Martyn's Top Ten Underrated Films (Of All Time)

Published on September 2, 2009 by Martyn Conterio   ·   View Comments

Great movies sometimes do not hit it off with the audience upon first viewing. Not even the sublime Citizen Kane found much appreciation on its release in 1941, taking over twenty years and critical re-discovery in order for everybody to agree it was a pretty special movie.

Cult films are different (and this is not a list of cult movies) – those do tend to find an audience (usually people who become hardcore fans) allowing the film to become celebrated in alternative ways – as opposed to garnering a multitude of awards.

This is a list drawn up of films I consider under-rated; overlooked; not thought about; dismissed, and so forth. I am not suggesting they should be regaled as masterpieces anointed and placed in a cinematic pantheon of greatness.

Compiling lists is very tough and as this is limited to a mere ten films, some wonderful films did not make final cut. Please feel free to add your own comments and suggestions.

The Keep

(Michael Mann, 1983)

Back in the early 1980s, legendary auteur Michael Mann shot a horror film in North Wales. The Keep, based on a novel by F. Paul Wilson, is the tale of a dormant evil entity awakened when a Nazi unit take over occupation of a fortress in the Carpathian mountains.

As the bodies pile up, SS commander Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne) is sent to clear things up aided by a Jewish historian (Ian McKellen) who makes a pact with the monster in order to destroy the Nazis – without realising it intends to destroy the whole world!

As a horror film, it is not particularly scary or horrific. What makes the film so fantastic is the set design by John Box and its crazy atmosphere (aided with a soundtrack composed by Tangerine Dream).

Like all Michael Mann films The Keep is something unique and special. An art film masquerading as a genre piece. One is left thinking that Mann missed a trick in not making more horror films.

The Cable Guy

(Ben Stiller, 1996)

It is quite safe to say nobody expected Ben Stiller’s second feature to be so dark and impish. At the time, Jim Carrey was known for zany comedies employing his contorted, rubber-faced expressions and strange body movements in family-aimed movies. In The Cable Guy, Carrey plays a social misfit and stalker who just wants a friend to have dinner and go medieval jousting with…it’s not a lot to ask, is it?

Co-written by man-of-the-moment Judd Apatow, the film abounds with great scenes and dialogue making it endlessly quotable. Yes, its humour is pitch-black, and that is what makes it so funny.

Many found Carrey’s darker side off-putting, however, it did help pave the way for his occasional forays into serious acting. The Cable Guy, far from an expensive disaster, is one of the best comedies of the 1990s.

Forces of Nature

(Bronwen Hughes, 1999)

Back in the late 1999s, and with Hollywood at his feet, Ben Affleck dipped his toe into leading-man territory with Bronwen Hughes’ Forces of Nature. For a long time, Affleck wasted his talent on a plethora of films – culminating in the career wake-up call known as Gigli.

Forces of Nature is an unusual film despite its romantic-comedy set-up. It isn’t quirky…more strange: a big-budget, special-effects heavy venture featuring energetic camera work and a multitude of eccentric flourishes. Forces of Nature is a seriously stylish movie that looks great and helped by a funny, smart screenplay.

If Sandra Bullock occasionally overplays it, Affleck and Steve Zahn’s comedic delivery make up for it. It feels rather odd arguing for recognition of a Sandra Bullock romantic-comedy, yet I feel this film is one of her best, and Affleck’s too. A very likeable film.

The Fall

(Tarsem Singh, 2007)

Things did not start off well for director Tarsem Singh. Firstly, he likes to be simply known as Tarsem, which makes him sound very pretentious. Secondly, his debut effort was a Jennifer Lopez vehicle about a psychologist entering the mind of a serial killer in a coma. The Cell despite its ludicrous storyline was actually a visual-feast and it wasn’t long before Tarsem managed to match his luscious cinematic eye with a decent story.

The Fall, starring Lee Pace and possibly the greatest child actor ever: Catinca Untaru, was shot over 3 years and in 20 different countries. It is an exciting, albeit, sad tale of lost love and redemption interspersed with a fantastical inner-story of five warriors and an evil overlord. Packed full of exquisite, breathtaking photography; where Hollywood would use CGI, Tarsem shoots it for real: including an elephant swimming under water. Singh’s film is waiting to be re-discovered. There is nothing quite like it.

Repo! The Genetic Opera

(Darren Lyn Bouseman, 2008)

Directed by the man behind the Saw sequels and starring Paris Hilton, Repo! The Genetic Opera has all the hallmarks of a disastrous piece of cinema. It is not so. With its inventive storyline and industrial metal-style music numbers Bouseman’s gothic, futuristic musical is great. Featuring an eclectic cast – Alexa Vega, Anthony Stewart Head, Bill Moseley and Paul Sorvino included – the film is a blast. And lots of people sing (as they tend to do in operas).

In the future world setting of Repo! The Genetic Opera insurance companies deal in organ transplants and if payments are not kept up, surgeons come calling and remove them, leaving the person to die.

Its limited cinema run and buried DVD release (I was given a free copy by the distributor Lionsgate) means very few will probably have even heard of it. And the fact Paris Hilton stars as a plastic surgery-addicted pop star will certainly quell prospective audiences.

