8) The Hunt
The first of two films on this list featuring a script by Danish writer/director Tobias Lindholm, The Hunt turns a searing spotlight on a small Danish community, envisioning what horrors unfold when a blatant lie about a kindergarten teacher (Mads Mikkelsen) spreads like wildfire. The strength of the movie, as co-written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, is its willingness to provide brutal, frighteningly plausible answers to the tough questions it asks.
Vinterberg expertly builds an atmosphere of palpable dread in his small-town setting to match The Hunt‘s dark story. Mikkelsen is electric and awards-worthy in the lead role of Lucas, a teacher wrongly accused of sexual misconduct with a young pupil. He’s aided by an excellent supporting cast including Thomas Bo Larson and incredible child actor Annika Wedderkopp.
The Hunt is far from an easy film to watch, but it’s also a very important one. In exploring how today’s tight-knit communities allow the dark side of human nature to emerge through exercises in mob mentality, it crafts an utterly chilling, ripped-from-the-headlines modern tragedy. You won’t be able to tear your eyes away.