More so than most other streaming platforms, Max boasts an eclectic lineup of films well worthy of viewers’ time and attention.
Between its access to companies like DC, TCM, Studio Ghibli, and A24, Max’s unending library of digital content has something for every casual viewer, regardless of if you’re in the mood for the latest superhero epic migrating from theaters or a Golden Age Hollywood musical from the 1940s or ‘50s.
Of course, with how many great movies there are within Max’s library, a decent number of films tend to fall outside audiences’ periphery. From chilling psychological horror films to comedic neo-noir mystery films, here are seven criminally underrated movies currently streaming on Max.
Utopia
More recently, director Jane Schoenbrun has made their long-awaited breakthrough with 2024’s exquisite psychological horror film, I Saw the TV Glow. As excellent as their later project turned out to be, it’s worth highlighting the key strengths of Schoenbrun’s work on their 2021 film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. A chilling coming-of-age horror film that tackles plenty of thought-provoking themes and issues, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is as smart as it is often terrifying, resulting in the kind of genuinely intelligent scary movie audiences rarely see anymore.
Gaumont
As with the aforementioned We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, anyone who hits play on 2009’s Splice is in for a certifiably wild ride. Weaving together a plot around the ethical dilemmas and logistic challenges of animal-human DNA splicing, Splice coasts along on its hauntingly effective premise, delivering a sci-fi thriller as thoroughly engaging as Jurassic Park, M3GAN, and Ex Machina rolled into one. Dark, twisted, and ceaselessly haunting from its opening chapter up to its disquieting closing sequence, it’s assuredly among the best, most underappreciated horror films of the past 20 years, adequately rivaling other notable genre films from A24 or Blumhouse.
HandMade Films
Few directors have maintained as vivid an imagination as Terry Gilliam. Graduating from Britain’s famed Monty Python comedy troupe, Gilliam quickly managed to pursue his own equally fascinating career as a solo filmmaker, his whimsical sense of creativity allowing him to think of such unwaveringly original projects as The Fisher King, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and 1981’s Time Bandits. With the latter film, Gilliam outfits a comedic sci-fi fantasy with a fittingly colorful overhaul, ensuring an unforgettable time travel narrative filled with buffoonish medieval bandits, mythological kings, insecure 19th century dictators, and the literal personification of evil attempting to recreate reality.
A24
Anyone who has seen his recent HBO series Fantasmas can likely attest to Julio Torres’ immense creativity as a director. Among the greatest surrealist storytellers since the glory days of David Lynch, Charlie Kaufman, and Monty Python, Torres has applied his unique imagination to practically all of his works, as seen with his immaculate 2023 feature-length debut, Problemista. Cobbling together a madcap plot filled with eccentric toy designers, unstable art critics, and increasingly odd Craiglists job offers, Problemista is a stupendous feast for the senses, tickling our brains like a random ASMR video played in the middle of the night.
Warner Bros.
Most people might have spent years looking for the ideal companion piece to 1998’s cult favorite The Big Lebowski. Thankfully, director Paul Thomas Anderson delivers the perfect successor to the Coens’ drug-fueled comedic romp with 2014’s Inherent Vice. A cannabis-laced neo-noir mystery as memorably odd and laugh-out-loud funny as The Big Lebowski, Inherent Vice is a delightful crime comedy that’s as endlessly rewatchable as it is eminently enjoyable.
Circle Films
Speaking of the Coen brothers’ work on The Big Lebowski, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the brothers’ very earliest effort with 1984’s Blood Simple. Among the most influential indie films of the 1980s, Blood Simple eloquently illustrates the Coens’ gift for strong dialogue, vivid characterization, and a plot twist-heavy narrative from a remarkably early age. Reinventing the hard-boiled detective story with their down-and-dirty low-budget aesthetic, the finished film feels like an unholy cross between a ‘40s thriller and a Southern Gothic tale by Faulkner or Cormac McCarthy.
Entertainment Film Distributors
Years before he was hunting down superheroes in Prime Video’s The Boys, Karl Urban was busy bringing one of the UK’s most famous comic book anti-heroes to life with 2012’s Dredd. Based on the popular 2000 AD comic Judge Dredd, Dredd offers a far more tense and violent portrayal of the traditional superhero genre, unfolding like a bloody cross between The Boys, Die Hard, The Raid, and Kill Bill. Between its crisp direction, explosive action, and immersive dystopian settings, it’s a post-apocalyptic epic on par with Mad Max or Snowpiercer – a considerable compliment in and of itself.
