If you end up thumbing by the Netflix queue and saying “I’ve seen that” again and again, we’ve acquired you coated. Our checklist of probably the most underrated motion pictures on Netflix focuses on hidden gems and movies that perhaps didn’t hit huge after they had been initially launched, however are effectively value watching regardless. These vary from little-seen horror motion pictures to splashy, star-driven automobiles that for one cause or one other didn’t discover their viewers. But all of those motion pictures have one factor in widespread: they’re very, excellent.
So peruse our checklist of one of the best hidden gems and underrated motion pictures on Netflix beneath.
Don’t see what you are on the lookout for right here? Check out our checklist of one of the best hidden gems on Disney+, HBO Max, and Prime Video, or browse our suggestions of the greatest motion pictures on Netflix.
Editor’s observe: This article was up to date February 2023 to incorporate The Land of Steady Habits.
Barry (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Genre: Drama | Director: Vikram Gandhi
Cast: Devon Terrell, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Mitchell, Ashley Judd, Jenna Elfman
Barry maybe isn’t a regular biopic of the longer term President of the United States Barack Obama. Instead of specializing in his early political profession or his achievements as commander-in-chief, this coming-of-age story focuses on Barack’s school years, the place he builds the abilities and charisma that may later launch him to success. Devon Terrell offers a breakout efficiency and transforms a larger-than-life determine right into a relatable teenage child discovering who he’s. Barry has much more in widespread with the movies of John Hughes than it does the work of Oliver Stone. Anya Taylor-Joy followers can also need to try certainly one of her early performances. — Liam Gaughan
The Land of Steady Habits (2018)
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min | Director: Nicole Holofcener
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Elizabeth Marvel, Thomas Mann, Edie Falco
Based on Ted Thompson’s novel, The Land of Steady Habits is directed by Nicole Holofcener, who co-wrote the screenplay. The Land of Steady Habits focuses on the folks inside a rich Connecticut group, centering on a retired divorcee named Anders, performed by Ben Mendelsohn (Captain Marvel). The Land of Steady Habits is an trustworthy take a look at Anders’ seek for happiness, stemming from his estrangement from his spouse (Edie Falco) and son (Thomas Mann), in addition to his newfound friendship with a teen drug addict (Charlie Tahan). With a touch of humor, The Land of Steady Habits is, at its core, a drama about selections and regrets. – Yael Tygiel
Tallulah (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 51 min | Genre: Comedy Drama | Director: Sian Heder
Cast: Elliot Page, Allison Janney, Tammy Blanchard, Uzo Aduba
Reuniting Juno stars Elliot Page and Allison Janney, Tallulah is the touching function directorial debut from Sian Heder (CODA). With a pointy script written by Heder, Tallulah sees Page because the titular character, a vagabond determined for cash and meals who impulsively makes an attempt to avoid wasting a child from their negligent mom (Tammy Blanchard). Heder’s richly layered characters are revealed exquisitely by magnificent performances from Page and Janney with a young gentleness grounding the shockingly unconscionable circumstances their characters discover themselves in. Fusing comedic quips with stern truths, Tallulah finds synthesis on display, harking back to underrated movies like Georgia Rule and Where The Heart Is. – Yael Tygiel
Candy Jar (2018)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Genre: Romantic Comedy | Director: Ben Shelton
Cast: Sami Gayle, Jacob Latimore, Christina Hendricks, Uzo Aduba, Tom Bergeron, Helen Hunt
Candy Jar is one of the best teen rom-com you’ve by no means seen. The movie facilities round Lona (Sami Gayle) and Bennett (Jacob Latimore), who start as rivals on the talk staff. However, circumstances finally power them to compete collectively. The two of them be taught that, regardless of their variations, they’ve loads in widespread – and will even have emotions for one another. Candy Jar is enemies-to-lovers excellence. Christina Hendricks and Uzo Aduba are additionally highlights as Lona and Bennett’s typically wacky however loving mothers. – Taylor Gates
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Run Time: 2 hr 14 min | Genre: Surrealist Psychological Thriller | Director: Charlie Kaufman
Cast: Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis
I’m Thinking of Ending Things is among the most unsettling motion pictures you’ll ever see. The movie facilities round a younger lady (Jessie Buckley) who goes to satisfy her boyfriend’s mother and father at their farm regardless of contemplating breaking apart with him. The movie is a troublesome one to clarify, packed to the brim with symbolism and extra centered on emotion than plot. It evokes an uncomfortable feeling, however that’s the purpose, and it’s effectively definitely worth the look ahead to the masterful course and performances. – Taylor Gates
