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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.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Black Easter (2021): A team of whiz-kids accidentally create time-travel and an evil Muslim uses it to go back to 1st century Palestine to assassinate Jesus. You’re not likely to encounter this one by accident, but if it sounds familiar, this is actually a re-cut of Assassin 33 A.D. (apparently, the director added voiceovers to explain what was going on in various timelines to help “stupid” reviewers). Black Easter official site (claims it’s coming out in March 2022, but hey, time is relative).
RK/RKAY (2021): An Indian filmmaker finds that a character he created (and portrayed) for a failed retro-60s film has somehow escaped into reality. One of the few critics who’s seen it calls it “surreal,” but as metamovies go, it sounds closer to Woody Allen than Charlie Kaufman. In a few theaters across the country or in virtual cinemas; venues available at the RK/RKAY US distributor site.
NETFLIX:
Super Me (2019): Chinese movie about a screenwriter who is chased by a demon in his nightmares, but discovers that he can turn a hefty profit by bringing items he dreams about into the real world. Reviewers were pretty ho-hum, complaining about tonal shifts and a nonsensical ending—but those are not necessarily deal-breakers for weird movie fans. Watch Super Me on Netflix.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
No Reason (2010): Horror film about a naked woman “trapped inside an allegory of torment and carnage.” This cheap German gore sickie is now on Blu-ray (or on an updated DVD, if you prefer), and released by the current distributor of A Serbian Film. Buy No Reason.
Tickles the Clown (2021): Computer-animated tale of a clown who fights for the Illuminati in the year 4040. Since the writer/director is also credited with Bigfoot vs. the Illuminati and Trump vs. the Illuminati, it seems like it must be intended as a comedy, possibly set in an extended Illuminati universe? All we really have to go on is a trailer. Buy Tickles the Clown.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
Again, not a lot to report in this space this week, although close to half the venues we normally follow have reopened. Due to limited seating restrictions, we’ve noticed a few new screenings selling out online before we can even list them. We expect to see a little more each week until repertory cinemas come back at full strength. In the meantime, we have discovered a few new drive-in venues to spotlight, in Austin and Miami.
- Austin, TX
- Dallas, TX
- Mahoning, PA
- The Mahoning Drive-In
- Eraserhead (1977), with Blue Velvet (1986) (double feature, Charlotte Stewart in attendance), 5/14
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), with Mulholland Drive (2001), 5/15 (sorry, sold out)
- Dune (1984), 5/16
- The Mahoning Drive-In
- Miami, FL
- Van Nuys, CA
- Plant Drive-In – Aliens, Clowns and Geeks (2019) with Forbidden Zone (1982) (double feature, Richard Elfman in attendance), 5/15
YOU LINK US! YOU REALLY LINK US!:
Criterion Reflections – Episode 98 – Federico Fellini’s Roma – We’re one of the supplemental links for David Blakeslee’s podcast episode devoted to Fellini’s Roma. Mille grazie!
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Likely attendees may now vote for the film we’ll screen at our next Amazon Prime Weird Watch Party, scheduled for May 22 at 10:15 PM ET. This poll stays open until Monday midnight.
And once more, it will be a light week for new reviews, with only the surreal microbudget shot-on-video feature Beyond Dream’s Door (1989) scheduled (postponed from last week) appearing here. Work continues behind the scenes on the manuscript for the print version of the list of the 366 best weird movies of all time. (Though we stress that the fact that we’re making great progress on completing the manuscript doesn’t mean that you’ll see the book sitting on your shelf soon). 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.