Rosemary's Baby

1968

Directed By: Roman Polanski

Screenplay By: Roman Polanski

Starring: Mia Farrow; John Cassavetes; Ruth Gordon; Sidney Blackmer; Maurice Evans; Ralph Bellamy

Based On: Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American psychological horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin. The cast features Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Angela Dorian, Clay Tanner, and, in his feature film debut, Charles Grodin. The film chronicles the story of a pregnant woman who suspects an evil cult wants to take her baby for use in their rituals.

Rosemary's Baby deals with themes related to paranoia, women's liberation, Christianity (Catholicism), and the occult. The film earned almost universal acclaim from film critics and won numerous nominations and awards. It is considered a hallmark of art-horror. In 2014 the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

This film is also one of the very few films where nothing scary really ever appears, nothing scary is really ever seen, nothing ever jumps out from behind a wall or is hidden in a closet and startles out a scream from the viewer, and the titular character is never seen on screen. This lack of visual horror is one of the main aspects creating the terror in this film. It's timeless, remains relevant, and its themes are more than universal—they are eternal. And to this day, this film is in my top five of all-time best horror films ever made. What are the others, you ask? If I told you the answer, it might just freak the bajeezes out of you. 

American Psycho

2000

Directed By: Mary Harron

Screenplay By: Mary Harron; Guinevere Turner

Starring: Christian Bale; Willem Dafoe; Jared Leto; Josh Lucas; Samantha Mathis; Matt Ross; Bill Sage; Chloë Sevigny; Cara Seymour; Justin Theroux; Guinevere Turner; Reese Witherspoon

Based On: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

American Psycho is a 2000 American black comedy-horror film co-written and directed by Mary Harron, based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel of the same name. Producer Edward R. Pressman purchased the film rights to the novel in 1992. After discussions with David Cronenberg fell through, Harron was brought on to direct and cast Bale in the lead role. Lionsgate acquired worldwide distribution in 1997 and temporarily replaced Harron and Bale with Oliver Stone as director and Leonardo DiCaprio portraying Patrick Bateman. DiCaprio left in favor of The Beach and Harron and Bale were brought back. American Psycho debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2000, and was released theatrically on April 14, 2000. The film received generally positive reviews and was a financial success with critics mainly praising the screenplay and Christian Bale’s performance.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

1988

Directed By: Robert Zemeckis

Screenplay By: Jeffrey Price; Peter S. Seaman

Starring: Bob Hoskins; Christopher Lloyd; Charles Fleischer; Stubby Kaye; Joanna Cassidy

Based On: Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy, mystery, and comedy film. Combining live-action and animation, the film is set in Hollywood during the late 1940s in an alternative timeline where animated characters really exist. The story follows Eddie Valiant, a private detective who must exonerate “Toon” Roger Rabbit, accused of murdering a wealthy businessman.

The Life of David Gale

2003

Directed By: Alan Parker

Written By: Charles Randolph

Starring: Kevin Spacey; Kate Winslet; Laura Linney

The Life of David Gale is a 2003 American drama mystery film directed by Alan Parker (in his final film as a director) and written by Charles Randolph. The film is an international co-production between the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Kevin Spacey plays the eponymous character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent. The crime is clear, but the truth is not.

No matter where your views land on the topic of capital punishment, this movie will definitely force you to contemplate the issue anew.

eXistenZ

1999

Directed By: David Cronenberg

Written By: David Cronenberg

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh; Jude Law; Ian Holm; Don McKellar; Callum Keith Rennie; Sarah Polley; Christopher Eccleston; Willem Dafoe

Existenz (stylized as eXistenZ) is a 1999 Canadian science fiction body horror film written, produced, and directed by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law.

As in Videodrome, Cronenberg gives his psychological statement about how humans react and interact with the electronic technologies surrounding them; in this case the world of video games.

Frailty

2002

Directed By: Bill Paxton

Written By: Brent Hanley

Starring: Bill Paxton; Matthew McConaughey; Powers Boothe; Matt O'Leary; Jeremy Sumpter; Levi Kreis

Frailty is a 2002 American psychological thriller film, directed by and starring Bill Paxton, and co-starring Matthew McConaughey; it marks Paxton’s directorial debut. The plot focuses on the strange relationship between two young boys and their fanatically religious father, who believes he has been commanded by God to kill demons disguised as people.

Memento

2000

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Screenplay By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Guy Pearce ; Carrie-Anne Moss; Joe Pantoliano

Based On: Memento Mori by Jonathan Nolan

In the middle of the night Leonard Shelby awakes to the horrifying sounds of his wife being raped and murdered; he reacts, killing her attacker but a second perpetrator manages to incapacitate him and escape. Plagued by his wife's rape and murder, Leonard Shelby relentlessly scours his world in search of the second perpetrator, who he knows only as "John G." or "James G." Leonard suffers from anterograde amnesia, damaging his ability to create new short-term memories, a result from the second perpetrator's attack. During his unyielding search, his disability constructs obstacle after obstacle, but he manages to create a haphazard system of mechanical memory, though intricate, which he believes will one day bring him face to face with the second perpetrator.