As with every single year, we try to cover as much indies as possible, but we just never have the time to see them all, sadly. As with previous years, this top five comprises five of the best indies I saw all year. It’s not to say the films that didn’t make the list are terrible films, or that the films the other writers on Cinema Crazed enjoyed aren’t good, either. This is merely my own subjective list of five independent films I highly recommend to you that I saw this year. It’s good to remember this is opinion, and not gospel.
If you want to see what films the Cinema Crazed collective consider A+ Indies, visit the link included!
Also, be sure to let us know some of the best indie films you saw all year!
Directed, Written by Chad Ferrin
(Original Review | On Hulu)
Very much in the vein of “Judgment Night,” Chad Ferrin’s horror thriller is a socially and politically relevant film about the homeless epidemic, and how they’ve managed to go beyond the forgotten and grown in to their own world. When a group of wealthy young men come across a group of violent homeless individuals, they have to try to make it back home, or else be hunted down and murdered. Filled with nail biting tension and a twist ending in sync with our social climate, “Parasites” is a top notch indie genre hybrid.
Directed, Written by David Cornelius
( Original Review | Buy It Here
)There’s nothing like a good monster movie, and David Cornelius gives us one heck of a fun monster outing that celebrates the era where it’s from and never hesitates to be silly every now and then. A sandwich is sent in to space and mutates in to a monster that can turn humans in to its own food. Cornelius spares no detail, including every trope he can right down to the classic unrealistic phone conversations where characters expounded on a situation unnecessarily. Made on an obviously small budget, “Inhumanwich!” is good schlock nonetheless with its tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Directed, Written by Anthony Stabley
( Original Review | Buy It Here )
In the tradition of films like “Hardcore,” Anthony Stabley’s dramatic thriller feels like a personal story through and through. It’s the tale of lie, uncertain futures, and how the search for fame can swallow up the innocent and spit them out as yet another victim. Stabley tells the tale of two young kids in love, but Jessie seeks her fortune in Hollywood at the expense of her passionate relationship with Matt. Matt searches in to the dark underbelly of show business when Jessie is murdered, and he learns more about corruption, sexual exploitation, and how Jessie spiraled out of control. “Everlasting” is heartbreaking, but it’s beautiful.
3. Never Hike Alone
Directed, Written by Vincente DiSanti
( Original Review | Watch It Here )
I had to include “Never Hike Alone” from Womp Stomp Films, for the fact that I’m a big fan of the “Friday the 13th” series and director/writer Vincente DiSanti does what no director has in years. He makes Jason Voorhees terrifying again. To add to the film’s quality, he dabbles in a lot of ideas that studios have in the past, like found footage, Jason matching wits with one character, and even the look at what the camp is like when it’s only Jason left to his devices. “Never Hike Alone” is short, but tense, creepy, and features a bang up finale. If you’re a Voorhees fan anxious for a studio reboot, you owe it yourself to see what DiSanti does here.
Directed by Tony Shaff
( Original Review )
Garnering a very small release in the states, “44 Pages” is an enlightening and interesting documentary about one of the longest running magazines in the world. Exploring the unusual origins of “Highlights,” the documentary isn’t just a unique celebration of the legacy of the magazine, but a peek in to the making of the magazine, and the odd background and stipulations that come with it. One of the most interesting footnotes involves how to work at the magazine, there’s a psychological examination, and that they often don’t feature witches of any kind on their magazines so as to respect and not stigmatize all beliefs and religions. It’s a pleasing, and light documentary.
Directed by Marisa Stotter
( Original Review | Buy It Here
)One of the most important documentaries of the last few years, “She Makes Comics” comes at a great time where comic book companies are in a storm of controversy involving sexual harassment. Not to mention comic book guru Stan Lee, who lost his wife of many decades in 2017, went publicly on record declaring that Marvel Comics wouldn’t be half as successful were it not for her. “She Makes Comics” is a brilliant and engaging documentary about the women of comic book history, from those who made the comics, those who went uncredited, and the many who that love the very comics that continuously try to marginalize them to this day. “She Makes Comics” is not just an important documentary, but it’s a fun and provocative one that gives the female community their long overdue acknowledgement. I highly recommend it for comic book and art history buffs.