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Something Weird More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 16 reviews in total |
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Goreless Lewis is weird alright - compellingly weird!, 27 September 2006
Author:
Bloomer from Sydney, Australia
Lewis's direction is as drab as usual here (cue long scenes of people executing actions from go to woe, free of editing in slow master shots) and there's no gore so don't expect any, yet I actually think that this appropriately named weird tale of ESP, a witch's pact and the mystery of a serial murderer is the best Lewis film I've seen by the standards of conventional film-making. The story has enough developments, payoffs and odd surprises that you may find yourself beguiled even without the typically sensational Lewis content in evidence. Fear not, though; the schlock quota is more than met by the ugly witch's bizarrely crap performance and by many classy moments of stilted dialogue and acting. The pushy jazz score is completely Wild and Crazy, and there's also a prolonged and silly chase on foot ala Blood Feast. The threads of this film don't logically feed each other at all, yet I think that the whole thing makes for a pretty good story, and as usual, the cheapness of budget means you can see and hear all the details of life in the year in which the film was shot.
9 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Campy, kooky fun, 8 May 2004
Author:
InzyWimzy from Queens, NY
Something Weird is aptly named. The story is unusual and a strange vibe is
present throughout; either that or the psychedelic soundtrack. Don't expect
top notch acting, but the main characters are good enough. I can't get the
image of the hag's cackling laugh and her tongue sticking out. Poor
Mitchell, this guy was so desperate to get his wish granted, but it shows
how bitter Mitchell was with his condition. Ah, and the LSD scene was the
high point for me. In that state, you would find a phone conversation as
easy to handle with as quantum space mechanics.
However, I watched this and did want to see how it turned out. The ending
seems abrupt and out of the blue, but it's a weird, kooky
romp.
Where else can you see a blanket attack?
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Wow...did this really REALLY suck!, 30 October 2009
Author:
planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
Even for a Hershell Gordon Lewis film SOMETHING WEIRD really sucked. I
am not just talking bad--I am talking colossally inept, ridiculous and
completely stupid bad! There was almost nothing about the film that I
liked, except perhaps to look at the pretty lady playing the witch--she
was awfully cute. The acting, direction, script and especially the
cinematography were abominable--so horrible that I would consider this
film even worse than some of Lewis' other grade-z movies. BLOOD FREAK
and THIS'LL KILL YA looked more intelligently made than this film--and
they, too, really sucked as well.
The fact that the director was inept wasn't a big surprise, but the
biggest problem was actually not Lewis' direction but the
cinematography. The camera often darted about, moved jerkily, the
camera jiggled and the shots were often poorly centered. And who can we
blame for this aspect of the film? If you check the credits, you'll see
that it's credited to none other than Hershell Gordon Lewis himself!
Okay, it's inept. So let's at least talk about the plot--which is
probably the best thing about the film (other than the cute and sexy
witch who cannot act to save her life). The first few scenes really
have nothing to do with the film. Why he showed guys doing martial arts
and some of the other early scenes was beyond me. Anyway, after a while
the real film begins. A guy is hit by a live wire and it nearly kills
him. In the process, however, it fries the left side of his face AND
leaves him with psychic powers (kids: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME). You'd
think he'd be happy about this, but the guy is a whiny jerk. His life
only starts working after he meets a witch (who I must point out again
was really good looking....and a horrid actress). She can give him even
more psychic powers AND restore his face to normal. At first, this
arrangement works out great...but, as with all deals with Satan, it
naturally comes to bite the guy in the butt by the end of the film.
Overall, this film is a mess only bad film buffs like myself can enjoy.
It's every bit as stupid as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and a total waste
of the $583 they spent to make the film (including film developing and
catering costs).
Dumb, inept and silly from start to finish.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Something Weird, 13 May 2009
Author:
Scarecrow-88 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Well, if you wanted something weird, director Herschell Gordon Lewis
delivers in spades. Adopting the "kitchen sink theory"(..that's where
if you have no plot, just toss everything at the viewer including the
kitchen sink), HGL stuffs an odd variety of ideas(..topics)into his
film and the result is simply bizarre. An electrical worker's face is
hit by a downed wire which hideously burns him(..so deep into his
flesh, no amount of surgery could save his face). But, included in this
awful incident, Mitchell(Tony McCabe)receives extra sensory powers
which make him an extraordinary psychic. A ghastly cackling
witch(..obviously inspired by The Wicked Witch of the West)is enamored
with Mitch and offers him a chance to get rid of the facial scar that
has caused such agony..belong to her unconditionally. The witch
disguises her horrifying ugliness as the lovely Ellen Parker(Elizabeth
Lee), accompanying Mitch as he is commissioned to help a police force
find a serial killer who is preying on women. Meanwhile, a
psychologist, Alex Jordan(William Brooker), with the FBI in Washington,
is also called in to prove one way or another whether Mitch is a phony
or not..and in doing so falls head-over-heels with Ellen.
