Film
Man vs. Snake
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
Man vs. Snake documents Timothy McVey's obsessive 44-hour quest to become the first player ever to score one billion points on Nibbler, a 1982 arcade game. It's a funny, surprisingly moving portrait of competitive gaming culture and the specific loneliness of chasing a record nobody else cares about. For anyone fascinated by niche obsession, retro gaming, or the people who dedicate their lives to impossible things.
If you liked this
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters2007
The ur-text of arcade documentary. Follows Steve Wiebe's obsessive quest to beat Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong record. Same stakes, same era, same kind of beautiful weirdness about what matters to whom.
But The interpersonal drama can feel melodramatic in retrospect. Some viewers find it manipulative, particularly in how it frames its central figures.
Indie Game: The Movie2012
Three indie game developers pour everything into their passion projects. Captures the same intoxicating mix of obsession, failure, redemption, and the question of whether this matters at all. Beautifully shot.
But Heavily stylized. The constant slow-motion and indie-rock score feel dated now, and some find it precious rather than moving.
Wordplay2006
Documentary about competitive crossword puzzlers. Same DNA: niche obsession, solitary pursuit made public, people who've organized their entire lives around a single thing.
But Slower paced. Less dramatic stakes than arcade records, which some viewers find less engaging.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Man vs. Snake
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Conversation1974
Both are studies in obsessive repetition—the protagonist trapped in a loop they can't escape, checking and rechecking, unable to declare it finished or walk away. Same trapped energy, different genres.
Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert consumed by a single assignment. Paranoid, meticulous, unable to step away. Same obsessive architecture as McVey's Nibbler quest, but in a 1970s thriller about secrets and guilt. Mesmerizing.
But Slow-burn and cryptic. Long stretches of quiet surveillance footage. If you want entertainment rather than dread, Coppola's not your friend here.
More like this (7)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011
An elderly sushi chef's lifelong pursuit of perfection in a craft most of us take for granted. Meditative and respectful about obsession and mastery.
But Very quiet and contemplative. Not much plot or conflict—if you want momentum and drama, this won't deliver it.
Tickled2016
Documentary that starts in one place and spirals into another. Dark, funny, weird. A different kind of niche obsession story that takes you somewhere unexpected.
But Gets genuinely disturbing. The tone shifts away from comedy into something more uncomfortable than you may have signed up for.
Fyre2019
A different angle on obsession—the con artist and the believers. Fast-paced, absurd, darkly funny. Shows how obsession can go wrong.
But Heavy on schadenfreude. If you want to root for your subject, this isn't it. The tone is sometimes smug.
The Dawn Wall2017
Rock climbers attempt something believed impossible. The obsession, the sacrifice, the tiny community that understands why this matters. Gorgeous cinematography.
But Less character-driven than Man vs. Snake. More about the feat than the people, which some find distant.
Gleason2016
A former NFL player documents his life with ALS. Not about obsession with gaming, but about what you hold onto when everything's being taken away. Deeply human.
But Heavy and heartbreaking. Not a fun watch, even when funny. Some viewers find it too intimate, too raw.
Pachinko2022
Both are stories about pursuing something—status, points, stability—against systems that weren't designed to let you win. Both honor the dignity of small, obsessive acts.
Multigenerational saga told through the lives of people pursuing small victories and impossible dreams across Korea and Japan. Gorgeous, emotional, sprawling. Captures the same feeling of ordinary people chasing meaning through persistent effort.
But Very long (eight episodes) and heavy thematically. Requires patience. No easy answers or tidy endings like a documentary might offer.
Dig2015
Same as The Conversation but applied to archaeology: the quest for proof of something only you fully believe in, told through repetitive, meticulous acts. The documentary and the thriller are asking the same question about obsession.
Miniseries about an archaeological dig and the obsessive unraveling of mysteries. Slow, deliberate, focused on the psychology of people who can't stop searching. Stars Anne Hathaway and Timothée Chalamet. Eerily parallel to what McVey is doing—the forensic attention, the refusal to quit.
But Deliberately paced. Confusing plot in places. Audiences were divided on whether the payoff justified the runtime. It was cancelled after one season for a reason.
People
Cast
- Tim McVeyHimself
- Dwayne RichardHimself
- Tom AsakiHimself
Billy MitchellHimself
Walter DayHimself- Enrico ZanettiSelf
Joshuah BearmanSelf- Tina McVeySelf
Directing
- Andrew SeklirDirector
- Tim KinzyDirector