abusive, absent fathers
by Eriko_Tsogo | created - 20 May 2013 | updated - 12 Feb 2014 | Publiclives of absent/abusive fathers and their influence on the child/children who either choose to idealize or vilify in return with themes depicted central or incidental to the main plot.
1,2,3,4
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Bigger Than Life (1956)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
A seriously-ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a "miracle" drug that begins to affect his sanity.
Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau, Robert F. Simon
Votes: 8,144
2. The Medicine Man (1930)
Not Rated | 66 min | Comedy, Romance
The son and daughter of an abusive shopkeeper turn to a medicine show salesman for help.
Director: Scott Pembroke | Stars: Jack Benny, Betty Bronson, George E. Stone, Tom Dugan
Votes: 278
3. The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
Approved | 118 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A poor boy named Tom Canty and the Prince of Wales exchange identities but events force the pair to experience each other's lives as well.
Directors: William Keighley, William Dieterle | Stars: Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Henry Stephenson, Barton MacLane
Votes: 2,877
4. The Dark Past (1948)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller
An escaped psychopathic killer who takes the family and neighbors of police psychologist hostage reveals a recurring nightmare to the doctor.
Director: Rudolph Maté | Stars: William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb, Adele Jergens
Votes: 2,142
5. Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Passed | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Boxer Rocky Graziano's biopic, based on his autobiography, from childhood to his World Middleweight Championship title win at age 28 in 1947.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart
Votes: 9,018
6. The Singing Nun (1966)
Approved | 97 min | Biography, Drama, Family
Fanciful biography of the Belgian nun who briefly made the hit parade.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban, Greer Garson, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 1,524
7. Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (1968)
X | 87 min | Drama, Romance
A teenage goldsmith with a dark past tragically falls in love with a young nude model.
Director: Susumu Hani | Stars: Haruo Asanu, Kazuko Fukuda, Kuniko Ishii, Ichirô Kimura
Votes: 927
8. Boy (1969)
97 min | Drama
A young boy reluctantly aids his swindling father in a threatening scam.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Fumio Watanabe, Akiko Koyama, Tetsuo Abe, Tsuyoshi Kinoshita
Votes: 1,883
9. Brewster McCloud (1970)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
An introverted loner living in the bowels of the Astrodome plots to develop - with the aid of a mysterious guardian angel - a pair of wings that will help him fly.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Bud Cort, Shelley Duvall, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy
Votes: 5,605 | Gross: $1.05M
10. Mourir d'aimer... (1971)
GP | 101 min | Drama
A love story between a teacher, Daniele, 32 years and one of her students Gerard, 17 during the heated atmosphere of May 68. Daniele is a fiery young woman, very involved politically. ... See full summary »
Director: André Cayatte | Stars: Annie Girardot, Bruno Pradal, Claude Cerval, Jean Bouise
Votes: 583
11. Satan's Children (1975)
Not Rated | 87 min | Horror
Runaway teen Bobby is given shelter by a cult of Satanists, but his presence and questionable sexuality leads to conflicts within Satan's Children.
Director: Joe Wiezycki | Stars: Stephen White, Eldon Mecham, Joyce Molloy, Kathleen Marie Archer
Votes: 610
12. The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)
R | 83 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A disturbed woman is haunted by memories of childhood abuse, which culminates in a murder spree.
Director: Matt Cimber | Stars: Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Feury
Votes: 2,545
13. Lasse & Geir (1976)
91 min | Crime, Drama
The teenagers Lasse and Geir are arrested after making trouble on a night bus into town. After a night in the slammer they go home. To Geir's alcoholic mother and to Lasse's father, who is terrorizing the entire family.
Director: Svend Wam | Stars: Torgeir Schjerven, Lasse Tømte, Kjersti Døvigen, Jorunn Kjellsby
Votes: 525
14. The Great Santini (1979)
PG | 115 min | Drama
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated Marine pilot.
