So Nic Cage gets a Most Conventional Actor Oscar for stumbling around drunk in Las Vegas and failing to get an erection in the final scene, but when sorts a mysterious hallucinogenic powder he finds lying around in a Satanic biker’s lair and forges his own axe to mow down the hippies who burnt his true love alive, he doesn’t even get a sniff from the Academy? And now Giorgos Lanthimos is forced to give up making movies about dystopian futures where singles are sent to a hotel where they must find a mate or be turned into an animal of their choice, and instead make costume dramas about serving wenches, fat bi queens, and Tories wearing powdered Whigs to get the Academy to give him a Most Conventional Picture nod? So what retreads did the Academy of Arts and Sciences see fit to nominate for the Most Conventional Picture Oscar of 2018? A black and white documentary about Mexicans harvesting those little plum tomatoes they put in salads? The fourth remake of a weepie about untalented drunk sellout musicians that sucked the first three times? This year’s Italian-stereotype-conquers-racism-and-finds-a-black-friend road trip comedy? A couple of movies with “Black” right there in the title, to show they are taking diversity seriously?

Yes, the Oscars are a joke, and everyone knows it. (Just try finding someone willing to host the ceremony.) But you, my friend, you aren’t content with the same-old same-old, new wine in a familiar glass. You want weird in your movies. The Weirdcademy Awards are for you, the moviegoer whose friends roll their eyes and sigh loudly when you suggest buying tickets to the latest black and white Estonian witchcraft werewolf love story.

Although the editors of 366 Weird Movies select the nominees from the pool of available movies, the Awards themselves are a naked popularity contest and do not necessarily reflect either the artistic merit or intrinsic weirdness of the films involved. The Weirdcademy Awards are tongue-in-cheek and for fun only. Ballot-stuffing is a frequent occurrence. Please, no wagering.

The Weirdcademy Awards are given to the Weirdest Movie, Actor, Actress and Scene of the previous year, as voted by the members of the Weirdcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Weirdness.

Who makes up the Weirdcademy? Membership is open to all readers of 366 Weird Movies. The rules for joining the Weirdcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Weirdness are as follows. To officially join, locate an official online ballot (such as the one below) and hover your mouse pointer over the radial button representing the choice of movie you would like to see win any award in any category. Then, simply depress the left button of your mouse to make your selection. Selections made using the right mouse button will be disregarded, and you will be forced to reapply. If your application for membership is approved, a dot will appear next to your choice. You are not done yet, so continue reading. To be certified as a voting member of the Weirdcademy, at some point subsequent to making your selection, you must navigate your mouse button to the box marked “vote.” Now, again depress your left mouse button to confirm your membership as a voting member of the Weirdcademy.

(Vote as many times as you like, but only once per day, please. We’ll keep voting open until February 24 at 12:00 Noon EST, so we can announce our results before the Academy Awards and steal their thunder).

There is no requirement that you’ve have to actually see all the movies in any category before voting.

Be sure to also vote for Weirdest Short Film of the Year. To watch all five nominees and to cast your vote, please click here.

Without further delay, we unveil the nominees for the 2018 Weirdcademy Awards below:
Continue reading YOUR VOTE DETERMINES THE WINNER OF THE 9TH ANNUAL WEIRDCADEMY AWARDS →

It’s time for the 2018 edition of the Weirdcademy Awards, the premier (only) awards contest focused on weird films, chosen by weird film fans. That means shorts as well as features. We’ve collected all five nominees for 2018′s Weirdest Short of the Year together in one place, for ease of voting.  You can cast a vote for your favorite once every 24 hours. February 24 at 12:00 Noon EST. Cameron Jorgensen, 366 Weird Movies under-appreciated shorts Czar, discovered and selected these unusual films through his own research. This year’s lineup includes revelations from noodle-slurping clowns, pretzel-loving monsters, psychedelic drugs that kick in at the worst possible time, ugly cats, and men who blame women (and Rick) for their personal failings.

“Interface | Episode 11 | Revelation” by u m a m i

“Once Upon a Pretzel” by Cool 3D World

“The Stop” by Danny Madden

“Ugly” by Redbear Easterman and Nikita Diakur

“Women Are Mean” by Doron Max Hagay

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):

The Image Book (2018):  Jean-Luc Godard takes images from films of the past, digitally alters them, and philosophizes in voiceover. More late Godard for cinema masochists (we’ll probably end up joining them). The Image Book at Kino-Lorber.

