We’re back with another round of shows and films on Collider Recommends! That means we have more titles for you to fill your weekend with. Whether you’re an avid cinephile or just looking for some light laughs, the team at Collider has you covered, so check out these awesome recommendations and let us know if you enjoyed them. This week’s recommendations come from Tania Hussain, Steve Weintraub, and Emma Kiely — and they’re packed with diverse picks from an intense thriller, to a moody horror, and arguably the greatest sitcom that was cancelled way too soon. Our expert staff is well-versed in both television and cinema, so whether you’re looking for something on the edge of mainstream or a cult-favorite horror film, we’ve got you covered.
‘Detroiters’ (2017) starring Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson
Tania Hussain, Executive Editor
If you’ve been counting down the days to Tim Robinson’s highly anticipated HBO comedy The Chair Company, now is the perfect time to revisit Detroiters. The short-lived Comedy Central series (only two seasons, but 20 glorious episodes) is Robinson at his best alongside Sam Richardson, in a Motor City buddy comedy that’s equal parts absurd and surprisingly heartfelt.
The premise is simple: Two best friends run a small Detroit ad agency with a wonderfully cranky secretary (Pat Vern Harris), a too-cool-for-this intern (Lailani Ledesma), and Tim’s no-nonsense wife (Shawntay Dalon), who keeps her husband and brother’s chaos in check. From there, things get a bit unhinged in the best way possible. In the pilot alone, the guys accidentally run over a major client (Jason Sudeikis) and then scramble to cover it up. Later, they spiral into bathroom politics when a new startup takes over their beloved “pooping floor.” They also pitch a wig-company jingle that devolves into cadaver-hair jokes. Every episode is laugh-out-loud with these sitcom-like plots cranked up to eleven, strikingly driven by Robinson’s signature meltdowns and Richardson’s warm, grounding presence.
And the supporting cast is just as wild. Connor O’Malley steals scenes as Tim’s deranged brother, Keegan-Michael Key pops up as Smilin’ Jack, a local furniture merchant with a massive billboard problem, and Amber Ruffin delights as a no-nonsense city councilwoman. In the finale, WWE legend Kevin Nash also plays Robinson’s father, “Big Hank.”
Yet beneath the chaos (like a car that accidentally poops), there’s a tenderness that makes Detroiters feel like more of a goofy, genuine love letter to friendship, to Detroit, and of course, to failing upward while your best friend is at your side.
If I Think You Should Leave is Robinson’s playground for sketch insanity, Detroiters shows where that voice began and why HBO was smart to team him up with Zach Kanin again for The Chair Company. Before conspiracies and workplace paranoia take over, let Detroiters remind you that comedy works best when it’s stupid, sweet, and set in beautiful Detroit. You can stream Detroiters on Paramount+.
‘The Game’ (1997) starring Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and Deborah Kara Ungar
Steve Weintraub, Editor in Chief
If you read Collider, you probably watch too many movies. Unfortunately, one of the problems with watching too many films is you can often figure out what will happen next. That one actor you recognize in the first act with not much to do, they’re most likely going to play a key part of the 2nd or 3rd act. They might even be the big antagonist of the whole story. The three act structure and two-hour runtime of most films follow a predictable path.
Which explains why I’m recommending David Fincher’s The Game.
One of the main reasons I love this movie is that Fincher expertly weaves a story that keeps the audience off balance and guessing the entire time. Without going into too much detail, Michael Douglas plays a very successful investment backer who has it all. But when his younger brother, played by Sean Penn, offers him a mysterious voucher for a game as a birthday present, it opens the door to a thrilling adventure where you’re not ever sure what exactly is going on until the very end.
Of course, with this being a David Fincher film, the cinematography by Harris Savides is fantastic (they’d later work on Zodiac), the music by Howard Shore is perfect, and James Haygood’s editing is instrumental to keeping the mystery afloat.
Finally, if you’re just discovering how much you love movies and aren’t familiar with the work of David Fincher, after watching The Game, I strongly suggest taking in his entire resume. He’s one of my favorite filmmakers and I really believe that every new Fincher release should be a national holiday.
‘Lake Mungo’ (2008) starring Talia Zucker, David Pledger, Rosie Traynor, Martin Sharpe
Emma Kiely, Senior Editor
Whether you’re a horror fan or not, Lake Mungo is a movie that will stay with you long after you watch it. Before the so-called “elevated horror” boom made grief and trauma popular themes in mainstream horror, Australian filmmaker Joe Anderson (in his only movie as director ever) delivered one of the most devastating and powerful ruminations on mortality and isolation I’ve ever seen. Part psychological horror, part faux documentary, part found footage, there is something here for fans of all horror subgenres to marvel at, along with its palpable atmosphere and slow, excruciating build-up of dread.
Filmed as a faux-documentary and following the Australian Palmer family dealing with the death of their daughter and sister, Alice, it blends found footage and true-crime devices to present an intimate, haunting, and genuinely eerie look at how grief and death can consume a person. With elements of the supernatural and the afterlife, Lake Mungo is still a full-fledged horror movie that opts more for subtle, intimate scares than loud jumps or graphic violence. But at the heart of it all is just the very sad tale of a teenage girl wrestling with her own mortality. Be prepared to want to watch it immediately for a second time, as Anderson’s clever use of found footage, layered imagery, and dark photography makes every single shot feel like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
Lake Mungo is the epitome of a horror hidden gem, and it more than deserves to be on your watchlist to get you in the mood for Halloween. The film is free to stream on Tubi, Plex, and several other platforms.
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