Dark Comedies, or Black Comedies as they are sometimes called, are a unique genre that manages to blend comedy with darker elements, think Heathers (1988) or Jojo Rabbit (2019). Usually the subject matter of Dark Comedies circles topics such as death, mental health decline, murder, and societal injustice, with movies like Parasite (2019) and Ready or Not (2017) fitting that trope perfectly.

The previous decades have seen great variety in the kind of dark comedies that are being released, one only has to recall movies such as Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and The Lobster (2015), to see how diverse movies in this category can be.

1. Promising Young Woman (2020)

Writer-director Emerald Fennell’s first feature film grossed $19 million worldwide and was nominated in several categories including in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress etc., taking home the prize for Best Original Screenplay. Fennell also managed to nab the Best Original Screenplay at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Writers’ Guild Awards, and British Academy Film Awards.

Promising Young Woman is a rare movie that manages to subvert genres seamlessly, with the movie dappling in dark comedy, revenge thriller, mystery, and just the right amount of a rom-com, giving the audience a little bit of everything and appealing to a wider demographic. At the heart of it, Promising Young Woman is a take on rape culture, trauma and revenge, and the movie doesn’t let you forget that with its take on a likable, but unpredictable protagonist played by Carey Mulligan (Cassandra).

Cassandra is a 30 something med-school dropout with a tortured past who lives with her parents and works at a coffee shop by day, and spends her nights pretending to be drunk, hunting for ‘nice guys’ who might try to take advantage of her, and if they do, she exacts her own form of revenge on them. When she re-connects with Ryan (Bo Burnham), a former classmate, her life takes a turn, and she begins to seek closure for what happened in the past.

Mulligan and Burnham’s chemistry is sugary sweet, tying in the pastel color scheme and neons the movie is famous for, add to that, Fennell’s focus on visual symmetry makes some of the shots in this movie reminiscent of work by Wes Anderson. The further artful use of symbolism and the overall emphasis on the disturbing subject matter being balanced with dark humor, makes the impact of this movie unsettling and lasting.

2. Fresh (2022)

Directed by Mimi Cave, Fresh is an interesting take on the modern day horrors that come with dating and stars Sebastian Stan (Steve) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Noa). After running into each other in a grocery store and exchanging numbers, the pair go on a date and soon hit it off. After a weekend getaway, Noa soon realizes Steve may not be the man he claims to be.

Fresh takes—for lack of a better word—a fresh take on social commentary, life as a woman, and the dangers of online dating in the 21st century. Fresh has an unassuming beginning, setting the scene for the textbook modern day romance starting off with the perfect meet cute, till it flips the narrative completely. Sebastian Stan delivers some of the best acting of his career, his ability to turn on his charm and then leave the audience wholly frightened in the very next scene makes the movie all the more layered. With gory scenes and uncanny scenarios to show Noa’s spiraling mental health, the humor in this movie serves two purposes, as a comic relief taking some weight off the distressing events that unfold, and as sarcastic jabs as social commentary surrounding modern day dating culture.

Daisy Edgar-Jones embodies the role of Noa to such a believable extent, making her experience, or rather failure, in the dating scene, extremely relatable. She’s funny, without having to try too hard and her bond with her best friend Mollie (Jonica “Jojo” T. Gibbs) serves as a surprisingly good and hilarious arc in the movie. All in all, Fresh is a great late night movie if you need something witty and fast paced, that actually stands out from the hoard of thrillers released every year.

3. Ingrid Goes West (2017)

One of Aubrey Plaza’s lesser known works, Ingrid Goes West, sees her take on the role of a social media obsessed stalker, Ingrid Thorburn, who becomes infatuated with an Instagram influencer, Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). From the start of the movie, it is clear that Ingrid is a troubled woman, and her ways of interacting with Taylor are proof enough of that, as she relocates to a place in LA to be closer to her, mimics her fashion style and hair, frequents the same stores as hers, going as far as kidnapping her dog and returning it, so she has a chance to speak to her.

Matt Spicer, expertly balances humor with an unstable protagonist at the helm of it, Plaza’s acting outstanding even in the most bizarre of situations. On top of that, Olsen plays the pretentious trope of what we expect lifestyle influencers to be like in person, in their full avocado toast for breakfast eating glory.

Ingrid’s fixation with Taylor becomes more extreme as the movie progresses, and her attempts to keep up with her fabricated lifestyle become harder to maintain. The movie is a satirical take on a perfectly curated (and superficial) lifestyle and doesn’t shy away from pointing out all the many pitfalls of having a social media persona and how perceptions of influencers and looking up to them as role models can be so flawed.

