Help us rally around a common weirdness
December 22, 2008 3:19 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for recommendations of movies to show at a movie party. I'd like to find films that are completely out there and just offensively weird and absurd in a way that would allow us all to comment on just how absurd they are.
I've been hosting a series of movie parties lately, and I've found that the best parties are those that center around movies that incite my friends and I to comment on them MST3K style. Movies that are really good, artsy, serious, etc. don't work very well because nobody wants to say anything during a really good movie. Movies that are just too easy to make fun of tend not to work either (Robot Monster was a dud). So far the best movies were ones that none of us had ever seen or heard of that turned out to be so completely bizarre that we couldn't even imagine what was going through the heads of the people who made them.
Movies we've watched in the past that fit what I'm looking for:
-Tetsuo: The Iron Man
-Tetsuo II: Body Hammer
-Turks Fruit (although that movie isn't really that weird)
I've been hosting a series of movie parties lately, and I've found that the best parties are those that center around movies that incite my friends and I to comment on them MST3K style. Movies that are really good, artsy, serious, etc. don't work very well because nobody wants to say anything during a really good movie. Movies that are just too easy to make fun of tend not to work either (Robot Monster was a dud). So far the best movies were ones that none of us had ever seen or heard of that turned out to be so completely bizarre that we couldn't even imagine what was going through the heads of the people who made them.
Movies we've watched in the past that fit what I'm looking for:
-Tetsuo: The Iron Man
-Tetsuo II: Body Hammer
-Turks Fruit (although that movie isn't really that weird)
Best answer: If you don't mind subtitles "Save the Green Planet!" sounds right up your alley.
posted by Palmcorder Yajna at 3:29 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Palmcorder Yajna at 3:29 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Eraserhead
Liquid Sky
Also check out Bad Idea Theater.
posted by mikeand1 at 3:29 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Liquid Sky
Also check out Bad Idea Theater.
posted by mikeand1 at 3:29 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
This is the perfect opportunity to bring up the most fucked up thing I've ever watched and actually like. Oh also, the most fucked up thing I've ever watched and hated with all my heart but still bought the DVD
posted by phrakture at 3:32 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by phrakture at 3:32 PM on December 22, 2008
Battle Royal and Old Boy. I've also heard that Cannibal holocaust is pretty out there, but i haven't seen it myself.
posted by aeighty at 3:32 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by aeighty at 3:32 PM on December 22, 2008
I'm a big fan of bad movies and I go to an annual movie marathon of crap theater. Here's some of their choices this year: King Dinosaur (but MST3K have already done it), Ninja Turf, Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon.
If you're also into zombie movies then Dead Heat and I Was a Teenage Zombie are good for ridicule.
posted by holloway at 3:37 PM on December 22, 2008
If you're also into zombie movies then Dead Heat and I Was a Teenage Zombie are good for ridicule.
posted by holloway at 3:37 PM on December 22, 2008
Also, in response to aeighty's suggestion, Cannibal holocaust is quite brutal and offensive; and unless the crowd is right, I wouldn't consider showing it without first pre-viewing.
posted by johnbaskerville at 3:38 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by johnbaskerville at 3:38 PM on December 22, 2008
OMG, I love Tetsuo: The Iron Man!
We have these movie nights, and have shown some groaners like Torque, Showgirls, and are planning Snakes on a Plane (theme nights have been Torque & Porque, Showgrills, etc.).
Also: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, Dead Man, Caligula...
There's also AWFUL port, such as Edward Penishands (NB, he has 3, not 11).
Or go for sci-fi classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space, THEM!, The Crawling Eye, 13 Ghosts, and so forth.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 3:39 PM on December 22, 2008
We have these movie nights, and have shown some groaners like Torque, Showgirls, and are planning Snakes on a Plane (theme nights have been Torque & Porque, Showgrills, etc.).
Also: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, Dead Man, Caligula...
There's also AWFUL port, such as Edward Penishands (NB, he has 3, not 11).
Or go for sci-fi classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space, THEM!, The Crawling Eye, 13 Ghosts, and so forth.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 3:39 PM on December 22, 2008
You could just work through everything you haven;t seen on this list.
posted by Artw at 3:41 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Artw at 3:41 PM on December 22, 2008
Some people love it, but I've been completely stupefied by all of the Takashi Miike films I've seen. Visitor Q, in particular, made very little sense and contained tons of images I wish I could un-see.
posted by thebergfather at 3:41 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by thebergfather at 3:41 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
It's no Audition.
Ichi The Killer should be the Miike film highest on the list. Or possibly you could just watch the first five minutes of Dead or Alive on loop for sheer awesomeness (the rest of the film strugles to live up to it and the sequel isn't all that)/
posted by Artw at 3:46 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
Ichi The Killer should be the Miike film highest on the list. Or possibly you could just watch the first five minutes of Dead or Alive on loop for sheer awesomeness (the rest of the film strugles to live up to it and the sequel isn't all that)/
posted by Artw at 3:46 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
Man Bites Dog. Basically a film about a documentary being made about a serial killer. One of the funniest parts of the film is the rape scene. Which kinda says it all really...
posted by i_cola at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by i_cola at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
It's American, hopelessly ridiculous, and stars Chevy Chase, so it might not be appropriate for your crowd, but Nothing But Trouble is one of my favorite movies of all time.
posted by hapticactionnetwork at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by hapticactionnetwork at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2008
Artw you're right about the first five minutes of Dead or Alive. That's a fantastic opening.
