Know a weird movie? Something strange that glued you to the screen with awe, amazement or reverence, while your more mundane minded friends left the room (or theater) in boredom, confusion or disgust? A movie whose omission from a list of the 366 weirdest movies of all time would offend you on a personal level? Something even I haven’t heard of or considered? There are potentially thousands of forgotten films, critically dismissed films, foreign or independent films that never got a proper release, or misplaced oddities hiding out there that may deserve a place at the table. One man can’t be expected to track them all down. Here is the place to mention those treasured curios that no one else seems to have even heard of. Nominate a movie in the suggestion box and I’ll move it up on my review queue, or at the very least, explain why I’m not going to review it.
If you can’t wait for one of our staff to review your movie, why not review it yourself and submit it to us via the contact form? We can’t swear we’ll publish every submission we receive, but we want reader participation and we are fairly liberal.
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I will put The Cell in queue. I think people have mentioned it before but it’s never been an official request.
The reader-suggested queue is now alphabetized rather than in chronological order, to make it easier for visitors to see what’s already been suggested. To see the order of publication, check out the latest “What’s in The Pipeline” column on the homepage (it’s posted every Sunday).
1; 3 Dev Adam; 3 Women; 4; The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao; 8 1/2; 200 Motels; 2001: A Space Odyssey; The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T; Abnormal: The Sinema of Nick Zedd; The Addiction; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension; After Last Season; Alice [Neco z Alenky]; Allegro Non Troppo; Amelie; The American Astronaut; Angelus; The Apple; Arizona Dream; At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul; The Attic Expeditions; Battle Royale; Being John Malkovich; Black Cat, White Cat; Bloodsucking Freaks; Blood Tea and Red Strings; Blue Velvet; A Boy and His Dog; Brazil; The Bride of Frank; Britannia Hospital; Bubba Ho-Tep; Buffalo ’66; Bunny & the Bull; Candy (1968); Careful; The Casserole Masters; Celine and Julie Go Boating; The Cell; “Un Chien Andalou”; Chingsao the Clown; Cinema 16: European Short Films; Clean, Shaven; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; Conspirators of Pleasure; Dark Crystal; Dead Leaves; Dead Ringers; Death Race 2000; Dellamorte Dellamore [AKA Cemetery Man]; Dogville; Dororo; Escanaba In Da Moonlight; Even Dwarves Started Small; Fantastic Planet; Fast, Cheap and Out of Control; Faust; Fellini Satyricon; The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. II (for Lucifer Rising, among others); The Films of Suzan Pitt; Final Flesh; Final Programme; Forbidden Zone; “Foutaises” (short); The Fox Family; “Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life;” Freaked; Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus; Garden State (official review); The Guatemalan Handshake; Getting Any?; Glen or Glenda?; La Grande Bouffe; Hausu; Haxan; Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Hell Comes to Frogtown; Hellzapoppin’; The Holy Mountain; The Hour-glass Sanatorium [Saanatorium pod klepsidra]; Hour of the Wolf; ID; “I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney” (assuming I can find it); Inferno; Inmortel; Innocence (2004); “Jam” (TV, UK, 2000), Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter; Johnny Suede; Julien Donkey-boy; Kairo [AKA Pulse]; Leolo; Liquid Sky (re-review); Little Otik; Lost Highway; Love Me If You Dare; Lunacy [Sílení]; Lust in the Dust; The Magic Christian; Maniac (1934); Marquis; Mary and Max; Master of the Flying Guillotine; May; Midnight Skater; MirrorMask; Mulholland Drive; Necromentia; Nightdreams; Night of the Hunter; The Nines; The Ninth Configuration; Ninja Scroll; Northfork; Nothing (2003); Paprika; The Peanut Butter Solution; Performance; Perfume: The Story of a Murderer; Persona; Piano Tuner of Earthquakes; The Pillow Book; Pink Flamingos; Pink Floyd: The Wall; Possession; Primer; Private Parts (1972); Prospero’s Books; The Quiet; Rat Pfink a Boo Boo; The Real McCoy; Robot Monster; The Room; Rubin & Ed; Run Lola Run; The Saddest Music in the World; Schizopolis; The Science of Sleep; Seom [The Isle]; Session 9; The Seventh Seal; Sheitan; Shock Treatment; Singapore Sling; Society (official review); Songs From The Second Floor; Strings; Sublime; Suspiria; Sweet Movie; The Tale of the Floating World; Teeth; The Ten; Tetsuo; Themroc; This Filthy Earth; Three Crowns of the Sailor; Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets; Tokyo Gore Police; Toto the Hero [Toto le Héros];Trash Humpers (we’re still waiting for the DVD release); The Trial [Le procès] (1962); The Triplets of Belleville; Tuvalu; “Twin Peaks” (TV series); Twister (1989); Uzumaki [Spiral]; Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (official review); Vera; Weekend; Weirdsville; Wild Zero; Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ; Yesterday Was a Lie; Yokai Monsters, Vol. 1: Spook Warfare [AKA Big Monster War]; Zardoz; “Zombie Jesus” (if we can locate it).
