2022 Top 10 Best Movies on Netflix

JG March 31, 2022

This is a list of the best movies to watch on Netflix right now. To keep things relevant, we're specifically highlighting the best recent releases (whether they're new to the world or just Netflix), Netflix originals, and some of our own personal favorites.

1- Fever Dream

For fans of: Artsy films, beautiful confusion, slightly supernatural films

Dolores Fonzi and María Valverde, Fever Dream

Diego Araya/NETFLIX

This Chilean film based on a novel by Argentine author Samantha Schwelbin dabbles in the supernatural while telling the story of a mother who realizes her friend's young son may not be all she thinks he is. There's some great philosophy inside -- especially about how a parent protects their child from danger -- but you're more likely to come away from this wonderfully shot film peppered with a sense of imminent doom with only a hazy understanding of the open-to-interpretation storytelling as nothing is spoon-fed to the viewer. But dig a little deeper and you'll find a chilling story of what a parent is willing do for their child [Trailer]

2- The Guilty

For fans of: One-man plays, Jake Gyllenhaal, thrilling phone conversations

Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty

Joe Bayler/Netflix

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a cop sent to desk duty at a 9-1-1 call center and becomes embroiled in a case when a woman being held against her will calls to ask for help. An adaptation of a 2018 Danish film, The Guilty is the rare intense thriller without any of the action as it's mostly set in the call center with Jake on the phone and only voices coming from the other end. But director Antoine Fuqua and Gyllenhaal keep things mesmerizing. [Trailer | Review]

3- No One Gets Out Alive

For fans of: The class division, the immigrant experience, spooks

Cristina Rodlo, No One Gets Out Alive

Teddy Cavendish/Netflix

A Latin American immigrant seeking work and housing in America shacks up in a boarding house where things aren't not haunted, if you get my drift. It's a great horror gem that taps into the immigrant experience and the difficulties the poor have with basic needs. [Trailer | Review]

4- Jaws

For fans of: Red water, scar talk

Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, Jaws

Universal

Steven Spielberg's classic about a great white shark that terrorized a tourist community still holds up today as one of the greatest horror movies ever. All of the Jaws movies are now on Netflix, but you're on your own if you want to watch any of the disappointing sequels. [Trailer]

5- The Father Who Moves Mountains

For fans of: Cinematography, the battle between sanity and madness, fast snow & slow burns

The Father Who Moves Mountains

Netflix

This Romanian film follows a powerful man of means desperate to find his son after he goes missing on a mountain trek. It's not an action film, but rather a contemplative exploration of how far a man will go to save his son and at what cost to others. You'll understand why he does what he does, but you might not like him for it. [Trailer]

6- Nightbooks

For fans of: Kids horror between Goosebumps and Fear Street, Krysten Ritter. hairless cats | Is it good?: It's pretty cool for kids and tweens who can handle scares

Krysten Ritter, Nightbooks

Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix

This adaptation of the 2018 children's fantasy-horror book by J.A. White is the perfect movie for the young horror fan in your life who is too old for things like Goosebumps but not quite ready for the teen-slasher gore of the Fear Street movies. It follows a young boy who is captured by a witch (a delectable Krysten Ritter) and bargains for his life by agreeing to tell her a new scary story that he writes each night. While there's no real blood and gore, there are definitely some creepy things -- Sam Raimi is a producer -- that will give some young ones nightmares for weeks, so make sure your kiddo is mentally prepared before they sit down to watch this. [Trailer]

7- Worth

For fans of: Incredibly difficult questions about life, sentimental biopics, Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci, Worth

Monika Lek/Netflix

Michael Keaton plays lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who was assigned the task of formulating how money was distributed through the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, which the government granted to families whose loved ones were killed in the 9/11 attacks. It essentially asks how much a life is worth and whether they're all equal. Strong acting and directing overcome some pretty melodramatic moments. [Trailer]

8- Wind River

For fans of: Yellowstone, Marvel stars in other things, snowy shootouts

Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner, Wind River

Taylor Sheridan, who created the Paramount hit drama Yellowstone, sticks to the wilderness for this 2018 movie starring Jeremy Renner as a sharpshooting game official and Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI agent trying to solve a rape and murder on a Native American reservation in Wyoming during the winter. It's a character-driven whodunnit in America's untamed land. [Trailer]

9- The Old Ways

For fans of: Witchcraft, Latin American demonology, creepy crawlies

The Old Ways

Netflix

A young journalist goes deep into the jungles of Veracruz, Mexico, for a story on indigenous people who practice ancient witchcraft, only to be kidnapped by them when they believe she is possessed by a demon. It's full of terrifying imagery, as is expected, but it's the claustrophobia of being imprisoned that really drives the horror. On top of that, there are themes of cultural identity that take it to a smarter level than your typical horror film, and visually, it's aces. [Trailer]

10- The Edge of Seventeen

For fans of: Remembering how much high school sucked

Hailee Steinfeld, Edge of Seventeen

STX Entertainment

One of the best teen comedies of the last decade, The Edge of Seventeen has everything you want in a coming-of-age movie. After finding out her best friend is hooking up with her popular older brother, awkward outsider Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) is thrown into crisis mode. Meanwhile, Nadine is navigating a strained relationship with her mother (Kyra Sedgwick) and a crush on an older boy by herself, with her only friend being her teacher, Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson), who barely tolerates her existential ramblings. It's a funny, sweet movie that will remind you of the classics you already love, like Clueless and Mean Girls, while standing totally on its own. [Trailer]