What are you looking for this weekend? Some pure fantasy or escapism? Or are you in the mood for something more grounded in reality? Maybe a bit of both? The good thing about Netflix is that you can pretty much shake a stick and hit something that covers whatever you’re after.
For this weekend, I’m recommending a bit of everything, which I don’t think is a bad thing—a raw, punishing Western frontier survival drama, a true story about one of the biggest internet scams ever, and a modern horror classic, because it doesn’t need to be Halloween to have the crap scared out of you.
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American Primeval
A brutal and thrilling frontier survival drama
“Civilization and civilized are two different words entirely,” advises American Primeval‘s frontier explorer Jim Bridger (played by the excellent Shea Wigham) to Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin), a fugitive mother braving the wilds of the 1850s American West to get her and her son to safety. And it is absolutely brutal out there, especially for a woman traveling alone. But Sara is no ordinary woman, and as she struggles to stay ahead of those chasing her, she must also contend with the brutalities of the settlers, Native nations, Mormon militia, and the U.S. government, all battling over control of the lands.
Helping Sara along is Isaac Reid (Taylor Kitsch), a rugged frontier man, raised by the Shoshone, with a tortured past, who takes on the job of being her and her son’s protector and guide. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Very Bad Things), American Primeval is a dark, violent, and brutal limited series that Netflix frames as a fictionalized dramatic thriller built around real historical events, which is what makes it so compelling. Sara’s plight, combined with the dire conflict with the Native tribes fighting for their land and lives in a changing world, makes for six episodes you will want to binge.
American Primeval
Release Date
2025 – 2025-00-00
Network
Netflix
Directors
Peter Berg
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Apple Cider Vinegar
The true story of an Instagram con artist who built an empire on a lie
I remember back in 2013 when Belle Gibson’s The Whole Pantry healthy recipe app was at the top of Apple’s app store charts, and the Australian health and wellness “guru” was all over the internet. I didn’t really keep up with her or her story until recently, when I swiped upon Apple Cider Vinegar, a tight, entertaining six-episode limited series on Netflix. It tells the true story of Gibson (played with seething desperation by Last of Us star Kaitlyn Dever), an Instagram influencer who built an empire on a lie.
Starving for attention, fame, and acceptance, Gibson claimed to have terminal brain cancer that she then cured herself through “clean eating,” exercise, and natural therapies. No medical evidence of her cancer was ever produced, and the series does a brilliant job at detailing just how far Gibson would go to guard her secret—even faking a seizure at a birthday party. It all starts to unravel when journalists start to investigate Belle’s web of lies, sending her into a spiral.
Apple Cider Vinegar is one of those can’t-look-away train wrecks, and by the end of it you’re going to want Belle to get her comeuppance. Critics liked the series and Dever’s performance, with the show currently holding an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Also worth watching is the two-part documentary about it all, The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist.
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The Haunting of Hill House
A slow-burning family horror story with dark twists
There’s no rule that says you can only watch skin-crawling horror shows or movies on or around Spooky Season—any time’s a good time to have your pants scared off. What’s great about the horrifying 10-part Netflix original series The Haunting of Hill House is that it takes its time seeping its way into your psyche (and your nightmares), in all the best ways.
An adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name has been adeptly handled by Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan, who brings to life the story of the Crain family and their history with the titular Hill House. Cleverly told through two timelines—first as children living there in the ’90s as horrific and strange events traumatize them, and then years later as adults. Skeptical Steven (Michiel Huisman), uptight Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser), empathic Theo (Kate Siegel), the troubled Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), and the fragile Nell (Victoria Pedretti), all return to Hill House to face their demons, figuratively and literally.
Hill House, which has a 93% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has everything a great horror story needs: excellent performances, real psychological drama, whisper-quiet, building jump scares, creepy special effects, and some genuine plot twists that make it supremely satisfying.
This weekend’s picks have a bit of everything—grim and gritty, sharply uncomfortable, and genuinely terrifying. Either way, you’ll be in that sweet spot where you’re fully hooked. Also, check out some of our tips on how to get the most out of your Netflix subscription.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.
