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.

FILM FESTIVALS – Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX, Sep. 23-30):

The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX may be America’s coolest movie theater. Their brand has grown so big that now they have franchised Drafthouses across the country, and have partnered with American Genre Films Archives on a number of interesting exploitation film re-releases. One of the Alamo’s hippest projects is Fantastic Fest, now back in full force in its sixteenth year. As per usual, there is a fantastic slate of weird movies and some neato revivals here. Coming at the tail end of the film festival season, we’ve already either noted or reviewed a number of these: Bertrand Mandico‘s “erotic sci-fi acid western” After Blue (Dirty Paradise), Agnes, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, King Car, the Icelandic supernatural drama Lamb, Boschain animated nightmare Mad God, and 2021 Palme d’Or winner Titane. Revivals include the Soviet sci-fi propaganda piece Aelita, Queen of Mars (1924) (with a new score by saxophonist Chris Bullock), Master of the Flying Guillotine (1977), The Visitor (1979), and the new restoration of Possession (1981) that will soon be touring everywhere. We’ll also keep an eye out for these new-to-us offerings:

• Devil Story (1986) – A French horror with a plot involving mummies, Nazi mutants, and ghost horses, rediscovered and released by Vinegar Syndrome.
• Snakes (1974) – Forgotten exploitation killer about a madman snake trainer, filled with sexual perversity.
• The Timekeepers of Eternity – Greek experiment in taking a made-for-TV Stephen King film, re-editing it, and turning it into a black-and-white animated collage.
• Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror – A title-says-it-all documentary with a surprise bonus: animated collages by Guy Maddin.

A selection of films may be watched at home with a virtual festival badge.

Fantastic Fest official home page.

FILM FESTIVALS – Beyond Fest (Los Angeles, CA, Sep. 29-Oct. 11):

Beyond Fest, co-sponsored by American Cinematheque, is Southern California’s largest genre festival. 2021 brings a terrific slate of festival favorites, revivals, and guests. Lamb (with director Valdimar Jóhannsson and star Noomi Rapace), Mad God (2021) (with director Phil Tippett), Titane (with director Julia Ducournau), and After Blue (Dirty Paradise) duplicate screenings at Fantastic Fest, above. Other festival faves on tap here include Code Name Nagasaki (2021) and The Empty Man (2020). Of the extensive revivals, most notable are Antichrist (2009), Kill List (2011), Dr. Caligari (1989) (with director Stephen Sayadian and writer Jerry Stahl), Starship Troopers (1997) (again with Tippett, this time as the special effects supervisor), Berberian Sound Studio (2012), Possession (1981) , and a new restoration of A Clockwork Orange (1971) (not listed on the website, so either a late addition or October 8’s “secret screening”). Besides that amazing mix of new and old, here are three interesting debuts:

• Earwig – Lucile Hadzihalilovic‘s first offering since 2015’s Evolution is about a mysterious girl with teeth made of ice, and the man tasked to take care of her. (This actually debuted at TIFF, but we missed it somehow.) 10/7.
  
• New York Ninja – A hopefully so bad it’s weird microbudget ninja flick, originally unfinished but completed (with new dubbing) by Vinegar Syndrome. 10/2.
• Traveling Light – an occult pandemic satire (described as Buñuelian) from veteran horror director Bernard Rose. 10/10.

Proof of vaccination and masks required to attend screenings (this is California).

Beyond Fest official home page.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Nowhere Inn (2020): With the help of punk-singer-turned-comedienne Carrie Brownstein, singer-songwriter St. Vincent creates a fictional documentary Sundance programmers described as “distorted and bizarre.” Reviews have been generally positive, stressing that while it might be a bit uneven and self-indulgent, it’s also weird and funny. Simultaneously released on Apple TV, other streaming options coming soon. The Nowhere Inn official site.

Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021): Booby-trapped bank robber Nicolas Cage fights ghosts and samurai—in a film by Sion Sono. At long last, the film Cage calls “the wildest I’ve ever made” arrives in theaters and on video-on-demand. No official site located (!), but here is distributor RLJE’s FaceBook page.

