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 at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

April and the Extraordinary World [Avril et le monde truqué] (2015): Animation about a girl in a steampunk France searching for her abducted scientist parents while fleeing cyborg rats and other baddies. From the producers of Persepolis. April and the Extraordinary World official U.S. site.

Baskin (2015): Turkish midnight movie about cops who are lured into the entrance to Hell. Positive festival buzz led to a limited release. Baskin official site.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Mar. 27):

Liquid Sky (1982): Read Pamela de Graff’s review. Horny aliens invade New York’s heroin-chic New Wave art world in this baffling 80s cult film. Director Slava Tsukerman will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening—someone ask him what’s the deal on the overdue “30th Anniversary” Blu-ray release of the film, will ya, please? Part of the “Underground Films of the 80s” series. Liquid Sky at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (IFC Center, Manhattan, Mar. 25-26):

El Topo (1970) & The Holy Mountain (1973): It’s Alejandro Jodorowsky heaven, and Alejandro Jodorowsky hell, as  IFC forces you to choose between simultaneous screenings of Jodo’s surrealist Spaghetti Western retelling of the Bible, or his mystical fable about a Jesus figure who teams up the living representatives of the planetary bodies on his trip to enlightenment. Fortunately, no matter which one you see at midnight on Friday, you can catch the other at the same late hour on Saturday. “Waverly Midnights” series at IFC Center.

SCREENINGS – (Spectacle Theater, Brooklyn, Mar. 25-26):

Final Flesh (2009): Read the Certified Weird entry! The Spectacle Theater is the only outfit in the nation (besides us) diligently working to make Vernon Chatman‘s experiment in drafting four amateur porn troupes into making an absurdist apocalyptic film into a canonical midnight movie. Plays tonight at midnight. The nect night, Saturday March 26 at 10 PM, also from deep in the Certified Weird files: puppet De Sade and his talking penis star in Marquis. Both rarities are periodic offerings at the underground venue. Spectacle Theater home page.

FILM FESTIVALS –Boston Underground Film Festival (Boston, MA, Mar. 23-27):

Modest and a bit under-the-radar, the Boston Underground Film Festival has nonetheless landed some interesting titles this year. Besides some pics that played Sundance and other fests—the mermaid musical The Lure, the psychedelic anime Belladonna of Sadness, and the stoner horror Antibirth—we noticed a few debuts that might be worth checking out.

• Blood of the Tribades – low budget lesbian vampire flick the programmers promise delivers “weirdness in spades.” Sunday, Mar. 27.
• Chasing Bansky – a scam artist decides to steal and resell an original piece of Bansky street art; in a departure for Frank Henenlotter, this is based on a true story without fantastical elements. Screening Mar. 26.
  
• Curtain – a portal in Danni’s bathroom that eats her shower curtain is a doorway to another world. Mar. 26 at midnight.
• Karaoke Crazies – a serial killer preys on karaoke singers in this surreal (?) South Korean thriller-comedy blend. Mar 27.

And, obviously, lots of the weird shorts you will always find at these festivals.

Boston Underground Film Festival official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Birds of Neptune (2015): Two sisters, a composer and a burlesque dancer, cope with the death of their parents. Described as “dreamlike.” Buy Birds Of Neptune

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Trip (1967): Read our capsule review. Take a psychedelic journey outside the borders of your own mind with Roger Corman‘s “ultimate” acid movie, now on Blu-ray for the first time. Buy The Trip [Blu-ray].

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…

It was a strangely barren week, with nothing of serious surreal interest coming out in theaters or on DVD/Blu-ray. Hopefully this is just the calm before the big weird storm… but here’s what we did find going on this week.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Fri. Mar. 18-20):

Repo Man (1984): Read the Certified Weird entry!  Alex Cox‘s unclassifiable punk/sci-fi/comedy about L.A. car repossessors is one of the lynchpins of Cinefamily’s “Underground USA: Independent Cinema of the 80s” series. Cox himself will be in attendance at tonight’s 10:30 PM showing. Also playing in this series: 1980’s ultraweird 6th dimension fantasy Forbidden Zone (with director Richard Elfman on hand) on Saturday at 10PM. Then, for Sunday afternoon’s “hangover matinee” they’ll be showing no less weird a film than Mulholland Drive! Once again, we wish we lived in Los Angeles… though we wouldn’t get much done on the weekends. “Underground USA: Independent Cinema of the 80s” series at Cinefamily.

