Category Archives: Miscellanea

MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS 2020: THE STRANGE SIXTEEN

We’re into the head-to-head elimination round of our irregularly scheduled annual March Mad Movie Madness tournament. The winner of this year’s contest will be elevated onto our Apocryphally Weird list. (High-placing losers may get extra editorial consideration, too.)

The contestants have been seeded 1-16 according to IMDB user rating. The four highest vote getters from the play-in roundRequiem for a Vampire (1973), Baba Yaga (1973)Relaxer (2018), and Exorcism Negro (1974)—have been rewarded by having to face off against the highest rated titles in the field.

You can see the entire field here. We’ll update results as they come in.

Vote for the film you’d prefer to be honored as apocrypha. If you haven’t seen both (which will likely be the case), go ahead and vote for the movie you’ve heard of, if you think it would be a good representative. You could even vote your preference based on the film’s reputation, or because the description of it in our review amuses you. We’re not checking up on you and wouldn’t judge your vote if we could.

You may vote once per day, until this round of polling closes at midnight EST on March 15. We’ll announce the results and set up the next round a week from today.

Links in the polls below go to 366 Weird Movies’ review, or to the film’s IMDB page if we haven’t reviewed it.

Get to voting!









WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 3/6/2020

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Bacurau (2019): A Brazilian village is sold to big human game hunters; they fight back with psychotropic drugs in what TIFF programmers called “a wild, weird, and politically charged revisionist western.” Kino Lorber picked it up for distribution. Bacurau official site.

Queen of Paradis (2020): Documentary chronicling Surrealist artist Reine Paradis’ latest project, a series of photographs taken at scenic spots across the U.S.A. Screening theatrically in Los Angeles only, but it will simultaneously drop on VOD. Queen of Paradis official site.

Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss (2018): Black comedy about a couple whose bargain apartment comes with a catch: cultists continually break in to commit suicide in their bathtub. Despite positive festival reviews, this has taken two years to reach cineplex screens; most of that time was reportedly spent on whittling down the title from the original 7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss by Passing Through the Gateway Chosen by the Holy Storsh. Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss official site.

ON TV (AMC Network):

“Dispatches from Elsewhere”: Jason Segel produces and stars in this “confusing” series about the mysterious “Jejune Institute” and its nefarious plans. It’s described as an anthology series, so it’s possible that future seasons may follow independent plot arcs (a la “American Horror Story”). “Dispatches from Elsewhere” at AMC.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Impossible Monsters (2019): A sleep-study participant is murdered; is it a literal nightmare? Another “blurring the line between dreams and reality” psychothriller, now exclusively on Blu-ray. Buy Impossible Monsters.

Kinetta (2005): A threesome re-enact a serial killer’s murders at a Greek resort. ‘ experimental solo feature debut (the immediate predecessor to Dogtooth) doesn’t have a lot of fans, but may be of interest to some. Kino Lorber brings it to DVD and Blu-ray. Buy Kinetta.

My Hindu Friend (2015): A filmmaker, dying of cancer, is visited by Death. Made in 2015 and garnering festival awards for Willem Dafoe, the film was never properly released when director Hector Babenco died soon after making it (he survived cancer, then succumbed to a heart attack); now it’s finally available on a (bare-bones) Blu-ray. Buy My Hindu Friend.

CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We’ll only list irregularly scheduled one-time screenings of this audience-participation classic below. You can use this page to find a regular weekly screening near you.

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

The Double (2013): Read the Canonically Weird review! ‘s steampunk version of the Dostoevsky novel (starring and Jesse Eisenberg) shows up free (with ads) on YouTube this week.  Watch The Double free on YouTube.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week, we’ll continue our March Mad Movie Madness Apocrypha Candidate tournament (there’s still time to vote in this round). Furthermore, Giles Edwards will rap about Sion Sono‘s hip-hop musical Tokyo Tribe (which was actually announced last week—oops!), and Gregory J. Smalley will take on Troma‘s grossout meta-movie, Terror Firmer (1999) (which is not in the reader-suggested queue, but probably should be). Until then, onward and weirdward!

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS APOCRYPHA CANDIDACY TOURNAMENT 2020, PLAY-IN ROUND

As followers of this site know, we completed the list of the 366 Best Weird Movies last year.