Saint-Narcisse (2020): Bruce LaBruce blasphemy about a man’s erotic longing for his long-lost identical twin. Exclusively at NYC’s Quad Theater; presumably it will show up on VOD or physical media soon, although with a LaBruce film that’s no sure bet. Saint-Narcisse  at distributor Film Movement.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Perfect Blue (1997): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Satoshi Kon‘s debut feature is an anime psychological thriller about a pop idol’s identity crisis. Perfect Blue had been surprisingly hard to find for a film of its reputation, but this Shout! Factory steelbook with a collectible booklet, Blu-ray and DVD is now the perfect choice. Buy Perfect Blue.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. This week we welcome back The Apollo in Kitchener, Ontario, who will host a screening of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) on Sunday the 19th (along with an associated artist’s market; they’ll also be screening Prisoners of the Ghostland throughout the week). We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time, like the one below:

• Coxsakie, NY – Sorry for the late notice (and we won’t tease you with what you missed yesterday), but if you’re in the area (that being the area near Albany, NY) and find yourself with nothing to do this weekend, why not head out to the Hi-Way Drive-in for a quadruple feature? Tonight’s slate is Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Black Christmas (1974), Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), and The Last Horror Film (1982). There’s another horror quadruple feature on Saturday night highlighted (to our tastes) by Deep Red, and a concluding double feature on Sunday night.  Dead Til Dawn Drive-in official Facebook page.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Don’t forget about our special Weird Watch Party screening of Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012) with director G.B. Hajim on hand to answer your questions tomorrow night at 10PM ET! It will be hosted on Tubi.tv so no paid subscriptions required. More details here.

Next week, Ryan Aarset goes deep into obscurity for the shark flick Deep Blood (1989); Shane Wilson goes deep into debt when he finds himself Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1983); and Gregory J. Smalley gazes deeply into Andrei Tarkovsky‘s Mirror (1975) (previously reviewed by Alfred Eaker). 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.

We’ll be hosting a special Watch Party on September 18 at the usual time of 10:15 PM ET. Our featured film will be the animated lesbian science fiction musical Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012), and director G.B. Hajim will be on hand to answer your questions post-screening.

The movie is on Tubi,tv this time, so it will be free—no paid subscription required. We’ll be using Kast.tv to stream and chat, so you will need to sign up for a free account there. (You might want to make an account beforehand so you’ll be able to join on time.)

As usual, we’ll distribute the link to join 15 minutes before showtime here, by email (for subscribers), and on Facebook and Twitter. See you then!

See you there!

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.

FILM FESTIVALS –(Arizona Underground Film Festival, Tuscon, AZ, Sep. 17-25):

It’s the 14th year for this underground film festival, one of many small fests from around the country that we rarely cover. This one comes to our notice because they’ll be screening two films we’ve reviewed here in 2021—5000 Space Aliens and Country of Hotels—so we suspect much of the rest of the slate may be up our alley. Here are a few features that caught our eye:

• DimLand – A woman goes to a country retreat where she meets a masked figure who convinces her to flee further from reality.
  
• Medusa – A French film about a romantic triangle between a man, a woman, and her mute, paralyzed sister; not much else is known except that Roxane Mesquida stars. Not to be confused with the 2020 American horror movie of the same name, or the 2021 Brazilian drama of the same name about female vigilantes that’s currently playing at TIFF.
  
• Ordinary Creatures – A “very strange” road movie/comedy further described by programmers as “borderline surreal.”
  

Arizona Underground Film Festival official homepage.

FILM FESTIVALS –(Nottingham International Film Festival, Nottingham, UK, Sep. 24-26):

For Brits, here’s an even smaller festival that includes two of the movies featured above: Medusa and Country of Hotels (with a Q&A with director Julio Maria Martino). The offbeat documentary about female wrestlers, Luchadoras, also plays there.

Nottingham International Film Festival official homepage.

IN DEVELOPMENT (post-production):

Mermaids’ Lament (est. 2022): Without giving too much away, allow us to quote director G.B. Hajim: “It’s an homage, in a way, to Man Facing Southeast… a psychological drama about a woman who may or may not have been a mermaid but definitely suffered a major trauma leaving her homeless and mute. Her life collides with a therapist who has a crippling anxiety about the ocean.” Mermaids’ Lament Facebook page.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Crazy Nights [Follie di notte] (1978): A mondo-style documentary about burlesque performances in the disco age, hosted by model and Salvador Dali confidant Amanda Lear. Directed by sleaze specialist Joe D’Amato, distributor Full Moon hyperbolically describes it as “the wildest and weirdest mondo movie ever made!” On Blu-ray or DVD. Buy Crazy Nights.