I like classifying Miike movies into the usual slots. Audition, for example, would be the romantic comedy (guy sets up a hilarious plan to find the perfect girl, etc.) Visitor Q is the heartwarming family drama (the all come together in the end <> My favorite though is Gozu, it's like he took all the good bits from his other movies and blended it into a weird mix of crime and absurdity. And milk.
posted by pantsrobot at 3:51 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
I like classifying Miike movies into the usual slots. Audition, for example, would be the romantic comedy (guy sets up a hilarious plan to find the perfect girl, etc.) Visitor Q is the heartwarming family drama (the all come together in the end <> My favorite though is Gozu, it's like he took all the good bits from his other movies and blended it into a weird mix of crime and absurdity. And milk.
posted by pantsrobot at 3:51 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Seconding Liquid Sky - the only response when watching that film is "Huh?" Heroin, aliens, necrophilia, it has it all, and makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
For sheer silliness in B-movies, the list is endless. The one that comes to mind right now is Forbidden World (NOT Forbidden Planet, which is all kinds of awesome). Absurdity galore, lots of graphic sex, and the most idiotically hilarious surgery in the history of cinema.
posted by elendil71 at 3:55 PM on December 22, 2008
For sheer silliness in B-movies, the list is endless. The one that comes to mind right now is Forbidden World (NOT Forbidden Planet, which is all kinds of awesome). Absurdity galore, lots of graphic sex, and the most idiotically hilarious surgery in the history of cinema.
posted by elendil71 at 3:55 PM on December 22, 2008
I just watched Cannibal Holocaust in a local independent theatre that shows all kinds of grindhouse/bizarre flicks. It was a special version which included the often-cut Last Road to Hell. I knew the film was bad and I warned my wife before we went, but she's into horror flicks like me and she insisted. It's a great movie while at the same time a horrible, horrible movie.
I'd suggest anything by Alejandro Jodorowsky. El Topo, Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre. I'd also suggest Batman Dracula, Celine and Julie Go Boating, the classic film Freaks, or the old, once-banned documentary Titicut Follies. That one is pretty heavy too, so yeah... depends on the crowd.
posted by Bageena at 3:57 PM on December 22, 2008
I'd suggest anything by Alejandro Jodorowsky. El Topo, Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre. I'd also suggest Batman Dracula, Celine and Julie Go Boating, the classic film Freaks, or the old, once-banned documentary Titicut Follies. That one is pretty heavy too, so yeah... depends on the crowd.
posted by Bageena at 3:57 PM on December 22, 2008
Best answer: People are naming a lot of my all-time favorite films (Tetsuo, Fantastic Planet, Save the Green Planet) in this thread. I'm not sure how to feel about that.
Anyway, I'd add Happiness of the Katakuris to the list of Miike flicks. It's a horror film. It's a remake of a Korean black comedy. It's a musical. And it's totally awesome.
posted by Dr-Baa at 4:09 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Anyway, I'd add Happiness of the Katakuris to the list of Miike flicks. It's a horror film. It's a remake of a Korean black comedy. It's a musical. And it's totally awesome.
posted by Dr-Baa at 4:09 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Dirty Duck or perhaps Fantastic Planet
Two very bizarre animated films from 1974 and 1973, respectively.
posted by Phantomx at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2008
Two very bizarre animated films from 1974 and 1973, respectively.
posted by Phantomx at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2008
Dr-Baa - I'm basically naming anything I watched past midnight in my teens and 20s.
posted by Artw at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Artw at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2008
Holy Mountain has an unusually high density of Unusual and Strange.
The American Astronaut has some good musical numbers. And a Real Live Girl.
Forbidden Zone stars Herve Villechaize as King Fausto of the sixth dimension.
posted by ook at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
The American Astronaut has some good musical numbers. And a Real Live Girl.
Forbidden Zone stars Herve Villechaize as King Fausto of the sixth dimension.
posted by ook at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
Was beaten twice about Fantastic Planet. I enjoy it a lot, but that doesn't diminish its weirdness one tiny bit.
posted by Phantomx at 4:13 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Phantomx at 4:13 PM on December 22, 2008
If you end up watching Dune then DO NOT WATCH ANY KIND OF "EXTENDED" OR "SPECIAL" EDITION.
posted by Artw at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Artw at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2008
I won't try to compete with all the suggestions above for the main event, but it might be fun to open (or close) with a little Hertzfeldt. The obvious choice would be Rejected, but they're all awesome.
posted by madmethods at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by madmethods at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2008
Survive Style 5+
posted by demon666 at 4:19 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by demon666 at 4:19 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
Seconding Zardoz.
Maybe ... um ... Straight to Hell?
Six-String Samurai is both pretty good and easily mockable.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 4:38 PM on December 22, 2008
Maybe ... um ... Straight to Hell?
