thriller – Anomalous Cinema

Act of Violence (1948)

July 31, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on HBO Max | imdb | trailer

Here’s an excellent film noir about a WWII vet seeking revenge against his double dealing commanding officer. It was rare for a movie so close to the end of the war to deal with the topic of combat damaged soldiers. This was directed by Fred Zinnemann who had a truly epic career (just look at his amazing credits). You also get to see the always impressive Robert Ryan in action, as well as a young Janet Leigh. If you like ‘40s crime thrillers and haven’t seen Act of Violence, get on it. It is one of my personal favorite noirs.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive.

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Cul-de-sac (1966)

July 24, 2026July 23, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

I avoid posting Criterion Collection films, but I rarely see this Polanski film get mentioned in the closet (or anywhere else). Two criminals decide to hide out in a castle owned by a very eccentric couple, and much like the later film Performance, things get way weird. This is a pretty surreal movie and manages to be legitimately funny as well. The stand out performance is by Donald Pleasance. I am die hard fan of his work, and here he really gets to go nuts, much to my delight. Give Cul-de-sac a try. You just might enjoy this Anomalous little gem as much as I did.

Available on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

The Whistleblower (2010)

June 26, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Hulu, Kanopy, and Amazon Prime | imdb | trailer

I had forgotten about this movie until just now, but it’s nice to dust off unusual films when I can. The Whistleblower fits perfectly in that category as it is a pretty nasty movie, but also deals with a serious subject, and pulls it off effectively. This is based on the real life Kathryn Bolkovac, who uncovered a sex trafficking scandal in post-war Bosnia. Critics didn’t like it very much because of the handling of the heavy subject matter, but I give it a thumbs up. Rachel Weisz is great as per usual, and if you haven’t seen her mini-series version of Dead Ringers I also highly recommend that as well (just make sure you see the OG first).

Available on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox.

Saturn 3 (1980)

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Amazon Prime and YouTube (free) | imdb | trailer

This movie is arguably terrible. It has one of the lowest meta scores I’ve ever seen. I’m going to tell you about it anyway, but please proceed with caution. Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett are a couple on a spaceship trying to help keep the overcrowded Earth fed. They’re having a pretty lovely time until Harvey Keitel and a very intimidating robot show up. I liked this movie as a kid, and found it surprisingly entertaining as an adult in spite of it’s massive flaws. The most glaring problems are the fact that Keitel’s voice was dubbed because of his accent, and the general cheesiness of the whole movie. If you can look past those issues, you may just enjoy this sci-fi horror thriller.

PS – There’s a lot of amusing trivia about Saturn 3. My favorite is that Kirk Douglas insisted on showing off as much skin as possible so the world knew he was still in shape. This was parodied in Martin Amis’s book “Money” which I coincidentally read recently.

Available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.

Mystery Street (1950)

May 8, 2026August 16, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

A skeleton is found on the beach and a local detective is out to solve the mystery behind it. Ricardo Montalban was best known as Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island and Khan from Star Trek, but here we get to watch him as the lead in a very good film noir. You also get to see the always enjoyable Elsa Lanchester (The Bride of Frankenstein) in a solid mid-career role. Mystery Street is a bit more morbid than your average crime film of the time. The inclusion of a Harvard professor using forensic techniques reminded me of a giallo film. This was directed by John Sturges who went on to make many classic films including The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. All these ingredients make for a very entertaining mid-century dose of Anomalous Cinema.

Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives.

Sirât (2025)

April 24, 2026July 31, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | 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.

The Accountant (2016)

March 27, 2026July 4, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | 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.

Update 5.29.26 – I just watched Accountant 2 and it totally sucks. Don’t waste your time.

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

The Secret Agent (2025)

March 13, 2026June 12, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | 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.

Night of the Juggler (1980)

December 12, 2025March 26, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

NOTE: This is an update of a recommendation from January, 2024.

An ex-cop’s daughter is kidnapped by a psycho in dirty old New York City. This is loosely adapted from a novel of the same name. I was lucky enough to see a 35mm screening of Quentin Tarantino’s print of this obscure action movie a few years ago. Up until the recent 4k restoration this was only ever officially released on VHS. James Brolin is great, and his nemesis, Cliff Gorman, is a recognizable bad guy in many ‘70s movies and TV series. When I saw this at Portland’s Hollywood Theatre, the programmer extraordinaire, Dan Halsted, wisely said that the real star of the film is New York City at its gritty peak. Times Square porno shops, dive bars, and grindhouse theaters feature prominently. Do not miss Night of the Juggler. It is a blast from start to finish.

Available on 4k UHD / Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.

The Mauritanian (2021)

December 5, 2025March 21, 2026 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

This is a dramatized version of the story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who was imprisoned for years with no charge in Guantanamo Bay. Critics did not like this film for some reason. I found it to be very effective. All performances were great, particularly the lead played by Tahar Rahim (from the previously recommended A Prophet). Things get surprisingly dark and weird during the interrogation segments. Some of the torture used was shocking even compared to what made the news at the time. It’s stunning that a human being endured it all. The Mauritanian is uncomfortable viewing, but I suggest you watch it anyway.

Available on Blu-ray from Universal.