10 Awesome Recent Movies That Came Totally Out Of Nowhere
9. Hundreds of Beavers
Hundreds of Beavers is a film whose very existence feels like a defiant flipping of the bird to everything we know about modern filmmaking.
A black-and-white slapstick comedy about an applejack maker who faces off against a fleet of angry beavers, the movie was produced for a mere $150,000, having been shot in 2020 before spending the next two years in post-production as extensive cartoonish visual effects were developed.
Hundreds of Beavers finally premiered at Fantastic Fest in September 2022 and began a more-than year-long global festival run, where it was largely well-received by critics and audiences.
However, the wider world didn't really learn about the film's existence until the filmmakers began to distribute it themselves theatrically in early 2024, where it became a buzzy word-of-mouth hit, grossing more than $1 million at the box office.
Audiences were alternately charmed and baffled that such a peculiar - if hilarious and brilliantly made - piece of work could force its way into cinemas rather than being quietly dumped on VOD.
But considering the mesmerising craft involved, what a breath of fresh air it was to see Hundreds of Beavers prove that indie filmmakers can make a sudden impact without spending millions of dollars on marketing.