A Glean movie guide
Beyond Parasite
Tense, satirical, and unforgettable.
Genre-bending thrillers that masterfully dissect class, power, and social inequality.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Handmaiden
A visually stunning, twist-filled psychological thriller from director Park Chan-wook.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sook-hee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
- 02
Burning
A slow-burn, atmospheric mystery that masterfully explores deep-seated class resentment.
Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.
- 03
The Menu
A sharp, biting satire that blends dark humor with a high-stakes, dangerous dining experience.
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
- 04
Snowpiercer
Bong Joon-ho’s high-concept vision of a class-divided society trapped on a perpetual-motion train.
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.
- 05
Get Out
A masterclass in using genre tropes to expose uncomfortable social and racial dynamics.
Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
- 06
Triangle of Sadness
A chaotic, hilarious, and brutal takedown of the ultra-wealthy and their power dynamics.
A celebrity model couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, alcoholic captain. What first appears Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island in a struggle of hierarchy.
- 07
Shoplifters
A deeply moving look at a marginalized family living on the fringes of society.
In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.
- 08
Memories of Murder
An early Bong Joon-ho classic that perfectly balances procedural tension with dark humor.
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.
- 09
Saltburn
A provocative, stylish exploration of class envy and infiltration within an eccentric family.
Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
- 10
Nightcrawler
A chilling character study of a morally ambiguous man navigating the cutthroat world of L.A. journalism.
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.