David Gordon Green released the second movie in his Halloween trilogy in 2021 with Halloween Kills. However, while Green is busy making horror movies based on one of the biggest franchises in horror history, that is not where he got his start, nor is it the genre where his top critically acclaimed movies exist.

Green got his start in 2000 with an indie drama that earned him critical acclaim. When he finally got his break in Hollywood, Green then moved into comedies, where he saw some big success with writing partner Danny McBride, someone who also worked with him on the Halloween movies.

10 Halloween Kills (2021) – 6.2 – Stream On Peacock

After David Gordon Green brought Halloween back with a movie that revived the franchise, he followed it up with a polarizing sequel in 2021. Halloween Kills had Michael Myers survive the fire from the previous movie and brought back characters from the first Halloween movie to try to end him once and for all.

The movie earned criticism and praise alike as reviews liked the cast but dismissed the script. However, there was also praise for the gore and old-school slasher formula, but it remains one of Green’s lowest-rated films for fans.

9 Prince Avalenche (2013) – 6.4 – Stream On HBO Max

Prince Avalanche is a Green movie that has better critical acclaim than fan praise. The movie has a nice 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but a low 53% from fans there and only a 6.4 rating on IMDb.

Released in 2013, the movie is a comedy by Green with Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as two guys who left the big city to repair roads in the summer of 1988. In isolation, the two begin to fall apart. Critics praised the performances by two men who are oblivious to their own flaws.

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8 Halloween (2018) – 6.5 – Stream On Fubo

Green brought the Halloween franchise back from the dead in 2018. After Rob Zombie rebooted the series with two movies, Green chose to go back to the franchise’s roots. He ignored every movie released outside of the first and set this up as a direct sequel, taking place decades later when Michael Myers broke out of jail.

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The praise from fans came from Green’s determination to erase the complicated history of the Halloween franchise, which often ignored previous movies. For Green, it was about honoring John Carpenter’s original movie and fans mostly appreciated the effort.

7 Undertow (2004) – 6.6 – Stream On Kanopy

Undertow was one of Green’s most art-house influenced movies. This made the movie a little out of the comfort zone for some fans, as Green paid homage to one of his favorite directors, Terrence Malick, with it.

The voice-over was pulled from Malik’s classic Days of Heaven. He also did it with the blessing of Malik, who produced the movie for Green. Undertow starred Jamie Bell, Dermot Mulroney, and Josh Lucas as p[art of a troubled family in Georgia. The slow pacing was also a Malik trademark, which was a turnoff for some viewers.

6 Snow Angels (2007) – 6.8 – Rent On Vudu

Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale starred in Snow Angels as a separated couple named Glenn and Annie. The two had been together since high school but had faced tough times thanks to Glenn’s bad decisions.

The two end up intertwined with a high school student named Arthur, who Annie once babysat. Fans on IMDB admit the movie is hard to watch but is worth the time. Reviews pointed to the performances from the cast.

5 All The Real Girls (2003) – 6.8 – Rent On Apple TV

All the Real Girls hit in 2003 as Green’s follow-up to his debut movie, George Washington. The movie featured a young Zooey Deschanel and Paul Schneider as two people in a small Southern town who fall in love.

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The cast also includes Patricia Clarkson, Danny McBride, and Shea Whigham. All the Real Girls didn’t receive the same critical acclaim as Green’s first movie but it is still a good look at young love, especially when it is first love for one of them.

4 Joe (2013) – 6.9 – Strem On Max Go

When looking at Nicolas Cage’s recent career output, the movies are often strange and display Cage’s bizarre behavior. However, there are some indie efforts that show why Cage is an Oscar-winning actor and one of those movies is Green’s Joe.

Joe is one of Green’s top critically acclaimed movies, with an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also has a pretty strong audience rating. In this plot, Cage plays Joe, who is a man who hires a boy to help him with odd jobs and ends up trying to save the boy from his abusive dad.

3 Stronger (2017) – 6.9 – Stream On IMDb TV

In 2017, Green directed an inspirational movie with Stronger. This is the highest-rated critically acclaimed movie of Green’s career, certified fresh with a 90% rating. As for the audience, those at Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 80% with IMDB voters giving it a 6.9.

The movie is based on a true story with Jake Gyllenhaal starring as a man named Jeff Bauman who lost his legs in the Boston Marathon bombings. The movie showed his life before the event, which was directionless, and after, where his entire outlook on everything changed.

2 Pineapple Express (2008) – 6.9 – Stream On Netflix

Green’s most successful box office release arrived in 2008 with the stoner comedy Pineapple Express. The movie was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with Green behind the camera, and it fits into all their wheelhouses.

Rogen was a process server who stopped off to meet with his drug dealer, played by James Franco. Rogen’s character witnesses crooked cops kill someone, sending the two of them on the run. Of course, there was also a hitman played by Danny McBride, who works with Green frequently, sent to kill them.

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1 George Washington (2000) – 7.3

The highest-rated movie of David Gordon Green’s career came with his debut film from 2000, George Washington. With this movie, Green showed he was a force to be reckoned with. The movie was about a group of kids living in a poor North Carolina town.

When a girl meets a young boy named George who has a skull that never hardened as he grew older, things went bad. George accidentally killed a bully and all his friends fought to hide it to protect him.

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About The Author


Shawn S. Lealos
(830 Articles Published)

Shawn S. Lealos is a senior writer on ScreenRant who fell in love with movies in 1989 after going to the theater to see Tim Burton’s Batman as his first big screen experience.

Shawn received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma with a minor in Film Studies. He has worked as a journalist for over 25 years, first in the world of print journalism before moving to online media as the world changed. Shawn is a former member of the Society of Professional Journalists and current member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has work published in newspapers such as Daily Oklahoman and Oklahoma Gazette and magazines such as Vox Magazine, Loud Magazine, and Inside Sports Magazine. His work on the Internet has been featured on websites like The Huffington Post, Yahoo Movies, Chud, Renegade Cinema, 411mania, and Sporting News.

Shawn is also a published author, with a non-fiction book about the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers and has begun work on a new fiction series as well. Visit Shawn Lealos’ website to learn more about his novel writing and follow him on Twitter @sslealos.

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