Hello again. I recently saw the Illustrated Man, and I think it might be of good interest to look at, maybe have a chance at getting on the list.
The Illustrated Man sounds like a good one to check out, I’ll add it.
Also, I would like to suggest The Yellow Submarine, abound with amazing psychedelic animation, and a rather different plot.
Caleb, wait awhile and suggest it again. I have a rule that I don’t take back-to-back suggestions from one reader. Otherwise the queue would fill up even faster than it’s already unmanageable length!
Hello again! I would like to suggest The Man Who Fell To Earth directed by Nicolas Roeg. I’m sure you have heard of it but here is the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKF5lHcJY9k
and the IMDB info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074851/
David Bowie fan 4 life!!! haha
Thanks :)
I’m sometimes surprised at what’s not already in the queue. The Man Who Fell to Earth belongs there. Consider it added.
Hi, almost cant belive there is no mention of Jodorowsky`s Holy Mountain…..maybe i just missed it, but if not thats one of the best films ever made.
Fando y lis and El Topo from Yodorowsky also….must see films
Zelenc: The Holy Mountain is listed in the reader suggested review queue above and El Topo is reviewed here. We have not yet had a request for Fando y Lis yet, though, so I will add that to the queue for you.
I’d like to suggest Rampo Noir (Ranpo jigoku) 2005.It’s a portmanteau movie based on short stories by Edogawa Rampo. I was amused, intrigued and sickened; sometimes simultaneously.
Good suggestion as usual, Kat. Rampo Noir was a film I was about to watch on my own as a candidate for the List before I started taking suggestions, and it got bumped off my personal queue and never found its way back. Now I’ll have a reason to revisit it.
OK, you may hate me for this one. I wanted to take a musical approach this week so I’ve decided to suggest The Monkees only feature film; HEAD (1968). Made after their television show ended, it is a zany pastiche of 60′s surrealism with weird pop-art sequences and cornball humor. I’ve seen it several times now and the goofiness baffles me each time. I have to admit to liking it though. “Can you dig it”?
Hate you? Not at all. I’ve been expecting someone to nominate Head for some time. Consider it in the queue.
Keeping up the musical theme, and reminded of this one by my son, I’d like to suggest Christmas On Mars (2008), written and co-directed by Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips and apparently made in his back yard.
Kat: Now that the site is finally back online, I’ll add Christmas on Mars to that queue.
What a great film site you have here!! :)
Oh btw my name is Tiko and I’m from Indonesia.
Err…and I want to do sumthin kinda narcistic. :D
I want to know your thoughts about this short of mine..the title is Broken Glass. The genre is drama/fantasy/experimental.
Here is the link for you :
http://id.eyeka.asia/video/view/10166652-Broken-Glass-BW
I’d be so happy to know your opinion about it.
Do you think it’s weird enough? :)
Tiko: We have no problem with narcissism. What rubs me the wrong way is when someone who is obviously the director comes on pretending to be a fan. I thank you for your honesty. We will take a look at your film; folks can check it out from the link. Thanks!
Hello again. I would like to suggest the Cronenburg classic Videodrome. This movie is one of the great strange treats of the 80′s, and I think it would be a great film to go on the list.
Caleb: I thought you were coming back to re-suggest Yellow Submarine. But I think Videodrome is an even more appropriate choice, so I’m going to add it to the queue.
Halo…I want to suggest other films :)
1. “Air Doll” by Hirokazu Kore-eda
2. “Time” by Kim Ki Duk.
Have you watched them?
Jan Svankmajer: The Ossuary and Other Tales is an insane collection of shorts by the surrealist Jan Svankmajer. This movie is teeming with weird imagery and a great avant-garde feel. I was greatly entertained by this collection’s weirdness and I think that it would be a great addition to the list!
Tiko: I haven’t seen either movie yet. Air Doll was on our radar screen on we’ve been waiting on the DVD release. We’ll take that as your suggestion and prioritize it when the DVD is released over here!
hazebass7: With the addition of The Ossuary nearly every Svankmejer film is in queue now. It will be nice to go through his entire oeuvre in the coming months. He definitely belongs here.
I would like to suggest Arrebato. I’ve just found one reference to this movie in this web site, a short citation in http://366weirdmovies.com/james-felix-mckennys-top-10-weird-movies/. Arrebato (aka Rapture) is an unclassifiable spanish movie (fantastic? experimental? drama? horror?) made in 1979, little known in Spain and almost unknown outside. Its director, Ivan Zulueta, died the last days of 2009; since he made this movie, 30 years ago, he couldn’t make another film. In Arrebato you can find elements of the best weird cinema such as Lynch, Cronemberg or Buñuel.
