Hidden Gems: The best films you (probably) haven’t seen on Netflix UK
Matthew Turner | On 06, May 2019
Reading time: 17 minsStuck with that tricky “What should I watch next on Netflix?” decision? With the streaming service adding new titles all the time, it’s increasingly difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff. Fortunately, help is at hand, as there’s nothing we love more at VODzilla.co than throwing some great film recommendations your way. Here then, are Netflix UK’s best hidden gems.
This list will be updated regularly to reflect new releases and removals.
Hearts Beat Loud (2018)
The textbook definition of a Netflix Hidden Gem, this utterly charming indie drama stars Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation) as Frank, a single dad and music store owner who persuades his teenage daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) to join him in weekly jam sessions, aware that she’ll soon be heading off to college. The two stars are a joy to watch (Clemons has one hell of a singing voice), the music is catchy and co-writer / director Brett Haley packs the film with heart-warming scenes that will have you smiling from ear to ear. As an added bonus, there’s delightful support from Toni Collette as Frank’s landlady and love interest.
Shimmer Lake (2017)
Written and directed by Oren Uziel, this clever crime thriller unfolds in reverse order over the course of a week, as a small town Sheriff (Benjamin Walker) tries to get to the bottom of a bank heist that’s gone horribly wrong. The strong cast includes reliable character actors such as Rainn Wilson (as the Sheriff’s ne’er-do-well brother), Ron Livingston, Rob Corddry and John Michael Higgins, while Narcos’ Stephanie Sigman impresses as a key figure in the mystery. Uziel clearly knows his way around a tricksy thriller and he ensures that his reverse-time gimmick has a satisfying pay-off that rewards close attention.
The Domestics (2018)
Sound-designer-turned writer-director Mike P. Nelson makes an auspicious debut with this gripping and inventive post-apocalyptic thriller. With half the population of the US decimated by a poison gas attack, society has fractured into various cult-like gangs, with the non-affiliated known as Domestics. Tyler Hoechlin and Kate Bosworth star as two such Domestics, an on-the-outs couple who undertake a terrifying drive across the country in order to reunite with family, dodging several murderous encounters along the way. Nelson maintains a breathtaking pace and strikes the perfect balance of thrilling action and nail-biting suspense sequences. Basically, it’s The Warriors meets The Road, seasoned with a dash of Mad Max.
Berlin Syndrome (2017)
Teresa Palmer stars in this terrific Euro thriller from Somersault director Cate Shortland, adapted from a novel by Melanie Joosten. Palmer plays Clare, a vacationing Australian photojournalist who has a one night stand with charming German teacher Andi (Max Riemelt), then wakes up to find she’s locked in his Berlin apartment and he has no intention of letting her go. Palmer and Riemelt are both superb, creating a complex character dynamic that results in high tension, while Shortland’s distinctive direction puts a fascinating arthouse spin on the kidnap thriller premise.
An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn (2018)
Mere words can’t do justice to the unique brand of weirdness that pervades this indie comedy from British writer-director Craig Hosking (The Greasy Strangler). Aubrey Plaza stars as Lula Danger, a bored housewife who leaves her husband (Emile Hirsch) and checks into a hotel with smitten patsy Colin (Jemaine Clement), because her ex-lover, Beverly Luff Linn (Craig Robinson), is due to perform there “for one magical night only”. The cast (which also includes Matt Berry as Beverly’s manager-slash-partner) are all on top comic form, adopting Hosking’s distinctive comic rhythms and having fun with his deliciously quotable dialogue. A weird and wonderful treat.
The Boxtrolls (2014)
This charming stop-motion children’s adventure from animation studio Laika (Coraline, ParaNorman) is a delightfully imaginative and beautifully designed tale about a boy who is kidnapped as a baby and grows up thinking he’s a boxtroll (literally, a race of trolls who wear boxes and have names like Fish, Knickers, Shoe, Wheels and Bucket). Stuffed full of wonderful details that will reward endless rewatches, the film also boasts some top-notch voice work, particularly from Ben Kingsley as hissable villain Archibald Snatcher. Whatever you do, don’t switch off before the fabulous mid-credits sting.
Ballerina (2016)
Co-directed by Éric Summer and Éric Warin, this French-Canadian animation (known as Leap! on its US release) is surprisingly charming, despite its slightly rocky start. Set in the 1880s, it centres on Felicie (voiced by Elle Fanning), an orphan girl who flees rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes herself off as her bullying rival and gains a place as a student at the Paris Opera Ballet. The story hits all the expected notes, but it’s enhanced considerably by some gorgeously detailed production design (making strong visual use of an under-construction Paris), likeable characters and lively animation that pays close attention to authentic ballet moves.
