10 Great Netflix Original Movies Everyone Has Already Forgotten About

Every week, Netflix unleashes a flood of content, including original movies exclusively made for the streaming service. It’s difficult to keep up with everything, especially since other platforms also clamor for attention with their own productions, but there’s some programming that persists through the deluge. While the likes of “Bird Box,” “The Irishman,” and “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” continue to dominate conversations, there are many great films that seem lost to the storms of days gone by, sinking to the bottom of Netflix’s library and turning into relics. These movies may have generated some positive buzz upon arrival, but hardly anyone remembers they even exist nowadays.

As film fans, it’s time to change this. There are way too many “what to watch this weekend” lists, but not enough “what to watch if you forgot about it already” features, so let’s grab a shovel and get digging for all the gold on Netflix. From Jake Gyllenhaal teaming up with his “Nightcrawler” collaborator Dan Gilroy and getting weirder than ever to the ultimate parody of evil children in horror films, these are the Netflix original movies that everyone has already forgotten about — but will fall in love with all over again after reading this. Remember, sometimes all that’s necessary is a rewatch to remind us how good something was to begin with.

Filmmaker Dan Gilroy and actor Jake Gyllenhaal combine their powers for the 2019 artsy horror thriller “Velvet Buzzsaw.” Gyllenhaal plays the snooty art critic Morf Vandewalt, who’s one of many colorful characters in this film. Everything goes to hell in a handbasket after Morf’s friend/lover Josephina (Zawe Ashton) discovers the paintings of the recently deceased Vetril Dease (Alan Mandell). As everyone tries to score clout or make a buck off Dease’s work, something more sinister comes out to play, and everyone pays the price.

Much like Gilroy and Gyllenhaal’s “Nightcrawler” criticizes the sensationalist and cutthroat nature of the news industry, “Velvet Buzzsaw” wraps its commentary in camp to aim barbs at how art has become trivialized and commoditized. “I don’t think the quality of a work should be judged by the number of views or clicks or amount of pay,” Gilroy told Vice. “I mean, success does not diminish your work, but it doesn’t define it either.” Resultantly, “Velvet Buzzsaw” turns out to be a razor-sharp retort, delivering death by a thousand cuts while also establishing itself as a Netflix movie with one of the best twist endings you’ll find on the streaming platform.

Due to its tongue-in-cheek approach, the film might lose the viewers who aren’t in on the joke or fail to see past the surface-level presentation. It’s a polarizing movie, for sure, with it only holding 61% critical approval and a 36% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. But isn’t all good art supposed to elicit debate rather than indifference? Therefore, mission accomplished here.

No one expected 2018’s “Apostle” from director-writer Gareth Evans. After delivering one of the best action movies of all time in “The Raid” and following it up with an equally adept sequel, his next cinematic effort proved to be this curious folk horror flick for Netflix. Yet, when watching “Apostle,” it all clicks together. This is still an Evans movie jam-packed with all the bloody action and heart-pounding drama everyone expects; it’s just a different genre.

The film draws the audience in with the story of the wayward Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens), who is summoned by his father to travel to a nearby island to rescue his kidnapped sister from a cult. Posing as a new recruit, Thomas makes his way over there, discovering the cult has fallen upon desperate times and under the spell of their enigmatic but charismatic leader, Malcolm Howe (Michael Sheen). What exactly does the cult want, though? Blood — lots of it — since they believe this will fertilize the land and change their fortunes.

Evans chooses to plant a seed of terror and let it grow organically throughout “Apostle.” By the third act, everyone’s screaming at the horror around them and a premise that becomes more terrifying with each passing scene. Looking back at some of the high-profile horror films from 2018, such as “Insidious: The Last Key,” “Hereditary,” and “A Quiet Place,” “Apostle” more than earns its place among the best of the year, even if it isn’t as widely remembered.

The economy is tough, but Jamie Foxx’s Bud Jablonski is tougher in J. J. Perry’s vampire action comedy “Day Shift.” Bud poses as a pool cleaner, though his real job is exterminating bloodsuckers to pay the bills. Realizing working solo isn’t bringing in the necessary cash, he decides to rejoin the vampire hunting union. However, Bud is still under probation because of his previous antics, so he’s paired up with union supervisor Seth (Dave Franco) and forced to work the day shift. On top of trying to keep his nose clean, he also needs to deal with vampire Audrey San Fernando’s (Karla Souza) rise to power as she attempts to re-establish the bloodsuckers at the top of the food chain.

