10 Great Films That Already Flew Under The Radar In 2016

2016 was supposed to be a landmark 12 months in film, though this calendar year is looking more and more likely to be remembered for its high-profile disappointments. Despite the BFG stumbling recently, Disney and their extended family have managed to buck the trend with The Jungle Book, Finding Dory and Captain America: Civil War, though Marvel's rivals at DC have been living a nightmare.

Both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad have failed to impress, with the autopsy of the latter film still taking place. Other franchise-starters in the long-awaited Warcraft and teen-novel adaptation The 5th Wave delivered yet more disappointment, though those cursing the first half of the year as a right-off shouldn't speak too soon.

While a quick search for 2016 films does indeed make for bleak reading, you only need to dig a little deeper to find a number of great films that have come and gone quietly this year, many of them featuring some of Hollywood's finest. Patrick Stewart took on a uncharacteristically brutal role and won, Viggo Mortensen added yet another brilliant performance to his CV, and Ethan Hawke has been a very busy boy.

Those unaccustomed to life outside of the blockbuster might be expecting this to be a list full of pretentious art house films that critics are afraid to bash, but that isn't the case. This list proves that 2016 has actually been a fruitful year for just about every genre, from silly ensemble comedies and teen musicals to ultra-violent horrors and super-smart thrillers.

Here are 10 great films that have already flown under the radar in 2016 so far...

Green Room premiered at Cannes in 2015 and was released for consumption by the masses in April this year, pulling in just $3.7 million from a budget of $5 million. Jeremy Saulnier's (Blue Ruin) horror thriller stars Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots and late Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin, each chipping in with perfectly weighted performances that make this grim film hard to take your eyes off.

The plot focuses on a young punk band touring the Pacific Northwest who accept a last minute gig at a venue on the outskirts of Portland. When the band arrives to play their set they soon realise that their audience is made up entirely of neo-Nazis (led by club owner Stewart), who refuse to let them leave after they accidentally stumble across a murder backstage.

It takes a while for the violence to get going, but once it does, it never slows, reaching levels of B-movie bloodshed akin to early Peter Jackson flicks. To paint Green Room simply as a gore-fest would be to do it a disservice, however, as it has far more to offer than just cheap genre thrills.

Saulnier several delivers grisly deaths without ever moving away from his unsentimental take on the high-tension thriller, cherry-picking all the best elements of the various genres on display with the effortlessness of a much more experienced filmmaker.