These days, it seems that there are so many “best hidden gem movies” lists that you need a “best hidden gem movies list”listto keep track of them all! But onthislist, I firmly guarantee you’ll find something you haven’t seen before that you’ll love, all of which are available onMovies Anywhere*.
From great rom-coms that just missed the mark at the box office to top-notch thrillers by prestige directors, these underrated films have aged excellently. Moreover, there’s almost certainly something even the most seasoned of movie watchers hasn’t seen.
These movies are all available onMovies Anywhere, a service that allows you to access all of your digital libraries in one place by linking your various digital retailer accounts. Basically, an umbrella platform for all your platforms. The service even allows you to share your love of your favorite movies with others (even if they haven’t purchased the film themselves) thanks to itsnewScreen Passfeature. And you can alsoWatch Together, even if you’re apart, with its fully-integrated co-viewing functionality. Pretty nifty in these uncertain times!
Anyway, here are 12 underrated and hidden gem films you’ll love, all of which are eligible for users to send aScreen PassonMovies Anywhere.
Ingrid Goes West
No film better captures social media addiction or the lengths we will go to “for the likes” thanIngrid Goes West**. This slept-on 2015 film, which is really theCaroline Callowaystory, starsAubrey Plazaas Ingrid, an aspiring Instagram influencer andElizabeth Olsenas Taylor, an established one. Ingrid becomesFatal Attraction-level, change your zip-code-and-personality-level obsessed with the lifestyle — or lifestyle portrayed on Instagram — by Taylor. They become besties, and obviously things get weird fast. Listen, a drama about Instagram is a hard sell. But we all have that one friend with the word “adventurer” in their bio, the one who makes you take 10 photos of them next to a neon sign and uses the word “brand” unironically. This film is about them, and the dark side of gaining a following on social media, or trying so hard that it becomes hazardous.Ingrid Goes Westwill make you hate your phone without telling you to, and that’s why it’s so good.
Body Double
There are few directorial runs I like more thanBrian de Palma’s early 1980s thrillers. And while 1981’sBlow Outmay be the one more film lovers swear by, I adore his 1984 thriller,BodyDouble**.The hazy postmodern noir follows a man who housesits for a pal in the Hollywood Hills, and while enjoying the luxe cliffside house’s telescope, he witnesses a murder. Much like the theme of my poorly attended bar Mitzvah, this film is heavily Hitchcock influenced. All jokes aside (my bar mitzvah was very well attended),Body Doubleis a perfect film for anyone who loves film noir enough to know what “The maltese falcon is a macguffin” means. The film follows its lead as he spirals into aVertigo**-esqueobsession over the murder and its potential key players. It’s a wild ride and the aforementioned luxe cliffside house from the film is so architecturally incredible that it has itsown Wikipedia page.
Definitely, Maybe
This winning New York City-set romcom may open like any other, withRyan Reynoldsrocking out to his iPod as he takes to the city streets, but by the end of this film, you’ll definitely, not maybe (get it!) … be caught off guard by its impact.Definitely Maybe** opens with Reynolds as Will Hayes, a successful but longing single father. But the fun emerges as he reconnects with three girlfriends from his past,High Fidelity**style, and it’s actually unclear who he’s going to end up with. Will it be his artsy ex-girlfriend played byRachel Weisz, or the friend, though it’s always been something more, played byIsla Fisher? Or someone else? This film touchingly explores the grey area of adult relationships that don’t go sour, but sometimes are just placed on the shelf. And it has a classic, old-fashioned ending. Don’t let the poster, or the 2008-ness of it fool you — you’ll truly be charmed byDefinitely Maybe.
Murder by Death
If you got the WhoDunnit itch fromClueor the more modernKnives Out, you’re in for a thrill withMurder by Death**.As its cheeky title may hint, this 1970s sendup is more pure comedy than its peers. It’s an all-outAgatha Christieroast, with every character invited to its old mansion murder mystery dinner essentially serving as a classic Whodunnit archetype. There’s the Humphrey Bogart-esque detective, played wonderfully byPeter Falk, and the more Whodunnits you’ve seen the more you’ll appreciate it. Plus, it amazingly featuresTruman Capotein his first and only film role as the murder dinner’s host. So while it’s not as memorable asClue, it’s a dinner worth attending. And dessert is…murder!
“Our whole world is sitting there on a computer…everything, your DMV records, your social security…it’s all right there…just begging for somebody to screw with.” This isn’t a line from the stressful 2020 documentaryThe Social Dilemma, but one that an on-the-runSandra Bullocksays inThe Net**, aFugitive*style thriller made in…1995. Yup, this prescient film is a solid mystery but moreso, a glimpse at the early internet and the danger it posed even then. There’s briefcase sized laptops, floppy disks, and an AOL-looking website that Bullock uses to order pizza that must be the earliest depiction of Seamless in film.
