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 àëôàâèòíîì ïîðÿäêå ïðåäñòàâëÿåì ñïèñîê âñåõ ôèëüìîâ (íà äàííûé ìîìåíò), èç ÷èñëà 366 ñàìûõ ñòðàííûõ ôèëüìîâ, êîãäà-ëèáî ñîçäàííûõ, êîòîðûå áûëè ñåðòèôèöèðîâàíû, à òàêæå ññûëêè íà òå èç íèõ, êîòîðûå áûëè ïðîñìîòðåíû íà êàññåòàõ.
127 ôèëüìîâ ñåðòèôèöèðîâàíû ñàéòîì êàê ñòðàííûå.
8 1/2 (1963) – Memories and dreams collide with reality in Fellini’s self-reflexive, stream-of-consciousness classic about a director trying to make a movie
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension(1984) – Buckaroo’s a neurosurgeon/particle physicist/secret agent/rock star with a backing band of soldier-of-fortune scientists opposed by transdimensional aliens and… it just goes on from there
Alice [Neco Z Alenky] (1988) – Ultra-creepy Czech stop-motion animated version of the Lewis Carroll classic, shot in eerie stop-animation in a decaying house
Altered States (1980) – Ken Russell’s visionary tale of genetic regression under the influence of magic mushrooms may be the greatest “trip” movie ever made
The American Astronaut (2001) – An absurdist indie sci-fi/western/musical/comedy co-starring the Boy Who Actually Saw a Woman’s Breast
Antichrist (2009) – Controversial, extremely graphic allegory about a man and woman lose their child and retreat to a cabin in the woods where they go crazy
Archangel (1990) – Surreal, nearly silent meditation on forgetfulness set in an icy Russian city just after World War I
Bad Boy Bubby (1993) – Relentlessly offbeat character study of a man who was locked in a basement until age 35, then unleashed on modern Australia
Barbarella (1968) – Slinky Barbarella flies through the sinful galaxy finding herself in sexily psychedelic situations
Barton Fink (1991) – A leftist Hollywood screenwriter endures a case of writer’s block that turns into a living nightmare on the eve of WWII
The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) – Dadaist narration courtesy of the eccentric Coleman Francis makes this tale of a nuclear blast turning Tor Johnson into a ravaging desert “beast” weird indeed
Begotten (1991) – Legendary experimental film, featuring God disemboweling himself and other metaphysical atrocities
Being John Malkovich (1999) – You can enter the head of the titular actor through this weird metaphysical comedy, the screenwriting debut of bizarre movie titan Charlie Kaufman
Belle de Jour (1967) – A young French housewife has bondage fantasies that gradually merge with her everyday reality in this once-salacious arthouse hit
Black Swan (2010) – A ballerina goes mad as she encounters her lustful double while preparing to dance the lead in “Swan Lake”
Blood Diner (1987) – Severely out-of-whack horror-comedy with (possibly unconscious) fascist undertones
Blood Tea and Red String (2006) – The Dwellers Under the Oak seek to recover their stolen doll from depraved white mice in this surreal stop-motion animated fairy tale for adults
A Boy and His Dog (1975) – Post-apocalyptic tale of a wasteland rapist and his far more intelligent telepathic dog companion
Branded to Kill (1967) – Seijun Suzuki’s surreal, scrambled yakuza thriller about a rice-sniffing hitman famously got him fired by the studio who financed it
Brazil (1985) – Terry Gilliam’ must-see dystopian black comedy mixes expressionism, surrealism, fantasy, and film noir to create a keen satire of bureaucracy
Bronson (2008) – Overwhelmingly stylized biopic of Charlie Bronson (born Michael Peterson), the self-mythologizing celebrity who prides himself on being Britain’s most violent prisoner
Careful (1992) – Residents of an Alpine village fear avalanches and their own incestuous desires in this comic surrealist melodrama shot in “two-strip’ Technicolor
Carnival of Souls (1962) – Low-budget creepfest is a minor miracle on film
Cemetery Man [Dellamorte Dellamore] (1994) – Surrealist arthouse zombie gore film about the caretaker of a graveyard where the dead refuse to stay down
Un Chien Andalou (1929) – A razor through an eyeball announces the Surrealist revolution
The City of Lost Children [La cit; des enfants perdus] (1995) – Visionary steampunk fairytale from Jeunet & Caro
A Clockwork Orange (1971) – Kubrick weirds it up in this disturbing moral fable
Cowards Bend the Knee, or, the Blue Hands (2003) – Typically surreal modern silent from the inimitable Guy Maddin mixing melodrama, Greek tragedy, psychosexual guilt, and hockey highlights
Daisies [Sedmikr;sky] (1966) – Sexy Czech hippie chicks wreaking havoc in this banned satire of something or other
The Dark Backward (1991) – The world’s worst comic nearly becomes an overnight success when he grows a third arm out of his back in this grotesque show business satire
Dead Man (1995) – Hypnotic, dreamlike Western about a man bearing the name of a dead poet and an Indian named Nobody
Dead Ringers (1988) – Twin gynecologists (!) go crazy in this odd psychodrama from horror maestro David Cronenberg.
Delicatessen (1991) – Jeunet & Caro’s first film is a bizarre but oddly sweet black comedy involving cannibalism in post-apocalyptic Paris
Dillinger is Dead (1969) – Nearly forgotten late 1960s avant-garde alienation piece about a gas-mask designer who spends an evening puttering about his apartment
Dogtooth [Kynodontas] (2009) – Three children are raised to adulthood in a bizarre estate where words mean just what the tyrannical father wants them to in this shocking Greek art film
Donnie Darko (2001) – Angsty, apocalyptic, fantastical drama about a screwed-up, possibly time-traveling teen is an irresistibly lovable mess
Don’t Look Now (1973) - Classic psychological horror with a weird twist
Elevator Movie (2004) – Surreal and minimalist independent feature about two people trapped in an elevator for months; well-scripted and weird as hell but very amateur
El Topo (1970) – Mystical and surreal Spaghetti Western from Alejandro Jodorowsky
Enter the Void (2009) – Provocative and pretentious, Gaspar No;’s “psychedelic melodrama” is nonetheless the best trip film of the young millennium
Eraserhead (1977) – The ultimate nightmare experience, about horror at procreation and loathing for one’s own offspring
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Jim Carrey unexpectedly shines as he fights against a memory-erasing procedure he impulsively undertook; a weird crowd-pleaser
Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) – Dwarf inmates revolt against their dwarf oppressors at an unnamed institution; they burn flowerpots, crucify monkeys, and laugh at defecating camels
Evil Dead II (1987) – The frenetic, fantastic and crowd-pleasing movie about a man trapped in a cabin menaced by evil spirits, mixing equal parts horror and absurd slapstick comedy
Eyes Without a Face [Le Yeux sans Visage] (1965)- Georges Franjou’s influential, poetic horror film
Fantastic Planet [La Plan;te Sauvage] (1973) – Tale of humans kept as pets by giant blue aliens, told in a Terry-Gilliam-meets-Salvador-Dal;-in-space animation style
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) – Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s cult novel about two burnouts taking insane quantities of drugs in the City of Sin (this entry is a stub)
Fellini Satyricon (1969) – Bizarre androgynous costuming and mythological leaps of logic gird a great director’s decadent extravanganza
Final Flesh (2009) – Four separate porn-troupes-for-hire enact an absurdist prank script about the apocalypse
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005) – Selection of surreal, interwoven sketches from three Japanese directors is uneven, as you would expect, but contains some of the weirdest sequences you’re likely to come across
Gothic (1986) – Hallucinatory excess from Ken Russell, about the night Mary Shelley conceived “Frankenstein”
Gozu (2003) – Erotically charged, hallucinatory Takashi Miike horror/yakuza mashup
La Grande Bouffe (1973) – Four successful men lock themselves inside a chateau and eat themselves to death
Greaser’s Palace (1972) – A zoot-suited Jesus visits a Western town to enact a series of absurd parables
Gummo (1997) – Indisputably weird but ceaselessly unpleasant portrait of hopeless white trash
H;xan [Witchcraft Through the Ages] (1922) – Silent documentary about witchcraft containing the most diabolically visionary horror images of all time
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) – Hedwig, a punk band leader and victim of a botched sex change operation, chases the rock star who stole her songs across the U.S.
Help! Help! The Globolinks [Hilfe! Hilfe! Die Globolinks] (1969) – The world’s only psychedelic children’s opera about an alien invasion
The Holy Mountain (1973) – An extravagant, psychedelic tour of world mysticism has a guru lead a Christ-figure and companions on a quest to storm the Holy Mountain
The Horrors of Spider Island [Ein Toter hing im Netz] (1960) - A bad misogynist fever dream involving poorly dubbed buxom women, and some spiders, on an island
House [Hausu] (1977) – The weirdest haunted house movie ever made; no one forgets the scene where the piano eats the girl
I Can See You (2008) – This “psychedelic campfire tale” is slow to start, but climaxes in a 20 minute freakout
Idiots and Angels (2008) – A loathsome man grows wings in this occasionally surreal animated black comedy that expertly mixes cynicism with romanticism
I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK [Saibogujiman Kwenchana] (2006) – Romantic comedy set in a mental asylum is likely to remain the weirdest example of its genre
The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009) – Experimental cookies cause hallucinations and pregnancy in male janitors in this indie comedy sleeper
Ink (2009) – Visually impressive low-budget fantasy about a mysterious figure who snatches a sleeping girl into a world of dreams
INLAND EMPIRE (2006) – This story of Laura Dern trapped in a nightmare while filming a cursed script is perhaps David Lynch’s weirdest movie
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life (1995) – An ambitionless man enrolls in a school for servants and enters into ambiguous relationships with the brother and sister who run the institute
Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – big-budget cult mindtrip movie with unforgettable demonic hallucinations
Johnny Got His Gun (1971) – Antiwar classic about a limbless, blind and deaf casualty of the first World War, trapped inside his own head where he lives out a mixture of dreams and fantasies
Kontroll (2003) – A kontroller living in the Budapest subway chases after a mysterious killer pushing people onto the train tracks in this mythic thriller
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) – totally off-it’s-rocker kung fu comedy/fantasy that became a smash international hit
Kwaidan (1964) – old Japanese ghost stories turned into Expressionist art
The Lair of the White Worm (1988) – Ken Russell’s ultra-fun, tongue-in-cheek horror movie filled with phallic symbols and impaled nuns
Little Otik (2000) – A barren woman adopts a log as a child, and it comes to life and begins eating the neighbors in this black comedy adaptation of an Eastern European folktale
Lucifer Rising (1981) – Egyptian gods and goddess conjure Lucifer and flying saucers in this short (30 minutes), occult, avant-garde masterpiece
Maelstrom (2000) – This tale of a pretty young socialite’s guilt is narrated by a talking fish
Malpertuis (1972) – Harry K;mel’s big weird dark house tale was confusing and a flop despite the presence of Orson Welles, but drips with surreal atmosphere nonetheless
Maniac (1934) – Resurrection of the dead, an orangutan-man rapist and edible cat eyeballs all feature heavily in this deranged exploitation movie that seems to have been directed by an actual maniac
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) – This fifteen minute afternoon nightmare with cloaked figures with mirrored faces gave birth to the American avant-garde
The Milky Way [La Voie Lactee] (1969) – A dry and cerebral, but very weird, story by surrealist master Luis Bu;uel about two tramps meet various Biblical characters and embodiments of Catholic heresies while traveling on a pilgrimage
Mulholland Drive (2001) – Radical identity shifts and surrealistic nightclub acts ignite this dreamlike noir fable about love, guilt and Hollywood
Naked Lunch (1991) – David Cronenberg’s adaptation of the unadaptable William S. Burroughs novel features film’s scariest typewriters
Nostalghia (1983) – Andrei Tarkovsky’s slow, beautiful, dreamlike spiritual parable about a homesick Russian poet in Italy
O Lucky Man! (1973) – Sprawling satire with Malcolm McDowell, Kafkaesque interrogations, a half-man half-hog, and breastfeeding
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Guillermo del Toro’s beautiful fairytale; a girl completes quests at a faun’s behest, while her “real” world Fascist stepfather is a monster beyond all fantasy
Paprika (2006) – Stunning Satoshi Kon animation; scenario involves terrorists invading dreams, then turning them loose on the streets of Tokyo
Performance (1968/1970) – Gangster James Fox is fed magic mushrooms and turned into a hippie by Mick Jagger and groupies in this psychedelic stunner
Phantasm (1979) – Crazy, nightmarish, obstinately illogical drive-in horror flick about a kid and a sinister funeral home, featuring the terrifying “Tall Man”
Pi (1998) – Amazing black and white photography and a pulsing electronica soundtrack drive this intellectual thriller about a mad math genius seeking a mystical number
The Pillow Book (1996) – Gorgeous experimental video, full of layered images, illustrates this story of a woman obsessed with creating living books by drawing on nude bodies
Pink Floyd the Wall (1982) – Bombastic, unfocused, overwrought and often brilliant rock opera, with knockout animation from British political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe
The Red Squirrel [La Ardilla Roja] (1993) – A suicidal man pretends to be the boyfriend of a beautiful amnesia victim, but how long can he keep up the charade?
