Seminar: Daisies: Bostonian alert for 5/5/25! Alex Kittle will be delivering a lecture on Daisies (1966), the anarchic and psychedelic Czech New Wave classic, at Coolidge Corner theater in Brookline. Reservations available at the link.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest (or game) scheduled for next week’s Pod 366; we’ll return to covering the week’s weird news and releases. In written content, its Shane Wilson vs. Bruce Lee vs. Gay Power (actually Kung Fu contra As Bonecas); Enar Clarke reports on a new Invention (2025); and Gregory J. Smalley investigates the underground crime of Jacker 2: Descent to Hell (and, necessarily, Jacker). Onward and weirdward!
Batman Ninja (2018): Read Alfred Eaker’s review. Batman as a ninja in feudal Japan? On 4K UHD? Yep. This is being rereleased in conjunction with the sequel (see below). Buy Batman Ninja.
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (2025): A sequel to Batman Ninja (above) features Batman Ninja facing off against more familiar-but-Japanicized characters; on 4K UHD (only) or a VOD purchase/rental. Buy Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (4K UHD).
Blue Sunshine (1977): Read El Rob Hubbard’s List Candidate review. The cult film about acid burnouts gets a 4K upgrade from Synapse; it comes with a number of cool extras, including two vintage LSD scare films and a copy of the soundtrack CD, and a Blu-ray for those of us still stuck in the 2010s. Buy Blue Sunshine.
Ninja Terminator (1985): A typical Godfrey Ho mashup featuring an old kung fu movie with new ninja scenes incompetently added; this one may be Ho fans’ favorite. The Blu-ray includes a rare interview with the mysterious Ho. Buy Ninja Terminator.
The Shrouds (2024): David Cronenberg‘s latest is about a funeral director widower who develops a business allowing grievers to watch their loved ones decompose. In some theaters now from Janus, which means that we can likely expect it to show up in the Criterion Collection soon. The Shrouds official site.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
No guest on next week’s Pod 366; Greg and Giles will discuss the week’s news and new releases. In written content, Shane Wilson unleashes a review of a Greydon Clark alien invasion movie Without Warning (1980), Enar Clarke gazes at Pink Narcissus (1971), it’s Giles Edwards vs. Ninja Batman vs. Yakuza League (2025) (see above), and you can read Gregory J. Smalley on On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024).
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Quick links/Discussed in this episode:
Baby Invasion (2024): A home invasion thriller (set inside a video game?) following a group of mercenaries who break into mansions while wearing baby-face digital avatars. A predictably divisive Harmony Korine experimental provocation, this showed up on VOD unexpectedly (thanks to an anonymous poster for noticing and pointing it out to us). Buy or rent Baby Invasion on VOD.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024): Shula discovers her uncle’s dead body lying by the side of the road, then reluctantly joins in the funeral arrangements. A24’s marketing material describes this Zambian movie as ”surreal and vibrant.” Now on VOD at premium pricing; we expect the rental cost to come down in a month or so. Buy or rent On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.
Pink Narcissus (1971): A gay prostitute imagines himself in various exotic settings: the Roman empire, a Turkish harem, a bullfighting ring, etc. This newly-restored avant-garde experimental queer feature is in our reader-suggested queue, and we presume a physical media release will follow shortly, giving us a chance to check it out. Playing at the Metrograph in NYC, with future dates scheduled in Seattle and Silver Springs, MD (and hopefully more). Pink Narcissus at Strand Releasing.
No guest next week on Pod 366, but Greg and Giles will return with a look at what’s weird in new releases. In written content, Shane Wilson reflects on a Better Man (2024) (the Robbie-Williams-as-a-chimp biopic), El Rob Hubbard proclaims The Dragon Lives Again (1977), Gregory J. Smalley shows you Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind (1978), and Giles Edwards endures a Baby Invasion. Onward and weirdward!
Mutant Aliens (2001): A lesser-known (but typically strange) Bill Plympton animation is a sexy tribute to alien invasion films of the 1950s. The Blu-ray includes two classic Plymptoon shorts, “Hot Dog” and “The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger.”Pre-order Mutant Aliens from Deaf Crocodile.
One Battle After Another (Fall 2025): It is almost impossible to believe that Paul Thomas Anderson could convince Warner Brothers to back another Thomas Pynchon adaptation (the story comes from “Vineland”) after Inherent Vice (brilliant as it was) flopped mightily in theaters; perhaps that’s why the promo material says it’s “loosely” based on Pynchon. We shall see how much postmodern absurdism finds its way into the final product, but we have to confess we’ll be watching it in any case. Variety has written a couple of articles about this one; here’s the latest.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: No guest officially scheduled for Pod 366 next week, but Greg and Giles will return with more discussion of the week’s weird news and releases. In written reviews, Shane Wilson will review the Japanese black comedy Monday (2000) on Monday, Enar Clarke joins Radley Metzger in The Lickerish Quartet (1970) on Tuesday, Giles Edwards spends his Wednesday rebuking Greg over his blindness towards Tommy (1975), and Gregory J. Smalley himself falls into an Omni Loop (2024) on Thursday. Onward and weirdward!
366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.
Discussed in this episode:
The 10th Victim (1965): Read Shane Wilson’s review. Ursula Andress and Marcello Mastroianni fall in love while pitted against each other in a future reality show where contestants compete to assassinate their rivals. Kino Lorber re-releases it with a new commentary track from a pair of film historians. Buy The 10th Victim.
The Mansion of Madness [AKA Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon] (1972): Read Enar Clarke’s Apocrypha Candidate review. This horror-tinged Surrealist Poe adaptation, originally released in the US under the hilariously inappropriate title Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon, is by a disciple of Alejandro Jodorowsky and has not been recently available on home video until this welcome Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. Buy The Mansion of Madness.
Myth of Man (2025): A dialogue-free, steampunk-influenced mythological fantasia from Jamin Winans. This is a true independent release with no studio backing—on VOD or a self-published Blu-ray.Buy Myth of Man.
The Twilight World (202?): At 82 years old, Werner Herzog will attempt his first animated film: an adaptation of his own novel about a Japanese WWII veteran who refuses to believe the war is over. Michael “Tekkonkreet” Arias assists on the “dreamlike and expressionistic” screenplay. Read more at Variety.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: No guest scheduled for next week’s Pod 366, but Greg and Giles will return with their look at the week’s upcoming news and new releases. In written reviews, Shane Wilson slips into In Fabric, Gregory J. Smalley finally gets around to the long-overlooked Tommy, Enar Clarke reports on the “lost” Giulio Questi film Arcana, and Giles Edwards investigates The Myth of Man (see above). Onward and weirdward!
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