The 50 Weirdest Movies Ever Made
September 30, 2014 8:38 AM Subscribe
Inspired by the recent Criterion re-release of Eraserhead on Blu-ray, Flavorwire offers up The 50 Weirdest Movies Ever Made — "many that rival Lynch’s strange aesthetic."
Hey, it's just a list of my all-time favorite movies!
posted by naju at 8:46 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by naju at 8:46 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
Came looking for Tetsuo The Iron Man. Found it.
posted by Naberius at 8:47 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Naberius at 8:47 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Came looking for Zardoz and Spider Baby. Found 'em.
posted by davidmsc at 8:54 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by davidmsc at 8:54 AM on September 30, 2014
No list like this can ever be all-inclusive, and they sure did leave some stuff out. But maaaaaaan, they did a good job with these fifty. All of these are seriously warped.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:58 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:58 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
There are several people in my life who still have lingering anger with me about some of those movies. One guy, I told him not to watch Tetsuo, but he comes out of the guest room the next morning with the VHS and a very stern look on his face and says, "I don't know why you would even have this!"
There are several on that list I haven't seen yet, though, so I've got some catching up to do. It looks like somewhere in the 90s is where I started slacking.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:02 AM on September 30, 2014
There are several on that list I haven't seen yet, though, so I've got some catching up to do. It looks like somewhere in the 90s is where I started slacking.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:02 AM on September 30, 2014
I'll nominate the 2005 Russian film titled simply "4". The Guardian described it as "a genuinely strange and fascinating excursion into - well, what exactly? Scripted by novelist Vladimir Sorokin, it is an experimental Russian movie set in a desolate future time and teetering on the brink of hallucination."
From the NYT review:
posted by orthicon halo at 9:03 AM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
From the NYT review:
The vodka and roast-pork bacchanal toward the end of the film illustrates everything that is both wonderful and tiresomely juvenile about the filmmakers' world view, sometimes in a single packed scene. If nothing else, the sight of a gaggle of soused babushkas laughing and smearing pork grease over their brutally naked bodies is not one you are likely to forget soon ... As opaque as it is mesmerizing, "4" demands open eyes and open minds, but neither is it as difficult as all its weighty silences, oblique detours and countless images of glistening, sweating animal flesh — Mother Russia's raw and seriously overcooked — might suggest. Sometimes a severed pig's head is just a severed pig's head, after all, though sometimes a weeping crone yodeling mournfully about the Volga River is also a symbol of a grotesque and nostalgic nationalism.Here's the trailer, here's the beginning, here's an excerpt, here's the whole thing subtitled in Italian.
posted by orthicon halo at 9:03 AM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
5, seems about right, not sure which one to watch next.
posted by Cosine at 9:05 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Cosine at 9:05 AM on September 30, 2014
Nice article. I thought about "Freaks" but realized it's far too conventional for this list.
posted by msalt at 9:07 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by msalt at 9:07 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I see that this is suggested in the comments, but they really need The Baby on this list. God damn, that was a weird movie.
posted by COBRA! at 9:07 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by COBRA! at 9:07 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Cannot yet tell if this is a list To See or To Avoid.
May never know. Even if I watch several.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:09 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
May never know. Even if I watch several.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:09 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Ha ha, The Baby. I am not making this up: I saw that movie in a video rental store and rented it--hadn't read anything about it or anything--but I predicted the ending EXACTLY very early in the movie, up to and including the end scene.
I really need to add that to my resume.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:11 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I really need to add that to my resume.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:11 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I have only seen one of these: Bad Boy Bubby.
A bunch of years ago I was watching Top Chef and there was a challenge to make a dish inspired by your favorite movie from childhood. There was an Australian guy on that season, and there was one of those little cut scenes of him talking to the camera in which he said something like Australians don't really have movies so this was going to be hard for him, and then added something like "well there's Bad Boy Bubby."
Hearing Bad Boy Bubby said in an Australian accent was amusing enough to stick out, and particularly since this was the only movie the Australian dude could think of, boyfriend and I set out on a mission to watch it. I found a torrent (one seeder!) and a week and a half later we sat down to watch it.
Is a weird movie. Can confirm.
Sorry, Australia.
posted by phunniemee at 9:11 AM on September 30, 2014
A bunch of years ago I was watching Top Chef and there was a challenge to make a dish inspired by your favorite movie from childhood. There was an Australian guy on that season, and there was one of those little cut scenes of him talking to the camera in which he said something like Australians don't really have movies so this was going to be hard for him, and then added something like "well there's Bad Boy Bubby."
