These 5 Netflix and Disney+ films are among the best I have viewed this year, and they make my subscriptions feel like they are worth every cent
- Advertisement -
Some brilliant films have landed on streaming platforms this year, but many come with a catch. They are only available to rent whether they disappear from one service just like them appear on another, making them more difficult to recommend, depending on which service you are subscribed or where you live.
But if you have a subscription to one of the Best streaming servicesThere are many that you can just go on, whenever you want and wherever you are. These are known as originals. The films made by the platforms themselves. They can be hit or miss, but 2025 has so far delivered a handful of precious stones – just look at our rankings of the Best Netflix movies And Best Disney+ movies For an idea.
From dreamy animation and moving crime dramas to skin horror and breathtaking documentaries, this list includes genres and moods. All these choices are now available on Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu in the US, the UK and Australia. No cinema travel or rental costs required. Just excellent films ready to stream.
1. Check freak

Where to look: Disney+ (Au, UK), Hulu (US)
Release date: 2025
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%
Length: 104 minutes
Director: Schal NGO
Main cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Miles Robbins, Toan Le, Kiều Chinh
Age assessment: Not rated (au, UK), R (US)
This Skin-Crawling Hulu original (which you can also view on Disney+ in Australia and the UK) is a very strange, slow confusion with a striking central version of Kelly Marie Tran (who will recognize most people of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi).
Control freak Follows Valerie “Val” Nguyen (played by Tran), a successful motivating speaker whose life starts to unravel when she develops an unbearable itch on the back of her head. But what starts when a small discomfort in grotesque body horror, lively hallucinations and a descent into the spooky past of her family. This is a dark story with a folklore horror-like atmosphere that merges themes of generation trauma, cultural expectations and the supernatural.
It is a bit messy in places – dragging the pace and some characters feel underdeveloped – but tran is magnetic everywhere with a lot of intensity and vulnerability. I also found the sound design particularly effective, making some scenes physically uncomfortable in the best way. It is not the best horror film you will ever watch, but it has enough tension and originality to make it worth your time. Especially if you feel like something weird, thoughtful and a bit dirty.
2. Lost in Starlight
![Lost in Starlight | Official trailer Netflix [EN SUB] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VvMbyw_vIcA/maxresdefault.jpg)
Where to look: Netflix (Au, UK, US)
Release date: 2025
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%
Length: 96 minutes
Director: Han Ji-Won
Main cast: Kim Tae-Ri, Hong Kyung, Kang Goo-Han, Ahn Yeongmi
Age assessment: PG
Lost in Starlight is a charming, animated Netflix -corp that I would recommend as the perfect lazy Sunday watch. It is partly sci-fi romance, partly dreamy adventure. It takes place in a nearby, neon -lit Seoul and follows astronaut -in -in -training nan -young, whose mother disappeared on a mission to Mars 20 years earlier. She meets Jay, a former musician who became a repairman, and bumped their worlds when Jay the old record player of Nan – Young in the field of a star – brightens up that is cute and sometimes a bit sickly sweet.
Visual, Lost in Starlight Is really amazing. The animation is rich in soft, lively colors that shift to emotional beats, from Seoul’s bustling streets to the vastness of the room. The speech performance also feels warm and sincere, whereby the messy emotions of the characters are recorded.
In his heart, Lost in Starlight Investigates how love can survive about millions of kilometers. So if you are in the mood for a sincere, beautifully animated story about love and spaceship emotions, then it will touch all the right notes.
3. Revelation

Where to look: Netflix (Au, UK, US)
Release date: 2025
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
Length: 100 minutes
Director: Yeon Sang-Ho
Main cast: Ryu Jun-Yeol, Shin Hyun-Been, Shin Min-Jae
Age assessment: Not rated (au, UK), R (US)
Revelations is a dark, psychological thriller by director Yeon Sang -Ho, probably the most famous for zombie -active film Train to Busan. The story follows Pastor Sung Min-Chan, who gets fixed on the idea that ex-judgment Kwon Yang-Rae is involved in the disappearance of a young girl from his church. At the same time, detective Lee Yeon -hee is being chased by visions of her dead sister.
What starts when a slow-burn mystery runs in a hectic exploration of guilt, faith and who gets the right to demand revenge. The lines between justice and obsession fade and Revelations Forces you to sit with uncomfortable questions, such as what happens when faith overwrites reason? And who should decide who is guilty?
With strong versions and a tense atmosphere, Revelations Is more than just a whodunit. It feels like a deeper view of moral ambiguity and the darkness that we all wear. If you are attracted to slowly constructive, emotionally charged thrillers that challenge your perspective, then Revelations Worth viewing.
4. Ocean with David Attenborough

Where to look: Disney+ (Au, UK, US)
Release date: 2025
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Length: 95 minutes
Director: Toby Nowlan, Colin Butfield, Keith Scholey
Main cast: David Attenborough
Age assessment: PG
Ocean with David Attenborough is a breathtaking documentary film film. And at the age of 99, Sir David never sounded more urgent or passionate about his mission.
Made by National Geographic and available on Disney Plus, the film takes us from vibrant coral reefs and kelp forests to the exposed seabeds destroyed by industrial soil trawling. Against this background, Attenborough reflects on his life of ocean discoveries and makes a genuine plea for a better marine conservation.
Cinematographically it is amazing. Expect sweeping underwater scenes that catch life in the ocean with incredible beauty, while sequences that expose destructive fishing techniques are heartbreaking.
If you want a beautiful shot, emotionally charged documentary that is surprising about the natural world and does not stop confronting our role in its decline, this is a powerful, must-watch film.
5. HAVOC

Where to look: Netflix (Au, UK, US)
Release date: 2025
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%
Length: 107 minutes
Director: Gareth Evans
Main cast: Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda
Age assessment: 18 (au, uk), r (vs)
Havoc is a dirty crime story from Gareth Evans, the director behind The raid. It plays Tom Hardy as Walker, a moral dubious agent in a sandy, unnamed American city.
It starts with a drug deal that goes wrong and ends with the alienated son of the mayor in a deadly web of corruption, Walker starts a mission by gang-tasted streets to rectify things. What, as you can imagine, is the perfect fuel for the trademark violence of Evans.
Hardy anchores the chaos here with a sultry, intense and weathered presence – of which we all know it is very good. The late-night urban landscape of the film adds a lot of atmosphere, with neon-lit rain combined alleys with explosive and brutally choreographed fight scenes.
No, you will not find the most complicated story here that you will think a lot about after the credits role. But if you feel like ruthless action, atmospheric grit and a thin plot does not mind stylish massacre, it will get your adrenaline pumps.
Maybe you like it too
- Advertisement -