We’ve narrowed down the monster movie list of new releases from Netflix this month for to give the Movie Junkies the best new movies on Netflix this month, which includes major classics, modern favorites, and new 2026 releases worth checking out.
Netflix adds a ridiculous number of movies every month, but this month’s stack seems heavier than usual. A giant movie list of everything arriving on the service isn’t particularly useful when you’re trying to figure out what to watch tonight.
The Best New Movies to Watch on Netflix This Month
Screenshot by Reel Movie Junkie
Looking for horror, comedy, action, drama, something you’ve already watched three times or a classic you’ve never seen? No matter, these are the Netflix September additions we’d actually choose.
Quick-reference table
|
Movie |
Year |
Runtime / Rating |
Netflix |
Genre |
Why Watch |
|
Alien |
1979 |
1h 57m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Sci-fi / Horror |
Essential sci-fi horror |
|
Aliens |
1986 |
2h 17m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Action / Horror |
Bigger, louder sequel |
|
Phantom Thread |
2017 |
2h 10m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Drama / Romance |
PTA at his most obsessive |
|
Ready or Not |
2019 |
1h 35m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Horror / Comedy |
Wickedly fun survival horror |
|
Smile 2 |
2024 |
2h 7m · R |
Sept. 3 |
Horror |
One of the month’s best horror picks |
|
Resident Evil: Afterlife |
2010 |
1h 36m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Action / Horror |
Alice’s search for Arcadia leads to LA |
|
Resident Evil: Extinction |
2007 |
1h 34m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Action / Horror |
Survivors cross the Nevada desert |
|
Resident Evil: Retribution |
2012 |
1h 35m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Action / Horror |
Alice fights to escape an Umbrella facility |
|
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
2022 |
1h 21m · R |
Sept. 2 |
Horror |
Slasher classic reboot |
|
Unabomber |
2026 |
TBD [CONFIRM] |
Sept. 25 |
Crime / Drama |
Russell Crowe-led true-crime drama |
|
The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part |
2026 |
TBD [CONFIRM] |
Sept. 30 |
True Crime |
Late-month true-crime watch |
Availability and release dates can change. This guide is updated throughout the month.
1. Alien
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 1979
- Runtime / Rating: 1h 57m · R
- Genre: Sci-fi horror
Ridley Scott’s Alien remains the obvious choice when a movie night calls for something genuinely tense. Sigourney Weaver stars as Ellen Ripley as the crew of the Nostromo encounters something decidedly less friendly than the mysterious transmission that brought them there.
Why we’re watching: Because some movies don’t need a “still holds up” disclaimer. Alien is still Alien.
Best for: Sci-fi horror, classic movies, creature features.
2. Aliens
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 1986
- Runtime / Rating: 2h 17m · R
- Genre: Action / Horror
James Cameron takes the claustrophobic horror of Alien and turns the volume considerably higher. Ripley returns to the planet where the original nightmare began, this time facing an entire colony of creatures.
Why we’re watching: If Alien is the haunted-house version of science fiction, Aliens is the war movie. Watching both together is practically mandatory.
Best for: Action horror, horror franchise marathons, ’80s movies.
3. Phantom Thread
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 2017
- Runtime / Rating: 2h 10m · R
- Genre: Drama / Romance
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as obsessive dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock, whose meticulously controlled life begins unraveling after Alma enters it.
Why we’re watching: Paul Thomas Anderson turns fashion, romance, control, and obsession into something strangely funny and deeply uncomfortable.
Best for: Prestige drama, a romance with teeth, Paul Thomas Anderson fans.
4. Ready or Not
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 2019
- Runtime / Rating: 1h 35m · R
- Genre: Horror / Comedy
A bride discovers that her new husband’s wealthy family has an unusual wedding-night tradition. Unfortunately, this one comes with weapons.
Why we’re watching: Samara Weaving is terrific, the premise is absurd in exactly the right way, and the movie knows when to have fun with its own ridiculousness.
Best for: Horror-comedy, dark humor, bloody entertainment.
5. Smile 2
- Netflix: September 3, 2026
- Year: 2024
- Runtime / Rating: 2h 7m · R
- Genre: Psychological horror
Naomi Scott stars as pop superstar Skye Riley, whose increasingly disturbing experiences begin to overwhelm her as she prepares for a world tour.
Why we’re watching: Smile 2 expands the first film’s supernatural nightmare into the world of celebrity and performance, while giving Naomi Scott considerably more room to go completely off the rails.
Best for: Modern horror, psychological thrillers, jump scares.
6. Resident Evil: Afterlife
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 2010
- Runtime / Rating: 1h 36m · R
- Genre: Action / Horror
Alice and her friends keep her promise to see Umbrella in Japan. After that, she continues her search for Arcadia, which leads her to LA, where she finds a small group of survivors trapped in a prison.
Why we’re watching: The Resident Evil franchise never took itself too seriously, and Afterlife is peak Milla Jovovich outrunning CGI monsters in 3D-era excess.
