Highest-Rated Movies about 'Southern Gothic'

White Lightnin' (2009), Cool Hand Luke (1967), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird (2010), Baby Doll (1956), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Southern Gothic movies.

#19. The Member of the Wedding (1952)

Storyline: A mixture of a psychological study of a ten-year-old boy, an English domestic comedy and a satire on psychologists finds young Johnny Brent, the only child of a pair of psychologists, trading an "invisible watch" to a much-younger child for a large magnet. His nurse/nanny accuses him of stealing and scolds him and he runs away. He soon convinces himself that the police are after him and following several unsuccessful attempts to get rid of the magnet, he presents it to an organizer of a fund-raising campaign for acquiring an iron-lung for the local hospital. The magnet is one of the auction items and finally is mounted on the iron-lung as a tribute to the unknown donor. Meanwhile, the father makes a completely inaccurate diagnosis for the mother of the boy's worries. In the end the boy meets the child he thought had died as a result of losing the magnet, and trades the boy back for the return of his "invisible watch" the gold medal the town mayor had given him for his part in the hospital campaign.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: drama, family, coming of age, adaptation, classic, black and white, 1950s ...

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#20. Summer and Smoke (1961)

Storyline: Since childhood, spinster Alma Winemiller has loved handsome young Dr. John Buchanan, Jr.. But John has fallen hard for Rosa Zacharias, the town's sultry vamp, and descends into a seamy nightlife while ignoring Alma's dreams of romance and possible marriage.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: drama, romance, literary adaptation, psychological conflict, moral dilemma, loneliness, desire ...

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#21. Joe (2013)

Storyline: In order to provide for his destitute family of drifters, a likable, sincere, able-bodied 15-year-old boy comes to hire on among a burned-out ex-con's group of aging forest laborers. As the man becomes more and more aware of the boy's abusive home life, his deeply buried humanity is roused. Drinking and smoking incessantly to remain detached from his volatile temper, he finally takes the matter into his own hands - come what may - when the boy's alcoholic father finally goes too far.

Plot Keywords: drama, crime, usa, nicolas cage, independent film, violence, poverty ...

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#22. Cookie's Fortune (1999)

Storyline: Cookie's Fortune unfolds over an eventful Easter weekend in the small town of Holly Springs, Mississippi. The town residents are peaceful, kind folk -- with the exception of Camille Dixon -- a pushy theatre director with an incredibly shy younger sister, Cora, whose estranged daughter Emma has just returned to town. On the heels of her latest play, Camille is shocked to discover that her Aunt Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt has committed suicide. Terrified at the thought of how this will tarnish the family name, she eats the suicide note to make it look like a burglary. This set-up leads the police to one main suspect, Willis Richland, who also happens to be Cookie's best friend. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn't commit the crime, an outside investigator isn't so sure. As Easter Sunday and opening night of the play arrive, the truth comes out, revealing more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Plot Keywords: comedy, drama, crime, family, black comedy, small town life, murder ...

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#23. Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2003)

Storyline: Traveling through the American South, documentarian Andrew Douglas trains his lens on Jim White, an alternative-country musician, as he performs in venues that range in variety from churches to coal mines. During this journey, White shares his experience of growing up in the Deep South, while Douglas interviews a number of other Southern musicians, artists and writers, attempting to gain a perspective on a unique culture that is often overlooked.

Plot Keywords: american south, documentary, music, religion, road movie, soul, poverty ...

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#24. The Devil's Rejects (2005)

Storyline: In Ruggsville, Texas, the police under the command of Sheriff John Quincy Wydell attack the house of the sadistic serial killers Firefly family (a.k.a. The Devil's Reject) and they arrest mother Firefly, but Otis B. Driftwood and Baby Firefly escape from the siege. Tiny is wandering nearby the house and also escapes. Otis and Baby call their patriarch, the mad clown Captain Spaulding and they schedule to reunite at an isolated motel in the desert. When Otis and Baby arrive, they kidnap two families of singers, using sadism and violence against the harmless persons. Meanwhile, Sheriff Wydell promises to capture and kill the runaways, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, the Deputy George Wydell.

