Blockbusters dominate the summer movie seasons, and that’s fine. Blockbusters kind of dominate the whole calendar, but they’re especially prevalent in the summer when kids are out of school. Chances are you saw Avengers: Infinity War, Incredibles 2, and/or Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. But it’s also a place where smaller movies also try to compete, and there were definitely some this past summer that were worthy of your attention. They may have already left your local arthouse or multiplex, but you’ll want to make a note of these movies and make sure you see them as soon as possible.

First Reformed

First Reformed is not an easy movie by any stretch, but it is one of the best movies of the year. Paul Schrader’s meditation on faith and despair follows a priest (Ethan Hawke) of a small congregation who is begins falling further into hopelessness as he attempts to council a pregnant wife (Amanda Seyfried) and her activist husband (Philip Ettinger).

Schrader allows the audience to sink into the despair with its priest, but it’s never a punishing experience. Rather than try to emotionally eviscerate the audience with bleakness, First Reformed is almost a conversation with the elements that cause despair from global warming to institutions of faith that seem more designed for profit than for spiritual care. And yet despite its lofty ambitions, it’s never preachy or overbearing. First Reformed can be dark and disturbing, but there’s still light in the darkness. – Matt Goldberg

Hereditary

If you’re in the mood for a horror film that will terrify you on a deep level, Hereditary is your jam. The feature debut from writer/director Ari Aster hails from A24, and it’s very much in the vein of that studio’s other critically hailed horror pic The Witch in that it uses the horror genre as a vehicle to tackle other issues. Toni Collette plays a woman whose somewhat-estranged mother has just died, and whose family begins to unravel as strange happenings start to occur. At heart, Hereditary is a family drama. A supremely dark family drama, but a family drama nonetheless. It’s certainly scary, and there’s definitely a horror element, but cinephiles will be delighted to find that this is a handsomely crafted film full-stop with striking cinematography and awards-worthy performances. Just don’t go in expecting a feel-good experience… – Adam Chitwood

The King

Even if you’re not an Elvis fan, this one is worth watching to understand his place not only in American history, but how that history intersects with Elvis. When the film is focused on the trajectory of his life and career, it’s incredibly insightful, willing to invite conflicting viewpoints, and letting the audience figure out their own feelings on Elvis’ music and legacy. When director Eugene Jarecki expands his view to try and turn Elvis into a metaphor for America, the documentary becomes a bit more unwieldy, trying to find pat answers and comparison when the breadth and diversity of America make that nearly impossible through a single figure. The metaphor is at its most apt when it looks at Elvis through the lens of the American Myth/Dream and how he embodies both the best and worst that myth/dream has to offer. – Matt Goldberg

Three Identical Strangers

Watching Three Identical Strangers is genuinely one of the most memorable viewing experiences I’ve ever had. This is one of those documentaries that’s better if you know as little going in as possible, but here’s the brief setup: Three 19-year-old men in 1980 discover that they are actually triplets separated at birth. Twists and turns ensue (boy do they), but if you’re at all interested in the “nature vs. nurture” debate, this is an easy must-see as these men were each raised in wildly different households. Director Tim Wardle brilliantly chronicles this experience in a way that feels organic but also cinematic, as the story begins with the tone of a Fast Times at Ridgemont High-like teen comedy before shifting into something much darker and more sinister. Steer clear of spoilers and see this one ASAP. – Adam Chitwood

Blindspotting

Tackling race relations is a very tricky prospect, but filmmaker Carlos López Estrada’s explosive feature film debut Blindspotting manages to bring something new and insightful to the table. The Do the Right Thing-esque story centers on two best friends, Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal), who navigate the ins and outs of Oakland against the backdrop of an officer-involved shooting. With a terrific script by Diggs and Casal, the film digs deep into universal truths about prejudice and how judging someone based on how they look affects how they interact with the world, but it does so in a way that avoids coming off as preachy or rote. This film is vibrant, dynamic, and at times extremely funny. – Adam Chitwood

Teen Titans Go! to the Movies

Think of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies as a family friendly version of Deadpool. It’s as meta and self-aware as the R-rated superhero movie, and it’s just as hilarious. The film follows the Teen Titans—Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg—who are on a quest to get their own movies so that they’ll be taken seriously as superheroes. When they’re rebuffed, they figure that in order to get a movie, they’ll need an archnemesis, so they settle on Slade, but have more misadventures along the way as they try to make it to the big screen. The movie is consistently hilarious with some surprising bits of dark comedy that will likely fly over the heads of younger viewers. – Matt Goldberg

BlacKkKlansman

There’s a weird moment in the middle of watching BlacKkKlansman where you know for a fact you’re watching one of the best movies Spike Lee has made in his long career. Yes, it has all the hallmarks of a Spike Lee film, both for good and ill, but it also hits with a humor and intensity that makes it more immediate than some of his other work. The true story follows Colorado detective Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), who was able to infiltrate the local chapter Ku Klux Klan by using a white voice and the help of his fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Despite the outlandish (but largely true!) events, BlacKkKlansman is as biting and as revelatory as any of Lee’s other works on race in America and it demands to be seen. – Matt Goldberg