For youth who don’t find mainstream values, suburban living, or pop jams appealing, there’s always punk rock. The punk movement that reached its apex in the late 1970s and early 1980s has been an inspiration to some filmmakers, either through its do-it-yourself ethos, its outlandish style, or its fast-paced music.
The movies on this list feature mohawk-donning creative outsiders who find community through forming bands, engaging in questionable activities, or fending off zombie invasions. Ranging in style from horror to drama to documentary, these films tap into the agitated and enthusiastic ideology that defines this corner of the counterculture, proving that punk is long from dead. Oi, oi!
We Are The Best! (2013)
This spirited film set in 1980s Sweden follows three girls who decide, despite their lack of talent, to form their own band. Budding feminists, they are passionate about rejecting the norms around them in order to forge their own paths.
Directed by Lukas Moodysson and based on a graphic novel by his wife, We Are The Best! is a heartwarming tale about growing up, fighting the patriarchy, and harnessing your own unique creative abilities. The movie debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and was met with rave reviews and praise.
The Doom Generation (1995)
Directed by Gregg Araki, a queer cinema auteur, The Doom Generation is an absurdist masterpiece about three morally questionable teens on a strange road trip. The movie stars Rose McGowan, James Duval, and Johnathon Schaech. These drug-addled and imbibing teens move from one ludicrous town to the next, eventually running into a factory full of Neo-Nazis.
The Doom Generation blurs the line between sex and violence, employing a level of artifice clearly inspired by the performance art and theatrical musical productions that defined punk rock.
Suburbia (1983)
A classic punk rock movie, Suburbia is the work of Penelope Spheeris, known from the Decline of Western Civilization music documentary series and, of course, for Wayne’s World. Suburbia focuses on a bunch of angsty teens in early 1980s Los Angeles getting into trouble and pissing off the adults around them.
Bill Coyne stars as Evan, the ringleader of sorts for the gang of rejects and outcasts at the core of the movie. Spheeris cast well-known punks and street kids around Los Angeles in the film to give it extra authenticity.
Gimme Danger (2016)
Considered a proto-punk band, Ann Arbon, Michigan’s The Stooges were a group of weirdo teenagers making loud music in the 1960s. While everyone else was listening to The Beatles, The Stooges were constructing a new, harder path, one that informed generations of punks in the late 1970s and beyond.
Jim Jarmusch is responsible for this documentary about The Stooges, which uses archival footage and interviews to tell the truly punk rock story of this band who recorded their first studio album, still considered a masterpiece, when they were in their early 20s. The band’s leader, Iggy Pop, went on to have a successful solo career and is considered the Godfather of Punk.
Return Of The Living Dead (1985)
A campy and graphic horror film, Return of the Living Dead tells the story of a bunch of Kentucky punks who find their night ruined by a zombie invasion. After employees at a medical supply warehouse unleash a mysterious chemical that brings the dead back to life, they soon realize they have a major problem on their hands.
This B-movie take on the zombie flick stands out with its cast of punk characters hanging out in a cemetery, its many references to other horror movies, and its infamous Tarman zombie. It’s directed by Dan O’Bannon, who carries a lot of genre cred for contributing special effects animation to movies ranging from Dead & Buried to Total Recall to Star Wars.
Jubilee (1979)
Iconic British artist and director Derek Jarman is responsible for this punk gem steeped in the fashions and philosophies of England’s alternative scene, made famous by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, who had a famous clothing shop in London.
Jubilee is really a film about English history, distorting time, narrative, and space in order to shine a light on the history of female subjugation. The movie follows a group of young female punks in the late 1970s, but it includes numerous homages to Shakespeare and long-dead royalty. Queen Elizabeth I makes an appearance, as well as contemporaneous music icons like Adam Ant and Wayne County.
Smithereens (1982)
Much like Jubilee focuses on British punk, Smithereens is all about New York City punks in the 1980s. Written, produced, and directed by Susan Seidelman, Smithereens stars a woman named Wren who moves into the city from New Jersey in hopes of making a name for herself in the punk rock scene.
Wren works the scene and the people in it, dreaming of a non-existent career. She dumps one man for the next, hatches a plan to escape to California, and even poses as a sex worker to scam a potential client out of money. Things don’t go as planned, and Wren soon finds herself on her own in the Big Apple.
Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam (2009)
This important documentary adds a new voice to a movement often criticized for its lack of diversity. In 2003, Michael Muhammad Knight wrote a fictional book about a group of Muslim punk rockers who decided to form their own band. The book inspired Muslim punks to use the book as a framework for hammering out their own spot within the punk rock scene, and Taqwacore shines a light on these bands and the people behind them.
“Taqwa” is an Arabic word that refers to religious faith, and the bands that define themselves as taqwacore are deeply rooted in Islam.
24 Hour Party People (2002)
24 Hour Party People is a hilarious and dark look into the singular and influential music that popped out of Manchester, England, in the late 1970s and 1980s. The movie follows the rise and fall of Factory Records and its co-founder Tony Wilson, played by Steve Coogan. The label ran like a cooperative, and it’s responsible for one of the most significant post-punk bands of all time: Joy Division.
As Manchester’s music scheme shifted away from rock and toward electronic house music, Factory Records attempted to adapt. Lots of drugs, poor choices, and financial debt ensued.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982)
A very young Diane Lane plays the 15-year-old singer, Corrine, who is in an all-girl band called The Stains. Thanks to their resourcefulness, they end up opening for a famous local punk band, which gives them media attention. Thanks to Corrine’s striking look and tough attitude, they develop a cult following around town.
Soon, the girls are wrapped up in a world they know nothing about, and they must figure it all out on their own. Filmed in 1980 and released in 1982, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains was directed by industry veteran Lou Adler and includes cameos from members of well-known punk bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash.