Between its access to companies like DC, TCM, Studio Ghibli, and A24, Max’s unending library of digital content has something for every casual viewer, regardless of if you’re in the mood for the latest superhero epic migrating from theaters or a Golden Age Hollywood musical from the 1940s or ‘50s.
Of course, with how many great movies there are within Max’s library, a decent number of films tend to fall outside audiences’ periphery. From chilling psychological horror films to comedic neo-noir mystery films, here are seven criminally underrated movies currently streaming on Max.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021)
Utopia
More recently, director Jane Schoenbrun has made their long-awaited breakthrough with 2024’s exquisite psychological horror film, I Saw the TV Glow. As excellent as their later project turned out to be, it’s worth highlighting the key strengths of Schoenbrun’s work on their 2021 film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. A chilling coming-of-age horror film that tackles plenty of thought-provoking themes and issues, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is as smart as it is often terrifying, resulting in the kind of genuinely intelligent scary movie audiences rarely see anymore.
Splice (2009)
Gaumont
As with the aforementioned We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, anyone who hits play on 2009’s Splice is in for a certifiably wild ride. Weaving together a plot around the ethical dilemmas and logistic challenges of animal-human DNA splicing, Splice coasts along on its hauntingly effective premise, delivering a sci-fi thriller as thoroughly engaging as Jurassic Park, M3GAN, and Ex Machina rolled into one. Dark, twisted, and ceaselessly haunting from its opening chapter up to its disquieting closing sequence, it’s assuredly among the best, most underappreciated horror films of the past 20 years, adequately rivaling other notable genre films from A24 or Blumhouse.
Time Bandits (1981)
HandMade Films
Few directors have maintained as vivid an imagination as Terry Gilliam. Graduating from Britain’s famed Monty Python comedy troupe, Gilliam quickly managed to pursue his own equally fascinating career as a solo filmmaker, his whimsical sense of creativity allowing him to think of such unwaveringly original projects as The Fisher King, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and 1981’s Time Bandits. With the latter film, Gilliam outfits a comedic sci-fi fantasy with a fittingly colorful overhaul, ensuring an unforgettable time travel narrative filled with buffoonish medieval bandits, mythological kings, insecure 19th century dictators, and the literal personification of evil attempting to recreate reality.
Problemista (2023)
A24
Anyone who has seen his recent HBO series Fantasmas can likely attest to Julio Torres’ immense creativity as a director. Among the greatest surrealist storytellers since the glory days of David Lynch, Charlie Kaufman, and Monty Python, Torres has applied his unique imagination to practically all of his works, as seen with his immaculate 2023 feature-length debut, Problemista. Cobbling together a madcap plot filled with eccentric toy designers, unstable art critics, and increasingly odd Craiglists job offers, Problemista is a stupendous feast for the senses, tickling our brains like a random ASMR video played in the middle of the night.
Inherent Vice (2014)
Warner Bros.
Most people might have spent years looking for the ideal companion piece to 1998’s cult favorite The Big Lebowski. Thankfully, director Paul Thomas Anderson delivers the perfect successor to the Coens’ drug-fueled comedic romp with 2014’s Inherent Vice. A cannabis-laced neo-noir mystery as memorably odd and laugh-out-loud funny as The Big Lebowski, Inherent Vice is a delightful crime comedy that’s as endlessly rewatchable as it is eminently enjoyable.
Blood Simple (1984)
Circle Films
Speaking of the Coen brothers’ work on The Big Lebowski, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the brothers’ very earliest effort with 1984’s Blood Simple. Among the most influential indie films of the 1980s, Blood Simple eloquently illustrates the Coens’ gift for strong dialogue, vivid characterization, and a plot twist-heavy narrative from a remarkably early age. Reinventing the hard-boiled detective story with their down-and-dirty low-budget aesthetic, the finished film feels like an unholy cross between a ‘40s thriller and a Southern Gothic tale by Faulkner or Cormac McCarthy.
Dredd (2012)
Entertainment Film Distributors
Years before he was hunting down superheroes in Prime Video’s The Boys, Karl Urban was busy bringing one of the UK’s most famous comic book anti-heroes to life with 2012’s Dredd. Based on the popular 2000 AD comic Judge Dredd, Dredd offers a far more tense and violent portrayal of the traditional superhero genre, unfolding like a bloody cross between The Boys, Die Hard, The Raid, and Kill Bill. Between its crisp direction, explosive action, and immersive dystopian settings, it’s a post-apocalyptic epic on par with Mad Max or Snowpiercer – a considerable compliment in and of itself.