With Amazon Prime rolling out a Watch Party feature, it’s time to see if we should maybe we should expand our watch parties from Netflix-only. This poll is simply to see whether readers have the ability, and interest, in group screenings on 1) Amazon Prime, 2) Netflix, or 3) Hulu. Vote accordingly! (And if you have not RSVP’ed for our Netflix Party potentially scheduled for this Saturday July 11, please do so! We’re still looking for one more attendee.)

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 DEVELOPMENT (pre-release):

Psychomagic: A Healing Art (2019): Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s long-simmering documentary about his own brand of ritual psychotherapy final arrives in America. We have our doubts about the clinical efficacy of psychomagic, but little doubt that the documentary will be worth a look. Set to debut on Alamo Drafthouse’s on-demand service in early August; it will likely expand distribution channels soon after. Psychomagic: A Healing Art official site (in French).

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Come and See (1985): Read the Canonically Weird entry. What may be the most intense war movie ever made joins the Criterion Collection in a new restoration, on 2 DVDs or a single Blu-ray. Criterion extras include an appreciation by ace cinematographer Roger Deakins, a vintage interview with late director Elem Klimov and a more recent one with his brother, a Soviet-era documentary on the Belorussian atrocities depicted in the film, 2001 interviews with  with actor Alexei Kravchenko and production designer Viktor Petrov, a short “making of” featurette, the theatrical trailer, and of course a supplementary booklet. Buy Come and See.

Spindrift’s Haunted West (2020): A feature-length visual album from the cowboy-themed psychedelic band Spindrift. Described as a “mix of acid western and musical odyssey.” VOD only. Watch Spindrift’s Haunted West.

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007): Looking for treasure, a lone gunfighter rides into a town ruled by two rival gangs. One of Takashi Miike‘s last truly weird movies, this is a samurai/spaghetti western mashup with a Japanese cast speaking badly accented English and Quentin Tarantino in a small role. MVD Marquee releases it on Blu-ray for the first time in a “collector’s edition” extended cut that’s almost an hour longer than the version previously on DVD. Buy Sukiyaki Western Django.

“Wild Palms” (1993): Mysterious corporations scheme to take over America in the “near future” with virtual reality tricks. This Oliver Stone-produced miniseries was greenlit due to the popularity of “Twin Peaks” during the 90s brief “weird is cool” phase. Now on Blu-ray with multiple commentary tracks. Buy “Wild Palms”.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

Independent theaters are cautiously starting to reopen across the country at diminished capacity, although the big chains (and Alamo Drafthouses) remain shuttered for another week or two. That said, we have a couple of screenings to announce this week. We expect this section to continue to grow slowly throughout the summer, although we wouldn’t expect things to return to anywhere near normal until the fall, at the earliest. You’ll have to use your own judgment as to whether it’s safe to go to movie theaters at this time.

• Chicago, IL
  • The Music Box – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), 7/3-9
• Vancouver, BC
  • The Rio – Vertigo (1958), 7/8

NEPOTISM CORNER:

“Funny Parents”: Our own Shane Wilson and wife Clair Clairmont were recent guests on the “Funny Parents” podcast. Listen to this episode to get his suspect (though not especially weird) parenting advice. (Shane may also be debuting his own podcast soon, so check this space regularly). “Funny Parents” Episode 10: TV Wins & Beforeskin and After.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: First up, we’re looking for one more person to publicly express interest in attending a Netflix Party scheduled for next Saturday, July 11 at 10:15 PM EST. You may also nominate a movie for us to watch. Please show your support here. And next week we’ll also try to see if Amazon Prime watch parties might become a thing (perhaps alternating with the Netflix ones).

In terms of reviews, Gregory J. Smalley will bring you your first look at the unclassifiable Japanese Sundance hit We Are Little Zombies, about four orphans who form a pop band; Giles Edwards opines on My Hindu Friend, Hector “Kiss of the Spider Woman” Babenco’s final movie; and Jake Fredel tackles the Criterion Collection’s “The Short Films of Martin Scorsese,” with an emphasis on the reader-suggested Vietnam allegory “The Big Shave.” And Happy Independence Day to the USA (although it will be celebrated under truly weird circumstances). 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.

