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Audio only link (Soundcloud download)
Quick links/Discussed in this episode:
“Fantasia Festival 2023”: Discussion begins – Jacob Klemmer isolated interview. Long-time readers know how we revere this particular festival (we’re in our eight year of coverage). As its name suggests, Fant-Asia began by specializing fantasy films from Asia, but has since expanded to cover all types of genre filmmaking from around the world, including the more accessible experimental and would-be-cult films. Here are just a few of the top features Giles Edwards will be looking into at this year’s Fantasia, which begins on July 20 in beautiful Montreal:
- Apocalypse Clown – Four Irish clowns roam the countryside attempting to entertain the populace after a catastrophe
- Booger – A woman begins turning into a cat after being bitten by a cat.
- Divinity – A black and white midnight movie about an immortality drug; programmers raise expectations by comparing it to Eraserhead and Tetsuo: The Iron Man.
- Hundreds of Beavers – A silent (or at least, dialogue-free) comedy about fur trappers in the Northwoods, featuring (hundreds of?) beavers played by actors in furry costumes; from the team who brought you Lake Michigan Monster
- Mutant Aliens – Bill Plympton‘s latest Plymptoon is about mutant aliens
- River – Time-traveling followup to the 2021 Japanese microbudget hit Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, taking the same concept in a new direction
- Vincent Must Die – Vincent is inexplicably attacked by random strangers.
Fantasia International Film Festival home page.
After Hours (1985): Discussion begins. Read the Canonically Weird entry! The Criterion Collection puts Martin Scorsese‘s nocturnal black comedy on Blu-ray (or 4K UHD, sold separately). Buy After Hours.
Ash (202?): Discussion begins. We’ve been keeping tabs on Flying Lotus’ extraterrestrial sci-fi feature for a while; very little is known about it (including plot or production status), but some new stills have been released and interviews granted. Entertainment Weekly tells us what they have gleaned about Ash.
Beau Is Afraid (2023): Discussion begins. Read Gregory J. Smalley’s Apocrypha Candidate review. Ari Aster‘s Joaquin Phoenix-led surreal anxiety comedy joins the Blu-ray/DVD ranks this week. Buy Beau Is Afraid.
Cube (2021): Discussion begins. A Japanese version of the Canonically Weird classic; the trailer makes it look like a beat-for-beat remake. On Blu-ray. Buy Cube.
Open (est. Nov. 2023): Discussion begins. A New Wave musical with Rocky Horror/Scott Pilgrim intentions. Scheduled to play theaters in November 2023. My Bloody Reviews reprints the press release.
Spider-Baby (202?): Discussion begins. A remake of the Canonically Weird 1967 cult film has wrapped principal photography. Beverly Washburn is back from the original, and Jack Hill is executive producer (so hopefully, they can’t screw up the legacy). Movieweb has some more details.
Spoonful of Sugar (2022): Discussion begins. This movie suggests that an LSD-addled babysitter may be the wrong choice to watch your special needs child. In theaters somewhere, but you’re more likely to find it on VOD or Shudder. It hits Blu-ray next week.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
On next week’s Pod 366, we expect to have microbudget director Sujewa Ekanayake and a co-host to be named later.
In written reviews, we’ll actually preview one of those Fantasia films as El Rob Hubbard catches Hundreds of Beavers (see above); Shane Wilson tackles another that Came from the Reader-Suggested Queue with the controversial documentary Vakvagany (2002); Gregory J. Smalley takes a Spoonful of Sugar (also see above); and, by the end of the week, there’s a strong possibility that Fantasia reports will start to trickle in from Giles Edwards. Onward and weirdward!