Every Mia Goth Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
It's astounding how quickly Mia Goth has cemented herself in popular culture as not just an incredibly talented actress, but one with an intuitive sense of what projects suit her best. The London-born actress, who made her feature film debut back in 2013 with Lars von Trier's "Nymphomaniac," has become a staple of arthouse drama, thriller, and horror genre cinema. Her ability to channel both syrupy sweetness and malevolent darkness makes her a versatile addition to any film, traits that brought her into the mainstream with Ti West's "X" and prequel "Pearl" in 2022.
With her star set to shine brighter than ever following the wildly successful release of "Pearl," we've ranked all 12 feature films starring Mia Goth from worst to best. Frankly, it's a testament to her taste as a performer that we'd still recommend checking them all out, even if some films are more enjoyable than others.
12. Nymphomaniac (2013)
Considering the diverse and prolific caliber of Mia Goth's acting roles to date, it's only fitting that her feature film debut was for one of modern cinema's most controversial auteurs. Starring as "P" in the second chapter of Lars von Trier's "Nymphomaniac," Goth's first big-screen role is one of a few notable bright spots in this exhaustingly provocative cinematic wink at the audience.
Charlotte Gainsbourg leads the film as Joe, a self-proclaimed nymphomaniac rescued by virginal bachelor Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) after she's viciously beaten and left for dead near his apartment. Across the film's two volumes, Joe recounts her tumultuous and x-rated life story to Seligman, her polar opposite in just about every sense. Reflecting on foundational experiences, explicit encounters, and the great unraveling of the self that has led her to the present day, "Nymphomaniac" has the foundations of a compelling narrative.
Unfortunately, it's dragged down by the weight of its second chapter, where its philosophizing wears thin. There are certainly elements of merit: Uma Thurman absolutely kills it as an outraged wife who walks in on one of Joe's affairs, and von Trier's experimentation with digitally grafting the cast onto real, unsimulated sex acts is entertaining at the very least. But aside from its explicit novelty and some stand-out performances — including Goth as Joe's young sexual protégé — von Trier falls short of the cohesive impact left by previous efforts like "Antichrist" and "Melancholia."
11. Everest (2015)
Of all the films on our list, "Everest" is probably the most accessible and ordinary. That's not an insult; it just goes to show the diverse and challenging range of projects that Mia Goth has taken on in her short but astounding career so far. And even if it's quite possibly the shortest on-screen appearance she's ever had (as Robin Wright's Texan daughter), you could find much worse ways to spend a chilly winter evening in.
Based on the 1996 real-life disaster involving two expedition groups on Mount Everest's slopes, Baltasar Kormákur's "Everest" boasts a star-studded lineup including Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Watson, and Elizabeth Debicki. It's a crowded cast, but that mass of climbers is one of several major contributing factors that led to the severe injury and loss of lives suffered on Everest in May 1996.
There are some heart-wrenching performances here throughout, and for the most part, Kormákur crafts an immersive and convincing depiction of the treacherous peaks of the Himalayas. While it ultimately doesn't land a high spot on our list — there are simply far more ambitious and impactful films in Goth's filmography — it's still a solid retelling of one of humanity's most notable disasters in modern history.
10. The House (2022)
For as much as Netflix's original content (forgive our use of that word) can pale in comparison to the recent offerings from other major streaming services, there are some superb animated series and features to be found there. One such feature is "The House," a stop-motion anthology film from directors Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, and Paloma Baeza.
With a single house serving as the binding motif across different eras and styles of animation, "The House" is a beautifully crafted film that approaches the idea of a home from very different angles. The three segments follow the occupants of the titular home across past, present, and future, spinning tales of temptation and greed, the importance of family and friends, and what it means for a house to truly be a home.
The first segment, which stars Mia Goth as the eldest daughter of a peasant family who finds themselves the occupants of an increasingly labyrinthine mansion, is arguably its strongest. Goth's vocal performance, which is more akin to her famously gentle off-screen speech than usual, contrasts well with the shadowy specters of her family's new home. There's a genius approach to the animation, in which everything appears to be made of felt or cotton — a touch that makes the looming darkness of its story all the more sinister. Overall, "The House" is an entertaining and lovingly animated experience we'd love to see more of.
9. Marrowbone (2017)
Every once in a while you come across a film that has such a stacked cast you're not sure how it passed you by. That's exactly the case with "Marrowbone" from Spanish writer-director Sergio G. Sánchez, who's perhaps best known for writing the 2007 Gothic horror film "The Orphanage." While it has its issues, "Marrowbone" is a beautifully shot, well-acted Gothic tale that deserves to be on your radar.
In the late 1960s, a young family flees their English home for America in the hopes of escaping the clutches of their abusive father. Soon after, their mother passes away, leaving her four children to fend for themselves. Jack (George McKay) is less than a year from being able to serve as legal guardian to his siblings as long as he can avoid the authorities. Isolated in their rural home with only librarian Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy) to keep them connected to the outside world, the Marrowbone family's conundrum is a sympathetic and compelling one.
