This is a sci-fi vampire movie that manages to straddle being very smart and pretty damned cheesy. However the action is solid, it features three excellent actors, and the gore is plentiful. I am also a sucker for movies with a Blade Runner influence. Daybreakers is a bit of a rollercoaster ride however. One moment you will notice the very insightful social commentary, the next you will be rolling your eyes at something ridiculous. The good news is that there’s a good chance you will remain entertained throughout.
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This is a very good military action film based on true events from the US occupation of Afghanistan. I actually rewatched the full movie before writing this and it remained an intense experience. The first half is mostly plot and character setup, but thankfully none of it drags. The action gets veryheavy around the one-hour mark. After watching The Outpost it’s a wonder anyone survived. On a lighter note, Clint Eastwood’s son Scott and Caleb Landry Jones (from Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral) are both excellent in this.
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I had zero interest in this at first. Then a friend, with admirably bizarre taste, recommended it. Listen to your weirdo friends people! Reality is a dramatization of the questioning and arrest of whistleblower Reality Winner in 2017. The interesting part is that the movie uses the actual FBI audio (and audio transcripts) as source material, in real time. That might sound dull, but it gets into some borderline David Lynch levels of bizarreness. Also the way the filmmakers handled the redacted parts of the transcript was genius. I went in knowing very little about the actual case, which may be the best way to experience this movie. Either way, check out this seriously original work of cinema.
Not available on Blu-ray (Release Date TBD).
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A scientist discovers how to make himself invisible, and the process drives him into a mad crime spree. This may be the most high profile film discussed on this site, the National Film Registry considers it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” I decided to feature it anyway as this movie is a real standout among all other films I’ve seen from the ‘30s. The script is adapted from a book by H. G. Wells, as well as “The Murderer Invisible” by Philip Wylie. Wells didn’t appreciate the fact that director James Whale made the doctor a madman, but I feel that was a wise choice. Who but a lunatic would perpetrate such dastardly deeds? The special effects were ages ahead of their time and still look great 80+ years later, but that isn’t all this film has to offer. The Invisible Man is a perfectly paced, and gleefully negative, horror film balanced with a sense of humor. All the performances are great, and Claude Rains is perfect in the lead role. His ranting voice alone is like no other. Yes, of course, don’t miss out on James Whale’s Frankenstein movies, but I rate this one a notch higher. I suggest checking out the 1998 film Gods and Monsters too, as it is a good dramatization of the director’s life.
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This is a very good, unpredictable, dark comedy thriller of sorts. Two former friends are awkwardly put back together and, since at least one of them is mentally ill, bad things happen. Thoroughbreds will not be for all tastes, as it revolves around two privileged white girls who are arguably insufferable. Thankfully Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy are excellent and made it all work for me. This is also one of the final appearances of actor Anton Yelchin (1989-2016) to whom the film is dedicated – RIP.
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Chris Smith is one of my favorite documentarians, and while this is not his best, it’s well worth watching. Robert Downey Sr. directed some of the edgiest American films of the ‘70s (Greaser’s Palace is highly Anomalous viewing). You get to learn all about his career and about his relationship with his much more famous son. Things get a bit fluffy for my taste, but really overall, Sr. is a very good film. Hey Netflix, where is Senior’s version of the movie?!?!
Not available on Blu-ray.
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This is an extremely powerful documentary that compiles the first two parts of the HBO series with a 2020 conclusion. The lives and struggles of drug addicts are shown first hand over the course of 36 years. Yes, it’s just as depressing as you would imagine. I often try to recommend films that I think people SHOULD see, not just fun-time entertainment. Not only should you watch Life of Crime, I think it should be shown to every high school kid in America. Maybe there would be a few less tragic stories like these.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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A man’s wife is in an insane asylum, so he gets a job there to try to help her escape. It figures that the oldest movie I love, and one of the weirdest, is from Japan. Leave it to The Land of the Rising Sun to be an early adopter of strange cinema, and to keep cranking it out for almost a century. This was made one year before the first movie with sound, and three years before Un Chien Andalou was released. You’d think that Japanese audiences would have been utterly baffled by this film, but supposedly it was a hit. There’s a ton of unusual imagery, including many beautiful superimposed images and other innovative tricks to replicate hallucinations. The film also features some deep concepts that are expressed without a word. A Page of Madness is simply a work of art that demands to be seen by any fan of Anomalous Cinema.
I’ve desperately hunted for another ‘20s film to recommend on this site. There are several very good movies from this era, but all of them have dull dramatic parts, or other flaws which make them ineligible. Yeah, I know, I know, Un Chien Andaloubut it’s a short, and every art school kid has already forced it under your nose. Unfortunately many silent movies are now lost, there was probably a real mind-blower among them. I truly hope that some weird masterpiece is available that I’ve missed. Here are some 1920s movies, a few rather obvious, that are definitely worth your time if you watch them with patience: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Destiny (1922), Faust (1926), The Hands of Orlac (1928), Häxan (1929), The Man Who Laughs (1928), Metropolis (1927), and The Phantom of theOpera (1925).
Available on Blu-ray from Flicker Alley (search eBay), but the quality seems a little dubious.
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I do not like musicals. I avoid them like the plague. However when asked what my favorite musical is, I never hesitate to say Marat/Sade. Supposedly the old Marquis really did stage plays using inmates at the Charenton Asylum. I seriously doubt any of them were as amusing and fully realized as this one, but it’s fun to ponder. I’ve seen this multiple times over the years, including a 35mm print, and own the soundtrack LP. Patrick Magee is one of my all-time favorite actors, and here he plays a perfect Sade. The only reason I give this film a 9 out of 10 is because… it’s a damn musical.
Not available on domestic Blu-ray.
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This is an art film comedy about an ensemble of gastro themed noise performance artists. It has “gory” elements too, but it’s not really a horror film. Need I say this one is definitely not for everyone? Flux Gourmet is the latest from Peter Strickland, the director of the excellent Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric. It’s deliberately paced, and on the long side, but I found it refreshingly original. The electronic score is fantastic and occasionally heavy and aggressive. This is the most Anomalous movie I’ve recommended in ages, so give it a try.
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 / Cash App $vergeoflight / or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.
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