Movies that came out of nowhere

[Hot Pepsi]

The Vast of Night is on Amazon. It’s a unique kind of sci-film set in New Mexico in the 50s. It’s kind of an homage to The Twilight Zone, but it’s about other things too. I really like it. Well worth a look.

Apparently, this is the creators’ first feature film. It’s their first IMDB credit at all. None of the actors are remotely famous. They didn’t spend much money on special effects but obviously had some budget to spend on making everything look like 1958.

Apparently, it was rejected by 20+ festivals before getting a good response at Slamdance so Amazon bought it.


I think the last time I recall being impressed by a film featuring nobody I’d ever hear or seen before was Swingers over 20 years ago during that period in the 90s when it seemed like anyone could get a deal from Miramax, independent one-screen theaters were in business, and video stores were everywhere. Clerks was like that too.

But usually, a successful film by a first-time director will at least have one or two semi-famous actors in it - Resevoir Dogs For example - and sometimes great actors do well the first time they direct, like Greta Gerwin with Ladybird or Ben Affleck with Gone, Baby, Gone.

Are there more examples of interesting original movies coming along with nobody famous involved?

[Various Artist]

Funnily enough HP your opening example there makes me think immediately of Monsters, which appeared from nowhere about 10 years ago as a unique kind of sci-fi road trip set in Mexico. It was remarkably low-budget considering how good it looks, as it was essentially homemade – director Gareth Edwards (whom I'd never heard of) did all the special effects on his laptop – and starred two actors (Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able) I'd never heard of either, in what was for the most part basically a two-hander. I love it and would recommend it to anyone.

[Sits]

The Blair Witch Project.

[Hot Pepsi]

Those are good examples.

I haven’t actually seen either of them. Maybe I saw Blair Witch. I don’t recall. I’m not into horror.

I would like to see Monsters.

[ursus arctos]

It seems to me that a large number of foreign films that win an Oscar and/or do big box office fall into this category, at least if one qualifies "famous" as "among US audiences).

So Parasite, obviously, but also films like Amelie, The Artist, Life is Beautiful or Cinema Paradisio.

[Hot Pepsi]

Bong Joon Ho was known in the US before Parasite because of Okja and Snowpiercer, but I don’t think any of the actors were.

The Artist was out of left field. I really loved that, but so many people are still mad that won best picture.

[Sits]

Those are good examples.

I haven’t actually seen either of them. Maybe I saw Blair Witch. I don’t recall. I’m not into horror.

I would like to see Monsters.

I'm not into horror either but BWP really got me. Unlike many I don't like being scared as entertainment, but make an exception for this. The first time I watched it was on a long haul flight (remember those?) at night and everyone else was asleep. My TV the only light. It worked a treat.

[Sporting]

Gareth Edwards (whom I'd never heard of

Great scrum-half.

[Snake Plissken]

Halloween and Mad Max would be examples.

It doesn’t properly count as it had someone famous and it wasn’t a first film but The Matrix came from few expectations to absolutely huge.

[Sporting]

Tesis?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesis

[Ginger Yellow]

Not a debut film for either the director or the lead actor, but certainly in terms of coming out of nowhere for Western audiences The Raid has to be up there.

As for The Vast of Night, I really enjoyed the tone and the acting, didn't care for the framing device, and thought the film didn't really go anywhere after doing such a good job of building a mood. The ending was exactly what it seemed like it was going to be all along. The headfake into horror didn't go anywhere at all.

[Levin]

Bong Joon Ho was known in the US before Parasite because of Okja and Snowpiercer, but I don’t think any of the actors were.

The Artist was out of left field. I really loved that, but so many people are still mad that won best picture.

Maybe in the US but OSS117 got a cinema release here. I really do recommend people checking it out. It's a fantastic film, same director and stars as The Artist, and filmed in the style of the period it is set.

[3 Colours Red]

Pi?

[Ginger Yellow]

Not sure how commercially successful Pi was, though obviously it did launch Aranofsky's career.

Using HP's literal criterion, merely being impressed by a film with nobody you'd ever heard of, I'd say it happens to me all the time. At least once a month. But I go through a lot of movies and I'm also terrible at names and faces, so there are lots of people I've "never heard of" who I really should have. I'd "never heard of" Tom Hardy until Fury Road. Or Nicholas Hoult, for that matter.

[G-Man]

Outside of West-Germany, Baghdad Caf? came out of nowhere.

Arguably, Withnail & I might qualify. I don't think it was heralded, nor much notice taken of when it first appeared on circuit. In proportion to the cultural milestone it has become, the film had very humble beginnings indeed.

