A 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):

Heartless: Philip Ridley (writer/director of the Certified Weird The Reflecting Skin) is back after a fourteen year hiatus from filmmaking with this arthouse horror starring Jim (Across the Universe) Sturgess as a photographer with a disfiguring birthmark who makes a Faustian bargain in a hellish modern London. Ridley’s return would be notable even if the film wasn’t being well-reviewed; as it is, it won “Best Independent Feature” at the Toronto After Dark festival. Heartless official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Best Worst Movie (2010): This documentary on an unlikely subject—the making of the laughably inept 1980s horror Troll 2, a movie featuring vegetarian goblins—became an even more improbable critical favorite. Buy Best Worst Movie.

The Complete Metropolis (1927/restored 2010): Kino’s restoration of the mystical, visionary science-fiction masterpiece finally arrives on DVD! From our own Alex Kittle’s review of the theatrical version: “While its story is standard allegorical fare and the performances are often melodramatic, the sheer inventiveness and visual splendor of Metropolis warrants its status as quintessential science fiction. It set the standard for a host of weird films that came after it and has several iconically bizarre scenes and characters.” Buy The Complete Metropolis.

Don’t Look Back [Ne te pas] (2009): French psychological thriller starring two beauties—Sophie Marceau and Monica Belluci—and a confusion of their identities. From weirdstress Marina de Van (In My Skin). Buy Don’t Look Back.

The Extra Man (2010): Eccentric tale of an aspiring playwright and cross-dresser who rents a room an educated, aging gigolo (played by Kevin Kline). This didn’t get more than a token theatrical release; the reason may be that it was too literary for cineplexes, or it may be because it just wasn’t very good. Buy The Extra Man.

Night of the Hunter (1955) [Criterion Collection]: Robert Mitchum gives an unforgettable performance as the deranged, misogynistic preacher who marries widows and kills them for their money; darker than the blackest film noir and expressionistic to the point of being dreamlike, this movie was way too much for 1955 audiences to handle, but has since been acknowledged as a classic. This is already in our reader-suggested review queue, so this Criterion Collection release can only speed it along. Buy The Night of the Hunter (Criterion Collection).

Sherlock Jr. (1924)/Three Ages (1923): Also from Kino this week comes this restoration of two Buster Keaton silent comedies: Sherlock Jr., a fantasy about a projectionist who enters into the film he’s watching, is the weirder one; Three Ages tells the tale of romance in the Stone Age, Roman times, and the modern era. Buy Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages .

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Complete Metropolis (1927/restored 2010): See entry in DVD above. Buy The Complete Metropolis [Blu-ray].

Crowley [AKA Chemical Wedding]: Read our capsule review. This occult/science ficition/fantasy hybrid about Aleister Crowley in modern times is from Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson; our staff agreed on its weirdness, but disagreed on the quality of the filmmaking displayed. Buy Crowley [Blu-ray].

The Extra Man (2010): See entry in DVD above. Buy The Extra Man [Blu-ray].

Night of the Hunter (1955) [Criterion Collection]: See entry in DVD above. Buy The Night of the Hunter (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray].

Sherlock Jr. (1924)/Three Ages (1923): See entry in DVD above. Buy Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages [Blu-ray].

A 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):

You Won’t Miss Me (2008): Experimental—meaning utilizing various film stocks and non-linear storytelling—mumblecore about a confused, arty, promiscuous twenty-something gal in NYC.  Rotten Tomatoes lists it as being released this week, but no one knows where, not even the movie’s homepage. You Won’t Miss Me official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Blubberella (intended 2011): Another exercise in tasteful restraint from the inimitable Uwe Boll: a comedy about a fat superheroine who fights Nazis in WWII.  Boll himself has a cameo as Hitler.  He’s simultaneously releasing Bloodrayne 3: The Third Reich. We’re guessing the second may be the funnier film.  Entertainment Weekly thinks this is newsworthy, so who are we to argue?

NEW ON DVD:

Antichrist (2009):  Read our review.  After months of rights wrangling, Lars von Trier’s singular, controversial, howlingly depressive rant of a movie finally gets a proper release—a two-disc edition from Criterion Collection, no less.  This home video release makes the film List-eligible. Buy Antichrist (The Criterion Collection).

“Mystery Science Theater 3000″: Vol. XIX:  Four more episodes of robots riffing on the worst movies of all time. The offerings in this “monsters and devils” set include the spectacularly bad Robot Monster (a season 1 episode), Ed Wood‘s Bride of the Monster, the ventriloquist’s dummy horror Devil Doll, and the Italian creature-feature Devil Fish (which was possibly the inspiration for Mega Piranha).   This limited edition contains a Gypsy figurine. Buy “Mystery Science Theater 3000″: Vol. XIX [Limited Edition].

