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):

Every Time I Die (2019): The soul of a troubled paramedic migrates into the bodies of his friends after he dies. At least one critic liked this low-budget psychological thriller with “a surreal feel” quite a lot. Also available on ITunes. Every Time I Die official site.

Rapid Eye Movement (2019): A radio DJ tries to break the world record for consecutive days awake, both to raise money for charity and because a serial killer promises to put him to sleep permanently if he fails. Not sure where it will play, but it’s simultaneously released on-demand. Rapid Eye Movement official Facebook page.

SPECIAL EVENTS (8/13 and 8/19):

Millennium Actress (2001): Read the Certified Weird entry! Fathom Events parade of classic anime re-releases continues with Satoshi Kon‘s hallucinatory biopic of a fictional Japanese actress’ three-decade career, told in a blend of flashbacks and fantasies in which her interviewers join. Newly restored and with a new English language dub, and with reflections by producers Taro Maki and Masao Maruyama to be broadcast after the film concludes. Check the Fathom Events site for a screening near you.

IN DEVELOPMENT (announced):

“The Man Who Fell to Earth” (TV Series): CBS All Access has green-lit a new series based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel (which Nicolas Roeg made into a very weird 1976 movie starring David Bowie that you may have heard of). Casting hasn’t yet begun, but veteran producer Alex Kurtzman (“Star Trek: Discovery”) is set to direct. There’s plenty of room for skepticism that this will be as offbeat as the original; in fact, there’s reason to suspect that they’ll be going for a more mainstream aesthetic: “Nicolas Roeg was a legend, and the last thing I would want to do is mimic his work in any way,” said Kurtzman. More details (with industry insider type stuff) at Deadline.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Don’t Look Now (1973): Read the Canonically Weird review! It seems like the Venice-based grief horror classic just got a Criterion release, but now Studiocanal puts out the ultimate “Collector’s Edition” of the film with a new 4K restoration, Ultra HD and standard Blu-ray discs, a separate disc of extra features (some new), the soundtrack CD, collectible postcards, posters and booklets. All regions. Buy Don’t Look Now (Collector’s Edition).

Fragment of an Empire (1929): A Russian soldier loses his memory in a WWI battle and returns to his home in St. Petersburg. This rare, newly restored/rediscovered Soviet avant-garde silent sounds like it could be the model for Guy Maddin‘s Canonically Weird Archangel. In a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack from Flicker Alley. Buy Fragment of an Empire.

The Reflecting Skin (1990): Read the Canonically Weird review! This strange little rural movie about a kid who thinks his neighbor is a vampire (among other oddities like a death car and a petrified baby angel) arrives on Blu-ray in North America for the first time, courtesy of Film Movement. Also on DVD and VOD (for the first time, we believe). Buy The Reflecting Skin.

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.

• Boston, MA, 8/9 – Solaris [Solyaris] (1972). At the Museum of Fine Arts.
• Boston, MA, 8/10 – Barbarella (1968), with Dune (1984) and Flash Gordon (1980) (triple feature). At the Brattle.
• Boston, MA, 8/12 – Blue Velvet (1986). At the Brattle.
• Boston, MA, 8/15 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (free screening). At the Museum of Fine Arts.
• Columbus, OH, 8/14 – Night of the Hunter (1955). At Gateway Film Center.
• Los Angeles, CA, 8/9 (midnight) – Eraserhead (1977). At the Aero.
• Louisville, KY, 8/9-8/10 – Last Year at Marienbad [L’Année Dernière à Marienbad] (1961). At the Speed Museum.
• New York City, NY, 8/9 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (free screening). At Governor’s Island.
• New York City, NY, 8/9-8/10 (midnights) – Kung Fu Hustle (2004). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 8/9-8/15 – The Cremator [Spalovac Mrtvol] (1969). At the Metrograph.
• New York City, NY, 8/13 – Dogville (2003). At Lincoln Center.
• New York City, NY, 8/15 – Holy Motors (2012). At the Metrograph.
• San Francisco, CA, 8/12-8/13 – Brazil (1985). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Silver Spring, MD, 8/10 (midnight), 8/12 – Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971). At AFI Silver.
• Tuscon, AZ, 8/9 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), with Q&A with actor Gary Lockwood. At JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada, 8/9 – Fight Club (1999). At the Rio.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Now that Giles Edwards has finished his Fantasia Festival 2019 coverage, we can return to “normal” around here… which, of course, means weird. So next week you can expect a review of Harmony Korine‘s latest, the Matthew McConaughey stoner comedy The Beach Bum. We’ll also take a look at Severin Films’ monumental documentary/trailer collection/soundtrack compilation All the Colors of Giallo. And, to top it off, another Blu-ray giveaway contest, to thank our readers for keeping us in business. Onward and weirdward!

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.

