List Candidates

LIST CANDIDATE: WRONG (2012)

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DIRECTED BY:

FEATURING: , William Fichtner, , Alexis Dziena

PLOT: Dolph wakes up one day to find his dog missing; a mysterious Master Chang may have some information on the matter.

Still from Wrong (2012)

WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE LIST: With only two completed films under his belt so far, it’s already becoming obvious that musician-turned-filmmaker Quentin Dupieux is one of those auteurs whose vision is so defiantly offbeat that every movie he makes is likely to be a strong candidate for the list of the weirdest movies ever made. Wrong continues the absurd tradition Dupieux set in his debut Rubber, about a tire serial killer, only this time with even more focus on awkward, surreal comedy.

COMMENTS: Existential sad-sack Dolph has been having a rough time of it lately. It’s bad enough when you’re upset about losing a job at an office where the sprinkler system constantly soaks the workers, but to top it all off his beloved dog Paul has gone missing. His neighbor, a problem jogger going through a crisis of his own, is no help. His French gardener only has more bad news for him; his prize palm tree is suffering from an extremely odd disease. An unintentional romance with the girl who works the phone at the pizza delivery place only interrupts his attempts to telepathically connect with his dog. A detective who doesn’t want to see a picture of the missing pet but is obsessed with finding a stool sample isn’t very promising, but perhaps mystical entrepreneur Master Chang (played with irrational confidence by William Fichtner with a blond ponytail and an accent from nowhere) can help. Shaggy-headed Plotnik is surprisingly good as Dolph, anchoring us on our journey through this absurd world with his sincere bewilderment—although in one of the script’s arch meta-jokes, he accepts things like indoor rain at face value, while being completely confounded by incongruent details of pizza box logos. Even more important to the film’s success is his touchingly pure devotion to his missing mutt, which adds a note of genuineness to what would otherwise be a wry and arbitrary story with no emotional stakes. Although there is an ongoing plot, and each character has a unique arc and adheres to his or her own odd illogic, the movie is very digressive and inevitably feels a like a series of surreal sketch-comedy bits at times, almost as if Dupieux has been telepathically spying on the dreams of Monty Python cast members for ideas to fit into his dognapping script. Dupieux’s universe is like the comic world of , only turned up to 11, and with no philosophical pretensions. Wrong doesn’t arrive with the blindsiding strangeness of Rubber, but it does avoid a sophomore slump for the director, delivering unpredictable yuks along with an unexpected amount of heart. If this is Wrong, who wants to be right?

Dupieux’s upcoming project is titled Wrong Cops;he insists the story is unrelated to this film and the similar nomenclature occurs just because he’s “lazy with titles.”

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

“Answering the question ‘what’s weirder than a movie about a sentient car tire on a killing spree?’ Rubber director Quentin Dupieux gives us Wrong, a literal and figurative shaggy-dog story that takes its surreal kinks in stride.”–John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter (contemporaneous)

(This movie was nominated for review by Caleb Moss, who explained it has “an intriguing mixture of deadpan absurdity and an eerie, low-key Lynchian undercurrent to the occurrences through out the film.” Suggest a weird movie of your own here.)

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 7/19/2013

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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 on the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Act of Killing: A strange and disturbing documentary in which members of Indonesian death squads unapologetically re-enact their real-life murders for the cameras in the style of the American movies they loved. and were so impressed with the concept they signed on as executive producers. The Act of Killing official site.

Grabbers: Irish monster movie where potential victims discover they can dissuade alien invaders from snacking on them by raising their blood alcohol levels. This IFC Midnight offering has been getting generally positive reviews. This is already out on DVD in Europe. Grabbers official site.

Only God Forgives: A Bangkok drug-smuggler (Ryan Gosling) becomes involved in a web of vengeance when his brother kills an underage prostitute. Although this seems fairly straightforward, there are reportedly a few bizarre (and ultraviolent) moments in this film. Only God Forgives official Facebook page.