You get a little bit of everything from the use of LSD(..inducing a
really oddball nightmare sequence, tinted in orange with some unusual
off-focus camera work to heighten the surreal nature of Mitch's
discovery of who the killer is and his future fate as well),
karate(..an opening scene shows Jordan learning martial arts techniques
from his master, later using such maneuvers to defeat a pair of
disgruntled locals who blame him and Mitch for the trouble plaguing
their city), the ghostly apparition of an undead bride haunting a
church(..Mitch's encounter with it "heals" the place of worship),
levitation(..Mitch provides a performance for a group of political
types and their wives at a party held by Police Chief Vinton, played by
Lawrence J Aberwood), and a supernatural attack on Jordan by his bed
blanket(..this has to be seen to be believed!). I thought to myself
that HGL must've been experimenting with LSD when he made this movie! I
agree with the majority of others who mention his lack of skill as a
filmmaker, such as the rather mediocre camera set ups, odd
pacing(..some scenes are tight while others stretch to tedious
lengths), jarring editing( particularly how HGL incorporates the image
of the witch within certain scenes as Ellen is sitting amongst others
with only Mitch able to see her as she truly is), and the inability to
achieve a good performance from anyone in his cast..but, these
problems, in some really deranged way, add a certain appeal to
SOMETHING WEIRD. I'm not sure if all this isn't intentional; I have
often wondered if HGL is actually winking at us through all the lunacy.
I will freely admit that I rented this movie because I was in the mood
for something off-the-wall and loony, and that's exactly what I
received. I have to admit that the direction the film takes in regards
to Jordan's obsession with Ellen threw me for a loop and the fate of
this relationship brought a grin to my face. HGL, you ole devil you.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
A film that lives up to its title, 14 August 2007
Author:
TimothyFarrell from Worcester, MA
H.G. Lewis has made some bizarre films, but none more bizarre than this
one. Yep, its even more out there than "The Wizard of Gore". Its
certainly not his most entertaining film and definitely not the best
starting place for this unique exploitation filmmaker, but the
occasional bits of camp surrealism that prefigured his other films is
on full drive here. Its not a gore picture or one of his sexploitation
films. In fact, there's really nothing here that would get anything
more than a PG rating from the MPAA, outside of maybe the LSD sequence.
Still, its truly something weird. And yes, the single greatest video
company ever did take their name and logo from this.
As usual with H.G. Lewis films, its really poorly made. Lewis was a
great showman but never an accomplished director, and just like most of
his films this often drags. The acting alternates between being wooden
and over-the-top, the "logic" none existent, and when viewed on close
inspection, the reasoning behind the characters actions becomes almost
surreal. Still, no one goes into these films expecting Orson Welles,
and this delivers plenty of cheap thrills. The fact that its also so
damn bizarre makes it even better. Plus, Elizabeth Lee is possibly the
best looking actress ever in a Lewis film, which is saying a good deal.
The more I see of these acid exploitation films, the more I can't get
enough of them. (6/10)
Typically bad H.G. Lewis, with all his usual low-budget charm, 9 June 2011
Author:
tomgillespie2002 from United Kingdom
Well, it was bound to happen to one of us eventually. I've recently
been unable to play any form of disc/DVD, which has made me look
elsewhere to find some filmic pleasure. Fortunately, youtube.com has
given me the gift of a wide selection of middle-rate/utterly bad films
(although surprisingly, they have some quite extraordinary cinematic
classics such as Benjamin Christensen's Haxan: Witchcraft Through the
Ages (1922), and F. W. Murnau's Faust (1926). Like an excited child in
a video shop, I looked for the selection within the genre of horror.
After all, this is the best place to look, when you want some
bad-yet-possibly-interesting- cinema. I fell upon this release by the
infamous 'Godfather of gore', Herschell Gordon Lewis.
This is not one of Gordons' gore-filled movies. It is an attempt at a
story of psychic abilities. Cronin Mitchell (Tony McCabe) is in a freak
electrical accident that leaves half his face disfigured. Whilst
Mitchell (Mitch, as he likes to be called by the 'ladies') is angry at
the fate of his 'beautiful face', he has developed incredible powers of
ESP (extra-sensory perception - the sixth sense). After leaving the
hospital with no apparent possibility of plastic surgery to re-instate
the 'normal' face, Mitch begins a business of psychic readings. This is
where he encounters The Hag (Mudite Arums).
The Hag proposes to Mitch a bargain, that if he loves her, she will
restore his face. After refusing, Cronin's face is restored anyway. So
begins his fate. For he is completely controlled by The Hag, who now
disguises herself as a beautiful 'assistant' (Ellen Parker) to his
travelling psychic. Whilst he has his extraordinary powers of ESP, the
government want him and the local police desire his assistance in a
murder case, where seven woman have been brutally slaughtered.
Mitch is inaugurated into the societal traps of the 'connected' police
detective. He has an almost celebrity status. This is pure post-Psycho
filmmaking. Mitch is quite obviously investigating murder that he
himself has done, but is unable to remember. The Hag has utter control
over his memory and his actions. She moves on to her next victim even
as Mitch is stumbling through his nightmare. We enter psycho-babble
through analytical trappings of 'split-personality' etc. Therefore, he
is utterly controlled by his unconscious-self.
