Something Weird

[criterionmaster]

Easily one of my favorite DVD companies. They release old exploitation films. But they real respect the films and thier dvd's show that.

LINK

I encourage anyone who likes exploitation films to give these dvd's a try. Anyone have any of them?

[criterionmaster]

I can't believe there are no posts here! Well I will post some of the DVD's they have put out and everyone can pick their favorite lol.

SPOILER: Click to show

(^This could be awesome to watch, I didn't even know this existed)




































(^Yes, you read that right, "starring Yoko Ono"!!!)










































































(^This looks and sounds fantastic!)

























ONES I OWN:

The only company that comes close to Criterion. And this post literally took me 4 and a half hours by the way.

[kiddo]

Shit. I'll give you a reply. You deserve that.

So many nice titles and dvd covers, most of what I've never seen. Certainly many erotic adventures I need to check out here. Sometimes these "so bad they're good" movies can be so much fun. Thanks for posting this!

[criterionmaster]

And thank you for replying! Yes, "so-bad-they-are-good" is kind of my specialty. I just love watching them, love laughing at how bad they are, love finding unintentional artistic moments in terrible films. It is such a nice break between Bergman's and such. And Something Weird just puts so much into these, so not only do you get the features, but you get like hours of trailers, featurettes, shorts, etc. Basket Case is a great place for everyone to start.

[lordofdance]

I own close to 80 Something Weird DVDs. Here's some favorites:

Angels (1976) / Getting into Heaven (1970)

Blood Freak

Confessions of a Psycho Cat

Country Cuzzins (1970) / Midnight Plowboy (1971)

Deep Jaws (1976) / Dicktator, The (1974)

Dirty Mind of Young Sally, The (1970) / Teenage Bride (1970

Evil Come Evil Go (1972) / Terror at Orgy Castle (1971) / Hand of Pleasure (1971)

Fuego (1969) / Female: Seventy Times Seven, The ( Setenta veces siete ) (1962)

Godson, The (1971) / Below the Belt (1971)

Kiss Me Quick! (1964) / House on Bare Mountain (1962)

Mantis in Lace

Naked Witch, The (1964) / Crypt of Dark Secrets (1976)

Night of the Bloody Apes ( Horripilante bestia humana, La ) (Uncut) (1972) / Feast of Flesh ( Placer sangriento ) (1967)

Nude on the Moon

Scream in the Streets, A

She Mob (1968) / Nymphs Anonymous (1968)

Sinderella and the Golden Bra (1964) / Goldilocks and the Three Bares (1963)

Teaser, The (1973) / Frankie and Johnnie... Were Lovers (1975)

Toy Box, The (1971) / Toys Are Not for Children (1973)

Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman

[criterionmaster]

Wow, you crush me when it comes to Something Weird DVD's. I am glad finally someone who likes this company as much as me! Anyways, I updated my owned Something Weird films too.

[lordofdance]

There are a few Something Weird movies that are so bad that I had trouble getting through them, but most are at least good for passing the time. The extras are usually the biggest selling point for me. Just watching the trailers is a source of joy.

I just picked up the new release of the Blood Trilogy. You get Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs and Color Me Blood Red in one package. Something Weird was selling them individually, but you can actually get all three for the price of just one of them if you shop around.

Night of the Bloody Apes is a hilariously bloody horror movie that might appeal to you, though it was released by another company a short time ago. I'm not sure which version is supposed to better. You should probably also pick up the Herschell Gordon Lewis collection if you like his movies. The Gore Gore Girls is pretty nasty, even though the gore effects are fairly primitive, even laughable.

[criterionmaster]

Yeah, that Night of the Bloody Apes double feature release has actually been on my queue for a long time, I have been dying to see it. I bumped it up though so I can see it sooner after you recommended it. The only thing that has kept me from buying that Blood Trilogy is I own 2000 Maniacs already, but since you say it is so cheap maybe I will pick it up then just sell 2000 Maniacs.

Yeah, I just posted some comments on The Gore Gore Girls in the "General Film" section under "Rate the Last Film...". I really enjoyed watching that. The commentary was even better than the movie, which proves your point about the features often being better than the film. If you don't already, you should pick up their trailers release. It is probably the best purchase I have ever made, as it has given me HOURS of entertainment and the cost is only about $5 new.



