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Author Topic: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series  (Read 8536 times)

Vector

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #15 on: June 17, 2014, 03:02:46 am »

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« Last Edit: March 26, 2018, 03:21:09 pm by Vector »
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XXSockXX

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #16 on: June 17, 2014, 09:45:47 am »

Lars von Trier's TV series "The Kingdom" (Riget) is really good. There is a Stephen King developed US remake ("Kingdom Hospital"), but that doesn't hold up and loses the visual style and most of the weirdness.

You might also like von Trier's "Antichrist".
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miauw62

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #17 on: June 17, 2014, 10:13:09 am »

Dead Man is a really weird (and good) movie.
(Weird in an acid trip way, that is.)
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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #18 on: June 17, 2014, 10:30:12 am »

I'd second the recommendation for American Gothic.

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Itnetlolor

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #19 on: June 17, 2014, 05:56:42 pm »

I... I don't actually remember terribly much about it. Nor if it would fit criteria, because I can't remember anything of the very few on that list I've seen any of. And also I don't exactly watch much in the way of TV. Or movies. But.

Lexx? I remember it being fairly odd as sci-fi shows go. Just... don't ask me why. It's been years, and I never saw terribly much of it.
Yo way yo. Definitely a good final battle hymn to sing before venturing towards certain doom; if only to hold back an unstoppable force for even a moment (You get the whole story, with music, near the end of Season 2; Spoiler alert, their story was badass enough to make the show's biggest coward man up a bit. It also gives you a better idea of what was going on at the very beginning of the series.). Lexx was also a hell of a weapon (as were a few others; like the first one you see in the beginning of the series). Nothing like topping the Death Star by being the size of New York, and eating planets that you destroy (provided they're fertile enough). Now that's a weapon/pet worthy of a universal emperor.

Nice to know I wasn't the only fan of it. It had it's moments, and was definitely different from everything we've seen more than enough times (Looking at you Star Wars and Star Trek, and the occasional episode of SG-1; which shared it's time slot on occasion). Farscape was a nice parallel to Lexx, however. Just as oddball, and different from what we're used to seeing all the time, and it has MUPPETS!! Yes, the creatures in the show were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, and they were damn fine puppets while at it. Pilot is still an impressive piece of work.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2014, 06:00:18 pm by Itnetlolor »
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Hubris Incalculable

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #20 on: June 17, 2014, 05:58:36 pm »

I'd recommend Hannibal, the TV series. It plays very heavily with audience perception- I found it very tonally different from what little exposure I have to the rest of the Hannibal stuff (movies etc.) in a good way. It's also quite surreal, like many of the things you mentioned liking (in particular, True Detective, which I also liked.)

Ditto. My favorite show running right now.
Someone i follow on tumblr posts a lot of Hannibal. It worries me, and I tend to skim past it as fast as possible.
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nenjin

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #21 on: June 19, 2014, 02:01:59 pm »

Let's see....

Mullholland Drive: I like everything David Lynch does, but this just didn't click with me. It's "normal" David Lynch.

Kingdom: I really liked Kingdom Hospital, so I'm intrigued to see what inspired it. Kingdom Hospital was good but it had this goofy streak running through that kind of detracted from the weirdness/mysticism.

The Fountain: Thanks, I knew there was a movie out there that I'd heard of but forgotten.

Hannibal: I look into it, sounds interesting.

And thanks for all the other suggestions I didn't mention, I'll look into them all. Keep the weird/esoteric entertainment suggestions coming!
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Il Palazzo

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #22 on: June 19, 2014, 02:30:18 pm »

Well, at the risk of spoiling you the pleasure of figuring out the metaphors yourself, how about Odin-Jesus in purgatory with Indians?
Valhalla Rising
The trailer would have you believe it's some sort of mayhem-slash-gorefest, but it's much more of a "heads staring into the void" kind of contemplative film.

Or maybe a bit of Soviet S-F mysticism?
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I actually was a bit unimpressed at first when I saw Solaris(being a rabid fan of the source material probably didn't help), but it's since wormed its way into my subconsiciousness and looks like it's there to stay.
Either of the films(both made by Andrei Tarkovsky) will test your commitment, as they contain absurdly long stretches of basically nothing happening. I used to hate those parts, but now I think they are actually essential.
Some scenes are simply unforgettable.

