The Thrilling Movies of David Fincher, Ranked

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FOR MORE THAN 30 years, David Fincher has been making some of the coolest movies out there. The 61-year-old director's work over four different decades includes the likes of Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network, Gone Girl, and, now, The Killer; these are movies that know how to create a very specific style of tension that feels unique to a singularly talented visual storyteller, but are also entertaining thrillers that always have something to say. To put it simply, Fincher's films are often imitated, but never replicated.

After his 2020 film Mank—which tells the story of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his eventual blackballing from Hollywood for political reasons—got something of a tepid response (by David Fincher standards, at least), the director is back in 2023 with a movie far more in tune with what he's best known for: The Killer. The movie, which is now streaming on Netflix, reteams Fincher with writer Andrew Kevin Walker (who wrote the gripping and at times vile Se7en) and stars Michael Fassbender as a chilling contract killer who lives his life by a code in a world increasingly dominated by consumerism.

These are the kinds of conflicting, overlapping themes always present in Fincher's films, and part of what makes them so compelling. Fight Club, for example, is a satire on the kind of toxic masculinity that tends to make some people out there, well, the worst people in the world. Fincher himself has recently said that it's not his fault that some people tend to take the movie the wrong way, and we tend to land on his side. Time to work on that media literacy, clones.

We'd be remiss, too, to not talk about one of the collaborations that makes Fincher's more recent work pop so much: the presence of composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The Nine Inch Nails founder and his longtime collaborator have reinvented themselves in the past decade plus as a constant presence in the industry, and their synths and tones make all of their work pop—but it feels especially right when paired with the visuals and performances that Mr. Fincher brings to the screen. That One Scene in Gone Girl (you know the one) is made even more memorable because of the music playing underneath, and the score for The Social Network is one of the best albums of the last 20 years.

That's enough for now, though. As you get ready for The Killer—or if you want to dive into Fincher's work all over again—we've got a complete ranking of all 12 feature films he's made in his impressive career.

Alien³ (1992)

Well, it’s no big surprise what’s at the bottom. Fincher has loudly disowned Alien 3, considered by many to be a low-point in an otherwise enjoyable franchise. To Fincher’s credit, it was his directorial debut and one where he was arguably set up to fail. As Ridley Scott was unavailable, the Alien 3 team cycled through multiple scripts and directors in a frantic attempt to recreate the success of the previous films. While Alien 3 has in more recent years been reconsidered by some fans to be at least a decent entry in the franchise, it’s without a doubt a notable stain on Fincher’s otherwise solid filmography. –Milan Polk

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Loosely based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a strange film to say the least. While the Oscar-winning film had great visual effects for its time, the film ultimately falls flat. While many great films have spawned from short stories, it’s clear that this particular story didn’t necessarily require more examination. It’s a hard sell to craft a thrilling romance out of the tragic and horrific tale of a constantly de-aging man. While at the time the film earned critical acclaim, it probably isn’t worth a rewatch. –MP

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Panic Room (2002)

Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter duo? Sign us up. Panic Room is a solid thriller about a mother fighting for survival when three robbers come to steal the previous homeowners' bonds. It’s a perfectly watchable movie, but it’s not Fincher’s best. Released in 2002, Fincher was on a hot streak, coming off of Se7en, The Game, and Fight Club. After showing audiences some of his best work to date, it’s no wonder Panic Room didn’t land as strongly with its standard home invasion tale. Still, if anyone can make a decent thriller amongst his more well-known works, it’s David Fincher. –MP

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Mank (2020)

Mindhunter fans may have strong thoughts about Mank, which directed Fincher’s attention away from his Netflix series (although Fincher has said audience numbers and his own heavy involvement, which ultimately took a toll on him, were factors in its end). That said, Fincher’s first Netflix feature film was a passion project for the director, whose own father wrote a screenplay for the movie. While the film garnered 10 Oscar nominations–winning Best Production Design and Best Cinematography–it’s overall less compelling than Fincher’s other works. –MP

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The Game (1997)

The Game isn't the most iconic Michael Douglas movie of the '90s—that honor probably goes to Basic Instinct. The Game isn't the most iconic David Fincher movie of the '90s either—well, just keep reading the rest of this list for a few more of those. But you know what The Game is? A damn fine movie, a thriller with a plot filled with twists that will keep you guessing and compelling from the very start to the final frame. The movie may actually border on a twist or two too many, but that's a critique we're happy to deal with. —Evan Romano

