18 Great Overlooked Films Of 2018

So what makes for a great overlooked film, or a hidden gem as I like to call them? For me, it's simple. Any movie that resonated with me, that I found some connection with, and feel others will find a similar connection if they give it a chance. As with any year, there are so many movies that it's easy for a lot of great ones to simply fly under the radar. Fantastic performances go unnoticed, unique storylines sit waiting to be discovered (or copied), and as usual I struggled to find just 15 to put down here.

That's why I cheated and made it 18. Not that it's cheating when it's my list, right?

I went with films that surprised me with their spirit, like the Kodi Smit-Mcphee survival thriller Alpha, or spoke my language politically like The Oath did. Some of these movies spoke to my baser instincts, as the giallo-inspired Let the Corpses Tan did,  while Ibiza put both of my favorite actresses together for a silly international comedy. And that Brett Haley; I think he has a movie on my list every single year. There's a lot of good to be found in each of these movies, so check 'em out below and then check 'em out at home!

And when you're done, be sure to follow all of our end of the year coverage here!

The Mercy (review)
Director: James Marsh
Cast: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Simon McBurney



Jonathan (review)
Director: Bill Oliver
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Suki Waterhouse, Patricia  Clarkson, Matt Bomer



The Oath (review)
Director: Ike Barinholtz
Cast: Ike Barinholtz, Tiffany Haddish, John Cho, Billy Magnussen, Carrie Brownstein



Final Score (review)
Director: Scott Mann
Cast: Dave Bautista, Pierce Brosnan



Let the Corpses Tan (review)
Directors: Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani



Alpha (review)
Director: Albert Hughes
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee,  Johannes Haukur Johannesson



Night Comes On (review)
Director: Jordana Spiro
Cast: Dominique Fishback, Tatum Marilyn Hall



Hearts Beat Loud (review)
Director: Brett Haley
Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Blythe Danner, Sasha Lane, Toni Collette, Ted Danson



Ibiza 
Director: Alex Richanbach
Cast: Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Phoebe Robinson, Richard Madden



Revenge (review)
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Cast: Matilda Lutz



Marrowbone (review)
Director: Matthew Stagg
Cast: George MacKay, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Mia Goth



I Kill Giants (review)
Director: Anders Walter
Cast: Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Zoe Saldana, Sydney Wade



Thoroughbreds (review)
Director: Cory Finley
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin



Monsters and Men (review)
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Cast: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Rob Morgan



Assassination Nation (review)
Director: Sam Levinson
Cast: Suki Waterhouse, Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Abra, Joel McHale, Bill Skarsgard, Bella Thorne



Mom and Dad (review)
Director: Brian Taylor
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Zackary Arthur



Kickboxer: Retaliation (review)
Director: Dmitri Logothetis
Cast: Alain Moussi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mike Tyson, Christopher Lambert



Never Goin' Back
Director: Augustine Frizzell
Cast: Maia Mitchell, Camila Morrone, Kyle Mooney

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'Never Goin' Back' Trailer: 'Spring Breakers' Meets 'The Florida Project' In This Raunchy Comedy

If Girls Trip taught us anything it's that the ladies can be just as vulgar and juvenile as any man, if not more so. First time director Augustine Frizzell took that idea and ran with it in Never Goin' Back, a filthy comedy led by rising stars Maia Mitchell and Camila Morrone. A24 swooped in and picked up the rights after it made a splash at Sundance and SXSW, and now we're getting a look at what may be the comedy of the summer.

The premise for this one is simple. Mitchell and Morrone play Angela and Jessie, two wildly irresponsible high school dropouts who just want to put their lousy waitressing job behind them so they can spend the summer on the beach getting high. And that's pretty much the whole movie based on this trailer, which is perfectly okay with me.

At first glance it looks like a combination of Spring Breakers and The Florida Project, which may explain what A24 saw in it, too. They found a lot of mainstream success with both of those movies and I think Never Goin' Back has the same kind of potential.

You may recognize Mitchell from her leading role on The Fosters, but this looks like quite the change of pace for her. She'll have another summer film in a few months with Hot Summer Nights opposite Timothee Chalamet. Morrone is even more under the radar but you might recognize the name of her stepfather: Al Pacino.  She had a small role as Bruce Willis' daughter in Death Wish.

Also starring Kyle Mooney and Joel Allen, Never Goin' Back opens August 3rd.

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