The Reflecting Skin (1990) – Uneven but sometimes powerful flick teeming with symbolism about a kid who thinks his widow neighbor is a vampire, among other strangenesses
A Report on the Party and Guests (1966) – Picnickers are kidnapped and taken to a party in this Kafkaesque allegory on totalitarianism made (and banned) in Communist Czechoslovakia
Repulsion (1965) – Disturbing Roman Polanski peek inside Catherine Deneuve’s disintegrating mind
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Even without its bizarre cult following, this naughty musical b-movie spoof would have earned a place on the list
The Saddest Music in the World (2003) – A legless Winnipeg beer baroness holds a contest to discover the titular music in this typically retro comic outing by Guy Maddin
Sans Soleil (1983) – Remarkable, meandering mondo-style arthouse documentary that mixes a trip to a cat shrine and a monkey porn museum with cinematic poetry
Santa Sangre (1989) – Psychedelic slasher film about a man raised in a circus who acts as the hands for his armless mother
The Science of Sleep (2006) – The melancholy love life of a man who can’t distinguish dreams from reality
A Serious Man (2009) – The Coen brothers’ retelling of the Book of Job as an absurdist comedy is mystifying and brilliant in equal parts
Shock Corridor (1963) – Eccentric auteur Sam Fuller imagines Cold War America as a mental asylum in this campy melodrama with remarkable expressionist visuals
Silent Hill (2006) – Sloppy scripting and apocalyptic imagery combine to create a truly weird experience
Skidoo (1968) – Carol Channing strips, Jackie Gleason drops acid and Groucho Marx is “God” in this all-star psychedelic misfire
Solaris [Solyaris] (1972) – Minimalist, mystical science fiction about a conscious planet that recreates a cosmonaut’s dead wife
Songs from the Second Floor (2000) – Millennial and existential panic in a nameless Swedish city, told in a spare, absurd style
Stalker (1979) – Andrei Tarkovsky’s slow, mystifying, beautiful science fiction parable about three men’s journey to a room which can grant their innermost wishes
Steppenwolf (1974) – The psychedelic effects in this faithful adaptation of Herman Hesse’s novel have dated badly
Suspiria (1977) – Bizarre, unreal color schemes and a pounding score surrealize this horror fairy tale about a coven of witches operating a ballet academy
Synecdoche, New York (2008) – Charlie Kaufman working without a net in this absurdist, recursive, and dreamlike story of a sad-sack theater director who builds a replica of New York City inside a warehouse
Taxidermia (2006) – A penis ejaculating fire is the take-home image from this surreal and twisted Hungarian generational epic; barf bags recommended
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) – A man inexplicably transforms into metal, set to an industrial soundtrack in grainy 16mm black and white
Tideland (2005) – Terry Gilliam’s dark and controversial riff on Alice in Wonderland
Time Bandits (1981) – Time-traveling, thieving dwarfs feature heavily in this weird kiddie film mixing fantasy, comedy and theology
Toto the Hero [Toto le Heros] (1991) – A man nurses a lifelong grudge against the neighbor he believes stole his life (and maybe the love of his sister)
Trash Humpers (2009) – Geriatric miscreants vandalize a trash-strewn Nashville and force Siamese twins to eat soap-soaked pancakes in this non-narrative celebration of VHS aesthetics. A “reader’s choice” poll winner.
The Tree of Life (2011) – Terrence Malick wonders how best to tell the tale of a Texas boy’s strained relationship with his demanding father, and concludes the answer is to include dinosaurs
The Triplets of Belleville (2003) – Three retired jazz singers help a nearsighted grandma and her overweight dog save a bicyclist from art deco gangsters in this dialogue-free animation set in a surrealistic 1940s milieu
Tromeo & Juliet (1996) – The creators of The Toxic Avenger remake the Bard’s tale as an obscene punk epic, with predictably bizarre results
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) – Meditative Thai movie where the border between this world and the next is as thin as a strip of film
Visitor Q (2001) - Takashi Miike’s story about a mysterious visitor who disrupts dysfunctional family dynamics breaks the lactation taboo
Waking Life (2001) – The story of a young man who finds he’s dreaming and can’t wake up, with serious philosophical monologues and dialogues interspersed, painstakingly animated by over thirty artists in differing styles
The Wicker Man (1973) – Horrifying and intelligent tale of a devout detective’s search for a missing girl on a Scottish island where the residents have adopted an ancient pagan religion
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) – A laborer race of orange and green dwarfs and the bad acid boat trip from hell tip this kiddie musical into the weird column
You, the Living [Du Levande] (2007) – 50 bittersweet, absurdist sketches on the crushing mundanity of everyday life
Zardoz (1974) – John Boorman’s pretentious, campy sci-fi epic full of floating stone heads, psychedelic effects and Sean Connery in a red diaper
LIST CANDIDATES (movies that didn’t make it on a first pass, but may get a second chance)
$9.99 (2008) – A series of interwoven absurdist stories, featuring a dour chain-smoking angel, brought to you via Claymation
200 Motels (1971) – Frank Zappa’s psychedelic review includes Ringo Starr as Larry the Dwarf, Keith Moon as a nun groupie, and an oratorio devoted to the penis
964 Pinocchio (1991) – A cybernetic male sex-slave is cast adrift in a weird world in this underground Japanese cyberpunk film
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) – Art-deco b-movie has fascinating production design and campy acting from star Vincent Price, but is it weird enough?
Adaptation (2002) – Great twisty script, but in the end, may be too intellectual to be weird
The Addiction (1995) – Abel Ferrara’s pretentious, existential, and strange take on the vampire myth
After Last Season (2009) – Amazingly bad amateur thriller featuring a thin parapsychological plot, special effects done using primitive CAD software, and padding, padding, padding
Alice [Neco Z Alenky] (1988) – Alex Kittle’s original short review of Alice (now on the List)
Alice in Wonderland (1933) – This “star-studded” (W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant) version of Lewis Carrol flopped on release—could it be because it was too weird for 1933 audiences?
Alice in Wonderland (1951) – Animated version of the nonsense classic is pretty good, but is it too Disneyfied to be weird?
The American Astronaut (2001) – An absurdist indie sci-fi/western/musical/comedy. This movie has been promoted onto the List; this review is left up for archival purposes.
Asparagus (1979) – Surreal 18 minute tour de force featuring obscene iterations of the title vegetable. Included on The Films of Suzan Pitt.
Attenberg (2010) – An asexual girl and her promiscuous friend invent weird dances in this strange Greek drama
The Attic Expeditions (2001) – Mindbending psychological horror that loses its mind, mixing occultism, medical experimentation and general weirdness into a confusing B-movie blend
Bad Boy Bubby (1993) – Relentlessly offbeat character study of a man who was locked in a basement until age 40, then unleashed on modern Australia. Promoted onto the List, this initial review kept for archival purposes
Bad Girls Go to Hell (1965) – A housewife descends into a dreamlike sexual hell in this roughie with lots of random shots of feet and furniture
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) – Nic Cage unloosed, iguanas, and an ambiguous ending give this crazy thriller some weird cred
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) – The tale of Hushpuppy, who lives in The Bathtub and sees aurochs; it’s a Louisiana indie fantasy/drama seen through a child’s eyes
The Black Cat (1934) – The best of the Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi team-ups is an Expressionist horror masterpiece about Satanism and vengeance. By Alfred Eaker.
The Black Cat (1934) – Alternate “official” review by 366weirdmovies
Black Moon (1975) - Louis Malle’s unexpected venture in surrealism features breastfeeding and a unicorn (you’ll have to watch to see if they happen together)
Black Swan (2010) – Psychological horror about a goody-goody ballerina (Natalie Portman) who wants to dance as both the White and Black Swan from “Swan Lake.” Promoted onto the List; we leave up the initial review of the theatrical release for archival purposes.
The Box (2009) – An adaptation of Richard Matheson’s ethical sci-fi fable gets weirded up by Richard Kelly
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962) – A mad scientist searches for a hot new body for the recently decapitated fianc;e whose head he’s keeping alive in his basement
Brewster McCloud (1970) – Bizarre, bird-oriented Robert Altman cult satire about a boy who dreams of flying inside the Houston Astrodome
The Butcher Boy (1995) – Death and abandonment send a rebellious Irish youth into a psychotic maelstrom
Calvaire (2004) – Strange, surreal, and excessive Belgian horror about a lounge singer stranded in a remote town full of perverted and sadistic men
The Catechism Cataclysm (2011) – The world’s least likely (and maybe least effective) priest goes on a beer-drinking, headbanging canoe trip with his high school idol
Chronopolis (1982) – Reader review by Morgan Hoyle-Combs. Seldom-seen abstract stop-motion animation from France.
Codex Atanicus (2007) – A compilation of three perverse, surreal shorts from Spanish underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes
Cure (1997) – Pretty weird Japanese twist in the serial killer/police procedural genre
Dark Country (2009) – Noir-thriller mix about a honeymooning couple who run over a man in the desert
Dead Leaves (2004) – Hyperactive anime about a guy with a television head and a girl with mismatched eyes breaking out of a mutant clone prison on the moon
Dead Ringers (1988) – Twin gynecologists (!) go crazy in this odd psychodrama from horror maestro David Cronenberg. This movie has been promoted onto the List; this original review is left up for archival purposes.
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977) – Rediscovered oddity about a man-eating bed is a horror-art film parody, or something?
Doggiewoggiez! Poochiewoochiez! (2012) – A loose “remake” of The Holy Mountain, constructed out of found footage from dog movies and instructional videos. You heard right!
Dr. Caligari (1989) – This pop-surrealist work by a hardcore porn director suffers from bad acting, but it is weird as hell; likely to make the list on a second pass
Duck Soup (1933) – Groucho’s lack of diplomacy leads Freedonia into war in the surrealest of the Marx Brothers features
Father’s Day (2011) – A serial killer who preys on fathers is just the starting point for this lunatic bad-taste comedy that literally winds up in Hell
Faust (1994) – Veteran stop-motion surrealist Jan Svankmajer’s take on the Faust legend
Frankie in Blunderland (2011) – Low budget hallucinatory trip through a bizarre hipster L.A.
Frownland (2007) – Painfully emotionally intense character study of a loser whose social anxiety disorder ironically turns him into loathsome company
Girl Slaves of Morgana le Fay [Morgane et ses Nymphes] (1971) – A fairy tale for lesbian sex fetishists
The Guatemalan Handshake (2006) – Quirked-out indie that pushes into surreal realms; it’s like Gummo if directed by Jared Hess as a comedy
Hansel and Gretel (2007) – Korean adaptation of the fairytale switches the roles of the children and adults; it’s a beautifully made movie but perhaps too predictable in the end
Hellzapoppin’ (1941) – Anarchic musical comedy from vaudevillians Chick Johnson and Ole Olsen is probably the weirdest Hollywood musical of all time
House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) – Rob Zombie’s cruel and self-indulgentTexas Chainsaw Massacre tribute is weird but not much fun
House of Evil (1968) – One of Boris Karloff’s final, half-Mexican films; also one of his worst
How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) – A hotshot ad exec grows a pimple that turns into a head in this bizarre, biting satire
Immortal (Ad Vitam) (2004) – The Egyptian god Horus visits future Manhattan in this trippy French sci-fi feature mixing live and computer generated actors
Kaboom (2010) – College student stumbles upon odd murder mystery in this mix of sex and weirdness
Keane (2004) – First-person perspective on a near-homeless madman who may or may not have tragically lost a daughter
Kung Fu Arts [Hou Fu Ma] (1980) – A Chinese princess marries “Sida, the French Monkey Star” in this zany chopsocky
The Limits of Control (2009) – Jim Jamursch’s ultra-minimalist anti-thriller about a Lone Man on an ambiguous assassination mission is an experiment in plotlessness
Lunacy [Sileni] (2005) – Jan Svankmajer directs the Marquis de Sade in a tale by Edgar Allan Poe
The Machinist (2004) – Possibly predictable mindbender starring an emaciated Christian Bale
Make-out with Violence (2008) – A young man rekindles romance with his ex; the only issue is, she’s dead
Manos, the Hands of Fate (1966) – Could have been the worst movie ever made, if not for the redemptive presence of the great oddball character Torgo, the spastic satyr
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) – David Bowie is the alien who falls to Earth and is s corrupted in this nonlinear, experimental sci-fi movie
Maximum Shame (2010) – The tagline describes it as “an apocalyptic fetish horror musical chess sci-fi weird feature movie”—and it is!
Meatball Machine (2005) – Japanese splatterpunk love story about alien parasites turning human hosts into bio-engineered gladiators
Meek’s Cutoff (2010) – Westbound pioneers gamble on a shortcut and find themselves unsure which guide they can trust
Modus Operandi (2009) – Grindhouse spy spoof with ridiculous amounts of nudity and violence and about a 5% admixture of surrealism
Mutant Girls Squad (2010) – A cheerleader with a chainsaw in her butt is just one of the strange sights in this wild Japanese mutant gore spoof from three directors
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – Macabre stop-motion animated cult favorite about the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown trying to reproduce Christmas in his own ghoulish style
The Nude Vampire [La Vampire Nue] (1970) – A man kidnaps a vampire hoping to learn the secret of immortality, but it turns out she’s from another dimension, and her kinsfolk want her back
Oldboy (2003) – Excellent, if extreme, Korean revenge drama could stand just a teaspoon more weirdness…
The Oregonian (2011) – An amnesiac woman meets giant green Muppet and man who pees in rainbow colors
Palindromes (2004) – A 13-year old girl desperately wants to become pregnant; she’s played by 8 different actresses of different ages, weights and races
Possession (1981) – Isabelle Ajani has sex with an octopus; weird enough for you?