Vertigo (1958): Read the Canonically Weird entry! A 4K Ultra HD upgrade (plus a bonus standard Blu-ray), previously available as part of a four-movie Hitchcock set. Buy Vertigo.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. This week, we added Indiana University Cinema to the list, as they’ve resumed live screenings and will feature The Blood of a Poet [Le sang d’un poète] (1930) as a companion to a lecture on the Surrealist photographs of Lee Miller (who also played the statue in Poet) on Sunday, Sept. 12. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time.

FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:

Gothic (1986): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Ken Russell‘s typically skewed take on the night Mary Shelley came up with the idea for “Frankenstein” is now listed as “leaving soon” on Tubi.tv (though we’ve noticed “soon” may mean months in Tubitalk). Watch Gothic on Tubi.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Join us tomorrow at 10:15 PM ET on Netflix (via the Teleparty extension) for our screening of The Signal (2014). As always, look for the link to join around 10 PM ET here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

And further down the road, we are planning a special screening of Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012) with director G.B. Hajim on hand to answer your questions on September 18. The usual time, but this one will be hosted on Tubi.tv, so everyone can join in, no subscriptions required. More details this weekend.

Next week Shane Wilson reviews the cult classic Rock & Roll High School (1979), Giles Edwards takes on the Esperanto horror Incubus (1966), and  Gregory J. Smalley finally gets around to the fourth installment of the second series of Evangelion: Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021). 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.

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):

Memory House: A black Brazilian experiences racism at the hands of his white employers and retreats to a house filled with masks. Social commentary told in a magical realist/fourth-wall-breaking fashion. Receives a very limited Oscar-qualifying release in LA and NYC this week. Memory House official site.

Mogul Mowgli: On the cusp of a career breakthrough, a Pakistani rapper (Riz Ahmed) is diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and spirals into a series of flashbacks and hallucinations. This “surreal drama” from first time director Bassam Tariq is getting a lot of positive buzz from the critics. Mogul Mowgli official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT (announced):

“Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” [formerly titled “Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight”] (2022): Netflix has announced an eight-episode anthology series curated by the very busy del Toro (whose remake of the 1947 film noir Nightmare Alley releases later this year), intended to “challenge our traditional notions of horror.” Although this project has been known for a long time, we just received significant new information: besides the name change, we have episode titles, directors ans writers, and partial cast lists. Our readers may be interested in the two stories written by del Toto himself, as well as offerings from Vincenzo Natali, Ana Lily Amirpour, and, perhaps most notably, Panos Cosmatos (who both directs and co-scripts). Add to that an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation starring Crispin Glover, and you have what we would consider must-stream TV. Deadline has more details.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Bugsy Malone (1976): The story of prohibition-era gangster Malone, but told as a musical with an all-kid cast (including Scott Baio and Jodie Foster). Alan Parker‘s first feature came in an era when Hollywood would greenlight just about anything. On Blu-ray from Paramount Presents. Buy Bugsy Malone.

Dune (1984): Read Eric Gabbard’s review. With the upcoming Denis Villeneuve on the horizon, Arrow re-releases David Lynch‘s personal least-favorite Lynch movie in a deluxe 2-disc Blu-ray limited edition with every conceivable type of extra feature, a 60-page booklet, poster, lobby card reproductions, and so on. You can buy it on HD Ultra or standard Blu-ray, while also considering that next week they release a 3-disc steelbook edition with the movie on both HD and standard Blu-ray, but without the booklet or lobby cards. So check your choices carefully when ordering (the following link defaults to standard Blu-rays). Buy Dune.

Love Rites (1987): A man becomes obsessed with a prostitute he meets on the Metro. Walerian Borowczyk‘s final film is experimental and arty, but not especially erotic, and not really recommended—but here it is for the die-hards. On Blu-ray or DVD from Kino Classics. Buy Love Rites.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time, however.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: September’s Netflix party will be The Signal (2014). Save the date and time: September 11 at 10:15.

We are also planning on squeezing in an additional watch party this month on September 18: Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012), with director G.B. Hajim in the chat room to answer your questions. This will stream on Tubi.tv, so no subscriptions will be required. More details to follow soon.

As for next week’s reviews, Terri “Goregirl” McSorley checks out Netflix’s “Brand New Cherry Flavor”; Pete Trbovich thinks about THX 1138; and Gregory J. Smalley goes really underground for the animated satire (?) Tickles the Clown. 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.

