Like many years before it, 2024 was a year with a generous amount of blockbuster hits, but there were also some surprising films. For every Dune: Part Two, there was a Didi. For each Wicked, we saw a Summer Solstice. Although you may not have heard of those counterparts and they may have flopped hard at the box office, it doesn't make those surprising films of 2024 any less compelling.
Trust us, Oscar and the Hollywood Foreign Press will pay attention to a few movies you may not know that made an impact at the movies. Here are Bam Smack Pow's Top 10 Most Surprising Films of 2024.
10. Hippo
This is a delirious arthouse film that makes you second guess watching it in the first place. Imagine "Napoleon Dynamite" having meth delusions and no boundaries. The film follows two home-school kids, Hippo (Kimball Farley) and Buttercup (Lilla Kizlinger) who go on a dark comedic journey that slams you against a wall of drama.
The two young adults are step-siblings who decide to allow their imaginations take center stage. That's about the time you are sitting there, "What kind of sick kids thinks about doing this?!" Unlikely tropes like accepting yourself naked, considering mass shootings, and wondering if your mother's boyfriend in a Craigslist pedophile decorate the 100 minutes of black-and-white film.
It's different but you'll definitely be surprised.
Where to watch: Prime Video (free, with a subscription or trial)
9. The Apprentice
Meanwhile, a Donald Trump movie featuring Sebastian Stan as the one-time reality TV star gone president hit only a few screens. Considering the subject matter, and being promoted during a vote for office, the timing may have backfired. Yet, if you have a chance, watch Stan devolve into the real estate daddy's boy.
Ali Abbasi doesn't pull a single punch into helping us understand how this bastion of narcissism isn't really the leader of his own domain. Rather, he's the amalgamated mixture of the head tricks provided to him about the world around him. There is no way to dismount from this film. It's polarizing. It's Trump! But in this biopic, it's not the Donald Trump you think you know.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple TV, Prime Video, Plex, and Fandango
8. Lisa Frankenstein
A modern 1980s version of the centuries-old Mary Shelley classic as Zelda Williams (yes, Robin's daughter) puts us in the middle of an undead love affair with a necromancy emo teen (Kathryn Newton) who doesn't get out much. The conflict of love is between said Goth girl and an Edward Scissorhands reject of Frankenstein's Monster (Cole Sprouse).
If you think this description is weird, well...see the film. There isn't an idea in this movie that allows you to say, "Oh, I've seen this before." A cemetery for only young, unmarried men becomes the breeding ground of a dead guy turned significant other. Watching the film is daring. Enjoying it (aside from the righteous soundtrack) is relatively easy.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango
7. Close Your Eyes
Spanish Director Victor Erice takes viewers on a journey near the dawn of the streaming age. Although not necessarily considered a memoir, it seems this film may be a self-actualized voyage within. Erice hasn't had the most promising career but is clearly a man of considerable vision.
Manolo Solo plays Miguel, a long-suffering director who swore off movies in the 1990s following a star he cast named Julio (played by Jose Coronado) was presumed dead. Over 20 years later, an investigative reporter on Espana television is bringing the troubling story back to relevance. With it comes a reluctant Miguel.
The film has subtitles and includes actors most don't know. Additionally, it can be a slow burn, but you will become invested in these people throughout the film. This introspective story creates a smoldering cloud that surprisingly instills hope in the human condition and Miguel's frailty.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV (rent)
6. My Old Ass
Yeah, another coming-of-age film. You'd think people would tire of these apparent tropes in film, but then, this puts that bland storyline on its tail. Maisy Stella plays an 18-year-old girl named Elliott when, suddenly, she meets the 39-year-old version of her future self, played by a smarmy and loveable Aubrey Plaza.
It's more than schmaltzy humor and the typical surprise of a freakish encounter with adulting. There is a layered story with rich thematic complexity revolving love and loss. We usually fancy the question, "What would you tell your child self knowing what you know now?" Now, we have the opportunity and get a little surprised about the stress and awareness it could cause.