Nikkatsu Roman Porno Trailer Collection: A collection of graphic “pink movie” trailers from Nikkatsu studios, with titles like Female Gymnastics Instructor: Jump and Straddle, Race Across the Drenched Wasteland and Nympho Diver: G-String Festival.  Remember, Nikkatsu fired Seijun Suzuki so they could put all their resources into making these.  We promise not to tell anyone if you order this.  A quick and dirty (emphasis on dirty) review of this title can be found at DVD Drive-In. Buy Nikkatsu Roman Porno Trailer Collection.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010):  Read our capsule review.  Scott Pilgrim is a burgeoning cult movie that’s destined to do much better on DVD than it did in theaters; we dare you to like this movie now, before it becomes cool.   Buy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Antichrist (2009): See description in DVD above. Antichrist (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray].

Highlander 2 (1991): The first movie about battling Immortals was a cult hit because of its originality; the sequel is a notoriously confusing and illogical mess that’s a cult movie for the wrong reasons. This movie is so bad, it actually has less than a 4 1/2 out of 5 star rating at Amazon.com. Only a select few films can say that (Plan 9 from Outer Space has a 4 star Amazon rating. This sucker has a 2). Buy Highlander 2 [Blu-ray].

Rock & Rule (1983): Animated feature wherein a good rock band fights to stop an evil rock band from raising a demon in the post-apocalyptic future.  We never heard of this Heavy Metal ripoff before, but it features the voices/music of Debbie Harry, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, and Earth Wind and Fire. Buy Rock & Rule [Blu-ray].

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): See description in DVD above.  Of course it’s a DVD/Blu-ray/digital copy combo pack; that’s becoming standard. Buy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy).

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.

A 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):

Let Me In: A tiny bit mainstream for us, but word on the street is positive on this US remake of the Swedish cult film Låt den rätte komma in [Let the Right One In] about a cute little girl who’s also a vampire. Considering the fact that most Americanized versions of foreign horror films suck (and not just in the vampiric sense), maybe it’s a little weird to find one that apparently doesn’t?  Let Me In Facebook page (no official site).

SCREENINGS (WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6-7, IFC CENTER, NEW YORK CITY):

Idiots and Angels (2008):  We’ve been wondering if Bill Plympton’s animated black comedy about a venal man who sprouts angel wings one day was ever going to show up in theaters.  We’ll see if this screening is the start of a limited theatrical run (we suspect it’s an indication the DVD will be coming soon).  Plympton will attend in person, and his new short “The Cow Who Wanted to Be A Hamburger” will precede the feature presentation.  Idiots and Angels at IFC Center.

FILM FESTIVALS – VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SEP 30 – OCT 15)

We noticed a few titles of interest in Vancouver that we hadn’t seen mentioned elsewhere.

• Cold Fish – “based on a true story,” Sion (Suicide Club) Sono’s most recent gruesome film is set in the world of tropical fish retailers.  Screening Oct. 1 & 2.
• David Wants to Fly – a documentary taking a critical look at the Transcendental Meditation movement, of interest here because one its main subject is TM enthusiast David Lynch. Oct. 3 & 7.
• Dissolution – set in Israel, based on “Crime and Punishment,” and described as an “almost surreal fairy-tale.” Oct. 7, 13 & 15.
• The Family Complete – grandpa is raped by a giant cat and a virus turns men gay in this surreal exploration of homosexuality in Japan.  Oct. 5 & 6.
• Fourth Portrait – tale of a Taiwanese orphan, shot and told in a dreamlike style.  Oct 5, 8 & 9.
• Metamorphosis – South Korean adaptation of the Franz Kafka story about a man who wakes up one morning to discover he has become a cockroach.  Oct 4 & 5.
• Rubber – a French film about—wait for it—a killer tire.  No word on whether it’s radial or not.  Oct. 4, 8, & 14.
• Rumination – quirky debut about the Chinese Cultural Revolution; according to the description, the experimental narrative moves backwards and forwards at the same time.  Oct. 6 & 7.
• Surviving Life (Theory and Practice) [Prezít svuj zivot (teorie a praxe)] – This is the big one: the North American debut of the latest Jan Svankmajer film.  This one uses a technique of cut-out collages alongside the usual stop animation, and the scenario involves a man who impregnates his own anima (!) while undergoing psychoanalysis.  Oct. 5, 9 & 13.
• Thomas Mao – Novelist/director Wen Zhu puts his dreams on screen.  Oct 4 & 5.

Vancouver International Film Festival official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Suck (2009): A musical/horror/comedy about a rock band who find success when they become vampires.  A bunch of young unknowns headline, but there are some interesting cameos, including former Kid in the Hall Dave Foley and weird icon Malcolm McDowell (footage from O Lucky Man! is incorporated into his character’s flashback), as well roles for several rock musicians: Alice Cooper, Moby, Henry Rollins, and Iggy Pop.  Buy Suck.

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.

Next week’s reviews aren’t necessarily all set just yet, but we can confirm coverage of the following: the indie artisanal cheese comedy Artois the Goat (2009); Monte Hellman’s existential 1967 western The Shooting (starring Jack Nicholson); and, from the reader-suggested review queue, we’ll tackle Ingmar Bergman’s only horror movie, The Hour of the Wolf (1968), and we’ll give you two sets of opinions on the Neil Gaiman penned dream-fantasy MirrorMask (2005).

