Think you’ve tapped out everything Max has to offer? Not so fast. Behind the splashy blockbusters and prestige dramas, the service is hiding a goldmine of underappreciated gems—stories that may have slipped past the mainstream but deserve a spot at the top of your watchlist. No matter if you’re into bold indies, quirky comedies, or heavily textured dramas, these 10 films demonstrate that sometimes the greatest discoveries are the ones you didn’t even know you were searching for.
10. Class Action Park (2020)
A documentary regarding an amusement park may ring innocuous—until you encounter Action Park. The legendary New Jersey theme park was known for over-the-top rides, nonexistent safety guidelines, and a few scandals. Class Action Park chronicles the story via crazy first-hand accounts that range from laughter to gasp-inducing. It’s Americana in its most irresponsible form.
9. Problemista (2023)
Julio Torres’ offbeat comedy is like a technicolor dream you never want to leave. Torres plays Alejandro, a Salvadoran toy designer who will do anything to remain in New York before his visa runs out. Tilda Swinton appears as a disheveled art critic who could be his salvation—or his downfall. Quirky, clever, and abounding with imagination, it’s unlike anything else currently on Max.
8. The Assistant (2019)
Subtly but keenly, The Assistant tracks Jane, Julia Garner, through a day of work at a film production company. It’s a world of unspoken power and the minutiae of every detail that speak volumes about systemic abuse. It’s a slow-burning film that lingers and lingers—and Garner is enthralling.
7. Kimi (2022)
Steven Soderbergh reworks the genre classic voyeur-thriller for the digital world. Zoë Kravitz stars as an agoraphobic technology employee who listens in horror when she’s auditing audio from a smart device. Part Hitchcock tribute, part high-tech thriller ride, all edge-of-your-seat entertainment ensues.
6. Bad Education (2019)
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star in this wickedly dark, darkly funny drama based on a true school district embezzlement scandal. It’s a tale of greed, charm, and reputation management gone tery. Critically praised and Emmy-winning, it somehow managed to go under most people’s radars—now’s your chance to rectify that.
5. Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Think hard-boiled detective noir—but set in 1948 Los Angeles, where magic pervades the air as much as cigarette smoke. Fred Ward stars as Harry Philip Lovecraft, a PI who hates magic but can’t help getting entangled in it. With gremlins, femme fatales, and Lovecraftian monsters, this pulpy cult classic is past due for rediscovery.
4. Carnivàle (2003–2005)
Long before Game of Thrones, HBO made a bold move with Carnivàle, a Dust Bowl-era fantasy drama concerning a wandering carnival ensnared in a supernatural battle between good and evil. Rich with symbolism, myth, and mood, the series was cancelled too soon but is an indelible piece of dark, daring television.
3. The Tale (2018)
Laura Dern gives a tour-de-force performance in Jennifer Fox’s autobiographical drama of facing repressed childhood trauma. Mixing memoir and inquiry, the film’s form follows the misty, disjointed quality of memory itself. It’s powerful, provoking, and unshakeable.
2. Doom Patrol (2020–2023)
Forget everything you believe about superhero television. Doom Patrol celebrates the odd, tracking a group of broken misfits with outlandish abilities as they confront both cosmic and intensely personal dangers. Heartwarming one moment and ridiculous the next, it’s one of DC’s most unique and underappreciated inventions.
1. Inherent Vice (2014)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s film of Thomas Pynchon’s book is a stoner noir classic. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Doc Sportello, a hippie private investigator who finds himself in a world of conspiracy, lost love, and paranoia in the sun-baked climes of 1970s California. Hilarious, melancholy, and psychedelic by turns, it’s a film that repays frequent watching.
From magic-powered noir to gut-wrenching true accounts, these underrated Max titles show that sometimes the true gems aren’t headline grabbers—they’re waiting in the wings.