Director: Lewis John Carlino | Stars: Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky
Votes: 6,939
15. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,105,594 | Gross: $44.02M
16. The Attic (1980)
PG | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
A librarian devotes her life to caring for her wheelchair-bound tyrannical father after being stood up at the altar. She fantasizes about causing deaths of the men who most wronged her and ... See full summary »
Directors: George Edwards, Gary Graver | Stars: Carrie Snodgress, Ray Milland, Ruth Cox, Rosemary Murphy
Votes: 868
17. Night of the Demon (1980)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror
An anthropologist and his students attempt to track down a Bigfoot responsible for a rash of violent murders, only to uncover something even more sinister.
Director: James C. Wasson | Stars: Michael Cutt, Joy Allen, Bob Collins, Jody Lazarus
Votes: 2,514
18. Purple Rain (1984)
R | 111 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
Director: Albert Magnoli | Stars: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos
Votes: 23,804 | Gross: $68.39M
19. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Votes: 436,244 | Gross: $45.88M
20. Desert Bloom (1986)
PG | 105 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The story involves Rose Chismore's youth. She flashes back and remembers her coming-of-age. Her recollections are sometimes less than sweet, particularly those of her troubled and alcoholic... See full summary »
Director: Eugene Corr | Stars: Jon Voight, JoBeth Williams, Annabeth Gish, Ellen Barkin
Votes: 1,096 | Gross: $0.42M
21. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
R | 97 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
After severely burning himself in a drug incident, a comedian has a near death experience in which he reviews his life.
Director: Richard Pryor | Stars: Richard Pryor, Debbie Allen, Art Evans, Fay Hauser
Votes: 1,995 | Gross: $18.03M
22. Bullies (1986)
R | 90 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
The Morris family moves from the city in an attempt to make a new life in a small resort town, only to be confronted by a sadistic rural clan, the Cullens.
Director: Paul Lynch | Stars: Jonathan Crombie, Janet-Laine Green, Stephen Hunter, Dehl Berti
Votes: 575 | Gross: $3.00M
23. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Unrated | 83 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas
Votes: 40,409 | Gross: $0.61M
24. Deadly Friend (1986)
R | 91 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
After his friend is killed by her abusive father, the new kid in town attempts to save her by implanting a robotic microchip into her brain.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Matthew Labyorteaux, Kristy Swanson, Michael Sharrett, Anne Twomey
Votes: 8,728 | Gross: $8.99M
25. Paperhouse (1988)
PG-13 | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy
A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.
Director: Bernard Rose | Stars: Charlotte Burke, Jane Bertish, Samantha Cahill, Glenne Headly
Votes: 6,279 | Gross: $0.24M
26. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)
PG-13 | 84 min | Drama, Music
The lives of an English working-class family are told out of order in a free-associative manner. The first part, "Distant Voices", focuses on the father's role in the family. The second part, "Still Lives", focuses on his children.
Director: Terence Davies | Stars: Pete Postlethwaite, Freda Dowie, Angela Walsh, Dean Williams
Votes: 5,156 | Gross: $0.69M
27. Relentless (1989)
R | 92 min | Crime, Thriller
Two Los Angeles police detectives, cynical veteran Malloy and cocky rookie Dietz, hunt for a serial killer, an ex-cop named Taylor, who randomly chooses his victims from a phone directory.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia, Leo Rossi, Meg Foster
Votes: 1,853 | Gross: $6.99M
28. Poison (1991)
R | 85 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
A boy shoots his father and flies out the window. A man falls in love with a fellow inmate in prison. A doctor accidentally ingests his experimental sex serum, wreaking havoc on the community.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Susan Norman, Millie White
Votes: 5,032 | Gross: $0.61M
29. Moy luchshiy drug, general Vasiliy, syn Iosifa (1991)
102 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The film is based on a true story of a sport star Bobrov, who happened to become befriended by Vasili, the son of Stalin.
Director: Viktor Sadovsky | Stars: Boris Shcherbakov, Vladimir Steklov, Andrei Boltnev, Irina Malysheva
Votes: 205
30. The Lawnmower Man (1992)
R | 108 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.
Director: Brett Leonard | Stars: Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan, Jenny Wright, Mark Bringelson
Votes: 39,008 | Gross: $32.10M
31. The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
In Missouri, during the 1840s, young Huck Finn fearful of his drunkard father and yearning for adventure, leaves his foster family and joins with runaway slave Jim in a voyage down the Mississippi River toward slavery free states.
