Best South African Movies

This page is updated regularly. Subscribe, so you don't miss new recommendations. The list of "Best South African Movies" contains films with the following parameters. Style: serious, suspense, exciting, captivating, suspenseful and intense. Plot: murder, violence, death, danger, gun, bare chested male, blood, survival, flashback and brutality. Genre: Drama, Action and Thriller. Country: South Africa, USA and UK.
Best South African Movies
Best South African Movies
TOP Movies: Black Panther (2018), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Chappie (2015), The Dead Don't Die (2019), Wer (2013), The Lion King (2019), Escape Room (2019), The Banana Splits Movie (2019), The Woman King (2022), District 9 (2009), Gandhi (1982), Silverton Siege (2022), Gaia (2021), I Am All Girls (2021), Dredd (2012), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Fried Barry (2020), The Fall (2006), Tsotsi (2005), Eye in the Sky (2015).

List of Best Movies

Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
 7.3
 832K
Black Panther (2018)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min.
Story: King T'Challa returns home from America to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within ...
Style: futuristic, suspense, stylized, action adventure, epic ...
Audience: teens, family outing, chick flick, kids, girls' night ...
Plot: superhero, martial arts, good versus evil, black hero, strong female character, loss of father, black superhero, warrior, chase, black, new world order, tragic villain ...
Time: 2010s, future, 90s, 20th century, year 1992 ...
Place: africa, south africa, indiana, london, nigeria ...
Is relevant ?
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 120 min.
Story: An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be ...
Style: road movie, exciting, visually stunning, surreal, apocalyptic ...
Audience: boys' night, teens, girls' night, family friendly, adult
Plot: post apocalypse, survival, apocalypse, post apocalyptic, desert, dystopian future, chase, car chase, distopia, car, dystopia, on the run ...
Time: future, year 2015, 2010s, year 2016, distant future ...
Place: australia, los angeles
Is relevant ?
 6.8
 268K
Chappie (2015)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings—some good, some bad—and he will rely on his heart and ...
Style: touching, stylized, entertaining, exciting, semi serious ...
Audience: teens, boys' night, adult
Plot: artificial intelligence, robot, cyberpunk, cyborgs, androids and robots, distopia, technology gone awry, technology, human versus robot, parents and children, consciousness, brutality ...
Time: future, 2010s, year 2015, near future, 21st century
Place: africa, south africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story: In a small peaceful town, zombies suddenly rise to terrorize the town. Now three bespectacled police officers and a strange Scottish morgue expert must band together to defeat the undead.
Style: horror comedy, scary, dark comedy, intense, funny ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: zombie, epidemic, virus, undead, zombie apocalypse, small town, police station, zombie attack, decapitation, dark humor, supernatural, living dead ...
Time: year 2019, 2010s, 21st century
Place: pennsylvania
Is relevant ?
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 5.9
 10K
Wer (2013)
Genre: Action, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story: A defense attorney begins to suspect that her client, who is charged with the murders of a vacationing family, might be more than meets the eye.
Style: scary, rough, suspenseful, serious, atmospheric ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: werewolf, deadly creature, found footage, superhuman powers, murder, who done it, supernatural, danger, legal, dedicated lawyer, medical examination, chases and races ...
Time: 21st century
Place: france, paris france
Is relevant ?
 6.8
 265K
The Lion King (2019)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Musical
Country: USA, UK, Kenya
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Simba idolises his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle ...
Style: motion capture, fairy tale, inspirational, psychotronic, colorful ...
Audience: family outing, kids, family friendly, teens, adult
Plot: jungle, wilderness, lion cub, lion, animal, talking animal, kingdom, murder of father, king, hyena, sunrise, loss of father ...
Time: year 2019, 2010s
Place: africa, south africa
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 140K
Escape Room (2019)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, South Africa
Duration: 99 min.
Story: Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive.
Style: suspense, exciting, surprise ending, psychological thriller, psychological ...
Audience: adult
Plot: puzzle, trapped, game of death, survival, escape room, clue, group of strangers, quest, riddles and clues, evil corporation, teamwork, death ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: chicago
Is relevant ?
The Banana Splits Movie (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: A boy named Harley and his family attend a taping of The Banana Splits TV show, which is supposed to be a fun-filled birthday for young Harley and business as usual for Rebecca, the producer of the series. But things take an unexpected turn - and ...
Style: slasher, suspense, disturbing, tense, captivating ...
Plot: evil robot, child in peril, television studio, violence, hostage, characters killed one by one, dark humor, serial killer, survival, struggle for survival, robot as menace, robot ...
Is relevant ?
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 6.9
 72K
The Woman King (2022)
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Country: USA, South Africa, Ireland
Duration: 135 min.
Story: The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of ...
Style: dramatic, harsh, tense, captivating, exciting ...
Audience: adult
Plot: female warrior, fight, slave trade, military training, female soldier, female protagonist, queen, warrior, kingdom, military, soldier, battles ...
