Netflix’s October additions include some ’90s and ’80s genre classics, as well as one of the best movies Martin Scorsese has ever made. The streamer’s latest batch of acquisitions is also highlighted by a late-career sci-fi gem from one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers and a fresh, animated spin on a well-worn franchise. If you are in the mood for something newer, the streaming service still has you covered, thanks to a pair of equally worthwhile 2025 originals.
Here are TheWrap’s picks for the seven best movies new to Netflix in October.
“Death Becomes Her” (1992)
A supernatural black comedy unlike any other, 1992’s “Death Becomes Her” is anchored by two movie-star performances for the ages from leads Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, as well as some of director Robert Zemeckis’ most inspired and inventive filmmaking. The comedy classic, about two women who consume a potion that will purportedly provide them with eternal life and youth, is a one-of-a-kind cross between a body horror film and a battle-of-the-wills satire.
It’s a good film to watch around Halloween, especially for anyone who wants to celebrate the holiday with a movie that has spooky vibes but is not traditionally scary. “Death Becomes Her” is all of those things, and also much, much more.
“The Goonies” (1985)
“The Goonies,” one of the most charming and entertaining blockbusters of the 1980s, is now available to stream on Netflix. Directed by “Superman” filmmaker Richard Donner and written by Chris Columbus, the film follows a group of kids who go on a search for a long-dead pirate’s hidden treasure. They find competition for the loot, though, in a family of greedy adult criminals who want it just as desperately as they do.
Silly and yet tender-hearted, “The Goonies” is a blast, a full-hearted embrace of childhood wonder and whimsy that has lost very little of its magic in the 40 years since its theatrical release.
“The Martian” (2015)
Like “The Goonies,” 2015’s “The Martian” is most importantly a very good time. Directed by Ridley Scott and based on a novel by Andy Weir, the sci-fi thriller follows an astronaut who is accidentally left behind on Mars by the rest of his crew and struggles to survive alone on the red planet until rescue can finally arrive and bring him back to Earth.
Featuring one of the best, most charismatic performances of Matt Damon’s career, “The Martian” is an intelligent, entertaining and, despite its protagonist’s stranded state, surprisingly propulsive piece of blockbuster entertainment. Ten years after its release, it remains one of Ridley Scott’s best late-career efforts.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (2023)
There have been a number of franchise reboots over the past many years, but few that have felt as immediately refreshing and new as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” This gorgeously animated gem from director Jeff Rowe and fellow co-writers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit tries to imagine how its titular half-shell heroes would actually behave if they really were outcast teenagers in today’s world.
The result is a colorful, imaginative blockbuster that alternately feels like a laid-back hangout comedy and a rip-roaring, sci-fi superhero film. It is a playful, action-packed, heartfelt and — above all else — immensely endearing spin on a property that had previously begun to feel tired. “Mutant Mayhem” breathed new life back into it.
“Taxi Driver” (1976)
There is a real case to be made that “Taxi Driver” is the best film director Martin Scorsese has ever made, and that is as much a testament to its quality as anything else you could say about it. Penned by “First Reformed” filmmaker Paul Schrader and directed by Scorsese, this 1976 classic follows a discharged Marine (Robert De Niro) whose nights spent working as a New York City taxi driver push him closer and closer to thoughts of violence and vigilantism.
Beautifully photographed by cinematographer Michael Chapman, “Taxi Driver” is a bona fide classic that feels both deeply specific to the period in which it was made and timeless. Its power has not diminished in the slightest over the past 50 years. On the contrary, it has only sadly grown. You will not find a better film on Netflix — or anywhere else, for that matter.
“The Perfect Neighbor” (2025)
“The Perfect Neighbor” is one of the most acclaimed documentaries of the year. Directed and produced by Geeta Gandbhir, who won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for the film, “The Perfect Neighbor” explores Florida’s Stand-Your-Ground laws and the shooting of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, in June 2023 by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz.
Using police bodycam footage that was taken both leading up to and in the aftermath of the crime, “The Perfect Neighbor” charts with startling, unwavering clarity the communal and social tensions that led to the tragedy at the center of its story.
“A House of Dynamite” (2025)
Rounding out this month’s list is “A House of Dynamite,” the newest film from “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Point Break” director Kathryn Bigelow. A contemporary political thriller, the film follows a group of U.S. government agents as they try to put together an official response to a single, unclaimed nuclear missile fired at American soil.
The thriller’s impressive ensemble cast is headlined by Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Tracy Letts and Greta Lee, and if the film’s initial reviews are any indication, then it looks like “A House of Dynamite” is another can’t-miss experiment in tension and political commentary from a filmmaker who knows how to do both of those things better than most.
