Netflix has been piling up their shelves with plenty of Original films, TV shows, documentaries and more, of late, besides adding older, classic content to leave the figurative units bulging with titles. The collection is impeccable indeed as it is handpicked by a group of experts who manage to adhere to the viewer likes and dislikes with an unnerving amount of accuracy.
However, there are certain titles on Netflix that are simply not worth our time. While some of them belong to overdone genres or abound in cliches and stereotypes that have been repeated umpteen times, others are simply not good enough.
Netflix has an assortment of titles across all genres and sometimes it becomes difficult for us, while doom-scrolling, to understand what titles we should watch and which ones we should skip.
To help you out and make it easier for you, here are the 10 new Netflix releases from worst to best that you may skip for a better viewing experience:
10 new Netflix releases that you really need to skip
10. Things Heard and Seen (Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, 2021)
Based on Elizabeth Brundage’s novel, All Things Cease to Appear; the film sees a Manhattan artist relocating with her husband and daughter to a historic small-town. As she tries to adjust to her new life, she understands that her new home hides a sinister history that is as devastating and dark as the one at the root of her marriage.
Starring Amanda Seyfried and George Norton, the cast’s brilliant performances add to the film’s sinister feel. However, the weak jumpscares and the feeble attempts at making the premise seem in some way harrowing is honestly amusing. Despite having great potential, or perhaps because of it, the film is an utter let-down.
9. The Prom (Ryan Murphy, 2020)
A group of dishevelled thespians, desperate to restore their grandeur and assert dominance, unite to help a girl, who has recently stepped out of the closet, to ask a girl to be her girlfriend. The message is important and crucial; the film even has great bouncing numbers of joy, but it ultimately falls flat.
How did an actress of Meryl Streep’s stature get convinced to enact in a film this cheesy? How did she sign up to be part of an ensemble that included James Corden? We’ll never know.
Joined by Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman and more, the film is essentially a musical with the very unfunny Corden and his annoying quips somehow disrupting the feel-good factor they try to drive in. while it is quite adorable to see the entire town root for the teen who just steps out of the closet, it is too slow for its own good.
8. The Last Thing He Wanted (Dee Rees, 2020)
Adapted from Joan Didion’s eponymous book, the film focuses on a journalist from Washington DC. She begins to lose her way within her self-composed narrative of ethics during the Presidential election when she is sent on a guilt-inducing errand by her dying father and forced to assume his position as an arms dealer.
Starring Willem Dafoe, Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck and more, the predicament of a daughter caught between her morals and call of duty is well-established in the film. However, the film fails to be even half as riveting as the book. Despite having such a brilliant ensemble, it seems to be a complete waste.
7. He’s All That (Mark Waters, 2021)
Addison Rae should have stuck to being a TikTok star because the woman cannot act. As Padgett Sawyer, a popular teen, who her playboy boyfriend unceremoniously dumps, she quickly takes an interest in the classic loser emo guy to turn him into a heartthrob. No surprise, she falls in love with him in the process!
A gender-swapped remake of Robert Iscove’s famous ‘90s teen movie She’s All That — this reimagination of the film is an absolute mess. Reinforcing various stereotypes that seem obsolete in today’s world, the film feels like a sponsored advertisement for social media apps. Even the tiny cameo from Kourtney Kardashian is not enough to prevent it from being an absolute disaster.
6. The Kissing Booth 3 (Vince Marcello, 2021)
If you keep dragging something for too long and add a dollop of mush and cliched teenage love tropes to the mix, the disastrous product will never be at par with the other brilliant Originals that Netflix has produced over the years. That is precisely what went wrong with the third instalment of The Kissing Booth franchise.
Although Elle, Noah and Lee find themselves having the time of their lives, Elle is caught between choosing her boyfriend over her best friend in terms of the two prestigious Ivy League schools, Harvard and Berkely. While we found Elle’s indecisiveness cute and adorable in the beginning, it is frankly annoying to see her struggle so much to be her own person by the third film.
5. A Week Away (Roman White, 2021)
Starring Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn, this coming-of-age tale sees Will being completely directionless when he stumbles upon a Christian camp where he forges new relationships. He forms a close bond with a man who becomes a loving father figure, makes friends, gets interested in a girl and above all, manages to find a home and family that he had been craving.
It is not a typical camp movie and is devoid of all the sleazy rendezvous that is a characteristic of this genre. While it is family-friendly and creative, it does not offer any ingenious creativity, making it an okay background watch to dull out the noise inside our heads. But that’s about it.
4. Let It Snow (Like Snellin, 2019)
In a small town, a group of high schoolers get snowed-in, on Christmas Eve, of all nights. They find out their individual connections, romance is on its way, and overall the Christmas cheer sees the onslaught of new friendships and relationships being formed.
The film has some major differences from the book it was based on yet is not as entertaining due to the lack of misadventures; it is a feel-good film with an enchanting premise, but there are lots of those tiny feel-good ones on Netflix, so it is definitely not something that requires your attention or bookmarking for wintry nights in.
3. Afterlife of the Party (Stephen Herek, 2021)
A raging party animal Cassie has an argument with her shy and introverted best friend Lisa. She is irresponsible, hates her estranged mother and rarely visits her doting father. When she dies in a freak bathroom accident while being too hungover just a few days shy of her twenty-fifth birthday, she learns that she must amend her mistakes to gain an elevator ride to heaven.
Despite its Russian Doll-like premise and a night of neon pink rendezvous, the film reeks of wasted potential. The underdeveloped lead protagonist and her totally unadorable ditzy ways add to the overall shallow feel of the film. Despite the few emotional moments scattered throughout the film, it is too forgettable and long-drawn.
2. The Woman in the Window (Joe Wright, 2021)
Adapted from Dan Mallory’s eponymous novel, the film sees an agoraphobic child psychologist who is obsessed with the notion of her neighbour’s alleged murder. When the police fail to find anything that alludes to the same, she decides to investigate the matter on her own and soon finds herself caught in a dangerous rabbit hole.
While the film pays tribute to Alfred Hitchcock by indulging in a sultry rendezvous of voyeurism and murder, it is nothing new. The same tropes have been overdone, and it does not offer the kind of ominous tension that the premise originally should. Amy Adams is good in her role, but the film will surely not gain enough appreciation from thriller aficionados due to the lack of ingenuity.
1. The Dig (Simon Stone, 2021)
Set in 1939 Suffolk, an affluent landowner named Edith Pretty employs an amateur Basil Brown to delve deep into the mystery behind the mounds that are located in her property.
When Basil’s team start looking into it, they discover a burial ground as well as a ship from the middle ages, leading to the historic excavation of the Sutton Hoo. a reimagination of the real event, the film focuses on the excavation of the historic site.
The film stars Carey Mulligan, Lily James, Ralph Fiennes and more. Being a period drama, it brimming with subtlety and is a slow burn that shows the budding of relationships in the backdrop of war. However, it is too ponderous and viewers might get quite bored watching the film.
From a director of Dee Rees’ stature, a far superior quality of entertainment is expected.
