For decades, Hollywood and filmmakers have been pushing the envelope and creating some truly unforgettable and daringR-ratedfilms, with some of the industry’s most revered pictures rocking the risque rating. From celebrated classics likeAnimal HouseandTaxi Driverto modern-day marvels likePearl, the silver screen has seen its fair share of exhilarating movies featuring daring and unapologetic premises, characters, and visuals.
Fans of the bold rating and those with aPrime Videosubscription are in for quite a treat, as the juggernaut streaming platform is constantly acquiring a dynamic assortment of films of every genre available at their disposal. Right now Prime has a slew of fan-favorite comedies, crime dramas, war epics, and action extravaganzas starring iconicperformers like Tom Hanks,Jake Gyllenhaal, Jodie Foster, and Steve Carell. Here are 11 of the best rated-R movies to watch on Prime.
11Pearl (2022)
The second installment in Ti West’s acclaimed horror seriesXfeaturesthe talented Mia Gothreprising her role as the villainous titular character in 2022’sPearl, which serves as a prequel and origin story for the fame-seeking antagonist who is forced to help take care of her ailing father while coping with her strict and controlling mother on a remote Texas farm in 1918.
Pearl’s psychopathic tendencies are ultimately revealed as she plots to become a film star and escape the dead-end life she is stuck in, embracing her violent and deranged side to ensure her dreams are achieved.
Goth Dazzles as the Villainous Lead
Upon its worldwide premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, bothPearland Goth attracted widespread critical acclaim, with fans raving about the dynamic actress' brilliant performance and admirable commitment to the crazed role. Goth received numerous accolades for her powerhouse work in the horror picture, winning a Sitges Film Festival Award for Best Actress as well as a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Lead Performance.
Due to the critical and commercial success ofPearla third entry in the franchise entitledMaXXXinewas released in 2024 with Goth returning, with director Ti West later stating that he had plans for a fourth film.
10The Beekeeper (2024)
The Beekeeper
Action hero Jason Statham’s latest big screen extravaganza was in the exhilarating 2024 thrillerThe Beekeeper,in which he portrays a retired former operative from a highly classified program who sets out on a mission for vengeance after his compassionate landlady tragically takes her life after falling prey to a phishing scam.
Statham’s character, Adam Clay, begins to meticulously take down the money-hungry scammers responsible for her death, waging an epic war against a powerful company and their affluent technology executive overseeing the scam.
Statham Delivers to the Masses
The Beekeeperproved to be quite the success with both critics and moviegoers alike, grossing over $152 million and spending its first eight weeks of release in the top 10 films at the domestic box office.
It was one of Statham’s most well-received projects, earning a 71% Rotten Tomatoes rating and 92% audience score, with the exciting leading man being in top-tier form in the action flick and dazzling his fans with his electrifying physical prowess and commanding on-screen presence. Though some have calledThe BeekeeperaJohn Wickknock-off,Statham nonetheless makes the most out of both the character and thriller.
9Animal House (1978)
Animal House
Widely considered to be one of the greatest comedies to ever grace the big screen, John Landis' uproarious 1978 farceNational Lampoon’s Animal Houseenliststhe talents of famousfaces like John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, and Donald Sutherland, and takes place at the fictional Faber College in 1962 where a rambunctious and wild fraternity is causing major trouble for the school’s fed-up Dean Vernon Wormer, who assigns his favorite snooty frat house to take down the rowdy Delta Tau Chi House and have their charter revoked.
Animal House Skyrockets Belushi to Stardom
Animal Housemarked the feature film debut of the then 28-year-old Belushi, who had steadily gained famed as a founding cast member onSaturday Night Liveand was looking to shift his focus to Hollywood productions. The comedian would emerge as the film’s breakout performer and it helped pave the way for his ensuing filmmaking career.
