Face it: Hollywood produces a lot of lousy movies. But occasionally, you’ll discover a fascinating film so fascinating that you wonder, “Why have I never heard of this before?”
It may be an independent film that didn’t appear on many screens. Possibly the movie didn’t do well at the box office the first week, so the studio pulled it. Maybe it was the kind of movie your parents would never have taken you to or allowed you to rent.
But you’re a grownup now. You can watch anything you want – and with so many streaming options, even old movies are freely available. On a popular online film forum, a cinephile who’d just watched Be Kind Rewind called for more “hidden gems.”
More than 1,300 commenters responded. Here are some films they can’t wait to introduce you to.
1 – Ruthless People (1986)
This black comedy was directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker – the same team that gave us Kentucky Fried Movie, Airplane!, Top Secret!, and The Naked Gun.
A mild-mannered couple (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) kidnaps the nasty-tempered wife (Bette Midler) of their ex-boss (Danny DeVito), hoping to extort themselves some cash. Surprise: He doesn’t want her back!
This is a comedy with both broad strokes and small, sly touches. Rent it!
2 – A Midnight Clear (1992)
A drama set toward the end of World War II, the film focuses on a WWII American intelligence unit that encounters an enemy platoon that wants to surrender and be done with the war. What to do with a bunch of Germans with their hands in the air?
The terrific ensemble cast includes Gary Sinise, Ethan Hawke, Arye Gross, Kevin Dillon, and Peter Berg. Los Angeles Times reviewer Michael Wilmington noted that the film is “a barely muted cry against war’s stupidity and injustice.”
3 – Pump Up the Volume (1990)
Christian Slater plays Mark, a suburban kid who releases his frustrations via a pirate FM radio station that broadcasts from – you guessed it – his parents’ basement. He airs alternative music and talks to others who feel as isolated and hopeless as he does; in a sense, Mark was a podcaster before his time.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film can sometimes be a bit ham-handed but is also a “teen drama with the courage of its convictions – and a killer soundtrack.”
4 – The Faculty (1998)
Ever feel like your high-school teachers were aliens? Maybe they were! Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Desperado, Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn) directs this sci-fi/horror flick about a strange parasite found on a high-school football field and its effects on the staff. The cast includes Clea DuVall, Usher, Josh Hartnett, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Jon Stewart, Elijah Wood, and Robert Patrick.
Seriously: Jon Stewart is a science teacher! Elijah Wood is a nerdy photographer! You know you want to see it.
5 – Arlington Road (1999)
Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins star in the story of a university instructor who begins to think his neighbors are homegrown terrorists. A slow-burning thriller with a doozy of a twist, the movie has faded into obscurity. One forum member says the ramp-up toward the end is worth the wait. It’s one of those movie gems you enjoy introducing others to because they’re left gobsmacked by the conclusion.
6 – Trollhunter (2010)
Norwegians take their trolls seriously – but not too seriously, as this mockumentary proves. A group of university student filmmakers runs into a guy whom the government pays to keep trolls away from populated areas.
Trollhunter is sometimes funny; for example, trolls are said to be able to smell a Christian, but there’s some confusion about a camerawoman’s Muslim heritage. The movie can also be gross, such as when they smear themselves with “troll stench” for protection (it’s made from “everything you can squeeze out of a troll”).
7 – The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Coen brothers (Fargo, No Country for Old Men, True Grit, and many others) tried a screwball comedy with this movie, scripted by Sam Raimi (the Spider-Man trilogy and the Evil Dead movies). Reviewers were unkind to this story of a naïve business school grad (Tim Robbins) put in charge of a manufacturing company. However, The Hudsucker Proxy now seems to be gaining an audience.
Writing for RogerEbert.com, critic Scout Tafoya cited the film’s stunning visuals, galloping pace, and the “refreshing cynicism” that wouldn’t have been allowed in a 1930s screwball comedy.
8 – Strange Days (1995)
A cyberpunk thriller co-written by James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, the Avatar movies) and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, Point Break, Hurt Locker), the film uses film noir tactics along with sci-fi touches to create a movie that most people weren’t sure how to take.
