THE MANSION OF MADNESS
This phantasmagoric spectacle, loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether,” remains a landmark of Mexican horror/fantasy
MALPERTUIS
A surreal gem from 1972, finally unearthed after years of obscurity in a newly restored director’s cut
MAGIC OF THE UNIVERSE
Believe it or not, this Filipino freak-out was intended as a children’s film. That’s despite brain eating, a beheading, a fight to the death and an exploding forehead
THE MAGIC HUNTER
Certainly the only movie you’ll find that features suicidal sharpshooters, magic bullets, living paintings, time tripping rabbits, the Virgin Mary and the Devil, THE MAGIC HUNTER may not be perfect, but it is required viewing for cult movie buffs
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.
THE BOXER’S OMEN
Quite simply: you’ll have a difficult time finding such a mind-roasting mélange of rapid-fire insanity anywhere in or outside Hong Kong
BLACK MOON
A dark, freaky headscratcher from a filmmaker beloved by art snobs the world over: the French Louis Malle, best known for refined fare like ATLANTIC CITY and MY DINNER WITH ANDRE
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
THE BEYOND
The undoubted masterpiece of Lucio Fulci, a crazed and surreal gorefest that’s irresistible, even if it doesn’t make much sense