8 Amazing 2016 Films You've Already Missed

8. Midnight Special

American director Jeff Nichols has already shown huge promise with films like Mud (the story of two young boys who come across a fugitive and vow to help him evade those tracking him down) and Take Shelter (the tale of a man who becomes convinced he must build a shelter in order to prepare for an apocalyptic storm). His most recent project, Midnight Special, continues this run of brilliant releases.

With Midnight Special being Nichols' first studio production, there was concern that working with a studio might strip the story of the director's trademark air of strangeness, but thankfully that's not the case here.

Midnight Special tells the story of Roy (played by Michael Shannon) and his biological son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), attempting to escape authorities following the discovery that Alton has incredible, mysterious powers. The movie does a fantastic job at keeping the whole thing a cryptic enigma, gradually revealing details and context but never going so far as to spoil the mystery.

You're unlikely to have seen Midnight Special for precisely the reason it's so good: the film did not receive an incredibly wide studio release owing to its bizarre, deliberately paced sci-fi plot and lack of overt “action”. Yet what it does offer is so much more intriguing and engaging.