Shadows and Fog (1991)
Jun 8, 2001Kafka and German Expressionism Homage
One of the not-quite-rans in Woody Allen's oeuvre, a homage to Franz Kafka and German Expressionism with Allen as a mousy clerk caught up in the hunt for a strangler
John Cusack
Anastasia (1997)
Mar 31, 1999Animation/Amnesiac Russian Royal
Considerable return to form for animator Don Bluth even if the story of the Russian Royals he is telling is based on a hoax and manages to entirely excise any mention of the Communist Revolution
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Dec 8, 1999Portal Into Actor's Head/Absurdism
Hilariously eccentric Spike Jonze-Charlie Kaufman collaboration in which John Cusack finds an office building that has a portal that takes someone through into actor John Malkovich's head. The wacky spins that the script places on the idea are ingenious
Serendipity (2001)
Apr 19, 2009Fate Romance
Romance film where John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale meet and leave their details on random items in the belief luck will bring them back together
Identity (2003)
Sep 11, 2003Remote Motel Psycho-Thriller
John Cusack leads a star cast line-up in what appears to be a slasher where a group of people gathered at a motel are being killed. Big conceptual twists ensue
Martian Child (2007)
Oct 9, 2008Adopting a Possibly Alien Child
Adapted from a David Gerrold book, this is essentially the Adam Sandler adopts a kid film Big Daddy by way of K-PAX
1408 (2007)
Nov 3, 2007Haunted Hotel Room/Stephen King Adaptation
Very spooky Stephen King adaptation about a haunted hotel room. In contrast to other haunted house films, this is fairly much a one-man show that keeps itself minimally contained inside the room with considerable effect
2012 (2009)
Nov 14, 2009The End of the World/Disaster Movie
Roland Emmerich mass destruction spectacle loosely based around the supposed Mayan prophecies about the end of the world. Mostly just an excuse for massively scaled disaster sequences.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
Apr 3, 2010Time Travel Comedy
A raucous and vulgar, if at times undeniably funny, comedy where John Cusack and three friends use a hot tub at a resort that causes them to travel back in time to the 1980s.
The Factory (2012)
Jul 24, 2013Serial Killer Thriller
Dark Horse Entertainment film that traipses through a tired serial killer plot that comes out resembling a weak episode of CSI before a frankly unbelievable twist ending
The Raven (2012)
May 11, 2012Edgar Allan Poe vs a Serial Killer
This has the great idea of pitting Edgar Allan Poe against a serial killer imitating his stories but instead produces a desultory murder mystery that has done only the most cursory reading about Poe and is ill-informed about the historical period
The Frozen Ground (2013)
Nov 23, 2022True-Life Serial Killer
A film based on the apprehending of true-life serial killer Robert Hansen who would fly girls out into the Alaskan wilderness and then hunt them. Nicolas Cage is the dogged detective up against John Cusack as the killer
Grand Piano (2013)
Apr 1, 2025Man Trapped at a Piano by a Sniper
Essentially a classical music version of Phone Booth with Elijah Wood trapped at a grand piano in front of a concert audience by a sniper. The results prove quite gripping
Cell (2016)
Jul 16, 2016Stephen King Adaptation/Cellphone Zombies
Adaptation of the Stephen King novel about zombies created by a cellphone signal. Critically panned but this kicks in with a sensational opening scene and overspills with more fascinating ideas than it has room to deal with
Singularity (2017)
Nov 26, 2017Giant Robots Obliterate Humanity
John Cusack as a super-villain unleashing an army of giant robots against humanity – what's not to like? Well maybe the entire film, which fails to leave no Machines Amok cliche unturned. Cusack gives a performance through gritted teeth no doubt at the atrocious dialogue he has to utter