Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Lamb:
Speak No Evil
While I appreciate many of James Watkins’ directorial choices and the strong performances from James McAvoy, Aisling Franciosi, Scoot McNairy, and Mackenzie Davis—who all have great chemistry—I can’t shake the feeling that Speak No Evil missed an opportunity. It could have delivered a real shock to the studio horror system but instead falls into the same familiar patterns. The film ends up being a watered-down, more subdued version of the original, which felt fresh and unsettling just a few years ago. It’s not a complete failure, but it misses the mark.
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is unlike anything you’ll ever see – both a testament to David Lynch’s early adoption of idiosyncratic, dreamlike imagery and his interest in turning the usual into the surreal. It’s no wonder the acclaimed director’s 1977 debut breakthrough still stands among the best first films ever made and a canonical entry in 1970s filmmaking; an era that saw decades of boundary-pushing auteurs establish themselves in the industry. While David Lynch‘s career arch wouldn’t take the form of a traditional blockbuster filmmaker, there was clearly enough in Eraserhead to hand him the car keys for whatever passion projects he decided to tackle in the future.
Nightbitch
I get what Nightbitch is trying to do. This Amy Adams-led satirical drama movie digs deep into the physical and emotional transformations women experience during and after motherhood. Adams plays a new stay-at-home mother who feels trapped in her role, spending long, monotonous hours watching her child while grappling with a profound sense of loss.
Die My Love
The highs in Die My Love are undeniable, and the lows are confusing. Lynne Ramsay adapts Ariana Harwicz’s novel with a bold, fevered intensity, centering Jennifer Lawrence as Grace, a new mother sliding from postpartum depression into psychosis. Robert Pattinson plays Jackson, the husband whose growing absence turns their home into a pressure cooker. The two leads meet the film at its temperature, and Lawrence gives one of her sharpest performances in years.
Old
It’s been a few years since M. Night Shyamalan‘s Old hit movie theaters and it still feels as fresh as that day. Shyamalan’s old school mixture of poignant commentary and rich thrills combine into his best film since 2002, and one that stays immensely rewatchable.
Hereditary
Hereditary is the rare debut that instantly reshapes a genre. Ari Aster’s 2018 feature moves with an icy confidence, turning domestic grief into occult nightmare, and it still feels like a defining horror film of the century. Backed by A24, the film has the precision and patience of a masterwork: long takes that corner you in the frame, sound design that hums with unease, and edits that withhold just enough to make every cut feel like a trapdoor.
Kinds of Kindness
As a side project conceived during the creation of Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness is quite the undertaking for Yorgos Lanthimos. The movie is hefty and left with a lot of gristle. While the performances of the cast suggest a film trying to have a lot of fun, the lack of cohesion took me out of a movie overstaying its welcome.
The Woman in the Yard
In a time when many horror films try to be either thinkpieces or thrill rides and fail to be either, The Woman in the Yard hits a rare sweet spot. It’s a horror film that’s genuinely tense, emotionally grounded, and smartly contained. It may not be a game-changer, but it’s a solid, satisfying entry in the modern horror canon—and a reminder that even filmmakers with inconsistent track records like Jaume Collet-Serra can deliver when the right material lands in the right hands.
Wolf Man
Wolf Man is another uneven entry in Universal Pictures’ long-running struggle to make their classic monster IP feel vital again. Leigh Whannell may be one of the more exciting genre filmmakers working today, but this misaligned project is more whimper than howl.
The Watchers
It’s not all bad, but I wished The Watchers tied together better. A monster movie with diluted monster energy, the movie wanders along, yanked forward by solid captives and a couple noteworthy scares. Ishana Night Shyamalan should keep attempting to make movies like this because I’d imagine most will achieve greater success.
READ MORE: Lamb (2021)
