366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (WIDE RELEASE):

Akira (1988) 4K remaster: Read the Canonically Weird entry! Despite the utter confusion it generates in the uninitiated, the seminal cyberpunk anime is getting a gratifyingly wide release in theaters across the U.S. this week. (Apologies if you missed the IMAX release, which was yesterday only).  Akira 4K info page at Funimation.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Kajillionaire (2020): A family of con-artists take on a new swindle as the daughter questions their relationship. That synopsis doesn’t sound too weird, but this one is from Miranda July and a mainstream critic warns that it may be “a little too weird to handle…” (that warning is not addressed to you, btw). Kajillionaire official site.

FILM FESTIVALS – Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX and online, 9/24-10/1):

Just a reminder that this year’s Fantastic Fest has started, is largely online, and is free. We won’t repeat our brief rundown from last week’s Weird Horizon, but you can follow the link if interested. Or simply visit the Fantastic Fest home page to see what’s playing now.

FILM FESTIVALS – Nightstream (Online [geolocked to U.S.], 10/8-11):

“Nightstream” is a 2020 collaboration between five smaller film festivals that were canceled due to the pandemic: Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook, and Popcorn Frights. Selections Climate of the Hunter, Dinner in America, and Time of Moulting have already been reviewed on these pages. Also included are a number of webcasts/podcasts and special events, including cocktails, trivia, and a feature where Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, and Issa López critique their early home movies. We’d also like to highlight the following films:

• Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995/2012) – This seldom-seen gore feature, filmed in 1995 but not released until 2012, is like the Japanese Evil Dead with bodybuilders.
• Mandibles – Quentin Dupieux‘ latest is about two friends who try to exploit a giant fly they find in their car’s trunk.
  

Nightstream Festival official homepage.

FILM FESTIVALS – Sitges Film Festival (Sitges, Spain 10/8-18):

Despite the pandemic, Spain’s venerable Sitges Festival soldiers on with a hybrid of live screenings and online presentations. As far as we can tell, unlike most other festivals, online screenings do not seem to be geolocked to particular countries (but we admit we did not try to buy tickets to test that out). Among their massive slate, here are some we’ve previously mentioned or reviewed: At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964), Fried Barry (screening online), Quentin Dupieux‘ Mandibles (see above, screening online), Minor Premise (online), Monster Seafood Wars (online), She Dies Tomorrow, Spookies (1986), The Old Man Movie (online), and Viy (1967). Sitges will also screens early previews of Brandon Cronenberg‘s Possessor and A24’s delayed St. Maud (neither available online). The films and revivals highlighted below are of special interest:

• Anonymous Animals [Les Animaux Anonymes] – Animal-headed creatures hunt humans in this dialogue-free French experiment. 10/8 or online.
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(1920) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1962) – The 1962 version is a Robert Bloch-penned riff on Wiene‘s theme. The original screens 10/9 and the tribute film on 10/16.
• The Dragon Lives Again [AKA Deadly Hands of Kung Fu] (1977) – Bruce Lee dies and goes to Hell, where he teams up with Popeye to fight James Bond and eleven more assassins bent on killing him (again). Screens 10/14 only.
• Saint-Narcisse – Bruce LaBruce blasphemy about a man’s erotic longing for his long-lost identical twin. Screening live on the 15th, 16th and 18th, and also online.
  
• Sky Sharks – another absurdist shark B-comedy, this time featuring flying sharks piloted by Nazi zombies. Oct 10-11 and online.
• The Trial (1962) – Orson Welles adaptation of Franz Kafka‘s existential classic plays on the 17th.

Sitges Film Festival official site.

STREAMING (Amazon Prime):

“Utopia”: A TV series about fans of the graphic novel “Utopia” who discover that events predicted in the story are coming true in real life, and whose investigation leads to a cultlike leader played by John Cusack. It’s based on a British TV show that ran from 2013-2014 that was canceled despite a cult following. Debuts today. “Utopia” on Amazon Prime.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005): Read our review. Alphabetically, this is the first of several Robert Rodriguez features re-released on DVD and Blu-ray this week. Buy The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

The Brothers Grimm (2005): A couple of fairy-tale writing charlatans find themselves trapped in a real fairy tale. The frustration of filming what turned out to be a flop fantasy encouraged a bitter Terry Gilliam to make Tideland (2005). Re-released on DVD or Blu-ray. Buy The Brothers Grimm.

