When you think of modern-day arthouse films, there’s a good chance they came from A24. After releasing its first film in 2013, the studio has slowly but surely grown from a small distributor to a full-blown production company. With an eye for auteur-created films, A24 has distinguished itself from its competitors by releasing more personal and intimate projects instead of over-the-top blockbusters. Sometimes the movies are successes, like with Everything Everywhere All At Once. Other times, they miss the mark, like with Dream Scenario. Still, no matter what, you remember an A24 movie.
With its latest film, The Smashing Machine, receiving critical acclaim at film festivals and being a potential Academy Award frontrunner, let’s look at the best A24 movies. Some are poignant, some are terrifying, and some are life-affirming. As a bonus, most of these films can be streamed on HBO Max.
10. Spring Breakers (2013)
As one of the first films distributed by A24, Spring Breakers is the definition of a cult classic. Virtually everything about it is unconventional and, on the surface, designed to appeal to younger audiences who loved Project X or 21 & Over. However, once Spring Breakers starts, it becomes immediately apparent that it’s anything but. If you were expecting a sinful and unrestrained ode to party culture, Spring Breakers is there to remind you of reality.
The film is an unconventional period piece about millennial youth and criticizes the then-popular mantra of “yolo,” but its themes can apply to Gen Z and even Gen Alpha. If you found the honest portrayal of ‘90s youth in Mid90s gripping, then Spring Breakers will hold you like a vice and never let go. Sure, it can be a bit farcical at times, especially whenever James Franco is on screen, but the hollowness of the ending will help younger audience members mature while leaving older audience members appreciative of their wisdom that, hopefully, came with age. The film is an acquired taste, hence its placement at the bottom of this list, but if it clicks with you, you’ll absolutely love Spring Breakers.
9. The Zone of Interest (2023)
Movies about the Holocaust are hardly pleasant experiences, but that’s how The Zone of Interest hooks you. At first, the film appears to be about a military family trying to live their lives amidst wartime, but once you realize that the family is stationed outside of and operates Auschwitz, these peaceful scenes become deeply uncomfortable.
The idyllic setting of the Hoss household is constantly juxtaposed with the screams, gunshots, and burning furnaces of Auschwitz. It’s poignant symbolism at how people are all too eager to ignore the horrors around them, provided that their life is okay. As terrible a thought as that may be, it’s a sadly relevant one, no matter the time period. The film is somber and distressing, and that’s the point. It can be a lot to process, even if we never actually see the horrors on display. The glacial pacing knocks it down a few spots when compared to other A24 dramas. However, if you were moved by The Boy in the Striped Pajamas or Schindler’s List, then The Zone of Interest will haunt you in the same ways. It’s a necessary film, and a great one for those who are looking for a grounded and honest depiction of the Holocaust.
8. Aftersun (2022)
A24’s slate of movies isn’t exactly known for its cheeriness. While the studio has released some lighthearted and comedic movies, like Eighth Grade and Red Rocket, most of their films tend to be somber and depressing. Of its entire library, Aftersun is arguably the most heart wrenching one of all.
A feel-sad movie in all components, the film follows a father and daughter as they go on vacation for what will be their last time. Despite being one of his early roles, Paul Mescal delivers a painfully evocative performance, so people who loved him in Gladiator II will see a much more vulnerable side to him. The film is teeming with regret that, much like The Iron Claw, culminates in a moment that almost seems engineered to turn you into a bawling baby. Even just writing about it makes my eyes well up with tears. Aftersun is undeniably dark, but there’s a beauty in its darkness that will fill you with a sense of longing for the people in our lives who aren’t with us anymore.
7. The Brutalist (2024)
If there was ever an A24 movie that commands attention and describes itself as “ART,” look no further than The Brutalist. The film is an epic in every definition of the word, clearly taking a lot of inspiration from classic films like Ran and Once Upon a Time in America. The Brutalist is, in many ways, about the dual relationship between ambition and ego and how it can change a person, for better or worse. The characters are all wonderfully realized and come across as complex people. You may initially hate Guy Pearce’s snobbish industrialist, only to grow to like him, then hate him all over again over during the film’s three and a half hour runtime.
But really, The Brutalist is a movie for lovers of cinematography. Virtually every shot can stand on its own for the amount of polish, detail, and scale it consistently presents within its stark world. It’s a testament to the power of filmmaking and how classic techniques can beat out contemporary ones. It’s traditional, and may not be as avant garde as some later entries on this list, but still definitely worth watching.
