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):

Crave: A disillusioned crime scene photographer retreats into a world of vigilante revenge fantasies. The ad copy speaks of an “inner world of dark fantasies” and “dangerous visions,” but the early reviews speak of “empty movie-shout-out posturing” and “a misleading, long-winded chore.” Ouch. Crave official site.

NEW ON DVD:

“Magical Play: Complete Collection” (2001): A girl with a fish-cloak competes with a girl in a cat-bikini and others to become a Magical Girl. This series, originally webcast, is a parody of a “magical girl” anime subgenre you probably didn’t know existed. We mention it because the back boxcover promises that “it’s going to get REALLY weird…,” and the trailer suggests that it might. Buy “Magical Play”: Complete Collection.

“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” (1976): This ahead-of-its-time Seventies soap opera spoof put beleaguered Fernwood, Ohio housewife Mary Hartman (Louise Lasser) through encounters with religious cults, UFOs and waxy yellow buildup before being canceled after thirty-one episodes. Martin Mull’s talk-show parody spinoff series “Fernwood 2-Nite” lasted slightly longer, but is equally unknown to today’s youth. Buy “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”: The Complete Series.

“Tales of Terror”: Mill Creek is outdoing itself with its latest set: they’re up from 50 movies per box to an amazing 200 el cheapo movies in one set. The usual public domain goodies (and baddies) are to be found here, including the Certified Weird entries The Beast of Yucca Flats, Carnival of Souls, Horrors of Spider Island, Maniac (1934), and Nosferatu. Prints are, of course, the worst available, but you’re paying for quantity, not quality, with these sets. Buy “Tales of Terror”.

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.

It’s been over a year since our last review writing contest, and we’re itching for some new blood. To encourage you guys to chip in (and possibly earn a spot as a junior contributor—we get a lot of low-budget screeners we could use help sorting through), we’re offering a Ghastly Pack^TM, consisting of a DVD copy of The Ghastly Love of Johnny X with the cover signed by director Paul Bunnell, two promotional postcards, and a video production diary (a separate DVD-R disc of  behind-the-scenes material that is not commercially available). This is a great pack for anyone interested in low-budget movie making. All you have to do to earn this ghastly (and wonderful) prize is to submit the best movie review, following the rules set out below:

1. Write a review of a movie that you think should be on the List of the 366 Best Weird Movies, but that we haven’t added yet.  Including the following sections: DIRECTOR, FEATURING (listing the most important actors), PLOT (a one sentence synopsis), WHY IT DESERVES TO MAKE THE LIST (a one sentence to one paragraph description of why you think the movie is weird), COMMENTS (one to two paragraphs describing the movie in more detail). If you have a suggestion for a still to represent the movie and/or a quote from a critic on the film, you can include those, but they are not required.
2. Alternatively, a well-thought out “second opinion” on a movie that we have already considered, but that you think we got wrong (either by putting it on the List when it shouldn’t have made it, or rejecting a film that should have made it), will be acceptable.
3. Submit your work on our contact form. By submitting your entry on this form, you agree to allow 366weirdmovies.com to publish your work, either whole or in edited form, on this website. Your work may be selected for publication even if you are not chosen as the winner.
4. The contest is open to anyone whose work has not previously been published on 366weirdmovies.com.
5. You may not write a review promoting a film which you were involved in the production of, or in which you have a financial interest.
6. This site strives to remain “PG” rated; try not to use profanity in your review.
7. The contest will remain open for one month, until Jan 2, 2014, at which time the editor will select the best entry. The winner will be chosen on the basis of writing style, insight, and appropriateness of the movie chosen.  The deadline may be extended, depending on the number of entries received.
8. In order to be eligible to receive the prize, you must supply a valid email address and a valid mailing address. International addresses are acceptable. If the winning entrant does not supply a valid mailing address, or declines the prize, the DVD will be given to a randomly selected entry with a mailing address in the United States. If no entries are from the United States, then the deadline to complete the contest will be extended.

TIPS: Avoid merely summarizing the plot in your comments. Avoid giving away “spoilers” in your descriptions that might ruin the enjoyment of the film. Obscure titles are fine—in fact, they may be worth bonus points—but try to pick a film that is available on DVD, or is at least likely to be released. If you write on a film no one will be able to view or locate, the movie may be judged as inappropriate. Try to keep your review to under 1000 words total—more is not always better when it comes to movie recommendations.

One final tip: don’t be scared away by thinking you have to write something profoundly insightful. Simply consider it as a chance to describe and recommend a film to that narrow audience of people who are interested in the same kind of weird movies as you are.

Chances of winning depend on the number of entries received.

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):

Oldboy (2013): A man is imprisoned in a hotel room for twenty years without explanation, then just as inexplicably set free to seek revenge on his captor. Early notices on this seemingly-doomed Spike Lee remake of the shocking Korean original have been every bit as tepid as we expected. In particular, a woman named Grace did not like it. Oldboy official site.