Six-String Samurai is both pretty good and easily mockable.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 4:38 PM on December 22, 2008
I'll add my vote for Liquid Sky. Having watched it at the tender age of 17, in a small cineclub where it was announced as "omgscifi!", I can tell you those were some of the most puzzling minutes of my whole life.
posted by Iosephus at 4:40 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Iosephus at 4:40 PM on December 22, 2008
SWEET MOVIE
THE BEYOND
FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: BEAST STABLE (BEAST STABLE is the third in the series and is available on dvd, the second film of the series - JAILHOUSE 41 - is a masterpiece of art and exploitation and is long OOP on dvd.)
posted by cinemafiend at 4:42 PM on December 22, 2008
THE BEYOND
FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION: BEAST STABLE (BEAST STABLE is the third in the series and is available on dvd, the second film of the series - JAILHOUSE 41 - is a masterpiece of art and exploitation and is long OOP on dvd.)
posted by cinemafiend at 4:42 PM on December 22, 2008
Just saw this and decided it is completely and utterly ridiculous - Santa's Slay
'nough said.
posted by fiercekitten at 5:06 PM on December 22, 2008
'nough said.
posted by fiercekitten at 5:06 PM on December 22, 2008
The Doom Generation.
Seconding Meet the Feebles--wow, that was borderline traumatic. It truly has to be seen to be believed (and even then, you might have trouble). Of course, if you're going there, you must see Dead Alive, especially the scene with Selwyn. (And who could forget: "I kick arse for the Lord!")
posted by ostranenie at 5:07 PM on December 22, 2008
Seconding Meet the Feebles--wow, that was borderline traumatic. It truly has to be seen to be believed (and even then, you might have trouble). Of course, if you're going there, you must see Dead Alive, especially the scene with Selwyn. (And who could forget: "I kick arse for the Lord!")
posted by ostranenie at 5:07 PM on December 22, 2008
Funky Forest: The First Contact
Southland Tales
Christmas on Mars
posted by naju at 5:09 PM on December 22, 2008
Southland Tales
Christmas on Mars
posted by naju at 5:09 PM on December 22, 2008
The new Indiana Jones movie worked well for just these reasons. That movie is really, really weird.
posted by wemayfreeze at 5:19 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by wemayfreeze at 5:19 PM on December 22, 2008
even dwarves started small. trust me on this. it's full of bizarro win.
posted by CitizenD at 5:21 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by CitizenD at 5:21 PM on December 22, 2008
Crispin Glover's What is it?
Being the adventures of a young man whose principle interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home. As tormented by an hubristic, racist inner psyche.
Plot:
What Is It? is a bewildering, unnerving, surreal, blackly comic film from the visionary mind of Crispin Glover that tells the inner and outer struggles of a young man facing villains and demons on multiple planes
posted by fieldtrip at 5:23 PM on December 22, 2008
Being the adventures of a young man whose principle interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home. As tormented by an hubristic, racist inner psyche.
Plot:
What Is It? is a bewildering, unnerving, surreal, blackly comic film from the visionary mind of Crispin Glover that tells the inner and outer struggles of a young man facing villains and demons on multiple planes
posted by fieldtrip at 5:23 PM on December 22, 2008
Oasis: a Korean-language film about two outcasts who fall in love. One of the best and most difficult movies I've ever watched.
posted by whiskeyspider at 5:25 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by whiskeyspider at 5:25 PM on December 22, 2008
The Crippled Master -- check out the trailer.
posted by kittydelsol at 5:38 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by kittydelsol at 5:38 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
You absolutely must screen The Wicker Man together (the 1973 original, not the lame Nick Cage remake).
posted by availablelight at 5:41 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by availablelight at 5:41 PM on December 22, 2008
Well, there's always Salo, Or the 120 Days of Sodom...
KIDDING!!! KIDDING!!! KIDDING!!! DON'T WATCH THIS!! NOT FUN OR FUNNY AT ALL!!!! HORRIBLE TERRIFYING REVOLTING YOU-CAN-NEVER-UNSEE-WHAT-YOU-HAVE-NOW-SEEN MOVIE!!! DO NOT WATCH!!! DO NOT SHOW AT PARTY!!!
posted by el_lupino at 5:47 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
KIDDING!!! KIDDING!!! KIDDING!!! DON'T WATCH THIS!! NOT FUN OR FUNNY AT ALL!!!! HORRIBLE TERRIFYING REVOLTING YOU-CAN-NEVER-UNSEE-WHAT-YOU-HAVE-NOW-SEEN MOVIE!!! DO NOT WATCH!!! DO NOT SHOW AT PARTY!!!
posted by el_lupino at 5:47 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Lots of good stuff mentioned already, but if you're looking for more…
Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees
The Magic Christian
Ice Pirates (very much a "what were they thinking?" kind of movie)
Master of the Flying Guillotine
The Bride with White Hair (the harder you try to make sense of it, the harder your brain hurts)
posted by adamrice at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2008
Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees
The Magic Christian
Ice Pirates (very much a "what were they thinking?" kind of movie)
Master of the Flying Guillotine
The Bride with White Hair (the harder you try to make sense of it, the harder your brain hurts)
posted by adamrice at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2008
Ooh ooh ooh! I'm so glad nobody has already said Troll 2.
It's so deliciously awful it even has its own fan site called, fittingly, Best Worst Movie.
It's a movie called Troll 2 that doesn't have a single troll in it!
