Tetsuo - a film that oscillates through various criticisms on human society, through the tale of a man who gets into an accident with a metal fetishist, and then starts having random chunks of metal, and then actual appliances sprout from parts of his body. It has a sequel, which I find quite a bit more mundane, if superficially just as odd.
Odishon - this starts as a slow-moving drama about a lonely old man that slowly turns bizarre.
And then, nearly without warning, it becomes one of the most horrifying and twisted movies that I’ve ever seen, and ever hope to see. I won’t say any more about this movie. Other than 'Deeper… Deeper…"
Oh, the director, Takashi Miike, has made some other movies that are just as, if not more twisted. Visitor Q and Ichi the Killer come to mind.
Uzumaki - some part of my brain still shivers a bit when I see a spiral.
Dead Ringers: Jeremy Irons plays twin gynecologists. One goes insane and takes the other along for the ride. Museum exhibit features a display called “Gynecological instruments for use on Mutant Women” (or something like that).
What a good thread. Now I want to go back and rewatch a bunch of things.
I have a good one that hasn’t come up: The Kingdom
Not the Stephen King one, which I take it was based, sort of, on the original. But rather the original, made for Danish television by Lars Von Trier. It features Udo Kier as a weird demonic…infant. Tell me it gets more twisted than that.
And speaking of which, there’s Andy Warhol’s Frakenstein andAndy Warhol’s Dracula. In fact you could probably just pick anything from Keir’s filmography an know that something twisted will happen in it.
What else? Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer ? And if you can’t find anything else you might like Shaun of the Dead . Not up there with some of these but fun, and I think it’s out now.
MEGIDDO: OMEGA CODE II in which Udo is mentor from childhood to Michael York-AntiChrist.
REVELATION (at least that was it’s title on SciFi) in which Udo is an evil Catholic Cardinal who plots to clone Jesus & abusively raise the child to grow him into the AntiChrist.
By the same people who made “Delicatessan” is “The City of Lost Children”. A wonderful fantasy filled with Siamese twins, brains in jars, and a man who needs the dreams of children in order to not grow old.
Also there’s “Un Chien Andalou”, a 1929 movie by Salvador Dali. You’d be hard pressed to find it in the video stores, but I beleive there are a few sites online that allow you to download it. It’s mostly a movie of imagery, like the most shocking one: a women having her eyeball cut open with a straight razor. Think David Lynch times 100.
If I may, you’ll probably find Odishon as Audition in the US. And I totally agree that it’s one of the most twisted but engaging movies you’ll see. "Tick tick tick tick . . . "
Takashi Miike’s Gozu is also out on DVD now, and it’s worth seeing as well.
If the movie is any bit as creepy as the original manga, it’s going to be really damn creepy.
Oh, I saw Ichi the Killer with a bunch of my friends, and we all hated it. None of us have any problem with typical action movie violence or the more stylized violence of a John Woo or Tarantino, but Takashi Miike is definitely not for us. I’ve heard all the spoilers about Audition, and I know better than to even try watching it (or any of his other films).
Jeez, no Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original, of course)? I know it’s not going to win any critics awards, or gain you cred for being a connoisseur dramatic irony, but that was one screwy little flick, and there were some comedic moments I personally think rise to the level of gory camp.
Louis Malle’s Black Moon. It doesn’t bother with a story or any explanation, just unexplained weirdness (BTW, the plot summary at the IMDB assumes things that are not necessarily there). The scene where the woman breastfeeds the unicorn is unforgettable.
Luis Bunuel often did films on twisted themes (he was partly responsible for **Un Chien Andalou). Try The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Belle de Jour, and a favorite of mine, El.
Been a while since I’ve seen it. But, IIRC Krank didn’t need dreams to keep himself young. He was (IIR the expository speech by the brain in the fishtank correctly) unable to dream. Being an evil mad scientist, he thought he could fix this by stealing dreams.
Meet The Applegates
AFAICT, this started out as a children’s film. A rare species of giant insect dwells in the Amazon. They’re inteligent and can disguise themselves as humans. In order to protect the environment, a bug family led by Ed Beigley jr is sent to cause a meltdown at an American nuclear plant (Because we all know Chernobyl was so great for the environment). Something went wrong with the script, and the film includes drug use, rape, affairs left and right, and a variety of sleazy things.