Disney+ actually has some great R-rated films
Who would have thought that Disney+ would have so many R-rated movies? But thanks to Hulu being bundled into Disney+, that’s what we got.
This is great for us adults, because though princess movies and Pixar are great, sometimes you want something a little more mature, you know? So if you’ve got the Disney Bundle, read on to see what R-rated movies you can watch on the platform while the kids are asleep.
Poor Things (2023)
Emma Stone rightly won an Oscar for her tremendous performance as Bella Baxter in this film. Bella is a woman with a terrifying origin: She is the unborn daughter of a woman who committed suicide, placed into that woman’s reanimated body. Slowly, she grows to maturity and learns the ways of the world.
Poor Things isn’t for everyone—and it’s definitely not a film to watch with your parents (or your kids)—but it’s absolutely stunning aesthetically. It’s considered one of Yorgos Lanthimos’ best films and it was a box office hit in addition to being a critical darling.
Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool remains THE R-rated Disney film, although admittedly Deadpool and Wolverine is coming for its crown. It was a tremendous breath of fresh air when it first rocked into cinemas back in 2016, and to this day there’s never been a character quite like Deadpool.
Ryan Reynolds plays the titular character, an assassin diagnosed with cancer who’s experimented on until given superpowers. He cracks jokes so fast you’ll barely be able to keep up with them, but there are moments of poignancy in the movie as well.
Not Okay (2022)
A film that warns you before you begin that you’re about to see the story of an unlikeable woman. Zoey Deutch plays Danni, a would-be influencer who tells a massive lie to get ahead: she pretends to be a survivor of a terrorist attack when in truth she was nowhere near the scene.
You may end the film feeling sympathy for Danni, or you may decide she got entirely what she deserved. Either way, the movie is a fascinating look at influencer culture and the experience of being “canceled” online.
Prey (2022)
This is one of the best (if not the best) movies in the Predator franchise. It focuses on a Comanche woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder) who finds herself in a deadly game when the Predator comes to Earth. She must draw on all her skills and courage to survive.
This movie catapulted Midthunder to stardom, and it was also the first-ever blockbuster to be dubbed in the Comanche language. Critics raved about it and they were absolutely right to.
Logan (2017)
This was the very last outing for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine until Deadpool and Wolverine. (And even then, he plays a different version of the character, so it’s moot.) In this story, Wolverine must protect a young girl named Laura and escort her to a refuge. But then he finds out that she’s his clone, and thus essentially his daughter.
Laura was played by Dafne Keen in her first film role, and she was amazing. I defy you not to shed a tear during the film’s tragic ending, which she carries.
Bullet Train (2022)
Bullet Train is a stylish, gory, extremely funny action flick set on board, what else, a high-speed Japanese bullet train. Brad Pitt plays Ladybug, a philosophical assassin who’s sent to retrieve a briefcase, only to find waaaay more than he bargained for.
Bullet Train is directed by the same man who did Deadpool 2, David Leitch, and you might spot a few familiar faces from that film in this one. However, the people who run away with the entire movie are Aaron Taylor-Johnson as foul-mouthed assassin Tangerine and Brian Tyree Henry as his Thomas the Tank Engine-obsessed brother Lemon.
Spencer (2021)
Oops, guess there is actually a princess movie in this list after all. Spencer shows us a painful episode in the life of Princess Diana, here played by an excellent Kirsten Stewart. Diana joins the British royal family at the grand estate of Sandringham, but while she’s there, she begins to suffer a mental health crisis. And she’s under so much pressure that who can blame her?
Everything that happened in the movie is made up—Diana died in 1997, so obviously she couldn’t tell her own story—but the filmmakers say at the beginning that it’s “a fable from a true tragedy.”
The Host (2006)
An incredible South Korean monster movie from Bong Joon-ho, the man who gave us Snowpiercer and Parasite. A teenage girl named Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung) is taken by a monster during its blood-soaked attack by the side of the Han River, and her dysfunctional family must join forces to try and find her.
The film may seem silly, and indeed it has some funny moments, but it also has some deeply serious things to say about the United States and South Korea. There was talk of an American remake when it first came out, but, thankfully, it never happened.
Alien (1979)
One of the greatest horror films ever made. Alien threw multiple terrifying ideas at its audience—the facehugger, the chest burster—and sent them reeling. The Xenomorph, designed by the legendary H.R. Giger, fast became one of the most iconic movie creations of all time.
But in addition to the Xenomorph, Alien gave us the heroine that is Ellen Ripley. She is one of the most beloved movie women of all time and Alien shows us her intelligence and capabilities. AND she has a cat! Watch Alien (and its stellar follow-up Aliens, also on Disney+) before checking out the equally R-rated Alien: Romulus.
Nomadland (2020)
A gorgeously shot movie by Chloe Zhao that balances scenes of great beauty with scenes of mundanity. Nomadland is a character study of Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who decides to live life as a nomad in her van after becoming a widow.
It’s a slow, sad movie with an almost documentary feel to it, and it quite rightly cleaned up at the 93rd Academy Awards, taking home Best Picture, Best Director for Zhao (making her the only woman of color to ever win the award) and Best Actress for McDormand. Side note: There’s actually almost nothing R-rated about this film at all beyond one shot of full-frontal nudity.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