Trust me, this is the kind of movie you will watch and be quoting five years later.
posted by missjenny at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2008
It's so deliciously awful it even has its own fan site called, fittingly, Best Worst Movie.
It's a movie called Troll 2 that doesn't have a single troll in it!
Trust me, this is the kind of movie you will watch and be quoting five years later.
posted by missjenny at 5:50 PM on December 22, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!
We actually watched Videodrome at my first party and the guests enjoyed it, but it was too much of a good movie to really work this way. I think it didn't help that everyone knew I was a big fan, because that may have stifled some parodic remarks.
"Save the Green Planet!" is a great suggestion; I've been meaning to watch that one anyways. "Forbidden World" looks pretty hilarious. "Begotten" I've heard about but never seen. The trailor is horrifying! Is it that crazy the entire way through? I've heard it's has a bit of a slow pace. For the kind of experience I'm looking for, a fast-paced movie is a must.
Anyways, some great ideas in here, and feel free to keep them coming! I'm a big fan of weird movies and I may have to watch some of these on my own later.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 5:55 PM on December 22, 2008
We actually watched Videodrome at my first party and the guests enjoyed it, but it was too much of a good movie to really work this way. I think it didn't help that everyone knew I was a big fan, because that may have stifled some parodic remarks.
"Save the Green Planet!" is a great suggestion; I've been meaning to watch that one anyways. "Forbidden World" looks pretty hilarious. "Begotten" I've heard about but never seen. The trailor is horrifying! Is it that crazy the entire way through? I've heard it's has a bit of a slow pace. For the kind of experience I'm looking for, a fast-paced movie is a must.
Anyways, some great ideas in here, and feel free to keep them coming! I'm a big fan of weird movies and I may have to watch some of these on my own later.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 5:55 PM on December 22, 2008
Hell Comes to Frogtown starring Roudy Roddy Pipper.
posted by QUHZK at 5:56 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by QUHZK at 5:56 PM on December 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh yeah, we saw "Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees" at one party. I really liked it, and so did two others at the party, but the rest of them were pretty much done with it after about 25 minutes. It kind of goes on and on in the same vein for a long time, so those of us who didn't like it were really annoyed by the end.
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 5:57 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 5:57 PM on December 22, 2008
Turkish Star Wars I have no idea what was going on in that movie.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 5:58 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 5:58 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Altered States
I'm still frightened and confused by this movie.
posted by QUHZK at 5:59 PM on December 22, 2008
I'm still frightened and confused by this movie.
posted by QUHZK at 5:59 PM on December 22, 2008
Might be a bit too mainstream for these purposes, but I have a special love in my heart for Hudson Hawk - bruce willis and danny aiello as singing jewel thieves, david caruso as a mime CIA agent, and sandra bernhardt as, well... sandra bernhardt. Oh, right, and Leonardo DaVinci, of course.
posted by dvorak_beats_qwerty at 6:01 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by dvorak_beats_qwerty at 6:01 PM on December 22, 2008
You'll probably find some good fodder in Nathan Rabin's My Year of Flops case files. In particular:And that's just in the first few pages of the archives.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:02 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:02 PM on December 22, 2008
This is the greatest thread I've seen in a long time. I now have to find all of these movies.
posted by Bageena at 6:05 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Bageena at 6:05 PM on December 22, 2008
Oh, crap, how did I forget to mention the Tongan Ninja? With Gun Man! And Knife Man! And that guy from Flight of the Conchords! And Peter Jackson in the 'making of' documentary!
posted by ook at 6:18 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by ook at 6:18 PM on December 22, 2008
Probably difficult to find, but if you can lay hands on a movie called "Sorceress", it should fit the bill nicely. It features identical twins Leigh and Lynnette Harris, who did not go on to glory after this feature.
I do love Roger Corman films... (Warning: some nudity.)
posted by Class Goat at 6:40 PM on December 22, 2008
I do love Roger Corman films... (Warning: some nudity.)
posted by Class Goat at 6:40 PM on December 22, 2008
Dead Alive
Zombi
Don't Look Now
Q: The Winged Serpent
Just about any Cronenberg.
Cannibal Holocaust is amazing, but pretty intense so I would think about your audience. It can put off the most hardened gorehound (such as myself) with its brutal, real-life animal killings.
posted by brundlefly at 6:49 PM on December 22, 2008
Zombi
Don't Look Now
Q: The Winged Serpent
Just about any Cronenberg.
Cannibal Holocaust is amazing, but pretty intense so I would think about your audience. It can put off the most hardened gorehound (such as myself) with its brutal, real-life animal killings.
posted by brundlefly at 6:49 PM on December 22, 2008
Dream of a Warrior is incoherent, weird, and so amazingly bad.
