Many of you know how much I like movies. They fill such an important space in my life. Of course, having seen over a thousand of them throughout the years, there were bound to be some that left me scratching my head. Of course, because I couldn't always follow a movie's plot doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad film. Sometimes, strange is good.
With that, following are my Top 10 Stranges Movies of All-Time....
Carnival of Souls (1962)
After an automobile accident, young Mary Henry stumbles onto a town where she tries to integrate herself. But sometimes people can't see or hear her. And there's a mysterious zombie-man popping-up all the time to unsettle her even further. I like this one. It's cheap, cozy, funny and creepy.
Crash (1996)
Twenty years on and it's still the worst movie I've ever seen, David Cronenberg's bizarre ode to a group of people who fetishize car accidents. They even go as far as to have sex with the wounds a person has from those accidents. It's a terrible movie.
Dead Alive (1992)
One of director Peter Jackson's earlier works, this is a real gem. A young man's overbearing mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey, dies, reanimates, and goes berserk. There's no proper way to describe what happens next. It has to be seen to be believed. Beware: If blood and gore offends you, don't see this movie (but you should).
The Doom Generation (1995)
Gregg Araki films are all a bit 'out there,' and this one's no different. One of my favorite alternative movies from the '90s, this tells the story of three disillusioned youth who go on a kind of road trip and have all sorts of odd encounters (including a severed head that continues talking).
Enemy (2013)
Jake Gyllenhall stars in a dual role in a film with confident direction, solid cinematography, and a plot that grows weirder with every passing scene. Oh, and there's a giant spider walking over the city. Or something. Definitely worth checking out.
Eraserhead (1977)
You knew there'd be a David Lynch entry. Honestly, almost any of his films could have made the list, but Eraserhead is that special kind of strange: a black & white movie made in the '70s. A guy with big, frizzy hair. A mutant baby that is both cute and repellent at the same time. And a stark, industrial wasteland for a setting. I guess I liked this movie, strange though it was.
Lust in the Dust (1985)
In essence a search-for-buried-treasure story, this mid-'80s flick (which I'd always thought was a John Waters film, but isn't) stars Laine Kazan, Cesar Romero, Woody Strode, Tab Hunter (obviously no longer caring about keeping-up his straight guy image), and the fabulous drag queen Divine. I first saw this not long after it came out, and thought it to be one of the most wonderfully eccentric movies I'd ever seen.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Currently my favorite film of the year, it stars Paul Dano as a man stranded on an island who is befriended by a corpse (played by Daniel Radcliffe), and together they go on a series of adventures to try and get Dano's character back home and to the girl of his dreams.
The Tree of Life (2011)
Still not sure what to make of this. I kind of appreciated it. Definitely had some sort of emotional impact, but it's a series of vignettes of a young boy's life, interspersed with some really trippy stuff.
The Wicker Man (1973)
Edward Woodward is a policeman assigned to investigate a mysterious Scottish village, and..... I can't stand this movie. Poor direction, odd scenes with sex orgies, an unsatisfying ending.... it just doesn't work. The best part about the movie is Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.
And, there you have it. I actually like most of the films presented here. They'd be worth a look, if you have the time and are in the mood for something decidedly offbeat. Just steer clear of Crash and The Wicker Man, and you'll be good.
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