YOU LINK US! YOU REALLY LINK US!:

TV Tropes: TV Tropes becomes the largest site to recognize our existence with a dedicated entry (although they did write the name out as “Three Hundred Sixty Six Weird Movies,” for some reason, but hey, who’s complaining?) Now we just need to get Wikipedia on the ball. “Three Hundred Sixty Six Weird Movies” entry at TV Tropes.

FREE MOVIES ON SNAGFILMS:

Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated: Read Eric Young’s review. George Romero’s public domain zombie classic remade by a team of artists and animators, switching back and forth between styles every few minutes. Watch Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated free on SnagFilms.

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.

(If you’re interested in the details of the “Sex, Murder, Art” prize, just go to the end of this post, or click here to be taken to the description on Cult Epics’ website. Note that, unless you work at a combination bordello/funeral parlor, this link is probably not safe for work!)

366 Weird Movies has no advertising budget, and sucks at self-promotion. We rely on word of mouth to get visitors (and dare we say, fans?) And what’s the best way to get free exposure on the Internet?

An “Internet meme,” of course. (You’ve seen these things, right?)

In fact, the Certified Weird standard bearer Willy Wonka already has his own meme:

It seems like characters from other Certified Weird movies should be able to crawl their way across the Web. So we’re making that the basis of our giveaway contest: develop your own meme, which will then take the Internet by storm, resulting (somehow) in great riches for all of us (or, at least, a Blu-ray set for you). Here are the three 366-branded “image macros” we believe would make good viral candidates:

Notice that the “image macro meme” always has a form and a concept. In the “Willy Wonka” example, the format is: a question at the top of the image, followed by an answer implying hypocrisy or lack of depth on the bottom. (Other “memes” you may have seen have other formal concepts, such as “Conspiracy Keanu“‘s “what if…” structure). The contest winner won’t merely stamp a picture with a funny statement, they will develop their own concept around the chosen image that will allow others to create their own variations on the “meme.” Also, note that you don’t have to use both the top and bottom text areas. They can also be about anything; you don’t have to make the meme center around 366 or weird movies. Creativity (especially weird creativity) will win the contest.

Here’s an example of what a contest entry might look like (remember, develop your own concept!):

Use memegenerator.com to make these. Click on the image you’d like to use above, or follow these links:

Radiator Lady
Toilet Bunny Boy
Master Goat Testicle

Enter your own text. I recommend ticking the box that says “upload to imgur,” then taking the link from there and pasting it in the comments here as your submission. (We’re not going to walk you through how to do all this; that’s part of the contest). The winner will be chosen at the sole discretion of the Staff. Thinking outside the box and/or demonstrating an ability to actually propagate the meme in the wild will score you extra points. Bribery has also been known to work. Contestants should limit themselves to one entry per image macro (although you could show us multiple examples of the macro in practice, if you like). Remember to post a link to the result in the comments section.

Oh yes, and about the prize. “Sex, Murder, Art” is a four-disc Blu-ray (plus two soundtrack CD) set comprising the main work of transgressive provocateur Jörg Buttgereit, to be released this April. The films include Nekromantik, Nekromantik 2, Der Todesking, and the newly-released 1993 serial killer atrocity Schramm. The collection comes with tons of extra features and a 40-page booklet. More details at Cult Epics’ NSFW website.

Contest closes at Midnight, April 11. Winner must be 18 years of age and provide a mailing address within the U.S. or Canada for delivery of the prize.  Employees of 366 Weird Movies and its affiliates are not eligible for this contest, but since 366 Weird Movies has no employees or affiliates, the impact of this disclaimer is minimal.

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 at the official site links.