Buy it here.

[lordofdance]

I own the sampler, and it is a massive bargain. I've watched it about 10 times. 42nd Street Forever Volumes 1 & 2 are released by Synapse and have about two hours each of trailers from exploitiation films. They're not as cheap as the sampler, but they have the same type of content. Volume 1 is probably the better of the two, but it depends on your tastes.

[criterionmaster]

Yeah, I saw those at Borders for $20 each, they looked awesome. I will try to find them cheaper than that, since that is too much, and then pick them up.

[lordofdance]

OK, as a handy reference guide, I will go through and rate all the Something Weird released titles that I have managed to sit through. Because my tastes may be different from some of you, I will do my best to explain why I like/dislike each movie. Later, I'll put in some screenshots and added commentary. Here we go (PART ONE):

NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES ***1/2
A man receives a heart transplant from a gorilla and transforms into a half-man/half-beast killing machine. The gore is enjoyably nasty, and there's even some outtakes of more gore as a DVD extra. This one's brutal and astoundingly ridiculous. Probably one of my Top 10 favorites from the company.

GETTING INTO HEAVEN ***
I watched this one primarily for Uschi Digard, who I discovered in Russ Meyer's Supervixens. Some people may not think she's as stunning as I do, but her naturally large breasts are a sight to behold. Anyway, Uschi Digard plays an aspiring actress named Heaven who lives with her roomate, Sin. They are pretty much naked throughout the whole movie. I've noticed that the hot actresses in these old sexploitation movies often get paired up with ugly and/or old guys. Getting Into Heaven is no exception. And the sex scenes consist of mostly attractive women gyrating on top of old/ugly guys in their boxer shorts. I guess there's some almost amusing humor, but Uschi Digard is the biggest selling point for me. Jennie Lynn, who plays Sin, is kind of cute, too.

CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT ****
Aside from the pointless sex scenes thrown in just for the hell of it, Confessions of a Psycho Cat is a seriously entertaining movie. A crazy woman offers three down on their luck men a fortune if they allow her to hunt them like animals. Jake Lamotta (the boxer Raging Bull was based on) plays one of the men, and he's actually not a bad actor. Or at least he's fun to watch. I love this movie. Eileen Lord is hilarious as the huntress.

MIDNIGHT PLOWBOY ***
Truly stupid, but endearing. A hillbilly decides to go to the big city and ends up working for some prostitutes. Most of the movie involves him driving them around in a van while they have sex with clients, or him making ignorant comments about big city life. There's lots of sex and nudity in this one. As you might have guessed, the title is ripping off Midnight Cowboy.

HAND OF PLEASURE ***
This one is a really bad espionage sex movie. Part of it is like a travelogue, I guess to fill time, while the rest is non-stop sex and nudity. The best part is a striptease number performed by Roxanne Brewer, who has ridiculously large breasts. I've watched this one more than any other Something Weird release for some reason.

FUEGO ****
I heard that this movie was a John Waters favorite, and I'm not surprised. The plot involves a voluptuos nymphomaniac who must have "MEN! MEN!" at all times. She also carries on an affair with her masculin lesbian maid. The music is hilarious. Every time she gets sexually excited the music kicks in and a guys sings "Fuego!" This happens so often that it becomes surreal after a while. There's not a lot of sex, surprisingly, but the nudity from the spicy actress Iasbel Sarli is pretty good.

THE ACID EATERS **1/2
It's a safe bet that any movie released by Something Weird will be, well, weird. The Acid Eaters is probably one of the weirdest. Produced by David Friedman, who was behind Blood Feast and the Ilsa movies, The Acid Eaters is a nudie movie that attempts to be a hip drug picture as well. None of it makes much sense, and almost all the nudity is topless only. I thought some of it was amusing and visually interesting, but most of the jokes are dumb and there are some lulls. There's one part where a really hairy body builder takes a shower under a tree which goes on too long for my tastes.

