Netflix has no shortage of content to stream thanks to its ever-expanding digital library of films and shows. But since the streaming service is always looking to add new movies to its catalog, it isn’t afraid to add and (sometimes produce) some of the strangest pictures ever put to print.
Now that movies across every genre continue to grow bolder and stranger, Netflix has embraced the oddities of cinema with its current online selection. With this weird and wild summer winding down to a close, audiences should take the time to watch these three films living it up on Netflix right now.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
And now for something completely different. In this classic film, Monty Python presents their hilarious interpretation of King Arthur and his mythical quest for the Holy Grail, injecting every scene with bizarre conversations about swallows, swamps, hamsters, herrings, shrubberies, and elderberries.
From the minute the film begins with Arthur riding on an invisible horse to the sound of clacking coconuts, this film takes every opportunity to deliver a laugh with the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. As they battle fearsome foes like the French Taunter, the Black Beast of Argh, the Rabbit of Caerbannog, and the Knights Who Say Ni, Arthur and his band of English “kniggits” embark on a silly and surreal journey that only the guys of Monty Python could conceive, And fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)
When a disgruntled AI unleashes an army of machines to take over Earth, an aspiring young filmmaker, her oddball family, and her bug-eyed pug become the last hope for humanity as they race to save the planet in their burnt-orange 1993 station wagon. Produced by the guys behind The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, this film is like an internet meme come to life, never letting up with its unique brand of action and digital humor.
But even as the Mitchells face off against swarms of flying robots, killer Roombas, and a Kaiju-Furby that breathes laser beams (no time to explain that one), the movie still takes the time to present an endearing story of a family coming together to face a brave new world of memes and machines.
Wendell & Wild (2022)
Featuring the return of the incomparable Key and Peele, this Burtonesque movie follows a punk-rock student at an all-girls Catholic school when she summons the titular demon brothers, who promise to revive her dead parents and end up unleashing a horde of zombies with their magical hair cream. Yeah, this story is a lot to wrap your skull around.
Given that this film came fresh from the minds of Henry Selick (Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Jordan Peele (Get Out, Nope), the weirdness shouldn’t be a surprise. Despite being about summoning the dead, this film is full of life thanks to its ambitious story and eye-catching animation. Such a bizarre and complex tale may not be to everyone’s liking, but Wendell & Wild should not be kept in the grave.
