I’m always curious about the more niche streaming services out there, and I think I just struck gold withEternal Family. At first glance, my assumption from the title and spiral logo was that of either a collection of New Age meditation videos or yet another Christian broadcast for the family. But when I started seeing online adverts for the service featuring Asian B-movies and strange Eastern European animation, I knew this was something I had to check out.
The best word that can describe Eternal Family is weird. Branded as “the hidden gem video club,” the independent streaming channel hosts the rare and surreal films you can’t find on any other streaming service. Here are some of the fascinating finds among the service’s eclectic catalog.
Strange Science Fiction
A great source of weird wonder on Eternal Family can be found in their manycampy sci-fi romps. There’s an odd charm that comes with the cheap visual effects, ranging from surreal composition to laughable alien costumes. If that’s your kind of B-movie, Eternal Family has a lot to offer.
I’ll skip right to the wildest one withKokey. This weird little fever dream of a 1997 Filipino TV special is easily the most bizarre (and cheap) take onE.T.The effects of the alien creature are so absurd that it looks like E.T. if he had an allergic reaction to all the Reese’s Pieces he ate. This type of obscure media would be perfect for aMystery Science Theater 3000party of laughing and riffing.
In addition to international sci-fi B-movies, there are some homegrown cult classics as well. I used to love renting the VHS ofDollman, the adventures of a 13-inch-tall snarky detective. Rewatching the film now is a wave of warm nostalgia and absurd laughter, where I found myself questioning why I liked this as a kid. There was just something campy and wonderful about films like this with unorthodox sci-fi action, especially with the unexpected crossover film ofDollman vs. Demonic Toys.
There are even some odd little films you can watch with the family, such as the G-ratedMagic in the Mirror. The film involves a little girl’s friends coming to life when she enters a magical realm through a mysterious portal, turning her imagination into a perplexing assortment of mid-1990s special effects. I should clarify that while you can technically watch this film with the family, there’s no guarantee your kids won’t get nightmares from aHoward the Duck-looking creature.
Eastern European Cartoons
Eternal Family hascartoons, but they are far from the safe Saturday morning kid affair or Adult Swim levels of absurdity and anime. The animations from Eastern Europe were willing to explore more imaginative and surreal realms. A violent folktale likeThe Bloody Ladycould be made only through a Slovak director like Viktor Kubal, weaving a tale of everlasting beauty through bloodlust.
If you want to get really wild with experimental animation, look no further thanChronopolis, a surreal sci-fi fever dream from Polish director Piotr Kamler. The stop-motion feature depicts a race of immortals inside a gargantuan society constructing various atomic and electrical experiments. It’s a trippy experience if you’re willing to stick with its free-flowing format.
These types of films use the animation medium creatively and offer greater insight into culture. The Estonian 2D animationBreakfast on the Grassoffers an absurd and eye-opening approach to depicting life under Soviet rule. It carries a profound political message, but also some dazzling artistic impressions.
Retro Anime
Thesmall yet essential anime selectionson Eternal Family offer a remarkable history lesson.Otaku No Videoperfectly captures the rise of the anime fandom in its depiction of all the quirks and trademarks of the lifestyle. It’s an animated special that is equal parts spoof of the culture surrounding anime/manga and a snapshot of the era’s level of fan obsession through VHS tapes and conventions.
A quintessential anime of the 1980s wasMegazone 23, a sci-fi miniseries that inspired films likeThe MatrixandDark City. Set in a futuristic society, motorcycle enthusiast Shougo Yahagi gains a cycle that functions as a robot and discovers that his city is built on a giant conspiracy. So, if you love sci-fi stories about simulated worlds,Megazone 23is worth watching, if not for the intriguing story, then for the crisp giant robot action with incredible detail for a 1980s video series.
But, of course, there’s some so-weird-you-have-to-see-it anime, fit for a streaming service like this.Doomed Megalopoisfits that criteria as a supernatural and super-bizarre miniseries of an older Japan terrorized by demons. You haven’t seen anime at its most experimental heights when you’ve watched this series that boasts a woman barfing out a giant maggot.
Lost & Found Oddities
If nothing I’ve described seems all that weird or obscure, you can explore the service’sLost & Found Oddities section. Here’s where you’re guaranteed to find stuff you won’t get anywhere else and may have difficulty convincing your friends that it’s real. This includes strange experiments with ducks (Animal Behavior - The Mechanism Of Imprinting), bootleg cartoons made with an Amiga (The Films of Nanny Lynn), and a surreal Japanese short about M.C. Escher (Infinite Escher).
One of my favorites from this section isCyberscape - A Computer Animation Vision, a VHS tape I have fond memories of from the late 1990s. It’s a computer-animated epic about the progression of human history, taking the viewer from ancient history to the distant future. The animation is dated, sure, but there’s something mesmerizing about how ambitious this film was with software limitations.
For those who remember the video store, this genre page can be considered the Special Interest section. It’s where you’d find videos that didn’t fit the typical format, with instructional videos, documentaries too short for a feature film, and just bizarre animations. Call it the streaming service of misfit films, but these are my kind of misfits.
Eternal Familyis a relatively new and independent streaming service. Its interface is pretty basic but easy to navigate, and it loads rather fast in my browser. The subscription price is $10 a month or $100 a year, but a handful of films on the service can be watched for free to get a feel for the service without signing up for a free trial.
I want to stress that there’s way more to the service than what I covered here. There are also silent classics, campy horror films, and even a freaky film series satirizingFamily Guy, titledThe Family. It’s the perfect streaming service for those who want something new, different, and, above all, weird.