Where the film may divide audiences (as it did with critics on release) is the final act, where it takes the narrative in a direction that may not land for everybody. Nonetheless, thanks to charming and spirited performances from a cast including Mia Goth and "Stranger Things" star Charlie Heaton as the middle Marrowbone siblings, the film is still an atmospheric and emotional Gothic tale worth checking out if that sounds up your alley.
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8. Mayday (2021)
Despite releasing on the precipice of Mia Goth's career breakout and an alluring premise, 2021's surreal action-drama "Mayday" seemed to disappear over the horizon quicker than it deserved. It's a shame, really. Despite stumbling in its execution, Karen Cinorre's directorial debut is an ambitious, dreamy work of cinema.
Grace Van Patten ("Tell Me Lies") stars as Ana, a young woman working at a seaside hotel during a wedding reception. When Ana is assaulted by her boss, she begins to hear a mysterious mayday call, leading her to the kitchen where she finds herself transported to an island seemingly during World War II. There, she meets a group of rebellious female soldiers who lure in passing soldiers with phony emergency broadcasts, slaughtering them from the vantage point of their beached submarine hideout. Although Ana initially enjoys the delirious escapism, her desire to return home is met with resistance from the group of deadly sirens.
Comparisons to Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" are inevitable, although the allegorical dreamscape and female-fronted action here are considerably less video-gamey, fetishistic, and blockbuster slick. It does drag in its middle act and doesn't quite manage the impact it has the potential for. However, "Mayday" is undeniably visionary, and the dynamics between the island's inhabitants (Mia Goth, Juliette Lewis, Havana Rose Liu, and French singer Soko) are enjoyable. If anything, give it a shot for Goth's confident, gleefully murderous Marsha.
7. Emma. (2020)
It's certainly not the first time Jane Austen's classic romantic novel "Emma" has been adapted to the screen — far from it. But Autumn de Wilde's 2020 film of the same name, featuring Mia Goth's least typecast role so far, is among the most enjoyable Austen adaptations with its vibration production design, contemporary energy, and charismatic cast.
Emma Woodhouse, played by the ever-talented Anya Taylor-Joy, lives in luxury with her father (Bill Nighy) in early 19th-century England. She gets her kicks from snooping on and manipulating the love lives of her companions while avoiding having one of her own. But Emma's games fold back on her when her new friend Harriet (Mia Goth) and the handsome Mr. Knightley (Johnny Flynn) complicate matters of the heart in ways out of her control.
There's plenty to enjoy here, even if period pieces and/or romantic comedies aren't your usual fare. From the costuming to décor to the mise-en-scène, "Emma." is visual high tea. The screenplay, penned by New Zealand author Eleanor Catton ("The Luminaries"), is brimming with wit and youthful perspective, refreshing it for a new generation by leaning all the way into blunt self-awareness. Also, the cast is practically born for their roles, especially Goth's Harriett, whose aloof sweetness may surprise those used to her darker roles. Fingers crossed she reunites with de Wilde for the director's eventual sophomore feature.
6. A Cure for Wellness (2016)
Although it landed with a thud at the box office and was generally disliked by critics upon release, we can't help but enjoy Gore Verbinski's delirious horror movie "A Cure for Wellness." After repeated success at the box office with family-friendly outings like the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, it was inevitable that Verbinski would take the opportunity to delve back into the darker territory he'd previously explored in his 2002 remake of the J-horror classic "The Ring."
In a rare appropriately cast role, Dane DeHaan stars as a young business executive tasked with retrieving the company's CEO from a remote wellness spa in the Swiss Alps. Not long after arriving at the gorgeous facility, he's injured in a car accident and finds himself an unwilling patient of the spa's mysterious director Dr. Heinreich Volmer (Jason Isaacs). Mia Goth also stars as Hannah, one of the good doctor's "special patients" and DeHaan's accomplice in uncovering the mysteries behind Volmer's miracle treatments. While it's not Goth's first time working with dark material, she elevates the film's atmosphere and over-the-top revelations with her dynamic and eerie performance.
It's unfortunate that "A Cure for Wellness" didn't quite hit the mark. It may be bloated and more than a little goofy, but with Verbinski's larger-than-life direction, some utterly entertaining set-pieces, a well-chosen cast, and an old-school Hammer Horror charm writhing under the surface, it's actually worth checking out.
5. Pearl (2022)
"X" was one of 2022's biggest and best surprises. Ti West's return to the kind of gritty, old-school throwback horror that kicked off his directorial career (in the form of "The House of the Devil") was an instant classic, largely thanks to Mia Goth's fantastic dual roles as the film's protagonist and antagonist. But the blood-covered cherry on top was the revelation that a prequel film had been shot in tandem with "X" and would be released within the same year.
That brings us to "Pearl," which follows the titular character's downward spiral from hopeful starlet to murderous farmer. In addition to her leading role, Goth co-wrote the prequel alongside Ti West, resulting in a sympathetic, more dramatic portrait of the woman we meet in the exploitation gore-fest of "X." With her beloved husband shipped off to the frontlines of WW1, Pearl's dreams of showbiz stardom are stifled by the responsibilities of helping her stern mother and a father disabled by the Spanish flu. Tempted by opportunity's knock, Pearl rebels against the farmstead's burdens — but repressed urges threaten to take it all away.
