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Quick links/Discussed in this episode:
The Actor (2025): An actor has amnesia in the 1950s. Charlie Kaufman, who co-directed Anomalisa with Actor director/co-writer Duke Johnson, is a producer. The Actor official site.
El (1953): The Luis Buñuel melodrama about a love triangle between a young beau, a beautiful woman, and her jealous older husband gets a restoration and theatrical rerelease from Janus Films (which means a Criterion Collection disc will soon follow). Buñuel’s 1950s Mexican films tend to have less surrealism than his early or late periods, but are still of interest. El at Janus Films.
The Golden Fern (1963): A black and white folktale about a soldier who finds a magical fern and a love triangle between him, a fairy, and a general’s daughter. Deaf Crocodile’s promotional material describes it as in the vein of The Saragossa Manuscript and Cocteau‘s Beauty and the Beast, and it was lensed by the cinematographer who would go on to shoot Marketa Lazarova. Buy The Golden Fern.
The Hungry Snake Woman (1968): The Snake Queen promises an ambitious young man riches and turns him into Dracula (?), and then the Snake Woman (a different entity than the Snake Queen) offers him a way out of the deal if he can stab the Snake Queen with a magic pin during sex. World Blu-ray premiere of this Indonesian B-movie distributor Mondo Macabro describes as “one of the wildest and craziest Indonesian horror films ever made.” Buy The Hungry Snake Woman.
“Inside The Mind Of Coffin Joe”: Read Gregory J. Smalley’s box set overview and watch our Coffin Joe interview with Ian Jane. This box set contains Coffin Joe’s complete feature film output plus a few more distantly related José Mojica Marins horrors; ironically, this standard edition is probably superior to last year’s limited edition release, since Arrow has fixed an issue with dropped subtitles on one of the discs. Buy “Inside The Mind Of Coffin Joe”.
Kin-Dza-Dza! (1986): Read the Canonically Weird review! This is not a new release from Deaf Crocodile, but one of a series of reissues that improve readability of the labels and a supply a sturdier Scanavo case. Buy Kin-Dza-Dza!.
The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981): Read the Apocryphally Weird review! Like Kin-Dza-Dza (above), this re-release contains redesigned packaging, but is otherwise identical to last year’s Blu-ray. Buy The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians.
The Outcasts (1982): An Irish peasant woman is accused of witchcraft after consorting with a mystical fiddler in the woods. Previously unreleased on home video in the US, this Irish folk horror from the writer of Blood on Satan’s Claw is described as poetic and surreal. Buy The Outcasts.
Prague Nights (1969): Read El Rob Hubbard’s review. Another Deaf Crocodile redesign/upgrade. Buy Prague Nights.
Rats! (2024): Read Giles Edwards’ festival capsule. Gonzo comedy about a teenage graffiti artist relocated to a neighborhood of “perverts” comes to VOD (at a reasonable price point, too). Buy or rent Rats!.
Zerograd (1989): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s Apocrypha Candidate review. This particular reissue may not improve the packaging like the others, but is on offer because the original limited run sold out. Buy Zerograd.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
Next week, Street Trash (2024) director Ryan Kruger and star Cameron Mitchell join Greg and Giles on the pod (and we’ll also round-up the week’s weird news and releases). In written reviews, Shane Wilson freaks out over the bad taste comedy Live Freaky! Die Freaky! (2006), Enar Clarke tempts fate with the surreal rarity Fata Morgana (1966), Giles Edwards inhales some starfish-secreted drugs and takes a look at a Lowlife (2012); and watches the Japanese movie that explores his two favorite pastimes, Love & Crime (1969). Onward and weirdward!