Watch it now: ‘Thelma’, ‘Spidarlings’, ‘A Beautiful Island’
Three genre films from the late 2010s still hold their own years later. Each one turns private dread into something larger, whether through psychic possession, scrappy punk surrealism, or immigrant survival under extreme pressure. The focus stays on Thelma, yet the surrounding titles keep the same sharp edge.
The original reviews captured the core appeal of each picture without softening the oddities. Those assessments still stand. What has changed is access, context, and the way the themes continue to echo in current conversations about identity, class, and fear.
Thelma
Logline: A woman falling in love becomes entrapped by the supernatural inside her. Verdict: Thelma reminds us of the high points of Black Swan. Whilst rich in nods to classic bone-chilling horror flicks, this psychological drama is both stomach-churning and mind-bending. Thelma is a beautifully shot film about a young woman overtaken by weird psychic nonsense. Eili Harboe (The Wave) commits to all the painful moments of the titular Thelma, and the film’s unsettlingly calm, cool pace makes the moment of psychic possession all the more brutal and frightening. From the director’s chair, Joachim Trier (Louder Than Bombs) melds quiet Nordic noir with a stellar sense for the true terror of the supernatural. The 116-minute runtime gives the slow-burn tension room to tighten. Norway selected the film as its Oscar submission, and it picked up the Norwegian Critics Prize along with the Méliès d’Or.
Spidarlings
Logline: Two lovers are torn asunder by a pet spider. Verdict: From Troma Entertainment comes a ridiculous flick part musical, part punk-rock social commentary, part LGBTQ+ empowerment film, and part WTF. Brought to distribution by the magnanimous Lloyd Kaufman, Spidarlings is a film made with the production budget of a particularly poor church mouse, yet the poor sound design and camera work just make this trashy flick all the more endearing. The story follows lesbian lovers Eden (Sophia Disgrace) and Matilda (Rahel Kapsaski), who live on the edges of the British welfare system. Spidarlings is proper DIY genre filmmaking that weaponizes surrealism to make an entertaining, yet genuinely sweet, film. The project remains available through Troma Now, preserving its low-fi spirit without any major cast or production changes since release.
Most Beautiful Island
Logline: A young woman enters a torturous game. Verdict: Most Beautiful Island is an unnerving and psychologically incisive film about an undocumented young woman, Luciana (Ana Asensio), who, over the course of an evening, becomes part of a twisted puzzle box. Most Beautiful Island is reminiscent of Get Out in transporting you inside the mind of someone under complete and total assault. Like Jordan Peele’s thrillride of a film, Island also has some heavy social commentary to impart upon the viewer, and not all of it lands with care. Writer, director, and star Ana Asensio is able to create a central figure placed directly in the most uncomfortable and often disturbing circumstances. We would’ve liked more focus on the immigrant story Luciana experiences in New York, before diving into the bonkers depths of the third act. Most Beautiful Island is still a chilling experience, and short enough to satisfy anyone keen for some social horror. Recent festival screenings have kept its portrait of undocumented life in circulation, with the same multi-hyphenate performance at the center.
Streaming Availability Update
Thelma currently streams on MUBI, fuboTV, and the MUBI Amazon Channel, with additional free ad-supported options listed on major trackers. Spidarlings remains on Troma Now for viewers who want the full Troma catalog experience. Most Beautiful Island appears on Prime, Pluto, and Tubi in recent platform roundups, making the 2017 title easy to locate without hunting.
Legacy and Cultural Impact
Thelma continues to surface in queer cinema discussions for its handling of suppressed sexuality and sudden supernatural awakening. Spidarlings keeps its place in DIY conversations that mix punk attitude, LGBTQ+ visibility, and pointed welfare critique inside a deliberately messy genre package. Most Beautiful Island stays relevant in talks about undocumented immigrant experiences in New York, especially when programmers pair it with newer survival thrillers.
Festival and Award Recognition
Thelma earned Norway’s Oscar submission slot and collected the Norwegian Critics Prize plus the Méliès d’Or, giving the film formal recognition beyond initial festival buzz. Spidarlings and Most Beautiful Island traveled lighter on the awards circuit yet still secured notable indie festival slots that helped them reach cult audiences.
Similar Films to Watch Next
Viewers drawn to Thelma often move next to Black Swan or Carrie for parallel stories of psychic and supernatural awakening. Most Beautiful Island sits comfortably beside Get Out when the mood calls for social horror with a sharp class edge. Spidarlings pairs naturally with other Troma-style DIY queer horror musicals that prize low-budget invention over polish.
Together the three titles form a compact survey of late-2010s genre work that still rewards fresh eyes. Thelma anchors the set with its controlled intensity, while the other two keep the range wide and the tone unpredictable.
