A look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…
It’s a very weak week for weirdness. Nothing very unusual debuting in theaters, and the video pickings are slim, so we dug a bit deeper for some strange viewing suggestions.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Abelcain (2011): We caught this title listed as “in development” when researching Santa Sangre: a new Alejandro Jodorowsky film! For years, even before Santa Sangre, Jodorowsky has been looking for financing for a new project (often referred to as Sons of El Topo). Parallel Media (Autopsy) is involved in the production, which means there is funding, at least. Plot synopsis: “Upon the death of their mother, Abel and Cain embark on a journey to bury her holy body next to their father’s grave on a forbidden paradise island. But the island’s treasures attract numerous kidnappers with different plans.” Just because it’s in development doesn’t mean the film will ever be completed, but there is reason to hope. Abelcain announcement at Parallel Media.
Heartsnatcher (2012): Per Quiet Earth (an excellent website focusing on post-apocalyptic movies that supplied us with a number of weird leads this week), Hungarian surrealist Pater Sparrow will be adapting the Boris Vian novel about an isolated island society with bizarre customs. Read the scoop at Quiet Earth.
NEW ON DVD:
Evangelion: 1.11 You Are Not Alone (2007): “Neon Genesis Evangelion” is a large anime franchise centering around teenagers piloting giant robots to fight off mysterious beings called Angels bent on destroying the world. As far as we can make out, the original 26 episode television show spawned a feature film, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Then came the feature The End of Evangelion, which created an alternate ending to the TV series and is reportedly a film of interest to weird folk. This movie, however, is part of a new “rebuild” series to consist of four films; to make things more confusing, this release is an update of the first film in that series (titled Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone) with new scenes and visual enhancements. An upgrade to the rebuild? As if that wasn’t bad enough, I’m gathering that this is the second “upgrade” of the first film (the first being version 1.01). Surely, fans who are interested in this will know what’s going on with all the different versions and where this release fits in. Buy Evangelion: 1.11 You Are Not Alone.
Stingray Sam (2009): From Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) comes this futuristic musical comedy about a lounge singer from Mars who teams up with the Quasar Kid to rescue a little kidnapped girl. We just ran across this, but festival reviews were almost universally positive. Variety characterizes it as “‘The Searchers'” meets “‘Eraserhead'” and says it “leaves one begging for more.” Still screening at festivals, but it’s also available for download or DVD purchase from McAbee’s site. Stingray Sam official site .
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Evangelion: 1.11 You Are Not Alone (2007): See entry in DVD above. Buy Evangelion: 1.11 You Are Not Alone [Blu-ray]
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.