PLOT: Members of a secret government agency in Hong Kong charged with destroying shapeshifting “monsters” investigate a new killer street drug nicknamed “Happiness.”
WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: There is some admirable craziness here, but the combination of needlessly arty Dutch angles, poor pacing, and uneven special effects doom City‘s List aspirations. (A less murky print than current thrift-shop-VHS quality transfer would have helped).
COMMENTS: Wicked City is shot in an unreal neon-noir style, with hazy pale-blue lighting with accents of red and green, and the camera constantly tilted to one side to suggest an off-center universe. It’s an affectation that quickly becomes annoying, since we need no encouragement to view a world in which characters say lines like “as you know, my mother was a monster”—and mean it literally—-as fantasy. There are some amazingly clipped scenes: one minute, two agents are sitting in a busy go-go bar. One says, “I think there are monsters here” and in the very next shot the entire human clientele lies dead. Such rushed exposition adds a dreamlike quality to the proceedings. Although the plot, which involves mixed loyalties, betrayals, and a human-monster-monster love triangle, is too silly and obvious to be gripping, there are some wacky action set pieces. A courtesan turns into a spider lady, cutlery flies through the air of its own accord, agents lock hands to create an anti-monster magnetic field, our heroes employ Schwarzeneggeresuqe quips against a killer clock (“how time flies!”), and the climactic battle takes place on the wings of a jet liner in flight. Best of all is the scene where one of the monsters has sex with a pinball machine—not on a pinball machine, with a pinball machine. Overall, Wicked City‘s effects are cheap, and the tone is B-movie operatic. Still, it’s probably as much fun as Hollywood’s Men in Black, and significantly weirder.
Wicked City is an adaptation of a Japanese novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi (who also wrote the source material for Vampire Hunter D). It was more famously adapted in Japan as an anime in 1987. Hong Kong New Wave baron Tsui Hark produced this live-action version. Because the film bears many of his hallmarks (fast-paced, effects and stunt-heavy fantasy), some speculate that he may have had an uncredited hands-on role in the direction (as is often suspected of films the prolific Hark produced).
(This movie was nominated for review by “Dani,” who said “. I found it on VHS in a thrift store and it blew my mind.” Suggest a weird movie of your own here.)
PLOT: Albert (Schwartzman) is an activist fighting the gigantic Huckabees corporation, which is building a Target-style store in the nearby woods. Enlisting the help of a pair of “existential detectives” (Tomlin and Hoffman), Albert soon encounters two Huckabees operatives—the beautiful blonde couple Brad (Law) and Dawn (Watts)—as well as a disillusioned fireman (Wahlberg). Eventually, everyone’s lives are changed.
WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE LIST: Because it is so willfully, obstinately pretentious, unfunny and heavy-handed as to be all but impenetrable. Still, fans of the bizarre will likely get something out of it, as it definitely goes all-out in its manic insanity and breaks a ton of storytelling rules.
COMMENTS: Director David O. Russell once said that I [Heart] Huckabees was his least favorite of his own films. It may not have been fun to make (find the YouTube videos that show Russell throwing a tantrum—among other things—at Tomlin), because it certainly isn’t fun to watch. A labyrinthine mess, Huckabees makes no sense and doesn’t seem to want to. Despite fine performances (particularly Wahlberg’s) from its all-star cast, the movie is (apparently intentionally) unappealing from beginning to end. Granted, this is a polarizing picture (no one is likely to have a “meh” reaction to it), but yours truly could barely sit through the film.