Last week’s Netflix Party #12 was a success, so we’re going to stick with the bi-weekly schedule for the time being (unless there’s an outcry to return to weekly screenings). Next Saturday would be the July 4 holiday, anyway. Therefore, our next party will be scheduled for Saturday, July 11 at 10:15 PM.

We’ll be looking for five movie screening nominations from people who plan to attend. After we get the minimum five nominations and likely attendees, we’ll put up a poll.

You can nominate something you nominated before, but not something we watched in a previous party: so no The Platform, April and the Extraordinary World, The Bad Batch, Skins [Pieles], Under the Skin, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Enemy, A Ghost Story, Escape from the ‘Liberty’ Cinema, Between Worlds, Buster’s Mal Heart, or The Aerial [La Antena]. Only films in Netflix’s U.S. catalog are eligible. We don’t have to watch a Canonically Weird movie together, but just for your convenience, we’re reasonably sure these are all the (previously unscreened by us) ones available on the service at the moment: Kung Fu Hustle (2004), The Lobster (2015), Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), A Serious Man (2009), Sin City (2005), Swiss Army Man (2016), The Wicker Man (1973), and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Feel free to nominate any of these, or ignore them in favor of other selections.

To join, you’ll need a U.S. Netflix account, a Chrome-based browser, and the Netflix Party extension.

Make your nominations in the comments below.

As the title states, our latest Netflix Party—The Aerial——starts in fifteen minutes.

Please install the Netflix Party extension if you haven’t already. You must have a U.S. Nextflix account (we think) and a Chrome-based browser (including Brave) to participate.

There will be no pausing or rewinding except for technical reasons.

We are offering no technical support, so help each other out if needed.

Here is the link to join: https://www.netflix.com/watch/70084328?npSessionId=93d76c3ce250d6c4&npServerId=s79

Be sure to click on the red Netflix Party icon to sync up and join the chat room.

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:

Bacurau (2019): Read our review. The Brazilian art-house shoot ’em up is now officially off the “Kino Marquee” pricing structure, and available for cheap rentals on VOD. If you’d prefer physical media, the DVD/Blu-ray release (with over an hour of extras) is scheduled for July 14. Buy or rent Bacurau.

The Mad Fox [AKA Love, Thy Name Be Sorrow] (1962): A court astrologer goes insane after his lover is executed and wanders into the forest where he is helped by fox spirits. Arrow Academy bills this as director Tomu Uchida’s “strangest and most lavishly cinematic film”; the Expressionist cinematography influenced Kwaidan. Now available in a special edition with a collector’s booklet advertised as “first pressing only.” Buy The Mad Fox.

A Ship of Human Skin (2019): Described as “a story about mysticism and violent crime… [b]y turns serious and surreal…” From the trailer, we gather it’s about a girl who recites poetry, kills a man, then levitates in prison. Great title. On DVD, Blu-ray or VOD. Buy A Ship of Human Skin.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

Independent theaters are slowly starting to reopen across the country at diminished capacity, although the big chains (and Alamo Drafthouses) remain shuttered for another week or two. That said, we have another single national screening to announce this week. We expect this section to continue to grow slowly throughout the summer, although we wouldn’t expect things to return to anywhere near normal until the fall, at the earliest. You’ll have to use your own judgment as to whether it’s safe to go to movie theaters at this time.

• Kansas City, MO
  • Screenland (Armour) – Brazil (1985), 6/27, 29

FREE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:

“Do You Have a Question for David?” (2020): Continuing his drop of quirky quarantine content, David Lynch answers submitted questions from fans, being sure to carefully repeat their handles and questions, and complete with long thoughtful pauses. More legitimately informative than weird, and inspirational for creative types.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Don’t forget to show up this Saturday night (at 10:15 PM) for our group Netflix screening of The Aerial. We’ll post the link here and on our Facebook and Twitter pages shortly before the show begins.

Next week, we won’t have any actual movie reviews… what? That’s right! Instead, Simon Hyslop will investigate virality (the meme kind, not the corona kind) and what it might mean for weird cinema. Then Giles Edwards explains “Giraffes on Horseback Salad“—which, believe it or not, is a graphic novel of the never-filmed script Salvador Dali wrote for the Marx Brothers. Bona fide reviews will return the following week. 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.