FILM FESTIVALS – Sundance Film Festival (Park City, UT, Jan 24-Feb 3):

The 2019 movie season officially kicks off with Sundance, where a hundred hopeful independent movies, including a few off-the-wall ones, come to vie for a handful of distribution contracts. In recent years, Sundance added the “Next” and “Midnight” screening sections to add some weirdness to the otherwise tame lineup of dramas about privileged white people and their problems (alternating with imported dramas about underprivileged brown people and their problems). This year, however, that hasn’t helped much, as there doesn’t appear to be a Sorry to Bother You or a Swiss Army Man lurking in the program. Maybe we missed them, though.

Here’s what we’ll be tracking in the coming months:

• • “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” – The latest installment in this ongoing popular but terrifying puppet show will screen as part of the Indie Episodic Program 1 collection of curated shorts Jan. 29-31.
  • Greener Grass – Seeing as how this is an extension of a Saturday Short we previously featured on these pages, we’re pretty certain it will be weird; we’re not sure how this idea can expand to fill 100 minutes, but we’re eager to find out. Playing in the Midnight category on Jan. 26, 29, 31, and Feb. 1-2.
  • Koko-di Koko-da – A Nordic fairy tale ” set within the nightmarish landscape between wakefulness and sleep” about a couple with relationship problems beset by “outlandishly distorted nursery-rhyme antagonists” while camping.  Screens Jan. 25-27, 31, and Feb. 1.
  • “Now Apocalypse” – The first three episodes of a new Starz series from Gregg Araki about (who would have guessed?) oversexed young people in surreal situations début at Sundance on Jamuary 29, with an encore January 30.
  • Paradise Hills – A young woman wakes up to find she’s been imprisoned in a hoity-toity Victorian finishing school/reform school on an island; the best case scenario is that this “NEXT” feature turns out to be The Love Witch meets “The Prisoner.” Jan. 26-27, 29, 31, or Feb. 1.

Sundance Film Festival Home Page.

FILM FESTIVALS: Slamdance Film Festival (Park City, UT, Jan 25-31):

Slamdance is Sundance’s punkier, sometimes (usually) weirder little brother, a low-budget alternative to the mid-budget institution. We’ll be reviewing a few that caught our eye a few days from now (with a bonus shorts reviews thrown in)…

• Dollhouse: The Eradication of Female Subjectivity from American Popular Culture – Despite the imposing subtitle, this is a sometimes tasteless mockumentary showing the rise and fall of Junie Spoons, a child superstar in the mold of Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus, told with dolls. Screens January 25 and 28.
  
• A Great Lamp – An experimental film, with animated and magical realist segments, following three alienated young men as they await a rocket launch. January 27 and 29.

Slamdance Film Festival Home Page.

IN DEVELOPMENT (pre-production):

The Color out of Space (end 2019/early 2020?):  Nicolas Cage to star in an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft‘s “The Colour out of Space,” directed by Richard Stanley? Yes, we’ll buy a ticket, thanks. “Space,” Lovecraft’s 1927 tale of a meteorite which falls to earth and brings unspeakable horrors with it, has been (largely unsuccessfully) adapted for screen many times, notably as Die, Monster, Die! with Boris Karloff (not to mention all the ripoffs of the basic premise, like The Blob). SciFi4Me has the scoop.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Best F(r)iends Vol.1 + Vol. 2 (2018): The Room‘s Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero reunite; Sestero plays a homeless man rescued by Wiseau’s corpse-robbing multician, and they go on a quirky road trip. The world gets almost four more hours of oddball Wiseau engaging in adventures described as “surreal” and “bizarre.” Blu-ray only. Buy Best F(r)iends Volume 1 + 2.

