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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 –(Göteborg Film Festival, Göteborg, Sweden, Jan. 28-Feb. 6):

We normally wouldn’t cover this relatively minor festival, but big props to them for a novel marketing ploy that may actually be more than a stunt. For three movies screening at the festival, the audience will be put under hypnosis by a professional hypnotist. The three movies selected for this experiment all sound worthily weird: Apichatpong Weerasethakul‘s ethereal Memoria; Land of Dreams (another dream-auditing movie, this time co-written by Jean-Claude Carrière); and Speak No Evil, a psychological horror film debuting in Sundance’s Midnight section a week before. Might we suggest adding a double feature revival of Heart of Glass and The Element of Crime to the slate at the last minute? It’s a wonderful cinematic enhancement: it either works to increase your appreciation of the films, or works as the art-house version of a William Castle gimmick. The only hitch is possible Covid cancellation. The trailer is definitely worth a watch for devotees of the surreal. Variety has a nice article on the experiment.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

King Car (2020): Read Giles Edwards’ festival review. Another 2021 film in which people have sex with cars, only this car is really more into being a cult leader than getting laid. It’s playing in theaters somewhere (Alamo Drafthouses?), and simultaneously on demand from Alamo. No official site found.

NEW STREAMING (ARROW VIDEO, SUBSCRIPTION):

Hotel Poseidon (2021): Read our festival review. If previous Arrow streaming debuts are any indication, this nearly plotless triumph of soggy art design will be released on Blu-ray and alternate VOD channels soon. Hotel Poseidon at Arrow.

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.

YOU LINK US! YOU REALLY LINK US!:

Criterion Reflections – Episode 110 – Robert Altman’s Images – The podcast cites Shane Wilson‘s review of Images among their supplemental reading.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

You can still make a nomination or vote for January 15’s Weird Watch Party through this weekend. And if you haven’t voted yet in our latest round of re-ranking the 366 Canon to account for the List’s newest additions, you can do so here.

Next week Gregory J. Smalley will be taking care of some personal business. In the meantime, you will be able to read Shane Wilson‘s informative musings on Saul Bass’ psychedelic killer ant movie, Phase IV (in the reader-suggested queue), while Giles Edwards will brave Béla Tarr‘s Damnation (1988) for your edification. And the next round of 366 re-ranking will begin on Thursday, as the incoming class of weird movies faces off against challengers from the old guard. And we hope to make our brief preview of which movies look promisingly weird at Sundance 2022 (a project originally scheduled for this week, until the festival took their schedule temporarily offline for retooling because omicron convinced them to scrap all live screenings and go full virtual.) 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.

Our project to re-rank the entire Canon of 366 Weird Movies continues, as we incorporate the sixteen newly promoted former-apocrypha movies into the newly reordered list. (This all sounds more complicated than it really is, we swear.)

Last round, 53 voters cast ballots. All of the promoted Apocrypha except Singapore Sling (1990), Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (2019), and The Baby of Mâcon (1993) outpaced the old Canonical entries they were pitted against.

Now, let’s see how far the new arrivals can climb. We’ll pit the ten former Apocrypha movies that got more votes than any Canonical movies against the ten next most popular Canonical movies based on this poll. We’ll repeat this procedure until no new arrival proves more popular than the remaining Canonical entries. (This could take a while.)

Here’s the next round. You may choose up to ten movies you feel are the most deserving. We’ll leave the poll up until midnight, January 12.

We’re ready to take suggestions and votes in the comments for our next Weird Watch party, scheduled for Saturday, January 15 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.

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.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

“Blood-a-Rama Triple Frightmare”: From deep in the vaults of the American Genre Film Archive comes a triple-feature highlighted (for our purposes) by Help Me… I’m Possessed, a 1974 gore/sleaze piece the ad copy describes as “a surrealist gem” and an IMDB user describes as “an oddity that looks like it was made by a group of severely mentally ill people.” Also includes The Night of the Strangler (1972), a whodunnit with Mickey Dolenz, and the Coney Island-shot cheapie Carnival of Blood (1970). Buy “Blood-A-Rama Triple Frightmare”.

