Film

Velvet Buzzsaw

A fever dream about the art world's greed, where a supernatural force punishes collectors and dealers who've corrupted art into commodity. Jake Gyllenhaal leads a cast through increasingly surreal horror as paintings become weapons. It's visually dazzling, wickedly funny about pretension, and doesn't quite cohere—but the ride is intoxicating.

TMDb rating2.7

If you liked this

Nightcrawler2014

Gyllenhaal's previous deep dive into a world where ambition corrodes morality, chasing a story (here: art) that destroys everyone it touches. Same actor, same director, same electric unease.

But If you haven't seen it, that's a significant time commitment; Velvet Buzzsaw is more playful but Nightcrawler is the purer thriller.

Nightcrawler poster

Mulholland Drive2001

Lynch's masterpiece about the art of illusion in LA, where surfaces rot and nothing is quite real. Surreal, darkly funny, visually intoxicating—it's what Velvet Buzzsaw is trying to do.

But Three hours, deliberately cryptic, requires patient rewatching. Some find it pretentious; others find it transcendent.

Mulholland Drive poster

The Phantom of the Opera1925

Silent horror about art and obsession, where beauty masks violence. Lon Chaney's performance is grotesque and tragic; the production design is a character itself.

But Silent film. Pacing and acting conventions are very old; it demands you meet it on its own terms.

The Phantom of the Opera poster

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The wildcard

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Phantom Thread2017

Both trap artists and their patrons in cycles of creation and harm, but Phantom Thread grounds it in human psychology while Buzzsaw makes it literal—the inverse approach to the same sickness.

Paul Thomas Anderson's film about a designer and his muse, where creation is possession and love is control. Gorgeous, precise, deeply unsettling—it's about art and obsession without showing art as supernatural.

But Glacially slow, almost no plot. High-fashion world that can feel airless and trivial even when it's not.

Phantom Thread poster
More like this (7)

Okja2017

Bong Joon-ho's film about commerce devouring ethics, with surreal imagery and tonal whiplash between comedy and genuine horror. Same moral engine as Buzzsaw, different subject.

But Tonally chaotic on purpose; if you want consistency over provocation, this will frustrate you.

Okja poster

The Neon Demon2016

Nicolas Winding Refn's synth-soaked nightmare about beauty, desire, and consumption. Visually ravishing, deeply disturbing, it's a complete aesthetic experience.

But Thin plot, glacial pacing, deliberately repellent characters. If you need narrative momentum, this suffocates it.

The Neon Demon poster

Suspiria2018

Luca Guadagnino's full remake of Argento's masterpiece: ballet, horror, and art collide. Stunning cinematography, unsettling score, Tilda Swinton is unforgettable.

But Nearly 150 minutes of slow-burn dread. Some find it bloated; the finale divides people sharply.

Suspiria poster

Only God Forgives2013

Refn and Gyllenhaal reunite in Bangkok for a neon-drenched crime story about grief and vengeance. Hypnotic visuals, almost no dialogue, pure mood and dread.

But Plot is secondary to atmosphere. If you're watching for story, you'll feel cheated.

Only God Forgives poster

Possessor2020

Brandon Cronenberg's body-horror thriller about identity and violation, with Kirsten Stewart at her most unsettling. Visceral, strange, genuinely disturbing.

But Graphic violence and sexual assault depicted directly. Not for the squeamish or easily triggered.

Possessor poster

The Invisible Man2020

Leigh Whannell's reinvention of the classic is a paranoid thriller about control and invisible threat. Clever, suspenseful, uses negative space brilliantly.

But A home-invasion thriller that's morally straightforward. If you want ambiguity, this isn't it.

The Invisible Man poster

Christmas with the Kranks2004

Both films are about a society that's replaced authentic human impulse with commodified performance, except this one doesn't need demons because humans are already the problem.

A comedy about conformity, community pressure, and the obscene commercialization of sentiment. It's genuinely funny about American greed wearing a smile.

But It's a sitcom energy in feature-film form, and it's not trying to be profound—if you need your satire to have depth, this is pure surface.

Christmas with the Kranks poster

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