Hell or High Water (2016)
Mackenzie's 2016 modern western. Chris Pine and Ben Build as bank-robbing brothers, Jeff Bridges as the Ranger.
Genre: Indie
Independent films made outside the studio machine, where budgets shrink and risks grow. Indie reviews that judge ambition against execution.
DramaThe Card Counter (2021)
Schrader's 2021 gambling drama. Oscar Isaac as an Abu Ghraib veteran on the poker circuit.
Action
HorrorHereditary (2018)
Toni Collette as a mother whose family unravels after her own mother's death. Hereditary is Ari Aster's 2018 American indie horror and the director's debut feature.
Folk HorrorMidsommar (2019)
Aster's 2019 Swedish cult drama. Florence Pugh as a grieving woman dragged to a midsummer festival.
DramaFirst Reformed (2017)
Schrader's 2017 religious drama. Ethan Hawke as a Protestant minister losing his faith over climate despair.
ExperimentalMulholland Drive (2001)
Lynch's 2001 Hollywood nightmare. Started as a TV pilot, became a feature.
DramaHard Eight (1996)
Philip Baker Hall as an aging gambler taking in a stranger. Released as Sydney against PTA's wishes.
DramaPunch-Drunk Love (2002)
Adam Sandler as a rage-filled bathroom-supply salesman. The film that proved Sandler could act when directed by someone serious.
Drama
Folk HorrorThe Witch (2015)
1630s New England Puritan family unraveling in the woods. The Witch is Robert Eggers's 2015 American indie horror and the director's debut feature.
HorrorThe Lighthouse (2019)
Eggers's 2019 black-and-white nightmare. The Lighthouse is Robert Eggers's 2019 American indie psychological drama and the director's second feature.