I'd say that Miike does rank pretty highly on the WTF scale. I recommend Fudoh: The New Generation for your purposes. It also has the most awesome evil Asian mullet ever.
posted by calistasm at 7:09 PM on December 22, 2008
I'd say that Miike does rank pretty highly on the WTF scale. I recommend Fudoh: The New Generation for your purposes. It also has the most awesome evil Asian mullet ever.
posted by calistasm at 7:09 PM on December 22, 2008
Seconding Gummo and Eraserhead, but vetoing all of these as simply not very weird (at least, not on the scale of the rest of these movies; a fair number are merely intentionally campy):
NOT REALLY VERY WEIRD:
Barbarella
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
Caligula
Frogs
Dune
Tromeo and Juliet
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Altered States
Hudson Hawk
Yellowbeard
Excalibur
and definitely not Rent (Really? Fairly realistic NYC stories are weird to you? Get out more!)
posted by IAmBroom at 7:10 PM on December 22, 2008
NOT REALLY VERY WEIRD:
Barbarella
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
Caligula
Frogs
Dune
Tromeo and Juliet
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Altered States
Hudson Hawk
Yellowbeard
Excalibur
and definitely not Rent (Really? Fairly realistic NYC stories are weird to you? Get out more!)
posted by IAmBroom at 7:10 PM on December 22, 2008
My favorite movie that nobody has heard of is Casshern, a Japanese steampunk movie with pretty astounding visual effects. Not sure if it fits the category of absurd, but I'd never seen anything like it.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:10 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:10 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
The cover of The Ninth Configuration - directed by William Peter Blatty (The Exorcist) from his novel - shows an astronaut finding a crucified Christ on the Moon. It's out there. [It also has one of the all-time great bar fights.]
posted by Joe Beese at 7:12 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by Joe Beese at 7:12 PM on December 22, 2008
What? No mention of the most batshit insane canadian film ever made? Big Meat Eater. Heres a clip
... an unusual musical/sci-fi/horror/comedy about aliens, Turkish butchers and radioactive deli meat set in the Technicolor 1950s.
Review
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 7:25 PM on December 22, 2008
... an unusual musical/sci-fi/horror/comedy about aliens, Turkish butchers and radioactive deli meat set in the Technicolor 1950s.
Review
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 7:25 PM on December 22, 2008
GP Sippy's Sholay - super stylized Indian "curry western"
God of Cookery - from Stephen Chow
posted by mkb at 7:29 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
God of Cookery - from Stephen Chow
posted by mkb at 7:29 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Johnny Suede
It's not gross, just bizarre! Brad Pitt as a rockabilly dude with foot-tall hair who wants to be a big star, his hair never falls down the whole movie.. I seem to remember there's a random midget who appears.. Samuel Jackson makes a cameo.. also Nick Cave appears wearing a white suit, sitting in a lawn chair and eating fried chicken. ???
posted by citron at 7:34 PM on December 22, 2008
It's not gross, just bizarre! Brad Pitt as a rockabilly dude with foot-tall hair who wants to be a big star, his hair never falls down the whole movie.. I seem to remember there's a random midget who appears.. Samuel Jackson makes a cameo.. also Nick Cave appears wearing a white suit, sitting in a lawn chair and eating fried chicken. ???
posted by citron at 7:34 PM on December 22, 2008
Good, arty, but awfully strange: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Hilariously terrible: Shadoe Stevens in Traxx
And for the most bizarre, "what the fuck where they thinking?" experience you may ever have watching a movie, check out the I-can't-believe-no-one-else-has-mentioned-this-yet John Travolta/Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle Perfect.
posted by EarBucket at 7:42 PM on December 22, 2008
Hilariously terrible: Shadoe Stevens in Traxx
And for the most bizarre, "what the fuck where they thinking?" experience you may ever have watching a movie, check out the I-can't-believe-no-one-else-has-mentioned-this-yet John Travolta/Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle Perfect.
posted by EarBucket at 7:42 PM on December 22, 2008
Shadowboxer. Wherein you get to witness not one but two Academy Award winners spend 93 minutes making you wonder what they were thinking/smoking when they agreed to star in this nightmare. Wherein you also get to witness Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character fatally shoot his lover--played by Helen Mirren--in the head while they're having sex. Because she wanted him to.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:50 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by fuse theorem at 7:50 PM on December 22, 2008
The Forbidden Zone is the most insane movie I've ever seen. I watched it with friends and didn't even know it had a plot until I looked it up online.
posted by hought20 at 7:55 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by hought20 at 7:55 PM on December 22, 2008
yes Casshern. I don't know why most people I know didn't like this film...
But on top of my list for the question you asked: Themroc.
Again, if you don't mind subtitles: Hausu seems to fit your description perfectly. Check out the trailer! (You would probably have to download it, though)
Some other bizarre japanese film that I liked: Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims (clip);
Electric Dragon 80.000 V (trailer) and
Wild Zero (trailer)
posted by kolophon at 8:04 PM on December 22, 2008
But on top of my list for the question you asked: Themroc.
Again, if you don't mind subtitles: Hausu seems to fit your description perfectly. Check out the trailer! (You would probably have to download it, though)
Some other bizarre japanese film that I liked: Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims (clip);
Electric Dragon 80.000 V (trailer) and
Wild Zero (trailer)
posted by kolophon at 8:04 PM on December 22, 2008
I'm surprised noone's mentioned Pink Flamingos and I also second gjc's mention of Death Race 2000. Great idea for a film fest! I'm taking notes.....
posted by ourroute at 8:11 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by ourroute at 8:11 PM on December 22, 2008
> I'd like to find films that are completely out there and just offensively weird and absurd in a way that would allow us all to comment on just how absurd they are. ...so completely bizarre that we couldn't even imagine what was going through the heads of the people who made them.
