366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

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 – (Tribeca Film Festival, New York City, June 8-June 19):

Tribeca is a mid-sized festival that now occupies the Summer crease between the mega-venues of Cannes and Toronto. Of late, the festival has become heavily documentary-focused (this year’s opening and closing features are both docs), but a few interesting films sometimes make their debut here. We noticed a couple of films of some interest to weirdophiles in this week’s lineup announcement:

• Lynch/Oz – A documentary exploring the influence of The Wizard of Oz on the work of David Lynch, with Rodney Ascher, John Waters, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, and David Lowery among those offering theories.
• There There – Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess) feature composed of short vignettes told from a “warped” perspective.

Tribeca Film Festival official homepage.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Stanleyville (2021): Read Giles Edwards’ Apocrypha Candidate review. Maria is selected for a contest that promises to “probe the very essence of your mind-body articulation”—and to present the winner with a brand new SUV. Opening at the Metrograph in NYC this week, with very limited theatrical screenings this Spring—we’ll let you know when we hear about streaming options. Stanlyeville official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT (post-production):

“The Wheel of Heaven” (2022): The first trailer recently dropped for Joe Badon‘s “Surreal, Science Fiction, Weird Mystery short film,” currently finishing post-production and looking for festivals. The weirdness is not in question, as you can see below. We’ll update when we have festival info.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

ALieN GoDDeSS (2022): Three groups of people are trapped inside a school and some weird sci-fi/horror stuff happens to them. Not much is known about this one except that it’s from Sweden (but in English), the trailer has lots of flashing/strobing lights and interesting practical effects, and the producer believes we would like it. From Darkside Releasing, which means it’s exclusively available on their website for a while before showing up at retailers.

Bloody Oranges (2021): A French black comedy involving multiple storylines about a dance contest, a crooked politician, and a pervert. The trailer is a bit NSFW (nudity, language, bloody violence), but you can find it on the distributor’s official site. VOD only. Buy or rent Bloody Oranges.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. The ultimate metafictional teen slasher flick is now on 4K Ultra HD disc (regular Blu-ray also included in the package). Buy The Cabin in the Woods.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. This limited edition steelbook of the anime rendition of the Japanese folktale about a tiny princess found in a bamboo shoot comes from Shout! Factory and includes an exclusive booklet and a new feature-length “making of” documentary. Buy The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021): Read Giles Edwards’ festival capsule review. A teenage girl is absorbed into a internet phenomenon that’s a combination video game, social media experience and interactive creepypasta. Debuting on VOD one week after starting its limited theatrical engagement. Buy or rent We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.

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.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Please join us tomorrow night at 10:15 PM ET for our latest Weird Watch Party, St. Bernard (2013). On Tubi (so no subscription required) via Kast.tv (free account required). The link to join will drop here, on Facebook, and on Twitter around 10 PM.

In next week’s reviews, Shane Wilson takes a long look at two short film debuts, both from our reader-suggested queue: Ben Affleck’s embarrassing “I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney” (1993) and Henry Selick‘s far less embarrassing “Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions” (1991) (which did help him get a job at Disney, if not a three-picture deal). Then, Gregory J. Smalley will preview Season 2 of the rotoscoped Amazon time-travel drama, “Undone” (season one review/refresher here). Onward and weirdward!

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.

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

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 –(Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 17-28):

First, let’s address the rumor out there: David Lynch has denied that he’s premiering a secret new film at Cannes this year. With that out of the way, we should point out that after Titane‘s surprise Palme D’or win last year, our opinion of the once stodgy festival has leapt up a notch, and we’ll be paying closer attention to a slate that looks like it may bring us another weird winner or two in 2022. To wit:

• Crimes of the Future – David Cronenberg‘s latest (and maybe last) film is not quite a remake of his second feature of the same name, but he is hinting that it will be controversial and predicting it will cause more walkouts than 1996’s Crash. The trailer is already generating a buzz:
  
• Fumer Fait Tousseur – An out-of-the-blue film from the ever-busy Quentin Dupieux about anti-smoking vigilantes, playing in the midnight section.
• Irma Vep – As mentioned in last week’s Weird Horizon,  Olivier Assayas is remaking his own 1996 cult film about an actress cast in a remake of Les Vampires (1915) as a limited series; we suspect this listing refers to the pilot episode.

