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 Lords of Salem (2012): This modern-day witchcraft story from notorious goremeister Rob Zombie reportedly takes his breed of horror in a new, artier direction. Early reviews are all over the place; it’s either extremely silly or extremely creepy, and more than likely at least a little bit weird. Lords of Salem official site.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Date 4/18-4/25):

The Beaver Trilogy (2000): In 1979, Trent Harris filmed a short documentary on an eccentric Olivia Newton-John female impersonator from Beaver, Utah; years later he made two sets of short fictional films about the character, one starring a young Sean Penn and one with Crispin Glover. Together, the three films constitute The Beaver Trilogy. It’s rarely screened, but it’s playing all this week at Cinefamily in Los Angeles.

FILM FESTIVALS – Tribeca Film Festival (New York City, April 17-28):

The Tribeca Film Festival, started by Robert De Niro (and others) in 2002, has quickly become one of the most important US film festivals—although it’s still behind Sundance on the indie scene, and South by Southwest generally sangs the best new debuting films that Aspen misses. We don’t see much of interest this year at Tribeca compared to last year, but there are a pair of Central Asian movies here that look like they may be worth Manhattanites’ time:

• Harmony Lessons – A Kazakh boy seeks revenge on the teen gangsters who tyrannize his school; the Hollywood Reporter called it “stark and surreal, strange and beautiful…” See it on 4/20, 4/22 or 4/25.
• Taboor – A man in an aluminum suit rides his motorcycle all over Tehran one night keeping a series of absurd appointments; this sounds eerily like an Iranian version of Holy Motors. Playing 4/20, 4/23 and 4/27.
  

IN DEVELOPMENT:

The Synthetic Man (est. May 2013): Indefatigable indie auteur John Hand strikes for the third time with a hallucinatory tale about a mentally ill woman who imagines an omnipotent alien figure known as “the Synthetic Man.” It’s shot partly in high definition digital and partly on a VHS camcorder.

The Synthetic Man official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Message from Space (1978): A mystical king sends out magic seed to choose eight champions (including Sonny Chiba and Vic Morrow) to defeat an evil invasion. As a ten-tear old I actually walked out on this absurd Star Wars ripoff, a mistake I’ve regretted until this day. Buy Message From Space.

Repo Man (1984): A young punk (Emilio Estevez) learns the dangerous repossession game under the tutelage of an experienced wacko (Harry Dean Stanton); things get strange when they acquire a 1964 Chevy Malibu with a mysterious cargo in the trunk. There aren’t any other movies quite like this punk science fiction satire; the Criterion Collection recognizes its importance with a gala edition. Buy Repo Man (Criterion Collection).

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Repo Man (1984): See description in DVD above. Buy Repo Man [Criterion Collection Blu-ray].

Small Apartments (2012): A lunatic surrounded by eccentric neighbors (a wannabe stripper, a curmudgeonly artist, a stoner) tries to hide the fact that he’s killed his landlord, while dreaming of escaping to Switzerland. The curious cast is headlined by Matt Lukas (who plays most of the movie in his underwear) and also features Billy Crystal, James Caan, Juno Temple, Johnny Knoxville and Dolph Lundgren. Buy Small Apartments [Blu-ray].

Summer Wars (2009): A nerdy high school student poses as the fake fiancé of his dream girl while simultaneously dealing with a cyberterrorist AI called “the Love Machine” who is threatening the online world of Oz. This is a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, but the movie is available separately on a 2-disc DVD. Buy Summer Wars [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 (LIMITED RELEASE):

Antiviral: Here’s a bizarre premise: adventures in an underground trade supplying fans with viruses taken from their favorite celebrities. The directing debut of Brandon (son of David) Cronenberg. Antiviral official site.

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To the Wonder: An American man and his French wife struggle with mutual infidelity. Terrence Malick‘s latest is reportedly as minimalist and oblique as the sensational (and Certified Weird) Tree of Life, but it’s also the worst-reviewed film in his distinguished career. To the Wonder official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Only Lovers Are Left Alive (est. 2013): Jim Jarmusch‘s latest tackles vampires in love; we suspect it will resemble Twilight about as much as Dead Man did Young Guns. With Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton (as vampires “Adam” and “Eve”) and Mia Wasikowska in a rare villainous role. This could premier at Cannes. Only Lovers Are Left Alive IMDB page.