Fellini’s Casanova (1976): Donald Sutherland plays the famous libertine as he bed-hops across Fellini‘s avant garde vision of Europe. Casanova is almost a forgotten Fellini film, since it hasn’t been available in the U.S. in forever; it is, however, in our reader-suggested review queue. (This is a preorder: the Blu won’t be available until Dec. 8). Preorder Fellini’s Casanova.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996): Read our review. Robert Rodriguez‘ Quentin Tarantino–penned vampire movie is getting another Blu-ray release, for unknown reasons (we just report ’em, we don’t explain ’em). Buy From Dusk Till Dawn.

Lord Love a Duck (1966): Read Shane Wilson’s review. Kino Lorber releases a remastered version of this cult high school satire on Blu-ray for the first time. Buy Lord Love a Duck.

“Rob Zombie Trilogy”: This Blu-ray release of the serial-killing Firefly family saga features the weird (but annoying) House of 1,000 Corpses, the popular (but not weird) The Devil’s Rejects, and the few-bothered late sequel 3 from Hell. A bare-bones Blu that may be of interest to Zombiephiles. Buy “Rob Zombie Trilogy”.

Sin City (2005): Read the Canonically Weird review! Like From Dusk Till Dawn (above), the reason for this re-release of another Rodriguez/Tarantino classic at this time is not clear, but it does show up in Amazon’s listings with no details given. Your choice of Blu-ray or DVD. Buy Sin City.

“Stanley Kubrick 3-Film 4K Collection”: Includes the Canonically Weird 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Shining (1980), and Full Metal Jacket (1987), all restored in 4K. Buy “Stanley Kubrick 3-Film 4K Collection”.

“The Vincent Price Collection”: Includes the horrors The Pit and the Pendulum, The Haunted Palace, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, Witchfinder General, and, most notably, the canonically weird The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). This in-time-for-Halloween release is a reissue of a 2013 set previously reviewed on this site by Alfred Eaker; it loses the Price introductions from the original set, and adds an extra minute of footage to the Red Death disc. Buy “The Vincent Price Collection”.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

Independent theaters are cautiously starting to reopen across North America at diminished capacity, and we’re seeing a trickle of new screenings. You’ll have to use your own judgment as to whether it’s safe to go to movie theaters at this time.

• Austin, TX
  • Alamo Drafthouse (South Lamar) – Akira (1988), 9/25-27
• Columbus, OH
  • Gateway Film Center – Akira (1988), 9/25-10/1
• Coxsackie, NY
  • Hi-way Drive-in – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) with Phantom of the Paradise (1974) (double feature), 9/25 & 27
• Denver, CO
  • Alamo Drafthouse – Akira (1988), 9/25-10/1
• Kansas City, MO
  • Screenland (Armour) – Videodrome (1983), 9/25-28
• Memphis, TN
  • Malco Summer Drive-In – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) with Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) (double feature), 9/25-10/1
• Phoenix, AZ
  • Alamo Drafthouse – Akira (1988), 9/25-9/30
• Tustin, CA
  • Mess Hall at Flight pop-up drive-in – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), 9/29
• Vancouver, BC
  • The Rio
    • A Clockwork Orange (1971), 9/25, 28
    • Fantasia (1940), 9/26
    • Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (1990), 9/27
    • Donnie Darko (2001), 9/30
• Winchester, VA
  • Alamo Drafthouse – Akira (1988), 9/25-9/30

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: This week’s weird Amazon Prime party screening is Guy Maddin‘s fragmentary The Forbidden Room (2015). Join us tomorrow at 10:15 PM (ET), won’t you? We’ll provide the link to join about 10 PM here, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

In reviews, next week El Rob Hubbard reports on the unexpectedly and sadly relevant “12 Monkeys” TV series; Giles Edwards explores The Wild Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968); and Gregory J. Smalley looks at Abel Ferrara‘s newly-released biopic Tommaso (2019). We wouldn’t rule out (or necessarily expect) a surprise pop-up review in what turns out to be a crowded week. Onward and weirdward!

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

Here’s the poll to vote in our latest Amazon Prime watch party, scheduled for Saturday, Sep. 26, at 10:15 PM ET. If you plan on virtually attending, please vote for the movie we’ll be watching below. We’ll screen the movie that gets the most votes.  Management will break any ties. Note that unlike our other polls, you can only vote once. Poll closes at midnight EST on Wednesday, Sep. 23. You may vote for multiple movies, but not for every movie (because that would be pointless). Now, vote!