As always, there may be late announcements or a title of interest that sneaks under our radar… and there’s also Director’s Fortnight to consider (once it’s announced). We’ll update if/as necessary.

Cannes Film Festival homepage.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021): Read Giles Edwards’ festival capsule review. A teenage girl is absorbed into a internet phenomenon that’s a combination video game, social media experience and interactive creepypasta. Giles dubbed it “ominously quirky.” We’re All Going to the World’s Fair official site.

STREAMING DEBUTS (Netflix):

“Russian Doll, Season 2” (2022): Read Shane Wilson’s review of Season 1. “Russian Doll” wrapped up its time-loop conundrum perfectly in its original run, so there was no need for a sequel. But viewers had too much fun with Natasha Lyonne‘s sarcastic hot mess to not send her on more time-tripping adventures, logic be damned. Meaningfully, it debuts on 4/20. Watch “Russian Doll, Season 2” on Netflix.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)/Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972): Read Pete Trbovich’s The Abominable Dr. Phibes Canonical entry and the Dr. Phibes Rises Again capsule review. Not exactly rarities, but now you can have all your Phibes on one Blu-ray, with multiple commentaries including one exclusive to this KL Studio Classics release. Buy The Abominable Dr. Phibes/Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

The Round-Up (1966)/The Red and the White (1967): Two films from Miklós Jancsó, an early master of the long-take. In The Round-Up, the 19th century Austrian army uses psychological coercion to try to figure out which of their prisoners are guerilla leaders; The Red and the White depicts a chaotic, arbitrary and absurd campaign during Russia’s civil war in 1918. Although considered classics, neither film has been easy to find on its own (at least in the US); Kino Classics releases them on a single Blu-ray (along with six short films spanning 1961 to 1986). Buy The Round-Up/The Red and the White.

Walker (1987): Alex Cox‘s “hallucinatory biopic” about William Walker, an American mercenary who briefly became dictator of Nicaragua from 1856-1857. In our reader-suggested queue, and now on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection. Buy Walker.

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.

This week, we add Stray Cat Film Center, a Kansas City non-profit microcinema, to the big list, due to their April 21st screening of a canonically weird film that befits their name: Edgar G. Ulmer‘s The Black Cat (1934). A peek at their upcoming schedule shows Daisies [Sedmikrásky] (1966) in June, so you know they’re taste is in the right place.

NEPOTISM CORNER:

“The Fall of the House of Usher”: 366 regular and aspiring audiobook narrator Giles Edwards plies his hypnotic tones on Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” with a dark ambient accompaniment by the band Ignore That Door (whom you can also follow at YouTube or Twitter). Bonus nepotism: Giles also contributes a bit of narration (from “The Dunwich Horror”) for laldaboath, a new cut by the same band. Listen to “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

We’re still looking for a tiebreaking vote for our latest Weird Watch Party—current nominees being Crumbs (2005) and St. Bernard (2013)—scheduled for Saturday, April 23. We’re also down one regular, so new blood would be appreciated! Join the conversation here.

In reviews next week, Gregory J. Smalley will cover the newly uncovered Romanian cartoon sci-fi epic, Delta Space Mission (1984), complete with bonus interview with co-director Calin Cazan. Then, keep an eye out for Shane Wilson‘s protracted take on Quentin Dupieux‘s absurdist policier Keep an Eye Out (2018). Finally, Giles Edwards knocks another one out of the indefatigable reader-suggested review queue with a review of anime legend Mamoru Oshii‘s live-action gamer flick, Avalon (2001). Onward and weirdward!

