This week I set out to find really good, underrated movies so you don’t have to. What I found is a solid trio that covers three different moods. One will make you sweat at a dinner party, another will make you paranoid about your neighbors, and one will make you want to adopt a ginger cat immediately. The best part? You all can watch movies for free on Tubi. Here are my tips for this weekend.
We also have instructions for this The best new movies to streamThe best movies on NetflixThe The best movies on HuluThe best free moviesand the The best films on Amazon Prime Video.
The Invitation (2015)
The official synopsis of “The Invitation” sounds like an ordinary movie – a man goes to a dinner party at his ex-wife’s house and something is wrong. That’s it! That’s the whole structure. And yet director Karyn Kusama turns this premise into a crushing and anxiety-inducing film.
The brilliant thing about it is that you’re never quite sure whether the fear you’re feeling is real or just sadness wearing a sinister mask. Logan Marshall-Green directs the entire film on a knife edge, and the slow build is timed just so that your palms will be sweating by the time the third act arrives. This underrated film somehow remained hidden from most people. You can watch it alone and then maybe decline all dinner invitations for a week.
You can watch The invitation to Tubi
The Below (2015)
This is a British thriller that deserves far more attention than ever before. It starts slowly with a young couple expecting their first child. They form a friendship with the new couple downstairs, who are also pregnant. Then something happens and the film starts to take a turn for the worse.
What makes “The Ones Below” so effective is how ordinary everything looks. Polished, quiet, suburban. The horror creeps in through small gestures and charged silences rather than jump scares or overt manipulation. If you like films that make you question people’s motives from the opening scene, this film is for you.
You can watch The ones below on Tubi.
A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)
After two thrillers, here’s something that will boost your trust in people a little. A Street Cat Named Bob is based on the true story of James Bowen, a homeless busker and recovering drug addict living on the streets of London whose life changed when he found an injured red cat and nursed him back to health. Bob the cat refused to leave. And so began one of the more unlikely and truly moving friendships you can see in a movie.
It would be easy to dismiss this as sentimental, and it doesn’t shy away from sentimentality. But it deserves every moment of it. Luke Treadaway is excellent as James, and the real Bob the Cat plays himself, in what is arguably one of the best casts of the decade. It’s the kind of film that doesn’t demand much of you other than attention and rewards you quietly and completely.
You can watch A street cat named Bob on Tubi.