Wheelman (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 22 min | Genre: Neo-Noir Crime Thriller | Director: Jeremy Rush
Cast: Frank Grillo, Garret Dillahunt, Caitlin Carmichael, Wendy Moniz
Netflix has a outstanding capability to supply the precise kind of grindhouse style movies that studios don’t make anymore. Jeremy Rush’s underrated thriller Wheelman is basically Drive meets Locke; the action-packed automotive chase thriller is about totally behind the driving force’s seat. This might have been a stretch to the idea if Frank Grillowasn’t so darn charismatic. Best identified for his function as Crossbones within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Grillo offers a way more heroic efficiency as a grizzled getaway driver who discovers he’s been arrange. If you’re on the lookout for a good pulpy thriller below 90 minutes, Wheelman has you coated. — Liam Gaughan
Mindhorn (2016)
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Run Time: 1 hr 29 min | Genre: Comedy | Director: Sean Foley
Cast: Julian Barratt, Essie Davis, Kenneth Branagh, Andrea Riseborough, Steve Coogan, and Russell Tovey
If you get pleasure from a British comedy that mixes one of the best of Steve Coogan and Monty Python, Mindhorn is a brilliant enjoyable mixture of motion and Hollywood satire. Julian Barratt delivers a rousing efficiency because the titular character, the previous star of a cult motion tv sequence who’s now washed up. Mindhorn has to grow to be an precise hero when he turns into intertwined in an actual homicide thriller involving a number of the largest followers of his present. Mindhorn doesn’t take issues too critically, however director Sean Foley inserts sufficient intrigue to maintain the story afloat. Make certain to take a look at the good set of cameos from a number of the most beloved British actors working right now. — Liam Gaughan
The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min | Genre: Drama | Director: Sara Colangelo
Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gael García Bernal, Parker Sevak, Anna Baryshnikov, Rosa Salazar, Michael Chernus
Remakes of worldwide movies for an American market will not be unusual, nevertheless it’s very uncommon that the newer tasks accomplish simply what their predecessors had been gunning for, and Sara Colangelo’s directorial debut is certainly one of them. Asking the query of what we’re prepared to do for a bit of notoriety, The Kindergarten Teacherfollows Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Lisa, a struggling elementary faculty trainer who desires nothing greater than to flee her uninteresting, troublesome life by means of her poetry. Her life takes a flip for the chaotic when certainly one of her college students, Jimmy (Parker Sevak), shows a outstanding expertise for poetry — one thing she appears to lack. Using the boy’s expertise to her benefit, she adopts his poetry as her personal to impress her writing tutor (Gael García Bernal), however quickly escalates her habits, isolating the boy from his family and mates and making an attempt to make use of his expertise for her personal private achieve. Lisa is unsettling in a manner that goes in opposition to kind for Gyllenhaal, rivaling her brother’s performances in movies like Velvet Buzzsaw, forcing audiences to query how a lot belief we put in others, and what the concept of fame is able to doing to us. — Maggie Boccella
The Two Popes (2019)
Run Time: 2 hr 5 min | Genre: Biographical Drama | Director: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins
Who would have guessed that the story of papal succession can be such a enjoyable, endearing buddy comedy? City of God director Fernando Meirelles provides a vibrant vitality to the connection between the incumbent Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and his eventual successor, Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce). The two males bond over their shared religion, compassion, and concern for the way forward for the Catholic Church, regardless of their wildly totally different points-of-view. They additionally hearken to ABBA, watch sports activities, and eat pizza collectively. While the movie actually doesn’t draw back from the controversial interval inside the Church’s historical past, it is remarkably empathetic and pleasing. — Liam Gaughan
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Run Time: 2 hr 12 min | Genre: Western Drama | Director: Joel and Ethan Coen
Cast: Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Waits, Henry Melling
There’s a really distinct chance that The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the final movie that Joel and Ethan Coen will ever work on collectively. Ethan is presently engaged on the stage in New York, and Joel directed A24’s The Tragedy of Macbeth with out his brother. If The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is their final collaboration collectively, it is an acceptable conclusion to some of the fruitful partnerships in cinema historical past. An anthology assortment of six tales centering on loss of life and finality, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a darkly amusing mixture of every part the Coens do greatest. Longtime followers of their work have debated which of the sections is the strongest, however you actually can’t go unsuitable with the titular opening story “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” starring Tim Blake Nelson as a singing gunslinger. — Liam Gaughan
