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):
Argento’s Dracula 3-D (2013): A 3-D version of the Dracula story from revered horror icon Dario Argento. The pre-release bashing of this troubled production has been going on for years, since the first uninspiring teasers were released; let the post-release bashing begin. Dario Argento’s Dracula official Facebook page.
Bad Milo! (2013): Psychotherapy reveals the source of Duncan’s stress: a killer demon named Milo has taken up residence in his lower intestine. Simultaneously available on video on-demand. Bad Milo! official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Kafka (1991) director’s cut: Steven Soderbergh may have “retired” from making new feature films, but he hasn’t retired from making old ones. He’s reworking his own Kafka, his uneven sophomore feature that starred Jeremy Irons as Franz Kafka confronting the Illuminati. Word is it will be a major reworking; new footage was shot at the time he was making Side Effects (2013). Since Kafka has never been out on DVD, we’re looking forward to seeing this new and (hopefully) improved version reaching a larger audience. Read more about the Kafka director’s cut at Indiewire.
CROWDFUNDING:
Dollhouse (est. 2014, if funded): The story of the rise and fall of child star Junie Spoons, told using custom made dolls. Writer/director Nicole Brending promises it will be “psychologically surreal” and contain doll nudity. If there’s also doll twerking, we’d be willing to kick in a buck. Dollhouse on Kickstarter.
NEW ON DVD:
100 Bloody Acres (2012): Two brothers find themselves running low on the corpses they need to make their organic fertilizer, until they find three stranded motorists. This Australian horror-comedy reportedly puts a bloody new spin on familiar ideas, and the Twitch reviewer called it “completely bizarre.” Buy 100 Bloody Acres.
“Movies 4 You – Timeless Horror”: The main attraction here is 1958’s I Bury the Living, a Twilight-Zone style sleeper about a cemetery caretaker who discovers he has the power to make people die by placing a pin in a map of their burial plot. Rounding out the set are the silly The Snake Woman (1961), the British horror-mystery The Four Skulls of Johnathan Drake (1959), and “One Shot” William Beaudine‘s abysmal The Face of Marble (1946). Buy “Movies 4 You – Timeless Horror”.
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012): An impressionistic, experimental, partially-animated portrait of a young artist and his desire for a beautiful woman. Probably the weirdest movie ever “presented by” Jay-Z. Buy An Oversimplification of Her Beauty.
The Room – Audience Reactions Documentary (2013?): According to the ad copy: “will give you a prove what did happen 10 years ago; how audiences reacted to The Room by Tommy Wiseasu with passion and good will; contrary to some media.” C’mon, this has to be a joke—right? Unlike The Room itself, this doc is not yet available on Blu-ray. Buy The Room: Audience Reactions Documentary.
The Wizard of Oz (1939) (75th Anniversary Edition): Read our capsule review. With only one special feature (a new making-of documentary), this 75th Anniversary edition is a downgrade of the 70th Anniversary Two-Disc Special Edition (and, to be fair, at $9.99 it is priced that way). If they keep removing features every five years, though, it’s just going to be a flip-book by the time the 100th Anniversary rolls around. Buy The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Edition.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec [Director’s Cut] (2010): In 1911 Paris, author/adventurer Adèle Blanc-Sec deals with a recently hatched pterodactyl. The Blu-ray “director’s cut” reportedly includes a brief nude scene that was not in the original DVD release. Buy The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec [Director’s Cut] (BluRay/DVD/Digital Copy) [Blu-ray].
The Wizard of Oz (1939) (75th Anniversary Edition): See description in DVD above. Also available in a Blu-ray 3D edition, for those who can play the format. Buy The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray].
NEPOTISM CORNER:
“The Mortal Triptych: Meeting Death in Three Elegiac Horror Films”: Frequent contributor Jesse Miksic wrote an article on approaches to death and grieving in dramatic horror films for berfrois.com; one of his three case studies is the Certified Weird Don’t Look Now. Read the complete article here.
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Attack of the Monsters [AKA Gamera vs. Guiron] (1969): Two hot female aliens kidnap young boys, assisted by their pet monster, the knife-headed Guiron. Fortunately, flying nuclear turtle and friend of all children Gamera is on the case. Probably the most ridiculous of all the Gamera movies, which is saying something.
What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.