Plot Keywords: horror, crime, thriller, violence, gore, slasher, serial killer ...

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#25. Ruby Gentry (1952)

Storyline: Despite their different social class Ruby and Boake grew up together in the 1950s North Carolina. Ruby Corey lived with her poor family in the swamps while Boake Tackman lived in a mansion with servants. As long as their friendship stayed within the socially acceptable limits no one objected. In adulthood their friendship becomes a mutual romantic attraction. Ruby wants to marry Boake but he only seems interested in romantic play without commitment. Maybe conscious of his social status or maybe being afraid to offend his snobbish family and conservative hometown folk, he marries a rich girl. Out of revenge Ruby marries Jim Gentry, a recently widowed rich old man to whom many townsfolk and local businesses owe money. When Gentry dies in an accident, the town blames Ruby. A now rich Ruby takes revenge on the town's folk by calling in their debts and loans. The girl from the swamps has become the town's biggest nightmare.—nufs68

Plot Keywords: melodrama, film noir, romance, drama, revenge, class struggle, passion ...

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#26. Killer Joe (2011)

Storyline: Finding himself in considerable debt, Chris, a Texan drug dealer, decides the only solution is to murder his mother to collect the insurance money. Getting together with his father, the ex-husband of Chris' mother, they decide to hire Joe Cooper (a contract killer) who also happens to be a police detective. The plan is that the money will go to Chris' sister Dottie. However due to the size of the contract fee, Chris agrees that Joe can take Dottie as a retainer until the insurance comes through.

Plot Keywords: black comedy, crime, thriller, violence, family conflict, texas, moral decay ...

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#27. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

Storyline: This panoramic tale of Savannah, Georgia's eccentricities focuses on a murder and the subsequent trial of James Arthur Williams (Kevin Spacey): self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, bon vivant, and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso (John Cusack) a magazine reporter, finds himself in Savannah amidst the beautiful architecture and odd doings to write a feature on one of William's famous Christmas parties. He is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim's violent, young and sexy lover, Billy Hanson (Jude Law). Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial. Along the way, he encounters the irrepressible Chablis Deveau (Lady Chablis), a drag queen commedienne, Sonny Seiler (Jack Thompson), lawyer to Williams, whose famous dog, Uga, is the official mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs, an odd man who keeps flies attached to mini leashes on his lapels and threatens daily to poison the water supply, the Married ...

Plot Keywords: crime, drama, mystery, thriller, biography, true story, murder ...

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#28. Lightning Bug (2004)

Storyline: A drama/thriller, set in the South, about a young boy who longs to escape the misery of his childhood and the misunderstanding of his hometown. A gifted, self-taught, special effects make-up artist, Green dreams of going to Hollywood to make his own monsters. But the real demons of Green's life threaten to hold him back: a drunken stepfather who terrorizes his mother, a group of religious fanatics who want to destroy his work, and the love of a girl who can't let go of small town life.—Anonymous

Plot Keywords: drama, thriller, horror, independent film, coming of age, dark, family ...

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#29. The Big Easy (1986)

Storyline: Set in New Orleans. Remy McSwain, lieutenant in Homicide finds that he has two problems, the first of a series of gang killings and Ann Osborne, a beautiful attorney from the D.A.'s police corruption task force in his office. He begins a relationship with her as the killings continue only to have charges filed against him for accepting bribes as he stumbles on a police corruption Sting. While this is happening, the criminals insist that none of the crime gangs are behind the killings.

Plot Keywords: crime, romance, thriller, new orleans, police, corruption, murder ...

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#30. Crimes of the Heart (1986)

Storyline: Three sisters with quite different personalities and lives reunite when Babe, the youngest, has just shot her husband. Oldest sister Lenny takes care of their grandfather and is turning into an old maid. Meg, who aspires to make it in Hollywood as a singer and actress, has had a wild, man-filled life. Their reunion is joyful but also stirs up much tension.—Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl>

Plot Keywords: drama, comedy, family, sisters, women, emotional, psychological ...

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