Total Film - 50 Amazing Films You've Probably Never Seen

Uglavnom filmovi iz kategorije guilty pleasures.

                                                                                                            Obscure classics, overlooked masterpieces and cult curios...

By Sam AshurstJuly 

When The Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)

The Plot: When merciless samurai Saitō Hajime encounters a money-grubbing fellow warrior who appears to be completely without honor, his views on loyalty and bravery are changed forever.
Why It's Amazing: As a character study, Sword is up there with the best of classic samurai cinema. And like those movies, it's both brutally violent and emotionally resonant.
It won the Best Film award at the 2004 Japanese Acamdey Awards, a prize it justly deserved.
Why You've Never Seen It: We're not sure, as it's available on Netflix. Get it watched!  

The Devil's Hand (1943)

The Film: When a struggling artist buys a magical talisman, his luck changes and he finds fame and success. But a year passes, and he discovers there's a price to be paid.
Why It's Amazing: Otherwise known as Carnival Of Sinners, The Devil's Hand is an incredibly atmospheric film. Its twisting plot builds to a surreal climax that has to be experienced first-hand.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's probably better known in its French homeland, but it deserves a UK fan-base.

Return From The Ashes (1965)

The Film: Dr. Michelle Wulf survives a Nazi concentration camp, but is so scarred she's virtually unrecognisable.
Following reconstructive surgery, she tracks down her former lover Stan, who believes she's dead.
He is stunned by the resemblance, and attempts to use her in a plot to cash in the insurance he's been unable to claim following her 'death.'
And it gets more complicated from there on in.
Why It's Amazing: Full of conflicted characters - this twist-packed thriller is an unforgettable experience for anyone who's lucky enough to have caught it.
Basically, it's the best film Hitchcock never made.
Why You've Never Seen It: Currently out of print on DVD, you can probably track down a copy if you search hard enough. Failing that, hope you've got a mate who's taped it off the telly.

Cutter's Way (1981)

The Film: A gumshoe mystery without the gumshoe, Cutter's Way follows an ordinary man's attempt to solve a murder after he sees a suspect dumping a body.
Why It's Amazing: A gripping plot featuring brilliant characters wonderfully performed.
Jeff Bridges displays early promise, but John Heard really steals the show as Alex Cutter - a supporting act so incendiary, they named the film after him.
Seriously, this thing's a masterpiece.
Why You've Never Seen It: It just never developed the reputation of some of its contemporaries, which is a tragedy. But you can pick it up on Amazon at a super-budget price. Money very well spent.

The Cremator (1969)

The Film: This Czech war-parable follows 1930s crematorium worker Kopfrkingl as Nazism insidiously creeps into his life. Believe it or not, this is a very black comedy. But you'll need a sense of humour of the League Of Gentlemen to find the chuckles.
Why It's Amazing: It's mainly about the central performance with this one. Rudolf Hrusinsky's mesmerising lead is creepy, charismatic and utterly captivating. You'll be repulsed and drawn to him in equal measure - making for a unique cinematic experience.
Why You've Never Seen It: Kopfrkingl deserves the same infamy as Hannibal. The DVD's easy to get hold of, so we have no idea. 

The Battle Wizard (1977)

The Plot: We're not actually sure how we're going to sum this one up.
20 years after having his legs cut-off by a warrior's laser-fingers, an evil wizard takes revenge by sending his lobster-clawed henchman to capture his enemy's son Tuan Yu, who has no interest in fighting.
Encouraged by a woman who throws snakes at people, Tuan Yu embarks on a quest to learn fighting skills.
This film also involves a scrap with a giant snake, a frog which can make you invincible if you swallow it, and a kung fu gorilla. And a wizard with metal chicken legs who can breathe fire.
Why It's Amazing: Please see above.
Why You've Never Seen It: No idea. This should be the Star Wars of kung fu cinema. 

Daimajin (1966)

 The Plot: When an evil army invade a small village, a vengeful stone spirit rises to take revenge.
Why It's Amazing: A kaiju flick with a difference, we love this one almost entirely because it features a giant monster statue. Which is reason enough to love anything.
Why You've Never Seen It: Godzilla and Gamera tend to overshadow the rest of the kaiju, which means there's been no room at the party for poor old Daimajin. But, to be fair, he does take up a lot of room.

