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):
Hellbenders: The “Augustine Interfaith Order of Hellbound Saints” are a team of exorcists who remain in a constant state of sin so that demons will possess them and they can then commit suicide and take the critters back to Hell with them. We have some minor doubts about the theological foundation of this plot. Hellbenders at the Official Clancy Brown site.
FILM FESTIVALS – Toronto After Dark (Toronto, Ontario, Oct. 17-25):
There’s not too much out of the ordinary (at least, as that term applies to the horror/fantasy genre) screening at this year’s Toronto After Dark. We did notice one debuting film we might want to take a chance on:
- Motivational Growth – A mold growing in filthy home of a depressed man starts giving the homeowner motivational advice (which may not be in his best interests). Featuring the voice of Jeffrey Combs. Screens Oct. 20.
Check out the rest of the offerings at the Toronto After Dark official website.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Bad Chicken (early 2014): Black comedy about a perverted, sociopathic chicken who tricks humans into doing his bidding by promising to put them on a reality television show. This project is scheduled to be released on DVD and VOD in January 2014.
NEW ON DVD:
Birdemic 2: The Resurrection (2013): Read our review of the original Birdemic. This sequel apparently contains everything you loved about the first trashsterpiece, except that now there are cave-women and zombies marauding alongside the animated GIF birds. Buy Birdemic 2: The Resurrection
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Jug Face (2013): Read our capsule review. This offbeat hick horror about a strange folk cult who worships a pit is a worthy alternative if you’re tired of formulaic Hollywood horror. Buy Jug Face
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Night Tide (1961): Read our review. Curtis Harrington’s moody mermaid meditation introduced Dennis Hopper to the world. Buy Night Tide
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ThanksKilling 3 (2012): Fowl-mouthed killer turkey Turkie goes hunting for the last copy of the mythical ThanksKilling 2 in this raunchy $100,000 sequel to the $4,000 original. The tag-line is “boobs in the first second!,” which calls to mind our observation that the first movie blew it’s nudity budget in the first five minutes. Buy ThanksKilling 3
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NEW ON BLU-RAY:
“Christopher Nolan Director’s Collection”: This set includes the three Dark Knight movies, the thriller Insomnia, and two movies of tangential interest to weirdophiles: the backwards-running experimental mystery Memento and the dream infiltration blockbuster Inception. Essentially the same set was released last year; it’s been updated to add The Dark Knight Rises. Buy “Christopher Nolan Director’s Collection” [Blu-ray]
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Eyes Without a Face [Les Yeux Sans Visage] (1960): Read the Certified Weird entry! Criterion’s Blu-ray upgrade of the semi-surreal horror classic materializes just in time for Halloween festivities. Buy Eyes Without a Face [Criterion Collection Blu-ray]
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In the Mouth of Madness (1994): A horror writer’s works drive his readers insane, and upon investigation it appears that his fictional worlds may be bleeding into the real one. This John Carpenter cult fave is in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy In the Mouth of Madness [Blu-ray]
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Jug Face (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Jug Face [Blu-ray]
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Night Tide (1961): See description in DVD above. Buy Night Tide [Blu-ray]
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FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
The Naked Kiss (1964): This odd melodrama famously opens with a scene of a bald prostitute beating her pimp with a shoe. This offbeat Samuel Fuller production is considered a companion piece to the Certified Weird Shock Corridor, largely because both feature tabloid subject matter and star the underrated Constance Towers. Watch The Naked Kiss 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.
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, and Google Play, among others), with a DVD release coming soon. This is the first feature film directed by Don Swaynos, who has an impressive resume as an editor on projects like “Shipping Wars” on A&E and the recent indie features Saturday Morning Massacre, Pit Stop and Cinema Six.
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