The 20 best Amazon Prime Video movies to watch now (November 2021)

We’ve all been there: Flipping through Amazon Prime Video’s movie offerings but stuck wondering Uh what’s good? The commercial giant’s streaming service has quietly collected a giant archive of films, and since 2006, has released a number of acclaimed films under the Amazon Studios banner, like Sound of Metal, Manchester By the Sea, Selah and The Spades Paterson, and Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria Remake

But along with originals, there are tons of back catalogue picks just waiting to be discovered in the platform’s, let’s say, challengingUX. So we’ve looked through the service and cherry-picked some of our favorite films currently on the platform to try out. These are the best 20 films that you can stream on Prime Video now.

Blade of the Immortal

Image by Magnet Releasing

Based on Hiroaki Samura’s historical martial arts fantasy manga series of the same name, 2017’s Blade of the Immortal stars Takuya Kimura as Manji, a ruthless swordsman who wanders the countryside of feudal Japan on a quest to kill enough “evil” men in order to undo the curse that renders him immortal yet still susceptible to injury and pain. Manji, an orphaned teenage who lost her family to a band of villainous sword fighters, is recruited by Rin Asano. Hana Sugisaki plays Manji. Manji vows to help her find justice in the hopes that she will free him. Takashi Miike (13 Assassins Ichi, the Killer) is the perfect director to tackle this material, rendering Manji’s many mutilations at the hands of his opponents with gleeful physical humor, gory detail, and stylish grace as he and Rin cut a swath through their adversaries. —Toussaint Egan

Burning

Photo: Well Go USA Entertainment

Lee Chang-dong’s BurningIt easily ranks among the top psychological thrillers in the decade 2010. This short story was inspired by a 1992 short story. The Wind-Up Bird ChronicleAuthor Haruki Murakami. The film tells the story Lee Jong-su’s (Yoo Ah-in) journey to become a writer. He reunites after many years with Hae-mi, his childhood friend (Jeon Jong-seo). Soon after Jong-su meets Ben (Steven Yeun), a “friend” of Hae-mi’s whose extravagant lifestyle, vague occupation, and seemingly iron-clad hold over Hae-mi conjures feelings of suspicion and jealousy within Jong-su. When Hae-mi suddenly disappears one day, Jong-su’s desperate search to find her unearths a web of implications that shake him to his core. BurningIt is a thriller-mystery that relies heavily on insinuations and a trio of great performances by Yoo, Lee, as well as Yeun. Yeun’s performance as Ben truly ranks among the most disturbing on-screen antagonists. —TE

Integrity

Photo: Oscilloscope Laboratories

Writer-director James Ward Byrkit’s 2013 sci-fi thriller IntegrityThis is a puzzle-like box full of interdimensional oddities and existential terror. Emily Baldoni’s strong performances are what hold it all together. Homeland’s Maury Sterling, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon. If you’re hungry for an intriguing blend of mumblecore cinema and sci-fi horror, IntegrityIt is. —TE

The Collector

Image: Freestyle Releasing

Director-screenwriter Marcus Dunstan’s (Saw IV SAW V) 2009 directorial debut The Collector is a gruesome twist on the home invasion subgenre centered on the story of handyman and ex-con Arkin O’Brien (Josh Stewart). When loan sharks threaten to harm his wife if their debts aren’t repaid by midnight, Arkin is forced to break into the home of his employers intending to steal a treasured ruby locked inside their safe. Unfortunately for him, and the family residing in the house, he’s not the only intruder that night. Arkin is witness to a deranged, masked killer torture the family. Arkin finds himself trapped in the house and must find the courage and smarts to save the family. As you’d expect from a horror movie penned and directed by a Saw screenwriter, there’s tons of terrifying traps, thrilling suspense, and one hell of a final scene that’ll linger in your mind well after the movie is over. —TE