However, I can affirm Miss Hilton is pretty good. Her main number: Zydrate Anatomy rocks! Bouseman initially refused to cast her but was won over by her dedication and subsequent performance. Interestingly, Hilton was rehearsing for this film during her brief stint in gaol.

I have the vague suspicion Repo! The Genetic Opera could be destined for cult status one day. Right now, it is an underrated, invisible film…and that is a great shame.

The Ninth Gate

(Roman Polanski, 1999)

Roman Polanski’s much-touted return to the horror genre was not at all what critics or audiences expected. The Ninth Gate is a bizarre, comic tale of a rare-books collector Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) traipses around Europe searching for a mysterious tome that purportedly opens the gates of Hell. The film raises laughs more than hairs on the backs of necks.

Featuring some sublime comedic moments – including Depp’s Corso ripping off a stroke victim of a valuable book, and who can only tap a finger to demonstrate his outrage, or an elderly lady burning to death in a wheelchair – Polanski find laughs in the darkest of corners.

With a supporting cast including Frank Langella, Lena Olin and Emmanuelle Seigner: The Ninth Gate is a grand guignol horror-comedy, and needs to be viewed as such. Otherwise it just comes off as a disappointing.

A Simple Plan

(Sam Raimi, 1998)

Sam Raimi is a nice guy. I’ve had the good fortune to have met him once, and I kicked myself for not mentioning I am a big fan of his 1998 crime-thriller A Simple Plan.

Starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton as brothers who stumble across a vast and ill-gotten amount of money from inside a crashed plane whilst out hunting, Raimi’s twisted thriller ends in heartbreak and murder. Paxton and Thornton make a brilliant duo and the devastating finale ensures that even the hardest heart will be broken.

Toning down his trademark zany camera-style and instead focusing on an exploration of how money can corrupt good people, A Simple Plan is Raimi’s most grown-up feature.

Session 9

(Brad Anderson, 2001)

This is without a doubt one of the unsung movies in modern horror. It also has the honour of being early example of the capabilities and freedom given to directors employing digital cameras. With its small ensemble cast (including Peter Mullen and David Caruso) and Brad Anderson’s low-fi approach, Session 9 is so damn creepy it is close to unbearable.

The story is simplicity itself: A renovation firm is hired to take out asbestos from a disused mental asylum when one of them finds tape recordings discussing a former patient named Mary, who suffers from multiple personality disorder. Gordon (Peter Mullen) the finder of the tapes begins listening to them and becomes quite unhinged.

Anderson’s masterly film invokes unease and foreboding through its sound design and the creeping fear that all isn’t right with Gordon’s own mental state. Whilst such notions of a definitive interpretation of events is left up to the viewer, its inclinations towards the supernatural and the subtle ideas of demonic possession linger. And God, the voices on those tapes are spooky.

Summer of Sam

(Spike Lee, 1999)

Spike Lee joints have differing kinds of potency. There’s the great highs of Do The Right Thing and Clockers and the white-outs caused by efforts such as Girl 6 and Bamboozled. Using a specific period in New York’s history (the bloody reign of serial killer the Son of Sam) Lee rolls a perfect blunt.

The film often feels like the greatest Martin Scorsese film never made. And that is no criticism of Lee. With its great pop music montages, foul-mouthed dialogue and sprawling narrative Summer of Sam is one of Lee’s most enjoyable films. And for once, isn’t intent on delivering a self-satisfied sermon on urban life.

Featuring a cast of (then) bright young things: Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito and John Leguizamo, the film’s socio-political backdrop allows for the characters and their various troubles to take precedence. Whether it’s the story of punk-rock kid Ritchie (Brody) or Vinny the philandering hairdresser (Leguizamo): all become enshrouded and caught up in the late night shenanigans of David Berkowitz, the .44 Calibre killer.

Summer of Sam also features Lee’s best cameo appearance in any of his films as news reporter John Jeffries.

Alexander

(Oliver Stone, 2004)

I know a lot of people who detest Oliver Stone’s epic disaster-piece. One friend described it as “laughable”. Another said she was “horrified” watching it. However, despite its many, many flaws Alexander is very underrated. One feels it is too big for cinema to carry off. Stone is as mad and brave as they come but even he ultimately failed in his endeavour to make a film about Alexander the Great.

Despite all the craziness and bizarre directorial choices: including the cast’s Irish accents which amongst those who aren’t Irish (namely everybody bar Colin Farrell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers) disappear and reappear during any given scene (the biggest offender is Val Kilmer).

The battle scenes in this film are mind-blowing. One can only imagine the force and strength of all involved to make it look so painstakingly authentic. Add to this Rodrigo Prieto’s sumptuous cinematography and the costume designs of Jenny Beavan.

Why anybody of sound mind would give close to 200 million dollars to somebody as un-commercial and controversial as Oliver Stone is beyond comprehension. Somebody did. And they are to be commended.

Alexander and its subsequent re-edits, released on DVD these past few years, highlight cinema at its most visionary, brave, chaotic and perilous.

Tags: top ten, underrated films

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