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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• 
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  T. P. McKenna

  Maj. John Scott

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General Hospital has Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) still locked in thanks to his awful wife Willow Tait Cain (Katelyn MacMullen). But on a recent podcast, actor Cameron Mathison revealed some exciting new information about when Drew is going to recover, when he’s going to be back on his feet, and how much the actor really dislikes filming in that wheelchair, along with some spicy personal stuff.

We’ve got info on what Cameron Mathison confirmed about Drew’s recovering, including when we’ll see him up and about and what Cameron found humiliating about this storyline.

Drew Has Been Locked In For Four Months on General Hospital

All right. So, as you know, four months ago, on January 21st of this year, right after Willow was acquitted in her criminal trial and found not guilty of shooting Drew, we saw Wicked Willow did another bad thing. They had barely been home a minute when Willow attacked Drew and stabbed him with a syringe. So, that was Willow giving Drew the initial dose that mimicked a stroke.

And since then, Sidwell’s been providing Willow with that serum that keeps Drew locked in, unable to move or speak or do anything for himself. Basically, Willow’s hubby can only blink. And of course, Drew’s been blinking his butt off to anybody that gets close. He tried it with Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn). It was about a month into Drew’s confinement trying to blink a distress signal. Alexis told Willow, Drew was trying to communicate. And after Alexis told her Willow got hostile with her husband and then gave him another injection.

Michael Suspicious on GH

So, then at the beginning of April, Drew was increasingly desperate and when his nemesis Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) stopped by, Drew was blinking at him too. Now Michael noticed, but unfortunately he mentioned it to Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) who played it off as something Drew just did randomly.

So, Michael left without raising an alarm, although he did think that things were kind of off and found it a little strange. But Drew’s best chance so far was with Elizabeth Webber. About a month ago, she was at the house to see Drew and he managed to blink SOS and Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) got excited and told Nina, who alerted Willow to shut it down. So, when she talked to Liz, she refused to let Drew have any communication tools. And of course, Liz thought that was strange. But Willow insisted that he was frustrated and she doesn’t want to make Drew feel hopeless. It was bizarre, but it worked and Liz dropped it. But that was the closest that Drew has ever gotten to getting some help.

Things Take a Turn on General Hospital

And now things are shifting because Nina accidentally injected his drug into Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). And of course that meant that Drew missed a dose and his finger started twitching. He got a hold of the phone. He was trying to call 911, but Willow walked in and caught him.

She shut it down and drugged him yet again. But the Jack incident is what should open the door to getting Drew back on his feet because Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) already questioning how two seemingly healthy men both happen to have strokes in Willow’s living room. Also, this past week, Nina injected the drug into Brennan’s IV to keep him locked in so she and Willow have more time to plot exactly how to get them out of this mess.

Cameron Mathison Revealed When Drew Gets Out of the Wheelchair on GH

All right, that’s where we are right now as of Friday. So Cameron Mathison just spilled some tea on when this long, long paralysis story is finally going to end. He was on a podcast recently and he has some funny things to say and some spoilery things to say about Drew’s predicament and recovery and the way this all filmed.

So, the first thing that I thought was funny was Cameron mentioned he was filming one of the wheelchair scenes and he’d been off the set for a week and he came back to shoot Drew scenes, but he was really tan. Now, bear in mind his character is in a wheelchair and stuck inside the house. So, how did he get tan? Right.

And Cameron said he suggested that the writers could mention that somebody left Drew on the back porch and just forgot him out in the sun for a while. And Cameron did say the makeup artists were trying to tone it down a little bit, but he was still super tan.

General Hospital: Cameron Mathison is So Over the Wheelchair

He also talked about being annoyed at Drew being stuck in the wheelchair for so long. So, Cameron had said he had been wanting a meeting with the producers to find out what was going to go on with Drew, when this was going to be done. And Cameron said it’s been five months of him just sitting and blinking as we have all seen. He also griped about the wheelchair they have for Drew.