I’d like to write the review of this movie, but my english is too poor. Instead of that, I’ve collected some links in english about the film:
Basics:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078797/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Zulueta
Articles:
http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/arrebato.html
http://www.experimentalconversations.com/articles/169/experimental-features-in-arrebato/
http://esotika.blogspot.com/2009/06/arrebato-ivan-zulueta-1979b.html
http://www.fright.com/edge/arrebato.html
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/exclusive/obituary_ivan_zulueta
I’m sure any weird movie lover will recognise Arrebato as one of the weirdest movies in the world. My recommendation is, in the words of Pedro (one of the main characters of the film): “Just listen and watch, or better yet, devour and digest it”
Thanks squater, the movie sounds fascinating and it’s something we never would have heard of without your help. My only issue is that it is not available on DVD here at the moment, though I read that there is a Spanish DVD available. Even worse, though, is the fact that I’m not sure English subtitles exist for the film! Nonetheless, we’re happy to know about this movie, and we’ll put it in queue and try to solve those technical problems when the time comes.
I have the DVD of Arrebato (I won it in a web quiz), and I can confirm that it doesn’t include english subtitles. There are quite good unofficial english subtitles for the movie; they were used in the Filmoteca Española (Spanish Film Library) when they showed the movie last February. If the DVD isn’t available in other countries, it won’t be difficult for any Internet user to get a copy of the film (even a youtube user has uploaded the movie in thirteen parts).
Besides, with regard to this post, I want to reaffirm that the film Amanece, que no es poco is another great surreal weird movie.
You gotta check out this flick “Symbol” by the director of Big Man Japan. It’s about a dude who wakes up to find himself trapped in this big room and there’s little penises sticking out of the walls and when he presses down on them random objects fly out. Simultaneously there’s a plot going on about an aging mexican wrestler and his family.
Oh here’s the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFmKduV9hJU&feature=fvw
Wicked City should most definitely be on a list such as this. I found it on VHS in a thrift store and it blew my mind. (Must be live-action version too.)
The trailer gives a taste but isn’t nearly as bizarre as the whole film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4i6lOeFhVc&feature=search
I think it’s time to give Barbarella her due. Some may see it as kitschy camp (it is) but it is also difficult to deny the weirdness on display. It also doesn’t hurt that Jane Fonda is absolutely stunning in it.
Amazing that the good suggestions keep pouring in. Roy,we will keep an eye out for the Region 1 release of Symbol and push it to the front of the line when it arrives.
Dani, I’ll put Wicked City (1992) in the queue.
Eric, Barbarella is also one of those films I’m a little surprised isn’t in the queue already. We’ll rectify that situation right away.
Picnic at Hanging Rock might be worth a look….
Simon: I agree, Picnic at Hanging Rock is worth a look. I’ll put it in queue.
Squater (see above): I’m going to take that as an official suggestion to add Amanece, que no es poco to the queue, even though it’s a similar headache to find a DVD and subtitles. There is always the possibility, however, that we could actually distribute some of these ourselves, if we ever have time to really work on the distribution side of things.
By the way, for multiple reasons we won’t link to torrents or unofficial YouTube versions of movies—at least not unless we’re 100% sure they’re in the public domain.
I understand you don’t link to P2P versions of movies (the copyright law is too restrictive in the USA). But the link I have sent isn’t to the movie, it’s a link to the unofficial english subtitles, a free translation made and uploaded in a .srt file by an Internet user. I repeat the link for the Arrebato english subtitles:
http://www.opensubtitles.org/en/subtitles/3319538/arrebato-en
squater, I think that’s OK, so I left it though I changed the address to point directly to the subtitle file. But posting these links are unnecessary; any interested party who knows how to use Google can easily find them. Besides copyright laws, I also don’t like to link to any kind of downloads I can’t reasonably guarantee are virus/malware/adware free. Although I scanned that file with Norton and it came up clean, I can’t do that anytime someone posts a link, so it’s better to have a blanket policy prohibiting such links from now on. I do like your passion for the film and your desire to promote this obscure film, though.
You’re right, maybe my passion is excessive and this link was unnecessary. I have insisted in the link because I thought that you deleted the link because you supossed it was copyrighted material. About the virus/malware/adware, I’m always forget that because I use Linux. I’m sorry.
Apart from that, I want to congratulate you for this web site. I have found lots of my favourite weird movies in the List and more in the queue. I think I’ll visit regularly this web site until the List is complete.
No problem and thank you for the compliments!