Hearing Bad Boy Bubby said in an Australian accent was amusing enough to stick out, and particularly since this was the only movie the Australian dude could think of, boyfriend and I set out on a mission to watch it. I found a torrent (one seeder!) and a week and a half later we sat down to watch it.
Is a weird movie. Can confirm.
Sorry, Australia.
posted by phunniemee at 9:11 AM on September 30, 2014
Do I have to defend Zardoz again as a really good, decades ahead of its time movie about the singularity, posthumans, and AI?
Because I will if I have to. And I have gridfire projectors.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:15 AM on September 30, 2014 [23 favorites]
Because I will if I have to. And I have gridfire projectors.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:15 AM on September 30, 2014 [23 favorites]
Came looking for Hausu, was not disappointed.
Came looking for Jan Švankmajer, was somewhat disappointed.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:19 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Came looking for Jan Švankmajer, was somewhat disappointed.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:19 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Nice list! This seems like a good place to link to 366 Weird Movies, an awesome ongoing list of movies deemed suitably "weird" by the staff, according to their hard-to-explain but very smart and considered reasoning. They're up to 179 movies on the List Thus Far and they have hundreds of reviews of films they've checked out for the list either on their own or based on user recommendations, along with their very concrete reasoning for why it should or should not make the list. As such, it's not just a "list of weird movies," it's a strong forum for a unique critical approach to filmmaking and art that's based on transcendence and subversion.
(full disclosure, I was alerted to the site when my own film made the list; I have since contributed a few items over the years)
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:19 AM on September 30, 2014 [6 favorites]
(full disclosure, I was alerted to the site when my own film made the list; I have since contributed a few items over the years)
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:19 AM on September 30, 2014 [6 favorites]
And I have gridfire projectors.
EVERYBODY BE COOL!
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:20 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
EVERYBODY BE COOL!
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:20 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
MetaFilter: I have gridfire projectors.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I've seen fifteen of these! I would like to submit Singapore Sling (1990). It answers the important question: what if Tommy Wiseau had directed Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom? And all of the characters spoke a different language?
posted by theodolite at 9:23 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by theodolite at 9:23 AM on September 30, 2014
Deadly Weapons, for those uninitiated, is surprisingly gross somehow. However, I have a great fondness for the director, Doris Wishman, who very cleverly worked her way around puritanical legislation by filming nude scenes on a nudist colony, so her sexploitation films were classified as documentaries. (BTW, they're not even nude. It's just women wearing gigantic brown underpants, mostly.)
And the theme song for Nude on the Moon is pretty catchy. In fact, I think we've settled on my earworm for the day.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:28 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
And the theme song for Nude on the Moon is pretty catchy. In fact, I think we've settled on my earworm for the day.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:28 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is why I loved working for a mid-tier cult home video distributor in the early 2000s. I saw and enjoyed (at least parts of) so many weird movies.
posted by infinitewindow at 9:29 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by infinitewindow at 9:29 AM on September 30, 2014
I have not seen a lot of these and from what I know about my own mental state it seems like that's probably a good thing. However, Zardoz isn't all that weird, really.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:29 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:29 AM on September 30, 2014
Trigger Warning: Sean Connery in a mankini with thigh-high boots.
posted by Curious Artificer at 9:29 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Curious Artificer at 9:29 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Do I have to defend Zardoz again as a really good, decades ahead of its time movie about the singularity, posthumans, and AI?
Because I will if I have to. And I have gridfire projectors.
Well, you are an ROU.
Ahem. Black Moon!
posted by emmet at 9:30 AM on September 30, 2014
Because I will if I have to. And I have gridfire projectors.
Well, you are an ROU.
Ahem. Black Moon!
posted by emmet at 9:30 AM on September 30, 2014
I have seen none of these and only even heard of Zardoz, I had no idea I was so conventional.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:30 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:30 AM on September 30, 2014
Because if the Gun is Good, gridfire projectors are a fucking sacrament amirite.
posted by localroger at 9:31 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by localroger at 9:31 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I've seen a surprising number of these, but I don't know if I would call Liquid Sky weird -- it made perfect sense at the time. And no The Passion of Darkly Noon?
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:33 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:33 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Davidmsc: "Came looking for Zardoz"
ROU_Xenophobe: "Do I have to defend Zardoz again as a really good, decades ahead of its time movie about the singularity, posthumans, and AI?"
Well, you're both wrong. There is a third path. Look, there's no argument to be made that a movie with Sean Connery in a loincloth is actually good. That's just crazy talk. But I don't think it really belongs on this list. It's not "weird" in the sense that so many of these other films are weird. It's just bad and excessive in that way so many drug-fueled 70s films were.
