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Quick links/Discussed in this episode:

Altered Perceptions (2023): Assuring us that it was written by a neuropsychologist, the synopsis of this lgbtq film describes a pandemic that causes males to hallucinate and a Trumpian senator’s conspiracy to scapegoat gays for the crisis. Anton Bitel’s review calls the story “unbelievable to the point of surrealism” and name-drops Neil Breen. On VOD now, with a DVD release (with author’s commentary!) coming in a couple weeks. (Its campaign for the 2024 Oscars sadly fell short of the goal.) Altered Perceptions official site.

The Demoniacs (1974): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. Jean Rollin turns to “beach Gothic” for his sixth horror feature, re-released on Blu-ray or 4K UHD, in limited editions that include two alternate cuts, new interviews, and an 80-page booklet. Buy The Demoniacs.

Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971): Read the Canonically Weird review! Prosperi and Jacopetti’s slavery mockumentary is a mix of scholarship and balls-out exploitation; it’s out for the first time in a 4K UHD limited edition, with a separate Blu-ray and a soundtrack CD and a huge collection of extra features ported over from previous releases. Buy Goodbye Uncle Tom.

I Am Cuba (1964): Experimental agitprop from Cuba with hallucinogenic moments and stunning monochrome camerawork. The Criterion Collection releases this new title (which we would have assumed had been in the collection forever) on 4K UHD and Blu-ray (in one package). Buy I Am Cuba.

“The Kingdom Trilogy” (1994, 1997, 2022): All three seasons of Lars von Trier‘s Twin Peaks-inspired Danish TV series about a haunted hospital, now on Blu-ray. Buy “The Kingdom Trilogy.”

Nostalghia (1983): Read the Canonically Weird entry! After a successful restoration, Tarkovsky‘s slow, melancholy, and divisive meditation on exile appears on 4K UHD courtesy of Kino Lorber. Buy Nostalghia.

The Nude Vampire (1970): Another Rollin limited release on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, this time of one of his earliest (and most insanely plotted) vampire films. Buy The Nude Vampire.

She Loved Blossoms More (later 2024): An amazing surreal still and news that reliably weird distributor Yellow Veil is onboard lead us to believe that this upcoming science fiction drama that ends in a “psychedelic hellscape” may be worth our attention. It’s set to debut at Tribeca in June. Variety broke the news.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

On next week’s Pod 366, Terri “Goregirl” McSorley will join Giles Edwards to interview Fang director Richard Burgin (and discuss the week’s releases). In written reviews, Shane Wilson gets on Nicolas Roeg‘s Track 29 (1988); Rafael Moreira enters The Grass Labyrinth (in the first of hopefully many Shuji Terayama reviews to come); El Rob Hubbard enjoys those Prague Nights; and Gregory J. Smalley tries to answer a Riddle of Fire (2024). Onward and weirdward!

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Quick links/Discussed in this episode:

Cannes Film Festival (May 14-May 25): Discussion begins. Normally, Cannes is not a major event on the weird movie calendar, although there are usually one or two titles of interest debuting there. That changes this year, with a record number of strange films from major talents on tap:

• • C’est Pas Moi [It’s Not Me] – A surprise entry from the eccentric Leos Carax, it’s an experimental autobiographical essay film under an hour in length.
  • Kinds of Kindness – The debut of Yorgos Lanthimos‘ anticipated triptych film will play in competition.
  • Le Deuxième acte [The Second Act] – Quentin Dupieux‘s latest absurd comedy, starring Léa Seydoux as a woman introducing her reluctant boyfriend to her father, will open the festival (although it’s not in competition).
  • Megalopolis – While it has been previewed already, this is the first chance for the public to see Francis Ford Coppola‘s reportedly batshit all-star dystopian satire. It’s sure to be one of the Festival’s main talking points.
  • Rumours – Guy Maddin (and protege Evan Johnson) get their biggest stars yet—Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander—-in a movie about a G7 conference (unusually contemporary subject matter for cinematic antiquarian Maddin).
  • The Shrouds – Vincent Cassel stars as a businessman who runs a service allowing grieving families to watch the bodies of their loved ones decompose on closed circuit television in David Cronenberg‘s latest (and potentially last) film.
  • The Surfer – Described as a psychological thriller, little is known about the plot of Lorcan Finnegan‘s Midnight entry, except that it’s set in Australia, involves surfing, and stars Nicolas Cage.