THE TOY BOX ****
Awesomely strange and a little disturbing. I guess you could call this a science fiction/horror/orgy movie. Uschi Digard makes another appearance in this movie, this time getting molested by a possessed bed. There is so much carnality and strangeness in The Toy Box that I might have to call this my favorite Something Weird release.

A SCREAM IN THE STREETS ****
Part cop movie, part sex movie, A Scream In the Streets is great entertainment. There's almost too much sex in this movie, most of which has nothing to do with plot involving a serial killer that dresses like a woman. This is another one of the true greats from Something Weird. If the cheesy cop action doesn't do it for you, there's tons of nudity to hold your interest.

SASSY SUE ***
The same hillbilly idiot from Midnight Plowboy is in Sassy Sue, this time in love with his cow. His father wants him to be sexually involved with his own species and tries to set him up with some hillbilly honeys. This is another all sex, all the time movie with some corny jokes thrown in for good measure. Some of the action is pretty hot, which helps.

FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE... WERE LOVERS ***1/2
If you watch enough Something Weird DVDs, you'll start to notice that the same people keep showing up. Rene Bond is the star of this sex movie, and she's in at least five Something Weird releases that I can think of off the top of my head. At some point in her career, she got a breast augmentation. I'm pretty sure that her breasts are smaller in some Something Weird releases than in others. In this one, Bond's frequent on-screen partner Rick Lutz mentions how big her boobs are numerous times, so this movie must have been made after the boob job. Frankie and Johnny is quite entertaining. Supposedly Rene Bond is a famous singer in it, but after you hear her sing the theme song, you'll have your doubts.

TARZ & JANE, CHEETAH & BOY ***1/2
This one's a Tarzan parody, where the hero gets his wangdoodle bitten off by a crocodile. He spends the rest of the movie seeking out a tribe that can magically restore it. All the jokes are terrible, but in a good way, I suppose. There's a lot of political incorrectness in Tarz & Jane, and a lot of sex and nudity. At one point, a woman makes popcorn with her private place. This is another one that I watch often, despite how utterly stupid it is.

OLGA's HOUSE OF SHAME **1/2
An old school bondage and torture movie that's really tame by today's standards. There's way too much narration in it and the plot only exists to set up torture scenes. There's three other Olga movies that I still have to watch, so I hope that they're better.

[criterionmaster]

lordofdance said:

OK, as a handy reference guide, I will go through and rate all the Something Weird released titles that I have managed to sit through. Because my tastes may be different from some of you, I will do my best to explain why I like/dislike each movie. Later, I'll put in some screenshots and added commentary. Here we go (PART ONE):

NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES ***1/2
A man receives a heart transplant from a gorilla and transforms into a half-man/half-beast killing machine. The gore is enjoyably nasty, and there's even some outtakes of more gore as a DVD extra. This one's brutal and astoundingly ridiculous. Probably one of my Top 10 favorites from the company.

GETTING INTO HEAVEN ***
I watched this one primarily for Uschi Digard, who I discovered in Russ Meyer's Supervixens. Some people may not think she's as stunning as I do, but her naturally large breasts are a sight to behold. Anyway, Uschi Digard plays an aspiring actress named Heaven who lives with her roomate, Sin. They are pretty much naked throughout the whole movie. I've noticed that the hot actresses in these old sexploitation movies often get paired up with ugly and/or old guys. Getting Into Heaven is no exception. And the sex scenes consist of mostly attractive women gyrating on top of old/ugly guys in their boxer shorts. I guess there's some almost amusing humor, but Uschi Digard is the biggest selling point for me. Jennie Lynn, who plays Sin, is kind of cute, too.

CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT ****
Aside from the pointless sex scenes thrown in just for the hell of it, Confessions of a Psycho Cat is a seriously entertaining movie. A crazy woman offers three down on their luck men a fortune if they allow her to hunt them like animals. Jake Lamotta (the boxer Raging Bull was based on) plays one of the men, and he's actually not a bad actor. Or at least he's fun to watch. I love this movie. Eileen Lord is hilarious as the huntress.

MIDNIGHT PLOWBOY ***
Truly stupid, but endearing. A hillbilly decides to go to the big city and ends up working for some prostitutes. Most of the movie involves him driving them around in a van while they have sex with clients, or him making ignorant comments about big city life. There's lots of sex and nudity in this one. As you might have guessed, the title is ripping off Midnight Cowboy.