I think truly "weird" films are what they are because they represent a weird vision. I don't think that's true of Zardoz. I think it was just a commercial sci-fi project that ran amok because it was the 70s and cocaine was everywhere. A vision, however off-kilter it may be, is something real that has truth for the person sharing it. It's more than just a coked up frenzy of excess and messiness like Zardoz.
posted by Naberius at 9:38 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
ROU_Xenophobe: "Do I have to defend Zardoz again as a really good, decades ahead of its time movie about the singularity, posthumans, and AI?"
Well, you're both wrong. There is a third path. Look, there's no argument to be made that a movie with Sean Connery in a loincloth is actually good. That's just crazy talk. But I don't think it really belongs on this list. It's not "weird" in the sense that so many of these other films are weird. It's just bad and excessive in that way so many drug-fueled 70s films were.
I think truly "weird" films are what they are because they represent a weird vision. I don't think that's true of Zardoz. I think it was just a commercial sci-fi project that ran amok because it was the 70s and cocaine was everywhere. A vision, however off-kilter it may be, is something real that has truth for the person sharing it. It's more than just a coked up frenzy of excess and messiness like Zardoz.
posted by Naberius at 9:38 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
Yes! Cat Soup! CAT SOUP!!
posted by Librarypt at 9:38 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Librarypt at 9:38 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Came looking for Jan Švankmajer, was somewhat disappointed.
What is Meat Love, chopped liver?
I know there are better Švankmajer movies to include, I just wanted to say that.
posted by doctornecessiter at 9:45 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
What is Meat Love, chopped liver?
I know there are better Švankmajer movies to include, I just wanted to say that.
posted by doctornecessiter at 9:45 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Although I'd heard of about half of these, the only ones on this list I've seen so far are Un Chien Andalou, Woos Whoopee, and Zardoz.
I'm not really sure what those say about my tastes.
posted by kyrademon at 10:00 AM on September 30, 2014
I'm not really sure what those say about my tastes.
posted by kyrademon at 10:00 AM on September 30, 2014
I was tricked into watching Un Chien Andalou. I had heard about it in high school and decided that I really had no desire to see it. Fast forward to a film class in college when the teacher announced we'd be watching The Andelusian Dog. I was so used to hearing the French title that I didn't for a second think about the English translation. Which resulted in my jumping out of my seat during the infamous scene and shouting "fuck!," more out of the sudden realization of what happened than the scene itself, and an entire auditorium turning around to stare at me in confusion.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 10:03 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by C'est la D.C. at 10:03 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
22
And I feel disappointed in myself that that number is so low. Based on comments here, apparently me-fites aren't big into crazy movies?
posted by wyndham at 10:10 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
And I feel disappointed in myself that that number is so low. Based on comments here, apparently me-fites aren't big into crazy movies?
posted by wyndham at 10:10 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I would have been happy to have completely forgotten about Sweet Movie.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:10 AM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:10 AM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
Guessing I shouldn't read this while eating lunch, Y/N?
posted by pxe2000 at 10:23 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by pxe2000 at 10:23 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
8 for me. Although both Crimewave and Boxing Helena seem to me to not belong on this list. The latter in particular is just... bad.
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:24 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:24 AM on September 30, 2014
For me that was a list of 50 PETRIFYING photos! ARGH!!!!!!!
posted by JenThePro at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by JenThePro at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, it's a pretty good list! I've seen a little less than half of those, and there's some pretty tasty-looking stuff there that I've missed. I had never heard of On the Silver Globe before, but I must see it immediately.
If it were up to me, I might have picked L'Age d'Or over Un Chien Andalou. Also, I would have included some Guy Maddin (whom I love more than breathing; goddamn, I could just *live* in My Winnipeg) and maybe some early Peter Greenaway, most likely A Zed and Two Noughts.
The Reflecting Skin and The Mafu Cage would also have been good additions, as would Wool 100%.
I also would have liked to see Daisies on the list, but we've talked about that before.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2014 [8 favorites]
If it were up to me, I might have picked L'Age d'Or over Un Chien Andalou. Also, I would have included some Guy Maddin (whom I love more than breathing; goddamn, I could just *live* in My Winnipeg) and maybe some early Peter Greenaway, most likely A Zed and Two Noughts.
The Reflecting Skin and The Mafu Cage would also have been good additions, as would Wool 100%.
I also would have liked to see Daisies on the list, but we've talked about that before.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2014 [8 favorites]
I would have included some Guy Maddin (whom I love more than breathing; goddamn, I could just *live* in My Winnipeg)
Yes!
The Reflecting Skin
YES. That movie is everything. I have so many feelings just thinking about it. Uncomfortable, deeply uncomfortable feelings.
posted by naju at 10:42 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yes!