The film’s techno imagery and stellar cast (Angela Bassett, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Sizemore, Juliet Lewis) have gained it a loyal following. And some critics immediately liked it: Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling Strange Days “a technical tour de force.”
9 – Buffalo ’66 (1998)
Fresh out of prison, Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo, who also wrote and directed) kidnaps a young tap dancer (Christina Ricci) and commands her to pretend she’s his wife when he goes to see his parents (Ben Gazarra, Anjelica Huston). Even though it’s a whirlpool of dysfunction, Buffalo ’66 is one heck of a ride.
A review in The Washington Post called it “intimate, idiosyncratic, and very funny.” Gather a bunch of friends for movie night and impress them with your choice to show Buffalo ’66.
10 – You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) is a traumatized mercenary specializing in finding and freeing girls who’ve been trafficked. His modus operandi is fierce, but his flashbacks show us the reasons why. When Joe isn’t rescuing girls and murdering their captors, he cares for his elderly mother.
The neo-noir psychological thriller was directed by Lynne Ramsay, who earned acclaim for We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ratcatcher, and Morvern Callar. In a Variety review, critic Guy Lodge called the film “astonishing…a stark, sinewy, slashed-to-the-bone hitman thriller far more concerned with the man than the hit.”
11 – Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
The classic 1921 horror film Nosferatu was based on Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. Here’s an idea: Suppose its star really had been a vampire? Willem Dafoe is outstanding as the titular bloodsucker, showing the humanity behind the fangs; for example, he talks about how sad Dracula made him feel, a scene one cinephile described as quite touching.
John Malkovich plays director F.W. Murnau, and Carey Elwes and Eddie Izzard also appear. Stream both movies if you want to impress a classic horror fan!
12 – The Straight Story (1999)
According to one forum member, The Straight Story is the oddest movie by David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and many others). That’s because it’s a true story about a senior citizen who hits the road to visit his sick brother and because a division of Walt Disney Pictures released it.
Richard Farnsworth portrays Alvin Straight, a physically disabled man who makes a 240-mile trip on his lawn tractor to visit his ailing brother. One of the gentlest road movies ever, it earned Farnsworth an Oscar nomination. You can watch this movie with your parents without being totally bored!
13 – Green Room (2015)
Patrick Stewart as a Nazi skinhead? We’re in! Yes, Captain Picard is one of the bad guys in this gruesome, pulse-pounding thriller about a punk band member who witnesses a murder. He and his fellow musicians hole up in the “green room” (where performers wait before they go on) and fight for their lives.
The Atlantic called the movie “a tense gore-fest, one that’s as grimy and claustrophobic as the titular room” and praised its “visual artistry, dark humor, smart writing, and glints of humanity.”
14 – Tremors (1990)
Yet another Kevin Bacon movie (does the dude ever sleep?), this time with giant worms and Reba McEntire as a survivalist. Bacon and Fred Ward are a couple of handymen in a little desert town where nothing interesting ever happens until strange underground rumblings get the attention of a cute grad student (Finn Carter).
A review in the San Francisco Examiner said the film is “effectively terrifying when it needs to be, effectively exciting when it needs to be, and effectively hilarious when it needs to be.” Speaking of hilarious: Reba’s gun-nut husband is played by Michael Gross, the soft-spoken dad in the TV show Family Ties.
15. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Bruce Campbell plays Elvis Presley, who now lives in a nursing home, and Ossie Davis is a man who claims to be JFK (he was dyed black and ditched after Dallas); together, they must fight a reanimated Egyptian mummy.
Directed by Don Coscarelli Jr. (Beastmaster, the first four Phantasm movies), it’s not for the easily offended. But if you’ve got an offbeat sense of humor and admire Bruce Campbell and/or admire Ossie Davis, Bubba Ho-Tep just might leave you all shook up – in a good way.
Source: Reddit
Donna Freedman spent 18 years in newspapers before quitting to go freelance. She created the Smart Spending blog for MSN Money, and her work has appeared on many top personal finance websites. Her writing has won regional and national awards. Now she lives and writes the frugal life in Anchorage, Alaska.