HAND OF PLEASURE ***
This one is a really bad espionage sex movie. Part of it is like a travelogue, I guess to fill time, while the rest is non-stop sex and nudity. The best part is a striptease number performed by Roxanne Brewer, who has ridiculously large breasts. I've watched this one more than any other Something Weird release for some reason.

FUEGO ****
I heard that this movie was a John Waters favorite, and I'm not surprised. The plot involves a voluptuos nymphomaniac who must have "MEN! MEN!" at all times. She also carries on an affair with her masculin lesbian maid. The music is hilarious. Every time she gets sexually excited the music kicks in and a guys sings "Fuego!" This happens so often that it becomes surreal after a while. There's not a lot of sex, surprisingly, but the nudity from the spicy actress Iasbel Sarli is pretty good.

THE ACID EATERS **1/2
It's a safe bet that any movie released by Something Weird will be, well, weird. The Acid Eaters is probably one of the weirdest. Produced by David Friedman, who was behind Blood Feast and the Ilsa movies, The Acid Eaters is a nudie movie that attempts to be a hip drug picture as well. None of it makes much sense, and almost all the nudity is topless only. I thought some of it was amusing and visually interesting, but most of the jokes are dumb and there are some lulls. There's one part where a really hairy body builder takes a shower under a tree which goes on too long for my tastes.

THE TOY BOX ****
Awesomely strange and a little disturbing. I guess you could call this a science fiction/horror/orgy movie. Uschi Digard makes another appearance in this movie, this time getting molested by a possessed bed. There is so much carnality and strangeness in The Toy Box that I might have to call this my favorite Something Weird release.

A SCREAM IN THE STREETS ****
Part cop movie, part sex movie, A Scream In the Streets is great entertainment. There's almost too much sex in this movie, most of which has nothing to do with plot involving a serial killer that dresses like a woman. This is another one of the true greats from Something Weird. If the cheesy cop action doesn't do it for you, there's tons of nudity to hold your interest.

SASSY SUE ***
The same hillbilly idiot from Midnight Plowboy is in Sassy Sue, this time in love with his cow. His father wants him to be sexually involved with his own species and tries to set him up with some hillbilly honeys. This is another all sex, all the time movie with some corny jokes thrown in for good measure. Some of the action is pretty hot, which helps.

FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE... WERE LOVERS ***1/2
If you watch enough Something Weird DVDs, you'll start to notice that the same people keep showing up. Rene Bond is the star of this sex movie, and she's in at least five Something Weird releases that I can think of off the top of my head. At some point in her career, she got a breast augmentation. I'm pretty sure that her breasts are smaller in some Something Weird releases than in others. In this one, Bond's frequent on-screen partner Rick Lutz mentions how big her boobs are numerous times, so this movie must have been made after the boob job. Frankie and Johnny is quite entertaining. Supposedly Rene Bond is a famous singer in it, but after you hear her sing the theme song, you'll have your doubts.

TARZ & JANE, CHEETAH & BOY ***1/2
This one's a Tarzan parody, where the hero gets his wangdoodle bitten off by a crocodile. He spends the rest of the movie seeking out a tribe that can magically restore it. All the jokes are terrible, but in a good way, I suppose. There's a lot of political incorrectness in Tarz & Jane, and a lot of sex and nudity. At one point, a woman makes popcorn with her private place. This is another one that I watch often, despite how utterly stupid it is.

OLGA's HOUSE OF SHAME **1/2
An old school bondage and torture movie that's really tame by today's standards. There's way too much narration in it and the plot only exists to set up torture scenes. There's three other Olga movies that I still have to watch, so I hope that they're better.

Oh my God, I am so happy you are doing this. I LOVE reading about these films, this is going to be awesome, and super fun to read. And hopefully it will influence my picking of what to watch from them. Sometimes the trailers make the films look so good, and then they turn out to be kinda boring. These ratings are out of 4 **** right? If so, then I am quite happy about getting Night of the Bloody Apes. I will obviously come back with my thoughts, or if necessary, start a thread for it when I watch it.

