Happy Independence Day: Best Local Movies To Watch On Netflix For Merdeka

Malaysia’s Merdeka Day AKA Independence Day is coming soon, and it’s taking place over the weekend. What better way to get into the spirit of national pride than checking out some of the best Malaysian movies out there, available to watch on Netflix at your convenience.

Sheriff: Narko Integriti, premiering 30 August

A box office hit in Malaysian cinemas, Sheriff: Narko Integriti secured its place as the second highest-grossing local film of all time by the end of its theatrical run earlier this year.

The cop action thriller follows a seasoned police officer in the Integrity Department, played by Zul Ariffin, who teams up with an idealistic rookie (Syafiq Kyle) to take down a merciless drug kingpin (Aaron Aziz) and uncover the mystery of a so-called ‘Meth Killer’ who has been targetting corrupt officers.

Dough

Showing a different side of his range in Dough, rising star Syafiq Kyle plays Faiz, who returns to his hometown after his father’s death to keep the family bakery from losing customers to a modern competitor without turning their backs on tradition.

The heartwarming film, which was shot entirely in the charming old town of Ipoh, takes us through Faiz’s nostalgic memories and what it means to be happy as he struggles to find his footing and decide on the future of the family business. The down-to-earth vibe of the film certainly resonated with Malaysians, as it spent five weeks in the Top 10 Films in Malaysia chart upon its release on Netflix.

La Luna

Where Dough taps into how a city boy rediscovers the old world charm of a historical city he grew up in, La Luna explores what happens when a bold city girl opens a lingerie shop in a conservative village.

Shot entirely in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak, the film stars a stellar cast that includes Sharifah Amani, Shaheizy Sam, Wan Hanafi Su, Namron, and Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin. The film has also made its rounds in the festival circuit, namely the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival in Indonesia.

Tiger Stripes

Helmed by Amanda Nell Eu in her directorial debut, Tiger Stripes premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize. The coming-of-age body horror film was also selected as Malaysia’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Newcomer Zafreen Zairizal plays 12-year-old Zaffan, who is a rebellious and carefree girl until she starts to experience horrifying physical changes to her body, setting off an escalating chain of events that ultimately forces her to finally reveal her true self — her wrath, rage, and beauty — to everyone.

Geng Kubur (Dead Boys Club)

Firhan and his friends have a rather strange hobby — in their free time, they would hang out at random cemeteries and tell each other stories about what they imagine the people buried there are like. Hence the name Geng Kubur for the, well, gang.

As the tenth anniversary of his mother’s death approaches, Firhan — who has been plagued by troubling visions about the strange forest where his mother died — convinces his friends to return to the forest as the visions become more intense. Little do they know, their deepest, darkest fears are about to come alive the deeper they venture deeper into the woods.