Okja (2017)
Run Time: 2 hr | Genre: Action-Adventure | Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins
Eclectic and emotional, Okja is an imaginative movie that each excites and invigorates, in addition to pulls on the heartstrings. The movie follows the journey of a younger lady, Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), as she makes an attempt to avoid wasting Okja, the genetically modified pig that she has raised since piglet-hood, who has been taken to the United States to be processed for meals. The movie challenges trendy views on the bigger meat trade and enormous companies, and doesn’t draw back from the disturbing realities of each that many draw back from. Yet, this movie can also be stuffed with an exquisite stability of motion, intrigue, and drama. Director Bong Joon-Ho, additionally identified for his movies Snowpiercer and Parasite, as soon as once more creates a narrative that delights in its defiance of expectations, with an ending that’s as bitter as it’s candy. — Olivia Fitzpatrick
The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 37 min | Genre: Road Comedy-Drama | Director: Rob Burnett
Cast: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle
Pack your baggage, we’re occurring a highway journey. Based on Jonathan Evison’s novel The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, the heartwarming hidden gem The Fundamentals of Caring follows Ben (Paul Rudd), a grieving, however upbeat man on the lookout for course in his life. He indicators up for a care-giving class and is employed to look after Trevor (Craig Roberts), a hard-to-please, pessimistic, 18-year-old who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Trevor, whose father left him and his mom when he was three, resents the unlucky hand he was dealt and craves to dwell a traditional life as a young person. Determined to provide Trevor the thrilling life he deserves, Ben takes him on a cross-country roadtrip the place they choose up Dot (Selena Gomez), a fellow annoyed teenager, and bond on their candy (mis)adventures. Ben reminds us that life is supposed to be lived, warts and all. — Emily Bernard
His House (2020)
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Run Time: 1 hr 33 min | Genre: Horror Mystery Thriller | Director: Remi Weekes
Cast: Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Matt Smith
An unimaginable function debut from director Remi Weekes, His House is a piece of unflinching social horror the place the fear is discovered not simply within the supernatural however within the struggles that face an immigrant couple simply attempting to outlive. It stars Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku as Bol and Rial Majur, who’ve simply narrowly escaped battle in South Sudan to attempt to make a brand new life in a small English city. What they discover there’s that this city will not be solely not constructed for them however typically actively hostile to them. They expertise resentment from others and limitless strain to assimilate that solely makes their troublesome adjustment all that a lot more durable. To make issues worse, there’s an evil power that’s lurking of their home and a darkish secret the 2 share that’s coming again to hang-out them with terrifying visions. It might sound like a haunting home story you could have heard earlier than however it’s so far more than that. Yes, using sound and visible terror is ideal although it’s the sturdy emotional undercurrent that makes this movie such a memorable one. — Chase Hutchinson
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Rush (2013)
Run Time: 2 hr 3 min | Genre: Biographical Sports Action Drama | Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, and Pierfrancesco Favino
While Chris Hemsworth has actually grow to be one of many shining stars of the MCU, he is had bother breaking out in roles outdoors Thor. One of his most valiant efforts is in Ron Howard‘s criminally underseen 2013 racing drama Rush, through which he performs daring Formula One driver James Hunt. The movie chronicles Hunt’s rivalry with Austrian driver Nikki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl), with every actor getting fairly even screentime as Howard crafts a narrative of two very totally different males who had been pushed to be one of the best at what they do. The Seventies aesthetic is tangibly conjured by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, and the racing scenes are wildly thrilling. I’m not fairly certain why nobody noticed this film, nevertheless it’s effectively value testing. – Adam Chitwood
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Private Life (2018)
Run Time: 2 hr 7 min | Genre: Comedy Drama | Director: Tamara Jenkins
Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, Kayli Carter, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch, and Denis O’Hare