Rurouni Kenshin (2012)

The Film: Based on the Manga of the same name - previously turned into anime series Samurai X - the live-action movie follows the adventures of young samurai Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satô) who's made a solemn oath to only use his sword to defend himself, never to kill.
Which would be relatively easy for you and I, but for some reason poor old Kenshin keeps on getting into fights. Lots of fights.
Why It's Amazing: If the high-concept doesn't grab you - and why would it, it's only incredible after all - then the stunning action sequences should.
From the opening war scene, to the Terminator style police station takedown, Kenshin is packed with beautifully choreographed sword-scraps.
Why You've Never Seen It: For some reason, it's never been released in the UK. But it's well worth importing.

Night Of The Devils (1972)

The Plot: When a young man wakes up in hospital, he recalls the events that led him there - events that involve a strange family with a vampire obsession.
Why It's Amazing: Essentially a feature-length version of the Wurdalak section in Black Sabbath, this weird, dark and violent film is up there with the best of Bava.
Keep an eye out for a particularly gruesome scene involving fingers. That's all we're going to say about that.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's another out of print job, but if you've got a region 1 player, you should be able to track it down.

Viy (1967)

The Plot: A flawed priest is instructed to spend three nights watching over the corpse of a witch, with only a chalk circle and his faith to protect him.
Why It's Amazing: One of the best third-acts we've ever seen, this is a hugely influential film. Every wildly shot monster battle has its roots in Viy, whether it knows it or not.
Basically, combine the energy of Evil Dead II with Guillermo Del Toro's imagination and you've got this amazing movie.
Why You've Never Seen It: Easily available on DVD, we reckon that people have written it off as a Russian fairy-tale and passed on it. If only they knew it was an awesome horror flick.

Killer Party (1986)

The Film: Ostensibly the story of a sorority pledge party gone wrong, Killer Party transcends its high-concept via a punk-rock attitude.
Why It's Amazing: One of the earliest examples of post-modern horror, Killer Party opens in one direction, before pulling the plug out of the jukebox and going in a completely different direction.
It's this near-constant 'anything can happen' vibe, combined with one of the best final sequences we've seen that makes this one really special.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's currently got a ridiculous 3.6 score on imdb. But delve into the user reviews, and you'll see the pure love people have for this picture.

Come And See (1985)

The Film: Bleak war drama / psychological thriller film about a young boy who joins the Soviet army during Nazi occupation.
Why It's Amazing: Almost impossibly harrowing, this is the closest cinema gets to recreating the journey from confusion to terror to eventual emotional numbness of living through war.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's an incredibly difficult watch, so there's only a small group of people who have put themselves through it. So, word of mouth is relatively low. But everyone who sees it is forever changed by the experience. A monumental film.

Mr Freedom (1969)

The Film: Bonkers '60s comic-book satire, featuring a cameo from Serge Gainsbourg as a piano-playing superhero named Mr Drugstore.
Why It's Amazing: It's basically Captain America if it was scripted by Hunter S Thompson. Fiercely anti-establishment, and constantly hilarious.
Why You've Never Seen It: Only available in the William Klein Criterion Colllection box set, it's not exactly easy to get hold of.
That, combined with the fact that it's a superhero movie not based on an actual superhero means it's never had the attention its deserved.

Gwendoline (1984)

The Film: A young girl and her best friend ship themselves to China in a box to search for her missing butterfly-collecting father.
Once there, they encounter the Chinese mafia and have to be rescued by an Indiana Jones rip-off. They hire Indiana, sorry, Willard to find her father. Oh, and a rare butterfly. That's shortly before they discover an underground army of leather-clad Amazonian warriors.
Why It's Amazing: It's trash of the highest order. It's essentially Temple Of Doom with way too much nudity and some of the weirdest plotting on this list. It's also loads and loads of fun.
Why You've Never Seen It: The cover, combined with the fact it stars an actress named Tawny Kitaen probably makes most people think it's pornography.

The Oily Maniac (1976)

The Film: A young man gains the ability to transform himself into a puddle of oil via a magical tattoo given to him by his uncle, who is on death row after being framed by gangsters.
Why It's Amazing: An ancestor of The Toxic Avenger, The Oily Maniac is a monster movie with terrible effects, cheap action and a score that sounds almost exactly like it was found in John Williams garbage pail. Obviously it's brilliant.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's probably last on your list of Shaw Brothers movies to watch (for one thing, it doesn't feature any kung fu) but monster movie fans who enjoy laughing will love it.

