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 on the official site links.

IN THEATERS (WIDE RELEASE):

Tusk: Kevin Smith’s latest horror attempt makes fun of Canadians and involves a walrus. TIFF programmers dubbed it a “double-double of strange,” and subsequent reviewers have chimed in with phrases like “weird and wobbly” and “deeply weird.” Hard to believe it’s getting a fairly wide release, but there you have it. Tusk official site.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Scribbler: A woman with multiple personality disorder uses an experimental machine to scrub away various identities. Reviews were generally negative, but Mike McGranaghan thought it was “gloriously bonkers.” Hope you’re right, Mike. The Scribbler Facebook page.

The Zero Theorem: Read James Harben’s review. Terry Gilliam‘s latest dystopian fantasy gets a belated U.S. release. The Zero Theorem official site.

SCREENINGS (We Make Movies Screening Series, Los Angeles, CA., Sunday, Sep. 21):

Way Down in Chinatown: While L. Rob Hubbard didn’t actually love this surrealistic love-it-or-hate-it movie about avant-garde theater during the apocalypse (in fact, he hated it), we can guarantee that it’s 100% weird. We may have an additional announcement about this title soon. If your in Los Angeles, stop by Three Clubs on Vine Street at 7:30. If you say 366 Weird Movies sent you, people will look at you like you’re insane, which could be amusing for you. Way Down in Chinatown at the We Make Movies Screening Series on Facebook.

FILM FESTIVALS – Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX, Sep. 18-25):

The Alamo Drafthouse may be America’s coolest theater. Their brand has grown so big that now they even distribute their own (generally weird) movies. One of the Alamo’s hippest projects is the Fantastic Fest, now in its eighth year. As per usual, there is a fantastic slate of weird movies and some neato revivals here. While there are almost a dozen “of interest” movies showing here that we’ve already noted in our entries on Sundance, Toronto, and other venues, here are some other titles that are special to Fantastic Fest:

• ABCs of Death 2 – Premier of the sequel to the sporadically good, sporadically weird original; the second-string lineup of directors still includes a couple of fascinating names like Bill Plympton and Vincenzo Natali. It opened the Fest, so the premier is past, but you can see it again Sep. 25.
• Blind –  A woman withdraws from the world and begins living inside her own head after she goes blind. Sep. 19 & 22.
• Bugsy Malone (1976) – A special screening of the gangster movie with an all-kid cast (including tiny versions of Scott Baio and Jodie Foster) to promote “Kid Power!,” a book about children in cult movies. Sep. 20, to be followed by a pie fight.
• “Danger 5: Series 2” – Here’s something unusual: three episodes from an Australian TV show about a team of spies dedicated to hunting down Adolph Hitler, who, it turns out, survived his Berlin bunker and who, in the 1980s, is posing as a high school student. Screening together with the Town Called Panic short “The Christmas Log” for a double dollop of kitschy weirdness on Sep. 21 & 25.
• The Editor – A giallo spoof from Astron-6 about a one-handed editor suspected of murder on a movie set. Screening Sep. 20 & 24.
• Free Fall – György Pálfi‘s latest is an anthology of seven absurd stories witnessed by an old woman who has just survived a fall from a seven story building.  Screens Sep. 19 & 22.
• Horsehead – French horror about a woman who explores her nightmares through lucid dreaming. Sep. 19 & 23.
• The Incident – Two separate sets of travelers find themselves stuck in infinite geographic loops in what programmers describe as “a surrealistic sci-fi vision.” See it Sep. 21 or 25.
• Kung Fu Elliot – An actor/director longs to become “Canada’s first action star” with self-produced low budget movies like They Killed My Cat and Blood Fight, but as this self-styled “surreal documentary” continues it seems that his identity is based on a web of lies. Sep. 20 & 24.
• Norway – The story of a dancing vampire, a flaming prostitute, and a drug dealer, and their trip into a subterranean lair. Oh, those crazy Greeks! Sep. 21 & 24.
• The Tale of Princess Kaguya – Studio Ghibli animated Japanese fairy tale about a magic princess discovered growing in a bamboo stalk. Still one screening left, on Sep. 22.
• Tombville – A man wakes up with no memory in a strange town he can’t leave. Part of a heavy Belgian contingent at the Fest. Sep. 20 & 24.
• “The Voice Thief” – We rarely mention short films playing festivals, but this one, about an opera singer who has lost her voice, was co-written by Alejandro Jodorowsky and directed by his son Adan. Catch it as part of the “Fantastic Shorts” program Sep. 20 & 23.
• “Wastelander Panda: Exile” – Six ten-minute episodes of a (web)series about post-apocalyptic samurai pandas we first caught wind of back in 2012. Sep 21 & 24.

