Has Netflix claimed its crown?

Over the last decade, a sort of revolution has occurred in the film industry. It was a war waged online but it has spilled out into the real world, altering our cities. The sides have been drawn: multiplexes vs. streaming services. Perhaps you went to see ‘Avengers: Endgame’ in a multiplex and maybe you’ll go see the next release by your favourite director at one. But, across the generations, the most important chunk of our film-consumption occurs at home. Let’s be honest: you probably didn’t see your favourite film in the cinema, you watched it on Netflix. But was it a Netflix Original?

One of the most decisive factors in the streaming service’s ascension has been its gradual progression into an influential production and distribution company, constantly churning out new films and series. In recent years, this move has caused a stir within the traditional studio system which has subsequently lost its hegemonic dominance. Many of the other streaming services have followed its lead and even Apple have decided to get in on the action, certifying that, like music streaming, this is a booming industry.

You probably didn’t see your favourite film in the cinema, you watched it on Netflix

Yet many from the old system lament the loss of the ‘cinematic experience’ or complain that Netflix has fuelled a ‘race to the bottom’ with its focus on low-budget flicks. Either way, the old model is breaking down and Netflix has played a decisive role. But are we getting something better or worse?

It’s important to note that Netflix make a LOT of films. At such a level of output, it’s guaranteed that you’re going to get a few stinkers. But this might just be the cost of cultivating brand-recognition in an age of abundant choice.

Perhaps another product of this brand-recognition crusade has been the attempt to connect Netflix with older, more-established talent, especially when it comes to comedy. It was hard for many of us to ignore the deluge of terrible Adam Sandler movies that plagued the industry a couple of years ago and largely, we have Netflix to thank for that – they signed a four-movie deal with the washed-up actor back in 2015. Whether we are talking of such classics as ‘The Ridiculous 6’ – an absolutely pathetic parody of spaghetti Westerns – or ‘The Do-Over’ in which, Sandler, miraculously, plays the least irritating half of a buddy-cop duo with David Spade, Netflix churned out flop after flop.

Netflix has been successful in preserving and reinvigorating cult scenes

This, clearly, was a mistake. Yet, as I said, it might have made some commercial sense. Sandler has been a household name since the 90s so audiences are far more likely to take a chance on something he’s in. Maybe, it was a ploy to bring older audiences to the platform.

Nevertheless, a similar mistake was made with the production of ‘Death Note,’ an English-language, live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name. Importantly, an anime of the series had been wildly popular among English-speaking audiences in the early noughties and, like with Sandler, it seemed that Netflix was trying to attract an already-existing fan-base to its platform – which had, conveniently, begun streaming a wide-variety of English-dubbed anime around 2016. Unfortunately, the film was panned by fans.

Yet Netflix has been successful in preserving and, in some cases, reinvigorating other cult scenes, especially the much-vaunted ‘Alt Comedy’-scene from the 80s and 90s which gave us great sketch-shows like ‘Mr. Show’ and the sort of oddball movies, like ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’ in 1985, that informed the Austin Powers series. In fact, Netflix produced ‘Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’ in 2016, a sequel to the 1985 film that featured much of the original cast. These sorts of films, which struggled in the old studio system, seem to be given the freedom to be themselves on Netflix and its contributed to a minor revival in that style of comedy – of which this year’s ‘Between Two Ferns: The Movie’ is only the most recent example.

Netflix has given a number of interesting directors decent budgets to create films on their own terms

This appears to be Netflix’s greatest strength. It stands outside the old system, removed from the usual pressures of getting butts in seats. It has access to an audience that is far more willing to take a chance because it won’t really cost them anything – I mean, although it is set to rise, the monthly subscription-fee for Netflix is equal to your average ticket price at a multiplex.

In recent years, Netflix has been investing more in this sector, giving a number of interesting directors decent budgets to create films on their own terms. Whether it is Alfonso Cuarón’s stirring, Oscar-winning ‘Roma,’ Bong Joon-Ho’s star-studded and genuinely insightful ‘Ojka,’ or this week’s release, David Michôd’s ‘The King,’ it cannot be ignored any longer that Netflix is more than a scrappy rebel. It is a serious force to be reckoned with – and it’s coming for the crown.