Comments on: help me make an indie rock bar a little more surreal

Question: help me make an indie rock bar a little more surreal

donabean — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:46:16 -0800

I'm looking for something really freaky to put on the tv at the bar I work at; video imagery to really make some hipster indie rocker kids say wtf when they notice it playing in the background-"holy mountain" and svenmahers"alice" are my usual standbys, but I know you Mefites know just the thing to make a standard night watching post rock bands just a little stranger.what visuals would you use, remembering that the sound of the movie won't be heard--

By: phrontist

phrontist — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:45:40 -0800

Haven't seen it myself, but I love the electric sheep screensaver and they put out a high res dvd.

By: whatzit

whatzit — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:46:10 -0800

In this work, two cloven-hoofed satyrs wrestle in the back seat of a stretch limousine, trying to force each other to make images with their horns in the condensation on the limo's sunroof. Barney's interest in Greco-Roman mythology is apparent in this video installation, and the artist himself plays the young satyr with budding horns who spins endlessly in pursuit of his own tail.

This is so freaky it's been clinging to my memories for more than ten years. Also, if you can get a hold of some "full" version, there's actually three channels to the whole thing.

By: phrontist

phrontist — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:50:24 -0800

Humans acting out insect mating rituals or... "bug porn".

By: phrontist

phrontist — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:51:15 -0800

un chien andalou

By: phrontist

phrontist — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:53:10 -0800

Oh, and if straight up porn is allowed, this seems pretty hard to top.

By: flibbertigibbet

flibbertigibbet — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:54:47 -0800

Damn, phrontist beat me to un chien andalou. Ditto that, then.

By: phrontist

phrontist — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:11:13 -0800

Powers of 10 will blooooow yourrrr miiiiiiiiiiiiind.

By: xz

xz — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:12:55 -0800

actually Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is pretty good for pure visual wtf?

also, Jan Svankmeyer's Conspiritors of Pleasure.

By: rhinny

rhinny — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:22:42 -0800

Providing that your clientele is cool with many boobs and much blood, THIS dvd compilation of B-horror trailers never fails to please.

By: ISeemToBeAVerb

ISeemToBeAVerb — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:23:09 -0800

Off the top of my head: Jon Moritsugu's Mod Fuck Explosion and Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salo The 120 Days Of Sodom.

By: munchbunch

munchbunch — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:58:57 -0800

Daft Punk's Electroma was made almost solely for this reason, as far as I can tell.

But I would go for One Million Years BC, pure badly acted, wtf? goodness.

By: jmnugent

jmnugent — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:07:59 -0800

Umfeld.

You can thank me later. ;)

By: munchbunch

munchbunch — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:08:39 -0800

How could I forget John Waters' Pink Flamingos

"A particularly notorious scene from Pink Flamingos, simply added as a non sequitur to film's end, featured — in one continuous take without special effects — a small dog defecating and Divine eating its feces." from wiki

By: flotson

flotson — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:17:06 -0800

Fantastic Planet

Barbarella would be fun, too. . .

By: crabintheocean

crabintheocean — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:23:18 -0800

David Lynch's Rabbits.

By: magikker

magikker — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:25:46 -0800

And I was just going to say selected scenes from the "Last Temptation of Christ".

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:25:22 -0800

Go with some non-narrative independent film; it's been decades since I last saw these, but in my memory they retain a power:

Stan Brakhage's "Sirius Remembered" or "Window Water Baby Moving".

Kenny Anger's "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome", "Lucifer Rising".

Marie Mencken "Arabesque for Kenneth Anger".

And ditto phrontist and flibbertigibbet on "un chien andalou'.

By: SassHat

SassHat — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:41:59 -0800

Anything by the Brothers Quay.

By: mooza

mooza — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:00:29 -0800

If you have the time and technology to download hi-res files and burn to dvd, browse around archive.org and type in some freaky keywords. There's a wealth of material out there that the indiest indie hipster won't be able to reference.

Otherwise, one of Chesty Morgan's films. Freaky sized retro norks are perhaps not suitable for what you are doing, otherwise I'm nthing Un Chin Andalou.

