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):
The Tall Man: When her own son goes missing a skeptical nurse (Jessica Biel) investigates child disappearances blamed on a legendary figure called “the Tall Man.” This genre-busting entry from the director of Martyrs has been dividing early critics and audiences. The Tall Man official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Zero Theorem (est. 2013): Terry Gilliam‘s latest feature project will star Christoph Waltz and will shoot in Bucharest. According to the auteur it’s from a ” [v]ery original script about a man waiting for a telephone call that will give meaning to his life. Some other things happen as well.” Among the “other things” are naked people being sucked into a black hole. Get more juicy details in this Gilliam interview from Dreams.
NEW ON DVD:
The Living Dead Girl (1982): A toxic waste spill turns a beautiful naked corpse into a vampire/zombie hybrid. Redemption continues to exhume the weird works of Jean Rollin with this exceptionally gory late entry in the director’s erotic horror cycle. Buy The Living Dead Girl
“Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer: Eclipse Series 35”: Although many movie fans realize Pulitzer Prize winning author Norman Mailer directed the bizarre big-budget flop Tough Guys Don’t Dance in 1987, many still don’t know that he dabbled in making experimental films in the late 1960s. Here are his first three attempts: the improvised apartment drama Wild 90 (1968), the police procedural Beyond the Law (1968), and the most interesting effort, Maidstone (1970), a crazy fourth-wall-breaking satire about a movie director running for president. Buy “Eclipse Series 35: Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer”
Two Orphan Vampires (1997): Two teenage (lesbian?) orphan vampires terrorize the streets of Paris at night. One of Jean Rollin’s final movies before his death in 2010. Buy Two Orphan Vampires
Zebraman (2004): A mild-mannered schoolteacher is forced to take on the persona of his childhood TV idol, Zebraman, in this wild but kid-friendly fantasy from none other than Takashi Miike. A rival company released a 2 disc special edition
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948): Two bumbling baggage clerks accidentally revive the remains of both Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula; fortunately the Wolf Man arrives to help the buffoons defeat ultimate evil. OK, so it was a huge hit in its day and maybe it’s not super-weird, but this title does appear on page 1 of every cult movie reference book worth its salt. Available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack only; includes commentary and bonus features. Buy Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein [Blu-ray /DVD /Digital Copy]
The Living Dead Girl (1982): See description in DVD above. Buy The Living Dead Girl [Blu-ray]
Two Orphan Vampires (1997): See description in DVD above. Buy Two Orphan Vampires [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966): On the run from the law, Jesse James seeks refuge in the lair of Frankenstein’s granddaughter, who promptly turns one of his gang into a lumbering monster. Western director William Beaudine was known as “One Shot” Beaudine because of his refusal to waste money on second takes. Critics generally believe this one doesn’t live up to the high standard Beaudine set with Billy the Kid vs. Dracula.
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.
“Living Dead Girl” is available for streaming on Netflix, but it’s just a bad movie IMHO. What am I supposed to get out of it?
The shots with shaky camera work are kind of charming (esp. the circle of vaseline in the flashback) as well as some of the actors/actresses that maybe aren’t exactly that great at what they’re doing. Maybe I was soured a bit at the beginning pondering just how full that barrel of toxic waste was. If they can lift it, why all of the awkward pantomime rolling it around? And so forth.
Anyway, “Two Orphan Vampires” is streaming although it is dubbed rather than subtitled…