It’s not easy to get critics to agree on anything. Even the most revered classic movies usually end up with a handful of dissenting voices on Rotten Tomatoes, the website that aggregates reviews. So it’s rare to find a movie that receives unanimous praise, scoring a perfect 100% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Often those movies are hidden gems that critics have discovered, but that wider audiences don’t necessarily know about. The best Netflix movies with 100% Rotten Tomatoes ratings represent a mix of genres and tones, from low-budget dramas to effects-filled horror. What they all have in common is that the people who evaluate movies for a living agree on their worthiness. That’s more than enough reason to stream these five movies now.
His House
The horrors in His House come from the expected apparitions that plague a couple after moving into their new home, but they really begin before that. Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku play a husband and wife who flee from the dangers of war in South Sudan. Their journey to the U.K. is just as treacherous, and their young daughter doesn’t survive.
The couple are treated with barely veiled contempt as refugees, and when they’re finally granted a place to live, it’s a dirty, damaged home that seems to be haunted. The nature of the supernatural presence is a bit more complicated, and the filmmakers connect it back to the guilt and trauma of leaving a war-torn homeland behind. His House is effectively creepy, using its paranormal visions to comment on the equally devastating horrors of reality.
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Creep 2
It’s not necessary to have seen the first Creep to enjoy this sequel, which once again stars Mark Duplass as the title character, an eccentric recluse who lures in unsuspecting victims to record their own murders. This time, he recruits struggling vlogger Sara (Desiree Akhavan), who initially doesn’t believe him when he admits that he’s a serial killer and says that he will let her live if she documents his life story.
Like the first Creep, which featured director Patrick Brice as the killer’s victim, the sequel is a found-footage movie with essentially only two onscreen characters and Duplass and Akhavan have a playful chemistry that fits with the off-kilter story. Although the plot is largely the same, Creep 2 never feels like a rehash of the first movie, instead finding a new darkly funny central dynamic to explore.
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The Pez Outlaw
You wouldn’t expect the niche hobby of collecting plastic candy dispensers to involve international intrigue, but that’s exactly what this clever and amusing documentary delivers. Filmmakers Bryan Storkel and Amy Bandlien Storkel tell the story of Steve Glew, an unassuming collector from Michigan who briefly ran a lucrative business illegally importing foreign Pez dispensers from Europe in the 1990s.
Glew’s battle with the American Pez corporate office makes for an entertaining underdog story, which the Storkels depict via slick re-enactments in the style of various cinematic genres, featuring Glew as himself. He’s a compelling and sympathetic oddball, and his account of exploiting loopholes to undermine the company policies of the greedy “Pezident” is as exciting and satisfying as any actual heist movie.
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Mercury 13
There have been plenty of movies made about the pioneering men who were the first Americans sent into space by NASA, but this documentary tells a parallel story of 13 equally dedicated and skilled women who underwent the same training but were denied the chances offered to their male peers. Since that training was conducted unofficially, by NASA medical specialist Dr. Randy Lovelace, the women never got the proper recognition until decades later.
Filmmakers David Sington and Heather Walsh make up for that, interviewing the surviving participants and the family members of those who are no longer around, showcasing their formidable abilities and determined personalities. Mercury 13 is a straightforward documentary with interviews and archival footage, but it doesn’t need anything fancier than that with such a compelling true-life story to tell.
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Mr. Roosevelt
Actress Noël Wells never quite got the spotlight she deserved during her brief time on Saturday Night Live, and with this movie, she creates a proper vehicle for her talents. Wells writes, directs and stars as Emily Martin, an aspiring comedian and actress who’s spent two largely unproductive years in Los Angeles hoping for her big break. She returns to her hometown of Austin, Texas, when she learns that her beloved cat (the title character) is dying.
While in Austin, Emily awkwardly reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, who’s now in a new long-term relationship, and she generally reassesses her direction in life. It’s familiar indie-dramedy material, but Wells handles it with charm and style, shooting on earthy 16mm film that recalls the character-driven movies of the 1970s. She makes the most of her creative freedom.
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