Netflix is a perfect place to find bizarre hidden gems, but there are some films so outlandishfans won’t believetheir own eyes. These films, ranging from various genres, are mostly overlooked movies or cult films that weren’t seen much in theaters; however, they all are perfect examples of a midnight movie.
Skins
Directed by Spanish up-and-comer Eduardo Casanova, this provocative and twisted fairy tale is as beautiful as it is sickening. The film follows several people who have physical abnormalities, including an eyelesssex workerand a woman whose mouth and backside are reversed. The movie depicts these characters as they engage in surreal adventures and learn to truly love themselves.
Skins is the definition of somethingone most likely hasn'tseen before. The characters are out of this world yet so human and relatable, and the events that unfold around them are so shocking that it's impossible to look away. The film also gets extra points for itsrevolutionary visual style, which includes a beautiful blend of pink and purple that adds to the experiences the characters in the movie.
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The Bad Batch
Directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour, The Bad Batch depicts a dystopian society where people who are convicted of crimes are banished from the country, and oncethey walk off U.S. soil,they are no longer a citizen. Young Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) is a newbie, and although she has a tough start, she holds her own and becomes a fierce warrior as the film progresses.
The Bad Batch is ultra-violent at times and contains scenes of cannibalism, but it is not a horror film like Amirpour's debut,A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Instead, The Bad Batch serves as a modern western survival story, as well as a otherworldly noir filled with pulp. Although released to mixed reactions from critics, this genre-bending film is so original that it demands to be seen. It's also chock full of bizarre supporting performances including, Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves, which add to sheer insanity that is depicted on screen.
Horse Girl
A Netflix original film, Horse Girl is a brilliant mediation on mental illness that also dares to ask questions about whether reality is what peoplebelieve it to be. This film is about Sarah (Alison Brie), a young woman who works in a craft shop and is starting to mentally unravel. Around the halfway point, Sarah decides she is a clone of her own grandmother, due to an alien abduction.
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Director Jeff Baena examines the deteriorating mental health of a young woman whose loneliness plays into the loss of her mind. The film does a good job of not making it completely clear whether Sarah is experiencing delusions or if she was indeed the victim of some sort of alien experimentation. The movie's visuals are psychedelic and dreamlike, giving off the notion that all of these strange occurrences throughout the film may not just be in Sarah's head.
An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn
The sophom*ore effort from The Greasy Strangler'sdirector Jim Hosking, this film stars Aubrey Plaza as Lulu Danger, a bored waitress working at her lowlife husband Shane's (Emile Hirsch) diner. After Shane robs Lulu's brother, a drifter named Colin (Jemaine Clement) is hired to take back the cash, but Lulu hijacks the plan by stealing the money herself and kidnapping Colin, taking him on a road trip in order to see the mysterious performer, Beverly Luff Linn (Craig Robinson).
Hosking takes a story that could be conventional and places it in hell, with every characterbeing in some way dementedor simplynot right. The whole film has the vibe that things are out of whack,and the way the movie's plot unfolds makes it feel like the events depicted are going to culminate into something out of this world; however, the film ends up feeling just like a strange, overlong episode of Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.
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Observe and Report
This black comedy from Jody Hill, the creator of the hit HBO series Eastbound and Down, stars Seth Rogen as mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt, who is also bipolar. When a flasher starts running amok at the local mall, Ronnie and his team of goofballs are on the case. However, the further into the case Ronnie investigates, the more harm he ultimately causes.
The main aspect that makes this comedy such a strange experience is how far the characters go within their descent into darkness. While the film is funny, its lead protagonist feels closer to Travis Bickle or Arthur Fleck than any lead in a modern day comedy. Throughout the film, Ronnie's mental health becomes more and more unstable, showing him on one occasion smashing in a fellow mall employee's head and on another beating teens with their skateboards.
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Swiss Army Man
The surrealist comedy mostly known as the movie where Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse is one of a kind, but it's not for everyone. The film begins with Hank (Paul Dano), a man shipwrecked on an island, in the process of ending his own life. Before he can go through with it, he notices the dead body of a man washed ashore, who he soon befriends and uses as a human Swiss army knife of sorts. Throughout the film, it's hard to tell if Hank is hallucinating or if his deceased friend is truly able to speak.
Swiss Army Man is able to blend gross laughs with real psychological drama. The strangest element of this film is never truly knowing what is taking place. Hank very well could be having a delusion brought on by isolation or, in some magical way, the washed upcorpsehas found a way tocometo life. Whatever the truth is, the scenes where the corpse is used for Hank's advantage are very uncomfortable to watch but are impossible to lookaway from, including multiple scenes where the body is turned into a Jet Ski, with his farts used as the gas.
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