This very tense ’70s movie boasts a brilliant score too.
It is Saturday, a day that often boasts a packed line-up of cinematic offerings on telly.
This evening is no exception for those staying in tonight.
Here are your options.
Assault on Precinct 13 – Horror Channel – 9pm
Our pick for tonight, this low-budget ’70s flick centres on the inhabitants of a soon-to-be-closed LA police precinct who must defend the building after it is targeted by a vicious criminal gang.
From writer-director John Carpenter, who would go on to make such genre classics as Halloween and The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13 is a wonderfully tense and tight action thriller that features some truly shocking moments and an unforgettable electronic score.
On top of getting its own pretty solid remake in 2005 starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne, the film has also been cited as an influence on a number of similar siege thrillers like Dredd, From Dusk Till Dawn, Green Room and The Raid.
We Own the Night – Turner Classic Movies – 9pm
An excellent crime drama about two brothers (Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg) on opposite sides of the law in ’80s New York.
The Equalizer – Film4 – 9pm
Denzel Washington stars in this cinematic update of the classic ’80s spy-thriller series.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – MTV – 9pm
The first in the YA film franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – RTÉ2 – 9pm
Sadly, this sequel to the 2012 Tom Cruise action thriller is a major step down in quality.
50 First Dates – Comedy Central – 9pm
Reuniting after The Wedding Singer, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore star in this comedy about a man who falls for a woman with short-term memory loss.
The Ladykillers – Great! Movies Classic – 9pm
In this much-adored ’50s black comedy, five criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms from an elderly widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
Lullaby – BBC Four – 9pm
This French drama follows a young couple who hire an apparently perfect nanny to look after their two children.
However, while the nanny quickly becomes an essential part of the family’s daily existence, her actions start to take a sinister turn.
Allied – TG4 – 9.20pm
This spy thriller centres around a Canadian intelligence officer (Brad Pitt) and a French Resistance fighter (Marion Cotillard) who fall in love while posing as a married couple during a mission in 1942.
However, after settling down in London, their relationship becomes tested by the pressures of war.
Ford vs Ferrari – RTÉ One – 9.25pm
Christian Bale and Matt Damon star in this incredibly entertaining ’60s set sports drama as car racing experts tasked with building a revolutionary vehicle for Ford to defeat Ferrari with at the Le Mans 1966 race.
Bad Boys – ITV4 – 10pm
Whatcha gonna do?
Mr and Mrs Smith – Channel 4 – 10.45pm
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt star in this action-comedy as a married couple surprised to learn they are both assassins with competing agencies and that they have been assigned to kill each other.
Darkest Hour – BBC One – 10.50pm
Gary Oldman won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in this acclaimed war drama.
The Death of Stalin – RTÉ2 – 11.10pm
From The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci, this terrific black comedy depicts the social and political power struggle that emerges in the Soviet Union following the death of its leader Joseph Stalin in 1953.
Jason Isaacs, Steve Buscemi and Michael Palin are among the ensemble cast.
Equilibrium – Turner Classic Movies – 11.25pm
Christian Bale stars again, this time in a sci-fi set in a future where feelings and artistic expression are outlawed.
The Prodigy – Film4 – 11.40pm
This horror sees Orange is the New Black’s Taylor Schilling play a mother concerned about her young son’s disturbing behavior who starts to think something supernatural may be affecting him.
Raw – Channel 4 – 1.10am
One of the very best horrors of recent years, Raw follows a veterinary school student and vegetarian (Garance Marillier) who begins to crave human meat after a college hazing ritual.
The Cured – RTÉ2 – 1.15am
In this intriguing Irish horror drama, former zombies now cured of the disease struggle to integrate back into society.
Apprentice – BBC Two – 1.15am
This 2016 Singaporean drama film about a young prisons officer has an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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