Green Room is directed by Jeremy Saulnier, who previously directed one of my favorite films of 2014, Blue Ruin.  He has a very visceral style of filmmaking and that’s on display once again here with Green Room.

I’m a sucker for films that take place in one spot, as you can tell considering the first 3 films on this list fall into that category.  Disregard the trailer for Green Room.  They make it seem like it’s a horror film, but it’s not.  It’s a thriller, something Hollywood seems reluctant to embrace nowadays for some reason.  Green Room tells the story of a band who is being held captive by neo-Nazis.  The real revelation here is Patrick Stewart as their psychopathic leader.  He plays against type here and he’s absolutely riveting.  The late Anton Yelchin is the heart of the film.  It’s a shame we won’t be able to see more from such a talented young actor.

Like Green Room, Don’t Breathe takes place almost entirely in a house.  Also like Green Room, Don’t Breathe is more of a thriller and not the horror film the trailers were striving to make it out to be.  The film is similar in the setup to the Audrey Hepburn classic Wait Until Dark, except there’s a twist.  Instead of a blind woman being terrorized by intruders, it’s the intruders being terrorized by the blind man.  Don’t Breathe is a really well made film with a well executed plot.

There are scenes here that will literally have you holding your breath.  There are also quite a few twists along the way. Don’t Breathe didn’t unfold the way I was expecting it to, which I always appreciate.  My main problem was with the ending.  I would have been happy if the film ended one scene earlier.  Either way, not enough people caught this one in theaters.

The Shallows is one of the more visually beautiful films of the year, and that’s before you take into consideration the fact that Blake Lively spends the entire film in a tiny bikini (see above.)  The Shallows is probably the best film of its kind since Jaws.  That said, it doesn’t have a whole lot in common with Jaws.  Pretty much the entire film takes place while Lively’s character is stranded on a rock formation in the ocean.  It more closely resembles Open Water, another underrated film involving sharks.

The Shallows is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who has quietly become one of the more dependable directors working today.  His previous three films Run All Night, Non-Stop and Unknown (all Liam Neeson vehicles) were solid films.  As much as I enjoyed those other films, The Shallows effortlessly out classes them.  It’s easy to get lost in Lively’s beauty, but she’s not some helpless damsel.  She’s tough, resourceful and wickedly smart.  In her situation, her survival depends on it.

You’re either going to love or hate The Witch.  It’s just one of those really polarizing films.  People were expecting a horror film and what they got was an arthouse thriller.  You may be noticing a trend here.  Hollywood’s penchant for selling films as horror in order to fill theaters, and then alienating an audience that thought they were getting something else.  The Witch is not a mainstream film.  Anybody expecting such will more than likely hate this film.  The fact that everybody in the film speaks in Old English should have been the first clue that this isn’t your typical film.

The Witch does a great job of building atmosphere.  The film really does feel like it’s taking place in 1600’s New England.  The other standout of The Witch is Anya Taylor-Joy, who is a fantastic young actress to keep an eye on.  Like Don’t Breathe, I didn’t love the ending, but it’s one of the few films that I’ve thought about from time to time throughout the year.  There’s some really powerful stuff here about how a family can be torn apart by their beliefs.

I know I seem like a Jake Gyllenhaal fanboy at this point, but the guy is just are really great actor.  Gyllenhaal was also great in Nocturnal Animals this year, but he deserves more attention for Demolition.  The film came out early in the year and, like The Witch, really seems to divide people.  Demolition is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, who also directed Wild and Dallas Buyers Club, two films also about death and loss.

I really enjoyed Demolition.  It’s not an easy film to watch.  Gyllenhaal’s character is a hard guy to root for, but there’s something endearing about him.  I can only credit that to Gyllenhaal as an actor.  If it were somebody else, it probably just wouldn’t have worked.  Honestly, Demolition is one of those films that I’m not really sure what people didn’t like about it.  The subject matter is certainly a downer, and sometimes people just aren’t cool with going to the movies and being sad.  Either way, Demolition is one of two strong Gyllenhaal performances this year, as if there is any other kind.

Another film where I’m not quite sure what people didn’t like about it.  Money Monster is directed by Jodie Foster and stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.  Clooney plays an obnoxious financial TV host.  When he gives a bad tip, he’s taken hostage by a young man with nothing else to lose, played by Jack O’Connell.  O’Connell is one of the best young actors working today.  If you like prison films, check him out in Starred Up.  He’s like a rabid animal in that film. Amazing.

Unfortunately, the film is at its best when they are in the TV studio.  When they hit the streets of New York, it gets away from them a little bit.  I’m still not sure what people were expecting.  It hits all the right notes for a film of this nature.  It’s also quite timely.

A lot of people seem to think that Mel Gibson has disappeared from the Hollywood landscape. Not true. Not only does he continue to act in smaller films like Blood Father and the underrated gem Get the Gringo, but he directed one of the best films of the year in Hacksaw Ridge.

In Blood Father, he proves that he hasn’t lost a step.  His quick wit and engaging personality is still there almost 3 decades after Lethal Weapon. I can only hope that he gets his chance to act in more mainstream films (that don’t have Expendables in the title) going forward.  There’s not a whole lot to Blood Father, it’s a guy who has to protect his daughter from a bunch of gang members, but it’s Mel Gibson who elevates the material.  It’s a true sign of an elite actor.  For most other actors, Blood Father would be a bargain bin bottom feeder.

Midnight Special is directed by Jeff Nichols, the best director you’ve never heard of.  His previous films Mud and Take Shelter are two of my favorite films in recent years.  Nichols also directed 2016’s Loving, which is getting Oscar buzz. The film also features a standout cast in Joel Edgerton, Michael Shannon and Jaeden Lieberher, who stole the show from Bill Murray in St. Vincent.

Midnight Special has kind of vintage vibe to it.  It’s in the mold of films like Firestarter.  A kid with special abilities on the run from people who want to use him for evil.  Midnight Special might be a tad too slow for some, I was hoping for a few more scenes with something big was happening, but rarely got it.  As much as I enjoyed Midnight Special, I was expecting even more considering the pedigree of films Nichols has directed thus far.  That said, Midnight Special is one of the best films of 2016.