Last updated: November 2, 2026
The best movie on any streaming service is rarely the one the algorithm is shoving at you. These are the hidden gems: films I graded B or higher that most people still haven’t seen (each has fewer than 60,000 ratings on IMDb), sorted by where you can stream them right now.
Jump to: Netflix · Prime Video · HBO Max · Hulu · Tubi · Kanopy · Shudder · Peacock · Paramount+
Hidden Gems on Netflix
IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE (2024)
Greg Jardin’s ‘It’s What’s Inside’ is a hilarious, mind-bending puzzle box comedy-thriller. Crafted with incredible precision and featuring an electrifying ensemble cast, this eruptive debut is destined to be one of the buzziest movies of 2024.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
MASS (2021)
A painstakingly intimate, conversation-driven drama with phenomenal performances all around (Jacob Isaacs and Ann Dowd are especially extraordinary), Mass is a terrific and terrifically depressing debut from Fran Kranz that will be sure to move audiences to tears.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
ZOLA (2021)
Janicza Bravo’s snappy and stylized Zola is a bottle-rocket of artistic energy boasting four of the most-notable performances of the year from Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Colman Domingo, and Nicholas Braun. An all-around electrifying watch despite a weak ending.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
THE HAND OF GOD (2021)
Paolo Sorrentino’s striking coming-of-age drama sinks into the gaiety of family history and the pangs of family tragedy as the hand of fate throws a young man’s future into question. Handsomely filmed and emotionally solvent, The Hand of God is an impressive and natural progression for the soulful Italian filmmaker.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
NR. 24 (2024)
Manning-Walker’s shattering film debut explores the self-inflicted violence of youth, famously opined to be wasted on the young, with great care before shifting to a heartbreaking meditation on sexual consent, steadied by a ravishingly raw central turn from newcomer Mia McKenna-Bruce. Even for a debut film, How to Have Sex feels explosive and must-see.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
IN THE EARTH (2021)
Ben Wheatley’s return to horror uses the backdrop of a global pandemic to spin a folksy yarn about woodland killers and pagan worship that employs militant audio-visual hallucinogenic effects to entertain and disorient. A real return to form for Wheatley and the first movie to effectively tackle the virus and its effect on our collective sanity.▶ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
More on Netflix: All the hidden gems → · All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on Prime Video
HER SMELL (2019)
Elisabeth Moss gives an exhaustive show-stopping performance in Alex Ross Perry’s strenuous ’Her Smell’, a thoughtfully terrorizing depiction of soured showbiz success, one that creepily uses horror movie techniques to embolden a disquieting and headsplitting character study. Someone give this lady an Oscar.▶ Watch on Prime Video · Read the full review
SMALL TOWN CRIME (2018)
A rural gumshoe caper with splashes of Tarantino and the Coen bros, Small Town Crime soars on the wings of star John Hawkes who leads an unforgettable cast as a washed up ex-detective back on the case. Strange, hilarious and immensely entertaining, Small Town Crime is the modern day dusty noir we didn’t know we needed.▶ Watch on Prime Video · Read the full review
SAINT MAUD (2020)
Expertly building suspense and tension – and popping that bubble perfectly with some of the most effective jump scares of recent memory – Saint Maud has all the markings of a horror great, with a killer ending to boot.▶ Watch on Prime Video · Read the full review
LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (2016)
Whit Stillman’s Love & Friendship is a savvy anecdote to the stuffy Victorian costume drama. Hysterical and unpretentious, Stillman’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s work would make the author proud. Additionally, Kate Beckinsale proves that a career spent amongst CGI creations is a monumental waste of her awesome talent as she crafts an unforgettably shrewd feminist heroine in Lady Susan Vernon.▶ Watch on Prime Video · Read the full review
LAST FLAG FLYING (2017)
Deftly blending snarky comedy and high tragedy in this expertly cast and immaculately performed drama, Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying is a soulful examination of grief, duty, family and love of country that gives no shortage of “all the feels”.▶ Watch on Prime Video · Read the full review
ANTLERS (2021)
This traumatic horror movie from Scott Cooper and Guillermo del Toro digs into the Indigenous legend of the Wendigo to tell a sobering human-level story of abuse while delivering top-shelf genre thrills. The production is as handsome and as bleak as any American horror movie dares to be, making for a horrifying and thoroughly scary experience that’s sure to linger in your nightmares long after.▶ Watch on Prime Video · Read the full review
