327 Best Weird Movies to Watch (Page 21)

What’s absurd to one viewer could just be mildly odd for the next. But if you love anything highly unusual, this list is a good start. Here are the best weird movies and shows to stream, from the avant-garde to the surreal.

Read also:

301. In the Know, 2024

	
With podcasts, online music services, and of course, video, radio might not have the same relevance as it did back then, but it’s still alive and changing with the times today. In The Know satirizes modern day public radio, portraying a more narcissistic fictional radio team behind the airwaves, but it does so in a charming way that makes the station feel lived in. Part of this feeling is ShadowMachine’s expressive, well-crafted stop-motion animation style, but part of it stems from how specific the humor gets to be, poking light fun at the very insecurity that drives their (and today’s) self-absorption. Being this specific, the humor hits sporadically for some viewers like myself, who would prefer to watch a show rather than listen to one, but In The Know might be entertaining enough for NPR fans and those keeping themselves up-to-date with American pop culture.Genre: Animation, Comedy
Actor: Carl Tart, Charlie Bushnell, J. Smith-Cameron, Mike Judge, Zach Woods
Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

302. Twisted Metal, 2023

Based on a PlayStation game of the same name, Twisted Metal has a lot of the bullet-heavy, high-speed action of the original but with a lot more characters and backstory thrown in the mix. It certainly scratches a nostalgic itch for those who played the game growing up, especially once big names like Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, and Will Arnet (or his voice at least) bring familiar characters to life. But beyond all the furtive action and winks and nods made to the video game, there is little about Twisted Metal that’s likable, much less watchable. Sure, it’s fun to see guns go boom and cars go vroom, but the core of the series never feels substantial enough to justify its existence. You might enjoy watching it, but you likely won’t remember much of it.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy

Actor: Anthony Mackie, Samoa Joe, Stephanie Beatriz, Thomas Haden Church, Will Arnett

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

303. Sentinelle (2023)

	
In the vein of crime spoofs like The Naked Gun and The Pink Panther, Sentinelle follows a bumbling police chief who, almost purely by error, gets closer and closer to solving a complex case. Sentinelle himself is stupidly hilarious, a narcissistic dolt who unwittingly makes himself the butt of every joke. But he’s also the only person in this film who is committed to the bit—everyone else plays straight man to his foils, unwilling to participate in the cookiness the movie seems to want to achieve. It’s almost as if Sentinelle accidentally wandered onto a different set, one that’s set to make a straightforward police thriller instead of a silly little comedy. It doesn’t help that Sentinelle’s humor is the only thing he has going for him; outside of the jokes, he’s just a sketch of a character. Besides his music, what does he live for? Besides his ego, what really hurts him? He’s the saving grace of the movie, but we don’t learn enough about him to care.Genre: Comedy
Actor: Emmanuelle Bercot, Gustave Kervern, Jonathan Cohen, Ramzy Bedia, Raphaël Quenard
Director: David Caviglioli, Hugo Benamozig

Read also:

304. Obituary, 2023

We’ve all heard of journalists digging up random things to generate headlines, but never to this extent. Obituary follows a freelance obituarist, paid per article, who generates more work through killing. It’s an interesting premise, and Siobhán Cullen excellently portrays Elvira Clancy, with a specific, but believable obsession of death that keeps her interested in her work, but concerns her dad, who pushes her to bereavement counseling. On top of it all, a cute colleague of hers is onto who’s behind the crimes. Elvira is a unique character, one that has potential, but the show’s other characters, the lack of consistency between each episode, and the way information is relayed keeps the series from being totally hilarious and emotionally resonant.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Actor: Danielle Galligan, David Ganly, Michael Smiley, Ronan Raftery, Siobhán Cullen

Read also:

305. Bad Things, 2023

Right off the bat, Bad Things looks gorgeous. Shot in 16mm, it plays with dreamy pastels and 1970s aesthetics, all while having its all-queer cast roam around the hotel’s haunted halls in mesmerizing ways. The setup is straightforward, but not too obvious: Ruthie’s problems with her girlfriend and her mother are exacerbated by the hotel’s strange and haunted aura. At this point, Bad Things hints at being an arthouse, slasher, and psychological thriller all at once, fueling anticipation for what’s to come. But as it moves along, nothing noteworthy happens. The awkward chase scenes and the overdramatic reveals kill whatever momentum the film has built, but the real problem is that it tries to juggle too many things at once. It’s creepy, but never achieves true-fright status. It’s bloody, but never fully commits to the gore. It’s smart and weird, but never goes beyond answering the very questions it poses. It’s happy to leave a lot of things unanswered, which in turn leaves us all confused, much less satisfied with what we’ve just sat through.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller

Actor: Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Gayle Rankin, Hari Nef, Jared Abrahamson, Molly Ringwald, Patrick Klein

