Underground movies: Students share their thoughts on their favorite ‘unknown’ movies

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An at-home movie set up including ice cream and a projector.

One of the things senior Cass Henson admires most: the sizzles of popcorn paired with the feeling of nostalgia as the TV screen lights up; Henson is filled with an excited buzz by one click of her remote. When the title screen for her favorite movie fades into view, all her worries seem to disappear.

Sometimes it is nice to try out unknown and obscure films, while others prefer the comfort of old fashioned movies. If you are looking for something brand new or want to re-experience childhood nostalgia, these TV aficionados have some recommendations for you.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Henson likes to travel back in time with the old film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). This film has undertones similar to the Disney classic, Mary Poppins. The movie takes place during the Battle of Britain, focusing in on Miss Eglantine Price, a witch-in-training who decides to use her supernatural powers to defeat the Nazi soldiers. With the help of three intelligent kids, the crew uses their enchanted bed to travel into a mystical fantasy land to conquer German troops.

“Even though the visuals are super old, all the colors are super vibrant,” Henson said. “It’s a really cool but weird premise for a movie.”

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is available to watch on Disney Plus.

Underdog (2007)

Henson’s next favorite blast-to-the-past movie is Underdog (2007), which all starts with a freak lab-accident and ends with a dog with super-powers. Shoreline worked as a bomb-sniffing beagle before getting fired by the town’s mayor. After leaving his law enforcement career behind, the dog gets kidnapped by a mad scientist who performs a bit of a wacky science experiment on him. Suddenly Shoreline has the ability to talk and fly, allowing him to become his local small-town’s superhero.

“It’s a funny movie. There’s even a little bit of romance in it; it’s like if Superman was a dog essentially, which I love,” Henson said.

Underdog can be found on Disney Plus.

I Kill Giants (2017)

Contrasting Henson’s eccentric movies, sophomore Chelsea Gee recommends a newer movie, I Kill Giants (2017). This movie focuses on teenage Barbara Thorson, who finds the best way to escape her troubles in life is by fleeing to her imaginary fantasy land. Battling the normal world with her internal-conflicts, she finds that the best way to deal with her problems is to just ignore them. 

“At the beginning you think the movie is about a girl that actually kills giants, because you see her actually killing giants, but it turns out that that’s just a coping mechanism because her mom is dying,” Gee said.

Even so, Gee highly recommends watching this fantasy filled drama.

“It’s really good. It’s a very sad movie, but it’s really well made and I love the costumes. You really don’t understand what she’s going through until the very end; it has a really big plot twist,” Gee said.

I Kill Giants can be found on Amazon Prime.