Strange, Weird, and Wonderful – off-the-beaten-path movies you should see

I have been consuming movies since I was a wee little monster and to say I have seen some weird movies, some wild movies, and some off-beat movies is to put it mildly. 

I have seen some stuff. 

In that spirit, I thought I’d recommend some off-the-beaten-path films I have seen over the years that you might dig-aroo. I tried to get a few movies that are a little more obscure. I mean, we’re at a time when most movies are out there in the wild but that also means we miss a lot of really compelling films. 

With that in mind…

Matango aka – Attack of the Mushroom People

I remember seeing this on TV as a kid. Dubbed and surreal and utterly creepy. A boat full of people out on a day trip goes far off course during a storm and ends up marooned on an island. Desperate for something to eat they begin to consume the large amount of fungi that are present on the island, not realizing that these aren’t your average mushrooms. The beginning drags but man, when it gets going it gets WEIRD. I just leave it at this – mushroom people. 

*shiver*

Cannibal – the Musical seems like a silly addition but since it’s never made its way to blu-ray I sorta wonder how many people know about it. The film was made by the two men responsible for Sounth Park and this is an absurdist telling of the story of a group of pioneers that got lost in the snow wilds and how one of them turned to cannibalism. And it’s a musical. Gory, silly, and full of catch songs it’s a shame more folks don’t talk about this as it’s just a really fun movie that seems lost to time. 

The Abandoned is oof, a dark movie. The tale of a daughter returning to her family home, across the ocean, is a story of buried memories and hidden secrets. It feels like a modern-day Fulci movie, with its dreamlike sensibility and dread. It is a nasty bit of work as it plays out but man, is it good, and brought to you by Nacho Cerda, who did Genesis, Aftermath, and The Machinist. Yikes.  – This is an early 2000s film, so look for that!

Fragile is another creepy film from a foreign director, this is the story of an old hospital moving its patients from one wing to another and the horrifying things that begin to happen during this move. Look past Calista Flockhart being in it. This a CREEPY movie with a ton of atmosphere and scares and brought to you by one-half of the REC duo.

2LDK is a Japanese film that isn’t quite HORROR so much as nasty action. It features two women who must share a small apartment in order to afford it. What you have is a series of misunderstandings, assumptions, and miscommunication that boils over into pure insanity. This is almost all very violent action and it’s utterly bonkers. If you’re into these sorts of films you’ll LOVE it. 

Island of Terror is an oddball old British sci-fi horror with Peter Cushing trying to survive strange, slithering creatures that suck the bones out of you. It’s a ridiculous premise that works because of the earnest performances and the nutso monsters. It reminds me a bit of Day of the Triffids as it has that sort of vibe to it. It’s on blu and is really good. 

Europa Report had to be on here because I had to have a found footage film that doesn’t get a lot of love. This is another sci-fi horror film, this one about a ship sent to the moon Europa to test that water world for any signs of life. It’s very well done, the ‘found footage’ aspect is handled very well, and it’s got a creepy vibe that gets utterly chilling by the end. Well worth a look for fans of the genre.

And that’s just a few of the movies I can think of that are worth your attention but you may not have seen or heard of before. It’s easy to miss so many good films because there is just so much stuff out there now. These are all worth your time though if they sound interesting. 

…c…

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