AKA The Virgin and the Monster DIRECTED BY: Juraj Herz FEATURING: Zdena Studenková, Vlastimil Harapes PLOT: A virtuous, virginal merchant’s daughter pledges to live in a magical Beast’s castle to save her father’s life after he plucks a rose from the Beast’s garden; she falls in love and transforms him. WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE … Continue reading CAPSULE: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST [PANNA A NETVOR] (1978)
Le Locataire “Many would attest that The Pianist is Polanski’s most personal work, given the obvious Holocaust subject matter, but look beneath the surface, and when the window curtains are drawn aside, Polanski’s The Tenant shines brightest as the work closest to his being.”–Adam Lippe, A Regrettable Moment of Sincerity DIRECTED BY: Roman Polanski FEATURING: Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, … Continue reading 300. THE TENANT (1976)
DIRECTED BY: Andrew Getty FEATURING: Frederick Koehler, Sean Patrick Flanery, Michael Berryman, Dina Meyer PLOT: A demon who appears in a mirror tries to turn a mentally handicapped man into a serial killer by threatening him with nightmares. WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: The Evil Within is an interesting curiosity, with parts that are authentically … Continue reading CAPSULE: THE EVIL WITHIN (2017)
DIRECTED BY: Pier Paolo Pasolini FEATURING: Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto P. Quintavalle, Aldo Valletti PLOT: Four Italian fascists kidnap dozens of young boys and girls and imprison them in an isolated villa to sexually torture them in bizarre rituals of sadism. WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: There are a lot of words that … Continue reading CAPSULE: SALO, THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM (1975)
Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons… Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links. Lots of strange happenings this week! IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE): The Neon Demon (2016): An aspiring model (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles and is menaced … Continue reading WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 6/24/2016