Where to watch: Prime Video
5. Strange Darling
The trailer opens with "Love Hurts," in a foreshadowing twist that ends up thrilling you to the bone. Even Mike Flanagan calls it brilliant. Cinematic surprises are refreshing when they are found, but suck when you realize what you lost. This is one of those avant-garde horror films you never heard of, but when you see it, you may not forget it either.
Director J. T. Mollner forces us to stumble through a peculiar script and then fall deep into a hole of twists you never expect. Easily one of the best thrillers of the year, Strange Darling is unlike any one night stand film that's been made previously, and almost certainly won't be made again. This encounter between "The Lady" (Willa Fitzgerald) and "The Demon" (Kyle Gallner) is a one-of-a-kind journey into a strange kind of hell.
Where to watch: Still in theaters, but available for rent on Fandango, Prime Video, and Plex
4. The Order
Once again, Nicholas Hoult leads a stellar cast in 2024. This time, it's Jude Law, Jurnee Smollett, and a smattering of Tye Sheridan. If you didn't hear about this ensemble, don't feel bad. Vertical Entertainment isn't known as a place of sage marketing gurus. With this film, that's a real shame.
An alcoholic FBI agent (Law) is set on a demolition course to prevent a race war by a charismatic, young white supremacist (Hoult). It's a grim reminder that people like this are still out there in 2024, and what humanity can do about it, if they only knew where to look. The film's characterization of this subject matter is disturbing.
And unlike most movies of this ilk, you're not here for the rah-rah, smoke the bad guy vibes, which will disturb you even more. You'll see. At least, you should.
Where to watch: Still in theaters, not available for rent or streaming
3. Exhibiting Forgiveness
The trailer begins with Tarrell (Andre Holland) reading a book to his son (Daniel Michael Barriere), saying, "Shadows on the wall / Noises down the hall / Life doesn't frighten me at all." If only that was true. Throughout the film, we show Tarrell haunted by memories of his past living with an abusive father named La'Ron (John Earl Jelks).
Most films that include child abuse delve into the violence, not the aftermath, which director Titus Kaphar positions with surgical precision. Tarrell is running from demons as a child in one scene and welcoming them into his paternal and spousal life in the next. If you have dealt an abusive parent, this is a visceral reminder of how people live.
And, as the leading stars illustrate beautifully (including Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who should be winning gold in 2025), we're reminded no amount of big-time can erase the short times.
Where to watch: Still in theaters and available to rent
2. Didi
Currently resting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, Didi very well may be one of those surprising films of 2024 that you will see come award season. A coming-of-age story usually has the same tropes to create the same sentiment. Didi twists the mean teenager angle away from bullying a hero and shows what caused that awful attitude forcing you to see them in a different light.
The semi-autobiographical film directed by Sean Wang, follows Chris Wang (yes, most likely intentional) as a first-generation U.S. citizen in Fremont, California. The film focuses on that immigrant experience in a rural setting. There is laughter and pain, heart-swelling joy and heart-breaking circumstances.
Forget the shameful stereotypes. Didi rather creates archetypes of how to survive in a world where you may not be wanted. They're proud glimpses into an entire community that shows precisely how society sees them and how those caught in the crossfire want to be seen and heard.
Where to watch: Peacock (free, with subscription or trial)
1. Juror #2
Clint Eastwood's last film (most likely) deserved a much better swan song than this, but that's just Warner Bros. Discovery for you. Unless you knew where to find the film led by Nicholas Hoult, this passed you by quickly. The premise of the film is laid out clearly in the trailer, but the dynamic of the human psyche we encounter in the scenes ahead you don't see coming.
This film is unlike most courtroom dramas because the story development is truly more interesting than the result of the legal procession. It's a race between saving yourself or helping someone else do the same. If this is Eastwood's last film, he probably ends his career the same way he pioneered--saying very little while communicating so much. The man is an incomparable talent and the subtlety with which he shares this troubling story is as disquieting as it is daring.
See this film and maybe we'll see Eastwood nominated one last time as well.