He said it’s like something from the 1940s. And Cameron Mathison said it’s so bad. He wanted to buy the show a new wheelchair because the one they have Drew in is tiny. And he said that it feels like he is just busting out of it every time they have him there. Maybe that’s why he looks so uncomfortable.

So Cameron said that a few weeks of filming the Drew scenes where he was just sitting doing nothing. He said he was thinking, “Okay, you know, this is pretty easy for work.” And then six weeks later, Cameron said by then he was just kind of over it. And after five months of Drew just sitting and sitting, he said that at that point he was just starting to feel a little humiliated.

Cameron Gets Answers from General Hospital Producers

And Cameron also said that fans ask him all the time, “When will Drew be out of the chair?” Cameron also said he got that meeting he wanted with producers and got the answers he wanted and he revealed they are about to shoot scenes where Drew finally gets out of the wheelchair. Cameron Mathison said those scenes will tape very soon and they’ll be airing in about a month to six weeks.

So, it sounds like he’s about to be taping the Drew recovery ASAP. And that’s good because Cameron’s tired of sitting and blinking. I think fans are tired of seeing Drew do that, too. And Cameron mentioned that, you know, he knew that he was probably on the back burner as Drew so that General Hospital could emphasize other storylines. He was nice about it.

Cameron Mathison Explained Why He’s So Tan

And also of interest, Cameron explained the reason he’s so tan. He takes this peptide injection called Melanotan 2. Apparently, it also helps build muscle, which we know Drew’s got lots of. And Cameron also talked about how it increases your sexual desire, but Cameron said he doesn’t take it all the time, and when he does, he takes a very small dose. And the Drew actor also shared that he has always had a high sex drive. So, kind of a little bit of TMI on that.

So, when we see Drew looking really tan, I guess we know Cameron’s also feeling pretty lusty, which is kind of weird information to have. There are, you know, all sorts of injectables these days for all sorts of things. Who knew you could take a shot and get tan? Also, the friend of Cameron Mathison’s who was hosting the podcast said that the actor has a stalker and then the Drew actor said he really can’t talk about it because he had to take a police report out and everything. He said he has a PI working on it and a lawyer. So, it’s a big deal.

General Hospital: Cameron Mathison Struggles with the Dating Scene

So, when Cameron talked in another interview I saw recently about just it’s rough dating after divorce, he mentioned that he’d gotten rid of all his dating apps. But on this other podcast, now we find out what may be the real reason that he got rid of those apps because it looks like that he met this chick who’s allegedly stalking him on a dating app. So, this was a really interesting podcast.

Drew Should be Mobile by July Sweeps on GH

In the end, Drew should be out of that chair sounds like for July sweeps. That kicks off on Thursday, June 25th, which is about five weeks from now. And Cameron Mathison said Drew’s recovery should air in like four to six weeks. So, that’s definitely hitting in July sweeps.

The question is, who is going to help him? I’m thinking that Jack’s locked in syndrome is what leads somebody to do some poking around and figure out that Drew needs help. Our leaker said Carly may be the one to figure out what’s wrong and helps him. That would certainly be an interesting choice, but Cameron didn’t give any info on how Drew gets out of the chair or who helps him, just the timing of when it happens.

Roommates, what was supposed to be a cute, emotional kindergarten graduation in Ohio turned into something nobody expected when a celebration spiraled into a brawl over seating, leading to Jessica Anderson’s arrest and another person’s injury.

RELATED: Family Of Caleb Wilson Walks Across Southern University Stage In Emotional Graduation Tribute After Hazing Death (VIDEO)

Seating Dispute Turns Violent At Ohio Graduation

According to reports, the incident went down on Thursday morning, May 21, as families arrived for the ceremony. Police say tensions began to build as parents took seats inside the school’s viewing area. Then, disagreements over spacing and placement quickly escalated in front of families and staff. Authorities responded just after 8:45 a.m. after receiving reports of a disturbance involving multiple adults.

