Amazon Prime has, somewhat surprisingly, become one of the top players in contemporary entertainment streaming, helped along by their supremely successful parent company.
Like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu, Amazon has been scrambling to create a huge amount of original content that will remain exclusive to their streaming platform, including award-winning shows across multiple genres.
But if you’re new to Prime or you just haven’t dug into the Video section at all in the past, it can be hard to get a sense of what Prime Video offers and which properties are worth checking out.
So if you’re asking yourself, ‘What should I watch on Amazon Prime?’ then check out our list below.
We’ve tried to account for many different tastes in our list, but if you have something to add, feel free to comment below.
Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection
We’ll start off with a pick for the kids, since finding high-quality family-friendly content outside of Disney+ is a bit tricky these days.
If you haven’t already heard of Wallace & Gromit, we don’t believe you. This franchise has been extremely popular since it first came around, all on the strength of a handful of comedy short films.
These stop-motion adventures are genuinely funny, and not just for kids, either. There are plenty of nods to the adults in the room, as well as a general atmosphere that skillfully combines the mundane with the fantastical.
This collection includes four shorts, including the all-time classic, The Wrong Trousers.
The Boys (series)
Swinging to the other side of things, here’s a series that you absolutely should not show to children.
The Boys is based on a series of comic books about a bunch of schlubs trying to take out actual superheroes, who have turned out to be less-than-perfect after their sweeping corporatization.
Starring some pretty above-average actors you probably haven’t heard before, The Boys does a great job of making you root against the powerful people, and it doesn’t take long for the plot to get more twisted up than a fancy French pretzel.
Knives Out (2019)
Knives Out was a surprise whodunnit from former Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.
Boasting a huge ensemble cast of A-listers and surprise guests, Knives Out borrow a whole lot from classic mystery films and novels while modernizing specific elements of the story to make it ultra-relevant to the modern day.
Just keep in mind that, as with any whodunnit, the first watch is always going to be the most satisfying, since you have to wait ‘til the very end to find out who really, well, who dunnit.
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
The response to this belated Borat sequel was perhaps more interesting than the movie itself, but it is still impressive that such a seemingly dated concept could still feel fresh after so many years.
If you’re expecting a mind-blowing subversion of the Borat persona and man-on-the-street comedy in general, you’re not going to get it from Subsequent Moviefilm.
But if you liked Borat when it first came out and you just want more Borat, then this is an easy pick. Again, this is not one to show to the family, but it delivers exactly what you’d expect, and there’s definitely something to be said for that.
Vivarium (2020)
Yes, this is a horror movie, and far from the only horror movie on this list, but with this one, you also don’t need to worry too much about excessive gore and horrifying monsters.
There are definitely still several of what we could call standard horror movie moments in Vivarium, but it’s M.O. is more about setting a very specific and overbearing tone that’s meant to keep you on edge.
As for the premise, a young couple moves to a seemingly endless suburban community, and that’s about it. Other strange things start to happen, and we can’t mention any of those without spoiling some great twists.
If you try to read some social commentary into this movie, it will certainly feel a bit dated and maybe even predictable (the subtle dangers of conformity and mundanity, etc.), but just on the surface level, Vivarium gives you some uncomfortable feelings and compelling visuals that are going to stick with you, even if the names of the lead characters don’t.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Richard Linklater is definitely an interesting filmmaker, even if you don’t happen to like his movies all that much.
He seems determined to cover several different genres, and yet somehow all of his movies end up feeling quite similar regardless.
Dazed and Confused, in particular, is seen as the definitive movie about going to high school in the 1970s, but don’t worry, classes and schoolwork take up only a small portion of the running time.
Most of the movie is about schoolkids celebrating the start of summer in very specific, childish ways, while our lead character floats through different cliques and scenarios.
With a great soundtrack and excellent performances, this movie will be a nostalgia trip for some and an eye-opening period piece for others.
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
Maybe you can tell from the title alone, but this movie is trying very hard to separate itself in some key ways from the many, maaaany other Hansel and Gretel movies that have been made over the past several decades.
The original story itself seems the perfect setup for a modern horror movie, but director Osgood Perkins, the same guy behind the wonderful The Blackcoat’s Daughter, really sets this movie apart from the rest with its visuals.
Some exceptional cinematography elevates the storytelling all the more, and it doesn’t hurt that the script contains some great twists and unexpected wrinkles.
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Now we’ll close out with what definitely isn’t a horror movie, even if the initial trailers tried pretty hard to make it look like one.
The Cabin in the Woods is a now-famous send-up of horror movie tropes through the ages. A handful of teenagers post up in a creepy cabin in the woods and things go badly from there.
But ultimately, this movie is a comedy, and it works especially well for viewers who have gone out of their way to watch dozens and dozens of horror movies in the years since their own adolescence.
Glitterati*Lobotomy 