And for something truly bizarre, try something from the Czechoslovakian New Wave. For example:
Valerie and her week of wonders
I think it's about sexual awakening?

Another, similar to the one above, as far as themes go, is The company of wolves. This one is definitely a dark fairy tale-ish allegory of sexual awakening. It's much, much more digestible than Valerie.
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ed boy

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #23 on: June 19, 2014, 07:03:48 pm »

Being John Malkovich.

I've never been made to feel so uncomfortable yet so enthralled by a movie. It's got a lot of character drama in it, but the core of the story is... I guess it could be loosely compared to a high-concept sci-fi premise. It's fucking weird is what I'm saying.
I'm going to second that. Just about all of the characters are intensely weird, but it's extremely entertaining. It's one of the few movies that, after seeing, I felt incredibly impressed with the acting throughout.
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pinetreedwarf

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #24 on: June 19, 2014, 09:16:31 pm »

Hmmm.  You might look into:
Scanners
Dreamscape
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Jacobs Ladder
Tales from the Darkside series or the old Twilight Zone series.
Village of the Damned (1960)
Several movies by Kubrick
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Mech#4

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #26 on: June 20, 2014, 12:11:42 am »

Stalker
Ooh. I second this one.

I didn't make it through that. Be prepared for shots that last 5 minutes and longer. Still, I did enjoy what I watched.
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XXSockXX

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #27 on: June 20, 2014, 06:50:58 am »

Kingdom: I really liked Kingdom Hospital, so I'm intrigued to see what inspired it. Kingdom Hospital was good but it had this goofy streak running through that kind of detracted from the weirdness/mysticism.
Kingdom has some goofy/comedic elements, but IMHO they contribute to the overall weirdness, like in the better parts of Twin Peaks. It's unlike any TV series I know.
Also it has Udo Kier in a role that creeped the shit out of me back when Kingdom was on TV:
Spoiler: creepy little brother (click to show/hide)
Kingdom Hospital is a close adaptation in some ways, it added some stuff, but lost most of the atmosphere and is far more conventional.

Recently I re-watched Bergman's The Seventh Seal, so I might recommend that as well. It's a bit philosophical, but a classic and it fits with the weird esoteric theme.

If you can get into artsy short films, I'd also recommend Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising (it's on youtube), an occult classic. Depending on your taste you might of course find it pretty dated and boring, but I like it.
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nenjin

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #28 on: June 26, 2014, 06:03:38 pm »

Seen the Seventh Seal, I enjoyed it (although I tend to enjoy older movies less when I'm with friends. I really have to focus on them to pull out things to like, since older movies tend to understate things compared to today and everyone tends to want to riff on what they're watching.)

I've tended to not get into 70s/80s movies with Satan directly into the title because it all comes across a bit hammy and I lose interest, but I'll give Lucifer Rising a look.

Honorable mentions for Jacob's Ladder. Love that movie. Scanners too.

I caught a little bit of Hannibal. I was getting into it, although the actor they chose kind of creeps me out. At times I don't really buy that he's Hannibal, and at other times his sneering face is almost too effective.

And if someone is looking for some Disco/70s glam and madness, go give Phantom of the Paradise a look. It's a fairly warped take on the Phantom of the Opera, strange in that special way the 70s allowed. It's a Brian De Palma film. I can't exactly say I liked it, but I remember watching it on Encore as a teenager and being incapable of looking away.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2014, 06:26:38 pm by nenjin »
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XXSockXX

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Re: Suggest me some weird, esoteric movies or series
« Reply #29 on: June 26, 2014, 08:02:00 pm »

I've tended to not get into 70s/80s movies with Satan directly into the title because it all comes across a bit hammy and I lose interest, but I'll give Lucifer Rising a look.
Well, Lucifer Rising isn't like that. As a project it started in the 60s, with Mick Jagger (at some point) and Marianne Faithful attached, it's based on thelemic mysticicsm (Aleister Crowley and stuff) and the guy who wrote the music was part of the Manson Family (one of my favourite bands even made a song about him). Of course it's only for the atmosphere (and the times too, but that is the real shit).
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