Aachi & Ssipak (2006)

The Film: South Korean animation set in a world in which human excrement has become the ultimate fuel source.
To reward people for donating their poo, the government delivers addictive Juicybars directly.
Because the bars are so addictive, there's a thriving black market - which is where our hoodlum heroes come in. When they meet a porn star who can defecate on command, their lives are changed forever.
This film includes a gang of evil Smurfs. Seriously.
Why It's Amazing:Aachi & Ssipak is one of the most original and beautiful animations we've seen, Highly stylised and violent, Akira fans with a penchant for toilet humor will love it.
Why You've Never Seen It: We imagine it's considered a bit too… Niche for Western audiences, so it's never had a wide release. You can import it on DVD - though it'll set you back a cool 90 bucks on Amazon.com.

Four Of The Apocalypse (1975)

The Film: A gang of criminals wander through the desert, pursued by a Charles Manson-esque bandit.
Why It's Amazing: Bleak, brutal and beautiful - Four Of The Apocalypse is a philosophical treatise on the nature of evil. With guns and stuff.
Why You've Never Seen It: Most Fulci fans are so distracted by his horror work, they completely ignore his amazing westerns. This is a great starting point.

Horrors Of Malformed Men (1969)

The Film: A post-nuclear nightmare made flesh, Malformed Men follows our hero Hitomi as he investigates a Dr Moreau style mad scientist who is performing dark experiments on a remote island.
Why It's Amazing: With more tonal shifts than Audition, a more iconic villain than Ringu (and with a significant influence on both), you could argue that modern J-horror was first genetically spliced when Malformed Men spattered into cinemas.
Constantly surprising and shocking - Malformed Men is a mesmerising treat. And you'll never look at crab soup the same way again.
Why You've Never Seen It: Almost instantly banned in Japan, it's only had a R1 DVD release relatively recently. C'mon Arrow, pick this one up! 

The Psychopath (1966)

The Film: A detective investigates a series of murders in which the killer leaves a replica doll with the bodies of their victims.
Why It's Amazing: Directed by Freddie Francis (one of the greatest British filmmakers - he trained as a camera operator before directing British shockers like Torture Garden, and Tales From The Crypt, before returning to cinematography, working with David Lynch on The Elephant Man, and Martin Scorsese on Cape Fear amongst others) and written by Psycho man Robert Bloch. Now that's pedigree.
Also, it contains one of the most unforgettable final shots in cinema history.
Why You've Never Seen It: Outside of cult film fans, double Oscar-winner Francis doesn't have anywhere near the household-name recognition he deserves.
If Hitchcock had directed The Psychopath instead of Psycho you can bet it would be in every film collection in Britain.
Modern slasher fans will find a lot to love here.

King Kong Escapes (1967)

The Film: King Kong goes Kaiju in this Japanese / American co-production.
Evil scientist Dr Hu ( pronounced Doctor Who) creates a metallic Kong clone to mine for radioactive materials, but when the robot fails, he decides to kidnap the real Kong to complete his mission.
Why It's Amazing: The film builds to a 'bot on ape scrap for the ages. And if that concept doesn't make you collapse in giddy glee, then we're not sure we even know you anymore.
Why You've Never Seen It: The Kong sequels have a bad rap, but with Pacific Rim in cinemas, let's hope that this one is reappraised as glorious fun.

Vigilante (1983)

The Film: Part of a wave of post-Death Wish Revenge movies, Vigilante sees factory worker Eddie Marino joining a vigilante gang after his family are assaulted by criminals.
Why It's Amazing: Whereas Death Wish seems to take pleasure in violence, Vigilante examines the consequences, making it an intense and powerful watch. Tarantino's pal Robert Forster has rarely been better, with several stand-out scenes.
Why You've Never Seen It: Shot between Lustig's more famous movies - bridging the gap between Maniac and Maniac Cop - Vigilante seems to have been lost in the mix.

The Power (1968)

The Film: When the members of a scientific research group start being killed one by one, all evidence points to the killer possessing telekinetic powers.
Biochemist Jim Tanner faces a race against time to track down the murderer.
Why It's Amazing: Essentially a precursor to Scanners, The Power is almost constantly gripping, from the opening scene to the surprising final confrontation.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's not on R2 DVD, but there's a lovely remaster on Region 1 you can import. Let's hope us Brits get a Blu-ray eventually.

Clan Of Amazons (1978)

The Film: Essentially a detective mystery with loads of kung fu fights, Clan Of Amazons sees our hero Lu Xiaofeng investigating a a vicious thief known as The Embroidery Bandit (which doesn't sound particularly tough, until you find out the bandit blinds their victims). But who is the bandit?
Why It's Amazing: Beautifully shot and choreographed, and with a properly compelling plot in-between the action, this is amongst the very best of '70s Shaw cinema.
Why You've Never Seen It: There are SO MANY Shaw Brothers movies it's easy for gems like this one to get lost in the mix. But trust us, it's worth hunting out.

