Eliza put out a call for suggestions and the Ectomite Hive Mind responded with a bevy of bizarre links and nostalgic requests leaving us with a hodge-podge of old childhood favorites and surreal art-house films. Thanks to everyone who took the time to post and if you don’t see your contribution here, rest assured it will make an appearance in the very near future. Now, go Ectomomites! TO THE JUMP!
In 1945 the Nazis fled to the moon. In 2018 they are coming back.
Two sentences was all it took to get me more interested in a film than I’ve been in years. Hopefully this — in concert with Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow — is the beginning of a new golden age in the pulp scifi of yesteryear being brought to the theater.
“The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultraviolence.”
Is it art? I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that it appears to be a creature out of The Dark Crystal with huge, pendulous testes, hanging from gymnastics rings and covered in stick-pins. Yup, thanks John.
Abdopus aculeatus octopi lead a life of sex, murder, and gender obfuscation but only once. After that they die. Thanks to Jenny and everyone else who sent this one in!
Welcome your new cephalopod masters with a t-shirt. Thanks, Vinnchan.
Hikashu, who appears to have been Japan’s answer to the Talking Heads, sings “Puyo Puyo”. Thanks, bubliki!
The trailer for Angels and Idiots, a new film by animation god Bill Plympton. Thanks, Monkey!
As you know yesterday was Brownlee’s birthday which meant that today I had to take an extra long shower. It’s no use though, no matter how long I scrub I just can’t get clean. In any event here is a nice little animated sandwich of spoof-tastic Fox Kids and Kids’ WB cartoons between two, moist slices of anime. I hope they will entertain you, our loyal readership, and I pray that, perhaps, they will help me to repress the events of last evening. Please, God…
• FLCL: We’ve entered the final half of this spectacular mini-series, and only two more to go. Will you just look at those eyebrows.
•Eek! The Cat and The Terrible Thunderlizards: Eek! did a number of film spoofs during its run and the two that stand out, to me, are “Lord of the Fleas” in which Eek is trapped in a shopping mall with some penguins — one of whom hysterically exclaims “Shut-up, Piggy!” — and this episode entitled “Eekpocalypse Now!, which thoroughly hits upon every major joke one could make about Coppola’s film. This one is for the adults, unless you were an eight year-old who loved movies about Vietnam. The Terrible Thunderlizards was its own show but was later merged with Eek! to create a variety show more like our next two entries.
•Tiny Toons: “A Quack in the Quarks” is the second episode of this seminal show and features a loose parody of Star Wars and a plethora of fourth wall shattering humor. In this episode Plucky Duck is kidnapped by aliens to Planet X to save it from the nefarious plot of Duck Vader. This was the beginning of a real golden age of Warner Brothers cartoons in the late 80s/early 90s that include Animaniacs, Freakazoid, and the Animaniacs spin-off Pinky and The Brain. Oh, and a Watchmen reference!
•Animaniacs “Super Strong Warner Siblings” is a brilliant send-up of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers which always marked the end of cartoon time. Animaniacs also did an Apocalypse Now parody which, while excellent, did not follow the plot as closely as Eek!. Next up is one of the many “Good Idea, Bad Idea” clips followed by my favorite, Pinky and The Brain. In this episode, entitled “Battle for the Planet”, Brain once again acknowledges his Orson Welles influence by attempting to fake an alien invasion ala the Mercury Theater’s broadcast of War of the Worlds.
•Paranoia Agent: Someone has some unpleasant secrets…
Back in the early 90’s David Cronenberg adapted Naked Lunch to film, a release that had a profound effect on my development, introducing me not only to the works of Cronenberg but also Burroughs and then further into the strange labyrinth of cinema and beat poetry. Naturally, the film was received with a mixed reaction; an unsurprising turn of events considering the combination of both Cronenberg and Burroughs was likely to stir the hornets nest of fanboyism for the latter. Personally, I found my first (and subsequent) viewing of it similar to the abject horror followed by near post-coital bliss of the insipid Reese’s commercials from the 80’s; two great tastes that did indeed taste great together.
While I could prattle on about my love for Cronenberg, Burroughs, and the combination of the two artist’s work for hours on end I’m also able to admit it’s not going to be to everyone’s tastes. Regardless, if you’re enough of a thick-skulled bint not to wholly appreciate the film in its entirety (it’s ok, we still love you, but you only get half an Octobee for Christmas this year), simply mute your TV; because this movie is pure eye-candy ladies and gents. Hit the jump for more stills from Naked Lunch.
