Netflix is now a synonym for abundance. The platform’s library is currently overflowing with original and licensed films. And there’s more on the way. The company had previously been expected to spend $18 billion on content throughout 2025. According to Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann, they are just getting started. This marks an 11% rise from 2024, when $16.2 billion was spent. This is good news for subscribers, but the bigger the menu, the more likely it is for someone to not notice the tasty stuff. There are, thus, several great movies that most people haven’t watched yet.
These hidden gems on Netflix are movies with great critic and audience reviews but very little press. No one is discussing them on social media either. You are unlikely to find them anywhere close to the streaming service’s front pages either. Searching is thus the only option, but every search needs to be purpose-driven and idea-driven.
Here is a list of 13 underseen movies on Netflix cutting across various genres.
‘First They Killed My Father’ (2017)
Directed by Angelina Jolie, First They Killed My Father is the biographical story of Cambodian-American human rights activist Loung Ung. Set in 1975, the film introduces us to 5-year-old Loung (Sreymoch Sareum), who is forcefully turned into a child soldier while her siblings are sent to labor camps during the tyrannical Khmer Rouge regime.
A Powerful Film with a Journalistic Touch
First They Killed My Father excels by being educational. One of the first things audiences learn is that the Vietnam War didn’t just affect the Vietnamese people. It spilled into neighboring Cambodia, and the consequences were dire. As a director, Jolie is also perfect. She captures everything to the most minute details, whether it’s mass graves or minefields. The film won numerous trophies, including the Freedom of Expression Award at the National Board of Review.
‘Cam’ (2018)
Cam is about Alice Ackerman (Madeline Brewe), a camgirl who performs under the pseudonym “Lola_Lola” and dreams of being the star attraction on a popular camming website. Her dreams are shattered when she finds herself locked out of her account one day. Even worse, there is a replica of her performing live shows. What’s going on? She investigates.
Hacked or Tricked?
As always, Daniel Goldhaber directs with a stiff, suspenseful flair, while Madeline Brewer adds gravity to the tight script by Isa Mazzei. Well, Mazzei is a former camgirl, so she brings a level of authenticity that isn’t always found in movies like this. The story element of Alice’s image getting stolen came from Mazzei having her camming pictures and videos pirated and reposted elsewhere without anyone crediting her.
‘Mudbound’ (2017)
Mudbound follows two families — one Black, one white —as they deal with race-related challenges in rural 1940s Mississippi. The McAllans are white landowners with a shaky relationship with the Black tenant farmers, the Jacksons. Things heat up when Ronsel Jackson, a black soldier, and Jamie McAllan, a white soldier, return from war and form an unlikely friendship.
A Detailed Analysis of Prejudice
The rural class struggle has never been addressed better than it is here. Regrettably, Mudbound is one of the underrated Oscar-nominated movies that was forgotten as soon as the awards season ended. Still, it’s time to revisit it. Mary J. Blige is especially spectacular. She became the first person to be nominated for both acting and songwriting at the Academy Awards in the same year. Watch it for the acting, the costumes, and the cinematography.
‘The Breaker Upperers’ (2018)
The Breaker Upperers concerns the unusual occupations of Jen (Jackie van Beek) and Mel (Madeleine Sami). The best friends run a reverse dating agency, specializing in breaking up couples for a fee. Their methods include faking deaths and staging affairs. But we can all predict that this won’t end well, especially when an unlikely, all-consuming bond develops between a client and one of the women.
With a Little Help, Breakups Can Be Easy
The ultimate comical anti-love film, The Breaker Upperers is an impish, free-flowing rom-com with a distinctly fresh New Zealand twist. The two leads also served as directors, arguably a good thing. They seem to understand the intricacies of dating well, and they waste no time delivering the laughs. The movie further excels by digging into basic issues like the usual crisis of conscience and a lack of understanding between friends.
‘His House’ (2020)
His House covers an African family’s immigration and residential woes. Bol (Sope Dirisu) and his family flee from war-torn South Sudan and head to the United Kingdom via the English Channel, only for their daughter to lose her life during the crossing. When they arrive in London, they are offered a derelict house with peeling walls. Soon, they come into contact with supernatural phenomena.
