Image credit: Fox Searchlight, Warner Bros., Netflix, Warner Bros., The Weinstein Company, Roadside Attractions, Universal Pictures, Lions Gate Films
No, we're not gonna gush over Sarah Paulson's acting prowess – everyone knows she's a queen.
Instead, let's discuss 9 best movies in Sara's filmography everyone should watch at least once (especially if you're one of the American Horror Story fans).
1. "12 Years a Slave" (2013) In pre-Civil War America, Solomon Northup, a free black man, gets kidnapped and sold into slavery. He ends up at a plantation run by the sadistic Edwin Epps. Over the years, he witnesses and experiences unspeakable cruelty while also meeting folks like Patsey, a fellow slave enduring a life of sexual abuse.
Solomon's struggle for freedom is heart-wrenching, and his eventual release comes as a result of an unlikely friendship with a Canadian carpenter.
2. "Ocean's 8" (2018) Debbie Ocean, sister to the infamous Danny Ocean, is out of jail and already planning her next big score. She gathers a team of kick-ass women to steal a $150-million Cartier necklace right off the neck of a celeb at the Met Gala. The plan involves hacking, cooking up a faux identity, and a helluva lot of charisma. But wait, is this just about the money, or is there something personal here for Debbie?
3. "Bird Box" (2018) An unseen force causes mass suicides globally, and the only way to avoid it is by not looking at it. Enter Malorie, a pregnant woman trying to survive this apocalypse. She joins a group of survivors and, after significant losses, ends up alone with her two kids. They navigate treacherous terrains and waters, all while blindfolded, and every second is a cliffhanger.
4. "The Goldfinch" (2019) Based on the Pulitzer-winning novel, this one's a heavy drama about Theo, a young boy, who survives a museum bombing that kills his mom. He steals a painting, "The Goldfinch," from the rubble, which becomes his secret comfort object.
Fast forward, he's all grown-up and involved in art forgery. His life's a series of ups and downs — from living with a wealthy family to getting involved with Russian gangsters.
5. "Carol" (2015) Set in the 1950s, this film is a gorgeous yet heartbreaking love story. Therese, a young department store clerk, meets Carol, an older woman going through a divorce. Sparks fly, and an intimate relationship develops between them.
They go on a road trip, which serves as a backdrop to their deepening emotional connection. Things get complicated when Carol's husband employs investigators to prove her unfit to parent their daughter.
6. "Mud" (2012) Down by the Mississippi, two teens, Ellis and Neckbone, discover a fugitive named Mud hiding on a deserted island. Mud is waiting for his lady love, Juniper, so they can escape together. However, he's wanted for killing a man who mistreated her. As the boys help Mud repair a boat for his getaway, bounty hunters close in.
7. "Martha Marcy May Marlene" (2011) Martha runs away from an abusive cult led by Patrick, who's eerily charismatic. She tries to reconnect with her estranged sister, Lucy, but her years in the cult have left her psychologically scarred. She starts mixing up memories of her time in the cult with her present life, causing distressing misunderstandings and growing paranoia.
Is she really out of the cult's reach or not?
8. "Glass" (2019) David Dunn is a vigilante with superhuman strength and invulnerability. He's on the hunt for Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 24 personalities, one of which is a super-strong entity called "The Beast." They both get captured and sent to a mental institution, where Elijah Price, aka Mr. Glass, is also housed. What follows is a twisted game that challenges the notion of superheroes and villains.
9. "Run" (2020) "Run" is about a teenager named Chloe, who's been raised in total isolation by her overprotective mother, Diane. Chloe starts to suspect that something's off when she finds a box of pills prescribed to her mother but administered to her. She uncovers shocking secrets that turn her entire world upside down.
When your own home becomes a house of horrors, where do you run?
