Watch Something Weird

"Something Weird" is a psychedelic horror film from 1967 that truly lives up to its title. This unique piece of cinema is a part of the exploitation genre that flourished during the 1960s and 1970s, and it is one of the many low-budget, offbeat productions facilitated by the notorious filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis, who is often credited as the "Godfather of Gore." Although Lewis did not direct this particular film, his influence is palpable in its eccentric style and content.

The story revolves around a tragic figure, Mitch (played by Tony McCabe), whose life is dramatically altered after a freak electrical accident leaves him horribly disfigured. Desperate to regain some semblance of normalcy, Mitch undergoes an experimental procedure that gives him psychic abilities. This twist of fate takes him down a rabbit hole of the supernatural as his newfound powers both alienate and fascinate those around him, including a curious scientist and a bevy of government agents keen on using his talents for their own ends.

Mitch’s psychic abilities allow him to assist in solving crimes, but the disfigurement continues to make his existence a painful and isolated one. It’s at this crossroads of despair that an enigmatic figure offers him a Faustian bargain: Mitch can have a life of aesthetically-pleasing normalcy but at a cost that ropes him deeper into the web of the supernatural. Not long after, he’s approached by the strikingly beautiful Ellen (Elizabeth Lee), who is intrigued by his abilities and drawn into the bizarre events that surround him.

The duo soon find themselves entangled in a case featuring a witch possessed by the spirit of a deceased Civil Rights activist, and a government-sanctioned attempt to harness paranormal abilities for their own means. William Brooker portrays the insidious witch, whose presence injects the film with a layer of dread and leaves a lingering question on the true nature of power and its consequences when meddled with.

The plot weaves various themes including, but not limited to, the cultural anxieties of the Cold War era, the quest for personal acceptance, the fear of the unknown, and the conflict between science and superstition. The supernatural elements of the film do not hold back, indulging in otherworldly visions and bizarre, often psychedelic, artistic flourishes that would come to be expected from the era's exploitative flicks.

"Something Weird" diverts from the straightforward path of narrative coherence; it is a film that embraces an almost dreamlike logic, where scenes transition into one another without conventional exposition and characters operate by a set of rules that flirt with surrealism. This atmospheric quirkiness is fuelled by the director's willingness to experiment with visual effects that may seem amateurish by today's standards but were part of the innovative and resourceful spirit of independent filmmaking at the time.

The low-budget constraints are obvious, with simplistic set designs and practical effects that leave much to the imagination. The era’s lack of advanced cinematic technology contributes to an intentional or unintentional comic effect that has charmed viewers who love cult classics. The film’s score is also emblematic of the times, as it features a mixture of haunting tones and groovy soundscapes that attempt to heighten the emotional drive of the storyline.

Despite the film's obscure status, "Something Weird" has garnered a dedicated following, with fans admiring its audaciousness and its contribution to the realm of cult cinema. Viewers are treated to a time capsule of 1960s Americana, albeit one that has been twisted into a fantastical distortion by the minds behind its creation.

Among other things, "Something Weird" stands as a testament to a bygone era of moviemaking when the boundaries of genre and taste were constantly being tested. For those with an appetite for the unusual, the obscure, and the unapologetically strange, this movie provides exactly what its title promises — something weird, indeed.

Something Weird is a 1967 horror movie with a runtime of 2 hours. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.0.