It is hard to know exactly how to feel at the end of Corey Feldman vs. the World, Marcie Hume's new documentary about actor/musician Corey Feldman's utterly surreal life. One's immediate response could very well be jaw-on-the-ground bewilderment—reaching, grasping for some kind of understanding as to how Feldman's life has unfolded in this manner and how he is so incapable of recognizing just how weird and deranged it is. There is a holier-than-thou risk here, of course, with Feldman playing the role of the grand fool we can all look at and then congratulate ourselves for not being that guy. On the other hand, one could very well feel a sense of profound sadness, having just watched nearly two hours of a train-wreck life that didn't have to be that way. Hume never identifies where the derailment began, probably because there is no one place, but rather an infinite number of poor choices and tragedies and disasters that unfolded within an ever-tightening web of delusion and narcissism.

Hume does, however, identify one of the primary focal points of Feldman's would-be post-Hollywood career as a daring solo musician: his September 2016 performance on the Today show of the single "Go 4 It" from his then-new album Angelic 2 the Core. Performed with verve, gusto, and what appeared to be a genuine belief that what he was doing was audacious, artistic, and good, Feldman immediately became the butt of a billion Internet jokes as the clip went viral for all the wrong reasons. That moment became a kind of metonym for everything that was wrong with Feldman's life and career at that point, and his decision to keep pushing ahead is testament to the sheer power of his ego.

Having formerly been a success child and teen actor in popular Hollywood films like The Goonies (1985), Stand by Me (1986), The Lost Boys (1987), and License to Drive (1988), by 2016 he was appearing in nothing other than straight-to-video dreck and was instead trying to reinvent himself as a musician. And not just any musician. No, Feldman was trying to position himself as a concept artist blurring musical boundaries by mixing pop, rock, hip-hop, and techno while also channeling the dance moves and strangeness of his friend, the late Michael Jackson. But, the most bizarre part is that Feldman chose to perform with a band of scantily clad female musicians he dubbed "Corey's Angels," who he describes on more than one occasion as "lost girls" he was trying to "save" by bringing them into his musical world and mentoring them … and molding them … and something. When faced with criticism that referring to the women as "his" and insisting that they wear little more than lingerie and live in his house (nicknamed "The Feldmansion") along with his wife, Courtney, might be construed as sexist, creepy, and demeaning, Feldman seems genuinely perplexed. One could imagine D.W. Griffith having a similar response when people were outraged that The Birth of a Nation (1915) was so racist. Griffith defended himself went out and made an even bigger movie in Intolerance (1916), and that is pretty much the same approach Feldman takes. Damn the torpedoes, damn the critics, damn reality.

And that is precisely why the title Corey Feldman vs. the World is so apt. Feldman is convinced at every turn that someone is trying to sabotage him, destroy his career, or even kill him. His paranoia seeps into his every interaction, and because his bizarre lifestyle and questionable choices inherently draw criticism and derision, he is supplied with endless examples of how "they" are "out to get him." His paranoia ranges from the understandable, to the downright delusional, which is never so fraught as when he becomes convinced that his band is being destroyed by shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, who sent the Angels as "saboteurs." He and Donald Trump would find much to agree on, although they would likely part ways over an inability to label mainstream journalism "the dark media" or "the fake media."

Of course, Feldman has been through a lot in his life, including emancipating himself at a young age from abusive parents, struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, and navigating the wild world of Hollywood as a talented kid with tons to gain, but also tons to lose. There is quite a bit of attention paid to his long friendship with the late Corey Haim, with whom he co-starred in nine movies and later joined in an ill-fated reality TV series The Two Coreys. Haim's accusations of sexual abuse at the hands of various producers and actors (including Charlie Sheen, who has vehemently denied it) have defined much of Feldman's public persona over the last decade, as he has promised (and so far failed) to reveal a network of child sex predators operating in Hollywood. In fact, Hume's film ends with the disastrous screening of his otherwise largely unseen feature (My) Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys (2020).

Hume follows Feldman over the course of a year, focusing primarily on the nationwide tour he launched to support the self-released Angelic 2 to the Core, which, in true Spinal Tap fashion, grows steadily more pathetic as it progresses. Feldman's stated desire of a huge national tour morphing into one that goes around the world runs headlong into the dismal bars and clubs into which he is booked. Hume allows room for the members of "Corey's Angels"—bass player Jackie (aka Jezebel Sweet), drummer Marisa Testa, guitarist Jimena Fosado, and violinist and musical director Margot Lane, among others (several quit and have to be replaced)—to discuss their own experiences, which provides the film one of its most engaging throughlines as we watch them slowly recognize over time that they are being manipulated and arguably abused (Margot is the most outspoken in this regard, although the saddest is Darci, who is referenced as Feldman and Courtney's "girlfriend").

If Feldman's "Angels" enterprise weren't so decidedly creepy, one might feel bad for its abject failure, although there are a few silver linings in the form of his dedicated fans who seem to be genuinely, unapologetically elated to be in his presence. They probably won't like this film, which Feldman reportedly sued to try to stop from being distributed once he figured out he wasn't in control of it, but one can't argue that Hume plays unfairly. A long-time producer of television documentaries and reality series like Hoarders, she takes a vérité approach to Feldman's life, allowing it to play out both publicly and privately and giving Feldman plenty of screen time to explain himself (except when he starts hitting on a potential sexual conquest, at which point he looks directly at the camera and orders it shut off). The ying and the yang of the unintentional hilarity and deep sadness, surreal weirdness, and sexual creepiness that defines Feldman's self-manufactured existence makes Corey Feldman vs. the World a challenging, disturbing, innervating watch, especially since I suspect that, in the end, the world will win.

Copyright © 2026 James Kendrick

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