Sons of Anarchy brought a different, more brutal kind of drama to the world of television. It was a show that could be mean, ugly and altogether unpleasant. But it was gripping too. Rarely did a week go by without storylines taking an unforeseen twist, usually as a result of some spontaneous moment of brute force or out-and-out violence.
That was the world showrunner Kurt Sutter created. One of pain and anguish for its inhabitants but one that thrilled and enthralled those watching at home. These weren’t heroes but they weren’t villains either and whatever happened, fans wanted to watch more. With Sons of Anarchy now long gone from our TV screens, it might be time to check out some of the films out there that succeeded in capturing that same magic. Here are just 10 of them.
Henry Portrait Of A Serial Killer
Based on the disturbing true-life exploits of Henry Lee Lucas, John McNaughton’s low budget film is an unflinching look at the darkest depravities of man. Michael Rooker stars as the titular Henry, in a career-defining performance as a man on the edge of sanity and in the midst of a brutal crime wave.
Newly released from prison, the film chronicles Henry’s deadly rampage alongside fellow ex-con and accomplice Otis (Tom Towles). Things take an even darker twist, however, when Henry strikes up a bond with Otis’s sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) that doesn’t end well. An uncompromising blend of thriller, horror and true crime.
I Saw The Devil
This brutal Korean crime thriller is a truly unique beast - beast being the operative word for a film both savage and strangely beautiful. It centers on Kim Soo-Hyeon (Byung-hun Lee) a man reeling from the brutal slaying of his fiancée.
Rather than mourn her passing, however, he puts his skills as a trained secret agent to use tracking down the man responsible. His investigations lead him to Kyung-Chul (Oldboy’s Min-Sik Choi), a disturbed man posing as a taxi driver to commit his crimes. Rather than turn him in or exact immediate revenge, however, Soo-Hyeon decides to play a game…
Green Room
Jeremy Saulnier’s scuzzy, punk-infused horror-thriller centers on a band who find themselves trapped backstage at a remote venue after witnessing a violent crime. Between them and escape stands a gang of white supremacist skinheads, led by Patrick Stewart’s Darcy, who are looking to erase any trace of what went down – including the band themselves.
Led by the late, great, Anton Yelchin with impressive supporting turns from Joe Cole and Alia Shawkat, Green Room is an intelligent, modern-day take of the grindhouse movies of the 1970s and early ‘80s. It also makes for a great double-header alongside Saulnier’s previous film, Blue Ruin.
Brawl In Cell Block 99
Forget Swingers, Vince Vaughn has never been better than in Brawl in Cell Block 99, a movie that lives up to its title and then some. He plays Bradley Thomas an ex-boxer and mechanic who ends up behind bars after a “job” for some shady crime lords goes awry.
Craig S. Zahler’s inspired exploitation homage kicks up a gear from here, with Bradley blackmailed into committing a series of violent acts in order to gain access to an inmate inside a maximum-security prison. His task is simple: take the inmate out or his wife gets it. Crazy violent brutality ensues.
A History Of Violence
David Cronenberg’s best film since The Fly, A History of Violence is a compelling and thoughtful crime thriller. It’s a meditation on the nature of human violence, littered with moments of eye-popping brutality and gore – it is Cronenberg, after all.
Adapted from John Wagner’s classic graphic novel of the same name, the film stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, a small-town diner owner who becomes an overnight hero after foiling a robbery in suitably gruesome style. Before long, however, he is having to contend with Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), a gangster who arrives in town convinced Tom isn’t who he says he is.
Old Boy
Park Chan-wook's neo-noir action thriller transcended its roots in Korean cinema to become a worldwide phenomenon. Rightly regarded as one of the best films of the early 2000s, it follows the story of Oh Dae-Su, a borderline alcoholic businessman and absentee father who ends up imprisoned for 15 long years without ever knowing his captor’s identity or motives.
Finally released, he embarks on a quest for vengeance against those who imprisoned him while also meeting and falling in love with a young sushi chef. Boasting a dazzling one-shot fight sequence, Oldboy feels as fresh today as it was two decades ago.
Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn borrowed from the likes of Bullitt, Thief and The Driver for this stylish, neon-soaked action drama about an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) who moonlights as a getaway driver for a local crime boss.
Things get complicated for our hero after he gets close to his neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, eventually agreeing to help her debt-ridden husband (Oscar Isaac) pull off a million-dollar heist. It ends in disaster, setting off a cataclysmic chain of events. Boasting breathtaking car chases, a dreamy soundtrack and a series of graphically violent action sequences, Drive is brutal and brilliant.
No Country For Old Men
The film that introduced the world to Javier Bardem, the Coen Brothers don’t usually adapt novels for the big screen but they made an exception for this Cormac McCarthy thriller. While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) comes across the violent aftermath of a drug deal gone south.
He also stumbles upon a sizeable sum of money and, despite his better judgement, takes the cash. It’s not long before he’s being hunted by a merciless hitman (Bardem) with a penchant for deciding his victim’s fate on the flip of a coin, as well as Tommy Lee Jones’s Sheriff Bell. A neo-Western with an edge.
Cold In July
It took Stake Land director Jim Mickle seven years to get Joe R. Lansdale’s novel of the same name adapted for the big screen – but it was worth it. Cold In July stars Michael C. Hall Richard Dane, a father-of-one in 1980s Texas who lands himself in trouble after taking out a burglar with lethal force during a late-night home invasion.
It sets off a chain of events that culminates in Dane teaming up with the man’s father Ben (Sam Shepard) and private eye Jim Bob Luke (Don Johnson) to take down the Dixie Mafia. A seedy, distinctive crime tale boasting plenty of twists.
The Proposition
Australian rock god Nick Cave proved he had more than one string to his bow with the script for this brilliant Outback-set Western. When Ray Winstone’s Captain Stanley and his men capture two of the three Burns brothers, a band of outlaws responsible for a string of unspeakable crimes, he gives one of the two siblings Charlie (Guy Pearce) an ultimatum: help him apprehend his older brother and gang leader Arthur (Danny Huston) or his young brother will be sent to the gallows.
While Cave’s story is captivating from start to finish, director John Hillcoat’s depiction of 19th century Australia is gritty, unflinching and unmissable.