4. 8 Women (2002)

A French dark comedy musical set in the 1950s in the remote countryside, 8 Women is based off the play by Robert Thomas and stars an impressive ensemble cast including Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, Isabelle Huppert, Danielle Darrieux, Fanny Ardant, Firmine Richard, Ludivine Sagnier and Virginie Ledoyen, so it’s no surprise that the movie is considered a cult classic and managed to make over $42 million worldwide.

The movie revolves around the 8 women who find themselves suspects in the murder of the Master of the house, after they had all gathered to spend Christmas together at his estate. In this whodunit, to matters more complex, each of the eight women have their set of motives and mountain of secrets they are hiding. Unable to call for help, the women find themselves trying to figure out who the murderer amongst themselves is.

The movie does a great job showcasing the absurdity of the unfortunate situation they are in with increasingly chaotic scenes and revelations of family secrets and resentments. All the women possess very distinct personalities and their interactions with each other are a delight to watch, not to mention the share of physical comedy the movie utilizes too. The flick employs some similar tactics to 1985’s Clue, especially in its comedic approach and whodunit style, but 8 Women manages to mix drama and focus on character growth, whilst also being surprisingly very hilarious.

5. Game Night (2018)

Despite being a success on the box office, Game Night is an often forgotten dark comedy starring Jason Bateman (Max Davis) and Rachel McAdams (Annie Davis). The story follows a group of friends who get together frequently for game nights but when one of their friend, Brooke (Kyle Chandler), gets brutally kidnapped in front of them, they set out to rescue him.

The movie focuses on developing healthy a banter between the friends and the humor, intermixed with suspense, makes the movie all the more enjoyable. One particular scene where Rachel McAdams bursts into song, singing Third Blind Eye’s Semi-Charmed Life is one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie. Indeed, Rachel McAdams shines as the star in this movie, her ability to be the comic relief, while still balancing some of the darker elements of the movie, displays her range like never before, and is a welcome surprise in the movie. Bateman’s chemistry with McAdams and his deadpan humor and dry wit, ends up making even the simplest scenes in the movies funnier than one would expect.

Psychological Thrillers are not a new genre of movies and have been around for decades, however, the 21st century has seen the refinement of this category with movies which are beyond praiseworthy. What sets this genre apart is its unique ability to engage the audience in such a way that they feel the emotional turmoil of the characters to an exceedingly empathetic level and see how they cope and navigate challenges they are faced with.

Not only can movies of this genre be unsettling, but they also excel at leaving the audience full of questions, and second guessing themselves, and allow them to expand the parameters of what they think is going on with the plot. With adept use of misdirection, unreliable narrators, vivid, and often non-linear storylines, these movies challenge the audience’s scope for understanding the convoluted plots. The 20th century served as a catalyst for Psychological thrillers, with movies like, ‘Shadow of Doubt’, ‘Strangers on a Train’, ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Fight Club’, showcasing the different ways the usually paranoid or frenzied characters psychologically battle their demons, be they real or imagined.

1. Nocturnal Animals (2016)

From what was only Tom Ford’s second movie, came one of the most disturbing features of the 2010s. With its immaculate attention to detail, heavy use of symbolism and glamorous costuming, it’s easy to see why Nocturnal Animals is such a cult classic. With compelling performances by the star studded cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon (his role earning him an Academy award nomination), Isla Fisher and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the movie plays out all its tricks on the minds of the audience.

The movie follows a narrative within a narrative approach by playing out the events of Tony’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) book as his ex-wife Susan (Amy Adams) reads the bone chilling manuscript, and deals with fighting her guilt and resurfacing feelings for her ex-husband. The book details a family trip that the fictionalized versions of Tony, Susan and their daughter go on with the contents of the manuscript seemingly getting worse and gory, with themes of regret, betrayal, isolation and most prominently revenge showing up. Couple the distressing subject matter of the manuscript with Ford’s impressive attention to detail, breathtaking cinematography of the Mojave Desert and the use of vivid maroons peppered throughout the movie and you get a hauntingly beautiful tale of revenge and love lost.

The movie itself is chockful of symbolism, with even its name alluding to so much more than what the viewers initially assume. Susan’s career as an art curator further serves as the perfect backdrop for macabre art pieces and dark colors pallets making the scenes in the current time line seem just as ominous, tying in the book’s story to her actual life and implying at the similarity of them both.

Ford makes this movie, though hard to watch again, extremely unforgettable, and does a great job crafting a panic inducing, claustrophobic environment where the audience feels unsafe and caged in, just as the characters do, especially with its fast editing and unpredictable shifts from the manuscript to the real life timeline of the movie.

