Top Indie Films and Where to Watch Them

The film majorly impacted the stoner culture around its release in the 1970s. It is a counterculture road drama film where two freewheeling motorcyclists travel in America after striking a cocaine deal. On their way, they pick up a hitch-hiking hippie and rest at a hippie community and are gifted weed and LSD. Later, in New Mexico, they are sent to jail for parading without a permit where they meet an alcoholic lawyer. As a gesture for retrieving them out of the jail, they offer the lawyer some weed. Despite being a square (conventional and old fashioned person), George takes a few hits and they wander off in streets, high. Easy Rider counters the tradition of marijuana associated with just hippies and talks about the societal tensions during the 1960s about an increase in hippie cultures and drug abuse.

Austin, Texas, is an Eden for the young and unambitious, from the enthusiastically eccentric to the dangerously apathetic. Here, the nobly lazy can eschew responsibility in favor of nursing their esoteric obsessions. The locals include a backseat philosopher who passionately expounds on his dream theories to a seemingly comatose cabbie, a young woman who tries to hawk Madonna's Pap test to anyone who will listen and a kindly old anarchist looking for recruits.

The Terminator blends science-fiction with action where an android from the future is sent to kill the mother of an unborn child who would later lead a revolution of humans against the machines. The game becomes tricky when the humans send their own soldier from the future to defend the lady from The Terminator at any cost.

Barbara flees into an old farmhouse after her brother Johnny is killed in combat against a zombie, while the siblings are visiting their mothers grave. Soon the farmhouse is surrounded by more zombies and Barbara is stuck in along with Ben, Harry, Helen, Sarah, Tom, and Judy. The group must find a way to move on from their differences and try to escape the farmhouse with their collective effort, lest the zombies get to them.

Reservoir Dogs is an independent film shot on a very low budget but the exceptional prowess of the director and co-writer yells out that a good movie does not need a huge budget. It is not your average Crime Drama as along with the characters the viewers have a toll on their patience regularly throughout the film. A gang of six thieves is hired to successfully carry out an armed robbery on a diamond warehouse. As soon as they get done with the robbery, things get out of control and they suffer with unintended and unexpected damage to their plan and force. The Police are after them and it is then that it struck them that one of them must be a police informant. Will they be able to find out which one is the back-stabber here? Or are they just too blatant to be true in the first place?

Donald Donnie Darko is an intelligent but confused teen that, as it turns out, has been chosen to save the world. One night, Donnie is awakened by a strange voice belonging to an even stranger bunny rabbit called Frank. Frank beckons Donnie out of his house and informs him that the world is going to end in precisely 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. What then follows is a series of events revolving around multiple universes, time travel and the very existence of God which conspire to lead Donnie to realize and then fulfil his destiny.

Chaos has broken out as a truck has been hijacked in New York. Following that, another chaotic event takes place as a cargo ship, carrying drug money worth millions, bursts into flames and several die. The only survivors are questioned, one of whom narrates the events leading to the cargo ship destruction. The survivors are the conmen who had hijacked the truck but couldnt be declared guilty. A bigger problem arises when they feel the presence of a mastermind criminal and somehow, feel endangered as they may have gone against him in their plan of actions.

A very talented ballerina, Nina, lives in New York but practically lives and breathes dance. When the role casting begins for a play named Swan Lake, Nina is the first person who the artistic director, Thomas, thinks of. Nina is a very innocent girl full of dreams. Things start taking a toll on her due to the negativity around her, one of it being her mother who is a former ballerina herself. Soon, she comes across a competitor named Lily who is also being considered by Thomas for the play. Swan Lake needs a dancer who can play the role of the White Swan for which Nina is appropriate and the Black Swan which Lily is perfect for. All this rivalry leads to the development of a strange friendship between Nina and Lily and Nina begins to get in contact with her dark side.

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.

John and Ann are married and are a well-to-do couple. Ann has a sister named Cynthia. Lately, due to intimacy problems & displeasure, John and Ann are unsatisfied by each other. Looking to fulfil his desires, John looks for pleasure outside his marriage and starts dating Cynthia, who likes to live life on her own terms. Things take a steep turn when an old friend, Graham, enters the plot and reveals a piece of shocking information about his personality, which leads to each character messing up their lives but as their disastrous actions unfold, they are eventually released from the mental and physical unfulfillments of their lives and discover what they desire.

