Netflix viewers can’t stop watching The Last House, but this sci-fi thriller is even more twisted

The Last House is a new sci-fi movie that has dominated the Netflix charts ever since it dropped on August 7, 2026. But while the movie has proven enduringly popular, it’s gotten bad marks from both critics and audiences.

Happily, there are other great options on Netflix looking for sci-fi thrills.

The Last House isn’t as good as the trailers make it look

I can’t stand the rain

The Last House is about a family of four who wake up in their Seattle home one day to discover they can’t leave. The rain, already a persistent problem in Seattle, is seemingly sealing them inside their house. Presumably, everyone else in the city (maybe in the country, or even the world) is experiencing the same thing. Days turn into weeks turn into years as the family struggles to find ways to survive and to keep from losing their minds.

The best thing about The Last House is the premise. It’s pregnant with horrific possibilities. What is causing this phenomenon? How will the family cope with these unique circumstances? Will they band together or turn on each other?

And the movie does run with those ideas…for a few minutes. The early sections recall the COVID lockdowns, when everyone was trapped in their homes, voluntarily or otherwise. But once the family settles in for the long haul, The Last House loses much of its urgency, and is plagued by horror movie clichés; there are far too many scenes where the characters put themselves in danger seemingly just so audiences have a reason to yell at the screen. We get some Netflix clichés, too, like how characters will describe what they’re doing just in case people at home are watching while scrolling their phones.

Greta Lee and Wagner Moura do their able best as the parents, but they can’t save an unimaginative script that makes the least of an imaginative idea.

It’s What’s Inside deserves more of a following

Watch this underrated Netflix sci-fi thriller

The Last House is far from the only sci-fi movie on Netflix, and not even close to the best one. One such movie that hasn’t gotten enough attention is It’s What’s Inside, an original Netflix film that dropped in 2024.

Written and directed by Greg Jardin, It’s What’s Inside also has a fantastic premise. A group of old college friends meet to celebrate the impending wedding of trust fund kid Reuben (Devon Terrell). They’re in their 30s now, and there are clearly resentments that haven’t been resolved. For instance, Shelby (Brittany O’Grady) and Cyrus (James Morosini) have been in a relationship for years, but the spark is long gone, in part because Cyrus has never stopped pining for Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), who went on to become a successful social media influencer.

Then there’s Forbes (David Thompson), an old friend who cut ties with the group after a house party gone spectacularly wrong. Hoping to mend fences, Reuben has invited Forbes to the party, and he shows up with a device that allows everyone to switch bodies with each other. He proposes they use it to play a party game: everyone has to guess whose body everyone else has switched in to.

Also like The Last House, It’s What’s Inside mostly takes place in one home. But It’s What’s Inside is far more successful and entertaining. After the body switching starts, it doesn’t take long for old resentments to come to the surface. People take advantage of the situation to act on old crushes, the wonder of the technology gives way to recrimination and confusion, identities start to blur, and no one can be entirely sure who’s who.

That goes for the audience as well as the characters. Although the Jardin develops clever ways to let us know who is actually in whose body, the chaos is part of the point. We lose track of the characters as they lose track of themselves. It’s a terrific thrill ride with more than a few surprising twists along the way. And at just one hour and 43 minutes, it’s a quick watch.

It’s What’s Inside is part of a wider movement

It just needs to find its audience

Made for just $2.5 million, It’s What’s Inside recalls another successful low-budget genre feature: Obsession, a 2026 movie that’s also about young people changing each other in ways they shouldn’t. Both movies even have an object of desire named Nikki. It’s these kinds of scrappy projects that could help revive interest in movies in general.

That’s not to say that It’s What’s Inside is a perfect movie. As clever as the premise is, the film could have done more with it. The characters probably aren’t wowed enough by the miracle of their circumstances, and the full possibilities of the body switch concept aren’t explored. But there’s only so much you can do in one movie. At the least, It’s What’s Inside does far more with its premise that the bloated The Last House.

Yet more great sci-fi

There’s a lot more great low-budget sci-fi out there for those willing to look. The Last House is dominating streaming ratings at the moment, and good for it. But a creative movie like It’s What’s Inside will stay with people for longer.