SCREENINGS – (Los Angeles, CA, Cinefamily, Fri., Jul. 19, 8:00 PM):

Wonderwall (1968): A professor drills peepholes in his wall to spy on his fashion model neighbor and sees psychedelic visions. This is a rare screening of a seldom-seen psychedelic film, and it’s a “dress up” event (we’re not sure if that means tie-dyes or what, so if you show up in bell-bottoms and everyone’s wearing cocktail dresses, don’t blame us). Wonderwall screening at Cinefamily.

FILM FESTIVALS – Fantasia (Montreal, Canada, Jul. 18-Aug 7):

As the huge menu of offerings below shows, the Fantasia fest has expanded far beyond merely showcasing the cinema fantastique of Asia into covering independent genre films from all over the globe, with a healthy dose of the experimental and weird. Simply put, Fantasia has become the most important event on the North American continent for outre cinema.

  • L’Amour Braque [AKA Limpit Love] – Rare screening of the strange 1985 heist film that’s also an adaptation of Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot”; 72-year old director  will attend in person. In French only, July 28.
  • Animals – This Catalan cross between Donnie Darko and Ted involves a disturbed teen and his talking teddy bear. July 19 & 27.
  • Antisocial – Tale of teens trapped in a house while the apocalypse rages outside sounds somewhat familiar but apparently it has worthwhile hallucination scenes. July 31 & Aug 5.
  • Bad Film –  shot this early gangster film (featuring a ramen vendor in a weird mask) in 1995, but we gather its only been edited and released recently (this screening will be the Canadian premier). Aug. 7.
  • La Belladone de la tristesse [AKA The Tragedy of Belladonna; Belladonna of Sadness] – Another rare screening: a 1973 Japanese psychedelic/erotic animated film about medieval witchcraft in Europe. In French only, July 25.
  • The Burning Buddha Man – A high school girl searches for the supernatural thieves of sacred Buddhist statues; done in a traditional Japanese cutout paper technique, the stills make it look a bit like Fantastic Planet. July 22.
  • Bushido Man – A martial arts student goes on a quest to defeat the legendary masters of seven different weapons, and provides a detailed report on the meal his opponent ate before each battle. July 27.
  • “Death of a Shadow” – The Academy Award nominated short film about a man who captures shadows of the dying with a special camera. Screening July 30 in a program with eight other shorts.
  • The Demon’s Rook – The programmers really want to sell us on this demonic homage, calling it “RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD by way of Jodorowsky” and “a wonderfully weird film.” July 27.
  • Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo – North American premier of the third of four movies in ‘s reboot of his apocalyptic giant robot Evangelion series. July 20.
  • Fateful Findings – This drama about a paranormal anti-corporate hacker is the headliner for the Festival’s La Nuit Excentrique (loosely translated, “so-bad-it’s-good”), along with shorts and a B-feature of 1958’s Terror from the Year 5000. July 20.
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  • Go Down Death – Stories of a town full of captive soldiers, blind prostitutes and child gravediggers, adapted from the works of fictional amputee poet Jonathan Mallory Sinus; there’s a definite influence at work here. Aug 5.
  • Les Gouffres – Unsettling magical realism dealing with the discovery of five mysterious chasms in a forest; preceded by a vampire-themed short from the same director (France’s Antoine Barraud). July 24.
  • HK/Forbidden Super Hero – Japanese parody about “the Masked Pervert,” a superhero who gains his powers by pulling a pair of panties over his face. Aug 3.
  • I Am Divine – A documentary on the world’s favorite 300-pound copraphagiac transvestite, Harris Glenn Milstead, better known as . July 20 & 30.
  • Imaginaerum – An adaptation of the Nightwish album of the same name, this symphonic metal musical is about a composer who retreats into a fantasy world as he lies dying. Aug. 4.
  • It’s Me, It’s Me – On a whim, a timid Japanese clerk poses as another man and unexpectedly transforms into him; then, a doppelgänger shows up, complicating matters. July 20.
  • Magic Magic – A young woman vacationing with friends in Chile loses her mind as insomnia takes over her life. July 22.
  • “Ovo” – We scooped the Fest on this sci-fi short, as we’ve had it up since June.  You could see it on the big screen as part of a program of shorts on July 26, if you wanted.
  • OXV: The Manual – A romance between two youngsters in parallel dimensions, whose differing “frequencies” allow them to spend only one minute per year together. July 24 & 27.
  • Plus One – Another doppelgänger comedy—this time, teens find their doubles crashing their wild party. Aug. 2 & 6.
  • Return to Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1 – This reboot of ‘s campy sex-and-gore mutant series looks exactly the same as it did in its 80s run, except with more frontal nudity. Volume 2 shows up in 2014. Aug. 2.
  • Ritual: A Psychomagic Story – An abused woman uses an unusual therapy to heal herself: psychomagic, the mythological-symbolism-based therapy invented by . Jodorowsky himself appears. July 31.
  • Sweetwater [AKA Sweet Vengeance] – A reformed prostitute, a crazed preacher and a strange sheriff wage a power struggle in a Western the programmers describe as “eccentric” and “deadpan cartoonish.” July 21.
  • Szamanka – This 1996 return to form for Andrzej Zulawski involves sex, drugs, cannibalism, and nuclear apocalypse. The director will be present to receive a lifetime achievement award. July 25.
  • Uzumasa Jacopetti – A family man intent on building a levitating house out of magnets is lured into a world of murder in this absurd Japanese black comedy. July 24 & 26.

