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):
Post Tenebras Lux (2012): From Mexico comes this kaleidoscopic, non-linear portrait of a family in crisis that looks a bit like a Mexican Tree of Life. We have no idea where it’s playing, but we dig that glowing red demon thingee. Post Tenebras Lux at Strand Releasing.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
The Profane Exhibit (est. 2013): A secret society of storytellers spin tales of horrific depravity in this anthology film. Uwe Boll, Ruggero (Cannibal Holocaust) Deodato, José Mojica Marins, Nacho (Timecrimes) Vigalondo, Richard Stanley, and Yoshihiro Nishimura count among the (uneven but intriguing) assembly of directing talent. No official site, but Fearnet has the latest casting news.
NEW ON DVD:
Body Melt (1993): A pharmaceutical company’s newest project makes those who take it hallucinate and then decompose; but who can resist free samples? Amateur reviewers compare this little-seen Australian movie to the gory, transgressive work of Dead-Alive era Peter Jackson; it’s been resurrected on video thanks to Katarina’s Nightmare Theater. Buy Body Melt.
Walk Away Renee (2011): Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette takes a cross-country trip with his bipolar/borderline schizophrenic mother Renee; along the way she loses her medication and her behavior becomes erratic. After the trip, Caouette illustrates some of his mom’s delusions with trippy paranoid fantasy sequences in this indie documentary/fiction hybrid. Buy Walk Away Renee.
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Attack from Space (1965): Benevolent alien robots send superhero Starman to defend Earth from an attack from space. The climax has Starman fighting off an entire army: it helps that he’s bulletproof and can somersault up stairs backwards (with the help of reversed camera footage).
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):
Hamesima X (2010): A Mossad agent catches and interrogates a man who has infiltrated a top-secret facility; turns out, he’s an alien bringing Kabbalistic secrets (and fleeing psychic ninjas). We have very few reports on this mystical Israeli import that is playing New York City for one week, but you have to admit that plot description sounds a little weird. Hamesima X official site.
Mortem (2010): Hmm… from what we can make out of the synopsis, we gather Mortem is about a woman who refuses to die and instead holes up in a hotel room and makes out with her own soul? It’s hot girl-on-girl metaphysical action in this B&W French import that’s playing at Quad Cinema in Manhattan with Hamesima X (above) this week; director Eric Atlan will be in attendance for a Q&A session on April 26 & 27. Mortem official site.
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012): An impressionistic, experimental, partially animated portrait of a young artist and his desire for a beautiful woman. Debuting this week in New York City with scattered showings across the country through early June. An Oversimplification of Her Beauty official site.
SCREENINGS – (Cinbefamily, Los Angeles, CA, 4/26-4/28):
Phase IV (1974): Ants set out to conquer the world in famed title designer Saul Bass’ only feature film. It’s a restored print, but the real attraction is Bass’ original 2001-inspired 8-minute psychedelic finale sequence, newly discovered in the Academy Film Archives vaults. Sorry we have to miss it but we hope the new footage will show up in a DVD release soon. Phase IV at Cinefamily.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (est. 9/13 – Japanese version): Shion Sono‘s latest is about… well, we don’t know what it’s about, because no one on staff reads Japanese. It’s got samurai fighting yakuza and literal rivers of blood and definitely looks weird, though, as you’ll see if you check out the teaser trailer on the official site. Why Don’t You Play in Hell? official site [Japanese].
NEW ON DVD:
D’Agostino (2012): The story of the romantic—or at least the master/pet—relationship between a London businessman and the naked male slave he discovers hiding in his dead grandmother’s Greek beach home. Critics weren’t too fond of it, but it does sound a little weird. Buy D’Agostino.
Flirt (1995): A woman tries to tempt a man into marrying her before she accepts another proposal, and then the same scenario plays itself out among different people on three different continents in Hal Hartley’s experimental comedy. Hartley (The Unbelievable Truth) has his fans, but this one has never been released on DVD before. Buy Flirt.
The Grapes of Death [Les Raisins de la Mort] (1978): Frenchmen turn into zombies after they drink wine made from grapes treated with pesticide. Having spent last year remastering and re-releasing Jean Rollin‘s surreal vampire movies, Redemption is finishing up his catalog with his less well-known (and generally less successful) horror efforts. Buy The Grapes of Death.
K-11 (2012): A record producer wakes up after a night of partying and finds himself imprisoned in Los Angeles Prisons K-11 unit—that’s where they send the homosexuals and transgendered folk. Directed by Kristen Stewart’s mom Jules (a veteran Hollywood script supervisor), critics declared it guilty of sucking, although on the plus side the Hollywood Reporter called it “like a deranged John Waters remake of The Shawshank Redemption” (they put that quote on the cover). Buy K-11.
Meanwhile (2011): Hal Hartley’s latest tells the story of a self-sacrificing Joe wandering around Manhattan, never seeming to get ahead because he’s always helping others out. It only runs an hour, never received theatrical distribution, and was funded via Kickstarter. Buy Meanwhile.
Night of the Hunted [La Nuit des Traquées] (1980): In a departure for Jean Rollin, this strange horror movie contains no mythical monsters, but instead takes place in a mental asylum housed in a skyscraper. Like Grapes of Death, this one stars one of Rollin’s favorite actress, the former hard-porn star Brigitte Lahaie. This is obviously not to be confused with Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter! Buy Night of the Hunted.
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):
Antiviral: Here’s a bizarre premise: adventures in an underground trade supplying fans with viruses taken from their favorite celebrities. The directing debut of Brandon (son of David) Cronenberg. Antiviral official site.
