Hidden Gems From The '90s You Haven't Seen But Should

With Hollywood cranking out blockbuster fare at a staggering rate, and arthouse cinema fully coming into its own, the '90s were an excitingly mixed bag at the multiplex. The decade left us with beloved mega-classics like "The Matrix," "Pulp Fiction," "Forrest Gump," and "Jurassic Park." With so many movies being released, it was all but impossible for even the most stringent of cineastes to see everything in a theater. That left many movie buffs trolling their local video stores in search of both big-budget bonanzas and the latest hits from Sundance. 

Sadly, those searches often proved fruitless, leaving some of the decade's best films largely unseen by the masses. Thankfully, streaming tech has come along to give us all a second chance at seeing some of the decades' hidden gems. Here are a few '90s gems that are absolutely worthy of your attention — from smaller indie thrillers to dramas starring future Oscar-winners and A-listers.

With plays like "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "American Buffalo" to his name, and screenwriting credits on classic films like "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "The Untouchables," and "Wag The Dog," David Mamet will likely go down as one of the great writers of our time. Though he's directed far fewer films than he wrote, Mamet is no slouch behind the camera either. If you want proof of that, check out his egregiously overlooked 1997 offering "The Spanish Prisoner."

The film follows Joe, a corporate climber who's designed a mysterious process certain to make millions for his company. Problem is, Joe won't turn over his secrets unless he scores a big bonus for himself. Matters get hairy for Joe when a wealthy stranger and the FBI turn up with their own agendas. Starring Campbell Scott and Rebecca Pidgeon, and featuring the clever twists, casual cool, and crackling dialogue one would expect from Mamet, "The Spanish Prisoner" is a stunning exercise in both mood and pacing. It's proof that Mamet's gifts as director were as bountiful as his gift for writing, and it features an absolutely eye-opening dramatic turn from legendary funnyman Steve Martin.

To call the Jim Jarmusch's irreverent, meanderingly prescient approach to cinema an "acquired taste" would be an understatement. So much that some moviegoers avoid his work altogether. With that in mind, it's almost unfair to peg one of Jim Jarmusch's '90s films— "Night on Earth," "Dead Man," and "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" —as the lone hidden gem. If we're being honest, Jim Jarmusch's entire catalogue could carry the mantle of "hidden gem." Since we can only pick one, we'll go with his most accessible effort, the decade-closing "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai," which had a limited release in '99 before its wider (but still fairly limited) release in 2000.

Loosely adapted from Jean-Pierre Melville's New Wave classic "Le Samurai," Jarmusch moved his silent assassin from the back alleys of Paris to the mean streets of Brooklyn and subbed a never better Forest Whitaker into the leading role. Jarmusch bolstered the film's spiritual insights by frequently quoting Samurai theology and backed his would-be warrior's gritty, urban journey with a head-nodding original score from Wu Tang Clan's RZA. From that mix, Jarmusch spins a stylish, engrossing, deeply satisfying story of modern-day honor amongst thieves — one that remains amongst Jarmusch's most overlooked gems.

He might be nuts. He may even be, "terrible, tactless and rude," as his partner not-so-affectionately refers to him, but Daryl Zero is the world's greatest detective. Zero's about to embark on one of his most challenging cases — helping a nefarious billionaire find his missing keys. That's the setup for Jake Kasdan's hilarious, near flawless modern-day Sherlock Holmes tale "Zero Effect."  

We know, the BBC Sherlock brought the character into the modern age. Don't get us wrong, we love Cumberbatch and company's take on "Sherlock," it's just that Kasdan actually did it better back in 1998, and he did it behind a career-best turn from Bill Pullman. The ever-underrated actor gives new meaning to the term "chameleon-like performance" in "Zero Effect," switching effortlessly between crass, socially inept clown and smooth-operating investigative master. Flanked by Ben Stiller, Kim Dickens, and Ryan O'Neal, Pullman's performance is the centerpiece in Kasdan's stylish, cinematic card trick. Backed by Kasdan's whip-smart screenplay and acute eye for even the tiniest of details, "Zero Effect" remains one of the best unsung films of the '90s — or any decade for that matter.    