Cannes Film Festival official homepage.

Hanky Panky (2024): Discussion begins. The logline explains why we chose to spotlight this low-budget comedy: “A man and a talking napkin save the world from an evil top-hat, and also learn to love.” Straight to VOD for 4/20 weekend. Hanky Panky official site.

Hundreds of Beavers (2023): Discussion begins. Read El Rob Hubbard’s Apocrypha Candidate review. Hundreds of Beavers comes to a wider audience this week with its video-on-demand debut; we promise, we won’t be talking this one up again until it hits Blu-ray. Rent (or buy) Hundreds of Beavers on VOD.

The Invisible Fight (2023): Discussion begins. Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. Kung fu monks (Orthodox Christian monks, that is) populate Rainer Sarnet‘s potentially cult comedy, now on Blu-ray. Buy The Invisible Fight.

Werckmeister Harmonies (2000): Discussion begins. Read the Canonically Weird entry! The Canonized slowcore classic finally finds its expected home in the Criterion Collection’s empire, on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD, or streaming; Bela Tarr‘s first film, Family Nest (1979), is included as a hefty bonus feature on the physical media releases. Buy Werckmeister Harmonies.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Next week’s Pod 366 guest will be Acidemic‘s Erich Kuersten, who will join us to discuss the week’s new releases. In written reviews, Shane Wilson finally writes a review that makes Perfect Sense (2011) comprehensible; Rafael Moreira does not avoid the Pitfall of Hiroshi Teshigahara‘s 1962 existential thriller; Giles Edwards sinks his teeth into the low-budget lycanthropy of Fang (2022); and Gregory J. Smalley investigates Oldrich Lipský‘s Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981). Onward and weirdward!

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Fear and Desire Uncut Version (1952): Discussion begins. Stanley Kubrick recut Fear and Desire, his first attempt at a feature film, after negative feedback—then essentially disowned it. The complete version that originally screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1953 was recently rediscovered, and Kino Lorber has put it up for VOD rental (we assume it will eventually appear on physical media, too).  Rent Fear and Desire Uncut on Kino Now.

Liarmouth (202?): Discussion begins. We have to retract our retraction from a couple of weeks ago about Aubrey Plaza starring in John Waters‘ adaptation of his own novel, “Liarmouth.” Waters confirmed that Plaza is attached. Not retracted: there’s still no money to make the picture. Variety buries the nugget in a review of a “Hag in a Black Leather Jacket”/”Roman Candles” screening.

Megalopolis (2024): Discussion begins. Francis Ford Coppola has completed his massive dystopian satire, which will debut at Cannes in May, but isn’t getting any bites from major distributors to release it. One big name anonymously dismissed it as “some kind of indie experiment.” Coppola may have to look further down the food chain for a distributor; no doubt A24 or Neon would scarf it up. The Hollywood Reporter reports.

Omen (2023): Discussion begins. An immigrant visits his family in the Congo with his Belgian fiancee, only to be accused of being a sorcerer. Reviews suggest that the film’s conclusion may be stranger than the simple horror movie setup seen in the trailer indicates. Omen official site.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975): Discussion begins. Read Gregory J. Smalley’s List Candidate review. The Criterion Collection upgrades Peter Weir‘s enigmatic art-house classic to 4K UHD. Buy Picnic at Hanging Rock 4K UHD.

Sasquatch Sunset (2024): Discussion begins. Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough star as patriarch and matriarch of a Bigfoot family in a touching dialogue-free grossout comedy. The Atlantic called it “the strangest movie of the year” (but we’d like to point out the year is still young). Sasquatch Sunset official site.

Segments of Jonah: Journal of the Homunculus (202?): Discussion begins. “Through a surreal landscape, monstrous creatures guard secrets of the past from a tormented doctor.” If that doesn’t pique your interest in this low-budget surreal crowdfunding effort, consider that the director is trying to raise funds to get Lynn Lowry and Debbie Rochon back to complete their roles. Segments of Jonah: Journal of the Homunculus on Indiegogo.

