20 underrated movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime to watch right now

For film fans who have exhausted the big hitters, and are looking for something a little different, summer is the ideal time to experiment and explore.

That classic Korean film you’ve been meaning to get around to watching for months? Stick it on. That ten-part historical documentary series you’ve always felt too intimidated to begin? Now that evenings are longer, and holidays need to be used up, there’s never been a better time to start.

To help you on your way, here is our pick of some of the underrated gems on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Snowpiercer – Lionsgate+ (Amazon Prime Video)

This high-concept thriller helped announce Parasite director Bong Joon-ho to a bigger Western audience. Snowpiercer follows a revolt onboard a train, which is carrying the last humans alive on earth in the aftermath of a second ice age. More from Bong Joon-Ho later (and for true Snowpiercer fans, there is also a Netflix TV series of the same name).

The Big Sick – Amazon Prime Video

This alternate take on the classic rom-com tells the story of Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) and Emily (Zoe Kazan), who must learn to deal with adversity and cultural contrasts following Emily’s shock health diagnosis. It’s beautiful, funny, moving and well worth your time.

The Half of It – Netflix

Really good coming-of-age stories are hard to come by, but Alice Wu’s 2020 comedy is one of them. Ellie Chu is a shy student who ends up helping the school “jock” Paul Munsky approach his crush, Aster Flores. But things get tricky when Chu starts fancying Flores too.

Argo – Amazon Prime Video

Ben Affleck’s nail-biting 2012 drama Argo is based on the true story of the 1979 kidnapping of 66 Americans from the Embassy of the United States of America in Tehran. In the film, a small group of undercover American spies enter Iran posed as filmmakers in order to track down and save a number of Americans who have escaped from the Iranian kidnappers, and who will likely be killed if they are found.

Argo won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013, so, sure, it wasn’t underrated when it was released. But now more than a decade later, this quality thriller is often forgotten about.

The Raid – Netflix

This 2011 Indonesian film is often heralded as one of the best action movies of the last 20 years by those in the know. Rama (Iko Uwais) and his special ops team are on a mission in an apartment block to take down crime leader Tama (Ray Sahetapy). But the plan goes wrong, and now Rama, who is leading a much smaller second team, must go and save his colleagues before Tama and his criminal gang kill them all.

Catherine Called Birdy – Amazon Prime Video

Lena Dunham’s period comedy stars the magnetic Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us) as feisty 14-year-old Lady Catherine, who spends her time scarring off potential suitors to the exasperation of her parents Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper) and Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott). It’s medieval England so, really, getting married off is the least Catherine can do to help her mum and dad.

Private Life – Netflix

Private Life is one of the few Hollywood movies of recent times that tackles the subject of middle-aged couples trying to have children. It’s sensitive and quietly devastating, featuring the best Paul Giamatti performance in years and a great turn from Kathryn Hahn.

Okja – Netflix

We told you Bong Joon-ho would be back. A genetically-enhanced super pig and a young girl form an unlikely and beautiful friendship in this gem, going head to head with a superfood conglomerate. This Netflix original was dismissed as vegan propaganda by some when it came out in 2017, but it’s so much more.

Blinded by the Light – Amazon Prime Video

A love letter to the songs of Bruce Springsteen, based on the memoirs of Sarfraz Manzoor and directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha, this movie is a coming-of-age tale that will resonate with most viewers – fans of the Boss, or not.

Annihilation – Netflix

This brilliantly weird high-concept sci-fi is one of the best original Netflix movies yet, following cellular biology professor Natalie Portman as she ventures deeper into a mysterious zone called the Shimmer. Think Heart of Darkness with added aliens.

Booksmart – Amazon Prime Video

Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart is an inspired comedy and coming-of-age movie, and one of the funniest films of 2019. Swots Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) head out for a night of partying, realising they’ve forgotten how to have fun during their high school studies.

The Two Popes – Netflix

Critics including the Standard’s Charlotte O’Sullivan tipped this two-hander drama for success at the Oscars a while back. It’s gone under the radar slightly since then, and might not have come out on top, but the performances from Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio respectively are electric.

Under the Skin – Amazon Prime Video

In Scarlett Johansson’s impressive, varied and sometimes controversial career, Under the Skin stands out as her strangest movie. Here she plays an alien life form who drives around Scotland in a van seducing men, only for them to meet terrifying, unexpected fates after visiting her apartment.

Atlantics – Netflix

This Cannes prize-winning debut from filmmaker Mati Diop tackles a challenging subject matter – the tragic deaths of migrants at sea – in a surprisingly life-affirming way, following a love story at the very edges of human capabilities.

Dolemite is my Name – Netflix

This Netflix drama is a real return to form for Eddie Murphy. Plenty of people were calling for him to be recognised during awards season for his performance as Rudy Ray Moore, the star of blaxploitation films in the Seventies. A truly brilliant watch.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape – Amazon Prime Video

This early Nineties cult classic follows Johnny Depp’s young shop clerk in small-town America, tasked with looking after his obese mother and mentally impaired younger brother. There’s also one of the first movie performances from Leonardo DiCaprio to look out for.

Blindspotting – Netflix

This uniquely styled comedy-drama follows a man with just days left on his sentence, whose future is thrown in doubt after witnessing a police shooting. It’s much funnier and quirkier than it sounds.

Cube – Amazon Prime Video

More high-concept sci-fi, this time in the form of an independent Canadian movie from the Nineties, where a group of friends find themselves trapped in a maze of cube-shaped rooms, all booby-trapped and not what they seem. It’s bonkers in the best way.

The Wife – Amazon Prime Video

Glenn Close was nominated for an Oscar for her towering performance in this subtle drama, playing a woman who questions everything after her self-obsessed husband receives the Nobel Prize.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya – Netflix

Netflix users are blessed with the Studio Ghibli back catalogue on demand. They’re all worth checking out, of course, but while the likes of My Neighbour Totoro get all the praise, 2013’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya features some of the studio’s most breathtaking animation and elegant storytelling, and is one of our top picks.