With just a budget of $3 million, the beloved cult classic went on to earn more than $141 million throughout its lifetime and $120.1 million during its original run, becoming the highest-grossing comedy of all time until it was surpassed byGhostbusterin 1984 (another Ramis flick).
8Smile (2022)
Parker Finn’s spine-tingling 2022 supernatural horror filmSmiletook the world by storm because of its deeply unsettling and downright creepy premise, which centers on therapist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) as she witnesses the terrifying and bizarre suicide of a patient in a psychiatric ward after claiming she was being terrorized by an unseen entity that presents itself as different smiling people.
Rose herself begins to experience unexplainable and frightening phenomena after the horrific incident, and she also begins to believe she is being haunted by a malevolent presence.
Smile Sets a Box Office Record
A sequel to Finn’s 2020 short filmLaura Hasn’t Slept, the taut psychological horror flick had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest and delivered plenty of thrills and chills for brave moviegoers, who were rightfully freaked out by the ghastly smiles featured.
Smilewas favorably compared to films likeRinguandIt Follows, and went on to be a blockbuster triumph, earning over $217 million and becoming the highest-grossing R-rated horror film worldwide released during the pandemic.Smilewas nominated for Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards and because of its remarkable reception.An upcoming sequelis currently set to hit theaters later this year.
7The Boondock Saints (1999)
The Boondock Saints
Before he waskilling zombies with his trustee crossbowon a weekly basis, Norman Reedus appeared alongside Sean Patrick Flannery as vigilante fraternal twin brothers Murphy and Conner MacManus in the 1999 action thrillerThe Boondock Saints.
In the gripping picture, the fearless Irish Catholic twins take on Boston’s criminal underworld after killing two Russian mafia members in an act of self-defense, and they set out to rid the city of dangerous undesirables in the name of God, all the while being hunted down by a determined FBI Special Agent (Willem Dafoe).
Celebrated ’90s Cult Classic
Troy Duffy made his directorial debut with the underrated gem, drawing inspiration for its premise after witnessing a drug dealer take money from a dead body across the hall from his Los Angeles apartment.
The Boondock Saintswas given a limited release due to the Columbine High School massacre and was subsequently a box office failure, though because of word-of-mouth and home video release it grossed $50 million in sales and emerged as a bona fide cult classic. A sequel titledThe Boondock Saints II: All Saints Dayreunited Reedus and Flannery, and a third film with the actors is currently in development.
6Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Saving Private Ryan
Widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made and one ofSteven Spielberg’s finest masterpieces, the poignant and deeply moving 1998 epic war dramaSaving Private Ryanchronicles the courageous efforts of a group of soldiers as they venture into enemy territory in Normandy, France to bring home the eponymous private during World War II. Tom Hanks leads the noble men on their valiant quest and brilliantly portrays Captain John Miller, who is determined to locate the young soldier and tell him of the tragic deaths of his three brothers killed in action.
Related:Saving Private Ryan 25 Years Later: Why It’s the Best War Film Ever Made
Spielberg’s Groundbreaking War Masterpiece
The blockbuster picture featured the additional talents of famous faces like Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, and Giovanni Ribisi and went on to become the second-highest-grossing film of the year, bringing in over $482 million worldwide and receiving universal acclaim from fans and critics alike.
Saving Private Ryanwon five Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Drama, and World War II veterans who went and saw the heartrending film expressed that the combat scenes were the most realistic cinema portrayals of their personal experiences that they had ever seen, and that it touched them so deeply that some were unable to finish watching it because of their trauma.
5Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The king of stylized violence Quentin Tarantino made his phenomenal feature-length film debut when he directed the 1992 crime dramaReservoir Dogs, showcasing his unique flair and point-of-view in a story that focuses on a group of diamond thieves who attempt to pull off the ultimate heist for a life-changing payday but find their mission goes horrifically wrong when one of the criminals turns out to be a police informant.
After escaping the authorities, the remaining thugs meet up at their pre-planned rendezvous spot with tensions boiling over as they attempt to figure out who might be an undercover cop.