Best for: Action horror, zombie franchises, video game adaptations.
7. Resident Evil: Extinction
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 2007
- Runtime / Rating: 1h 34m · R
- Genre: Action / Horror
Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.
Why we’re watching: The desert setting is a nice tonal break from the claustrophobic corridors of the earlier films, and it’s still got the franchise’s reliably gnarly zombie-dog energy.
Best for: Post-apocalyptic action, franchise marathons.
8. Resident Evil: Retribution
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 2012
- Runtime / Rating: 1h 35m · R
- Genre: Action / Horror
Alice fights alongside a resistance movement to regain her freedom from an Umbrella Corporation testing facility.
Why we’re watching: By this point the plot logic has mostly given way to set-piece spectacle, and that’s fine. Sometimes you just want Milla Jovovich fighting clones in slow motion.
Best for: Action horror, franchise marathon.
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Netflix: September 2, 2026
- Year: 2022
- Runtime / Rating: 1h 21m · R
- Genre: Horror
The one with Jessica Biel. A direct legacy sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original, this one leans hard into brutal, old-school slasher violence rather than jump scares.
Why we’re watching: Leatherface never really left, and this legacy sequel gives the character a genuinely mean-spirited return to form. Also, it’s the one with Jessica Biel.
Best for: Slasher fans, horror franchise legacy sequels.
10. Unabomber
- Netflix: September 25, 2026
- Year: 2026
- Runtime / Rating: Runtime / rating not yet confirmed
- Genre: Crime / Drama
Russell Crowe, Shailene Woodley, and Annabelle Wallis star in this dramatization surrounding the Unabomber case and the investigation into the man behind the attacks.
Why we’re watching: True-crime continues to be a major part of Netflix’s programming, and this gives the month a darker late-season option.
Best for: True-crime, crime dramas, investigative stories.
11. The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part
- Netflix: September 30, 2026
- Year: 2026
- Runtime / Rating: Runtime / rating not yet confirmed [CONFIRM]
- Genre: True crime
A journalist and detective investigate a killer whose charm allegedly concealed a disturbing history of marriages and suspicious deaths.
Why we’re watching: If your preferred form of relaxation involves a true-crime documentary that’ll have you asking “How did nobody notice this guy was terrifying?” This one will set the tone.
Best for: True-crime, murder documentaries, investigative crime stories.
More New Movies Coming to Netflix in September 2026
Not every Netflix addition needs a full review-sized write-up. These are other notable September arrivals worth knowing about:
- 17 Again — September 2
- About Time — September 2
- Antz — September 2
- Big Daddy — September 2
- The Blues Brothers — September 2
- Cruel Intentions — September 2
- Gothika — September 2
- Jaws — September 2
- Jaws 2 — September 2
- Jaws 3-D — September 2
- Jaws: The Revenge — September 2
- Kick-Ass 2 — September 2
- Knocked Up — September 2
- Liar Liar — September 2
- Neighbors — September 2
- The Rite — September 2
- Scarface — September 2
- Sleepless in Seattle — September 2
- Straight Outta Compton — September 2
- T2 Trainspotting — September 2
- Unfriended — September 2
- Teenage Wasteland — September 4
- Why Did I Get Married Again? — September 9
- Prom Night — September 9
- We Don’t Live Here Anymore — September 10
- Dog Man — September 13
- Best of the Best — September 18
The full September Netflix lineup is considerably larger, but this guide focuses on the movies most likely to be useful to someone deciding what to watch.
What Should You Watch on Netflix Tonight?
- If you want horror
Start with Alien, Aliens, Ready or Not, or Smile 2. - If you want something funny
Try 17 Again, Big Daddy, Liar Liar, Neighbors, or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre if you count irony as comedy. - If you want a great drama
Go with Phantom Thread, About Time, or Straight Outta Compton. - If you want something you probably haven’t seen
Start with the Resident Evil catalog additions, especially if you skipped the sequels.
That’s one of the reasons we’re keeping this list editorial rather than simply copying Netflix’s entire monthly catalog.
FAQS: New Movies on Netflix This Month
- What are the best new movies on Netflix this month? The best September 2026 additions include Alien, Aliens, Phantom Thread, Ready or Not, Smile 2, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Retribution, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Unabomber, and The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part.
- What new movies are coming to Netflix in September 2026? Netflix is adding new and catalog movies throughout September, including Smile 2, Teenage Wasteland, Why Did I Get Married Again?, Dog Man, Best of the Best, Unabomber, and The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part.
- What are the best horror movies new on Netflix this month? September’s notable horror additions include Alien, Aliens, Ready or Not, Smile 2, Gothika, Prom Night, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the Resident Evil trilogy entries (Afterlife, Extinction, Retribution).
More New Movies to Watch
If September’s Netflix lineup isn’t solving your movie-night problem, head over to our Movie Hub, where we round up movies worth watching across streaming services, in theaters, and the rest of the entertainment ecosystem.
