It was only a matter of time. First, “Netflix and chill” entered the internet lexicon. Then, it entered the IRL lexicon, forcing us to explain to our parents that Netflix and chilling is actually just fucking. The meme grew until it wasn’t even a meme anymore, just an actual term in the casual-hookup culture dictionary. So it was only a matter of time before Hollywood borrowed the term. Television loves a good meme shoutout. Black-ish referenced “what are thooooooose,” and even Jane The Virgin got in on the “Damn, Daniel” action.
But basing an entire movie on a meme? That’s somewhat new and somewhat insane, and yet the folks at Umami Media and Cinecrowd are determined to make a film based on “Netflix and chill.” According to the official press release, it’s the “first movie based on an internet meme,” which is extremely disrespectful to Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever. It is the second movie based on an internet meme, at best. But it will certainly not be the last.
Written and directed by Michael Middelkoop, Netflix & Chill is a horror-comedy short that is currently being crowdfunded with sights on a spring 2017 production timeline. The teaser for the short spoofs classic thriller trailers with an ominous voiceover, but it isn’t particularly clever. Here’s the official synopsis:
After months of flirting and texting, a young guy finally gets the message he’s been waiting for: the girl of his dreams invites him over. Her parents are gone for the weekend and she’s down for a good film on Netflix. As the night progresses, one guy hoping to get lucky finds out that luck is having a day off.
Middelkoop said “there should be enough gore to make both John Carpenter and Wes Craven proud.” Invoking Craven’s name in relation to your meme-based short takes…confidence. There’s a poster for the film, too:
Be careful what you chill for? Is the joke that it doesn’t make sense or are we just giving up on clever Netflix-and-chill derivatives? Why not “Netflix and kill”? It might be too obvious, but at least it makes sense. Netflix & Chill, at the moment, doesn’t even look like it could be so bad that it’s good. Memes aren’t meant for the big screen, so let’s just let them live online.