Every year, a handful of genuinely brilliant films get buried beneath blockbuster marketing budgets and algorithmic blind spots. You scroll past them on Netflix. They disappear from the trending section after two weeks. By the time word of mouth catches up, they're already forgotten.
2024 was an exceptional year for cinema — but much of what made it exceptional was hiding in plain sight. This is the definitive list of underrated movies of 2024 that deserve a spot on your watchlist right now.
Pro tip: The best way to find underrated films isn't scrolling alone. On Cinephile, you can see exactly which lesser-known films your friends have already discovered and rated highly — turning hidden gems into personal recommendations.
Why Great Movies Get Missed
Streaming platforms allocate homepage real estate based on subscriber data, licensing costs, and marketing deals — not quality. A beautifully crafted independent film with a $4M budget has almost no chance of competing with a $200M tentpole for prime algorithmic placement.
The result: every year, dozens of critically acclaimed, audience-beloved films slip through the cracks. They get a week of limited theatrical release, a quiet streaming drop, and then nothing. The algorithm moves on.
Here's what that looks like in 2024:
Underrated Dramas of 2024
Janet Planet
Annie Baker's directorial debut is one of the most quietly devastating films of the year. Set in rural Massachusetts in 1991, it follows an 11-year-old girl navigating her mother's complicated relationships. Criminally overlooked at awards season, Janet Planet is the kind of patient, observational filmmaking that rewards attention.
Why it's underrated: Too quiet and literary for mainstream audiences, but one of the most acclaimed directorial debuts in years.
All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh's deeply emotional fantasy-drama features career-best performances from Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal. A lonely screenwriter forms an unexpected connection with a neighbor while revisiting his childhood home — and his late parents. All of Us Strangers is one of the most affecting films about grief, identity, and love in recent memory.
Why it's underrated: Limited marketing budget and a quiet release meant most people missed it entirely.
The Zone of Interest
Jonathan Glazer's Holocaust drama is unlike anything else in cinema — told entirely from the perspective of the Auschwitz commandant's family living adjacent to the camp. Unsettling, innovative, and profoundly important. Won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Why it's underrated: Its unconventional approach put off mainstream audiences, but it's a landmark film.
Underrated Thrillers & Genre Films of 2024
I Saw the TV Glow
Jane Schoenbrun's surreal horror film about suburban teenage identity is one of the most original films of the decade — not just the year. Deeply personal, visually hypnotic, and genuinely unsettling in ways that linger long after the credits roll.
Why it's underrated: Too experimental for mainstream marketing, but beloved by everyone who sees it.
Monkey Man
Dev Patel's directorial debut is a kinetic revenge thriller set in India, channeling the energy of early John Wick with a story rooted in South Asian mythology and class struggle. Brutal, stylish, and emotionally grounded — far better than its box office performance suggested.
Why it's underrated: Under-marketed and released opposite bigger competition, but action fans consistently rank it among 2024's best.
Underrated Comedies of 2024
Problemista
Julio Torres writes, directs, and stars in this deadpan absurdist comedy about an undocumented Salvadoran artist navigating New York City's bureaucratic nightmare. Tilda Swinton is a revelation. Genuinely funny and surprisingly moving.
Why it's underrated: Niche marketing and an unconventional tone kept it out of the mainstream conversation.
Underrated Sci-Fi & Horror of 2024
Love Lies Bleeding
Rose Glass's neo-noir crime thriller stars Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian in one of 2024's most electric performances. Set in the 1980s American Southwest, it blends body horror, romance, and crime in ways that defy categorization. Visceral and unforgettable.
Why it's underrated: A24 genre films often get overlooked by general audiences, but this is one of their best.
In a Violent Nature
A slasher film told entirely from the killer's point of view — no dialogue, no jump scares, just long observational takes in dense forest. It sounds gimmicky; it's actually one of the most atmospheric horror films in years. A deeply original formal experiment that genuinely frightens.
Why it's underrated: Its experimental structure put off horror fans expecting mainstream entertainment.
Underrated International Films of 2024
Emilia Pérez
Jacques Audiard's Spanish-language crime musical — yes, really — follows a cartel boss who arranges her own transition while faking her death. Won Best Actress at Cannes for its entire female cast. Audacious, original, and unlike anything you've seen before.
Why it's underrated: International films with unconventional premises rarely break through algorithmically.
Reinas
A Peruvian coming-of-age drama set in 1990s Lima, following two sisters preparing to emigrate to the United States with their mother. Warm, funny, and nostalgic — one of 2024's best international discoveries.
Why it's underrated: Almost no English-language press coverage despite exceptional critical reception.
How to Keep Finding Underrated Films
The films on this list share a common trait: they were found and championed by real people, not algorithms. Most of them spread through word of mouth — a friend mentioning a film at dinner, a recommendation from someone whose taste you trust.
The best tool for discovering underrated movies isn't a recommendation engine. It's your social network of film lovers.
How Cinephile helps you discover films like these
On Cinephile, you can follow friends whose taste matches yours and see every film they've rated, reviewed, and added to their watchlist. When someone you trust gives I Saw the TV Glow a 9/10, that's a signal no algorithm can replicate. Discover 2024's underrated gems through the people who've already found them.
Beyond Cinephile, a few other resources for finding underrated films:
- Film Twitter/Bluesky: Critics and cinephiles share discoveries in real time
- Letterboxd Top 250: Community-curated lists often surface non-mainstream gems
- Film festival circuit coverage: Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca picks often take months to reach streaming
- Your local arthouse cinema newsletter: Programmers are expert curators
Final Verdict: 2024's Underrated Films Are Worth Your Time
The best films of 2024 weren't always the most-watched or most-marketed. Films like Janet Planet, I Saw the TV Glow, Love Lies Bleeding, and Emilia Pérez represent cinema at its most creative, daring, and human — but they required deliberate effort to find.
That's the value of a community like Cinephile: the people who found these films first are already there, ready to share them with you. Every year, the best movies you've never heard of are sitting in someone's 5-star list, waiting for you to find them.
Stop waiting for the algorithm. Start watching what your friends love.