This is exactly what everyone says to me after I've loaned them my beloved VHS copy of The Dark Backward [Trailer], except they have a note of revulsion in their voice; an intonation that clearly says, do not lend me any more movies.
It's maybe somewhere between Brazil and Eraserhead, but also sort of beyond either of those. The movie's a lot of things, really -- it's a deeply unsettling vision of a rotting dystopia, it's a classical tragedy that can not take itself seriously, it's a bald-faced "fuck you" to fame and to hollywood. It is often revolting. In spite of myself, I cannot stop loving it.
I'm telling you, though: people might be mad you even showed it to them. The number one IMDB thread for this movie is charmingly entitled "If you like this movie you deserve to die"
So don't say I didn't warn you.
posted by churl at 8:33 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
This is exactly what everyone says to me after I've loaned them my beloved VHS copy of The Dark Backward [Trailer], except they have a note of revulsion in their voice; an intonation that clearly says, do not lend me any more movies.
It's maybe somewhere between Brazil and Eraserhead, but also sort of beyond either of those. The movie's a lot of things, really -- it's a deeply unsettling vision of a rotting dystopia, it's a classical tragedy that can not take itself seriously, it's a bald-faced "fuck you" to fame and to hollywood. It is often revolting. In spite of myself, I cannot stop loving it.
I'm telling you, though: people might be mad you even showed it to them. The number one IMDB thread for this movie is charmingly entitled "If you like this movie you deserve to die"
So don't say I didn't warn you.
posted by churl at 8:33 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Not gross or traumatising but utterly 'the whichwhat now??' is recentish release Doomsday.
Rhona Mitre plays Snake Plisken in a post apocolyptic Scotland where cannibalistic crustifarian road-warriors come up against medievil knights. Wonderously mstk-able.
posted by Iteki at 8:41 PM on December 22, 2008
Rhona Mitre plays Snake Plisken in a post apocolyptic Scotland where cannibalistic crustifarian road-warriors come up against medievil knights. Wonderously mstk-able.
posted by Iteki at 8:41 PM on December 22, 2008
If people talked during Delicatessen, john waters, david lynch or werner herzog movies, I'd be pretty annoyed. Unless maybe it was the zillionth time they'd been shown and we'd all agreed or whatever, but really, those are some fantastically intentionally wonderfully weird movies, not the kind of B movies you banter over...
Really, I think a lot of bad TV shows are good for this, as they have the same kind of shlocky story-based but thrown-together production value that old B-movies had - like "Greatest American Hero... Oh, that reminds me of a movie that sort of fits the bill, House, an 80s horror-comedy about a haunted house. It is pretty awesomely ridiculous in a talk & joke about it kind of way, and the vietnam flashback scenes are priceless.
posted by mdn at 9:16 PM on December 22, 2008
Really, I think a lot of bad TV shows are good for this, as they have the same kind of shlocky story-based but thrown-together production value that old B-movies had - like "Greatest American Hero... Oh, that reminds me of a movie that sort of fits the bill, House, an 80s horror-comedy about a haunted house. It is pretty awesomely ridiculous in a talk & joke about it kind of way, and the vietnam flashback scenes are priceless.
posted by mdn at 9:16 PM on December 22, 2008
Olivier Assayas Demonlover, lots of cool people in it both French and American, very stylish, goes on for a while.. I have NO idea what actually happened in this film although I guess he's seen Videodrome a few times.
posted by citron at 9:48 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by citron at 9:48 PM on December 22, 2008
I like 70's Herzog quite a bit (Even Dwarves Started Small, Heart of Glass ...) but his stuff is definitely out there so might work for you.
Nthing Zardoz.
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Russ Meyer, specifically Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
posted by gudrun at 10:06 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Nthing Zardoz.
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Russ Meyer, specifically Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
posted by gudrun at 10:06 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Russ Meyer
ahem.
posted by Artw at 10:26 PM on December 22, 2008
ahem.
posted by Artw at 10:26 PM on December 22, 2008
Ken Russell's' The Devils (if you can find a copy)? I mean, YMMV (opinions seem divided on whether it's a masterpiece or just completely insane), but I definitely found myself saying WTF?! at regular intervals, and I'm someone who generally refrains from WTF-ing. Fascinating production design, high levels of squick-inducing offensiveness.
posted by thomas j wise at 10:56 PM on December 22, 2008
posted by thomas j wise at 10:56 PM on December 22, 2008
Putney Swope
Words cannot express how completely awesome.
Head
by the Monkees. That's right, the Monkees.
Conan the Barbarian
featuring the governor of California
Flash Gordon
soundtrack by Queen
posted by Methylviolet at 11:11 PM on December 22, 2008
Words cannot express how completely awesome.
Head
by the Monkees. That's right, the Monkees.
Conan the Barbarian
featuring the governor of California
Flash Gordon
soundtrack by Queen
posted by Methylviolet at 11:11 PM on December 22, 2008
Okay, I'm going to hip you all to the worst movie ever. It's called The Room. It has a writeup in a recent Entertainment Weekly, and I think the Onion's AVClub has a thing coming up on it soon. I can't really speak as to how it would play with a dozen people in your living room, but in a packed Hollywood theatre, it's fucking beautiful.
