2020 saw the year start with Bad Boys for Life and Sonic the Hedgehog. Nobody thought they would end up in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of the year, but March changed everything, with most of the films going to VOD or different streaming services. We did continue to get some of the biggest and most entertaining movies throughout the year. Today I am going to highlight some of the movies that slipped through the cracks and deserve more attention.
You Cannot Kill David Arquette – David Darg & Price James (Available on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Rakuten TV, and Curzon)
You Cannot Kill David Arquette follows a once-promising actor who took a risky role in the world of professional wrestling, which left him branded the biggest joke in the industry. Nearly 20 years later, David’s career never hit the heights of his fellow promising actors and he is still looked at with disdain in the wrestling world. David spends a year starting at the bottom to learn the trade on the independent circuit, improving his skills to gain the redemption and approval of the wrestling world. This documentary is such a personal journey of one man that needed to prove himself and show the world, he wanted this in his life. This is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys professional wrestling or has enjoyed David Arquette’s career in Hollywood.
Summerland – Lankyboy (Available on Amazon, YouTube, and Apple TV)
Summerland is the second film of the name this year. Not to be confused with the Gemma Arterton drama, Summerland follows three friends who have just graduated and who are traveling to a music festival, with one, Bray, trying to convince a young man about his own sexuality, while pretending to be Stacey, who are due to meet each other at the festival. This is a delightful coming of age movie, one of the hidden gems of 2020 that will show the changes in the world and just how far someone will go to fit in it.
Drive Me to the End – Richard Summers-Calvert (Available on Amazon Prime Video)
Drive Me to the End follows an unlikely pairing of Ryan and Sunny who must travel to a family funeral, where the two get to learn about each other, with Ryan needing to put aside his selfish ways, and Sunny opens up about her own life, which has seen her held back and judged by people because of her autism. This is another coming of age film that shows us that we shouldn’t ever judge somebody before getting to know them; we will never know what their lives are truly like. We have wonderful lead performances and we will be left wanting to see what Richard Summers-Calvert brings to us next.
I Hate New Year’s – Christin Baker
I Hate New Year’s follows a rising musician that is struggling to find inspiration and returns to her roots for the holidays, where her quiet time away sees her grab the attention of social media, raising her stock in the industry, while she learns what is the most important part of life — love. I Hate New Year’s brings us a romantic comedy that is filled with laughs, romance, and music that will stick with you and is a must-watch for anyone who wants a holiday film to enjoy.
Sputnik – Egor Abramenko (Available on Amazon, Google Play, Sky Store, Microsoft Store, YouTube, and Apple TV)
Sputnik is a sci-fi horror that follows a neurologist that gets recruited to help analyze a returning astronaut from a mission that had an unexplained event, only to learn the shocking truth, that the astronaut didn’t return alone, seeing her caught up in the middle of the military purpose and the right one to help people. This horror went under the radar with the idea of what it could have been on paper, but when we get to see the creature creations and how it survives in the world, we get such a unique, interesting idea that blends Life and The Thing, and is one of the real hidden gems of 2020.
The Black Emperor of Broadway – Arthur Egeli
The Black Emperor of Broadway follows the story of a theatre director that refuses to use blackface and casts an African American actor, Charles Gilpin, in the lead of a groundbreaking play ‘Emperor Jones’. This is a film that will give us a valuable lesson on who would help bring about a change in equality in history, proving that making the right decision in our eyes now would have seen people question it back in the 1920s.
Anything for Jackson – Justin G Dyck (Available on Shudder)
Anything for Jackson follows a couple of Satanists that kidnap a pregnant woman in an attempt to perform a ritual to bring their dead grandson back to life, only things don’t go to plan. When it comes to any film that revolves around Satanists, we tend to fall into the same old path. Anything for Jackson takes things in a different direction, mixing the haunted house idea to give us genuine scares that will linger with you long after the film is finished and terrify the audience through the film.
Say Your Prayers – Harry Michell (Available on Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Rakuten and Sky Store)
Say Your Prayers follows two orphaned brothers turned radical Christian hitmen whose latest hit is on a professor who is a famed atheist writer. This is a crime comedy where we get the kind but misled Tim played by Harry Melling, who doesn’t want to be part of this world, and Vic, played by Tom Brooke, who has overcommitted to complete the tasks assigned to him. The comedy is charming, the message is important and by the end, we get one of the more entertaining comedies of the year.
Mortal – Andre Ovredal (Available on Sk Go and Now TV)
Mortal follows a young man that learns he has God-like powers that bring a fresh spin on Norwegian mythology, where he must learn to control them before becoming a threat to the world. Andre Ovredal bought us three of the best modern horrors, Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Here he gets to return to his roots, to bring his own spin on the modern superhero movies, grounding the powers in mythology over comic books, which is what drives this story and could have easily been the biggest and most ambitious action sci-fi of the year.
Were there other Hidden Gems in 2020? Let us know.