Snootworld (202?): Discussion begins. Netflix passed on a David Lynch proposal to produce (and possibly direct) an animated fairy tale film called Snootworld. Doubtlessly, someone else will jump at the chance to acquire this script that co-screenwriter Caroline Thompson described as “wackadoo.” Deadline got the scoop.

Special Silencers (1982): Discussion begins. A corrupt Indonesian politician kills his enemies by providing them with pills that cause trees to burst out of their torsos. One reviewer called the plot “genuinely bizarre.” Buy Special Silencers.

Sweet Dreams (2023): Discussion begins. A Dutch colonialist bequeaths part of his estate to his Indonesian housekeeper, causing chaos. Looks like a period drama, but the publicity materials describe it as a “surrealist satire on European colonialism,” so we remain hopefully. Not to be confused with the Johnny Knoxville (literal and figurative) softball comedy released the same week.  Sweet Dreams U.S. distributor site.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

We have no guest scheduled on Pod 366 next week, but we’ll return with a preview of Cannes 2024 (among other items). In written reviews, Giles Edwards is planning to do double duty on the new-release front with reviews of the transgender The People’s Joker and the Johnny Knoxville-free version of Sweet Dreams (see above); Shane Wilson takes on another that Came from the Reader-Suggested Queue with the experimental documentary A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness (2013); and Rafael Moreira chips in with a report on the ultra-oddity International Guerillas, a 1990 Pakistani action film that casts none other than then-controversial Salman Rushdie as its villain! Onward and weirdward!

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Quick links/Discussed in this episode:

“The Art of the Benshi”: Discussion begins. A series of Japanese silent films on tour, with traditional narrators (benshi) providing commentary (in Japanese, subtitled into English). Most films in the collection are obscure, but we mention it because the canonically weird A Page of Madness [Kurutta ippêji] is one of the films. It’s a bit complicated as to which films will be playing where as the program tours this April, so check out the following link for dates if you live in NYC, Washington, Chicago, or Los Angeles (or Tokyo). “The Art of the Benshi” official site.

The Beast (2023): Discussion begins. Léa Seydoux seeks to fix her present by undergoing DNA regression therapy, which allows her to experience past lives where she experienced tempestuous romances with the same man. Science fantasy from Bertrand Bonello whose ending had some critics crying “ Lynch!” The Beast official site.

Kinds of Kindness (2024): Discussion begins. A first trailer drops for Yorgos Lanthimos‘ upcoming triptych film, debuting (somewhere) on June 21, 2024. The teaser includes a brief shot of a dog drinking from a straw. Kinds of Kindness official site.

Messiah of Evil (1973): Discussion begins. Read Shane Wilson’s Apocrypha Candidate review. Previously released in a limited edition, this Blu-ray is the paradoxical “Standard Special Edition” of this eerie horror oddity. Buy Messiah of Evil.

The People’s Joker (2022): Discussion begins. An unauthorized parody of a certain comic book villain’s origin story, told as a trans metaphor. We thought this would never get released due to “rights issues,” but unnamed corporate entities seem to have decided that ignoring is the wisest course. In limited release across the country, with writer/director/star Vera Drew appearing for Q&A’s at several venues. Go to The People’s Joker official site to find out where and when it’s playing.

Rossellini on Blue Velvet: Discussion begins. Almost four decades later, Isabella Rossellini responds to Roger Ebert’s negative review of Blue Velvet. Variety got the quote.

Yannick (2023): Discussion begins. All we know about Quentin Dupieux‘s latest comedy is the premise: a man interrupts a dull theater performance and starts talking back to the onstage actors.  Streaming exclusively on Mubi. Dupieux also has a more anticipated movie, the surreal biopic Daaaaaali!, coming out later this year. Yannick official site.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

There is no guest scheduled for next Pod 366, but tune in for another discussion of the week’s news and releases. In written reviews, Shane Wilson gets into The Spirit (2008); Giles Edwards gets into The Invisible Fight (2023); and Gregory J. Smalley gets into a Hungarian Bubble Bath (1980). And who knows, there could always be a surprise popping up. Onward and weirdward!