The Reflecting Skin
YES. That movie is everything. I have so many feelings just thinking about it. Uncomfortable, deeply uncomfortable feelings.
posted by naju at 10:42 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Came looking for Jan Švankmajer, was somewhat disappointed.
Right? Meat Love is what, 2 minutes long?
posted by Hoopo at 11:09 AM on September 30, 2014
Right? Meat Love is what, 2 minutes long?
posted by Hoopo at 11:09 AM on September 30, 2014
Also, for Honmg Kong weirdness, the Ebola Syndrome is not even in the running. It's just nasty and pretty dumb. If you want crazy, try going into The East Is Red without preparation. If you want gross and strange, there are better choices as well in the category III classification. Hell, the tonal mismatch of psychological horror and police antics in Daughter of Darkness 2 is more grueling and perplexing by a long shot. Holding up the "weird Asian cinema" end, Funky Forest, on the other hand, is almost impossible to describe, and may cause brain damage, so it definitely belongs on the list, although the Korean Tale of Two Sisters also could have a place.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:10 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:10 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yes- both Maddin and Greenaway should be on this list.
My picks would be Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary and The Draughtsman's Contract.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:12 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
My picks would be Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary and The Draughtsman's Contract.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:12 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Totally thought I was going to know more of these, as my college BF was a weirdFilm buff. But honestly, not too many, and have only actually seen (and LOVE) Zardoz.
My nomination for the list, BTW: Meet the Feebles, which was a fave of aforementioned BF. When I first heard Jackson was going to direct LoTR, my reaction was: "WTF? The Meet the Feebles guy? I don't even."
posted by epersonae at 11:21 AM on September 30, 2014 [6 favorites]
My nomination for the list, BTW: Meet the Feebles, which was a fave of aforementioned BF. When I first heard Jackson was going to direct LoTR, my reaction was: "WTF? The Meet the Feebles guy? I don't even."
posted by epersonae at 11:21 AM on September 30, 2014 [6 favorites]
Man, these lists are usually so terrible, it's refreshing to find one that's actually pretty solid. There are a few things on there I don't think really belong (Lynch's "Rabbits," for example, over just including "Inland Empire" in its entirety; the animated shorts--there are plenty of more bizarre feature films that could be swapped out for those) or are really that "weird" as much as "unsettling" ("In My Skin," particularly), but overall there's a lot of good stuff here. Glad they included "The Boxer's Omen!"
posted by rabbitroom at 11:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by rabbitroom at 11:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
What, no The Forbidden Zone?
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 11:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 11:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
I like this list mostly because it contains many movies I have never heard of. I like to think of myself as somewhat knowledgable about weird film. Also it seems odd to leave off Jodorowsky, even when quoting a film review referencing him. I'll take that to be provocatively deliberate.
posted by Nelson at 11:47 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Nelson at 11:47 AM on September 30, 2014
I really like that last photo, for Uncle Boonmee. It kind of encapsulates the "want to follow, afraid to follow" feeling I want in movies like these.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:48 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by benito.strauss at 11:48 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
The Reflecting Skin
Yes! It's like Who Has Seen the Wind on DMT.
It wouldn't be difficult to compile a list of equally wacked-out movies made only in Canada, funded by the government no less. It's impossible to overstate the impact of Cronenberg's success on the Canadian film industry.
Also it seems odd to leave off Jodorowsky
Probably why they didn't.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2014
Yes! It's like Who Has Seen the Wind on DMT.
It wouldn't be difficult to compile a list of equally wacked-out movies made only in Canada, funded by the government no less. It's impossible to overstate the impact of Cronenberg's success on the Canadian film industry.
Also it seems odd to leave off Jodorowsky
Probably why they didn't.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2014
Also it seems odd to leave off Jodorowsky
The Holy Mountain is on the list, right after Zardoz.
It's kinda strange they included Crimewave, which is really more goofy than weird, and not something like, say, Enter the Void or, yeah, any given Guy Maddin movie.
posted by Timmoy Daen at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
The Holy Mountain is on the list, right after Zardoz.
It's kinda strange they included Crimewave, which is really more goofy than weird, and not something like, say, Enter the Void or, yeah, any given Guy Maddin movie.
posted by Timmoy Daen at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
The theme to Spider Baby really is pretty damn great, by the way. So is the cover version by Fantômas.
posted by Timmoy Daen at 12:08 PM on September 30, 2014
posted by Timmoy Daen at 12:08 PM on September 30, 2014
I think possibly I've only seen Hausu, Rabbits and Rubber from this list... I do have a terrible memory though and also only skimmed. Better get to work!