By: martinrebas

martinrebas — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:19:58 -0800

Pickle Surprise
Gimme Gimme Octopus
Bernie und Ert
Bloodsucking Freaks

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:34:25 -0800

Eraserhead

By: ninazer0

ninazer0 — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:50:46 -0800

Franz Kafka's "The Trial" as directed by Orson Welles.

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:51:29 -0800

Eraserhead

By: ph00dz

ph00dz — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:10:52 -0800

zardoz

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:19:12 -0800

You can ignore everything above and safely go with Merhige's Begotten. On the back of the box it says, "Begotten makes Eraserhead look like Ernest Saves Christmas." They aren't kidding.

By: Gortuk

Gortuk — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:20:46 -0800

TV Carnage

By: the painkiller

the painkiller — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:33:54 -0800

The Cremaster Cycle. youtube clips abound.

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:49:25 -0800

Jaaaaaam

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:13:39 -0800

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. A movie that's fucked up in extremely subtle ways. Wonderful film.
Andrey Rublyov by Tarkovsky is filled with oddness. In fact, any old Tarkovsky should serve you well. Or anything by Eisenstein, for that matter.

By: SageLeVoid

SageLeVoid — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:23:12 -0800

Try to check René Laloux's movies, his most well known is fantastic planet but Time Masters and Gandahar are pretty visually arresting piece of animation.
If you're more into shocking people you can't go wrong with Wakamatsu Koji, specially The Embryo hunts in secret, or anything from Tsukamoto Shinya.

By: zengargoyle

zengargoyle — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:26:45 -0800

The last few minutes of Star Wars IV (WTF ever) played all the time at the club... It was always pretty awesome to look up for the "use the force Luke" part.

By: pedmands

pedmands — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:53:00 -0800

Jim Henson's early live-action films tend to elicit a grand ole doubleyou tee eff, though I'm sure the effect would be slightly diminished without the sound. Either way, check out Trapped in A Cube.

By: umbú

umbú — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:55:50 -0800

phrontist, nightdreams will haunt me every morning from now on.

By: macadamiaranch

macadamiaranch — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:06:36 -0800

2001
koyaanisqaatsi
the harder they come
(all films i've seen in bars as background visuals; all lent an air of WTF?)

By: Seamus

Seamus — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:36:15 -0800

I am surprised that no one has mentioned
The Forbidden Zone!

Richard Elfman movie with Danny Elfman, the Sacred Knights of the Oingo Boingo, Herve Villechaize, and a cast of thousands. Pure magic, even with the sound turned off.

Also, Lucha Libre movies make good background visuals, especially if they are fighting monsters.

By: theRussian

theRussian — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:39:58 -0800

If you're going the sexual route, Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures is a bit of a wtf?

And I love Man Ray's L'Etoile du Mer a lot. It's slightly narrative, but still a little out there visually.

If you can find Jean Cocteau's Le Sang d'un Poete, it's a good one too.

Ubuweb (linked above) has a pretty extensive collection of avant garde and experimental films. I know that there are several DVD collections of early (pre 1930s) avant garde films available via Amazon. The later stuff is more elusive.

Good Luck!

By: nathan_teske

nathan_teske — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:59:57 -0800

Early, silent film horror and scifi classics. Think Metropolis and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

By: electric_counterpoint

electric_counterpoint — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:04:00 -0800

Aphex Twin videos: Rubber Johnny (this really does make some people uncomfortable, though of course it's all SFX), Come to Daddy, Windowlicker (the first bit is funny, but the crazy starts about four minutes in), Donkey Rhubarb

Though if your audience is hipsters, a few might have already seen these.

By: avocet

avocet — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:04:55 -0800

Came in here to suggest Forbidden Zone, which I see has already been done.

By: waraw

waraw — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:09:36 -0800

Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

I'm so sorry

By: box

box — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:55:54 -0800

Couple possibly-relevant previous questions:

Trippy movies
Movies and marijuana
Movies and acid

Besides these, I'm pretty sure there was a previous question that is almost identical to yours, but I'm having trouble finding it, so, yeah, maybe I'm hallucinating the whole thing.