Primer (2004) – Intricate and confusing time travel puzzler, made by an engineer for an amazing $7,000.
Private Parts (1972) – A teenage runaway flees to her eccentric aunt’s decrepit hotel in this deviant psychosexual debut from professional oddball Paul Bartel
Putney Swope (1969) – A militant black man becomes head of a Madison Avenue advertising agency in this absurdist satire from the Swinging Sixties
Rape of the Vampire [Le Viol du Vampire] (1968) – A psychotherapist tries to convince four sisters they aren’t vampires, then gets killed and resurrected to defeat the Queen of the Vampires in this surrealist horror
Requiem for a Vampire (1973) – An aging vampire needs two killer lesbian clowns to regenerate his race in Jean Rollin’s most sexually explicit erotic horror movie
Saint Clara [Clara Hakedosha] (1996) – A psychic Russian immigrant girl in Israel gives her classmates test answers, until she falls in love
Schizopolis (1996) – Fletcher Munson struggles to write a speech for a Scientology-like leader while his doppelg;nger is having an affair with his wife
The Seventh Seal (1957) – Bergman’s movie about Death stalking the medieval countryside and playing chess with knights is a masterpiece, but is it weird?
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) – If you hate the Beatles, you’ll love this bizarrely bad disco-era insult to their memory
Shiver of the Vampires (1971) – Typically surreal Jean Rollin flourishes—including a spirit emerging from a grandfather clock and a pair of “bourgeois vampires”—fill this otherwise generic, but nudity-filled, bloodsucker flick
The Short Films of David Lynch (2002) – The short “The Grandmother” is a weird classic; the rest of this collection, less so
Simon of the Desert (1965) – Truncated (45 minute) surrealist feature about the temptation of a saint who lives on a pillar in the desert
Singapore Sling (1990) – black and white film noir tribute with mucho sexual perversion and general weirdness
Six-String Samurai (1998) – Buddy Holly is a sword-swinging rock n’ roller seeking to claim Elvis’ throne in an alternate post-apocalyptic reality
Sleeping Beauty (2011) – A young girl takes job as an unconscious prostitute
Sound of Noise (2010) – A tone deaf detective tries to stop a gang of musical terrorists from staging a conceptual piece in the public spaces of a Swedish city
Southland Tales (2006) – Crazy, near-incoherent apocalyptic epic; a famous flop from the creator of Donnie Darko
Spider (2002) – David Cronenberg turns inward for this story of a schizophrenic misremembering a family tragedy
Stay (2005) -A visually impressive psychological thriller that puts a little spin on a tired twist–but is it enough to merit making the List?
Stingray Sam (2009) – It’s a six part musical/Western/sci-fi serial; need we say more to catch your interest?
Strings (2004) – High fantasy set in a kingdom of marionettes, exploring all aspects of marionette culture
Suicide Club (2002) – Japanese surrealism about an unexplained wave of suicides among Tokyo teens
Super (2010) – Uneven comic entry in the “average guy decides to become a masked vigilante” subgenre
Sweet Movie (1974) – A millionaire with a golden penis and a socialist whore sailor with a hold full of sugar are the highlights of this disgustingly scatological allegory of capitalism and communism
Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981) – There’s little that’s ordinary in these magical realist tales based on the life of skid-row poet Charles Bukowski
The Tingler (1959) – Vincent Price takes acid and exposes the creature that lives in our tailbones and causes fear
To Die for Tano [Tano da Morire] (1997) – This amateur mafia musical is a cult classic in Italy
Tokyo! (2008) - Tryptich of weird tales set in the titular metropolis, from directors Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Joon-ho Bong
Tommy (1975) – A deaf, dumb and blind kid plays a mean pinball in this psychedelic version of the Who’s best-selling rock opera
The Tree of Life (2011) – Original review for the movie that has since been elevated to the List
Tuvalu (1999) – Can Anton get his family’s Turkish bathhouse to pass inspection while winning the heart of the girl who blames him for her father’s death?
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) – David Lynch took an on-the-edge TV series over the cliff with this divisive prequel exploring Laura Palmer’s last days
Visitor Q (2001) -Promoted to the List; this early, less favorable review is kept here for archival purposes
The Wayward Cloud (2005) – Taiwanese minimalism mixing porno shoots, a watermelon fetish, and musical numbers
W the Movie (2008) – Underground, surrealist attack on the Bush presidency will not be confused with the Oliver Stone pic by anyone who sees it
Xtro (1983) – incoherent alien exploitation pic that’s fairly standard, up until when the dwarf clown hits the nanny on the head with a rubber hammer and uses her to incubate alien eggs
Yakuza Weapon (2011) – An already nearly invincible yakuza warrior is turned into a killer cyborg with armaments for arms
Zazie dans le Metro (1960) – 10-year old Zazie explores a Paris filled with transvestites, dirty old men, desperate widows and guys in polar bear suits in this absurdist tribute to slapastick comedy
Z;ro de conduite (1933) – Anarchist classic about a revolt at a boys boarding school, with surreal moments
CAPSULES & GUEST REVIEWS
@SuicideRoom (2011) – A suicidal Polish teen retreats into a virtual reality world
3 Dev Adam (1973) – Captain America and Santo team up to defeat Spiderman in this ludicrous superherosploitation flick from Turkey
3-Iron (2004) – A nearly silent romance between a mute man who breaks into people’s places while they’re away and the abused model he meets in one home
4 (2005) – A surreal vision of Russia’s growing pains at the turn of the millennium
42nd Street (1933) – Racy pre-Code musical with classic, outrageous Busby Berkeley choreography
9 (2009) – Shane Acker’s intriguing short about ragdolls fighting robots in a post-apocalyptic world suffers from extension to feature length
44 Inch Chest (2009) – London gangster drama and actor’s showpiece about four men who try to goad a cuckold into killing his wife’s lover; contains psychological fantasy scenes
Absurdistan (2008) – charming, unusual, almost silent romantic comedy about a sex strike by the women of an isolated Central Asian village
Across the Universe (2007) - Julie Taymor’s Beatles fantasia has some ripe psychedelic moments, but not enough to make it consistently weird
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) – An old man tells tall tales about meeting Greek gods and the King of the Moon in the most expensive and least weird entry in Terry Gilliam‘s imagination trilogy
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005) -Wacky Robert Rodriguez film about a kid’s dream world, co-scripted by his then seven-year old son Racer
After.Life (2009) – Christina Ricci spends much of this porst-mortem psychological thriller in the nude
A Journey into the Mind of P (2001) – Guest review of the documentary on reclusive writer Thomas Pynchon
Aphrodisiac! The Sexual Secret of Marijuana (1971) – Pro-pot propaganda interspersed with brief hardcore sex vignettes makes for an uncomfortable marriage in this early porn attempt to evade the censors
; L’aventure (2009): A levitating orgasm is the highlight of this otherwise dull and talky philosophical French sex flick
Alice (2009) – TV miniseries re-imagining Wonderland as a dystopian kingdom is surprisingly entertaining
Alice in Wonderland (2010) – Tim Burton’s adaptation of the classic is visually impressive, but the generic fantasy plot means it’s for kids only
Alien vs. Ninja (2010) – Decent martial arts actioner with nutty premise and a touch of absurd comedy
All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (2010) – Odd indie drama about a fortune teller living in a house full of ghosts comes from the lead singer of the band Califone
The Amazing Transplant (1970) – Amazingly bad story about a man who receives a rapists penis in a transplant operation
American Grindhouse (2010) – Primer on the shadowy history of the exploitation movie industry
Angel Heart (1987) – Supernatural noir that’s well worth a watch, but not transcendentally weird
Annie Hall (1977) – Touchstone romantic comedy/relationship movie that was innovative in breaking the fourth wall, but not weird
The Arbor (2010) – Experimental documentary of playwright Andrea Dunbar, told by actors lip-synching recordings of her friends and family
Army of Darkness (1992) – The final (?) installment of the “Evil Dead” series is aimed at a more mainstream audience but is still of some interest
Ascanio in Alba (2006) – Disappointing staging of the Mozart opera about a man romancing a nymph, partially in 3-D (or not)
Automatons (2006) – A girl living with robots in an underground bunker is the lone survivor of her race in this grainy throwback to 1950s style sci-fi
Avatar (2009) – Just to remind us why we prefer weird movies to Hollywood formula movies, Alfred checks out James Cameron’s blockbuster and finds it wanting
Baba Yaga (1973) – Former Baby Doll Carrol Baker is a lesbian witch in this weirdish erotic Eurosleaze
Babo 73 (1964) – The President of the United Status fights the Red Siamese and his own crazy cabinet in this underground comedy
The Baby (1973) – A concerned social worker tries to get custody of a mentally impaired adult being raised as a baby in this odd, campy thriller with a nice twist ending
Bad Biology (2008) – Frank Henenlotter’s gleefully tasteless horror comedy about killer genitalia
The Banishment (2007) – The longest and most detailed analysis on this site outlines the religious allegory in this tale of adultery
Basket Case (1982) – Worthwhile gory shocker about a monster who fits inside a basket, but not so very weird, by our high standards
Batman Returns (1992) – Alfred Eaker argues Tim Burton’s sequel is the best (and weirdest) comic book movie ever made
Battle Royale (2000) - Satire (of sorts) about Japanese schoolchildren sent to fight to the death on a remote island; excellent, thrilling cult movie, but not quite weird enough
Bedways (2010) – If you’ve ever longed to see an explicit sex film that will put you to sleep, this pretentious German movie about a director not making an explicit sex film will fit the bill
Bellflower (2011) – Twentysomethings build cars out of Mad Max in between bouts of drinking in this odd mumblecore feature with some delusional behavior
Between Men (1935) – Melodramatic “B”-western, part of Alfred Eaker’s survey of Sinister Cinema’s “Sinister Six Gun Collection”.
Beyond Re-Animator (2003) – The zippy third sequel to the grossout zombie horror-comedy classic features more tasteless jokes and crazed carnage
The Big Bang (2011) – Neo-noir with Antonio Banderas, a plot involving stolen diamonds and the search for the God particle, and superfluous magical realist digressions
Big Calibre (1935) – Exceedingly odd early b-Western featuring a bucktoothed hunchback who throws vials of acid
Big Man Japan [Dai Nihonjin] (2007) – A deadpan mockumentary about a middle-aged, out-of-fashion superhero who battles bizarre monsters in modern Tokyo
Big Money Rustlas (2010) – Western spoof starring washed-up rap stars in clown makeup is for juggalos only
Bitch Slap (2009) – A tongue-in-cheek, “postmodern” tribute to Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! built entirely around the allure of cleavage
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2008) – The new cult/bad movie phenomenon, a “romantic thriller” Birds ripoff built around a combination of the worst script, acting and special effects to make it to the big screen in some time
The Blackbird (1926) – Lon Chaney in a dual rule as a crippled bishop and an underworld kingpin
Blank City (2010) – Informative documentary on the No Wave/Cinema of Transgression underground movements in New York City in the 1980s
Blood Sabbath (1972) – This modern fairy tale about a Vietnam vet who falls for a water nymph and loses his soul to a witches’ coven should have been titled “Boob Sabbath”
Bluebeard (1944) – Edgar G. Ulmer directs John Carradine (a match made in Poverty Row heaven) in this modern adaptation of the Bluebeard legend
Blue Beard [Barbe Bleue] (2009) – A slow paced, nearly literal adaptation of the fairy tale about a French aristocrat murdering his child brides, with an enigmatic ending
Boys (2009) – Men have mock umbrella swordfights and play with the Matchbox cars in their pants in this surreal exploration of masculinity
Brainiac [El bar;n del terror] (1962) – Cheap, silly Mexihorror featuring a hairy monster with a two-foot brain-sucking tongue that must be seen to be believed
Brides of Dracula (1960) – Immediate sequel to The Horror of Draculadispenses with Christopher Lee’s Count but remains atmospheric nonetheless
The Bride of Frank (1996) – Offensive underground transgressive comedy about a bum serial killer in search of a wife with big boobs
Bug (2006) – Ashley Judd is mesmerizing in this adaptation of a stage play about extreme paranoia
Bunny and the Bull (2009) – Mildly surreal comedy from the creators of “The Mighty Boosh” about an agoraphobic’s flashback tour of Europe staged on fantastically artificial sets
Bunraku (2010) – Campy, oversaturated action/fantasy about cowboys and samurai in a post-apocalyptic world
Burning Inside (2010) – overlong, extremely low-budget tale of an amnesiac with buried secrets that borrows the look and feel of classic B&W weird films
The Cabin in the Woods (2012) – Excellent postmodern horror flick that turns slasher film conventions on their head while at the same time honoring them
Carmel (2009) – Impressionistic autobiographical tale of an Israeli director; frequently weird, but more frequently dull and obtuse
La Casa del Terror (1960) – Spanish-language musical horror-comedy involving both a mummy and a werewolf (and a grunting Lon Chaney, Jr.)