More on Prime Video: All the hidden gems → · All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on HBO Max
ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN (2021)
Morgan Neville’s involving documentary puts Anthony Bourdain’s travels and struggles into razor sharp focus, creating a compelling and full-bodied portrait of an ambitious journeyman, a restless searcher, a semi-charmed lover, and a crestfallen philosopher.▶ Watch on HBO Max · Read the full review
MOTHER MARY (2026)
David Lowery’s hypnotic Mother Mary is a breakup song filtered through the lens of a ghost story, mounted with spectacular production elements and stitched together with unreal performances from Michaela Cole and Anne Hathaway.▶ Watch on HBO Max · Read the full review
THE INVITE (2026)
The Invite from Olivia Wilde is a wildly funny swinger comedy that explores how relationships open, close, and end in hilarious and heartfelt ways. Seth Rogan, Olivia Wilde, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton are all fantastic.▶ Watch on HBO Max · Read the full review
THE FALLOUT (2021)
A vital work that puts the school shooter epidemic into focus, The Fallout is an audacious, explosive debut from writer-director Megan Park that makes way for a remarkable performance from Jenna Ortega. Heart-pounding, honest, and at times even hysterical, this is the very best of SXSW’s narrative feature competition.▶ Watch on HBO Max · Read the full review
UNDERTONE (2026)
A masterfully assembled nightmare of all-encompassing horror, Ian Tucson’s ‘Undertone’ is as immersive as it is bone chilling, featuring truly elite sound design.▶ Watch on HBO Max · Read the full review
More on HBO Max: All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on Hulu
NO OTHER CHOICE (2025)
No Other Choice is an expertly constructed social satire from Park Chan-wook that harkens to its South Korean compatriot ‘Parasite’. Come for the bloody thrills, stay for the pertinent message about humanity and their employment crisis circa 2025.▶ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
TOGETHER (2025)
Together is a twisted, tactile meditation on love, compromise, and the bodily cost of staying too close for too long, brought to life by Michael Shanks’ sharp direction and a pair of knockout performances from Alison Brie and Dave Franco, both delivering some of their best onscreen work to date. Together, they make the film’s grotesque intimacy feel oddly, disturbingly relatable.▶ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
SUMMER OF SOUL (2021)
Questlove creates a toe-tapping and revolutionary documentary that’ll have audiences foaming at the mouth for more. The lineup of talent is simply insane, the performances eye-popping, the talking-head commentary on Black culture and music’s place within it is poignant and relevant today without stopping the contagious upbeat energy. An absolute must-see.▶ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
IS THIS THING ON? (2025)
Will Arnett erupts onto the screen as a real dramatic actor in Bradley Cooper’s thoughtfully funny Is This Thing On?, a midlife crisis story that tackles themes of commitment and purpose with striking clarity. Laura Dern, unsurprisingly, remains a standout.▶ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
THE CHRISTOPHERS (2026)
Ian McKellen is phenomenal in The Christophers – and Michaela Coel more than holds her own – a film that manages to be both thematically rich and genuinely crowd-pleasing. What begins as a professional collision in the art world gradually turns into something more personal, more complicated. It’s one of Steven Soderbergh’s more restrained, human-scale efforts, and it’s all the better for it.▶ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
FLOWER (2017)
Max Winkler’s dirty-minded ‘Flowers’ is rude and sweet and offputting and bitterly funny – while featuring an absolutely star-making turn from Zoey Deutch – though it’s got enough narrative quirk to keep you from craving sloppy seconds.▶ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
More on Hulu: All the hidden gems → · All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on Tubi
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (2019)
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an aching triumph of self-discovery that’s absolutely electrifying every single minute of your time with it. With some of the most crackling and distinct direction in years, it marks the arrival of a new essential voice in Joe Talbot. I swooned.▶ Watch on Tubi · Read the full review
RED ROCKET (2021)
A Texan ballad of a dirtbag ex-porn star, Red Rocket is a sidesplittingly funny and brutally honest character study from writer-director Sean Baker. Its uncomfortable subject matter will be a turn-off for many but Baker’s unblinking commitment to fully unpacking this satirical saga of a guy who’s packing is amongst the best of the year.▶ Watch on Tubi · Read the full review
DINNER IN AMERICA (2022)