Not 'weird' with its content or plot exactly, but it's weird in its ability to fail in every way possible.
posted by dogwalker at 12:12 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
Not 'weird' with its content or plot exactly, but it's weird in its ability to fail in every way possible.
posted by dogwalker at 12:12 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
Dungeonmaster! Because of this movie, I used to fantasize about shooting lasers out of my wrist-computer (XCALIBR8) at big-haired evil sorcerers. Bull Shannon from "Night Court" portrays the evil sorcerer. YOU MUST SEE!
Also Les Visiteurs, the original.
posted by ostranenie at 12:32 AM on December 23, 2008
Also Les Visiteurs, the original.
posted by ostranenie at 12:32 AM on December 23, 2008
City of Lost Children was weird as shit too. The opening scene with the multiple evil Santa Clauses is the stuff of nightmares.
posted by ostranenie at 12:36 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by ostranenie at 12:36 AM on December 23, 2008
A good film to 'watchmock' with beer and buddies is the Swayze-fest Road House. Kind of stupid, kind of awesome. Has a monster truck, cringe-worthy dialogue, a blind blues man, Sam Eliot, violence, nekkidness of all stripes, and dumbness in spades.
posted by Cantdosleepy at 2:10 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by Cantdosleepy at 2:10 AM on December 23, 2008
Several years ago I saw Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive at my local arts cinema. It was half-full when the lights went down, when they came back it up at the end I was the only left. It's about a Japanese businessman in Hong Kong who looses a briefcase that contains... well I won't spoil it for you. It has the longest foot chase I've ever seen that goes seemingly forever. For no apparent reason totally unrelated documentary interviews are inserted at random intervals with various people talking about their life and the, I seem to remember, the then imminent handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese including a ballroom dancer and a guy who slaughters chickens for a living.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:56 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:56 AM on December 23, 2008
The surrealist Sir Henry at Rawlinson End deliberately makes no sense whatsoever. I think it's a celebration of English eccentricity but I've never been able to make it to the end as I feared it was causing me actual brain damage trying to make head or tail of it.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:01 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:01 AM on December 23, 2008
Seconding Troll 2, which is so bizarre that it's actually quite disturbing. Yet also hilarious. And very, very bad. We're talking Ed Wood levels of trashy, memorable badness.
Also, it is not actually a sequel to Troll!
posted by lunasol at 5:11 AM on December 23, 2008
Also, it is not actually a sequel to Troll!
posted by lunasol at 5:11 AM on December 23, 2008
Many good ones here! I think I may have mentioned this before but Wild Zero changed my life. I brought it to a local nightclub to use for "wallpaper" and just about everyone in the place was mesmerized.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:37 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by JoanArkham at 5:37 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
Awesomely weird, but actually a great movie, so I don't know if if it fits your criteria: The Saddest Music in the World
posted by dfan at 5:48 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by dfan at 5:48 AM on December 23, 2008
definitely not Rent (Really? Fairly realistic NYC stories are weird to you? Get out more!)
Yeah, now that I re-read the OP I see that he's going for the "actively bizarre" mode rather than the "easy to make fun of à la MST3k" style. Fair enough.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:13 AM on December 23, 2008
Yeah, now that I re-read the OP I see that he's going for the "actively bizarre" mode rather than the "easy to make fun of à la MST3k" style. Fair enough.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:13 AM on December 23, 2008
Tideland is one of the oddest films I've ever seen.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:16 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by Happy Dave at 9:16 AM on December 23, 2008
Oh, and also it's shit.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:16 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by Happy Dave at 9:16 AM on December 23, 2008
Trilogy of Terror. A hilarious, vintage gem of unintentional (?) camp.
posted by applemeat at 9:29 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by applemeat at 9:29 AM on December 23, 2008
Or, wait, even better (and weirder and infinitely more awful): MANOS: HANDS OF FATE
posted by applemeat at 9:32 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by applemeat at 9:32 AM on December 23, 2008
Aha - doubt you'll ever manage to find a copy, but STARSHIP (AKA Lorca and the Outlaws) is a freaking crazy film. My Dad unknowingly rented it when I was about eight (from a Ritz video store in rural East Lothian, Scotland, go figure) and the entire family were scratching their head about it for days. Memorable for the bit when the dude's arm gets eaten by virtual ants. Awful, so, so bad.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:49 AM on December 23, 2008
posted by Happy Dave at 9:49 AM on December 23, 2008
For the record, I found every single film in this thread with the exception of two online last night. I'm really, really looking forward to The Room and Troll 2.
What about Machine Girl? That film is pretty out there.
posted by Bageena at 10:53 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
What about Machine Girl? That film is pretty out there.
posted by Bageena at 10:53 AM on December 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
n-thing the Takaashi Miike suggestions.
You should also check out - Basket Case. Tagline: "The tenant in room 7 is very small, very twisted and very mad." I saw it at a Grindhouse night at an indie cinema, they showed a grindhouse trailer reel, Basket Case and then Planet Terror and Death Proof back to back. Fun, but bum-numbing.