The Casserole Masters (200?) – Amateur avant-garde film with some interesting animation; currently available for viewing online (and not available any other way)
Castle in the Sky (1986) – Kid-friendly anime about a floating city is magical, but not weird
The Cat and the Canary (1927) – Early silent “old dark house” movie that set the standards for the genre
Caterpillar (2010) – A dutiful wife cares for her deaf and dumb quadruple-amputee husband after the Japanese Emperor declares him a “living war god”
Cat People (1942) – A Serbian woman fears that she will turn into a panther and kill her husband if she loses her virginity in this quiet horror classic
Cat People (1982) – Strange, hypereroticized and occasionally surreal update of Val Lewton’s classic about a race of people who turn into panthers when sexually aroused
Cauldron of Blood (1970) – Mild psychedelia pervades this otherwise uninteresting horror film, one of Boris Karloff’s final efforts
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) – Werner Herzog’s remarkable documentary about the world’s oldest cave paintings, originally in 3D
Certified Copy (2010) – An unexplained identity shift provides refined weirdness in this otherwise talky and intellectual arthouse drama
Chafed Elbows (1966) – Walter has a breakdown, gives birth to ten dollar bills and marries his mom in this seminal underground comedy
The Chair (2007) – Interesting Canadian indie horror film about possession that lacks true weirdness
Charley Bowers: The Rediscovery of an American Comic Genius – Collection containing most of the nearly lost silent films of absurdist stop-motion animator and comedian Bowers
Child Bride (1938)- This salacious, leering “expos;” of child marriage among hillbillies is 1930s filmmaking at its most shamelessly exploitative
Christmas Evil (1980) – Offbeat, low budget character study about a killer Santa that’s not as exploitative as future films exploring the same territory
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000) – the long running series hits a new low in bad taste with this installment, but of course, that was what they were aiming at
City Ninja [Tou Qing Ke; AKA Ninja Holocaust] (1985) – Another crazy ninja movie, but this time with steamy sex scenes
C Me Dance (2009) – The Devil battles a cancer-stricken teen ballerina for the soul of the world in this embarrassingly earnest proselytizer
Cold Souls (2009) – Philosophical satire about soul removal and storage, starring Paul Giamatti as himself and a Russian soul mule
The Collective Vol. 4: Emotions – Ten ten-minute short horror films, each based on a different emotion
Comanche Station (1960) – Alfred Eaker’s review of the Budd Boetticher cult Western
Coming Soon (2008) - Guest review of the Czech bestiality mockumentary
Common Law Wife (1963) – (S)exploitation hoot about a sugar daddy who wants to dump his common law wife for his stripper niece
The Complete Metropolis (1927/2010) – Report on the restoration of Fritz Lang’s weird silent sci-fi classic
Coraline (2009) – Enjoyable animated children’s fantasy from the animator of A Nightmare Before Christmas
The Corridor (2010) – Schizoid horror about madness in the woods
Courageous Avenger (1935) – Johnny Mack Brown B-western pits hero against a gang of gold thieves
Cowboy Bebop: the Movie (2001) – Feature-length, standalone adaptation of the cult TV anime about bounty hunters in space
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961) – Flop Roger Corman comedy memorable only for its ridiculous monster
The Cremator [Spalovac Mrtvol] (1969) – Review by Pamela de Graff. This Expressionist/Surrealist mix about a disturbed Czech cremator during the rise of Nazism has a good chance to make the final list.
Crowley [AKA Chemical Wedding] (2008) – From the pen of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson comes this confusing sci-fi/horror tale mixing Aleister Crowley with quantum physics
Cuban Rebel Girls (1959): A strange, but not very entertaining, exploitation movie with Errol Flynn and his 14-year old girlfriend.
Cuban Story [AKA The Truth About Fidel Castro Revolution] (1959) – an odd pro-Castro documentary, financed and drunkenly narrated by Errol Flynn. See Cuban Rebel Girls.
Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) – Disappointing, if watchable, sequel to the surprise existential sci-fi hit
Cube Zero (2004) – Even more disappointing than Cube 2, as the series devolves into just another B-movie
Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968): Boris Karloff’s last film co-stars Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele dressed as a blue-faced ram, and yet it’s a seldom-screened disappointment
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) – Literary take on lycanthropes from Hammer director Terence Fisher
Dames (1934) – Busby Berkeley’s first post-Hayes code musical finds him compensating for decreased sexuality with increased fantasy and geometrical choreography
Danger: Diabolik (1968) – Campy, psychedelic comic book madness from Italian horror maestro Mario Bava
The Dark Crystal (1982) – Weird creature conceptions, beautiful art design, totally conventional fantasy/quest plot
Dark Shadows (2012) – Comic remake of the cult Gothic soap opera; another recent Tim Burton disappointment. Guest review by James Mannan.
Dark Shadows (2012) – Alfred Eaker believed James Mannan’s review of the Tim Burton adaptation was not angry enough, so he added some vitriol to his own version
Daydream Nation (2010) – Tale of a teen girl in a strange town who finds herself in an unusual love triangle
Day of the Nightmare (1965) – B&W sexploitationer with polymorphous perversity and a killer in drag
Deadgirl (2008) – Provocative horror about teenagers using a zombie as a sex slave
Deadly Weapons (1973) - 73FF-32-36 Chesty Morgan smothers victims with her breasts in this bizarre and unsexy sexploitationer
Dead Snow (2009) – Norway’s entry in the over-the-top zombie slaughterfest genre involves Nazi zombies at a snowbound cabin
Dear God, No! (2011) – Grindhouse throwback spoof combining bikers, mad scientists and bigfoot
Death Note (2006) – Offbeat mystery/thriller from a popular Japanese magna featuring mystical cat-and-mouse games between vigilante who can kill with a stroke of the pen and the superdective who hunts him
Deep Red [Profondo Rosso] (1975) – Argento’s ultra-stylish giallo is both a treat on its own and a fascinating precursor to Suspiria
Desperate Living (1977) – Alfred Eaker considers this third film in John Waters’ “Trasth Trilogy” a “descent into a surreal, kitsch abyss that few could imagine”
Destroy All Planets (1968) – Gamera the flying turtle fights off beehive-themed aliens in this representative fourth adventure, with fight footage from the three previous entries
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2011) – A mystery/fantasy/kung fu/historical epic with a talking deer; what’s not to like?
Detour (1945) – Cult classic Poverty Row film noir
The Devil Doll (1936) – Tiny killers and Lionel Barrymore in drag make this one of Tod Browning’s more popular b-pictures
Dogtooth [Kynodontas] (2009) - Original guest review by Kevyn Knox.
Don Giovanni (2006) – Avant-garde staging of the Mozart opera with underwear model extras
Don’t Look Back [Ne te Retourne pas] (2009) – Psychological thriller about one woman inhabiting two bodies is a bit disappointing, but includes great performances from Sophie Marceau and Monica Belluci
Double Agent 73 (1974) – Chesty Morgan is back, this time as a spy with a camera implanted in her boobs
Dracula (1931) – Guest review. Alfred Eaker argues that Dracula is more significant than modern critics acknowledge
Dracula (1992) – Francis Ford Coppola’s romantic take on the Dracula myth is so visually extravagant even Keanu Reeves can’t completely ruin it
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) – The third Hammer Dracula sequel illustrates how far the series fell when director Terence Fisher left
Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966) – Christopher Lee’s Dracula is mute in this Hammer horror
Drag Me to Hell (2009) – A de-weirdified, PG-13 Evil Dead for the cineplexes?
Dreamchild (1985) – Jim Henson puppets illustrate the fantasy sequences in this examination of the questionable relationship between Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, his underage muse
The Dress (1995) – Dutch black comedy about a dress that brings bad luck to its various wearers
Dune (1984) - David Lynch’s attempt to translate Frank Herbert’s complex, mystical sci-fi epic was an infamous flop
Eden Log (2007) – Mysterious French sci-fi about an amnesiac man trapped in a sewer-like maze
Edmond (2005) – William H. Macy wanders around in a sub-par David Mamet script
Ed Wood (1994) – Tim Burton’s love-letter to the transvestite godfather of so-bad-it’s-good cinema
Elena (2011) – Guest review by Eugene Vasiliev on Andrei Zvyagintsev‘s class drama set in the new Russia
Elevator Movie (2004) – For posterity’s sake, here’s the original misguided capsule review for Elevator Movie, before it was promoted onto the List
Elvis (1979) – Early John Carpenter made for TV biopic of the King
Emperor of the North Pole (1973) – A cruel conductor kills train-hopping hobos in the archetypal battle between evil and slightly-less-evil
Enter Nowhere (2011) – Four strangers meet in an isolated cabin in this psychological thriller with horror overtones and a twist ending
Escanaba in da Moonilight (2001) – Supernatural deer-hunting comedy set among “Yoopers;” a regional curiosity
Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone (2007/2010) – Mystical robots fighting in the post-apocalyptic future; not the weirdest entry in its long-running series
Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance (2009/2011) – More teenagers piloting giant robots against “Angels” in a limbo between apocalypses
Ex-Drummer (2007) – Weird, but tedious and unpleasant, tale of a writer joining a punk group of handicapped misfits to compete in a Eurotrash battle of the bands
Eye of the Devil (1966) – Occult thriller notably mainly as the acting debut of Sharon Tate, and for prefiguring the pagan revivalist premise that would be more memorably addressed in The Wicker Man (1973)
Feed (2005) – Grotesque thriller about obesity fetishes features women being fed to death
Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964) – Cut-n-paste feature from Jerry Warren mixing scenes from Las Casa del Terror and The Aztec Mummytogether with new footage to create an incomprehensible new movie
Fascination (1979) – Atmospheric but fairly straightforward erotic horror from atmosphere specialist Jean Rollin; the highlight is a topless Grim Reaper
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions (2004) – A mute mystic in a future totalitarian matriarchy, with surreal elements
Fear Chamber (1968): One of Boris Karloff’s final Mexican movies has him as a mad scientist extracting blood from frightened young women at the behest of an alien rock
Female Trouble (1975) – Sprawling, trashy John Waters/Divine epic black comedy from the “crime is beauty” school
The Fifth Element (1997) – Luc Besson’s attempt to make a space opera/comedy goes so far over the top that it very nearly becomes weird
Film Socialisme (2010) – Inaccessible experimental film essay from Jean-Luc Goddard about… well, no one knows what it’s about
The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 2 (1963-1981) – Compilation featuring some of the avant-garde occultist’s most historically important features
La Finta Giardiniera (2006) – Mozart’s craziest opera libretto is given a b-movie style treatment, complete with a man-eating plant and giant plastic spider
La Finta Semplice (2006) – Avant-garde staging of an opera Mozart wrote when he was 15 years old
Flooding With Love for the Kid (2010) – Zachary Oberzan’s one-man Rambo adaptation, made for less than $100, is beyond weird or normal
Footlight Parade (1933) – Naughty pre-Code Busby Berkeley musical containing the famously outrageous “waterfall” number
Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell – Terence Fisher’s final film, and Hammer studio’s final Frankenstein movie, as a weary swan song to both
Frankensteins Bloody Nightmare (2006) – A visually and aurally ingenious, surrealistically inspired remake of a trash horror in the style of Andy Milligan, which sadly suffers from having no story to tell
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) – The third entry in Hammer’s Frankenstein series
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) – The fifth of the Hammer Frankenstein movie’s features Dr. Peter Cushing at his nastiest
Freaked (1993) – Absurd, grossout cult-comedy about freaks made by “Bill” of the Bill and Ted movies
Freaks (1932) – Alfred Eaker provides background and a review of Tod Browning’s controversial, creepy classic
Funny Games (1997) – Unmotivated sadists break the fourth wall in this controversial exercise from Michael Haneke
The Future (2011) – Indie dramedy about an anxious thirty-something couple, with magical realist moments (like a cat narrator and a talking moon)
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2010) – The life story of the iconoclastic French singer, and of his grotesque puppet alter-ego “Professor Flipus”
Garden State (2004) – Quirky indie from “Scrubs”‘s Zach Braff about young adult returning home to face his crazy family after mom dies
Gauguin: The Full Story (2003) – Documentary about the post-Impressionist painter
Gentlemen Broncos (2009) – Ultra-quirky tale of a sci-fi author who plagiarizes a teen’s fantasy epic, “The Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years”
Georges M;li;s: Encore (DVD compilation 2010, original films 1896-1911) – Essential collection of early shorts from the inventor of the fantasy film
Getting Any? (1994) – Takeshi “Beat” Kitano’s surreal slapstick about a sex-obsessed loser
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012) – Rant on the witless sequel and the sorry state of superhero movies
Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis (1927/1984) – Giorgio Moroder’s 1984 restoration of Fritz Lang’s classic is visually splendiferous; the tradeoff is that Loverboy and Billy Squier are on the soundtrack
Girly [AKA Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly] (1970) – Arrested development in a bizarre British “family” of ritualistic murderers
Glass Lips (2007) – Surrealistic story of a poet’s dysfunctional past
Glen or Glenda (1953) – Alfred Eaker argues that Ed’s transvestite doc is his best (worst?) work and the holy grail for “naive surrealism”
Gods and Monsters (1998) – Biopic of James Whale, director ofFrankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, among other horror classics
God Told Me To (1975) – Larry Cohen’s wild bizarre genre pastiche mixes horror, science fiction and detective elements as a cop tries to find out why unrelated murderers all claim “God told me to do it”
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) – The quintessential Depression musical; Busby Berkeley’s elaborate fights of fantasy were designed to make people forget their cares
The Good, the Bad, the Weird [Joheunnom Nabbeunnom Ishaghannom] (2008): “Noodle Western” recasting the Leone classic in 1930s occupied Manchuria
The Gorgon (1964) – Hammer horror meets Greek mythology
Grace (2009) – A woman gives birth to an undead baby in this interesting indie shocker
Graveyard Alive: A Zombie Nurse in Love (2003) – Well-meaning zom-com misfire
The Great Dictator (1940) – Charlie Chaplin’s anti-Hitler satire
The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926) – Silent Tom Mix western
Growing Out (2009) – Low-budget film about a man growing out of a basement floor squanders its weird potential by focusing on romance
The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol (2011) – A struggling actor has four weird dreams in this grossout gore flick/Hollywood satire
Habit (1996) – Interesting metaphorical take on the vampire myth from the viewpoint of an alcoholic Greenwich Village slacker
The Hands of Orlac (1924) - The earliest filmed version of the oft-told tale about a concert pianist who gets a hand transplant from a murderer
Happy Here and Now (2002) – Michael Almereyda’s surreal New Orleans based drama about a missing girl, Internet chat rooms and “soft-porn, direct-to-digital Internet film about a time-traveling Nicola Tesla.” Winner of our first review writing contest, by Pamela de Graff.
