Netflix Life
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7 best Netflix shows and movies to watch that celebrate women

By Natalie Zamora

Enola Holmes. Image Courtesy Netflix, Legendary
Enola Holmes. Image Courtesy Netflix, Legendary /
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Fear Street trilogy
FEAR STREET PART 1: 1994 – (L-R) KIANA MADEIRA as DEENA, FRED HECHINGER as SIMON, BENJAMIN FLORES JR. as JOSH, JULIA REHWALD as KATE, and OLIVIA WELCH as SAM. Cr: Netflix © 2021 /

Best Netflix movies: The Fear Street trilogy (2021)

Rating: R

Powerful women in horror? Yes, please! Netflix had a major hit on their hands when they released the Fear Street trilogy in the summer of 2021. Based on the book series of the same name by R.L. Stine, the movies take an R-rated approach and don’t play around with the blood and gore. Each installment takes place during a different time period — 1994, 1974, and 1666 — following the urban legend of Sarah Fier.

In the fictional town of Shadyside, Ohio, protagonist Deena (Kiana Madeira) is determine to figure out the murders that have been going on for centuries. The general belief is that their town is cursed, and after Deena’s love interest Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) gets possessed by an evil force, she has to take action.

The Fear Street movies put women at the forefront of the story, and were applauded for featuring a lesbian relationship as its central romance. The series is a serious fun watch with many meaningful moments.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
BERLIN, GERMANY – JANUARY 05: Actor Daniel Craig (L) and actress Rooney Mara arrive for the German premiere of the film ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’ (‘Verblendung’) the first part of a series of film versions of the ‘Millennium Trilogy,’ based on books of the same name by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, on January 5, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The film, about an investigative journalist aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for 40 years by a young computer hacker, will be released in German cinemas on January 12. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images) /

Best Netflix movies: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Rating: R

Based on the acclaimed 2005 novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is Rooney Mara at her best. The talented actress plays one of the main characters, Lisbeth Salander, a well-known hacker who’s also a survivor of emotional and physical abuse. She’s one of the most badass fictional characters of all time, and director David Fincher does a great job at bringing her to life in this adaptation.

In the movie, Lisbeth agrees to help out a journalist named Mikael (Daniel Craig) in solving the decades-long mystery of a missing woman. The two characters and the actors who play them complement each other perfectly. Mara went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for her fantastic performance. If you’re into dark thrillers with strong female leads, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo needs to be on your watch-list.

For more on Lisbeth, there’s also an awesome Swedish adaptation of the book from 2009, and two sequels based on the books The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. All three films are streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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