Can I recommend that you check out The Next Picture Show podcast? It’s hosted by former The Dissolve staff, and does an excellent job of pairing films from the past with modern day films of similar ilk. In the case of Midnight Special, it was paired with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which turned out to be a strong comparison. The best thus far has been comparing Psycho with 10 Cloverfield Lane. They’re underwritten by Filmspotting.