It's easy to forget, but before Robert Downey Jr. put Marvel on the map with his now iconic turn in "Iron Man" or won his Oscar for his incredible performance in "Oppenheimer," he was far from a sure thing in Hollywood. In fact, his drug-fueled hijinks throughout the '80s and '90s made him one of Tinseltown's riskiest hires. Lucky for RDJ — and the movie-going public — Richard Attenborough was willing to take a risk when casting the lead in his Charlie Chaplin biopic "Chaplin." Lucky for Attenborough, Downey Jr. rewarded that risk with the finest performance of his then young career.

"Chaplin" landed RDJ his first Oscar nomination, but Attenborough's film is more than just a showcase for Downey's talent. Though the film didn't fare well with critics — who lamented its 143-minute runtime and overall lack of ingenuity — "Chaplin" remains a lovingly crafted, in-depth look behind the curtain of one cinema's greatest innovators. The film is likely to inspire viewers to go back and explore Chaplin's own mind-blowing body of work as well, not to mention the mostly terrific work Downey Jr. delivered in the years since "Chaplin's" release.

For those of you who don't know John Sayles' name, he was one of the unsung heroes of the '90s indie film scene. Sayles wrote and directed six features over that ten-year span, each building on his character-first approach and centering around acutely personal dramas spawned by unexpected pressures from the outside world. The characters at the center of Sayles' 1996 Texas-set murder-mystery "Lone Star" are three generations of lawmen — Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, and Chris Cooper — and a beautiful local, the latter of whom finds herself embroiled in an unfolding murder investigation and a potentially complicated new relationship.   

If it sounds like there's a lot going on in "Lone Star," that's because there is. That's also par for the course in any John Sayles film. The director handles "Lone Star's" twisty narrative with a dexterous hand and a confident cool, utilizing some sly cinematic trickery to unfurl "Lone Star's" web of secrets at his own calculated pace. Along the way, he also uses a deft bit of writing to explore the complicated politics of border town life, making "Lone Star" a deeply personal, unabashedly political delight— i.e.,  the perfect John Sayles film.

Thankfully, he's reminded us of his incredible talent with recent movies like "Longlegs," "Mandy," and "Pig," but before those long years where he was wandering in the direct-to-VOD wilderness, Nicolas Cage was consistently killing it in the '90s — leading big-budget fare and wowing in micro-budget indies. So it came as no surprise that he'd follow one of his biggest box office hits — "Honeymoon In Vegas" — by starring as a wayward drifter in John Dahl's brilliant, neo-noir thriller "Red Rock West."

Don't worry if you've never heard of "Red Rock West." Not many people have. The film's all but been lost to history since its release. That's a shame because Dahl's nimble tale of bad luck turned worse, small-town swindling, and mistaken identity is just as slick and sexy today as it was back in 1996. It also happens to feature one of Cage's most understated and effecting performances. Or maybe it just seems understated next to the raw energy the late, great Dennis Hopper brought to this film.

After breaking through at the Sundance Film Festival, Steven Soderbergh spent most of the '90s working on low-budget, experimental films that left many of his fans wondering if the director had gotten lost in the dizzying maze of his own cinematic vision. Turns out Soderbergh was just refining that vision. That much became obvious when he delivered a deceptively straightforward hit in the 1998 George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez-starring crime flick "Out of Sight," but it was 1999's "The Limey" where we began to see the full breadth of Soderbergh's narrative ambition.

Centered around a man's search to find out how his estranged daughter died, Soderbergh utilizes the structure of detective fiction to craft a seductive abstraction of time, memory, and regret dressed up like a common revenge drama. Not only is "The Limey" beautifully written, sublimely photographed, and elegantly edited, at times it's also laugh out loud funny. It features a career-defining performance from the great Terrance Stamp to boot. That so few people have seen "The Limey" is the one great tragedy of Soderbergh's illustrious career. Right this wrong today.