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):

Ladyworld (2018): Eight teenage girls are trapped in a house by an earthquake in a surreal distaff take on “Lord of the Flies.” Screening in Los Angeles and New York this week, coming to VOD in late August. Ladyworld official site.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Hush Hush, Nellie Oleson (2019): Kelly Hughes documentary Hush…Hush, Nellie Oleson! about his “increasingly absurd (and gory)” attempts to fit former “Little House on the Prairie” actress Alison Arngrim into a low-budget experimental horror film.  VOD only. Buy or rent Hush Hush, Nellie Oleson.

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.

• Columbus, OH , 8/2-8/8 – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). At the Gateway.
• Columbus, OH, 8/2 (midnight), 8/3-8/4 –Donnie Darko (2001). At the Gateway.
• Los Angeles, CA, 8/4 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At the Egyptian.
• New York City, NY, 8/2-8/3 (midnights) – Kung Fu Hustle (2004). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 8/8 – School Daze (1988) with Sorry to Bother You (2018) (double feature) (free screening). At Lincoln Center.
• San Diego, CA, 8/3 (midnight) & 8/4 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At Ken Cinema.
• Schenectady, NY, 8/2 – Phantom of the Paradise (1974) with “We Sold Our Souls LIVE!,” a multimedia presentation from Grady Hendrix. At Proctors.
• Tuscon, AZ, 8/7 – The Wicker Man (1973) (“Final Cut”). At the Loft.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada, 8/2 – Paprika (2006). At the Rio.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada, 8/8 – The Holy Mountain (1973). At the Rio.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week, all Fantasia Festival 2019 reviews must go! We’re clearing out our stock and passing the savings along to you! Save on reviews of the Russian black comedy Why Don’t You Just Die?; the children’s anime fantasy The Moon in the Hidden Woods (act now and get a bonus interview with the director!); the early-release preview of the restored classic Son of the White Mare [Fehérlófia]; another preview, this time of the coming-soon-to-theaters thinking man’s sci-fi offering Freaks; and Giles Edwards final grab bag of Fantasia leftovers and left-field recommendations. All this before Tuesday, by which time we’re expecting to recieve Alfred Eaker‘s highly anticipated report on his second summer blockbuster assignment, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And in case that’s not enough for you, Shane Wilson will also chime in on a couple of odd shorts now streaming on Netflix: Paul Thomas Anderson‘s 15-minute Thom Yorke music video “Anima” and David Harbour’s30-minute mockumentary Frankenstein’s Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein. Just because you’re on summer vacation doesn’t mean you can take time off from reading 366 Weird Movies; in fact, you should be using your free time to catch up on all the sizzling weird movies news. Onward and weirdward!

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.

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.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

The Book of Birdie (2017): Read Giles Edwards’ review. A novitiate hallucinates in a convent. Previously on VOD only, hard copies now available on DVD or Blu-ray. Buy The Book of Birdie.

The Doors (1991): Read Scott Sentinella’s review. Oliver Stone‘s worshipful, over-the-top hallucinatory biopic of Dionysian rock star Jim Morrison is a guilty pleasure. This is a 4K upgrade (standard-def Blu-ray also included) with two cuts of the film (which are reportedly not very different at all) and some new and old extra features. Buy The Doors.

The Erlprince (2016): Amidst flights of fancy, a teenage Polish prodigy works on a theory of parallel universes, and on a doomsday clock for this one. Screen Anarchy suggests it resembles “a Polish Donnie Darko.” DVD, Blu-ray or VOD. Buy The Erlprince.

The Milky Way [La Voie Lactee] (1969): Read the Certified Weird review! One of Luis Buñuel‘s most difficult late-period movies is a series of surreal episodes based on esoteric Christian heresies. Kino Lorber acquires the rights formerly held by the Criterion Collection—the Criterion disc has been long out-of-print– and adds a commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton. On Blu-ray or DVD. Buy The Milky Way.

LIVE TOUR:

“Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show Parts 1 & 2”: Oddball nonpareil Crispin Glover hosts an evening of films and monologues in late July and August. The program may change slightly from appearance to appearance, but includes a double feature of his rarely screened surrealist films What Is It? (2005) and It Is Fine. Everything Is Fine (2007); a sneak preview of his upcoming project (in post-production and still untitled, but apparently not the third entry in the “It” trilogy); Q&As and book signings; and Crispin reading from his books, accompanied by a slideshow. A strange performance deserves an equally strange series of venues: starting at the Kranjska Gora International Film Festival in Slovenia on July 29-30; moving to Brooklyn on August 14-15; then off to Paducah, KY, where Crispin’s father Bruce will also appear, on August 21-22; and winding up in Huntington, NY, August 27-28. More details here.

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.