Keep an Eye Out [Au Poste!] (2018): Read our Apocrypha Candidate review. Our vote for 2021’s weirdest movie (made all the weirder because it was released in 2018) is now on Blu-ray from new player Delanalog, with a booklet, Quentin Dupieux commentary, and rehearsal footage. Buy Keep an Eye Out.

“LA Plays Itself: The Fred Halsted Collection”: Three short, experimental hardcore gay films made by Halstead in the early 70s: L.A. Plays Itself, Sextool, and The Sex Garage. Restored by the Museum of Modern Art (!); released by Altered Innocence. Buy “LA Plays Itself: The Fred Halsted Collection”.

Mayday (2021): Read Giles Edwards’ review. “Alice in Wonderland”/”Wizard of Oz” style feminist allegory about women who lure men to their death in a fantasy world with a WWII aesthetic. Previously on VOD, now available on Blu-ray, too. Buy Mayday.

Robot Carnival (1987): An early anime anthology movie themed around robots; some of the shorts are experimental (and only a few have dialogue). Contributors include Kôji Morimoto (who later worked as an animator on Akira and Mind Game) and Katsuhiro Ohtomo, who directs the bookend segments. Long out-of-print on home video, though it has been available streaming, this release requires an Ultra High Disc (UHD) player. Buy Robot Carnival.

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 ON TUBI.TV:

Donnie Darko (2001): Read the Canonical review! You’ve heard of this movie, haven’t you? Now listed as “leaving soon.” This is the theatrical cut (thankfully). Watch Donnie Darko free on Tubi.tv.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Join us tomorrow (New Years’ Day!) on Tubi.tv via Kast.tv (you’ll need a free account there) for our first Weird Watch Party of 2022, Frank Henenlotter‘s Brain Damage (1988). Let’s get the new year off to a very weird start.

Next week we’re planning on taking a couple of reviews from out of that huge reader-suggested queue. Giles Edwards will groove to Rudy Ray Moore‘s funky Disco Godfather (1979), while Gregory J. Smalley will examine Lars von Trier‘s first full-length feature, the neo-noirish Element of Crime (1984). We’ll also have another round of re-ranking the full 366 Canon, as the incoming ex-Apocrypha titles continue to climb against the old guard. (There’s still time for you to vote in this round if you haven’t yet—poll closes January 4th). 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.

Our Apocrypha Promotion and Relegation poll was a popular game, garnering a total of 566 votes from 76 voters. You can see the complete results (with vote counts) here, or just read the results below:

PROMOTED FROM APOCRYPHA TO CANON: The Lighthouse (2019) * The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) * The Wolf House (2018) * Under the Silver Lake (2018) * Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) * The Baby of Mâcon (1993)  * Son of the White Mare (1981) * Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) * Big Man Japan (2007) * Mirror (1975) * The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962) * Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (2019) * Singapore Sling (1990) * Electric Dragon 80000V (2001) * Bad Girls Go to Hell (1965) * Casino Royale (1967)

REMAINING IN CANON: Skidoo (1968) * The Telephone Book (1971) * Help! Help! The Globolinks (1969) * Idiots and Angels (2008)

DEMOTED FROM CANON TO APOCRYPHA: L’Inhumaine (1924) * Wool 100% (2006) * Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015) * Tuvalu (1999) * Elevator Movie (2004) * The Red Squirrel (1993) * Shanks (1974) * The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009) * Indecent Desires (1968) * Steppenwolf (1974) * I Can See You (2008) * Christmas on Mars (2008) * Hugo the Hippo (1975) * Seven Servants (1996) * Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012) * Ninja Champion (1985)

REMAINING IN APOCRYPHA: Prometheus’ Garden (1988) * Gemini (1999) * She’s Allergic to Cats (2016) * Green Snake (1993)

Now, let’s see how far the new arrivals can climb. We’ll pit the thirteen former Apocrypha movies that got more votes than any of the lowest-rated Canonical movies against the thirteen next most popular Canonical movies based on this poll. We’ll repeat this procedure until no new arrival proves more popular than the remaining Canonical entries. (This could take a while). Here’s the next round. You may choose up to thirteen movies you feel are the most deserving. We’ll leave the poll up until midnight, January 4.