Netflix’s movie shelf is quite robust as of late, with one breakout documentary, Halloween-appropriate scares and a cult sci-fi classic on the precipice of leaving. To save you from the scroll, these picks make use of what’s currently buzzing on Netflix’s Top 10 combined with promising critical feedback and real-world audience momentum.
Industry trackers like Reelgood and JustWatch tend to tally a few thousand films on the service in the United States at any given moment, and Nielsen’s streaming snapshots always seem to show genre spikes come late October anyway. Translation: it’s a fine week to get heavy on the documentaries and horror, then finish things off with a healthy dose of satire.
The Perfect Neighbor: A Gripping, Timely True-Crime Doc
This Sundance-tinged documentary has lately vaulted up Netflix’s most-watched list, and for good cause. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, it explores the killing of Ajike Owens through police body-camera footage and contemporaneous materials, constructing a case study in perception, bias and process that is as heart-poundingly gripping as any thriller.
The critics love it — Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at a rare 100% with early reviewers — and audiences are likewise loving it, if IMDb user scores around 8.0 are any indication.
If you’re looking to join the conversation that’s spilling onto social feeds and office Slack channels, cue this one up first.
Cam: Identity Theft Meets Tech-Noir Psychological Horror
Madeline Brewer stars in one of the more inventive tech-noir chillers of the decade. Directed by Daniel Goldhaber, from a script by Isa Mazzei, “Cam” uses the interface of a cam performer as its visual canvas and blurs the notion of identity and ownership in a manner that feels eerily native to the internet. When an unsettling doppelgänger takes over her career, the film unravels into a dread-soaked riddle that’s as psychological as procedural.
The movie is notable for its authenticity and formal daring — it’s Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes — although the film’s user score is more evenly divided on IMDb, a split that often corresponds to boundary-pushing genre.
For Halloween week, it’s a bite-size 94 minutes with much impact.
Deadstream: A Riotous Found-Footage Haunted House Romp
If you like your jump scares with a sense of humor, Deadstream is the sweet spot. Directors Joseph and Vanessa Winter spin a livestream-gone-wrong into a gleefully chaotic night in a haunted house, one replete with chat-driven chaos, meta jokes and gooey practical effects. The awkward clout-chaser Joseph Winter nails the cringe of a would-be genius creator grinding that algorithm back to relevance.
Horror comedy is hit-or-miss, but this one hits with skill — reviewers praise the DIY effects work and pacing, and IMDb users hover in the mid-6s (a great score for a microbudget genre romp).
There, it forms a perfect double feature with Cam about how constant surveillance distorts behavior.
Starship Troopers: Verhoeven’s Biting Sci-Fi War Satire
Paul Verhoeven’s satirical space war epic is still one of the sharpest attacks on militarism in modern movies. Glossing over the fun junkyard where kids can mold love-it-or-hate-it trash monsters, the movie — based on Robert Heinlein’s novel — turns a bug-swarms-and-battle-suits adventure into a slick, smiling depiction of propaganda machines at work. Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards and Neil Patrick Harris fronted the recruiting-poster cast.
Underrated upon its release, it has since been reappraised by critics and scholars as a jaw-dropping satire; IMDb users are still highly positive at over 7.0. And since it’s due to leave the platform soon, this is your last, best chance to revisit Verhoeven’s irony-strafed spectacle before it disappears from rotation.
What Makes These Netflix Picks Stand Out This Week
Selection factors were Netflix’s daily and weekly Top 10 lists, critic signals on Rotten Tomatoes, audience sentiment on IMDb, and broader viewing trends from Nielsen. The mix should address real-time trends (The Perfect Neighbor), seasonal viewing spikes (Cam and Deadstream) and urgency viewing (Starship Troopers leaving soon).
Pro tip: Open a film’s details page on Netflix and see if it is labeled “Available until” before you press play; Netflix also releases weekly hours-viewed rankings at its Top 10 site.
Make space for likely-to-expire titles on your My List so you don’t get caught off guard, and balance buzzy new releases with high-rewatch-value catalog gems.
