5 Forgotten ’90s Movies That Are Actually Awesome, Including Angelina Jolie’s Breakout Role

Think about ’90s movies, and you’ll remember teen comedies like Clueless, blockbusters like Jurassic Park, thrillers like Se7en, slashers like Scream, and sci-fi movies like The Matrix. But those are the same films everyone always talks about, and the decade had plenty of other great features that, for one reason or another, never found the success they deserved or made it onto the lists of the most popular titles. Some bombed at the box office, others failed to win over critics, and some were unfairly overshadowed by the classics that came out around the same time. But give them a watch today, and you’ll really understand what “unfairly overlooked” means.

If you’re looking for something different to watch or want to recall how the ’90s also knew how to make great movies for a wide audience, this list is a good place to start. Revisiting the hits is always fun, but sometimes discovering underrated productions is even better.

5) Hackers

When we think of Angelina Jolie, we think of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, or Maleficent. But before any of those big hits came along, she had to start somewhere, and Hackers was her breakout role. If you watch it today, you’ll find a movie with that very ’90s aesthetic that’s become so nostalgic, but did you know it took a while for the film to find its audience? The story follows Dade Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller), a young hacker who gets caught up in a corporate conspiracy after meeting a group of teenagers who are just as skilled at breaking into computer systems, including Kate Libby (Jolie), better known as Acid Burn. The problem? It underperformed at the box office and received mixed reviews, partly because its portrayal of computer hacking wasn’t exactly realistic.

Given that track record, it’s no surprise the movie faded from the spotlight and was forgotten by mainstream audiences. Also, technology has come a long way, so much of the film feels dated today, and some scenes are even harder to take seriously, like the sequence where the characters hack into Gibson supercomputer, which looks more like they’re inside a video game. But as mentioned earlier, Hackers is also a fun time capsule. It’s worth revisiting for its stylized visuals and electronic soundtrack, and it also captures a very specific vision of digital culture from before the internet became part of pretty much everyone’s daily life.

4) Strange Days

When it comes to ’90s sci-fi thrillers, you might not think of Strange Days as a particularly forgotten movie — but that depends on who you ask. And honestly, it’s even more worth watching today because of its subject matter. Set in Los Angeles during the final days of 1999, the story follows Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), an ex-cop who sells recordings that let people experience someone else’s memories, including their physical sensations and emotions. But when one of these recordings draws him into a murder case, he turns to his friend Mace (Angela Bassett) for help and ends up caught in a much bigger conspiracy. So why has the movie fallen by the wayside? Despite its intriguing ideas, the story is long, dark, and has a lot going on.

This is sci-fi, but it’s also a crime thriller with violence and political tension. Put all of that together, and the movie can feel like a lot to take in, making it harder to follow than some viewers might expect. It also didn’t help that Strange Days was another box-office flop of the decade, getting overshadowed by sci-fi films with more popular franchises or greater commercial success. It only started gaining more recognition over time, especially among audiences who enjoy cult films. It’s definitely not as accessible as some of the other thrillers you might remember, but its themes of paranoia, crime, and technology are still good reasons to give it a chance.

3) Drop Dead Gorgeous

Drop Dead Gorgeous is one of those movies critics hated, but audiences had a very different reaction to it. This is a comedy that has absolutely no problem making its characters completely ridiculous (and if that’s your kind of humor, you’re going to have a blast). The story centers on a beauty pageant in a small Minnesota town, where Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst) tries to win the local competition while going up against her main rival, Becky Leeman (Denise Richards). But as the pageant goes on, a series of suspicious accidents begins to affect the contestants, and it soon turns out that some people are willing to do just about anything to win. The film also has a cast full of familiar faces, but that didn’t exactly help it find an audience when it first came out.

In fact, part of the reason it flopped and eventually faded from view may have been its humor. This is a deliberately mean-spirited satire, with other-the-top characters and jokes that can rub you the wrong way if you’re expecting a more conventional comedy. You know those ’90s teen productions that haven’t aged really well for most audiences? Drop Dead Gorgeous can fall into this category too. And with Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You around, it was always going to be harder for this one to stand out. Still, that doesn’t mean it has nothing going for it. The movie offers a pretty sharp take on beauty pageants, ambition, and the pressure to look perfect in front of everyone else. It won’t work for everybody, but it’s worth checking out.

2) Empire Records

Another movie that didn’t win over critics but found a much warmer reception among audiences was Empire Records. Back in the ’90s, it had all the ingredients to become a big hit, especially with teenagers: a young cast, a soundtrack with plenty of personality, and a story about a group of friends trying to save the place that matters most to them. The plot follows the employees of an independent record store who discover that the business might be sold to a major chain. Lucas (Rory Cochrane) tries to stop the sale after making a risky decision with the store’s money, and meanwhile, some characters like Corey (Liv Tyler), Gina (Renée Zellweger), and Deb (Robin Tunney) deal with personal problems, relationships, and questions about what they want out of life.

So, what went wrong, and why was the movie forgotten? Its pacing is uneven, and the story struggles to balance its large cast, leaving some figures feeling more developed than others. It could have had the same kind of appeal as Dazed and Confused, especially when it came to capturing the lives and attitudes of young people, but it never quite got there. Plus, the ’90s had so many teen movies coming out that Empire Records had a hard time standing out, with some of its ideas feeling a little half-baked. Its reputation eventually changed thanks to home video and younger generations who connected with the idea of finding a second family at work. Ultimately, the feature is worth watching for its vibe and the sense of belonging.

1) Pump Up the Volume

Looking for a truly great movie that’s totally underappreciated? Pump Up the Volume is exactly that. Before podcasts and social media gave anyone the chance to reach an audience, this movie was already exploring what happens when a teenager finds a way to speak his mind without revealing his identity. Here, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) is a shy teenager who starts hosting an underground radio show where he talks about problems at school and the frustrations of his fellow students. Going by the name Hard Harry, he starts gaining a bigger audience, but he also catches the attention of the school administration, which wants to shut down his broadcasts. The film didn’t perform all that badly, but for some reason, it never became a major hit.

Maybe its release in 1990, before the big wave of teen movies that are much better remembered today, had something to do with it getting lost in the shuffle. Its take on censorship, isolation, and school authority also makes it less of an escapist comedy than you might expect from the genre. Pump Up the Volume is almost like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but with a dirtier vocabulary and a more critical take on teenage rebellion — but that’s what makes it so interesting. This isn’t just about having fun; the movie also wants teenagers to feel heard and understood. It’s one of Slater’s best performances and a feature that offers something different from what you’d typically expect from a ’90s teen film.