Officials transported a 26-year-old to the hospital for treatment after the altercation. Meanwhile, police arrested 28-year-old Jessica Anderson at the scene and charged her with felonious assault. Court documents obtained by local outlets allege Anderson escalated the situation by grabbing a person’s hair. Furthermore, she slammed their head into a chair, an attack that reportedly left the victim needing stitches. Police booked her shortly before noon the same day while they worked to break up the chaotic scene.

Chaotic Video Shows Parents Brawl At Ceremony

Video shared with reporters showed multiple adults pushing, striking, and tumbling over chairs in the packed viewing area while others attempted to intervene and separate those involved. Witnesses described chaos unfolding as families settled in, with the situation quickly going beyond a verbal dispute.

Parent Craig Mays told WTVG the confrontation began when one family rearranged seating and claimed space. And, it triggered frustration from others who felt their view was blocked. He said things escalated from a verbal back-and-forth into physical violence, and claimed someone “sucker punched” him before multiple individuals assaulted him after he hit the ground.

Parent Says Wife Hospitalized After Brawl As School Cancels Ceremony

Mays also said his wife suffered serious injuries in the incident and had to be treated at the emergency room, including staples to her head and injuries to her wrist and knees. He described the moment as heartbreaking, especially on what was supposed to be a milestone day for young children graduating from kindergarten.

Queens of the Apostles School later released a statement thanking the Toledo Police Department for their quick response and confirming that all students were safe. The school went on with the rest of the day as normal, but canceled the graduation ceremony. Officials have not said yet whether they will reschedule it.

RELATED: Say WHAT?! Florida Man Stabbed Grandma 11 Times On Mother’s Day After Refusing To Bring In Groceries

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for For All Mankind Season 5 Episode 9.

With just one episode before the finale, For All Mankind finally delivered the most important moment of Season 5. In “Sons and Daughters,” the long-awaited Baldwin-Stevens reunion finally takes place, as Alex Baldwin (Sean Kaufman) and Avery Jarrett (Ines Asserson) meet in the most unlikely circumstances. As M6 forces storm Happy Valley, the two find themselves on opposing sides without knowing who each other really is, but with a common goal of saving Marcus Haskell (Barrett Carnahan), setting the stage for the Season 5 finale and raising the stakes for both of them.

’For All Mankind’ Season 5 Positions Alex Baldwin and Avery Jarrett on Opposing Sides

This meeting is brilliantly staged in Episode 9, as Alex is on his mission to get medical supplies from Dev Ayesa (Edi Gathegi) at the Helios headquarters, while Avery and Haskell search for Marsies during the storming of Happy Valley. As both of them navigate the bowels of the station, the dark and winding hallways make the perfect setting for them to be both taken out of their element and completely caught up in the tension of the moment.

Season 5 has been setting up their meeting from the start, and has taken the time to show how different these two characters are from each other. Alex is the wunderkid of Happy Valley, reliable, responsible, and loved by all, while Avery is a loose cannon who struggles to fit in anywhere she goes. Alex represents the “good guys” from Happy Valley, while Avery fights for the “bad guys” from Earth who want to keep colonizing it. The twist here is that, in the moment, Alex is the unsteady one, while Avery remains collected. It’s Alex who shoots Haskell, his best friend and the one Marsie among the M6 forces; he does it unknowingly, of course, but still. Avery has the sense not to shoot him back, prioritizing helping her fallen colleague instead of instant retaliation.

Alex and Avery’s Meeting Represents an Important Reunion for ‘For All Mankind’

For All Mankind Season 5 has introduced a roster of great new characters, though Alex and Avery are undoubtedly the most important, representing the series’ generational storytelling. Everything begins with Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) and Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman), who are best friends back in the 1960s, establishing a complex relationship between their families that lasts for decades.