What about The Apple, El Topo, They Live or Fitzcarraldo? Too mainstream?
posted by mdn at 12:27 PM on September 30, 2014
What about The Apple, El Topo, They Live or Fitzcarraldo? Too mainstream?
posted by mdn at 12:27 PM on September 30, 2014
Its not totally weird, but "Oh Lucky Man" is pretty strange.
posted by marienbad at 12:29 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by marienbad at 12:29 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
¡Santa Sangre!
posted by Mister_A at 12:30 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Mister_A at 12:30 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
I have seen 1 one these: Rubber. Only because we picked it randomly on Netflix. I nominate The Dark Backward. It's got Judd Nelson and Bill Paxton!
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:55 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:55 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I never really thought of either The Idiots or Gummo as being particularly weird. At least, not really on the same level of weird as a lot of these films. Also, not that I've seen all his films, but I think The Idiots is the least weird Lars von Trier film I have seen. Or my weird compass is skewed, which is always possible.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:56 PM on September 30, 2014
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:56 PM on September 30, 2014
Serious second on The Dark Backward.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 1:02 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 1:02 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Netflix carries a surprisingly large number of these titles, albeit mostly on disc, though there are a few streaming.
Black Moon, Sweet Movie, Gozu, In My Skin, Dogtooth, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Even Dwarfs Started Small, Gummo, Un chien andalou, Bad Boy Bubby, Videodrome, Funky Forest, Aria, Porcile, On the Silver Globe, Hausu, Rubber (streaming), Viva la muerte, Post Tenebras Lux (streaming), Zardoz, The Holy Mountain, Taxidermia, The Boxer’s Omen, Burst City, Black Devil Doll From Hell, Exte: Hair Extensions, The Hands of Orlac (streaming), Soul Vengeance, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (streaming)
posted by wormwood23 at 1:16 PM on September 30, 2014 [8 favorites]
Black Moon, Sweet Movie, Gozu, In My Skin, Dogtooth, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Even Dwarfs Started Small, Gummo, Un chien andalou, Bad Boy Bubby, Videodrome, Funky Forest, Aria, Porcile, On the Silver Globe, Hausu, Rubber (streaming), Viva la muerte, Post Tenebras Lux (streaming), Zardoz, The Holy Mountain, Taxidermia, The Boxer’s Omen, Burst City, Black Devil Doll From Hell, Exte: Hair Extensions, The Hands of Orlac (streaming), Soul Vengeance, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (streaming)
posted by wormwood23 at 1:16 PM on September 30, 2014 [8 favorites]
Black Moon is at Netflix now? That's awesome! I'd checked a few years ago, and nada. I'd given up on ever seeing it again (having actually seen it in a theater when it was released. Awesome experience.) Thanks for that.
Highly recommend it - seriously surreal Louis Malle. I remember being blown away by it.
posted by emmet at 1:31 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Highly recommend it - seriously surreal Louis Malle. I remember being blown away by it.
posted by emmet at 1:31 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I asked a AskMe question about movies like this once! I made a list of the movies I hadn't seen yet (I've since seen many), which you can view here on Google Docs. Very handy for printing out and taking to Odd Obsession or Facets, if you're lucky enough to live in Chicago.
Also, FERNANDO ARRABAL'S I WILL WALK LIKE A CRAZY HORSE IS WAY WEIRDER THAN VIVA LA MUERTE. Viva La Muerte is not to be missed thanks to the animated opening by Panic Movement contemporary Roland Topor (Fantastic Planet), but I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse is manic and magic and completely out there and man I need to track down a copy and see it again.
Movies I've seen from the linked article, mostly for my own reference:
Sweet Movie
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Gummo
Videodrome
Multiple Maniacs
Hausu
Liquid Sky
Viva la muerte
Zardoz
Holy Mountain
Taxidermia
posted by Juliet Banana at 1:34 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, FERNANDO ARRABAL'S I WILL WALK LIKE A CRAZY HORSE IS WAY WEIRDER THAN VIVA LA MUERTE. Viva La Muerte is not to be missed thanks to the animated opening by Panic Movement contemporary Roland Topor (Fantastic Planet), but I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse is manic and magic and completely out there and man I need to track down a copy and see it again.
Movies I've seen from the linked article, mostly for my own reference:
Sweet Movie
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Gummo
Videodrome
Multiple Maniacs
Hausu
Liquid Sky
Viva la muerte
Zardoz
Holy Mountain
Taxidermia
posted by Juliet Banana at 1:34 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Seen Funky Forest and Hausu, the latter at a showing attended by Obayashi and his daughter, who discussed its production. (College film festivals are great!) Key bits I remember: his daughter was largely responsible for the scenario, while he layered on the deliberately cheesy special effects to give it that adolescent-fever-dream atmosphere. He still uses tiny prints of the poster as his business cards.