Hardware (1990) – Post-apocalyptic thriller about a robot run amok
Harold and Maude (1971) – Reader recommendation by Eric SG. Hal Ashby’s cult black comedy about a May-December romance between a suicidal teen and a geriatric life force
He Who Gets Slapped (1924) – Lon Chaney plays a celebrity clown who is slapped 100 times a night in this carnival melodrama dripping with pathos
The Hitch-Hiker (1953) – Two fisherman unwisely give a ride to a killer in the only classic film noir directed by a woman
Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) – The rare grindhouse spoof that doesn’t overplay the comedy, but relies (mostly) on plot and sly dialogue for the absurdity
House [Hausu] (1977) – Reader recommendation by Alex Little of FilmForager.com. The oddest little haunted house movie ever made is an experimental pop-surrealist movie from Japan.
Heads of Control: The Gorul Baheu Brain Expedition (2006) – Very obscure and very weird feature told from the point of view of pharmaceutical molecules inside the brain of a madman
Heart of the Beholder (2005) – Documentary on a crusade against a video store for stocking The Last Temptation of Christ
Hellacious Acres: The Case of John Glass (2011) – A man awakens trapped in a bio-suit in a post-apocalyptic future where the desolate landscape is patrolled by energy aliens
Hell’s Hinges (1916) – Overwrought early silent western is an unsubtle lesson in Christian vengeance
The Horror of Dracula (1958) – Hammer’s first Dracula movie is considered a horror classic by critics
Horror Rises from the Tomb [El Espanto Surge de la Tumba] (1973) – A warlock’s head attacks an estate full of young people in this Eurohorror that places atmosphere ahead of script
Housekeeping (1987) – nonconformity sleeper about two orphaned girls raised by an eccentric aunt
House of the Dead (2003) – The film that introduced the world to Uwe Boll is exactly like being trapped inside a bad video game
The House with Laughing Windows [La Casa dalle Finestre che Ridono] (1976) – Atmospheric giallo about an art historian restoring a church painting that hides a wicked secret
The Human Centipede (First Segment) (2009) – Mad doctor makes a human centipede; a unique grossout premise but a predictable formula execution
Irrfharten II & III (2006) – An avant-garde pastiche of Mozart fragments, including the unfinished operas Sposo deluso and L’ Oca del Cairo
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009) – High fantasy about a monk who makes a deal with the devil, from Terry Gilliam
Inception (2010) – Enormously entertaining thriller about the theft of ideas through entering dreams, but not really all that weird
In My Skin [Dans ma Peau] (2002) – Disturbing, unflinching movie about a woman who begins devouring herself
In Old Santa Fe (1934) – “Singing Cowboy” movie featuring an early appearance by Gene Autry
Intacto (2001) – Moody magical realist thriller about a world where luck can be stolen and won in weird contests, featuring an elderly Max von Sydow
The Island of Lost Souls (1932) – The first adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “The Island of Dr. Moreau” is a since-unequaled horror classic
The Iron Rose (1973) – Poetic but extremely slow-moving film about a young couple trapped in a picturesque French graveyard overnight
Isle of the Snake People (1971) – Boris Karloff (barely) plays a voodoo priest in this Mexican/American co-production, one of his infamously bad final four films
Jackboots on Whitehall (2010) – Hitler in a dress is the highlight of this animated action-figure alternate-history comedy about Nazis invading Great Britain
Jannie Totsiens (1970) – South African film archivist Trevor Moses describes the weird and allegorical South African variation on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. To our knowledge, this is the only full-length English language review of of this Afrikaans film available online!
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) – 20 minutes of a housewife cracking up, three hours of her cooking meatloaf and shopping for buttons in this experiment in inactivity on screen
Jesus and Her Gospel of Yes (2004) – Guest review of the low-budget, avant-garde, performance artist retelling of the Gospel with Jesus as a woman
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) – The film adaptation of the rock opera chronicling the passion of Jesus
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001) – True to the title, the Prince of Peace stakes legions of bloodsuckers in this fairly weird, moderately successful low-budget camp offering
Johnny Guitar (1954) – Guest review of the feminist, camp western cult fave by Kevyn Knox
Johnny Suede (1991) – Brad Pitt stars as a struggling musician with a ridiculously huge pompadour in this quirky indie romance with plentiful dream sequences
Just Tony (1922) – silent Tom Mix western starring the vengeful and anthropomorphic Tony the Wonder Horse
Karajan, or Beauty As I See It (2008) – documentary on the life of eccentric conductor Herbert von Karajan
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) – truth in advertising; this offbeat alien invasion spoof delivers exactly what the title promises
Kill List (2011) – A hit man finds his assigned “kill list” very strange indeed in this weird psychohorror
King of Pluto (2004) – Underground documentary about oddball artist Mike Wrathell
Labyrinth (1986) – Jennifer Connelly searches for her lost baby brother and lusts for David Bowie without realizing it in this Alice/Oz-inspired Muppet fantasy
Lady Vengeance (2005) – The conclusion of Park’s “Vengeance Trilogy” features lots of weird moments, but actually works better in its straightforward scenes
The Land of the Lost (2009) – Bizarre for a Hollywood blockbuster, but standard Will Ferrell comedy routines and grossout jokes aimed at middle-schoolers undo the weirdness factor in this tale of a land of dinosaurs, apemen and sleestaks
The Last Circus [Balada Triste de Trompeta] (2010) – A sad clown and a happy clown battle for the love of a beautiful trapeze artist in this bloody and ridiculous Spanish Civil War allegory
The Last Trail (1926) - Silent Tom Mix B-western
Lethal Obsession (2010) – By the numbers exploitation/slasher about webcam models getting chopped up
Let Me Die a Woman (1978) – Sex-change operation exploitation documentary, Doris Wishman style
License to Kill (1989) – The film is discussed in light of Timothy Dalton’s redefinition of Bond
Life Blood (2009) – Squanders a weird premise—vampires are God’s avenging lesbian angels—to become an undistinguished B-movie
Lifeforce (1985) – Tobe Hooper’s followup to Poltergeist is a little flick about gratuitously nude space vampires
Lips of Blood (1975) – This Jean Rollin film features twin vampire nurses and a coffin that floats out to see, but it’s not one of the director’s best or strangest
Liquid Sky (1982) – New Wave sci-fi psychedelia about aliens who suck the brains of heroin and sex addicts
Little Ashes (2008) - Biopic concerning a rumored collegiate love affair between
Salvador Dal; and poet Federico Garc;a Lorca is thin on insights into fascinating men
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) – Black comedy with crazy supporting characters (including Jack Nicholoson’s masochistic dental patient), famous for being shot in about 48 hours
London After Midnight (1927) – Tod Browning/Lon Chaney lost silent film partly recreated by Turner Classic Movies through stills and narration
Long Pants (1927) – An odd and dark silent comedy: a manchild gets the long pants that mark his transition to adulthood, and winds up fantasizing about murdering his fiancee
Loren Cass (2006) – Dull, pretentious punk tale of teen anomie that goes beyond the pale with unrelated live suicide footage
The Los Angeles Ripper (2011): Modern grindhouse effort with serial killer stalking Los Angelites
The Lovely Bones (2009) – A murdered girl watches her grieving family and unrepentant killer from a colorful, fantastic afterlife in Peter Jackson’s iffy adaptation of a bestselling novel
Love Object (2003) – Perverse horror about a man’s unhealthy relationship with his possessive blow-up doll
Lulu (2010) – Controversial staging of Alban Berg’s perverted opera about incestuous clown/prostitute Lulu
M.O.N. (2006) – Amateur serial killer effort doesn’t cut the mustard in terms of either weirdness or entertainment value
Machete Maidens Unleashed (2010) – A survey of the feverish exploitation movies produced in the 1970s in the Philippines
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) – The weirdest Mad Max movie is good goofy fun
Mahler (1974) – One of Ken Russell’s surrealist biographies of classical composers
Malice in Wonderland (2009) – Alice adaptation set in an underworld of quirky London gangsters; better than its reputation suggests
Man Bites Dog [C'est arriv; pr;s de chez vous] (1992) – Provocative, sadistic, love-it-or-hate-it Belgian black comedy about a serial killer followed around by a documentary crew
The Man from Planet X (1951) – Early alien invasion movie featuring “the weirdest visitor the earth has even seen”
The Manster (1959) – A Japanese scientist injects an American with an experimental virus that turns him into a drunk, a lech, and a two-headed killer
Mantua (2012) – A comedic “Twin Peaks” variation with public access TV production values
The Man Who Laughs (1928) – Conrad Veidt has a grin permanently carved onto his face in this Expressionist silent
Man With the Movie Camera (1929) – This experimental Soviet propaganda film is a catalog of then avant-garde camera tricks and editing techniques
Mark of the Vampire (1935) – Talkie remake of the lost London After Midnight
Mary and Max (2009) – Touching Claymation feature about the lifelong pen pal relationship between a socially inept Australian girl and an autistic, middle aged New Yorker
The Master (2012) – A paint-thinner drinking, sandcastle-humping sailor falls in with a cult leader in postwar America
Matrimony (2007) – Romantic Chinese ghost story with a weird (if not satisfying) ending
May (2002) – A creepy girl tries to connect with those around her in this weirdo character study that turns slasher
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011) – The title creatures do appear, but it probably should have been called Debbie Gibson vs. Tiffany instead. Special Guest Reviewer Cleverbot shares its thoughts.
Melancholia (2011) – A planet named “Melancholia” is set to crash into the earth in this metaphorical movie about depression from always-odd Lars von Trier
Memento (2000) – Christopher Nolan’s brilliantly plotted thriller is engrossing and disorienting, but not weird
The Merry Widow (1925) – A light operetta re-imagined as a silent fetishistic melodrama
Messiah (2010) – Claus Guth’s staging of Handel’s Christmas oratorio invokes infidelity and suicide
Micmacs (2009) – Typically whimsical Jean-Pierre Jeunet outing, this time involving a team of carnivalesque misfits who unite to fight arms dealers
The Miracle Rider (1935) – Western serial with sci-fi elements, starring cowboy icon Tom Mix
Miracles for Sale (1939) – Tod Browning’s final film, about a charlatan medium
The Monster (1925) – A campy Lon Chaney stars in Roland West’s first stab at an Old Dark House mystery
Moon (2009) – Thoughtful hard science fiction that flirts with weirdness in the opening reels
The Mothman Prophecies (2002) – Hokey but effective parapsychological horror story
Mr. Sadman (2009) – Independent comedy about a mute Saddam Hussein impersonator restarting his life in Los Angeles
The Mummy (1959) – Hammer horror’s version of the mummy legend
My Joy (2010) – Political allegory about corruption in modern Russia with a confusing semi-linear construction
Mystery Ranch (1932) – Atmospheric B-western with Gothic influences
Mystery Ranch (1934) – Unrelated to the 1932 version, this oater involves a city-slicker who writes Western novels traveling out to the real West
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) - Disappointing feature adaptation of the cult TV series, ripping on the colorful 1955 sci-fi featureThis Island Earth
The Mystic (1925) – Typical early Tod Browning melodrama about a charlatan medium
Nazarin (1959) – Luis Bu;uel‘s exploration of religious hypocrisy concerns a suffering priest with an impotent faith; from his Mexican social “realist” period
Necromentia (2009) – Derivative horror with one memorably weird scene of a pig-man singing an ode to suicide
Nekromantik (1987) – Notorious, badly made necrophilia movie that’s more concerned with grossing out than weirding out it’s audience
Never Let Me Go (2010) – A mix of Merchant/Ivory-style drama and dystopian sci-fi, as three children grow up in an English boarding house to learn that there is a sinister purpose to their schooling
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) – Predictably, this remake sucked, and it’s not weird to boot
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009) – Massive survey of American horror films from 1910 to the present; several Certified Weird picks are mentioned
Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated (2010) - A team of animators tackle George Romeros’ zombie classic, using the original soundtrack but drawing or using puppets or baby dolls to illustrate the scenes
The Night Walker (1964) – Obscure William Castle thriller featuring Barbara Stanwyck suffering surreal nightmares. Guest review by Pamela de Graff.
