9.Atari: Game Over(2014)
Maybe you’ve heard the story aboutE.T.
Not the movie. The video game! Which was famously so bad that thousands of copies were buried in the desert in New Mexico.
The filmmakers behindAtari: Game Overset out to see if these cartridges were in fact there, and made a movie about their quest. This quickly became a geek gathering, with fans swarming the landfill on the day of the dig.
As a result, the movie is as much a celebration of geek culture as it is a documentary about a legendarily bad game.
8.Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy(2004)
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogyis, as you might expect, about the making of the three originalStar Warsmovies.
From that sentence alone, you probably already know if you’re interested in it or not. If you live and breatheStar Wars, you’ll absolutely want to see this, even if you’ve already seen all the making-of featurettes.
Behind the scenes footage, interviews with cast and crew, and plenty of never-before-seen content make this worth a watch for any fan of the first three movies.
7.Enter the Anime(2019)
If you’ve seen any of the anime-related articles on our site, like the one that covers thedebate between subbed anime and dubbed anime, you may wonder what the deal is.
If you’re looking for a beginner’s introduction to anime,Enter the Animewill do the trick.
This documentary interviews notable figures behind some of the genre’s hits and is well worth watching even if you’re not a fan of anime. Even better, it’s less than an hour long so you don’t need to set a ton of time aside.
6.Back in Time(2015)
Whether theBack to the Futurefranchise is one of your favorites or just something you watch occasionally, it’s probably affected your life somehow. You’re not alone in that either, which is exactly what this documentary is about.
Back in Timeis ostensibly about the movies, but it’s more about the impact that the franchise has had on its fans. This movie is packed with interview footage with the cast and crew behind the movies that even casual fans will love.
5.Playing Hard(2018)
Another documentary about what goes into creating the video games we love,Playing Hardfocuses on just one game: Ubisoft’sFor Honor. By focusing on just one project, it’s able to spend more time getting to know the creators.
That said, this is a big game. The creators behind the documentary obviously couldn’t talk to everyone involved in making it. Still, it’s worth a watch, especially for fans of the game.
Read next:The Best Subreddits for Geeks: Useful Geeky Communities for All
4.American Scary(2006)
Focusing on old-school horror hosts,American Scarydives deep into hosts like Zacherley, Vampira, Ghoulardi, and dozens of others.
It even stops in with semi-related shows likeMystery Science Theater 3000to see how they were influenced by the late night horror movie companions of an early time.
If the only horror movie host you’re aware of is Elvira, this is a great way to step back to a time when you were stuck watching what was on TV. At least you had these hosts to keep you company.
3.The Toys That Made Us(2017–Present)
The Toys That Made Usis the only documentary we’re looking at here that is a series, not a movie. Across the series' two seasons, episodes touch onStar Warstoys, Barbie, G.I. Joe, LEGO,Hello Kitty, and other franchises.
If you feel like your childhood was shaped in part by the toys you had around, this one isn’t to be missed.
Related:The most interesting documentaries on Netflix
2.Haunters: The Art of the Scare(2017)
Horror simulations are sort of haunted houses, only with the knob dialed up to 11 and then ripped of.Haunters: The Art of the Scaretakes you into that world, talking with the people behind these simulations and exploring why people are drawn to them.
You won’t want to watch this one around kids or the faint of heart. As I write this, Halloween is just around the corner—but this is worth a watch any time of the year.
Related:Is Shudder worth it? Factors to consider
1.Indie Game: The Movie(2012)
The critically acclaimedIndie Game: The Moviefollows Tommy Refenes and Edward McMullen as they work on their then unreleasedSuper Meat Boyas well as Phil Fish, who is hard at work onFez.
The movie also visits Jonathan Blow, who at the time had just had massive success with his gameBraid. The movie was shot before bothSuper Meat BoyandFezwere released and were successful, while Blow would have a second major success withThe Witness.
This one’s worth seeing for a glimpse at the developers before their games were successful, but would be just as watchable even if they weren’t.
