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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…
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Cryptozoo (2021): Read our capsule review. Fans of trippy adult animation will want to check out this story of a rogue zoo that houses mythical creatures. In select theaters and also available on-demand for home rental. Cryptozoo official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT (announced):
Hell Is Tender (est. 202?): On the heels of the long-overdue restoration and rerelease of his pop-expressionist 80s classic Dr. Caligari, Stephen Sayadian has teased that he’s working on a new screenplay, vaguely described as Caligariesque in style, but a love story with an actual plot. Crucially, long-time collaborator Jerry Stahl is contributing to the script. Nothing else is known. Relevant clip from Stephen Sayadian Fantasia Festival interview.
IN DEVELOPMENT (in production):
Seed and Sand (est. 202?): Christiane Cegavske‘s hand-animated sequel to Blood Tea and Red String (2006) has been in the works for almost fifteen years now. She recently posted this revealing in-progress clip:
Seed in the Sand official homepage.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Annette (2021): Leos Carax returns with a musical (words and music by Sparks) wherein a stand-up comedian (played by Adam Driver) and an opera singer (played by Marion Cotillard) wed and give birth to a daughter (played by a creepy puppet) with miraculous powers. Good news: early returns suggest that it is, indeed, as weird as its provenance suggests. On VOD (and free for Amazon Prime subscribers).
The Green Knight (2021): Read the Apocrypha Candidate review. A24’s hallucinatory Arthurian epic comes to VOD this week (physical media presumably to follow).
Labyrinth (1986): Read our review. The beloved Jim Henson cult kids’ movie about a teen girl rescuing her baby brother from Goblin King David Bowie receives a 35th anniversary 4K Ultra/Blu-ray release with an elaborate collectible booklet and never-before-seen alternate footage. Buy Labyrinth.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. This week, we added Memphis’ Crosstown Theater, which has resumed their irregular weird movie screenings with a showing of After Hours on Thursday, Aug. 26, and Manhattan’s newly-renovated Paris Theater, which is showing Belle de Jour this Saturday. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time.
FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIES:
Rubber (2010): Read the Canonically Weird entry! A tire serial killer is only the beginning of the weirdness in this absurdist comedy made for no reason. Watch Rubber free on Tubi.tv.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Our next Weird Watch Party will be held on the evening of August 28th. We’ll be watching Tom Hardy mumble his way through Capone. Save the date!
Next week the Fantasia Festival 2021 comes to a close, and Giles Edwards will catch you up on the late-debuts and the also-rans with reviews of a claustrophobic mystery (Stanleyville), a sci-fi thriller (Tin Can), and a decades-in-production stop-motion fantasy (Mad God), along with a rundown of live-action shorts and a compendium of the other notable screenings that for one reason or another did not get their own article. It won’t be all Fantasia coverage, however, as Ryan Aarset gives you the lowdown on Richard Elfman‘s kooky B-movie Shrunken Heads (1995) and Gregory J. Smalley returns to Return to Oz (1985). 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.