Nine (2009) – Non-weird musical ostensibly based on the twisted love life of Federico Fellini while making 8 1/2
Ninja Champion (1985) – An exemplary Godfrey Ho cut-n-paste mess, with newly shot ninja footage inserted into an already ridiculous old kung fu movie to produce something impossible to follow
Ninja Scroll (1993) – Sexy and ultraviolent, but this anime is basically a straightforward fantasy adventure
No Man’s Law (1927) -Strange, silent oater featuring Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) as a sleazy villain whose attempt to rape a pioneer woman is foiled by top-billed Rex the Wonder Horse!
No More Excuses (1968) – A Civil War soldier loose in modern Manhattan, documentary footage of the singles bar scene and an amorous chimp mix in this sketch comedy farrago
Nothing (2003) – Two losers wish the world away; possibly the best movie about nothing ever made
Nowhere (1997) – Greg Araki’s feature about directionless young people stalked by a rubber suited monster goes exactly where the title says
Le Nozze de Figaro (2006) – Avant-garde staging of Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of
Figaro” for the 2006 Salzburg Festival
Oblivion (1994) – Charles Band-produced b-movie that mixed cowboys and aliens long before the big-budget 2011 disappointment; it’s pretty bad
ODDSAC (2010) – Non-narrative, psychedelic feature length “visual album” for the “new weird America” band Animal Collective
Ondine (2009) – NeilJordan’s “is she a mermaid, or isn’t she?” romantic fable is not as weird as it could have been
One Missed Call (2003) – Takashi Miike adds some surreal style points near the end, but it’s basically a talky and purposelessly confusing J-Horror
Order of Chaos (2010) – Offbeat thriller about a passive attorney and the newcomer who throws his life out of whack
The Other (1972) – Creepy thriller set in the Great Depression about an evil twin
Outside the Law (1920) – Tod Browning crime melodrama with religious overtones
Parasomnia (2008) – A “sleeping beauty” falls under the spell of an evil mesmerist in this implausible direct-to-DVD horror
Paris Je T’Aime (2006) – 18 short films sent in Paris dealing with the theme of love; one segment is weird, and a couple of others are extremely offbeat
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) – Alfred Eaker believes Carl Theodore Dreyer’s devastatingly emotional account of the martyrdom of Joan of Arc may just be the greatest movie ever made
The Passion of the Christ (2004) – Alfred Eaker’s title says it all: “the most reprehensible anti-Christian film ever made”
Passion Play (2010) – Megan Fox is an “angel,” Mickey Rourke is a jazz musician and Bill Murray is a laid back gangster in this modern fairy-tale misfire
Peacock (2010) – Cilian Murphy in drag in a gender-bending psychothriller
Pearls of the Deep (1966) – Czech New Wave sampler film with a couple of surreal segments
The Peanut Butter Solution (1985) – This odd story of a kid losing all his hair, then growing it back with the help of hobo ghosts freaked out lots of unsuspecting kids in the 1980s
The Penalty (1920) – One of Lon Chaney’s most painful performances; he plays a legless crime boss who models as the Devil in his spare time
The Perfect Sleep (2009) – Hyperbolic homage to film noir that’s heavy on atmosphere and low on sense
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) – Period piece about a serial killer who slays women to make perfume; features a truly bizarre climax
The Phantom Carriage (1921) – Atmospheric and influential Swedish silent based on Scandinavian folklore claiming the last person to die before the New Year comes is fated to become Death’s coachman
Phoebe in Wonderland (2008) – Indie flick with great acting from little Elle Fanning as a kid with psychological problems. Not weird, despite a few scenes unwisely staged in Wonderland
Pina (2011) – Documentary on avant-garde choreographer Pina Bausch showcases some weird production numbers
Play Time (1967) – Behind-the-times clown Monsieur Hulot attempts to navigate a hyper-modern Paris
Pontypoool (2008) – Interesting spin on the zombie genre has the infection spread via language
Ponyo [Gake no ue no Ponyo] (2008) – Hayao Miyazaki’s Japanese variation on “The Little Mermaid” is enchanting, but is considered one of his lesser works
Poor Pretty Eddie (1975) – A black singer’s car breaks down in the rural South and she becomes the “guest” of a gang 0f redneck oddballs
Powder (1995) – An albino teen with electromagnetic powers tries to fit in to redneck society
Prometheus Triumphant (2009) – This attempt to make a modern Gothic silent film is a well-intentioned failure
The Promise [La Promesa] (2004) – Nanny experiences religious visions and encounters a telepathic child
Proxima (2007) – Science fiction tribute that appears to pose the question: what if a
Phillip K. Dick-ish writer really was contacted by an alien race?
Psych: 9 (2010) – Reality-blurring thriller/horror set in an abandoned hospital
Pulse (2001) – Ghosts depopulate the world in this effective early J-horror
Le Quattro Volte [The Four Times] (2010) – A soul migrates from a shepherd to a goat to a tree to charcoal in this odd, wordless experiment
The Quiet (2005) – A deaf-mute teen girl is adopted by a perverted family in this odd drama/thriller
Race War: The Remake (2011) – Bad taste ethnic comedy about a drug turf war, and the Kreecha from a Lagoon
Rage (2010) – Low-budget tribute to Stephen Spielberg’s Duel
Rainbows End (2010) – A psychobilly band, a baton twirler, a singer with a mild speech impediment, and a cockfighter take a road trip to California in this documentary celebrating East Texas eccentrics
The Rapture (1991) – Strange independent film that takes the Christian idea of the rapture at face value
Redline (2010) – Anime meets Death Race 2000
Repo! the Genetic Opera (2008) – An all singing, all the time sci-fi/horror hybrid about organ repossession
Return to Oz (1985) – Jesse Miksic discusses the “three fetishes” of the mythical kingdom in this essay (not review) of the odd Oz sequel
Ricky (2009) – A miraculous baby is born to a factory worker in this French magical realist scenario
Riders of the Whistling Pines (1949) – Gene Autry ties to save an endangered forest using the miracle of DDT in the ecologically naive oater
Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937) – “The Three Mesquiteers” star in a genre mishmash adventure featuring Indian cults and mummies
Road to Mandalay (1926) – Partially lost Tod Browning/Lon Chaney Oedpial melodrama set in the seedy seaports of the Orient
The Rum Diary (2011) – Semi-autobiographical story from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel about an idealistic, hard-drinking reporter in Puerto Rico
S. Darko (2009) – Two words for this unsanctioned direct-to-vide0 sequel to the classic Donnie Darko: “not worthy”
Saint John of Las Vegas (2009) – Steve Buscemi stars as an insurance adjuster with a gambling problem assigned to investigate a case in Las Vegas, in this quirky misfire loosely based on Dante’s “Inferno”
Samurai Princess (2009) – Japanese splatterpunk fantasy about a woman who becomes a cyborg and takes on the souls of eleven raped virgins in a quest for revenge
Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972) – Insanely bad holiday cheer about Santa’s sleigh stuck on a Florida beach, and Thumbelina, and the sad-sack Pirates World amusement park…
The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) – The weird adventures of a Napoleonic solider are told in this “existential potpourri”
Satan Hates You (2009) – Modern recreation of a Christian scare film, complete with drugs, sex, violence, demons, and redemption
Scars of Youth (2008) – Low-budget tribute to Stalker has surprisingly accomplished visuals, but is undone by poor acting and not enough plot
Scream of the Butterfly (1965) – Soapy Sixties sexploitation involving a cheating nymphomaniac and her bisexual (male) lover
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) – A Toronto slacker must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in this video game styled cult pic
The Secret of Kells (2009) – Brilliantly animated story of the clash between early Christianity and paganism; every frame looks like a cross between classic Disney and an eighth-century illustrated manuscript
A Serbian Film (2010) – A porn star finds himself unwittingly drugged and cast in a sadistic movie enacting real-life atrocities in this controversial, frequently banned shocker
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) – Wes Craven serves up a few memorable hallucinatory sequences in this interesting but uneven “serious” take on zombies
Session 9 (2001) – Creepy, but not-so-weird, psychological horror about a hazmat crew taking a job cleaning out asbestos from an abandoned mental institution
Sex and Lucia [Lucia y el Sexo] (2001) – Arty dirty movie with a meta-narrative and nude Paz Vega
Shanty Tramp (1967) – Sleazy exploitation melodrama with interracial sex
Shatter Dead (1994) -Thoughtful B-movie zombiefest where being a member of the living dead is just another lifestyle choice—and the dead are anxious to convert you to their way of thinking
Shock Treatment (1981) – This belated sorta-sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a wacky musical satire of TV that has slightly more detractors than defenders
The Shooting (1967) – Existential, enigmatic Western from Monte Helleman, starring Warren Oates and Jack Nicholson
The Shootist (1976) – John Wayne’s swan song
Shutter Island (2010) – Scorsese/DiCaprio psychological thriller that’s atmospheric and worth a peek, though not especially weird
The Shuttered Room (1967) – H.P. Lovecraft adaptation about—well, about a shuttered room, and the unspeakable horror that lies inside it
The Silent Scream (1980) – Proto-slasher featuring cult icon Barbara Steele
Sky High (1922) – Silent Tom Mix western, mainly notable for its Grand Canyon scenery
Slaughtered Vomit Dolls (2006) – Satanist puke-fetish torture porn experimental film. Weird? Yes. Recommended? No.