Time: 19th century, 18th century, 2020s, victorian era, 1800s ...
Place: africa, west africa, atlantic ocean
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 714K
District 9 (2009)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: South Africa, USA, New Zealand, Canada
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Aliens land in South Africa and, with their ship totally disabled, have no way home. Years later, after living in a slum and wearing out their welcome the 'Non-Humans' are being moved to a new tent city overseen by Multi-National United ...
Style: mockumentary, serious, suspense, biting, futuristic ...
Audience: chick flick, manly, boys' night, adult
Plot: alien, alien invasion, extraterrestrial, distopia, space and aliens, alien encounter, apocalypse, transformation, mutation, metamorphosis, refugee, society ...
Time: year 2009, future, 2000s, year 2000, year 1982 ...
Place: africa, south africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 240K
Gandhi (1982)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, India, USA, South Africa
Duration: 191 min.
Story: In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of ...
Style: epic, spiritual, inspirational, political, uplifting ...
Audience: kids, teens
Plot: protest, biopic, idealism, life philosophy, politics, independence, freedom, british empire, leadership, human spirit, religious intolerance, indian history ...
Time: 1930s, 1920s, 19th century, victorian era, 1940s ...
Place: india, south africa, britain, los angeles, new delhi ...
Is relevant ?
Silverton Siege (2022)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: South Africa
Duration: 100 min.
Story: After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.
Style: suspense, tense, suspenseful, captivating, disturbing ...
Plot: criminal, hostage, prison, female warrior, hostage situation, chase, robbery, mission, thief, problem, threat to kill, gang ...
Time: 80s, year 1980
Place: south africa, africa
Is relevant ?
Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (2008)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 119 min.
Story: This South African movie tracks the rise of a once-petty criminal to the heights of the criminal underworld. After cutting his teeth on hijacking, before moving onto bigger game, an ambitious man hits a setback when most of his gang are shot.
Style: serious, rough, realistic, captivating, suspenseful ...
Plot: urban ghetto life, organized crime, gang war, gangster, gang of thieves, thief, ambition, buddies, life is a bitch, gang, criminal heroes, black ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: south africa, africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
 5.6
 7K
Gaia (2021)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: South Africa
Duration: 96 min.
Story: On a surveillance mission in a primordial forest, a park ranger encounters two survivalists following a post-apocalyptic lifestyle. The boy and his philosophical father seem to have their own religion, and a mysterious relationship to nature. There ...
Style: suspense, exciting, suspenseful, disturbing, bleak ...
Audience: date night
Plot: forest, occult, recluse, supernatural being, mushroom, religions or cults, female warrior, woods, creature, supernatural, paranormal, mysticism ...
Time: 2020s
Place: south africa, africa
Is relevant ?
I Am All Girls (2021)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Africa
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Style: captivating, tense, suspense
Plot: sex trafficking, human trafficking, pedophile, serial killer, lesbian relationship, criminal, child trafficking, slave trade, fighting crime, partners against crime, criminal syndicate, partner ...
Time: year 1994
Place: africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 293K
Dredd (2012)
Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, South Africa, India
Duration: 95 min.
Story: In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police called ...
Style: futuristic, intense, neo noir, cyber, apocalyptic ...
Audience: manly, family friendly, boys' night
Plot: cyberpunk, post apocalypse, one man army, dystopia, distopia, brutality, organized crime, dystopian future, violent, judge, lone hero, police ...
Time: future, year 2012, 2010s, near future, distant future
Place: usa, america
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 370K
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, South Africa, Italy, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his ...
Style: emotional, intense, informative, rough, political ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: genocide, racism, war, hotel, against humanity, cruelty, civil war, refugee, politics, war crime, murder, un ...
Time: 20th century, year 2004, 90s, 2000s
Place: rwanda, africa, south africa, congo, somalia ...
Is relevant ?
8: A South African Horror Story (2019)
Genre: Horror
Country: South Africa
Duration: 100 min.
Story: An old man, fated to collect souls for eternity, seeks atonement after trading his daughter's soul.
Style: scary, serious, slasher
Plot: supernatural, demon, woman in danger, schoolgirl, danger, murder, curses spells and rituals, folk horror, obsession, gory, monster, possession ...
Place: south africa
Is relevant ?
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 5.6
 3K
Fried Barry (2020)
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: South Africa
Duration: 99 min.
Story: Barry is a drug-addled, abusive bastard who - after yet another bender - is abducted by aliens. Barry takes a backseat as an alien visitor assumes control of his body and takes it for a joyride through Cape Town. What follows is an onslaught of ...
Style: funny, horror comedy, suspenseful, scary, humorous ...
Plot: alien abduction, alien, abduction, drug trip, murder, rescue, curses spells and rituals, supernatural, supernatural power, youth, obsessive quest, society ...
Time: 2020s, 21st century
Place: south africa
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 116K
The Fall (2006)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, South Africa, India
Duration: 117 min.
Story: In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, ...
Style: surreal, offbeat, fairy tale, visually appealing, visual ...
