Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling through all your streaming channels, and those movie run-times are looking a little intimidating. Committing 147 minutes (two hours-plus!) to something that might be good or might totally suck? Usually, unless it’s already something that drew your interest, it’s gonna be a pass, even if you settle for watching a show for an even longer amount of time.
Want a way to find some shorter films that are actually worth the watch without devoting hours of your life to them? Ta-da! Netflix knows viewers are struggling with the endless scroll, and thanks to their Tudum news page, the streaming engine is giving viewers just what they want—a quick rundown of movies that are only an hour and a half (or even shorter).
Presenting, in even quicker list form, the 20 movies on Netflix right now that are 90(ish) minutes long.
Bad Trip (2021)
Sometimes just watching the interactions between two comedic icons who can riff off of just about anything and get a laugh is worth pressing play. Eric André and Lil Rey Howery play two friends taking a road trip with two other greats joining them in the romp: Tiffany Haddish and Michaela Conlin. Oh, and most of the bits in the scripted comedy involve using hidden cameras to catch reactions of real-life people in the scenes.
The premise around the two buddies, Chris and Bud, respectively, steal a car from Bud’s sister, Trina, so that they can drive all the way from Florida to New York City so Chris can declare his love for his high school crush. The sister, played by Haddish, is a criminal who was in jail but breaks out only to find her car missing, and is hot on their tails to try and get her car back as well as possibly kill the two friends. There is chaos abound throughout the story, from the setup at a car wash to a year later when they decide to finally take the trip.
The Guilty (2021)
Jake Gyllenhaal going to his dark side once again is usually worth a watch (see: Amublance, Nightcrawler, Zodiac, and several more). This crime thriller involves Gyllenhaal’s character, LAPD officer Joe Baylor, working a 911 call center while he’s on leave from his regular duty, when he takes a haunting call that leads to him trying to help solve an ongoing abduction case to bring a kidnapped woman to safety.
Mixtape (2021)
A feel-good movie about a kid, Beverly Moody (Gemma Brooke Allen) in 1999 trying to recreate a mixtape that was shared between her parents, who passed away when she was just two years old. The mixtape is destroyed by her walkman, which leads to her trying to recreate the tape song-by-song in the age of CDs (and vinyl). The movie is largely about Beverly trying to overcome her grief and learn about her parents all at the same time.
Who doesn’t love a mixtape?
The Perfect Date (2019)
A teenager, Brooks Rattigan (Noah Centineo) and his friend realize that Brooks has an ability to be a great date, and so they launch an app that advertises him as the perfect “plus-one” as a quasi match-making app. Hijinks, and of course, being a teen comedy-drama, love, ensue.
Captain Nova (2021)
A Dutch foreign language sci-fi film that gained great reviews and even garnered several awards for the best children’s film at the 35th Cinekid Festival. The movie revolves around a fighter pilot in the future who travels back in time to save the world from disaster, and in turn ends up being turned into a kid again who has to convince the world to take her, and her warnings, seriously.
Dog Gone (2023)
First of all, did you know there are two films by this name? Here, Netflix is talking about the most recent release starring Rob Lowe, not the 2008 disaster starring French Stewart. The movie is based on a book called The Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home by Pauls Toutonghi. It’s a biographical drama that tells the story of a dog who runs away and the family that finds him.
The Package (2018)
If you’re an avid Netflix watcher, then you’ll probably recognize Argyle, the pizza guy from Stranger Things, played by Eduardo Franco, in this teen comedy flick. The movie revolves around a group of friends who go camping in the woods when something goes tragically wrong—one of them cuts off his own penis. Even after paramedics come to the rescue, the penis is accidentally left behind, and the rest of the movie follows the friends trying to get said penis to the hospital so it can be reattached. Partaking in Argyle’s favourite past-time might be in order for this one.
Small Crimes (2017)
Dark and foreboding, this is a crime drama where a former cop, Joe Denton (Noklaj Coster-Waldau), is in jail for attempted murder. Upon his release, he tries to get in touch with his kids when his ex-wife threatens to press charges if he tries again. Denton is enlisted to commit a murder by a corrupt Lieutenant who promises to help him change the terms of the settlement with his ex in exchange for the crime, and it plays out from there.
Home Team (2022)
It’s a movie starring Kevin James and released by Netflix, which is about the only reason for it to be on this list. That’s not just one opinion, as the movie has a 21% Tomatometer score and a 49% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s quasi-biographical, with James playing NFL head coach Sean Payton, who was suspended from football for a year, and decided to coach his 12-year-old son’s team during that time.
The Weekend Away (2022)
Two friends, Beth (Leighton Meester) and Kate (Christina Wolfe) go to Croatia for a getaway weekend, when Kate goes missing after a night of clubbing. The mystery unfolds with escorts, criminals, and the cops getting involved in the whodunit to figure out what really happened.
Choose or Die (2022)
A twist on a take of the classic horror movie The Ring, a man begins playing an interactive video game that ends up interacting with the real world around him and harming his family. The same scenario starts to play out again months later when a college student takes up the game, and she has to make decisions in order to save her mother and others, or else.
Windfall (2022)
An amazing character actor, Jesse Plemons, plus Jason Segel and Lily Collins star in this crime thriller that is largely worth the watch for those mentioned above. The plot is a little hollow, but Plemons in anything remotely twisted or dark is almost always worth less than two hours of your time.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Chadwick Boseman’s final film (not including archival appearances in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) is based on a 1982 book featuring the same name. The story is about tumultuous recording sessions for a blue musician in 1920s Chicago. Also starring Viola Davis, the film received incredibly favorable reviews upon its release for Boseman’s performance that bares his soul as a blues musician full of sorrow and anger.
Someone Great (2019)
A trio of friends go all-out for one night to celebrate their one friend, Jenny, who is moving away from New York City the next day. Even though Jenny has landed her dream job with Rolling Stone in San Francisco, she’s also been dumped by her boyfriend, so the three set out to have a night they won’t forget while learning how to grow and move on during the ride.
His House (2020)
A refugee couple and their daughter have fled South Sudan and wind up in a British town, where things are not what they seem. The house they live in is supposedly haunted by a witch, with whom they must deal with, as well as events from their past, in order to survive.
Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)
Vampires! A comedy horror film produced by Lorne Michaels, among others, follows a group of teenagers who discover their Bronx neighborhood is infested by vampires. They rely on the film Blade to learn how to combat and kill vampires, and isn’t half bad for a run-time of just 86 minutes.
Paddleton (2019)
Any indie film with Mark Duplass is usually an intriguing watch. Duplass stars alongside Ray Romano, playing Michael and Andy, respectively, and after Michael discovers he has terminal cancer, the two pal around and try to fulfill Michael’s dying wishes. The interplay between the two stars is genuine and it’s a reflection on true friendship and, in turn, touches on the meanings of life.
Yes Day (2021)
More of a kids movie but starring the always-charming Jennifer Garner, the movie is about a 24-hour period in which a couple will say yes to anything their three kids want, within reason, during a 24-hour time period. The kids have to earn the “Yes Day,” which they do, and a bunch of silliness plays out from there. A sequel has already been given the greenlight, too.