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, 1/25 – The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989). At Indiana University Cinema.
• Boston, MA, 1/31 – Altered States (1980), with Night of the Bloody Apes (1969). At the Brattle Theatre.
• Dallas, TX, 1/25 – Metropolis (1927), with a new live score performed by David Didonato. At the Texas Theater.
• Los Angeles, CA, 1/26 – Fight Club (1999). At the Aero Theatre.
• New York City, NY, 1/25-1/26 (midnights) – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 1/25-1/26 (midnights) – Suspiria (1977). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 1/25-1/26 (midnights) – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). At IFC Center.
• Oakland, CA, 1/26 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). At the New Parkway Theater.
• Oakland, CA, 1/31 – Blue Velvet (1986). At the New Parkway Theater.
• Pittsburgh, PA, 1/25-27, 1/29-1/31 – Metropolis (1927). At Row House Cinema.
• Pittsburgh, PA, 1/26-1/28, 1/29-1/31 – Blancanieves (2012). At Row House Cinema.
• Pittsburgh, PA, 1/26, 1/30 – Un Chien Andalou (1929) (free). At Row House Cinema.
• San Francisco, CA, 1/30 – Paprika (2006). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada, 1/28 – Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) with Mandy (2018) (double feature with discounted tickets if you see both). At the Rio Theatre.

FREE  MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:

Bronson (2008): Read the Canonically Weird review! Nicolas Winding Refn‘s stylized and surrealistic biopic about Charles Bronson, Britain’s most violent prisoner, with a terrifying starmaking performance from Tom Hardy. Watch Bronson free on Tubi.tv.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Next week we’ll bring you a little preview of three feature films (and a short or two or three) from Slamdance (see above), which may or may not be making their way to your screens soon. El Rob Hubbard will also knock another one out of the reader-suggested review queue with 1985s little-seen advertising satire Bliss. We’ll wrap up the week by announcing our nominees for the 9th installment of our annual “Weirdcademy Awards”—and open up voting to members of the Weirdcademy (that’s you, by the way). Stay tuned!

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):

St. Bernard Syndicate (2018): A Danish businessman partners with an investor who’s just been diagnosed with A.L.S. in a scheme to sell St. Bernards to the Chinese. Sounds subtly strange at best, but Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com did claim it is “very funny at times, but also chilling and always interested in weirdness…” No official site located.

IN DEVELOPMENT (post-production):

Synchronic (2019?): Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are back to work quickly after finishing 2017’s The Endless with another film in a loose reality-bending series hearkening all the way back to their debut, Resolution. (2014’s romantic fantasy Spring is the only outlier in their oeuvre.) This time the duo play New Orleans paramedics who encounter and investigate victims of a designer drug. Scooped by Dread Central (the article may contain a minor spoiler).

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Madeline’s Madeline (2018): Read our review. This arty and dreamlike coming-of-age story features one of the best (and most overlooked) acting debut of the year in Helena Howard, and came in #8 in our list of weirdest movies of 2018. DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. Buy Madeline’s Madeline.

The Plague Dogs (1982): This not-for-kids animated tale follows two hounds who escape from a research lab and are hunted down as potential carriers of the plague. Adapted by Martin Rosen from a novel by Richard Adams (Watership Down), and in our reader-suggested queue. This new Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory includes both the theatrical cut and the director’s cut (previously unavailable in the U.S.) Buy The Plague Dogs.

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, 1/18-1/21 – Mandy (2018). At the Brattle Theatre.
• Boston, MA, 1/22 – The BlacKKKlansman (2018) with Sorry to Bother You (2018) (double feature). At the Brattle Theatre.
• Boston, MA, 1/24 – The Company of Wolves (1984). At the Brattle Theatre.
• Los Angeles, CA, 1/18 (midnight) – Donnie Darko (2001) (theatrical cut). At the Nuart Theatre.
• Los Angeles, CA, 1/19 – Don’t Look Now (1973) with Cold Heaven (1992) (double feature). At the Egyptian Theater.
• Los Angeles, CA, 1/24 – Suspiria (1977) with Carrie (1976). At the Egyptian Theater.
• New York City, NY, 1/18-1/19 – Branded to Kill (1967). At the Metrograph.
• New York City, NY, 1/18-1/20 (midnights) – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 1/18-1/20 (midnights) – Mandy (2018). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 1/18-1/20 (midnights) – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). At IFC Center.
• Omaha, NB, 1/21 – Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Vancouver, BC, Canada, 1/18 (midnight) – Barbarella (1968). At the Rio Theater.

