Matador Bolero (2026): An underground movie done in the style of a 1960s Super-8 experimental film, about the murder of an actress and possible links to a cult worshiping a super-intelligent computer. Now in theaters.
The Cell (2000): Read Giles Edwards’ review. The 4K UHD (+ Blu-ray) standard edition release from Arrow (so lots of extras) of the psychological thriller where Jennifer Lopez enters the mind of a serial killer. Buy The Cell.
Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel (1979): Read Shane Wilson’s review. Deaf Crocodile releases the standard Blu-ray + UHD for the Soviet sci-fi mystery, previously available only in a limited edition. Buy Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel.
The Holy Mountain rescore: Alternate scores of existing movies are a cool thing, and have moved on from silents to alternate versions of existing talkie scores. For The Holy Mountain, the Cue Northwest Music Residency held a contest to rescore the film, which was won by the avant-rock group Zen Mother. The band will play the score live at a screening at Northwest Film Forum in Seattle sometime in 2027, and hopefully their version will also be available elsewhere. Read the announcement at The Stranger.
The Trouble with Terkel (2010): A bullied 6th grader turns to booze to deal with the guilt caused by his being responsible for the suicide of a classmate. Pixar passed on remaking this transgressive Danish animated comedy. Buy The Trouble with Terkel.
Wetiko (2026): Billed as a “psychedelic jungle thriller,” this feature addresses the phenomenon of “shamanic tourism.” Now on VOD after a brief run in theaters. Wetiko on VOD.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest on next week’s Pod 366. Gregory J. Smalley will be on vacation, but Giles Edwards and Pete Trbovich will talk about two canonically weird classics (Audition and Perfect Blue, if you want to do your homework), among other topics. In written content, Enar Clarke fills out our Jean Rollin coverage with The Living Dead Girl (1982), Michael Diamades takes on the AI-generated feature film Brainstare (2025), and Shane Wilson surveys the entire run of the Muppet-style existential horror show for kids “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared”. Onward and weirdward!
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026): Human beings become trapped in a virtual reality world overseen by a deranged AI ringmaster in this YouTube sensation turned Netflix series. In theaters nationwide from June 4-18, debuting on Netflix on June 19. Expect a review of the entire series within weeks. The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act official site.
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002): Read the Canonically Weird entry! The ultimate steelbook release of the weirdest movie about Elvis and black JFK fighting mummies in a nursing home you’ll ever lay eyes on. Buy Bubba Ho-Tep.
Iron Lung (2025): A surprise modest hit about a convict sent to explore a mysterious ocean on an interstellar moon in a ramshackle submarine. We ignored this video-game adaptation when it came out, but a loyal reader has since tipped us off that they think it’s weird; it’s now available for rental exclusively on YouTube. Rent or buy Iron Lung on VOD.
R.I.P. Yoshihiro Nishimura: We are sad to report that Yoshihiro Nishimura, the director of Tokyo Gore Police, has died at age 59 of liver disease. We published an interview with Mr. Nishimura in 2017; he was the first celebrity to give us a restaurant recommendation. Variety recaps his career.
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025): Read Pete Trbovich’s review. The ultimate Rocky Horror documentary (made by Richard O’Brien‘s son) is finally available in the US on VOD on Plex, Apple TV, or Google Play. Blu-ray drops in the US on July 7.
The Wizard of Oz (1939): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. The Wizard of Oz has probably been released in as many different physical media incarnations as any film ever made; this is the standard edition of the 4K release previously available in a limited edition set. No Blu-ray included in this one. Buy The Wizard of Oz.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
We may have a guest for next week’s Pod 366: underground filmmaker and musician Jonathan Rosado (of Matador Bolero). It’s another packed week in written content, as Pete Trbovich puts out another Perverted Pick with Jess Franco‘s Venus in Furs (1969), Enar Clarke celebrates pride month with Flaming Ears (1992), Michael Diamades addresses the Czech comedy Buttoners (1997), Shane Wilson is happy to compose his thoughts on reader-suggestion Allegro (2005), and Gregory J. Smalley descends in an Iron Lung (2026). Onward and weirdward!
Backrooms (2026): A24 backed Kane Parsons‘ feature debut about mysterious logic-defying trans-dimensional rooms discovered in a retail establishment, and got Chiwetal Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve to sign on. It’s based on a webseries, whose inaugural episode won the Weirdcademy Award for Weirdest short in 2022. Finally in theaters! Backrooms official site.
