10 Unique Docs: Quirky & Compelling Stories to Watch Now

True crime documentaries have taken the streaming world by storm. It seems like every week there’s a new series about a notorious killer or a shocking crime. While these stories can be gripping, sometimes you crave something different, something a little… unusual. If you’ve watched all of Louis Theroux’s work and are hungry for more offbeat tales, you’re in the right place!

Get ready to explore a fascinating collection of documentaries that spotlight peculiar subjects. You’ll find a couple that touch on crime, but not in the way you expect. The rest dive into intriguing hobbies, bizarre subcultures, and truly unforgettable stories. Let’s explore some of the most unique documentaries out there!

10 Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018)

Dava Whisenant’s charming indie film, Bathtubs Over Broadway, opens a door to the forgotten realm of industrial musicals. These were big, Broadway-style shows made just for companies, mostly in the ’60s and ’70s. Their goal? To boost employee morale and sell products. Imagine elaborate songs and dances about things like dog food or bathroom fixtures! One standout is The Bathrooms Are Coming! (1969), featuring lyrics like “my bathroom is much more than it may seem, where I wash and where I cream.”

The film follows Steve Young, a comedy writer for David Letterman. He first found these musicals while looking for funny records for a segment on Letterman’s show. But Bathtubs Over Broadway is more than just a collection of odd, unintentionally funny songs. It cleverly pulls you into this weird world, making you appreciate the sheer artistry of these productions. Surprisingly touching, it earned a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and was a hit with critics.

9 The Speed Cubers (2020)

At only 40 minutes long, The Speed Cubers focuses on Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs. These two are champions in the competitive world of speedcubing—solving Rubik’s Cubes incredibly fast. You might think a story about a puzzle most of us give up on quickly wouldn’t be engaging, but this documentary will surprise you.

Watching speedcubing is amazing. Competitors often solve cubes in under 10 seconds, their fingers moving so fast they become a blur. Feliks is introduced as the reigning king, once holding the record for solving a 3x3x3 cube in just 4.22 seconds (though Yusheng Du later beat this with 3.47 seconds). Max, who has autism, is quickly rising in the ranks. This could be a story of intense rivalry, but instead, a supportive and genuine friendship blossoms between them. This heartwarming documentary feels like it could have been even longer; it only scratches the surface of the speedcubing universe.

8 Class Action Park (2020)

Action Park, located in New Jersey and mainly open during the ’80s and ’90s, was the brainchild of Gene Mulvihill. The park earned a notorious reputation for being extremely dangerous due to countless accidents, leading to its nickname “Class Action Park.” This documentary shares stories about its wild rides and waterslides, often built without real safety concerns. Supervision was also lacking, with many staff members being uninterested high school students. Broken bones, burns, and cuts were everyday events. The Wave Pool became known as the “Grave Pool” after several people tragically died in it.

While many stories of the park’s recklessness are told with a sense of nostalgic thrill, the film’s final part takes a much darker turn. It focuses on George Larsson Jr., a teenager who died from a head injury after an accident on the Alpine Slide. Mulvihill covered up the death, and interviews with George’s grieving family highlight just how cruel, greedy, and irresponsible the park owner was. Despite injuries and deaths, improving safety was never a top priority. Action Park was like a grim, real-life horror version of Disneyland.

7 Three Identical Strangers (2018)

If you haven’t heard anything about Three Identical Strangers, try to keep it that way. The less you know before watching, the more impactful the experience will be. Directed by Tim Wardle, this documentary, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, uses interviews, old footage, and dramatic reenactments. As the title suggests, it’s about three men—Edward Galland, David Kellman, and Robert Shafran—who looked exactly alike and met purely by chance at age 19. From their meeting, an astonishing and almost unbelievable story begins to unfold.

Three Identical Strangers was a sensation at Sundance, winning the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling. It’s so compelling that it’s now being turned into a feature film. This means spoilers might soon be everywhere. This intriguing tale is truly best experienced without any prior knowledge, so catch it before the movie buzz reveals all its twists and turns.

6 You Cannot Kill David Arquette (2020)

You Cannot Kill David Arquette follows the actor, widely known as Sheriff Dewey from the Scream movies, for two years as he tries to make a comeback in professional wrestling. Back in 2000, Arquette starred in the wrestling comedy Ready to Rumble. To promote the film, he participated in a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) storyline and controversially won the WCW Heavyweight title (holding it for only 12 days). Arquette himself was a wrestling fan, so the idea seemed fun. However, the move was widely despised by wrestling fans and he believes it negatively impacted his acting career.

The documentary shows his journey to wrestle seriously, from training in Mexico to participating in backyard fights and more professional matches. Although he’s been acting steadily, often in smaller films, his reputation in wrestling never recovered. He became a symbol of what was wrong with the sport. Match by match, he strives to regain the respect he lost. Throughout the film, his family often seems puzzled by his dedication and genuinely worried about his health, but his commitment is surprisingly endearing.