Basket Case was fairly weird, but also fairly disturbing was Roadkill: The Last Days of John Martin (Veoh) [imdb](it's only a short, but still weird).
posted by knapah at 10:59 AM on December 23, 2008
You should also check out - Basket Case. Tagline: "The tenant in room 7 is very small, very twisted and very mad." I saw it at a Grindhouse night at an indie cinema, they showed a grindhouse trailer reel, Basket Case and then Planet Terror and Death Proof back to back. Fun, but bum-numbing.
Basket Case was fairly weird, but also fairly disturbing was Roadkill: The Last Days of John Martin (Veoh) [imdb](it's only a short, but still weird).
posted by knapah at 10:59 AM on December 23, 2008
Another vote for Pink Flamingoes
And American Movie. It is weird, but in no way bad. I was introduced to it through alternative reel.
posted by ijoyner at 4:45 PM on December 23, 2008
And American Movie. It is weird, but in no way bad. I was introduced to it through alternative reel.
posted by ijoyner at 4:45 PM on December 23, 2008
Seconding The American Astronaut. A rock opera homage to B-movie sci-fi and westerns. Amazing.
posted by puddleglum at 5:24 PM on December 23, 2008
posted by puddleglum at 5:24 PM on December 23, 2008
Style 5 Survive+
Visitor Q -- A crazy Miike Takashi film
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky
posted by theDrizzle at 6:38 PM on December 23, 2008
Visitor Q -- A crazy Miike Takashi film
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky
posted by theDrizzle at 6:38 PM on December 23, 2008
Pretty raunchy, but Sex & Zen is weird as all getout.
posted by brundlefly at 7:14 PM on December 23, 2008
posted by brundlefly at 7:14 PM on December 23, 2008
Wow, I can't believe that there are other people who have seen Tetsuo: The Iron Man. The experience of seeing that at the Biograph in D.C. will always remain a cherished memory of my high school years.
Anyway, I came in here to suggest The Fifth Element. Sure, it's big budget and people have heard of it, but my experience on walking out of the theater afterwards can be summed up with a giant "Huh?"
posted by chinston at 8:12 PM on December 23, 2008
Anyway, I came in here to suggest The Fifth Element. Sure, it's big budget and people have heard of it, but my experience on walking out of the theater afterwards can be summed up with a giant "Huh?"
posted by chinston at 8:12 PM on December 23, 2008
Y'all are missing out on Live Freaky! Die Freaky!, a tale of the Gospel of Helter Skelter. With puppets. Puppets.
posted by khaibit at 8:04 AM on December 24, 2008
posted by khaibit at 8:04 AM on December 24, 2008
Hercules in New York
The Incredibly Strange People who stopped living and became Mixed-Up Zombies
posted by JimN2TAW at 12:58 PM on December 25, 2008
The Incredibly Strange People who stopped living and became Mixed-Up Zombies
posted by JimN2TAW at 12:58 PM on December 25, 2008
So far, I've watched Troll 2 and The Room because of this thread. Troll 2 was awful fantastic, but I've never seen anything quite like The Room before. ***** WONDERFUL!
posted by Bageena at 7:15 AM on December 28, 2008
posted by Bageena at 7:15 AM on December 28, 2008
After Hours and for the love of god, Ricki Oh are exactly what you're looking for. The latter is a weird parable of Chinese communism and Christianity, and is just about what Godard was looking for when he made La Chinoise. Come to think of it La Chinoise may be another choice, but it toes the line on being to good/interesting to talk over.
posted by Jeff_Larson at 9:42 PM on December 28, 2008
posted by Jeff_Larson at 9:42 PM on December 28, 2008
Green Snake, the Tsui Hark magical realism kung fu thing. I saw this in a theatre and was all "WTF?" throughout.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:50 AM on December 29, 2008
posted by pxe2000 at 11:50 AM on December 29, 2008
Lisztomania staring Roger Daltrey riding on a giant penis and Ringo Starr as the Pope.
posted by Sailormom at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2008
posted by Sailormom at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2008
just found your question thru growabrain---
Battle Royal--jap import-students kidnapped by "goverment" to battle to the death one survivor....
AUTOMATONS---this is how humanity dies--low budget. I love this movie...
posted by schmelz at 9:53 AM on January 22, 2009
Battle Royal--jap import-students kidnapped by "goverment" to battle to the death one survivor....
AUTOMATONS---this is how humanity dies--low budget. I love this movie...
posted by schmelz at 9:53 AM on January 22, 2009
No list of "offensively weird" films would be complete without Bobcat Goldthwait's magnum opus, Shakes the Clown, "the Citizen Kane of Alcoholic Clown Movies".
posted by JaredSeth at 9:51 AM on February 12, 2009
posted by JaredSeth at 9:51 AM on February 12, 2009
Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist
posted by snowjoe at 1:50 PM on February 12, 2009
posted by snowjoe at 1:50 PM on February 12, 2009
Magic, with a young Anthony Hopkins as a ventriloquist and "Fats," the dummy that wants to control him.
posted by zerbinetta at 9:27 AM on February 13, 2009
posted by zerbinetta at 9:27 AM on February 13, 2009
Singapore Sling. I had to stop watching after the dry-hump/vomit sequence.
posted by Locative at 9:18 PM on February 20, 2009
posted by Locative at 9:18 PM on February 20, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
...or if you want to go really hardcore Andy Warhol's Trash.
posted by Artw at 3:28 PM on December 22, 2008