WARNING SHADOWS
There are no textual intertitles in this 1923 silent classic from Germany, which relates its psychologically grounded narrative entirely through shadowy and expressionistic visuals
VERA
This “transcendental journey of the soul” mixes Mayan mysticism with CGI and elegantly lensed live action into a head-scratching whole that must be counted as one of the most profoundly bizarre Mexican films since the heyday of Alejandro Jodorowsky
VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS (Film)
Fascinating Czech surrealism from the seventies. Beautifully filmed, affectionately macabre and totally unique, it’s precisely the type of film They Just Don’t Make Anymore.
BLACK ANGEL
This haunting and fantastic 25 minute film played before THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK during its initial release in England and Australia. Having only recently resurfaced, BLACK ANGEL is an impressive work, boasting a full-bodied medieval atmosphere and a teasingly enigmatic aura
BEYOND DREAM’S DOOR
An eighties cult horror film that somehow slipped by me back in the day. BEYOND DREAM’S DOOR is now available on DVD, thankfully, and I’ve finally seen and admired it as the uniquely tripped-out classic it is
STALKER
I say this is the masterpiece of Russia’s late Andrei Tarkovsky, an unforgettable trip through one of the cinema’s most vivid and unsettling dreamscapes
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
Far from standard horror fare, the 1973 Spanish film SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is an extremely difficult, uneventful mood piece that requires multiple viewings—in short, an Art Film
SILENT HILL
Contrary to what I once believed, it IS possible to have too much surreal weirdness in a movie. This expensive adaptation of the PC game SILENT HILL, from the talented Christophe Gans, proves that point adequately
SANTA SANGRE
A truly amazing 1989 film by Alejandro Jodorowsky–bold, violent, surreal and completely irresistible, it’s one of the decade’s finest films
THE PSYCHIC
This restrained seventies-era thriller was one of the final movies made by Italy’s late Lucio Fulci before he gave himself over to gore fests like ZOMBIE and THE BEYOND