Fantasia International Film Festival official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Evil Dead (2013): Five friends staying at a cabin accidentally release powerful supernatural forces, etc. This is the second remake of 1981’s Evil Dead, and since we Certified the first remake (Evil Dead 2) as weird, so we may be compelled to cover this. Buy Evil Dead.

Iron Doors (2010): A man wakes up to find himself locked in an iron vault with no apparent means of escape. Despite the minimalist one-character plot, this German-made English language movie was originally filmed in 3D. Buy Iron Doors.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Evil Dead (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Evil Dead [Blu-ray].

Heavy Traffic (1973): An underground cartoonist escapes the madness of Manhattan through his drawings. Ralph Bakshi’s second animated feature after the X-rated Fritz the Cat. Buy Heavy Traffic [Blu-ray].

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

Alfred Eaker's Fringe Cinema, List Candidates

SPIDER BABY, OR THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD (1968)

Spider Baby has been promoted onto the List of the 366 Best Weird Movies. Comments are closed on this post; please see the official Certified Weird entry.

When a film opens up with a raspy-voiced  ardently singing the title song, it almost comes with a guarantee of a weird trip ahead. Spider Baby (1964) does not disappoint.

Some commentators have likened Spider Baby to Eraserhead (1977), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 ), or TV’s “the Addams Family,” while others have erroneously categorized it as “surreal.” If we have to give comparisons, we might find it to be the most idiosyncratic film in the “Old Dark House” genre (and yes, that includes Rocky Horror Picture Show). Still, even that is not adequate. Spider Baby is a maverick that defies all labels.

Writer/director ‘s credits include ‘s unfortunate Z-grade Mexican horror films House of Evil (1968), Fear Chamber (1968), Isle of the Snake People (1971), Alien Terror (1971); the women-in-prison jigglefests The Big Doll House (1971) and The Big Bird Cage (1972); the Pam Grier blaxploitation vehicle Foxy Brown (1974); and Switchblade Sisters (1975-the title says it all). All of these are lucid examples of trash cinema; Spider Baby is a one-of-a-kind inbred sibling to the lot.

