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):

WarX2 (2014): A documentary arguing that a spate of suicides of U.S. servicemen can be attributed to the influence of evil spirits, possibly directed by foreign terrorists. Interviews with the world’s top witchdoctors support the thesis. Playing in Houston and Katy, TX. WarX2 official site.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA, Fri. June 26 [midnight]):

Brain Dead (1990): Not to be confused with Peter Jackson‘s Dead-Alive (released in 1990 as Brain Dead overseas), this mindbender stars Bill Pullman (not to be confused with Bill Paxton) as a neurosurgeon solicited by Bill Paxton (not to be confused with Bill Pullman) to try to extract information from the brain of a former employee who’s gone insane. Confused yet? Director Adam Simon will be present for this screening. Cinefamily is hoping this overlooked gem will become a new midnight classic. Brain Dead at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA, Sun. June 28 & Tue. June 30):

Human Highway (1982): The apocalyptic comedy done by folk rocker Neil Young on a lark, featuring insurance fraud, flying saucers, and DEVO.  Young has been sending this director’s cut out on the festival circuit throughout 2014 and 2015, which we hope means a first-time-ever DVD will appear soon. Human Highway at Cinefamily.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (est. 2016): It looks like Terry Gilliam will finally make his Don Quixote project, thanks to a deal with Amazon that will also see him producing an exclusive miniseries for their Prime streaming platform. The film was to star Jack O’Connell and John Hurt as the leads; this was announced, of course, before Hurt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. IndieWire’s The Playlist announced the news (along with many other outlets).

NEW ON DVD:

The Fisher King (1991): A depressed ex-shock jock gets a chance at personal redemption when he meets a homeless man who believes he is a knight-errant seeking the Holy Grail. This drama from 366-fave Terry Gilliam is perhaps not as weird as some of his others but contains a few wonderful fantasy scenes. Buy The Fisher King [Criterion Collection 2-DVD].

Horsehead (2014): French horror about a woman who explores her nightmares through lucid dreaming. Via Artsploitation Films, who declare it depicts a “psycho-sexual world of nightmares.” Buy Horsehead.

Meet Me There (2014): A girl who can’t remember her childhood visits her childhood home in small-town Oklahoma, and weirdness ensues. This low-budget indie horror got decent reviews from the few outlets that covered it; it’s biggest draw is pro-wrestler “Goldust” as a creepy preacher. Buy Meet Me There.

The Thing With Two Heads (1972): A racist brain surgeon (Ray Milland) has his head (accidentally) transplanted onto the body of a black death row inmate (Rosey Grier), who then tries to prove his innocence while whitey on his shoulder complains. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” claimed the trailer in 1972. Buy The Thing With Two Heads.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Fisher King (1991): See description in DVD above. Two discs of DVD content fits onto one Blu-ray, and it’s cheaper, too. Buy The Fisher King [Criterion Collection Blu-ray].

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

Meet Me There (2014): See description in DVD above. Buy Meet Me There [Blu-ray].

Sugar Hill (1974): Read Brandon Engel’s guest review. Blaxploitation zombies: ’nuff said. Buy Sugar Hill [Blu-ray].

The Thing With Two Heads (1972): See description in DVD above. Buy The Thing With Two Heads [Blu-ray].

FREE MOVIES ON SHOUTTV:

Wonderwall (1968): Read our review. Go back to a simpler time, when a nutty old professor spying on a beautiful bisexual hippie model through the hole in his apartment wall was considered groovy, not creepy. Watch Wonderwall free on Shout TV.

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):

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. The director and lead actress (who is deaf) will be appearing at selected venues throughout the summer; check the Drafthouse website for details. The Tribe official site.

The Wanted 18 (2014): Documentary about a real incident in which the Israeli government declared 18 Palestinian cows “a threat to national security.” What makes it weird is that the doc is partly animated, and told from the perspective of the cows. The Wanted 18 official site.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA, Friday, 6/19/2015):

Journey Through the Past (1974): Very rare screening of this ultra-rare Neil Young docu-tasia mixing music video surrealism with vintage footage of the young Young. Tonight’s showing is the highlight of “Shakey Fest,” a weekend of Young concert films. Shakey Fest at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers, NY, Sunday, 6/21/2015):

Blue Velvet (1986): Read the Certified Weird review! Not only is this one of David Lynch‘s scariest, cultiest, and most accessible classics, it’s being introduced by legendary drive-in film critic Joe Bob Briggs! (I don’t remember Blue Velvet playing in drive-ins in 1986, but it’s still an inspired pairing). Blue Velvet at Alamo Drafthouse.