Drug War

Variance Films, Photo

Though Johnnie To might go unrecognized by a majority of Western filmgoers, he’s one of the most prolific Hong Kong directors of his generations, renowned for his tense action crime thrillers and gangster dramas. Drug War, To’s first feature produced in mainland China, is as excellent an introduction to his work as any. It’s a tightly wound cat-and-mouse game focusing on Zhang Lei (Sun Honglei), a relentless police captain trying to topple an illicit drug cartel, and Timmy Choi (Louis Koo), a mid-level drug smuggler who agrees to cooperate with police in order to escape the death penalty for his offenses. If you’re looking for a taut, pulse-pounding crime film with blistering action and dark twists, Drug WarIt is worth a visit. —TE

Hellraiser

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Clive Barker’s 1987 directorial debut adapts his 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart to tell the story of Larry (Andrew Robinson) and Julia Cotton (Clare Higgins), a married couple who move into the home of Larry’s recently deceased brother Frank (Sean Chapman) with whom Julia had a previous affair. After inadvertently being resurrected by a drop of blood spilled by Larry on the floor of the house’s attic, Frank seduce Julia into luring new men to the house so that he can drain their life force and fully regain his mortal form. The story of Frank’s Lament configuration is woven around this main narrative. This puzzle box Frank obtained before his death conjures up hellish creatures known as Cenobites who then live on the mortal plane and engage in sadomasochistic mutilation. Easily the best and most enduring of the Hellraiser movie series, Barker’s 1987 original is a must-watch for horror fans — especially if you’re at all curious about the upcoming remake penned by Night HouseStarring Jamie Clayton and Luke Piotrowski, writers Ben Collins Sense8Fame. —TE

Haunted Hill: House

Shout Factory Image

William Castle, Director of Films was the King of Gimmicks. He went on to create bona fide classics such as Rosemary’s BabyHe spent his first years pitching horror films to large audiences with the promise of increased terror-inducing viewing experience. His films The Tingler screened with “Percepto” buzzer enhancements, which jolted viewers whenever the titular creature popped up. A ticket to 1960’s 13 GhostsIllusion O glasses were included, which showed hidden specters.

The twist on 1959’s Haunted Hill: House would be a little bit harder to replicate at home today — during the haunted house movie’s finale, a skeleton swooped over the audience on a zip line. But the truth is, Castle’s fun-forward horror flicks hold up just as well without the accoutrement. Vincent Price is the star of this cast. Haunted Hill: HouseA macabre millionaire invites a host of money-hungry, unsuspecting guests to his rental haunted mansion. Anyone who can survive the night will be awarded $10,000. But it’s haunted! Is it possible? Castle’s funhouse tricky weaves its way into both plot and execution.

All the gags are great fun. Ghosts, skeletons and violent hand wielding weapons are all part of the fun. There’s even a basement that has its own acid-death pit. Keep the funniest setups and old-fashioned chat-a-tat dialog alive Haunted Hill: HouseAs silly and absurd as any straight-faced remake. BadIt is. It’s also a joy to see Price in action, reminding viewers with each scene why he’s one of the key voices of classic horror. Castle had to hustle to get butts in seats back in the day, but this one’s a no-brainer for any crowd with varying degrees of horror tolerance. —Matt Patches

In Bruges

Photo: Universal Studios

If you only know playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh from his Oscar-winning drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, it’s time to go back to In BrugesHis most memorable film, and his darkest comedy to date, is “The Dark Knight”, a funny and dark comedy. The film stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and follows two Irish hitmen Ken (played by Farrell) who are sent to Belgium by Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes), following a failed job in London. Gleeson and Farrell’s chemistry is impeccable as the pair bicker at one another over the banality of their surroundings and inevitably end up lapsing into trouble out of sheer boredom. In BrugesThis film is hilarious and compelling. It also features a lot of great supporting performances. Jordan Prentice’s memorable performance as an actor with bad mouth, a volatile actor, is one example. —TE

