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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.
FILM FESTIVALS – (Fantastic Fest, Austin, TX, 9/22-29):
The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX may be America’s coolest movie theater. Their brand has grown so big that now they have franchised Drafthouses across the country, and have partnered with American Genre Films Archives on a number of interesting exploitation film re-releases. One of the Alamo’s hippest projects is Fantastic Fest, now back in full force in its seventeenth year. As per usual, there is a fantastic slate of weird movies and some neato revivals here. Coming at the tail end of the film festival season, we’ve already either noted or reviewed a number of these: from Fantasia, we covered All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, Country Gold, La Pieta, and Vesper, among others; other worthy festival circuit odds and ends include Give Me Pity (a psychedelic one-woman show in 70s TV special format), the Filipino meta-action movie Leonor Will Never Die, Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson‘s conspiracy minded Something in the Dirt, and the horror anthology V/H/S/99 (with a Flying Lotus contribution). There are a couple of probably non-weird but nevertheless major releases debuting here, including Martin McDonagh‘s The Banshees of Inishirin (whose plot synopsis has successful been kept under wraps since it was announced). Here are the new-to-us films we’ll try to track in the coming months:
- Aatank (1996) – A revival of a Bollywood Jaws ripoff which took ten years to make; the lead died before it was finished (a la Bela Lugosi in Plan 9 from Outer Space).
- Amazing Elisa – An “absurd” story of a tween girl and her imaginary superheroine friend. From Spain.
- Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle – James Nguyen hopes to soar again after the flap over the flop Birdemic 2: The Resurrection.
- The Five Devils – A young girl creates an aroma that allows her to travel in time to investigate her mysterious aunt. From France.
- Flowing – Sewer gas causes mass hallucinations in Rome as a family tries to reunite after a tragic car accident tears them apart.
- Smoking Causes Coughing – The other Quentin Dupieux movie on the festival circuit right now, this is premised around a squad of tobacco-themed superheroes undergoing a team-building exercise at a mountain retreat.
- Spoonful of Sugar – A nanny takes care of a boy with severe allergies while taking daily doses of LSD. What sold us on adding this to our “to check out” list was programmer Lori Donnelly’s description: “a Freudian fever dream in the form of a deranged Lifetime movie.”
- Unicorn Wars – We’ve been waiting for years for Alberto Vázquez to complete the feature length version of his 2013 short, “Unicorn Blood.” That wait is over.
- A Wounded Fawn – A serial killer takes orders from hallucinatory demons; most notably, a giant red owl.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Manbaby (2022): A comedian who performs as a baby pretends to become a real baby to trick his wife into wanting children, then gets injected with a serum that turns him into a real baby. A slightly strange premise, the unacknowledged fetish connection, and a trailer hinting at something odder going on by the end suggest this indie comedy could be weirder than it seems. In a couple of theaters (including a free screening on the 20th at the 4th Wall in Portland) and simultaneously releasing on VOD (exclusive to Vimeo at the moment). Manbaby official site.
Squeal (2021): A man is captured and chained up in a pigpen—which he eventually escapes with the help of a magical swine—in this “dark fairy tale.” Formerly titled Samuel’s Travels, it’s a Latvian production (though the protagonist speaks English). Playing in L.A., simultaneously premiering on VOD. Squeal official site.
STREAMING DEBUTS (Shudder, 8/18):
Glorious (2022): Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. Horror played out in a rest stop toilet stall, with the kindly voice of J.K. Simmons offering—comfort? Playing exclusively on Shudder (for now, at least).
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Frownland (2007): Read Eric Young’s review. Intensely downbeat “black comedy” about a coupon-selling loser. The Criterion Collection snapped up the rights for a Blu-ray release. Buy Frownland.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time, however.
FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIES:
Vampire’s Kiss (1988): Read the Canonically Weird entry. Thinking he’s a vampire, Nicolas Cage eats a cockroach and gives the angriest alphabet recital ever while speaking an accent no other human has in the movie that cemented his reputation as cinema’s maddest madman. As always, “leaving soon.” Watch Vampire’s Kiss free on Tubi.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
Despite receiving only two RSVPs, we’ll still hold a Weird Watch Party tomorrow, Saturday, Aug 20 at 10:15 PM. Our feature will be the clever 2021 Japanese time-travel flick Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes on Amazon Prime. Join us, won’t you? The fate of the Weird Watch Party tradition hangs in the balance.
In reviews next week, Shane Wilson travels to a Galaxy of Terror (1981), Giles Edwards deals with a Psycho Gothic Lolita (2010), and
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.