Slimed (2010) – An atheist park ranger and a Bible salesman team up to fight a slime-monster conspiracy in this 60 minute low-budget feature
Smash Cut (2009) – Gore comedy, in tribute to H.G. Lewis, about a horror director who kills to create realistic special effects
Society (1989) – Reader recommendation by J.S. Roberts. A privileged teen uncovers weird, disturbing rites when he’s initiated into high society
Someone’s Knocking at the Door (2009) – The spirits of serial killers rape drug-abusing medical students to death in this hallucinatory disgusto horror film
Il Sogno di Scipione (2006): Staging of Mozart’s mythological dream opera, from the M22 series
Spiral (2007) – Psychothriller about an unhinged artist and his models
Splice (2010) – Genetic horror/parenthood allegory from Vincenzo Natali about the drawbacks of mixing human and animal DNA
The Strange Woman (1946) – Edgar G. Ulmer noir starring Heddy Lamarr as a woman more evil than strange
Subject Two (2006) – The subject of a medical experiment must die over and over so that the doctor can perfect his faulty resurrection formula
Sublime (2007) – Mildly surreal hospital horror about the world’s most unfortunate colonoscopy
Suck (2009) – Musical horror/satire about a rock band infected with vampirism
Sucker Punch (2011) – Video game-style fantasy with lingerie-clad babes kicking monster butt in high heels
Sun Don’t Shine (2012) – Florida noir with a great performance from Kate Lyn Sheil that would have benefited from more weirdness
Superman and the Mole Men (1951) – Dwarfs with an Electrolux vacuum cleaner threaten the Man of Steel
Surveillance (2008) – Jennifer Lynch’s long delayed second movie is a perverse cross between Natural Born Killers and a CSI episode
The Swimmer (1968) – Burt Lancaster decides to “swim” his way home one afternoon via neighbors swimming pools, but finds himself impeded by allegory
Tabloid (2010) – Errol Morris documentary documenting the bizarre story of Joyce McKinney, the former Miss Wyoming who allegedly kidnapped and raped a Mormon missionary in 1977
The Tall T (1957) – Budd Boetticher’s bleak, beautiful Western has a cult following
Tchoupitoulas (2012) – Impressionistic tour of New Orleans as seen from the viewpoint of three boys stranded in the city overnight
The Tempest (1979) – Avant garde interpretation of Shakespeare’s strangest fantasy with much nudity and a torch song finale
The Temptation of St. Tony (2009) – Kafkaesque Estonian retelling of the temptation of St. Anthony
The Ten (2007) – Occasionally absurd, occasionally amusing short films based on the Ten Commandments, made by TV sketch-comedy vets
Ten Animated Films by Signe Baumane (2006) -Weird and sexy (female-oriented) shorts
The Terror (1963) – Legendary Roger Corman film allegedly made in 48 hours, with Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson in an improvised script
Terror in a Texas Town (1958) – A man faces a gunfighter armed with a harpoon in this allegory of the Un-American Activities Committee by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo
Terribly Happy (2008) – Offbeat, Coen-esque tale of a Danish marshal reassigned to a small rural town full of dirty secrets
Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009) – Visually impressive but pointless b-movie remake of
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (by the same director)
ThanksKilling (2008) – Troma-style killer turkey comedy, made for a reported $3500
They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1963/197?) – Confusing mess about Hitler’s head planning a Nazi comeback, with ill-matched new footage added a decade later
Thirst (1979) – Australian vampire tale about a lineal descendant of Elizabeth Bathory’s involvement in the commercial blood farming industry
Thirst [Bawkji] (2009) – Chan-wook Park’s take on the vampire legend is arty and bloody, as expected, but surprisingly conventional at its heart
The Thirteenth Chair (1929) – Tod Browning’s first sound film features Bela Lugosi as an investigator in a drawing-room murder mystery
This is Elvis (1981) – Mixes documentary footage with recreations to tell Elvis’ story
Three’s a Crowd (1927) – Guest review of Harry Langdon’s neglected silent classic
Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (2012) – The cult TV stars open a mall in this awkward attempt to translate sketch comedy into a feature film
To Die Like a Man [Morrer Como Um Homem] (2009) – Commandos and woodsy transgendered hermits feature heavily in this story of the last months of a fading drag queen
Tombstone Canyon (1932) – Creepy B-western featuring the villanous “Phantom Killer”
Top Hat (1935) – An Astaire/Rogers musical? Weird? Alfred Eaker makes the case
A Town Called Panic (2009) – The outright insanity of this picaresque children’s adventure appeals to weirder adults
The Toxic Avenger (1984) – Janitor nerd turns into mop-wielding mutant superhero in this gory, goofy and offensive cult spoof
The Toxic Avenger, Part II (1989) – “Toxie” goes to Japan for more mayhem; the craziness remains, but the lighter tone makes this a moderately more pleasant entry in the series
The Toxic Avenger, Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989) – The producers scrape the bottom of the toxic waste barrel to come up with this third installment composed partially of extra footage from Part II
Trailers from Hell, Vol. 2 (2011) – Trailer compilation (mostly B-movies) coupled with passionate film commentary from some very hip directors and screenwriters
Trash [Andy Warhol's Trash] (1970) - Joe Dallessandro’s too stoned on junk to get an erection, but he sure meets a lot of weirdos in NYC in the late 60s, including his garbage-collecting transvestite roommate
Trash Humpers (2009) – Four elderly (?) sociopaths terrorize weirdos and defenseless garbage in this narrativeless provocation from Harmony Korine
Triangle (2009) – weirdness hits the high seas in this psychological mindbender about a single mom trapped on a not-so-abandoned ocean liner
Trollhunter [Trolljegeren] (2010) – Truth in advertising in this Norwegian “found footage” horror movie about a man who hunts trolls
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997) – Guy Maddin’s color misfire has intriguing art design, at least
Two Orphan Vampires (1997) – Two female vampires pose as blind orphans in this slow, oddly existential meditation from Jean Rollin
Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight (1975) – Impenetrable avant-garde comedy that’s a collection of not very funny or otherwise interesting scenes
UHF (1989) – Despite the author/star’s name, “Weird Al”‘s TV and movie spoof is only mildly offbeat
Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) – Dying Uncle Boonme recalls his past lives, and sees a Thai sasquatch, too
The Unholy Three (1925) – Silent film involving hte criminal activities of three carnival hustlers who open a pet shop selling counterfeit parrots
The Unknown (1927) – Lon Chaney stars as “Alonzo the Armless,” who throws knives with his feet at a carnival and romances Joan Crawford
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) – Dreamlike movie from the Czechoslovak New Wave about a girl transitioning into womanhood
Valhalla Rising (2009) – Vikings discover the New World while searching for the Holy Land
in this odd Christian/Pagan allegory
Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009) – Gory Japanese horror/comedy sees DG fight FG for the hand of a handsome high school lad
Visioneers (2008) – Corporate satire/black comedy about exploding people, starring Zach Galifianakis
Vixen Highway 2006: It Came from Uranus (2010) – 2 1/2 hour (!) low-budget b-movie pastiche about an escaped girl gang and a rock star who makes a Faustian deal with an alien, or something like that
Viy (1967) – Classic Gothic horror about a seminarian who must spend three nights praying over the corpse of a witch produced in the Soviet Union, under-seen in the West
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) – Roger Corman produced curiosity mixing footage of a Soviet space opera with scenes of Mamie van Doren sunbathing in a clamshell bra
Walkabout (1971) – Story of a pair of privileged Australian kids stranded in the Outback who are saved by an aborigine on his walkabout; beautiful, but not very weird
Watchmen (2009) – Weird by superhero movie standards, at least
Waxworks (1924) – This historical anthology film with Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper is one of the key works of German Expressionism
Way Out West (1937) – Laurel and Hardy singing and dancing in the old west
West of Zanzibar (1928) – Lon Chaney loses his legs and becomes a witch doctor while plotting decades-long revenge in this partially lost melodrama
What? [Che?, AKA Diary of Forbidden Dreams] (1972) – Roman Polanski’s absurdist sex comedy starring Marcello Mastroianni was a critical and box office flop, but could be a guilty pleasure for some
What Dreams May Come (1998) – Romantic afterlife fantasy starring Robin Williams; some amazing visual effects, but only weird by Hollywood standards
Where East is East (1929) – Tod Browning’s last silent film is another Freudian melodrama, this time set among animal trainers in China
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) – Spike Jonze’s visionary retelling of the classic children’s book is a trip inside a kid’s psyche, not a movie for kids
The White Ribbon [Das Weisse Band: Ein Deutsche Kindergeschichte] (2009) – Serious dramatic meditation on the roots of Nazism, with ambiguous overtones
White Tiger (1923) – Typically obsessive Tod Browning film, with a mechanical chess player as the twist
White Zombie (1932) – Atmospheric classic horror with traditional Haitian zombies, Bela Lugosi, and a silent film aesthetic
Wild, Wild Planet [I Criminali della Galssia] (1965) – Bad and bizarre Italian space opera from the demented mind of Antonio Margheriti
Wild Zero (2000) – Japanese punk band Guitar Wolf fight a plague of zombies: it’s like Rock N’ Roll High School meets Night of the Living Deadin Yokohama
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010) – Tribute to the influentially weird writer incorporating illustrative avant-garde film footage
Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009) – Nonlinear true crime thriller about a biochemistry student/hooker/murderess
Wisconsin Death Trip (1999) – Essay from Jesse Miksic exploring the iconography of this strange documentary about a morbidly ill-fated Wisconsin town in the late 1800s
The Wizard of Oz (1939) – It may not be quite weird, but it’s the must-see fantasy
The Wolf Man (1941)/The Wolfman (2010) – Alfred Eaker compares and contrasts the two lycanthropic
Wozzeck (2006) – Alban Berg’s controversial class-struggle opera about a murderous soldier, staged in an industrial waste factory with ample nudity
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006) – Quirky indie romantic comedy/road movie set in a bleak afterlife reserved for suicides
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) – This often overlooked Speilberg-produced kid’s adventure is worth seeing for its creepy, inventive and ahead-of-their-time hallucinatory effects
Zaide/Adama (2006) – Mozart’s unfinished opera Zaide is mixed with a newly commissioned postmodern composition, and with a bunch of guys in suits with oversized heads
Zenith (2010) – Intricately confusing, weirdish mix of paranoid conspiracy thriller and sci-fi speculation
Zorg and Andy (2009) – Microbudgeted B-comedy that may be worth a look(if you can find it) for the pig-headed collegian and the penis-y fertility statue
SHORTS
20015 (1994) -Fairly successful attempt to recreate an LSD trip on a low budget
8-Bit Trip (2009) – Some of the most spectacular Legomation we’ve ever seen, accompanied by techno music
The Adventures of Mr. Coo #4 (2007) – seeing the previous three episodes will not help you make sense of this surreal flash animation
The Alchemy of Light (2012) – Performance art demonstration of projection mapping, a method of panting with light on three dimensional surfaces
Android 207 (2006) – A skeleton android wanders in a labyrinth full of traps
An Animated Short Film (2007) – An intensely creative animated film with an original piano score hiding humbly behind a generic title
Anna Blume (2009) – An animated version of the Kurt Schwitters nonsense Dadaist love poem
Apocalypse Miaou (2011) – Kitties, 80s style graphics and electronic music adorn this experimental advertisement for a Barcelona get-together
The Art of Drowning (2009) – Animated poem about your life passing before your eyes at death
Asparagus (1979) – Surreal 18 minute tour de force featuring obscene iterations of the title vegetable. Included on The Films of Suzan Pitt.
At Land (1944) – Legendary experimental filmmaker Maya Deren’s short odyssey of a sea nymph’s unhappy visit to our dry world
Autumnir (2005) – Experimental, impressionistic montage of a German park in autumn
Bang, (2010) – Hunting is a metaphor for courtship in this weird romantic comedy
Baobab (2005) – Weird animation with an African edge
Be A Manwolf Today (2011?) – It’s an advertisement (?) for a motorcycle gang… or a skateboard gang… or maybe sneakers?
Belly (2011) – Surreal but touching story of an anthropomorphic elephant’s trip inside the belly of a whale
Bendito Machine (2006) – Some silhouetted villagers worship a giant machine which dispenses eyeballs, while others seek to destroy it in this strange award-winning animation that spawned two sequels.
“Between Two Ferns: Episode 1; - The first installment Zack Galifiankis’ absurdist web talk show, with an uncomfortable Michael Cera as the interview victim
Bimbo’s Initiation (1931) – Another bizarre and surreal Flesicher Brother’s cartoon. “Wanna be a member?”
Birdboy (2010) – Weird animated post-apocalyptic fable from Spain; shortlisted for a
“Best Animated Short Film” Academy Award nomination in 2012
Bistro (2010) – Monty Python-esque tale of a pig man ordering lunch in a strange bistro; winner of the Electric Shorts 2010 competition
Black Shore (2012) – Music video for the Icelandic band ;lfur; the beats are as bizarre as the visuals
The Boundaries of Life and Death (2012) – Morphing black and white animation inspired by Edgar Allen Poe
The Box Man (2002) – Very creepy, Kafkaesque stop-motion animation inspired by a Kobel Abe novel
The Brainwashers (2002) - Two chimney sweeps are injected into a man’s brain in this claymation featurette from the National Film Board of Canada
Bulb (2008) – A simple change of a light bulb has far reaching effects in this well-made experimental film
Catnip: Egress to Oblivion? (2012) – The startling facts behind the mind-melting fad sweeping the feline world: is it worth the rush?
The Cat With Hands (2001) – Very spooky horror short about a cat with hands (and other human body parts)
Chicken – Part 2: Resurrection (2011) – Four strange people share a strange meal in this experimental film with a trick
Children Purple (2007) – Experimental mix of film and animation over fast-paced beats
A Child’s Toy (2007) – Child’s Play meets Eraserhead in this creepy stop-motion animation
Christmas Cracker (1963) – Three whimsically weird animated Christmas tales; a short film Academy Award nominee
Combination Spawns (2009) – Psychedelic experiments with fractal imaging software
Control (2010) – A panic attack on film
Crabs in a Dollhouse (2011) – Delivers what it promises in the title, plus poetry
Curriculum Vitae (2007) – Surreal comedy about a man whose resume escapes him; this version is abridged
Cycles (2010) – Giant teddy bears stuck in mutating traffic patterns; oddly hypnotic
Crooked (Orcus) Rot (2008) – Experimental stop-motion animation filled with creepy imagery
Dada (2008) – Style follows subject in this comedy about a pair of stereotyped Frenchmen trying to get their hands on an art masterpiece/shovel
David Lynch Signature Cup Coffee (2011) – Leave it to David Lynch to use an utterly baffling ad to sell coffee
Derealiser la Faille (2010) – Frightening, visually assured non-narrative experimental film, remarkably made by a high school student
El Doctor (2006) – A melancholy Mexican medico makes his miraculous rounds. Included on The Films of Suzan Pitt.
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (2011?) – Children’s puppets stumble upon the dark side of creativity
Dr. Fausen’s Children (2009) – Surreal, paranoid fantasy about a man who thinks he’s related to a blue cow
Doxology (2007) – an experimental head trip containing floating carrots, dancing cars, and a tennis ball crashing into the moon.
Dream #7 (2009) – David Lynch’s 42 second entry in the onedreamrush short film collection
Dream in Green (2007) – Gustafer Yellowgold’s acclaimed animated children’s music has fanciful storybook pictures for the kiddies and infectious melodies for adults
edicisum (2008) – Experimental film sets dissonant music to equally dissonant visuals
Elapse (2009) – Floria Sigismondi’s 42 second entry in the onedreamrush short film collection
Epidermis (2008) – Odd urban philosophy from cult tour guide Speed Levitch, who compares walking down a city street to foreplay
A Family Portrait (2009) – If you thought your family portrait was awkward—well, at least mom’s nostril didn’t engulf dad’s head
The Fantastic Adventures of Cloudman (2010): Claymation, traditional animation and live-action mix (often in the same scene) to tell the fantastic story of Cloudman’s sojourn among the Earthlings
The Fox and the Rabbit (2006) – Dreamlike music video from the indie band Xiu Xiu
Frankenweenie (1984) – Charming pre-fame Tim Burton Frankenstein parody about a boy who reanimates his dead dog
Free Fall (1964) – Ten minutes of gospel music, ants, baboons, experimental editing, cellular biology lectures, and eye closeups figure in this surrealist short
From Behind (2005) – Who are those skeletal creatures stranding behind the claymation people and manipulating them?
Going to the Store (2011) – A naked man-thing shows off his unusual gait
Gordon’s Surreal Senior Project Film #2 – Young Gordon shows some promise in this experiment with a self-explanatory title
Green Porno – Fly (2008) – Representative episode from the Sundance Television series with Isabella Rossellini describing the mating habits of insects in a weird but scientifically accurate way
Grounded (2012) – An astronaut’s hallucinations on a faraway world
Guns, Beer and Demons (2009) – Humorous prologue for a proposed post-apocalyptic webseries involving the titular triumvirate
Halloween Trash (2007) – Something called Shaye St. John verbally abusing trick-or-treaters!