Fantastic Fest official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Eraserhead (1977): Read the Certified Weird entry! Here’s an obscure little title some of you may have heard of. The Criterion edition is almost identical to David Lynch ‘s own “Eraserhead 2000″ release, except that it includes a bonus disc of six short films (the same lineup as 2006’s “The Short Films of David Lynch,” minus “The Cowboy and the Frenchman”). Buy Eraserhead [The Criterion Collection].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Eraserhead (1977): See description in DVD above. Buy Eraserhead [The Criterion Collection Blu-ray].

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 on the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Archaeology Of A Woman: An elderly woman with dementia is a suspect in a murder investigation. Slant calls it “Lynchian” (albeit in a one-star review) and 72-year old Sally Kirkland has a nude scene (her first since 2010’s Flexing with Monty!) Archeology of a Woman official Facebook page.

Bird People: Two-parter set at a hotel by the De Gaulle airport: in the first segment, and American businessman abandons his career, and in the second something magically real happens to a hotel maid (no one wants to spoil the surprise). Reviews of this French drama have been love-it-or-hate-it, and it comes with a “slow” warning. Bird People official site.

RETROSPECTIVE – (Lincoln Center, New York City, Sep. 5-14):

“Fifty Years of John Waters: How Much Can You Take?”: We’re a little late reporting on this mini-festival of John Waters atrocities hosted and curated by the aging Prince of Puke himself, so we won’t tell you that you’ve already missed ultra-rare screenings of the seminal shorts Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (1964), Roman Candles (1966), Eat Your Makeup (1968) and The Diane Linkletter Story (1970) from the director’s personal stash of 16mm prints, and instead focus on what’s coming up: the Hollywood satire Cecil B. Demented (2000) tonight at 7PM, his final film A Dirty Shame (2004) on Sep. 13, Cry-Baby (1990) and Pink Flamingos (1972) both on Sep. 13 & 14, and the art world send-up Pecker (1998) on Sep. 14. Also check out John’s pick of  David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996) (which he calls “hilarious”) as one of his eight “Movies I’m Jealous I Didn’t Make,” screening Saturday, Sep. 13. “Fifty Years of John Waters: How Much Can You Take?” retrospective at Film Society of Lincoln Center

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (est. 2015): The original Samurai Cop (1991) was a quickly-forgotten piece of direct-to-video dreck that was rediscovered and championed as a so-bad-it’s-good classic in the 21st century, mainly on the basis of an infamous, awkwardly hostile sexual flirtation between samurai cop and a random horny non-actress nurse. Refashioned, we’re guessing, as deliberate camp, most of the original cast returns for this belated sequel, accompanied by George Lazenby (!) and a trio of blonde porn starlets. What catches our attention, however, is the unexpected announcement that Room-mate Tommy Wiseau will be appearing in the film in an unknown capacity. That, in our mind, is enough to elevate this proposed sequel from curiosity to novelty.  At this writing, the project is $11,000 short of its modest $50,000 Kickstarter goal. Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance Kickstarter page.

NEW ON DVD:

Borgman (2013): Read Ryan Aarset’s review. Alex van Warmerdam‘s mysterious dark fable remains a candidate for the List. Buy Borgman.

Seizure (1974): Oliver Stone’s first film is this undistinguished but bizarre story of a horror writer who finds his character “the Queen of Evil” has come to life, along with her executioner and dwarf henchmen. Check out the cast: Jonathan Frid, Hammer girl Martine Beswick, and Hervé Villechaize, with Troy Donahue and Mary Woronov among the victims. Buy Seizure.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Borgman (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Borgman [Blu-ray].

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004): According to its own opening narration, this dark children’s comedy is about “clever and reasonably attractive orphans, suspicious fires, carnivorous leeches, Italian food and secret organizations.” It’s also in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events [Blu-ray].

Seizure (1974): See description in DVD above. Buy Seizure [Blu-ray].

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 on the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Memphis: Impressionistic portrait of a near-homeless, eccentric-genius blues singer (played by musician Willis Earl Beal) wandering the streets of Memphis. Distributor Kino says it’s “steeped in folklore, music, surrealism, and the abstract search for glory.” Memphis official site.

