The 4 best Netflix movies to watch this week (September 28 - October 4)

Published Sep 28, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Derek Malcolm has been covering the worlds of tech and entertainment for more than two decades. Before coming to How-To Geek in 2025, Derek was a contributing editor and writer for the A/V and Home Theater section at Digital Trends, where he wrangled and wrote everything from what to watch on Netflix to reviews, explainers, and guides on the latest Bluetooth speakers, turntables, projectors, and other A/V gear. Based in Toronto, Derek graduated from Humber College's Journalism program in 1999, after which he started covering the worlds of music, movies, TV, and celebrity for publications such as TV Guide, Hello! magazine, and Inside Entertainment. He then got the bug for covering tech and gadgets in 2006, when he served as editor-in-chief of Canadian tech magazine Connected for more than a decade. An avid skier, when all the snow's gone Derek can be found at home spinning vinyl with his daughter or cheering on his favorite F1 team, McLaren. Sign in to your How-To Geek account October is barreling toward us and will arrive at the end of the week, and with it comes a brand new swath of catalog movies on October 1, including all five Twilight movies, three Psycho films, The Devil Wears Prada, and a couple of great ones I'll fill you in on below, so keep reading. In the meantime, Netflix U.S. viewers have been locked in on Top Gun: Maverick and Henry Cavill in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which are currently in the top two five, and my first pick below is sitting at No. 1 right now. But that might all change by week's end as my top pick this week—a suspenseful spy franchise starter with Matt Damon—and a pile of other new movies land October 1. 4 Unabomber The infamous American terrorist gets the Netflix treatment Remember Jacob Tremblay, the sweet little boy from 2015's Room with Brie Larson? Well, he's all grown up now and takes on the darkest, most serious role of his career—one of America's most notorious domestic terrorists, Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber. This Netflix original, which landed on the service on September 25, is inspired by true events and tells Kaczynski's story by jumping between two eras. In 1958, we jump back to the awkward 16-year-old math prodigy as he arrives at Harvard and takes part in a series of extreme stress experiments conducted by psychologist Henry Murray (Russell Crowe). Decades later, FBI agent Joanne Miller (Shailene Woodley) is hot on the trail of the elusive bomber who, during his 17-year bombing campaign, mounted 16 explosive attacks, killing three people and injuring 23. Directed by Janus Metz (Borg vs McEnroe), the historical drama asks how much those experiments shaped Kaczynski's actions. Unabomber Release Date September 25, 2026 Cast Russell Crowe, Jacob Tremblay, Shailene Woodley, Annabelle Wallis, Tanya Clarke, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Mark Camacho, Bruce Ramsay, Michael Laurence, David Webster, Deborah Ricketts, Michael Buie, Madison Seguin, Emily Lê, Michelle Leblanc, Michel Gregory Dagenais, Jace Fleming, Sam Beaton, Tanya van Blokland, Alexander Ludwig, Steven Ogg, Marc Menchaca Runtime 97 Minutes Director Janus Metz Writers Nelson Greaves, Sam Chalsen Producers Sophie Cassidy Main Genre Thriller Executive Producer(s) Don Lee, Nelson Greaves, Sam Chalsen 3 Oculus You'll never look in a mirror again without thinking about this If you're a fan of great horrors on Netflix like The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Fall of the House of Usher, I highly recommend this creep-fest by the creator of those three masterpieces, Mike Flanagan. Oculus predates all of those and was a darling at TIFF in 2013, for good reason—it's chilling. A decade after being blamed for his parents' deaths, Tim Russell (Brenton Thwaites) is released from a psychiatric hospital, but his sister Kaylie (Karen Gillan) knows the truth—their deaths were caused by the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror with sinister, supernatural intentions that drove them mad. Kaylie has tracked down the mirror and sets out to prove its powers are real by returning it to their childhood home and tricking out the room with cameras and sensors to capture it all before destroying it. Along the way, we get the backstory in flashbacks that include young Kaylie and Tim, as well as their parents, played by Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane. Of course, capturing the proof is harder than Kaylie imagined, as the cunning mirror unleashes horror. Oculus Release Date September 8, 