Before she won her Oscar for the heavy-hitting drama "The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow was making waves with smart, inventive genre fare like "Point Break" and "Near Dark." In 1995, Bigelow turned her eye to the realm of sci-fi with her hyper-stylized, cyber-punk thriller "Strange Days." Conceived and co-written by James Cameron, the film tells the tale of an illegal VR-peddling former detective who finds himself enmeshed in an ever-expanding cover-up surrounding the LAPD-sponsored assassination of a famed rapper and civil rights leader.

What Bigelow delivers from that setup is a pitch-black exploration of consumption, corruption, and redemption in a tech-addled, near-apocalyptic future. Packed with high-octane action, enigmatic imagery, and brutal violence, "Strange Days" may have hit a little too close to home for viewers in a post-Rodney King America, though the film's relentless, two-and-a-half hour runtime certainly didn't help matters. "Strange Days" ultimately went down as one of the bigger flops of 1995, but that hasn't stopped the film's fervid fanbase from continuing to sing its praises over the years. Frankly, it's high time more people started singing.  

Set amongst the glassy water and sweltering heat of Louisiana bayou country, Kasi Lemmons' heartrending, vividly realized drama "Eve's Bayou" marked one of the strongest feature film debuts of the decade. Roger Ebert actually named "Eve's Bayou" the Best Film of 1997, and it even took home a couple of Independent Spirit Awards that same year. Still, it feels like Lemmons' harrowing coming-of-age drama never got the recognition it deserved, and it's all but faded into relative obscurity in the two decades since.

That's a legitimate tragedy. Featuring a towering performance from Samuel L. Jackson and an endearing breakthrough turn from then newcomer Jurnee Smollett, "Eve's Bayou" paints a patently authentic, beautifully detailed portrait of a young woman struggling to come to terms with the hard truths and moral complexities of impending adulthood. Unlike most coming-of-age dramas, "Eve's Bayou" never sleights the intellect or internal struggle of its young protagonist. Likewise, it refuses to offer any easy answers; only hard-learned lessons and lingering regrets. Twenty years after its release, the film remains an astonishing directorial debut from Lemmons.

The ripple effect from "The Sixth Sense's" breakout success is still being felt in Hollywood; that is, it seems like every horror film released in its wake comes prepackaged with its own flashy, twist ending. Now, imagine that you released a haunting, atmospheric horror film rife with unsettling imagery — and yes, a shocking twist — a mere month after "The Sixth Sense" changed the horror game. Even if your film was just as clever and just as scary as M. Night Shyamalan's masterpiece, it'd be virtually impossible to match those "Sixth Sense"-sized expectations. Such was the case with David Koepp's (screenwriter of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," amongst other hits and misses) menacing mystery "Stir of Echoes."

Following the travails of a working-class dad who starts to experience terrifying visions after a hypnotization hiccup, Koepp's film is often just as smart and creepy as "The Sixth Sense." At times, "Stir of Echoes" even bests Shyamalan's flick on both fronts, but it also features a child who can speak to dead people, so yeah, you can see the problem with its being released after Haley Joel Osment uttered those now iconic words. Just FYI, "Stir of Echoes" is far from a cheap knock off; you owe it to yourself to find that out.

Before traveling to Middle-Earth, Peter Jackson brough us 1994's bone-chilling, biographical crime drama "Heavenly Creatures." Of course, it's not so easy to see what drew Jackson to this true story of adolescent lust and fantasy run amok in the first place. "Heavenly Creatures" tells the tale of teen girls falling in love and conspiring to kill the parents who would keep them apart, and it hardly jibed with the gory, genre fare Jackson had made his name on. 

Once you account for the vivid fantasy worlds that the women frequently escape to, "Heavenly Creatures" starts to make a little more sense for Jackson. While those fantasies are crafted with awe-inspiring care, it's Jackson's tender, insightful treatment of the real-world events that truly set this film apart. It helps, of course, when you've got actors like Melanie Lynskey (now best known for "Yellowjackets") and Kate Winslet populating that world, but "Heavenly Creatures" is still a horrifying and soul-stirring entry into Jackson's eclectic oeuvre, even if it remains a largely unseen one.