5 Forgotten 2010s Movies That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

While it may seem like just yesterday to some people, it has now been over 6 full years since the end of the 2010s as a decade, with more and more people increasing their fondness and appreciation for the various aspects and works of art of the era. While films like Interstellar, Get Out, and Parasite will always end up dominating the conversation in terms of exceptional films that defined the decade, there are a fair share of other deeply underrated films that were released throughout the decade.

Even more interesting are the films that, even only 6 years after the end of the decade, have proven to be more beloved and appreciated under a modern context than they were when they first released. Whether it be newfound appreciation for films that previously went under the radar or distinct themes and style that are more effective to modern tendencies, it's easy to envision these films being even more successful and appreciated if they were released in the 2020s instead of the 2010s.

5 'Lake Michigan Monster' (2018)

Few films of the 2020s have become such immediate cult classic success stories as like Hundreds of Beavers, which spread through word of mouth to be considered one of the wildest, most entertaining original comedies of recent memory. However, while their recent cinematic outing has seen all sorts of praise and success, this largely hasn't translated over to the filmmaking team's previous outing, Lake Michigan Monster. The 2010s comedy film features the same wild, manic energy as Hundreds of Beavers, yet with a distinctly different and flavorful approach to madness, utilizing more witty dialogue and quirky characters embarking on a journey of madness across the "dangerous waters" of Lake Michigan. The film follows a sea captain gathering together an unlikely crew to embark on a revenge mission against the sea monster that killed his father, with the mysterious creature lurking within the depths of the Midwest's own Lake Michigan.

Everything that made Hundreds of Beavers such an original and compelling comedy experience for the modern era is in full-force in Lake Michigan Monster, giving the film an ahead-of-its-time aura to its approach to comedy that makes it all the more brilliant in hindsight. The manic, digital-era approach to low-budget comedy spares no expense in terms of goofy concepts and ridiculous storytelling, instead adopting the mindset of simply letting the absurdity of the comedy flow and navigate the film into greatness on its own. It embraces its inner weirdness to create a film experience designed for underground film lovers, destined to be appreciated by smaller crowds and achieve word of mouth success just like Hundreds of Beavers.

4 'Hush' (2016)

Horror as a genre went through multitudes of experimentation throughout the 2010s, from the jumpscare-heavy slow-build horrors like The Conjuring and Sinister to elevated horror experiences like Hereditary and Get Out. However, one film that distinctly finds a great balance between these trends and has only grown more exceptionally appreciated in recent years is in Mike Flanagan's audio-based home invasion film, Hush. Long before Flanagan became a household name in horror with his widely acclaimed miniseries, Hush utilizes the director's inherent strengths for somber, foreboding tension to create a brilliantly original twist on the classic home invasion horror genre. The film's premise is incredibly simple, following a deaf woman being stalked by a psychotic killer from within her own secluded home in the forest. However, it's all in the filmmaking and execution that makes Hush such a compelling and well-aged horror thriller.

In able to better set the audience into the perspective of its main character, Hush often decides to completely cut out the audio and present the audience with pure, terrifying silence. This effect, in turn, not only adds to the realism and relatability for the main character, but amplifies the horror and tension of a lot of moments, creating sequences of blind confusion and unknown terror for the main character as evil stalks her without her knowledge. This reinvention of the home invasion genre not only completely flips the scares and tension on its head, but proves to be even more effective and impactful in a modern context than when it first released, as horror is even more rife with experimentation and risks with its filmmaking nowadays than it ever was in the 2010s.

3 'Ernest & Celestine' (2012)

A film from the past aging gracefully and becoming more appreciated in the modern era doesn't inherently mean that the original film had to be entirely unwatched by the masses, as Ernest & Celestine has managed to grow its legacy from an already lofty starting point for an animated film. The French animated film employs a beautiful, timeless storybook watercolor aesthetic for its visuals, making the film feel like it jumped right off the pages of a children's book and onto the big screen. This directly amplifies the fantasy charm and wholesomeness of the film, with the core friendship that it centers around being all the more impactful thanks to said style. The film was massively praised when it was first released, even being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 86th Academy Awards.

However, in the nearly 15 years following its release, Ernest & Celestine has proven to be surprisingly more beloved and appreciated than even the animated film that it lost to at the Academy Awards, Frozen. A major factor in the film's exceptionally aged stature is that the inherent strengths that made it such a hit when it first released are even more uncommon in today's landscape of animation than they were in 2012. 2D animation, while certainly having its standout releases in the modern era, continues to play second fiddle to the overwhelmingly dominant force of 3D animation as the standard. This has managed to make the masterful visuals of the film stand out that much more, alongside the more accepting nature that many modern audiences have for international cinema that they didn't have in the 2010s.

2 'The Dirties' (2013)

Few independent comedy filmmakers have had such a rising star trajectory in the 2020s quite like Matt Johnson, whose recent releases in Blackberry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie have received massive acclaim and praise. However, this is far from surprising for those familiar with the filmmaker's previous works, most notably his deceptively hilarious yet dark and unsettling school shooter film, The Dirties. The film sees Johnson and Owen Williams following a duo of high schoolers who are tired of being bullied at school and decide to vent their frustrations by creating a movie about getting revenge on them. However, as the stakes and weight of their film starts to delve into some dark and real territory, the two best friends begin to have a falling out as the line between reality and fiction in their film starts to blur.

The Dirties does an exceptional job of balancing its wildly dark humor with an exceptionally effective message, as for all the painfully dark humor that it provides, it never makes light of the abhorrent and painful nature of the events that it depicts. Especially as such mass shootings sadly continue to become the norm, the film's deeply intelligent and layered portrayal of not only the lead up to these events but the types of mentalities and culture that embolden these types of people hits harder than ever. Johnson's signature humor works like a charm here, but it has the brilliant side effect of a sense of sickening dread, knowing the inevitable dread that comes as a result of its characters' disconnect from reality. The mockumentary continues to stand as one of the smartest school shooting films ever created, which is wild considering it's just about the only school shooting film that has clear elements of comedy.

1 'Blindspotting' (2018)

The 2010s as a decade was filled with compelling and widely acclaimed films that examined the intricacies and difficulties of race and perception in modern American society. However, Blindspotting stands as not only one of the best and most intelligent explorations of such themes in contemporary film, but also one of the most bold and emotionally striking dramas that hasn't nearly received the credit and acclaim it deserves. The film's core premise ties into its exceptional themes, as it follows the difficulties and injustices that both of its main characters receive due to their identities not aligning with the perception that people have of them. Collin (Daveed Diggs) has been trying to make a new beginning and move onward in light, but is always perceived as a threat. Conversely, his childhood best friend Miles (Rafael Casal) has embraced a no-attitude, troublemaker lifestyle all his life, but has continued not to be taken seriously by the new arrivals in their rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood.

From the exceptional chemistry and dynamic between Collin and Miles to an exceptional blending of comedy with hard-hitting emotional moments, Blindspotting continues to be an exceptionally entertaining as well as emotionally gripping story. Even moreso, its themes of identity and unjust persecution by the police continue to be more relevant and effective today than they were even less than a decade ago. It's a film distinctly made for this modern era of rebellion and self-reflection, creating a wildly underrated yet masterfully crafted cinematic experience that only grows more impactful and effective with each passing day.