• Baltimore, MD, 7/31 – Eraserhead (1977). At the Senator.
• Boston, MA, 7/26-7/28 – Time Bandits (1981). At the Brattle.
• Boston, MA, 7/28 – Last Year at Marienbad [L’Année Dernière à Marienbad] (1961). At the Museum of Fine Arts.
• Chicago, IL, 7/26-7/27 (midnights) – Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). At the Music Box.
• Cleveland, OH, 7/27-7/28 – Last Year at Marienbad [L’Année Dernière à Marienbad] (1961). At the Cleveland Institute of Art.
• Columbus, OH, 7/26-7/27 (midnights), 7/27-7/29 – Dead Alive (1992). At Gateway Film Center.
• Columbus, OH, 7/26-8/1 – Heavenly Creatures (1994). At Gateway Film Center.
• Columbus, OH, 7/30-8/1 – The Wicker Man (1973). At Gateway Film Center.
• Columbus, OH, 8/1 (midnight) – Donnie Darko (2001). At Gateway Film Center.
• Los Angeles, CA, 7/27 – Freaks (1932), with House on Haunted Hill (1958), Thing from Another World (1951), Them! (1954), The Haunting (1963), and Cat People (1942) (one-price marathon). At the Egyptian.
• New York City, NY, 7/26-7/27 (midnights) – Brazil (1985). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 7/26-7/27 (midnights) – Mulholland Drive (2001). At IFC Center.
• Pittsburgh, PA, 7/27 – Pink Floyd the Wall (1982). At the Row House.
• Santa Ana, CA, 7/26 – Black Swan (2010). At the Frida.
• Santa Ana, CA, 7/29-7/31 – Perfect Blue (1997). At the Frida.
• Toronto, Ont., Canada – El Topo (1970). At the Royal.
• Tuscon, AZ, 7/27 – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) (free admission). At the Loft.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada – Brazil (1985). At the Rio.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week we’ll again have lots and lots of content as Giles Edwards finishes up his three-week Fantasia Festival 2019 marathon. He’ll whet your appetites for a pair of very weird low-budget European films with Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway and Alien Crystal Palace, brief you on a couple of more (relatively) mainstream horror titles in Daniel Isn’t Real and 1BR, and review even more films to be named later. We don’t expect to have any more surprise pop-up reviews from outside Fantasia, but then again, we didn’t expect to last week, either (guess that’s what makes them surprising). In any case, onward and weirdward!

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.

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 (WIDE RELEASE):

Midsommar (2019): Read our review! Ari Aster‘s while-the-iron-is-hot followup to the hit horror-drama Hereditary is a relationship movie done in the style of The Wicker Man. Midsommar official site.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

The Passing (1984): Converging science fiction tale about a couple of elderly WWII veterans and a young death row inmate which is described as “increasingly surreal.” Probably the least anticipated of the four movies Vinegar Syndrome is releasing this week (which includes two titles listed below along with the low budget 1993 vampire flick Night Owl). The DVD/Blu-ray combo pack  includes four 1970s shorts from director John Huckert. Buy The Passing.

Putney Swope (1969): Read our review. This Robert Downey, Sr. (a Prince) absurdist satire about a militant black man becomes head of a Madison Avenue advertising agency receives its first-ever Blu-ray release from Vinegar Syndrome. They even got Downey to record a commentary track, among the many extra features. A DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. Buy Putney Swope.

Taking Tiger Mountain (1983): Radical feminists brainwash a World War III draft-dodger (Bill Paxton, in his film debut) and send him on a mission to assassinate the Welsh Minister of Prostitution. An experimental film adapted from a William S. Burroughs story that was left unfinished in 1974 and completed by a different director in 1983, now in a DVD/Blu-ray combo from Vinegar Syndrome. It’s also in our reader suggested review queue. Buy Taking Tiger Mountain.

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.

• Columbus, OH, 7/9-7/10 – Videodrome (1983). At Gateway Film Center.
• Dallas, TX, 7/5 – Last Year at Marienbad [L’Année Dernière à Marienbad] (1961). At the Texas Theatre.
• Memphis, TN, 7/11 – Head (1968). At Crosstown Theater.
• New York City, NY, 7/5 & 7/6 – Teorema (1968). At the Metrograph.
• New York City, NY, 7/5-7/6 (midnights) – Eraserhead (1977). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 7/5-7/6 (midnights) – Mulholland Drive (2001). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 7/5-7-11 – Audition [Ôdishon] (1999). At the Metrograph.
• New York City, NY, 7/10 – Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973), with new live score by Morricone Youth. At Nitehawk Cinema (Prospect Park).
• Oakland, CA, 7/11 – Natural Born Killers (1994). At the New Parkway Theater.
• San Francisco, CA, 7/10 – Zardoz (1974). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Silver Spring, MD, 7/6-7/7, 7/10-7/11 – Night of the Hunter (1955). At AFI Silver Theater.
• Toronto, Ont., Canada, 7/9 – Dogtooth [Kynodontas] (2009). At the Royal.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada, 7/7 – Stalker (1979). At the Rio Theatre.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: After pushing up the review of Midsommar to yesterday, we have a minimal slate on tap next week. A review of the punk-feminist grindhouse experiment Dead Hooker in a Trunk is certain, and we should be able to fit in another mystery title. Giles Edwards is busy packing his bags for the Fantasia Festival 2019 (which actually begins this Thursday, although he’ll likely need some time to settle in and actually see something before sending out dispatches). Stay tuned to the homepage for developments (or follow us on Facebook or Twitter). Onward and weirdward!

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.