From Hell to Hell
Highlighting the racial and class distinctions at play in the modern world, His House lets the images shout almost forcefully, with the agile camerawork of Belgian cinematographer Jo Willems evoking the horror and chaos of a land that’s supposed to be heaven. Sope Dirisu is great in his head-of-the-family role, but British actress Wunmi Mosaku is the heart of the tale; her character’s insistence on sticking to her culture, even when her husband thinks otherwise, speaks to the dilemma of most immigrants. Above all, it’s the scares that provide most of the entertainment, granting the film a poignant universality.
‘The Mustang’ (2019)
The Mustang isn’t a solo Dominic Toretto movie. It is the story of Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts), an inmate in a Nevada prison, who is signed up for a rehabilitation program that involves training wild mustangs. Paired up with the unruly horse, Roman, he struggles to tame the animal, but with guidance from another inmate, he starts making strides.
The Beautiful Friendship Between Man and Animal
Ralph from The Sopranos would hate this kind of movie, but it is perfect for animal lovers. Understated yet touching, The Mustang remains a refreshing prison tale that highlights the flipside of the justice system’s violent structure. It makes us feel the humanity and effectiveness of a character who initially looks like he doesn’t have much to offer. And this isn’t just a wild Hollywood idea. The tale is based on a rehabilitation program in Carson City, Nevada.
‘Dumplin’’ (2018)
Dumplin’ concerns the efforts of plus-size teenager Willowdean “Dumplin'” Dickson (Danielle Macdonald) to make a name for herself. Defying traditional beauty standards, she enters the local Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant run by her mother, a former model. Willowdean’s bold move triggers controversy, but inspires other unlikely contestants to participate.
Changing the Game
In this coming-of-age comedy drama, director Anne Fletcher builds on her previous hits like Step Up and Hot Pursuit, with its well-observed portrayal of plus-size life. She infuses her tale with marvelous tunes (including Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”), and tackles themes of ambition, fate, and acceptance. Boasting wonderful performances by Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston, this remains is a perfect choice any day.
‘See You Yesterday’ (2019)
See You Yesterday’s protagonists, C.J. Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith) and Sebastian (Dante Crichlow), are intelligent high school students eager to make a difference. They build backpacks that enable them to travel through time, and things seem perfect until C.J.’s brother becomes a victim of police brutality. The two thus decide to head back in time to prevent the killing.
Righting the Wrongs of Others.
Produced by Spike Lee and based on the short film of the same name, this thoughtful sci-fi flick is one of the most overt, visually poetic commentary pieces on discrimination. While weaving in recurring themes of family bonds and friendships, science occupies center stage. The young leads also deserve great praise for all the work they do here.
‘Private Life’ (2018)
Middle-aged New York City couple Richard (Paul Giamatti) and Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) find their seemingly rock-solid marriage tested as they attempt to navigate the throes of infertility in the dramedy Private Life. Together, the free-spirited duo explores multiple fertility therapies and avenues in order to have a child, facing countless setbacks and unexpected surprises along the way.
Giamatti & Hahn Are a Dream Team on Screen
The wry and deeply poignant Netflix original features stellar performances by its two seasoned stars, who brilliantly capture all the heartache, uncertainty, and excitement that come with trying to get pregnant despite numerous odds being stacked against them. Directed by Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills, The Savages), Private Life is based on the filmmaker’s own personal experiences and unflinchingly depicts a couple’s midlife crisis as they realize too late that they want to have a child.
‘White Noise’ (2022)
Touting an all-star cast led by Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, and Don Cheadle, White Noise takes place in 1984, where Professor Jack Gladney teaches the self-created “Hitler studies” course at an Ohio college despite secretly not knowing how to speak German. Married to his fourth wife, Babette, and trying to raise a blended family, Jack is left spiraling when a cloud of chemical waste plagues his town and forces him to ponder mortality.
Baumbach’s Ambitious & Kooky Comedy
The absurdist comedy is based on the Don DeLillo novel of the same name and was helmed by Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, Barbie), Gerwig’s frequent creative collaborator and husband, who has a Hollywood career spanning three decades. White Noise winningly blends genres and offers a biting satirical look at contemporary America, consumerism, addiction, and human-caused disasters, all the while providing viewers with a heaping dose of humor and heart.
