On Monday, July 13, Sam Neill passed away at the age of 78.
The New Zealand actor began his film career in 1975 with the independent picture Landfall and has since starred in over 150 movies and TV shows.
That’s a lot of content, and Neill worked with some great directors like Steven Spielberg and Jane Campion and starred alongside Hollywood heavyweights like Meryl Streep, Robin Williams, Liam Neeson, Laura Dern and more.
To honor Neil’s impressive career, Watch With Us has curated a list of some of Neill’s best movies to stream right now. From a groundbreaking sci-fi film to several cult classics ripe for rediscovery, these movies showcase the actor’s impressive range and unforgettable screen presence.
‘Jurassic Park’ (1993) – Prime Video
Neill is still best known for his portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant, a paleontologist who finds himself walking amidst the creatures he thought were extinct in the Jurassic Park film franchise. Neill appeared in 1993’s Jurassic Park, 2001’s underrated Jurassic Park III and 2022’s purely cash-grab legacy sequel Jurassic World Dominion, but the first one remains the best.
He manages to hold his ground against scene-stealing Jeff Goldblum, not to mention those impressive-looking dinosaurs, and makes Grant the rare hero who is also a bit of a nerd.
‘Possession’ (1981) – Prime Video
A horror movie about divorce and demons, Possession is sometimes a chore to sit through, but it’s worth it to see Neill and costar Isabelle Adjani give their career-best performances. They star as Mark and Anna, an estranged couple whose marriage is all but dead. When Mark discovers Anna is cheating on him, he hires a detective to follow her, but what he finds is more disturbing than he ever could’ve imagined.
Wildly unhinged and borderline incomprehensible, Possession is a truly one-of-a-kind horror film. A remake with Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner is in the works, but it probably won’t match the original’s odd power or Neill’s terrific performance.
‘Dead Calm’ (1989) – Tubi
Dead Calm is the movie that made Nicole Kidman an international star, but it wouldn’t work without Neill’s solid presence. He plays John Ingram, a former Australian Navy captain who takes his grieving wife, Rae (Kidman), on a solitary cruise on their yacht to recover from the unexpected death of their young son. When they encounter a handsome drifter, Hughie (Billy Zane), whose boat has capsized, the couple help him – until they realize he’s not who he says he is.
Dead Calm is one of the best thrillers of the ‘80s and gives all three of its lead actors moments to shine. Neill’s John is heroic without being stereotypical – he just wants his wife to be safe and for both of them to move on from the tragedy that’s sent both literally and figuratively adrift.
‘In the Mouth of Madness’ (1994) – Tubi
Popular horror author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) has gone missing, has disappeared, and no one can seem to find him. Insurance agent John Trent (Neill) is hired by Cane’s publisher to find him, but what he discovers instead is a deepening mystery involving a small New Hampshire town, a manuscript that foretells the end of the world and otherworldly phenomena that make John think he’s going crazy.
A big flop when it was first released, In the Mouth of Madness has since become a cult classic. Director John Carpenter’s Lovecraftian horror movie utilizes Neill’s folksy charm to great effect – if the sensible John can start to believe the world is going mad, then the audience believes it, too. Parade recently claimed that In the Mouth of Madness contains Neill’s greatest performance, and no one who has seen the film could argue with that assertion.
‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ (2016) – PLEX
One of Neill’s best movies in the last part of his career is Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a Taika Waititi comedy about two lonely souls who bond while being hunted by most of New Zealand. Neill stars as Hector, a gruff hunter who doesn’t much like it when his wife adopts the pre-teen Ricky (Julian Dennison), a career foster child. When his wife dies, Hector prepares to send Ricky back to foster care, causing the boy to flee into the wilderness. Hector goes after time, but as he spends more time with Ricky, he realizes he needs him in his life more than he thinks.
Slyly sentimental but also wickedly funny, Hunt for the Wilderpeople can’t help but win you over, and that’s due largely to Neill. Unlike most of the characters he plays, Hector is tough, unreasonable, and unlikable. You end up liking him anyway, because his relationship with Ricky thaws out his icy heart. It’s a great role for Neill, and if it’s the last great one he had, there are worse ways to end an actor’s 51-year-old career.