By: Dr.Pill

Dr.Pill — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:59:42 -0800

Don't know where you are but in the UK's Indian shops you can buy single DVD's of The Big Number from fifty Bollywood films for a fiver or less. The four I have are called A Tribute to Mohamad Rafi and A Tribute to Mohamad Rafi Disc Two ( snappy eh? ) , Bollywood Flashback and Lata Mangeshkar Golden Collection Vol. 2. That thumping sound will be the would be hipster's jaws hitting the floor. Or try 60's japanese gangster films like Black Tight Killers.

By: neckro23

neckro23 — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:13:27 -0800

Tetsuo the Iron Man.

By: Schismatic

Schismatic — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:29:49 -0800

Putting on Peter Jackson's early, sick puppet movie Meet the Feebles would certainly start conversations.

By: Andy Harwood

Andy Harwood — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:31:02 -0800

Early Betty Boop cartoons.

By: mismatched

mismatched — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:13:07 -0800

Dead Leaves. It's plenty weird with the sound, but even stranger without it, probably.

By: charlesv

charlesv — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:15:10 -0800

Peeping Tom

By: kaseijin

kaseijin — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:50:53 -0800

It's been said a couple of times already, but I'll say it again just to drive it home:

You cannot go wrong with Eraserhead.

By: citron

citron — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:52:42 -0800

Songs from the Second Floor - Swedish film from early 2000s - not much of a plot but plenty of odd imagery, unsettling, but not gross. I recommend.

Far as Tarkovsky goes, The Mirror would be my recommendation.. lots of interesting imagery..

Paradjanov - The Color of Pomegranates

By: citron

citron — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:07:53 -0800

Songs from the Second Floor trailer.. (wow, creepier than I remembered)

I feel like.. um.. the shock tactical stuff has been waaaaayyy overdone

Scenes of Tarkovsky's The Mirror

Final scene of Assayas's Irma Vep

By: synaesthetichaze

synaesthetichaze — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:09:37 -0800

Salò is a good one; background info at wikipedia.

Also, Cannibal Holocaust oughta do it.

By: brina

brina — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:26:47 -0800

It could be cool to play things that will remind your hipster clientele of their picture perfect childhoods, or at least the ones they wish they'd had. So, I suggest:

• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Note I am suggesting the wacky Gene Wilder version and not the more accurate Johnny Depp remake.
• Dark Crystal and Labyrinth
• The Neverending Story

With the exception of the first film I listed, I don't think any of these are necessarily spectacular -- but they do have crazy and wonderful visuals. And while kids movies like this are not necessarily "wtf," they are pretty, "dude! check it out!" You could dedicate one night a week to old family films, even going with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and other more obvious stuff.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:43:50 -0800

Baraka or the first episode of the Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig Stand Alone Complex has some great visuals.

By: fogonlittlecatfeet

fogonlittlecatfeet — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:48:07 -0800

if you can find a good copy of it, the Nine Inch Nails Broken Movie is pretty WTF as is their Happiness in Slavery video...also most Tool videos...

By: stagewhisper

stagewhisper — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:30:49 -0800

I second necrkro23's suggestion, not to be confused with the current "Ironman" movie. This was playing on a loop at the bar in a club my husband was performing in (I think it was Trash Bar in Wburg but I can't be positive).

I am generally not a fan of graphic horror movies, but I could not tear my eyes away from the screen and its stark and stylish imagery has stayed with me. The sound was not on and it didn't need to be, it's visually arresting enough that words would be superfluous.

There's a sped up version set to techno here, if you want to see the movie at warp speed in order to get a better idea of what you're in for.

By: medeine

medeine — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:08:27 -0800

How about some Russian fairytales? The Golden Horns, Viy, and Sadko are all pretty bizarre.

Kenneth Anger stuff: Lucifer Rising, Scorpio Rising, Invocation of my Demon Brother.

Perhaps some Pinky violence? Girl Boss Guerilla, Terrifying Girls High School, or Criminal Woman: Killing Melody.

Paradjanov's stuff is nice to look at: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Color of Pomegranates, Legend of Surami Fortress, Ashik Kerib.

There's a crazy Rasputin movie called Agony or Agonia which is fun.

By: [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST]

[NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:20:47 -0800

The Phantom of the Paradise.
The Apple.

By: citron

citron — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:31:08 -0800

The Broken movie hasn't aged well has it? I saw it so long ago..