Knives are Out

Photo: Claire Folger/Lionsgate

Rian Johnson’s 2019 whodunnit Knives are Out stars Daniel Craig (Casino Royale) as Benoit Blanc a master detective hired to investigate the mysterious death of wealthy mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), and Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, No Time To Die) as Marta, the late author’s trusted nurse. As Blanc attempts to unravel the tangled web of events that led up to Harlan’s untimely passing, he’ll have to deduce whether any of his family members had a hand in his suspected murder. He is supported by an ensemble of actors, including Chris Evans (Avengers: Endgame), Jamie Lee Curtis(Halloween Kills), and Michael Shannon ().ShelterLakeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You), Toni Collette, (Hereditary), etc. Knives are Out is a entertaining mystery drama in the mold of a Agatha Christie classic and worth a watch for Craig’s bizarre and hilarious southern accent alone. —TE

The Lighthouse

Photo: A24

The Lighthouse was originally intended to be a ghost film by Robert Eggers and Max Eggers, but the movie plays more like a abstract vampire movie. Two-hander stars Robert Pattinson (left) and Willem Dafoe (right). They play the roles of the lighthouse attendants on the island of New England off the coast in 1890s. The two men — both named Thomas — have no companionship but each other and the light of the lighthouse. Fresnel lenses that shine light on the sea become a focal point, a beacon of immortality that saps men of all their will. Eggers’ film and Eggers are both part of a recent wave of highly acclaimed horror movies. If you enjoy The Lighthouse, you should also try Eggers’ debut, The Witch. —Chris Plante

Midsommar

Image by A24

Ari Aster’s folk horror follow-up to his 2018 debut It is a hereditary matterThis is the story about Dani (Florence Pugh), college student, who takes her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor), to remote Swedish villages to experience their once in a lifetime midsummer festivities. After a terrible personal loss, Dani is struggling to find a way out of her problems. Her relationship with Christian continues to deteriorate. A carefree vacation born from curiosity turns into a terrifying nightmare as the couple and their close friends are forced to participate in a mysterious ritual. Unsettling imagery is set against the background of a charming Swedish village. Midsommar Another outstanding horror film from an emerging star. —TE

The Man who Fell to the Earth

Image courtesy of Criterion channel

David Bowie embodies the role of Thomas Jerome Newton, an extraterrestrial who disguises himself as a human in order to save his dying planet in Nicolas Roeg’s The Man who Fell to the Earth. Based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel, the film has been championed as a cult classic in the years since its release, due to its surreal imagery, esoteric plot with analogies to the ravages of fame and human excess, and Bowie’s inimitable performance as a wayward alien who descends into a spiral of alcoholism and self-destruction. It’s a beautiful, bewildering film that will stick with you long after it’s over, as only the best films do. —TE

The Parallax view

Photo by The Criterion Collection

Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax view, the second in the director’s “Paranoia Trilogy” of films followed by 1971’s Klute and 1976’s All the President’s Men, This film is widely regarded as one of best ever made in the field of conspiracy movies. It’s a noir-inflected thriller that taps directly into the political and social anxieties of mid-’70s America in the wake of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Warren Beatty stars as Lee Carter. He is a troubled, charismatic television journalist who witnessed the assassination a popular presidential candidate while high on the Seattle Space Needle. Three years later, a rash of mysterious deaths among those who witnessed the assassination prompts Carter to look closer at the connections, leading him to uncover the assassin’s ties to an intensely clandestine organization known as the Parallax Corporation. —TE

Perfume: the Story of a Killer

Paramount Pictures – Photo

Based on Patrick Suskind’s novel of the same name, Perfume: A Story about a Murderer stars Ben Whishaw as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a “gifted and abominable” monster in 18th-century Paris — an era and place with no lack of gifted and abominable monsters. An orphan with heightened olfactory senses, Jean-Baptiste is taken under the wing of France’s finest perfumers as an apprentice. However, his ambitions grow and he begins to obsess about crafting perfumes from the beauty and essence of the women who he loves and loathes. An extravagant, macabre historical horror fantasy, Perfume is the Story of a Killer This is a treat for all the senses. —TE

