30 Criminally Overlooked Films

by EliHayes | created - 21 Sep 2013 | updated - 12 Oct 2013 | Public

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1. Sun Don't Shine (2012)

Not Rated | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

70 Metascore

A couple takes a tense and mysterious road trip through the desolate yet hauntingly beautiful landscape of central Florida.

Director: Amy Seimetz | Stars: Kate Lyn Sheil, Kentucker Audley, AJ Bowen, Kit Gwin

Votes: 1,225

2. Clean Slate (1981)

Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A pathetic police chief, humiliated by everyone around him, suddenly wants a clean slate in life - and resorts to drastic means to do so.

Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Marielle

Votes: 6,710

3. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

R | 112 min | Drama

91 Metascore

A bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.

Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Caerthan Banks, Tom McCamus

Votes: 36,716 | Gross: $3.25M

4. eXistenZ (1999)

R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

70 Metascore

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe

Votes: 107,104 | Gross: $2.84M

5. Everyone Else (2009)

Unrated | 119 min | Drama, Romance

71 Metascore

While on a Mediterranean vacation, a seemingly happy boyfriend and girlfriend find their connection to one another tested as they bond with another couple.

Director: Maren Ade | Stars: Lars Eidinger, Birgit Minichmayr, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Nicole Marischka

Votes: 4,028 | Gross: $0.10M

6. Last Ride (2009)

Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama

68 Metascore

A young boy travels across Australia with his father, who's wanted by the law for committing a violent crime.

Director: Glendyn Ivin | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Tom Russell, Anita Hegh, John Brumpton

Votes: 2,607 | Gross: $0.01M

7. Another Day in Paradise (1998)

R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

In the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong, leading to dissent, violence, and murder.

Director: Larry Clark | Stars: James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Vincent Kartheiser, Natasha Gregson Wagner

Votes: 9,199 | Gross: $1.03M

8. Goodbye, Children (1987)

PG | 104 min | Drama, War

88 Metascore

A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.

Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carré de Malberg

Votes: 36,097 | Gross: $4.54M

9. Man Bites Dog (1992)

NC-17 | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

A film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.

Directors: Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde | Stars: Benoît Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert, Nelly Pappaert, Hector Pappaert

Votes: 43,690 | Gross: $0.21M

10. Schizopolis (1996)

Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery

44 Metascore

Fletcher Munson, the lethargic employee of a pseudo-religious self help company, and his doppelganger, the friendly but dull dentist Dr. Jeffrey Korchek.

Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Steven Soderbergh, Scott Allen, Betsy Brantley, Marcus Lyle Brown

Votes: 6,049 | Gross: $0.01M

11. Frozen River (2008)

R | 97 min | Crime, Drama

82 Metascore

A mom looks for another source of income, when her husband leaves with the money meant for the new mobile home. A nearby Indian territory stretches across the border to Canada with a drivable frozen river between. Smuggling?

Director: Courtney Hunt | Stars: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe

Votes: 26,454 | Gross: $2.51M

12. Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011)

R | 83 min | Comedy, Drama

60 Metascore

Dispatched from his basement room on an errand for his widowed mother, slacker Jeff might discover his destiny (finally) when he spends the day with his unhappily married brother as he tracks his possibly adulterous wife.

Directors: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | Stars: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer, Susan Sarandon

Votes: 65,570 | Gross: $4.24M

13. Repo Man (1984)

R | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

82 Metascore

A young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.

Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash

Votes: 40,963 | Gross: $3.57M

14. Trust (1990)

R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

After being thrown out of her house, Maria encounters a married woman who complains of not having children. Maria ends up in an abandoned house, where she meets Matthew. When a baby is kidnapped Maria sets out to find the woman.

Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Adrienne Shelly, Martin Donovan, Rebecca Nelson, John MacKay

Votes: 12,307 | Gross: $0.36M

15. Nobody Knows (2004)

PG-13 | 141 min | Drama

88 Metascore

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu

Votes: 31,343 | Gross: $0.68M

16. Down by Law (1986)

R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

75 Metascore

Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.

Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi

Votes: 55,250 | Gross: $1.44M

17. Michael (II) (2011)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Thriller

64 Metascore

Five months in the life of a pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement.

Director: Markus Schleinzer | Stars: Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger, Christine Kain, Ursula Strauss

Votes: 5,111 | Gross: $0.02M

18. Red Road (2006)

Not Rated | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

73 Metascore

Jackie works as a CCTV operator. Each day she watches over a small part of the world, protecting the people living their lives under her gaze. One day a man appears on her monitor, a man she thought she would never see again, a man she never wanted to see again. Now she has no choice, she is compelled to confront him.

Director: Andrea Arnold | Stars: Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Natalie Press

Votes: 13,622 | Gross: $0.15M

19. Paid in Full (2002)

R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama

49 Metascore

A young man from Harlem, forced to cope with the 1980s drug scene, builds an illegal empire, only to have a crisis of conscience.

Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Wood Harris, Chi McBride, Kevin Carroll

Votes: 14,210 | Gross: $3.04M

20. The Trap (2007)

Not Rated | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A couple finds out their son urgently needs an expensive heart surgery. While struggling to find the money, the father is approached by a mysterious man proposing a sinister deal.

Director: Srdan Golubovic | Stars: Nebojsa Glogovac, Natasa Ninkovic, Anica Dobra, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic

Votes: 10,262

21. Snow Angels (I) (2007)

R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

67 Metascore

A drama that interweaves the life of a teenager, with his old baby sitter, her estranged husband, and their daughter.

Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Jeannetta Arnette

Votes: 13,150 | Gross: $0.40M

22. The Promise (1996)

Not Rated | 90 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Roger uses his son Igor to ruthlessly traffic and exploit undocumented immigrants. When one of the immigrants is killed, Igor is guilt-ridden and wants to care for the dead man's family against his father's orders.

Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Jean-Michel Balthazar

Votes: 8,534 | Gross: $0.45M

23. L.I.E. (2001)

R | 97 min | Crime, Drama

73 Metascore

A 15-year-old Long Island boy loses everything and everyone he knows, soon becoming involved in a relationship with a much older man.

Director: Michael Cuesta | Stars: Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Bruce Altman, Billy Kay

Votes: 10,443 | Gross: $1.14M

24. The Return (2003)

Not Rated | 110 min | Drama

82 Metascore

In the Russian wilderness, two brothers face a range of new, conflicting emotions when their father - a man they know only through a single photograph - resurfaces.

Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Nataliya Vdovina

Votes: 47,478 | Gross: $0.50M

25. Reprise (2006)

R | 105 min | Drama

79 Metascore

Fueled by literary aspirations and youthful exuberance, two competitive friends endure the pangs of love, depression, and burgeoning careers.

Director: Joachim Trier | Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman Høiner, Viktoria Winge, Odd-Magnus Williamson

Votes: 15,607 | Gross: $0.55M

26. The Double Life of Véronique (1991)

R | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music

86 Metascore

Two parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik

Votes: 52,903 | Gross: $2.00M

27. Naked (1993)

Not Rated | 131 min | Comedy, Drama

85 Metascore

An unemployed Mancunian vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.

Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell

Votes: 43,892 | Gross: $1.77M

28. Christiane F. (1981)

R | 138 min | Biography, Drama

A teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.

Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Natja Brunckhorst, Eberhard Auriga, Peggy Bussieck, Lothar Chamski

Votes: 29,342

29. Ratcatcher (1999)

Not Rated | 94 min | Drama

78 Metascore

A naïve young lad navigates the dirty squalid streets of 1973 Glasgow and the poor youth around him.

Director: Lynne Ramsay | Stars: Tommy Flanagan, Mandy Matthews, William Eadie, Michelle Stewart

Votes: 11,757 | Gross: $0.22M

30. Troubled Water (2008)

Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Music

A man convicted in his teens for killing a child is released on parole. He struggles to build a new life, but his past is uncovered.

Director: Erik Poppe | Stars: Pål Sverre Hagen, Trine Dyrholm, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Fredrik Grøndahl

Votes: 6,119



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