After this debacle, Russell made Nailed, which was left unfinished and shelved for years, but followed it up with three artistic and commercial triumphs in a row: The Fighter (also with Wahlberg), Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle. I [Heart] Huckabees, by contrast, is like a transmission beamed in from an alternate, unpleasant universe in which nothing means anything. (Perhaps that was the point of the “existential detectives”). The film reaches one its many nadirs when Albert has a Terry Gilliam-like vision of Brad as a lactating Virgin Mary, or something. Meanwhile Dustin Hoffman sports a hairstyle reminiscent of the Beatles circa 1964, Tippi Hedren drops an F-bomb, Schwartzman’s real-life mother (Talia Shire) shows up to play Albert’s mother, and Shania Twain pops up as herself (I can’t see her fan base enjoying this picture). None of this is amusing or at all entertaining. It is, however, genuinely bonkers. What the point of this silliness is remains a mystery, but one that most people didn’t care to find out when the film opened in 2004. That was the same year that the equally challenging , but far superior, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was released. That film had a heart as well as a brain. Huckabees, on the other hand, is like an endless series of interlocking puzzle pieces that can never be put together correctly. It’s not a good movie, but it’s definitely a weird one, and it just might make it onto the List.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
“Weird does not necessarily equal funny.”–Linda Cook, Quad City Times (contemporaneous)
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 (LIMITED RELEASE):
Another [AKA Mark of the Witch] (2014): An adopted girl discovers unpleasant truths about her heritage after her aunt attempts suicide at her 18th birthday party. It’s described as an homage to Suspiria; no idea why the name change from (to?) Mark of the Witch, or why it’s taken two years to find a release despite generally positive reviews. Mark of the Witch official site.
The Fits (2016): An unexplained epidemic of falling down, passing out and vomiting affects girls on an African-American dance team. Films about teenage girls who suffer unexplained mass fits of hysteria are spreading inexplicably through the cinemas; the novelty here is the inner city setting (one expects this sort of behavior from white girls). The Fits official site.
SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Saturday, June 4):
The Cassandra Cat (1963): A rare, experimental children’s film from the Czech New Wave about a magical sunglasses-wearing cat. Screening with a selection of shorts dubbed the “Meow Mix” for an evening the crazy cat lady in your life will not want to miss. Also at Cinefamily this week: the restored version of the psychedelic Japanese ero goru cartoon The Belladonna of Sadness continues to screen on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and an encore performance of White Magic’s live score to the Certified Weird silent witchcraft classic Häxan. The Cassandra Cat at Cinefamily.
SCREENINGS – (Videology Bar & Cinema, New York City, Saturday, June 4):
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): Read the Certified Weird entry! We knew from the moment we saw this tale of a slacker teen caught in a video game quest to win the heart of the girl that it would be playing at midnights at hip NYC bars within five years. This show marks Videology’s record-setting fifth week in a row screening a Certified Weird film at midnight, a streak that will be broken with next week’s feature, Young Frankenstein (we’d still go see it). Scott Pilgrim vs. the World at Videology.
FILM FESTIVALS – Fantastic Film Showcase (Washington, DC, Jun. 2-5):
There are no weird films making their debut at this relatively new festival, but a goodly number of the stranger movies on the circuit show up here, making this a great bet for weird Washington locals. Here are the movies we noted: Lucile Hadzihalilovic‘s Evolution (screening passed), Jim Hosking‘s grotesque and polarizing feature debut The Greasy Strangler (tonight at 11:00), the omnipresent Belladonna of Sadness (tonight and Saturday at 11:30), Danny Perez‘s trippy Antibirth (Saturday at 9:30), and a special screening of the Certified Weird rock opera Phantom of the Paradise (Saturday at midnight). Finally, it’s not weird per se, but we’d be seriously tempted by the late night showings of 1966’s camp wonder, Batman: The Movie (tonight and Saturday at 11:45). And, although it’s not part of the festival proper, we’d be remiss if we did not note the screening of alien jazz star Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist masterpiece Space is the Place on Monday, the day after the festival officially ends, at host AFI Silver Theaters. It would make the perfect festival nightcap. (or, catch Sun Ra’s encore on Thursday night).
Petit Vampire (2017?): The animated story of a 300-year old 10-year old vampire who decides to go to elementary school. Yeah, we know it doesn’t sound very weird, but it is from Joann Sfar (based on his hit French graphic novel), and his stuff thus far has been offbeat, to say the least. Screen International has details and an intriguing image.
