Favorite obscure movie

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Dark City

The Fall

From Beyond.

Based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name, and directed, written, and produced by the people who gave us Re-Animator. Starring Jeffrey Combs in an actually sympathetic role.

Fido

Kung Fu Hustle

Pi

The Qatsi Trilogy

Dagon.

From the makers of Re-Animator and From Beyond, this movie is actually a retelling of Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth, , rather than the story of the movie's name.

I would say that my favorite obscure movie is the cult classic Maximum Overdrive. I mean, how can you not like a 1979 White Western Star 4800 semi truck with a green goblin face mounted on the grill?

I would have to go with short term 12. It is actually one of my favorite movies and really worth a watch but a lot of people i know have never even heard of it.

I'll second Fido and add Shakes the Clown and My Name is Nobody.

If "obscure" means "movies my parents have never heard of," then 85% of my DVD and Blu-ray collection is obscure. I'll try to be reasonable with these choices, though:

Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) Anyone who's a fan of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan or Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World should check this one out. Here's a trailer, and here's a video comparing it to Trek. There's also a series of eight Hornblower TV movies, but I'd recommend starting here if you haven't read the books. Available on DVD; not on Blu-ray.

Purple Noon (1960) and The American Friend (1977) These terrific thrillers have unfortunately been upstaged by their inferior remakes, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Ripley's Game. You can see their trailers here and here. Purple Noon has an excellent Criterion DVD and Blu-ray; The American Friend has a DVD that's out of print but easy to find.

Daimajin trilogy (1966) Everyone knows Godzilla and some know Gamera, but Daimajin is even more obscure. Instead of a huge amphibian, it's a giant samurai statue possessed by a demon. Made by the same studio responsible for the Gamera films, but far superior to those. Trailer for the first movie here; all three are on Blu-ray in a nice set that typically sells for about $10.

Death Race 2000 (1975) Another great movie overshadowed by its inferior remake, this one is sort of like RoboCop twelve years before RoboCop. The cheesy action is awesome and the satirical, over the top violence is hilarious. Trailer here; someone's also uploaded the film to YouTube in its entirety on a Public Domain channel, but since I'm reasonably certain it's not actually in the public domain, I won't link to it here. Shout Factory released a terrific Blu-ray a few years ago.

The Great Mouse Detective (1986) This is considered one of Disney's lesser animated films, and I don't really know why. It not only works splendidly on its own terms, it's also one of the best Sherlock Holmes films ever made. Anyone who likes the BBC's Sherlock should get a kick out of this, since they're quite similar. As with Death Race 2000, the whole film has been uploaded to YouTube illegally, but I'll just link to the trailer. Also on DVD & Blu-ray.

Miracle Mile (1988) Thriller about a young man who hears a phone call not meant for him, letting him know that nuclear war has been initiated between the US and Russia and the missiles will be hitting Los Angeles in less than two hours. One of those cult movies that few seem to know about, but those who do, love it. Trailer here. A Blu-ray is supposedly in the works, but for now, DVDs are easy to find.

May post more later, but these should make a decent selection based on a quick glance at my movie shelves.

I'll second Short Term 12 and add Monsters and Stories We Tell.

WorId on a WIre.

'The Last Wave'....

Australian...

Richard Chamberlain, David Gumpilil....

Scared the living day lights out of me when I first saw it.

Came up with a few more:

The Mummy (1959) Usually overshadowed by the 1932 and 1999 versions, this one's actually my favorite by a mile. Mummies aren't typically very scary, shambling about slowly like a drunk with a broken ankle, but Christopher Lee's mummy is actually a genuine threat. Imagine if The Terminator had been made in 1959. This mummy walks in a straight line to his victims and doesn't let anyone or anything get in his way, including heavy locked doors and point blank shotgun blasts. Unfortunately not on Blu-ray, at least in the US, but the DVD sells cheap. (Trailer)

La Jetée (1962) Probably best known these days as the inspiration for 12 Monkeys, but the two are quite different. This version is a half-hour short film made up almost entirely of still pictures with narration. Available on DVD and Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection, in a double feature with Sans Soleil, an unrelated film from the same director. (Scene)

Blacula (1972) It sounds like a joke, but the filmmakers actually took it seriously, and ended up delivering one of the better Dracula (or Dracula-related) films yet to be made. William Marshall, who also played the King of Cartoons on Pee-wee's Playhouse, is terrific as the lead. Available on DVD and Blu-ray, each a double feature with the sequel Scream Blacula Scream. (Trailer)

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) Two men, locked in a prison cell together, one a political fighter and the other a gay man arrested for "indecent" acts with another young man. You can probably predict that they don't like each other much at first but gradually become closer and more understanding, but William Hurt and Raul Julia are so interesting to watch (and the plot throws in enough twists) that you won't care. On DVD and Blu-ray. (Trailer)

Versus (2000) Trying to describe this insane movie is difficult. Imagine if Quentin Tarantino were Japanese and he remade Evil Dead 2 after watching The Matrix about sixteen times in a row. That's really the best I can do, other than point you to the trailer. On DVD and Blu-ray. (Trailer)

Hamlet (2000) and Macbeth (2006) These two never get the respect they deserve when it comes to Shakespeare film adaptations. Hamlet (with Ethan Hawke, Bill Murray, Sam Shepard, Kyle MacLachlan, Liev Schreiber, and Julia Stiles) is actually my favorite film version of the story (with all due respect to Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh, whose versions usually get all the attention and admiration), and Macbeth (with Sam Worthington and Lachy Hulme) is, well... not my #1 favorite (Roman Polanski's 1971 Macbeth and Akira Kurosawa's 1957 Throne of Blood are far superior), but I still enjoyed it quite a bit and felt it was unjustly criticized and ignored. (Hamlet Scene) (Macbeth Trailer)

Turok: Son of Stone (2008) Most people these days seem to know Turok from the world of video games, but the dinosaur-fighting Native American goes back to a series of comic books started in the 1950s. This animated movie is based more on the latter than the former, and it does a great job with the material. At first glance it looks cartoonish, as if it's made for kids, but the stabbings, shootings, impalings, and dismemberment start in the opening scene and don't let up. Not on Blu-ray, but the DVD is easy to find and sells cheap. (Trailer)

'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' was a dark gem...absolutely fascinating film.....Raoul Julia and William Hurt became

close friends while working together, and during Julia's terminal illness, Hurt was always at his house, playing

chess, being a supportive companion.

When Julia died, his widow asked Hurt if he wanted anything to remember him by....

He asked for the chess set, which she gave to him, then and there.

Hurt has the board in his home, in his living room; he set up the pieces as they were when he and Julia played their

last, unfinished game, and it remains that way all these years later, as a private memorial to his friend's unfinished

life.

R.I.P., Raoul.

If all my favorite movies, the following are some of the more obscure ones...

Revolver :





Cashback :





Code 46 :





Mr Nobody :