'Something Weird' review

Synopsis:
A serial murderer kills women in Jefferson, WI. An electrical accident leaves a man horribly scarred but with incredible psychic powers. An old crone approaches the scarred man, offering to fix his face, if he will become her lover. To everyone else, she appears to be beautiful but all he can see is the old crone. Once the psychic offers to help solve the serial murders in Wisconsin, a government agent is dispatched to test him. Love triangles, psychic powers, murders, assassination, karate, attacking bedsheets, LSD - truly this is Something Weird.

Thoughts:
With all the movies I own copies of that I haven't watched, I felt the need to watch this one again last night. This was not a bad choice as it's a fun ride. The movie keeps moving, quickly setting up what's going to happen, explaining it just enough to set the rules for the movie, and then getting to the next bit. It does not get boring. Ever. Well, maybe once, but not for long. There's a minute or two long explanation of psychic powers that's all narration over clouds. Coming out of nowhere as it does, it still manages to be weird and, therefore, fits in the movie.

As with any low budget film, the acting is not always what you'd expect or what is needed. Sometimes it is. The old crone is wonderfully over the top and she needs to be. Our psychic friend is solid, occasionally becoming theatrical when the role demands it, but also capable of looking realistically broken up as he stares at his burned face in the mirror. The government agent isn't horrible, has good moments, but often comes across a bit flat, like an anchorman. Some of the smaller, one or two line roles, come across as very natural. All in all, there's enough there to make it work.

The special effects, limited as they are, aren't bad either. The makeup is good. The levitation scene is a bit transparent but the lighting tries to cover that up. As silly as it sounds, the attacking bedsheet scene doesn't look bad at all. The lighting is just right so that no wires are clearly visible and the shadows created add a creepy tone. It works when it shouldn't.

Did they film in Jefferson, WI at all? I don't know for sure. It's possible. This is an H.G. Lewis directed film and he was headquartered in Chicago if I remember correctly. Jefferson would still be considered small enough to film something in, to get the local assistance one would need, and yet isn't so far away from Milwaukee, Madison, or even Chicago to make traveling back and forth improbable. The moment that made me believe it was Jefferson occurs early in the film, as the government agent arrives at police headquarters. Across the street is a bar with a large Blatz beer sign on it. That just screams Wisconsin to me.

The film has survived but not perfectly. The 2000 DVD release by Something Weird Video (the company is named after the movie) has a solid audio and video quality but the print is regularly flecked with damage. One reel seems to be a little soft in image quality. It's never horrible, not like watching a movie through a screen door, but this isn't one of those 'it looks like it was filmed yesterday' sorts of situations either.

It's not often that a film lives up to its title. This one does. For 80 minutes, this is truly Something Weird.

Recommended.