The 60 Best Movies On Prime Video Right Now (February 2023)

Once considered a poor man's version of Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video service has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, now boasting an impressive collection of films. From old classics to new releases, its library has something for everyone. Amazon has even become a legitimate player as an independent studio, with several of its films nominated for Academy Awards. In 2022, the company received four nominations: three acting nods for "Being the Ricardos," and a best hair and makeup honor for "Coming 2 America." But even if your tastes run counter to awards fodder, there's plenty on the service to tempt the budding cinephile in all of us. Here are 60 of the best films that you can find currently on Prime Video.

Updated on February 1, 2023: Prime Video makes changes to its catalog every month, adding some films while removing others. We'll be keeping this list updated to reflect the best movies you can find on the service at this very moment.

Based on Operation Anthropoid, a plot by the Czech resistance to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the highest-ranking Nazi in Prague, "Anthropoid" is a moving World War II film that ventures outside the traditional sphere of Britain, France, and the United States. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan play the two Czech operatives who have been tasked with spearheading this operation, putting together a team that will execute Heydrich while simultaneously avoiding the attention of the Nazi occupiers who lurk down every street. The stakes are high — both men are fighting for their country, and they know the deadly consequences of failure. The end result is a deeply emotional war drama that brings to life the sacrifices made by Czech freedom fighters.

• Starring: Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan, Charlotte Le Bon

• Director: Sean Ellis

• Year: 2016

• Runtime: 120 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66%

Based on the real-life romance between Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (both of whom wrote this screenplay, and were eventually rewarded with an Oscar nomination for their efforts), "The Big Sick" is an unconventional love story. After a brief romance, Emily's plan to break up with Kumail hits a snag when she becomes seriously ill and falls into a coma, leaving Kumail able to do little more than sit in a hospital waiting room, hoping that she'll wake up. During this agonizing wait, he bonds with Emily's parents, played with wit and empathy by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter. As their relationship grows, Emily's illness forces him to reckon with the depths of his feelings for her. An unexpectedly genuine romantic comedy, "The Big Sick" blends laughs with emotional resonance.

• Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano

• Director: Michael Showalter

• Year: 2017

• Runtime: 120 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

Plenty of movies attempt to replicate the success of popular TV shows from the 1960s and 1970s, but few have done it with the panache of "The Brady Bunch Movie." This quirky 1990s comedy somehow manages to capture exactly what was so successful — and deeply weird — about the prototypical blended family, the Bradys. Although it's set in the 1990s, none of the Bradys seem to realize it, their sunny '70s aesthetic proving a perfect counterpoint to '90s grunge. Their ability to be gleefully oblivious to everything and everyone around them matches the spirit of the original show, whose characters always seemed too preternaturally perfect to exist in the real world. Come for Christine Taylor's "Sure, Jan," destined to become an internet meme, but stay for Gary Cole's flawless performance as family patriarch Mike Brady.

• Starring: Gary Cole, Shelley Long, Christine Taylor

• Director: Betty Thomas

• Year: 1995

• Runtime: 88 minutes

• Rating: PG-13

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%

Too often, women in films and television shows about medieval life are defined by the pain, suffering, and violence they face. While this isn't to say those weren't issues that women faced in this time period, it can be a little suffocating when those are the only experiences shown on screen. "Catherine Called Birdy," which features "Game of Thrones" breakout star Bella Ramsey, is a breath of fresh air because although it highlights the hardships that Birdy faces as she comes of age, it also captures the spirited sense of willful defiance that makes her future far more hopeful than other films in this genre would allow.

• Starring: Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper

• Director: Lena Dunham

• Year: 2022

• Runtime: 108 minutes

• Rating: PG-13

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Leave it to Spike Lee to take the classic Greek play "Lysistrata," in which a group of women go on a sex strike in a bid to convince their husbands and lovers to stop fighting in the Peloponnesian War, and transplant it to modern day Chicago. The storyline of "Chi-Raq" is essentially the same: On the south side of Chicago, the women are exhausted by the constant gang violence in their community, and are willing to use unconventional methods to force the men to put down their weapons. Aside from a stand-out performance from Teyonah Parris as Lysistrata herself, "Chi-Raq" has the added distinction of being the very first film produced by the newly-minted Amazon Studios.

