What is Bizarro?

Eraserhead, 1977, dir. David Lynch

What is Bizarro?

Bizarro is the literature of the weird. It is often described as "the literary equivalent of the cult section of a video store."

Videodrome, 1983,dir.  David Cronenberg

But there are a lot of cult movies out there. Not all of them are weird, and not all "weird" is Bizarro. There are experimental art-house films(8 1/2), trippy mind-fuck films (Waking Life), films that showcase seriously fucked up human behavior (Salo), which are not necessarily Bizarro.

Dr. Caligari, 1989, dir. Stephen Sayadian

 Bizarro is story weirdness, weirdness of plot, setting, character. Experimentalism can be weirdness of form and presentation. Bizarro tells a weird story.  Experimental tells a typical story in an unusual way. And while some Bizarro is experimental, these are really two different things entirely.

The City of Lost Children, 1995, dirs. Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet

With this blog I hereby vow to compile a useful list of Definitve Bizarro Films. These are movies that are without a doubt 100% Bizarro. This is useful to the newcomer who wants to figure out what Bizarro is, and also potentially useful for fans of the weird looking for movie recommendations.

Greaser's Palace, 1972, dir. Robert Downey, Sr.

Desperate Living, 1977, dir. John Waters

The Dark Backwards, 1991, dir. Adam Rifkin