12 Most Underrated Movies Of 2017

Craig S. Zahler delighted genre fans back in 2015 with his directorial debut Bone Tomahawk – a Western horror mash-up with an infamously violent finale – and stayed true to form with his sophomore film, the Vince Vaughn-fronted grindhouse romp Brawl in Cell Block 99.

Uber-violent but thoroughly entertaining with a peppering of black humour throughout, it follows Vaughn’s Bradley – a former boxer turned convicted drug mule – as he fights and kills his way through the prison system to pull off an inside hit lest his pregnant wife and unborn child be killed by cartel henchmen.

Cue a series of super-graphic sequences that starts with Vaughn dismantling a car with his bare hands (and that’s just within the first few moments of the movie) and culminates in a blisteringly violent final fight that just about matches Bone Tomahawk’s brutal climax.

It’s not all just mindless grindhouse fare though. Look hard enough beyond the bloodshed and you might just find a subtle critique of America’s broken prison system and there’s no denying that Vaughn gives a career-best turn as brute-with-a-brain Bradley with a nuanced performance that’s both filled with rage and pathos.

Sadly, with a limited theatrical run that earned it just $7,144 not many people saw it but hopefully it’ll find a home on VOD where its destined to become a cult classic.