Read Giles Edwards’ complete review of Godhead.
Giles Edwards met up with Mark H. Rapaport in a luxury hotel room. But don’t worry: Mark wasn’t staying there, he was just borrowing the space. Splashing out for some room service on his brother’s tab, we chatted for an hour about Mark’s new movie, theology, and the intersection of religion and cinema. It ends with the Fantasia audience Q&A from the film’s world debut.
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Discussed in this episode:
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025): The definitive documentary on The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Alpha (2025): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. Although it concerns a plague that turns people into statues, Julia Ducournau‘s third film resembles a Euro-style family drama more than it does the shocking horror films of her early career. Now on Blu-ray. Buy Alpha.
Careful (1992): Read the Canonically Weird entry! A 4K remaster of Guy Maddin‘s neo-expressionist masterpiece about sexual repression (particularly of the incestuous kind). Playing select art-house theaters. In Chicago and NYC this week; check out Careful at Zeitgeist Films for all screenings.
“The David ‘The Rock’ Nelson Collection Vol 3”: Features the epic backyard horror movie anthology Monster Tales (2002), made by a former amateur boxer turned direct-to-VHS auteur (who proudly refers to himself as “The Ed Wood of the 21st century”). How did we miss the first two volumes? Buy “The David ‘The Rock’ Nelson Collection Vol 3”.
Desperate Living (1977): Read the Canonically Weird review! The third entry in John Waters‘ “trash trilogy” is the most ambitious, a depraved fairy-tale for perverted sociopaths. The Criterion Collection does it right, in your choice of Blu-ray only or 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Buy Desperate Living.
Dogra Magra (1988): A man awakes in a mental asylum with no memory and is informed he killed his wife on his wedding night. Toshio Matsumoto‘s final film was an adaptation of an “unfilmable” novel; a commentator once suggested the film is like a Japanese mashup of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with Last Year at Marienbad. This is Radiance’s standard version of the collector’s edition released in late 2024. Buy Dogra Magra.
“Girl Internet Show: A Kati Kelli Mixtape”: A Blu-ray collection of the work of digital creator Kelli, partly curated by Jane Schoenbrun. Some (most?) of the bits featured on this collection were unreleased on her YouTube channel. Buy “Girl Internet Show: A Kati Kelli Mixtape”.
Hairspray (1988): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. John Waters’ PG-rated 50s Baltimore nostalgia piece gets the Criterion Collection treatment, also in Blu-ray or 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Buy Hairspray.
Malpertuis (1972): Read the Canonically Weird entry! The Blu-ray debut of this very strange Belgian/international movie about a sailor who returns to the mansion where his very strange family lives. From Radiance, with some new interviews and lots of archival extras. Buy Malpertuis.
Mare’s Nest (2025): Moon explores a strange world with no adults. Discover the extremely limited screening schedule for this art-house experiment at the Mare’s Nest page at Grasshopper Films.
Mr. K (2025): Read Enar Clarke’s review. The deeply surreal Crispin Glover-led effort about a hotel where you can check in but never leave, now on Blu-ray. Buy Mr. K.
The Nude Vampire (1970): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s Apocrypha Candidate review. Jean Rollin‘s sophomore film includes one of his most bizarre scenarios and sets the plate for the vampire films to come. This is the “US Standard” edition 4K UHD (no Blu-ray), but it contains essentially the same material as the old limited edition. Buy The Nude Vampire.
“Roman Porno Reboot Collection, Vol. 1”: Around 2016, Nikkatsu studios asked contemporary directors to make new movies in the style of its early 1970s “Roman Porno” softcore films. One of the first, and the standout of the series, was Sion Sono‘s subversive Antiporno, included in this set along with more conventional sex pictures with titles like Aroused by Gymnopedies, Dawn of the Felines, Wet Woman in the Wind, and White Lily. “Buy Roman Porno Reboot Collection, Vol. 1”.
Weirdsville (2007): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. A quirky (not weird) story of junkies fighting Satanists, on Blu-ray for the first time. Buy Weirdsville.
What Dreams May Come (1998): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. Robin Williams goes to Hell in this romantic drama with amazing hand-painted visuals. On 4K UHD + Blu-ray from Shout! Buy What Dreams May Come.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest scheduled for next week’s Pod 366 (although we suppose a surprise could always pop up), but the crew will be back to discuss the week’s weird news and new releases. In written content, Michael Diamades sets the stage for Decorado (2025), Enar Clarke scores a Fresh Kill (1994), Shane Wilson decides to Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (1971), and Gregory J. Smalley wonders what a Wetiko (2022) is. Onward and weirdward!
366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.
Discussed in this episode:
Matador Bolero (2026): An underground movie done in the style of a 1960s Super-8 experimental film, about the murder of an actress and possible links to a cult worshiping a super-intelligent computer. Now in theaters.
The Cell (2000): Read Giles Edwards’ review. The 4K UHD (+ Blu-ray) standard edition release from Arrow (so lots of extras) of the psychological thriller where Jennifer Lopez enters the mind of a serial killer. Buy The Cell.
Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel (1979): Read Shane Wilson’s review. Deaf Crocodile releases the standard Blu-ray + UHD for the Soviet sci-fi mystery, previously available only in a limited edition. Buy Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel.
The Holy Mountain rescore: Alternate scores of existing movies are a cool thing, and have moved on from silents to alternate versions of existing talkie scores. For The Holy Mountain, the Cue Northwest Music Residency held a contest to rescore the film, which was won by the avant-rock group Zen Mother. The band will play the score live at a screening at Northwest Film Forum in Seattle sometime in 2027, and hopefully their version will also be available elsewhere. Read the announcement at The Stranger.
