The film, which debuted in theaters earlier this year, has found a new life and a massive audience on Netflix, currently holding the third spot among the service's most popular movies. This surge in popularity highlights the enduring appeal of its bizarre, high-concept premise.

"Cocaine Bear" takes its cue from a bizarre true story from 1985 involving a black bear that ingested a large amount of cocaine dropped from a drug smuggler's plane in Georgia. While the real bear met a fatal end, director Elizabeth Banks and screenwriter Jimmy Warden imagined a much more chaotic scenario: a cocaine-fueled ursine rampage.

The movie boasts an eclectic ensemble cast, with Keri Russell leading as Sari, a mother desperately searching for her missing daughter in the midst of the bear's drug-induced frenzy. She's joined by the late Ray Liotta in one of his final roles, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr., and Matthew Rhys. This talented lineup commits fully to the film's over-the-top nature.

According to a report from SlashFilm, the film's success can be partly attributed to its unapologetically direct title, a marketing strategy akin to the infamous "Snakes on a Plane." The title alone serves as its own free publicity, promising exactly the kind of unhinged experience it delivers.

While critics, including SlashFilm, acknowledge the film's commitment to its premise and its gleeful embrace of gratuitous gore, some also point out its narrative shortcomings. The story can feel cluttered with numerous characters who don't always advance the plot, and the "crazy cocaine energy" can, at times, become grating. However, its brisk 95-minute runtime ensures that the ride, however wild and nonsensical, is over before it truly overstays its welcome. For fans seeking a no-holds-barred horror-comedy with a unique hook, "Cocaine Bear" appears to be hitting all the right, albeit messy, notes on Netflix.