Think Starz is that streaming platform you roll over on your way to Netflix or Max? Time to think again. Starz has developed a quietly lethal film library packed with all things from cult favorites and sci-fi thrill rides to Oscar winners and quote-worthy comedies. If you’re feeling like watching an edge-of-your-seat blockbuster or a retro, this lineup’s got you covered. Here are the 10 best movies now playing on Starz, ranked below from good to essential.
10. War of the Worlds (2005)
Steven Spielberg’s modern retelling of H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi novel about alien attack is a masterclass in tension. Tom Cruise plays an ordinary-guy dad trying to keep his kids alive as the world around them is laid waste by huge Martian war machines. It’s mad, frantic, and wonderfully visual, a disaster movie that’s terrifyingly believable. Avoid the remake; this is the one you’ll be sleeping with the lights on.
9. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Edgar Wright’s cult classic action-romance is sugar-coated visual candy. Michael Cera’s Scott Pilgrim has to fight his dream girl’s seven villainous exes in a comic book-like world where everything looks and feels as if it were drawn. The fast cuts, crazy fight choreography, and sick soundtrack make this a geeky dream come true that never loses its appeal.
8. Pitch Black (2000)
Before Fast & Furious fame, Vin Diesel was Riddick, a hard-case inmate stranded on a sun-scorched world filled with light-averse beasts. Pitch Black is dark, action-packed sci-fi that combines horror and survival with just the right amount of attitude. It’s the one that started the franchise, and still the best of the bunch.
7. Gladiator (2000)
“Are you not entertained?” Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic, revised as a historical epic, was a spectacle once again. Russell Crowe fills the screen in Maximus, the betrayed Roman general who has to fight for honor and vengeance in the Colosseum. Five Academy Award-winning Gladiator is one of the most uplifting, emotionally powerful blockbusters ever imagined.
6. Dazed and Confused (1993)
Richard Linklater’s cult classic so perfectly encapsulates that bittersweet high-school purgatory, shot on the last day of school in 1976. With its easygoing charm, killer soundtrack, and early appearances by future stars Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck, this coming-of-age staple is basically one long, wistful summer night.
5. Bring It On (2000)
This satire of cheerleading brought sass, athleticism, and unexpectedly sharp wit to teen movies. Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union play bitter teammates vying for the national title, delivering big laughs, show-stopping routines, and fierce competitive heat. Twenty years on, it remains that movie when it comes to pep and attitude.
4. Big Daddy (1999)
Adam Sandler is most endearingly and surprisingly sentimental. Big Daddy is the story of a directionless guy who finds himself with instant responsibility for an underage boy left on his doorstep. What starts as a ramshackle premise becomes a bittersweet journey through manhood and discovering one’s place in the most unlikely of ways. It’s stupid, schmaltzy, and pure Sandler.
3. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
George A. Romero’s shoestring-budget horror changed the genre for all time. Stuck in a farmhouse while the dead rise, a group of strangers must contend with both outward dread and inward disintegration. Beyond the zombies, though, it’s a scathing social critique that remains so today. Plainly put, it’s where contemporary horror started.
2. This Is the End (2013)
The end of the world has never been so hilarious, or meta. Seth Rogen, James Franco, and his comedy team feature in over-the-top roles of themselves attempting to survive doomsday. It’s ridiculous, over-the-top, and incredibly quotable. Few comedies have ever managed to balance anarchy and wit with such finesse.
1. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
John Singleton’s landmark directorial debut is an incisive portrait of life, death, and brotherhood in South Central Los Angeles. Powerful performances by Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, and Laurence Fishburne make it both a gritty and a heartfelt one. Boyz n the Hood is not only a great film, it’s a cultural touchstone that remains relevant more than 30 years on.
From cult hits to timeless dramas, Starz is quietly killing it with its movie lineup. These ten picks prove that sometimes the best gems aren’t hidden on the biggest platform; they’re waiting right where you least expect them.