I have always been interested in those country porno films, or sexploitation or whatever. The trailers make the films look so fun, so they have always been on my must see list. Probably at the top of that list though, is Country Cuzzins (sp?). Have you seen that? And what are your thoughts on the whole country sexploitation subgenre? I am thinking about starting a H.G. Lewis thread actually, or if you want to, you can go ahead. I have seen two of his films, and want to see them all, so it will be good to talk about them.

[lordofdance]

Rene Bond

Country Cuzzins is one of the movies starring sexploitation star Rene Bond that Something Weird released. Country Hooker is another "hicksploitation" movie from Something Weird that she's in, but I haven't gotten through that one yet. I'd have to say that the Country Cuzzins/Midnight Plowboy double feature is the best one I own overall. I haven't watched all the other ones yet, but Tobacco Roody is probably the worst one I've seen.

Like I said, though, Rene Bond is in quite a few Something Weird movies. I think she's kind of odd looking, but I guess she was really popular in the 70s. She eventually went onto hardcore movies. I think she died of alcoholism back in the 90s.


Lusty hillbillies

These movies aren't pornogaphy, exactly. They came out before hardcore movies became popular. There's lots of nudity and fake sex scenes, though. They're all really dumb, but they have their charms. Country Cuzzins is pretty good, though I like the first half better than the last half.

My rating scale is out of *****, so **** is really good. I think you might like Night of the Bloody Apes more than the southern sexploitation movies.

[criterionmaster]

lordofdance said:

Rene Bond

Country Cuzzins is one of the movies starring sexploitation star Rene Bond that Something Weird released. Country Hooker is another "hicksploitation" movie from Something Weird that she's in, but I haven't gotten through that one yet. I'd have to say that the Country Cuzzins/Midnight Plowboy double feature is the best one I own overall. I haven't watched all the other ones yet, but Tobacco Roody is probably the worst one I've seen.

Like I said, though, Rene Bond is in quite a few Something Weird movies. I think she's kind of odd looking, but I guess she was really popular in the 70s. She eventually went onto hardcore movies. I think she died of alcoholism back in the 90s.


Lusty hillbillies

These movies aren't pornogaphy, exactly. They came out before hardcore movies became popular. There's lots of nudity and fake sex scenes, though. They're all really dumb, but they have their charms. Country Cuzzins is pretty good, though I like the first half better than the last half.

My rating scale is out of *****, so **** is really good. I think you might like Night of the Bloody Apes more than the southern sexploitation movies.

Yeah, I saw that girl in some of the trailers on that Extra Weird Sampler DVD. She doesn't look like she would have been that popular, I mean there isn't really anything too special about her. But maybe when I see the films that opinion will change, who knows. Also, it is not like she can act or anything, at least not better than other, hotter, girls they could have gotten.

Haha, yeah, the films look really funny, because they are so dumb. I enjoy that kind of humor sometimes, but not always. Like I can so stand the terrible humor in Wham! Bam! Thank You, Spaceman! But I can’t stand the stupid humor of like a Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey (his comedy films), or a Will Ferrell (sp?) type. I wonder why that is?

Oh, it is out of five (*****), well you are kinda strict with your ratings so that is still a good rating. Have you see any Something Weird DVD's you give a perfect rating, or a ****1/2? Or maybe you will make it a surprise.

[lordofdance]

Here's Rene Bond in Frankie and Johnnie... were Lovers. This was after she got a boob job, and I think she's pretty cute in this movie. It's probably some of the best acting she's done (that I know of) as well.

I wouldn't say I'd give any of them individually a perfect score, but I'd give certain DVDs an overall rating of ****1/2. Even the best of these have some weak moments, but there are some DVDs from Something Weird that offer a good total package. For example, The Dicktator/Deep Jaws is a great double feature in my opinion. There are tons of sexploitation actresses from other Something Weird releases packed into the two movies, and even though the movies are kind of dumb they are a good combo for the DVD. If I had to pick some individual movies to give a ****1/2 rating, I'd go with The Toy Box, A Scream in the Streets, probably Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman, Blood Freak, Confessions of a Psycho Cat, and maybe Fuego. Sometimes, if I'm in the right mood, those seem like near masterpieces. I really need to go over every DVD and take into account all the extras and movies as a whole.

