As I was watching the Neo-western fantasy series, Outer Range, one thought that crossed my mind (among the many thoughts that I had regarding this weird-ass series) was, Wow, I have never been more scared of Imogen Poots than I am right now. Her chilling performance on the Amazon Prime original as Autumn Rivers - a mysterious young traveler with questionable intentions - was especially surprising because I am more used to seeing her play the one struggling against strange and sinister forces.
As far as I am concerned, the British actor has firmly earned a spot among the finest modern day Scream Queens for her stunning performances in some of the best horror movies in recent memory. In fact, let’s commence our list of the best Imogen Poots movies (and where to find them on streaming or for digital rental) with some of her creepiest credits so far, starting with her first starring role.
28 Weeks Later (HBO Max)
Six months after England was torn apart by a virus that fills the infected with a violent, insatiable rage, the U.S. Army steps in to help survivors of the disaster find a new home and a stable livelihood, until signs show that the outbreak is not gone.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: A then 18-year-old Imogen Poots plays a young woman struggling to survive and protect her younger brother (Mackintosh Muggleton) from the sudden return of the Rage Virus in 2007’s 28 Weeks Later - director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s follow-up to one of the most inventive and grounded zombie movies (even though it does not quite count as a traditional zombie movie), writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle’s 2002 masterpiece, 28 Days Later.
Stream 28 Weeks Later on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy 28 Weeks Later on Amazon.
Fright Night (Hulu)
After a suspicious gentleman (Colin Farrell) moves in to the house next door, an imaginative teen (the late Anton Yelchin) soon becomes convinced that he is an evil creature of the night and enlists the help of a Las Vegas illusionist and self-proclaimed paranormal expert (David Tennant) in order to protect his mother (Toni Collette), girlfriend (Imogen Poots), and the rest of his neighborhood.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: Four years after starring in 28 Weeks Later, Poots returned to the horror genre with another movie that expands on the legacy of a classic, Fright Night - director Craig Gillespie’s modern reimagining of the cult favorite ‘80s vampire flick from director Tom Holland (no, not that Tom Holland).
Stream Fright Night on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Fright Night on Amazon.
Green Room (Showtime)
After their performance at a road house frequented by white supremacists does not get the warmest reception, things get even worse for an up-and-coming punk band when they become witnesses to a murder backstage, culminating in a fight to escape the venue without losing their lives.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: Four years after starring in Fright Night, Imogen Poots reunited with Anton Yelchin as desperate victims of the deadly stand-off between good and evil at the center of Green Room - arguably writer and director Jeremy Saulnier’s most twisted and intense masterwork yet, with credit due to a brilliant performance as a sadistic Neo-Nazi leader by Sir Patrick Stewart.
Stream Green Room on Showtime.
Rent/Buy Green Room on Amazon.
Vivarium (Amazon Prime)
While searching for a new place to live, an English school teacher (Imogen Poots) and her American boyfriend (Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg) tour a neighborhood of unusual design, but soon discover they were brought there for a purpose and that leaving this new home of theirs is impossible.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: Easily one of the strangest movies of Poots’ career (or that you may ever see) is 2019’s Vivarium - co-writer and director Lorcan Finnegan’s visually unique and cleverly satirical sci-fi thriller that I believe would have made The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling proud, and is one of the best movies on Amazon Prime at the moment.
Stream Vivarium on Amazon Prime.
The Art Of Self-Defense (Hulu)
After suffering a brutal attack by a motorcycle gang one night, a meek and anxious bookkeeper (Jesse Eisenberg) enrolls in a self-defense class that proves to be the confidence builder he needed, but he soon discovers that his sensei (Alessandro Nivola) is not quite the person that he assumed he was.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: In the same year that she starred alongside him in Vivarium, Imogen Poots shared the screen with Eisenberg as a pretty, young, and feisty fellow martial arts student in The Art of Self-Defense - a comedy as exhilaratingly funny as it is disturbingly dark, from Dual writer and director, Riley Stearns.