Dinner in America is a rough-around-the-edges ode to love on the fringes of society, where a criminal punk rocker and a bizarre loner court an unlikely flirtation, all while navigating the suburbs, musical aspirations and the law. Expect a brash curb-stomp of a coming-of-age saga and prepare for impact.▶ Watch on Tubi · Read the full review
KRISHA (2016)
Backed by a spine-tingling score, Krisha is a powerful journey through the dingy bowels of addiction and family secrets. Krisha Fairchild is masterful in a breakout role for the ages just as first-time director Trey Edwards Shults proves himself a powerful emerging voice with a debut that won’t soon be forgotten.▶ Watch on Tubi · Read the full review
MASS (2021)
A painstakingly intimate, conversation-driven drama with phenomenal performances all around (Jacob Isaacs and Ann Dowd are especially extraordinary), Mass is a terrific and terrifically depressing debut from Fran Kranz that will be sure to move audiences to tears.▶ Watch on Tubi · Read the full review
SANCTUARY (2023)
Sanctuary, a kinky dark romantic comedy, transcends its overtly sexually-charged trappings to become a provocative exploration of power, control, and trust. With an unforgettable performance from Margaret Qualley, it’s a wildly unpredictable ride that’ll leaves an indelible mark on the more risqué viewer’s psyche.▶ Watch on Tubi · Read the full review
More on Tubi: All the hidden gems → · All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on Kanopy
PLEASURE (2021)
A stunningly provocative exploration of the peaks and valleys of the porn industry led by a wowing performance from newcomer Sofia Kappel, Pleasure uses gratuitous sex to speak to structures of power and consent while telling the story of one girl’s thirst for pornstar fame.▶ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (2019)
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an aching triumph of self-discovery that’s absolutely electrifying every single minute of your time with it. With some of the most crackling and distinct direction in years, it marks the arrival of a new essential voice in Joe Talbot. I swooned.▶ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
POSSESSOR (2020)
A brilliantly rendered technology-fueled nightmare, Possessor announces Brandon Cronenberg as an uncompromising storyteller, one who manages brilliant, thought-provoking plotting amid incredibly affecting production elements (including an extreme reverence for practical special effects.)▶ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
KRISHA (2016)
Backed by a spine-tingling score, Krisha is a powerful journey through the dingy bowels of addiction and family secrets. Krisha Fairchild is masterful in a breakout role for the ages just as first-time director Trey Edwards Shults proves himself a powerful emerging voice with a debut that won’t soon be forgotten.▶ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
SMALL TOWN CRIME (2018)
A rural gumshoe caper with splashes of Tarantino and the Coen bros, Small Town Crime soars on the wings of star John Hawkes who leads an unforgettable cast as a washed up ex-detective back on the case. Strange, hilarious and immensely entertaining, Small Town Crime is the modern day dusty noir we didn’t know we needed.▶ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
HONEYLAND (2019)
Honeyland masterfully employs the documentary medium to tell a sprawling story about sustainability through the lens of a traditional Macedonian beekeeper. The perfect cross section of educational entertainment and storytelling prowess, the Sundance award winner is nectar for the soul that buzzes with poignancy.▶ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
More on Kanopy: All the hidden gems → · All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on Shudder
HER SMELL (2019)
Elisabeth Moss gives an exhaustive show-stopping performance in Alex Ross Perry’s strenuous ’Her Smell’, a thoughtfully terrorizing depiction of soured showbiz success, one that creepily uses horror movie techniques to embolden a disquieting and headsplitting character study. Someone give this lady an Oscar.▶ Watch on Shudder · Read the full review
GREENER GRASS (2019)
Greener Grass uses dream logic and ontological sloppiness to create a singularly bizarro sendup of modern person as social media package. The twisted, random, and bogus plot will alienate viewers expecting traditional comedic stylings but those willing to get weird may just love what Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe have cooked up.▶ Watch on Shudder · Read the full review
RELIC (2020)
The clever, strange and emotionally-satisfying first film from director Natalie Erika James uses horror to get at the heartache of senility. Emily Mortimer gives an anguished performance as a tormented daughter and mother as Relic burrows under its audiences’ skin through an earnest, emotional approach to genre filmmaking.▶ Watch on Shudder · Read the full review
COME TRUE (2020)
Sustained tension and an entirely creepy visual palette make Come True, a dreamy horror-hybrid about sleep paralysis, a heady haunter. Anthony Scott Burns announces himself as a thoughtful and novelly scary voice in the horror genre.▶ Watch on Shudder · Read the full review