Ran

Photo from The Criterion Collection

Akira Kurosawa’s action drama Ran (the Japanese word for “chaos”) is considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever produced by inarguably the most iconic and critically acclaimed Japanese director in the history of cinema. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s King Lear and the apocryphal legends of the 16th-century daimyo Mōri Motonari, the 1985 epic stars the legendary Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri, The Sword of DoomHe was an older warlord of Medieval Japan and leaves his kingdom to his sons upon retiring. Order soon subsumes chaos however, as Nakadai’s Lord Ichimonji is forced to watch helplessly as the harmonious accomplishments of his reign quickly spiral into a cacophonous din of horror and bloodshed. Heralded as Kurosawa’s last great masterpiece, RanIt is an iconic film that you must see. —TE

For the small soldier

Image: Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Pictures

What if Pixar’s Toy Story, but instead of a CG-animated children’s story about toys trying desperately to return home to their beloved owner, it was a live-action drama about two factions of toys inadvertently programmed by military microprocessors that proceed to wreak havoc on a quiet suburban neighborhood? That’s essentially the elevator pitch for For the small soldier, Joe Dante’s 1998 sci-fi action movie starring Kirsten Dunst (Spider-ManGregory Smith (EverwoodThis is a. If you’re looking for a children’s film that feels like a Frankenstein mash-up of The Indian in Cupboard Apocalypse NowPlease see the following: Child’s PlayYou’ve found the right film. —TE

Don’t Make Sense

Photo: Vivendi Entertainment

Unfortunately for all other movies, cinema doesn’t get better than Don’t Make Sense. Take it from me, a man who has never listened to a single Talking Heads album from front to back, when I say that Jonathan Demme’s 1984 concert film is one of the most electrifying, unique, and essential cinematic experiences of the late 20th century. You won’t find David Byrne doing noodle dancing in an oversized suit while belting infectiously energetic rock songs guaranteed to make you jump out of your chair. James Murphy: You can have your cake and eat it too! —TE

The Wicker Man

British Lion Films

The British Folk Horrors are one of the scariest. The Wicker ManFollowing a staunch Christian officer Sgt. Howie, played by Edward Woodward, arrives on Summerisle. The pagan beliefs and practices of the locals hinder his investigation of the disappearance of a girl from the village.

It is not like its imitations (or Nic Cage’s remake), The Wicker ManLet its strangeness flow at a pleasingly slow pace while not forgetting the mystery at heart of the story. Summerisle is a regular, lived in village — a little secluded, but not fundamentally different from any small town. For Howie and for the audience, it’s not immediately obvious how unusual their beliefs are, until it’s much too late. Christopher Lee, who insists on the importance of this whole event even after it’s over, gives it a unique dignity. Lord of the RingsThis was his favorite movie. As Lord Summerisle, Lee brings the perfect amount of levity and good humor (and bold fashion sense) to contrast Howie’s dour self-righteousness. —Jenna Stoeber

Never Really Were You Here

Image: Amazon Studios

Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) delivers an unsettling and soulful performance as Joe, a traumatized veteran-turned-hired fixer in Lynne Ramsay’s 2017 psychological thriller Never Really Were You Here. Joe, who is being hired by Nina (Ekaterina Samanthasonov), to save her, descends into the underbelly and tries to find personal redemption. Troubled by suicidal ideation and a history of abuse, Joaquin’s rendition of Joe is emphatically sympathetic even at his most barbaric; a wounded soul searching for absolution and the will to go on in a world teeming with adversarial uncertainty and death. —TE

Young Frankenstein

Twentieth Century Fox photo

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s Gene Wilder stars in Mel Brooks’ cult comedy horror spoof film Young FrankensteinFrankenstein was the mad scientist Frankenstein. Fronken-ensteenIn his relentless pursuit to revive his misbegotten creation Peter Boyle from the dead, he ). if you’re looking for a throwback horror movie —but maybe actually want to watch a riotous comedy — this one holds up like few other of Brooks’ era-specific work. —TE