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To the Wonder: An American man and his French wife struggle with mutual infidelity. Terrence Malick‘s latest is reportedly as minimalist and oblique as the sensational (and Certified Weird) Tree of Life, but it’s also the worst-reviewed film in his distinguished career. To the Wonder official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Only Lovers Are Left Alive (est. 2013): Jim Jarmusch‘s latest tackles vampires in love; we suspect it will resemble Twilight about as much as Dead Man did Young Guns. With Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton (as vampires “Adam” and “Eve”) and Mia Wasikowska in a rare villainous role. This could premier at Cannes. Only Lovers Are Left Alive IMDB page.
NEW ON DVD:
Dead Ball (2011): A baseball prodigy with a (literally) deadly fastball who has sworn off the sport finds himself blackmailed into playing for the team at his juvenile detention facility. It’s from Sushi Typhoon and the co-director of Meatball Machine and Yakuza Weapon; if you’ve been paying attention, you know that this means you’re in for lots of absurd gore and general Japanese b-movie weirdness. Buy Dead Ball.
Sexcula (1974): A mad scientist hires a vampire prostitute to inspire the sex drive into his latest creation: a gigolo monster. It’s Canada’s only X-rated (scenes are described as “explicit”) horror movie, and was thought lost for years. Buy Sexcula.
Ultrachrist! (2003): Jesus Christ comes back to Earth as a superhero to fight the minions of the Antichrist (including a resurrected Jim Morrison). I guess it took them ten years to release this on DVD because they were waiting for a time when it wouldn’t seem sacrilegious for the Savior to support lesbian marriage? Buy Ultrachrist!.
Father’s Day (2011): See description in DVD above. Besides the DVD only version and the Limited Edition set, you can buy this midnight hit in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo or this single disc Blu-ray. Why not buy all four versions? Buy Father’s Day [Blu-ray].
Attack of the Monsters [AKA Gamera vs. Guiron] (1969): Flying turtle Gamera saves two little boys from space babes who want to eat their brains, and from their knife-headed monster pet. One of the most insanely ridiculous flicks in the entire Gamera canon—and that’s saying something!
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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):
Sun Don’t Shine (2012): Read our capsule review. Indie sweetheart Kate Lyn Sheil is very good (and very sweaty) in this slow-paced, sun-drenched Florida neo-noir. Expect scattered showings across the US this month. Sun Don’t Shine official site.
Trance (2013): A hypnotherapist takes us inside the subconscious of an amnesiac criminal trying to find the location of a stolen painting. Mercurial Danny (Trainspotting) Boyle’s first film since 2012’s 127 Hours is his first real dip into the mindbending genre. Trance official site.
Upstream Color (2013): Try as we might, we can’t find a solid synopsis of this film, other than mentions that it’s abstract, experimental, and might actually be a pig’s dream about a human couple. Shane Carruth‘s long-delayed followup to Primer (2004) looks much, much weirder and more confusing. Upstream Color official site.
John Dies at the End (2012): Read our review. A hallucinogenic drug and demons from a parallel universe feature in this Don Coscarelli joint that shamelessly positions itself as the must-see cult hit of the year. Buy John Dies At The End.
Tormented (2011): A young boy and his mute sister are haunted by nightmares of a giant plush bunny. From Takashi Shimizu, the director of the Ju-on (The Grudge) series. Buy Tormented.
1 (2009): All the rare books in a bookstore are mysteriously replaced by an anonymous book titled “1” that describes in numbers what is happening to everyone in the world during one minute’s time; the “Reality Defense Council” steps in to investigate. It’s 1 weird movie, and it’s in our reader-suggested review queue so you might want to check it out so you can comment intelligently on it when we review it down the line. (Unrated, but would receive an “R” for some brief sex scenes). Watch 1 free on YouTube.
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):
Silver Circle (2013): Fiscal rebels create an underground silver currency, but agents from the Federal Reserve oppress the freedom fighters in this libertarian thriller that looks like it was created through one of those “make your own movie” online animation services. No matter your opinion on monetary policy, this movie is a bad idea with a capital BAD. Silver Circle official site.
SCREENINGS – (BAM, Brooklyn, NY, Mar. 22-38):
Le Pont du Nord (1981): Two women discover a magical map that turns Paris into a hallucinatory board game. From Jacques (Celine and Julie Go Boating) Rivette, this movie is debuting in U.S. theaters more than 30 years after its release! Le Pont du Nord at BAM.
3x3D (est. 2013): A suite of three 3D short films from Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Greenaway, and Portuguese director Edgar Pêra. Each of the shorts is some kind of metacinematic meditation on film in the third dimension. More information at Stereoscopy News.
NEW ON DVD:
Strange Frame (2012): This animated lesbian science fiction musical features the voice of Tim Curry (as the villain) and looks strange indeed. What we have learned this week is that lesbian animation>libertarian animation. Buy Strange Frame.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Zeta One [AKA The Love Factor] (1969): Per the IMDB plot summary, this attempt to cash in on the sexy psychedelic success of Barbarella is about “a race of topless, large-breasted women from the planet Angvia, in another dimension, come to earth to kidnap women to repopulate their planet.” Who finds, remasters, and releases trash like this on Blu-ray? Jezebel, the soft-porn releasing branch of Redemption Films, that’s who—and God love ’em for it! Buy Zeta One [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
The Baby of Mâcon (1993): Peter Greenaway followed up Prospero’s Books with this controversial black satire involving a supposed virgin birth; American distributors refused to carry because of a gang rape scene. Thanks to reader “Lee” for pointing us towards this one! Obviously this movie is “not safe for work.” Watch The Baby of Mâcon free on YouTube.
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.
Celebrating the cinematically surreal, bizarre, cult, oddball, fantastique, strange, psychedelic, and the just plain WEIRD!
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set; here it is in the priced-to-move single disc edition. 
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or this single disc Blu-ray. Why not buy all four versions? 
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