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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…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
FILM FESTIVALS –(Beyond Fest, Los Angeles, CA, 9/27-10/23):
L.A.’s Beyond Fest, running for almost a month with a mix of new films and revivals (and many free screenings), bills itself as the “best-attended” genre festival in the United States. Some events are already sold out, two weeks before the festival begins, so Los Angelinos may want to get to reserving their spots. Beyond Fest entries playing at other festivals we’ve noted (or covered) include Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle, Give Me Pity!, Polaris, Something in the Dirt, V/H/S/99, A Wounded Fawn, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (which already seems destined for a cult following), and a thematic revival of UHF. While big title this year may be the premiere of Halloween Ends (and to a lesser extent the star-studded horror The Menu), we’re more interested in these new-to-us titles:
- Enys Men – A woman observing a flower on an isolated island hallucinates; promisingly, weird-positive distributor Neon picked it up.
- Feed Me – A cannibal tries to convince a suicidal man to off himself. World premiere; programmers used the word “bizarre” twice and “weird” once in a single synopsis sentence.
- Good Boy [Meg, deg & Frank] – To be with the man of her dreams, a young student must accept the fact that he rooms with a human dog.
- The People’s Joker – Maybe. This queered-up satirical variation on the notorious villain was pulled from the TIFF lineup after one showing after complaints from DC lawyers; still listed on Beyond’s website for a free screening on October 4.
Beyond Fest official home page.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Land of Dreams: In the near future census takers will interview Americans about their dreams, or so says this light satire co-written by the legendary Jean-Claude Carrière and featuring a cast that includes Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon and Isabella Rossellini. It’s playing in a few theaters this week; it’s also on VOD. No official site located.
NEW STREAMING SERVICES; CINEVERSE:
All free (ad-supported), with much cult content, pulling form the libraries of players like Asiancrush, Scream Box, Midnight Pulp, and, notably, some selections from the Fandor catalog (including A Field in England). It has a Tubi-like interface. You should be able to find some late-night viewing here, even if it’s just Bob Ross reruns. Visit Cineverse.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
The Amusement Park (1973/2019): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s review. George Romero‘s recently unearthed short feature—a curious allegory about aging and elderly abuse—is a surprise entry to the Blu-ray ranks. Includes various interviews and bonus features to fill out the run time (the film itself runs just under an hour). Buy The Amusement Park.
Cool World (1992): An underground cartoonist finds his sexiest character wants to become a real live girl in Ralph Bakshi‘s spin on Roger Rabbit. A “Collector’s Edition” from Shout! Factory; this one has not previously been issued on Blu-ray. Buy Cool World.
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1955): A would-be serial killer fantasizes about murdering women, but never succeeds. A semi-surreal effort from Luis Buñuel‘s Mexican period, this Blu-ray is surprisingly released not by the Criterion Collection, but by VCI (usually purveyors of fine El Santo films). Buy The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz.
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983): Read the Canonically Weird review! A 4K UHD upgrade (standard Blu-ray also included). Buy Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.
Mood Indigo (2013): Read the Canonically Weird review! Drafthouse Releasing reissues Michel Gondry‘s surreal romance on Blu-ray only. Buy Mood Indigo.
R100 (2013): Read Gregory J. Smalley’s List Candidate review. Hitoshi Matsumoto‘s crazy comedy about a man who joins a secret bondage society so dominatrices will attack him in public is another Drafthouse reissue. On Blu-ray and DVD. Buy R100.
Tin Can (2020): Read Giles Edwards’ festival review. Claustrophobic sci-fi about a pathologist finds herself imprisoned in a canister while a pandemic rages outside, now on Blu-ray. Buy Tin Can.
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. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time, however. Like these:
- 9/17, Memphis, TN, “Time Warp Drive-In: The Evil Dead Trilogy”: Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992) (triple feature) at Malco Summer Drive-In.
- 9/17, Miami, FL, “Watching Movies with Nayib Estefan”: The Holy Mountain (1973) at the Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami.
FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI:
John Dies at the End (2012): Read the Canonically Weird review! Let the soy sauce choose you this week. Listed as “leaving soon.” Watch John Dies at the End free on Tubi.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
We’re now open for suggestions and RSVPs for an October 1 Weird Watch Party: contribute here.
In reviews next week, Shane Wilson discusses Dusan Makavejev‘s capitalist satire The Coca-Cola Kid, and the reader review queue gets some further pruning as Giles Edwards deals with the 80s parody Kung Fury. Then, Gregory J. Smalley takes a bite out of the new release pile with a taste of the amnesia-themed Apples.
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.