Rocks in My Pockets: Signe Baumane‘s “funny film about depression” explores the mental health struggles of five women in her family with comically surrealistic animation in the style of her mentor Bill Plympton. We’ve been receiving updates on this project for four years now and we’re thrilled to hear that it’s not only complete, but a hit with critics (it currently has a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Rocks in My Pockets official site.

Wetlands: German provocation about a teen girl who isn’t just indifferent to proper hygiene, she’s actively hostile to it: expect grossout moments involving orifices and fluids mixed with tender coming-of-age drama. The poster proudly calls it “the most wtf, nsfw movie at this year’s Sundance festival.” Wetlands official site.

FILM FESTIVALS – Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto, Canada, Sep. 4 – 14):

As you can see from the list below, TIFF has become the North American destination for sub-blockbuster films, including weird ones. It’s importance (if not its prestige) has surpassed Cannes and Sundance. We found a ton of intriguingly bizarre nuggets hidden in TIFF’s massive film buffet, and that’s excluding shorts and movies that already debuted at other festivals. If we’re lucky, half of the potential gems listed below will emerge from this festival with reasonable distribution deals:

• Bang Bang Baby – About a small-town Canadian girl in the 1960s crushing on a teen heartthrob, it’s described as a “surreal, fever-dream fusion of small-town musical and 1950s sci-fi.” Screening Sep. 8, 10 & 12.
• Crime Wave [AKA The Big Crimewave] (1985) – A special screening of this overlooked postmodern cult classic about a screenwriter who can write beginnings and endings of his crime scripts but can’t finish the middles; director John Paizs’ mix of surrealism and retro cinematics was a big influence on Guy Maddin. Catch this rare free screening Sep. 12.
• The Duke of Burgundy – Peter Strickland’s followup to his giallo-tribute Berberian Sound Studio is a strange erotic melodrama about sadomasochistic relationship between an aristocratic butterfly collector and her servant. Sep. 6 & 8.
• Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films – from the makers of Machete Maidens Unleashed! comes this next installment in b-movie history with a look at the studio that brought us Lifeforce and The Apple, among other strange gems. Catch it Sep. 8, 10 or 14.
• Human Highway (1982) – This is the (new?) director’s cut of folk rocker Neil Young’s rarely seen post-apocalyptic counterculture comedy, co-starring Dean Stockwell, Dennis Hopper and Devo. Be there Sep. 10 or 11 (or be square).
• I Am Not Lorena – Chilean collection agencies refuse to accept that Olivia is not Lorena (who owes them a sizable amount of money) in this parable that is consistently described as “Kafkaesque.” Sep. 5, 7 & 13.
• In the Crosswind– “Dreamlike,” impressionistic piece about the 1941 deportations of “anti-Soviet” Estonians to Siberia. Sep. 9, 11 & 14.
• Jauja – A Danish soldier (Viggo Mortensen) hunts for his eloped daughter in the wilds of Patagonia in this minimalist experimental feature. Sep. 10, 11 & 13.
• Journey to the West – Not to be confused with Stephen Chow‘s comic adventure of the same title, Ming-liang Tsai‘s latest stars weird favorite Denis Lavant as a disciple of “the Walker,” a wandering monk who has appeared in other Tsai films. Showing Sep. 12 only.
• Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet – This anthology of animations inspired by the popular works of the Lebanese poet is noteworthy because of the talents involved: Tomm Moore, Joann Sfar, Nina Paley, and Bill Plympton are among the animators handling a segment. Screening Sep. 6, 10 & 12.
• Luna – Partly-animated fantasy drama from Dave McKean (MirrorMask) about the dreams and hallucinations of middle-aged artists. Sep. 6, 8 & 14.
• Mirage – A mysterious wanderer arrives at a Hungarian house full of outcasts; nothing is quite explained. Sep. 5, 6 & 10.
• Over Your Dead Body – The prolific Takashi Miike returns to straightforward 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. Screens Sep. 11-13.
• The Color of Pomegranates (1968) – A (new?) restoration of Sergei Parajanov‘s classic, weird biopic of the Armenia poet Sayat Nova. See it free Sep. 11.
• Tokyo Tribe – Shion Sono‘s latest is described as a “yakuza-street gang-hip hop-musical epic” (!) See it tonight at 10 PM or catch it Sep. 14.

• Tusk – Little is known about Kevin Smith’s latest horror attempt except that it makes fun of Canadians, involves a walrus, and festival programmers dubbed it a “double-double of strange.” Sep 6, 7 and 12.
• Two Shots Fired – Absurdist black comedy about a boy who survives a suicide attempt. Sep 5, 8 & 12.
• The Voices – Marjane Satrapi‘s first American feature is a tale of murder involving a factory worker who takes advice from his talking cat and dog. Sep 11 & 12.
• Waste Land – Psychological thriller from Belgium about a detective losing his mind as he works on an unsolved homicide while awaiting the arrival of his first child. Screening Sep. 6, 8 & 13.

