Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (WIDE RELEASE):
The Disaster Artist (2017): A fictional account of the making of the notorious disaster The Room, starring 2013 Weirdest Actor winner James Franco as Tommy Wiseau. OK, it’s not quite the heights of bizarreness we aspire to here, but you know you want to see it. In major cities today, with a wider rollout coming next week. The Disaster Artist official site.
Psychopaths (2017): Mickey Keating brings us a “psychedelic fever dream” of four maniacs possessed by the spirit of a serial killer, let loose on a one-night rampage. Reviews have generally been of the “we’re glad they tried something different, but…” variety. Psychopaths official site.
The Shape of Water (2017): Guillermo del Toro‘s adult fairy tale about a cleaning woman who falls in love with a merman. We suspect it will be marginal to our coverage (though we also expect it will be excellent); at least one reviewer used the “w”-word, however. Like Disaster Artist, it will go into wider release next week. The Shape of Water official site.
VIDEO-ON-DEMAND EXCLUSIVE RELEASES:
Somebody’s Darling (2016): A fraternity president becomes obsessed with a fellow student. Microbudget psychological horror with contemporary social relevance. Rent Somebody’s Darling
IN DEVELOPMENT (POST-PRODUCTION):
City of Pirates (2018): Not a version of 1983 Raoul Ruiz classic of the same name, this is instead a politically-incorrect Brazilian cartoon. Or at least, that’s how it started, before the author of the original property, Laerte Coutinho, underwent gender-reassignment surgery and rejected her old work and characters. Her objections put the film on hold for almost two decades, but rather than abandon it, adapter Otto Guerra went the metafiction route and wrote Coutinho’s character into the script. No idea if this will create a magnificently weird movie, but the backstory is certainly a hit. Read about it at Variety.
Forbidden Zone 2 (20??): No firm update on Richard Elfman‘s planned sequel to his Certified Weird classic original set in the Sixth Dimension, in a recent Facebook post he gives a few updates and swears he’s still working on it (“it is my holy mission to share this film’s music and absurdity with posterity. THIS FILM WILL BE MY LEGACY!“) Stay tuned to the Forbidden Zone 2 Facebook page for future updates in the future.
NEW ON DVD:
Woodshock (2017): A grieving woman (Kirsten Dunst) smokes synthetic cannabinoids in the woods and hallucinates a lot. It’s savaging by critics makes it possibly A24’s first critical flop. Buy Woodshock
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Woodshock (2017): See description in DVD above. Buy Woodshock [Blu-ray]
BOOKS:
“The Usurper King”: Elevator Movie‘s Zeb Haradon hasn’t made another fictional film since his 2004 debut, but he has written a couple of absurdist novels in the meantime. His latest involves an alternate universe where Ted Bundy is never apprehended for his murders, and becomes President; the protagonist discovers a clue to the Chief Executive’s secret while competing on a game show that involves predicting the future by reading animal entrails. There may be some references to the current political climate. Buy “The Usurper King”
CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We won’t list all the screenings of this audience-participation classic separately. You can use this page to find a screening near you.
- Bloomington, IN, 12/4 – Last Year at Marienbad (1961). At Indiana University Cinema.
- Columbus, OH, 12/1-12/3 – Pink Flamingos (1972). At Gateway Film Center.
- Columbus, OH, 12/7-12/9 – Repo Man (1984). At Gateway Film Center.
- New York City, NY, 12/1-12/2 (midnights) – Blue Velvet (1986). At IFC Center.
- New York City, 12/2 – Nosferatu (1922). At the Metrograph.
- New York City, 12/2 – Lost Highway (1997). At the Metrograph.
- New York City, 12/3 – Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922). The William S. Burroughs–narrated version. At the Metrograph.
- Pittsburgh, PA, 12/41-12/5, 12/7 – Spirited Away (2001). At Row House Cinema.
- Tuscon, AZ, 12/1-12/2 – Eraserhead (1977). At the Loft Cinema.
What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.
“Or at least, that’s how it started, before the author of the original property, Laerte Coutinho, underwent gender-reassignment surgery and rejected his old work and characters. His objections put the film on hold for almost two decades, but rather than abandon it, adapter Otto Guerra went the metafiction route and wrote Coutinho’s character into the script. ” It’s “her” old work and characters and “her” objections by the way
Fixed.