Bizarre Movies that Defy Explanation

Egg Born Son

Egg Born Son

Veteran
Just finished watching one of the strangest films I've ever seen on SBS (the home of weirdness of a Saturday night). It's a Japanese film called Symbol. It starts with a guy in pajamas in a white room with the walls full of cupid cocks and ends up in space jesus territory by way of some mexican wrestling. At first the strangness is a little forced but it soon goes right off the deep end into the realm of the genuinely bizarre. The ending is trippy in an almost 2001 sense.

I love a movie that shows me something different and takes me in a direction I didn't even know existed. So what are the most out-there films you've seen? And a short spoiler free blurb. I'll give a couple to get it started.


Recently saw Love Exposure on the recommendation of a fellow DVXer. A Japanese film (I expect the Japanese will feature heavily in this list) allegedly based around true events. The son of a priest starts sinning in order to have something to confess. After trying a few different sins he settles on being a pervert and elevates the upskirt photograph to an artform. It switches between perspectives of multiple characters as he gathers a following, finds love while cross-dressing and takes on a cult amongst other things. It's a long film, well over 3 hours, gets a little lost along the way but you won't see anything like this. Subject matter aside, the way it's presented is pretty much G-rated. It's a film about perverts rather than for perverts.

Naked Lunch is one of my favourite films. Beautifully shot with standout performances by all involved. Based on the novel by William S. Burroughs.

I hesitate to include Enter a Void because a lot of the strangeness is drug trippy rather than bizarre trippy but it does have an unusual structure, some bizarre trippy elements and did show me something I've never seen before. A real experience.


Symbol trailer

Love Exposure trailer

Naked Lunch trailer

Enter the Void trailer
 
Last edited:
Another one from Japan.

This is a beautifully shot and paced story. Everything is in the subtleties.

Strange, true, but look beyond that and you are given a story not unlike many others - done better.

 
Well, "defy explanation" is pretty strong . How about "challange explanation"?

(Actually, I don't think either of these qualify.) But anyway, the first two that came to mind are:


"Dancer in the Dark", Lars von Trier with Bjork. The weirdest movie that I wasn't sure I liked, that I just can't forget 10+ years later.

"Monento". OK, I know this is on everyone's "standard" list. I think there is a way to make everything pretty clear if you spend teh time. But it is incredibly well done on all levels.


Sorry, not much new here. But both are well worth seeing.

Best,
Michael
 
thsi is one of those movies that reawakens my beliefe in the power of cinema, shakes you up reminds you whats possible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVdBqvIUnyw

i saw "audition" recently, it has a reputation as a gore film so i thought it woudl be mindless and dumb, turns out takeshi mikee is a freeking genius and it was one of the most masterully restrained things ive ever seen plus he plays with what i call "multiple levels of reality" where the narrative swicthes back and forth between a dream world and the real world. incredible stuff.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhsrsWcEspc


I havent gotten my hands on this yet but it has a reputation for being totally bananas and off the wall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0NWIxl2VJk

oh yeah and if you want to see a brutal crime film with saturated comic book lighting and bizarre expressionsit touches and ghosts,well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfitSpseS5Q
 
Last edited:
Air Doll - Think I've seen this but not sure. There's a similar french story too without the Pinocchio/Mannequin element.

nycineaste's suggestions:

Santa Sangre - THANKYOU!!!!! I saw this movie in 1996 on SBS, didn't get the title and have been looking for it ever since. It is one of my longest outstanding movies I've been looking for. This has been a great year. I've finally found Delamore Dellamorte, Go to Hell!, and...

Audition - is this another film I've been looking for? I saw the second half of a Japanese film (again on SBS, this tv station rocks - non-Australians, you're missing out). The striking image of the film was a sack that ate people, although I may have gotten the wrong end of the stick. Please confirm nycineaste. You've just gone way up in my estimation with these suggestions.

House - another Japanese horror film. I note music is by Godeigo, the band behind the music of Monkey, my favourite TV show, source of my avatar and moniker.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 - again Japanese, no idea what it's about but I'm sold just on the stylised font used in the opening titles.


mail4joeg: all great films. I only saw A Boy and his Dog only recently and loved that they had an unusually amoral protagonist. Haven't seen Holy Mountain in a while, that's just made the rewatch list. Every Lynch film makes the list.
 
unadog - both those will do. 'defy explanation' is maybe overstating a little although some definitely do. Any movie that gives you memorable WTF moments. Obviously the more deranged the better. Both Dancer in the Dark and Memento count.


