My weirdest have already been mentioned (The Forbidden Zone and **An ** Andalusion Dog). Though I have to admit Naked Lunch is right up there for me.
But for you trivia buffs, if you watch the TV series The Dilbert Zone, you’ll hear the theme from The Forbidden Zone recycled for it. (At least it sure sounds like it.)
Sarah, you won’t be disappointed. Cannibal is really hilarious, and be sure to get the DVD version when you watch it. Watch it all the way through once, then watch it with the commentary on. Trey, Matt, and Dian (and there may be others, it’s been a while since I’ve heard it) are drinking during it, and the drunker they get, the funnier it gets.
I remember seeing a film called “Morgan: A Suitable case for treatment” one night when I was somewhat the worse for wear. Monkeys, Marxism and a flower garden. And Vanessa Redgrave. Wacky stuff.
Very late one night my husband and I were channel-surfing, and we came upon a weird, but not unwatchable movie about a killer mermaid, She Creature. It’s an odd little film about which I can only say that for those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like.
I see that someone already mentioned El Topo, but I can give you 2 other Jodorowski flicks that are weirder: Fando & Lis and (my fav) Santa Sangre.
SS is weird. A young boy see his father, a circus ringmaster, cut his mother’s arms off in a fit of rage after he catches her with another man. The boy is sent to an institution where he grows to manhood. He is re-united with his mother, who did not die, and he becomes her arms, helping her exact revenge… and the truth is, that doesn’t even come close to describing this weird, beautiful, strange, creepy movie. The first time I saw it, as soon as it ended, I started it again. Be sure to get the unrated release, not the tepid “R” version released in the states.
These are among my favorites in my collection. I left out the crappy Troma movies because to me they are deliberately weird/bad; the camp is part of the Troma appeal. But with the exception of The Ninth Configuration I think the above are all good films, certainly worth watching at least once. Tetsuo and Pi are both pretty disturbed/disturbing, but still worth seeing.
Oh, and I agree that Knightriders is both a great film, and prolly the best movie that Romero will ever make.
Black Moon. The movie is indescribable – no plot, no characterizationg, but fascinating. The final image has stayed with me for 30 years.
More recently, Picking Up the Pieces. First of all, take a look at the cast: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Kiefer Sutherland, David Schwimmer, Elliott Gould, Andy Dick, Fran Drescher, and Lou Diamond Phillips, Cheech Marin, with Kathy Kinney showing up, too. Woody plays a Texas butcher (named “Tex”) who murders his wife (Stone) and chops her up into pieces. One of the pieces is a hand (with the middle finger outstretched) that has miraculous powers. David Schwimmer’s first scene is the funniest thing I’ve seen in years, with one big laugh bigger than all the laughs in Friends put together.
Six-String Samurai - actually a fantastic movie that I strongly recommend, featuring music by The Red Elvises. A Buddy Holly lookalike travels across post-apocalyptic America, dealing with cannibals, killer bowlers, and underground mutants to get to Vegas to compete in a rock and roll competition. Armed only with his guitar and sword, he avoids Death and his crew of rockers to make it to the gig.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space - not nearly as good as the above film. Creepy looking clown puppets come from outer space killing people with cotton candy guns and other assorted weaponry in order to feed on their blood. The clowns are creepy, but the gimmicks are weak.
The Magician of Lublin, based on a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Stars Alan Arkin. Long and strange, but with a stunning plot twist at the end.
She’s Driving Me Crazy (no, no not Driving Miss Daisy)–filmmaker was supposed to film a German impresario who was backing an American tap dance musical with Mercedes Ellington as choreographer to show how the show moves towards its triumphant opening. There is nothing BUT dysfunctional show biz personalities in this movie. Best scene is where Mercedes dances right into a dim-witted camera operator, and cusses him out. Sort of plotless, but interesting. You keep thinking that someone should take everyone in the movie out and spank them till they behave nicely.
I think Liquid Sky has to be up there as well. Buckaroo Banzai (got that one too) is pretty high up on the list, when you think about it – aliens named John? Rasta aliens versus business suit aliens? Rock star neurosurgeon race car drivers? Jeff Goldblum? Fantastic movie.
Max The Immortal
Jonathan Caouette, of Tarnation fame, is Mrs. edwino’s second cousin. I met him a few months ago. For his messed up life, he actually is a very sweet guy and still seems very down to earth despite all of the ruckus his movie caused.
That’s Daisy and Violet, right? I put them in an online scavenger hunt a couple of weeks ago, and one person playing said they had been afraid there were more where Paris comes from.
w/ Barbara Hershey and Richard Thomas (John Boy), another actor, and another actress who seems to have disappeared.
A trio of two teen boys and one teen girl spend a summer hanging out in a beach town. They boys are obsessed with getting their first, the girl’s a cutie they keep trying to manipulate into sex with no success. A second girl, not so cute joins the group…
… and the sadistic degradation begins. Weird film, shocking ending. The only film I’ve ever seen where the cute popular girl helps the cute popular boy rape the homely girl.
I was a little stoned one late late night about 12 years ago, and stumbled across Terminal USA on some cable channel. It is strange and wonderful, and remains with me to this day.