A24has always had a knack for redefining modern cinema and taking risks other studios wouldn’t dare touch. Through this unique preservation of individuality, they’ve constructed a rigid name for themselves with thought-provoking, visually stunning, and emotionally cathartic films that constantly push boundaries and challenge expectations. From tales of identity to psychological breakdowns,some movies cement A24 as a powerhouse studio of indie filmmaking.
Whether the emotions conveyed are gut-wrenching, nightmare-inducing, or simply tears of joy,recurring trademarks in A24 movieshave provided incredibly niche experiences for viewers over the years.FromLady BirdtoMidsommar,there aren’t any boxes that are left unchecked within the company, allowing audiences to feel virtually every emotion through their extensive catalog. Thescariest A24 horror villainsas well as the most lovable meld together into one remarkable blur when considering their best movies.
Moonlight
Cast
Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight follows Chiron (Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert) during three stages of his life, starting in childhood and progressing all the way up through adulthood. The film explores themes of identity and sexuality, chronicling Chiron’s life as a gay black man growing up in Miami to an abusive, drug-addicted mother.
Barry Jenkins’Moonlightisone of those movies you didn’t know was from A24—it’s a humbling vulnerable illustration of identity and human connection. Chronicling the life of Chiron, a young Black man grappling with his sexuality and identity, it’s raw, poetic, and unforgettable. Mahershala Ali and Trevante Rhodes’s performances are utterly gut-wrenching yet bewitching. Jenkins’ decision to structure the film in three acts—Little, Chiron, and Black—is an expertly executed decision that blatantly turns the film into a symphony of self-discovery.
The lighting alone in this film deserves an award highlighting moments in ways that only feel legitimately real. Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton use rich, saturated colors to transform Miami into a dreamlike setting, a surreal landscape of lush hues. In classic A24 manner,Moonlightstands out as a corner of history,a luminous peak into human experience.
Hereditary
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie’s mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
Ari Aster’sHereditaryis like a modern-day Exorcist but far more disturbing,to say the least. It’s not just a horror movie; it revolves around a deeply woven family drama that just happens to be wrapped in supernatural terror. Toni Collette’s performance as a grief-stricken mother quickly entering her descent into madness is legendary and deserves all the awards it sadly didn’t get. Aster’s use of miniatures to mirror the characters’ lives is creepy yet undeniably brilliant.
The decapitation scene is unforgettable, cementing theHereditary’s reputation as one of the most shocking horrors of its time. The unsettling score and Aster’s meticulous direction create a lingering dread that sticks with the audience long after the credits roll.
8Lady Bird
(2017)
Greta Gerwig’sLady Birdis a love letter to teenage angst interlaced with complicated mother-daughter turmoil.Saoirse Ronan shines as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson,a quirky Sacramento teen dreaming of escaping her small town. The dialogue is so hip that it feels like Gerwig secretly recorded everyone’s high school years- it’s a fun look into one’s self as this movie feels oddly familiar at times.
15 Lady Bird Quotes To Live By
Teen coming-of-age drama Lady Bird is a hotbed of memorable quotes and unforgettable life lessons.
Much of this genius lies in the little details that slowly creep up through the corners and eventually make their way into the center of one’s mind. The awkward school dances, passive-aggressive fights with the protagonist’s mom (played brilliantly by Laurie Metcalf), and the perfect 2002 soundtrack all create a nostalgic machine of a film.Lady Birdproves you don’t need explosionsor epic battles to make a movie feel monumental. More than often, life itself is dramatic enough, even a little too dramatic.
Uncut Gems
A crime thriller from Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems follows New York jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as his gambling addiction forces him to associate with increasingly dangerous individuals. After receiving an incredibly rare black opal, Howard believes he can finally free himself of his mounting debts, but not without engaging in one final high-stakes balancing act while fending off violent loan sharks.
If anxiety were a movie, it would be calledUncut Gems, and it would feature Adam Sandler throwing his heart on the line with a chaotic, adrenaline-fueled explosion of a performance. In perhaps the performance of his career,Sandler portrays Howard Ratner, a jeweler in New York’s Diamond District.This film, spiraling with gambling, lying, deception, lying, stress, and even more lies seemed to hit viewers out of nowhere as their comedy hero Adam Sandler traded the goofy basketball shorts for Cartier rims and got to business.
The pacing of this film is relentlessly stressful, similar toThe Bear, with overlapping dialogue and a nerve-jangling score that keeps your heart racing in a true East Coast manner. It is a high-stakes game of self-destruction,everything is pushed to the absolute mental limit,and it’s impossible not to love every single second of it, especiallyUncut Gems' climactic ending. In yet another creative way, the studio, and Adam Sandler, truly managed to outdo themselves withUncut Gems.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
The Matrixon steroids, with a side of heartfelt family drama and a lack of cheesiness—that’sEverything Everywhere All at Once. This multiverse-hopping adventure is unlike anything else, wrapped in its specific brand of chaos-very different fromUncut Gems. Michelle Yeoh gives yet another career-defining performance as Evelyn Wang,proving that the company has a knack for bringing out the best in its lead roles.
From absurd googly-eyed rocks to even more absurd hot dog fingers, the movie fishes from a downright weird pit of ideas while miraculously somehow not losing its emotional core. Ke Huy Quan’s comeback as Evelyn’s husband, Waymond, acts as a beating heart to the film, reminding audiences that kindness can surprisingly be revolutionary.The sheer creativity inEverything Everywhere All at Onceis mind-blowing,which makes it one of the most inventive films ever made.
