20 Hidden Gem Movies to Catch Up on This Weekend

You may have noticed a somewhat recent rise in free streaming services. My favorite being Tubi, but a close second is Amazon's Freevi. In fact, Freevi currently has better movies than Prime Video or really even Netflix for that matter. In this video, we're gonna talk about 20 drastically underrated movies that you can currently catch for free on Freevi. AG1 by Athletic Greens sponsored this video, but I'll tell you more about them later in the video. Right now, I wanna start with my number 20 pick, which is an understated sci-fi flick from 2014 that actually stars Nicholas Hoult, Michael Shannon, and Elle Fanning in Young Ones. This takes place in a dystopian future, very barren, almost dust bowl type of a future. Water is extremely scarce, and that's basically the only setup you need for this one. There's a bit of a star-crossed lovers theme that carries on through this, and quite a bit of family stuff. This one is a little bit slow paced for a dystopian sci-fi movie, but it does have a good story at its core, and is actually a pretty beautiful movie as well. As I said, the sci-fi elements here are fairly understated, but if you generally like this type of genre, then Young Ones is actually kind of a standout. I don't want any more lies. What else is going on? I'm just asking. Now, my number 19 pick is a gothic flick that's actually based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and it stars Kate Beckinsale, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Sir Michael Caine. Now, if you're not familiar with the original Edgar Allan Poe story, it's best that I tell you very little about this movie, but I can tell you, if you loved Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, then I think there's a lot to enjoy with Stonehurst Asylum. There's a lot of similar themes. The production is not nearly at the same level of a Martin Scorsese movie, but it's a solid movie for a straight-to-streaming thing, and there's a bit of a magic trick that this story plays, and the way that this movie was ultimately executed and directed actually delivers it quite well, in my opinion. All games must end. My number 18 pick has a big star in it, and only one star. It's Ryan Reynolds, and he's the only actor on screen in Buried. Calling the Conroy. We're not home right now. We have a domestic after the beach. Now, this is obviously a low-budget flick. He spends the entire movie trapped inside of a box. Think that scene from Kill Bill Vol. 2, if it were an entire movie. The thing that's so cool about Buried, though, is it actually works. The way that this one was directed and paced out, there's quite a bit of flow, considering you literally don't get to leave the confines of this box. It's not really an opportunity for Ryan Reynolds to be his normal, charming, charismatic self, but he still does a great job of keeping this thing moving and keeping the audience engaged. If you like fast-paced thrillers and don't mind one that stays in one place for the duration, then Buried is gonna be a great option for you. Now, we've got 17 more movies on this list, but it's a good time to mention that these movies are not available in every single country around the world. They're available in the United States right now and will be available in different countries at different times and on different streaming services. But don't worry. Down in the top-pinned comment below, I always put the full list of all the movies we discuss, and in this video in particular, I've also listed out where you can stream these titles in Canada, the UK, and Australia. So be sure to check out that top-pinned comment in order to figure out where to watch these movies in your location. This cyberpunk flick depicts a future where humans are interacting with robots and there are rules in place. Robots aren't allowed to hurt humans. They're not allowed to upgrade themselves. Antonio Banderas and Dylan McDermott are both sort of tasked with keeping all these robots in line. They're essentially what Blade Runners are, and Blade Runner, except this future, is fairly different. And for an under-the-radar movie that I know a lot of you haven't seen, this movie has an incredible production value. Antonio Banderas is always good, but Dylan McDermott actually really stands out in this movie as a villain. He's fantastic in it. So if you want to watch some sci-fi after this video, I highly recommend checking out Automata first. And if you like it, then Young Ones would actually make a pretty killer double feature. All right, it's time we have some comedy on the list. Long-time subscribers know I don't talk about comedies very often because I find most of them to be pretty disposable, meaning a lot of them can be okay for one watch, but it's kind of the exception to the rule when a comedy is really solid and well worth watching multiple times. My next pick, basically being one of those comedies, Take Me Home Tonight. And we'll have a bottle of chilled wet Zen. Hold it. Now this does take place in the 80s. I will say has a killer 80s soundtrack. I'm surprised they were able to get some of the songs they got in this movie, but this is a cocaine-fueled night of partying that does have some wholesome storytelling elements, but this is a rated R comedy. Any of you watching who have ever been fans of Angie Everhart, this is gonna be the movie off the list for you. Just trust me on that one. But this does have some cliche 80s elements in it, yet they're all delivered really well and they have a lot of fun with it. In typical fashion, there's like a romance thread that actually carries through really well and helps kind of elevate this movie, but there's also some really raunchy comedy that is not just