If you’ve got immediately grow to be obsessive about Kathryn Hahn because of WandaVision, you merely should try Private Life. This 2018 drama/comedy flew sort of below the radar after its premiere on the Sundance Film Festival, however actually exemplifies Hahn’s vary because it tells the story of a middle-aged couple struggling to have a toddler by any means attainable. The strain of attempting to have a child places strain on their marriage, however the movie does not drown itself in doom and gloom and as a substitute feels deeply human because it finds the humor in such a private battle. The story was based mostly on author/director Tamara Jenkins‘ personal expertise in attempting to have a child, and Hahn and Paul Giamatti ship a pair of knockout performances because the central couple. — Adam Chitwood
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 41 min | Genre: Adventure Comedy-Drama | Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby, Rima Te Wiata, and Rachel House
If you’ve got solely ever seen Taika Waititi‘s Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, you will need to hunt down Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Released in 2016, this delightfully whimiscal story follows an unlikely duo — a grumpy man performed by Sam Neill and a delinquent little one performed by Julian Dennison — as they go on the run within the New Zealand bush. It’s zany and hilarious and candy unexpectedly, and it is assured to place a smile in your face. – Adam Chitwood
The Ritual (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 34 min | Genre: Horror | Director: David Bruckner
Cast: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton
If you are into cult motion pictures — that’s, motion pictures about cults — it is best to completely try The Ritual. The story revolves round 4 mates who go on a mountaineering journey in Sweden to honor their buddy Rob, who was killed six months earlier throughout a comfort retailer theft. But after they take a shortcut by some woods, they discover themselves haunted by a malevolent creature. It’s the sort of horror film that is actually scary but in addition has a powerful thematic core, in order that the exterior pressures mirror the inner struggles of the characters. Plus the creature design is terrific. – Adam Chitwood
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Run Time: 1 hr 46 min | Genre: Comedy Musical | Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Cast: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, and Frances McDormand
Can a Coen Brothers film be underrated? If it is Hail, Caesar! the reply is sure. This film does not get the find it irresistible deserves, as a result of it is an absolute delight from begin to end. Set in 1951, the story follows a day within the lifetime of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a “fixer” for a film studio referred to as Capital Pictures who spends the day attempting to stave off numerous scandals, put out fires, and observe down a lacking film star. The Coens draw from their wealth of information, inject a ton of humor, and add a contact of existential despair for good measure. – Adam Chitwood
Creep 2 (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 20 min | Genre: Psychological Horror Thriller | Director: Patrick Brice
Cast: Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan, Karan Soni
The authentic Creep, additionally accessible on Netflix, is a skin-crawlingly icky discovered footage horror-comedy in regards to the perils of masculinity, obsession, and storytelling. It is effectively value your time. And but, it’s bested handily by its sequel, a real horror masterpiece for the twenty first century. Mark Duplass returns as our identity-hopping serial killer, eager on documenting his crimes as a sort of voyeuristic look into the soul masquerading as an try at fostering friendship (the homicide portrayed within the chilly open is… harrowing). But this time, he’s paired with Desiree Akhavan, the fiercely proficient filmmaker/actor who performs a fiercely proficient filmmaker desirous about documenting odd people with odd requests. And when Creep 2 locks into its two-handed construction, unsettling sparks fly and ricochet. Duplass and Akhavan are good sparring companions, producing the movie’s queasy moments of suspense, humor, and even real connection. Like most of the greatest items of twenty first century horror, Creep 2 sneakily has loads to say about our trendy foibles — all whereas scaring the ever-living stuffing out of you. – Greg Smith
High Flying Bird (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 31 min | Genre: Sports Drama | Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Andre Holland, Zazie Beets, Melvin Gregg, Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Kyle MacLachlan, and Bill Duke
Steven Soderbergh is all the time attempting new issues and altering the sport, and his Netflix movie High Flying Bird actually suits that invoice. Shot totally on an iPhone and written by Oscar-winning Moonlight co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney, this day-in-the-life story takes place over the course of a 48-hour interval and follows a sports activities agent (Andre Holland) as he makes an attempt to discover a method to finish a basketball lockout that has him strapped for cash. The movie touches on the way in which athletes are handled, and presents loads to chew on along with being wildly entertaining. This is a gem simply sitting on Netflix ready so that you can watch it. – Adam Chitwood