Netflix keeps updating its catalog with crowd-pleasing blockbusters, including award-winning hits like Parasite, Interstellar, and even The Menu. Viewers looking for films that will surely entertain can’t go wrong there, but there are also lesser-known movies on the platform that are worth checking out.
For anyone looking to watch films that are hidden gems, Netflix has a wide selection, with movies spanning many genres. The following three movies are among these underrated films worth checking out, including an animated pick, an emotional flick, and a unique biographical drama.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion animated action fantasy film set in feudal Japan. Here, the young boy Kubo (Art Parkinson) lives in isolation with his sick mother, who warns her never to stay out after dark. This is to avoid encountering his vengeful grandfather, the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), and his creepy twin aunts (both voiced by Rooney Mara). When he accidentally breaks this rule, he’s thrust into a dangerous adventure alongside unlikely companions — Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) — to recover his late father’s enchanted armor.
Perhaps overshadowed by mainstream CGI juggernauts, Kubo and the Two Strings never reached the same heights as Laika’s more popular productions (like Coraline and ParaNorman). Director Travis Knight’s criminally overlooked film offers a unique blend of Japanese folklore, stunning animation, and surprising emotional depth. At its core, the 2016 film is a meditation on loss and the winding surreal journey caused by grief, all told through a brave boy’s story. It’s one of the best animated movies on Netflix right now that deserves to be recognized among the genre’s finest.
Kubo and the Two Strings is streaming on Netflix.
To the Bone (2017)
To the Bone sees Lily Collins deliver one of her most powerful performances as Ellen, a 20-year-old diagnosed with severe anorexia. Directed by Marti Noxon, the drama film depicts Ellen’s experiences as she, after years of failed treatments and increasingly strained relationships with her family, joins an unconventional inpatient program led by the unorthodox Dr. Beckham (Keanu Reeves). Ellen moves into a house filled with other young patients all working towards recovery. Here, she confronts her fears and past trauma while struggling to see the path to healing.
The 2017 film refuses to sugarcoat the illness, showing the physical and emotional toll it takes on those who live with it and those around them. Despite gripping performances and thoughtful storytelling, To the Bone remains underrated, likely due to the stigma surrounding its subject matter. It became one of the most controversial Netflix movies ever when it first premiered and remains a hidden gem in their selection. Rather than offering an easy resolution, To the Bone presents recovery as a messy and non-linear process, with this honest approach making it a necessary film that deserves far more recognition than it has received.
To the Bone is streaming on Netflix.
The Swimmers (2022)
Director Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers is a deeply moving biographical drama that tells the harrowing yet inspiring true story of Yusra and Sara Mardini, two Syrian sisters who fled their war-torn homeland to start an impossibly risky journey to Europe. It follows the Mardinis (played by real-life sisters Nathalie and Manal Issa) as they dream of Olympic stardom despite the constant horrors of war around them. When Damascus becomes too dangerous, they decide to seek asylum in Germany, swimming across the Aegean Sea. The sisters eventually leap into the water to help guide a sinking dinghy full of refugees to safety. Once in Europe, Yusra’s swimming career led her to the 2016 Rio Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
The Swimmers is among the best movies based on true stories, with its particular narrative being especially relevant today. Despite the sisters’ dire situation, the film highlights their story of resilience and the strength of their sisterhood. It’s an incredible refugee story that maximizes the common trope of the pursuit of a dream against impossible odds. The fact that it all happened in real life and its heartbreaking final credits only make The Swimmers even more gripping and unforgettable.
The Swimmers is streaming on Netflix.