SCREENINGS – (Max Linder Panorama, Paris, France, Thursday, 25/6/2015):

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954): The rarest screening of all is this week’s projection of Kenneth Anger‘s pre-psychedelic freakout, shown for the first time since the 1958 World Fair in the “tryptich” (three-screen) format.  Wowsa! Here’s the official site (in French) and an English language article on the event.

NEW ON DVD:

200 Motels (1971): Read our review. Frank Zappa‘s psycho-delic film essay on rock n’ roll life on the road finally gets an official release, even if it is just a full-frame, extras-free DVD-R from MGM. Buy 200 Motels.

The Happiness Of The Katakuris (2001): See description in Blu-ray below. A special edition Blu-ray/DVD combo from the reliable Arrow Video. Buy The Happiness of the Katakuris [Blu-ray + DVD].

Spirited Away (2001): See description in Blu-ray below. Most, if not all, of the extra features will be found on the Blu-ray disc of this Blu/DVD combo. Buy Spirited Away [Blu-ray + DVD].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

“André Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3 Films”: Read our review of My Dinner with Andre and the Wallace Shawn interview. Criterion’s set includes the famous Dinner along with two Gregory play adaptations, Vanya on 42nd Street and A Master Builder. Buy “André Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3 Films” [Blu-ray].

Blindness (2008)/Proof (2005): A pair of critically well-received but low profile movies released as a double feature. Blindness, the half of the bill of interest to us, is a fable about a town where (almost) everyone is suddenly struck blind; Proof is a drama about a math student who fears she may have inherited her brilliant father’s madness. Buy Blindness (2008)/Proof (2005) [Blu-ray].

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001): A family decides to run a resort hotel in the mountains and encounters murder in this horror/musical (!) from the inimitable Takashi Miike. The tagline describes it as The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead. Buy The Happiness of the Katakuris [Blu-ray + DVD].

My Dinner with André (1981): Read our review. If you just want the most popular title in that Shawn/Gregory set, here’s Criterion’s new Blu-ray upgrade. Buy My Dinner with André [Blu-ray].

Spirited Away (2001): A girl finds her parents turned into pigs when her family investigates an abandoned amusement park haunted by spirits. This is one of the last of Disney’s Hayao Miyazaki catalog to get the Blu upgrade. Buy Spirited Away [Blu-ray + DVD].

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.

Nothing new and weird in theaters this week, but anytime we see two Certified Weird classics released on Blu-ray, it’s a banner week in bizarreness in our book.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA,  June 12-13, 15-16):

Angst (1983): Intense, stylish serial killer film from Poland, made by experimental filmmaker Zbigniew Rybczynski. Rybczynski will be in attendance tonight (Friday June 12) at the 7PM PST showing. Screening with a selection of his experimental films, music videos and animated 80s MTV bumpers (separate ticket purchase may be required). Zbigniew Rybczynski at Cinefamily.

NEW ON DVD:

Der Samurai (2014): A small German town believes it’s being menaced by a wolf, but one policeman discovers the killer is actually a samurai in lipstick and a dress. The film appears to be surreal mix of violence and explicit homoeroticism, and so has naturally found a home with Artsploitation Films. Buy Der Samurai.

Der Todesknig [The Death King] (1990): Seven stories about death and suicide. It’s in our reader-suggested review queue, but after suffering through this director’s Nekromantik, we can’t say we’re too enthused about the prospect. Still, everyone deserves a second chance in life… er, death… Buy Der Todesking [The Death King].

The Pillow Book (1996): Read the Certified Weird entry! This remastered version of the visually stunning film inspired by Sei Shōnagon’s memoirs of life as a literary noblewoman in Edo-era Japan includes a new commentary by Peter Greenaway.  Buy The Pillow Book.

Society (1989): See film description in Blu-ray. This product is a “box set” from Arrow Films containing the DVD, Blu-ray, pamphlet and a short comic book sequel to the movie. Buy Society [Blu-ray + DVD].

Spider Baby (1967): See description in Blu-ray below. A DVD/Blu-ray combo set. Buy Spider Baby [Blu-ray + DVD].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

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

Der Todesking [The Death King] (1990): See description in DVD above. This is advertized as a limited edition of 3000 copies (and was out-of-stock at Amazon at this writing). Buy Der Todesking [The Death King] [Blu-ray].

The Pillow Book (1996): See description in DVD above. More Greenaway on Blu-ray, please (a proper Prospero’s Books, anyone?) Buy The Pillow Book [Blu-ray].

