This is not a thread for the Citizen Kanes, Casablancas, or Vertigos.
This is NOT a thread for bad movies, the type you might see on MST, the Manos’, or Monster A-Go Go’s or Fu Manchu’s
This is a thread for good to great movies on the fringe - the cracked misfits, the imaginative oddballs, the strange and delightful, the obscure and uncomfortable and unloved… the cult films that are not traditionally embraced by the mainstream, but are pretty damn amazing nevertheless.
Rules? Post as many as you want in the thread, but allow others a chance to chime it. What I mean is, try to avoid posting like, 20 titles all at once in a single post.
Wristcutters: A Love Story
An off-kilter love story about the afterlife for those who committed suicide: The New York Times summed it up best when they wrote that it, “has an offbeat, absurdist charm that turns a potentially creepy concept into an odd, touching adventure.”
I’m completely enthralled with this picture and love it to… uh, death? Its strength is its winning cast, which includes Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, and in a smaller but pivotal role, Tom Waits.
I really need to pick up a copy of “Kneller’s Happy Campers” too.
The House of Yes is definitely NOT for everyone, in fact, many of my Letterboxd pals have awarded it grades of 1 (out of 5), 2.5… it’s uncomfortable viewing. But it’s also funny (if you enjoy black humor) and it shows off the Queen of the Indies, Parker Posey at her peak.
When a group of enlightened friends accidentally kill a repulsive bigot, they decide to turn this into a regular event. Lots of great subtext in this film as well, and pay close attention to the character names.
Are short films all right? I still love Will Vinton’s stuff like Closed Mondays or A Christmas Gift. I know all the criticisms of him: he was square, his stuff for kids was creepy and disturbing without intending to be (I’d contest that point in many cases, but all right), it’s terribley dated now, etc. But I don’t care. To pull up one of these things is to be placed right back in a mindset I’m too old to access otherwise: one where everything reminds you of real life or everyday happenings but in such a dreamlike, strange way that you can’t stop looking at it-- and reflecting on it for hours afterwards.
Okay, but read the intro… are you saying those are good films. This is for the cult movie, the oddballs, but still good movies. is Human Centipede a good to great cult movie for you?
This take on Alice In Wonderland by Jan Svankmajer is one of the most dreamlike (and nightmarish) versions yet made. Definitely not for everyone, but worth seeing for the right people.
A personal favourite, La Cité des Enfants perdus, aka The City of lost Children (1995). Jean-Pierre Jeunet made this just before he got sucked into the Alien sequel business.
This is a strange tale, with a steampunk cyclops cult kidnapping children on behalf of a scientist who cannot dream.
Throw in conjoined twin gang leaders, a mysterious diver, trained assassin fleas, a bemused Ron Perlman, a superb juvenile female lead in Judith Vittet, several clones and an exploding oil rig, and you have quite a movie! Then the credits roll to Marianne Faithfull at her most Faithfull-est, singing a beautiful ballad.
It has to be the subtitled version, as the voices are excellent. The dubbed dialogue just isn’t good enough.
This one belongs in a thread “Which is more unpalatable, the movie or the book?”. The Marquis is never an easy read, but this one is the most difficult of his works.
Can I throw my name in the hat for “yes”? Of the three films in the series, this one is the good one – proper horror film crafting and pacing. The subsequent ones are like a teenager that’s trying too hard to be TOTALLY IN YER FACE!.
Good call on The House of Yes. Absolutely terrific movie; a bit rough on the subject matter to be most folks’ cups of tea.
I would vigorously argue that The Human Centipede owes a great deal of any watchability to Dieter Laser. He is so utterly perfect in this role that he basically carries the film. He brings the same icily unhinged menace to his role as the archvillain Mantrid in the series Lexx.
I went to take a look, and while I haven’t seen A Christmas Gift, Mountain Music is a classic. Back in the '70s, HBO used to show that, Closed Mondays and The Great Cognito on their Short Take intermissions… in fact Short Take featured a lot of odd, but brilliant shorts - Tango by Zbigniew Rybczynski is one of my favorites.
