Tim Robinson’s socially awkward shtick gets a feature-length showcase in this terrifically twisted comedy from debut director Andrew DeYoung (TV’s Pen15), co-starring the always reliable Paul Rudd. Fans of Robinson’s award-winning Netflix sketch show, I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson, will know exactly what to expect.

Born from a place of extreme unease, Friendship deals with the agony of trying to make friends and reinvent yourself in middle-age. Robinson is soulless marketing exec Craig Waterman, while Kate Mara plays it straight as his florist wife Tami, who longs for a bigger car and has ominously reconnected with her firefighter ex. After meeting his snazzy new neighbour Austin (Rudd), Craig is drawn into the world of this adventurous weatherman who sings in a rock band, forages for mushrooms, and inexplicably knows his way around the local sewer.

Robinson excels as a man hanging by a thread, getting stuck into some of his trademark deranged overreactions, and forging a winning dynamic with Rudd, who combines cheesy charm with a knowing wink. The film swings enjoyably between daft and discomforting, diverting down some joyously silly roads while taking inspiration from the horror genre with its intermittently unsettling atmosphere. The comedy might prove too out-there and uncomfortable for a commercial crowd, but this sharp and thrillingly strange satire of suburbia leaves a lingering impression. DeYoung is one to watch, if you can bear to look.

Friendship is in cinemas from Friday 18 July.