At one point in time, Foxx might have been the perfect replacement for Wesley Snipes as Blade. While that casting never happened, “Day Shift” offers Foxx a different vampire vehicle. Along with Franco’s nervous and neurotic Seth in tow, this turns into an enjoyable all-action buddy comedy that’s easy to watch and maintains a high rewatchability factor. Also, who wouldn’t want to see a spin-off film featuring the no-nonsense Nazarian brothers ? Mike (Steve Howey) and Diran (Scott Adkins) deliver some of the best vampire kills in “Day Shift.”

On Rotten Tomatoes, this film didn’t hit the mark with reviewers, earning only 57% critical approval, but the audience score of 76% tells a different story about who this is for. “Day Shift” embraces the fun and never takes itself too seriously.

Adam Schindler and Brian Netto’s “Don’t Move” refuses to be anything but a complete nail-biter. For an hour and a half, the audience suffers along with the protagonist Iris (Kelsey Asbille), who experiences everybody’s worst nightmare when it comes to stranger danger. A downtrodden Iris meets the mysterious Richard (Finn Wittrock) at a cliff’s edge. After they share stories about their tragic pasts, Richard attacks Iris in the parking lot and stuffs her in his car. He injects her with a drug that shuts down her motor skills, all the while holding nefarious plans for her. Iris tries to escape from Richard’s clutches, but she struggles as her body battles the effects of the drug.

It’s torturous to watch the cat-and-mouse game between Richard and Iris here. Even in the moments in which it appears Iris might be free by some miracle, Richard reappears and toys with the viewer’s last frayed nerve. The title “Don’t Move” serves as an instruction for the audience too, since no one is likely to move from their seat until the story provides resolution of Iris’ fate.

As a thriller, this Sam Raimi-produced film demonstrates there’s still room for novel ideas in the genre. It doesn’t waste time trying to be too much for everyone or veering off track for various side quests, as it trusts in its unique premise and sticks the landing in the end. “Don’t Move” is also a great watch for anyone looking for films that give off similar vibes to Osgood Perkins’ “Keeper”, thanks to its themes of isolationism and patriarchal predation.

Samara Weaving is a modern-day scream queen, but let’s not forget her roots as Bee in McG’s 2017 slasher comedy “The Babysitter.” Written by Brian Duffield, this quirky tale turns 12-year-old Cole’s (Judah Lewis) life upside down. He isn’t a popular kid, and one of his only friends is his babysitter, Bee, whom he also has an itsy-bitsy crush on. One evening, Cole decides to see what Bee gets up to after he goes to bed, so he spies on her and her friends, discovering they belong to a devil-worshipping cult. Oh, bother! The problem is Bee and pals spot Cole snooping around, and he’s now on their hit list.

While “The Babysitter” doesn’t reinvent the wheel of the genre, there’s a lot of fun to be had here, as it feels like a glorious throwback to ’80s horror comedies in the same vein as “Fright Night” and “The ‘Burbs.” Sure, there are a lot of familiar archetypes in the characters and it’s somewhat predictable in how it’ll all end, but the film never loses its charm or heart in the process. Somehow, there’s an alternate reality where Bee and Cole can be friends forever.

On Rotten Tomatoes, “The Babysitter” sits with 70% critical approval and a 62% audience score. It also received a sequel in the form of 2020’s “The Babysitter: Killer Queen,” which sees Coles face off against Bee and Co. once more. Although, the follow-up wasn’t as well-received as the original.

Portraying a child as the Antichrist in a horror film is such an overdone cliche at this point. While “The Omen” did it well in 1976, does anyone really need to see yet another creepy little kid who has no friends and loves their black crayon more than any other color? Eli Craig’s 2017 Netflix movie “Little Evil” pokes fun at this trope with a side-splitting horror comedy that’s mandatory viewing for anyone who enjoys their humor on the darker side.

Adam Scott plays Gary Bloom, who marries Samantha (Evangeline Lily) and becomes the stepfather to Lucas (Owen Atlas). The young boy demonstrates strange and sinister behavior, convincing everyone — including Gary — that he’s Satan’s spawn and must be stopped at all costs. The question is, what does this do to the relationship between Gary and Samantha?

While this appears to be the plotline for every evil child movie, “Little Evil” plays into the expectations to turn it into a bonding story between Gary and Lucas. Yeah, Gary has his reservations, because Lucas is definitely on the demonic side of the fence and could possibly knife him to death in his sleep, but hey, there’s an opportunity here for them to learn how to get along and develop something special. It’s sweet in a macabre-ish sort of way.