Director: Stephen Sommers | Stars: Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Robards
Votes: 9,236 | Gross: $24.10M
32. Fist of Honor (1993)
R | 95 min | Action, Drama
A martial-arts boxer working as a debt collector gets involved in a feud between rival Mafia families in L.A.
Director: Richard Pepin | Stars: Sam J. Jones, Joey House, Abe Vigoda, Harry Guardino
Votes: 228
33. Jack Be Nimble (1993)
R | 92 min | Horror, Thriller
Jack and Dora, abandoned by their parents as babies, are desperate to find each other after years of adoption. Jack's young life has been spent with a sadistic family. Dora, whose life has ... See full summary »
Director: Garth Maxwell | Stars: Alexis Arquette, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Bruno Lawrence, Tony Barry
Votes: 656
34. A Perfect World (1993)
PG-13 | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, T.J. Lowther
Votes: 86,878 | Gross: $31.16M
35. Deadly Maria (1993)
106 min | Drama, Thriller, Fantasy
A woman is trying to escape from a depressing life position.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Nina Petri, Katja Studt, Juliane Heinemann, Josef Bierbichler
Votes: 1,046
36. Little Odessa (1994)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
A cold-blooded hitman visits his estranged Russian immigrant family in Brooklyn.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly, Vanessa Redgrave
Votes: 9,140 | Gross: $1.10M
37. The Brothers McMullen (1995)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island struggle to deal with love, marriage, and infidelity.
Director: Edward Burns | Stars: Jack Mulcahy, Michael McGlone, Edward Burns, Shari Albert
Votes: 8,186 | Gross: $10.25M
38. Dolores Claiborne (1995)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A big city reporter travels to a small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman for whom she worked as a housekeeper.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt
Votes: 48,360 | Gross: $24.36M
39. The Purse Snatcher (1995)
96 min | Drama, Family, Thriller
Alex is very close to his elderly grandmother partly because his busy parents seem to have little or no time for him. One day he surprises two boys from his school leaving her house and is ... See full summary »
Director: Maria Peters | Stars: Olivier Tuinier, Aus Greidanus Jr., Micha Hulshof, Myranda Jongeling
Votes: 1,335
40. The Neon Bible (1995)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
While on a train, a teenage boy thinks about his life and the flamboyant aunt whose friendship acted as an emotional shield from his troubled family. This film evokes the haunting quality ... See full summary »
Director: Terence Davies | Stars: Jacob Tierney, Drake Bell, Gena Rowlands, Diana Scarwid
Votes: 1,053 | Gross: $0.03M
41. Shine (1996)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd
Votes: 56,675 | Gross: $35.81M
42. Mary Reilly (1996)
R | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
A housemaid falls in love with Dr. Henry Jekyll and his darkly mysterious counterpart, Mr. Edward Hyde.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Michael Gambon
Votes: 15,812 | Gross: $5.71M
43. Foxfire (1996)
R | 102 min | Drama, Romance
Legs Sadovsky gets four other high school girls to think for themselves and react to a teacher's sexual harassment, which gets them suspended. They bond, and rebel, at an abandoned house.
Director: Annette Haywood-Carter | Stars: Hedy Burress, Angelina Jolie, Jenny Lewis, Jenny Shimizu
Votes: 9,747 | Gross: $0.26M
44. Bliss (1997)
R | 103 min | Drama, Romance
A newly married happy couple visits a sex therapist to determine why the wife can't achieve an orgasm with her husband. This causes a horrific suppressed memory to emerge and she becomes more and more distant.
Director: Lance Young | Stars: Craig Sheffer, Terence Stamp, Sheryl Lee, Casey Siemaszko
Votes: 2,882 | Gross: $0.21M
45. Campfire Tales (1997)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
Teens entertain one another by telling an anthology of famous urban legends with a modern twist; including makeout-point, monsters, psychopaths, and ghosts.
