As any true movie fan will attest to, film Noir is one of the best genres to have ever graced the big screen. A standard film noir would tell the story of a detective trying to untangle a labyrinthine mystery, getting distracted by a femme fatale along the way. Some classics here are 1941’s The Maltese Falcon and 1944’s Double Indemnity. Although the best of these had great plots and performances, the true hero was often the black and white cinematography. After its heyday in the 40’s and 50’s, the film noir morphed into the neo noir, a modernized variant of the original genre. Movies such as Blade Runner (1982) and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) are some examples. The genre is still going strong right now, so we’d like to share some of the neo noir cinema of 2018 we are excited about.

Gemini (dir. Aaron Katz, cast: Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz): This neo noir offers a twist on the conventional film noir story by focusing on two women, instead of the traditional male detective and femme fatale. In this movie a personal assistant must unravel a mystery that involves her Hollywood starlet boss.

Terminal (dir. Vaughn Stein, cast: Dexter Fletcher, Max Irons, Margot Robbie): Fletcher and Irons (son of Jeremy) star as a pair of assassins sent out on a sinister mission in a mysterious, anonymous city. The movie has already gained attention thanks to its excellent supporting cast (not only Margot Robbie, but also Simon Pegg and Mike Myers) and the visually appealing trailer. We are intrigued, but at the moment skeptical about this being more than a stylistic exercise.

You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynne Ramsay, cast: Joaquin Phoenix): Not only is this our most anticipated neo noir of the year, it’s also our most anticipated movie of the year (sorry Avengers vs Deadpool: A Star Wars Story). Phoenix is one of the best working actors today, and although he’s already appear in a neo noir (Inherent Vice), this looks to be a much darker affair. At the helm is Lynne Ramsay, who previously directed the excellent We Need to Talk about Kevin and Ratcatcher. The plot is centered around an investigator who tracks down missing girls for a living, and ends up uncovering a conspiracy.

Mute (dir. Duncan Jones, cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux): Just kidding. It’s terrible.

Any titles we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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