What happens when you throw a vampire into an airplane thriller like “Flightplan”? That’s the premise of Peter Thorwarth’s “Blood Red Sky” in a nutshell. In this film, Nadja (Peri Baumeister) must embrace her hidden vampiric side that she’s tried to suppress for a while in order to protect herself and her son, Elias (Carl Koch), from a band of terrorists who hijack their plane. But can Nadja control the beast within long enough?

“Blood Red Sky” puts its own spin on vampire stories by moving the bloodsucker into another genre altogether. It works wonders, as it flips the script on traditional expectation here. Normally, everyone would be afraid of the terrorists onboard; now, there’s a deadlier creature who holds that distinct honor but could also be the only source of hope for the passengers. It’s a conundrum, really, because can anyone ever fully trust a vampire?

Released in 2021, the film caught a lot of critics off guard, as no one expected it to be as bloody brilliant as it is. On Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, it soared to a superb 81% score, with IGN calling it “a dark and savage story that works just as well as a fun popcorn flick.” More importantly, “Blood Red Sky” is an absolute seat-gripper of an action horror movie for anyone with a Netflix subscription.

There’s no shortage of both original and licensed superhero content to browse on Netflix. Yet Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s “Project Power” finds a new angle in a genre that’s more fatigued than a soccer player after playing 90 minutes in a high altitude. Written by Mattson Tomlin, who has also made contributions to Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” films, this film introduces the concept of the Power pill, whereby someone takes it and gains an unknown power for just five short minutes. Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt spearhead an all-out actioner that’s lathered in sci-fi and superhero elements — and rapper Machine Gun Kelly also appears here if that’s your jam.

What was the biggest sin committed by “Project Power”? It debuted on Netflix in 2020. At that time, it’s safe to say that anything superhero-related was generating more eyerolls than viewers. The past five years had stuffed capes and cowls down everyone’s throats to the point in which most people couldn’t fathom yet another film or TV show. There was simply too much of it going around!

Having said that, “Project Power” doesn’t feel like a Marvel or DC movie. It dares to be original in a genre that often looks to be cookie-cutter to its own detriment. There’s a certain indie quality to it reminiscent of titles from Dark Horse Comics or Image Comics. Plus, who doesn’t like seeing Jamie Foxx turn into a superhero?

Say the name Timo Tjahjanto and two movies come to mind immediately: 2018’s “The Night Comes for Us” and 2024’s “The Shadow Strays.” A master of Indonesian action movies, Tjahjanto’s films are renowned for gory action and intense situations, which are often not advised for sensitive and/or younger viewers. The 2022 action comedy “The Big 4” has similar characteristics, but it’s perhaps best compared to another Tjahjanto project: 2025’s “Nobody 2.”

“The Big 4” sees four assassins — Topan (Abimana Aryasatya), Alpha (Lutesha), Jenggo (Arie Kriting), and Pelor (Kristo Immanuel) — come out of retirement to team up with police officer Dina (Putri Marino) to solve the murder of someone close to them. Of course, there’s the big question: can they get along?

Tjahjanto isn’t afraid to turn up the chaotic comedic dial in “The Big 4,” while still maintaining the kinetic action set pieces that he’s become famous for. It’s a non-stop journey through fun and fights, never refusing to settle down until the credits roll. On Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, it holds a perfect score of 100%, while on the Popcornmeter it has 82%. Let’s just state the obvious here: it’s one of the best Netflix original movies ever made and deserves to be recognized for it.

Based on the Donald Ray Pollock novel of the same name, 2020’s “The Devil All the Time” tells a chilling psychological tale that blends several characters and stories into one. It’s the melting point of post-World War II society and its relationship with religion, demonstrating the fine line between good and evil. Often, it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Sure, “The Devil All the Time” isn’t the type of comfort film that people put on to enjoy the storyline. It’s as dark and bleak as the souls of some of these characters, but don’t let that distract you from the sensational performances on display. The cast is absolutely stacked, featuring the likes of heavy hitters like Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgård, and Riley Keough. Everyone shows up and puts on a masterclass in “a parade of grotesquery,” as director Antonio Campos coined it in a Looper interview discussing the movie.

Despite the uneasiness on screen, “The Devil All the Time” scored well with both the press and viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds 65% critical approval and a 79% audience score. With such decent reception and a loaded cast, it’s surprising that “The Devil All the Time” isn’t a Netflix original movie that gets mentioned more nowadays. Yes, it can be a depressing and uneasy film to watch, but that shouldn’t detract from its achievements.