And then we decided 366 movies were not enough to cover all the noteworthy strange films in cinema’s 100+ years, particularly considering the continual release of bizarre new features. So we announced that we would periodically be adding films to a supplemental list of 366 additional films, which we call Apocrypha (to distinguish them from the original “Canonical” weird entries).

We’re determining the next entrant onto the Apocrypha List through an elimination tournament of contestants nominated by you, the readers, last week.

We have seeded the twenty nominees you gave us according to their IMDB ratings (using number of votes as a tiebreaker). In order to narrow the field to an eventual sixteen, we have given the top twelve movies a pass into the second round. The top four seeds will face four movies from the following “play-in” group of the eight lowest rated movies. Then the tournament will proceed in single-elimination fashion according to your votes.

In this round, you may vote for up to four of the following films to advance. To help you make your decision, the hypertext links in the poll go either to our reviews, or to the IMDB page if we have not reviewed the film in question. You may vote once per day. Voting for this round closes at midnight on March 8.

Now get to voting!

Direct link: https://poll.fm/10513809

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 2/28/2019

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2019): Read our review. This modest, thoughtful thriller debuts in select theaters and is simultaneously out on video on-demand. Disappearance at Clifton Hill official site.

FILM FESTIVALS – Keswick Film Festival (Keswick, UK, 2/29-3/1):

Keswick is an out-of-the-way festival, even for those in the U.K., and we’d never mention it—except that this year, they scored a real coup. ‘s Dance of the Seven Veils (1970) was one of the director’s imaginary composer biopics, this time of Richard Strauss. It was broadcast once on the BBC then withdrawn after Mary Whitehouse launched a campaign complaining about its sex scenes. In a separate controversy, Strauss’ family, upset that Russell satirized the composer’s politics by depicting himn picnicking with Hitler, succeeded in having the film withdrawn on copyright grounds. The film just entered the public domain this month and will be legally screened (in unrestored form) for the first time in fifty years. Maybe it will get a restoration and show up on home video? More info here.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Two Taika Waititi projects: The Jojo Rabbit auteur is spending his Oscar nom cred on two longform projects with weird potential. First up is “The Auteur,” an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, as a miniseries for Showtime. It’s about a Hollywood director coming off a flop who takes a lot of drugs and enlists a serial killer to help revive his career, and it’s described as a “psychedelic slapstick gorefest.” Waititi will executive produce, co-write, and direct some episodes. Then, it’s off to Apple+ to co-write and direct the pilot for a miniseries adaptation of the Canonically Weird classic Time Bandits. Executive producer Terry Gilliam is onboard with the idea, saying “…after I saw Jojo Rabbit I thought, ‘Fantastic, couldn’t have chosen a better guy.’” Read more at IndieWire.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Can’t Kill This [AKA F*** You, Immortality] (2019): There’s little to go on with this one besides the trailer and plot synopsis: it’s a road trip mockumentary about two hippies who suspect that an old friend is immortal. The only review we found describes this indie as “over the top and wacky.” Only available on DVD or Blu-ray. Buy Can’t Kill This.

Color out of Space (2019): Read our review. + + = something you might consider checking out, on DVD, Blu-ray or VOD. Buy Color out of Space.

“The Maya Deren Collection”: The set contains essentially all of the avant-garde filmmaker’s output, including the Canonically Weird Meshes of the Afternoon. Kino’s set includes commentary tracks for the six major shorts, outtakes, and a 53-minute documentary. Buy “The Maya Deren Collection”.

One Missed Call Trilogy”: The original One Missed Call (read our review), directed by Takashi Miike, had its weird moments; we have no idea about the two sequels, which were handed off to lesser directors. Arrow Academy releases all three in a Blu-ray set with their usual trove of special features. Buy “One Missed Call Trilogy.

Spookies (1986): A sorcerer seeks to sacrifice the lives of some unfortunates who turn up on his doorstep. An 80s cult item that is in our reader-suggested review queue, now in a two Blu-ray set (!) from Vinegar Syndrome (who proclaim, “Of all of the bizarre horror films made in the 1980s, SPOOKIES easily ranks among the weirdest.”) Buy Spookies.

“Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman”: Czech artist Zeman’s wild fantasies mixed live action and animation and hugely influenced, among others. This set includes his three most famous features—Journey to the Beginning of Time, Invention for Destruction, and The Fabulous Baron Munchausen—along with four shorts and numerous tributes and featurettes. Your choice of DVD or Blu-ray. Buy “Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman”.

Verotika (2019): A horror anthology sponsored by metalhead Glenn Danzig, inspired by his line of adult horror comics; the title is a portmanteau of “violent” and “erotica.” A couple of horror outlets  hailed it as “insane,” while more mainstream critics called it unintentionally funny. Available for digital purchase only (at least, at present). Buy Verotika.

CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We’ll only list irregularly scheduled one-time screenings of this audience-participation classic below. You can use this page to find a regular weekly screening near you.

NEPOTISM CORNER:

Best Movies To Watch Stoned: Our own Pete Trbovich, calling himself “a professional stoner critic,” penned this thoughtful guide for DabConnection.com. Spoiler: every one of his top nine choices was also a Canonically Weird selection… but which ones did he pick?
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Next week, we’ll have the field set for our mini March Mad Movie Madness tournament (courtesy of this contest, which you can still enter until midnight tomorrow). We’ll also bring you reviews of Sion Sono‘s rap musical Tokyo Tribe and Netflix’s new schizophrenia drama Horse Girl. Until then, onward and weirdward!

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

CONTEST: HELP SET THE FIELD FOR OUR UPCOMING APOCRYPHA TOURNAMENT AND (MAYBE) WIN A “WE” BLU-RAY

A recap, in case you haven’t been here in over a year: last year we completed the official List of the 366 Canonically Weird Movies. Rather than shutting down, we began a second list of 366 Apocryphally Weird Movies, to catch the runners-up and the new movies that will inevitably be made after the List closed. Your input and suggestions are now desired—and maybe you can win a prize in the bargain.

Here’s how this round works. Just nominate a movie not currently on the list for Apocryphally Weird status in the comments below. You can see what’s already on the complete Canonical list in the sidebar to the left on desktops, or at the very bottom of your screen on mobile devices. Serious entries only; we will disregard any nominations for Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Transformers, or the like. Ideally, your choice should be available for us to screen on home video; we may make exceptions to that rule on a case-by-case basis.

We’ll take nominations and contest entries up until February 29 (Leap Day—the weirdest day of the year). We’ll gather all the nominees and create a tournament bracket from them, for our irregularly held March Mad Movie Madness competition. The winner of that contest will be officially named as Apocrypha.

You may nominate a movie even if you aren’t eligible for the contest or don’t wish to receive the prize; just mention you’re not in it for the swag when you announce your choice.

Contest eligibility rules: You must make a nomination by commenting on this post and informing us of your desire to be in the contest. Due to the adult nature of the prize, you must be over 18 years of age to enter. To receive the Blu-ray, you must supply us with a mailing address in the United States. (Don’t publish your address in your comment! We’ll contact the winner through email). 366 contributors are not eligible to win the prize, but may nominate a movie for the competition.  We’ll stop accepting entries this Saturday, Feb. 29, at midnight EST. The winner will be chosen randomly from all eligible comments. If the winner does not respond to our request for a mailing address within 48 hours we’ll email a runner-up, and so forth, until the prize is given away.

We Blu-ray coverAs for the prize:  It’s a fresh Blu-ray copy of the newly-released nihilist teen drama We (2018).  Film International says “We holds viewers’ attention” but goes on to warn “Sometimes, however, it is hard to watch.” The box cover explains, “During one hot summer, a group of suburban teens hang out and play increasingly depraved games to break the listless monotony. Their descent from innocence to ruthless predators involve arson, prostitution, pornography, assault and blackmail. This controversial and explicit coming-of-age tale is imbued with sex, nihilism and amorality and is reminiscent of the films of Hamony Korine, Larry Clark and Lars von Trier.” Contains explicit scenes. (Note: the cover to the right is the safe-for-work version; the Blu-ray the winner actually receives features rear nudity. You can see it and read more about the film at distributor Artsploitation Films’ slightly NSFW We page).

Now let’s get started!