The five best movies to watch on Netflix this weekend
Weekends are precious, and who doesn’t hate it when half of it disappears just scrolling through Netflix trying to pick something? So let’s skip the hunt. Once again, we have brought you five films, but this time with a twist.
You see, we all generally binge the movies that are loudly marketed on our Netflix home screens, but mostly miss those which probably have a much better storyline but sadly hide in the back. These are movies people don’t talk about loudly enough, which is exactly why they deserve a spot on your couch schedule.
Think of us as that annoying content consumer friend of yours who would recommend you a film and go on and on about how good it is, and won’t shut their mouth until you text them in all caps because they were right. Each film on this list has its own personality, and none of them is passive background noise. So please bring your attention specs here.
So this weekend, pause your doom-scrolling, and watch these five best films you can comfortably finish this weekend.
The five best movies to watch on Netflix this weekend
In the Shadow of the Moon (Jim Mickle, 2019)
In the Shadow of the Moon starts like a straightforward crime thriller. You have a detective chasing a mysterious killer across Philadelphia in 1988, but don’t get too comfortable, because the film keeps turning itself inside out in ways you’re not prepared for. You follow Officer Thomas Lockhart as he tries to solve a series of bizarre deaths that keep happening nine years apart. Just when you think you’re ahead of the story, it swerves. And then it swerves again. It’s the perfect movie if you love puzzles with actual emotional payoff.
What makes it fun for a weekend watch is how it blends genres without making a big deal out of it. One minute you are in a police procedural, and before you realise, you’re in something more ambitious and far more layered. It’s twisty but not confusing, serious but never dull. And when you reach the final reveal, you’ll probably take a minute, sit back and think about everything you just watched all over again.
Saint Maud (Rose Glass, 2019)
Now, if In the Shadow of the Moon leaves you in that reflective headspace, Saint Maud pushes you a little deeper. This film follows Maud, a young hospice nurse who takes her work very seriously. Maybe a bit too seriously. She arrives to care for a former dancer living alone by the seaside, and from the very first dinner scene, you can sense that something within Maud is pulling at the edges.
The beauty of this movie lies in its restraint. Nothing jumps out at you. Nothing screams. Instead, the tension creeps just like a cold breeze under the door. You watch Maud try to save her patient’s soul while her own grip on reality begins to fray, and suddenly you’re not sure whether you should be scared for her or scared of her. By the time the final moment hits, you’ll sit there completely still, questioning everything you thought you understood.
Beau Is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023)
Sliding into something completely different, and I mean “completely”, we land on Beau Is Afraid. If you have ever watched a movie that felt like someone cracked open their anxiety and turned it into a three-hour odyssey, this is that movie. It follows Beau, a man who wants to visit his mother but keeps getting swallowed by bizarre situations that feel both surreal and extremely familiar.
The fun of watching this is just letting the madness unfold without trying to guess where it’s going, because it’s not going to give you any easy paths. It’s bold, uncomfortable, occasionally hilarious, and always odd in a way you cannot look away from. If you enjoy films that feel like dreams you wake up from and immediately try to explain to a friend, this one delivers that experience perfectly.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2018)
And now, for something lighter but absolutely clever, we step into The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. This isn’t one story; it’s six. Six little windows into the Wild West, each with its own tone and tempo. One minute you’re laughing at a singing cowboy in a white suit, and the next you’re watching a quiet, heartbreaking tale happening on an empty frontier road.
The joy of this film is how it jumps between moods. Every segment feels like a campfire story someone has been waiting to tell, and you get that warm feeling of settling into something unpredictable. It’s sharp and emotional in places you don’t expect. Perfect for when you want something that entertains without demanding your entire emotional bandwidth.
The Wonder (Sebastián Lelio, 2022)
To close the list, we shift into a quieter space with The Wonder. Florence Pugh plays a nurse in 1860s Ireland who’s sent to observe a young girl who hasn’t eaten in months, yet appears completely healthy. From the moment she arrives, the room feels heavy with secrets, and you can sense that everyone involved knows more than they’re admitting.
What makes this film special is how gently it draws you in. It’s atmospheric and emotional but without being dramatic for the sake of it. As the mystery reveals itself, you start feeling the weight of every choice these characters make. It’s the type of film you watch on a quiet night to soak in everything that’s shown.