5 Marwencol (2010)

Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol tells the story of Mark Hogancamp, a man who created an extraordinary art project to cope with severe trauma. After a brutal attack outside a bar, Hogancamp spent nine days in a coma and was left with brain damage and amnesia. Unable to afford therapy, he built a miniature World War II-era Belgian town in his backyard to help him process his experience. He named this town Marwencol and populated it with action figures representing people from his real life.

Malmberg allows Hogancamp to share his story with sensitivity. The film also documents the start of Hogancamp’s surprising journey into the art world. His photographs of Marwencol and its miniature inhabitants have since been shown in several New York galleries. The documentary has won many awards and even inspired the 2018 film Welcome to Marwen, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Steve Carell. However, many feel the fictional film didn’t quite capture the unique spirit of the original documentary.

4 Grizzly Man (2005)

Grizzly Man explores the life and tragic death of Timothy Treadwell, a passionate bear enthusiast. He and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were ultimately killed and eaten by a bear in Alaska. Werner Herzog’s documentary is crafted from Treadwell’s own incredible footage of his interactions with wild brown bears, combined with interviews with people who knew him and bear experts. While Herzog often inserts himself into the narrative, the raw story of the eccentric Treadwell is undeniably captivating.

Treadwell firmly believed that humans and nature could live together peacefully. He spent thirteen summers in Alaska, living close to wild grizzly bears, whom he gave names like Mr. Chocolate, treating them almost like large pets. On one hand, his death seemed almost inevitable given his casual approach to dangerous animals. On the other, it’s remarkable he managed to live among them for so long. Treadwell remains a controversial figure: some see him as delusional, while others view him as an icon.

3 Behind the Curve (2018)

Despite more than two thousand years of scientific evidence confirming the Earth is a sphere, a community of people believes it’s flat. Daniel J. Clark’s documentary, Behind the Curve, delves into the world of these flat-Earthers, primarily focusing on two prominent figures in the community: Mark Sargent and Patricia Steere. The film includes interviews with scientists who easily (and obviously) disprove the flat Earth theory. However, it’s the flat-Earthers themselves who drive the story forward.

Clark approaches Sargent and Steere with empathy rather than judgment, trying to understand their beliefs on their own terms. He explains that “shaming someone doesn’t change the way they feel about something.” This results in a documentary that feels kind and understanding, rather than mean-spirited or exploitative. But don’t worry, there are plenty of humorous moments of absurdity as the flat-Earthers attempt to prove their theory through various experiments—which, of course, end up failing.

2 The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

Seth Gordon’s documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, captures the intense rivalry between Steve Wiebe, an unemployed engineer, and Billy Mitchell, a hot sauce restaurateur. They are battling for the world high-score record in the classic arcade game Donkey Kong. Mitchell is the reigning champion, styling himself as a movie villain, while Wiebe, the challenger, is a likable family man. The film is a delightful mix of silliness, nostalgia, and thrilling competition. Whether or not you have fond memories of spending afternoons pumping quarters into arcade machines, The King of Kong will draw you in.

Interestingly, Mitchell’s scores later came under scrutiny due to his use of a Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) instead of an actual arcade machine. Emulation software can be easily manipulated to cheat, which is why official scores are supposed to be achieved on original arcade hardware. Both Twin Galaxies, the organization that tracks arcade game high scores, and Guinness World Records initially stripped Mitchell of his records. However, Guinness has since reinstated them, adding another layer to this quirky saga.

1 Best Worst Movie (2009)

Before you watch Best Worst Movie, it’s highly recommended that you first see the film it’s all about: the hilariously bad horror-comedy Troll 2 (1990). Despite its title, Troll 2 (originally called Goblins) has absolutely no connection to the 1986 movie Troll. The plot follows a family on vacation in a town named Nilbog (which is “goblin” spelled backward). There, vegetarian goblins try to turn people into plants so they can eat them. The movie also features a notoriously bizarre sex scene involving popcorn. Best Worst Movie is directed by Michael Stephenson, who was the child star of Troll 2. It explores the making of this infamous film and its surprising rise to cult classic status years later.

Stephenson, only ten when he starred in Troll 2, spent years feeling “very embarrassed by it.” But as an adult, he noticed people were starting to “kind of championing” the film, which sparked the idea for his documentary. Stephenson interviews many of the cast and crew about their experiences making the unintentionally funny movie. He also charts its unexpected journey to popularity. Best Worst Movie is a good-natured and affectionate look at how a cinematic disaster became a beloved cult favorite.

These documentaries prove that truth can indeed be stranger, and often more fascinating, than fiction. From corporate musicals to competitive cubers, and dangerously fun theme parks to devoted bear enthusiasts, the world is full of incredible stories waiting to be discovered. Hopefully, this list has introduced you to a few new films that will surprise, entertain, and maybe even make you see the world a little differently.

What are your favorite unusual documentaries? Share your picks in the comments below!