We didn’t get the required five RSVPs for our Saturday, September 9 party, so we canceled it. However we have received an RSVP for next week, so we’re starting a new announcement poll.

As stated, we have one RSVP so we’re looking for four more. If you RSVP’ed for the canceled party, you’ll need to do so again (and re-nominated a movies for screening). We will carry over two nominations from the previous post: Capone (2020) and The Forbidden Room (2015).

If we get four more RSVPs (and, optionally, screening nominations), our next party will be scheduled for September 26 at 10:15 PM. After we get the minimum number of nominees and likely attendees, we’ll put up a poll.  Management will break any ties.

Amazon Prime’s catalog of movies is larger (and less exclusive) than Netflix’s. Ed Dykhuizen’s availability spreadsheet is a good resource to check for Canonically Weird movies (look for ones marked “free w/ Prime” in the “Amazon” column). Or, do your own research and come up with a title from Amazon. Eligible movies will have a “watch party” button on their Amazon page. You must be a Prime subscriber; you don’t have to download an extension or additional software.

We will not provide tech support; you’re on your own. Help each other.

When the party is set to begin we’ll announce it in three places:

• On this site (if you’ve signed up for regular email alerts via the sidebar you’ll also get a notice that way)
• On our Facebook page
• On Twitter

Now, RSVP and make your nominations in the comments below.

This notice came in too late to make the regular column, but we thought we’d add it.

FILM FESTIVALS – Beyond Fest (Montclair, CA, 10/2-10/8):

Films are being screened exclusively at the Mission Tiki Drive-in. Please note that many of these showings are already sold out. At this writing, there are still tickets for one film we’ll be keeping track of in the near future: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead‘s latest head trip, Synchronic.

Beyond Fest official site.

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Ten Minutes to Midnight (2020): An aging punk radio host is bitten by a bat, and may be turning into a vampire. Apparently it gets wild and gory, as it’s earned some comparisons to Evil Dead II and Dead Alive.  Ten Minutes to Midnight official Facebook page.

ONLINE RE-RELEASE:

Faust (1994): Read Alex Kittle’s List Candidate review. Of course,  it’s fantastic news that Jan Svankmajer‘s second surrealist feature mixing  stop-motion and live action is restored and available again, but what’s really exciting is the possibility that this re-release may signal revived interest in the rest of the Svankmejer’s catalog, which has been shamefully neglected in recent years. See a list of online rental partners at distributor KimStim’s Faust page.

STREAMING (HBO):

“The Third Day” (2020): Told in two halves, “Summer” and “Winter,” describing two separate characters visits to an barely-accessible British island where villagers practice their own peculiar form of paganism. This HBO miniseries is Wicker Man-inspired, obviously, but we assume it finds it’s own spin on the subject. “The Third Day” HBO page.

FILM FESTIVALS – Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX and online, 9/24-10/1):

The bad news: due to the pandemic, this year’s edition of Fantastic Fest has a dramatically slimmed down slate. The very good news: the offerings they do have will (with a few exceptions) be screened online for free for U.S. residents. The Old Man Movie (on 9/26) is one free offering. Also of note:

• Daughters of Darkness (1971) – Harry Kümel‘s classic, strange lesbian vampire movie in a new restoration—with Kümel on hand for a Q&A afterwards. Sep. 27.
  
• Possessor (2020) – Eight years after his weird debut Antiviral, Brandon Cronenberg is back with another feature film about future assassins who possess the bodies of innocents to carry out their kills. Sorry, in-theater only on Sep. 23 (though it will be in theaters and on VOD screens worldwide soon enough).
  
• Triple Fisher: The Lethal Lolitas of Long Island (2012) – For anyone  who fondly remembers the Amy Fisher scandal of the 1990s, here is Dan Kapelovitz’s experimental trash film that edits all three (!) made-for-TV movies exploiting the underage sex and violence scandal into one mind-numbing Fisher farrago. Sep. 28.

Visit the Fantastic Fest home page for complete schedule and instructions on how to access the screenings.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Reflections of Evil 2: The Same Day (202?): A sequel to Damon Packard‘s uncategorizable experimental DIY magnum opus about an obese watch salesman, his dead sister, and Steven Spielberg? According to  IMDB, it’s been announced, complete with a tagline: “Bobby is back and he’s fatter than ever.” One problem: we couldn’t find any updates since the project was announced back in 2016 (and Packard’s completed two features, the thriller Fatal Pulse and the horror anthology Tales Beyond Madness, since). Still, we can hope. Reflections of Evil 2: The Same Day listing on IMDB.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

“The Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection”: Here’s a Blu-ray box set release that may be of minor interest to some here. It includes Fando y Lis (1968),  El Topo (1970), The Holy Mountain (1973), and Jodorowsky’s latest film, Psychomagic, A Healing Art (2019) (which is not yet available separately). New interviews with Jodo and others and the short “La Cravate” (1957) are included among the numerous extras. Buy “The Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection”.

Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (2019): Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. Miguel Llansó‘s wild tale of an unlikely CIA agent infiltrating “Psychobook” via virtual reality is out on Blu-ray in a limited edition from Arrow Video, packaged with an exceptional bonus feature: Llansó’s rarely seen but equally surreal debut Crumbs (2015). Buy Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway.

Tommaso (2019): Willem Dafoe stars as a stand-in for director Abel Ferrara: an expatriate, ex-alcoholic director struggling with issues both artistic and personal. Mainly an introspective drama, but with surreal touches. Buy Tommaso.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

Independent theaters are cautiously starting to reopen across North America at diminished capacity, and we’re seeing a trickle of new screenings. As predicted, this section is slowly growing as fall arrives. You’ll have to use your own judgment as to whether it’s safe to go to movie theaters at this time.

• Austin, TX
  • Alamo Drafthouse – A Clockwork Orange (1971), 9/18-19, 24
• Columbus, OH
  • Gateway Film Center – Akira (1988), 9/24
• Coxsackie, NY (see comments)
• Denver, CO
  • Alamo Drafthouse – A Clockwork Orange (1971), 9/18
• Kansas City, MO
  • Screenland (Armour) – Stalker (1979), 9/19, 22
• Memphis, TN
  • Malco Summer Drive-In – Videodrome (1983), with Scanners (1981) and The Dead Zone (1983) (triple feature), 9/19
• Omaha, NB
  • Alamo Drafthouse – A Clockwork Orange (1971), 9/19-20
• Phoenix, AZ
  • Alamo Drafthouse – A Clockwork Orange (1971), 9/18-22
• Vancouver, BC
  • The Rio
    • Fantasia (1940), 9/18
    • Donnie Darko (2001), 9/20
• Winchester, VA
  • Alamo Drafthouse
    • Batman Returns (1992), 9/18-24
    • A Clockwork Orange (1971), 9/22
    • Akira (1988), 9/24

NEPOTISM CORNER:

Interviewing the Unorthodox: Greg Smalley of 366 Weird Movies: We’re flattered that Gregory J. Smalley was the inaugural unorthodox interview for this column at the new online mag Babou 691, which bills itself as “dedicated to the bizarre and the surreal in literature, film, and art… celebrating the weird in its many forms.” That’s a mission statement we heartily endorse.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Due to lack of response, there will be no Amazon Prime watch party next week. We’ll try again for a September 26th party, but we may stick to the better-attended Netflix Parties once or twice a month from here on out.

We’ll continue presenting online reviews (while working in the background on the 2020 Yearbook and our “Big Book” project). So next week you can read Giles Edwards take on Coma (2019), (the Russian Inception) and Gregory J. Smalley on Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) (the Japanese Django Unchained, or something like that). Onward and weirdward!

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

We’re doing things a little differently with our Weird Watch Parties this month. We’re going to schedule two Amazon Prime watch parties in a row. Assuming there’s enough interest, our next  parties will be scheduled for Saturday, September 19 and September 26 at 10:15 PM.

As always, we’ll be looking for five movie screening nominations from people who plan to attend (for both or either session). After we get the minimum five nominations and likely attendees, we’ll put up a poll. We’ll then schedule the poll’s second place vote-getter to be screened on September 19 and the first place contestant on September 26. Management will break any ties.

Amazon Prime’s catalog of movies is larger (and less exclusive) than Netflix’s. Ed Dykhuizen’s availability spreadsheet is a good resource to check for Canonically Weird movies (look for ones marked “free w/ Prime” in the “Amazon” column). Or, do your own research and come up with a title from Amazon. Eligible movies will have a “watch party” button on their Amazon page. You must be a Prime subscriber; you don’t have to download an extension or additional software.

We will not provide tech support; you’re on your own. Help each other.

When the party is set to begin we’ll announce it in three places:

• On this site (if you’ve signed up for regular email alerts via the sidebar you’ll also get a notice that way)
• On our Facebook page
• On Twitter

Now, RSVP and make your nominations in the comments below.