HBO Max may be the home of some beloved mainstream hits — Harry Potter, Sinners, The Hangover — but it’s also a great place to browse if you’re looking for something a bit less conventional.
Underrated indie gems and foreign films also make their home on the platform.
This month, Watch With Us is bringing you three somewhat obscure movies you can stream on HBO Max — all hand-selected by our team.
Next August 2025 movie night, check out one of these underrated HBO Max movies.
‘Problemista’ (2024)
If you don’t know Julio Torres, you should. The comedian and writer created some of Saturday Night Live’s weirdest and most wonderful digital shorts, like “Papyrus” and “Wells for Sensitive Boys.” In this film, which he wrote and directed, he plays Alejandro, an immigrant from El Salvador who dreams of being a toy designer for Hasbro. In hopes of renewing his visa, Alejandro begins working for an eccentric widow (Tilda Swinton) to curate an art show featuring her late husband’s work.
Surreal, satirical and relentlessly funny, Problemista is a critique of the American dream, the immigration system and the New York art scene — all told through Torres’ unique and specific point of view.
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ (1985)
A musical adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman is coming to theaters this fall, so now is the perfect time to watch the original, wonderfully bizarre movie. The story centers on two cellmates in a Brazilian prison during a military dictatorship: a hardened leftist revolutionary named Valentin (Raul Julia) and an apolitical gay man named Luis (William Hurt). To pass the time and “escape” his imprisonment, Luis passionately recounts his favorite movie, a romantic political thriller about the “Spider Woman” (Sonia Braga).
The relationship between the cellmates evolves as the harsh realities of their situation become more dangerous — making the escape into fantasy even more essential. Kiss of the Spider Woman is an emotional, unconventional and daring film.
‘EO’ (2022)
Heads up — this movie, told from the perspective of a performing circus donkey, is not for kids. EO is a beautiful and tragic film that follows the titular donkey’s journey around Poland and Italy after he is separated from his beloved trainer. He witnesses the depths of humanity’s goodness and its evil along his travels, meeting people who are good, bad and a bit of both.
A hit at Cannes that holds a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, EO is a phenomenon you have to see to understand. It will make you laugh, cry and want to either visit a petting zoo or set all the animals free.
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