This connection reaches a breaking point in the 1990s, with the death of Danny Stevens (Casey W. Johnson), Gordo’s son and Avery’s biological father, and Jimmy Stevens’ (David Chandler) role in the attack on NASA that kills Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten). The Baldwins go on to continue their glorious history as explorers and settlers on Mars, while the Stevens name falls from grace. Avery herself doesn’t use it anymore, although she is Danny’s daughter through and through.

Now, in 2012, there is no camaraderie between the families anymore, nor forbidden romances, only the damage each clan has inflicted on the other, which now includes Alex shooting Haskell. The reunion also flips For All Mankind‘s generational storyline on its head. Alex’s mistake with Haskell marks a major failure for the Baldwin family after generations of Stevens making messy decisions.

Alex and Avery’s Meeting Sets up Big Personal Stakes in ‘For All Mankind’s Season 5 Finale

Image via Apple TV

For All Mankind Season 5 reaches its end next week, with expectations then turning to the new spin-off, Star City, as well as Season 6, which has already been confirmed to be the show’s last. How Alex and Avery’s dynamic unfolds will likely define the final season, and there couldn’t be a better place for all that to unfold than Helios, under Dev’s watchful eye. The space tycoon has his own interests regarding the Happy Valley-M6 controversy, but he also has stakes in how Alex and Avery relate to each other.

Dev has known the Baldwins since the 1990s and has become a sort of father figure to Alex, providing him with counsel and insight whenever required and giving him his first job at Helios. Their relationship has been strained in recent months, but that didn’t stop Alex from taking Haskell to Helios instead of the med bay when he needed help. While Dev’s arc in Season 5 has been somewhat controversial so far, considering his siding with the M6, his knowledge of both the Baldwin and Stevens families may be the deciding factor that informs the very future of Mars.

In times of turmoil, it’s nice to have an escape, and there’s no better escape than fantasy movies. They whisk us away to far-off lands where good actually triumphs over evil and magic is real. It beats doomscrolling into oblivion, that’s for sure. Even when they turn dark, as many fantasy films do, they can still enthrall us with their enchanting visuals and imaginative storytelling. There is no shortage of fantasy film masterpieces going all the way back through film history, and even limiting a list to the last eighty years leaves us with an embarrassment of riches.

The greatest fantasy films found across the last eight decades come from well-known franchises, major studios, and master filmmakers. They offer a wide swath of the variety found within the genre, from family-friendly animation to dark adult fairytales. There are films of low fantasy made with minimal to no advanced technology and high fantasy blockbusters featuring the most state-of-the-art effects available at the time. There’s more than just one way to get from once upon a time to happily ever after, and these ten fantasy movie masterpieces made in the last eighty years do it the best.

10

‘Mary Poppins’ (1964)

Image via Walt Disney Productions

Whimsical isn’t a word you’d associate with many movies, but it’s absolutely apt when describing the 1964 fantasy musical Mary Poppins. From the earworm songs to the technically impressive combination of animation and live action and Julie Andrews‘ Oscar-winning performance, there’s an overload of whimsy. Though it may be a thoroughly Disneyfied adaptation of the character created by P.L. Travers, who had many issues with the film version of her books, there’s no denying the musical magic of it. It is the epitome of the House of Mouse and its old-fashioned sensibilities and everlasting optimism.

As the titular nanny who floats down out of the sky to care for the unruly Banks children, Andrews is more than just a spoonful of sugar in her many song-and-dance numbers with impeccable vocals and elegant footwork. She provides the perfect balance of no-nonsense authority and cheerful exuberance. There is no Mary Poppins without Andrews, but the film around her is immaculately crafted, too. Shot entirely on soundstages, it has a fantastically heightened design, and the use of the sodium vapor process to allow the actors to believably interact with animated elements looks better than some modern iterations of the effect.

