Last year, folks in the US spent $11 billion going to the movies. Yet the bulk of those people, and those dollars, went to the mega-blockbusters—the Panthers, the Venoms, the Avengerseseses. Even though indies are getting a renaissance thanks to streaming services, there's just not the same thriving middle-class that there was in decades past, and a ton of legitimately great films still don't get in front of as many eyeballs as they should. So, fine, you let some smaller gems slip by; now's your chance to make things right. Got a few free evenings over the holidays? Queue up these 2018 unsung heroes first.
[#video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/3uGIEY7tdg8 Amazon Studios' art-house horror flick did modestly well in its small theatrical run, but limited distribution meant it didn't get the attention it deserved. Directed by Call Me By Your Name's Luca Guadagnino, the film is, on the surface, a remake of Dario Argento's horror classic of the same name. But it's also much, much more than that. (Star Tilda Swinton, who actually plays a few roles in the film, went so far as to refer to it as a cover version of Argento's original.) Beautifully shot, with an appropriately haunting performance by Dakota Johnson, this Suspiria goes beyond the tale of a witch-run dance school by digging its nails into the many ways the past will forever haunt us. It's not for everybody, but if you have an itch for something truly gruesome and mind-bending, this'll scratch it. —Angela Watercutter
[#video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/hCF5Y8dQpR4 Here's a sentence I never imagined myself writing in 2018: Ethan Hawke gave one of the best performances of the year. It's not that I didn't think he was capable; I just didn't see him showing up in a dark eco-conscious Paul Schrader film wherein he plays an alcoholic priest trying to keep his sanity and his congregation together. And yet, here we are. Moody, existential and even a little bit ethereal, First Reformed is one of the year's craziest headtrips—right down to the ohshitwhatthefuck? ending. It got a very limited theatrical run but has been playing free to Amazon Prime subscribers for a while now (as well as Kanopy). If you happen to be one—or even if you're not—go watch it immediately. —A.W.
I truly thought that nothing could top Suspiria for the most haunting final moments of any film in 2018. I was wrong. Director Yorgos Lanthimos' film about the love/hate triangle between Queen Anne of England (Olivia Colman) and her companions Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) ended on a note so unsettling, I'm still not done processing it weeks later. (I won't spoil it, but I will say I'll never look at rabbits the same way ever again.) Much like with his film The Lobster, Lanthimos' latest lands somewhere in the gaps between drama and farce. It is, instead, a crooked glance at humanity's relationship to power—the things people do to get close to it, to claim it, and to throw it away. In Lanthimos' askew version of history, when Sarah's relationship with the Queen is threatened by the arrival of her cousin Abigail, she does what she feels she must do to wrest back control and steer Queen Anne's War to her liking. Anne, sensing the manipulation, grows closer to Abigail, only to realize her intentions might not be much better. It's an unparalleled study in the utter lack of trust that accompanies being in charge, in the dread that comes with knowing those who seek your favor may never have pure intentions. It's as bleak as it is laughable—and one of the most wonderfully weird tales to hit the screen this year. —A.W.
[#video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/89OP78l9oF0 Director Alex Garland's adaptation of the first book of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy was easily one of the best dystopia films of 2018. It was also one of the year's finest specimens of female badassery, featuring Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, and Jennifer Jason Leigh as a team sent on a expedition to find out why nature's rules seem not to apply in the mysterious, government-protected space known as Area X. Haunting, unpredictable, and science-y (someone turns into a plant!), it was a whirlwind head trip—and a weird examination of what it means to exist. —A.W.
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