Directors: Matt Cooper, Martin Kunert, David Semel | Stars: James Marsden, Amy Smart, Frederick Lawrence, Christopher Masterson
Votes: 4,476
46. Affliction (1997)
R | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A deeply troubled small-town cop investigates a suspicious hunting death while other events jeopardize his sanity.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Brigid Tierney
Votes: 19,073 | Gross: $6.30M
47. The Hanging Garden (1997)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance
William, a once obese and depressed adolescent, is able to move past his teenage years when he moves to the city and comes out as being gay. When he returns home though, he can't cope with his memories.
Director: Thom Fitzgerald | Stars: Chris Leavins, Kerry Fox, Ian Parsons, Peter MacNeill
Votes: 3,079 | Gross: $0.93M
48. Suicide Kings (1997)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.
Director: Peter O'Fallon | Stars: Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery, Mark Watson
Votes: 29,160 | Gross: $1.69M
49. Annie's Garden (1997)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Thriller
In front of his 15-year-old son, a father loses his temper and strikes his younger daughter, thinking she's trying to run away from him. Jump ahead ten years: the dad is dead, the mom is ... See full summary »
Director: Anthony Barnao | Stars: Keith Coulouris, Yancy Butler, Charlotte Chatton, Grace Zabriskie
Votes: 321
50. The Mighty (1998)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Two young boys are social outcasts in their community due to their disabilities and broken home lives. When they are paired together, they form a bond over their shared circumstances.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Sharon Stone, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 13,895 | Gross: $2.64M
51. The Acid House (1998)
Unrated | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
Three twisted tales of abuse, drugs, displaced personalities, and insect life by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh.
Director: Paul McGuigan | Stars: Stephen McCole, Maurice Roëves, Garry Sweeney, Jenny McCrindle
Votes: 8,043 | Gross: $0.14M
52. River Red (1998)
R | 104 min | Drama
Dave, a young man, kills his alcoholic father to end the cycle of violence in the house. But when his little brother Tom confesses to the murder and goes to jail, Dave turns to petty crime to pay the bills.
Director: Eric Drilling | Stars: Tom Everett Scott, David Moscow, Cara Buono, David Lowery
Votes: 205 | Gross: $0.00M
53. In Quiet Night (1998)
100 min | Drama, Thriller
A thriller about a man, Dr Wolcott, who is wrongfully acquitted of charges that he molested his daughter, Dinah. The deputy district attorney, Joey, takes Dinah with her seeking refuge from... See full summary »
Director: Jenny Bowen | Stars: Claire Rankin, Julian McMahon, Alexandra Kyle, Tom Irwin
Votes: 302
54. Joe the King (1999)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama
A disadvantaged, abused, neglected, exploited but basically decent kid slips into criminality while trying to cope with his harsh, inescapable reality.
Director: Frank Whaley | Stars: Noah Fleiss, Karen Young, Camryn Manheim, Austin Pendleton
Votes: 2,959 | Gross: $0.06M
55. Set Me Free (1999)
94 min | Drama, Romance
In the year 1963, an awkward thirteen-year-old girl comes of age during her escapism into the world of cinema, with potentially dangerous results.
Director: Léa Pool | Stars: Karine Vanasse, Pascale Bussières, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Alexandre Mérineau
Votes: 1,074 | Gross: $0.07M
56. Les convoyeurs attendent (1999)
94 min | Comedy, Drama
Dreaming of more than his routine life, a father pushes his 15 years old son to break a world record: opening and closing a door 40,000 times in 24 hours.
Director: Benoît Mariage | Stars: Benoît Poelvoorde, Morgane Simon, Bouli Lanners, Dominique Baeyens
Votes: 1,344 | Gross: $0.01M
57. Innocents (2000)
R | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A French musician, on his way from NYC to Seattle, meets a nurse and her sister in N.Dakota. The cute sisters join him in the repaired Volvo. The area has had a series of roadside murders and killings follow them.
Director: Gregory Marquette | Stars: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Keith David, Kent Allen, Connie Nielsen
Votes: 644
58. Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
A portrait of the effects of schizophrenia on family life is the central focus.
Director: Harmony Korine | Stars: Ewen Bremner, Brian Fisk, Chloë Sevigny, Werner Herzog
Votes: 7,742 | Gross: $0.08M
59. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,210,200 | Gross: $130.10M
60. Erskineville Kings (1999)
90 min | Drama
Barky, 25, lost soul, left home two years ago to escape his abusive father leaving behind everything in the world that was important to him; now that his father's dead, he thinks it's safe to come home.
