January @ 366 Weird Movies: JESUS CHRIST VAMPIRE HUNTER, THE GORGON, more!

[Rev. Powell]

New year, same weird stuff!

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF LITTLE DIZZLE (2009): Certified Weird! "At the risk of sounding like I'm subscribing to the Snoop Dogg school of film criticism: Dizzle sizzles, then fizzles.  Fo' shizzle."

VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL (2009): "Scuffles with a feisty drop of blood and all-out duels between a crazed re-animated nurse and a manservant wielding human bones as weapons are sure to amuse any fan of weird Japanese grindhouse flicks... [but] with about an hour of build-up and 20 minutes of reward, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl tests the audience's patience."-AK

C ME DANCE (2009): "This is the kind of movie Ed Wood might have made if he'd worn religion on his sleeve, instead of angora."

DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966): "...an underrated, worthy conclusion to [Terrence Fisher's Dracula] trilogy, vigorously characteristic of Fishers' penchant for fervent religious drama."-AE

[Rev. Powell]

Continuing...

VISITOR Q (2001):  The reader's choice for weird certification. "Read literally, the message is that Japanese families are dysfunctional because each member keeps his perversion private; if everyone would take an interest in the others' activities—like raping corpses, shooting heroin, or suckling on Mom's breasts as a family—everything would work out."

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976):"...it's hard to know what to make of The Man Who Fell to Earth.  It's partly a spaced-out parable about capitalism and chemical dependence, and possibly a satire of the rags-to-riches American success story.  Although it drags on too long and is often unfulfilling, it's still inexplicably captivating."-AS

HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB (1973): "The decadent exploitation, in combination with the disjointed storytelling and jittery editing, produces a comic-nightmarish effect typical of 1970s Eruohorrors; it's a style that can become addictive if you give yourself over to it wholeheartedly."

FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969): "The opening, bouncing-off-the-wall sequence, in which the masked Baron interrupts a potential burglar—who in turn stumbles upon a gruesome laboratory straight out of a Josef Mengele nightmare—juxtaposed, as usual, to James Bernard's athletic score,  is all worthy of Franjou."-AE

[Rev. Powell]

And it continues...

BATTLE ROYALE (2000): "In real life teenagers tend to flounce upstairs to their room, announcing that no-one understands them and they hate everyone, before terminating their soliloquy by slamming the bedroom door as hard as is humanly possible.  In Battle Royale they do the same thing, except they cap their tantrum by stabbing someone in the head."-KD

ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT (2001): "The Soadys and their guests aren't nearly as freaked out by these events as folks from under da Bridge would be; no matter how unsettling the paranormal events should be, the tone remains consistently stuck on coarse quirk, with jokes revolving around the magical properties of jars of porcupine urine and the humiliation of accidentally drinking a moose testicle."

ALICE [NECO Z ALENKY] (1988): Certified Weird! "Carroll's and Svankmajer's opposite talents and sensibilities complement each other perfectly, like pure cane sugar mixed with white powder heroin."

FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967): "[Director Terence] Fisher and writer Anthony Hinds showed that, even with a lurid, studio-assigned title, a visionary team can do imaginative, innovative  wonders..."-AE

[Rev. Powell]

Wrapping up January...

JESUS CHRIST VAMPIRE HUNTER (2001): "...possibly the weirdest thing about Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is the fact that the messiah's first act in anticipation of his grand apocalyptic battle with hordes of sapphic nosferatu is to tool into Ottawa on his wimpy blue motor scooter and get a shave and a haircut. "

THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY (2009): ..."this strangely sublime nightmare of a movie, in its crisper-than-crisp photography, impossible Kafkaesque storyline, Bosch-inspired visual audacity and Tarkovskyian layerings—is a film you'll be hard pressed to avert your eyes from, even in the most disturbing of moments."-KK

KONTROLL (2003): Now Certified Weird! "Aggregated in the cyclic rituals of riders, rogues, and routines in a Gothic metropolis of perpetual night, he relentlessly pursues the girl and the abstruse slayer through the labyrinthine underworld like a modern day Theseus."-PD

THE GORGON (1964): "...with a stylish script from John Gilling, sublime characterization, and poetic beauty, Terence Fisher enthusiastically managed to transform this irredeemable trash into an artistically rewarding experience."-AE