WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 3/28/2014

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):

Go Down Death (2013): Stories of a town full of captive soldiers, blind prostitutes and child gravediggers, adapted from the works of fictional amputee poet Jonathan Mallory Sinus; there’s a definite influence at work here. We never expected this film to see any form of distribution, so it’s nice to see it playing for a week at the Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn (Friday and Saturday nights’ midnight showings are even in Smell-O-Vision). Go Down Death official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Phantasm V: Ravager (2014?): After the divisive fourth installment of the Phantasm franchise ended on a cliffhanger, official word has come down that there will be a fifth (and final) entry in the series. According to Bloody Disgusting David Hartman scripts and directs; produces. More at the Phantasm series official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Crave (2012): A disillusioned crime scene photographer retreats into a world of vigilante revenge fantasies. The ad copy spoke of an “inner world of dark fantasies” and “dangerous visions,” but the reviewers spoke of “empty movie-shout-out posturing” and “a misleading, long-winded chore.” Ouch. Buy Crave.

Disco Exorcist (2011): See description in VHS below. This is a VHS/DVD combo pack (!) with two different sets of cover art. Buy Disco Exorcist [VHS/DVD Combo Pack].

“Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XXIX”: Nothing extremely weird in this particular set, but a trip to the Satellite of Love for some B-movie badness is always welcome. Episodes included are Mamie Van Doren running wild in Untamed Youth, the standard sword-and-sandaler Hercules and the Captive Women, the seemingly interminable The Thing That Wouldn’t Die, and the strangest film in the set, the ultra-rare Italian superhero epic Pumaman. Buy “Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XXIX”.

Persona (1966): Read the Certified Weird entry! As opposed to Warner’s indifference to Performance (see below), the Criterion Collection releases their weird Per- title with appropriate respect. This restored version of the film includes the usual suite of interviews, archival footage and extra features (including the full-length documentary Liv & Ingmar) you expect from a Criterion release. Buy Persona [Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD combo].

The Swimmer (1968): Read our review. This dreamlike vehicle adapted from a John Cheever story gets an elaborate special edition courtesy of… Grindhouse Releasing? Yep. Buy The Swimmer [Blu-ray/DVD Combo].

The Truth About Emanuel (2013): Read out capsule review. Yet another in a long line of movies that chose not to use our quote on their box cover (c’mon—I think “‘the movie as a whole feels very slow-developing’–366 Weird Movies” has a nice ring to it). Buy The Truth About Emanuel.

Wonderwall (1968): A professor drills peepholes in his wall to spy on his fashion model neighbor and sees psychedelic visions. This collector’s edition includes the original theatrical version and a re-edited director’s cut with unused footage. Music by George Harrison. Buy Wonderwall.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Performance (1968/1970): Read the Certified Weird entry! Amazon and other outlets list Warner Archive (normally known for DVD-R’s of deep catalog titles) as releasing this classic on Blu-ray on March 25, but as of this writing it is listed as out-of-stock everywhere. Buy Performance [Blu-ray].

Persona (1966): See description in DVD above. Buy Persona [Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD combo].

The Swimmer (1968): See description in DVD above. Buy The Swimmer [Blu-ray/DVD Combo].

The Truth About Emanuel (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy The Truth About Emanuel [Blu-ray].

Wonderwall (1968): See description in DVD above. Buy Wonderwall [Blu-ray].

NEW ON VHS:

Disco Exorcist (2011): A Seventies swinger is cursed when he spurns a voodoo priestess. Releasing this throwback movie in an inferior format at a higher price is either a stroke of marketing genius, or idiocy. If it’s a clamshell case, though, I’ll take one. Buy Disco Exorcist [VHS].

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.

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