The same festival also played host to the US premiere of Enthiran, another film that definitely belongs on this list.
posted by fifthrider at 1:42 PM on September 30, 2014
The same festival also played host to the US premiere of Enthiran, another film that definitely belongs on this list.
posted by fifthrider at 1:42 PM on September 30, 2014
Funky Forest is batshit but also hugely fun. It should be amassing a huge cult fandom, really. (With costume showings and everything)
posted by naju at 1:56 PM on September 30, 2014
posted by naju at 1:56 PM on September 30, 2014
Seen some of these, haven't heard of a lot of them. I think they also could maybe have included Pink Flamingos, Human Centipede and Shakes the Clown (though it's been a loong time since I've seen that one).
Also, Gummo is revolting. I hated that movie.
posted by triggerfinger at 3:37 PM on September 30, 2014
Also, Gummo is revolting. I hated that movie.
posted by triggerfinger at 3:37 PM on September 30, 2014
me + naju had a harmony korine movie marathon once in preparation for the release of spring breakers
we are not amateurs by any means but wow that was a long and emotionally draining day
hold me
posted by Juliet Banana at 3:44 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
we are not amateurs by any means but wow that was a long and emotionally draining day
hold me
posted by Juliet Banana at 3:44 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'll nominate the 2005 Russian film titled simply "4". The Guardian described it as "a genuinely strange and fascinating excursion into - well, what exactly? Scripted by novelist Vladimir Sorokin, it is an experimental Russian movie set in a desolate future time and teetering on the brink of hallucination."
oh man, I forgot about this one. I watched it at the Vancouver film fest that year, at like 10am, only because the movie I showed up to watch was sold out and this happened to be the next one starting. I was one of only 5 or so people in there and I came out at noon severely needing a drink.
posted by mannequito at 4:59 PM on September 30, 2014
oh man, I forgot about this one. I watched it at the Vancouver film fest that year, at like 10am, only because the movie I showed up to watch was sold out and this happened to be the next one starting. I was one of only 5 or so people in there and I came out at noon severely needing a drink.
posted by mannequito at 4:59 PM on September 30, 2014
Gozu is a gem on the list; for those who may not be familiar with Takashi Miike's oeuvre (which is substantial), there's a whole mess of outlandish Yakuza films amidst the surreal horror. Gozu manages to blend the two.
Off to go watch some of these. Thanks!
posted by Room 101 at 5:15 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Off to go watch some of these. Thanks!
posted by Room 101 at 5:15 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
My wife and I once saw Even Dwarfs Started Small, and she hated it so much that I cannot even refer to German midgets without risking sleeping the night on the couch. I knew another guy who took his girlfriend to see Marquis. She was only OK with it after he agreed to see three pre-1950s musicals in return.
posted by jonp72 at 5:40 PM on September 30, 2014
posted by jonp72 at 5:40 PM on September 30, 2014
I've had some bad experiences showing transgressive films to people as well. Made my ex sit through Miike's Audition, I think she didn't talk to me for a week.
posted by Saxon Kane at 6:47 PM on September 30, 2014
posted by Saxon Kane at 6:47 PM on September 30, 2014
Is this where I, again, wave all lovers of Zardoz over to the history of it I wrote for MeFiMag? Come, come to second level.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:01 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:01 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
These lists almost always irritate me by drawing a line between avant garde and commercial in the laziest way. The short subjects that are here are the ones by directors who have otherwise had commercial success. Why? Why are outright avant garde films, like, say, Peter Tscherkasskys Outer Space or anything from Kenneth Anger, or Lewis Klahr or... I could go on... not considered for weird points if Rabbits is? Rabbits is fuckin' mundane! That's the point. Ugh, using Lynch as a shortcut and end point of All Experimentalism is so tired.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:13 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:13 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Where's "Clean, Shaven" ?
Also, I enjoy living in the area that Zardoz was shot (Wicklow Mountains, Ireland) as aside from loving the film, it's also an exercise in 'spot the location'.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:47 AM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, I enjoy living in the area that Zardoz was shot (Wicklow Mountains, Ireland) as aside from loving the film, it's also an exercise in 'spot the location'.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:47 AM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Looked over the list quickly, but saw no mention of "Reflections of Evil" or any other Damon Packard output, which disappoints.