Audience: kids, date night, adult
Plot: hospital, surrealism, suicide attempt, escape from reality, magic realism, imagination, storytelling, suicide, imaginary kingdom, friendship, stuntman, child ...
Time: 1920s, year 2006, 2000s, 20th century, 1910s
Place: india, los angeles, california, cambodia, taj mahal ...
Is relevant ?
American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: On a remote Caribbean island, Army Ranger Joe Armstrong saves an old friend from the clutches of "The Lion", an evil super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors.
Style: intense, serious, grindhouse, light hearted, cult classic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: ninja, martial arts, fight scenes, genetics, one man army, soldier, heroes, danger, rescue, mortal combat, kidnapping, one against many ...
Time: 80s, 20th century
Place: caribbean
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 32K
Tsotsi (2005)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 95 min.
Story: The South African multi-award winning film about a young South African boy from the ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster. Tsotsi, who left home as a child to get away from helpless parents, finds a baby in the back seat of a car that he has just ...
Style: sincere, bleak, emotional, harsh, captivating ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: baby, poverty, urban ghetto life, society, slum, friendship, childhood, coming of age, murder, street life, robbery, african ...
Time: 21st century
Place: south africa, africa, johannesburg south africa
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 91K
Eye in the Sky (2015)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: South Africa, UK, Canada
Duration: 102 min.
Story: A military officer in command of a drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya sees her mission escalate from “capture” to “kill” just as a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone.
Style: suspense, political, suspenseful, intense, tense ...
Audience: date night
Plot: terrorism, drone, military, terrorist, islamic terrorism, survival, terrorist plot, spy, surveillance, moral dilemma, espionage, tragedy ...
Time: year 2015, 2010s, future, 21st century
Place: africa, kenya, england, london, las vegas ...
Is relevant ?
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 5.6
 6K
Khumba (2013)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Country: South Africa
Duration: 85 min.
Story: A half-striped zebra is blamed for the drought and leaves his herd in search of his missing stripes. He is joined on his quest by an overprotective wildebeest and a flamboyant ostrich; they defeat the tyrannical leopard and save his herd.
Style: feel good, touching, captivating, humorous, not serious ...
Audience: kids, girls' night, pre-teens, family outing
Plot: zebra, wild animal, survival, misfit, heroic mission, danger, wilderness, obsessive quest, friendship, save the day, odd couple, leaving home ...
Time: year 2013, 2010s, 21st century
Place: africa
Is relevant ?
 6.7
 234K
Safe House (2012)
Genre: Action, Thriller
Country: South Africa, USA, Japan
Duration: 115 min.
Story: A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them ...
Style: exciting, suspense, suspenseful, intense, tense ...
Audience: chick flick, girls' night, boys' night
Plot: cia, espionage, secret service, secret agent, on the run, gunfight, cia agent, betrayal, conspiracy, mercenary, corruption, rogue agent ...
Time: year 2012, 2010s, 21st century
Place: cape town south africa, africa, south africa, iran, langley virginia ...
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 125K
The Giver (2014)
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, South Africa, Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Style: thought provoking, futuristic, atmospheric, exciting, philosophical ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, date night, kids, family outing
Plot: distopia, youth, dystopia, community, utopia, post apocalypse, society, life is a bitch, humanity, memory, danger, rebelliousness ...
Time: future, 2010s, near future, year 2014, 2040s
Place: peru
Is relevant ?
Faith Like Potatoes (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Frank Rautenbach leads a strong cast as Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer of Scottish heritage, who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu ...
Style: christian film, uplifting, sincere, serious, emotional ...
Audience: date night
Plot: farm, christian, faith, starting over, human spirit, political unrest, friendship, religions or cults, hopes, social differences, christianity, religious ...
Time: 20th century, 80s
Place: africa, south africa
Is relevant ?
The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Ireland, South Africa
Duration: 108 min.
Story: Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during in the early 1960s.
Style: suspense, realistic, tense, factual, intense ...
Plot: civil war, conflict, military, courage, fight scenes, ethnic conflict, politics, betrayal, storytelling, propaganda, assassination, survival ...
Time: 60s, 20th century
Place: africa, congo, ireland, south africa
Is relevant ?
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, South Africa
Duration: 141 min.
Story: A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Style: emotional, realistic, serious, political, inspirational ...
Plot: prison, civil rights, rebellion, apartheid, biopic, human spirit, racism, prison life, oppression, courage, politics, brutality ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 2013, 1950s, 60s ...
Place: south africa, africa
Is relevant ?
The World Unseen (2007)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: South Africa, UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story: A drama centered on two women who engage in a dangerous relationship during South Africa's apartheid era.
Style: touching, serious, realistic, erotic, romantic ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: lesbian, lesbian relationship, lgbt, lesbian love, gender, forbidden love, lesbian teen, love and romance, injustice, life is a bitch, self discovery, society ...
Time: ancient times, 20th century, year 1952
Place: south africa, africa
Is relevant ?
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
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