journey.”

Glanville was cast on season 5 of the hit Fox competition series, which premiered on Thursday. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum was the first to withdraw from the competition after a challenge led to a medical emergency.

“I over-rotated. I know it felt like my head hit the water, and it was so hard,” she exclusively told Us of landing in the ocean after jumping out of a helicopter. “It was like immediately I was dizzy and I thought my whole body was in the water. Then my body hits the water after that. It was just like being run over by a truck.”

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Brandi Glanville has had a difficult two years due dealing with a mysterious medical condition that has caused facial disfigurement. In July 2024, Glanville first opened up about her health issues, noting that she wanted to sue Bravo because of it. “This stress has ruined my health. I have uncontrollable stress induced angio-edema I haven’t […]

After Glanville hit the water, she wasn’t able to swim back to shore quick enough.

“It was crazy, and then I came up and I’m trying to swim. My whole body is in pain,” she continued. “My right arm is the only thing I can use, and I have all the water kicking up from the jet skis. So I’m drinking the water and I’m thinking, ‘Parasites!’ That’s all I can think about. Like, what is happening in my mouth?”

The stunt caused Glanville to experience a health scare. “Everyone kept touching me. And even just touching my back, it hurt,” she added. “I was spinning. I couldn’t hear out of my left ear immediately. I was about to throw up, but then the camera guy was in my face, and I’m like, ‘You’re not getting this from me.’ So I sat down, and they’re like, ‘Stand up!’ I’m like, ‘I cannot stand up. I will pass out and hit my head.’”

Glanville, who has been dealing with an unknown health condition for the past several years, wasn’t thrilled to be the first to leave Special Forces.

“Of course I’m thinking all these crazy things, but everyone seemed to go through it really easily,” she noted. “Like, I was the second one to do it, and I’m watching all these girls go do it, and I’m like, ‘Am I just a disaster? Why can’t I do it like everyone else?’”

The former Bravo star said she is on the mend now, but she still has some side effects from her time on Special Forces.

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“It’s hard to turn [my arm]. Then my left boob is under my armpit, so that’s fun. And you’d have to fix that. But I hit the water really hard,” she told Us. “We had to take boats because of my ear to the hospital, so we took three separate boats. We got to the hospital, and you cannot fly. I had a concussion and a perforated eardrum and all of these things. I had the worst headache where it just [didn’t] go away.”

She concluded: “I think that there are still just moments where I’m feeling like I’m an old lady to do that. We don’t recover like we used to. I mean, if I was 20, I really would have liked to dive and swim out of there.”

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5 airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.