movies

Rampage, it's such a good popcorn flick. It's so over the top that I wouldn't blame you for writing it off without watching it, but give it a chance, it's ultimate action silliness.

Cabin in the woods, its a top 2 horror satire, but you may have heard of that one

Tucker and Dale vs evil, maybe watch this one before cabin in the woods, it's the best horror satire.

Galaxy quest, easily the best star trek movie ever made, one of the top 5 movies ever made.

I'm not sure how many of these are hidden gems, it depends on your viewing habits (not many people would consider horror to contain much good cinema)

Rubber.

Jacob’s Ladder.

A largely forgotten psychological horror film from 1990 with Tim Robbins and Macaulay Culkin.

Saw it on TV once by chance and loved it ever since.

I’d say it’s must-watch for being influential despite its moderate success and being incredibly gripping as you try to get your head around what’s actually going on.

Upgrade (Cyberpunk movie from Australia)

The Nice Guys

A decent number of folks have still never seen "Primer", since it was kind of an indie classic before it got a cult following.

It's a a must watch because:

A. It's just really well made. B. It's delightfully mind bending.

Repo: A Genetic Opera

These are some of my favourite, in no particular order:
The Phantasm series
Dale and Tucker Fight Evil
Cabin in the woods
Snowpiercer
Equilibrium
A bitter sweet life
The man from nowhere
I saw the Devil (you may not want to watch this one)
Train to Busan (1 and 2)
Lady Vengence/Sympathy for Lady vengence
Sympathy for Mr Vengence
OldBoy (the Korean version - you may also not want to watch this)
Wrath of man
The Family (DeNiro and Pheiffer)
Keeping up with the Joneses
Gran Torino
Boondock Saints
Layer Cake
RocknRolla
Operation Fortune
Lucky Number Slevin
A man called Otto
Stand up guys
King of New York
The Dead Zone
7 Psychopaths
Biloxi Blues
In Bruges
The Matador
From Paris with love

Flight of the Navigator

Known to horror aficionados, but not to general movie watchers: Lake Mungo (2008)

I highly recommend you don't read up on it. Besides the fact that the film just works so much better when you come to it fresh, most reviews - both in print and YouTube videos - spoil pivotal scenes, including in the artwork they choose to use as a thumbnail/heading. Just watch it. Even if the horror doesn't work for you (many people report being bored by the film), it's still a great film with surprising depth and heart. It's worth checking off your list for sure.

The basics: It's a mockumentary set in Australia, made by a director/writer who hasn't done anything before or since, featuring actors who probably aren't known to you, even if you're an Aussie. Much of the dialogue is improvised, so it feels very real and natural.

Try to watch it alone, in the dark, with no distractions (turn off your phone). This will help maximise your chances of being one of the lucky people the film has managed to scare in a profound way. I'm one of those lucky people, I'm happy to say!

In no particular order (and yes some are more well known in film circles, maybe I should've ommited them, but you never know what the reader hasn't seen):

Jojo Rabbit, 2019 - a comedic coming of age in Nazi Germany. Jojo and his imaginary friend, Hitler, face a complicated and rapidly changing world.

The Mitchells versus the Machines, 2021 - animated family adventure for fun with the whole family.

Rise of Leslie Vernon, 2006 - mocumentary following slasher killer Leslie Vernon.

Bunny and the Bull, 2009 - an, in my opinion, gorgeously set film about two friends on a road trip in Spain.

Parallel Mothers (Madras Paralelas), 2021 - not a hidden gem if you know anything about Spanish cinema, but maybe you don't. Penolpe Cruz is a new mother whose life becomes intertwined with another women's when they give birth in the same hospital.

Hero (英雄), 2002 - again, if you know Wuxia film then this isn't a hidden gem. A pinnacle of the genre, a Chinese Rashomon with wire fights.

Blow Up, 1966 - British New Wave classic. A photographer used to a free and casual 60s life becomes certain he has accidentally photographed evidence of a murder.

Berberian Sound Studio, 2012 - exploration of sound and feeling. A mild mannered amateurish British sound technician gets a big job working on the sound effects for a giallo film in Italy.

Martyrs, 2008 - the pinnacle of French New Extreme movement. It made a big name for itself at the time for being the sort of torture porn film that really gave it a point beyond vouyerism. Not for the faint of heart.

Rye Lane, 2023 - a romcom love letter to London.

The Day Shall Come, 2019 - an eccentric black preacher gets caught up in a web of madness that runs deep.