Director: Alan White | Stars: Marty Denniss, Hugh Jackman, Andrew Wholley, Aaron Blabey
Votes: 678
61. Magnolia (1999)
R | 188 min | Drama
An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 328,334 | Gross: $22.46M
62. I'll Wave Back (2000)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Ten year old John John and a cognitively disabled friend build a plane so John John can fly his mother to a hippie commune she desires to join.
Director: Jefferson Davis | Stars: Matt Letscher, Christian Craft, Rusty Schwimmer, Randy Travis
Votes: 152
63. The Cell (2000)
R | 107 min | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi
An F.B.I. Agent persuades a social worker, who is adept with a new experimental technology, to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to learn where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.
Director: Tarsem Singh | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Colton James
Votes: 109,065 | Gross: $61.33M
64. Pellet (2000)
88 min | Drama
Alfredo is a kid who begins in a new new school where he makes a friend, Pablo. Alfredo realizes that Pablo is a victim of home abuse by his father, and decides to involve his own family in order to help his friend.
Director: Achero Mañas | Stars: Juan José Ballesta, Pablo Galán, Alberto Jiménez, Manuel Morón
Votes: 6,965
65. Hem ljuva hem (2001)
101 min | Drama
The wife and son of an unemployed, foul-tempered man suffer under ever-worsening domestic violence. One day while his father is taking a nap, the young son decides to take matters into his ... See full summary »
Director: Dan Ying | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Kristina Törnqvist, Anastasios Soulis, Alexandra Rapaport
Votes: 456
66. You Really Got Me (2001)
88 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Jan's fast-food business is going bankrupt, his girlfriend has left him, and he is being exploited by his live-in father. Therefore, he has nothing to lose when he gets mixed up in the ... See full summary »
Director: Pål Sletaune | Stars: Robert Skjærstad, Andrine Sæther, Philip Zandén, Trond Høvik
Votes: 559
67. AKA (2002)
R | 123 min | Drama, Romance
AKA is the story of a disaffected youth's search for love, status, and identity in late 1970s Britain. 18-year old Dean is handsome and bright, but feels hampered by his working-class ... See full summary »
Director: Duncan Roy | Stars: Matthew Leitch, Diana Quick, George Asprey, Lindsey Coulson
Votes: 1,247
68. Hus i helvete (2002)
100 min | Drama
Minoo returns to her family in Sweden to attend her sister Gita's wedding. Her mother and father believe that she has disgraced the family having worked as a stripper.
Director: Susan Taslimi | Stars: Melinda Kinnaman, Hassan Brijany, Caroline Rauf, Meliz Karlge
Votes: 426
69. Murder by Numbers (2002)
R | 115 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Two gifted high school students execute a perfect murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ben Chaplin, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt
Votes: 62,381 | Gross: $31.95M
70. Three Days of Rain (2002)
R | 98 min | Drama
Six Anton Chekhov short stories set in modern day Cleveland during a three day rain storm.
Director: Michael Meredith | Stars: Penelope Allen, Erick Avari, Alimi Ballard, Joey Bilow
Votes: 290 | Gross: $0.00M
71. The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
R | 114 min | Drama
Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.
Director: Peter Mullan | Stars: Eileen Walsh, Dorothy Duffy, Nora-Jane Noone, Anne-Marie Duff
Votes: 28,452 | Gross: $4.89M
72. Ken Park (2002)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
Ken Park is about several Californian skateboarders' lives and relationships with and without their parents.
Directors: Larry Clark, Edward Lachman | Stars: Adam Chubbuck, James Bullard, Seth Gray, Eddie Daniels
Votes: 30,804
73. Valentin (I) (2002)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An 8-year-old boy, raised by his grandmother, is surrounded by problems in his family he finds only himself capable of solving.
