10 Massively Underrated Movies From The 1990s

4. Strange Days

Strange Days Ralph Fiennes
Universal Pictures

1991's Point Break is the movie that put Kathryn Bigelow on the map, setting her on the path to winning an Oscar for helming 2008's The Hurt Locker.

But in the mid-90s, her career momentum hit a bump in the road with the release of Strange Days, a box-office flop (it made $8 million worldwide on a $42 million budget - ouch) that divided critics and audiences.

However, the film is much better than its initial reception would lead you to believe. It was written and produced by James Cameron - y'know, the guy who made Aliens, Terminator 2, Titanic, and Avatar - and stars Ralph Fiennes as Lenny Nero, a dealer of black market tech that allows people to experience memories and sensations (such as robbing a bank) they would otherwise be unable to.

It's basically a slick sci-fi thriller with conspiracy elements, with awesome performances by Fiennes (fresh off his Schindler's List Oscar nod) and co-star Angela Bassett. What's not to like?

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!