2. The Machinist (2004)

Starring Christian Bale as what is probably the most grueling character he has ever played and is directed by Brad Anderson, who you may know from movies like, ‘Fractured’ and ‘Session 9’, The Machinist remains his best work to date.

Christian Bale lost 62 pounds and went on a strict diet of apples, water and coffee daily for the movie, playing the insomniac factory worker, Trevor Reznik. Given him being severely underweight and his unkempt appearance, Trevor is treated like an outcast, which only gets worse when he is distracted by Ivan (John Sharian), a coworker he doesn’t recognize, and accidently injures another coworker Miller (Michael Ironside), making him lose his arm. To Trevor’s confusion, no one at the factory knows of Ivan and there are no records of him working there at all.

Trevor begins to see mysterious post-its appear on his refrigerator and becomes plagued by hallucinations and becomes obsessed with finding Ivan, leading him to become increasingly paranoid in a quest for answers. As the story progresses, the viewers uncover more about Trevor’s dark past and the guilt he carries. The film expertly displays the role guilt and punishment have on a person’s physical and mental health and shows how a declining psyche can lead to such a life-threatening level.

3. Enemy (2013)

The second of Jake Gyllenhaal movies to make this list, Enemy, directed by Denis Villeneuve who you might know from Dune (2021), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Arrival (2016), is perhaps his most peculiar and hard to understand on a first watch.

Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a history professor who lives a quiet life with his partner Mary (Mélanie Laurent). While watching a movie, he discovers an actor, Anthony Claire, who looks strikingly like him, and tracks him down and begins to stalk him out of curiosity. This meeting of the look-alikes sends both their lives into a spiral, with Adam becoming obsessed with Anthony’s pregnant wife (Sarah Gadon) and Anthony wanting to impersonate Adam and sleep with his girlfriend.

The movie explores the subconscious and plays on the duality of man in terms of duty, fidelity, and most prominently, desire. With each of the look-alikes portraying different stages or versions of inherently the same person/entity. The movie does a great job at withholding information from the audience and dropping subtle clues on what exactly is happening and whose narrative to believe, leaving you with so many questions that you want to immediately re-watch and pick it apart to see what you might have overlooked your first time.

4. Shutter Island (2010)

Adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane and directed by Martin Scorcese, Shutter Island is regarded as one of the most critically acclaimed acting projects of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career. Being an instant success and granting Scorcese his biggest box office opening at $41 million, Shutter Island is time and time again considered one of the movies most synonymous with the Psychological thriller genre. With a stellar cast besides DiCaprio including big names such as Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson, the performances delivered by the actors in this movie are engaging and explore each of their acting capabilities to the fullest.

The movie is set in the 1950s and begins with Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), a U.S Marshall and his partner Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) who are tasked with investigating the disappearance of a patient (Emily Mortimer) from an asylum for the criminally insane at the deserted Shutter Island. Teddy begins to suffer from migraines, hallucinations and flashbacks from his past about his time in service and of his wife’s death, and discloses to Aule that he took this case in an effort to find his wife’s killer whom he believes may be on the Island.

One unfortunate incidence begins to follow another with the escaped inmate claiming she is Teddy’s wife to alleged lobotomies, and an inmate telling him to not to trust Aule. With a series of perplexing events, Teddy’s paranoia gets considerably worse and after a particularly bad hurricane leaves the pair stranded at the Island and the inmates manage to escape, all of this adds to the already chaotic situation.

At the heart of it, Shutter Island delves into trauma and guilt and the lasting impact that can have on a person, with Teddy displaying various symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and an inability to accept his past.

5. Black Swan (2010)

Winning Natalie Portman her second Oscar nod and first win, Black Swan truly showcases Portman’s acting prowess and serves as a testament to an actor’s dedication to her character. With extensive ballet training daily for months and an adherence to a strict almond and carrot diet, she lost around 20 pounds for the movie.

Portman plays the role of the determined ballerina Nina Sayers whom above all else wants to be cast as the lead role of White/Black swan in the upcoming performance of Swan Lake. Her devotion to get this role, along with her overbearing mother’s pressure, soon turns into a sick obsession, with her pushing her body and mind over the limit in an effort to be ‘perfect’. When a competitor arises in the form of Mila Kunis’ character, Lily, Nina’s jealously and need to prove and push herself escalate to a point that she starts to hallucinate and is no longer sure of what is really happening around her.

The movie does a great job at depicting Nina’s declining mental grasp on reality with surrealist shots mimicking her internal struggles of wanting to be perfect, more independent and desired. Not only is her mental health being affected, but the viewers get to see the strain on her body from her over extensive training sessions in an effort to be the best.