We Need to Do Something (2021)

As the box office finally begins to be resuscitated, albeit largely with the help of the comic book movie crowd, straight-to-streaming films now seem to either cater to cinematic schlock addicts or art film dorks, and the latest from the IFC Midnight imprint, We Need to Do Something, falls in a strange but intriguing gray area between the two. The first feature narrative from director (and known indie producer) Sean King O'Grady, scripted and based on a novella by up-and-comer Max Booth III, the bottle episode-style story of a dysfunctional family stuck in a bathroom after a mysterious storm is as fun as it is disturbing. But, as the saying goes, perhaps there were script problems from day one. Whether it be characters that seem to serve no other function than a vehicle for body horror or plot contrivances that distract more than they entertain, how does a small project like this with an uncompromising and borderline disgusting vision (arguably to a fault) wind up available to everyone with a Hulu subscription? And where does it go from here besides the annals of scary movie obscurity?