Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Is God Is:
It Was Just an Accident
It Was Just an Accident is the rare political thriller that feels both ruthlessly focused and quietly devastating, the kind of film only Jafar Panahi could make. Working inside a premise that plays like a classic suspense setup while functioning as a clear rebuke of state brutality, Panahi turns a slender 104 minutes into a study of moral vertigo. His own history shadows the movie at every turn. The director of This Is Not a Film and Taxi was imprisoned, banned from filmmaking, and censored by the Iranian regime, and that lived experience sharpens every cut, every silence, every hesitation.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Ready or Not never really felt like a movie that needed a sequel. The original told a complete story, ended on one hell of a punchline, and sent Samara Weaving off covered in blood with a cigarette in hand as one of the great modern horror protagonists. There wasn’t much left to say. So credit where it’s due to Radio Silence, because Ready or Not 2: Here I Come does a surprisingly good job justifying its own existence.
The Northman
If The Northman isn’t Robert Eggers’ best movie, it’s at least his boldest. It’s finetuned and pinpoint beyond what you’d expect from an already exacting director, and the stunning ensemble cast is entirely dedicated to their profound roles – all led by Alexander Skarsgård and Anya Taylor-Joy.
No Other Choice
No Other Choice finds Park Chan-wook in a sharper comedic register than usual, a black comedy that keeps tipping toward farce while tracking a middle class collapse. I like the switch of gears. I also felt the hype machine pull a little harder than the movie earns. It is lively, cleverly staged, and often very funny, yet it lands as a thoughtful middle entry for Park rather than a top tier picture beside The Handmaiden, Oldboy or Decision to Leave.
How to Make a Killing
Glad to see John Patton Ford continue a lot of the success of Emily the Criminal with How to Make a Killing, and equally glad to see Glen Powell land a leading role that at least somewhat fits his talents as charming and conniving, as opposed to the more empathetic, everyman or out-and-out heroic protagonist that hasn’t exactly suited his strengths over the last few years since his meteoric rise post-Top Gun: Maverick. The guy has movie star gravity to spare, but the roles haven’t always known what to do with it.
They Will Kill You
There’s a version of They Will Kill You that I would’ve liked quite a bit more than the one we ultimately got. For about the first forty-five minutes, director Kirill Sokolov wears his influences so openly that it becomes part of the fun. The film is drenched in Tarantino worship, from the geysers of blood and elaborate swordplay to moments that feel lifted straight from the filmmaker’s particular brand of exploitation excess (there may or may not be a shot of a demon licking the toes of a certain heroine). If you like Kill Bill, it’s hard not to have at least a little fun watching Sokolov channel that same chaotic energy, even if he never quite makes it his own.
Cloud
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud is a taut, unnerving slow-burn thriller that reminds us just how masterfully he captures the quiet dread of modern life. Known for his foundational work in J-horror like Cure and Pulse, Kurosawa has always operated in a unique tonal register – where isolation, societal rot, and moral ambiguity simmer just beneath the surface. With Cloud, he’s returned to that sensibility in striking form, offering something that isn’t quite horror, not quite crime, but unmistakably Kurosawa: eerie, deliberate, and steeped in existential tension.
Love Lies Bleeding
There’s really nothing like Love Lies Bleeding. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the blanket notion that they don’t make movies like they used to anymore – but I will say, Hollywood hasn’t consistently made films as erotic and thrilling like this since the 1980s and 90s. Rose Glass directs the dynamic duo of Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller finds so much new ground to cover with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga that perfectly justifies its own existence. While Fury Road was interested in such a contained story propelled by larger-than-life action sequences and big rig warfare spawning from a game of cat and mouse, Furiosa fills in the gaps of a world much larger than what is expected. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth stun in a prequel well worth the wait.
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.
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