The Cured
Written and directed by David Freyne, this powerful and provocative thriller imagines what would happen if a cure was found for those affected with a zombie virus. Set in post-zombie apocalypse Ireland, it stars Sam Keely as Senan, a former zombie who’s released from undead rehab and goes to live with his American sister-in-law (Ellen Page, who also came on board as co-producer). Meanwhile, Senan’s fellow former zombie Conor (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, from Avengers: Infinity War) foments a violent underground resistance movement, in protest at the way the cured are treated in society. Bracingly original, superbly acted and rich in thematic resonance, this is a genuinely chilling zombie movie that delivers both high tension and strong emotion. Read our full review
The Intervention
This sharply written indie comedy from actor-turned-director Clea DuVall is pretty much the perfect Sundance film, finding eight great roles for eight great actors who are all too often relegated to frustratingly small support roles. The plot centres on a weekend getaway for four couples that takes a sharp turn for the worse when one couple realise the entire weekend is a pretence for a staged intervention on their marriage. DuVall co-stars alongside the likes of Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Lyonne, Cobie Smulders, Alia Shawkat and Jason Ritter and her generous direction allows everyone a chance to shine. Read our full review
Notes on Blindness
Co-directed by James Spinney and Pete Middleton, this extraordinary British documentary is based on the work of theologian John Hull, who began keeping an audio diary after losing his sight in 1983, recording his thoughts, feelings, experiences and observations. Using actors Dan Renton Skinner and Simone Kirby to lip-synch along to Hull’s original recordings (which include conversations with his wife and young children, as well as recorded letters to his parents in Australia), the film is both insightful and profoundly moving. It’s worth seeing for its stand-out scene alone, an extraordinary sequence that illustrates Hull discussing how rainfall affects his immediate environment, combining visuals of rain in Hull’s garden with phenomenal sound design work. Read our full review
Eight Men Out
“Say it ain’t so, Joe!” Written and directed by John Sayles, this gripping sports drama depicts Major League Baseball’s Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. The note-perfect cast includes the likes of David Strathairn, John Mahoney, Christopher Lloyd and D.B. Sweeney (as illiterate outfielder ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson), as well as early roles for the very youthful trio of John Cusack, Charlie Sheen and Michael Rooker. The performances are superb across the board and Sayles tells a complex story in riveting fashion, regardless of whether or not you’re a baseball fan.
Catfight
Written and directed by Onur Turkel, this acerbic, jet-black satire is unlike anything you’ve seen before. Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) and Anne Heche star as a pair of former college friends who get into a vicious, life-changing fistfight after running into each other at a party. From there, the film gets progressively darker and stranger – suffice it to say there are more fights to come, as the cleverly structured story goes to some extremely dark places, with both actors delivering fully committed performances. The fights themselves are superbly choreographed and given an extra wallop by some punchy sound design and some inspired soundtrack choices. Outrageous, shocking and weirdly moving, this is a cult movie waiting to happen. (Read our full review)
What Keeps You Alive
Cruelly denied a theatrical release, this gripping thriller is one of the best genre films of the year. Written and directed by Colin Minihan, it stars Brittany Allen and Hannah Emily Anderson as a lesbian couple whose first anniversary weekend at a remote lakeside cottage becomes a deadly game of cat-and-mouse after a shocking moment of violence. The two leads have terrific chemistry together and Minihan’s taut direction keeps the tension at nail-biting levels throughout, thanks to a delightfully twisty script that’s full of jaw-dropping rug-pulls, left turns and sudden shocks. Great fun.
The Young Offenders
Smartly constructed and packed full of great gags, this sweet-natured Irish comedy lead to an equally hilarious sitcom that’s currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer (read our review of the BBC Three series here). Written and directed by Peter Foote, the film centres on Jock Murphy (Alex Murphy) and Connor MacSweeney (Chris Walley), a pair of idiot teenagers who hit upon a fool-hardy get-rich-quick scheme after hearing that a bale of cocaine has washed up on the shore of West Cork. The two leads have an irresistible comic dynamic and Foote maintains a consistently high gag rate, ensuring decent laughs in every scene. He also has a strong sense of structure, planting throwaway details that pay off beautifully and building to a farce-like climax that will leave you grinning from ear-to-ear. (Read our full review)
Charlie Bartlett (2007)
This smart teen comedy from director Jon Poll stands as a worthy tribute to actor Anton Yelchin, whose accidental death earlier this year robbed Hollywood of one of its brightest young talents. Yelchin delivers one of his best performances as a bullied rich kid who becomes a self-appointed psychiatrist-slash-pharmaceutical drug dispenser to the students at his new school. Gustin Nash’s witty script is packed with great dialogue and weirdly offbeat scenes and there’s terrific work from a supporting cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davies and Kat Dennings.
