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 (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Amusement Park (1973/2019): An elderly man goes to an amusement park and finds only a nightmare. This big-time oddity was a semi-educational film funded by the Lutheran Church and intended to expose ageism in society. But the churchies were predictably perplexed by the avant-garde results after inexplicably hiring horror specialist George Romero to make it, and chose to shelve the film. It was restored in 2019 and will be available at limited venues starting this week; it will likely be streaming sometime soon for the curious. Notes on the restoration of The Amusement Park from the George Romero Foundation.

Dementia Part II (2018): This non-sequel tribute to Dementia is a black and white indie horror about an ex-con who takes a job as handyman for a demented old woman. A midnight movie that was made in a month on a dare, and is now in limited release in theaters, with VOD and DVD releases coming on June 1. No official site located.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

The Father (2020): Read our review. If you’re looking for a recent Oscar winner with even the mildest hint of weirdness, this disorienting portrait of a man with dementia stands alone. Blu-ray or DVD. Buy The Father.

Santa Sangre (1989): Read the Certified Weird entry! Not eligible for bundling in the Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection due to rights issues, Jodo’s tale of an armless mother and her serial-killing son is out in a separate deluxe package from Severin, with a 4K Ultra disc, Blu-ray, soundtrack CD, and a disc of extras (including a full-length Santa Sangre documentary). Buy Santa Sangre.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

We’re seeing a few more venues cautiously reopening at reduced capacity. Will things be back to normal in this space by the autumn? We’ll see!

• Austin, TX
  • Blue Starlite Drive-In
    • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), 5/22-23, 27
    • Vertigo (1958), 5/23
• Boston, MA
  • Coolidge Corner
    • 8 1/2 (1963), 5/23
    • Vertigo (1958), 5/24
• Miami, FL
  • Nite Owl Drive-In – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), 5/22
• Nashville, TN
  • The Belcourt – 8 1/2 (1963), 5/22-23, 26
• Paducah, KY
  • Maiden Alley – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), 5/22 & 24
• San Francisco,CA
  • The Roxie – Eraserhead (1977), 5/22

FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIES:

Pesticide (2021): The official plot synopsis reads, “The lives of an avant-garde musician, a serial killer, a kingpin and his right hand man intertwine in a tale of violence, psychedelia and betrayal.” “Pesticide” is a hallucinogen sold by a pusher in a green mask in this microbudget YouTube feature, set in a dystopian future that looks just like contemporary suburbia; someone spent a lot of time in a basement creating the psychedelic effects. Contains mature language.

https://youtu.be/Gipw0uRnSLo

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Please join us tomorrow night at 10:15 PM ET on Amazon Prime for a group viewing of Violence Voyager (2018). As always, the link to join will appear here, on Facebook, or on Twitter around 10 PM ET.

And after a couple of slow weeks, we’re picking up the pace a little on reviews, bringing you two next week: Giles Edwards on the supernatural horror The Empty Man (2020), and  Gregory J. Smalley on the epic-length avant-garde drama Used and Borrowed Time (2020). 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.

Here’s the poll to vote in May’s Amazon Prime Weird Watch Party, which will start on Saturday, May 22 at 10:15 PM ET. If you plan on virtually attending, please vote for the movie we’ll be watching below. We’ll screen the movie that get the most votes; your host, Gregory J. Smalley, will personally break any ties. Note that unlike our other polls, you can only vote once. Poll closes at midnight ET on Monday, May 17. You may vote for multiple movies, but not for every movie (because that would be pointless).

Now vote!

Our next Weird Watch Party on Amazon Prime is scheduled for May 22 at 10:15 PM.

As always, we’ll be looking for nominations from people who plan to attend. After we get the minimum five nominations and likely attendees, we’ll put up a poll. Management will break any ties. We’re open to suggestions for different starting times, dates, or methods of propagating the watch link.

Amazon Prime’s catalog of movies is larger (and less exclusive) than Netflix’s. Ed Dykhuizen’s availability spreadsheet is a good resource to check for Canonically Weird movies (look for ones marked “free w/ Prime” in the “Amazon” column). Or, do your own research and come up with a title from Amazon. Eligible movies will have a “watch party” button on their Amazon page. You must be a Prime subscriber; you don’t have to download an extension or additional software.

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 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.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Undergods (2020): Read Giles Edwards festival review and listen to our interview with director Chino Moya. A dystopian anthology linked by the adventures of a pair of corpse-haulers on a devastated future city. It’s listed as releasing theatrically on May 7, but we couldn’t find any theaters showing it; you can check it out on video-on-demand, though. No official site located.

IN DEVELOPMENT (psot-production):

Hundreds of Beavers (2021?): A silent (or at least, dialogue-free) comedy about fur trappers in the Northwoods, featuring (hundreds of? unlikely) beavers played by actors in furry costumes. The sophomore feature from the team responsible for Lake Michigan Monster. Thanks to reader Nc for the heads-up (and you can read the results of his research on in-production titles in the comments to last week’s Weird Horizon). “Daily Globe” story on Hundreds of Beavers.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Big Fish (2003): Read our review. Tim Burton‘s light fantasy about a tall-tale-teller isn’t exactly hard to find on video, but here it is on a 4K Ultra disc (with a bonus Blu-ray). Buy Big Fish.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

Screenings are still scant, but there are a few to be found.

• Dallas, TX
  • Texas Theater – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), 5/7-8
• Mahoning, PA
  • The Mahoning Drive-In – Wild at Heart (1990), 5/11
• Tustin, CA
  • The Mess Hall Drive-In – Jacob’s Ladder (1990), with Q&A with Dr. Bernard McGrane, 5/11
• Wayne, MI (Detroit)
  • The State – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), 5/8

FREE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:

Mr. Nobody (2009): Read the canonically weird entry! Bob Odenkirk as an action hero?? That’s one of the few branching realities not covered in Jaco Van Dormael‘s epic about the many lives of the last mortal man on earth. As with all titles we feature from Tubi, it’s in the “leaving soon” category.  Watch Mr. Nobody free on Tubi.tv.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Thanks to a last-minute vote that broke a three-way tie, tomorrow’s weird Netflix screening will be the British Christmas horror Await Further Instructions (2018). As always, the link to join will appear here, on Facebook, or on Twitter around 10 PM ET. Join us!

Next week will be a light one in terms of reviews, with only 1989’s “homemade horror” Beyond Dream’s Door ready to publish. There’s a reason for that: we’re hard at work behind the scenes finishing up the manuscript for the print book version of the List of 366! Now, just because we have a manuscript doesn’t mean that publication is right around the bend—but it does mean that it’s quickly becoming inevitable. 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.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), and The Omen (1976) were the three top vote-getters in the poll to determine which vintage blockbusters Alfred Eaker will review this summer season. However, fourth place was a tie between Jaws (1975) and Batman Forever (1995), so we’re going to have a run-off vote between them to determine the fourth movie in this quadruple feature. The poll will remain open until noon tomorrow.