NEW ON DVD:

Dead Ball (2011): A baseball prodigy with a (literally) deadly fastball who has sworn off the sport finds himself blackmailed into playing for the team at his juvenile detention facility. It’s from Sushi Typhoon and the co-director of Meatball Machine and Yakuza Weapon; if you’ve been paying attention, you know that this means you’re in for lots of absurd gore and general Japanese b-movie weirdness. Buy Dead Ball.

Father’s Day (2011): Read our review. Astron-6′s absurdist grindhouse feature came out last year in an expensive collector’s edition set; here it is in the priced-to-move single disc edition. Buy Father’s Day (single disc).

Sexcula (1974): A mad scientist hires a vampire prostitute to inspire the sex drive into his latest creation: a gigolo monster. It’s Canada’s only X-rated (scenes are described as “explicit”) horror movie, and was thought lost for years. Buy Sexcula.

Ultrachrist! (2003): Jesus Christ comes back to Earth as a superhero to fight the minions of the Antichrist (including a resurrected Jim Morrison). I guess it took them ten years to release this on DVD because they were waiting for a time when it wouldn’t seem sacrilegious for the Savior to support lesbian marriage? Buy Ultrachrist!.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Dead Ball (2011): See description in DVD above. Buy Dead Ball [Blu-ray].

Father’s Day (2011): See description in DVD above. Besides the DVD only version and the Limited Edition set, you can buy this midnight hit in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo or this single disc Blu-ray. Why not buy all four versions? Buy Father’s Day [Blu-ray].

Naked Lunch (1991): Read the Certified Weird entry! The Criterion Collection upgrades David Cronenberg‘s telling of William S. Burroughs‘s junkie nightmare to Blu-ray. Buy Naked Lunch [Criterion Collection Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Attack of the Monsters [AKA Gamera vs. Guiron] (1969): Flying turtle Gamera saves two little boys from space babes who want to eat their brains, and from their knife-headed monster pet. One of the most insanely ridiculous flicks in the entire Gamera canon—and that’s saying something!

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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):

Sun Don’t Shine (2012): Read our capsule review. Indie sweetheart Kate Lyn Sheil is very good (and very sweaty) in this slow-paced, sun-drenched Florida neo-noir. Expect scattered showings across the US this month. Sun Don’t Shine official site.

Trance (2013): A hypnotherapist takes us inside the subconscious of an amnesiac criminal trying to find the location of a stolen painting. Mercurial Danny (Trainspotting) Boyle’s first film since 2012’s 127 Hours is his first real dip into the mindbending genre. Trance official site.

Upstream Color (2013): Try as we might, we can’t find a solid synopsis of this film, other than mentions that it’s abstract, experimental, and might actually be a pig’s dream about a human couple. Shane Carruth‘s long-delayed followup to Primer (2004) looks much, much weirder and more confusing. Upstream Color official site.

NEW ON DVD:

“Hammer: 3 Horror Classics”: We’ve already covered Terence Fisher‘s Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) and Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) for this site. The weirdest entry in this collection (if not the best) is undoubtedly the Shaw Brothers/Hammer kung fu/vampire crossover gimmick flick The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974). Buy “Hammer: 3 Horror Classics”.

John Dies at the End (2012): Read our review. A hallucinogenic drug and demons from a parallel universe feature in this Don Coscarelli joint that shamelessly positions itself as the must-see cult hit of the year. Buy John Dies At The End.

Tormented (2011): A young boy and his mute sister are haunted by nightmares of a giant plush bunny. From Takashi Shimizu, the director of the Ju-on (The Grudge) series. Buy Tormented.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

John Dies at the End (2012): See description in DVD above. Buy John Dies At The End [Blu-ray].

Tormented (2011): See description in DVD above. Buy Tormented [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

1 (2009): All the rare books in a bookstore are mysteriously replaced by an anonymous book titled “1” that describes in numbers what is happening to everyone in the world during one minute’s time; the “Reality Defense Council” steps in to investigate. It’s 1 weird movie, and it’s in our reader-suggested review queue so you might want to check it out so you can comment intelligently on it when we review it down the line. (Unrated, but would receive an “R” for some brief sex scenes). Watch 1 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.