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.
FILM FESTIVALS –Holly Weird Film Festival (North Hollywood, CA, 6/9):
We had to mention this one mainly because of the festival name. Holly Weird describes itself as an underground film festival with a mission to “celebrate independent films of all genres that feature a distinct vision, a unique voice, or an avant-garde challenge to what is expected or accepted.” The inaugural slate is mostly short films we’re not familiar with, but it does include 2007’s “Doxology.” Also on the slate, as the only feature-length film, is Kelly Hughes‘ new documentary Hush…Hush, Nellie Oleson! about his attempts to fit former “Little House on the Prairie” actress Alison Arngrim into a low-budget experimental film. Los Angelino film fans with obscure tastes should check it out this weekend.
Holly Weird Film Festival Facebook page.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Batman Returns (1992): Read the Certified Weird entry! Warner Brothers is re-releasing their entire Batman catalog this week, including the strangest entry, Tim Burton‘s carnivalesque take on a sequel, featuring psychotic clown henchmen and penguins strapped with missiles. The 4D Ultra HD disc is bundled with a standard Blu-ray. Buy Batman Returns
Knife + Heart (2018): A producer of gay porn films becomes obsessed with recreating a series of murders in hopes of winning back her lesbian lover. This queer slasher/giallo pic from Yann Gonzalez sounds fairly unclassifiable; available on DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD. Buy Knife + Heart
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018): Toby, once an idealistic student filmmaker and now a director of commercials, revisits Spain to find the old shoemaker he cast as his lead in his “Don Quixote” student film now believes he is Quixote and Toby is Sancho Panza. A glorious mess from Terry Gilliam, plagued by legendary production disasters that made it take more than two decades in the making, now on DVD, Blu-ray or VOD for all to see! Buy The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Rondo (2018): Read Giles Edwards’ review and enter the contest to win a Rondo DVD. A military reject discovers a secret fetishist society that enacts forbidden, sadistic fantasies. On DVD and VOD. Buy Rondo
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.
- Boston, MA, 6/8 (midnight) – Phantasm (1979). At Coolidge Corner Theatre.
- Columbus, OH, 6/7-6/12 – Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). At Gateway Film Center.
- Columbus, OH, 6/8 & 6/9 – Antichrist (2009). At Gateway Film Center.
- Denver, CO, 6/12 – Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
- New York City, NY, 6/7-6/8 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 6/7-6/8 (midnights) – Suspiria (1977). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 6/8 – Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), with Melvin Van Peebles in attendance and a new live score performed by Burnt Sugar the Archestra Chamber, free to attend with RSVP for 18+. Sponsored by Rooftop Films, at Fort Greene Park.
- New York City, NY, 6/8 – True Stories (1986). At the Quad Cinema.
- New York City, NY, 6/11-6/13 – Dead Man (1995). At the Metrograph.
- Tuscon, AZ, 6/7 & 6/8 – Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973). At the Loft Cinema.
- Vancouver, BC, Canada, 6/13 – Suspiria (1977), with Suspiria (2018) (optional double feature). At the Rio Theatre.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week at 366 Weird Movies, look for the second installment of Alfred Eaker‘s summer torture tour, as he takes on Disney’s regurgitated Aladdin; Giles Edwards goes underground for the upcoming drag queen doc Spider Mites of Jesus: The Dirtwoman Documentary; we cover a film from topless-Playmate-secret-agent-specialist Andy Sidaris for the first time as Pete Trbovich gets Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987); and we’ll put up our first poll for entries to make the list of apocryphal weird movies (you can still suggest nominees here until next Tuesday, and be entered into the drawing for a Rondo DVD at the same time). That’s a lot for a summer week, isn’t it? 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.