Sirât (2025)

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Streaming on Hulu | imdb | trailer

This is yet another one from John Waters 2025 Top 10. I would have not bothered recommending it, but this movie is just so damned Anomalous that I couldn’t help myself. The premise sounds terrible: a father and his son are searching for his missing daughter amongst a group of desert ravers. I really dislike techno (other than when COIL touched that territory), and I despise watching dance club / raver scenes, so I will freely admit that I had to do some fast forwarding early in the film. However I want to point out that the electronic score by Kangding Ray is excellent when it’s not being overshadowed by a dance beat. Anyway, after the early dancing bullshit is done, this movie is really fantastic. I don’t want to spoil anything (maybe don’t watch the trailer), but things get a lot darker and heavier than the basic plot would indicate. Stick with it a while and I think you’ll see what I mean. Once you’re done you may get an extra appreciation of the film by reading the IMDb trivia. I definitely did. Sirât is a very good, weird, and innovative creation.

Available on Blu-ray from Decal Releasing.

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Intruder in the Dust (1949)

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Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | trailer

A rebellious African American man in a small town is accused of murder. The odds are stacked against him, but his innocence is defended in a very risky way. This is an intense, and surprisingly complicated, story for a film made in the ‘40s. Intruder in the Dust is never dull, well acted, and the perfect length, so if you’re not allergic to pre-1960s cinema, give it a watch.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives.

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A Quiet Place in the Country (1968)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

When you see that Franco Nero is the lead in an Italian movie with Ennio Morricone doing the score, you might make assumptions. Please don’t. This isn’t an action film or giallo (in spite of some plot descriptions out there). I’d call it a psychological drama with a few horror elements. If that turns you off, please skip this one. I personally really enjoyed A Quiet Place in the Country. Franco Nero is great as a tortured artist. Vanessa Redgrave is her usual amazing self as well (she and Nero were a real-life couple at the time). If my description has not scared you off, give this movie a chance. It’s a unique mix of styles, and definitely worth seeing. You may be interested to know that the director, Elio Petri, went on to make the Oscar winning Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion.

Available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory (currently out of print).

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H.R. Giger’s Passagen (1972) & Necronomicon (1975)

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Passagen – Streaming on YouTube | imdb | no trailer

Giger’s Necronomicon Streaming on YouTube | imdb | no trailer

H.R. Giger needs no introduction. He was a big deal for me as a youngster, and I still appreciate his early artwork in particular. I’ve had dubs both of these two documentaries on VHS for years. Unfortunately Pasagen had no subtitles, so I had no clue what the hell was being said until recently re-discovering it on YouTube. Both docs are great, but one interesting thing about Pasagen in particular is that Giger’s girlfriend Li Tobler is prominently featured. Sadly she went on to commit suicide between these two films. Depression is a real fucker. As you may know, her likeness was used many times by Giger before and after her death (the image I mangled above is Li II from 1974). RIP Li and Hans Ruedi.

PS – Also check out Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World (2014), which is a more comprehensive doc.

Not available on Blu-ray.

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The Accountant (2016)

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Streaming on Hulu | imdb | trailer

My older brother just reminded me of this movie. This will be Chris’ indirect guest recommendation. I gotta give him credit for not only turning me on to classics like The Road Warrior, Apocalypse Now!, and all the early Clint Eastwood movies, but he actually took me to see Conan the Barbarian (1982) in the theater. I was nine years old. No worries, I turned out fine in the end. What is best in life? Seeing a stone cold classic film in its original run. Back to the topic at hand… The Accountant is a solid, somewhat daring, riff on an adult action movie. Affleck is good in this AND you get J.K. Simmons and Jon Bernthal. That’s really all you need to know. I will be watching the recent sequel soon, in spite of the poor reviews.

Available on 4K UHD / Blu-ray from Warner.

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Electra (1962)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer (in Greek w/ no subs – sorry)

I just stumbled upon this one recently, and I am very pleased that I did. Irene Papas (Don’t Torture a Duckling) stars as Electra, and she is INTENSE. The film is based on the famous Greek mythical tale of treachery and revenge. I was impressed that every shot is extremely well composed and all the actor’s movements are carefully choreographed. This reminds me of early Pasolini, except that the cast seems to be all skilled actors. Also the dialog is almost as epically dramatic as August Strindberg’s A Dream Play. This is a very melodramatic and carefully paced film, but I personally loved it. The music is great too. I would not be surprised if Dead Can Dance were influenced by the score. Just don’t go expecting any graphic violence or other adult material and you might appreciate the film as much as I did. I could honestly see Electra getting a full Criterion treatment one day. Make sure to watch this in the original Greek language with subtitles. I tried it on the English dub and it made the movie seem cheap.

PS – There is now an Alphabetical List of all films on this site. Thank you Joe M for the suggestion!

Not available on Blu-ray

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The Secret Agent (2025)

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Streaming on Hulu | imdb | trailer

Kleber Mendonça Filho does it again. I thoroughly enjoyed his last two films, Bacurau and Pictures of Ghosts, so I’m thinking we can keep expecting good things from this writer-director. His latest feature is essentially a crime thriller, but there’s some very funny, and very surreal moments as well. I think that combo may just be Filho’s super power. The film also manages to illustrate just how corrupt and dangerous things were in mid-1970s Brazil. Wagner Moura is great in the lead role, as you’d expect, but you also get treated to a powerful little dose of Udo Kier (RIP). The only issue I have with The Secret Agent is its length. I suppose it was necessary to tell the story, and it really never felt boring, so I’ll shut up now.

Not available on Blu-ray.

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

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Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | trailer

As you might know, I usually steer clear of Academy Award winners. I made an exception because I have recommended very few movies from the 1930s. There were dozens of adaptations of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s excellent novel over the years, but this is considered the best. The 1931 Jekyll managed to push things as far as censors of the time would allow, yet it was well made enough for lead actor Frederic March to win the Oscar. That marked the first time a horror movie ever won the award. As impressive as that is, you may be a little thrown off that his name is pronounced “Jee-kall” in this film, which is supposedly as the original author intended. I guess the way everyone pronounces it now first began with the Spencer Tracy version from 1941. Anyway, there’s a lot to enjoy here. The in-camera transformation effects were revolutionary at the time (the trick wasn’t revealed until decades later), and the gruesome overall feel of the film makes it a classic. In the end, if it still comes off as too tame, go ahead and give Walerian Borowczyk’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981) a shot. That one is flat-out bonkers.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives.

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The Captain (2017)

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Streaming on Amazon Prime (as well as Kanopy and Plex) | imdb | trailer

My friend David recommended this one to me out of the blue. Wow. I have no idea how The Captain escaped me when it came out, but I was very glad to finally experience it. Well maybe “glad” is a poor choice of words. This is the dramatized story of real life German army deserter Willi Herold who just happens to get his hands on a captain’s uniform. He manages to fool enough people to cause a ton of mayhem in the last two weeks of WW2. Not good mayhem either. Yet somehow this dark as hell film manages to be funny at times too. If you’re not scared of some bleak fact-based viewing, give this one a try.

Available on Blu-ray from Music Box Films

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.