6. Uncut Gems (2019)
Anxiety is never fun to deal with. It can be debilitating and oftentimes leaves a person paralyzed and incapable of accomplishing even the most basic tasks. Uncut Gems is an anxiety attack in cinematic form. Best described as a pressure cooker movie, for two hours and 15 minutes, we watch Adam Sandler play a jeweler who constantly gets in over his head with over-hyped promises and domineering gambling debts. You’ll find yourself practically screaming at Sandler to call it quits, but each time he refuses to do so, you get a more pronounced feeling that it’s all going to end in tragedy.Much like Whiplash, Uncut Gems’ greatest strength is getting you invested in its lead and making sure you watch them as their life crumbles around them. To say that Uncut Gems is uneasy is putting it nicely, but the catharsis that comes when all of that tension finally releases is, frankly, euphoric. If you’re the kind of person who wants a movie that leaves you on the edge of your seat and loves watching movies about bad people getting their karmic justice, then Uncut Gems does that and then some.
5. Hereditary (2018)
In the horror community, A24 horror movies just hit differently. Like most of its library, the studio tackles uncomfortable topics in numerous creative ways, but the extent to which it approaches those themes is often pitch black. A24 horror movies are terrifying, and Hereditary is arguably the scariest one of them all.
Hereditary is a movie about pain. Tragedy happens on such a frequent basis that the agony of the cast is palpable at every moment. The film takes its time layering on the suffering, so fans of slow-burning horror movies like The Babadook and The Killing of a Sacred Deer will be right at home—until the ending. The film switches from an exposé about grief to a folk horror thriller that takes inspiration from The Wicker Man. If you’re interested in a genuinely scary horror movie that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, give Hereditary a watch.
4. The Lighthouse (2019)
Hereditary may be one of the scariest movies of all time, but The Lighthouse is a thing of beauty. It’s a film that shouldn’t work, yet all of its demented decisions come together to create a film that will leave you constantly questioning reality and how Robert Eggers was able to deliver so much with so little.
Set on a remote lighthouse and shot wonderfully in black-and-white, The Lighthouse is a surreal mood piece about lust, regret, and lobsters. Since the film almost entirely revolves around Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, fans of both actors will be enamored with their performances. While Pattinson does a wonderful job playing a put-upon lighthouse keeper, it’s Dafoe who owns the show. He’s at his most unconventional, channeling an energy that feels reminiscent of his roles in Spider-Man and Nosferatu. What ultimately makes The Lighthouse a better horror film than Hereditary is its artistry. The rich symbolism, off-putting imagery, and terror-inducing ending all stick with you and leave you in awe that this is only Egger’s second movie. If you’re searching for a high-class horror movie about beans and drinking lighter fluid, give The Lighthouse a view.
3. Lady Bird (2017)
Coming-of-age stories are fairly common and usually play by a similar rule book. Leave it to Lady Bird to offer up a coming-of-age story that is both familiar and unlike anything else out there. Led by a magnificent Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, the film explores the complexities of their mother-daughter relationship.
For women who have complicated relationships with their mothers, a lot of Lady Bird will likely speak to you. At times, it can be abusive, but as we spend more time with them, we get a sense of how much they care about each other. Older audiences will definitely appreciate Lady Bird for that aspect, but younger viewers will probably relate to Lady Bird and her desire to rebel against her mother and society. This creates introspective moments reminiscent of The Worst Person in the World and Greta Gerwig’s follow-up to Lady Bird, Little Women, painting this film as a wonderfully progressive movie about family and growing up as a woman in modern society.
2. Moonlight (2016)
There’s a certain grace to Moonlight that’s impossible to deny, with a maturity and beauty that feels far removed from other films tackling similar topics. Moonlight handles its LGBTQ+ themes masterfully, depicting the self-discovery of a gay Black man in a way that’s delicate and purposeful.
Moonlight feels dreamlike in the same way that Call Me By Your Name or All of Us Strangers do. It’s tragic, but without perpetuating the “kill your gays” trope, making this an easy recommendation for people looking for insightful and powerful LGBTQ+ films. Those who who love the works of Jordan Peele and Spike Lee will also find value in how it presents its Black cast as three-dimensional people, dealing with problems unique to the Black experience. No matter how you slice it, Moonlight is simply a spellbinding movie that easily ranks as one of A24’s best.
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
There are films that take a “everything and the kitchen sink” approach to storytelling, and then there’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film is the personification of chaos, and while that may put some people off, it’s also a masterpiece of filmmaking that is impossible to ignore. While the film initially presents itself as a mundane movie about a woman filing her taxes, it rapidly grows and explodes into a story that tackles generational trauma, humanism, nihilism, and the power of simplicity.
The Daniels expertly showcase a variety of genres in Everything Everywhere All at Once to the point where it can appeal to virtually everyone. Do you like comedy? The cartoonish set pieces and sophomoric humor will delight you. Do you want a kung-fu action film? Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan take part in fights ripped straight out of a Wuxia film. Name a genre, and there’s a chance that Everything Everywhere All Aa Once will deliver a satisfying homage to it. If you’ve been left wanting more after other multiversal films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Everything Everywhere All at Once will energize you in a way few films can.
