Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Blade:
Sinners
Ryan Coogler has made something rare with Sinners: a horror film with bite, brains, and soul. It’s a film that’s as entertaining as it is thoughtful, never content to just scare its audience without giving them something to chew on. Michael B. Jordan gives a career-high performance as twin gangsters returning to their former lives in the South.
Renfield
Nicolas Cage‘s version of Dracula sure is unique. A movie about the bloodthirsty vampire teaming with Nicholas Hoult for centuries may sound good on paper, but Renfield is too concerned with various subplots that don’t amount to much.
John Wick: Chapter 4
In terms of contemporary action movies, John Wick: Chapter 4 (and the entire John Wick franchise, honestly) has separated itself from the pack. Each detail, idea, and set piece is perfectly crafted to build out a world that feels so fully realized. Somehow, Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski continue to find new ways to keep the franchise fresh.
Nosferatu
Robert Eggers might already be one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Sure, it’s silly and hyperbolic to say that so early in his career, but few directors today can craft arthouse movies on the scale of his latest work, Nosferatu, and make it look so effortless. The subject matter feels like a natural progression from his earlier explorations of isolation and dread in The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman. Here, Eggers reimagines the classic vampire tale with precise, stomach-churning detail, delivering a vision that both honors the original and reinvents it as a sadistic, psychosexual nightmare.
Us
Jordan Peele’s Us was somewhat divisive when it hit theaters in 2019, but it has only grown in my estimation since. Not only did it prove that Get Out was no fluke, but it cemented Peele as a filmmaker with a knack for taking familiar horror tropes and twisting them into something fresh and conceptually bold. It’s a film that balances genre thrills with introspection, making for an experience that is as thought-provoking as it is unsettling.
Salem’s Lot
The success rate for movies adapted from Stephen King stories seems small, and factoring in only his horror stories, that rate gets even smaller. Many times, it’s because the dread and horror from the main characters is internalized in a way only easily conveyed when reading their thoughts on print. Because of this, the likes of a few iconic Stephen King novels have never been properly and successfully adapted to the big screen.
Doctor Sleep
There is supposedly a better director’s cut of Doctor Sleep out there that fills in the gaps of a few character traits, motivations, and decisions. Honestly, I’m not sure I care. This is about as rigorous and uninteresting as any horror franchise rebooted in recent memory. It’s a glossy, airless, and ultimately unnecessary return to a world that was perfect as is.
Bring Her Back
Bring Her Back may satisfy diehard fans of A24-style horror or those looking for a few jarring images, but for most viewers, it will likely feel like an echo of better films. This is the kind of horror that thinks it’s elevated but forgets to be compelling. For the Philippous, it’s a clear step back—stylistic confidence without a story worth telling.
The Substance
A vaguely named, neon green liquid is at the center of The Substance, the sophomore effort from director Coralie Fargeat following her successful debut Revenge (2017). The titular substance is capable of delivering happiness to those desiring to look younger and more attractive. Accompanied by a strict list of rules involving when to take the substance and how to maintain the younger self the injection inevitably births, the chances of a user mishandling such a lethal experimental drug is absurdly high.
Morbius
I knew not spending my hard earned dough to see Morbius in theaters would end up paying off in the long run. Netflix recently announced via an appropriately worded tweet “It’s Morbin’ Time!” that the not-so-smashing hit and Marvel/Sony (Venom, Madame Web) product Morbius is officially on the streaming service’s front page. With the opportunity to check out this recent masterpiece from the comfort of my own home, what did this vampire drama have to offer?
READ MORE: Blade (1998)
