16. Insomnia (1997)
Not the Christopher Nolan/Al Pacino remake, but the original. Insomnia is an early example of Scandinavian Noir, and the film that more than most helped pave the way towards the now prominent genre. Starring Stellan Skarsgård as a troubled cop who begins to suffer from the title infliction in a town with a 24-hour daylight cycle, the film is a clever inversion of the typical Noir trappings, with night becoming light but proceedings staying just as shady. Part police-procedural, part character study, Insomnia is a detached and chilling affair, something amplified by it's icy, unforgiving setting and by Skarsgård's opaque, almost characterless performance. The film also inverts the traditional cop vs. killer scenario, with the killer actually discovering the cop's misdeeds to turn the story on its head. Darker and weirder than the Nolan remake (a fine film in its own right), Insomnia is the quintessential Scandinavian psychological thriller.