dirty, it's actually just really funny too. Now I've already said that all these movies are highly underrated, and my next pick I think is one of the most underrated and underappreciated vampire movies released in the past 20 years or so, Daybreakers. We're the folks with the crossbows. Now this movie depicts a future where vampires have essentially replaced humans. They've fed on them enough that most of the population of Earth is vampires and there's very little humans left. But because there's very little left, the blood supply is running low, essentially the food supply. Ethan Hawke plays an incredible character in this one. He is one of the vampires as most of the main characters are, but you also get a great role from Willem Dafoe in this. And for a vampire action flick, this movie is visually stunning. I mean, it can be a little too dark at times, but for the most part, as you can tell from some of the footage I'm showing you, it's a really stunner of a movie and it's got a solid story that carries all the way through. I consider this one to actually be fairly rewatchable as well. But if you like your horror and your comedy to mix, then one of the more underrated horror comedies I think I've ever seen, in fact, I never see it available on streaming, almost never, is Bubba Hotep starring Bruce Campbell. He was after my soul. Now you can get that out of any major orifice of a person's body. I read about it. Oh yeah, it were, man, that's what. Now obviously Bruce Campbell's most famous from the Evil Dead series and this movie kind of falls in line with those. Or at least this is an homage to the Evil Dead movies. It's not nearly as gross. In fact, it's campier and surprisingly fun. Bruce actually plays an old man in a retirement home who believes he is Elvis. His best buddy in the home thinks he's JFK. President Kennedy was a white man. They dyed me this color. But then they begin to be haunted by this Egyptian mummy and the hijinks just sort of take off from there. If any of that sounds appealing to you, Bubba Hotep is a total gem that is not to be missed. If you find you really haven't gotten into this genre, sort of the campy, funny horror movies, then Bubba Hotep is a great place to start. Don't make me use my stuff on you, baby. Now probably the most sort of mainstream movie on this list or at least the most, I hate to even say mediocre, actually has some big stars in it, including Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey in Two for the Money. This movie's actually about sports betting or at least sports betting gone awry. It's not quite a thriller, but it is high drama and it's got some great twists and turns in it. Obviously, you've got two killer actors helping to carry the thing. But this is just one that kind of got forgotten with time despite it being a solid flick with some solid performances. Now, if you're looking for just true blue horror, I mean, something that's really gonna give you the willies, then I recommend checking out the South Korean flick, The Wailing. Now I do have one other movie from South Korea on this list, but I should tell you that Amazon, which includes freebie, does not bother having dubbed versions. I think they should. I know some people have trouble seeing subtitles or keeping up with them. Sorry, you're out of luck on my foreign picks on this list, which is why I have so few, but The Wailing, my goodness. When the people of this small village begin coming down with these terrible sicknesses, these mysterious sicknesses, a police detective actually has to solve this mystery before it kills his daughter. It's wild stuff. This has some dark elements to it, but it is just a solid flick from South Korea. Now, in unusual fashion, I've only really featured one action movie on this list so far, Daybreakers, and that's hardly an action movie. But my next pick is a balls-to-the-wall action, actually stars Daniel Radcliffe in Guns Akimbo. When the ---- goes down, you better be ready. You better be ready! Right, yeah, eh. Now this is just a blast of a movie. It is rated R action. Daniel Radcliffe does an amazing job. He actually wakes up one day with these two guns bolted to his hands. He cannot remove them. They've got sort of like an auto-reload feature. It doesn't make a whole lot of practical sense, but it makes for a wild, fun movie. He spends most of the time running around in his robe and slippers, kind of like Edward Norton at the end of Fight Club. And then on top of how fun all of that is, you've got Samara Weaving, who is one of my favorite actors working today. I think she's one of the most charismatic people who's still not quite a big movie star. She is a maniac in this movie, and it is so fun to watch. This is a great one. Even though this has some dark elements, you can have a lot of fun with it if you generally like these wild, over-the-top action movies. Again, Guns Akimbo is a great one. Now before moving on with the top 10 movies on this list, which I'm telling you, there's some bangers, I do want to tell you about today's sponsor, AG1 by Athletic Greens. Now, longtime subscribers, and I'm talking people who have been subscribed to me for years, have probably noticed I'm in better shape than I used to be. I mean, I used to just be shaped like a ball of dough with arms and legs. But just by exercising for 20 minutes or so, three or four times a week, I've gotten into the best shape of my life. I mean, honestly, I was not nearly this good of shape in high school. 