British director Ben Wheatley blends horror, action, and dark comedy in cinematically compelling ways. Wheatley usually works closely with his wife Amy Jump, who has written most of the screenplays for her husband's movies. The pair have made quite a few visually stunning and shockingly violent features together.
Wheatley's career has come a long way since he released his directorial debut, Down Terrace, in 2009. From cults to gangsters to drug-addled soldiers, Wheatley explores the darkest recesses of humanity. His latest venture, Rebecca, is a Netflix remake of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring Armie Hammer and Lily James. It is slated to be released on October 21, 2020.
8 The ABCs of Death (2013) - 37%
A horror anthology film, The ABCs of Death is an international effort featuring scary shorts inspired by every letter of the alphabet. The 26 entries in the film are directed by the likes of Adam Wingard, Ti West, and Simon Barrett.
Wheatley's short, "U is for Unearthed," is filmed from the perspective of a vampire who rises out of his coffin to be promptly attacked by a mob that wants him dead. In gruesome detail, the short shows the mob torture, maim, and kill the vampire without breaking away from the bloodsucker's point-of-view.
7 High-Rise (2016) - 69%
Based on the experimental sci-fi novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard, High-Rise is set in a 1970s luxury apartment tower whose residents devolve into chaos as they become more and more isolated from the outside world. The film stars Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss, and Jeremy Irons.
Darky comedic and noted for scenes of brutal violence, High-Rise is a true adaptation of Ballard's evocative book. Rife with social commentary and disturbing character studies, High-Rise defies expectations when it comes to terrifying audiences.
6 Free Fire (2017) - 69%
A departure from Wheatley's previous horror ventures, Free Fire is an ensemble crime drama about a gun sale that goes horribly wrong. A group of IRA members in 1970s Boston meets an arms dealer in a warehouse, who supplies them with the wrong weapons.
All hell breaks loose from there, and a tense stand-off ensues between the disparate parties – who are all armed to the teeth. As its title suggests, bullets flow heavily in Free Fire, which stars the likes of Armie Hammer, Brie Larsen, Cillian Murphy, and Jack Reynor.
5 Kill List (2012) - 78%
Wheatley's second feature is a stunning, violent horror movie about a hitman who is hired by a mysterious organization to take out a group of people under suspicious circumstances. Neil Maskell plays the hitman, Jay, a former British soldier whose sanity wanes as he attempts to complete his unknown client's job.
With each kill, Jay comes to realize there is much more happening behind the scenes with his customer. His suspicions come to a shocking head as Jay discovers the true, cultish identity of this organization and its ultimate goal.
4 Sightseers (2013) - 85%
A testament to Wheatley's bizarre and depraved sense of humor as a filmmaker, Sightseers is a tainted love tale about a caravanning couple who find themselves in a series of unfortunate events. The dark comedy is written by Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, who also star as Tina and Chris.
What at first seems like one bout of bad luck after another for the road trippers turns into a full-on bloody, murderous rampage. By the end of Sightseers, it's clear Tina and Chris tap into each other's deranged, serial killing tendencies in toxic ways.
3 Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018) - 85%
Wheatley reunited with Kill List's Neil Maskell for this dramatic venture co-starring Hayley Squires and Sam Riley. Inspired by the Shakespeare play Coriolanus, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead stars Maskell as the title character, a man who rents a country home for his extended family to celebrate the New Year.
Squires plays Burstead's sister Gini, who invites their estranged brother (Riley) to the festivities. What follows is a character-driven narrative about trauma and dysfunctional families.
2 Down Terrace (2010) - 86%
Wheatley's first major film is a bloody crime thriller that plays out like a Greek tragedy set in modern England. In Down Terrace, a father and son mobster team return home after a long stint in jail. The father, Bill, asks his wife Maggie to help him find the rat in his criminal organization, the person responsible for his incarceration.
Paranoid and desperate for retribution, Bill and Maggie don't hesitate to draw blood from those nearest and dearest to them. Their son, Karl, follows suit with his own homicidal plot.
1 A Field In England (2014) - 86%
This insane reimagining of the English Civil War involves psychotropic mushrooms, mind-altering explosions, and a talented cast. Starring Reece Shearsmith, Julian Barrett, and Michael Smiley, A Field in England's narrative lingers on a group of deserters who flee an especially savage, extended battle in a large, overgrown field.
The men become wrapped up in an alchemist's mystical plot to find treasure believed to be buried in the field. What the group finds instead is something much more sinister and surreal.
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