2013 Cast Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso, Garrett Ryan, James Lafferty, Miguel Sandoval, Kate Siegel, Scott Graham, Justin Gordon, Dave Levine, Stephanie Minter, Skye L. Johnson, Courtney Bell, Allison Boyd, Jamie Flanagan, Alexandra Beer, Marc D. Evans, Toni White, Katie Parker, Ginger McNamara, Brett Murray Runtime 104 minutes Director Mike Flanagan Writers Jeff Howard Producers D. Scott Lumpkin, Jason Blum, Michael Ilitch Jr., Michael J. Luisi, Peter Schlessel, Trevor Macy, Tucker Tooley, Marc D. Evans, Ryan Kavanaugh, Dale Armin Johnson, Julie B. May, Glenn Murray 2 8 Mile Lose yourself in this semi-autobiographical Eminem origin story 2002's 8 Mile, which lands on Netflix on Thursday, is still an excellent watch decades later, as it tells a compelling semi-autobiographical story that draws heavily on Eminem's pre-fame life as a struggling rapper growing up in Detroit. Eminem stars as a fictionalized version of himself, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith, who moves back into the trailer of his unstable mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), and is working a dead-end factory job. Jimmy clearly has skills as a rapper, but he chokes during a rap battle at The Shelter, hosted by his friend Future (Mekhi Phifer), and has yet to live it down. 8 Mile is a story of perseverance, and as Jimmy balances a romance with aspiring model Alex (Brittany Murphy) and deals with his feud with big-shot rapper Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie), he digs deep to get back on stage and redeem himself. The film produced the iconic track Lose Yourself, which became the first rap song to ever win an Oscar for Best Original Song. 8 Mile Release Date November 8, 2002 Cast Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Evan Jones, Omar Benson Miller, De'Angelo Wilson, Eugene Byrd, Taryn Manning, Larry Hudson, Proof, Mike Bell, DJ Head, Michael Shannon, Chloe Greenfield, Anthony Mackie, Strike, Nashawn 'Ox' Breedlove, Malik Barnhardt, Obie Trice, Rockey Black, Paul Bates, Miz-Korona, Xzibit, Abdul Salaam El Razzac Runtime 111 minutes Director Curtis Hanson Writers Scott Silver Producers Brian Grazer, Jimmy Iovine Main Genre Drama Budget $41 million Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Executive Producer(s) Gregory Goodman, Jim Whitaker 1 The Bourne Identity Matt Damon forgets everything, except how to kick ass The film that solidified Matt Damon as an action hero also launched a massive franchise that includes five movies and a TV series, and has grossed more than $1.6 billion. Loosely adapted from Robert Ludlum's 1980 spy novel, The Bourne Identity helped popularize the "spy with amnesia" trope with its thrilling story of Jason Bourne (Damon), a man who's rescued by an Italian fishing crew who pulls him from the Mediterranean. He's got two bullets in his back and can't remember who he is, how he got there, or much of anything else—except how to defend himself and kill people in spectacular, spy-level fashion. As Jason starts to piece it all together, he enlists the help of German drifter Marie (Franka Potente) to drive him to Paris, but when the CIA operative behind it all, Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper), learns that Bourne is alive, he sends all manner of black-ops killers to eliminate him. All five Bourne movies arrive on Netflix October 1, and Damon says he's working on a sixth with Conclave director Edward Berger. The Bourne Identity Release Date June 14, 2002 Cast Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Gabriel Mann, Julia Stiles, Walton Goggins, Josh Hamilton, Orso Maria Guerrini, Tim Dutton, Denis Braccini, Nicky Naudé, David Selburg, Demetri Goritsas, Russell Levy, Anthony Green, Hubert Saint-Macary, David Bamber, Gwenaël Clause, Emanuel Booz, Philippe Durand, Vincent Franklin, Paulette Frantz Runtime 119 minutes Director Doug Liman Writers Tony Gilroy, William Blake Herron, Robert Ludlum Producers Patrick Crowley Sequel(s) The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Legacy, Jason Bourne Franchise(s) Jason Bourne Main Genre Action Budget $60 million Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Executive Producer(s) Frank Marshall A great movie mix heading into October Mix a couple of late-September additions with a couple of sure-fire catalog hits to look forward to by week's end, and a great week of movie nights is in store. If you like to see ahead a bit, check out some of the other great movies hitting the major streaming services this week, too. Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four Live TV No Price Starting at $8/month Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.