22 of the Best Titles Now Streaming on Plex

Scott Adkins — one of modern cinema’s best onscreen fighters — stars in this brutal gangster movie. After his mother dies, a disfigured thug who’s spent the last several years in one of London’s harshest prisons escapes, intent on getting revenge on those who betrayed him — regardless of who they are. Most of the film’s action takes place inside a single pub, where Adkins spins his sordid tale while taking on an army of faceless goons, snapping limbs and breaking faces with aplomb.

Based on Koushun Takami’s controversial novel, Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale is set in a dystopic Japan where juvenile delinquency is out of control. In an attempt to instill some order, the government picks random classes of delinquents and sends them to an island where they’re forced to kill each other until one remains. A searing film that’s as cynical as it is moving — read my review — Battle Royale achieved immediate cult status upon its release, as well as no small amount of controversy. The film was banned in several countries even as Japanese officials claimed that it was harmful to teenagers.

Panos Cosmatos’ first feature film is an absolute fever dream, blending striking visuals, glacial pacing, and an ominous soundtrack as it follows a young woman trying to escape from a seemingly innocent New Age institute. Drawing inspiration from classic horror and sci-fi, as well as a unique ’80s-inspired aesthetic, Beyond the Black Rainbow is bizarre and trippy, and a must-see for cult film fans.

The world has been ravaged by nuclear war, forcing the remaining survivors to eke out a hardscrabble existence. One of those survivors is Vic (Don Johnson), an eighteen-year-old kid who only cares about food and sex, which he seeks out with the aid of his telepathic dog, Blood. When Vic stumbles into an underground utopian society that has survived the apocalypse, he thinks he’s found paradise, but paradise isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Packed with darker-than-dark humor and bleak satire, A Boy and His Dog is not for everyone, but it has earned its status as a cult classic (read my review).

When L.A. cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise) at the airport, he thinks he’s got a great fare for the night. But that’s before he discovers Vincent is a ruthless, nihilistic hitman. What ensues is a philosophical cat-and-mouse game as Max tries to outsmart Vincent and prevent him from completing his deadly mission. Both Foxx and Cruise deliver solid performances (Foxx was nominated for a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar) while the sound design, digital cinematography, and Michael Mann’s assured direction imbue Collateral with a stylish noir vibe.

In this classic wuxia film, Cheng Pei-pei stars as Golden Swallow, a skilled martial artist who masquerades as a man in order to bring down a vicious criminal. Joining her quest for justice is a drunken beggar who turns out to be much more than he seems. Directed by King Hu, the influential filmmaker behind Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen, Come Drink with Me helped revitalize the martial arts genre when it was released in 1966. It’s since come to be regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time.

Dark City was one of my first film obsessions. After Alex Proyas’ mysterious sci-fi film came to theatres, I was so enamored with its stylish visuals and dream-like storyline that I saw it multiple times. In Dark City, a group of mysterious strangers twist and rebuild the titular city every night, using its citizens as unknowing pawns in bizarre, nightmarish experiments — until one man wakes up to the truth, and begins to use the strangers’ powers against them (read my review).

Years after they escaped from a suicide cult, two brothers receive a videotape that the cult is still alive and well. Returning to visit the cult’s compound, the brothers begin experiencing bizarre phenomena that suggest that the cult’s beliefs may have been true after all. Or, that an even greater horror awaits them. Making great use of its low budget, The Endless is an excellent Lovecraftian horror film filled with atmosphere to spare (read my review).

This remake of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, aka, The Chinese Connection, stars Jet Li as a Chinese student studying abroad in Japan who returns home upon learning of his master’s mysterious death. But his investigations are complicated both by the suspicions of his fellow students as well the growing political unrest between China and Japan. I daresay that Li’s film is far better than the original (read my review), with a more complex and nuanced storyline. As for the martial arts sequences, which were choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping, they rank among the best ever filmed.

In this pitch-black comedy by Chris Morris (Brass Eye), four would-be terrorists try to plan the perfect suicide bombing. However, their plans are constantly foiled by their own zeal and ineptitude. Deliberately provocative but also surprisingly thoughtful in its dissection of terrorism, Four Lions is a brilliant political farce.

In the year 2029, the task of defending Japan from terrorists and cyber criminals falls to the secretive Public Security Section 9, led by the cybernetic Motoko Kusanagi. But Kusanagi and her team might have met their match in the form of a mysterious hacker known only as the Puppet Master. Along with Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, Ghost in the Shell helped to popularize anime in the West, and proved that it could tell mature stories filled with both intense action and thought-provoking ideas. Mamoru Oshii released a sequel, titled Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, in 2004.

