Netflix offers two distinct services for subscribers.

It’s the home for big-budget, big-name original movies that often disappoint. Yes, we’re talking about “Back in Action,” “A Family Affair” and “Atlas.”

The platform also gives lesser-known titles a chance to be discovered. The latter matters, since the crush of fresh content means many solid films get overlooked.

Given that reality, here are eight titles currently available on Netflix that are well worth a look –even if they got little attention upon release.

Simple can be so much better when it comes to storytelling. A young woman (Jules Willcox) has an awkward meeting with a stranger (Marc Menchaca) early in the film, followed by two more increasingly fraught encounters.

The cat and mouse chase is on, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

It’s almost too simple, at least on paper. The battle between the main characters is exhilarating, with the heroine trying to outwit her stronger foe at every step. Good luck.

The tension spikes early and never subsides, and the screenplay refuses to make Willcox’s character into a Strong, Empowered Woman who Girl Bosses her way to freedom. It’s a cold, efficient genre film that got ignored upon its release.

This 2024 gem gives the great Carol Kane one of her meatiest roles. She plays a former music teacher who reconnects with an old student (Jason Schwartzman), now a widower trying to put the pieces of his life back together.

There’s a hint of “Harold and Maude” at play, but the smart screenplay and dialed-in performances keep us engaged through every twist. It’s the kind of smart, original story that eases the pain of all those remakes, reboots and sequels.

Remembering Gene Wilder

Yes, it’s a mash note to the comedy legend, but that’s exactly what Wilder’s longtime fans crave from a documentary like this.

We glean great anecdotes from comedy classics like “The Producers” and meet the gentle soul behind the laughter. It’s heartbreaking to relive Wilder’s romance with Gilda Radner, but he refused to give up on love following her death. The rough edges of a complicated soul are sanded down, but Wilder’s talents always remain in sharp focus.

Bad Words

Jason Bateman has shown he can do it all, from sublime comedy (“Arrested Development”) to coal-black drama (“Ozark”). He leaned on the latter for this 2013 dark comedy about a misanthrope who enters a pre-teen spelling competition.

Yes, he’s a 40-year-old man harboring a serious grudge, but he’s determined to win at all costs. That’s before he meets a whiz kid (Rohan Chand) who might just be his match.

Black comedies are challenging, to say the least, but Bateman the director never lets his character off easily. That commitment gives the film a spark missing in many films.

The result? A bracingly original tale unlike anything in the actor/director’s playbook.

The Fundamentals of Caring

The 50-something Paul Rudd refuses to age. He also finds time to shoot more projects than many of his peers. This overlooked 2016 drama finds him caring for a disabled teen (Craig Roberts) sheltered by his over-protective mama.

It’s part road trip, part coming-of-age story with Rudd gently guiding us along. The leads share vital chemistry and Selena Gomez appears mid-film to brighten up the adventure.

“Caring” doesn’t reinvent the road trip wheel. It just reminds us how indestructible the format remains in the right hands.

A young man with Down syndrome connects with a law-averse stranger, meets his wrestling idol and has the adventure of a lifetime along the way.

“Falcon” could have gone wrong in a thousand ways, but it never steps a foot off the path thanks to the talented team of writer/directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz in a warm debut.

Shia Labeouf channels his off-screen misadventures to soften his wounded character. Zach Gottsagen is a first-rate charmer as the wrestling devotee, giving the film its big, beating heart.

The Infiltrator

Bryan Cranston gets a killer movie role that few people caught in theaters ($15 million stateside). The “Breaking Bad” alum plays a US customs special agent, based on a real person, who helped break up Pablo Escobar’s reign of drug terror.

Smart, well-acted and gripping, “The Infiltrator” is the perfect hidden gem lurking on the Netflix platform.

This horror/western hybrid is not for the faint of heart. Seriously. That warning aside, few modern westerns are as memorable as this R-rated oater. Kurt Russell sports the best mustache of his career star as a lawman on a life-or-death mission.

Russell’s sheriff attempts to rescue hostages from a cannibalistic band of Native Americans. The search is dangerous, to say the least, and a strong supporting cast (including Matthew Fox and Patrick Wilson) enhances the journey.

The bloody finale won’t be easily forgotten, but kudos to writer/director S. Craig Zahler for fusing first-rate dialogue with blood-curdling kills.