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12 movies released in 2015 you can watch right now on Netflix

By Chris Sayer

22 December 2015

Not quite made it to the cinema as much as you’d hoped this year? Forever ducking out of film-based conversations because you’ve seen a sum total of naff all in 2015? We feel you.

Luckily, streaming giant Netflix has updated itself with plenty of mega movies released over the last 12 months to bring you right up to speed. It’s almost as if they knew you’d be locked away from the terrible weather this Christmas, and gagging for some easy-to-find quality entertainment to pass the time while you tuck into the Quality Street tin. Here’s our pick of the best.

Beasts of No Nation

Starring: Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Opeyemi Fagbohhungbe

Initial release: October 16

Plot: As an African civil war rages, a young boy is trained by a fierce Commandant to become a guerrilla soldier, diving into a desperate culture of horrific violence and drug abuse.

Why watch it: Not only does Elba give an acting master class worthy of awards, but this Netflix original is a reality check. A huge, bloody, petrifying reality check.

Kung Fury

Starring: David Sandberg, Jorma Taccone, David Hasselhoff

Initial release: May 22

Plot: A hard-as-nails Miami cop travels back in time to kill Hitler with his proper over-the-top martial arts.

Why watch it: Remember seeing The Hoff shooting a bunch of baddies in a hyper-stylised viral film trailer earlier this year? This is the very same Kickstarter-funded, review-acing, butt-kicking movie.

Manson Family Vacation

Starring: Jay Duplass, Linas Phillips, Tobin Bell

Initial release: June 19

Plot: A family man and his adopted brother take a macabre pilgrimage to the Manson murder sites in Los Angeles.

Why watch it: It’s a showcase of how good a movie can be with next to no budget, and only shooting at the weekends.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Starring: Adam Scott, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry

Initial release: April 10

Plot: The time-travelling team are back for round two of this ridiculous cult hit.

Why watch it: Because sometimes it’s OK to feel really stupid.

Drunk Wedding

Starring: Nick P. Ross, J.R. Ramirez, Christian Cooke

Initial release: May 22

Plot: At a wedding, a group of college friends nail a whole load of tequila and document the potentially marriage-wrecking carnage.

Why watch it: It looks like what the kids of Project X did when they got a bit older and stupider.

Mortdecai

Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Goldblum

UK cinema release: January 23

Plot: A super posh art dealer rushes around the globe searching for a stolen painting that may be the key to a whole lotta Nazi gold.

Why watch it: Jeff Goldblum.

Naked Among Wolves

Starring: Peter Schneider, Florian Stetter, Rainer Bock

Initial release: April 1

Plot: Inmates at a Nazi concentration camp in 1945 discover an orphan child has been smuggled in amongst them.

Why watch it: For a stark reminder of the horrifying events of WW2 told from a German perspective (it’s all subtitled, FYI).

The Human Centipede 3

Starring: Eric Roberts, Bree Olson, Dieter Laser

Initial release: July 10

Plot: Do we really need to spell it out? Eugh, OK…a prison warden stitches 500 inmates together, mouth to… yeah that’s enough.

Why watch it: On second thoughts, maybe watch something else.

Staten Island Summer

Starring: Ashley Greene, Graham Phillips, Method Man

Initial release: June 30

Plot: A group of teen lifeguards endeavour to throw the craziest party they can before summer’s out.

Why watch it: It’s jam-packed with hilarious SNL legends, such as Portlandia’s Fred Armisen.

Pound of Flesh

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme

Initial release: June 22

Plot: It’s a JCVD film. You know what to expect.

Why watch it: For lines like, “What I’m really good at is killing.”

The Chosen

Starring: Kian Lawley, Elizabeth Keener, Angelica Chitwood

Initial release: July 24

Plot: A family must rid their daughter from a child-snatching demon and send it back to hell in the most troubling way imaginable.

Why watch it: Sick to death of YouTube stars? You’ll love seeing lead role and ‘Internet sensation’ Kian Lawley getting the bejeezus scared out of him in this.