14 Chaotic Elijah Wood Films Streaming Now
Elijah Wood is a chaos king. I truly mean that in the best ways as he stays in the genre, starring in and often producing the wildest movies. Wood has been building this brand since before The Good Son (1993) and has continued finetuning it since The Faculty (1998). So, we can usually catch some of his work streaming at any given time. However, this July, we are swimming in a bloody sea of his genre roles. Check out these 14 Elijah Wood performances you can stream right now!
9 (2009)
Character: 9
Where You Can Watch: Max
A rag doll in a post-apocalyptic future is the key to humanity’s salvation. Who better to voice the main Stitchpunk than Elijah Wood? This PG-13 movie seems cute on the surface until you get into all the bacteria, soul absorption, and destruction. This makes sense because Elijah does not simply do straightforward films. I promise that is the only reference from The Lord Of The Rings because this streaming guide will already be long enough.
Child In The Night (1990)
Character: Luke
Where You Can Watch: Prime Video
An eight-year-old boy witnesses his father’s murder but blocks out details that might help the police. This was Elijah’s first role, and what a way to start his chaotic roller coaster ride of wild genre appearances. I hit play and assumed his character murdered his dad because I am familiar with his filmography. So, I was surprised he was just a traumatized kid holding a secret. What a wholesome role for the future king of chaos.
Cooties (2014)
Character: Clint
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
A virus hits an elementary school and turns the kids into feral zombies. Now, a small band of teachers must fight their students to stay alive. When I heard chicken nuggets were turning kids into zombies and their teachers would be fighting them, I knew Elijah Wood was somehow involved. He is not only a member of the Leave Those Kids Behind team he is the president as he steps up to the leader of the small band of survivors.
Come To Daddy (2019)
Character: Norval Greenwood
Where You Can Watch: Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
A man travels to an isolated cabin to bond with his estranged father. This was supposed to be a comedic thriller, but I only remember being stressed out. Obviously, Elijah Wood is playing the guy with daddy issues who kills a guy only to find out it is not his real dad. That is the tip of the iceberg for this chaotic movie filled with twists, turns, and stabbings. This title is three WTF moments tied together with bloody twine, and we love to see it.
Deep Impact (1998)
Character: Leo Biederman
Where You Can Watch: Paramount+ and Pluto TV
People prepare for the end of the world as a comet makes its way to Earth. I remember 1998, before all these unprecedented times when the world ending seemed like a big deal. The nostalgia of it all. While this is an ensemble event, Wood plays the teenager who saw something in the sky and said something. He then tries to save a woman’s family by marrying her in a vain attempt to help them get to safety.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (2016 – 2017)
Character: Todd Brotzman
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Sling TV
Detective Dirk Gently investigates supernatural cases with the help of his friends. I was shocked Elijah was not the lead in this 18-episode series that spanned two seasons. However, the reluctant sidekick and habitual liar does sound like the last square his genre resume needed for him to finally hit bingo. If you want a quick dark comedy mystery to binge, you’ve come to the right place.
Grand Piano (2013)
Character: Tom Selznick
Where You Can Watch: Max
A pianist suffering from stage fright must play every note perfectly during a performance, or a mysterious sniper will shoot him. Wood plays the stressed-out piano-playing target in this thriller. However, his fight with his would-be assassin Clem (John Cusack) hits all the right notes. Fans of The Lost Boys will also lose their shit when they see Alex Winter on their screen. So, pull out your dinner jacket and open your best bottle of soda because you are seeing a show tonight!
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
Character: Tony
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
After being burgled, a depressed woman decides to track down the thieves with the help of her obnoxious neighbor. If you guessed Wood is the obnoxious neighbor in this comedic thriller, then you have been paying attention. It also sees him sharing the screen with Melanie Lynskey years before they would both end up on Yellowjackets. They make a fun duo, and I would like to see them attempt to solve more crimes together.
No Man of God (2021)
Character: Bill Hagmaier
Where You Can Watch: AMC+
FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier and serial killer Ted Bundy form a complicated relationship during Bundy’s final years on death row. I saw this at Tribeca Film Fest years ago and have wanted to see Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby work together again ever since. Wood plays the FBI agent, and Kirby plays the infamous (and unsettling) serial killer. They both easily give one of my favorite performances from their respective resumes. I highly recommend you check it out if you want a quick acting masterclass.
Open Windows (2014)
Character: Nick Chambers
Where You Can Watch: Crackle, Fandango At Home, Freevee, Peacock, Plex, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, and Tubi
A fan uses his laptop to spy on his favorite actress and finds himself in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. I hit play on this assuming that Wood was about to play a pissed-off fan and that this girl is in danger. However, this movie is so much more complicated than that. Do not get me wrong, the train still goes off the rails, but not quite in the way you expected it to.
The Oxford Murders (2008)
Character: Martin
Where You Can Watch: Crackle, Fandango At Home, Peacock, Plex, Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, and Tubi
A professor and a grad student try to stop a potential string of murders linked by mathematical symbols. If there is one thing Elijah Wood is going to do it is unexpectedly pop up in a British-Spanish thriller. While this is one of Wood’s less chaotic roles, it is hard not to lean forward as Martin’s obsession with his professor and the case gets weird(er).
Maniac (2012)
Character: Frank
Where You Can Watch: AMC+, Plex, and Pluto TV
A man’s deadly desires rise to the surface as he helps a young artist prepare for her upcoming exhibition. If you remake an iconic 1980 psychological slasher film infamous for violence, you need to cast Wood as the lead. I imagine he lives in an emergency box people break when they need to turn the chaos factor up like an unhinged version of Doctor Who. Seeing his take on Frank Zito in this modern remake that also switches the location to Los Angeles is a treat.
Sin City (2005)
Character: Kevin
Where You Can Watch: Pluto TV
A stylish tale following some unique Basin City residents who are caught up in town corruption. Of course, Elijah Wood would be the evil demon in Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City. What better way to introduce most of my generation to this world than to have the harbinger of weird shit let us know who we cannot trust off the bat. The version streaming on Pluto TV is the recut, extended, unrated version, so we might see more scenes with our chaotic king. Fingers crossed!
Yellowjackets (Season 2)
Character: Walter Tattersall
Where You Can Watch: VOD
The survivors of a girls’ high school soccer team whose plane crashed in the Canadian wilderness are now adults desperately trying to protect their past secrets. Not many characters can match Misty’s (Christina Ricci) freak. So, the people in charge of Yellowjackets had to create Walter (Wood) to give her someone as equally unhinged. Walter is a delightful little weirdo who allows Wood to remind his fans that he is a chaos king!
You can catch Elijah Wood’s next fantastic film, Bookworm, when it hits theaters on August 29th.
Have you seen all of these Elijah Wood performances? If so, let me know which is your favorite at @misssharai because I am nosey.
Categorized:Streaming Guides
