8 Hidden Gems from 2019

With 2019 behind us, it’s time to reflect on the wealth of movies that released over the last 12 months. Later this month, the GoodTrash team will be recording our thoughts on the best movies of 2019, and possibly the decade. (You can read some of my thoughts on the best of the decade here.)

But, I wanted to take a little time to talk about some of my favorite under-the-radar movies you might have missed or that nobody went to see. From studio releases to quiet indie releases, there were a lot of hidden gems dropping through the year.

It was a good year for genre stuff, especially sci-fi and horror. So, I want to highlight some of my favorite movies from the year that won’t crack my top 10. These are listed in no particular order.

8 Hidden Gems from 2019

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Watch on Amazon Prime

Based on a true story, Brittany Runs a Marathon is an inspirational story about one girl trying to get her life in order. After being told by her doctor that she’s obese, Brittany (Jillian Bell) decides to try and implement some healthy new life choices. When her goal becomes to run the New York City Marathon, Brittany realizes she’ll need to do a lot more than change her eating habits. Brittany Runs a Marathon is filled with heart and humor. As someone who has struggled with many of the same issues, it feels like an honest reflection of those struggles. Jillian Bell is great, and carries the movie well. She’s surrounded by a strong supporting cast, and it lands the emotional punch in the third act.

Tigers Are Not Afraid

Watch on Shudder

This Mexican horror-fantasy owes a lot to Guillermo Del Toro’s Mexican trilogy. Issa Lopez’s look at horror in the world of the cartel is a tragic fairy tale filled with ghosts and monsters. When the cartel takes her mother, Estrella is left alone. She stays at home after the cartel’s influence closes the school. After an eery spirit infiltrates her home, Estrella goes on the run and joins up with a group of young boys who have all lost families to the cartel. As Estrella tries to fit in, the kids must learn to survive together as human and supernatural forces seek them. Equally poignant and horrific, Tigers Are Not Afraid looks at the pain the cartels have caused through the lens of a dark fairy tale. Lopez paints a very real picture of the world, and overlays it with shadows and imagery that will leave you uneasy.

Fast Color

Watch on Hulu

If you love super hero stories, and regardless of your position on the MCU and DCEU, Fast Color should be on your list. This low-budget dystopian work is set in a near future where water is scarce. The film opens with Ruth (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) on the run from a mysterious figure. She has supernatural abilities that he wants to study. To escape, she returns to the last place that will take her—home. Fast Color feels tonally more in-line with Logan than anything in the MCU or DCEU. It opens with the same semi-futuristic appeal, but also tackles issues of familial relationships, power, and responsibility. While the budget is low, Julia Hart and her team do their best with it, bringing in a strong cast to navigate the simple script. It’s a story of healing, purpose, and love.

Gemini Man

Watch on Home Media Jan. 14

Y’all did Will Smith and Ang Lee dirty. While the storyline has been done a few too many times now, it features Will Smith’s best performance in a long time. Couple that with Ang Lee’s curiosity to try new techniques and technologies and you have the great curio of 2019. After getting double-crossed by the agency he’s served for years, Henry Brogan (Smith) must go on the defense against a younger assassin who reminds him eerily of himself. Lee’s spy thriller has a lot more heart and depth to it than you’d expect. It’s an exploration of a fading star who has to compete against an uncanny enemy of scientific design. The whole thing feels like a meta commentary on Smith’s on place in cinema with themes of digital filmmaking and CGI pervading the whole thing. I’m not the first to point this out, as I picked it up from critic Matt Singer. But, it feels like a very personal work for both men, and it deserves to be seen if for nothing else than the experiment that it is.

Doctor Sleep

Watch on Home Media Feb. 4 

Much like Smith and Lee above, Mike Flanagan and Ewan McGregor weren’t treated much better. To be fair, releasing Doctor Sleep after October seemed like a weird flex, but here we are. Flanagan is a big King fan and his adaptation of Gerald’s Game for Netflix was horrifying and hard to watch. His follow up, The Haunting of Hill House was one of the best series to release on Netflix. He’s great at tapping into familial trauma and using that to emotionally fuel his horror. Doctor Sleep is another great example of that. Picking up decades after the events of The Shining, troubled Dan Torrance must face the ghosts of his past when a new friend shows she also has the shine. Sadly, the movie flopped. But, it works great as a sequel to Kubrick’s original The Shining and an adaptation of the book of the same name. Read my full review here.

Happy Death Day 2U

Watch on HBO Go/Now

Happy Death Day is one of my favorite horror comedies as it makes great use of the Groundhog’s Day approach in a slasher trope. 2019’s Happy Death Day 2U picks up immediately after the events of the first film, and takes the story into new territories. Leaving the slasher behind, the sequel delves into time travel and time loops and pushes the scale of exactly what’s happening in this universe. The anchor for both films is Jessica Rothe’s pitch perfect performances in each entry. Her timing, humor, charisma, charm, and emotional range elevate both films to a higher plane than they probably should ever be on. You can read more about my thoughts here.

Brightburn

Watch on Home Media

Marketed as a dark take on Superman, Brightburn tells the story of an alien orphaned in a rural area, only to grow up and use his powers for evil. It’s a simple setup that does a lot right. The plotting of the narrative is streamlined and moves well. At time, the film leans into the campy b-movie playground Jame Gunn explored earlier with Slither. Gunn’s not directing here, but he is a producer, and his brother Brian and cousin Mark wrote the film. Director David Yarovesky doesn’t quite stick the landing, but Elizabeth Banks and David Denman (Roy from The Office) are great as the parents. Also, there is some superb gore and body horror. If you’re looking for a quick, easy watch, Brightburn is a lot of fun.

Crawl

Watch on Home Media

Look, Barry Pepper is one of our great actors, so I’m going to tout his work any chance I get. Crawl is as simple as it gets. There is an alligator in the house and the family is stuck. That’s it. That’s the movie. But, Alexandre Aja has a blast in this sandbox. A throwback to classic creature features, Crawl is filled with silly moments of Gators taking down people while raising the stakes for our main characters. The themes are simple, the thrills are fun. Go watch it. You won’t regret it. It’s supposed to be absurd, it’s supposed to be silly — Crawl knows exactly what it is, what it’s doing, and why it’s doing it.

There you have it. While everyone is getting wrapped up in the glitz and glamor of awards season, take some time to look back and enjoy the movies that aren’t going to be winning awards or even getting nominated. Pop some popcorn, kick back, and have some fun with some under-the-radar picks you might have missed.

Thanks for reading!