Director: Alejandro Agresti | Stars: Rodrigo Noya, Alejandro Agresti, Julieta Cardinali, Carmen Maura
Votes: 4,466 | Gross: $0.28M
74. Das Jahr der ersten Küsse (2002)
94 min | Comedy, Drama
31-year-old Tristan remembers the time when he was 15 and had just hit puberty. But he is not alone in this; he is with a large group of friends: Specki, a fat kid who is always stuffing ... See full summary »
Director: Kai Wessel | Stars: Oliver Korittke, Max Mauff, Diane Willems, Thomas Drechsel
Votes: 330
75. Kiss the Bride (2002)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Danni is the first Sposato daughter to marry; that is, if her three wild sisters don't first tear the family apart. Niki, Chrissy and Toni return home for the long overdue Italian-style family reunion, and quickly try to one-up the other.
Director: Vanessa Parise | Stars: Amanda Detmer, Sean Patrick Flanery, Brooke Langton, Monet Mazur
Votes: 1,257
76. Pahat pojat (2003)
126 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Four well-mannered but poorly grown brothers drift into a life of crime when their schizophrenic father is sent to the mental hospital.
Director: Aleksi Mäkelä | Stars: Peter Franzén, Niko Saarela, Lauri Nurkse, Jasper Pääkkönen
Votes: 5,225
77. The Mudge Boy (2003)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The film follows the story of Duncan, a fourteen-year-old misfit farm boy trying to fill the void and alleviate the numbness left by his mother's passing. Unable to let her go quite yet, ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Burke | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Richard Jenkins, Tom Guiry, Pablo Schreiber
Votes: 4,686
78. The Beat (2003)
R | 85 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
In a split narrative, a young man follows two paths: his father's dream of him becoming a cop, and his own dream of becoming a rapper
Director: Brandon Sonnier | Stars: Rahman Jamaal, Kazz Wingate IV, 4-Zone, Derek Barbosa
Votes: 167
79. Swimming Upstream (2003)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The inspirational life story of Australian swimmer Tony Fingleton.
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer, Tim Draxl
Votes: 3,480 | Gross: $0.05M
80. Blue Citrus Hearts (2003)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A coming-out, coming-of-age tale set in Memphis Tennessee.
Director: Morgan Jon Fox | Stars: Joshua Peter Laurenzi, Paul Foster, Alex Booth, Caroline Fourmy
Votes: 315
81. Dear Frankie (2004)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Romance
After having responded to her son's numerous letters in the guise of his father, a woman hires a stranger to pose as his dad when meeting him.
Director: Shona Auerbach | Stars: Emily Mortimer, Jack McElhone, Gerard Butler, Mary Riggans
Votes: 22,474 | Gross: $1.34M
82. Satan's Little Helper (2004)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Horror
A naive young boy unknowingly becomes the pawn of a serial killer.
Director: Jeff Lieberman | Stars: Alexander Brickel, Katheryn Winnick, Stephen Graham, Amanda Plummer
Votes: 6,516
83. Popular Music (2004)
105 min | Comedy, Drama
Two boys grow up together in the town of Pajala during the 1960s. United by rock'n'roll music.
Director: Reza Bagher | Stars: Max Enderfors, Andreas af Enehielm, Jarmo Mäkinen, Kati Outinen
Votes: 5,613
84. Ice Men (2004)
108 min | Drama
For the first time since taking possession of the family cabin, Vaughn has invited his best friends up for a winter weekend of hunting and drinking. But the arrival of unexpected visitors ... See full summary »
Director: Thom Best | Stars: Martin Cummins, David Hewlett, Greg Spottiswood, James Thomas
Votes: 511
85. Electric Shadows (2004)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
For no apparent reason, a mute young woman assaults a youth who delivers water on his bicycle, injuring him and ruining his bike. Surprisingly, she asks him to feed her fish while she is in... See full summary »
Director: Jiang Xiao | Stars: Yu Xia, Haibin Li, Yijing Zhang, Zhongyang Qi
Votes: 1,071 | Gross: $0.01M
86. Control (2004)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A sociopath on death row is given a chance to live if he agrees to take part in a chemical behavioral modification program.
Director: Tim Hunter | Stars: Ray Liotta, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Rea
Votes: 8,051
87. Snowland (2005)
142 min | Drama, Romance
In the snowy landscape of Lapland, a newly-widowed writer discovers the traces of a bygone love story through which she finds a way back to her own life.