Dracula (2025): Read Michael Diamades’ review. Radu Jude‘s transgressive and unapologetically AI-enhanced Dracula anthology arrives on Blu-ray with a few extras (Jude interviews and an essay booklet). Buy Dracula.
Faust (1994): Read Alex Kittle’s review. Jan Svankmajer‘s stop-motion + live action + puppetry adaptation of Faust has been out of print (along with most of his startling features); let’s hope that this Blu-ray from Kimstim is the first salvo in re-releasing the Czech’s seminal surrealist classics. Buy Faust.
Holy Trinity (2019): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s Apocrypha Candidate review. Holy Trinity. A paint-huffing dominatrix finds she can see the dead; this queer outsider film finally arrives on Blu-ray with a director’s commentary track, a short film, and a “making of” documentary that’s almost twice as long as the feature. Buy Holy Trinity.
House of Dreams (1963): An author has recurring nightmares about a house in this low-budget Indiana indie. Bleeding Skull rediscovered it and presents it alone, with director’s commentary, and in a “VHS mix” along with spiritual soulmates Carnival of Souls, Meshes of the Afternoon, and vintage commercials. Buy House of Dreams.
She Loved Blossoms More (2024): Read Enar Clarke’s Apocrypha Candidate review. One of the strangest underseen movies of the past two years, the scenario involves three brothers who take a lot of drugs and attempt to bring back their deceased mom by accessing another dimension through a machine they’ve built in a cabinet. Now on Blu-ray with director’s commentary and other features. Buy She Loved Blossoms More.
Tekkonkinkreet (2006): Read the Canonically Weird entry! The visually inventive, Canonically Weird anime about a teen assassin and his prophetic child charge fighting the yakuza in pan-Asian “Treasure Town” gets a 4K restoration and a theatrical re-release on May 31 and June 1 only. Mark your calendars. Tekkonkinkreet re-release official site (for venues).
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest scheduled on next week’s Pod 366, but the gang will be back with all the weird movie news that’s fit to pod. It’s a packed week in written content: Pete Trbovich will cover something (either a Perverted Pick or a semi-perverted pic), Michael Diamades breezes through the Japanese children’s Ovid adaptation Winds of Change, Shane Wilson breaks down the triple-B-movie Blood, Bullets, Buffoons (1996), Giles Edwards dances with the underground’s Matador Bolero (2026), and Gregory J. Smalley plans to visit the mysterious Backrooms (see above). Onward and weirdward!
Arco (2025): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. The UHD/Blu-ray release of the animated film about a rainbow-suited boy who travels from the distant future to the less-distant future includes numerous featurettes (but, despite what the box claims, a soundtrack in the original language is not a bonus feature.) Buy Arco.
The Bride! (2026): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. Warner Bros. won’t recoup their investment on Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s bonkers flop Frankenstein’s bride movie with this UHD/Blu-ray/DVD offering (careful: each sold separately), but its nice that they did release it, and with meaningful documentary extras. Buy The Bride!.
Fresh Kill (1994): A lesbian couple uncover a conspiracy involving toxic waste in a dystopian New York City. Never heard of this underground lesbian punk experiment before, but if the Criterion collection is going to bat for it, that means something. Buy Fresh Kill.
I Love Boosters (2026): Boots Riley‘s latest eat-the-rich manifesto finally arrives in theaters. IMDB users who hate boosters, but probably haven’t seen the movie, have been bombing it with anonymous 1-star reviews. I Love Boosters official site.
Matador Bolero (2026): The plot involves murder, cults, A.I., and an “elusive being living outside the realms of time and space,” and stars an experimental musician we’re unfamiliar with (Yves Tumor). So little information on this one, but the minimalist website (brought to us by something called “Surreal U.S.A.”) and the trailer pique our interest. Matador Bolero official site?
The Napa Boys (2025): A group called “The Napa Boys” go on a “wine-sloshed” comedy adventure in which they say the words “Napa Boys” a lot in this fourth installment of a long-running comedy series with no previous installments. In reviews, the words “inside joke” recur more frequently than other others, although one critic did use the acronym “WTF” and another calls it “bizarre.” Buy The Napa Boys.
No guest scheduled on next week’s Pod 366, but the gang will be back to discuss the week’s weird movie news and new releases. In written content, Michael Diamades pays respects to Fernando Arrabal‘s Car Cemetery (1983), Shane Wilson relates The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), Enar Clarke profiles The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan (2025), and Gregory J. Smalley predicts whether you will love I Love Boosters (see above). Onward and weirdward!
Celebrating the cinematically surreal, bizarre, cult, oddball, fantastique, strange, psychedelic, and the just plain WEIRD!
