Amazon Prime Video is home to thousands of moviesand they recently made a handful of them completely free to stream with ads. Some of these are big, memorable films like Oscar nomineesHacksaw Ridgeandiconic classics likeThe Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. While those are great to rewatch,the real fun is in finding overlooked movies.
Thefilms that might have bombed at the box office, weren’t liked by critics, or didn’t get the proper viewership they deserved when they were initially released. These are also movies that you might not have checked out because it can be pricey to give an overlooked film a chance.
However,the fact that these are all now available to stream for free makes it the ideal time to watch them.These movies deserve an opportunity to impress you and there’s no better price than free to give them that chance.
Every so often, a movie comes out that seems like it should be a commercial hit, yet totally misses the mark.In 2018, that film wasHotel Artemis,which had two important aspects needed to succeed. It featured a cool premise and had a loaded cast.
That premise centered on ahospital designed for criminals being overrun by assassins, thieves, and more during a riot in Los Angeles. Seeing all these unsavory characters come together made for some truly engaging scenes but it was all brought together so well by the talent level in the film.
The cast of criminals includes Dave Bautista, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, and more.
The hospital was run by a nurse played by Jodie Foster but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.The cast of criminals includes Dave Bautista, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, and more.
Alas, despite all that, the film couldn’t even gross back its small budget of $15 million.Though it bombed, critics were a bit nicer, giving it mixed reviews.The main criticism was that it’s kind of just wacky futuristic violence, yet sometimes that’s all someone is looking for in a movie, making it a good time.
WhileHotel Artemiswas a star-studded action movie,Waiting…is the same kind of thing, set in the comedy world.Ryan Reynolds is the most recognizable face in the castbut it also features Anna Faris, Justin Long, Alanna Ubach, David Koechner, and Luis Guzman, just to name a few.
The story takes place across a single day at a franchise restaurant and deals with the antics that the crew gets into.
That means dealing with rude customers, how the food is made, and issues with the higher-ups, all while bonding.It’s something of a cult classic,yet it has still been overlooked by many.
Waiting…received negative reviews upon release, yet there’s something fun about going back to watch it. Sure, the film can be foul and gross at times but that’s part of why it works.There’s just something enjoyable about watching all these hilarious actors before they had their big breakouts.
Upon release,The Rules of Attractionwas kind of just a movie that came and went while making little to no impact.It did well enough for its small budget but that’s really it. However, the movie has become something more in the two decades plus since it arrived and is now a cult classic.
The Rules of Attractionis based on Bret Easton Ellis’s novel of the same name from 1987 and focuses on three college students in Canada in the midst of a love triangle.There’s drug dealer Sean (James Van Der Beek), virgin Lauren (Shannyn Sossamon), and Lauren’s bisexual ex-boyfriend Paul (Ian Somerhalder).
The author praised the adaptation even if critics didn’t love it, and the supporting cast is also noteworthy, featuring the likes of Jessica Biel and Kate Bosworth.
LGBTQ+ stories were still not told all that often back in the early 2000s, leading to this standing out a bit once people picked up on it.The author praised the adaptation even if critics didn’t love it, and the supporting cast is also noteworthy, featuring the likes of Jessica Biel and Kate Bosworth.
Far too many movies that were released during the COVID-19 pandemic were unjustly overlooked as people weren’t going to theaters.Among those films wasQueenpins, the wild comedy that tells the almost unbelievabletrue story of a group of women who ran a multimillion-dollar coupon scam.
On its own, the absurd tale is enough to make for an intriguing movie.The thing that takesQueenpinsover the top is how fantastic the cast is at bringing this to life.Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who co-starred inThe Good Placefor a few years, are great as the lead actors and their chemistry shines through.
Just as funny is watching Paul Walter Hauser and Vince Vaughn as a mismatched pairing who are investigating the girls' scheme. This was another movie that received only mixed reviews from critics, yet the Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter sits at 82%, showing that casual viewers really enjoyed it.
The heist movie genre is one filled with thrills and classic movies, meaning that it takes something truly interesting to stand out.Man on a Ledgehad the perfect kind of twist on the formula to do just that, asit follows a man who threatens to jump off a building to distract officers as a heist goes down.
Sam Worthington, a few years removed from starring in the blockbusterAvatar, played the titular man on the ledge and he stands out there in an attempt to clear his name of a diamond heist while his crew doing the “heist” works to prove that the diamond was never actually stolen.