The Cat With Hands is a short film by Robert Morgan. Released in 2001, it is the story of a cat who wishes to be human. The premise comes from a recurring nightmare that Morgan’s older sister had when she was a young child. It is a brilliantly executed tale, very much in the style of Edgar Allan Poe and features some startlingly creepy stop motion animation.
After careful consideration Randy decided that his master could afford to purchase a new ball and that this particular game of fetch was over.
Thanks to everyone who pinged Ectomo on Valentine’s Day, it made Eliza’s puckered tear ducts moist with joy (or rage, I can never tell)!
The severing of a number of undersea communications cables have elicited claims of sabotage. Edward points to one of the more plausible theories.
The beautiful story of a young woman and the intimate relationship she shares with her speakers. Thanks, Tristion!
What happens when someone with a high speed camera takes video of insects being pelted with various liquids and miniature pies? Mable invites you to find out.
I do not know what is going on in this video but it is NSFW. Looks of disgust should be aimed at ithidet.
Update: The ever lovely and erudite Suzanne points out that the above image is by two Swiss collagists, Plonk & Replonk, and is part of a set of postcards which can be seen here.
Behold Le Cochon Danseur (The Dancing Pig) from 1907, a short film of someone dressed in a shuddersome pig costume, dancing. He also appears to be enamored with a delightful young woman with whom he shares a sado/masochistic relationship in which he both fawns over her and gropes her and she embarrasses him by stripping him of his clothing and laughing at his loathsome, nude body. After they have finished dancing they leave the stage, which is when something seemingly distasteful happens. Honestly, I cannot even fathom what is going on at the end, but it is unpleasant.
Presented here, in its 104 minute entirety, is Häxan by Danish actor/director Benjamin Christensen. Part documentary and part horror movie, it has aged surprisingly well, the scenes of interrogation and witchcraft retaining their sinister air of dread. The film is unusual in many regards, not least of which is the manner it was shot, most of the filming having been done at night which was unheard of at the time. Interestingly, Christensen himself appears three times in the film, once at the beginning during the credits, but later he makes appearances as both Satan and Jesus.
A slightly different format this weekend. Oscar nominations have been announced and while the pithy award show is as much an indication of cinematic excellence as one of Eliza’s massive bowel movements, it does draw attention to films that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. With that in mind Ectomo presents the nominations for Best Short Animated Film. Hit the jump for enough embedded video to make your browser weep.
Purported to be a “lost” film by director Peter Rhodes, a friend of the late H.P. Lovecraft, H.P. Lovecraft’s The Other Gods is a short, animated film done in the style of silhouetted paper cut-outs. The film is quite well done and while it is nigh impossible to render the gods of Lovecraft’s tales, considering his maddeningly vague descriptions, the film does an excellent job, using a hypnotic, kaleidoscope effect that gives one, at least, a sense of being unbalanced. The film was featured at the most recent H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and comes to us from Subterranea Entertainment. It will be available on a future volume of Lurker Films’sThe H.P. Lovecraft Collection
Paramount Studios released a series of shorts between 1932 and 1934 under the umbrella title of Hollywood on Parade in which they exhibited nearly every star they had in their stables singing, dancing, or playacting. In this particular clip, from 1933, Mae Questel gives a rare on screen performance as Betty Boop, the animated minx she voiced for eight years. She’s set do a song routine with a couple of mannequins but Béla Lugosi, revisting his role as Dracula, cuts the performance a bit short, proclaiming, “Betty, you have booped your last boop.”
Let me lay this on you, Jim: Sometimes you surf the tubes, looking for strange diversions with which to entertain your readers. Sometimes you find something a little too strange. Maybe it’s a nude man. Maybe this nude man is wearing a number of different, inventive thongs. The aforementioned, mostly nude, thong wearing man may, perhaps, also be wearing a horse mask and maybe, just maybe, he’s dancing while he gathers, sautés, and consumes wild mushrooms. Make no mistake friend, when that time comes, you better be prepared.
In sheer defiance of the World Wide Web Consortium's will, Ectomo was designed using a non-web-standard font. Luckily, it is included in the excellent font pack released by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, which can be freely downloaded in Mac and PC formats here. Ectomo should still look fine without it, though.