Bullock plays Angela Bennett, a basement hacker who helps companies troubleshoot their programs, when she’s not busy with this pizza website. Until she joins the wrong chatroom at the wrong time. It may have seemed outlandish then, with its villains using the internet to watch everything Bennett does and learn everything about her. But it’s aged almosttoowell, and will make you think about technology more than most films today and more than a film from 1995 ought to.
A Bigger Splash
While Italian directorLuca Guadagninomade a (I’m sorry) “bigger splash” in pop culture with his instant classicCall Me By Your Name**,don’t sleep — or longingly sunbathe by a pool with dog-eared novella — on his other movies. His 2018Suspiriaremake is a bizarre fantasy that’s almost entirely female-lead.I Am Loveis a lusciousTilda Swinton-lead masterpiece. But perhaps most succinct of his lesser known films isA Bigger Splash**, a delicious, sun kissed romantic thriller set in Italy. Marienne Lane (Tilda Swinton) is a semi-retired rock star on vocal rest, who, without speaking, still commands every scene. She’s got a stable thing going with her partner Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts), until ex-lover Harry (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson) come visit and shake things up. The film follows a multi-day staycation where all four of these characters’ desires collide and everything goes wrong. And not in aMeet the Fockers** way. It’s rife with new loves, rekindled flames, and secrets as casual as its spontaneous afternoon swim breaks. Come wade throughA Bigger Splash’s dangerous waters.
Down with Love
From its retro,Pink Panther-style cartoon opening credits to the giant Pan Am logo gracing the centermost building in Manhattan in lieu of the MetLife sign, you know you’re in for something campy.Down With Love** is a flirty, chatty, super-sweet 1960s romcom. A fantasticRenee ZellwegerandEwan McGregorare Barbara Novack and Catcher Block (great names), warring literaries who are both set in their bachelor ways until, well, you know how it goes. This film is such a ball of midcentury joy it putsMad Mento shame. And while it got good reviews in 2003 itjustmissed the mark at being a genuine hit. It has all the trappings – fast-paced writing, amazing set pieces that would makeBaz Luhrmanngreen with envy and charming performances. Perhaps the novelty ofDown With Loveisn’t what holds it back; but what sets it apart, daddy-o! With its split screen phone calls, cutesy choreography, and general too-much-ness, it commits so heavily to its bit that you may’t help but … be down!
As Above, So Below
It seems like for some reason, it took not one but two extremely successful movies (Blair Witch Projectand nearly 15 years later,Paranormal Activity) for filmmakers to realize the shaky cam, found footage schtick worked. As a result, the horror genre saw a deluge of shaky cam movies unleashed in the late 2000s. ButAs Above So Below** is one of the most underrated. This movie follows an archaeologist and her crew venturing into the Catacombs of Paris (apparently a BIG mistake), and rivalsThe Descentperhaps not in sheer scariness but in the number of scares. Once the crew goes down there, trying to locate some sort of gem, everything goes wrong. It’s definitely one of those “we’ve seen that same skull already”, “look there’s a light over there!” trapped-in-a-cave horror-fests. Though it doesn’t get into the mythology of the…things they discover underground, it packs so many frights in its below-Paris crypt that you won’t even notice.
Jennifer’s Body
Much like Steely Dan is the musician’s band,Jennifer’sBody** is the hidden gem movie lover’s hidden gem. TheDiablo Cody-penned vampire flick starringMegan Foxas a high schooler thirsty for blood came out in 2009, right afterJuno**. At the time, it didn’t really rake in cash at the box office, but since, it’s seen a resurgence in popularity that it’s hard to even call it a hidden gem.Voxrecently called it a “feminist cult classic,” though I will proudly say I saw it in 2009 in theaters and have loved it since day one. Featuring great performances from not only Fox but alsoAmanda Seyfriedas her former bestie, the film has fang-sharp writing and the same smart, meta tone that madeScreama classic.Jennifer’s Bodyis on its way to classic status, too. Watch it now before it’s not cool anymore.
This sweet romantic comedy is so enjoyable it was made into a musical! The 2007 gemWaitress** starsKeri Russellas Jenna, its titular waitress who is, well, stuck. She’s stuck in an abusive relationship (withJeremy Sisto), stuck in a dead end job, and stuck wondering if this may be it for her. Luckily, things get zesty when a handsome doctor played byNathan Fillioncomes to the rescue (who doesn’t want to be saved by Nathan Fillion playing a doctor?). This movie truly is as easy as pie to enjoy. Clearly, enough people caught on to bring it to Broadway, and you can see why as it has a real goodness to it. The same sort of small-town charm as 1991’sFried Green Tomatoes**,but a little more pluck and way more pies!