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So again, go to my link in the video description and you're gonna get that extra free gift on top of all that great stuff. It really is an easy, convenient way to add those minerals and vitamins to your diet. I love it. But speaking of things I love, let's talk about the top 10 movies on this list. Before Michael Fassbender became a household name, he starred in one of the most underrated horror movies I've ever seen, Eden Lake. In this movie, a young couple are out on a vacation at a lake where they ask a group of young folks to keep the volume down. And there are some dire consequences to telling them to keep the volume down. Jack O'Connell actually plays the ringleader of these kids and he plays a fantastic villain in this movie. He would actually become a much bigger star not long after this movie as well. And the thing about Eden Lake is there's no real supernatural elements, nothing too weird, other than the fact that these kids are just relentlessly torturing these people. It's awful stuff, yet it does feel like something that could happen, which makes it a terrifying prospect. It also happens to be really well-directed. I mean, the tension winds up in really fantastic ways in Eden Lake. If you haven't seen it and you don't mind some grim subject matter, then Eden Lake, again, is just a killer horror flick. Now, speaking of killers, Michael Shannon starred in my number 20 pick. He also starred in my next pick as a killer, The Iceman. Now, this is actually based on the true story of a, not mob enforcer, but a hitman for the mob known as The Iceman. He was called The Iceman because he would dismember the bodies, freeze them, and then bury them all over New York, much later making it impossible for the police to forensically figure out what happened. And Michael Shannon is a top-tier actor. I mean, at the top, and he's doing some of his best work in this movie. But you've actually got Chris Evans playing a really interesting character. Ever since he became Captain America, he kind of plays similar characters a lot, and he stands out in The Iceman in particular. If you love mob movies like I do, I mean, Goodfellas is my all-time favorite movie. You need to watch The Iceman, and there's no better time than right now when it's free on Freebie, which, by the way, I didn't mention this. You can watch Freebie movies without even creating an account. You don't have to have an Amazon account. Just use the Freebie app, and you can literally start watching these right away. They do have ad breaks in them, but they're free movies, and the ad breaks are way shorter and farther apart than they used to be on cable. They've even got the Norman McDonald classic, Dirty Work. Hey, hey, that's my shirt. Ah! Here, here you go. Oh, no, no, that's all right. I was talking to somebody else that's different than you. If you're a fan of his in any kind of way, this is just a must-watch movie, even if you've seen it. I consider it to be highly rewatchable. It is surprisingly raunchy for a PG-13 comedy, but it's classic Norman McDonald stuff. Artie Lange is fantastic. He was supposed to keep driving. I mean, Chris Farley plays a hilarious character in this. Now, I have to kneel before me! Don Rickles. Did you get a horse and live in the mountains someplace? Don't bother anybody. Chevy Chase. The list goes on, and it's just perfect Norman McDonald humor. I know it can be childish and not for everybody, but it is definitely for me. You fellas have a lot of growing up to do, I'll tell you that. Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. I said I had another movie from South Korea on the list, and it is the last foreign language movie on this list, but it is a gangster crime movie that I have really enjoyed for years, and I've never seen it available on a streaming service that I could recommend to you. This one is titled Believer. Now, this is a glossy cinematic movie with this incredible cinematography, and you follow a undercover police detective who's trying to bring down a big crime boss and actually partners up with some gangsters to do it. Now, the movie is a bit far-fetched. It's not like it's based on a true story, and it's not like it quite feels like reality. Rather, it's kind of ramped up. The villains are extra evil. There is a woman who is like the concubine of the bad guy in this movie that is acting on another level. I love everything she did in this movie. It's a shame she's not in it more, but that's the kind of stuff you get with Believer. Really interesting scenes that are well-crafted, they're beautiful, and they kept me on the edge of my seat. I'm a sucker for this genre, and while this isn't necessarily one of the best movies in this genre, I've even seen from South Korea, it's one of the coolest and kind of most exciting. It's been a while since I've been this excited to share a movie with my audience. I mean, I'm always excited, if you can't tell, but Believer is something special, and hopefully some of you actually watch it, even though I know you're gonna have to read subtitles for this one. Now, my next pick is technically a foreign flick, but it comes from Australia. It's titled Sweet Country. Now, this takes place in the 1920s and feels very much like an American Western, and in this movie, an old aboriginal man shoots a white man in self-defense and then has to go on the run. A posse goes out after him, and it is just dynamite stuff. Now, it's not an electric movie. In fact, it's kind of slow-paced, but beautiful cinematography, mainly because they're just in beautiful parts of Australia during this moving, but anyone watching this that has an affinity for Westerns, this is gonna be one of the best picks off of this list for you. Trust me. Now, my number five pick is probably the most well-known movie on this list, yet it made the list because I still consider Stir of Echoes to be highly underrated. Whatever door you open in my mind, I want you to shut up, shut up, shut up. Now, this movie was