Something Weird Video is an American

film distributor A film distributor is a person responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company may be the same as, or different from, the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film. The distributor may set ...

company based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. They specialize in exploitation B to Z films, particularly the works of Harry Novak, Doris Wishman, David F. Friedman and Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Inspiration

The company is named after Lewis' 1967 film '' Something Weird'', and the logo is taken from that film's original poster art.

History

Something Weird Video was founded in 1990 by Mike Vraney in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. He was inspired by his teenage job as a theater

projectionist A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators". Historical background N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate. Early ...

. His love for the obscure films that never made it to video prompted him to transfer hundreds of ancient reels of film to VHS videotape and DVD. On the company website, Vraney explains the label's genesis:

In my mind, the last great genre to be scavenged were the exploitation / sexploitation films of the 1920s through the 1970s. After looking into this further, I realized that there were nearly 2,000 movies out there yet to be discovered. So with this for inspiration, my quest began and wouldn't you know, just out of the blue I fell into a large collection of 16 mm girlie arcade loops (which became the first compilation videos we put together). Around the same time I received an unexpected phone call that suddenly made all this real: my future and hands-down the king of sexploitation Dave Friedman was on the other end of the line. This would be the beginning of a long and fruitful friendship for both of us. Dave's films became the building blocks for our film collection and he has taught and guided me through the wonderful world of sexploitation, introducing me to his colleagues (Dan Sonney, Harry Novak, H. G. Lewis, Bob Cresse and all the other colorful characters who were involved during his heyday) and they've been eager to dive into the business again.

On January 2, 2014, Vraney died after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. The company continues under the leadership of Vraney's widow, Lisa Petrucci. at the end of 2024 due to financial and logistical reasons something weird video would shut down indefinitely

Content

The content offered by Something Weird runs the gamut of exploitation cinema. Subgenres offered include films centering on

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

and striptease shows, nudist exposes and features, drug and driver's education shorts, stag and peepshow loops, softcore and hardcore shorts and features, horror, particularly splatter films,

sword-and-sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (: pepla), is a subgenre of largely Italy, Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget ...

spectaculars, spaghetti westerns, trailer compilations such as the ''Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-O-Rama Show'', TV rarities, jungle films and films featuring all-black casts. Something Weird initially offered their product on VHS with colorful covers using the original film artwork. In 1999 they made the transition to DVD, partnering with Image Entertainment to release their titles. Something Weird's videos are available

on demand On-demand or on demand may refer to: Manufacturing * Build-on-demand * Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production * Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until ...

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

subscribers. Among the series of titles within their library are ''Kid's Commercials from the Golden Age of Television'', ''Hey Folks It's Intermission Time'' and '' Campy Classroom Classics''. There are also several titles available for streaming on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Something Weird also offers a line called ''Sexy Shockers''. These films are selected by cult film director Frank Henenlotter. Distributors of Something Weird titles include Odeon Entertainment in the U.K. and Siren Visual Entertainment in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Select releases

Something Weird has issued some very notable films, including:Something Weird Video's Catalog is Worth Digging Through, Riot Fest
/ref> *'' Basket Case'' *'' Blood Feast'' *'' The Wizard of Gore'' *'' Jail Bait'' *'' Teaserama'' *'' Murder a la Mod'' *'' Wild Guitar'' *'' The Violent Years'' *'' The Wild Women of Wongo'' *'' Teen-Age Strangler'' *'' The Horrors of Spider Island'' *'' The Atomic Brain'' *'' The Magic Christmas Tree'' *'' Santa Claus Conquers the Martians''

References

External links