Netflix is known for massively popular series like Ginny & Georgia and Ransom Canyon, but it’s also the home to some of the best sci-fi content around. In the last few years, the streamer has released two of the best things I’ve seen — 2024’s The Signal, about a husband searching for his missing astronaut wife, and 2025’s The Eternaut, about a mysterious toxic snowfall that wipes out a city.
Brick has the potential to be added to that list. The sci-fi thriller, about a mysterious brick wall that traps residents in a fancy apartment building, is set to be released on July 10, but the trailer’s out now, and I already can’t wait to watch it. Here are a few reasons why you should add the film to your Netflix watchlist this summer.
‘Brick’ Has an Intriguing Sci-Fi Set-Up
We’ve all been there — the relationship you’re in isn’t working out, and one of you wants out. It’s a relatable experience, no matter if you’ve been the dumper or the dumpee. For Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer), he’s on the receiving end of an unexpected breakup from his longtime girlfriend Olivia (Ruby O. Fee). But as she packs her bags and opens the front door to leave, something strange happens — she can’t. The open door has been blocked by a shiny black brick wall that obviously wasn’t there before. Tim and Olivia try to move it, then break it, but nothing works — it won’t budge or shatter. It can take any damage the two can dish out.
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No worries, there are other ways to leave an apartment, even if they are a tad inconvenient. But much to the estranged couple’s horror, they find all the doorways and windows that lead to the outside world have been “bricked” as well. It’s not just their apartment that’s been walled off — the entire building has been surrounded by this brick wall that appeared overnight. How? And why?
Something Strange Is Happening Outside — But What?
Tim and Olivia are understandably freaked out, but they aren’t alone. By drilling through their walls and floors, the couple team up with several other residents to figure out what the hell is going on. One girl wonders if it’s an elaborate escape room they’re stuck in while another neighbor discovers they are being secretly recorded by a camera operated by someone — or something — they don’t know.
It’s here where the trailer teases us with a series of images that only make the movie more mysterious — and impossible to resist. There’s a brief shot of the outside with a building on fire in the distance, and there’s a sequence with Tim and Olivia where they realize the wall is magnetized — and maybe even sentient? And there’s an intriguing possibility that the brick wall isn’t a threat — it’s actually protecting all of them from whatever is happening outside. But what kind of threat could it be to activate such an aggressive and elaborate defense system? And why didn’t anyone know about it beforehand?
‘Brick’ Looks Like a Fun Ride
Who knows? Who cares! All of this is so up my alley, I’m already preparing for the watch party on July 10. I’m a big fan of claustrophobic thrillers, from 10 Cloverfield Lane to Apple TV+’s excellent sci-fi series Silo with Rebecca Ferguson, and this looks as tense and fun as those movies and TV shows.
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Sci-fi concepts like Brick’s usually fail to stick the landing since almost any explanation for what’s happening isn’t satisfactory as the potential ones in your head. But I’m willing to give Brick the benefit of the doubt; maybe it can deliver a jaw-dropping climax worthy of such classics like The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis or any of the Planet of the Apes films.
So do me a favor right now — bookmark this article, remember to put Brick in your Netflix queue when it becomes available to stream and give it a chance. Superman will be out around that time, but the Man of Steel can wait a bit while you watch what promises to be one of the best sci-fi movies of 2025.
