Every Taylor Sheridan Movie Ranked, From Misfires to Masterpieces

Before Taylor Sheridan became the guy behind Yellowstone and an endless supply of granite-jawed characters, he was bouncing around movies as an actor, writer, and director. The results? All over the map. Some feel like early workouts. Others hit like a sledgehammer. Here’s how his films stack up for me, worst to best, with what he did on each and where to watch them.

1. Vile (2011) — directed

   Sheridan’s directing debut took a hard left into low-budget horror. A group of strangers wake up trapped in a house and discover the only way out is to hurt each other. It’s angling for that Saw dread, but the scares don’t land, the shaky camerawork pulls you out, and the performances feel like a weekend project that got out of hand. The premise could have been fun in a campy lane, but the movie never commits to scary or stylish. Sheridan would later prove he can wring real tension from a scene. This just isn’t it.

   Production: Inception Media Group. IMDb: 4.8. Rotten Tomatoes: 30%. Streaming: Amazon (for rent).

2. White Rush (2003) — acted (as Tug)

   An odd little footnote in Sheridan’s filmography: he’s in front of the camera here, playing Tug in a crime thriller about tourists who stumble onto the wreckage of a drug deal and, in a very smart move, decide to sell the leftover stash themselves. Things go predictably sideways, but the movie never finds its pulse. It’s a touch more polished than Vile, and Sheridan’s presence adds curiosity value, but that’s about it.

   Production: American World Pictures. IMDb: 4.5. Rotten Tomatoes: 26%. Streaming: Prime Video.

3. Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) — directed

   Sheridan’s studio swing stars Angelina Jolie as Hannah Faber, a smokejumper with baggage who ends up protecting a kid after he sees his father murdered. Two assassins give chase through Montana forests as wildfire, falling trees, and lightning turn the place into a disaster maze. It looks great and moves like a brushfire, with actors selling every beat. The story itself is very connect-the-dots, though. Fun while it’s flying; gone from your head the second the credits roll.

   Production: Bron Studios, Bosque Ranch Productions, New Line Cinema, Creative Wealth Media Finance. IMDb: 6.0. Rotten Tomatoes: 63%. Streaming: Apple TV (for rent).

4. Without Remorse (2021) — co-wrote (with Will Staples)

   Tom Clancy mode: engaged. Michael B. Jordan plays John Clark, whose pregnant wife and teammates are killed, flipping him into full-tilt revenge while a mess of government secrets bubbles underneath. Sheridan’s script, co-written with Will Staples, keeps the machinery tight. The shootouts are tense, the stealth sequences snap, and Jordan basically carries the whole thing on his back. It doesn’t have the raw sting of Sheridan’s best, but it knows exactly what it is and delivers.

   Production: Amazon MGM Studios. IMDb: 5.8. Rotten Tomatoes: 45%. Streaming: Prime Video.

5. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) — screenplay

   After Sicario hit, Sheridan returned to the border wars with Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin front and center. The mission this time: secretly spark a cartel war after officials suspect traffickers are helping terrorists cross the border. It’s harsher and bleaker than the first film. The action is razor-edged, the ethics are a fog, and the story goes to risky places without losing its grip. It doesn’t reach the haunting highs of the original, but it’s bold, cold, and effective.

   Production: Sony Pictures, Starz Entertainment, Columbia Pictures. IMDb: 7.1. Rotten Tomatoes: 62%. Streaming: Apple TV (for rent).

6. Wind River (2017) — wrote and directed

   Set on the snow-choked Wind River Indian Reservation, this one pairs Jeremy Renner’s tracker Cory Lambert with Elizabeth Olsen’s FBI agent Jane Banner to investigate the murder of a local woman. The landscape weighs on every scene. Sheridan leans on silence, grief, and isolation, and the violence, when it comes, is sudden and devastating. It’s a crime thriller, sure, but a patient, soulful one that hits hard without ever shouting.

   Production: The Weinstein Company, STX Entertainment, Metropolitan Filmexport. IMDb: 7.7. Rotten Tomatoes: 87%. Streaming: Netflix.

7. Hell or High Water (2016) — screenplay and acted

   Chris Pine and Ben Foster play brothers knocking over small banks to save the family ranch, and Sheridan’s script gives them room to breathe between the robberies. The pacing is unhurried, the conversations feel lived-in, and the movie quietly morphs from a heist story into a portrait of people hanging onto what’s left. It’s tight, funny in places, and sneaky heartbreaking. No surprise it scored four Oscar nominations.

   Production: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, CBS Films, Film 44, MWM, LBI Entertainment. IMDb: 7.6. Rotten Tomatoes: 97%. Streaming: Amazon (for rent).

8. Sicario (2015) — screenplay

   Top spot goes to the one that blew the doors off. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Sheridan, Sicario follows Emily Blunt’s FBI agent into a task force hunting a cartel boss, with Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin turning the screws at every step. From the first raid, the tension never lets up, and the line between justice and revenge blurs into something queasy and real. It picked up three Oscar nominations and earned every bit of that acclaim.

   Production: Lionsgate Films. IMDb: 7.9. Rotten Tomatoes: 91%. Streaming: Peacock.

Sheridan’s movie run is a weird mix: rough experiments, sturdy genre swings, and a couple of modern classics. That checks out for a guy who built his TV empire one hard stare at a time.

What’s your pick for his best film? Drop it in the comments.