The casting of  Lon Chaney, Jr. is, for once, near ideal. 1930s horror icons Karloff and  each had an air of European mystery in their screen personas. 1940s horror second banana “sort of” horror icon Chaney, Jr was pure American white trash. When Universal tried to cast Chaney in the Karloff/Lugosi Euro mold, the results often ranged from laughable to cringe-inducing.

Chaney, Jr was, of course, unfavorably compared to his father and has received a lot of bad raps from critics past and present. Most of those raps are well deserved, but it was not his legendary father who proved to be the ultimate detriment to his career. It was Chaney Jr.’s role as Lennie in Lewis Milestone’s Of Mice and Men (1939) that rendered an insurmountable yardstick performance. Chaney could never equal his Lennie, much in the same way that Lugosi could never live up to Dracula (1931).

Unfortunately, off-screen Chaney proved to be considerably more brutish than Steinbeck’s gentle giant, which helped seal his inevitable career failure. Other factors in his decline included alcoholism, drug abuse, typecasting, trying to live up to his father’s image, and (reportedly) self-loathing regarding his latent homosexuality.

Executives at Universal didn’t help. After the success of Man Made Monster (1941) and The Wolf Man (1941) Universal cast Chaney Jr. as their new horror star. Somehow the studio was oblivious to Chaney’s strengths and weaknesses. Astonishingly they cast the hulking, phlegmatic actor as a grand guignol romantic lead with a Clark Gable-like mustache in the Inner Sanctum films. Son of Dracula (1943) was an even worse case of miscasting with Chaney as the Transylvanian count who must have been living off an excessively high-calorie blood intake.

Few of Chaney’s 200 plus films are of merit, but he did have a handful of good character parts in films which knew how to use him. Spider Baby is among those, featuring his last performance of note. Chaney liked the script so much that he made an extra effort to lay off the sauce, much to Hill’s relief.

There is a touch of pathos in Chaney’s performance as the caretaker. He is close to  territory here, seeing this misfit ensemble not as inbred cannibal freaks, but as family. Spider Baby is a far better way to remember Chaney than his actual last performances: Al Adamson’s equally trashy but dreadful 1971 duo Female Bunch and Dracula vs. Frankenstein (both of which try hard to make Ed Wood look sophisticated).

Chaney is helped tremendously by his co-stars, which include  as a bald, deformed version of Carroll Bakker’s thumb-sucking Baby Doll (1956), Carol Ohmart as a well-worn, Z-grade Marilyn Monroe bitch of an aunt, and Jill Banner and Beverly Washburn as psychotic sisters.

Still from Spider Baby (1968)The Merrye family is dying out, due to inbreeding and a “rotting of the brain.” Bruno (Chaney) is the family chauffeur who acts as their guardian. While Bruno is taking Ralph (Haig, perfectly embodying his character) to the doctor, Elizabeth (Washburn) plays “itsy-bitsy spider” with the mailman (veteran African American character actor Mantan Moreland). Ralph crawls out of the limo like a serpentine chihuahua. Torment floods Bruno’s eyes upon seeing what is left of the unfortunate courier. Virginia (Banner), doing her best Baby Jane Hudson imitation, cannot wait “to tell.” “It’s not nice to hate,” Bruno reminds the family, but it turns out this was simply a case of killing the bad news messenger; the message being news that heir aunt Aunt Emily (Ohmart) will be arriving this very day to throw out the lot of them. Emily brings with her the goofy but amiable protagonist Peter (Quinn Redeker). There is even a slimy caricature of a lawyer who might pass for a cross between Adolf Hitler and ‘ father.

The Merrye house has a personality all its own, complete with rickety, ominous elevator shafts and a basement of dreaded family secrets. Alfred Taylor’s cinematography is an enormous asset, nearly masking the film’s meager budget. A perverted veggie “Last Supper” and a “don’t you dare do go there” consummation (which is, thankfully, subdued) are scenes that burn themselves into the memory.