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.

We’re ready to take suggestions and votes in the comments for our next Weird Watch party, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 23 at 10:15 PM ET.

If you’d like to attend our watch party, then the important thing is to RSVP in the comments, where you can make a screening suggestion, or just say you plan to be there. As always, we’re looking for five likely attendees before officially scheduling.

Nominations are open for movies on any of the three platforms we’ve used—Netflix, Prime or Tubi/Kast. When making your nomination, simply comment with “I think we should watch Weird Movie on Netflix” or “I propose Strange Movie on Tubi” or “How about Weird Movie 2: Electric Boogaloo on Prime?”

When the party is set to begin we’ll announce it in three places:

• On this site (if you’ve signed up for regular email alerts via the sidebar you’ll also get a notice that way)
• On our Facebook page
• On Twitter

Make your nominations and/or RSVP in the comments below.

The half-animated virtual reality dystopian thriller The Congress (2013) is on Tubi, so no subscription required, but we’ll be using Kast.tv to stream and chat. Be sure you have signed up for a free account there.

Here’s the link to join: https://s.kast.live/g/tvjqh4x7vp8

The show starts at 10:15 PM (ET).

See you soon!

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

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.

IN THEATERS (RE-RELEASE):

INLAND EMPIRE (2006): Read the Canonically Weird review. What might be David Lynch‘s most impenetrable and obscure movie is about, as far as can be summarized, “a woman in trouble.”  Earning less than 1 million dollars in its original US release, the film has since grown in stature, and now the restored print is getting a re-release: it may not break a million again, but at least it will play in more venues than the fifteen theaters it originally screened at.  Opening at IFC Center in New York this week; additional dates in cities nationwide can be found on the movie’s homepage. INLAND EMPIRE rerelease homepage.

IN DEVELOPMENT (Post-production):

“Irma Vep” (series) (2022?):  Olivier Assayas is remaking his own 1996 film about an actress cast in a remake of Les Vampires (1915). The original film starred Maggie Cheung, and Alicia Vikander will take the lead in the series, which will air on HBO (presumably soon). Vikander discussed the role in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, in which she described it as “so meta, it’s eating itself… I think, while I was making it, I played five roles… It’s like Chinese boxes.”

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. Like this one:

• 4/7-4/14 Chicago, IL – “DAVID LYNCH: A COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE – THE RETURN” at the Music Box Theater. Maybe not “complete” (I don’t think they’re showing all his YouTube weather reports), but as complete as you’ll ever see, including every David Lynch feature film, almost every short, documentaries, and even a few vaguely related movies like Boxing Helena (directed by daughter Jennifer) and Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel (whose only connection is a vague Lynchian feel and the presence of Sherilyn Fenn). Curated by singer-songwriter Daniel Knox, who has always had an affinity for Lynch. Limited tickets still available as we write this. David Lynch: A Complete Retropective – The Return” at Music Box Theater.

FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:

Blue Velvet (1986): Read the Canonically Weird entry! David Lynch‘s dreamlike thriller is now listed as “leaving soon,” so it’s a good time to catch up with that candy-colored clown they call the Sandman; maybe it’ll put you in the mood for INLAND EMPIRE, too? Watch Blue Velvet free on Tubi.tv.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Join us tomorrow night for our latest Weird Watch Party, the half-animated virtual reality dystopian thriller The Congress (2013). On Tubi (so no subscription required) via Kast.tv (free account required). The link to join will drop here, on Facebook, and on Twitter around 10 PM.

In reviews next week, Shane Wilson goes to bat for the reader-suggested The Cat in the Hat (2003). Then, Giles Edwards gets to know The Unknown Man of Shandigor (1967). Finally, Gregory J. Smalley apprehensively signs up for 2021’s Jefferey Epstein-themed conspiratorial horror The Scary of Sixty-First. Onward and weirdward!

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.