Since action movies aren’t very cheap to make, they’re normally undertaken by established studios with big directors and bigger stars. But sometimes, this excessive approach backfires and a lot of money and effort goes to waste. While on the other hand, the indie way of filmmaking operates on priority and frugality. It’s through such a mindset that indie filmmakers identify and evaluate the distribution of their resources and go the “less is more” route, rather than mindlessly adding things without thinking them through.
While indie action films might not look glossy and well-packaged like big-budget studio movies, indie films have a certain sense of substance to them, an identity, and heart. In the long run, you might not remember a big-budget studio movie that looked good, but you’ll definitely remember a small, scrappy indie film that made you feel a certain type of way.
10 The Raid: Redemption (2012)
Arguably one of the biggest films to come out of Indonesia, The Raid premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews and was released in the United States as The Raid: Redemption as Sony couldn’t secure the rights to the original title. After a decade since its release, Gareth Evans’ film quickly shot to cult classic status across fans from all over the globe, spawning one sequel and another one in the works.
9 El Mariachi (1992)
El Mariachi is the first installment in Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, followed by Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Originally made with the intention of catering to the Mexican home video market, Robert Rodriguez’s shoestring debut film was made under $7,000 and created history by going on to gross $1 million dollars at the box office.
This gargantuan achievement is mostly credited to Rodriguez’s simple yet creative approach to filmmaking, both in front and behind the camera.
8 Rocky (2019)
Arun Matheswaran’s debut film visually plays out like a mood piece with the inner frameworks of a classic gangster film. Touching on the more refined things in life, Rocky looks at violence and the need for it from a lens that’s melancholically poetic. For a debutant, Matheswaran doesn’t get carried away with his own philosophical agenda and injects a barrage of mind-blowing action wherever necessary.
7 Fallen Angels (1995)
When one says indie action movies, Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels might not be the first film that comes to mind. But when looked at closely, Fallen Angels works around two parallel stories; one that focuses on the unsaid love story of an assassin and his handler, while the other revolves around an eccentric mute that longs for a depressed woman.
Fallen Angels is a perfect mix of mood and style as Wong Kar Wai juxtaposes smoky neon lit gunfights along with soft jazzy bar nights.
6 A Prophet (2009)
A Prophet is a bleak story of a young man’s loss of innocence as the curtain of life and crime descends upon him with the ever looming Darwinian choice of kill or be killed. Jacques Audiard’s brilliant meditation on violence is raw, clumsy and brutal. Documenting life in a Corsican prison where the power dynamics are segregated based on race, while further being fueled by deception and corruption. Audiard’s film doesn’t just explore violence for the sake of it, it rather follows the effects and the transformation that takes place within the people that choose it.
5 Sicario (2015)
Sicario respects the imperatives of the Western genre, complimented by Roger Deakins’ parched visuals and a taut script by Taylor Sheridan, while finding creative way’s to avoid its usual clichés. Rather than being plot-oriented, Villeneuve lets the film play out through his character’s arcs, with Emily Blunt’s FBI agent providing a certain emotional depth to the narrative, while Benicio del Toro’s character moves the narrative forward with Stoic brutality.
4 Run Lola Run (1998)
Tom Tykwer’s experimental action works on a simple yet unexplored premise, utilizing parallel timelines and brilliantly reconnecting them to the original narrative. Add to that an edgy video game treatment, and you have a film bustling with passion and energy, very reminiscent of the ’90s.
3 Snowpiercer (2013)
Based on Jacques Lob’s French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, Bong Joon-ho’s film is set in a dystopian future where the earth has frozen, and the remaining survivors are on board a train that’s been segregated based on class and social standing.
Joon-ho’s film paints a grim picture of a future where capitalism and anarchy are at their peak, as he slowly transitions from the destitute end of the train, to the other side filled with luxury and opulence, underlined with blood and violence.
2 Hell or High Water (2016)
CBS Films
Strapped for cash and late on their mortgage payments, two brothers resort to robbing banks in a desperate bid to make ends meet while being pursued by relentless Texas Rangers. David Mackenzie’s film is a sad yet daunting glimpse into the current reality of the system and how it forces the common man to resort to unlawful activities in a bid to survive.
1 León: The Professional (1994)
Luc Besson’s English-language French film throws light on a hitman’s relationship with a 12-year-old orphan girl he takes under his wing. Despite having some controversial moments, León: The Professional works on the classic trope of how a small creature tames a wild beast with her love and affection. Apart from the endearing bond between Leon (Jean Reno) and Mathilda (Natalie Portman), Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the corrupt DEA agent Stansfield is nothing short of mesmerizing.