Director: Hans W. Geissendörfer | Stars: Thomas Kretschmann, Julia Jentsch, Maria Schrader, Ulrich Mühe
Votes: 391
88. One Missed Call 2 (2005)
R | 105 min | Horror, Mystery
A Japanese restaurant cook/owner dies after answering his daughter's cellphone. Other people are getting strange, same ringtone calls as well and dying painfully. It happened in Taiwan as well. Can the police stop it if it's a ghost?
Director: Renpei Tsukamoto | Stars: Rie Mimura, Hisashi Yoshizawa, Chisun, Asaka Seto
Votes: 3,625
89. The Sisters (2005)
R | 113 min | Drama
Based on Anton Chekov's "The Three Sisters" about siblings living in a college town who struggle with the death of their father and try to reconcile relationships in their own lives.
Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman | Stars: Elizabeth Banks, Maria Bello, Erika Christensen, Steven Culp
Votes: 1,054
90. Down in the Valley (2005)
R | 114 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Set in the present-day San Fernando Valley, the project revolves around a delusional man who believes he's a cowboy and the relationship that he starts with a rebellious young woman.
Director: David Jacobson | Stars: Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse, Rory Culkin
Votes: 18,954 | Gross: $0.57M
91. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen
Votes: 237,321 | Gross: $4.24M
92. The Quiet (2005)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Following the unexpected death of her father, a deaf teenager moves in with her godparents, where she discovers the cruel behaviour of their daughter may be indicative of a dark secret within the family.
Director: Jamie Babbit | Stars: Camilla Belle, Elisha Cuthbert, Edie Falco, Martin Donovan
Votes: 17,527 | Gross: $0.38M
93. The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
R | 91 min | Biography, Drama
The life of Bettie Page, a 1950s pin-up model and one of the first sex icons in America, who became the target of a Senate investigation because of her risqué bondage photos.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor, Chris Bauer, Jared Harris
Votes: 11,645 | Gross: $1.41M
94. Firecracker (2005)
TV-MA | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A young boy who lives in a dysfunctional home went to the carnival and met a singer. Shortly after, a murder took place. The town's sheriff is seeking answers. The singer is trying to ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Balderson | Stars: Karen Black, Mike Patton, Susan Traylor, Kathleen Wilhoite
Votes: 1,019
95. Doll Graveyard (2005)
Not Rated | 71 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
In the year of 1911 a 12yr old girl named Sophia is playing with her dolls in the room where she is not supposed to be in her abusive father comes in and catches her as punishment he makes ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Band | Stars: Jared Kusnitz, Gabrielle Lynn, Kristyn Green, Anna Alicia Brock
Votes: 926
96. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
R | 100 min | Crime, Drama
Coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in Astoria, New York during the 1980s. As his friends end up dead, on drugs or in prison, he comes to believe he has been saved from their fates by various so-called saints.
Director: Dito Montiel | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson, Shia LaBeouf, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 26,790 | Gross: $0.52M
97. Volver (I) (2006)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Drama
After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo
Votes: 107,450 | Gross: $12.90M
98. The Last Sin Eater (2007)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
In seeking her own redemption from the man of whom she is most afraid, ten-year-old Cadi Forbes discovers a secret sin haunting her community of Welsh immigrants in 1850s Appalachia.
Director: Michael Landon Jr. | Stars: Louise Fletcher, Henry Thomas, Liana Liberato, Soren Fulton
Votes: 1,997 | Gross: $0.38M
99. Kill Buljo: The Movie (2007)
R | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
When a likable hillbilly sees his fiance, friends and family ruthlessly gunned down at his engagement party, he becomes determined to get revenge - as soon as he wakes up from his coma.
Director: Tommy Wirkola | Stars: Stig Frode Henriksen, Tommy Wirkola, Linda Øverlie Nilsen, Natasha Angel Dahle
Votes: 4,185
100. Perfect Stranger (2007)
R | 109 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A journalist goes undercover to ferret out businessman Harrison Hill as her childhood friend's killer. Posing as one of his temps, she enters into a game of online cat-and-mouse.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Portnow
Votes: 51,145 | Gross: $23.98M
Tell Your Friends