Princess Cyd (2017)
This gorgeous female coming-of-age drama is an utter joy from beginning to end. Written and directed by Stephen Cone, it centres on 16 year old Cyd (Jessie Pinnick), who comes to live with her aunt, Miranda (Rebecca Spence) in suburban Chicago for the summer, following an unspecified falling out with her widowed father. The details of their slowly forged relationship are exquisitely observed, with both women delivering performances that are complex, charming and consistently surprising. If you liked Lady Bird, you’ll fall madly in love with Princess Cyd. Seriously, don’t miss it – it’s quite possibly the best film you’ll see all year. (Read our full review)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Imaginatively directed by Marc Foster, this delightful Truman Show-esque comedy stars Will Ferrell as a tax agent who suddenly hears a voice narrating his life. After discovering that he’s a character in a novel and, worse, that the author (Emma Thompson) is planning to kill him off, he seeks help from a literary theorist (Dustin Hoffman), who suggests turning his tragic story into a comedy by romancing his attractive, tax-hating client (Maggie Gyllenhaal). First-timer Zach Helm’s brilliant script is richly detailed and packed with quotable lines, while Ferrell delivers a career-best performance. Intelligent, thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny, this is a stunningly original piece of work that’s brimming with ideas. It also features the most romantic scene ever set on a bendy-bus.
The Endless
The third feature from writer-director duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson (following Resolution and Spring), The Endless centres on Aaron (Moorhead) and Justin (Benson), two adult brothers who decide to return to the UFO death cult they escaped years earlier, after they’ve been unable to move on with their lives. To give away anything further would be to spoil the pleasures of the film, but suffice it to say that things get increasingly weird, with Moorhead and Benson generating a compellingly creepy and mysterious atmosphere throughout. Reminiscent of Shane Carruth’s Primer, this is a masterclass in micro-budget filmmaking, proving that all you need to make great science-fiction is a talented cast, an intelligent script and a well-chosen location (in this case, a remote forest). Bump it to the top of your Netflix queue. (Read our full review – and read our interview with the directors here.
Carrie Pilby (2016)
Based on the novel by Caren Lissner and directed by Susan Johnson, this utterly charming comedy-drama stars Bel Powley as Carrie Pilby, a socially awkward, highly intelligent 19 year-old who begrudgingly takes the advice of her therapist (an excellent Nathan Lane) and attempts to tick a few simple goals off a list, such as going on a date, making a friend and doing something that made her happy as a child. Powley’s performance here is every bit as assured as her turn in The Diary of a Teenage Girl, consistently unearthing unexpected and touching layers in what could have been just the standard quirky girl performance. (She also nails the rather specific accent, perfectly capturing a Londoner who’s been raised in New York). In addition, the dialogue is often very funny and there’s strong comic support from Vanessa Bayer (as an over-sharing co-worker) and Jason Ritter as Carrie’s blind date.
Weiner (2016)
Co-directed by Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman, this gripping, fly-on-the-wall documentary follows disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner as he embarks on a bid to become Mayor of New York, two years after a sexting scandal forced his resignation. At first, he appears to be winning over voters, but then a new wave of sexting revelations emerges, dealing his campaign a powerful blow. Weiner emerges as a fascinating and complex figure, at once a gifted and passionate politician, yet continually undone by his own seemingly compulsive indiscretions. Offering a refreshingly non-judgemental stance, the film is utterly riveting, operating simultaneously as an intimate character study, a thrilling behind-the-scenes look at a troubled political campaign and a scathing indictment of the state of political journalism in the USA. Read our interview with the film’s directors, our our full review here.
A Royal Night Out (2015)
A perfect companion piece to Netflix’s The Crown, this effortlessly charming British comedy stars Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley as teen princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, who are desperate to escape Buckingham Palace and join the celebrations on VE day, 1945. After giving their chaperones the slip, the pair get separated during their night on the town, so Elizabeth teams up with an attractive airman (Jack Reynor) to help her track down her flighty sister. Creating a strong sense of time and place, director Julian Jerrold maintains an entertainingly lively tone throughout, while Gadon and Powley make an immensely likeable double act.
