2025’s Top Hidden Gems

Every year, I always try to take a look back at the movies you might have missed—maybe due to a lack of marketing or poor distribution or just independent features without big theatrical runs. Some of these movies are the most fun, engaging, and enduring stories that come out, but are pushed to the side.

2025 has been a strong year for movies—especially original ideas. You’ve probably seen the historical success of Sinners play out. Apple made waves with F1, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another might finally win him an Oscar.

But, I hope to uncover some movies that you haven’t seen or maybe even heard of.

Deep Cover

This Amazon Prime original stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso), and Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Gran Turismo) as a troupe of fledgling improv actors who get pulled into a dangerous undercover police assignment. Of course, hilarity ensues. The entire cast is solid, but it is Orlando Bloom who is doing the best work—with a career as the next big name that sort of fizzled out, Bloom is aging into an interesting actor with a lot of range. We know he handles drama and action well, but here he shows true comedic chops. Ian McShane and Sean Bean round out the main cast. If you are a fan of buddy cop movies, fish out of water stories, or improv groups, I recommend Deep Cover on Amazon Prime.

Last Breath

Based on a miraculous true story, Last Breath follows a group of deep sea-divers racing against time to save a crew mate who is stuck in the ocean with his oxygen rapidly depleting. This is the definition of a white knuckle thriller. Finn Cole anchors this small story as the trapped diver. Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games, Now You See Me, True Detective), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), and Cliff Curtis are the men in the vessel and on the boat racing the clock to get their friend back. The film is an inspirational tale of perseverance, determination, teamwork, and will power. And while the film doesn’t lean into spirituality, it makes a pretty strong case for miracles. If you like tense thrillers and true stories, this movie is worth your time.

Heart Eyes

For the horror fans, Heart Eyes is my underseen recommendation. Directed by comedian Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Make Some Noise), Heart Eyes is as much a rom-com as it is a gory slasher—in fact, it’s probably 65% rom-com framed within a slasher film. It is absurd and over-the-top, but it knows that and leans heavily into it. Our leads are fun together, and our villain has an interesting costume design—mandatory for any good slasher antagonist. Heart Eyes earns its R rating, but if you can stomach the good, you are in for a good time.

Presence

Presence is one of two releases from director Stephen Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Unsafe, Logan Lucky, Traffic) released this year. And it is also one of two releases that sees the director playing with genre tropes. In his other 2025 release Black Bag, Soderbergh plays with espionage tropes. Here in Presence, he takes the haunted house and redevelopes it. Presence is unique in that it tells the story from the point of view of the ghost haunting the home. We see through the eyes of the ghost as a floating camera moving through the home and eavesdropping on conversations amidst the family. It is a clever gimmick that works surprisingly well at an emotional level. I will say that you have to adjust your expectations as this is much more of a familial drama rather than a classic haunted house picture.

Rental Family

Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, The Whale) stars as Phillip a struggling actor in Japan who is approached for an unusual job—a social actor. The Rental Family company specializes in fiancees, repentant mistresses, investigative journalists, and estranged parents to bring a sense of normalcy, closure, or comfort to families. Rental Family has all the qualities of a traditional crowd pleasing dramedy while highlighting an interesting cultural practice. Social actors very much exist in Japan, and the idea can be disarming for American viewers. But, there is a big heart at the core of this film, and Fraser does excellent work here trying to navigate the culture and questioning when is it acting and when is it harmful.