57 best Netflix movies to watch (and 24 to skip)

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Orion and the Dark - Orion seems a lot like your average elementary school kid – shy, unassuming, harboring a secret crush. But underneath his seemingly normal exterior, Orion is a ball of adolescent anxiety, completely consumed by irrational fears of bees, dogs, the ocean, cell phone waves, murderous gutter clowns, and even falling off of a cliff. But of all his fears, the thing he’s the most afraid of is what he confronts on a nightly basis: the dark. So when the literal embodiment of his /

Orion and the Dark

Release Year: 2024

Director: Sean Charmatz

Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks, Natasia Demetriou, Golda Rosheuvel, Nat Faxon, Ike Barinholtz, and Aparna Nancherla

Orion and the Dark is one of the first big new animated features on Netflix this year and it also happens to be one of the streamer's first big hits of 2024 as the film has received almost unanimous praise thanks to its ambitious premise and smart writing.

It ended up receiving a 90% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes and a Certified Fresh seal. Part of the reason the movie has ended up being so acclaimed is due to the script by writer Charlie Kaufman, who has written other movies like I'm Thinking of Ending Things and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

The film follows a young boy named Orion (Jacob Tremblay) who is afraid of, well, everything, but his worst fear is the dark. One night, an embodiment of Dark (Paul Walter Hauser) visits Orion and helps him learn how to embrace his fear and see that the world isn't as scary as he thinks it is. Together, Dark and Orion embark on an adventure through the night that leaves them both changed forever.

Verdict: WATCH

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