9

‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1991)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

This isn’t just a list designed to glaze Disney, but there’s no denying the impact the company has had on the fantasy genre, and nowhere is that more apparent than in their many classic animated fairytales. From Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to Frozen and Encanto, the studio has delivered magical movie after magical movie, but their fantasy masterpiece is without a doubt the Renaissance-era classic Beauty and the Beast. It brought back the award-winning musical duo of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who delivered more magical numbers alongside the gorgeous animation, the combination of which made the film a modern Disney classic.

Retelling the classic French fairy tale for modern American audiences, the film makes its protagonist, Belle, an independent woman thrust into fantastical circumstances when she’s taken captive by the titular Beast, a prince cursed for his vanity. The Stockholm Syndrome aspects of the plot notwithstanding, the film weaves a wonderfully enchanted tale as old as time. On a technical level, it is still breathtaking to behold, combining hand-drawn animation with CGI for one of the most fluid and lush movies in Disney’s catalog. Beauty and the Beast broke major barriers for animated films, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture that solidified its artistic merit and cemented it as the most crucial film of the Disney Renaissance.

8

‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004)

Image via Warner Bros.

No matter how much author J.K. Rowling tries to tarnish her reputation or how diluted the franchise becomes with needless prequels or reboots, nothing can diminish the monumental success and impact of the Harry Potter franchise in the late ’90s and through the 2000s. For a generation of fantasy fans, Potter was their definitive franchise, as much as Star Wars was for those who came of age in the ’70s and ’80s. It maintained a remarkable level of quality through its eight films, but if there’s one film that reigns supreme above the rest, it’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The third entry in the franchise, Prisoner of Azkaban, marks a significant maturation for both the characters and the filmmaking. Alfonso Cuarón took over directing duties from Chris Columbus, and the result is a much moodier and atmospheric fantasy film that paints in much darker shades than its predecessors. Harry must confront the pangs of puberty alongside the anger he harbors towards Sirius Black, the man who betrayed his parents. The film set a bold new standard for the franchise, with every subsequent sequel failing to recapture the exact dark magic that made it so special. Prisoner of Azkaban is the only masterpiece in the most consequential fantasy film franchise of the 21st century.

7

‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Swashbuckling adventure, sentimental romance, and endless witticisms abound in Rob Reiner’s meta-fantasy masterpiece The Princess Bride. Adapted by William Goldman from his novel, the film has become a quintessential cult classic since its release, thanks to its endlessly quotable dialogue and colorful characters who fill out its story of star-crossed lovers. It walks a tightrope between post-modern satire and traditional themes, which has afforded it a timelessness that not all films of a similar style have maintained.

Through the framing device of Peter Falk telling the story to his grandson, played by Fred Savage, the film has its cake and laughs at it too, subverting genre expectations at every turn. Cary Elwes and Robin Wright lead one of the greatest casts of all time as farmhand turned daring swordsman Westley and his beloved Princess Buttercup, who are kept apart by cruel fate and the machinations of an evil king. Every actor is given a moment to shine, from the wordplay of Wallace Shawn to the swordplay of Mandy Patinkin to the improvised insanity of Billy Crystal. The Princess Bride is possibly the most memorable fantasy film ever made and remains a testament to the talent and warmth of its dear departed director.

6

‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)

Image via RKO Pictures

The ultimate Christmas movie, the ultimate feel-good movie, the ultimate Frank Capra movie. All those superlatives and more have been applied to It’s a Wonderful Life, a film that was initially seen as a failure, but has since become a canonical fantasy classic. Though it was nominated for major Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it received a slightly mixed reception compared to Capra’s prior films and was a box office failure. Eventually, it was saved from obscurity by becoming a holiday staple on television decades later.

As the first post-World War II film for James Stewart, the specter of it hangs over both his performance and the film itself, which starts with Stewart, as small-town banker George Bailey, contemplating suicide. It’s a dark contemporary fairy tale that measures the weight of one man’s soul and the effect he can have on an entire community through his trials and tribulations. George is a good Samaritan, but doing good can come with a cost, as the film shows, but it also shows the riches that one gains from doing good. It’s a wonderful film and a wonderful fantasy.

