WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 3/18/2022

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Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

FILM FESTIVALS – BOSTON UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL (Boston, MA, 3/23-3/27):

A bit under-the-radar, the Boston Underground Film Festival nevertheless lands some interesting titles every year. Besides pics that played Sundance and other fests—the Rwandan sc-fi musical Neptune Frost and the Finnish giant egg horror Hatching—we noticed one that had somehow escaped our notice previously:

  • Lux Aeterna and are two actresses in a witch trial movie, and everything goes wrong in a psychedelic way typical of director . (NOTE: a strobe light epilepsy warning applies to the film, and to some extent to the trailer below).

Boston Underground Film Festival official home page.

IN DEVELOPMENT (Crowdfunding):

Comfort Zone (202?): A drug and sex addict receives a phone call from someone he thinks is dead, and then starts hallucinating. The creators says the idea is “born from our love of all things strange and surreal” and explicitly promise it will be “weird.” They’re seeking $45,000, with the usual suite of inducements. Comfort Zone at Indiegogo.

STREAMING DEBUTS (NETFLIX):

Adam by Eve: A Live In Animation (2022): A “dreamlike” movie (or feature length music video?) inspired by the story of Adam and Eve. Made by Eve, a mysterious (male) Japanese pop star who does not like to be photographed, the movie mixes anime and live-action to impressive effect. Watch Adam by Eve: A Live In Animation on Netflix.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

12 Monkeys (1995): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Universal released the rights to Arrow Video to make temporary limited edition editions of ‘s time-traveling classic; apparently that deal has expired, and the studio is re-releasing their own Blu-ray (which wasn’t bad). Buy 12 Monkeys.

Brazil (1985): Read the Canonically Weird entry! As has happened several times before, the rights to Brazil have reverted from the Criterion Collection back to Universal, who has issued a new Blu-ray. If you’re not interested in Criterion’s exclusive extras, the silver lining is you can save a few bucks with this one. Buy Brazil.

Death Race 2050 (2017): Read our review. Previously available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, ‘s budget-conscious sequel to his 1975 cult classic gets reissued as a solo Blu-ray. Buy Death Race 2050.

Hardgore (1975): A nymphomaniac is sent to a sanitarium that turns out to be a front for Satan worshipers It’s notorious for mixing cheesy gore with hardcore sex, it’s in our reader-suggested queue, and it’s now available in a limited edition (1000 units) Blu-ray. Massacre Video releases aren’t available from retailers and can only be ordered directly from their website.

Mother Schmuckers (2021): Read Giles Edwards’ review. As promised, the scatological Belgian grossout comedy arrives on VOD this week. Buy or rent Mother Schmuckers.

CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time, however.

FREE WEIRD MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Pi (1998): Read the Canonically Weird entry. This grainy b&w mathematical thriller was Darren Aronofsky‘s ambitious debut. It hasn’t been the most widely distributed movie, but now that it’s easy to see, it would be irrational to skip Pi. Watch Pi free on YouTube.

MISCELLANEOUS:

“Missing Movies”: This doesn’t fit anywhere else, but it’s an interesting and worthy project. A group of filmmakers (led by Mary Harron of the upcoming DaliLand biopic) have made it a mission to identify (American) movies that are out-of-print and not on streaming services, which may have either copyright issues or missing prints that prevent wide distribution. Among the movies they identify as “missing” is 366 entry Titus; I’m sure we could collectively think of many more unavailable movies (you can submit suggestions here, but don’t bombard them with trivia). Visit the Missing Movies website.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

We appear to be settling on a consensus for next week’s Weird Watch Party in ‘s Tag, but if you have input (or just want to RSVP), you can join the conversation here.

Our Apocrypha Promotion series is officially over, but you can still vote for the Weirdcademy Awards for another 10 days.

In next week’s reviews, Shane Wilson goes to the reader-suggested queue for the absurdist apocalyptic black comedy The Nine Lives of Thomas Katz (2000). On the new release front, Giles Edwards covers the ian horror Offseason, while Gregory J. Smalley takes on the voluntary euthanasia comedy Moon Manor. Onward and weirdward!

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.

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