50 Tarantino Films Tarantino Didn't Direct

Feast (2005)

The Film: Jon Gulager's tale of criminals versus monsters, starring the likes of Henry Rollins and Balthazar Getty.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
A group of insalubrious characters are locked in a seedy bar, attempting to fight off a swarm of horrifying monsters. Yep, looks like we've found another fan of From Dusk Till Dawn .

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: The set-up might not win any prizes for originality, but this is still a creepily effective monster movie. Plus, the monsters are sex-crazed! Of course they are…

Albino Alligator (1996)

The Film: Kevin Spacey's directorial debut in which Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise and William Fichtner take refuge in a basement bar after mucking up a robbery, only to find themselves embroiled in an unrelated siege.

Tarantino-Esque Elements: An unfortunate sequence of events sets a group of sharp-witted criminals into a series of events that go spiralling out of their control… it's quite a lot like Reservoir Dogs in both tone and set-up. This time its a basement rather than a warehouse in which the drama plays out.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
The cast are great, with Fichtner a standout performer. The script is derivative, but the high concept is an engaging one.

Two Days In The Valley (1996)

The Film: Teri Hatcher and Jeff Daniels head up this gritty tale of LA's various criminal goings on, all played out across one 48-hour period.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
Ten characters intertwine, falling in love with each other almost as frequently as they break the law. An ambitious mixture of Short Cuts and Reservoir Dogs , without the panache of either.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
Director John Herzfeld aims high, but while QT always manages to keep his various plates spinning, by the conclusion of this one we're left with a huge pile of broken crockery.

Catch .44 (2011)

The Film: Aaron Harvey's starry thriller in which Malin Akerman and Nikki Reed find themselves up to their necks in a drug-deal gone bad.

Tarantino-Esque Elements: Improbably gorgeous female criminals, a diner-set stand-off and the presence of an off-the-wall hitman in the shape of Forrest Whittaker. Plus the narrative jumps all over the place to boot.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: Despite the impressive cast (Bruce Willis also makes an appearance) this is mildly diverting but highly derivative nonsense.

In Bruges (2008)

The Film: Martin McDonagh's pitch-black crime comedy in which Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson hole up in the picturesque city after a job goes bad back at home.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
The pair of bickering hit-men combined with their enigmatic, foul-mouthed employer are all Tarantino-esque creations, as is the whimsical (and somewhat implausible) romance between Farrell's character and Clemence Poesy's local lovely.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: It's bleakly brilliant, even if some of its characters and set-ups feel quite familiar.

Swordfish (2001)

The Film: Hi-octane action idiocy, starring Hugh Jackman as a hacker who finds his way into the pocket of John Travolta's manic criminal.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
The opening scene, in which Travolta references Dog Day Afternoon and talks about why Hollywood films are rubbish. How very meta.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: That's about as far as the Tarantino comparisons go, as this one is knuckleheaded blockbuster fodder all the way.

Domino (2005)

The Film: Richard Kelly's pounding action flick, based around the true story of female bounty hunter Domino Harvey, played slightly improbably by Keira Knightley.

Tarantino-Esque Elements: Domino herself is the kind of fetishized, badass, take-no-shit heroine that QT goes a bomb on, while the kinetic energy and frequent ultra-violence is also up his alley. Also, Mickey Rourke seems bound to crop up in one of QT's films at some point!

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
Entertaining enough, and Knightley is surprisingly competent in the leading role.

Suicide Kings (1997)

The Film: A quintet of former prep school pals band together to abduct Christopher Walken's mob boss in a convoluted plan to recover one of their sisters from kidnappers.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
Aside from the casting of Walken and the general black comedy tone, the mid-plot twist is the film's biggest stab at imitating Tarantino's narrative flair.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
It's no disaster, but as in many of the films listed here, the plot collapses under the weight of its own labyrinthine complexity. Twists for the sake of twists aren't always a good thing.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Film: A twisty-turny crime film of the highest order, as Bryan Singer conjures a blood-spattered mystery wrapped in the enigma of the shadowy Keyser Soze.

Tarantino-Esque Elements: Chris McQuarrie's punchy script is very Tarantino-esque, what with its focus on male relationships, and the testosterone-driven banter that forms their foundation. There's plenty of non-chronological jumping around as well.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
While there are tonal similarities to be observed, only a fool would ever dismiss this superlative thriller as a QT knock-off. Brilliant stuff.

Freeway (1996)

The Film: Reese Witherspoon stars in an early role as a tearaway teen who hitches a ride with Kiefer Sutherland's serial killer before turning the tables on him rather severely…

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
Director Matthew Bright balances the film's extreme violence with a camp and kitsch pop soundtrack. Mr. Blonde would love it.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
The ending is a bit of a let down, but this is still an enjoyably nasty little fable.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.