SCREENINGS – (IFC Center, New York City, Mar. 11-12):

El Topo (1970): Read the Certified Weird entry! The acidiest of all acid westerns, and the first notable Midnight Movie thanks to its legendary run at the Elgin, is back on the big screen once more. Worth a pilgrimage. El Topo at IFC center.

SCREENINGS – (Videology Bar & Cinema, Brooklyn, Mar. 11-12):

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): Read the Certified Weird entry. The first time we watched this Playstation romantic slacker epic about a nerdy hipster bro fighting off seven evil exes for the hand of a sexy hipster chick, we were certain it was destined to be a cult film. Six years later, our prediction has come true. Also playing: Trent Scott Harris‘s documentary/satire hybrid The Beaver Trilogy, starring both Sean Penn and Crispin Glover as the same Olivia Newton John impersonator, at 7 PM. Make it a long night! Scott Pilgrim vs. the World at Videology Bar & Cinema.

FILM FESTIVALS – South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival (Austin, TX, Mar. 11-19):

If you can’t get your indie film into Sundance, the massive SXSW festival in Austin, Texas has become your next best bet. With the continued mainstreaming of Sundance, and the increasingly homogenized “indie” product spotlighted there, if your movie’s a bit on the weirder side, SWSX may even be a better fit. (The Greasy Strangler, which is playing at both fests, is an exception). Here are some of this year’s weirder offerings:

• The Alchemist’s Cookbook – Joel Potrykus is a director to keep an eye on, and this is an intriguing departure: another portrait of an anti-authority antihero, but this time in a supernatural horror context. Mar. 14 & 16.
• collective:unconscious – five underground directors take turns interpreting each others’ dreams on Mar. 14 & 16.
• Papagajka – a socially awkward parking attendant finds his life is being taken over by a mysterious stranger in this art house debut from a graduate of Bela Tarr‘s (literal) film school; screening Mar. 14 & 17.
• Pee Wee’s Big Holiday – sure to be one of the fest’s most sought-after tickets, this is a chance for a lucky handful to see Pee Wee’s latest film on the big screen one day before it premieres on Netflix. Catch it if you can on Mar. 17.
  
• Phantasm – a remastered print of the Certified Weird horror classic screens Mar 16.

South by Southwest official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Dickshark (2016): Bill Zebub calls this story about a penile-enhancement cream that turns the male member into a marine predator a work of “absurdism”—which, for some reason, he puts in quotes. Zebub’s movies always catch our eye, but we’d never actually pay to see if they’re as astoundingly stupid as they look. If you would, then buy Dickshark.

The Forbidden Room (2015): Read our review! Huh, this one might be of interest to some… Buy The Forbidden Room.

The Tribe (2014): A graphically violent and sexually explicit Ukrainian film, with no dialogue, about students at a school for the deaf who run a prostitution ring. No extra features are advertised. Buy The Tribe.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Forbidden Room (2015): See description in DVD above. Buy The Forbidden Room [Blu-ray].

Howard the Duck (1986):  This notorious George Lucas produced 80s kiddie fantasy bomb about a cigar-smoking duck from an alternate universe who winds up saving the world from evil aliens in Cleveland didn’t even get a DVD release until 2009, so this is a relatively quick Blu-ray debut.  Judge for yourself whether it deserves its reputation as one of the worst big-budget pictures ever, or (as a very few contend) its an underacknowleged masterpiece. Buy Howard the Duck [Blu-ray].

Jane B. par Agnes V. (1988)/Kung Fu Master! (1988): Two from Agnes Varda: Jane B. is an experimental biography of model/actress/singer/muse Jane Birkin, who acts in several fantasy sequences that cast her as Jane (of Tarzan fame) and Joan (d’Arc). Kung Fu Master! (AKA Le Petit Amour) is slightly more conventional drama—Birkin plays an older woman who embarks on an affair with a 14-year old boy. Buy Jane B. par Agnes V./Kung-fu Master [Blu-ray].

The Tribe (2014): See description in DVD above. Buy The Tribe [Blu-ray].

Xanadu (1980): A Greek muse convinces an elderly Gene Kelly to open a nightclub. A stunningly cheesy mixture of classical allusions and roller disco. Buy Xanadu [Blu-ray].

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.