Hill, for once not working on commission, conceived  his child as a labor of love, and his attitude infected cast and crew. As bizarre as the script and direction is, it is an inspired cast that sells it. Dismemberment, incest, cannibalism and the budding sexuality of serial killers are all carried out with inexplicable charm. Still, even with fine work by all, it is Chaney who is the twinkle in the eye of the film’s hurricane.

Definitely a contender for the List.

Canonically Weird (The List)

149. REPO MAN (1984)

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“Exec-produced by an ex-Monkee (Michael Nesmith) and directed by a onetime Oxford law student, ‘Repo Man’ was destined for weirdness.”–“Entertainment Weekly” in their 2003 list naming Repo Man one of the top 10 cult films of all time

Recommended

DIRECTED BY:

FEATURING: Emilio Estevez, , , Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Zander Schloss, Fox Harris

PLOT: A scientist drives a Chevy Malibu through the desert with a mysterious cargo in his trunk that vaporizes people who try to look at it. Meanwhile, in southern California, young punk Otto, desperate for money, takes a job repossessing unpaid vehicles as a “repo man.” The two plotlines collide when the repo men discover a $20,000 bounty on the car, and the race is on between Otto and his pals, government agents, and rival repo men to repossess the vehicle, along with whatever resides in its trunk.

Still from Repo Man (1984)
BACKGROUND:

  • Thinking it might make for an interesting story, writer/director Alex Cox rode with a repo man before conceiving this script.
  • Former Monkee Michael Nesmith was executive producer of the film.
  • Both Harry Dean Stanton and Alex Cox have both reported that they squabbled with each other through the film; in one incident, Stanton insisted on using a real baseball bat rather than a prop and almost struck a fellow actor. Some fans have speculated that some of Stanton’s scenes were rewritten and given to Sy Richardson due to this tension.
  • In the originally planned ending, Los Angeles was vaporized in a mushroom cloud; executives at Universal Pictures vetoed the idea. Another proposed ending had Otto becoming a revolutionary in Latin America.
  • Initially, Repo Man was shown in theaters for only a week, but when its punk soundtrack sold tens of thousands of copies the studio reconsidered and decided to give it a slightly expanded release. Still, far more fans came to the film via home video than caught it on the big screen.
  • The version of the film shown on television included several scenes that didn’t make it into the theatrical release. (This “TV cut” is included as an extra on the Criterion Collection release).
  • Cox wrote a script for a sequel to Repo Man that was never produced; in 2008 it was adapted into a graphic novel titled “Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday.”
  • Over Universal’s objections (they owned sequel rights), in 2009 Cox made a poorly-received, low budget green-screen “spiritual sequel” to Repo Man called Repo Chick.

INDELIBLE IMAGE: Repo Man is a film that’s better known for its dialogue than its imagery, but we’ll go with the vision of someone vaporizing when he opens the Chevy Malibu trunk, leaving behind a smoldering pair of boots (this scene happens more than once in the film). It’s one of Repo Man‘s few forays into cheesy special effects, but like every other seemingly inconsistent stylistic element of the movie, it feels right for this material, fitting into this consistently erratic and bizarre nightmare version of L.A.

WHAT MAKES IT WEIRD: Repo Man‘s weirdness is subtle, but unmistakable to the connoisseur. Consider the question: what genre is this movie? Is it sci-fi, social satire, a punk testament, or just a smart B-movie goof? And what to make of the movie’s interest in UFOs, conspiracies and fringe theories, the “lattice of coincidence” and Miller’s observation that “you know the way everybody’s into weirdness right now…. Bermuda triangles, UFOs, how the Mayans invented television?” If weirdness can be defined as that which reminds you of no other, than Repo Man is genuinely weird—and genuinely great.


Original trailer for Repo Man

COMMENTS: It may be hard for young folks to believe, but there was a time when Emilio Estevez was more than just Charlie Sheen’s mortified Continue reading 149. REPO MAN (1984) →

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