Weird search terms brought multitudes of visitors to the site last week.  We have no idea why someone would visit this site because “i think i found a capsule of heroin.”   But that fellow has nothing on our weirdest visitor, a guy looking for “girmilk out milky brast in kittle and happy.”  We are glad we can’t make heads or tails of that particular request, because we can only assume he’s trying to describe some freakish fetish that would make Takashi Miike blush.

Here’s how that reader-suggested review queue now stands: Hour of the Wolf (next week); MirrorMask (next week); Trash Humpers (waiting on the DVD release); The Attic Expeditions; After Last Season; Performance; The Apple; Songs From The Second Floor; Necromentia; Possession; Suspiria; Wild Zero; 4; Nothing (2003); The Peanut Butter Solution; Ninja Scroll; Perfume: The Story of a Murderer; Faust; Sublime; Battle Royale; Pink Floyd: The Wall; Escanaba In Da Moonlight; Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter; Zardoz; The Films of Suzan Pitt; Toto the Hero [Toto le Héros]; Paprika; The Holy Mountain; Brazil; The Casserole Masters; Dark Crystal; Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets; The Nines; The Pillow Book; Final Flesh; Lunacy [Sílení]; Inmortel; Tetsuo; Dead Ringers; Kairo [AKA Pulse]; The Guatemalan Handshake; Dead Leaves; The Seventh Seal; Primer; Hausu; A Boy and His Dog; 200 Motels; Private Parts (1972); Saddest Music in the World; Mulholland Drive; The American Astronaut; Blood Tea and Red Strings; The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. II (for Lucifer Rising, among others); Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ; The Bride of Frank; La Grande Bouffe; Uzumaki [Spiral]; Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Even Dwarves Started Small; Bunny & the Bull; “I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney” (assuming I can find it); Cinema 16: European Short Films; Freaked; Session 9; Schizopolis; Strings; Dellamorte Dellamore [AKA Cemetery Man]; The Hour-glass Sanatorium [Saanatorium pod klepsidra]; The Addiction; Liquid Sky; The Quiet; Shock Treatment; Tuvalu; “Zombie Jesus” (if we can locate it); 3 Dev Adam; Fantastic Planet; “Twin Peaks” (TV series); Society; May; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension; Little Otik; Final Programme; Careful; Sweet Movie; The Triplets of Belleville; “Foutaises” (short); Johnny Suede; “Jam” (TV, UK, 2000), The Tale of the Floating World, Un Chien Andalou, Bloodsucking Freaks; Fellini Satyricon; Three Crowns of the Sailor; 8 1/2; Death Race 2000; Dororo; Lost Highway; Valerie and Her Week of Wonders; Dogville; and Julien Donkey-boy; Amelie; The Ten; The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao; 1; Fast, Cheap and Out of Control; Tokyo Gore Police; At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul; The Trial [Le procès) (1962); Marquis; Hell Comes to Frogtown; Hellzapoppin’; Seom [The Isle]; Allegro Non Troppo; Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus; Lust in the Dust; Celine and Julie Go Boating; “Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life;” The Magic Christian; Black Cat, White Cat; The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T; Abnormal: The Sinema of Nick Zedd; Robot Monster; Nightdreams; 3 Women; Rubin & Ed; Teeth; Vera; Weirdsville; Prospero’s Books; Inferno; Garden State; Persona; and The Real McCoy; Rat Pfink a Boo Boo; Themroc; Candy (1968); Run Lola Run; Pink Flamingos; Buffalo ’66; Northfork; Weekend; The Room; Glen or Glenda?; Night of the Hunter; The Fox Family; Midnight Skater; Angelus; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; Twister (1989); Yokai Monsters, Vol. 1: Spook Warfare [AKA Big Monster War]; Haxan; This Filthy Earth; Conspirators of Pleasure; Piano Tuner of Earthquakes; Clean, Shaven; Bubba Ho-Tep; Sheitan; Innocence; “Chingsao the Clown”; Léolo; 2001: A Space Odyssey; Blue Velvet; ID (2005); Master of the Flying Guillotine; Yesterday Was a Lie; The Ninth Configuration; Forbidden Zone; The Cell; The Illustrated Man; The Man Who Fell to Earth; Fando y Lis; Rampo Noir; Head; Christmas on Mars; “Broken Glass”; Videodrome; Air Doll; The Ossuary and Other Tales; Arrebato; Symbol; Wicked City (1992 live action); Barbarella; Picnic at Hanging Rock; The Cars that Ate Paris; The Boxer’s Omen [aka Mo]; Solyaris (1972); Portait of Jennie; Salo, the 120 Days of Sodom; The Last Sunset (1961); Orpheus (1950); A Scanner Darkly; Safe; The Atrocity Exhibition; My Dinner with Andre; Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque); Slacker; Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell; Color of Pomegranates; and Horror Express.