NEW ON DVD:
City of Women (1980): A horny Marcello Mastroianni follows an attractive woman off a train and finds himself at a feminist convention in an all-female city. We would prefer someone other than bargain-arthouse-releaser Cohen Media got the rights to re-release this long out-of-print lesser-known Fellini film—but dare we hope for a proper Fellini’s Cassanova release, from anyone? Buy City of Women.
Horse Money (2014): Read our capsule review. The flashback-and-fantasy-ridden tale of an old man with dementia wandering the halls of an institution, Horse Money is a genuinely weird movie, though one that may require a knowledge of the Cape Verdean Portuguese immigrant experience to truly appreciate. Buy Horse Money.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
City of Women (1980): See description in DVD above. No offense meant by our prior remarks, Cohen Media, better you release a Fellini Blu-ray than no one at all! Buy City of Women [Blu-ray].
Horse Money (2014): See description in DVD above. Both the DVD and the Blu-ray include a bonus short from director Pedro Costa. Buy Horse Money [Blu-ray].
“366 Weird Movies’ Certified Weirdness”: OK, there’s no actual link, but we are mentioned, and it’s something users here may find interesting and/or useful. Moviefan777 at criterion.com made a list of every Certified Weird film that’s received a release from the Criterion Collection (including those included in Eclipse box sets). For some, he includes his own selection for weirdest image and a note as to whether it’s “family friendly” or not. Nice work. “366 Weird Movies’ Certified Weirdness” at criterion.com.
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Hitler’s Folly (2016): Bill Plympton‘s new historical mockumentary about an alternate history in which Hitler followed his childhood dream, embraced his duck fetish and became a Walt Disney-style animation mogul. It’s free, but Plympton is asking for voluntary donations so that he can continue to make “these wacky, weird, bizarre films that Hollywood would never want to produce.” That’s a charity we can get behind. Watch Hitler’s Folly at plymptoons.com.
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.
I doubt that even Jesus Christ himself knows how many film treatments there have been of Lewis Carroll’s Alice sagas. Among the damned few that have been predominantly successful is the 1951 animated feature produced under the auspices of old man Walt himself. One would think the Disney folk would be happy with that, and leave well enough alone. Instead, they foisted Tim Burton‘s 2010 version on us, which took a toilet plunger and sucked out virtually all of the novel’s inherent surrealism. It was a new nadir for both Burton and Disney. The Burton of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985),Batman Returns(1992), and Ed Wood(1994) might have been an ideal match for the material. But, as a wise old owl once said, “the world may never know.” The Burton of 2010 was well past his tether and far from being the dark visionary of his past. Indeed, his Alice was a painfully sanitized caricature, and it seemed Burton could sink no lower (until Dark Shadows, that is).
The Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland was scripted by Disney writer Linda Woolverton, who is and always has been a hack. Her Beauty and the Beast (1991) was a saccharine parody of Jean Cocteau‘s staggeringly brilliant 1946 psychological fantasy. Astoundingly, Beast earned an Academy Award Best Picture nomination (one of the Academy’s most embarrassing moments, which is saying a lot). Even more cringe-inducing was her 1994 Lion King, with its maudlin “Circle of Life” song upchucked by Elton John (who seems hell bent on proving that Bernie Taupin deserves all the credit for their collaborations) and Tim Rice (who seems hell bent on proving that Howard Ashman deserves all the credit for their collaborations). Woolverton’s resume expanded with more Alka-Seltzer slugfests, such as Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas (1997), Belle’s Magical World (1998), Mulan (1998), Lion King 2 (1998) and Maleficent (2014). Even in her most critically successful films (i.e Mulan) her writing never rises above formula, and what some feel might have worked in the projects she was attached to should be credited more to the animation and direction. Woolverton’s Alice made her direct-to-video, second-rate sequels look less embarrassing by comparison.
![Still from I [Heart] Huckabees (2004)](https://i0.wp.com/366weirdmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/I-heart-huckabees.jpg?resize=450%2C297)
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The Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland was scripted by Disney writer Linda Woolverton, who is and always has been a hack. Her Beauty and the Beast (1991) was a saccharine parody of