5 Must-Watch Netflix Original Movies That We Don't Talk About Anymore

There was a time, not all that long ago, when Netflix was just a convenient, cheap way to stream a bunch of movies and TV shows that audiences were already familiar with. Now? It's one of the true titans of Hollywood right alongside Disney as one of the biggest producers of original movies and TV shows in the business. But when a company spends billions on originals every year, it's fairly easy for stuff to just come and go.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Netflix original movies we don't talk about anymore for good reason. The less said about many of them, the better. Even many of the "good" ones feel designed as disposable entertainment. But at the same time, there are a whole bunch of Netflix original movies we don't talk about anymore that deserve better. The bleak future of streaming suggests a world without cult classics, and some of the movies we're talking about today are very much deserving of cult status.

Netflix has made great movies like Noah Baumbach's heartfelt drama "Marriage Story," which is at very little risk of being forgotten to time. But the movies on this list, on the other hand, are borderline difficult to discover these days unless one is willing to point prospective viewers in the right direction. That's precisely what we're here to do. So buckle up as we run down five must-watch Netflix original movies that don't get talked about much but are undoubtedly worthy of one's time. Let's get into it.

Sometimes, a movie slips through the cracks that unquestionably deserved better. Much better. In the case of "Wheelman," it should be one of those tight, entertaining action movies we talk about far more often. Instead, it kind of just came and went on Netflix in 2017. All the same, it's well worth a watch and something that should be forced back into the conversation nearly a decade later.

"Wheelman" stars Frank Grillo as a man who kicks ass and drives fast. Very basically, it centers on a getaway driver for a bank robbery who realizes he's been double crossed and races to find out who betrayed him. It's an almost ridiculously tight 1 hour and 22 minutes, racing by at a blistering pace. The benefit of that pacing is it makes for a situation where there's not a second where the viewer is bored. This movie goes.

Writing for /Film in 2017, Jacob Hall called "Wheelman" a lean and mean shot of old school cool in his review. That's very accurate. The biggest shame looking back on this slickly produced action thriller is that director Jeremy Rush has hardly done anything since, only making one other feature film in the form of 2025's "Ballistic." In a better world, we'd have at least a few more of these effective action flicks from Rush.

For action junkies on the hunt for something to scratch that itch, this is absolutely it. If this one missed you in 2017, don't let it continue to miss you. It's a hidden gem in Netflix's vast library of genre fare.

Of all the movies on this list, "A Futile and Stupid Gesture" is by far the least-discussed and yet most deserving of discussion. Released in 2018, director David Wain's wonderfully bizarre biopic chronicling the rise of the National Lampoon magazine in the '70s is a strange treasure. It may not be for everyone, but those who vibe with what Wain is doing are going to find a lot to love in this inventive look at an important time in comedy history.

Based on the book of the same name, the movie centers on writer Doug Kenney (Will Forte), tracing his journey as he co-founds National Lampoon magazine in 1970. Biopics can feel a little same-y, and there's a formulaic way to approach them. Wain, however, used "A Futile and Stupid Gesture" to give National Lampoon a hilarious meta biopic befitting the name that is now synonymous with legendary comedy.

For my money, Will Forte gives one of the best performances of his career as Doug Kenney. Domhnall Gleeson is also a real MVP as Henry Beard. But the movie itself is a feast for comedy lovers, as the likes of Martin Mull ("Clue"), Matt Walsh ("Veep"), Tom Lennon ("Reno 911") and many, many others show up to offer their services to this genuinely funny, strange love letter to a slice of comedy history.

Wain previously made "Wet Hot American Summer," one of the best summer camp movies of all time. This biopic very much feels like it's in conversation with that movie, given its beating heart and genuine fondness for the subject matter at hand. You'll learn something, and you'll laugh a lot along the way. It's offbeat humor with a purpose.

Long before director Jeremy Saulnier's action thriller "Rebel Ridge" topped Netflix's charts in 2024 and became one of the streamer's most-watched movies ever, he delivered another dark and effective thriller for the streamer. Unfortunately, 2018's "Hold the Dark" didn't make nearly as much of an impact and has more or less been completely lost in the discussion since it premiered. But now that Saulnier has made a bigger name for himself, it's a good time to revisit one of his earlier, outstanding works.

After the deaths of three children suspected to be killed by wolves, writer and wolf expect Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) is hired by the mother of a missing six-year-old boy to track down and locate her son in the Alaskan wilderness. In search of the wolves that supposedly killed the children, Russell finds himself attempting to unravel a harrowing mystery.

Jeffrey Wright isn't celebrated as often as he should be as one of our very finest living actors. He shoulders this bleak, cold, mysterious thriller expertly. Saulnier really has a knack for getting the most out of actors, as he does here with Alexander Skarsgard, James Badge Dale, and Riley Keough too.

"Hold the Dark" is an icy cold work of existential dread from Saulnier. It's slow moving until it isn't. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but that quiet dread is interrupted with one of the most unexpected, harrowing action scenes one can hope to encounter. It's the goods, for real.

Netflix has made an awful lot of horror movies. Some of them are very good, such as the intense Stephen King adaptation "Gerald's Game." Many others? Not so good. I'll refrain from naming names, but sometimes digging through Netflix's endless list of horror movies can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack when it comes to identifying something truly great. 2017's "The Ritual" is absolutely that needle in the haystack, and deserves to be discussed with far more frequency.

Directed by David Bruckner ("The Night House," "Hellraiser"), it centers on four college pals who reunite after the tragic death of their friend. They set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness, but a wrong turn leads them into the mysterious forests of Norse legend. There, an ancient evil stalks them at every turn, turning this reunion into a true nightmare.

On the surface and in the marketing, this seemed like a fairly generic "the woods are dangerous, don't wander into them" horror flick. But Bruckner delivered one of the scariest Netflix original movies to date, one that delivers some major surprises along the way. It's a bit of a slow start, but once things get moving, they really get moving, leading to one heck of a third act that makes the whole journey worth it.

Best not to spoil it here, but that third act contains a pretty impressive big bad that, visually speaking, is worth the viewing experience alone. In a better world, this supernatural folk horror nightmare would be held in much higher regard within the genre. But for anyone who finds "The Ritual" now, it's absolutely a better-late-than-never situation.

This list isn't necessarily a ranking, more of an informal presentation of a handful of really good movies that sort of slipped through the cracks in Netflix's massive library. But if this were a ranking and we were trying to exercise objectivity in identifying the best of the bunch, it'd be hard to argue against "Dolemite is My Name." Directed by Craig Brewer ("Hustle & Flow") and featuring one of Eddie Murphy's very best performances, it's a feel-good movie that also serves as a history lesson with substance.

It centers on performer Rudy Ray Moore (Murphy) who, after struggling to find his voice, develops an outrageous character named Dolemite. He becomes an underground sensation and star of a kung-fu, anti-establishment film that could be a make-or-break moment in Moore's career.

"Dolemite is My Name" shines a light on a real blaxploitation icon, as the "Dolemite" movies were treasures of the genre in the '70s. But the way Brewer decides to tell that story, with the perfectly-cast Murphy in the title role, is downright remarkable. It's by no means a standard biopic and manages to wholly grab the viewer. It's impossible not to get invested in the success of this lovable band of misfits.

With the help of an outlandishly great supporting cast, including an Oscar-worthy turn from "Blade" star Wesley Snipes, this may well be one of the best movies Netflix has ever made, period. It deserved Oscar love at the time. It deserves a Criterion release. It deserves a lot of things. For now, it very much deserves any self-respecting movie lover's attention. It's two hours very well spent.