Netflix’s lineup of original movies can vary wildly in quality, from the Oscar-nominated to the universally derided. But taken together, the high-level awards pushes and the early international acquisitions mean that Netflix has one of the more consistent evergreen libraries on average among the mainstream streamers. And why shouldn’t it? It’s the one that pushed the industry into the streaming era in the first place.
Here are our picks (in alphabetical order) for the Netflix original films you should stream right now:
All Quiet On The Western Front
Stars: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Brühl, Aaron Hilmer, Moritz Klaus, Adrian Grünewald, Edin Hasanović, Thibault de Montalembert
The third cinematic adaptation based on Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 literary novel of the same name, director Edward Berger’s German-language version is a bleak, brutal exploration of a young recruit’s (Kammerer) traumatic experiences during the 18 months he spends serving (and surviving) in northern France. Winner of the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2023, it mixes timeless themes of loss and grief with painfully realistic battlefield sequences.
Frankenstein
Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley
A long-gestating passion project from director Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein is only somewhat faithful to the text of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, but boy does it get the spirit of the thing exactly right. Split into separate narratives that explore both Frankenstein’s (Isaac) and the Creature’s (Elordi) perspectives, the two are mirrored against one another throughout the story in ways both horrifying and heartwrenching. Full of lush, vibrant, thoroughly Gothic imagery, the film is glorious to look at from start to finish, and feels as alive as anything Dr. Frankenstein himself might create.
The Irishman
Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin
Director Martin Scorsese turns it up to 11 in terms of playing the hits in this epic gangster drama that clocks in at a surprisingly brisk three and a half hours and includes many of his most familiar themes and favorite performers. Based on Frank Sheeran’s 2004 memoir, I Heard You Paint Houses, the film dramatizes the story of a half-century of organized crime through the rise and fall of a hit man in the Philadelphia mob, wrestling with questions of power and morality along the way. The cast, particularly De Niro and Pacino, are predictably top-notch.
K-Pop Demon Hunters
Stars: Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Ken Jeong, Byung Hun Lee, Daniel Dae Kim
The platform’s most popular film release to date, Netflix’s wildly addictive animated sci-fi musical is a great watch for both K-pop fans and newcomers to the genre. The story follows a musical group called Huntr/x, a trio of young-adult pop stars who use their secret identities as demon hunters to protect the human world from supernatural danger. Featuring a banging soundtrack of glorious pop earworms (one of which took home a Grammy), it’s a phenomenon that lives up to the hype.
Marriage Story
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta
Noah Baumbach’s much-memed drama about divorce, Marriage Story is a rich and provocative exploration about the collapse of a relationship and the ways that such an ending can turn people into the worst versions of themselves. Johansson and Driver give nuanced performances as central couple Nicole and Charlie navigate thorny moral issues, and the film takes pains to illustrate both why this particular couple fell in love and why their union needs to end. A rare relationship drama in which no one is a villain, it instead acknowledges that this is the kind of story in which there is no true happy ending.
The Power Of The Dog
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemmons, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Written, directed, and produced by Oscar winner Jane Campion, this atmospheric Western is set in 1920s Montana and follows a cruel rancher (Cumberbatch) who doesn’t take kindly to his younger brother’s (Plemmons) new wife (Dunst) and stepson (Smit-McPhee). A dark, tense tale of manipulation, gaslighting, and sublimated desire ensues. Cumberbatch’s performance alone makes this worth watching, and the film is a rare story whose ending not only recontextualizes almost everything that’s come before it, but rewards repeated viewings in its wake.
Society Of The Snow
Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella,Tomas Wolf, Diego Vegezzi, Esteban Kukuriczka, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, Luciano Chatton, Agustín Berruti
A. Bayona’s Spanish-language film isn’t the first attempt to dramatize the horrific story of the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains. Its nightmarish tale of suffering, resilience, and desperation (read: cannibalism) has been retold in multiple feature films and documentaries. It even served as the inspiration for the TV series Yellowjackets. But The Society Of The Snow stands out, from its nightmarish recreation of the crash itself, its cast of primarily Uruguayan and Argentine actors, and its subtle, delicate handling of thorny moral questions of strength and survival. This isn’t a film for the faint of heart, yet it’s one that also feels impossible to look away from.
Tick, Tick…Boom!
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Jordan Fisher, Robin de Jesus
Lin-Manuel Miranda directs this movie musical based on the stage show of the same name by Jonathan Larson, the composer of Rent. A heartfelt ode to musical theater and to Larson himself, who died at 35, Tick Tick…Boom! loosely recounts his life as a twentysomething theater kid in 1990s New York City. (Except for, as the film tells it, “the parts Jonathan made up”.) But it’s really about the painful struggle inherent in making art. Garfield stars as Larson, and the film features a healthy amount of cameos from famous Broadway alums.
Train Dreams
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy
Director Clint Bentley’s meditative, beautifully shot period film about a logger in the early 20th-century Pacific Northwest got nominated for Best Picture and sparked some serious (and genuinely bizarre) online discourse following its release. Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, an ordinary man whose modest life story is cast against the massive changes rippling through the American frontier at the turn of the century. Wistful and realistic by turns, the film explores themes of grief, isolation, resilience, and the simple grace of everyday life.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Cast: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis
The star-studded third (and best) installment in director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise, Wake Up Dead Man is a delightful riff on the locked room mystery whose charm hides surprisingly soulful depths. Summoned to investigate a seemingly impossible murder involving a controversial Catholic priest (Brolin), detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) must wrestle with questions both mundane and celestial in this deft exploration of faith, logic, sacrifice, and greed that’s also a pretty entertaining crime caper. The film’s thoughtful treatment of belief (in forms both religious and not) is compelling without ever becoming preachy or sentimental, and O’Connor’s warm, optimistic performance is the glue that holds it all together.
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