High concept sci-fi is everywhere you look these days, and as a result some great movies haven fallen through the cracks, failing to find the size of audience they deserved. Luckily, the advent of streaming has rectified that to a certain extent, with countless underrated and under-seen titles finding new life with subscribers all over the world.
The latest case in point is Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special, which flopped at the box office back in early 2016 after earning less than $7 million on a thrifty $18 million budget. The ambitious thriller drew widespread praise from critics and currently holds a strong 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences just weren’t interested.
The ever-reliable Michael Shannon stars as Roy Tomlin, a man on the run with his young son, who displays unique and potentially destructive abilities. Pursued by both religious zealots and the government, Roy is forced to try and protect his son against threats coming from all corners, all while trying to keep his kid’s powers in check.
Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Shepard and Adam Driver populate the talented supporting cast, in what’s an exciting hybrid of chase film, conspiracy thriller and sci-fi mystery. Five and a half years after sinking without a trace in theaters, Midnight Special has been captivating HBO Max viewers after cracking the platform’s Top 10 most-watched list, as per FlixPatrol.