We've already got Naked Lunch and eXistenZ, my second favourite (after Lunch) and perhaps the most out there Cronenberg film in concept as well as the visual - Videodrome. I haven't seen all his work. If anyone knows one that rivals this I want to see it. A TV Programmer comes across a new ultra violent show and begins to be drawn into a hallucinatory nightmare.

The first 20 minutes of Sucker Punch were great, if the movie had continued in this vein it would have been brilliant. Unfortunately I think Snyder had spent his story telling ability by this point. I won't bother linking the trailer.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a movie that just won't go away. There's not a week that goes by it doesn't pop into my head. It's not out there in an obvious way but the way it plays with what is and isn't real is balanced perfectly. Clooney's performance, matched by the rest of the cast makes for some memorable WTF moments. A modern classic, if I need cheering up I put this on. Better than prozac.
 
Haven't seen A Zed and Two Noughts, but Greenaway can always be relied upon for beautiful images of heightened reality and strange elements in his films. Thanks for the link to the field manual. Fun stuff.

Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds is a hard-to-find debut of Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City). I don't think it's seen a DVD release, I was only able to find a digitised VHS copy online. A stranger walks into the lives of an aviation engineer and his crazy sister in a post-apocalyptic setting. Actually, searching for a trailer I've just discovered a full copy has been put on youtube earlier this year, so here's a full film, not just a trailer! (320p unfortunately). Beautiful film. Read a few of the comments to see I'm not alone in this.

Another Australian directorial debut, this time from my favourite director, Rolf de Heer. All his films eschew convention. Incident at Raven's Gate also known in the US as Encounter at Raven's Gate (1988) is the best alien encounter movie I've ever seen. On a budget of zero dollars. Couldn't find a trailer on youtube but did find the first seven minutes. Doesn't get to the weirdness though. Read a few reviews during the search by the likes of the NY times... they're mistaken with another movie, the american version couldn't be that different. It's a strange happenings film leading to an encounter but it isn't like any other.
 
Wow, some nice finds out there. Will check them!

If you mention Audition, then most of Miike films will do. And yes, I think Audition IS what you're looking for (although it's not that sack eats people but... well, you'll see)

Of all Miike films, I would say must-watch is Visitor Q. After that, everything will seem 'weak'. :)


Defy explanation is, for example, Haze. A guy wakes up in a maze (or haze?) of labyrinths. It's very claustrofobic, almost no dialogue, and there are some parts that are, well... terrible to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5oxzxZuLNA (hard to find this one tho)

Then definitely, Gummo. Post-apocalyptic something. Bunch of weirdness. Don't remember if there is concise story at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtY_545-ST8

And to put one rare gem that is one of the best post-apocalyptic ones I saw (AND bizarre):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLURml9vk_U
 
Gummo - a good collection of munted heads there. If you keep the beautiful people out then the film has to be interesting instead. Harmony Korine, I'm not sure I've seen any of his films but have been interested to do so since I saw a pseudo-documentary special of him showing Gaspar Noe around his hometown.

And Dead Man's Letters has a great aesthetic, definitely a Tarkovsky influence there. It might take some finding but it's on the new list now that you guys have helped me out with the longstanding ones.
 
Loved Altered States. Can see how that lead you to think of Brain Damage based on the trailer. It's on the list. Love that voiceover guy, on every VHS I ever rented. Tetsuo's been on the haven't-got-round-to-but-mean-to list for a while. I've seen it's also available with Body Hammer, is it worth getting both? I knew the Japanese were going to be over-represented, and I mean that as a compliment! I'm sure there's some Scandinavian films worthy of the list but they elude me right now.

Oh, oh, oh...just remembered one of the most wonderfully bizarre movies, with heart. Big Man Japan, another SBS late night treat. How did I forget to mention that one, I ordered it last week and it's in the mail as we speak. By halves a touching mockumentary about a down and out man trying his best, and giant monster battles. Some of the strangest monsters conceived. There is clearly a deeper level to the whole thing I think is a commentary on shifting culture and politics in Japan.


Nude for Satan...could that be the greatest exploitation title of all time?
 
I like a lot of what has been mentioned already, Miike, Chan Wook Park, other asian films, Cronenberg, Lynch. very glad someone has already mentioned Greenaway. Here is a Greenaway that is one of my favorites.
 
Egg Born Son said:
Loved Altered States. Can see how that lead you to think of Brain Damage based on the trailer.
Click to expand...


The brain damage trailer is pretty awful, and does not do the movie a service. I think they would be paired as a good double feature, due to the hallucinations. Altered States has to play first though, since the 2nd is more of a comedy.

Body Hammer I have not seen sorry to say. I think the last time I saw Tetsuo was in college when it played late at night on IFC often.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top