Scream Pretty Peggy (1974)

The Film: A college girl accepts a live-in job looking after the elderly mother of an eccentric sculptor. But strange things start to happen when the girl discovers another member of the family is living in the house…
Why It's Amazing: We're big fans of weird TV movies - Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, The Appointment - and Scream Pretty Peggy is a curio we'd store in the same box.
Why You Haven't Seen It: As it's a TV movie, your only hope of seeing it is if someone you know has taped it off the telly.
But it has enough iconic moments to deserve a remake, with the original film included as an eventual Blu-ray extra. Hopefully.  

Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)

The Film:Avengers Assemble wasn't the first time Thor and Hulk teamed up, as this awesome slice of '80s silliness proves.
Why It's Amazing: It features Thor running through the sea towards a helicopter swinging his hammer and bellowing "For Odin!" 'Nuff said.
Why You've Never Seen It: Now it's been written out of canon, there's no reason for modern Marvel fan to actively seek out Incredible Hulk Returns. Other than the fact it's loads of fun.  

Night Train Murders (1975)

The Film: A couple of teenagers encounter a twisted trio of sadists on a sleeper train. Viciousness follows.
Why It's Amazing: Essentially The Last House On The Left meets Thomas The Tank Engine, this isn't for everyone - it's almost impossibly bleak.
But horror fans should seek it out. Be warned though, it's very, very nasty.
Why You've Never Seen It: It doesn't quite have the iconic reputation of its peers (hence no remake as yet) so there's a good chance you've missed it.
But it's easy enough to pick up on DVD.

A Quiet Place In The Country (1968)

The Film: A brilliant painter buys a run-down mansion so he can get away from it all and overcome his painter's block, but unfortunately, the house is haunted.
Why It's Amazing: There's so much to love about Quiet Place, it's hard to know where to begin.
Every element, from Franco Nero's haunting central performance to Ennio Morricone's hypnotising score, to the twist-strewn script, is perfect.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's been unavailable for years, but Amazon UK do have a R2 DVD listed - it'll set you back a little, mind you. But if you like movies like Kill List and American Psycho, it's definitely worth the money. 

Streets (1990)

The Film: A suburban kid meets a drug-addicted prostitute and an unlikely friendship forms. Meanwhile, a psychotic cop is cleaning up the streets.
Why It's Amazing: Christina Applegate is astonishing in her debut lead film role, it's a beautifully natural performance that should have won all the awards.
The combination of the realism of the teen runaway scenes with the schlock violence of the psycho-cop plotline (which is extremely reminiscent of Terminator 2 - a full year before that film hit cinemas), makes for a memorable experience.
Why You've Never Seen It: Previously only available on VHS, it had a limited R1 DVD release a couple of years ago. We're still waiting for a R2

From Hell It Came (1957)

The Film: An ancient curse causes a tree monster to rise from the dead.
Why It's Amazing: This film is atrocious, but it's also preposterous fun.
It features an evil tree waddling around and killing people. How cool's that?
Why You've Never Seen It: It really is terrible, but if you enjoy that sort of thing (and we do!) you can pick it up on R2 DVD.

Munster, Go Home! (1966)

The Film: The Munsters inherit a mansion in the UK, and take a trip to claim it. But the family living on the estate aren't ready to give it up.
Why It's Amazing: Not least because it's the first time audiences got to see The Munsters in colour.
Oh, it also features Terry Thomas. And Herman Munster racing in a coffin-shaped car named Dragula. This is a trash addict's dream.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's yet to have a R2 release, but you can import it on R1.  

The Warped Ones (1960)

The Film: Violent teen jazz fans cruise around Japan, causing trouble.
Why It's Amazing: Way ahead of its time, this brutal exposé of teenage cruelty could be shot today and still be as shocking. Shot with so much hyperactive energy it could've been directed by the protagonists, this is an unforgettable combination of form and content.
Why You've Never Seen It: Currently only available on the Criterion label, let's hope that Masters Of Cinema get hold of it soon. 

