7 Movies to Watch After Rebel Ridge

Director Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge is the latest Netflix film to seemingly appear out of nowhere, only to go on to dominate the streamer’s charts. With Rotten Tomatoes calculating the film as having 95% positive reviews, it’s not entirely surprising that the thriller has become so popular, but with neither Saulnier nor star Aaron Pierre being household names, many subscribers have been left to feel like the movie is a complete discovery. In addition to Rebel Ridge feeling like a major surprise, fans have also wondered what they should watch after witnessing the compelling and tense tale of revenge in a small Louisiana town.

Part of what made Rebel Ridge so gripping is that themes of revenge and corruption in small towns feel entirely timeless, and while the Netflix movie put a contemporary spin on the material, it managed to feel both timely and nostalgic at the same time. For fans who were impressed by the experience, there’s plenty more adventures where that came from, including both classics of the genre and much more modern tales.

Scroll down to see our picks for what to watch after Rebel Ridge.

First Blood (1982)

One of many standout roles in Sylvester Stallone’s career is of Vietnam War veteran John Rambo, and while later entries would become action spectacles, the first movie, based on David Morrell’s book of the same name, had a large influence on Rebel Ridge.

Much like Aaron Pierre’s Terry Richmond, Rambo is a combat veteran hoping to merely pass through a small town, only for local law enforcement to not take too kindly to his presence. First Blood‘s police force gets a bit more aggressive with Rambo, taking him into custody to taunt and torment him, with these attacks triggering his PTSD and causing him to evade the police into the nearby forests. 

Despite how the Rambo franchise pivoted into something more bombastic and superficial, the original entry served as a dark reflection of the traumas and tragedies faced by any combat veteran. In addition to delivering those heavier themes, it’s also an engaging and entertaining experience about someone who won’t tolerate being the victim of the exploitation of institutionalized power. 

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Based on a real-life murder investigation, director Alan Parker’s Mississippi Burning stars Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Michael Rooker, and Brad Dourif. 

The movie follows two FBI agents (Hackman and Dafoe) investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in a small Mississippi town. In hopes of getting to the bottom of what’s going on in the community, the agents receive pushback from local law enforcement, residents of the town, and various other people in positions of authority. The Ku Klux Klan also makes its influence known, with virtually everyone trying to get the FBI to leave the community to handle the issue themselves.

The setting of a rural town in the South, as well as the local corruption and both overt and underlying racism, are all themes that are front and center in Rebel Ridge, with Mississippi Burning also attempting to deliver a more realistic investigation into these disappearances as opposed to an action-heavy experience.

Thunderheart (1992)

Another film inspired by true events, director Michael Apted’s Thunderheart stars Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Graham Greene, and Fred Ward. The story is loosely inspired by the 1973 Wounded Knee incident in which a South Dakota town was seized and occupied by members of the American Indian Movement in response to how the U.S. government was handling policies relating to Native American communities. 

Some of the best thrillers feature a clearly defined good vs. evil or specific inciting incident, while what makes Thunderheart so compelling is that it blends together a number of themes, while also attempting to address the institutionalized racism that American was founded upon. It also attempts to showcase characters who are grappling with delivering justice despite being cogs in a machine found on genocide, resulting in a heart-wrenching experience.

Michael Clayton (2007)

Part of what made Rebel Ridge so compelling and feel so inventive compared to other action-oriented thrillers is that, as opposed to going full John Wick in how he fights back, Pierre’s Terry Richmond uses his knowledge of government organizations to try to free his cousin from his prison sentence (with some assistance from AnnaSophia Robb’s Summer McBride). In that sense, Saulnier has pointed towards the legal thriller Michael Clayton as one of his sources of inspiration.

The 2007 film features George Clooney as the titular character who represents a law firm, using his vast knowledge of legal systems and loopholes to tackle the messiest of situations. Even though Michael Clayton doesn’t feature nearly as much bloodshed or bullets as other thrillers, there’s a tension and sense of urgency throughout the film’s run time, thanks to compelling performances and the direction of Star Wars: Andor‘s Tony Gilroy.

Blue Ruin (2013)

Rebel Ridge might be Saulnier’s latest revenge thriller, but it’s not his first, as 2013’s Blue Ruin helped serve as his breakout movie.

In direct contrast to Pierre’s Terry Richmond, Blue Ruin stars Macon Blair as Dwight Evans, a timid and meek individual who lives out of his car and steals food and other items out of people’s houses to survive. His fragile mental state is a direct result of his parents being murdered 20 years earlier, and when Dwight learns that the man responsible is about to be released from prison, he feels compelled to get revenge.

Blue Ruin features a similar aesthetic and rural setting as Rebel Ridge, yet there’s a direct contrast between Terry and Dwight, with the latter being far more mentally fragile and driven entirely by the primal need for revenge, despite being entirely incompetent in that realm. This makes for a viewing experience that’s just as rivetting, but ultimately more tragic.

Cold in July (2014)

Another neo-noir, Cold in July is based on the novel of the same name by Joe R. Lansdale. The film opens with a similar urgency as Rebel Ridge, with Richard (Michael C. Hall) waking up in the middle of the night to find a burglar in his home. When his wife startles him, his gun goes off, killing the intruder. Authorities identify the individual as the son of criminal Ben Russell (Sam Shepherd), who was recently released from jail. Richard’s family is first harassed by Ben, seeking revenge for his son’s death, before Richard and Ben both realize local authorities in the Texas town are attempting a mysterious cover-up, as they enlist the help of private investigator Jim Bob Luke (Don Johnson) to get to the bottom of things. 

From revenge to corrupt cops to Southern aesthetics, there’s a lot of cinematic DNA that Cold in July shares with Rebel Ridge, with the added bonus of both starring Johnson. In Jim Mickle’s 2014 film, though, fans get to root for Johnson as opposed to root against him, as well as this adventure featuring a pulsating synth score from Jeff Grace.

Hold the Dark (2018)

Another film from Saulnier himself, Hold the Dark marked his first collaboration with Netflix. Set in a small Alaskan community, Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) is tasked with tracking wolves that are seemingly responsible for the deaths of local children. Like all the other movies on this list, our main character gets much more than he bargained for, as Russell discovers sinister forces are at play in this community, which could even mean some involvement from the supernatural.

Hold the Dark might not be as tonally similar to Rebel Ridge, given that it’s not a revenge thriller, yet with it being available on Netflix and with it being a compelling showcase not only of Saulnier’s eye as a director, but also featuring a gripping story, this might be the easiest double feature to ride the wave of excitement of the new release.

Honorable Mention: Prime Video’s Reacher

Tom Cruise starred as the Lee Child’s character in the movies Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and while these films do have their merits, they don’t quite compare to the effectiveness of Alan Ritchson’s take on the character in Prime Video’s Reacher.

Countless fans are already drawing comparisons between Ritchson’s Reacher and Pierre’s Richmond, due to their physical presence, soft-spoken demeanor, and inherent intimidation, with those similarities only amplified by Rebel Ridge and Season 1 of Reacher exploring corruption in a small Southern community. Add to that the fact that both Reacher and Richmond use their military knowledge and combat efficiency to carry out their missions as cleanly as possible and the two projects make perfect complements to one another in the realm of contemporary thrillers.

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Rebel Ridge is now streaming on Netflix.

What are your favorite thrillers like Rebel Ridge? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!