A Cannes Award-winning independent black-white buddy comedy, Clerks created a landmark in independent films and got selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as they deemed it as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2019. Set in Leonardo, New Jersey, the story revolves around a young man, Dante Hicks, who works as a clerk at Quick Stop Groceries. Reluctantly doing his low-paid job, Dante is put in-charge on his day off, to cover another employee’s shift. Dante's best friend is Randal Graves, a slacker, who works at a video rental store, adjacent to Dante. The two best friends sit down at Quick Stop to chat, as they contemplate closing the stores and slacking off, while Dante frustrates about his day off. Dante also talks about his confusion between his current girlfriend, Veronica Loughran, and ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Bree, who is hospitalized. Dante’s life seems to be gaining no traction, as he learns about his ex getting married, Veronica providing oral sex to 36 men before him, and the passing of one of his ex’s. Confused between staying with Veronica and reuniting with Caitlin, what will Dante do?

Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

George, an English professor, has been mourning over the death of his lover Jim, who died in a car accident 8 months ago. Unable to cope up, one day, George decides to commit suicide later in the evening. One of his old students Kenny and a friend Charley, whom he has known since his days in England, meet him. He meets both of them over the day and spends some time with them before fate turns into a new direction.

Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.

Caleb works as a programmer for BlueBook, a leading search engine which was created by Nathan. Nathan is currently residing in an isolated area, working alone on a humanoid robot, which he calls Ava. To test her consciousness, Nathan needs Ava to interact with a human. For this, a contest is organized at BlueBook which Caleb wins and gets a chance to spend a week with Nathan. Caleb starts his interactions with Ama, both separated by a glass wall in a closed room, watched over by Nathan through a system of CCTV. Soon, Caleb learns that Nathan is going to kill Ava as he did with his previous humanoid robots. He makes a plan to free Ava from the captivity. Will be able to execute it perfectly? Get your snacks and watch EX MACHINA to find out the answer.

Bob, an American actor lands in Tokyo for the shooting of an ad film and ends up meeting Charlotte, a college student who is married to a photographer. As the two of them meet frequently and start experiencing Japanese life together, they forge a friendship. One particular night they share their deep thoughts and feelings, and realize that neither of them is satisfied with their married lives.

Little Olive is selected for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California, 800 miles away. Due to financial difficulties, her mother, Sheryl decides to go on a road trip in their yellow van with the entire family. The members include Sheryl’s Richard, who struggles to be a motivational speaker, her gay brother Frank, recovering from a suicide attempt, her teenage son Dwayne, who has taken a vow of silence and Richard’s constantly yelling father, Edwin. They all together form a chaotic group that can barely hold it together for the entire trip.

Blue Velvet starts with the protagonist Jeffrey Beaumont finding a severed human ear near his home. His curiosity to dive deep into this case leads him to an immoral underworld of sexual deviancy and kidnapping. Jeffery soon finds himself following a lounge singer Dorthy Vallen. As the story progresses, Jeffrey learns that Dorothys son and husband have been kidnapped by a sociopath named Frank Booth and he is using Dorothy as a sex-slave. For some reasons, even Dorothy likes to be treated this way and begs Jeffery to hit her when they have sex. Watch this erotically charged thriller and embark on a detective (and perversive at the same time) journey with Jeffrey.

In 1979 Santa Barbara, California, Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour – to help with Jamie's upbringing.

Pat is released after 8 months in a mental health facility for Bipolar disorder after he assaulted the man his wife was cheating on him with. He tries to find the silver linings in his life, while also trying to win back Nikki, his ex-wife. Pat meets his friends sister-in-law, Tiffany, who is a depressed widow. She is attracted to him but Pat only wants Nikki back. Tiffany promises to help Pat reunite with Nikki if he becomes her partner for a dance competition.

Film students Heather, Mike and Josh journey to the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland. Their aim is to gather documentary footage of the mysterious Blair Witch, who is allegedly responsible for many killings. They interview the locals and soon venture into the haunted woods, in October 1994. The footage of their experience is found a year later.

Four stories entwine with each other. Susan and Richard are on a rebonding vacation when Susan is hit by a bullet. Two boys were practising using a rifle of their father's, Abdulla, and accidentally shot Susan. The first story is the struggle of the husband and wife to get back to their own country from Morocco. The second story is of Amelia, the nanny who caters to Susan and Richard's children. Unknown to the fact that Susan has been shot, she is only advised to stay with the children in their absence. In the fear of missing her son's wedding, she takes the children with her. On the return, she gets stranded and abducted on the US Border. The third story is that of Abdulla and his sons who live in Morocco. One day, while practising with a new rifle that their father bought from their neighbour, Hassan, to shoot jackals, they accidentally shoot a bus and injure a woman on the bus. Their fear of being called terrorist makes them run away. But they get caught by police officials. The last story is based in Japan about a girl named Chieko. Chieko is mentally traumatised after her mother commits suicide. She takes out her frustrations in the form of drug abuse and sexually provocative behaviour. She meets two detectives who question her about her father and his trip to Morroco. Since Chieko knows nothing, they leave her be. When her father, Yasujiro returns home, and the detective asks him about Morocco to which he says that there was no black market involvement; he gave his rifle as a gift to Hassan Ibrahim, his hunting guide on a trip in Morocco.