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The Killer (2023)

Fincher's latest finds the director returning to his roots—tense thriller—in an entirely new way. Michael Fassbender plays the titular character in a story that's both intentionally dry and has something real to say about the ever-present state of consumerism in our present reality—even for a methodical master assassin. It might take a bit for people to get fully into The Killer's trance, but once it kicks in, the movie's hypnosis is very real. —ER

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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Just like with Gone Girl (which we'll talk about a bit later), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo proves that Mr. Fincher does well with turning popular books into a visual medium. Steig Larsson’s posthumously published Millenium series found critical acclaim worldwide, so it was only right a great director took on the gritty, dark adaptation. In creating the film, Fincher faced multiple obstacles, including: Sweden released its own trilogy of films in 2009, and the Millenium series entries are all door stopper novels. That’s not to mention the book’s depiction of graphic violence, likely to turn away some audiences. Despite it all, Fincher crafted a solid adaptation. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig each give stellar performances as the two protagonists, and the film does well to recreate the book’s overall moodiness. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s lower ranking isn’t due to its quality, but simply that Fincher’s filmography contains so much incredible work that they can’t all be in the top 5. –MP

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Zodiac (2007)

For as big as the true crime genre has gotten in recent years, nothing has managed to top Zodiac, Fincher's 3-hour epic telling of the saga that surrounded the Bay Area's infamous Zodiac Killer. The cast, led by fantastic performances by Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. (with great appearances from John Carroll Lynch and Brian Cox too), is actually only the second best part of the movie; the sense of constant dread that Fincher creates is both crushing for the viewer and extremely accurate to how it must have felt with one of American history's most horrific monsters on the loose. —ER

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Fight Club (1999)

It's hard to find a movie more iconic than Fight Club. As one of many films released in 1999 to make a major cultural mark (think The Matrix, Being John Malkovich, The Sixth Sense, and The Blair Witch Project, among others), Fight Club is probably remembered most for its twist (which, if you somehow haven't seen the movie yet, we won't spoil here), and Brad Pitt's utterly unforgettable turn as Tyler Durden (along with an accordingly ripped body and stylish outfits). But even deeper here is a piece of work that puts Fincher's very best talents on full display: the movie is intense when it needs to be, very funny when it needs to be, and features some of the most memorable shots you'll see. Look folks, no one enters a room like Marla Singer. —ER

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Se7en (1995)

Is Se7en a thriller? A mystery? A psychological horror? The answer to all of the above is a resounding Yes. All of the above. And it's absolutely masterful at all of it. After a rough experience on Alien³, Fincher hunkered down and made one of the all-time greatest movies of its kind. Led by a pair of commanding lead performances from Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman (as detectives investigating a series of grisly murders that seemingly follow a pattern inspired by the seven deadly sins), Se7en is dark, scary, and moody in a way that so many other movies in this world try to be—and can never quite pull off. —ER

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The Social Network (2010)

As you can see, The Social Network is not the #1 movie on our list. But we'd be hard-pressed to say it's not the single most impressive in David Fincher's one-of-a-kind filmography. Here, Fincher manages to turn a story unlike any he'd done before—the story of the formation and early years of Facebook contains absolutely zero elements of the crime thrillers he's most known for—into one of the most compelling dramas you'll ever see, with stunning photography and characters you can't look away from. This may be the best (and, in a way, most important) movie of the 2010s, and I genuinely sometimes lose sleep when I remember that Fincher didn't win the Oscar for Best Director. —ER

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Gone Girl (2014)

Trust David Fincher to bring out the best performance in Ben Affleck’s entire film career (yeah, we’re calling it: it’s the best).

As a major literary bestseller, Gone Girl was always going to be a thrilling movie adaptation. But with a director like Fincher, the film was not only a sensational thriller but an artistic work all on its own. It expertly captures the backdrop of post-recession millennial suburban malaise while chronicling a fascinating mystery. Rosamund Pike shines as the enigmatic and volatile Amy Dunne, rightfully earning herself a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards. Gone Girl is Fincher at his best, mixing his thriller skills with an astute exploration of contemporary culture, and a bit of his signature dark, dry, humor mixed in for good measure. If there’s any Fincher film that’s an absolute must-watch, it’s Gone Girl. –MP

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