Happy Ending (2010) – A simple story about post-apocalyptic Japanese teenage mimes
Happy Happy Yay Yay (2011) – Two kids are cured of their boredom when they receive a concussion from a rainbow
Harvie Krumpet (2003) – Eccentric Academy Award winning claymation about a character with Tourette’s Syndrome
Headlessness (2004) – Trippy “journey to the holy mountain” cartoon
The Heart of the World (2000) – Guy Maddin’s award-winning short love letter to silent Soviet cinema
He Did and He Didn’t (1916) – Roscoe Arbuckle’s “humorous, expressionistic nightmare.”
Helping Johnny Remember (2010) – A DIY-er uses basic editing software to turn a short about getting along into a comic nightmare
Henri (2007) – The depressingly hilarious monologue of a housecat filled with ennui
Henri 2, Paw de Deux (2012) – This sequel finds the existential French kitty reflecting on the continuing meaningless of domestic life
Hesperus (2006) – Apocalyptic, Rotoscoped sci-fi tale with a unique visual sense
Hunger (1974) – This animated fable about greed and lust with constantly morphing images was nominated for “Best Short Film” in the 1975 Oscars
I, Pet Goat II (2012) – Possibly a political satire—frankly, this impressive animated short is so weird we just can’t tell!
Italian Spiderman Trailer (2008) – Viral sensation is a hilarious send-up of a grindhouse genre that never was
It’s Intermission Time! (2007) – A trip to the drive-in snack bar brings unexpected consequences in this zany parody of movie popcorn pitches
Jabberwocky (1971) – Jan Svankmajer‘s nonsense warmup for Alice; included on Cinema 16: European Short Films
Jericho (2009) – A despondent old man is visited by his childhood toys in this weird but moving short
La Jet;e (1962) – Dreamlike time-travel classic that set the standard for the sci-fi subgenre
Joy Street (1995) - A suicidally depressed woman and her whimsical animated ashtray have decidedly different views of life. Included on The Films of Suzan Pitt.
Judy’s Smile (2011) – A narrator reflects on his sister’s omnipresent smile in this subtly disturbing re-purposed hygiene short
Kasio Christmas (2008) – Conehead aliens do weird dances to Christmas carols played on a Casio keyboard
Killer Cuisine 2 (2010) – A cooking show for cannibals
Kunbstbar (2002) – a wonderfully weird animated bar with Pablo Picasso on the menu
Lady Blue Shanghai (2010) – David Lynch was given relatively free reign to make this impressionistic “commercial” for Dior (a handbag features prominently)
Laugh Years Light Trax (2011) – A speculative look at how aliens see human laughter
Life and the Mirror (2007) – Short, surreal film from Julio Pereira.
Logan’s Run (2012) – Herky-jerky, trippy digital animation about an antler-headed humanoid wandering a chaotic neon world
The Making of “Godard & Others” (2010) – Strange and cynical mini-documentary on the making of a low-budget independent movie
Mariko Takahashi’s Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an “Ex-fat Girl” (2004) – Commercial director Nagi Noda’s notorious, prankishly surreal entry in a short film prepared for the 2004 Olympics
Marvelous, Keen Loony Bin (2005) – Animated surrealism featuring a monkey with a helium-filled balloon for a head
Meatball Machine: Reject of Death (2007) – Produced as an extra for theMeatball Machine DVD, this gory, absurd and politically incorrect music video is weirder and more interesting than the feature film
Metachaos (2010) - Black and white manikins twist and jerk uncontrollably in the accelerating chaos
Mirror, Mirror (2008?) – You’ll wonder which is weirder, the music or the visuals, in this experimental video
Morpho Towers–Two Standing Spirals (2007) – Ferrofluid rises and spins hypnotically around two magnetized spiral towers in this ballet of liquid metal
Mound (2011) – Clay figures morph and undulate as a man croons “It’s Raining Today”
Mr. Freeman, Part 0 (2009?) – Fluid, morphing black and white Russian animation that’s managed to create quite an Internet following considering most fans don’t understand what’s being said
Mutant Sperm (2010?) – Fish filled with various glittering, neon colored objects are brutally impaled to a song about pregnancy
MUTO (2008) – This YouTube sensation shows meticulously photographed graffiti art crawling across the walls of urban eyesores in Buenos Aires
My Favorite Things that I Love (2010) – Affectionate, weird send-up of big-eyed puppies, unicorns, and other forms of girly kitsch
My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 177 (2002) – A madman takes the advice of the Doberman he’s dogsitting, much to his detriment; included on the European edition of Cinema 16: European Short Films
Nachtmahr: Geistergang (2008) -Nightmarish amateur experimental short
Nagasaki Ding-Dong (2008) – A nauseatingly surreal meal
obskura atomika (2011) – Low budget film with echoes of Begotten andEraserhead
Obsolescence (2011) – Hostage story with a sci-fi twist
Odilon Redon (1995) – A father and son witness a train wreck and compete for the love of the sole survivor in this silent-film styled throwback from Guy Maddin
One Pill (2009) – Atmospheric meditation on memory and forgetfulness
Orhesticulanismus (2008) – Mathieu Labaye’s animated tribute to his paralyzed father
Otto and the Electric Eel (2011) – Electric eel: it’s what’s for dinner
The Outside Voice (2009) – A maladjusted loner takes a terrifying walk in this vodka advertisement
Parasite Choi (2012) – Morphing digital magic in a post-apocalyptic desert
The Piano (2011) – A trip to a piano factory turns into a surreal recital where the instrument consumes the performers
Plastic Bag (2009) – A plastic bag wonders about the purpose of its existence when its owner discards it. Narrated by Werner Herzog.
Plunge – An animated man falls from an impossible height into a surreal world
Praying Transnomia (2012) – Headscratching art installation featuring two German men reciting repetitive phrases
Prie Dieu (2012) – Award-winning experimental film bringing you praying mantises as you’ve never seen them before
Rabbit (2005) – Award-winning, scary animated anti-greed fable about a girl who finds a magical idol inside the body of a rabbit
Red Hot Drops (2005) – Weirdly drawn music video by animator/musician Chad Vangaalen
Reduction (2010) – Animated illustration of an odd theory about the subconscious
The Return of John Frum (2010) – A prophecy from a religion that never was
Right Place (2006) – Award-winning short from Kosai Sekine about a Japanese clerk with obsessive compulsions
Royal Game (2007) – Two porcelain-faced beings play a mystical game of chess, accompanied by an original score for guitar and percussion
Salad Fingers – Cupboard (2007) – this representatively bizarre episode from David Firth’s weird animated web series sees Salad Fingers driven into his safety cupboard by unpleasant radio broadcasts
Salma (2011) – animator uses weirdness to protest unexploded ordinance
S-Bahn (2011) – Strange creatures ride the subway in this mix of animation and live action
Seed (2004) – Stop-motion horror with some arresting imagery
“A Sharp Education” – 1950s newsreel of mom throwing knives at her daughters
Sick Leave (2012) - Speedy shifting animated surreal landscapes
Singing Babies (unknown) – VHS relic: an unintentionally horrifying skit of singing babies that turns nightmarish as the sandman snatches the tots
Sissy-Boy Slap-Party (1995) – It’s what the title says it is; pre-code homoerotica based on a Three Stooges fetish
S.I.T.E. (2008) – Military sightings of weird aliens in the desert
The Sleep of Reason (2002) – There’s a strong Guy Maddin feel to this evocative short about a mental patient undergoing shock therapy
The Small Space [Der Kleinere Raum] (2009) – Claustrophobia via claymation
Smoke (2008) – The term “Lynchian” is overused, but it fits this smoky, surreal, professional impressionist piece by Grzegorz Cisiecki
Snowballs (2011) – Another Harmony Korine provocation, this time poking at Native American stereotypes as well as white trash
Solipsist (2012) – Colorful, award-winning experimental short with humans evolving into colorful, flowery, abstract forms
Sombra Dolorosa (2004) – A widow must win a wrestling bout with death before an eclipse arrives to save her daughter from suicide—FROM SUICIDE!
Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994) – This proof-of-concept short forSling Blade takes place inside the mental institution before Karl Childers’ release
Spacious Thoughts (2009) – Experimental animated music video from N.A.S.A., featuring the voices of Kool Keith and Tom Waits
The Stain (1991) – Disturbingly deadpan tale of a dysfunctional family inspired by an odd obituary notice
The Stolen Bible trailer - There’s no way this movie could possibly live up to the brilliance this garbled, carnivalesque trailer – is there?
The Stork (2001) – A bizarre image—babies as bombs—drives this overpopulation allegory
Strife on Mars? (2011) – From Gibby Goo Bop comes this uplifting, impressively filmed musical nonsense starring a tree-hugging hippie and his imaginary friends
Sultana Meadows (2006) – Amatuer, but highly Lynchian, short film from Spike McKenzie
Supermercado (2012) – Weird supermarket prank by a crazy consumer
The Tale of the Floating World (2001) – A surrealistic montage of Japanophilic iconography
This Moment Is Not (2011) – A New Age-y meditation demonstration put through psychedelic paces
The Threatened One (1999) – Sexy animated take on Jorge Luis Borges’ melancholy love poem
Three… or Apple? (2009) – Experimental, nearly silent tinted short from Serbia refers to Bu;uel and the Biblical story of creation
To Oblivion (1993) – Low budget short film combining three H.P. Lovecraft dream stories
To Shoot a Rurf (2007) – Surrealistic urban short with a strung-out, despairing feel
The Trip (2009) – Experimental music video incorporating public domain footage from LSD scare films; highly psychedelic
A Trip to the Orphanage (2004) – A soprano sings a sad lament as a man mournfully marches in the snow and curtains billow in this re-purposed deleted scene from The Saddest Music in the World
Twelve Days of Black Mass (2009) – Another creepy Christmas short, this one featuring a spooky doll performing mysterious rituals accompanied by “Sesame Street” style graphics
Umo (2007) – A psychedelic, tribal music video from the avant-garde Japanese band OOIOO
Undone (2008) – Fishing is a metaphor for Alzheimer’s disease in this melancholy stop-animated short
The Unreal Rabbit’s Riddle (2010) – The surreal adventures of a stuffed rabbit
[user assumes risk] June 18, 2008 - Remarkable performance piece set to electronic noise, for director John Hand’s band
Vincent (1982) – Impressive, expressionistic stop-motion animation debit by Tim Burton, about a 7-year old boy who wants to be like Vincent Price
The Virgin Herod (2011) – Adolescence as depicted in this grotesque, surreal short is almost as nightmarish as it is in reality
A Vodka Movie (2008) – Uncomfortably absurd, commissioned ad for Absolut Vodka, starring Zack Galafinkas and Tim & Eric
The Waiting Room (2012) – Jumpy line drawings illustrate the evolution of a weird waiting room
Wake Up (2010) – Clever and fun amateur piece by college students using simple techniques that proves you don’t need a budget to get in the weird spirit
A Walk on the Weird Side (2008) – A strange morning stroll, created to promote an exhibition of Surrealist art
Waltz for One (2012) – A solitary astronaut goes insane in space
We Were Once a Fairytale (2009) - Odd little short film directed by Spike Jonze and starring Kanye West (playing himself) as an obnoxious drunk
Wofl 21o6 (2006) – Strange, stylized animation mixing wolves, UFOs, opera and video games
The Wonder Hospital (2010) - A stop-motion trip to see a surreal plastic surgeon
World of Glory (1991) – Depressing absurdism about the bourgeois cowardice of Swedes from Roy Andersson; included on Cinema 16: European Short Films
X-Mess Detritus (2008) – A joyous, memento mori stop-motion animated Christmas short, from Voltaire
Yum Yum Shampoo (2007) – If you think Japanese commercials are weird, this comedy but suggests that the people influenced by them are even weirder
The Zebras from Peenemuende (2010) – Experimental piece by “BpOlar” created to accompany a dark ambient musical composition
TV
“Fred and Barney for Bush Beer” (1967) – Flintstones characters extol the virtues of binge drinking in this odd artifact of its times
“Green Screen Cookies” (2009) – What’s in those psychedelic cookies Thu Tran is making for “Food Party”?
“Jam” (2000) – British cult TV show that combined ambient music with deadpan absurdism and pitch black comedy
“Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures” (1997-1989) – innovative, satirical children’s cartoon that was notoriously killed off by a fundamentalist protest of a supposed drug reference
“Orangina Commercial” (ca 2011) – the French see inter-species bestiality as a perfectly natural way to hawk orange soda
“The Paul Lynde Halloween Special” (1976) – Margaret Hamilton, Kiss, CB radios, and disco all feature heavily as Lynde celebrates the season with an explosion of 70s kitsch
“Saturday Morning with Sid & Marty Kroftt” – Pilot episodes from the puppet-centric children’s fantasy shows beloved by 70s children and acidheads alike
“Tim and Eric Awesome Show Good Job!: H’amb” – an ultra-black clip from the cult TV show, starring William Sanderson and Karen Black and involving murder-suicide and bargain lamb substitutes
“Twin Peaks” (Pilot) – The pilot that introduced the town of Twin Peaks and its odd residents was 90 of the best minutes ever put on television, but only hinted at the weirdness to come
“Twin Peaks” (Series) – Gee-whiz FBI agent Dale Cooper investigates the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer by talking to dwarfs and giants in his dreams in the strangest series ever to air on American network television
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