Every scene is rife with tension since the protagonist is in such a precarious position and could fall at any moment. A supporting cast featuring Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, and more only adds to what makes this such a thrilling movie.
Critics were pretty harsh on the movie (it sits at 31% on Rotten Tomatoes), citing a far-fetched plot.However, the over-the-top nature ofMan on a Ledgeis actually part of its charm.
The fact thatFirst Mancan be considered an overlooked movie is unexpected.Biopics about notable figures in history often do well with audiencesand one following Neil Armstrong and the first trip to the moon is exactly the kind of thing people flock to.
Add in a star leading man in Ryan Gosling and an acclaimed director at the helm (both fresh off the rousing success ofLa La Land) andFirst Manhad all the makings of a hit. Alas, it heavily underperformed at the box office and has been forgotten to time in just a few years.
First Manalso won Best Visual Effects among the four technical Oscars it was nominated for, making it an absolute must-see for free.
Despite that,First Manwas a hit with critics as Claire Foy was nominated for a Golden Globe, she and Gosling landed Critics' Choice nominations,and Justin Hurwitz won major awards for his score.First Manalso won Best Visual Effects among the four technical Oscars it was nominated for, making it an absolute must-see for free.
This is especially something to watch ahead ofRyan Gosling’s next venture into spacein 2026’sHail Mary Project.
As is often the case with international successes, an American remake was made ofThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.Even though David Fincher’s acclaimed take on the story in 2011 was met with widespread acclaim, it bombed commercially and ended plans for the entire trilogy to be made.
Still, that’s likely the version of the story that people in the United States are most familiar with. Thankfully, theoriginal 2009 Swedish adaptation is now available for free on Prime Video, meaning fans can see what Noomi Rapace did with the iconic role of Lisbeth Salander.
85%
69%
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
53%
Impressively, this version got to have all three installments adapted in the span of one year as this film was followed byThe Girl Who Played with FireandThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.All three entries are actually on Prime Video right now, meaning the entire story can be viewed for free.
Over the years,Nicolas Cage has become famous for his wacky B-moviesmore than the serious, Oscar-nominated work he did in the past.He remains a great actor but there’s a lot of fun to be had with Cage playing an unhinged character in a movie that is just meant to be silly fun.
Few films work that setup better thanWilly’s Wonderland.The movie follows Cage’s unnamed janitor, who is tricked into cleaning an abandoned entertainment center where animatronic mascots come to life and go on killing sprees.It sounds absurd and that’s where the fun lies.
Cage’s performance was praised, as was the zany nature of it all.
This was another film that got overlooked during the pandemic and couldn’t even gross $500,000 because of it.However, it has found new life on streaming services and being available for free on Prime Video opens more doors for more people to discover it. Cage’s performance was praised, as was the zany nature of it all.
The entire setup for 2020’sFreakyis one of the best in recent memory.It takes what works about slasher movies likeScreamandI Know What You Did Last Summerand blends it with the body swap fun that you get in movies likeFreaky Friday. On top of that, it adds a gender-swapped twist as well.
Freakystars Kathryn Newton as a teenage girl who ends up switching bodies with a serial killer played by Vince Vaughn.Both are a blast in their initial roles but the real fun comes when the swap happens as Newton gets to play the intimidating murderer and Vaughn portrays the teenage girl.
The setup means that there’s an extra layer of challenge for the protagonist as they must overcome the killer and the fact that they actually now look like the killer. The film is highly entertaining and wasmet with strong reviews, even if the COVID-19 pandemic meant a lot of people never got to see it.
Sticking with the theme of slashers, they’ve found modern success following their revival in the ’90s.Screamhas had hit sequels, Netflix put out theFear Streettrilogy, there’s a time loop slasher inHappy Death Day, and Ti West’sX, Pearl, andMaXXXinetrilogy has been well received.
However, theearly 2010s actually saw one of the best slashers ever made, even though many people have never heard of it.You’re Nextfocuses on a family that is targeted by a group of masked intruders while gathering for a reunion. Adam Wingard, who went on to direct two MonsterVerse movies, does a lot here with a small budget.
The lack of a major Hollywood name is beneficial here as it helps the movie feel more real, as if you’re watching this happen to everyday people. The kills are creative, the entire thing is both terrifying and tense, andYou’re Nextshould be viewed by any fan of the horror genre.
