The 90s was a golden age for cinema, as it was filled with incredible crime movies, strange and original concepts, and CGI was still a very new and exciting effect for studios to experiment with. Because many different types of movies were getting made at the same time during this decade, the variety led to many great movies becoming forgotten in the time since.
Between the movies that are so bad, they're good, those that unintentionally inspired the biggest movies of the 2010s, and those genuinely thought-provoking movies directed by the decade’s wunderkinds of cinema, there are so many forgotten 90s movies worth revisiting that 90s kids will feel giddy with nostalgia from these 10.
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
It’s amazing how forgotten Glengarry Glen Ross has become, considering its enormous amount of star power behind it. It might be the biggest all-star cast of the 1990s, as it features Al Pacino, Jack Lemon, Alan Arkin, and many others all competing for commission as struggling real estate salesmen.
There are also appearances from Kevin Spacey and Alex Baldwin, who gives the incredible and rather terrifying “Always be closing” speech, and it shows just how cutthroat the industry can be.
Army Of Darkness (1993)
Being the third entry in the Evil Dead series, several fan theories, AoD leaves behind the traditional cabin-in-the-woods type horror for a more quirky movie.
Between the name, as many people may not even know it’s a sequel to Evil Dead 2, and the strange plot, the movie has become somewhat forgotten, but it’s one of the most entertaining films from the 90s.
The Mask (1994)
People may argue that jokes don’t hold up, but if anything it was way ahead of its time, it's this movie, as The Mask was doing the same comedy as Deadpool more than 20 years earlier.
The movie is full of fourth-wall-breaking comedy, and Jim Carrey’s over the top performance suits the source material perfectly. That bright green face combined with the yellow zoot suit is in no way as iconic as it should be, and it’s unfortunately dangerously close to vanishing into obscurity.
The Game (1997)
Being directed by crime auteur David Fincher and starring two of Hollywood’s most elite actors, Sean Penn and Michael Douglas, The Game deserves more praise than it gets. But it is often overlooked in Fincher’s filmography, as it’s sandwiched between 1995’s Seven and 1999’s Fight Club, arguably two of the greatest movies ever made.
But The Game deserves to be held in high regard too. Though the movie is largely free of violence and crime, it’s an excellent drama full of suspense, and like the two previously mentioned movies, it has a huge twist at the end.
Small Soldiers (1998)
Small Soldiers has it all: a monstrous toy villain that goes by the name of Chip Hazard, voiced by Tommy Lee Jones, over the top performances from David Cross, Kevin Dunn, and a young Kirsten Dunst, and a battle of wits between two toys at war with one another.
The movie is hammy, but it’s one of the great films that critics thought was just average. The toy characters are so entertaining and there was clearly a lot of fun and thought put into the creation of all of them. It gets even better when the advanced toys start making machines of their own, whether it’s a combat vehicle or Barbies that come to life.
Godzilla (1998)
Godzilla might not be unintentionally forgotten, but instead, it's a movie that some actually tried to forget, as it features the iconic creature tearing up New York in one of the weaker bouts of CGI at the time.
Being the first Hollywood blockbuster take on the monster, Roland Emmerich, the go-to disaster movie director, was fairly faithful to the lore of the original, but it’s what many feel are the stereotypical characters, awful dialogue, and aforementioned CGI has helped to bury the movie in the years since, even if it does get some things right.
Election (1999)
Election follows Reese Witherspoon as she campaigns to become the school’s president, but it becomes an uphill battle as her teacher, played brilliantly by Matthew Broderick, tries to stop her in any way possible.
Not only is it one of the best election movies of all time, but it’s laugh-out-loud hilarious, as it’s one of the earlier Alexander Payne movies before he started making more inward-looking works, with movies like The Descendants and Nebraska. Election also amusingly subtly shines a light on men who fear women that are smart and independent, but it never beats viewers over the head with condescending messages.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
One of the kings of the 1990s, Tim Allen stars in Galaxy Quest, a hilarious parody of Star Trek, as it follows a group of actors who, as stars of a Star Trek-type TV show, get caught up amongst real aliens.
They have to use what they’ve learned on the TV show in order to succeed and it’s one of the best cult movies of the 90s. Though it’s nowhere close to the popularity it had decades ago, there has recently been a documentary made about the movie by Screen Junkies.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
It’s easy to understand why the popularity of The Talented Mr. Ripley has faded in recent years, as its narrative can’t simply be summed up in a sentence and, being set in Italy, it does fly somewhat under the radar.
The movie, starring Matt Damon and Jude Law in one of his best movies, follows the titular character as he charms his way into an elite, well-educated group of American friends in Italy, only to steal one of their identities. There’s a lot of intrigue and thrills in this movie, while it also somehow leads the audience to sympathize with the criminal, making it well worth a watch.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
How Being John Malkovich ever got greenlit is a mystery, as the peculiar narrative follows a puppeteer who gets an office job only to find a portal behind a filing cabinet. That portal leads into the mind of real-life actor John Malkovich, and anyone who goes in gets to live as the actor for 15 minutes.
Not only this, but it was helmed by first time director Spike Jonze, and a first time director behind the wheel is reason enough to worry. However, it’s a fascinating movie with a shocking ending, and it kickstarted Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s incredible careers.