Whilst the seeming twist might give this cheap affair some form of
narrative gravitas, the film surely doesn't. After all, it is an H G
Lewis picture. Yes, everything about a Lewis film is inept. The acting,
cinematography, editing, writing are all so terrible. But for some
reason, I am utterly drawn into this garish Eastman colourised world.
This doesn't have the blood-red charms of Blood Feast (1963) and Two-
Thousand Maniacs (1964); it doesn't even hold the absurdly laconic pace
of these dull-yet-entertaining films. It is a incredible bore to watch.
Perhaps if you created an anthology movie of Lewis-like vignettes, then
there may be a two-hour movie there (the sordid lives of distracted
Americans perhaps), but to hold out a 20 minute premise in an 80 minute
feature, is not the best way to spend that time. I have to say, I still
adore the cinema of Herschell Gordon Lewis - up there with the
sexploitation magnetism of (the better filmmaker) Russ Meyer.
www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
Something Weird, 27 May 2011
Author:
Drago_Head_Tilt from Japan
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Tony McCabe stars as Mitch, who develops psychic powers after he is
electrocuted and has his face disfigured by a loose electric cable. He
tries to rape a nurse while he's in hospital who says "a freak lie you
should have died". While working as a forune teller, an ugly witch
offers to give him back his looks if he'll become her lover. The
cackling, horny hag tricks him by transforming into a beautiful blonde
and he finally gives in, looking very pleased and smarmy with his new
face ("my proud peacock"). The witch also has big lips tattooed on her
knee. Meanwhile, a schizophrenic ("a part-time madman") is strangling
and burning women and even becomes a sniper. A sleazy government
agent/doctor wants to use McCabe to help the local police find the
murderer. He gives him L.S.D. to heighten his psychic powers, but the
L.S.D. scene is a bit of a letdown (McCabe just falls asleep and has a
red tinted dream). Dr. Jordan tries hitting on the witch (who's visible
to everyone but McCabe as the lovely Elizabeth Hale) while McCabe plays
around with other women who seem to find him irresistible. McCabe also
leviatates at a party and communicates with a ghost in a church. This
surprising gem also has a character assaulted by a bedsheet, very bad
acting, weird gunshot sound FX, bad karate, Lewis regular Jeffrey Allen
and a lot more crammed into it's short (less than 80 mins.) running
time. One of Lewis(who also photographed)'s best, and the effective
music by Edward J. Paten became Something Weird Video's signature tune.
Hurley Directed THE PSYCHIC the following year.
Movie reviews at: spinegrinderweb.com
Something for Every HGL Fan, 23 April 2011
Author:
Vornoff-3 from Vancouver, BC
In some ways, this is H.G. Lewis's "Citizen Kane." He let himself truly express himself in this one, unrestrained by conventions of logic or continuity. It actually has more special effects than most of his movies – and less of them are gore than in most of the non-adult movies as well. The levitation scene is amazing – low budget filmmakers had been levitating people more effectively than that since Melies – but then he tops everything with the "blanket attack" sequence. Lewis must have been reading Leary, because he allows that LSD could be used for a peaceful purpose, although of course he also gives us a typical 60s "freakout" on top of it (acid can be used for good, but it has to hurt, I guess). This is a movie for a very special audience, which thankfully has found it.
Incredibly Funny!!!, 9 April 2010
Author:
Pumpkin_Man from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I received this as a Christmas present two years ago and I finally watched it last night. This movie is so awful, that it's actually funny. It's like a crazy acid trip. I would have to say that my favorite character was the witch, because she was very melodramatic. A man named Cronin Mitchell becomes horribly disfigured, and gains psychic powers. He soon meets a witch who will make him handsome if he becomes her lover. Everybody else in the world sees the witch as a pretty woman named Ellen. Mitchell is asked by the police to help stop a killer in the streets. If you love Herschell Gordon Lewis films, crazy witches, and killer bed sheets, you'll love SOMETHING WEIRD!!!
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Answers many existential questions..., 8 January 2008
Author:
jread-5 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
You will need to watch this movie at least eighteen times before its
existential impact will sink in. The movie proves that entropy does
indeed increase relentlessly with time. The more you get into the
movie, the more you realize that the universe is utterly uncaring and
that there is no good nor bad nor is there an intelligence directing
anything. Fellini or Wood? What difference does it make? Some high
points:
1. You must see the Attack of the Killer Blanky. It proves that evil
comes in Orlon as well as brimstone;
2. There is a scene where something happens with a blowtorch. What was
it? Was someone injured? Who can say? This scene shows much homage to
Antonioni's L'avventura.
3. The movie opens with a long scene of two guys doing kung-fu moves.
This sets the tone for the rest of the film, since it bears no relation
to anything that happens later. Sartre would have loved it!
4. The characters are completely interchangeable. Since you quickly
lose track of who is who and what they are up to, you realize after a
while that it does not matter.
I could go on and on, but I am saving the best for my Doctoral
dissertation.
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