Stream The Art Of Self-Defense on Hulu.
Rent/Buy The Art Of Self-Defense on Amazon.
Solitary Man (Tubi)
A divorced, aging womanizer and successful car dealer (Academy Award winner Michael Douglas) receives his comeuppance after his poor decisions begin to have a destructive effect on his business, his love life, and his relationship with his family.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: A decade before she starred alongside him in Vivarium and The Art of Self-Defense, Imogen Poots first shared the screen with Jesse Eisenberg in Solitary Man - writer and co-director Brian Koppelman’s funny and thought-provoking dramedy in which Poots plays the 18-year-old daughter of Mary Louise-Parker’s character, who is dating Douglas’ character.
Stream Solitary Man on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Solitary Man on Amazon.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (Amazon Rental)
The star member of a popular, now-defunct boy band (Andy Samberg) struggles to keep his solo rap career afloat after his latest album tanks, only to fail miserably at each attempt and almost due to his own egregiously poor decisions.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: One of the more comparatively lighter comedies of Imogen Poots’ career is 2016’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - a brilliant and vastly underrated mockumentary-style music industry satire from the minds of The Lonely Island, in which Samberg’s conner4real plans an elaborate marriage proposal to her character, Ashley, that goes disastrously wrong.
Rent/Buy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Amazon.
That Awkward Moment (Amazon Rental)
After a doctor (Michael B. Jordan) is suddenly faced with an imminent divorce, his best friends - one recently dumped (Zac Efron) and the other perpetually available (Miles Teller) - make a pact to all stay proudly single together, but things do not go quite as planned.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: Another light, but more comparatively grounded, comedy from Imogen Poots’ career is 2014’s That Awkward Moment - an honest and refreshing rom-com from first-time writer and director Tom Gormican, in which she plays a young woman whom Efron’s Jason unexpectedly falls for named Ellie.
Rent/Buy That Awkward Moment on Amazon.
Centurion (Tubi)
After suffering a devastating ambush, a bold, endurable warrior (Michael Fassbender) struggles to lead a splinter group of Roman soldiers to victory and survival from behind enemy lines in Britain, circa 117 A.D.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: In 2010, Imogen Poots was cast in the role of a Briton woman exiled for witchcraft in Centurion - a brutal war film set in ancient times from The Descent writer and director, Neil Marshall.
Stream Centurion on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Centurion on Amazon.
Filth (Amazon Rental)
While investigating a brutal murder, a bigoted, drug-addicted, sex-addicted Scottish detective (James McAvoy) hopes that earning a coveted promotion will help him win back his wife and daughter, if not for his colleagues’ own career aspirations and his own fractured sanity getting in the way.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: In 2013, Imogen Poots played the sole female (and responsible) cop in a sea of corrupt male police officers, but one who also comes to aid McAvoy’s character in a time of need, in Filth - screenwriter and director Jon S. Baird’s boldly and manically bizarre adaptation of the novel by Trainspotting author, Irvine Welsh.
The Father (Starz)
An elderly man (Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins) begins to lose grip on reality, his own identity, and his memory - which also has a profoundly heartbreaking effect on his daughter (Academy Award winner Olivia Coleman) and son-in-law (Emmy Award nominee Rufus Sewell) as he suddenly struggles to recognize them.
Why it is worth checking out if you like Imogen Poots: Two Oscars (including Best Actor for Hopkins, which was his second, and Best Adapted Screenplay) went to co-writer and director Florian Zeller’s cinematic adaptation of his own play, The Father - a mesmerizingly immersive and hauntingly realistic portrayal of what it is like to live with dementia - in which Imogen Poots also stars as Laura, one of the carers Coleman’s character hires to assist her father, much to his distaste.
Stream The Father on Starz.
Buy The Father on Amazon.
Imogen Poots has led one of the most eclectic and exciting careers in Hollywood and one that I am excited to see more of soon. Maybe on Outer Range Season 2, perhaps?
