Down Terrace (2009)
The Essex director came out swinging with his 2009 debut: a tale of a man who, on the return to his Brighton home after release from prison, decides to find the rat in his criminal organisation. A tale of recrimination, betrayal and murder ensues.
Roots in traditional kitchen-sink drama slowly erode into something grotesque and twisted over a tight 90 minutes, laying the groundwork for Wheatley’s future preoccupations with family, horror and the occasional bad trip.
Kill List (2011)
Part social realism, part folk horror, Kill List follows Neil Maskell’s soldier-turned-hitman Jay as a new job leads him down a sinister path.
Light on plot and heavy on nightmarish imagery, Wheatley produces some of his most arresting work here, taking cues from Get Carter, The Wicker Man, Ken Loach and The Blair Witch Project to create of one the most unique British films of this century.
Sightseers (2012)
Surely one of Wheatley’s most accessible titles, Sightseers is a delightfully twisted romp through the British countryside with couple Chris and Tina (Steve Oram and Alice Lowe).
Their plans for a peaceful break in their caravan quickly turn murderous when they begin offing everyone who annoys them, culminating in a spectacular showdown at the Ribblehead Viaduct.
Nominated for seven BIFA awards and winning for Best Screenplay, we recommend Sightseers as a lighter take on Wheatley’s work.
A Field in England (2013)
Back to folk horror then, and A Field in England, in which a 17th century group descends into a chaos of fighting, arguments and paranoia as they search for treasure.
Shot in stark black and white, the film contains some of the most iconic imagery of Wheatley’s career, with a few choice shots still seared onto our brain (you’ll know when you see it.)
High-Rise (2015)
The work of J.G. Ballard has proved tricky to adapt in the past—think of Cronenberg’s provocative Crash, Spielberg’s sprawling Empire of the Sun and a messy adaptation of Atrocity Exhibition, and you’ll see that spinning Ballard’s speculative sci-fi and sharp satire into a full-blown feature can drive a filmmaker mad—but not Ben Wheatley.
His dystopian take on the author’s prescient novella weaves together glitz, grime and an ABBA needle-drop to produce one of 2015’s best films.
Free Fire (2016)
A warehouse, a deal gone wrong and a bloody shootout. Sometimes the best films take a simple hook, cast your favourite stars and let it rip.
Featuring future Oscar winners Cillian Murphy and Brie Larson alongside some of Wheatley’s usual players, the film’s initial look of a Reservoir Dogs spoof descends into something much stranger and farcical (we’d expect nothing less from this director) as mishap after mishap conjures up 90 minutes of mayhem.
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018)
A change of pace for the next one, as the high-octane action Free Fire was followed up in 2018 with this melancholy winter entry. Reteaming with Kill List star Neil Maskell in the lead role, the film tells the story of Colin Burstead, who rents a country house for his eccentric family to celebrate the new year.
With a packed ensemble of incredible character actors including Charles Dance, Hayley Squires and BULK star Sam Riley, the film can in fact be seen as a spiritual successor to Free Fire—we sit back at watch through our fingers as a group descends into chaos.
Rebecca (2020)
There aren’t many directors bold enough to tackle Hitchcock, but, if you hadn’t guessed by now, Ben Wheatley does not do the expected.
This 2020 remake is a lavish Gothic Romance starring Lily James and Armie Hammer, finding a fresh twist on a classic tale of revenge and woe.
In the Earth (2021)
This surreal kaleidoscopic horror taps into pandemic neuroses with razor-sharp precision.
Conceived during the first few weeks of COVID and shot with a small crew over summer 2020, In the Earth finds Wheatley making sense of uncertain times with familiar preoccupations—expect hallucinogens, folk horror and his old friend Reece Shearsmith in a terrific turn.
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
The natural extension of a director so occupied with deconstructing genre, Meg 2: The Trench finds Wheatley at his most playful, with campy thrills and a great comic role for our chiselled hero Jason Statham.
Vanity Fair dubbed it “Bigger, Sillier and Better” than its predecessor, and we recommend making it a madcap midnight movie night with some pals.
BULK (2025)
While much remains under wraps about Wheatley’s enigmatic next feature, we’ve heard rumours it’s a pulsating, genre-hopping thriller that brings him back to those twisted roots of the early 2010s.
Ben will be joining us along with actors Sam Riley and Alexandra Maria Lara and producer Andy Starke for a Q&A and screening of BULK on 16 August, fresh from its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and it’s set to be a night to remember.
To find out more and book tickets for BULK, visit our cinema pages.