Saturday Short guru Cameron Jorgensen doesn’t spend all his time searching for the weirdest shorts on the web. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist who currently plays bass for Visitors, an “experimental alternative post-hardcore band from Salt Lake City Utah.” Just off of a tour, the band has released an advance free single, “Flailure (Reprise)” from the album ” Visitors​/​Bon Vivant 7″ Split,” which officially drops June 30. The cool kids tell us it rocks. It’s available via bandcamp. Please take a listen.

Visitors on bandcamp

Visitors on Facebook

Preorder Visitors​/​Bon Vivant 7″ Split

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.

SCREENINGS – (Los Angeles, Cinefamily, Apr 24-26, 28-29):

Roar (1981): A gang of lions, leopards and tigers attack African homesteaders in a nonstop barrage of fangs and claws. Starring Tippi Hedren, Noel Marshall and their then 14-year old daughter Melanie Griffith, reports stated that 70 members of the cast and crew were injured in this insane exercise in thespian imperilment. Presumably this limited theatrical release is a prelude to a new home video offering by Drafthouse/Olive Films. Roar at Cinefamily.

NEW ON DVD:

Blind Woman’s Curse (1970): See description in Blu-ray below. Buy Blind Woman’s Curse [DVD/Blu-ray combo pack].

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014): Read our capsule review! This black and white, Iranian-inspired vampire movie set in a mostly abandoned “Bad City” is an exotically intoxicating original. Buy A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Nothing Sacred (2012): Forgotten fantasy about a pair of twins who race around the globe collecting artifacts to defeat a wizard, meeting minotaurs, the god Hermes, immortal kings, etc.  Some of the dialogue is in untranslated French and Mvskoke (the Cree Indian tongue); the lack of subtitles was a deliberate directorial choice that confused many viewers who thought their disc was defective. Buy Nothing Sacred.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Blind Woman’s Curse (1970): A female crime boss is hunted by a blind swordsmen in this yakuza/ghost story mashup with S&M undertones and girls skinned for their dragon tattoos. Buy Blind Woman’s Curse [DVD/Blu-ray combo pack].

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014): See description in DVD above. Buy A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night [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…

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

FILM FESTIVALS – Tribeca Film Festival (New York City, Apr. 15-26):

With more arthouse, revival and first run theaters per capita than anyplace in the world, every day in New York City is like a film festival, so Tribeca as an event is almost redundant. Still, there are some fine movies making their North American debuts here. We noticed nothing that struck us as a weird movie must-see, but here are some interestingly offbeat films we spotted in the catalog:

• Aloft – A son searches for his mother, who abandoned the family to become a New Age healer, in a drama described as “dreamlike.” Screens on the 24th & 25th.
• Come Down Molly – A new mother takes psychedelic mushrooms on vacation in the Rockies. See it Apr 18, 23 or 25.
• Lucifer – The devil climbs down from a ladder and lands in a paradisaical Mexican peasant village; filmed in a circular aspect ratio. Screens from 21-24.
  
• Mojave – A depressed artist wanders into the desert where he meets a strange, violent drifter who claims to be the Devil. Plays the 18th, 19th, 22nd & 24th.
• “Monty Python” – Four Python events in the festival: screenings of The Holy Grail (4/24), Life of Brian (4/25), The Meaning of Life (4/26), and the new comic-umentary Monty Python and the Meaning of Live (4/25).

Tribeca Film Festival official site.

NEW ON DVD:

All the Devils Aliens [AKA Devils in the Darkness] (2013): This low-budget feature about a med student discovering a baby alien was re-titled to be grammatically incorrect. An IMDB reviewer described it as “a bizarre piece of surreal melodrama.” Buy All the Devils Aliens.

Maps to the Stars (2015): Read Alex Kittle’s review. David Cronenberg ‘s Hollywood satire could have been weirder but it’s fun to see a cast that includes Mia Wasikowska, Julianne Moore, John Cusak, and Robert Pattinson acting nasty. Buy Maps to the Stars.

The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989): See description in Blu-ray below.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Goodbye to Language [Adieu au Langage] (2014): The latest from  Jean-Luc Godard, now in his mid 80s, is shot in 3D and features nude women, dogs, philosophical discourses, and experimental visuals. Comes in a Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D (for those with that rare capability) double pack (no DVD available that we could see). Buy Goodbye to Language [Blu-ray/3D Blu-ray].

Maps to the Stars (2015): See description in DVD above. Buy Maps to the Stars [Blu-ray].

The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989): Read our review. This combo pack with a spare DVD is (we believe) the first time Toxie’s trip to Tokyo has appeared on Blu-ray. Buy The Toxic Avenger Part II [Blu-ray/DVD Combo].

Zardoz (1974): Read the certified weird entry! Not sold in stores! Specialty releaser Twilight Time puts out a limited-edition Blu of John Boorman‘s bonkers “Sean-Connery-in-a-red-diaper” sci-fi klassick. Only 5,000 will be printed and it’s only available directly from Screen Archives. Buy Zardoz [Limited edition 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…

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

IN THEATERS (WIDE RELEASE):

Lost River: Ryan Gossling describes his directorial debut as a “fantasy noir” and “modern day fairytale” set in a “macabre and dark fantasy underworld.” With Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Eva Mendes, “Doctor Who”’s Matt Smith, and Barbara Steele; critics were not kind to it, but it looks like a weird event pic nonetheless. Lost River official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

The Brand New Testament (2015): Jaco Van Dormael‘s latest “surreal comedy” stars Benoit Poelvoorde as God. His teenage daughter hacks his computer and leaks the fates of mortals to the press. Also featuring Catherine Deneuve (we’re guessing she’s Mrs. God). Testament has already locked up most of its European distributors, but is still looking for a U.S. company to handle the release. A possible Cannes competition selection (it’s scheduled to be completed just in time…) Read more at Variety.

“Suspiria de Profundis” (TV): Based on Thomas de Quincey’s book of the same title (also the inspiration for the Certified Weird horror Suspiria), this proposed English-language series from France’s Atlantique Productions would feature de Quincey investigating paranormal phenomenon in late 19th Century London. Dario Argento is “artistic supervisor.” The company is also developing a series based on Django (the original Italian movies, not Tarantino‘s American version). Weird? Probably not, but we’ll see. More at Screen Daily.

NEW ON DVD:

If You Don’t, I Will (2014): A French (black comedy?) portrait of a dissolving marriage; after a tense hike, the wife decides to stay behind and live in the forest. Hard to get a handle on the potential weirdness here, as multiple user reviews refer to the film’s absurd, surreal or confusing nature, while most professional reviewers mention nothing of the sort. Buy If You Don’t, I Will.

The Voices (2014): Marjane Satrapi‘s first American feature is a tale of murder involving an unbalanced factory worker who takes advice from his talking cat and dog. Ryan Reynolds’ performance is drawing universal praise, but can it be any good if weird-hating troll critic Rex Reed liked it? Buy The Voices.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

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

FREE ONLINE MOVIES:

The Haunted World of Ed Wood Jr. (1995): Very thorough (and respectful) documentary on one-of-a-kind transvestite director Ed Wood, Jr., the mind behind the weird masterpiece Glen or Glenda? Watch The Haunted World of Ed Wood Jr. 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.

64 movies entered our 2015 March Mad Movie Madness List Candidate tournament, and one movie has defeated all challengers. Our readers have chosen Beyond the Black Rainbow to be Certified Weird. Thanks to all who voted, and look for an official entry page for Rainbow soon!

You can see the full tournament results here.