Movies To Watch After Venom: Let There Be Carnage
After a bit of a delay, we now live in a post-"Venom: Let There Be Carnage" world. The sequel to Sony's 2018 antihero-driven superhero film "Venom," starring Tom Hardy turned up to 11 as both Eddie Brock and the voice of Venom, is finally out. Carnage is here, and Sony's ever-growing Spider-Man Universe has gotten a little bit bigger. If you're riding high on symbiote-fueled shenanigans and are trying to figure out what to watch next, here are some curated suggestions.
Whether you enjoy dark comedies, possession, goop, wild and energetic blockbusters, or comic book adaptations that break the mold — or if you simply like seeing Tom Hardy as an off-kilter leading man — there are plenty of "Let There Be Carnage"-like films to add to your personal watchlist. The sequel took the goofiness of "Venom" to a slightly darker place, too, and you'd better believe we took that into consideration while making these picks.
Birds of Prey
While "Birds of Prey" does briefly reference the events of 2016's "Suicide Squad" — drop the "The" — and stars one of its breakout characters, it stands alone from the rest of the DC Extended Universe. Not as much as "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," which is technically a Sony Marvel film about a Spider-Man villain but which doesn't have more than few cursory nods to the MCU, but there is a similar sense of freedom to both films. There's nothing wrong with liking connected universes, but chances are, if you're a "Venom" fan, you appreciate the break.
If you didn't catch "Birds of Prey" in theaters, now is your time! It's funny and inventive and weird as all get out. The film follows Harley Quinn as she tries to make a name for herself other than "Joker's girlfriend," and faces the high-stakes consequences that occur when her entire past catches up with her at once. Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn has never been better, Chris Messina and Ewan McGregor give bonkers villain performances, and the ensemble cast of characters is so strong that you'll be counting the days until the Black Canary spin-off film.
Legend
If your favorite thing about "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" is Tom Hardy's chaotic energy, then you may enjoy this period drama, in which Hardy plays both Reggie and Ronnie Kray, twin crooks in '60s London who are pulled directly from the history books — in real life, the Krays were celebrity nightclub owners by day and gangsters by night.
"Legend" also stars Emily Browning and Taron Egerton as the twins' respective love interests, as well as some of your favorite actors from across the pond, including Christopher Eccleston ("Doctor Who"), Colin Morgan ("Merlin"), Paul Bettany ("WandaVision"), and David Thewlis ("Wonder Woman"). The film is part biopic, part thriller, but most of all features Hardy giving a dual performance that will remind you of the odd couple he plays as both Eddie Brock and Venom. Hardy even won a British Independent Film Award for his performance, as well as a handful of critics' awards.
Split
Speaking of a dual performance, the M. Night Shyamalan's 2016 film "Split" has a similar vibe to "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." Not only does James McAvoy play several of his character's alter egos in the film, but one of them is a serial killer like Cletus Kasady. The killer personality, called the Beast, also likes to eat people, similar to the symbiotes possessing Eddie and Cletus in "Let There Be Carnage." That's not the only similarity, either. There may or may not be a superhero sequel element to this film as well. If you know, you know.
Without giving too much away, "Split" is about a man with dissociative identity disorder who kidnaps three teenage girls, played by Anya Taylor-Joy ("The Queen's Gambit"), Haley Lu Richardson ("Columbus"), and Jessica Sula ("Skins"). The girls discover that their captor has multiple personalities and attempts to manipulate them in order to escape while, simultaneously, the man's therapist realizes that her client has been lying to her about some things.
The New Mutants
And speaking of both McAvoy and Taylor-Joy, you should actually watch the infamously-delayed X-Men film "The New Mutants." Seriously! Is it good? Not really. But if you like the "Venom" movies, you probably like cult classics. We could make "The New Mutants" into a cult classic if we wanted.
Like one of the titular characters in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," the group of young adult antiheroes in "The New Mutants" find themselves incarcerated in a facility. In addition, both of these films are, for adaptations of Marvel comics, on the spookier side — although, in the case of "The New Mutants," it's not quite as scary as some of the film's early trailers made it out to be.
You'll probably have a good time watching "The New Mutants," even if you intend to laugh at it more than with it. For what it's worth, the film does have an honest to goodness queer love story between Maisie Williams and Blu Hunt's characters, which is incredibly rare in the superhero genre. "The New Mutants" is hokey, but it has some redeeming qualities and is never boring. It's a fun watch.
Pacific Rim
At the end of the day, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" is about learning how to work together. Another science fiction movie that dramatizes that lesson is "Pacific Rim." In the apocalyptic world of Guillermo Del Toro's film, pilots operate giant robots called Jaegers once they achieve "drift compatibility" — the ability to be so in sync mentally that they can share the stress with one another.
While piloting the Jaeger, you're basically sharing a body. So, you better have a good symbiotic relationship with your partner. It's sharing an inside joke with a friend with a glance and not exchanging a word. It's finishing each other's sentences and constantly jinxing one another. If only Eddie and Venom were drift compatible! Both the first "Venom" movie and "Pacific Rim" snuck love stories into action blockbusters, and that's beautiful. If you're a fan of one franchise, you should be a fan of the other.
Spider-Man 3
If you walk out of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" and just want to see more Eddie and Venom, no matter the cost, you could always throw on the oft-maligned "Spider-Man 3." Thought to be the weakest of Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, it does have Venom in it. That emo dance that Peter Parker does? The one that has been mocked for decades and turned into a meme? That's because of Venom. He did it!