We’re ready to take suggestions and votes in the comments for our August Netflix Weird Watch party, scheduled for Saturday, September 11 at 10:15 PM ET.

If you’d like to attend our watch party, then the important thing is to RSVP in the comments, where you can make a screening suggestion, or just say you plan to be there. As always, we’re looking for five likely attendees before officially scheduling.

The Canonically Weird movies on Netflix that we haven’t yet screened yet are Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). (Netflix is losing catalog titles at an alarming rate, replacing them with “exclusive” content). Feel free to nominate any of these, or ignore them in favor of other selections.

To participate, you’ll need a U.S. Netflix account, a Chrome-based browser, and the TeleParty (formerly “Netflix Party”) extension.

Okay, now join us in discussion in the comments.

This month’s Amazon Prime Watch Party— Capone (2020)— starts in fifteen minutes.

You’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member in the US to participate.

Here is the link to join: https://amz.onl/0Dd4sXG

See you soon!

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.

STREAMING PREMIERES (SHUDDER):

Mosquito State (2020): A nerdy and psychologically unstable Wall Street analyst breeds mosquitos in his Manhattan penthouse. The quotes in the trailer (“Cronenberg Meets Kafka“; “Bold and Weird”) are promising. Debuts exclusively on Shudder (subscription required).

IN DEVELOPMENT (pre-production):

“The Man Who Fell to Earth” (2022?): Showtime presses forward with its attempt to reimagine the 1976 David Bowie classic as a (limited?) series. The latest news is that “Star Trek: Voyager”‘s Kate Mulgrew will join the cast as a CIA operative. More at Gizmodo.

IN DEVELOPMENT (rumored):

Nosferatu (202?): There’s been a rumor—or maybe, just an expression of mutual interest—that  Robert Eggers will team up again with The Witch‘s Anya Taylor-Joy for a remake of Nosferatu. Normally, we’d be against a such a senseless remake, but we’re down for anything Eggers wants to try (and Taylor-Joy is a sweet bonus). Of course, red-hot Taylor-Joy is booked solid for quite a while, and Eggers has to finish his “Viking revenge movie,” The Northman, first. Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for rekindling the speculation based on a single line in an L.A. Times interview.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Blind Beast (1969): Read our review. Arrow Video gives the deluxe Blu-ray treatment to this perverted tale of a blind sculptor and his captive model. Buy Blind Beast.

Two Evil Eyes (1990): Legendary horror directors adapt Edgar Allan Poe: George Romero takes on “The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar” while Dario Argento goes for “The Black Cat.” Harvey Keitel has an over-the-top dream sequence in Argento’s half of the film. Buyer beware: this Blue Underground release is on 4K UHD Blu-ray only (the second standard Blu-ray houses extra features only). Buy Two Evil Eyes [4K UHD].

Viva (2007): A 70s housewife gets sucked into the wild side of the sexual revolution. Anna Biller‘s first full-length feature isn’t quite as strange as her breakout The Love Witch—it’s more of a straightforward parody of period sexploitation films—but it has a similar retro aesthetic. After being somewhat hard-to-find for a few years, it’s now on Blu-ray with behind the scenes footage and commentary by Biller. Buy Viva.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. This week we added Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema, which used to host regular midnight movies back in the pre-pandemic times and is tentatively getting back into the game with a Wednesday night screening of Mulholland Drive; Santa Rosa, California’s Roxy 14, whose biweekly cult film series will be a double feature of One Dark Night (1982) and Phantasm; and a brand new venue, Arkadin Cinema and Bar in St. Louis, who have a great slate this week with Son of the White Mare on Friday night and Dune (1984) on Wednesday. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Tune in tomorrow night as we’ll be joining in a virtual mob to watch Tom Hardy mumble his way through Capone (2020) on Amazon Prime. As always, the link to join will drop around 10 PM ET here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Next week, we’ll review a selection of new releases, the biggest of which will be Giles Edwards‘ report on Leos Carax‘ weirdo Sparks musical, Annette (2021). Venturing further into obscurity, Shane Wilson takes a trip to Mondo Hollywoodland, a low budget indie stoner satire currently available on video-on-demand. Finally, Gregory J. Smalley goes deep underground and comes up with a review of The Best of Doris Wishman, a Something Weird soundtrack/DVD collection that dropped in 2021 with little fanfare. 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.