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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.
NEW RELEASE (STREAMING):
The Other Lamb (2019): A member of an all-female cult (led by a man, of course) begins having visions which lead her to question the only reality she has ever known. With no theaters open, many releases have been pushed back; distributors not overly anxious to debut their movies on VOD may be forced to do so anyway. Times are tough. Rent The Other Lamb.
FILM FESTIVALS – South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) (Online, April-May):
After floating the idea, South by Southwest has decided to go through with it: they’re holding their film festival (canceled in March) online. Amazon will host it for ten days. Filmmakers will be invited to participate and given compensation, but we don’t know which films will be available or even the exact dates yet (their aiming for April). The good news: it will be free to view. We weren’t extremely excited about this year’s lineup, with the possible exception of St. Vincent’s Nowhere Inn, but there always could be a surprise or two hiding there, and this format will allow all of us to search for those hidden gems together: no credentials or costly badge needed. More details when available; meanwhile, you can read the announcement on SWSX’s homepage.
In addition, all (we think) of the SWSX shorts have been made separately available free online through a partnership between e-mail marketer Mail Chimp and distributor Oscilloscope. If you spot anything cool in there, let us know in the comments. Watch SWSX shorts here.
IN DEVELOPMENT (pre-release):
She’s Allergic to Cats (2016): Read our festival review and listen to our interview. When G. Smalley’s opening line in his interview with the makers of this weird little video art comedy about an L.A. artist trying to recreate Carrie with cats and his improbable romance were: “please get this movie distribution.” Four years later, they finally heeded his advice. It will release on VOD next week, but we’re so excited we wanted to share the trailer with you now. We’ll pass along the rental link next week.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009): Read our review. The Soska Sister’s grindhouse-y, magical realist horror comedy was just re-released on DVD last year; now it’s on Blu-ray. Buy Dead Hooker in a Trunk.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
With everything shut down for the pandemic, a few repertory theaters have opened up “virtual screening rooms.” The Alamo Drafthouse chain, Row House Cinemas, San Francisco’s Roxie, The Frida, The Loft, and AFI Silver are examples. Not ideal, and not that much of a better end-user experience than just watching Netflix or renting something off Amazon, but you will be supporting the theater. Your ticket purchase could—theoretically—be the difference between the venue reopening or declaring bankruptcy when this is all over. We do have one canonically weird online screening to mention:
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
The Voices (2014): Read our review (and ignore the bizarre comments). A serial killer (Ryan Reynolds) has a talking dog and cat who give him conflicting advice. Probably the best new weird arrival on YouTube’s free menu, which seems to be expanding lately in response to the pandemic. Watch The Voices free on YouTube.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: First off, you may notice a new logo, designed by Joe Badon. No offense to our old designer, Ubik Designs, who donated the old graphics at the beginning of his career and has since moved on to better things. We may even break it out again occasionally for nostalgia’s sake, especially if we can figure out how to do one of those “rotating banner” things. Anyway, if you like Joe’s art, more can be found at his Esty shop.
Also, we still have two user polls rolling along. Our poll for the movie to watch for our second Netflix Party closes tonight at midnight; at this time, it looks like April and the Extraordinary World is going to be the pick. The party starts at 9:30 PM EST tomorrow evening; watch this website, Facebook, or Twitter ten minutes before showtime for the link to join. Last time was a lot of fun.
And voting in the finals of our 2020 March Mad Movie Madness Official Apocrypha Candidate Tournament ends on Sunday at midnight. If you’ve been following it, you probably already know who the winner is going to be, although the challenger is giving the favorite a better run than any of the other contestants.
As far as next week’s reviews go, Giles Edwards will recap the sometimes nauseating Spanish capitalism allegory The Platform (the subject of our first Netflix Party). Pete Trbovich will take on the Exorcist rip-off Beyond the Door (1974) (and explains why he prefers it to its model). And G. Smalley is planning a trip into the long-neglected reader-suggested queue for a look at the anthropomorphic marsupial serial killer flick Executive Koala (2005), but reserves the option of substituting something more timely. With everyone stuck at home, we have nothing to do but order takeout, drink whiskey sours, and watch and write about weird movies. 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.
I love the new logo!