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):
Viktoria (2014): A baby born without a navel in 1979 Bulgaria connects with her estranged mother after the fall of Communism. There may be some sort of political allegory at play here. Viktoria official site.
SCREENINGS – (IFC Center, New York City, Apr 29-30):
House [Hausu] (1977): Read the Certified Weird review! Who wouldn’t want to see this Japanese pop-surrealist haunted house movie—inspired by the fantasies of the director’s eleven-year old daughter and featuring a schoolgirl-eating piano among its many absurd horrors—on the big screen at midnight? House at IFC center.
IN DEVELOPMENT – STREAMING SERVICES:
Filmstruck.com: Normally, the launch of yet another streaming service is not something we’d get jazzed about, but this one is getting significant buzz, and promises to be the exclusive online home for many of our Certified Weird films (in fact, clips from eight of them dominate the sixty-second trailer). Yes, the Criterion Collection is moving its streaming digs from Hulu to this new startup, where they will team up with Turner Classic Movies. While everyone out there seems to be prematurely cinemagasming, many questions remain to be answered. Since the Collection is already (mostly) online, what exactly will TCM be throwing in from its library? (Every specific film example they site in the press release is a Criterion release). Also, there may actually be fewer films available at one time than the current Hulu set up. The press release refers to “a broad, constantly changing cross-section of Criterion titles,” which suggests a Mubi-style platform with a limited selection that rotates monthly. There is mention of a (separate?) “Criterion Channel” (extra charge)? And ominously, the price point remains yet to be determined. Don’t let that dim your enthusiasm (yet), but if it sounds too good to be true… Filmstruck official site (pre-launch).
NEW ON DVD:
That’s Sexploitation! (2013): Frank Henenlotter co-curates and co-hosts two-plus hours of naughty, sometimes bizarre sleaze from the golden age of pre-hardcore pornography, much of it rarities from the “Something Weird” label’s vaults. Something Weird founder/That’s Sexploitation! producer Mike Vraney and co-host/legendary B-movie producer David F. Friedman have both passed away since this doc wrapped. Buy That’s Sexploitation!
What? (1972): Read our conflicted List Candidate review. This Severin Films release may give us a reason to re-evaluate Roman Polanski‘s erotic Alice-in-Wonderland folly. Buy What?
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
That’s Sexploitation! (2013): See description in DVD above. The 3+ hours of bonus material, including rare sleaze shorts, all fits on one Blu-ray. Buy That’s Sexploitation! [Blu-ray]
What? (1972): See description in DVD above. Both the DVD and the Blu come with a set of interviews, including one with Sydne Rome. Buy What? [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) WEBSERIES ON YOUTUBE:
“The Mephisto Box Episode 1: Jail Bait”: A seedy Anton La Vey clone introduces every episode of this new Kelly Hughes webseries with the phrase, “dear Children of the Beast”; in this first episode, a psychiatrist gets dunk and high with his employer’s young hot-to-trot daughter, which predictably turns out to be a poor decision. There’s some PG-13 blood, intoxication and disrespectful language in this episode; a disclaimer warns, “please view with caution if you are easily triggered by scenes of drug use, bloody violence, or Satanic violation. These will only grow more intense as the story progresses.” “The Mephisto Box” series on YouTube.
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.