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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.
IN THEATERS:
Nothing for the foreseeable future, as all the major movie chains are now shuttered due to the pandemic. Studios are now considering debuting some new releases on video-on-demand. We’ll keep an eye on the trend.
FILM FESTIVALS – Postponements:
Cannes has officially postponed the world’s most prestigious (if not largest or weirdest) film festival. No substitute date has been named, but they are hoping for June or July. Like the Kentucky Derby, Cannes may be too big to cancel altogether. We can only hope. More Cannes news at Deadline.
IN DEVELOPMENT (post-production):
Corona Zombies (as soon as they can rush it out, 2020): Full Moon pictures becomes the first studio to shamelessly exploit the pandemic. They’ve gotten a lot of bad press for the project, which will doubtlessly draw them plenty of eyeballs. As far as we know Horror Society was first to break the news.
Last Night in Soho (fall 2020): Comedy specialist Edgar Wright dips his toes into psychological thriller territory. Lips are tight as to plot, but the film is set in London in the Swinging Sixties and appears to involve time travel. Star Anya Taylor-Joy teases, “It’s a really well-directed acid trip.” Definitely one we’ll keep an eye out for. More of Taylor-Joy’s comments can be found at Indiewire.
IN DEVELOPMENT (completed):
Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream [Ne croyez surtout pas que je hurle ] (2019): An avant-garde documentary where a depressed shut-in filmmaker talks over an assemblage of movies (including a number of B-movies and rare Eurohorrors) as a confessional/self-therapy. Given the current status of the world, the trailer is both timely and eerie. Originally scheduled for an April U.S. debut at Film Forum in NYC; no idea whether it will play as scheduled or not. Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream French site.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999): A teenage prostitute and a teenage serial killer flee to Mexico. The two Freeway movies, directed by Forbidden Zone actor and co-writer Matthew Bright, are an interesting species of exploitation films based on fairy tales (this one takes its cue from “Hansel and Gretel.”) Now on Blu-ray. Buy Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby
The Nines (2007): Read our review. Mill Creek finally brings this thoughtful metaphysical mindbender to Blu-ray, at a shockingly low price that probably won’t last for long. Buy The Nines
A Pure Formality (1994): This psychological thriller sees writer Gérard Depardieu interrogated by detective Roman Polanski over a mysterious murder. In our reader-suggested review queue, and now on DVD, Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, with a commentary track. Buy A Pure Formality
Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss (2018): Black comedy about a couple whose bargain apartment comes with a catch: cultists continually break in to commit suicide in their bathtub. This debuted in theaters a couple of weeks ago and is now available on VOD (as scheduled; it wasn’t moved forward due to the pandemic). Buy or rent Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss
Verotika (2019): A horror anthology sponsored by metalhead Glenn Danzig, inspired by his line of adult horror comics; the title is a portmanteau of “violent” and “erotica.” On VOD since February; now in a 3 disc package with DVD, Blu-ray and soundtrack CD. Buy Verotika
CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
See “In Theaters,” above. We’re not aware of any movie theaters in the U.S. or Canada that are currently open for business.
We’re not going to tell you about all the wonderful movie screenings that were scratched, from fear of making you cry. Let’s say there were a couple of cancellations of upcoming repertory revivals and deep indie debuts that brought water to our eyes. We just pray all the cool stuff will be rescheduled soon and we can report good news in coming weeks.
FREE MOVIES AND BONUS CONTENT FOR ISOLATED WEIRDOS:
“The Cult Show: Jackie Kong”: The director of the canonically weird Blood Diner shows up on a relatively new web series to discuss her work. Kong is charming and enthusiastic, and these days seems to be spending all her waking moments promoting Blood Diner. Good for her! Enjoy.
The Green Fog (2017): Guy Maddin (working with collaborators Evan and Galen Johnson) created The Green Fog on commission from San Francisco Film Society as the closing film of their 2017 festival. In a manner similar to Doggiewogiez! Poochiewoochiez!, but with Maddin’s particular madness, The Green Fog loosely recreates Vertigo using footage from San Francisco-based movies and TV shows. The Green Fog is likely unreleasable commercially due to the huge number of copyright clearances which would have to be obtained. Maddin has put it up on his Vimeo channel for viewing; how long it will stay there is anyone’s guess, so this may be your only chance to check it out. Score by Jacob Garchik, performed by the Kronos Quartet. Watch The Green Fog free on Vimeo.
Plan 10 from Outer Space (1995): Trent Harris (Rubin & Ed) is digitally screening his full-length independent movie on YouTube (see his personal channel for more strange stuff) for free—temporarily—to help us weirder folk endure their social distancing. In fact, we hope to feature a new one from his catalog next week. While low budget, with acting and deliberately corny dialogue that echoes inspiration Ed Wood, Jr., Plan 10 is primarily a satire of Mormonism from the Utah-based filmmaker. Featuring the inimitable Karen Black as Nehor. This link is unlisted and only up for a short time, so please don’t share without permission, and it goes without saying do not copy or download it—if you want a permanent copy, Harris sells them directly from his own website. With that out of the way, enjoy!
https://youtu.be/-xMZ1w2-NBs
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: A wise man once said, “Things are really getting weird out there.” Let’s push out some of the bad-weird with the good-weird. Next week, Giles Edwards gets to the ahead-of-its-time tentacle horror/comedy Sh! The Octopus (1937), while G. Smalley endures the “violent eroti(k)a” of Glenn Danzig’s Verotika (OK, so we may be going back on our promise to focus on the good-weird with this one, but hopefully it will be amusing). You can also continue voting in the Eerie 8 round of our March Mad Madness Tournament until Sunday night (at least one of the four contests is still extremely competitive and may go right up to the deadline). And it’s always possible that we’ll have another announcement to brighten your spirits soon… 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.