[Ray de Galles]

I saw 'The Vast of Night' a week or two ago and, as mentioned on the 'Current Watching' thread, really enjoyed it. SPOILER WARNING - I had no problem with the ending though, I don't think it needed a "twist" or anything more shocking or horror-based.

I've finally seen 'Monsters' during lockdown too, not at all the film I was expecting but a very good one ANOTHER SPOILER WARNING - the ending there did throw me completely however much it had been presaged.

[elguapo4]

Once ; Glen Hansard and director John Carney were known in Ireland but hardly household names here either, the rest of the cast were virtually unknown.

[S. aureus]

El Mariachi

[Ginger Yellow]

Outside of West-Germany, Baghdad Caf? came out of nowhere.

Speaking of Germany, how about Victoria?

[WOM]

The Artist was out of left field. I really loved that, but so many people are still mad that won best picture.

A lot of Best Picture winners cause a fair degree of outrage. Someone did a column a few months back on the Best Picture winner for each year compared to which movie was arguably the best picture that year. I'll see if I can find it.

[Various Artist]

Great scrum-half.

Hah, someone had to say it didn't they! Yeah, but it doesn't matter how many Grand Slams you've won or how fancy-dan your footwork for the Barbarians was against the All Blacks, it doesn't mean you can produce movie-standard CG on your Hewlett-Packard even with Barry John alongside you.


I've just remembered, incidentally, Monsters includes a vast fortified border wall built between Mexico and the US to keep the latter free of alien undesirables. Its satire was eerily on-point a good 6 years before the orange goblin got into the White House.

What with that and it showing the Mexican side of the border at least as essentially being on lockdown, now is frankly the absolute ideal time to catch up with watching it.

[Various Artist]

I'm not into horror either but BWP really got me. Unlike many I don't like being scared as entertainment, but make an exception for this. The first time I watched it was on a long haul flight (remember those?) at night and everyone else was asleep. My TV the only light. It worked a treat.

That's brilliant Sits, sounds like it would've been spot on as the 'ideal' way to see it, short of you being in an actual tent in the woods at the time.


I'm no horror fan either in general, but yes there's room for an exception in some cases. My favourite equivalent was probably seeing The Silence of the Lambs on my own in my student hall of residence's TV lounge, late at night, in the dark, with me sitting right in front of the screen and nobody else coming in at any point for the whole duration. Talk about atmosphere.

It's run extremely close, though, by similarly watching The Exorcist on my own circa 2004, late at night, in the darkened Victorian house I shared with friends but all of whom must have been either cloistered upstairs somewhere or away. Bear in mind that this was a film reputedly so scary and subversive it was unavailable on video in this country until only a handful of years earlier. Every creak of the walls or murmur of the central heating pipers or whisper of the wind outside the single-glazed windows was a shiver down my spine. It was fantastic though.

[Hot Pepsi]

Pi?

Yes, that's a good example.

Apparently, there really was an explosion of independent and otherwise interesting films in the 1990s. Until recently, I wasn't sure if that was really a thing or if it just felt like that to me because it was when I started to really pay attention.

But my understanding is that it really was an especially exciting time for film and films that previously wouldn't have been made or only shown in LA, New York and London were suddenly getting bigger budgets and big marketing efforts. Of course, Miramax had a lot to do with that. So the memory of that period will always be somewhat tainted.

I read that Amazon especially is hoping to revive that spirit by picking up more films like Vast of Night at festivals. Netflix is making a lot of stuff, but I don't know if they plan to buy a lot of stuff and be the primary or sole distribution for it.

[Hot Pepsi]

I saw 'The Vast of Night' a week or two ago and, as mentioned on the 'Current Watching' thread, really enjoyed it. SPOILER WARNING - I had no problem with the ending though, I don't think it needed a "twist" or anything more shocking or horror-based.

I've finally seen 'Monsters' during lockdown too, not at all the film I was expecting but a very good one ANOTHER SPOILER WARNING - the ending there did throw me completely however much it had been presaged.

Sorry that I missed that on that thread.

I thought the ending could have used a bit more, but I'm not sure what it needed, really. I guess I just wanted more of the whole thing. I'd be up for a sequel or blowing the whole thing out into a 10 part series.

I loved the leads so much and was really getting into the 1950s vibe where tape recorders were cutting-edge tech.

It also portrays how unbelievably boring basketball was back then. No shot clock. No three point line. In fact, a lot of purists were opposed to the advent of the jump shot because they thought it reduced the importance of passing and teamwork.

[slackster]

The stellar success of Rocky must have surprised a few back in the day. Tiny budget, virtual unknown - and, let’s face it, rubbish actor - as lead/writer, and the director wasn’t exactly a household name at the time either.