After basically inventing the streaming game, Netflix had supremacy for a number of years. But as the rest of Hollywood caught up, Netflix began to invest more heavily in its original content, starting with the political drama series, House of Cards. But it wasn’t until 2015’s Beasts of No Nation that Netflix played its next big card: Original movies. Since then, the streaming giant has amplified its movie output while becoming a hub of prestige cinema. In the last couple of months, Netflix added a few new original Oscar hopefuls to the service. And that’s just the beginning of the best Netflix original movies.
Originality can go a long way, but if you don’t find what you’re looking for, try our other lists of the best Netflix original series, the best Hulu original series, the best Amazon Prime original movies, and the best Amazon Prime original series.
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The Hand of God
2021 -
The Power of the Dog
2021 -
The Harder They Fall
2021 -
Blood Red Sky
2021
Nightbooks (2021)
Genre
Fantasy, Family, Horror
Stars
Winslow Fegley, Lidya Jewett, Krysten Ritter
Directed by
David Yarovesky
103m
A fantasy/horror adventure for the whole family, Nightbooks follows young Alex (Winslow Fegley), who loves writing scary stories. This particular passion marks him as an outcast at school, leading Alex to swear off writing ever again. But when an evil witch (Krysten Ritter) captures him inside a magical New York City apartment, she demands he tell her a new scary story every single night if he wants to live. Inside, he meets another prisoner, Yasmin (Lidya Jewett), who has learned how to survive her imprisonment with the witch. Together, they’ll work to write not just more stories, but their own destinies.
Over the Moon (2020)
Genre
Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Stars
Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong
Directed by
Glen Keane
100m
How ambitious is Netflix? The streamer is now producing original animated films that can genuinely rival the best of Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks. Over the Moon was nominated for Best Animated Picture at the 2020 Oscars, and it’s still a great film even though it didn’t win. Cathy Ang stars as Fei Fei, a 13-year-old genius who tragically loses her mother. Inspired by her mother’s tales of the immortal Moon goddess, Chang’e (Phillipa Soo), Fei Fei resolves to create her own rocket and prove that the myth is true. Unfortunately for Fei Fei, her new stepbrother, Chin (Robert G. Chiu), jeopardizes her mission when he sneaks on her ship. And what they find on the moon will surprise both of them.
Finding ‘Ohana (2021)
Genre
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Stars
Kea Peahu, Alex Aiono, Lindsay Watson
Directed by
Jude Weng
123m
Finding ‘Ohana is pretty unapologetic about the way it channels The Goonies by way of Hawaiian mythology. Kea Peahu and Alex Aiono star as Pili and Ioane, a pair of siblings who are moved back to Hawaii by their mother, Leilani (Kelly Hu), to take care of their grandfather, Kimo (Branscombe Richmond). While learning more about their family heritage, Pili comes across a journal owned by Kimo that may lead to a lost pirate treasure. Soon after, Pili drags her new friend, Casper (Owen Vaccaro), and Ioane on the adventure of a lifetime.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Directed by
Mike Flanagan
Cast
Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas
There’s nothing hotter than Stephen King books getting adaptations right now. Compared to big-budget blockbusters It and The Dark Tower, Gerald’s Game might be easy to overlook — especially as a Netflix production that never even saw the inside of a theater. Still, it’s one of the best of the bunch, eschewing set-piece action and CGI scares in favor of more psychological horror. In the film, based on King’s eponymous novel, middle-aged couple Gerald and Jessie Burlingame retreat to a remote Maine cabin to rekindle their relationship. When Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) handcuffs Jessie (Carla Gugino) to the bed and then dies of a heart attack, Jessie begins to hallucinate, unable to free herself from shackles both physical and otherwise. Gugino’s performance is extraordinary, a career-defining turn loaded with emotion and genuinely unsettling realism.
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