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 on the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Borgman (2013): Strange things happen when a rich woman harbors a mysterious fugitive. From the intriguing Dutchman Alex van Warmerdam, who says it is his darkest movie yet. Drafthouse Films opens Borgman in New York this week with scattered U.S. screenings to follow throughout the summer. Borgman official site.
SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, Jun. 6-9):
“Welcome, Space Brothers: The Films of the Unarius Academy of Science”: It seems that last week’s screening of the public access films of Ruth E. Norman’s Los Angeles-based UFO cult (see last week’s Weird Horizon for more info and a trailer) proved so popular that they’ve scheduled additional screenings of “The Arrival” starting this weekend. No new past-life regression workshops, however; maybe you can attend one in your next life? “Welcome, Space Brothers” at Cinefamily.
SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles,Jun. 9 & 11):
The Hourglass Sanitorium (1973): Read our review. In more serious fare, Cinefamily presents Wojciech Has‘ rarely-screened Surrealist masterpiece about a time-bending sanitarium as part of Martin Scorsese‘s “Masterpieces of Polish Cinema” series. More information, screening times and a new trailer at the Cinefamily Hourglass Sanitorium page.
NEW ON DVD:
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2012): A documentary portrait of the oddball cult actor (who sings two folk songs in the movie). Our readers will best know Stanton from his appearances in the Certified Weird INLAND EMPIRE (2006) and Repo Man (1984). Buy Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
“Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide”: Here’s an interesting three-disc set. Disc one contains the 2010 documentary Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Videotape, and Censorship, about the infamous list of 72 horror films the British government deemed too vile and depraved to be shown in the United Kingdom (although ultimately many of these movies successfully beat obscenity prosecutions, or were released with a few minutes cut out). Discs 2 & 3 contain trailers for each of the nasties, with some additional commentary by film historians. For years, the video nasty list was used as a source by extreme horror fans looking for “quality” entertainment. Although none of the movies on the Directory of Public Prosecutions list has (yet) been Certified Weird by us, Dario Argento‘s Inferno (1980) and Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981) are official List Candidates (a “nasty” citation for the critically acclaimed, award-winning Possession proved a particular embarrassment for the British Board of Film Censors). Buy “Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide”
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977): Read our review! It’s hard to believe this ultra-low budget 1977 amateur outsider horror movie would benefit from hi-def remastering, but the draw in this Cult Epics Blu is the special features that were not present on the bare-bones DVD release, particularly the commentary track by director George Barry. Buy Death Bed: The Bed That Eats [Blu-ray]
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.