The Most Underrated Films of All Time
by Marklawd91 | created - 1 month ago | updated - 5 days ago | PublicWhat I believe should be more recognised and appreciated. NOT based on box office.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Signs (2002)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 385,859 | Gross: $227.97M
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
R | 160 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Robert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 192,866 | Gross: $3.90M
3. The Lighthouse (I) (2019)
R | 109 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Logan Hawkes
Votes: 255,186 | Gross: $0.43M
4. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 103,042 | Gross: $2.12M
5. Starship Troopers (1997)
R | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Humans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Jake Busey
Votes: 321,326 | Gross: $54.81M
On the surface its a humouriously wacky popcorn flick.
However under the surface, it's genius, and one of the most relevant films you'll see. The satire scarely resembles today's governments and how easy it is to manipulate the masses into thinking a certain way.
One example of this film's genius is when Buenos Aires gets bombed by "the aliens" (according to the American government), even though the alien planet is on the other side of the milkyway. It's literally impossible for the aliens to attack Earth.
Throughout the film, its never explained WHY the humans attack the alien planet other than the Aires bombing. This is the American government creating an excuse to start a war (by bombing Aires)...an excuse just like the Iraq war. The alien planet also resembles the Iraqand the aliens resemble the jews in the holocaust as they get slaughter for no reason other than human greed.
6. Leave the World Behind (2023)
R | 138 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices, and two strangers appear at their door.
Director: Sam Esmail | Stars: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la
Votes: 196,459
The most underrated and misunderstood film of the year. The message of the whole film is consumerism has overtaken us, we care more about our phones and entertainment than the real world and the well-being of our families. At the end, we become Rose, desperate to watch the last episode of our fav TV show, instead of focusing on reality. Rose read the alert message that theres radiation in the air, get to shelter. But once she seen the dvd's, she completely forgot about saving her family from exposure. It's devastating watching her sit there with a smile on her face while everyone else is dying.
7. A Bittersweet Life (2005)
Not Rated | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Things go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.
Directors: Jung Doo Hong, Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Kim Yeong-cheol, Hwang Jung-min
Votes: 42,931
8. Hellraiser (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Votes: 140,599 | Gross: $14.56M
It's a cult classic but I still feel like it's underrated. When talking about classic horror, the films that are usually mentioned first are Halloween, Elm Street, Alien etc. Even pinhead doesn't get mentioned much with talking about the best villians.
I think Hellraiser is up there with the best of classic horror, and has some of the top 3 best practical effects in horror history.
9. Godzilla (I) (1998)
PG-13 | 139 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that heads off to New York City. The American military must chase the monster across the city to stop it before it reproduces.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria
Votes: 203,659 | Gross: $136.31M
It's a terrible Godzilla film. But if you watch this as a monster film and not a Godzilla film, this is one of the best action films of the 90's.
Amazing set design and practical effects. It has a sad ending, the CGI still holds up and has a good message -
A non-hostile creature that was created as a result of the evil nature of humans, looks for a home to start a family and before it is able to, it's creators kill it and its babies...So, is Godzilla really the monster? Or is it us?...Very underrated film!
10. Watchmen (2009)
R | 162 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
In a version of 1985 where superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach on the trail of a conspiracy that will change the course of history.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman
Votes: 582,733 | Gross: $107.51M
>>>>> THE ULTIMATE CUT <<<<<
11. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Todd Field, Sydney Pollack
Votes: 375,334 | Gross: $55.69M
12. Dead Ringers (1988)
R | 116 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, Barbara Gordon
Votes: 53,604 | Gross: $9.13M
13. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings
Votes: 301,127 | Gross: $25.14M
14. Brazil (1985)
R | 132 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 211,281 | Gross: $9.93M
15. Repulsion (1965)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux
Votes: 57,291
16. The Lobster (2015)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or they're transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman
Votes: 296,745 | Gross: $8.70M
17. Team America: World Police (2004)
R | 98 min | Action, Comedy
Popular Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited by the elite counter-terrorism organization Team America: World Police. As the world begins to crumble around him, he must battle with terrorists, celebrities and falling in love.
Director: Trey Parker | Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Elle Russ, Kristen Miller
Votes: 178,628 | Gross: $32.79M
18. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
R | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Six tales of life and violence in the Old West, following a singing gunslinger, a bank robber, a traveling impresario, an elderly prospector, a wagon train, and a perverse pair of bounty hunters.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Tim Blake Nelson, Willie Watson, Clancy Brown, Danny McCarthy
Votes: 168,278
19. Scanners (1981)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane
Votes: 61,790 | Gross: $14.23M
20. REC (2007)
R | 78 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Votes: 196,786
21. The Batman (2022)
PG-13 | 176 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement.
Director: Matt Reeves | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell
Votes: 787,607 | Gross: $369.35M
22. Crank (2006)
R | 88 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Professional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.
Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor | Stars: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Carlos Sanz, Jose Pablo Cantillo
Votes: 263,687 | Gross: $27.83M
23. The Hateful Eight (2015)
R | 168 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins
Votes: 660,193 | Gross: $54.12M
24. Dredd (2012)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
Director: Pete Travis | Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Rachel Wood
Votes: 294,518 | Gross: $13.41M
25. Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
R | 242 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Determined to ensure that Superman's ultimate sacrifice wasn't in vain, Bruce Wayne recruits a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams
Votes: 438,580
26. Mother (2009)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-mun
Votes: 71,676 | Gross: $0.55M
27. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Not Rated | 144 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Chun Ho-jin
Votes: 146,308 | Gross: $0.13M
28. The Northman (2022)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Viking prince is on a quest to avenge his father's murder.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke
Votes: 253,824 | Gross: $34.23M
29. Natural Born Killers (1994)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Romance
Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Rodney Dangerfield
Votes: 251,883 | Gross: $50.28M
30. Dead Ringers (1988)
R | 116 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, Barbara Gordon
Votes: 53,604 | Gross: $9.13M
31. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
R | 128 min | Fantasy, Horror, Romance
The centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
Votes: 238,539 | Gross: $82.52M
32. The Killer (2023)
R | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard
Votes: 183,213
33. Tropic Thunder (2008)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War
Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.
Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Kahn
Votes: 448,279 | Gross: $110.52M
34. Zodiac (2007)
R | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 598,659 | Gross: $33.08M
35. Mother! (2017)
R | 121 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer
Votes: 249,785 | Gross: $17.80M
36. The Suicide Squad (2021)
R | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker, and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
Director: James Gunn | Stars: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman
Votes: 409,894 | Gross: $55.82M
37. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,918 | Gross: $13.78M
The pinnacle of gore and practical effects, and one of the 3 smartest horror films ever made. The ending is still being debated today and forever will.
BY FAR Capenter's best film. I'll never know why Halloween gets all the attention and love (and many other classic horror films).
38. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 801,429 | Gross: $7.56M
Made by amatures and acted by amatures in on of the most dangerous places in the world...and it somehow turned out to be a masterpiece. it has the best editing I've ever seen, everyone puts in an Oscar-worthy performance (even the children).
Most best of the century lists have a Nolan film at the top spot. This is the best film of the 21st century. Its a miracle this film even exists...
39. Godzilla (1954)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable dinosaur-like beast.
Director: Ishirô Honda | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi
Votes: 39,712 | Gross: $2.42M
Tell Your Friends