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):
Jug Face (2013): Read our review. We’re happy to see this atmospheric, nearly-weird indie hick horror is killing it with critics. Playing this week in Los Angeles, and we’re not sure where else. Jug Face official site.
Whensday (2013): The story of a “trippy” time-traveling bike. Proudly made in Fort Collins, Colorado. Whensday official site.
FILM FESTIVALS – Everything Is! Festival IV: The Dreamquest (Los Angeles, CA., Aug 12-21):.
You might know the Everything is Terrible! consortium from their Certified Weird movie Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez! (a loose “remake” of The Holy Mountain made out of repurposed dog footage), but these curators of video oddities have been growing their brand to the point where they are now hosting their fourth annual extravaganza celebrating the detritus of trash culture. The many themed found-footage compilations scattered throughout the nine day festival revolve around public access television, glitchy video games, cute animals, white people and their puppets attempting to rap, and stand-up comedy (the last hosted by the legendary Tony Clifton, who apparently is not dead). Other events include a live talent show hosted by Thu Tran and appearances by Mike Judge and Chris Elliot, along with the following cinematic anomalies:
- The Dragon Lives Again [AKA Deadly Hands of Kung Fu] (1977) – Bruce Lee dies and goes to Hell where he meets Popeye, Dracula, and softcore porn icon Emmanuelle, among others. A rare 35mm print of this bizarre Brucesploitation relic screens on August 16 at midnight.
- Fateful Findings (2013) – Festival programmers are pitching this conspiracy thriller about a hacker with paranormal powers as the breakthrough film of Neil Breen, the auteur who has been laboring to seize the trash mantle laid down by Tommy Wiseau and James Nguyen. Breen will host in person on August 17.
- Final Cut – Ladies and Gentlemen (2013) – A film essay composed of clips from classic movies, assembled to form the quintessential Hollywood narrative by Taxidermia‘s György Pálfi. Screens Aug 12.
- The Phynx (1970) – This crazy psychedelic rock n’ roll/spy spoof was shelved by Warner Brothers because it was terrible, but it has a semi-legendary status due to its eccentric roster of cameo appearances: Richard Pryor, Busby Berkeley, Ed Sullivan, and Colonel Harlan Sanders, among others. Comedian Patton Oswalt hosts the August 18th screening.
- Triple Fisher (2013) – When 17-year old Amy Fisher shot the wife of her lover, Joey Buttafuoco, in 1992, the resulting scandal produced three separate made-for-TV exploitation-adaptations of the story (with the “Long Island Lolita” portrayed by Drew Barrymore, Nöelle Parker, and Alyssa Milano). Here, for the first time, all three versions of the tale are edited into a single (in)coherent story. Hosted by Buttafuoco himself. August 15.
See the entire schedule of events at host Cinefamily’s festival page.
NEW ON DVD:
Antiviral (2012): Here’s a bizarre premise: adventures in an underground trade supplying fans with viruses taken from their favorite celebrities. The debut of Brandon (son of David) Cronenberg. Buy Antiviral
A Boy and His Dog (1975): See description in Blu-ray below.
Freaked (1993): Read our capsule review. This comedy about a carnival ringleader who uses toxic waste to turn innocent people into mutant freaks for his sideshow has quite a cult following, but the 2-disc special edition has been out of print for a while. This bargain-priced single disc release may fill a void. Buy Freaked
Magic Magic (2013): A young woman vacationing with friends in Chile loses her mind as insomnia takes over her life. Director Sebastián Silva shot this film back-to-back with the slightly better known Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus with star Michael Cera while the latter was visiting Chile. Buy Magic Magic
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Antiviral (2012): See description in DVD above. Buy Antiviral [Blu-ray]
A Boy and His Dog (1975): Read the Certified Weird entry! It’s about time this post-apocalyptic telepathic dog classic got a digital upgrade. The movie is remastered, includes an interview with director L.Q. Jones and original author Harlan Ellison, and preserves the Jones commentary track from the previous First Run edition. Shout! Factory is selling this only in a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack (DVD not sold separately). Buy A Boy And His Dog [BluRay/DVD combo]
Freaked (1993): See description in DVD above. Buy Freaked [Blu-ray]
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.