Ex Machina
Young computer programmer Caleb is selected to participate in a groundbreaking experiment by evaluating the human qualities in a new and improved female artificial intelligence. But in the luxurious, isolated mansion of the man who created this technology, all may not be as it seems.
Alex Garland’sEx Machinais a sleek, thought-provoking sci-fi film,once again proving the vast versatility of A24.It’s one of thescariest movies surrounding AI, and Alicia Vikander’s performance as Ava, an AI whose humanity feels disturbingly real, is compelling, to say the least. Furthermore, the dynamics between her and other human characters keep the razor-sharp tension of this film stark.Ex Machinais the kind of film that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats, especially through the monotone polarizing aspects of communication that are portrayed.
“Hard To Believe”: Alex Garland’s Sci-Fi Thriller With 92% Rotten Tomatoes Depicts Technological Inaccuracies, Says Expert
AI expert Sasha Luccioni says Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller holding a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes depicts multiple striking technological inaccuracies.
The film’s minimalist setting—a remote, high-tech lab—reflects laboratory-like themes of control and manipulation. Interestingly, the visual effects team achieved Ava’s translucent design without green screens, not only a testament to the innovation behind the film but also the overarching unique craft of A24 as a whole. This film is a chilling exploration of ethics in the world of AI-a topic that feels eerily relevant today, more than ever.
4The Witch
(2015)
The Witch(orThe VVitch) is a haunting tale of isolation and paranoia in 17th-century New England. Anya Taylor-Joy makes her stunning debut as Thomasin, a young girl caught in a family that is exponentially unraveling under supernatural pressure.The film’s authenticity is unmatched through specific aspects.Dialogue lifted from actual historical records and meticulous period-accurate design creates a compellingly realistic world for the plot to then take place within.
A purposely suffocating atmosphere is masterfully crafted by Director Robert Eggers, where every impending creak and shadow feels like an inevitable threat. Black Phillip, the family’s goat, deserves a horror icon award for his sinister presence.It’s slow-burn horror at its most unsettling,with climactic heights that reach levels only A24 films are destined to attain.
Midsommar
Ari Aster’s Midsommar follows a group of American college students who travel to a friend’s isolated rural hometown in Sweden to experience their renowned midsummer festival. What starts out as idyllic quickly becomes a disconcertingly violent pagan ritual, with the friends engaged in a ruthless competition that will test more than just their friendship. Florence Pugh stars alongside Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, and William Jackson Harper.
IfThe Witchis all shadows,Midsommaris blinding sunlight—but no less terrifying fact,this film holds its own strangely terrifying nuances one may see in nightmares for months. Ari Aster’s follow-up toHereditaryis a psychedelic horror trip through a Swedish midsummer festival gone wrong. The plot sounds like a joke, but upon completing this horrific ride with a psychologically twisted ending, many unsettling thoughts will arise.
The film flips traditional horror on its head by setting the terror in broad daylight. The result is a surreal, almost dreamlike atmosphere that’s hard to shake from the memory. It blisters with visual stimulation and metaphorical meaning that is delightful and horrific at the same time. The costumes, music, and haunting symbolism all contribute toMidsommar’simpact,and those who truly wish to experience such a tantalizing piece of horror should proceed with heavy caution.
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is a psychological thriller directed by Robert Eggers. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star as Thomas Wake and Ephraim Winslow, two lighthouse keepers who begin to experience strange and supernatural phenomena after they get stranded on a remote island in the 1890s.
Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson trapped in a confined area slowly losing their sanity sounds like an absolute dream setup for an incredible film. Ironically enough, this film exists, and it is calledThe Lighthouse,which is also based on atrue story that inspired Eggers' movie. It’s as wild as it sounds. It’s a black-and-white fever dream that feels like a lost tale from the sea orchestra of intrusive thoughts that echo out more and more as the film progresses. Dafoe delivers a stunning performance with manic monologues that could take days to process.
10 Scariest Black And White Movies Of All Time, Ranked
Black and white horror films, with their ability to intensify sinister imagery and tones, rank among some of the scariest in film history.
The once again claustrophobic setting and period-accurate dialogue make it an immersive descent into madness, highlighting some continuity in A24 films. The film possessed a weirdly unconventional 1.19:1 aspect ratio, which was chosen to heighten the feeling of confinement. It’s weird, and unforgettable in plenty of other ways similar to that,all while presenting viewers with a blissfully captivating cinematic experience.
Minari
2020’s Minari is a Drama film that showcases a young boy’s upbringing by Korean immigrants in the United States in the 80s. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the film is a partial autobiography about his own experiences and stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Noel Kate Cho, and Alan Kim as a family trying to make it in rural Arkansas.
Lee Isaac Chung’sMinariis the heartfelt story of a Korean-American family chasing the American Dream in 1980s Arkansas. This slice of life provided viewers with genuine storytelling and insight that goes a long way. Steven Yeun provides a phenomenal performance as Jacob,a father determined to build a better life for his family.
Minariexists within a realm of quiet beauty. Lain with authenticity, this film is a gentle, deeply human experience that has subtly incredible performances embedded within its very structure. Youn Yuh-jung’s Oscar-winning performance as a foreign grandma adds inevitable depth and charm to the character.A24’sMinarioffers a beautiful look at a storythat is an absolute delight to explore.