Jean-Claude Van Damme became an action movie icon in the ’80s and ’90s thanks to films like Bloodsport, Hard Target, Timecop, and Sudden Death. But in JCVD, Van Damme pokes fun at himself, playing an aging action star whose career has stalled. And if that weren’t bad enough, he’s held hostage in a heist gone wrong. The Muscles from Brussels delivers an affecting performance as he deconstructs his own life and career while also delivering some blows to the celebrity lifestyle with all of its excess.

John Woo’s remake of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï is, quite simply, one of the greatest action movies of all time. Chow Yun Fat is at his coolest here, playing an expert hitman who is stricken with guilt after accidentally blinding a singer (Sally Yeh) during one of his jobs. But even as he tries to make things right, he’s hedged in by a dogged cop (Danny Lee) on one side and the gangsters who’ve betrayed him on the other. Along with Hard Boiled, The Killer is the epitome of John Woo’s “heroic bloodshed” films, and is filled with some of the most poetic violence ever captured on film.

Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn has often been considered one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time. When Rankin/Bass Productions saw fit to adapt it for animation, they had Beagle write the screenplay about a unicorn who discovers that she’s the last of her kind, and travels the country to learn their fate. Along the way, she meets a would-be magician, an aged king, and a heroic young prince. The film’s voice cast includes Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Angela Lansbury, and Christopher Lee.

Ever since strangers attacked his family and killed his wife, Leonard Shelby is unable to form new memories. Nevertheless, he’s dedicated his life to tracking down his wife’s killers and exacting revenge. Needless to say, his quest gets complicated in this intriguing thriller by Christopher Nolan. Told in non-linear fashion and split between two narratives, one of which unfolds in reverse order, Memento ably established Nolan as a talented and unique filmmaker.

The Monty Python fellows deliver up a scathing and hilarious parody of King Arthur and the knights of his Round Table. In their search for the Holy Grail, King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedevere, Sir Galahad, and Sir Robin the-not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Lancelot encounter all manner of bizarre characters, including the Knights Who Say Ni, the unkillable Black Knight, and the monstrous Rabbit of Caerbannog. Released in 1975, it’s widely considered one of the greatest comedies of all time.

What remains to be said about this, one of the greatest cult TV series of all time? Although only a handful of seasons are currently streaming on Plex, any Mystery Science Theater 3000 is better than no Mystery Science Theater 3000.

It’s often been said that the less you know about a movie, the better your experience will be. That’s most definitely the case with One Cut of the Dead (read my review). All you need to know is that it’s about a film crew trying to a make a zombie movie only to find themselves in the midst of an honest-to-goodness zombie apocalypse. To say any more would rob you of a truly unique cinematic experience.

In this sci-fi comedy, the staff and guests of a picturesque riverside hotel become trapped in a time loop that lasts only two minutes. As they try to figure out the time loop’s cause, they also discover ways to use it to their advantage (like the struggling author who sees it as a way to avoid a looming deadline). With its slightly surreal sense of humor, some truly inventive visual storytelling, and a gorgeous location, River is a charming and unassuming little gem (read my review).

After emigrating to the U.S. in the mid-1930s to escape the Nazis, German filmmaker Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M) directed this pitch-black film noir about a wannabe artist who’s trapped in a loveless marriage (Edward G. Robinson) and falls for the charms of a young woman (Joan Bennett). Of course, this being a film noir, things only go downhill from there, including adultery, extortion, false identities, and murder. Indeed, Scarlet Street was deemed so dark that it was initially banned in several cities.

Yuen Woo-ping is one of the great martial arts filmmakers. Not only has he choreographed a number of fantastic films, including Fist of Legend and The Matrix, but he’s directed his own fair share of martial arts classics. In 1993, he made Tai Chi Master, starring Jet Li as a former Shaolin monk who develops a new martial arts style and must confront his former brother. Also starring Michelle Yeoh, Tai Chi Master takes Yuen’s trademark wire-enhanced kung fu to new heights (read my review).

Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine couldn’t be more different. The former is a wealthy stock broker, the former a homeless vagabond. But after Winthorpe’s bosses conspire to switch their places in a bizarre experiment, the two must overcome their differences in order to get their revenge. Who knew the intricacies of the stock market could make for comedic fare, but thanks to Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy’s performances, as well as Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod’s smart script, Trading Places is one of the great ’80s comedies. (Although some parts, like the racial humor, haven’t necessarily aged that well.)