50 amazing films you've probably never seen
Vigilante (1983)
The Film: Part of a wave of post-Death Wish Revenge movies, Vigilante sees factory worker Eddie Marino joining a vigilante gang after his family are assaulted by criminals.
Why It's Amazing: Whereas Death Wish seems to take pleasure in violence, Vigilante examines the consequences, making it an intense and powerful watch. Tarantino's pal Robert Forster has rarely been better, with several stand-out scenes.
Why You've Never Seen It: Shot between Lustig's more famous movies--bridging the gap between Maniac and Maniac Cop--Vigilante seems to have been lost in the mix.
The Power (1968)
The Film: When the members of a scientific research group start being killed one by one, all evidence points to the killer possessing telekinetic powers.
Biochemist Jim Tanner faces a race against time to track down the murderer.
Why It's Amazing: Essentially a precursor to Scanners, The Power is almost constantly gripping, from the opening scene to the surprising final confrontation.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's not on R2 DVD, but there's a lovely remaster on Region 1 you can import. Let's hope us Brits get a Blu-ray eventually.
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Clan Of Amazons (1978)
The Film: Essentially a detective mystery with loads of kung fu fights, Clan Of Amazons sees our hero Lu Xiaofeng investigating a a vicious thief known as The Embroidery Bandit (which doesn't sound particularly tough, until you find out the bandit blinds their victims). But who is the bandit?
Why It's Amazing: Beautifully shot and choreographed, and with a properly compelling plot in-between the action, this is amongst the very best of '70s Shaw cinema.
Why You've Never Seen It: There are SO MANY Shaw Brothers movies it's easy for gems like this one to get lost in the mix. But trust us, it's worth hunting out.
Scream Pretty Peggy (1974)
The Film: A college girl accepts a live-in job looking after the elderly mother of an eccentric sculptor. But strange things start to happen when the girl discovers another member of the family is living in the house
Why It's Amazing: We're big fans of weird TV movies--Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, The Appointment--and Scream Pretty Peggy is a curio we'd store in the same box.
Why You Haven't Seen It: As it's a TV movie, your only hope of seeing it is if someone you know has taped it off the telly.
But it has enough iconic moments to deserve a remake, with the original film included as an eventual Blu-ray extra. Hopefully.
Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)
The Film: Avengers Assemble wasn't the first time Thor and Hulk teamed up, as this awesome slice of '80s silliness proves.
Why It's Amazing: It features Thor running through the sea towards a helicopter swinging his hammer and bellowing "For Odin!" 'Nuff said.
Why You've Never Seen It: Now it's been written out of canon, there's no reason for modern Marvel fan to actively seek out Incredible Hulk Returns. Other than the fact it's loads of fun.
Night Train Murders (1975)
The Film: A couple of teenagers encounter a twisted trio of sadists on a sleeper train. Viciousness follows.
Why It's Amazing: Essentially The Last House On The Left meets Thomas The Tank Engine, this isn't for everyone--it's almost impossibly bleak.
But horror fans should seek it out. Be warned though, it's very, very nasty.
Why You've Never Seen It: It doesn't quite have the iconic reputation of its peers (hence no remake as yet) so there's a good chance you've missed it.
But it's easy enough to pick up on DVD.
A Quiet Place In The Country (1968)
The Film: A brilliant painter buys a run-down mansion so he can get away from it all and overcome his painter's block, but unfortunately, the house is haunted.
Why It's Amazing: There's so much to love about Quiet Place, it's hard to know where to begin.
Every element, from Franco Nero's haunting central performance to Ennio Morricone's hypnotising score, to the twist-strewn script, is perfect.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's been unavailable for years, but Amazon UK do have a R2 DVD listed--it'll set you back a little, mind you. But if you like movies like Kill List and American Psycho, it's definitely worth the money.
Streets (1990)
The Film: A suburban kid meets a drug-addicted prostitute and an unlikely friendship forms. Meanwhile, a psychotic cop is cleaning up the streets.
Why It's Amazing: Christina Applegate is astonishing in her debut lead film role, it's a beautifully natural performance that should have won all the awards.
The combination of the realism of the teen runaway scenes with the schlock violence of the psycho-cop plotline (which is extremely reminiscent of Terminator 2--a full year before that film hit cinemas), makes for a memorable experience.
Why You've Never Seen It: Previously only available on VHS, it had a limited R1 DVD release a couple of years ago. We're still waiting for a R2.
From Hell It Came (1957)
The Film: An ancient curse causes a tree monster to rise from the dead.
Why It's Amazing: This film is atrocious, but it's also preposterous fun.
It features an evil tree waddling around and killing people. How cool's that?
Why You've Never Seen It: It really is terrible, but if you enjoy that sort of thing (and we do!) you can pick it up on R2 DVD.
Munster, Go Home! (1966)
The Film: The Munsters inherit a mansion in the UK, and take a trip to claim it. But the family living on the estate aren't ready to give it up.
Why It's Amazing: Not least because it's the first time audiences got to see The Munsters in colour.
Oh, it also features Terry Thomas. And Herman Munster racing in a coffin-shaped car named Dragula. This is a trash addict's dream.
Why You've Never Seen It: It's yet to have a R2 release, but you can import it on R1.
Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.