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.

NEW ON DVD:

Condemned (2015): A slumming rich girl squats with her boyfriend in a condemned building where a virus is turning the disreputable residents into hallucinating homicidal maniacs. Critics didn’t like it (it earned a pathetic 14 on the Metacritic meter) but the “w” word did pop up a couple of times in reader reviews. Buy Condemned.

“Man Seeking Woman: The Complete Season 1”: Critics repeatedly refer to this Jay Baruchel sitcom about a single man’s dating life as “surreal”: he goes on a date with an actual troll, attends a wedding in Hell, accidentally misplaces his penis, and so forth. The series survived a first season on deep cable’s FXX network and been renewed for a second. Buy “Man Seeking Woman: The Complete Season 1”.

Over Your Dead Body (2014): The prolific Takashi Miike returns to straight horror for the first time in years for this tale of the production of a classic kabuki revenge drama, the adulterous backstage shenanigans of the cast, and the supernatural collision between the two. Released via Shout! Factory with no special features. Buy Over Your Dead Body. Buy Over Your Dead Body [Blu-ray].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Over Your Dead Body (2014): See description in DVD above. At this writing the Blu-ray is actually listed at $2 cheaper than the DVD (a trend we’ve been seeing more of as Blu works its way towards being the standard physical format). Buy Over Your Dead Body [Blu-ray].

Valentino (1977): A fantastical biopic covering the life of silent screen sex symbol Rudolph Valentino (played by dancer Rudolf Nuryev). One of Ken Russell‘s least appreciated movies because, as Ken Hanke points out, “Russell fans greeted it somewhat tepidly, because it was much less experimental than his last three films... The rest of the world found it too experimental and over-the-top…” Buy Valentino (1977) [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON SNAGFILMS:

The American Astronaut (2001): Read the Certified Weird entry! The first absurdist musical comedy space western, about the title character trying to hook up the Boy Who Actually Saw a Woman’s Breast with the Girl with a Vagina Made of Glass. I paid good money for a DVD of this film; a Mr. Stephenson later informed me it was available for free online, then was heard to say “hertz doughnut.”  Watch The American Astronaut free on SnagFilms.

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 on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

It’s a thin week for movies in general, much less weird movies. Film distributors don’t like to work the week after the holidays anymore than the rest of us do. Things should start to pick up again next week when everyone goes back to the office. Until then, here are a couple of neato weirdo events for folks in NY or LA, and a free movie for you to enjoy.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Jan. 1-3, 5):

“Season’s Beatings: A Christmas in Hong Kong”: Cinefamily celebrates the New Year with the ultraviolent underbelly of Hong Kong’s New Wave, the stuff that goes deeper and weirder than John Woo and Jackie Chan. It starts off with Sammo Hung’s oversized comedy kung fu in Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2 at midnight on News Years’ Day. Saturday brings us a “Category III Double Feature.” (“Category III” was (is) the most restrictive rating given to movies in Hong Kong, roughly equivalent to an NC-17 rating in the United States). First up is Riki-Oh (The Story of Ricky), the notorious ultraviolent cult film with a plot about how Ricky goes to prison and punches holes in everyone he meets and rips out their internal organs. Riki is paired with 1983’s little known Devil Fetus, a gross-out bonanza of demonic possession, worm-vomiting and monster sex. The final two offerings come from Tsui Hark: Sunday’s The Blade, a samurai-style romp, and the fantastical Zu Warriors [AKA Warriors from the Magic Mountain] (the 1983 original—Hark remade his own film in 2001). “Season’s Beatings: A Christmas in Hong Kong” at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (Spectacle Theater, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 7):

The Shining Backwards and Forwards and Inwards and Outwards: If you saw the The Shining fan theory documentary Room 237, you saw clips of an project where filmmakers projected two copies of the horror classic at the same time, running one forward and one backward to create random, surreal synergies. This updated screening adds anaglyph 3D to both prints to create a pulsating “chaos mix.” The Shining Backwards and Forwards and Inwards and Outwards at Spectacle Theater.

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958): A much better movie than the tabloid headline would lead you to expect; this is actually a paranoid sci-fi sleeper a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Free online courtesy of Paramount. Happy New Year!