5

‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ (1972)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Luis Buñuel‘s surreal tale of six friends’ failed attempts to share a meal is both inexplicable and accessible for those unfamiliar with the director’s work. Buñuel was a master surrealist and political satirist, and his films often rejected narrative coherence. In that way, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is conventional in its unconventional approach. It is a masterpiece of absurdity that fluctuates between dreams and reality and a nonsensical comedy of fantastical proportions.

The six bourgeoisie individuals in a constant state of hunger continue to have their meals interrupted by increasingly bizarre and absurd situations, from sexual dalliances to military maneuvers. Everyone will come away with something different to say about the film and its flights of fancy, but there’s no denying Buñuel’s biting, which is plainly stated right in the title. These bougie characters have neither charm nor are they discreet, but they hide behind their societal façade, which masks their hypocrisy and empty identities. It’s a twisted comic fantasy for the quiet anarchist in all of us.

4

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001)

Far from the unusual, The Lord of the Rings is the universal standard for fantasy. J.R.R. Tolkien‘s influential trilogy set the foundation for modern fantasy fiction, and the film adaptations directed by Peter Jackson had a similar effect on the cinematic landscape. The films reinvigorated and reinvented the fantasy epic for the 21st century, using cutting-edge visual effects to bring its magical world to life in a way that had never been seen on the big screen before. The entire trilogy is a masterpiece of high fantasy adventure, and it all started with The Fellowship of the Ring.

There’s an elegance and excitement in how Jackson introduced the densely populated Middle-earth to audiences. Condensing the history and deep mythology of the novels through ethereal narration and an epic battle sequence, The Fellowship of the Ring sets a perfect tone that it maintains throughout, bringing us all along for a ride through the Shire toward Mordor. It’s immersive entertainment that satisfies both those who have never read a word of Tolkien’s text and longtime fans of the series. There have been few fantasy films made since the climax of Jackson’s trilogy that have even come close to its epic scope and scale.

3

‘Princess Mononoke’ (1997)

Image via Studio Ghibli

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential filmmakers to have ever worked in the animation medium. His ability to ground fantastic worlds with emotionally resonant themes and dimensional characters has imbued his work with an immersive and ineffable magical quality unlike almost any other animated film. Since co-founding Studio Ghibli in 1985, the director has gifted audiences with some of the greatest animated films of both the 20th and 21st centuries. From the magical realism of My Neighbor Totoro to the gateway fantasy of Spirited Away, you always know when you’re in a Miyazaki world, and there’s none grander than that in his fantasy epic Princess Mononoke.

Following the young prince Ashitaka, who becomes afflicted with a curse and subsequently drawn into a battle between the natural and developed worlds, Princess Mononoke is a breathtaking work of beauty. The central conflict between the forest gods, along with the titular character, an adopted human daughter of the forest, and the humans who occupy Irontown, is never painted in such broad strokes. Many of the environmentally conscious fantasy and sci-fi films influenced by Princess Mononoke, such as Avatar, simplify their conflicts into binary good and evil terms. Miyazaki doesn’t see the friction between man and nature as something so simple and portrays it with nuance, where extremism only furthers the imbalance between the two warring parties.

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‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Guillermo del Toro is a singular filmmaker whose unique vision has given us some of the most unique and spectacular genre films of the last several decades. His work in the horror genre has been especially uplifting for fans, but his magnum opus is the dark fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth, which itself can be quite horrifying. The film blends the atrocities of the real world with the mysteries of the fantastical as deftly as it does the use of practical and digital effects, delivering a fully realized fairytale of a grim reality. It’s an astonishingly original work from one of the most original directors still working in cinema.

