Underrated Gems to Stream Online

There have been some major movies sweeping the box office in recent years. We said goodbye to Iron Man and Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, the Skywalker saga in Star Wars was finally wrapped up in The Rise of Skywalker, and the pioneering Black Panther brought together some of the best actors in the biz today to net over $700 million in box office returns. 

Amidst the mega budget blockbusters and superhero extravaganzas, however, there have been some top quality movies released that have sadly slipped into underrated territory. Now that we’re all finding that we have a lot more time on our hands than we realised, what better way to use that than by rediscovering these engaging movies? And you don’t even have to step away from your screen to do it, since these underrated gems are now available to stream online. 

So, break out the popcorn and delve into the following…

Locke (2013) 

A one-man show in movie format, the premise of Steven Knight’s slow-burner was never going to set the box office alight, but with an absolutely phenomenal performance from leading man Tom Hardy, it deserves to be seen time and time again. 

Taking place almost entirely on the road, Locke is not just an exploration in filmmaking, it also explores how “one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life”. The subject matter may not resonate with everyone (sorry, no spoilers!), but any movie lover should be gripped by Hardy’s truly exceptional performance – backed up by a stellar voice cast including Olivia Colman, Tom Holland, and Andrew Scott –  and Knight’s immersive storytelling. 

Molly’s Game (2017) 

Aaron Sorkin’s debut in the director’s chair may have been overshadowed by some of 2017’s other big releases, but this solid drama has firmly cemented itself as one of the greatest poker movies of all time, and is a genuinely good movie to boot even if you don’t have the slightest interest in card games.

Based on the real-life memoirs of Olympic-level skier Molly Bloom, the movie centers around her time running exclusive high-stakes poker games in Hollywood. The drama unfolds nicely in this intriguing, glossy film, and the casting of Jessica Chastain as Bloom and Idris Elba as her lawyer Charlie Jaffey is absolutely perfect. 

Suspiria (2018) 

In choosing to remake Dario Argento’s cult 1977 classic, Luca Guadagnino divided the opinions of many critics and film buffs in the run up to his release of Suspiria in 2018. Running an hour longer than the original, Guadagnino’s remake actually felt more like a follow-up to what Argento first presented, and was very much a love letter to that iconic horror flick. 

It enjoyed moderate success at the box office, as moviegoers who were familiar with the original wanted to satisfy their curiosity, and a newer generation of film fans were drawn in by the promise of (at times) shockingly brutal scenes. However, like the other films on this list, now that it’s no longer on the big screen fewer and fewer people are checking it out. 

But it’s worth multiple revists, not least for the dynamic between Tilda Swinton and Dakota Fanning as Madame Blanc and Susie Bannion (on paper it shouldn’t work, but it most definitely does), the bewitching and striking visuals, and the visceral movement language the movie presents from the mind of avant garde choreographer Damien Jalet.

The Lobster (2016)

Before Yorgos Lanthimos made his mark on the Oscars with The Favourite, there was The Lobster. Macabre, witty, inventive, refusing to play by the conventions of film, like Locke this one was never going to be a blockbuster movie, and it’s all the better for it. 

Starring Colin Farrell as David, a single man who has 45 days to find the love of his life otherwise he’ll be turned into an animal, this film picks apart societal pressure and “the transformative power of love” and spins them both on their heads. 

It’s also one of those films that you just can’t help but watch, if you’re prepared to engage with it, thanks to fellow cast members Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, and of course, Olivia Colman. 

Nightcrawler (2014)

Thanks to his boyish good looks, moviegoers are used to seeing Jake Gyllenhall as the romantic hero (and that’s despite his big break as a genuine weirdo in Donnie Darko), but he gets the opportunity to challenge that perception in Dan Gilroy’s thrilling crime genre. 

With Gyllenhall turning in an eerily effective performance as the socially awkward crime journalist Louis Bloom, Nightcrawler has a lot of things to say about the destructive pursuit of fame and does so in a gripping way.