released in theaters in the late 90s on the heels of The Sixth Sense, and while it did not have the cultural impact that The Sixth Sense had at the time, I do think Stir of Echoes actually holds up better over time. Now, in this movie, Kevin Bacon plays a man who agrees to be hypnotized at a late-night party, and after that, he begins receiving visions and messages, and he's not sure what's happening, and that's what's so great about Stir of Echoes is it keeps the viewer in the dark through the duration, yet Kevin Bacon's character gets up to some wild shenanigans, and this movie is technically a horror movie, but if you generally find yourself getting scared, there's not anything too terrifying with this movie. It really is much more of a gothic mystery story with a few jump scares, but again, nothing that's gonna haunt your dreams, and then my number four pick was actually a big theatrical action release during the pandemic, and I'm honestly surprised to see that people seem to have forgotten about this movie already, despite the fact that Bob Odenkirk absolutely killed it in Nobody. Me? I'm nobody. In this movie, Odenkirk plays your average nobody who actually used to be a CIA auditor, basically think a John Wick level of an assassin, yet he lives with his family out in the suburbs until some shifty characters come knocking one night. Now, the thing that's so cool about Nobody is the gimmick makes sense just right from the trailer, yet the way they delivered it was by actually putting Bob Odenkirk from Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad through rigorous training, gun training, fighting, everything, so you're actually seeing the real Bob Odenkirk pulling off some incredible stunts in this movie, and not only is that just kinda cool to know, but it looks great on camera. It actually elevates the action in a fantastic way, making this more than just an action comedy. If you love stunt movies the way I do, I go on about them all the time on this channel, Nobody is one of the better ones to have been released in recent memory. My next pick also got a pretty decent theatrical release during the pandemic, but just was sorely overlooked by people who I know would have loved Let Him Go. This stars Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, and I'll say, if you're a fan of Costner and Yellowstone, then you're gonna wanna check this movie out, but even if you're not, this too feels kind of like an old-fashioned Western, except it kinda takes place in the mid-century, but Costner and Lane play a couple of grandparents in this movie, and after their son dies, which is like the first two minutes of the movie, their daughter-in-law and grandson end up moving in with a nefarious family, and the movie just gets really surprisingly dark. They decide it's a terrible place for their grandson to grow up. Not only do they want him back, but they're willing to do almost anything to get him back. Again, this goes into some dark places, but has some incredible performances in it. I mean, some scenery-chewing performances, but kind of in the best way possible. It's high drama stuff. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, which is why it's ranked so high on this list. Don't start what you can't finish. Now, there's been several on this list that I've warned you are dark, but probably one of the darkest, and not just darkest, but most drab, melancholy, whenever negative words first come to mind. This next movie embodies all of it, but I ranked it number two because it embodies all that stuff beautifully in the road. Now, this is one of the best post-apocalyptic movies ever made, or at least one of the best depictions of what the world might look like. There's a lot of different visions of that future, and there's something about the road that just feels way, way too close to home. Now, this is based on a famous book by Cormac McCarthy, which I've actually read in the movies, quite different, but still did a great job of capturing the overall tone. This is actually from director John Hillcoat, who also did the proposition, an amazing Australian-Western flick, and I consider the road to be his second-best movie right behind the proposition. It's so good, in fact, any time I've gone back and revisited this one, which is hard to do because it is so grim, I forget how good the movie actually is. There's some real standout moments in it, and again, it just gets its hooks in you in this incredibly effective way. And then my number one pick, apologies, it's been a number one pick before, but I absolutely love Wind River. Luck don't live out here. Yellowstone fans, again, this is actually written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who is the creator of Yellowstone, so there's some similar themes. This actually takes place on a Wyoming reservation where a young Native American woman is killed, and an FBI agent, actually played by Elizabeth Olsen, has to investigate the murder. Jeremy Renner plays a wildlife officer who gets wrapped up in the case as well, but this is just a solid neo-noir mystery flick. Now, obviously, they're investigating a murder, which is upsetting enough, but there are other elements to this movie that are incredibly upsetting and honestly make it not very rewatchable for me. That said, it's still such a solid movie. I put it at my number one spot. Honestly, this is better than most things currently available on Netflix and Prime Video, and you can catch it for free on Freebie. Thanks again to AG1 for sponsoring another video. Don't forget to check out their link in the description below, but I will keep making these videos as long as you keep watching them. Thanks for checking out this special Freebie episode, and you will see me on the next one.