• Starring: Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson

• Director: Spike Lee

• Year: 2015

• Runtime: 127 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

Is there anything more emotionally satisfying than when a former child star decides to invest their fortune into their weird little passion projects? Daniel Radcliffe does it, appearing in strange indie projects rather than chasing the next big blockbuster franchise, as does Elijah Wood, who has gone from the career-defining role of Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings" to a burgeoning champion of low-budget horror. He stars in "Come to Daddy" as Norval, a man who reluctantly agrees to meet with his estranged father in a rundown cabin in rural Oregon — there certainly couldn't have been less creepy places for them to reconnect, right?

Norval gets a lot more than the Hallmark family reunion he was expecting, however; "Come to Daddy" is still a horror movie, after all. It's small in scale but was received well by critics, with Sarah Hagi of The Globe and Mail writing that in, "blending the best of indie horror with B-movie violence and gore, it's exactly what it needs to be for both the audience and Norval."

• Starring: Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Martin Donovan

• Director: Ant Timpson

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 93 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

In the world of Hollywood horror nepotism, there is no greater achievement than "Daniel Isn't Real." The film stars Miles Robbins (son of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon) as Luke, a wealthy young man with mental health issues who, while struggling during his first semester at college, is reunited with his childhood imaginary friend, Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger, whose father is ... well, you know). But although Daniel initially seems to want to help Luke, it's clear before long that his intentions are far more nefarious.

The biggest coup of "Daniel Isn't Real" is that it's actually pretty good. Schwarzenegger has a mischievous charm that turns to malevolent on a dime, and Robbins pulls off the tortured everyman with a maturity beyond his years. What begins as a darker take on the (admittedly already pretty dark) "Drop Dead Fred" takes on a life of its own as its two lead actors play off one enough perfectly.

• Starring: Miles Robbins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sasha Lane

• Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer

• Year: 2019

• Runtime: 96 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

Benedict Cumberbatch and an endless sea of adorable cats — what more do you really need? In "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain," Cumberbatch stars as the titular Louis, an English cartoonist whose engaging anthropomorphized illustrations of cats went a long way towards making the domesticated feline a staple of the middle-class Victorian household. But although his images are adorable, Louis' life isn't easy. He begins by drawing pictures of his own cat for his dying wife (Claire Foy) in an effort to cheer her during her last days, and struggles with mental illness throughout the film. Nonetheless, "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain" is a magical film that captures the beauty of unconventional points of view.

• Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough

• Director: Will Sharpe

• Year: 2021

• Runtime: 111 minutes

• Rating: PG-13

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

There are three things in life that are certain: death, taxes, and Jane Austen film adaptations. This latest interpretation of "Emma" stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the young Miss Emma Woodhouse, who is embroiled in efforts to matchmake amongst her friends and relations. Director Autumn de Wilde builds a feast for the eyes, imbuing each set with a maximalist whimsy that makes the entire production look warm and inviting. 

Taylor-Joy's performance as Emma is an ever-so-slightly modernized interpretation of the character — she walks a line between fitting into the period setting and unleashing a perfect 21st-century side-eye at the ridiculousness that frequently surrounds her. She is joined by two magnificently cast supporting actors, with Johnny Flynn as her romantic interest Mr. Knightley (who, as far as we're concerned, can go toe-to-toe against Mr. Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice" any day of the week) and Mia Goth as an impressionable woman of questionable birth who Emma takes under her wing.

• Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Mia Goth

• Director: Autumn de Wilde

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 125 minutes

• Rating: PG

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Decades before the whole Beanie Feldstein and Lea Michele debacle was a glimmer in the eye of theater nerds, Barbra Streisand originated the role of Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl." She stars as the real-life comedienne, who made her way up through the world of vaudeville in the early 20th century. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with the roguish Nicky Arnstein, played by the preternaturally charming Omar Sharif. 

Their on-screen pairing caused quite a stir at the time — the Six-Day War broke out between Israel and Egypt while "Funny Girl" was in production, creating even more controversy for its Jewish and Egyptian leads. The Egyptian authorities considered revoking Sharif's citizenship, to which he commented in an interview with the New York Times, "I told them neither in my professional nor private life do I ask a girl her nationality or religion when I kiss her." Streisand, in true Fanny Brice fashion, allegedly quipped, "Egypt angry! You should hear what my Aunt Sarah said!"

• Starring: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Walter Pidgeon

• Director: William Wyler

• Year: 1968

• Runtime: 151 minutes

• Rating: G

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Even though Veronica (Winona Ryder) hangs out with the popular clique at her high school with a trio of girls named Heather, she never stops feeling as though she doesn't fit in. Matters only get worse when she falls in love with teen rebel J.D. (Christian Slater) and becomes accidentally involved in a string of murders. This is "Heathers," a subversive 1989 comedy whose pitch-black sense of humor stands in defiance of the lighter and more upbeat John Hughes output from the Brat Pack. Wringing humor from subjects that have no business being funny, "Heathers" is fascinatingly surreal.

• Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker

• Director: Michael Lehmann

• Year: 1989

• Runtime: 103 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

When Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are dumped by their significant others, they create a special pact: Each will befriend the other's ex, and attempt to sabotage their new relationships. This is the plot of "I Want You Back," an offbeat romantic comedy that succeeds on the charms of its two leads. Day and Slate have great comedic chemistry, which helps overcome the fact that their messed-up sabotage plan should make both of their characters extremely unlikable. As a light-hearted diversion, "I Want You Back" is pleasant enough, serving as one of Amazon Studio's most endearing romantic comedies.

• Starring: Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood

• Director: Jason Orley

• Year: 2022

• Runtime: 111 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

What is it about Hollywood and the prevalence of creepy, subversive cults? In "The Invitation," Will (Logan Marshall-Green) steels himself for a dinner party that will be awkward for a number of reasons. The first is that it's being hosted by his ex-wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and her second husband David (Michiel Huisman). The second (and arguably the most pressing) is that David kind of seems as though he might want to use his guests in some sort of ritual sacrifice? The ultimate party foul.

The tension in "The Invitation" builds deliciously: Will feels as though something isn't quite right from the very beginning, but is forced to question himself throughout the film. Is there legitimately something wrong, or is he predisposed to be distrustful of David because he's the man who, in his eyes, took Eden away from him? Compulsively watchable and tightly edited, "The Invitation" is a masterclass in psychological horror from Karyn Kusama.

• Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman

• Director: Karyn Kusama

• Year: 2016

• Runtime: 99 minutes

• Rating: NR

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

"Women aren't funny," a generation of male comedians insisted. The female-driven comedy "Late Night" completely obliterates that premise. In it, Mindy Kaling stars as Molly, an aspiring writer who gets a shot at the big time when she is hired by a failing late night talk show headlined by the famously prickly Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson). Katherine came up in a different era of comedy, and struggles to connect with younger viewers. Molly is tasked with freshening up Katherine's act, and in the process, the two form a strong bond that allows Katherine to rediscover the spark that she once had. Both a celebration of women in comedy and a commentary on the mediocrity of many talk shows, "Late Night" is an underrated gem.