Another suggestion, Altered States, for creepy quasi satanic WTFery

As I recall, Bruno Dumont's L'humanité had a very high WTF factor in a creepy disturbing way, if that's what you're going for.

Older Sokurov films if you can find them like Days of Eclipse which is gorgeous and sort of postapocalyptic but v long and v slow.. (the featured user comment on IMDB is so offensive, wtf.)

And Richard Kern is shock film w/the cool Sonic Youth + Lydia Lunch connection, I haven't seen any myself.

By: Oriole Adams

Oriole Adams — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:37:20 -0800

Neighbours

By: donabean

donabean — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:45:07 -0800

wow-thanks for all the great suggestions-so many great new choices-I knew you all would be the crew to ask-anybody know of a good torrent site to find some of the more esoteric films on this list?

By: Oriole Adams

Oriole Adams — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:46:02 -0800

My linkage didn't work the first time. Trying again: Neighbours.

By: kingjoeshmoe

kingjoeshmoe — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:26:43 -0800

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb. Claymation, but they have actual people in parts, trying to stay as still as they can for stop motion photography. Only no one can be completely still. It's very trippy.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:29:01 -0800

Also, Jerry Lewis movies... it's hard to overstate how bizarre they are, especially scenes without context.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:54:26 -0800

I'd go with silent movies - Phantom of the Opera, Nosferatu. Many are in the public domain so you don't even have to torrent them. Also, any of the Residents' DVDs.

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Sat, 17 May 2008 19:19:36 -0800

Definitely Paprika. I haven't had a chance to watch this one yet myself (and I'm a little annoyed that I missed it when it was in the theaters) but there's surreal images a plenty in the linked trailer.

Other animated examples I can think of: Spirited Away, for all the neat monster/creature designs and Gankutsuou. The latter is an anime adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo with a science fiction bent that replaces cel-shaded animation with bright textures and patterns, resulting in some very interesting visuals.

By: pilibeen

pilibeen — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:45:58 -0800

Seconding the recommendation for Tetsuo. Also the amazing Electric Dragon: 80,000 Volts by the same director.

By: prinado

prinado — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:00:47 -0800

Any claymation by Bruce Bickford. The Amazing Mr. Bickford, featuring music by Frank Zappa, should do the trick.
Will Vinton's The Adventures of Mark Twain.
Jac Mac & Rad Boy (wahoo!)
Retro '70s TV ads, ala Shakey's Pizza, Chuckwagon Dog Food, Big Wheel, Stretch Armstrong, etc.
Vintage 8mm home movies of Disneyland.
Technicolor for Industrial Films - 1949 Promo Film and other industrial films.
Dr. Suess' live action "kids" feature film The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T.
Early videos by William Wegman.
...for starters.

By: Demogorgon

Demogorgon — Sun, 18 May 2008 09:13:28 -0800

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.

Wizards, or anything by Ralph Bakshi.

By: Joseph Gurl

Joseph Gurl — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:41:07 -0800

The art films of Paul McCarthy are so profoundly fucked up that apsd09upaJSZM.x,jc9qw3iej.a/sld

By: quin

quin — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:21:49 -0800

Like Schismatic said: Meet the Feebles. Hard to top, hard to watch. Also from Peter Jackson: Braindead (aka Dead Alive).

Cemetery Man has some cool visuals.

Voyage dans la lune - A trip to the moon

Stephen Norrington's Death Machine is pretty awesome.

And for bright and eye-catching, I have to go with Invader Zim.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:21:52 -0800

Thirding Forbidden Zone, seconding Dead Leaves and firsting Cat Soup.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:26:17 -0800

Also: Noiseman Sound Insect. (low-quality YouTube here)

By: bobobox

bobobox — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:54:08 -0800

Similar to Tetsuo: The Iron Man, I would recommend the films of Shozin Fukui: specifically Rubber's Lover and √964 Pinocchio (the Prodigy song accompanying the YouTube video has nothing to do with the movie)

note: these are extremely dark

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:31:48 -0800

And, oh hey, nobody's mention Lars von Trier yet. His movies are plenty weird. Element of Crime and The Idiots are good places to start for weirdness.

By: austere

austere — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:24:10 -0800

get a copy of the documentary mondo cane.

By: spee

spee — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:10:22 -0800

Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren & Possession by Zulawski will kick their asses!