2026 Hidden Gems: Movies You Might Have Missed

by Chris Stewart 08.2026

Here's to the sixes. In 1976, Rocky bested co-front-runner Network to win Best Picture (in the ceremony of 1977), as well as Taxi Driver and All The President's Men. In 1986, Marlee Matlin became the youngest Best Actress nominee and, eventually, winner, for Children of a Lesser God, as well as the first Deaf actor to do either. 1996 saw the decade's trend of epics continue, following Dances With Wolves, Schindler's List, and Forrest Gump, when Anthony Minghella's The English Patient won. Even more consequentially, its runner-up, Fargo announced the dominance of independent voices that would define coming years.

In 2006, Martin Scorsese's The Departed barreled its way to becoming his first major win(s) in Best Director and Picture.

In 2016, La La Land was announced as the Academy's choice for year's best, before Moonlight took the title, following a mix-up in which Emma Stone's Best Actress win card was errantly handed to Network star Faye Dunaway.

This year, Stephen Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Sam Raimi, and others released major films. And yet the story of the year has been new filmmakers, small-budgeted releases, and, specifically handmade horror films capturing the spirit of the age. 

Here, to close out the summer, are some titles that you may have missed; available to watch.One is a ponderous, sometimes wrenching look at family and a new way to approach the non-autobiographical, deeply-personal early-life story. One is the least-discussed of the Spring indie horror films, a Japanese video game adaptation with atmosphere and heart. And one is the kind of down-the-middle adult drama (a thriller, nominally) with one of the last working great stars of the New Hollywood era.

1. Blue Heron, Director Sophy Romvari. Available on Prime Video, Apple, and other streamers. How to describe a somber, luminous family drama as excitingly good? Sophy Romvari's work is just that, as confident a directorial vision as you can hope for from the first frame, as a Hungarian family begins a new life in Canada while the children and parents alike wonder at the oldest son's antisocial soul. This is a resonant and true piece of filmmaking, the kind of festival gem that recalls In The Bedroom and Aftersun – elementally pointed and delicate. With images that linger and a born filmmaker's eye.

2. Exit 8, Director Genki Kawamura. Available on AMC+ and other streamers. Remember the small, atmospheric indie horror of 2026's Spring that punches above its weight and lingers with eerie unease? This modest feature sits nicely with its peers (Backrooms, Obsession, Iron Lung) in its bespoke focus on a particular liminal sense of dislocation. Unlike those, it also manages to evoke despair and hope. A hypnotic, small pleasure of a film. Come for the gimmick, stay for the naked, if not simplistic, humanity.

3. Tuner, Director Daniel Roher. Available on Prime Video and other streamers.This take on familiar territory (a troubled but sweet loner with a particular skill set finds himself with the wrong crowd when money is tight) has momentum, rhythm, and tone to spare. Leo Woodall stars as the world's most doe-eyed savant of sorts who finds that his ear for sound is desirable not only to piano owners but safecrackers. Dustin Hoffman plays his mentor – it's nice to see him in a handsomely filmed NYC – and Havana Rose Liu is a welcome foil as the concerto impresario who sees him for who he might be.