The Overlooked Survival Thriller That Blew Up Netflix

In late May 2024, most viewers on Netflix were watching Jennifer Lopez's critically maligned film "Atlas."  However, a decent portion of the streaming service's worldwide audience were investigating a strange, severely underrated survival thriller. During the week of May 27 to June 2, viewers couldn't stop watching "Cold Meat," which emerged as the platform's ninth most-watched film, coming ahead of "Madame Web" — which bombed at the box office. According to Netflix's metrics, "Cold Meat" had 3.9 million views that week.

A relatively low-key film, only 12 critics on Rotten Tomatoes have reviewed the pic. Despite a small amount of data, all signs point to "Cold Meat" being a favorite. It has a 92% critics score on the aggregator, signaling near-universal acclaim. "'Cold Meat' impresses with its bleak plot twists and ever-building sense of dread and danger — but the thing which really stands out is the characters, brought to life with terrific performances from [Nina] Bergman and [Allen] Leech," wrote Joel Harley of Starburst in a 4-star (out of 5) review. 

Audiences on Letterboxd, the popular film-centric social media site, are more mixed on the survival thriller. The Sébastien Drouin-directed picture has a 2.4 out of 5 average score based on over 2,100 ratings. Still, "Cold Meat" has its fans on the platform. "'Cold Meat' is a tense, mostly bloodless psychological survival horror film. It's more taut and interesting than it is frightening," wrote user universzero in a 3-star review, encouraging viewers to give the underrated thriller a try. 

"Cold Meat" follows David (Leech), who is navigating his way through Colorado. After making a pit stop at a diner, he encounters Ana (Bergman), a waitress who has an abusive husband (Yan Tual). Taking Ana with him on his journey, things go awry when David's car crashes, leaving them stranded in a terrifying snow blizzard. The movie takes an unexpected turn that audiences will certainly enjoy. 

Lean and mean, "Cold Meat" is a minimalistic film set in the great outdoors. This is a classic survival thriller through and through, showing the deep, torturous psychological effects of bracing the elements. The cast is small but mighty and the film runs at a speedy 90 minutes, making it the perfect thriller to watch if you're short on time. While speaking with The Hollywood News at FrightFest 2023, where the film premiered, director Sébastien Drouin explained that his movie is perfect for those who love suspenseful narratives. "It's a mix between psychological thriller, dark humor, and survival ... it's a strange mix, in fact, but I think it works," he said.  

Loved "Cold Meat" and need something just as chilling? Check out the 30 best thrillers on Netflix.