Society (1989): Read the reader recommendation. We’ve been waiting ages for this re-release of Brian Yuzna‘s surreal/satirical shocker. Buy Society [Blu-ray + DVD].

Spider Baby (1967): Read the Certified Weird entry! Another elaborate Arrow Films release, with numerous new extras including The Host, Jack Hill‘s 30-minute student film that was also Sid Haig‘s first starring role.  Buy Spider Baby [Blu-ray + DVD].

FREE MOVIES ON THE INTERNET ARCHIVE:

A Page of Madness (1926): This hallucinatory tale of madness, about a janitor at a mental asylum where his wife is a patient, is perhaps the oldest surviving example of a Japanese film influenced by European Surrealism. Director Teinosuke Kinugasa went on to make the classic samurai tragedy The Gate of Hell in 1953. Thanks to Laura Thébaud Gibbs for the suggestion. Learn more about A Page of Madness at Open Culture.

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):

Patch Town (2014): The story of what happens to those “Cabbage Patch” dolls when they grow up; they become factory workers, creating more dolls for their cruel overlords in an endless cycle of toy exploitation. The Dissolve warns that “anybody unable to get on its weirdo wavelength may grow fatigued by the film’s many flights of fancy“; we suspect our readers are just the sort to get on its weirdo wavelength. Patch Town official site.

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014): A series of bleak, absurdist sketches, framed around a pair of novelty salesman. Roy Andersson‘s other two films in this unofficial trilogy, Songs from the Second Floor and You, the Living, were both Certified Weird, so we have high hopes for this one. Opening in NYC with selected showings across this great land through the summer. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT (PRE-PRODUCTION):

“Night on Bald Mountain” project: The Hollywood Reporter and Variety are reporting that Disney Studios plans to make a live-action version of the demonic “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence from Fantasia. No word on whether Chernabog will be defeated by “Ave Maria”-chanting monks. Given Disney’s spate of live-action reimaginings of animated features (Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella), it’s hard to imagine this will wind up weird in any way, but the idea is odd and it’s worth noting. We’ll keep our antennae up. Read more at Variety.

NEW ON DVD:

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015): Read our review. This kids’ movie turned out to be much weirder than expected, thanks in part to an Illuminati-connected cosmic dolphin. Buy The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

Spring (2014): A disaffected American flees to Europe where he strikes up a romance with an Italian woman who harbors a deep secret. From the guys behind Resolution comes another under-the-radar horror that Colin Colvert called “a landmark of irresistible weirdness.” Buy Spring.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

“Dziga Vertov: The Man with the Movie Camera and Other Newly-Restored Works”: Read our review of Man with the Movie Camera. Historically significant experimental films from the dawn of Soviet cinema. Buy “Dziga Vertov: The Man with the Movie Camera and Other Newly-Restored Works” [Blu-ray]

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015): See description in DVD above. This three disc combo included a DVD and Blu-ray 3d. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water [Blu-ray/DVD/Blu-ray 3D].

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

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Visioneers (2008): Read Pamela De Graff’s review. Corporate satire starring a young Zach Galifianakis, about a near-future where people literally explode from stress. Watch Visioneers 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.

We’re late again… but we have a very cool and custom-made fine art cover from Todd M. Coe to make up for it.

We think the ad copy speaks for itself:

Covering everything bizarre in cinema, from art house surrealism to next-generation cult movies to so-bad-they’re-weird B-movie atrocities, 366 Weird Movies has been meeting all of your weird movie needs since 2009 with a combination of sly humor and serious insight. This is our annual Yearbook covering all the weird movies released and re-released in 2013, from “The ABC’s of Death” to “Zeta One”, with over 45 full-length reviews, extensive supplemental listings, and exclusive interviews and director’s statements. If it’s weird, and it’s a movie, and it’s from 2014, and 366 Weird Movies covered it, you’ll find it here.

You can buy the 366 Weird Movies 2014 Yearbook (Kindle Version) from Amazon. We’re so confident you’ll like it, we raised the price from $2.99 last year to a robust $3.49 this year!

Or you may want to wait for the print version, which will be coming (we hope) in a couple weeks. It will feature the same great content, but with even more deranged custom artwork, suitable for placing on a coffee table to upset your parents and other uptight types!

As always, all profits derived from your kind purchase will go towards paying our hosting costs. Any leftover monies will be used to fly the 366 Weird Movies staff out to Cannes (but not for the film festival; we just want to hit the beach).