Director: Stewart Thorndike

Read also:

306. Stopmotion, 2024

	
The act of creation is difficult. It’s hard enough to bring to life one’s own ideas, but when one was taught, inherited, and directly molded by their parents, it can be hard to break free and figure out one’s own style. Stopmotion uses the type of animation to directly visualize the dynamic– a literal puppet being controlled by a child, a metaphorical puppet, controlled by a parent puppet master, in two different ways– and it’s a unique, brilliant premise made so unsettling with writer-director Robert Morgan’s signature animated style. While the film doesn’t neatly stitch its multiple layers together, Stopmotion is an eerie, chilling debut with original style.Genre: Horror
Actor: Aisling Franciosi, Bridgitta Roy, Caoilinn Springall, James Swanton, Jaz Hutchins, Joshua J. Parker, Nicola Alexis, Stella Gonet, Therica Wilson-Read, Tom York
Director: Robert Morgan
Rating: R

Read also:

307. Rain Dogs, 2023

Whether or not its intentionally messy, erratically paced style resonates with you, there's something undeniably special about having a show like Rain Dogs in our current television landscape. Almost aggressively opposed to the idea of comfort viewing and easily marketable drama, the series deals with characters who are at rock bottom for all eight episodes. There's a particular restlessness to its storytelling that keeps it thoroughly unpredictable, and allows Daisy May Cooper and Jack Farthing to play razor-sharp, open-hearted roles without any pretension whatsoever. But Rain Dogs' unique personality also means it can be especially challenging to latch on to its story—especially when the momentum is rarely carried over from one episode to the next. We become trapped in the show's central toxic friendship to the point of overemphasis. And that's a rare, valuable thing, but it can also be much too frustrating.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Daisy May Cooper, Fleur Tashjian, Jack Farthing, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo

Read also:

308. Oregon, 2023

For a film with virtually no plot, there’s a lot of fuss going on in Oregon. The characters are constantly yelling and complaining, but the noise—like the plot, the set, and everything else about the film—is empty. The beauty of a Turkish summer is reduced to indoor sets, where much of the film takes place, and there here’s barely any movement, leaving us stuck with dialogue and half-baked backstories that don’t seem to serve any real purpose other than to fill in the film’s overlong runtime. The problems are superficial and solved almost immediately, purely by talking it seems, and there’s no attempt to connect the many disparate stories it shows. A farce like this could’ve worked if it got sillier and more ridiculous by the minute, but Oregon just goes in repetitive, unfunny circles.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Ali İpin, Alper Baytekin, Alper Saldıran, Aslı İnandık, Burcu Biricik, Ferit Aktuğ, Gün Akıncı, Melisa Doğu, Nazlı Bulum, Nejat İşler, Nevra Serezli, Onur Özaydın, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Selen Uçer, Serkan Çayoğlu, Zihni Göktay

Director: Kerem Ayan

Read also:

309. Helck, 2023

After the fall of the Demon Lord, the Demon realm hosts a tournament to find a successor. Strangely, the contestant predicted to win (stronger than other contestants in every way) is Helck, a human with a disdain for humankind. With the tournament underway, fantasy and action are abundant in the first episode alone. The mystery of Helck's participation and the constant loom of a race war set the trajectory of the series but humor and gimmicks are never far behind. Whether it's a ridiculous card-building game, twins with coffee-triggered telepathy, or the sudden onslaught of winged creatures, Helck has something to offer.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Akira Ishida, Haruka Shiraishi, Katsuyuki Konishi, Mikako Komatsu, Shiki Aoki, Shuichi Ikeda, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Rating: TV-14

Read also:

310. Enys Men (2023)

After 90 minutes of watching folkloric spring and a lone volunteer's descent into madness, it soon becomes clear to the audience that Enys Men sacrifices its narrative for visual and sonic feats. The soundscape of dripping water, whistling wind, and crunching footsteps layered upon a montage of old-grain textured visuals qualify this as a sensory piece of art. But merely showing how the repetitive and lonely life of the volunteer progresses into troubling hallucinations, body horror, and mysterious apparitions makes this arthouse film too vague to parse. There's no doubt that director Mark Jenkin can create an immersive and atmospheric film, but the ASMR of it all falls flat without a graspable story underneath.

