All aboard the Good Ship Weird!

American Independent cinema used to mean something in the past before certain large producers got hold of little films and marketed them as ‘cult’ or ‘Oscar’ worthy. It was up to the audience to discover these little gems themselves as word of mouth really was that in the pre-internet heydays.

While it is still possible for ‘little’ films to break into the mainstream like Donnie Darko for instance, which was not even going to get a cinema release outside of the U.S. as it effectively bombed on initial release, other films may take months or even years to find their intended (or maybe un-intended?) audience.

This week features two films that I’m damn sure you will have never heard of and if you’ve seen them then you were old enough to attend the Scala Cinema in London's Kings Cross before it closed!  So jump aboard the weirdness and track down these two little beauties…

The Dark Backward (1991) – Telling the story of a useless comedian much in the vein of The King of Comedy this little film from writer and director Adam Rifkin is arms above that!  It follows the life of downbeat loser Marty Malt played by an excellent Judd Nelson who can’t make anyone laugh while on stage.  His life sucks until one day a weird growth occurs in the centre of his back and a third arm emerges!  Upset by this he seeks medical help but his best friend a garbage man called Gus (Bill Paxton) encourages him to use it in his act and then things start getting really weird!

Cabin Boy (1994) – Films that poke fun at critics and snobby people who look down on others do not always get the best reviews so it is well worth checking out this crazy wet dream of a film starring a pre-star Chris Elliott as Nathanial Mayweather a spoilt rich brat who mistakes his fathers yacht for an ill fated fishing boat full of mental old sea dogs and ends up onboard and silliness ensues.  This is a sick and maybe gross film but if you enjoy knocking the critics and have a good sense of humour then you will enjoy the taste of this fishy bastard!

See you again soon for summer, sand and sex!

by Mark Cappuccio