Now that you've seen two movies in which you actually kind of like Venom, why not revisit "Spider-Man 3" and see if you have a new appreciation for the film? You might actually like it! Topher Grace is actually pretty inspired casting for Eddie, if you think of him as alternate version of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. Plus, if the Easter eggs in the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" trailer mean what we think they mean, it wouldn't hurt to brush up on Sandman's arc in this film as well.
Jennifer's Body
Another film about being controlled by a supernatural being that wants to eat people is "Jennifer's Body," although the possession is not as cuddly or feel-good as the one in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." In Karyn Kusama's cult comedy, Megan Fox plays a teenager who is possessed by a demon, turned into a succubus who needs to feed to live, and starts killing jerks at school and in the small town where she lives. The only person who catches on is her best friend Anita Lesnicki, played by Amanda Seyfried.
High school is hard enough — what do you do when your favorite person and only ally turns out to be a murderer? "Jennifer's Body" has a really dark and delightful sense of humor. If Venom and Eddie bickering over whether or not they should be allowed to eat human beings gives you a tickle, then you'll love it when Jennifer insists that she's not killing people, she's killing boys. Throw away whatever preconceived notions you still have about Fox and get into it.
The World's End
All of Edgar Wright's films have a similar comedic sensibility to that of "Venom" and "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," but since "The World's End" deals with extraterrestrials like Venom and characters who aren't what you think they are, it's probably the most comparable for the purposes of this list.
The film is, as you may already know, the final in Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, following the films "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." You should really marathon all three, if you have the time. There's a scrappiness to them that the "Venom" movies share.
"The World's End" is about a group of friends who try to compete a pub crawl in a town that is being invaded by aliens. Honestly, after a year of trying to do normal human things in a world that felt like it could go apocalyptic at any moment, "The World's End" is more relatable than ever.
Attack the Block
Another scrappy alien invasion movie that's chock full of comedic moments is "Attack the Block," directed by Joe Cornish and released in 2011. This is the film that gave us John Boyega. His star power and undeniable charm is apparent from the very beginning of the film.
"Attack The Block" is about a group of teenagers who fight off aliens in their housing development. There's a social commentary to it as well — the film slips some poignant conversations about race, class, gentrification, and police violence amidst the laughs and jump scares. Cornish was nominated for a BAFTA for this film. For a low-ish budget science fiction film with a lot of puppetry and other practical special effects, "Attack the Block" is kind of a big deal!
If you haven't already seen it, remedy that immediately, because a sequel is in development. Get caught up now so you can support the next one in theaters!
Flubber
This may feel like it's out of left field, or at the very least on the sillier side, but the original '90s trailer calls "Flubber" the "classic story of boy meets goo" — and at the end of the day, isn't that what "Venom" is about, too? It's like if the Marvel antihero was as clumsy and cute as Paddington.
The nostalgia-packed film is an adaptation of "The Absent-Minded Professor," is written by John Hughes of all people, and stars Robin Williams. In the movie, Williams' character accidentally invents "flying rubber," which he calls "Flubber," before discovering that the substance has a life of its own. "Flubber" also makes a good double-feature with "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" because "Flubber" is so brightly colored that it's practically neon. After the dark and dreary "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," your eyes might need a jumpstart.
This Means War
If you're the type of person who loves reading think pieces about how the first "Venom" is a romantic comedy and the second is "The Odd Couple," then why not check out Hardy in an honest-to-goodness rom-com? "The Means War" is about two best buds, played by Hardy and Chris Pine, who work for the CIA. They fall in love with the same girl, and employ every trick in the spy's handbook to win her over.
"This Means War" is unethical and problematic, but aren't almost all Hollywood romances based on a problematic premise or two? Installing surveillance cameras is bad, but so is going out with someone to win a bet or write an article. We forgive a lot of bad behavior for the sake of romantic comedy.
However, for those who love the "Venom" movies, the funniest thing about "This Means War" is that Hardy's character is considered the "safe" choice between the two men — anyone who has seen Hardy's maniac performance as Eddie and Venom know that's far from the truth.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The sequel to Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy" is sometimes considered to be even better than the first, but not in a way that sparks a lot of arguments or discourse online. If you like one, you probably like the other. But in the spirit of sequels like "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," let's sing the praises of this dark comic book follow-up (you may not immediately think of del Toro as a sequel guy, but remember, he also directed "Blade 2").
Adapted from the Dark Horse comic book by Mike Mignola, del Toro's film is fantastical and bizarre and truly magical. It's weird to think of Ron Perlman's performance as underrated, but we've become so oversaturated with characters ripped from the pages of comic books — many of which are excellent, don't get me wrong — that some may need to be reminded of how good del Toro's Hellboy movies are. The second film is also, never forget, a Christmas movie.
Little Shop Of Horrors
One of the easiest ways to describe the first "Venom" movie is to compare it to the cult classic musical "Little Shop of Horrors." Just because characters break into songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who are largely responsible for the Disney renaissance, doesn't mean that this movie has a happy ending. If you think musicals tend to be a little too sincere for your taste, this might be more up your alley.
"Little Shop of Horrors" is a tragedy about a so-called "loser," just like Eddie Brock, who befriends a charismatic blood-sucking plant from outer space who wants to eat people, just like Venom. You might not be rooting (no pun intended) for Audrey II the way you root for Venom in "Let There Be Carnage," but it's basically the same story with a different ending — and singing!