A Trailblazing Feature-Length Film Debut
Touting a fantastic ensemble cast led by Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Steve Buscemi,Reservoir Dogswas a modest box office success and fared extremely well with critics, who praised its non-linear storytelling and exceptional cast performances.
The crime flick achieved even greater popularity after the release of Tarantino’s 1994 juggernautPulp Fiction,and is now regarded as a highly-revered cult classic and sensational independent classic; Empire magazine namedReservoir Dogsas the “Greatest Independent Film of All Time” and it helped pave the way for Tarantino’sillustrious filmmaking career.
4The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster created some of the cinema’s most sensational movie magic when they starred in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 psychological horror thrillerThe Silence of the Lambs, an adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel that follows young and ambitious FBI trainee Clarice Starling as she is forced to seek help from the imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter to catch a deranged serial killer skinning his female victims.
Clarice and Lecter engage in a taut cat-and-mouse game while working the case as she is given a terrifying glimpse into the mind of the formerly respected forensic psychiatrist.
Demme’s Record-Shattering Triumph
Directors, critics, and fans have frequently declared thatThe Silence of the Lambsis one of the greatest and most influential films of all time, with both Starling and Lecter often being cited as the best movie heroines and villains.
The spine-tingling picture is just the third and most recent film towin the big fiveat the Academy Awards (including Best Actor for Hopkins and Best Actress for Foster), receiving the prestigious honor alongsideIt Happened One NightandOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.It is the first and only horror film to win Best Picture and because of its unprecedented success, both a sequel and two prequels were ultimately released.
3Taxi Driver (1976)
Taxi Driver
Hollywood dream teamMartin Scorsese and Robert De Nirojoined forces for the 1976 neo-noir psychological thrillerTaxi Driver,in which the Oscar-winner famously portrayed former U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran Travis Bickle as he is plagued by insomnia and crippling loneliness and takes up a job as a taxi driver at night to combat his struggles.
Theemotionally unwell young manbegins to become obsessed with saving the world (specifically New York) from urban decay and the criminals that roam the streets, and he begins to spiral further after fantasizing about assassinating a potential presidential candidate.
De Niro & Foster Truly Deliver
Jodie Foster joined De Niro on-screen as the 12-year-old child prostitute Iris Steensma, whom Travis attempts to convince to quit her profession and instead just be a normal kid. De Niro bonded with Foster during production and took special time with her, astutely believing shehad “serious potential"and wanting to help her explore the craft and her own skills as a performer.
Taxi Driverwas the recipient of the highly-coveted Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned four Academy Award nominations, while going on to achieve cult status and becoming one of the most culturally significant and influential films of its time.
2The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Judd Apatow made hisunforgettable directorial debutwhen he helmed the uproarious 2005 romantic comedyThe 40-Year-Old Virgin, enlisting the talents of a star-studded cast led by Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Catherine Keener, and Seth Rogen and telling the amusing story of the shy and introverted Andy Stitzer (Carell) as his electronics store buddies attempt to help him lose his virginity when they discover the awkward middle-aged man has never had sex. When Andy strikes up an exciting relationship with a beautiful shop owner, he attempts to navigate the world of romance with side-splitting results.
Related:How The 40-Year-Old Virgin Was the Triumphant Return of the R-Rated Comedy
Carell’s Fearless Performance
Apatow was inspired to cast Carell in the lead role of Andy after watchinghis scene-stealing performanceinAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and the hapless character was based on a sketch Carell created while performing with the improv comedy troupe The Second City.
Audiences couldn’t get enough of the delightfully zany farce, which showcased Carell’s impressive skills as an actor and helped further establish him as one of Hollywood’s most endearing comedians.The 40-Year-Old-Virginwas named as one of the Top Ten Films of the Year by the American Film Institute and helped establish both Apatow and his lead stars as certified movie stars.