Creep (2014)
The textbook definition of an under-the-radar gem, this unsettling found footage horror stars co-writer-director Patrick Brice as a videographer who answers a Craigslist ad for a one-day job. When he arrives at his remote mountain town destination he finds that the creepy client, Josef (co-writer Mark Duplass), has a series of increasingly unusual requests, and he begins to suspect that all is not what it seems. Effectively a two-hander, the film is heightened by an appropriately tense chemistry between Brice and Duplass, while the clever script finds some interesting ways to pay off the found footage conceit. Read our full review.
Little Sister (2016)
Written and directed by Zach Clark, this sweetly cynical indie stars Addison Timlin as a former Goth-turned-soon-to-be nun visiting her estranged family, including her strung-out mother (Ally Sheedy, effectively playing a grown-up version of her Breakfast Club character) and her recently-returned soldier brother (Keith Poulson) who’s been left severely disfigured after an IED explosion. Clark has a knack for caustic dialogue and occasionally close-to-the-bone humour, but he’s also adept at portraying fraught, but loving relationships and the cumulative effect is both darkly funny and quietly moving. There’s also a great synth score, if you like that sort of thing.
The Invitation (2015)
This powerfully intense psychological thriller serves as a masterclass in building suspense. When Will (Logan Marshall-Green) takes his new girlfriend (Emayatzy Corinealdi) to an LA dinner party at the house of his ex-wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard), he becomes increasingly paranoid about the real reasons for his invitation, especially after Eden and her new partner (Michiel Huisman) reveal they are members of a happiness cult. The performances are superb and the cleverly structured script does a terrific job of creating and sustaining tension, gradually moving from the excruciating uncomfortableness of an awkward dinner party to something much more sinister. Read our full review
The Man From The Future (2011)
If you’ve watched Narcos, it’s impossible to watch this enjoyable fantasy comedy without thinking of it as Groundhog Day with Pablo Escobar. A pre-Narcos Wagner Moura stars as Zero, a brilliant but disillusioned scientist who accidentally invents a time machine and decides to use it to avoid a humiliating incident in his past by giving his younger self some valuable advice. The film is brimming with ideas and writer-director Claudio Torres strikes exactly the right comic tone, having fun with the sense of escalating farce while still finding poignant emotion in the film’s underlying message. Similarly, Moura’s deadpan face proves a perfect fit for this particular comic vehicle (he’s very Bill Murray-esque) and there’s engaging support from Alinne Moraes as his college dream girl.
Divines (2016)
Debut director Houda Benyamina won the Camera d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival for this superb crime drama-slash-coming-of-ager that plays like a cross between La Haine and Girlhood. Newcomers Oulaya Amamra and Déborah Lukumuena star as a pair of 15 year-old best friends who decide that the fastest way out of their run-down, outskirts-of-Paris neighbourhood lies in going to work for their local drug dealer. Benyamina draws terrific performances from her two young leads, while her stylish direction (which extends to some exceptional sound design work) marks her out as an exciting new talent to watch. Read our full review
You Can Count On Me (2000)
Playwright Kenneth Lonergan made his directorial debut with this powerfully moving small-town story that, unusually for a mainstream drama, centres on a sibling relationship. Laura Linney stars as a divorced single mother whose stable-if-unsatisfactory life is shaken up by the sudden reappearance of her ne’er-do-well brother (Mark Ruffalo) after a long absence. Brilliantly acted (Linney received an Oscar nomination) and painfully honest in its depiction of complex, realistic relationships, this is a richly rewarding drama that leaves a lasting emotional impact. Read our full review
Calibre (2018)
Written and directed by Matt Palmer, this cracking thriller won the Michael Powell Award for best new British feature at the 2018 Edinburgh Film Festival and promptly went straight to Netflix. It stars Jack Lowden (Dunkirk) and Martin McCann (The Survivalist) as two best friends who head to a remote village in the Scottish Highlands for a hunting trip. After a tragic accident, the pair decide to cover it up, rather than reporting it to the authorities, leading to a tense situation with the increasingly suspicious villagers. Palmer’s impressive direction ensures the film grips like a vice, as the unbearable suspense gradually descends into sickening horror. A must-see for genre fans. (Read our full review – or click here to read our interview with director Matt Palmer.)
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