One of the best things about streaming is that it allows overlooked gems to find a second wind.
Whether they failed at the box office or critics just didn’t understand them, streaming gives films the chance to reach people on a huge, easy-to-access platform.
This month, Watch With Us wants to highlight three underrated movies that you can watch right now on streaming.
Our picks include an Andrew Garfield neo-noir, a graphic novel adaptation, and a supernatural horror about Satan-worshipping witches.
‘The Empty Man’ (2020)
In Missouri, former cop and widower James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) is drawn into the investigation of his neighbor’s missing teenage daughter, who leaves a message written in blood in her wake: “The Empty Man made me do it.” The trail leads James to a supernatural figure known as “the Empty Man” and the devoted cult that believes he exists — and is trying to summon him. The deeper James goes, the more he begins to question his reality and what he believes to be true.
Released by 20th Century on the cusp of the Fox-Disney merger, The Empty Man was ultimately tossed off by its own studio and left to die in its theatrical release during the height of COVID-19. However, it gained a new life on streaming and home video release, now having gained a modest cult following. Artistic direction, stylish editing and a suffocating atmosphere of dread make The Empty Man (adapted from the graphic novel of the same name) a one-of-a-kind horror-thriller marvel.
Stream The Empty Man now on Hulu.
‘Under the Silver Lake’ (2019)
Disillusioned slacker Sam (Andrew Garfield) drifts through his life in the Silver Lake neighborhood of LA when he meets his new neighbor, Sarah (Riley Keough). His attraction to her pumps adrenaline into his mundane existence, but then Sarah mysteriously disappears. Sam’s quest to uncover what happened to her leads him down a dark path of secrets buried underneath Los Angeles, exposing a conspiratorial labyrinth of codes and clues that were begging to be unlocked.
After receiving mixed reviews at Cannes Film Festival, distributor A24 pushed Under the Silver Lake’s release date twice before it was given a brief theatrical window and immediately dumped on streaming. However, it was there that Under the Silver Lake found more of an audience and better appreciation for its unwieldy web. Owing much to classic noir, Thomas Pynchon and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, it’s hard not to fall under the hypnotic spell of Under the Silver Lake’s absurd plot, languorous pacing and mysterious sense of intrigue.
Stream Under the Silver Lake now on Amazon Prime Video.
‘The Lords of Salem’ (2012)
In Salem, Massachusetts, radio DJ and recovering addict Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie) receives a mysterious wooden box containing a vinyl record from a band called “The Lords.” After she plays the ominous music on her radio station, Heidi is plagued by visions involving a coven of women who worship Satan. As her visions become increasingly disturbing, she remains unaware that her family lineage has put her at risk of a dangerous curse.
Rob Zombie is perhaps one of the most misunderstood American directors of all time by the popular and critical masses, but that doesn’t mean his films don’t have their shooters. Even among fans, The Lords of Salem is one of his more forgotten-about films, and it’s also his most stylistically different. Strange, experimental and visually stunning, The Lords of Salem is a unique, thoughtful horror film about the demons that lie dormant within us.
