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 at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Cemetery of Splendor (2015): A medium helps a woman explore the troubled dreams of a soldier with sleeping sickness in Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s latest mystical drama. Cemetery, which seemed like it would languish on the festival circuit forever, finally gets a limited release in the U.S. Cemetery of Splendor official site.
Knight of Cups (2016): Impressionistic survey of a hedonistic writer searching for meaning in the modern world. There is a growing critical consensus that Terrence Malick is starting to repeat himself, but we are at least eager to see how the director known for photographing the natural world will handle scenes set in a Vegas strip club. Knight of Cups official site.
Mekong Hotel (2012): Speaking of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, here’s a bonus film: a short (about an hour), partially improvised film about a director making a movie about a “vampiric” mother and daughter running a hotel. This was originally supposed to be a feature-length followup to Uncle Boonmee, but ended up as a half-completed experiment instead. Mekong Hotel official site.
SCREENINGS – (Brooklyn, NY, Spectacle Theater, Fri., Mar. 4):
Marquis (1989)/Themroc (1973): Read the Certified Weird entry for Marquis. Two extremely rare French films on offer tonight: at 7:30, Marquis, the biography of de Sade and his talking penis enacted by anthropomorphic puppets; then, Themroc, an anarchist/absurdist spectacle of Michel Piccoli speaking gibberish and living like a Parisian caveman, playing at midnight. Spectacle home page.
SCREENINGS – (Brooklyn, NY, Videology Bar & Theater, Fri. & Sat., Midnight, Mar. 4&5):
Hausu (1977): Read the Certified Weird entry. So if we were in Brooklyn and awake at midnight, we’d head out to Themroc (see above) on Friday night and catch this bizarre 70s Japan-pop haunted house movie on Saturday. Why are Brooklyners so blessed when it comes to weird revival cinema? Hausu at Videology Bar & Cinema.
SCREENINGS – (Manhattan, NY, IFC Center, Fri. & Sat., Midnight, Mar. 4&5):
The Wicker Man (1973): Read the Certified Weird entry. Or, if you’re in NYC but don’t want to take a train out to Brooklyn, you can check out the “Final Cut” of the British pagan horror classic at IFC Center. Introduced by the editors of “Diabolique” magazine, who will be giving away free copies of their latest Christopher Lee tribute issue to attendees. The Wicker Man: The Final Cut at IFC Center.
NEW ON DVD:
The Fear of Darkness (2014): A psychiatrist investigates a college student’s unexplained disappearance. This Australian psychological thriller generally left audiences both nonplussed and unimpressed. Buy The Fear of Darkness
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Dear God, No! (2011): Read El Rob Hubbard’s review. A proud B-movie, where the “B” stands for bikers, bullets, boobs, blood, beer, Bigfoot—and now for Blu-ray. Buy Dear God, No! [Blu-ray]
L’Inhumaine [AKA The Inhuman Woman] (1924): The titular “inhuman woman” runs a Parisian salon where men flock to vie for her affections; melodramatic complications intrude, eventually leading to a “Frankenstein”-style reanimation. This silent is more famous for its magnificent Cubist sets—painter Fernand Léger was one of the four designers—than for its plot. Buy L’Inhumaine [Blu-ray]
FREE MOVIES ON SNAGFILMS:
Gothic (1986): Read the Certified Weird entry! Ken Russell‘s typically excessive and hallucinogenic story about the night Mary Shelly came to conceive of “Frankenstein.” Look into my eyes… Watch Gothic free on SnagFilms.
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.