Top 5: Unsung Films Of 2022
In a sea of worthy competition, it's not uncommon for some great films to get eclipsed by the year's other contenders. There is, after all, a staggering amount of new releases each year, and some of them are here and gone in the blink of an eye or buried by a sea of other content. This makes it easy for a great film to go by unnoticed, and even when they do get seen, they don't always get the love and appreciation they deserve. Even when a film gets a lot of media buzz and attention, it can seem — to us anyways — like it’s still undervalued or misunderstood.
Well, we refuse to let those gems from 2022 remain unsung, so we’re shouting up to the rafters about the five films from last year that we feel are unsung, underrated, under-appreciated, or under-championed!
David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy has been a messy bloodbath that has consistently made peculiar decisions and offered a mixed bag of thrills, chills, laughs, and frustration. But with Halloween Ends, Green interestingly decides to sidestep Laurie almost entirely to offer something thematically new and surprisingly different. Combining transferable curse with the reverse metamorphosis of Carpenter’s Christine, the film leans into metaphor and symbolism more than any of the Halloween films, which makes Ends a more rewarding and complex watch. We think it's commendable for taking a bold new stab at the tired, done-to-death slasher, and while there’s things we’d definitely alter, its unique slant might just make it the best offering out of Green’s trilogy in our eyes.
4: Something In The Dirt
For a decade now, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have been crafting thought-provoking and mind-bending genre mashups on an indie budget, and Something In The Dirt is their latest creative vision. Mixing elements of sci-fi, horror, dark comedy, and conspiracy thriller, the duo cook up an ambitious, inventive, and amusing film that cleverly explores the unexplainable. It’s part mystery, part paranormal puzzle, part paranoid thriller, wrapped up in the shell of a buddy comedy and presented as a pseudo-documentary. There’s a real gravitational pull and electromagnetic charge to the results, but aside from the sharp and slick way Benson and Moorhead direct their film, it’s their grounded performances that make it all the more complex, compelling, and charismatic.
3: The Good Boss
The Good Boss is a really sharply written corporate satire that’s bolstered by Javier Bardem’s charismatic performance and Fernando León de Aranoa‘s sleek direction. Bardem might not be the first person you picture when you think of comedy, but he proves his proficiency here, delivering oodles of reptilian charm as the manipulative factory owner who meddles in the lives of his employees, often to humorous results. It’s a comedy of appearances and the lengths one is willing to go in order to maintain a sterling facade for another silly trophy to mount on the wall. But there’s also a lot going on under the surface, too. Essentially a political allegory for the dictatorial Spain and totalitarianism, The Good Boss lures you in with its cleverly plotted comedy and Bardem’s smarmy charms, but it leaves on a wonderfully cynical note that gives the whole affair an even greater meaning.
2: After Yang
Kogonada’s After Yang is really lovely, immaculately framed film that contemplatively probes into identity, culture, and family with a palpably compassionate focus for all involved. Interestingly, technology is entwined in day-to-day life, but not in a negative way; there is balance, harmony, and symbiosis. There’s a spectrum of emotions that makeup its journey, and all of it feels natural, graceful, and palpable. Gorgeously lensed, wonderfully scored, and absolutely well performed, After Yang is a quiet, thought-provoking, futuristic slice of life that lingers well after the credits roll. Not only does it feature one of the most fun and hilarious opening credit sequences of the year, but it also features Colin Farrell doing a Herzog impression, which is worth the price of admission alone. To quote the film, “Somehow, that is all in this tea.”
Cinema is no stranger to kids with special abilities, but it’s rarely rendered as grounded or gripping as Eskil Vogt’s latest film, The Innocents. Similar to The Worst Person In The World, which Vogt co-wrote alongside director Joachim Trier, The Innocents is an invigorating amalgamation of genres and genre elements that makes it simultaneously exhilarating and a bit difficult to categorize. One could say that it’s a totally straight-faced, realistic rendition of X-Men, Chronicle with children and without the found footage angle, or even a mé·nage à trois of Scanners, The Fury, and Village Of The Damned, but even then, we’ve only just scratched the surface of this expertly crafted, compellingly strange genre piece that’s surprisingly emotional and genuinely terrifying in equal measure. At the end of the day, The Innocents is a superb genre hybrid that gracefully weaves components of drama, horror, and supernatural thriller into a perfectly paced and stylistically cohesive experience, which is why is our pick for the most unsung film of 2022!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!