YOU LINK US! YOU REALLY LINK US!:

366 Weird Movies @ List Challenge –  “Darko” has created a checklist for the List at the popular “List Challenge” site. An easy way to check off how many movies you’ve seen from the 366 canon. We know of one person who scored 100%; if you like you can tell us your score. 366 Weird Movies FULL LIST.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Next week we’ll continue to clean out our cupboards of old (but still quality) movie reviews. Shane Wilson brings you a popular one from the reader-suggestion queue in David Cronenberg‘s weirdly fetishistic Crash (1996); Pete Trbovich experiments with form in his “case study” of the Hollywood flop North (1994); and G. Smalley covers the better-late-than-never 2018 DVD debut of Alex Cox‘ wild punk gangster western comedy Straight to Hell (1987). We’ll be taking off Martin Luther King day, so enjoy your three-day weekend (Americans). See you next week!

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): Read the Canonically Weird entry! In case you missed it last week, here is a free version of the Expressionist horror classic, one of those silent movies loved by people who hate silent movies. The classical score is by Giuseppe Becce and the title cards are in the original German (so be sure to turn on subtitles by hitting the [cc] button).

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):

Jobe’z World (2019): A middle-aged rollerblading drug dealer goes on the run on a long NYC night after a celebrity client suddenly dies. This no-budget post-millennial update of After Hours is playing in New York only, but hasn’t exactly won the local critics over. Jobe’z World official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT (completed):

“Weird City”: A dystopian class satire from Jordan “Get Out” Peele, with six episodes set in the titular locale. “Super weird,” says one trailer character. “That’s your opinion,” answers another. We’re hoping the first character is right. The cast features LeVar Burton, Ed O’Neill, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, Mark Hamill, and more. Debuting on YouTube Premium on February 13, so exposure may be limited. Busy Peele also has a new horror feature film, Us, opening the SWSX festival and hitting theaters soon after.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

An Evening with Beverly Luff Lin (2018): An unhappily married woman (Aubrey Plaza) attends a performance put on by a man from her past entitled “An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn.” Greasy Jim Hosking tries to make a romantic comedy, without sacrificing his absurdist tendencies. Now on DVD and Blu-ray. Buy An Evening with Beverly Luff Lin.

Let the Corpses Tan (2017): Gold thieves have a shootout with cops in Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani‘s latest, this time a tribute to Italian poliziotteschi films. It doesn’t look as strange as their earlier giallo-inspired work, but at least one mainstream reviewer found it “profoundly weird.” On DVD, Blu-ray, or VOD. Buy Let the Corpses Tan.

Silent Scream (1980): Read Pamela de Graff’s review. A late Barbara Steele slasher movie in what Pam dubbed the “Unusual ’80’s” horror genre. Upgraded to Blu-ray this week. Buy Silent Scream.

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, 1/11 – The Exterminating Angel [El àngel exterminador] (1962). At Indiana University Cinema.
• Los Angeles, CA, 1/17 – Walkabout (1971), with The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) (double feature), hosted by author Luc Roeg and cinematographer Tony Richmond. At the Egyptian Theater.
• New York City, NY, 1/11-1/12 (midnights) – Eraserhead (1977). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 1/11-1/12 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 1/11-1/12 (midnights) – Mandy (2018). At IFC Center.
• New York City, 1/17 – Branded to Kill (1967). At the Metrograph.
• Oakland, CA, 1/17 – Fight Club (1999). At the New Parkway Theater.
• Pittsburgh, PA, 1/11-1/17 – Inherent Vice (2014). At Row House Cinema.
• San Francisco, CA, 1/12 – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). At the Roxie.
• Toronto, Ont., Canada, 1/11 – After Hours (1985). At the Royal.
• Tuscon, AZ, 1/11-1/12 – Wild at Heart (1990). At the Loft.
• Tuscon, AZ, 1/16 – The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). At the Loft.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

As previously mentioned, our announcement of the week’s coming reviews will henceforth appear as part of the “Weird Horizon” column.

G. Smalley is aware he suggested he’d be taking a brief post-#366 vacation, but he still has some review commitments and leftover submissions to publish, so you’ll get a full slate of reviews next week. We’ll start with Shane Wilson‘s recap of “Mystery Science Theater, Season 12 (The Gauntlet).” Shane will also knock one out of the reader-suggestion queue with 1951’s reincarnated dog comedy You Never Can Tell. Finally, G. Smalley gives you the lowdown on David Firth‘s animated greatest hits remix, Umbilical World. After that, maybe there’s a brief vacation window before the Sundance/Slamdance slate hits on January 24—although we do still have a couple more reviews in the can, so these pages won’t be bare.

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.