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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):
The Myth of Man (2024): The Winans (Ink ) are back with another mystical low-budget fantasy that should be plenty weird, if the trailer below is any indication. In limited release for a series of one-night preview screenings in early December in New York metro area, Los Angeles, and Denver; not sure what the plans are after that, but some form of VOD/streaming seems a safe bet. (Thanks to reader Nc for the heads up!) Check out The Myth of Man official site for screening information.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
“Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection”: A beautiful book-style limited edition of some of Hitchcock‘s finest, including (naturally) the Canonically Weird Vertigo along with Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds. Universal advertises 15 hours of bonus material (most of which have probably been previously available on the many, many previous releases of these films over the years). Cinephile Christmas gift-bait at it finest. Buy “Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection.”
Coma (2022): A sequestered 18-year-old girl loses her grip on reality as she watches a YouTuber named “Patricia Coma.” An odd-looking one, with animated and Barbie doll sequences, from the busy Bertrand Bonello (who followed this up with the better-distributed The Beast). Buy Coma.
“The Cult of AFGA Trailer Show” (2024): This is a sequel to 2021’s “The AGFA Horror Trailer Show,” which we did not cover because we wrongly assumed it was just a collection of trailers. But by all accounts, both Trailer Shows are actually Everything is Terrible!-style mixtapes, and the Blu-ray includes “hallucinogenic shorts” as bonus features, so this should be worth checking out. Buy “The Cult of AFGA Trailer Show”.
Dororo (2007): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. The movie features the strange Japanese folkloric monsters called yokai in a story about a swordsman seeking to collect his 48 missing body parts. It’s the first time this live-action adaptation has appeared on Blu-ray in North America, but no special features will be found. Buy Dororo .
Electric Dragon 80,000V (2001): Read the Apocryphally Weird review! The first appearance of this crazy cult film about a lizard-obsessed high-voltage rock n’ roll superhero on Blu-ray; no word on whether the special features were ported over from the DVD (although since Discotek released both versions, there would be no reason for them not to be included). Buy Electric Dragon 80,000V.
Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain (2024): Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. The spectacular psychedelic period anime skips a theatrical release (unfortunately) and makes its American debut on Netflix (where at least more people will have a chance to see it, if not on the huge screen it demands). Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain on Netflix.
Murder Party (2017): Read Pete Trbovich’s review. A packed Blu-ray release of this minor cult black comedy about a man who accepts a mysterious invitation to a party which turns out, unfortunately, to be a Murder Party. Buy Murder Party.
Santa Claus (1959): Read the Canonically Weird entry! This appears to be just a reissue of VCI’s 2011 Blu-ray release of what one Amazon reviewer calls “the most surreal Mexican Christmas movie of 1959!” Buy Santa Claus.
The Shape of Water (2017): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. Guillermo del Toro‘s cold war monster romance with musical numbers flick didn’t sniff our list of weirdest movies of all time, but it was one of the stranger Best Picture Oscar winners. The Criterion Collection gives it the usual reverential treatment, on 4K UHD + Blu-ray. BuyThe Shape of Water.
The Tenant (1976): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Roman Polanski‘s take on the identity-shift genre has an immigrant taking on the personality of his flat’s previous tenant, to weird effect. This could have been in the Criterion Collection, but somehow genre specialist Vinegar Syndrome got the rights to this art-house cult classic and releases it in a 4K UHD + Blu-ray set that’s the equal of the venerable Collection in terms of extra features. Buy The Tenant.
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Weird Willy joins the 4K UHD club (beware: no Blu-ray) in this limited edition steelbook aimed at collectors. Buy Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
Pod 366 will return from the holiday hiatus next week; no guest is scheduled, but we will discuss the week’s weird news and releases. In written content, Shane Wilson addresses another one that Came from the Reader-Suggested Queue with Nina Menkes’ 1986 experimental feminist screed Magdalena Viraga, about a sex worker accused of murder; Giles Edwards has promised to use his holiday break to catch up with Tomie (1998), the first of many adaptations of stories about Junjo Ito‘s recurrent murderess; and Gregory J. Smalley plans to catch the magical realist Netflix release Pedro Páramo, set in a dusty Mexican town where the living may be the dead. 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.