Set in Francoist Spain in 1944, the film follows young Ofelia, played by Ivana Baquero, who becomes enraptured by the fantasy underworld she is brought into as she escapes the harsh violence perpetrated by her sadistic stepfather, an Armed Police Corps officer who leads a campaign of brutality against the Spanish Maquis. A spiritual sequel to del Toro’s horror film The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth represents the perfection of the director’s unique obsessions and his empathy for those who are perceived as monsters. His common collaborator Doug Jones breathes life into dual characters as both Ofelia’s guide into the underworld, the Faun, and the terrifying child-eater Pale Man. Pan’s Labyrinth exists at the nexus of beauty and grotesquerie, giving us a fantasy like no other.

1

‘Ugetsu’ (1953)

Image via Daiei Film

A clear forebearer to Pan’s Labyrinth and the works of so many filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro, Ugetsu is the greatest masterpiece of Japanese filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi, combining a period drama with a ghost story for a truly haunting experience. Adapted from two stories from the collection Ugetsu Monogatari, the film is often credited alongside Akira Kurosawa‘s Rashomon for helping Japanese cinema break through the barrier to Western audiences. As an anti-war film and a supernatural fantasy film, it is lyrical and lingers long after fading thanks to its ethereal visual qualities and potent human drama.

Masayuki Mori is Genjuro, and Eitaro Ozawa is Tobei, brothers-in-law whose separate lusts for fortune and glory, during a time of conflict and war in 16th century Japan, indirectly cause pain and suffering for their wives, Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanaka) and Ohama (Mitsuko Mito). The film does not initially present itself as a ghost story; it subtly entangles its characters with the supernatural in ways that deepen the themes of the film and heighten the tragedy of its characters. Ugetsu is without equal in the fantasy genre, and it is the genre’s unqualified greatest masterpiece of the last eighty years.

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Ugetsu

Release Date

September 7, 1954

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Runtime

96 Minutes

Director

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Kenji Mizoguchi

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There truly aren’t many actors that are more widely regarded than Denzel Washington. Fans flock to his films in droves because he is truly one of the best at what he does.

By James Brizuela
| Published 52 seconds ago

There truly aren’t many actors who are more widely regarded than Denzel Washington. Fans flock to his films in droves because he is truly one of the best at what he does. That seems to be the case right now, as two of his films are currently in the top ten most-streamed movies on Amazon. 2014’s The Equalizer and 2018’s The Equalizer 2 are both in the top ten most-watched in the United States. That film is The Equalizer 2.

The Equalizer was the first film in which Denzel Washington plays a retired military man, Robert McCall. McCall meets a teenage girl being forced into prostitution by the violent Russian mafia. When the girl is in trouble and nearly dies at the hands of her pimp, Slavi, he can’t stand idly by. McCall pays a visit to the man and tries to buy her freedom, but when Slavi refuses, McCall kills him and all his men.

As you’d expect, this act sets the Russian mafia after him. McCall turns full-on vigilante and anti-hero when he begins to kill anyone in his way. After successfully dispatching those involved with hurting this woman, he reveals himself to be The Equalizer, promising to help those who cannot protect themselves.

The Sequel

The Equalizer 2 follows much of the same plot points; McCall is now fully out of retirement and very deep into his vigilante ways, this time serving contracts for a government agency. The government then turns on him, and McCall must stop the agency that once employed him.

The Equalizer 2 has a bigger cast. While relatively unknown at the time, Pedro Pascal joined Denzel Washington as another operative.

Both movies contain brutal deaths and fantastic sequences involving choreographed fight scenes. Both films also saw the reunion of Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua, who famously directed Training Day, which earned Washington the Academy Award for his portrayal of Alonzo.

Reaction To The Equalizer Movies

The Equalizer currently has a pretty low 60% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a much higher 76% audience rating, which goes to show how enjoyable people think the initial film is. Meanwhile, The Equalizer 2 currently holds a 60% audience rating with a 52% critic rating.