JAKOB’S WIFE (2021)
Jakob’s Wife is a total vamp-camp gas with a laugh-out-loud script that’s executed to soul-sucking perfection by the combination of Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden. Bloody, fun, and shamelessly ridiculous, Travis Stevens has made a gleeful tribute to vampire’s enduring legacy in the horror genre and highlighted why they make for sure good comedy.▶ Watch on Shudder · Read the full review
WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021)
Josh Ruben continues to make a name for himself in the horror-comedy game with his adaptation of Werewolves Within, which employs a supremely-affable ensemble cast, a goofy premise, and plenty of directorial gags to monstrously-amusing effect. Continue to keep a close eye on this guy, he’s apt to transform into a big-timer one of these lunar rotations.▶ Watch on Shudder · Read the full review
More on Shudder: All the hidden gems →
Hidden Gems on Peacock
KAJILLIONAIRE (2020)
Miranda July’s oddball opus Kajillionaire uses quirk to speak to the distancing of humanity from itself, creating a weirdly tender and wholly otherworldly dramedy that’s lit up by great performances.▶ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
BLACK BEAR (2020)
Black Bear commits fully to breaking rules of cinema, which may leave some bewildered or frustrated, but between its smart screenplay, saucy technical savvy, and all-around great performances, the odd-duck drama-thriller is absolutely deserving of your attempt to puzzle through it.▶ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
THE ALPINIST (2021)
A stark reminder of the perilous extremes of climbing, The Alpinist is a fascinating character study of young renegade Marc-André Leclerc and thoughtful companion piece to the recent slew of free solo documentaries, which focuses more on the internal mysteries of the subject than the technical craft of the sport.▶ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
TRAGEDY GIRLS (2017)
Alexandra Shipp and Brianna Hildebrand are fantastic as fame-seeking murderesses in this sharp satire on social media culture. With shades of Mean Girls, Scream, Heathers and Carrie, ’Tragedy Girls’ is the meta-horror-comedy of 2017 that is never quite as over-the-top or inventive with its violence as I wanted.▶ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
THE ENDLESS (2017)
Moorhead and Benson’s The Endless is a riveting trip down the rabbit hole, fastened with a smarter-than-average and genuinely thrilling script and impossible to predict plotting. Suffers in the acting and special effects department but remains a strong recommendation for sci-fi fans looking for some original flavor.▶ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
More on Peacock: All the best movies →
Hidden Gems on Paramount+
TUNER (2026)
Daniel Roher’s Tuner is the rare crowd-pleasing crime thriller that works just as well as a thoughtful character study. Propelled by Leo Woodall’s breakout performance and a deeply immersive sonic perspective, this sharply tuned gem finds surprising emotional depth between its suspenseful set pieces.▶ Watch on Paramount+ · Read the full review
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (2022)
The naturally unnatural world comes to a head in surreal, erotic, satirical fashion in a way only David Cronenberg could cook up. The world-building of Crimes of the Future impresses more than some of the plot movements but a game Viggo Mortensen helps keep this ethereal body horror think-piece captivating from gory start to evocative finish.▶ Watch on Paramount+ · Read the full review
BLEED FOR THIS (2016)
It may not quite float like a butterfly or sting like a bee but Bleed for This rides on the greatness of Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart’s killer performances to tell a somewhat predictable true life story with soulful playfulness and showman’s pizazz.▶ Watch on Paramount+ · Read the full review
JACKASS FOREVER (2022)
Jackass Forever is the same stupid buffoonery that it’s always been – and it’s still just as scatologically funny.▶ Watch on Paramount+ · Read the full review
MEAN GIRLS (2024)
An impressively staged, skillfully performed remix of the original popular girl comedy satire, 2024’s Mean Girls adds a number of infectious musical tracks to make its story relevant again, without sacrificing what make its predecessor so limitlessly enjoyable for a generation of youngsters: good laughs, memorable characters, and petty teen melodrama.▶ Watch on Paramount+ · Read the full review
More on Paramount+: All the best movies →
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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Hidden Gems on Shudder: Underrated Movies You Probably Missed (November 2026)
Hidden Gems on Kanopy: Underrated Movies You Probably Missed (November 2026)
Hidden Gems on Tubi: Underrated Movies You Probably Missed (November 2026)
Hidden Gems on Hulu: Underrated Movies You Probably Missed (November 2026)
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