These days, a movie getting the simple yet stylish A24 logo at the front is seen as a sign of quality. At face value, why wouldn’t it? The company has been behind some of the most iconic movies of the last decade- think Midsommar, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Florida Project, etc etc. They’ve given voice to some of the biggest new names in filmmaking, like Greta Gerwig and Ari Aster, as well as working with already-established auteurs like Darren Aronofsky and Sofia Coppola. Getting that logo in front of a movie is a sign of quality… sometimes.
A24 is a steadily growing studio, with a lot of movies under its umbrella. Aside from the standout hits, and the underrated gems, they also have their fair share of clunkers and misfires. As you probably guessed, that’s what I want to talk about today.
I’ve watched through nearly 80 films from A24 at this point, and have assembled a master list ranking of all of them. These bottom ten will likely have some hot takes, mostly because of just how wide-ranging their catalog is (I did take my hottest take off this list, however. I don’t feel like being yelled at TOO much). With that out of the way, let’s count off the biggest failures of A24’s catalog.
10. God’s Creatures dir. Anna Rose Holmer & Saela Davis
A mother is forced to lie to protect her son, causing chaos in her community.
At their best, the movies coming from A24 are fascinating character studies, soaring emotional journeys, or are just weird and insane enough to make them compelling watches. God’s Creatures tries but mostly is a flat picture. It has some very good actors in it, specifically Emily Watson and Paul Mescal, which does help, but it still commits the worst sin of A24- it’s too boring.
9. Beau is Afraid dir. Ari Aster
A man gets into wacky hijinks and discovers a dark past while traveling to his mother’s funeral.
This placing either made you cheer or made you click off the page immediately. This is a pretty polarizing movie, some love it and some hate its guts. I’m part of the second group, myself. The movie fairly evenly splits its three-hour runtime into three separate chunks. The first sets up the story in an interesting and intriguing way. The second gets super weird, but incredibly creative and fascinating. Then the third act completely drops the ball, and makes you annoyed that you gave the movie any of your time.
8. Green Room dir. Jeremy Saulnier
A band is stuck inside a venue after witnessing a crime and is hunted by the perpetrators.
A waste of a concept on messy editing and writing. This one makes the list mostly for wasted potential. A lot of people do like this one, but for this writer, it fell flat. It makes its stances and messaging very clear, and the themes are solid, but the execution is poor. Not too much to say about this one, unfortunately.
7. High Life dir. Claire Denis
A man and his daughter survive alone in outer space.
The best thing that this movie did was bring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and Mia Goth together on the big screen. The worst thing it did was waste such talented actors and such an interesting concept on such bland execution. It reaches high and ultimately fails to reach its lofty goals.
6. Woodshock dir. Kate and Laura Mulleavy
A woman’s life is turned upside down due to a combination of grief and hallucinogenic drugs.
I’m a guy who finishes every movie I start. Woodshock almost broke me. Equal parts inane and bland, it’s not a movie that justifies its own existence in any meaningful way. This is one where it’s really tough to explain why it doesn’t work, but on a watch, it’s incredibly clear that none of it stands up to any scrutiny. Kirsten Dunst deserved better.
5. A Glimpse Inside The Mind of Charles Swan III dir. Roman Coppola
A rich man comes to terms with a breakup that shatters his worldview.
As it turns out, the name “Coppola” does not make you a good director. Charles Swan boasts a star-studded cast, but with a script and style that clearly is copying Wes Anderson… and failing horribly. It has no uniqueness of its own, instead stealing everything mildly interesting about it from better films and better directors. Interestingly, this was the first movie A24 ever distributed, so for it to be this bad can be forgiven. Also interestingly, this is not the worst movie directed by a Coppola (glares ominously at Mainstream).
4. Spring Breakers dir. Harmony Korine
Four college girls get roped into a series of crimes.
Harmony Korine is a director who, for better or worse, takes giant swings. His newest movie, Aggro Drift is entirely shot with a thermal camera for no reason other than aesthetics. In comparison, Spring Breakers is pretty normal… Well, as normal as a movie with James Franco playing a character named “Alien” can be. Put simply, this is basically the same level quality-wise as a Netflix original, so far below the usual A24 caliber.
3. It Comes At Night dir. Trey Edward Shults
A family is visited by outsiders in the midst of a worldwide threat.
What this film succeeds at is building an oppressive atmosphere. However, that atmosphere doesn’t end up paying off. It’s all buildup and no release, resulting in an incredibly unsatisfying viewing experience. If you want to watch a fun horror movie, you aren’t getting that here. You also aren’t getting a smart intelligent film. You’re really just getting a waste of time.
2. Climax dir. Gaspar Noe
A group of dancers do drugs in an empty building for 97 minutes.
You know those baby sensory videos with the dancing fruits and calming music? This is that but on ecstasy. And also bad. And also an hour and a half. Climax is the definition of a pointless movie. It literally is nothing but what it says on the tin- French dancers dancing and doing drugs. There’s no story, no acting, nothing. It is the definition of an empty movie. The only reason this doesn’t rank at the very bottom is because I at least do recognize the craft behind it. The lighting and color grading are rather nice, and there’s some good choreography if that’s what you’re into. And also, there’s a much more obvious choice for the bottom spot…
1. Tusk dir. Kevin Smith
A podcast host is kidnapped by a walrus enthusiast in the woods of Canada.
I almost feel bad putting Tusk at the bottom. I could write an entire article just on this travesty of a movie. Let’s go over a couple of key lowlights, though:
- Our protagonist is an unlikable jerk who isn’t worthy of the audience’s sympathies.
- The villain’s plan and motivations are… insane??
- Johnny Depp doing… whatever the hell that was.
- The music choice during the final battle is predictable, but I still cackled relentlessly when it came on.
A truly terrible movie, but one that’s super fun to laugh at.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, A24 is like any company- they have their greats, and they have their misfires. What’s so cool about their catalog, however, is that there’s so much variety that anyone’s best and worst lists can be completely different. Your favorite A24 movie might be one I put on this list. There are no right or wrong picks. Is this conclusion just a way for me to avoid getting heat for some controversial picks? Yes. Check out this official list of every A24 movie to see how many you’ve seen!