Red Beard (1965)

The Film: A lazy and selfish trainee doctor learns the value of human life.
Why It's Amazing: The last of Kurosawa's 16 collaborations with Toshiro Mifune is arguably the best. It's not so much a film as an essential treatise on what it means to be human. If everyone watched it, the world would be a better place.
Why You've Never Seen It:Seven Samurai is talked about so often, Kurosawa's arguably superior films are often overlooked. Also, the 3 hour runtime may put you off taking a chance on this one. Still, you can pick it up on Amazon for a bargain.

Yesterday's Enemy (1959)

The Film: A group of British soldiers stumble upon a Burmese village occupied by Japanese soldiers.
Why It's Amazing: An incredibly complex war movie, with your allegiances constantly shifting, Enemy should be as revered as Paths Of Glory as an exploration of the futility of war. The fact it was made by Hammer Films adds to the intrigue.
Why You've Never Seen It: Hammer's horror output has overshadowed this wonderful film, which you can pick up super-cheap on Amazon.

Nightmare (1964)

The Film: A young girl is sent home from boarding school after experiencing a series of bad dreams. But when she gets home, the dreams get worse - and the line between fantasy and reality starts to shift.
Why It's Amazing: Another Freddie Francis classic, this is as gripping as thrillers get. And, like so many of his films, it comes complete with an unforgettable ending.
Why You've Never Seen It: With the BFI in possession of the only 35mm print, and no DVD release forthcoming, your best hope is to wait for a Freddie Francis season. Or, ideally, a boxset.  

Mystics In Bali (1981)

The Film: A young woman wants to learn the secrets of black magic and encounters cackling witches, flying severed heads and giant pigs.
Why It's Amazing: With as much crazed energy as Evil Dead II (surely Sam Raimi's seen this one) Mystics will probably be the most barking film you'll ever seen. And one of the most fun.
Why You've Never Seen It: There's a chance you have, and put the experience down to a fever dream. The uninitiated can pick up a R1 DVD for a reasonable price.

The Yellow Sea (2010)

The Film: A gambler goes to extraordinary lengths to settle his debts.
Why It's Amazing: It starts out as a generic - if beautifully shot - Korean gangster film before essentially turning into Terminator 2.
Seriously, the action in this thing is insane - made all the more involving because of how much we've come to care about the lead by the time it all kicks off.
Why You've Never Seen It: The Yellow Sea didn't experience a break-out into the western mainstream like OldBoy and I Saw The Devil, which is a shame as it's as good as both. It's available in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray pretty affordably.

The Runestone (1991)

The Film: When an ancient monster is unearthed in '90s Pennsylvania, the Norse god of combat arrives to kill the creature.
Why It's Amazing: It's as cheesy as hell, but if you miss practical effects monster movies, this is a real gem.
Why You've Never Seen It: Despite an amazing VHS cover, the DVD cover is awful - making it look like an Asylum version of Thor. But it is available on R2 DVD, at least.

The Strange Vengeance Of Rosalie (1972)

The Film: A traveling businessman picks up a teenage hitchhiker, who proceeds to kidnap him.
Why It's Amazing: Essentially Misery with a hillbilly, we're pretty certain Stephen King's seen this one even if you haven't.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's available on Region 1 DVD, but has never secured a UK release.  

The Skull (1965)

The Film: Peter Cushing buys the Marquis De Sade's skull, only to find it's possessed by an evil spirit.
Why It's Amazing: See above.
Why You've Never Seen It: Made by Amicus Studios, who are essentially a slightly more obscure Hammer Films, The Skull seems to have been almost entirely forgotten by anyone other than underground film fans. It's ripe for a remake though - Sam Raimi could have a lot of fun with this.

Monster From Green Hell (1957)

The Film: When rocket scientists accidentally create giant creatures via cosmic rays, it's up to a fairly patronising colonial doctor in Africa to track the beasts down.
Why It's Amazing: Any film that features stock-footage elephants stampeding in fear from a giant polystyrene wasp is all right in our book. Sure, Monsters From Green Hell is terrible movie, but it's so profoundly bad it can't help but entertain.
Why You've Never Seen It: Because it's awful. But if you have enough beers / friends / pizza, you can make it amazing.

Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010)

The Film: A cult leader keeps a teenage girl hostage in a giant laboratory, hoping to unlock her latent psychic powers in order to reveal the secrets of the universe.
Why It's Amazing: Beautifully shot, Rainbow looks like a cross between 2001 and Suspiria. Tonally, it's mesmerising - think Berbarian Sound Studio being played at the wrong speed.
Why You've Never Seen It:Rainbow hasn't been picked up for UK distribution but you can pick it up on R1. 