Cashback I feel is pretty unknown. Maybe not but still very good. Also Gentleman Broncos is fantastic if you’re into the napoleon dynamite style of comedy, same creators.

I want to say Kin-Dza-Dza. It's a very silly and memorable work of Soviet science fiction.

Wong Kar-Wai’s films, particularly his 90s Hong Kong vibes of Chungking Express and its spiritual counterpart Fallen Angels.

The Man from Earth

It's a small budget indie movie, and if you don't like people talking and prefer action, then maybe this isn't for you. Buut, for me, it was a great movie. It only uses one set, a room or two, for the entire movie. And it's still great.

Huh, I need ti actually rewatch I've been suggesting it so much lol

Edit "Timecrimes" was a good one imo as well iirc https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0480669/

Pecker 1998

A talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists from New York City and finds newfound fame.

Written and directed by John Waters.

Starring Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci and Bess Armstrong.

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em is a 1988 Australian short feature about an underground party held in post-apocalyptic Melbourne. The film is a product of nuclear anxiety at the height of the Cold War.

Director: Ray Boseley. Cast: Rob Howard, Nique Needles, Polly Croke, Daniel Lillford, Fred Dugina, Maddog Bott, George Huxley, Chris Windmill, Ian 'Quinsy' Maclean, Lindsay Brundson, Clayton Jacobson, Adam Learner, Myrtle Woods, Bill Johnston, Smiley Rowe, John F. Howard, Claire Bordas, John Flaus, Wayne ullman, Dennis Tupicoff, Peter Lane, Wain Fimo, Bruce Barnes, Angus Algie, Loretta Bell, Grant Barling, Claire Boseley, Julian Faull, Zlatko Kasumovic, Anthony Kay, Ollie Martin, Penny McKimm, Dennis Prosser, Adrian Scully, Aleksi Vellis.

Perfume: Story of a Murderer

My favorite: Stranger than Fiction

Also, Fandango, Passengers, Life or Something Like it, Birdy, Home Office

Some can be hard to find.

Tomorrowland

Here are a few movies from my Jellyfin server that I loved and that seem less popular:

• Blow the Man Down
• The Holdovers
• Jojo Rabbit
  • This movie made me shriek at points. Like, not because I was scared, but just from... I dunno, delighted outrage?
• Me and You and Everyone We Know
  • ))<>((
  • If you haven't seen the movie, don't look this up.

Pontypool, a Canadian indie film with a unique take on zombies

Gummo https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119237/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

I’m always surprised at how few people have seen “Oh brother where art thou”

Also manborg

I think no one has mentioned "the man from earth", it is a great movie that got a lot of success thanks to piracy, enough that it allowed it to even get a sequel (I haven't watched it it seems to be far less recommended).

I recommend to just watch it without looking too much at the theme or plot. I'll just say that it's a movie with a lot of conversations and basically no action at all. You could compare it in that sense to the classic "12 angry men", not in plot or theme, but style, mostly something that happens between a small cast of actors through dialogue.

Edit: and just a few minutes before me someone did actually share it...

Snatch mighhhhht be well known? It is hilarious and just fun to watch!

It's a Guy Ritchie movie that follows a few groups of people and how they all come to be involved in either chasing or having been in the presence of a diamond that was stolen. It's a lot of fun to see the interaction between the different groups they follow and some of the lines are absolutely hilarious.

The Slammin Salmon. Same group that did super troopers and beerfest. Great comedy, I don't see people ever talk about it. Enjoy!

Iceman is a 2017 German-Italian-Austrian adventure drama film written and directed by Felix Randau. It is a fictional story about the life of Ötzi, a natural mummy of a man discovered on 19 September 1991 in the Ötzal Alps.

The film, which was filmed in the Tyrolean and Bavarian Alps features almost no dialogue, with a minimal amount in untranslated language based on reconstructed Rhaetian, created for the film by a linguist.

It depends on what "lesser-known" is to you, as we don't know how avid a movie watcher you are. But assuming you mean films that aren't necessarily obscure but aren't too mainstream, I'd suggest:

• Wind River

• The Handmaiden (Korean)

• Incendies

• Blue Ruin

Wake in Fright.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067541/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

An Aussie movie from the 70's that was thought lost until a print was discovered and a restored version was released.

I'm not going to spoil it, it's well worth a look but there are scenes of a real-life kangaroo hunt which might put some people off.