Toronto International Film Festival official site.

NEW ON DVD:

“Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection“: 30 of Universal’s classic “monster” films (on 21 DVDs) including all the official Universal appearances of Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Mummy, Invisible Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and their supporting characters. That said, there’s nothing too weird on here (though Bride of Frankenstein has its moments), but it is a majorly cool set. Buy “Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection”.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935): An even madder scientist (Dr. Pretorius) blackmails Dr. Frankenstein and forces him to build a mate for his monster in James Whale‘s crazy horror-comedy classic. This is the weirdest (and best) of eight Universal horror titles from the DVD set above that are being released separately on Blu-ray this week. Buy The Bride of Frankenstein [Blu-ray].

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 on the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Congress (2013): Read L. Rob Hubbard and Alex Kittle’s review. Ari Folman‘s partly-animated sci-fi satire about personalities for sale is receiving a decent (if not comprehensive) rollout courtesy of cult-movie saviors Drafthouse Films. The Congress official site.

Patema Inverted (2013): A girl and boy from connected worlds with directly opposite gravities fall in love. Although this is a Japanese anime aimed at children, an almost identical idea was tackled in last year’s disappointing live action feature Upside Down. Patema Inverted official site.

The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears (2013): Read Alex Kittle’s review. Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani‘s stylishly surreal giallo gets an American theatrical release. Debuting this week in New York and LA with major US cities to follow. The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears official Facebook page.

FILM FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (Venice, Italy, Aug. 27 – Sep. 6):

Venice is the oldest and second most prestigious (after Cannes) film festival in Europe. Since Venice accepts only films making their world premier in competition, there is no overlap with the Cannes slate of films. Here are a few the movies we’ll be keeping an eye on:

• Fires on the Plain – A Japanese soldier in WWII roams an island which has become hell on earth; the plot description of Tetsuo: The Iron Man director Shinya Tsukamoto‘s latest hints at cannibalism. Screening Sep. 2.
• Pasolini – Outsider filmmaker Abel Ferrara creates a scenario about the day Pier Paolo Pasolini was murdered; programmers call it “dreamlike and visionary, a blend of reality and imagination.” World premier Sep. 4.
• A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence – Roy Andersson‘s latest collection of absurd vignettes contrasting the banal and the mystical is the third installment in what the director calls his “Living” trilogy; the previous two movies were Certified Weird. Screening Sep. 2.

• Reality – All that’s known about Quentin Dupieux‘s latest project is that it’s about a horror film director searching for a perfect scream. Screening tonight (Aug 29) only.

NEW ON DVD:

All That Jazz (1979): Bob Fosse’s poorly-disguised autobiographical movie about an uppers-abusing, womanizing choreographer in the midst of a nervous breakdown, seeing an angel of death while he works on his latest project. Released by the Criterion Collection; it’s also in our reader-suggested review queue. Available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack only. Buy All That Jazz [Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD].

The Dance of Reality (2013): Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s first movie in 23 years is a hallucinatory autobiography. Ironically, in 2014 a film about a movie Jodorowsky never made—Dune—stole the thunder from this movie he actually did make. Hopefully Dance will get more exposure now that it’s on DVD. Buy The Dance of Reality.

The Double (2013): Jesse Eisenberg stars as a timid man whose physical double arrives one day and begins to take over his life. This nearly exact match of Enemy continues 2014′s reputation as the Year of the Doppelganger. Buy The Double.

L (2012): The absurd story about what happens to a 40-year old man who lives out of his car when he loses his job delivering honey to his only client. Co-written by Efthymis Filippou, who also co-wrote Dogtooth, so its New Weird Greek pedigree is solid. Buy L.

President Wolfman (2012): The President of the United States is infected with lycanthropy while trying to fend off a hostile takeover by the Chinese (who want to merge the two countries to form “Chimerica”). Made from public domain footage (mostly The Werewolf of Washington) that’s been redubbed (a la What’s Up Tiger Lilly?), the ad copy promises “you’ve simply never seen anything like it before.” Buy President Wolfman.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

All That Jazz (1979): See description in DVD above. Buy All That Jazz [Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD].

The Dance of Reality (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy The Dance of Reality [Blu-ray].

The Double (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy The Double [Blu-ray].

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.