To me, the humor in Something Weird releases seems more genuine than more recent stuff. The humor may be terrible, but it doesn't feel forced.

[lordofdance]

Bummer!



Another Something Weird release from exploitation producer extraordinaire David Friedman (Blood Feast, Ilsa films). This one's about some rock groupies and their interaction with a band called "The Group." There's not a whole lot to this movie, really. The main source of conflict is the emotionally disturbed, alcoholic bass player who calls the groupies "pigs." His behavior becomes progressively more violent, leading to a deadly conclusion.



There's some nudity thrown in to keep things interesting, though the girl at the strip club is kind of skanky. The dialogue is occasionally funny in a dated sort of way.

**1/2 out of *****

This is on a double feature DVD with Johnny Firecloud, which is much better. I haven't watched it in awhile, but I plan to check it out again soon.

[criterionmaster]

lordofdance said:

Here's Rene Bond in Frankie and Johnnie... were Lovers. This was after she got a boob job, and I think she's pretty cute in this movie. It's probably some of the best acting she's done (that I know of) as well.

I wouldn't say I'd give any of them individually a perfect score, but I'd give certain DVDs an overall rating of ****1/2. Even the best of these have some weak moments, but there are some DVDs from Something Weird that offer a good total package. For example, The Dicktator/Deep Jaws is a great double feature in my opinion. There are tons of sexploitation actresses from other Something Weird releases packed into the two movies, and even though the movies are kind of dumb they are a good combo for the DVD. If I had to pick some individual movies to give a ****1/2 rating, I'd go with The Toy Box, A Scream in the Streets, probably Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman, Blood Freak, Confessions of a Psycho Cat, and maybe Fuego. Sometimes, if I'm in the right mood, those seem like near masterpieces. I really need to go over every DVD and take into account all the extras and movies as a whole.

To me, the humor in Something Weird releases seems more genuine than more recent stuff. The humor may be terrible, but it doesn't feel forced.

I don't normally like fake boobs, but I don't mind them on her. It seemed like she needed them, for the kind of work she did. And she didn’t get them ridiculously huge.

I don't give many of the ones I have seen a perfect ten, well I don't really think any of them are perfect, even if I do give them a ten haha, except for Basket Case. Definitely some of the overall packages are perfect though, I normally love the features they include, some of the short films on the DVD are just so insane. Hopefully you will be in the right mood when you watch Basket Case.

I completely agree with you, the humor in older films feels so different than in newer films, which is why I tend to go with older horror/cult films, than newer ones. It is just so much better, all the new ones just seem fake, or like they are trying to hard [for the most part].

Isn't Reefer Madness on one of these? Have you seen that film?

[lordofdance]

I'll be checking out Basket Case within the week, probably. I saw Reefer Madness a long time ago, but not through Something Weird. There are probably a number of companies that have released it.

There's a series of movies called It's Alive by Larry Cohen that is somewhat similar to the Basket Case movies, I think. You can buy all three movies on one DVD for cheap.

[criterionmaster]

lordofdance said:

I'll be checking out Basket Case within the week, probably. I saw Reefer Madness a long time ago, but not through Something Weird. There are probably a number of companies that have released it.

There's a series of movies called It's Alive by Larry Cohen that is somewhat similar to the Basket Case movies, I think. You can buy all three movies on one DVD for cheap.

Awesome! Yeah, I have seen at least like three different versions of it out on DVD. I am pretty sure the SW version was on a DVD with a film called Marihuana.

I will have to look into those films, thanks.

[lordofdance]

www.dvdplanet.com/details.cfm?info=WBD075056
DVD Planet has it cheap, but I saw it at Best Buy as well.



If you want to check out a completely nutty LSD/Horror movie from Something Weird, get Mantis In Lace. It's about an exotic dancer that takes LSD and goes on a killing spree. It's really, really bad, but I like it for some reason. Either you'll be bored silly or mesmerized by it (the theme song is hypnotic). Stuart Lancaster from Faster, Pussycat! is in it, too! The extras are great.