FILM FESTIVALS –  Cine-Rebis Porto Underground Film Festival (Porto, Portugal, Nov. 29-Dec. ):

Most of the movies playing at the Porto version of this festival of two cities are identical to the ones we reported on in the London version of the event, including Kelly Hughes’ zombies n’ drag queens mashup La Cage Aux Zombies, Brontis Jodorowsky in Tau, the Alejandro Jodorowsky-inspired Ritual: A Psychomagic Story, and the modern Expressionist horror The Demon’s Rook. Notable changes: no Escape from Tomorrow (Portugal is obviously not considered one of the happiest places on Earth), but to compensate there is a rare screening of Bruce Bickford’s surreal claymation short “Prometheus’ Garden.” Cine-Rebis Porto Underground Film Festival program (in Portuguese).

NEW ON DVD:

Animals (2012): A maladjusted gay teenager falls in love for the first time, but what will become of his only friend, a talking teddy bear named Deerhoof? The description makes it sound like Ted done as a psychological coming-out drama. Buy Animals.

The Horror Show (1989): See description in Blu-ray below.

“Mystery Science Theater 3000: 25th Anniversary Edition”: The four main episodes included in this edition of the cult movie-mocking series are the Hammer-produced space opera Moon Zero Two, the epic fantasy The Day the Earth Froze (a confusingly dubbed and edited international cut of a serious Russian/Finnish fantasy film),  the Universal horror snoozer The Leech Woman, and Gorgo (which is something like the British Godzilla). The bonus disc is a double-feature of two historically important series episodes: Mitchell, original host Joel Hodgson’s final bow, and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, which introduced new frontman Mike Nelson. Buy “Mystery Science Theater 3000: 25th Anniversary Edition”.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Horror Show (1989): A killer continues to bedevil a detective and his family even after being executed in the electric chair. This absurd ripoff of Nightmare on Elm Street was titled House 3 overseas, even though it had nothing to do with the House series. Available in a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack only. Buy The Horror Show [Blu-ray/DVD Combo].

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):

Faust: Alexandr (Russian Ark) Sokurov’s minimalist, hallucinatory retelling of Goethe’s phantasmagorical classic about Mephistopheles tempting the titular doctor. Though it’s definitely in an arthouse vein, Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York called it a “triumph of the weird.” Faust‘s American distributor’s page.

FILM FESTIVALS – Cine-Rebis London Underground Film Festival (London, UK, Nov. 14-17):

You’re too late for the European premier of the Disney-based surrealist feature Escape from Tomorrow and Mexico’s Tau (starring El Topo child star Brontis Jodorowsky), which opened the festival last night. On Saturday, however, you may want to check out low budget auteur Kelly Hughes’ La Cage Aux Zombies, which mixes drag queens on the lam with the undead. This seldom seen production was released directly to videocassette in 1995; this new director’s cut actually shaves off a half hour from the running time. It screens together with Heart Attack, a documentary about Hughes’ transgressive public access soap opera “Heart Attack Theater.” Of note on Sunday’s slate are Ritual: A Psychomagic Story (a drama about an abused woman who avails herself of Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s mythological symbolism-based therapy) and The Demon’s Rook, the horror movie Fantasia programmers described as “RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD by way of Jodorowsky” and “a wonderfully weird film.” Shorts and documentaries are sprinkled throughout the rest of the weekend, and the entire festival is being held at some place ominously known as “the Horse Hospital.” The festival is run by the filmmaking team (and 366 allies) Daniel Fawcett and Clara Pais. Cine-Rebis official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Akira (1988): A secret government project turns a biker into a superman with psionic powers in this massively influential cyberpunk anime. Funimation’s 25th Anniversary release offers the original 1988 theatrical dub (the movie was redubbed for DVD release in 2001, and the option to play that version is included as well). Buy Akira: 25th Anniversary Edition (DVD).

“The Films of Chester Novell Turner”: The entire cinematic output of Mr. Turner: Black Devil Doll from Hell, the story of a rapist ventriloquist dummy, and the outsider horror anthology Tales from the Quadead Zone. These bizarre 1980s oddities haven’t been released on home video since the days of VHS. You may think this release is no big deal, but the New York Times begs to differ. Buy “The Films of Chester Novell Taylor”.

Nosferatu (1922): F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized silent adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” stars the amazingly bestial Max Schreck, still the most frightening onscreen vampire. Kino Classics’ 2-disc remastered edition of the oft-released silent classic includes two versions of the film (that apparently differ only by the intertitles) and some documentary extras. Buy Nosferatu: 2-Disc Deluxe Remastered Edition.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Akira (1988): See description in DVD above. This is a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. Buy Akira [Blu-ray/DVD Combo].

Nosferatu (1922): See description in DVD above. Buy Nosferatu [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.