Even The Wind Is Afraid (1968)

The Film: A cruel headmistress torments a group of girls at a boarding school - refusing to believe their claims that there's a ghost haunting the hallways.
Why It's Amazing: It's been described as the greatest Mexican horror film of all time, and for good reason. Creepy, atmospheric and with a gripping story full of twists, this is a very special film.
Why You've Never Seen It: Once again, it's never had a UK release, but it's easy enough to import from Amazon under it's slightly less catchy title Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo.

The Friends Of Eddie Coyle (1973)

The Film: An aging criminal is forced to turn informant to avoid a lengthy jail sentence.
Why It's Amazing: The kind of movie Hollywood doesn't seem to make any more, it's almost entirely populated by anti-heroes. Mitchum's world-weary and worn-out performance is unlike anything he'd done before, and it deserves more attention.
Why You've Never Seen It: Overshadowed by director Peter Yates' other classic crime thriller Bullitt, Eddie Coyle is nonetheless available to stream on Netflix.  

Manborg (2011)

The Film: When Nazi vampires kill a young soldier, he is resurrected as the ultimate tool of revenge: Manborg.
Why It's Amazing: It's basically a Frankenstein's mix of every single late '80s / early '90s b-movie you grew up on and loved. Just ridiculous fun.
Why You Haven't Seen It: You were probably put off because it looks like an Asylum knock-off, but it's far fresher, and funnier than that. A smart script (just wait until the final scene) combined with genuinely joyful special effects add up to a brilliant experience.

Return Of Doctor X (1939)

The Film: Humphrey Bogart's film (and last) science-fiction horror film about a mad doctor who's murdering people with a rare blood type in order to extend his lifespan. Despite the title, it's a stand-alone story.
Why It's Amazing: Bogart considers this to be his worst film, which could partly explain why he's so incredibly hammy in it. As so-bad-it's-amazing watches go, you can't go far wrong with this one.
Why You've Never Seen It: We're wouldn't be surprised if Bogart burnt every copy. But you can pick it up in a double bill with the unrelated Doctor X on R1

The Two Faces Of Dr Jekyll (1960)

The Film: In a twist on the Jeykll and Hyde story, here Dr Jekyll is a weakling and Mr Hyde is a charismatic creep. When the Dr discovers his wife is having an affair, Hyde takes revenge.
Why It's Amazing: Brilliant story, shot beautifully, with a stunning score. The central performance(s) is electrifying. There's nothing ironic about this one, it's just fine filmmaking.
Why You've Never Seen It: Despite the fact it's one of Christopher Lee's favourite Hammer films, it hasn't the reputation of some of his other classics. Available on R1 and R2, it deserves a place in your collection.  

Fiend Without A Face (1958)

The Film: The earth is invaded by aliens. Who take the form of human brains. Brains!
Why It's Amazing: A '50s monster movie so influential it found its way onto the Criterion Collection, Fiend Without A Face has the typical charm of the b-movies of the era, with a hard edge. Believe it or not, there are some scenes that have retained their power to shock.
Why You Haven't Seen It: Despite the fact it's a British film, it's currently out of print in this country. But the Criterion set is fantastic, a loving tribute to a great film. 

Fragment Of Fear (1970)

 The Film: A former drug addict uncovers a government conspiracy. Or does he?
Why It's Amazing: One of the greatest films about paranoia ever put to celluloid, Fragment perfectly replicates the feeling experienced by our protagonist of the blurring lines between fantasy and reality. And the ending is unforgettable.
Why You Haven't Seen It: Despite the fact it's a British thriller starring one of our greatest actors (David Hemmings), this is another one you'll have to import from America.

The Bad Seed (1956)

The Film: A mother slowly starts to suspect her daughter is an evil killer.
Why It's Amazing: Extraordinarily ahead of its time, The Bad Seed is a complex mediation on the nature of evil. And it's as terrifying as any modern horror.
Why You've Never Seen It: Despite picking up four Academy Award nominations, Seed appears to have been forgotten - but you can pick it up on a R2 DVD.

Return Of The 5 Deadly Venoms (1978)

The Film: A gang of martial artists who have had limbs removed / been blinded by an evil warrior, team up to take revenge.
Why It's Amazing: The fight scenes are genuinely incredible. Without going into spoiler territory, the way our heroes combine their resources has to be seen to be believed.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's best known by a different (less politically correct) title which may have put you off. But trust us, it's a triumph. 

bonus:
Love this list? Then you should check out our very special tie-in interview with The World's End director Edgar Wright, as he picks his own favourite movies you may not have seen...

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