We can only imagine just how long it would take to plow through all of Netflix’s many
movies, documentaries, and TV shows; months, maybe, or even years.
With so many titles available to subscribers, it can be easy to get a little overwhelmed
by everything the streaming service has to offer.
Luckily, we’ve compiled this list of a few of Netflix’s finest hidden gems: the perfect
go-tos next time you find yourself at a loss for what to watch.
Beyond Skyline
B-movies usually tend to get a fairly bad rap, thanks to their lower-than-average budgets,
questionable performances, and poor scripts, and, let's be honest, Beyond Skyline fits
snugly into pretty much all of those categories.
The basic plot is this: Aliens invade Earth using a bunch of high-tech blue lights which
turn people into zombies, allowing said aliens to harvest their brains.
Enter Frank Grillo as Mark, an alcoholic cop whose principal method for dealing with the
aliens can be largely summed up as: ‘punching them until they go away’.
So, yes, it sounds like your typical B-movie dud, but Beyond Skyline is clearly a labor
of love.
The movie’s attention to detail betrays a passion on the part of the filmmakers that
you’d struggle to even find in many of today’s big-budget blockbusters.
Also, it's a lot of fun.
If you’ve got a soft spot for genre movies, you’ll have a blast.
The Boy
On the surface, The Boy appears to be your average, run-of-the-mill horror movie: it’s
about a young American nanny who takes a job caring for the son of an elderly couple in
the English countryside.
She thinks they’re playing a joke when she discovers that their son is actually a porcelain
doll named Brahms, but soon begins to suspect that there's more to the doll than meets the
eye.
Underneath that pretty thin premise, however, is a movie which is totally willing to embrace
its own silliness.
It manages to spend just enough time poking fun at itself to remain charming, all the
while delivering a satisfyingly creepy story and a solid twist ending.
The Gift
This 2015 horror-thriller, written, directed by and starring Joel Edgerton, delivers on
all fronts, making for a tense, dramatic stalker flick that’s bound to keep you guessing
to the end.
Edgerton stars as Gordo, a mysterious loner who runs into an old friend from high school.
Although Gordo might seem like your typical outcast at first, his sinister intentions
slowly become clear.
Nothing groundbreaking here, then, but The Gift benefits from a cast of well-written
characters and a captivating approach to morality.
Before long, you’ll find yourself questioning just who the movie’s real villain really
is.
The Tiger Hunter
Equal parts cheesy and sweet, The Tiger Hunter is the story of an Indian immigrant in the
late '70s who comes to America in search of a job, only to find something even better:
a purpose.
It's a total feel-good movie from start to finish, the kind of gem best saved as an antidote
to some terrifying horror movie, a downbeat drama, or anything starring Sean Penn.
Think of it as Prozac, but with better cinematography.
It’s not a movie that’s going to change the world anytime soon, but you can’t say
it’s not lovely.
And sometimes that’s enough.
Pandora
It’s a story you’ll probably feel like you’ve heard before: a nuclear reactor goes
haywire after a devastating earthquake, endangering the citizens of a small South Korean town.
As various government officials try to escape the blame, the ordinary folk do their best
to avoid the cataclysmic destruction of the reactor itself.
So far, so bland, right?
Well, stick around, because towards the end Pandora suddenly transforms into something
so beautiful and touching that you can't help but wonder if Netflix's autoplay switched
movies without you noticing.
The rest of Pandora is decent enough, but that ending is one for the ages.
The Perfect Host
David Hyde Pierce, best known for playing Niles on Frasier, here takes on a role as
a high-strung gentleman who unknowingly accepts a criminal into his home on the eve of a dinner
party.
Before long, the script is flipped, and a whole slew of secrets about both men are subsequently
revealed.
Clayne Crawford co-stars as the hapless criminal John Taylor, and both he and Pierce work hard
to turn what could have been a flat movie into a total thrill ride.
The plot is riddled with twists, each building on the other until the movie reaches a final
fever pitch.
We can't say much more without risking spoilers.
Queue it up, and let it rip.
Boys in the Trees
The events of this criminally-underrated Australian flick play out over the course of one Halloween
night, as two former friends, one popular, the other a social outcast, reunite for a
long walk home, filled with stories about their childhood and their lost friendship.
As each story is told, Boys in the Trees further embraces its macabre, fairy tale tone, reinforced
by an array of colorful visuals and anchored by the real-life social conflicts each character
faces in their day-to-day life.
First-time writer/director Nicholas Verso balances those two sides of the story perfectly,
never allowing the fantasy to cheapen the reality of the film or vice versa.
It's both stunningly visceral and chock-full of childhood wonder.
A rare gem indeed.