Agu lives with his family in a buffer zone which gets surrounded by troops when the government falls. The troops begin to shoot and Agus entire family is killed while he escapes into the forest. He is caught by another rising rebel faction which makes him a part of the faction. After undergoing harsh initiations and brutal incidents, Agu becomes a child soldier. His skills are refined by taking part in many wars and ambushes. The movie shows the life of a child who is tortured into a bloody and war-torn existence. What unfolds later in his life is truly intriguing.

The movie starts with a fleet of helicopters spraying to protect the people of Los Angeles against medflies. In the course of the plot, nine life stories intersect both casually and deeply. People here live complicated lives where they live while enjoying the perks of selfishness, drinking, cheating and lying without caring about the consequences and emotions. Every story has a disaster to overcome and life is never easy, especially with the hollow-hearted characters of the story. Towards the end, all of the characters are left to their fates in front of nature. Watch this movie to find out what happens to these nine families and how they move on with their lives.

Craig, a puppeteer, takes up filing work in a weird Manhattan office. Although married, he hits on his co-worker, the sexually-friendly Maxine. She is exhausted, yet shows interest in Craig when he finds a portal to dive inside John Malkovich’s mind, a popular actor. For 15 minutes, he can see, hear, and feel whatever John is doing, and then magically drop out by the New Jersey Turnpike. Maxine transforms it into a business, selling trips for $200. It turns into a strange operation and queer relationship involving Craig’s restless wife. On the other hand, John discovers what's happening and attempts to stop it. However, Craig considers it to be a key to Maxine as well as his career.

Few of your favourite stars like Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey cast when they were teenagers in this comedy movie. The story revolves around the last day of a college for seniors and juniors. With seniors trying to live the day at its best, juniors trying to avoid themselves from being bullied, the movie turns out to be one for every type of kid in their school days. With the warm-bloodedness at that age, several sensitive aspects are presented and the movie still strong after 25 years since its release.

In the year 1974, five friends head to Texas to visit their grandfather's grave which has been ritualistically vandalized and desecrated. On their way, while passing a slaughterhouse, they pick up a menacing hitchhiker. The hitchhiker borrows Franklin's(a paraplegic) pocket knife and cuts himself. He then takes a photo of Franklin and demands money for it. When the group refuses, he slashes Franklin's arm. They throw him out of their vehicle and drive away. Traumatized, they stop at a gas station where the proprietor tells them the pumps are out of gas. The group then stumbles upon an abandoned house. A huge mute man, Leatherface, brutally kills Kirk with a hammer. When his girlfriend Pam enters the room, she sees the room has furniture made out of bones. Will the group of friends survive this house and murderous Leatherface?

An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob. Jarmusch's spiritual gangster film tells the story of an inner-city hit man (Whitaker) who lives on a rooftop, training himself as a samurai in the strictest sense. He communicates primarily by carrier pigeon, while remaining loyal to a gangster (Tormey) who once saved his life.

A brilliant mathematician Maximillian Cohen (Max) believes that the existence of everything in the universe can be explained in the form of numbers and that patterns emerge when these numbers are fed into a system. He has been a lonely man all his life with his headaches being his constant companions apart from one pal who also happens to be his former professor, Sol Robeson. The kind of genius that he is, Max goes on to develop a supercomputer in his house in order to predict the patterns of the stock market. A mysterious number developed by the intelligent machine can result in a profit of millions for which a wall street company starts chasing Max with his headaches deteriorating further.

Three intercut stories about outsiders, sex and violence. In "Hero," Richie, at age 7, kills his father and flies away. After the event, a documentary in cheesy lurid colors asks what Richie was like and what led up to the shooting. In the black and white "Horror," a scientist isolates the elixir of human sexuality, drinks it, and becomes a festering, contagious murderer; a female colleague who loves him tries to help, to her peril. In "Homo," a prisoner in Fontenal prison is drawn to an inmate whom he knew some years before, at Baton juvenile institute, and whose humiliations he witnessed. This story is told in dim light, except for the bright flashbacks.

17 year-old Ree Dolly sets out to track down her father, who put their house up for his bail bond and then disappeared. If she fails, Ree and her family will be turned out into the Ozark woods. Challenging her outlaw kin's code of silence and risking her life, Ree hacks through the lies, evasions and threats offered up by her relatives and begins to piece together the truth.

When teenager Juno gets pregnant by her friend Paulie, she initially opts for an abortion. However, she further changes her mind and decides to give the baby up for adoption to a couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring. Her parents are very supportive, but tensions rise when Paulie reveals he loves her and Mark starts getting cold feet.