• Starring: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson, Hugh Dancy

• Director: Nisha Ganatra

• Year: 2019

• Runtime: 102 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

Released a little over six months into the pandemic, "Love and Monsters" came at a time when we were perhaps most in need of a cheery apocalyptic comedy, one complete with a cute dog. An always charming Dylan O'Brien stars as Joel, a well-intentioned but vaguely incompetent survivor who lives in an underground bunker, thanks to the hordes of giant insects that now roam the land. But when Joel receives a transmission from his high school sweetheart, he decides to make the perilous journey to her settlement, a trip that will bring him into contact with the murderous creatures that have essentially taken over the planet. 

"Love and Monsters" is light, even considering the existential dread of its post-apocalyptic setting, and well-paced. The monster designs are creative and unique, with eccentric flourishes that separate them from your run-of-the-mill giant creepy crawly. David Ehrlich of IndieWire called "Love and Monsters" the "rarest kind of movie these days: A fun, imaginative, genre-mashing adventure that was made with a modest amount of big studio money."

• Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker

• Director: Michael Matthews

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 109 minutes

• Rating: PG-13

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Following "Titanic" and "Romeo + Juliet," Leonardo DiCaprio was a newly-minted teen heartthrob who was determined to prove himself as an actor. So, it makes sense that he would be attracted to "The Man in the Iron Mask." In it, he takes on the dual roles of the cruel King Louis (seemingly an attempt to stretch himself beyond leading man roles) and his kind-hearted identical twin brother, Philippe, a character more firmly in DiCaprio's wheelhouse. Philippe has been imprisoned in an iron mask for nearly a decade — because of his resemblance to the king, he poses a near constant threat to Louis' sovereignty. The legendary Three Musketeers, now more than a little long in the tooth, hatch a plot to exchange Philippe for Louis and install a just and empathetic ruler on the French throne. As a swashbuckling adventure, "The Man in the Iron Mask" is more than a little melodramatic, but it knows exactly what kind of film it is and commits fully.

• Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons
• Director: Randall Wallace
• Year: 1998
• Runtime: 132 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 32%

"Master" is an unsettling reminder that, however much liberal arts colleges talk about inclusion and diversity, people of color still face unfair prejudices on even the most allegedly enlightened campuses. Regina Hall stars in "Master" as Gail Bishop, the new master of Ancaster, a prestigious college in New England. The school has had its fair share of tragedy: It is allegedly haunted by a woman who was hanged for witchcraft, as well as the school's first Black student, who committed suicide in her dorm room in the '60s. The psychological horror of the place weighs heavy on the minds of not just Gail, but Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), a Black undergraduate who is struggling to fit in with her wealthy white classmates.

• Starring: Regina Hall, Amber Gray, Zoe Renee

• Director: Mariama Diallo

• Year: 2022

• Runtime: 99 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

In this Depression-era comedy, Carole Lombard stars as Irene Bullock, a ditzy socialite who takes part in a scavenger hunt in which a homeless man must be collected to win the game. The rich have to have their own kind of fun, after all. So, she finds one such man, Godfrey (William Powell), and decides to offer him a position in her family's house as a butler. He slips into the role perfectly, but little does Irene know that Godfrey is more of a wanderer, with a fortune that would rival her own. Lombard and Powell have incredible chemistry with one another, which makes sense: They had been married in real life, and although they divorced three years before making "My Man Godfrey," they remained good friends.

• Starring: Carole Lombard, William Powell, Gail Patrick

• Director: Gregory La Cava

• Year: 1936

• Runtime: 90 minutes

• Rating: NR

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

"I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir." These are the words repeated throughout "The Northman," as Alexander Skarsgard's Viking hero Amleth sets out on a misguided journey of revenge. After watching his uncle murder his father and kidnap his mother, young Amleth grows up with a single-minded determination to check off every item on his to-do list. But the closer he gets to accomplishing his goals, the less they seem to provide him the emotional fulfillment he was looking for. Dark, stylistic, and just plain bizarre, "The Northman" is a fine contribution to Robert Eggers' filmography.

• Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy
• Director: Robert Eggers
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 137 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

If "The Outfit" was just a movie about a soft-spoken Mark Rylance making bespoke suits in 1950s Chicago, we'd still watch it. However, there's much more going on in Graham Moore's directorial debut, which begins as a traditional historical drama before quickly changing into a clever gangster movie. With the banter between zoot-suited Johnny Flynn and Dylan O'Brien and its unpredictable twists and turns, "The Outfit" evokes the feeling of a classic mob flick. At the center of it all is Rylance, who offers up a fascinating turn as a mild-mannered tailor with a dark past.

• Starring: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn
• Director: Graham Moore
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 105 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

In "Paterson," a man named Paterson (Adam Driver) who lives in Paterson, New Jersey wakes up every morning to drive a local bus. In his spare time, he writes poetry in his prized notebook. It's a quiet film about a quiet life, but because of the skills of both director Jim Jarmusch and Driver it leaves a tremendous impact nonetheless. "Paterson" captures the simple, unvarnished experiences of an unexpected artist — his sources of inspiration, and how he overcomes adversity when the poems he pours his soul into are suddenly destroyed by his pet dog.

• Starring: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Chasten Harmon

• Director: Jim Jarmusch

• Year: 2016

• Runtime: 118 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

"The Report" isn't an easy watch, but it feels like an essential one. The film stars Adam Driver as a government official who is responsible for putting together a report that will examine the use of torture on suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. What he uncovers is chilling, with endless stories of prisoners being subjected to every kind of torture imaginable as CIA operatives unsuccessfully try to get information out of them. A damning indictment of American war crimes in the aftermath of 9/11, "The Report" forces viewers to confront the evil deeds done in the name of national security.

• Starring: Adam Driver, Maura Tierney, Annette Bening

• Director: Scott Z. Burns

• Year: 2019

• Runtime: 118 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

When drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) first begins to hear a ringing in his ears, he shrugs it off as an occupational hazard. Then, one day, he walks up to discover that he has lost the majority of his hearing and will need to adjust to an entirely new life. "Sound of Metal" is an empathetic exploration of the transition between the hearing and Deaf worlds, with Paul Raci's Joe serving as a guide and mentor to Ruben. The film utilizes sound in innovative new ways: It's used to demonstrate Ruben's fading hearing, the harsh, mechanical sounds of a cochlear implant, and, finally, the peace of silence.

• Starring: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci

• Director: Darius Marder

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 120 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

There's something about dancers and covens of witches that make for an unbeatable combination. "Suspiria" is based on the 1977 film by Dario Argento, awash with vibrant colors in open defiance of the accepted wisdom that horror films should be dark and moody. In this adaptation, Dakota Johnson stars as Susie Bannon, a talented young dancer who travels to Berlin in the 1970s to begin training at a new ballet academy. But is the school more than it seems on the surface?

Obviously. Come on, of course there is.

Although director Luca Guadagnino fails to capture some of the appeal of Argento's cult classic, he nonetheless creates a film that can be appreciated on its own merits. Anton Bitel of Little White Lies called it, "A beautiful, resonant feminist fairy tale at least half grounded in German postwar realities," and many critics praised the contributions of Tilda Swinton in particular, who played not one, not two, but three different characters in the film.

• Starring: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth

• Director: Luca Guadagnino

• Year: 2018

• Runtime: 152 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%

There's nothing that Ron Howard loves more than an inspirational, real-life rescue story. It's like catnip to him. So, it's only natural that Howard would be drawn to the incredible story of divers who somehow managed to pull off the impossible and save the lives of an entire youth soccer team trapped in a cave system by unexpected flooding. "Thirteen Lives" focuses primarily on the efforts of the divers, led by Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen's characters, to find the boys and figure out a way to get them out alive. Although the story disappointingly doesn't focus much on the Thai boys' perspective, "Thirteen Lives" is nonetheless an incredibly compelling drama that's gripping throughout, especially during the extended dive sequences.