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 on more distant horizons… Christmas edition!

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN DEVELOPMENT (pre-production):

Manos Returns (est. 2016): No real word on the style or substance of this sequel to the Certified Weird monstrosity Manos, except that it’s the brainchild of Jackey Neyman Jones (who played the little girl) and her father, Tom “The Master” Neyman, will have an acting role. Some funds are already in place and Jackey promises a Kickstarter campaign soon to raise the remainder. Manos Returns official site.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3h94v7_manos-returns_shortfilms

NEW ON DVD:

Queen of Earth (2015): A wealthy woman under stress retires to the countryside with an old friend, where her mental condition continues to deteriorate. From Impolex‘s Alex Ross Perry, this has earned a few cautious comparisons to Repulsion, Persona, and other female-identity disorder films. Buy Queen of Earth.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962): Read our capsule review! Shout! Factory’s restored (!) release of the public domain sleaze classic about a man stalking strippers to find the perfect body for his headless bride includes commentary by Steve Haberman and Tony Sasso, a deleted scene, and “Mystery Science Theater 3000″‘s skewered version as bonus features. Buy The Brain That Wouldn’t Die [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964): Read Alfred Eaker’s review! Enjoy this Christmas treat (?) as 1960s Martians kidnap Kris Kringle, only to find they’ve bit off more than they can chew when the fat man’s jolly brand of commercialism becomes infectious and destroys their indigenous warrior culture.

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 on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Genital Warriors (2015): A screenwriter in a mental institution pens a postmodern tale about two past girlfriends. The Village Voice called it a “weird, wired story.” We are assuming this is getting a theatrical release in NYC only, so the video on demand release may be your only bet to see it. The Genital Warriors official site.

DVR ALERT – (Turner Classic Movies, Sat, Dec. 19, 2:00 AM EST):

Possession (1981)/Black Moon (1975): Read Pamela DeGraff’s controversial take on Possession and the Certified Weird entry for Black Moon. TCM Underground gets very daring with this psychosexual double feature full of surrealism, unicorn breastfeeding, and octopus sex. Wowsa! Richard Harland Smith warns viewers what’s to come on TCM’s Movie Morlocks blog.

SCREENINGS – (Los Angeles, CA, Cinefamily, Monday, Dec. 21):

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974): An American piano player collects a Mexican rancher’s south-of-the-border bounty on the titular head, with violent and tragic consequences. This surrealy macho existenial adventure was Sam Peckinpah’s strangest film; critics at the time hated it, except for Roger Ebert, who called it “some kind of bizarre masterpiece.” Followed by a concert from Dylan Carson as part of the ‘family’s “Band & a Movie” series. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia at Cinefamily.

NEW ON DVD:

Bread and Circus (2003): The son of Mother Earth is condemned by the System, and his descendants overthrow their oppressors, or something (the synopsis is confusing). This self-described Norwegian “bloody surreal horror” from 2003 is being dumped on the market this week by “Wild Eye Raw” together with a load of budget gore flicks. Buy Bread And Circus.

A F**kload of Scotch Tape (2011): A musical neo-noir featuring hard drugs, graphic violence and sex, and bad behavior. A last minute stocking stuffer from Wild Eye (not on the “Raw” label). The asterisks are in the original title and stand for “forkload.” Buy A F**kload Of Scotch Tape.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Dungeonmaster (1984)/Eliminators (1986): Read G. Smalley’s review of The Dungeonmaster. Reject our reality and substitute your own with this campy 80s double feature: the guilty pleasure Dungeonmaster paired with the mandroid/ninja buddy pic Eliminators. Buy The Dungeonmaster/Eliminators [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON SNAGFILMS:

Mondo Cane 2 [AKA Mondo Pazzo] (1963): A quickie attempt to cash in on the popularity of the original Mondo Cane, this cynical shockumentary begins with scenes of dog vivisection (as a protest against British censorship of the original) and progresses to survey leftover footage of transvestites, passion plays starring little girls, early attempts at wet t-shirt contests, and other bizarre human behaviors. Watch Mondo Cane 2 free at Snagfilms.

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.