3 underrated movies on Netflix you should watch this weekend (August 21-23)
Netflix‘s library goes far beyond the algorithm-driven hits everyone already knows about. This is why I dug through some overlooked titles to create this week’s lineup. It ranges from a chilling historical mystery to a horror film rooted in real trauma to a dark comedy. Make sure you add these three Netflix movies to your watchlist this weekend.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best free movies, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
The Wonder (2022)
Genre: Mystery, drama
IMDb: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Lib Wright (Florence Pugh), an English nurse in 1862 Ireland, is sent to a remote village to observe an 11-year-old girl who has reportedly survived four months without eating. As religious fanatics gather to witness a potential miracle, Lib fights to uncover the dangerous truth behind the fasting.
Florence Pugh gives a mesmerizing performance that holds the entire mystery together. I also liked the striking cinematography, using candlelit shadows to build an atmosphere heavy with quiet dread. Director Sebastián Lelio made a bold choice, having a narrator directly address the audience while opening and closing on a film set, reminding viewers they are watching a constructed story about the power of stories themselves.
Stream The Wonder on Netflix.
His House (2020)
Genre: Horror, thriller
IMDb: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Bol and Rial (Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku), a refugee couple who narrowly escaped war torn South Sudan, are placed in a run down house on the outskirts of London as part of the UK asylum process. As they try to adjust to their new life, a sinister presence inside the house begins tormenting them, forcing them to face the horrific guilt of their harrowing journey.
I liked how this film treats the supernatural scares and its real world horror, racism, and isolation as equally frightening rather than picking one to be the “real” threat. Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu both deliver performances that ground. Despite holding a perfect 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, its 72% audience score suggests some viewers found its themes heavier than expected for a horror movie.
Stream His House on Netflix.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
Genre: Crime, comedy, thriller
IMDb: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Ruth (Melanie Lynskey), a depressed nursing assistant already worn down by the world’s constant small cruelties, comes home to find her house burglarized and her grandmother’s silver stolen. When the police show little interest in helping, Ruth enlists her eccentric, nunchaku wielding neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood) to help track down the thieves herself. What starts as a minor act of self-assertion spirals into something more violent and dangerous than either of them anticipated.
Melanie Lynskey plays Ruth’s slow transformation from passive frustration to active fury with total conviction, making her rage seem reasonable. Her chemistry with Elijah Wood makes their vigilante mission absurdly fun. I enjoyed how confidently the film shifts tone, from quirky comedy to violence without losing the plot.
Stream I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore on Netflix.