In fairness to Flavorwire, he did make their list of 50 Underground Filmmakers Everyone should know, with REFLECTIONS specifically getting name-checked.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:08 AM on October 1, 2014
In fairness to Flavorwire, he did make their list of 50 Underground Filmmakers Everyone should know, with REFLECTIONS specifically getting name-checked.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:08 AM on October 1, 2014
All of the not-yet-mentioned titles that immediately come to my mind to suggest are horror movies that are less "weird" than "incompetent in an inexplicable way"...Movies like Night Train to Terror, Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive, The Devil Times Five, etc. The list under discussion (of which I've seen only 11 as of right now) seems to be mostly movies where you can sense that the filmmaker has a point to make with the weirdness, beyond just being weird to create a feeling, even if you as the viewer can't work out what it is right away.
Oh, here's an appropriate one that I don't think has been mentioned: Begotten.
posted by doctornecessiter at 5:46 AM on October 1, 2014
Oh, here's an appropriate one that I don't think has been mentioned: Begotten.
posted by doctornecessiter at 5:46 AM on October 1, 2014
Wow, a list I actually liked!
Lots of great additions in the comments here, too.
Things I'd add:
Superstar - Todd Hayne's Barbie doll Carpenters biopic
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Clean, Shaven - so great, best soundtrack by Hahn Rowe from Hugo Largo and Foetus
Decoder
Towers Open Fire - Burroughs film experiment
Upstream Color - just because it's beautiful and critically acclaimed doesn't mean it's not weird
Science Friction- the movie Terry Gilliam based his career on
Pixote - the saddest movie ever made
Dog Star Man - Stan Brackage, just for the reverse birth scene
posted by rock swoon has no past at 6:58 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Lots of great additions in the comments here, too.
Things I'd add:
Superstar - Todd Hayne's Barbie doll Carpenters biopic
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Clean, Shaven - so great, best soundtrack by Hahn Rowe from Hugo Largo and Foetus
Decoder
Towers Open Fire - Burroughs film experiment
Upstream Color - just because it's beautiful and critically acclaimed doesn't mean it's not weird
Science Friction- the movie Terry Gilliam based his career on
Pixote - the saddest movie ever made
Dog Star Man - Stan Brackage, just for the reverse birth scene
posted by rock swoon has no past at 6:58 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Been trying to think of some additions to the list and have a few recommendations:
The World's Greatest Sinner- Weirdo character actor Timothy Carey wrote, directed and starred in this story about a man who abandons his humdrum life to found the Eternal Man's Party and run for President on the platform that everyone will live forever.
Zaat- Made in Florida in the early 70s, this bizarre regional horror film concerns a mad scientist who turns himself into a man/fish hybrid, wanders around and inconveniences people. In addition to being entertainingly incompetent, Zaat is punctuated by weird stuff happening every time the movie threatens to get dull.
After Last Season- Previously discussed on Metafilter quite some time ago, this is an obscure independent film that made a small internet splash before being released on four screens across the country and disappearing. The easiest way to get a handle on this film is to watch the trailer, and then realize that it is a very accurate depiction of the entire film. This one is so profoundly strange that chances of it gathering a cult following are highly unlikely--it's less like a movie made by incompetents than one made by aliens.
A Night to Dismember- Doris Wishman, director of the previously-mentioned Deadly Weapons, took a stab at making a straightforward horror film in the early 1980s during the slasher boom. Unfortunately (/allegedly), a disgruntled employee at the lab where her film had been processed burned the place to the ground and only about half of the footage she shot was recovered. Wishman, never one to give up, cut it together with footage from her previous films in order to try to salvage a workable feature. The results are mind-bogglingly strange; watching this movie feels like going insane. It goes way past "incompetence" and becomes unsettling in a very unique way. The DVD of this film has an incredible commentary track with Wishman and her longtime cinematographer, neither of whom seem to have any idea how bizarre the movie is. "It makes sense to me!"
Fateful Findings- Neil Breen is an up-and-coming cult filmmaker, and his most recent film has had midnight screenings across the country. He gets a lot of comparisons to Tommy Wiseau, but whereas Wiseau is just sort of a creepy egomaniac, Breen clearly has a lot more on his mind than just showing off his ass in love scenes with much younger women. I mean, Fateful Findings has that, too, but it also is supposedly a near-future sci-fi conspiracy thriller. Shades of Phillip K. Dick bump uncomfortably against Cinemax-style softcore and unintentional Curb Your Enthusiasm-styled awkwardness, and Breen keeps the story veering into increasingly unpredictable directions. The climax of Fateful Findings is jaw-dropping. By all accounts, his earlier films are just as (if not more) weird, but this is most accessible one and it's well worth seeking out.
posted by rabbitroom at 7:41 AM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
The World's Greatest Sinner- Weirdo character actor Timothy Carey wrote, directed and starred in this story about a man who abandons his humdrum life to found the Eternal Man's Party and run for President on the platform that everyone will live forever.
