This summer's 15 most promising under-the-radar films

Cast: John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie FoxxDirector: Juel TaylorIt’s a shame that is going straight to Netflix, because it seems like it’d be a whole lot of fun to see in a theater. The pulpy sci-fi comedy centers on Fontaine (Boyega), Yo-Yo (Parris), and Slick Charles (Foxx) as they investigate a government conspiracy involving, you guessed it, clones. The script, which Taylor co-wrote with Tony Rettenmaier, landed on the 2019 Black List. They Cloned Tyrone is Taylor’s feature-film directorial debut, and it’s set to premiere at the American Black Film Festival one month before its Netflix release. [Jen Lennon]

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Joel KinnamanDirector: Yuval Adler Wait, Nicolas Cage is starring in a movie with the word Devil in the title? The possibilities for Maximum Nic are endless! In , Joel Kinnaman (Altered Carbon, For All Mankind) plays a driver forced at gunpoint to ferry around a mysterious stranger who looks suspiciously like an Oscar winner who’s spent the last 15 years slumming in an endless string of B-movies. But we love Cage so we’re hoping Sympathy For The Devil extends his recent streak of bigger, better, and higher profile films after The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent and Renfield. Yuval Adler directs from a script by someone actually named Luke Paradise and that gives off very cool Thief and Collateral vibes. [Mark Keizer]

Cast: Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, Alexandra JensenDirectors: Danny and Michael Philippou is the feature directorial debut of Danny and Michael Philippou, who got their start making horror shorts on their YouTube channel . The film, which premiered at Sundance and was quickly snatched up by A24 after a bidding war, centers on a group of friends who draw some unwanted supernatural attention after a séance involving an embalmed hand. Early reviews were glowing, promising lots of gore and impressive practical effects. [Jen Lennon]

Cast: Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe, Walton Goggins, Jack Dylan GrazerDirector: Bill PohladIf you’ve never heard of the rock/soul duo of Donnie and Joe Emerson, neither had anyone else when they released their first and only original album in 1979, which is the starting point for Love & Mercy director Bill Pohlad’s fascinating-sounding . After the album came, went, and was quickly forgotten, it was rediscovered and earned great acclaim 30 years later when a music blogger paid $5 for a copy in a Spokane, Washington, antique store. Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe play older and younger versions of Donnie Emerson while Walton Goggins and Jack Dylan Grazer do the same, respectively, for his brother Joe. Themes of second chances and lost dreams look to get a melancholy workout in this drama that earned solid reviews when it played out of competition at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. [Mark Keizer]

Cast: Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, and Bryce GheisarDirector: Marc ForsterThe bestselling middle-grade book Wonder by R. J. Palacio features an antagonist named Julian who bullies the main character Auggie and winds up expelled from school at the end of the story. What happens to him next and what he learns became the subject of the graphic novel White Bird by the same author, published in 2019. Now, is getting its own film adaptation. When Julian (Bryce Gheisar, reprising his role from Wonder) gets a visit from his grandmother (Helen Mirren) she tells him about her youth and the hardships of growing up as a Jewish girl in France during World War II, like having to hide from Nazis at the home of a classmate. Really puts those ordinary middle school problems into perspective, doesn’t it? [Cindy White]

Cast: Katherine Waterston, John ChoDirector: Chris Weitz Top-tier horror factory Blumhouse Productions enters the summer fray with , a film whose plot we know nothing about but will probably involve people listening. Still, considering the talent involved, the film should be on your radar. It’s directed by Chris Weitz, whose genre-heavy CV includes The Golden Compass and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. He also co-wrote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The cast includes Katherine Waterston and John Cho, who has appeared in 11 of Weitz’s films, starting with American Pie, which Weitz co-directed with his brother, Paul. Kinda like a Jordan Peele film, the fact that They Listen’s plot is under wraps at this late date actually gets us more excited to see it. [Mark Keizer]

Cast: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA, Isabella Rossellini, Larry Owens, Catalina Saavedra, Greta LeeDirector: Julio TorresComedian Julio Torres has written for Saturday Night Live, the HBO series Los Espookys (which he also appeared in), and his own standup special My Favorite Shapes, but the upcoming film is the first project he wrote, directed, and starred in. He plays Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador whose desperation to secure a work visa gets him caught up in the chaotic world of an art critic (Tilda Swinton) obsessed with her late husband’s (RZA) art and legacy. The film takes the viewer through the seedy, surreal spaces of New York City as well as the Byzantine intricacies of the U.S. immigration system. Expect a bumpy ride, with humorous, unexpected twists and turns. [Cindy White]