Hollywood is currently undergoing a superhero movie renaissance of sorts. The current hype around superhero movies contrasts sharply to the late 1990s, when these movies were largely not taken seriously. “Venom” makes it easy to remember why.

The world of independent filmmaking is one of radical removal from Hollywood templates. Tried-and-true stories of boy-meets-girl, odd couple comedies and tearjerker romance tend not to exist in the small,...