Those numbers might not sound ideal, but this is one of the situations where you should watch the film yourself and formulate your own opinion. Think about the Bourne series, but with Denzel Washington leading all the crazy kills.

Big Box Office For The Equalizer

The initial film had a budget of $55 million but achieved high success with a worldwide gross of $192 million. Nearly quadrupling its return is likely why the studio and director Fuqua went ahead with the sequel. The sequel also had near-identical box office numbers. The budget was $66 million, but the film grossed $190 million worldwide.

Kathy Griffin is opening up about a recent health scare after revealing she unexpectedly spent the night in the hospital following complications from a routine medical procedure. The comedian shared the update directly with fans on social media, posting a hospital snap while assuring followers she’s now back home recovering. Kathy Griffin, who has been candid for years about her numerous health battles, used her humor to address the ordeal, while also reminding fans just how unpredictable even routine procedures can be.

Griffin took to Instagram to reveal that she had suffered complications following a colonoscopy procedure. Alongside a photo from her hospital stay, the comedian shared a candid update with followers about the frightening experience. “I spent the night in the hospital because I had complications from my colonoscopy,” she said. “I know, I know, very s-xy, but I am home now with the doggies where I belong.”

Despite the scary ordeal, Griffin appeared to keep her sense of humor intact, joking about the situation while reassuring fans she was safely back home. She also shared that she initially hoped to explain the situation in a more detailed video, but ran into technical difficulties.

Griffin Wanted To Share A ‘TMI’ Update

While Griffin didn’t go into specifics about the complications she experienced, she hinted that fans almost got an even more detailed explanation.

According to the comedian, she had planned to post what she called a “TMI” video to explain everything, but was unable to because of sound issues.

The update quickly sparked concern among fans, many of whom flooded her comments with well wishes as she continues recovering at home with her dogs.

Kathy Griffin Has Been Open About Her Health Struggles

The health scare marks the latest challenge in Griffin’s long history of medical issues she has openly discussed throughout her career. Over the years, the comedian has spoken candidly about everything from a binge eating disorder during her teenage years to multiple cosmetic procedures.

Griffin has previously revealed she underwent a breast augmentation, nose job, lip tattoo, and a botched LASIK surgery in 2003 that partially blinded one of her eyes. She also nearly died following complications from liposuction in 1999.

Griffin Previously Opened Up About PTSD And Anxiety

Griffin has also spoken openly about her mental health struggles in recent years. In 2023, she revealed on social media that her cancer battle and years of backlash stemming from the controversial 2017 image depicting what appeared to be Donald Trump’s severed head contributed to severe PTSD and debilitating anxiety attacks.

At the time, Griffin shared that the emotional toll occasionally left her unable to function for hours. She explained in a TikTok video that anxiety sometimes had her writhing in bed for up to eight hours and said she managed symptoms by pushing herself to complete simple daily tasks, including feeding her dog and taking walks.

Kathy Griffin Previously Battled Lung Cancer

The comedian’s latest health scare also comes after a serious cancer diagnosis several years ago. In 2021, Griffin revealed she had been diagnosed with stage one lung cancer despite never smoking cigarettes.

At the time, she announced she would undergo surgery to remove part of her left lung. Since then, Griffin has continued sharing health updates with fans while remaining transparent about the physical and emotional challenges she has faced behind the scenes.

More recently, Griffin opened up about just how much she has endured over the last few years during an appearance on “The View” in April. During the Friday, April 24, broadcast, cohost Joy Behar pointed out that the comedian had overcome an incredible number of obstacles in recent months. “Yeah, I have half a lung on one side,” Griffin said. “I had lung cancer even though I didn’t smoke.”

The comedian also reflected on the aftermath of her health struggles, including complications involving her voice. “Then my vocal cord was injured, so I had to get a vocal cord implant, which I call my b–b job in my throat, which is kind of erotic if you think about it,” she continued.

Despite the setbacks, Griffin has continued using humor to navigate even her toughest health battles.