Indie Fresh List

The Indie Fresh List: A Road Trip, A Sci-Fi Mystery, and A Modern Romance

Check out the latest Fresh indie releases now streaming on VOD and what's coming soon.

by Jacqueline Coley | May 26, 2020 | Comments

Join us weekly as Rotten Tomatoes reports on what’s indie features are streaming. From promising releases by new voices to experimental efforts from storied filmmakers – or perhaps the next indie darling to go the distance for end-of-year accolades – we will break it all down for you here each week.

For the foreseeable future, the specialty box office and all theatrical releases will be on hold as we all make efforts to socially distance ourselves and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. With that in mind, we have reshaped our Indie Fresh List to reflect the specialty box office releases that are newly available on streaming services and VOD. This week in our Fresh picks we have a father-son road trip drama, a sci-fi thriller about a mysterious radio message, and a modern-day love story. In our Spotlight section, we have the final installment of Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan’s comedy travel series, along with an interview with Brydon.

Streaming This Weekend

End of Sentence (2019) 91%

Early this year, Logan Lerman made a triumphant return with the hit Amazon series Hunters, and this week he has a quiet new drama about grief and forgiveness that reminds us why he is such a dynamic young actor. In End of Sentence, he plays Sean, a fresh-out-of-prison young man who accompanies his estranged father (John Hawkes) on a road trip to scatter his mother’s ashes in a remote part of Ireland. Sean and his father attempt to repair their fractured relationship, have unexpected adventures, and meet colorful characters along the way. “Even the most stoic filmgoers would be hard-pressed not to be deeply touched by this story of an estranged father and son traversing a path of forgiveness and respect,” writes Louisa Moore of Screen Zealots.

Available to rent or buy May 29 on FandangoNOW, Vudu, and iTunes.

The Vast of Night (2019) 92%

A precocious switchboard operator and her local DJ stumble upon a strange audio transmission that sets off a flurry of questions and odd occurrences in their small town. Teaming up to solve the mystery of the sounds they hear through the radio, the pair eventually discover that they have uncovered a long-forgotten legend in their hometown. “The Vast of Night is that rare gift of a film where all the elements combine in perfect harmony, a timely reminder that a great genre film doesn’t need to transcend genre as much as it needs to deeply love, respect and understand it,” writes Alexandra Heller-Nicholas of AWFJ Women on Film.

Available to rent or buy on May 29 on Amazon.

Premature (2019) 93%

Rashaad Ernesto Green‘s poetic love story about a teen falling desperately in love with a music producer is available now to rent or buy. In her last summer in Harlem before heading to an out-of-state college, high schooler Ayanna begins a reluctant love affair with the handsome musician Isaiah, who quickly prompts her to re-evaluate her plans. Chronicled by the poetry she writes (the film was co-written by poet and lead Zora Howard) during the narrative, each step of their relationship treats the audience to vivid descriptions of her desire, heartbreak, and despair. Lauren Humphries-Brooks of Citizen Dame calls Premature “an intense and lyrical film, as much in love with the images of Harlem as it is with the music that Isaiah produces and the poetry Ayanna writes.”

Available to rent or buy on Vudu, Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes.

Available Now on VOD – Spotlight Pick

The Trip to Greece (2020) 88%

The newly Certifed Fresh final installment of the beloved Trip series is the perfect film to check out if you’ve been fantasizing about dream vacations you could hopefully take soon. The film stars Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan, who travel to all the idyllic locations of the Greek isles for this final feature. Led by their captivating arguments, history lessons, enviable restaurant outings, and local adventures, the simple concept has lost nothing after four films, four seasons of television, and countless locations. The patter between Coogan and Brydon, framed by director Michael Winterbottom‘s intimate lens, “is so unforced and natural and not just because this is their fourth go-round. They make you feel as if they are personally connected and enjoy each other’s company,” writes Bob Bloom of Journal and Courier. We recently sat down with star Rob Brydon to chat about the end of the series and what he has been watching.

Jacqueline Coley for Rotten Tomatoes: There is obviously a recipe for these films. Is there something you figured out on the first one that still is a huge part of the production process today?

Rob Brydon: Not really, although I know Michael [Winterbottom] is keen that we don’t get too cozy, that we come to some antagonism. Left to us, as the series has progressed, we’d be happy to sit there, looking at the view and chatting about our gardens and health concerns.

Rotten Tomatoes: Do you think travel films like this thrive in the current environment, like fantasy viewing of (previously) ordinary activities?

Brydon: I’m hoping that the current situation makes TTTG even more appealing. It’s the most beautiful to look at of the four films, and with the lockdown, two handsome middle-aged men traveling freely around stunning locations has a new, rather science-fiction quality to it.

Rotten Tomatoes: What is on your personal Indie Fresh List?

Brydon: I’m not up on new Indie Fresh things, I’m afraid. I don’t suppose Wes Anderson counts, does he? I love his stuff.

Rotten Tomatoes: Who’s been the most interesting person you have met while filming?

Brydon: Steve Coogan. A fascinating man. I do hope he’s OK.

The Trip to Greece is available to stream now on IFC Film Unlimited and available to rent or buy on Vudu, Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.

Along with…

Swallow (2019) , about an affluent housewife who develops a deadly case of pica — the urge to swallow inanimate objects.
The Lodge (2019) , about a woman who descends into madness while caring for her new boyfriend’s children in a remote cabin.
The Assistant (2019) , about a young Hollywood assistant to a predatory producer who struggles when presented with daily evidence of his abuse of women.
Circus of Books (2019) , a documentary about an iconic gay pornographic bookstore and the quiet heterosexual couple who ran it.
Parasite (2019) , a darkly comedic satire about the terrifying antics that ensue when an underprivileged family latches on to a more affluent one and things go sideways.
True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) , a stylistic re-telling of the Ned Kelly legend.
Extra Ordinary (2019) , a supernatural comedy about an unassuming widower who is introduced to a cast of characters with extraordinary powers.
Blue Story (2019) , a drama about two childhood friends who are torn apart by gang violence.
() , about a man on a mission to murder his girlfriend’s father.
EMMA. (2020) , a new adaptation of the Jane Austen novel about a naive, privileged heiress who plays matchmaker, to the detriment of her own romantic prospects.
The Lighthouse (2019) , a surreal psychological drama about two men who are tortured by the elements and by each other while isolated at a remote lighthouse.
Jojo Rabbit (2019) , a satire about a naive Hitler youth who discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl during World War II.
Color Out of Space (2019) , a psychedelic horror film about an eerie meteorite that falls in a family’s back yard and wreaks havoc.
Come as You Are (2019) , a road trip sex comedy about a group of disabled men who travel to a brothel in Canada that solely caters to disabled people.
Working Man (2019) , about a duo of laid-off factory workers who inspire their fellow employees to keep working after their plant is closed.
The Wretched (2019) , about a child who discovers a dark wiccan force is kidnapping children in the forest near his house.
Buffaloed (2019) , a dark comedy about a girl who goes to extreme lengths to earn enough cash to afford her dream school.
The Painter and the Thief (2020) , a documentary about an artist who develops an unexpected friendship with one of the men who stole some of her paintings.
Porno (2019) , a horror-comedy about a group of theater employees who unleash a succubus when they watch a horror film they find in storage.
Spaceship Earth (2020) , a documentary about the group of geological dreamers who locked themselves in Biosphere 2 in 1991 and slowly descended into chaos.