Movies provide us with a form of escapism rarely seen elsewhere. We sit down in front of a screen and we are transported to a world of interesting characters, settings, and stories. Most of these movies are clean-cut and easy to understand, then there are outliers. It is sometimes weird films don’t get much love or appreciation often due to their abstract nature. Here are three very good, strange movies that are definitely worth your time.
Eraserhead (1977)Â
Written and Directed by David LynchÂ
Starring: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart
Eraser head is a surreal film that extremely difficult to explain. This movie feels like you’re watching someone’s nightmare, more so than any other horror movie that I have seen. The ‘plot’ (quotation marks being very intentional) follows a young man named Henry (Jack Nance) who exists in an industrially dominated world, he himself living in a small apartment. Through what can only be described as either the best or worst dinner in cinematic history (it’s inexplicable) Henry is told by his girlfriend’s (Charlotte Stewart) parents that his girlfriend is pregnant with a horrifying mutant baby that they both now must care for. Technically there are more plot-related scenes after this but you will likely be to busy trying to comprehend everything else going on to notice. A side from being insanely weird and having horrifying visuals, the movie is full of deeper meanings and ideas that the writer and director David Lynch have never commented on leaving the whole movie up to interpretation. Additionally, this black and white flick has well-done cinematography, eerie special effects and there’s even odd black comedy to add to the mix. Watch this movie if you want to experience horror at it’s most strange and if you’re okay with having your brain melt out of your ears.
Being John Malkovich (1999) [available on netflix]Â
Written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Spike JonzeÂ
Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, John Malkovich, Cathrine KeenerÂ
Being John Malkovich is a story about a man named Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), a struggling pup peteer who gets an office job filing. His fiance Lotte (Cameron Diaz) works at a pet store meaning that their small apartment is very often filled with animals. Craig begins to fall for another woman he meets at work named Maxine (Catherine Kener) but Catherine shows very little interest in pursuing a relationship. Out of seemingly nowhere, one day on the job, Craig discovers a portal that allows you to go into the body of actor John Malkovich (playing himself) for about ten minutes. Being John Malkovich has something of a euphoric effect on any one who goes in, naturally, and Craig and Max start charging people to use the portal. Eventually, Maxine begins dating John Malkovich, often when others are using the portal. This unique tale has a very impressive cast and forms a very interesting, confusing in all the right ways, kind of narrative. I recommend this movie to all, especially if you’re in to off beat movies or if you’re just a huge John Malkovich fan.
The Lobster (2015)Â
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Colin Farrell, Rachel WeiszÂ
Taking place in a somewhat dystopian world our story follows David (Colin Farrell). David’s wife has just left him after 11 years of marriage and so David decides to sign up for a couples hotel. At this hotel, you are fully accommodated with a lavish lifestyle and you are given 45 days to find someone who you have something in common with, and to become partners with them. All of this on the condition that you follow all the hotel’s rules (not doing such would result in serious often physical punishment) and with the cave at that if you don’t find love in those 45 days, you are transformed into an animal of your choosing. This beautifully shot, award-winning film facetiously tackles ideas of modern dating and personal identity with Collin Farrell’s character being the only one actually presented with a name. Sprinkled in with some comedy and violence as well this movie has a little bit of everything for its strange setup. You won’t regret watching it and I could not recommend it more.