A 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 (WIDE RELEASE):

The Rum Diary (2011):  Bruce Robinson‘s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel about the boozy adventures of hard-drinking expatriate journalists in Puerto Rico in the 1960s.  We’re not expecting it to be anywhere near as hallucinatory as Fear and Loathing, but there is a wealth of talent involved and Johnny Depp looks like he will be doing his spot-on Thompson impression all over again.  The Rum Diary official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Island of Lost Souls (1932):  A classic early horror talkie based on H.G. Wells’ novella “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” the story involves a mad doctor who is bringing human intelligence (and bipedalism) to animals on a deserted island.  Charles Laughton stars as the deranged Moreau and Bela Lugosi has one of his better roles as the bestial “Sayer of the Law.”  An unusual but very welcome Halloween choice by the Criterion Collection. Buy Island of Lost Souls (Criterion Collection).

Nine Nation Animation (2010): Nine short films (with a tenth “bonus” short), with each selection coming from a different country.  As the trailer illustrates, there are surrealistic images in a good number of these—dig the vacationing family posing in front of the functioning Panzer tank on family vacation and the strange birds being dragged into the sea by tentacles. Buy Nine Nation Animation.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010): Santa Claus is kidnapped and held for ransom, but the kidnappers didn’t reckon on his cadre of killer elves in this Finnish production that has “cult movie” written all over it.  We missed this last holiday season, but this year we’re considering indulging our inner Scrooge with this humbug.  Buy Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

A Serbian Film (2010): A down on his luck Serbian ex-porn star is lured back into the business with the promise of a big payday, but is not told what he will have to do to earn it.  Many have suggested this is one of the most depraved movies ever made, with a finale that would make the Marquis de Sade cringe.  WARNING: the commercially available version censors the key scenes (however, if you’re one of many who “enjoyed” the uncut version for free, you might consider sending a few dollars to the people who made the film).  Buy A Serbian Film [cut].

Starlight & Superfish (2010): An atheist finds himself a ghost in his apartment, now occupied by an evangelical Christian woman; a glam rock band serves as his guide to the afterlife, singing clues to lessons he must learn to avoid an eternity of perdition.  This comedy didn’t even play the usual festivals and thus flew well under our (and everyone else’s) radars, but the synopsis is intriguing. Buy Starlight & Superfish.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Destroy All Monsters (1968):  Ishiro Honda’s nutty kaiju romp, which sees Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and pals all go on plywood-city smashing sprees at the same time, is a tons of fun.  This Tokyo Shock Blu-ray was so awaited by Japanese monster fans that it went out of stock within a few days of release . Buy Destroy All Monsters [Blu-ray].

Island of Lost Souls (1932): See description in DVD above.  Buy Island of Lost Souls [The Criterion Collection Blu-ray].

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010):  See description in DVD above.  This package includes a DVD copy of the film as well. Buy Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Blu-Ray + DVD).

A Serbian Film (2010): See description in DVD above. Buy A Serbian Film [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIE OF THE WEEK ON YOUTUBE:

White Zombie (1932):  Maybe it’s just us, but when Halloween rolls around, we like to go old school for our scares, and there’s little out there creakier than this Bela Lugosi outing featuring “real” (i.e. Haitian) zombies.  Read our capsule review if you’re on the fence.  Watch White Zombie free on YouTube.

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.