Zaat- Made in Florida in the early 70s, this bizarre regional horror film concerns a mad scientist who turns himself into a man/fish hybrid, wanders around and inconveniences people. In addition to being entertainingly incompetent, Zaat is punctuated by weird stuff happening every time the movie threatens to get dull.
After Last Season- Previously discussed on Metafilter quite some time ago, this is an obscure independent film that made a small internet splash before being released on four screens across the country and disappearing. The easiest way to get a handle on this film is to watch the trailer, and then realize that it is a very accurate depiction of the entire film. This one is so profoundly strange that chances of it gathering a cult following are highly unlikely--it's less like a movie made by incompetents than one made by aliens.
A Night to Dismember- Doris Wishman, director of the previously-mentioned Deadly Weapons, took a stab at making a straightforward horror film in the early 1980s during the slasher boom. Unfortunately (/allegedly), a disgruntled employee at the lab where her film had been processed burned the place to the ground and only about half of the footage she shot was recovered. Wishman, never one to give up, cut it together with footage from her previous films in order to try to salvage a workable feature. The results are mind-bogglingly strange; watching this movie feels like going insane. It goes way past "incompetence" and becomes unsettling in a very unique way. The DVD of this film has an incredible commentary track with Wishman and her longtime cinematographer, neither of whom seem to have any idea how bizarre the movie is. "It makes sense to me!"
Fateful Findings- Neil Breen is an up-and-coming cult filmmaker, and his most recent film has had midnight screenings across the country. He gets a lot of comparisons to Tommy Wiseau, but whereas Wiseau is just sort of a creepy egomaniac, Breen clearly has a lot more on his mind than just showing off his ass in love scenes with much younger women. I mean, Fateful Findings has that, too, but it also is supposedly a near-future sci-fi conspiracy thriller. Shades of Phillip K. Dick bump uncomfortably against Cinemax-style softcore and unintentional Curb Your Enthusiasm-styled awkwardness, and Breen keeps the story veering into increasingly unpredictable directions. The climax of Fateful Findings is jaw-dropping. By all accounts, his earlier films are just as (if not more) weird, but this is most accessible one and it's well worth seeking out.
posted by rabbitroom at 7:41 AM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
Also, Gummo is revolting. I hated that movie.
I once had the experience of tipsily passing out with the tv on and then seeing/hearing bits and pieces of Gummo over the next couple hours as I hazily went in and out of sleep. I am left with absolutely no memory of anything that happened in the movie, only a sense of deep, deep creeped-out-ness.
posted by naoko at 9:36 AM on October 1, 2014
I once had the experience of tipsily passing out with the tv on and then seeing/hearing bits and pieces of Gummo over the next couple hours as I hazily went in and out of sleep. I am left with absolutely no memory of anything that happened in the movie, only a sense of deep, deep creeped-out-ness.
posted by naoko at 9:36 AM on October 1, 2014
Heh. No Zorn's Lemma.
posted by Death and Gravity at 8:30 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by Death and Gravity at 8:30 PM on October 1, 2014
I bought After Last Season on DVD, and I've watched it twice. It's not a course of action I would really recommend.
Though it's kind of fun having it as a physical object, because I can menace my spouse with it.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:30 PM on October 1, 2014
Though it's kind of fun having it as a physical object, because I can menace my spouse with it.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:30 PM on October 1, 2014
Made my ex sit through Miike's Audition, I think she didn't talk to me for a week.
We saw Audition in the theater more than a decade ago, and to this day, I can make Mr. Palmcorder jump out of his skin by going, "kiri-kiri-kiri" in a high-pitched voice.
It freaks him out in a genuinely unpleasant way, so I almost never do it. But every few years I get to wondering if it stil works and -- yup, it always does.
I am a terrible human being.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:40 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
We saw Audition in the theater more than a decade ago, and to this day, I can make Mr. Palmcorder jump out of his skin by going, "kiri-kiri-kiri" in a high-pitched voice.
It freaks him out in a genuinely unpleasant way, so I almost never do it. But every few years I get to wondering if it stil works and -- yup, it always does.
I am a terrible human being.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:40 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
'The Reflecting Skin' is an under-rated Classic Canadian film. But kinda creepy.
posted by ovvl at 6:49 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ovvl at 6:49 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Beyond the Black Rainbow has a fantastic soundtrack. (previously, previouslier, previousliest)
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 7:52 PM on October 4, 2014
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 7:52 PM on October 4, 2014
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posted by joecacti at 8:43 AM on September 30, 2014