8 Underrated Movies From the 2020s You Owe an Apology. Start Typing.

Scores this high usually come with crowds. Not these. Every pick here has under 1,000 IMDb votes. That's on you, not them.

Number one has critics and audiences on opposite sides. Pick one.

1. 8
   Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! (2026)7.9

   Rinko Kikuchi deserved way more than 461 IMDb votes.

   Critics and audiences actually agreed here, a consensus 7.9 movie.guru score. It made $414,736 domestic. The title does a lot of work. So does the movie.
2. 7
   You Had To Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way) (2025)8.7

   Longest title of the decade, and it earned every word.

   8.7 movie.guru score, 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences rank it above 96% of movies. Just 122 IMDb votes. That's about four votes per word of title.
3. 6
   Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026)8.9

   The poetry doc that outgrossed everything else on this list.

   $789,360 domestic and an 8.9 movie.guru score, yet only 235 IMDb votes. People bought tickets, cried a little, then forgot the internet exists.
4. 5
   Chronovisor (2026)8.8

   A 90 on Metacritic for a movie almost nobody logged.

   8.8 movie.guru score, 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 208 IMDb votes. A fantasy history mystery that critics adored and the algorithm buried in the backyard.
5. 4
   The Cycle of Love (2025)9.3

   Critics and audiences both adored it, then everyone moved on.

   9.3 movie.guru score, 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences rank it above 98% of movies. $215,360 worldwide and 449 IMDb votes. Consensus picks don't get lonelier.
6. 3
   Queen at Sea (2026)9.1

   Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay, and you still skipped it.

   9.2 movie.guru score and a Metacritic 89. It has the most IMDb votes on this list at 824, which is still fewer people than a decent high school.
7. 2
   Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2026)9.5

   The best-reviewed movie here, and you've never heard of it.

   9.5 movie.guru score, 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic 96. Critics rank it above 99% of movies. $182,042 domestic, total. 184 IMDb votes.
8. 1
   Black Zombie (2026)8.7

   Critics were right. The audience score is wrong. Fight me.

   100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic 84, critics rank it above 95% of movies. Audiences, only 43%, IMDb 6.4. It's a history lesson wearing a horror mask. Do the reading.

$341.53 says you add at least three of these to your watchlist and watch zero of them by Christmas.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it