• Starring: Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton

• Director: Ron Howard

• Year: 2022

• Runtime: 142 minutes

• Rating: PG-13

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Sure, at this point, the whole "teacher molding the minds of young underprivileged students who everyone else has given up on" thing is a little overdone. But it wasn't back in 1967, when "To Sir, with Love," came out, and thanks to Sidney Poitier's dignified yet empathetic performance and the irrepressible energy from the actors playing the students, it's one of the best of the subgenre. Poitier stars as an engineer who reluctantly takes a teaching job in the East End of London, only gradually learning to love his class of teenagers. The film is less about finding hidden genius in the classroom and more about taking the time to teach a group of adolescents what it means to be a functional adult. As they mature over the course of the film, the kids can't help but endear themselves to viewers.

• Starring: Sidney Poitier, Lulu, Judy Geeson

• Director: James Clavell

• Year: 1967

• Runtime: 105 minutes

• Rating: NR

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

When you grow up in a small town in the South feeling different, it's hard not to count down the days until you turn 18 and can start your own life. In "Uncle Frank," Sophia Lillis stars as Beth, a girl who moves to 1970s New York City, attending the same college where her Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany), another black sheep of her family, teaches. Frank is used to living a guarded existence for one very simple reason: He's gay, which his traditional, conservative family can't accept. But when Frank and Beth embark on a road trip home for a funeral, he may no longer be able to hide his true self.

• Starring: Sophia Lillis, Paul Bettany, Peter Macdissi

• Director: Alan Ball

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 95 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%

Who doesn't like a nice, modern Gothic thriller? Based on a novel by the legendary Shirley Jackson, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" revolves around a pair of sisters (played by Taissa Farmiga and Alexandra Daddario), who both survived a mysterious family tragedy alongside their eccentric uncle, and who occupy the family estate. For the most part, they're perfectly content to live in relative isolation, but when an estranged cousin, Charles (Sebastian Stan), arrives and disrupts the status quo, the tensions that emerge threaten to split the family apart. Dark and eerie, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is one of the most atmospheric films we've seen in quite some time.

• Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Sebastian Stan

• Director: Stacie Passon

• Year: 2018

• Runtime: 96 minutes

• Rating: NR

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

It's one of the all-time spookiest urban legends: A teenage babysitter is alone, the children in her charge long having been sent off to bed, when she receives a chilling phone call asking her to check on the kids. The calls escalate until the story's sucker punch arrives: The policeman who's been attempting to help the babysitter informs her that the call is coming from inside the house. 

The original story dates back to the 1940s, but it came of age in the 1970s with both "Black Christmas" and "When a Stranger Calls," which is perhaps the most definitive, faithful adaptation of the urban legend. The film stars Carol Kane in an early performance, and its first act has proven to be extremely influential in horror — the now-iconic opening scene of "Scream," with Drew Barrymore alone in her house talking to a malicious stranger on the phone, unquestionably owes a debt to "When a Stranger Calls."

• Starring: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst

• Director: Fred Walton

• Year: 1979

• Runtime: 100 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 41%

Martin Scorsese may be best known for mobster movies, but it's hard to think of any Mafia-type characters who are more inherently villainous than those we find in "The Wolf of Wall Street." Leonardo DiCaprio, Scorsese's It Boy of the 21st century, stars as Jordan Belfort, an entrepreneurial — if sociopathic — finance bro who climbs his way up the ladder on Wall Street. Nothing stands in the way of his pursuit of the almighty dollar, not even the federal agencies investigating his illegal business practices. 

Pitch black but surprisingly funny, "The Wolf of Wall Street" depicts immoral stockbrokers as a pack of wild, vicious animals. Frankly, the metaphor is apt. Scorsese continues to find success in exploring different facets of toxic masculinity – "The Wolf of Wall Street" was nominated for five Academy Awards, including acting nods for DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, and grossed nearly $400 million worldwide.

• Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

• Director: Martin Scorsese

• Year: 2013

• Runtime: 179 minutes

• Rating: R

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%