While it lacks the full impact of "X" in some areas — mostly due to its proximity to the previous film — it stands on its own two feet with its characterization of Pearl, Goth's commanding performance, and a distinctly Technicolor-era aesthetic that doesn't over-do it.
4. The Survivalist (2015)
If "The Survivalist" has gone under your radar until now, you're in for a treat. It's one of Mia Goth's earliest on-screen roles, one more emotionally subdued than the likes of "Pearl." But along with top-notch cinematography and atmosphere, it's some of her best work to date.
This bleak but gripping post-apocalyptic drama follows a young man who has made a solitary life in the wilderness after the collapse of society. He's a natural survivor, living off the land and keeping his existence quiet from the potential threat of strangers. That all changes with the unexpected arrival of Kathryn (Olwen Fouéré) and her daughter Milja (Goth), who beg for shelter and supplies from the protagonist. Reluctantly, he bargains with them for mutual benefit, but his decisions will have startling repercussions.
It's a film that should be sought out straight away by fans of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and similar post-apocalyptic fiction. Rather than depicting overgrown skyscrapers and scarred landscapes in lavish CGI, "The Survivalist" instead focuses on its morally complex characters and how the desperation to live shapes us. The state of the world is instead implied by the behavior of the characters who live in it, leaving audiences on the edges of their seats rather than with expensive special effects.
3. High Life (2018)
Claire Denis, the legendary French director behind such films as "Beau Travail" and "Trouble Every Day," made her English-language feature debut in 2018 with the beautiful, contemplative yet utterly disturbing science fiction tale "High Life." While some might find its darkly sexual content challenging, it's a unique and beautifully crafted approach to an often drab and by-the-numbers genre.
Starring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth, and Outkast's André Benjamin, "High Life" takes place on a space vessel bound for a black hole in the hopes of harnessing its properties for use as an alternative energy source back on Earth. The ship's crew — mostly comprised of prisoners who had been sentenced to execution by the state — are subjected to bizarre sexual experiments by Dr. Dibs (Binoche), who yearns to successfully impregnate and deliver a healthy newborn in space.
Through a non-linear narrative, Denis' film explores the morality underneath the prison system, sexual dynamics, and the complexities of human existence. The casting of Mia Goth alongside Pattinson was inevitable (they are, after all, A24 royalty at this point), and they're perfectly suited to this movie's uncanny blend of touching reflection and taboo horrors. This film won't work for everyone, but we rank it amongst Goth's finest projects.
2. X (2022)
Ti West has directed numerous films since his modern horror classic "The House of the Devil" back in 2009, but arguably, none have made quite the same impact. That changed with the release of "X" in 2022, marking a return to not only his '70s throwback style of horror filmmaking but the crowd-pleasing thrills and frights as well.
Paying tribute to the likes of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and the adult entertainment industry of the 1970s, "X" is a love letter to the outsiders of cinema in all its forms. A ragtag group of crew and performers rent out a cabin on a rural Southern property to shoot a low-budget porn feature, only to find themselves preyed upon by the locals. It's exactly what it says on the tin, but when you have this kind of morbid glee and production quality in the mix, that's a compliment.
There are some great performances from the cast, especially scream queens Jenna Ortega ("Scream") and Mia Goth — the latter of whom plays an incredible dual role in the vein of Tilda Swinton in 2018's "Suspiria" remake, which she also starred in. There's a lot to enjoy about "X," but it wouldn't land nearly as well without actors who know exactly what kind of movie they're in and are clearly having a great time doing it (even if they're getting butchered in the process).
1. Suspiria (2018)
It's understandable that whispers of a Hollywood remake of Dario Argento's Italian horror classic "Suspiria" were met with skepticism and more than a little ire. The original film is an occult fever dream, full of lavish production design and a prog-rock score that's still performed live during screenings to this day. How could anything possibly capture that same magic?
The 2018 reinterpretation by "Call Me by Your Name" director Luca Guadagnino isn't a soulless cash-in on the intellectual property rights as some might have feared. While both films follow a young American woman discovering a coven of witches is behind the dance academy she attends, Guadagnino goes further in the realms of narrative. He weaves an emotionally and politically complex tale while still delivering some of the most aesthetically striking (and horrifying) sequences in modern horror history. It's a true masterpiece in its own right, even if Argento himself really wasn't a fan.
While Mia Goth's supporting role doesn't quite allow for the heights of performance she's capable of, she's the perfect fit as dance student Sara Simms, who assists Susie (Dakota Johnson) in uncovering the truth behind Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton) and her academy. Given that Guadagnino has a history of re-casting his favorite collaborators on future projects, we'd love to see Goth taking a leading role in his (unlikely to ever manifest) remake of the original follow-up to "Suspiria," "Inferno."