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):

Verotika (2019): A horror anthology sponsored by metalhead Glenn Danzig, inspired by his line of adult horror comics; the title is a portmanteau of “violent” and “erotica.” A couple of horror outlets  have hailed it as “insane,” while more mainstream critics are calling it unintentionally funny. Previewing in Los Angeles this week and hoping for a wider release around Halloween. Glenn Danzig official site.

NETFLIX:

Anima (2019): If Danzig’s effort is getting mostly jeers, fellow musician Thom Yorke’s latest short film is earning near-universal cheers. It helps that it’s directed by multi-Oscar nominee (and director of the Canonically Weird Inherent Vice) Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s only fifteen minutes long and is being described as “dreamlike.” Anima on Netflix.

FILM FESTIVALS – Karlov Vary International Film Festival (Karlov Vary, Czech Republic, June 28- July 6):

Though in it’s 54th year, Karlovy Vary is overshadowed by other, bigger summer European film festivals. Despite being held in out-of-the-way Karlov Vary, the festival manages to snag some major releases (the new Spider-Man even has its regional debut there this year). It also features a fine slate of restorations and repertory pics, often of Czech classics. We’ve noted a couple of films screening here before: Peter Strickland’s fashion horror In Fabric and the Danish fairy tale horror Koko-di Koko-da. Here is some new (and old) stuff of potential interest we spotted in the program:

• The Cremator – World premiere of the new “digital restoration” of the Canonically Weird Czech New Wave classic about a strange Tibetan Book of the Dead-obsessed cremator who eventually becomes a Nazi collaborator.  Screening 6/29-6/30, 7/3.
• Die Kinder Der Toten –  Elfriede Jelinek’s respected Austrian literary horror novel is given an over-the-top Super 8 silent movie treatment by a couple of New Yorkers. 6/28, 6/30, 7/2, or 7/4.
• The Flames of Royal Love – A seldom-screened Jan Nemec film from 1990 chronicling the love affair of a prince and a commoner, described by programmers as a “peculiar cinematic hallucination.” Catch it on 6/30 or 7/2.
• Happy End (2015) – A short animated movie presented in reverse chronological order, this seems inspired by obscure Czech New Wave film of the same title. 7/5 or, 7/3, 6/29 screening.
• In the Arms of Morpheus – This Dutch documentary uses surreal imagery to explore the condition of chronic insomniacs. 7/3, 7/4, or 7/6.
  
• The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea – A “dreamlike” thriller about a resentful female cop banished to a middle-of-nowhere Greek town, starring Greek Weird Wave icon Aggeliki Papoulia. 6/28, 7/1, 7/3, & 7/5.
• Monos – Enigmatic Colombian film about a purposeless group of soldiers camped in a fog-shrouded jungle. On 6/29, 7/2, 7/4, or 7/6.
• Satantango – Bela Tarr‘s slow-paced, epic opus about hucksters bleeding a poor Hungarian village. Set aside eight hours to see it on 6/28 or 7/6.

Karlov Vary Film Festival official home page.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Birdy (1984): A Vietnam vet tries to help a shell-shocked comrade who believes he’s a bird. An early turn for and Nicolas Cage and Alan Parker‘s immediate post-Pink Floyd the Wall (1982) film. Previously on DVD; now on Blu-ray (and VOD). Buy Birdy.

“Divorced Dad” (2018): A newly divorced dad hosts a 1980s-era public access self-help show that inevitably devolves into chaos. Originally conceived of by the odd Canadian comedy ensemble Astron-6 as a webseries, banned from YouTube (for an ISIS joke), and now assembled on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber, with unseen episodes and shorts to round out the package. Buy “Divorced Dad”.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001): Read the Canonically Weird review! The Criterion Collection releases this wigged-out gender-bending musical on Blu-ray (or 2 DVDs) with a suite of extras both new and repurposed. Buy Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Lost Highway (1997): Read the Canonically Weird review! Those holding out for a Criterion edition of David Lynch‘s utterly surreal mid-period film will have to make do with this Kino Lorber Blu-ray instead, which comes with no special features and has been slammed by Lynch himself because it wasn’t restored from his original negatives (although independent reviewers have praised the quality). Buy Lost Highway.

Transit (2018): As the Fascists crack down in France, a man assumes the identity of a dead man whose papers he’s stolen and attempts to flee the country. Director Christian Petzold took a novel set in WWII and adapted it to present times, an anachronistic experiment with an effect described as “dreamlike.” On Blu-ray and VOD (no DVD release). Buy Transit.

CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We won’t list all the screenings of this audience-participation classic separately. You can use this page to find a screening near you.

• Chicago, IL, 6/30 – Metropolis (1927), with new live score by David DiDonato. At the Music Box Theatre.
• Columbus, OH, 6/28-7/1, 7/3-7/4 – Natural Born Killers (1994). At Gateway Film Center.
• Dallas, TX, 7/2 – Last Year at Marienbad [L’Année Dernière à Marienbad] (1961). At the Texas Theatre.
• Denver, CO, 7/4 – Blue Velvet (1986). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Los Angeles, CA, 6/28 – Daisies [Sedmikrásky] (1966), with Fruit of Paradise (1970) (double feature). At the Egyptian Theatre.
• Nashville, TN, 7/1 – Head (1968). At the Belcourt.
• New York City, NY, 6/28 & 6/29 (midnights) – Eraserhead (1977). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/28 & 6/29 (midnights) – Mulholland Drive (2001). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 7/3 & 7/4 – Audition [Ôdishon] (1999). At the Metrograph.
• Oakland, CA, 6/28-7/3 – Mandy (2018). At the New Parkway Theater.
• Toronto, Ont., Canada, 6/28 – The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984). At the Royal.
• Toronto, Ont. Canada, 6/29 – Daisies [Sedmikrásky] (1966). At the Royal.
• Tuscon, AZ, 6/28 & 6/29 – Mandy (2018). At the Loft Cinema.
• Yonkers, NY, 7/3 – 8 1/2 (1963). At the Alamo Drafthouse.

FREE MOVIES ON BREAKER:

Perfect (2018): A troubled young man is sent to a clinic where he is given various implants to remove his imperfections. We haven’t tried Breaker yet, but his release is not (yet) available in any other format that we can find. Requires an app download and the code “perfect.” No warranties from us. Watch Perfect free on Breaker.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week Giles Edwards clears out his files as he preps for his third annual trip north to the Fantasia festival in July. So, expect to see his takes on Terry Gilliam‘s curse-breaking project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and on the mildly strange 1975 Dutch softcore thriller My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie. Onward and weirdward!

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.