I’ll start by saying none of these films are so obscure that nobody has ever heard of them, in fact, a couple were even pretty widely praised in the indie film world, but I’d still call them hidden gems, personally, because I barely see some of these mentioned when people are swapping recommendations, and a few have surprisingly low IMDb review counts considering how good I think they are.
And if you want to know where any of them are streaming in your country, JustWatch is your friend.
The Battery (2012)
The personalities of two former baseball players clash as they traverse the rural back roads of a post-plague New England teeming with the undead.
I have mentioned this on my underrated zombies film list, and while I get it won’t be a film for everyone, I do love it a lot - it’s zombie movie made for almost no money that also has more personality than films costing fifty times as much, and is also a great example of why you don’t actually need hordes of zombies and big scenes to make an undead movie work, as most of the film is just about two very different people trying to survive together.
There’s also a lot of quietness here, which is what I mean by not being for everyone, as I suspect some will find it a bit dull, but that’s exactly where the tension comes from too, so when the film finally does turn in another direction, you’ve had enough time with the characters for it to actually matter, and for me, everything is executed superbly.
I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016)
In a small Midwestern town, a troubled teen with homicidal tendencies must hunt down and destroy a supernatural killer while keeping his own inner demons at bay.
The title sounds like it belongs to a completely different kind of film, which is probably part of the fun, and it also sounds like it could become a cheesy teenage horror film very quickly, but it doesn’t, but it does have a strange, slightly offbeat atmosphere, where there’s something very uncomfortable about watching a kid who is worried about becoming a monster encounter an actual monster - it’s dark without being miserable, weird without becoming ridiculous, and much more emotionally interesting than I expected it to be.
Bellflower (2011)
Two friends spend all their free time building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa".
Bellflower is one of those films where you can practically see the filmmakers having a ridiculous amount of fun making it - it’s a post-apocalyptic love story, a DIY movie, a revenge film and a bit of a fever dream all thrown together.
The homemade weapons and flamethrowers are obviously a big part of the appeal, but I actually like how rough the whole thing feels, as you can see the fingerprints of the people who made it everywhere, and there’s something wonderfully scrappy about watching people make their own insane machines and then actually put them on screen.
Underneath all the madness happening here, though, there’s also a pretty bruised relationship at the centre of it, and it’s ambitious and completely its own thing, which is a good thing.
The Fits (2015)
While training at the gym 11-year-old tomboy Toni becomes entranced with a dance troupe, and as she struggles to fit in she finds herself caught up in danger as the group begins to suffer from fainting spells and other violent fits.
You could probably describe The Fits in a couple of sentences, but that wouldn’t really explain why I like it, and what could have been a straightforward coming-of-age horror story instead becomes something much more mysterious.
The film looks fantastic too, featuring lots of shots here that feel almost hypnotic, and the sound design is also brilliant without constantly shouting at you that something creepy is happening - it’s short (72 mins), strange and leaves plenty of room for you to decide what you think is actually going on.
The Transfiguration (2016)
When troubled teen Milo, who has a fascination with vampire lore, meets the equally alienated Sophie, the two form a bond that begins to blur Milo's fantasy into reality.
Forget the glossy vampire stuff for a minute, because The Transfiguration takes the vampire idea and strips almost everything away, putting it into a gritty New York setting and following a troubled teenager who is obsessed with vampire lore, but it also doesn’t treat vampirism as some glamorous supernatural fantasy, as there’s something sad about the whole thing too.
The low-budget look suits it perfectly. well - a film that’s not trying to be the next Interview with the Vampire, because it’s doing something much smaller and much stranger, and is well worth a watch.
Columbus (2017)
A Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma, before the man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering addict, instead of pursuing her own dreams.
Columbus is another film I would describe as incredibly quiet, and I know that alone will be enough to put some people off (again), but there’s something beautiful about how little it needs to say as well, where architecture becomes part of the film without turning into some pretentious lecture about buildings.
There are long stretches where very little happens, yet the film never feels empty either, and it’s one of those films you put on when you’re in the mood for something calm and thoughtful rather than something that is constantly demanding your attention.
And visually, it’s absolutely gorgeous.
The One I Love (2014)
A troubled couple vacate to a beautiful getaway, but bizarre circumstances further complicate their situation.
Go into The One I Love knowing as little as possible is my advice, as it starts out like a fairly straightforward relationship drama before taking a very weird turn, and I think the less you know about that turn, the better.
The concept also gives it plenty to play with, but the relationship at the centre is what keeps it from becoming just a clever high-concept thriller, and I guarantee you’ll probably start having theories halfway through before realizing you are completely wrong.
The Little Hours (2017)
In the Middle Ages, a young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a convent full of emotionally unstable nuns.
If you like your comedies filthy, stupid and completely committed to the bit, The Little Hours is worth your time - the setting is medieval, the characters are nuns, and the dialogue is basically what you’d get if you dropped a bunch of modern idiots into a convent and let them loose.
There’s nothing particularly sophisticated about the humour here, and that’s exactly why I enjoyed i, because sometimes you just want Aubrey Plaza shouting abuse at someone in a medieval convent, right?
Tangerine (2015)
A hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.
Shot on iPhones and made with a tiny budget, Tangerine has the kind of energy that expensive productions spend millions trying to recreate, and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor give the film so much personality that it never feels like you’re watching a carefully constructed “indie movie”.
The colors, the locations, the conversations, the arguments — it all has this raw quality that makes you feel like you’ve been dropped into somebody else’s hectic day, but there’s a lot of heart here too.
And considering how cheaply it was made, it also looks great.
Feel free to recommend your own, too.
Finally a list with movies that I haven't seen (except Tangerine). Thank you for digging up these hidden gems.
solid list— i’ve only seen half of these. added to the watchlist!