Genre: Horror

Actor: Edward Rowe, Flo Crowe, Joe Gray, John Woodvine, Mary Woodvine

Director: Mark Jenkin

Rating: NR

Read also:

311. Cuckoo, 2024

	
When your parent decides to marry another person with kids, it can feel like you’re not really part of the family, more so, if you’re forced to move to a completely different country altogether. This is the unsettling feeling that drives Cuckoo, directly inspired by the way some cuckoo species engage in brood parasitism, or rely on other birds to raise their young. It’s an interesting concept, and the feeling of exclusion and being out of place is evoked expertly by Hunter Schafer of Euphoria fame, but why Gretchen’s antagonists would bother to do all of this is over-explained yet still feels quite nonsensical. For horror fans willing to go on this bizarre ride, Cuckoo is visually inventive, unnervingly scored, and decently performed, and would be enjoyable, as long as you don’t really think about the logistics of this strange parenting situation.Genre: Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction
Actor: Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Dan Stevens, Greta Fernández, Hunter Schafer, Jan Bluthardt, Jessica Henwick, Lesley Jennifer Higl, Marton Csokas, Mila Lieu, Proschat Madani
Director: Tilman Singer
Rating: R

Read also:

312. Carved, 2024

	
We’ve seen our share of killer plants, but unlike Audrey II of Little Shop of Horrors, or the alien plant spores of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the pumpkin creature of Carved is understandably out for revenge, with given that it’s been mutated by nuclear waste and surrounded by the disemboweled remains of its fellow kin. It’s more goofy than scary, with the play troupe bickering between themselves as they try to figure out what to do, and the spooky pumpkin comes to live through a pretty decent mix of practical and CGI effects, but the premise feels a bit overstretched even if it’s only around ninety minutes. Carved is a fun slasher flick for casual viewing, but viewers looking for a true scare might be better off looking elsewhere.Genre: Comedy, Horror
Actor: Carla Jimenez, Chris Elliott, Corey Fogelmanis, DJ Qualls, Elvis Nolasco, Jackson Kelly, Matthew Cardarople, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Sasha Mason, Ted Ferguson, Wyatt Lindner
Director: Justin Harding
Rating: R

Read also:

313. Omni Loop, 2024

	
When you know that you’re dying, it’s quite lucky to be stuck in a time loop, which is what happens to Zoya Lowe in the science fiction drama Omni Loop. It plays out in a familiar way, where going through the loop means having multiple tries to figure out how to end the loop, and learning the lesson the loop has to offer, but unlike other time loop stories, the lead purposely triggers the time loop, in order to stave off death. It's an interesting addition, one that makes a well-worn, but understandable conclusion to let go and move on, but Omni Loop struggles to balance the comedy and the drama, muddling the film’s tone and being tame for a film primarily concerned about mortality.Genre: Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction
Actor: Amanda Tavarez, Ayo Edebiri, Carlos Jacott, Chris Witaske, Diana Garle, Eddie Cahill, Hannah Pearl Utt, Harris Yulin, James Healy Jr., Jennifer Bassey, Maddison Bullock, Mary-Louise Parker, Mike Benitez, Rick Moose, Roberto Escobar, Steven Maier
Director: Bernardo Britto

Read also:

314. How to Become a Cult Leader, 2023

In the style of a handbook, How to Be A Cult Leader chronicles the manipulative tactics of infamous cult leaders, from their upbringing and early interests to the failures that honed their charismatic pull. Each episode profiles a leader (Charles Manson and Jim Jones for the first two episodes) with ex-followers and specialists that break down how the cults were sustained and eventually toppled tremendously. The overall tone is unsettling at first, and as the lies and crimes of these leaders are exposed, the lessons of the handbook mostly manage to be warnings. News (and stock) footage, meme-esque inserts, and animated renditions of events round out Peter Dinklage's narration and keep this unorthodox docuseries dynamic — but to what end?

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Peter Dinklage

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

315. Love Virtually, 2023

In a time where the Metaverse feels more and more a looming presence, hoping to crown our complex realities with its utopian promise, it's only natural to expect a film set precisely there. Director L.E. Staiman took a chance with Love Virtually, but his attempt to make a zany, absurdist rom-com (riffing off the title of your aunt's annual Christmas rewatch) simply fails. The premise sees a few couples on the brink of breaking up reconnect with the help of VR headsets, challenging each other's commitment, or cheating with each other (without knowing it of course). A rather funny gambit gets sucked into a vortex of dullness when the characters speak, their dialogues irksome to the point of second-hand embarrassment. Instead of exploring the possibilities of VR relations through an ironic lens, the film seems to not even care enough to look for the genuine comedic potential of the Metaverse as a concept-turned-space. Even the three separate references to Timothée Chalamet don't make a difference to how surprisingly retrograde and somehow banal all of this feels.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Adam Ray, Cheri Oteri, Danielle Krivak, Henry Dittman, Nikki Alexis Howard, Paige Mobley, Paul F. Tompkins, Peter Gilroy, Ryan O'Flanagan, Stephen Tobolowsky, Tom Virtue, Vincent Washington

Director: L.E. Staiman

Read also:

1 … 17 18 19 20 21 22