A 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):
Damsels in Distress: Comedy/satire about a clique of women at a chic East Coast university who make it a point to “improve” the lives of their fellow students, sometimes through musical numbers. From Whit Stillman (Metropolitan), whose previous work was urbane and clever but defiantly unweird; the press release, however, describes this departure as “distinctly offbeat, even manic,” “often-surreal,” and “delightfully weird.” Damsels in Distress official site.
Keyhole: The latest Guy Maddin film stars Jason Patric as Ulysses, a gangster on the run, journeying through his labyrinthine house trying to find his wife (Isabella Rossellini). Is it possible for Maddin to make a movie that doesn’t make the List? We’ll see… Debuting this week in New York City at the IFC center, with about two dozen screenings and one-week engagements to follow across the country through the spring. Keyhole official site.
Your Brother. Remember?: Zachary Oberzan won the 2010 Weridcademy Award as Weirdest Actor for his role as everyone in his one-man, apartment-based recreation of the original novel on which Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo was based. His follow up project is an experimental personal documentary that sees him returning home to recreate another movie, this time Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Kickboxer, with his brother “Gator” (now an ex-con and drug addict)—just as they did in their teens. Playing at the ReRun Gastropub in New York City, and unlikely to play anywhere else. Your Brother. Remember? at the ReRun Gastropub.
NEW ON DVD:
The Double Hour (2009): A lovelorn cop romances an immigrant and things turn (possibly) weird in this psychological thriller from Italy that nabbed best actor, actress and Italian film awards at the Venice Film Festival. It’s described as full of twists, and although everyone is tight-lipped about the plot, it was favorably compared to some great weird psychological thrillers like Jacob’s Ladder and Mulholland Drive, alongside more conventional titles like Diabolique and Hitchcock movies. Buy The Double Hour
Enter Nowhere (2011): Psychological thriller about three people who wind up at a mysterious cabin they can’t escape and find that they all have a secret in common. The few reviews are all over the place in but comparisons to “The Twilight Zone” and “Lost” are common. Buy Enter Nowhere
Hellacious Acres: The Case of John Glass (2011): A minimalist post-apocalyptic comedy about a man who wakes from a cryogenic slumber to discover the world has been devastated by nuclear war, followed by an alien invasion. Directed by Pat Tremblay, whose still unreleased first film Heads of Control is one of the most unrepentantly weird debuts we’ve ever seen, and who’s given us a top 10 weird movies list to further prove he fits in around here. Buy Hellacious Acres: The Case of John Glass
The Midnight Disease (2010): A novelist with writer’s block finds a zombie-like woman to draft his latest potboiler—but to keep her banging away at the keyboard he has to supply her with fresh blood. We’re not 100% sure how weird this will be, but we mention it because having faced a few deadlines ourselves, having a zombie film reviewer on staff is a fantasy of ours. Buy The Midnight Disease
The Miracle of Marcelino (1955): An orphan boy raised by monks feeds some bread to a “friend” he finds hanging on the wall in the attic and is granted a wish. It’s intended to be magical and heartwarming, yet some who saw it as children report being traumatized by the talking crucifix. Buy Miracle of Marcelino
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
The Miracle of Marcelino (1955): See description in DVD above. Buy The Miracle of Marcelino [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
The Pinocchio Effect (2010?): Absurd British green-screen sex comedy about a man whose member grows when he lies. The trailer shows a crucified man with electrodes hooked to his nipples and a head speaking from out of a jockstrap, and the comments section is full of “WTF!!!”s–so some of you may be interested in sampling this. Give us a full report if you do. Watch The Pinocchio Effect free 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.