If you’re going to include Peter Weir’s best-known movie, “Picnic At Hanging Rock”, I think it’s only fair that you also add his very early, much lower-budget, and much, much weirder film “The Cars That Ate Paris”. It clearly inspired the first two “Mad Max” movies (it’s even got a very young Bruce Spence – the autogyro guy – in it as the village idiot), but there’s a lot more going on besides. Sort of like an unholy hybrid of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Mad Max II”. And what’s not to like about spiky Volkswagens?
Dr. Orloff: I agree The Cars that Ate Paris is weird and I’m willing to give it another try; I didn’t like it when I saw it in my teens, but now that I’m older and wiser I may appreciate it more. (By the way, I was expecting a Jess Franco recommendation from you!)
The Boxers Omen (1983).
A must see supernatural oddity from the shaw brothers studio with no kung fu which seems rare for them. Not as good as a lot of their kung fu flicks but by far the weirdest!
I feel so stupid for not suggesting this any of the ‘hundreds’ of times I’ve been here but I have to say SOLARIS (the Tarkovsky 1972 version). Give it a look. I know the list is getting really long.
Gerby: The Boxer’s Omen [aka Mo] sounds great; it was actually on my master list to check out sometime anyway.
263design: I’d say Solyaris (1972) has a very good shot to make the List… both these films go into that long queue.
I only recently learned of a pretty weird movie from David O. Selznick: Portrait of Jennie with Joseph Cotten. The plot makes little sense, but somehow involves painting and time travel, and the whole movie is filmed in disorientingly stylized ways.
Hello again! I would wish to suggest Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. The movie contains bizarre, deviant acts of sexuality, strange marriages involving transvestism, a plot structure similar to the Circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, and strange gathering where aging hookers tell tales of sexual perversion, all which seems to me a good candidate for the list!
Andreas: Portrait of Jennie sounds like a “Picture of Dorian Gray” variation. I’m vaguely aware of the film. We haven’t done many Hollywood productions from that era, so it should be weird to us.
Caleb: I’ve been dreading the day someone would mention Salo. But it does have to be addressed. Into the queue with it.
Just for a change from all the hallucinatory horrors, ghastly sexual perversions, eyeless unexplained bloodsucking dwarves, and David Lynch, may I suggest Robert Aldrich’s 1961 western “The Last Sunset”?
On the face of it, this is just a bulk-standard horse-opera; the studio certainly thought so or they wouldn’t have made it. It’s “weird” because writer Dalton Trumbo, annoyed by a pretentious magazine article suggesting that westerns were written by macho hacks who unconsciously riddled them with Freudian imagery, deliberately wrote a western containing as much screamingly blatant ridiculously over-the-top Freudian symbolism as he could possibly cram in short of calling the hero the Oedipus Kid!
Dorothy Malone is turned on by a herd of stampeding bulls with luminous horns, Joseph Cotten is forced to drop his trousers in a crowded saloon, and best of all, Rock Hudson and Kirk Douglas debate the merits of Rock’s great big gun versus Kirk’s tiny little one! (Robert Aldrich recycled that idea when he co-wrote “A Fistful Of Dollars”, hence Ramon Rojo’s very Freudian dialogue concerning his rifle.) And after that it gets even worse… OK, it’s only borderline weird, but it’s certainly very unusual, and more than slightly surreal.
Oh, and don’t worry, I’m not going to recommend anything by Jésus Franco – I just like that title. And anyway, “The Awful Doctor Orloff” is just “Les Yeux Sans Visage” all over again, and you’ve already got that one. Besides, “Necronomicon” and “Venus In Furs” in no way make up for the 150+ abominations he inflicted on traumatised audiences using more than 30 aliases (several of them female) because his own name on the poster would guarantee an empty cinema…
By the way, did it not occur to you that I might be the even more awful Doctor Orloff played by Bela Lugosi in “The Dark Eyes Of London”?
Dr. Orloff: The Last Sunset it is. Our resident western fan, Alfred, may be particularly interested in that one, as he’s already covered one Dalton Trumbo-penned oater (Terror in a Texas Town).
I wouldn’t be adverse to covering a Franco film, and almost feel obliged to in the interest of completeness.
And the reason I didn’t assume you were referring to Lugosi’s Dr. Orloff in Dark Eyes of London is that I haven’t seen that one!
I wanted to get in something poetic and visually opulent this week and Cocteau’s Orpheus (Orphee) (1950) exemplifies this quite nicely. Some beautifully surreal scenes to be witness here in this ahead-of-it’s-time fantasy. Maybe next week I’ll suggest some good ol’ weird B-movie schlock.
Just so you know…my suggestion from last week, Barbarella, must have been swallowed up by Matmos because I didn’t see it in the last queue you posted. Just an oversight I’m sure, unless I just missed it.
Eric: I’m glad someone brought up Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus, though I would have done it myself eventually. It’s just good to see that someone knows/remembers the weird classics! Also, I did overlook Barbarella in my last queue update and I have fixed the oversight. Thanks!