The Trouble with Terkel (2010): A bullied 6th grader turns to booze to deal with the guilt caused by his being responsible for the suicide of a classmate. Pixar passed on remaking this transgressive Danish animated comedy. Buy The Trouble with Terkel.
Wetiko (2026): Billed as a “psychedelic jungle thriller,” this feature addresses the phenomenon of “shamanic tourism.” Now on VOD after a brief run in theaters. Wetiko on VOD.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest on next week’s Pod 366. Gregory J. Smalley will be on vacation, but Giles Edwards and Pete Trbovich will talk about two canonically weird classics (Audition and Perfect Blue, if you want to do your homework), among other topics. In written content, Enar Clarke fills out our Jean Rollin coverage with The Living Dead Girl (1982), Michael Diamades takes on the AI-generated feature film Brainstare (2025), and Shane Wilson surveys the entire run of the Muppet-style existential horror show for kids “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared”. Onward and weirdward!
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DIRECTED BY: Jonathan Rosado
FEATURING: Yves Tumor, Kansas Bowling, Jack Irv, Stephee Bonifacio
PLOT: A high-profile murder at a nightclub triggers various factions into action, including a computer intelligence from the depths of space.
COMMENTS: Matador Bolero looks good in that DIY, retro kind of way, at times feeling like a down-at-the-heel Koyaanisqatsi with a nebulous crime story tacked on. But I would like this filmmaker—and his team—to consider a project stripped of a plot, or at least stripped of explication. The murder of a beloved actress at the beginning isn’t nearly as important as the camerawork capturing the fascinating motion of the topless dancers and their viewers. Yves Tumor is better with ardent bed-dance performances than meekly relaying cryptic “information” to an overzealous detective (Kansas Bowling, whose physicality is not well served by dialogue in this film). And the young blonde pulling a magician’s handkerchief from a notch in the beach? I am on board with all of this—except for one thing,
To clarify, I’m a “style-over-substance” kind of guy. I revel in cinematic excess, be it sets or sound production or costuming, or what-have-you. But Matador Bolero is one of the few films where I actually became somewhat annoyed when substance cropped up. What is this narrative you’re trying to tell? Who are these recurring characters? Shoo, shoo. Rosado is in his element when he’s playing around in post-production to further dreamify his already dreamy shots and vignettes. Three scantily-clad young women in wolf masks pursue a fourth (non-masked) woman down a sinister corridor and tear her dress to ribbons while a purple-glowing super-intelligence orb thing pulsates conversationally? I don’t need a “Why” for that.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
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Discussed in this episode:
A Blind Bargain (2025): Read Pete Trbovich’s review. We talk to director Paul Bunnell and actors Jed Rowen and Claudia MacLeod about their Crispin Glover–led mad scientist flick, a reimagining of a lost Lon Chaney silent. Free tickets are available (in limited amounts per theater) from the official site.
Alice in Wonderland (1951): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. As they periodically do when new formats roll around, Disney upgrades their take on Lewis Carroll’s nonsense classic to 4K UHD disc (standard Blu-ray included). Buy Alice in Wonderland.
Black Rabbit, White Rabbit (2025): Multiple storylines converge in this “surreal” Tajikistan-based film about the making of a film. In theaters in Los Angeles this week, with a few additional screenings throughout the late spring and early summer and a Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray coming before the year is over. Black Rabbit, White Rabbit official site.
Buffet Infinity (2025): Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. Your chance to feast on this buffet of 90s cable weirdness arrives on VOD today. Catch it, then catch our interview with director Simon Glassman afterwards. Buy or rent Buffet Infinity.
The Devils (1971) restoration: Read the Canonically Weird entry! Multiple outlets reported this news; Ken Russell‘s medieval witchcraft-hysteria outrage The Devils has been restored in 4K, and will screen at Cannes this month and in US theaters (presumably for one night only) on October 16. Some of this is just speculation, but the official Instagram page of Warner Brothers’ Clockwork subsidiary included artwork from the infamous “rape of Christ” scenes, so I think we can safely expect this to be the full, uncut version.
Exit 8 (2025): Read Michael Diamades’ review. The Japanese liminal video-game adaptation is now available on VOD. Buy or rent Exit 8.
OBEX (2025): Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. Albert Birney‘s latest, about a nerd trying to rescue his dog from a demon in a virtual worlds, is a weird throwback to early computer adventure/role playing games. This Blu-ray includes director’s commentary, deleted scenes, and 4 Birney shorts, among other extra features. Buy OBEX.
Touch Me (2025): Ejected from their apartments, two roommates find shelter with a mysterious man whose touch is literally addictive. Now on VOD. Buy or rent Touch Me on VOD.
White Zombie (1932): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. The atmospheric Bela Lugosi public domain zombie classic gets a restoration, so it looks like it should. Buy White Zombie.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest scheduled on next week’s Pod 366 (but then again, our last couple of guests popped up with less than a week’s notice). I written reviews, Michael Diamades hunts down Dust Bunny (2026), Shane Wilson decides whether reader-suggest British biographical comedy The Great McGonnagall (1974) lives up to its title, Pete Trbovich returns to his “Pete’s Perverted Pix” miniseries as he rents his own Secretary (2002), and Gregory J. Smalley chews on Endless Cookie (2025). Onward and weirdward!