Credit: Netflix

A24 has given us many odd movies over the years, but Zola might just be the maddest of them all. Surprisingly, it didn’t come from a bestselling novel or some massive magazine feature. This one all started with a viral Twitter thread. Crazy, right?

Back in 2015, A’Ziah “Zola” King started things with one simple line: “Y’all wanna hear a story?” Before anyone knew it, the internet had completely lost its head. The thread went everywhere from memes to debates and even a Rolling Stone investigation. It wasn’t long before Hollywood came knocking.

If you’ve never seen the film, don’t go thinking it’s complicated. Zola is a waitress from Detroit who also works as a stripper, and she agrees to go to Florida with another dancer called Stefani. Sounds straightforward enough, doesn’t it? Easy weekend, easy money… or so they reckon.

Only, within about five minutes, everything starts going sideways. What should’ve been a quick little job turns into an absolute nightmare. You have a dodgy pimp and a clueless boyfriend. It has more double-crosses than you can keep up with.

That’s what makes Zola such a belter. The story is wild enough on its own, but director Janicza Bravo never lets it be a total mess. Taylour Paige is absolutely brilliant as Zola, Riley Keough is unpredictable as Stefani, and then Colman Domingo turns up as X.

Another thing that makes it work is that A’Ziah King stayed involved as an executive producer. It never feels like Hollywood’s sanded all the rough edges off. It has still got the same voice and the same attitude.

And do you know what? Zola changed a few minds as well. Before this, the idea of turning a Twitter thread into a film sounded absolutely crackers. Afterwards, it suddenly didn’t seem so silly.

So if you’ve been writing Zola off as just another Twitter movie, you’re doing it a bit of a disservice. Now that Netflix has got it, you better binge it.