“What Secrets Are Harbored Within The Sinister Highways Of The Mind?”
Time to celebrate someone who has helped save some of the world’s craziest films!
Sad news to report about the passing of a man who spent his life saving obscure cinema for the world to savor: Mike Vraney, the founder of Something Weird Video, has died. The website has the entire story and a very nice eulogy to Vraney, which you can see here…
http://www.somethingweird.com/
I wanted to share some of the incredible films that Something Weird has saved for future generations, including my favorite “worst movie of all time”…yes, wait for it:
PSYCHED BY THE 4D WITCH!
For that I will ALWAYS be grateful to Vraney, but it speaks to his unique passion for film: he knew that NOBODY would ever let “The Godfather” fade away to obscurity – Vraney focused on the kind of movie that snuck in and out of your local graindhouse theater or drive-in during the 60′s and 70′s, and he decided to keep their spirit alive! How? Well, how about THIS!
“Confessions Of A Psycho Cat!”
“What Secrets Are Harbored Within The Sinister Highways Of The Mind?”
With twisted violence, macabre humor, and lots of gratuitous skin (it was apparently shot as a straight horror film with the nude scenes added a year or two later), CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT is a delirious, out-of-its-mind instant cult classic, and the scene where Virginia dresses like a toreador to come after “Raging Bull” La Motta is exploitation at its best!
Wait – JAKE LAMOTTA????
Yes, Jake LaMotta!
This is why we need to celebrate Vraney’s efforts!
Here are several of Something Weird’s other masterworks – who else would have thought to keep alive the classic movie madness of:
“DEADLY WEAPONS!”
When Gangsters kill her boyfriend, the eye-popping, excessively endowed Chesty Morgan seeks revenge with two of the most incredible weapons ever seen on the motion picture screen: her 73-inch breasts! Yes, this bizarre sexploitation oddity was directed by Dorish Wishman, and Something Weird has saved many of the Director’s films from obscurity!
Or how about THESE!
Something Weird has the classics from the “Godfathers Of Grime”, Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman!
“Nothing So Appalling In The Annals Of Horror!”
Talk about truth in advertising! But I’m having a bit of fun here, because this is considered “The Godfather Of Grime”! In 1964, this film SHOCKED the world with its depiction of bloody violence and sex – take a look at the classic trailer:
Yep, it’s the work of legendary Exploitation Director Herschell Gordan Lewis! Flaunting all movie codes, Lewis made “Blood Feast” for around $50,000 – and it grossed millions! Yes, it’s a lousy movie, but it really blew the doors off grindhouse theaters across the country!
This film was a shocking sensation, thanks to some very clever marketing. Legendary Grindhouse Producer David F. Friedman came up with some very effective publicity stunts for “Blood Feast” which included giving theater goers vomit bags reading:
“You may need this when you see ‘Blood Feast’”!
Lewis went on to make another classic exploitation film:
“Gruesomely Stained In Blood Color!”
The phenomenal success of “Blood Feast” inspired the Director – he also directed the classic “2000 Maniacs” and “Color Me Blood Red!”
“Drenched In Crimson Color!”
Mike Vraney also saved the work of arguably the world’s WORST film maker! And don’t worry, it’s presented:
“In Cranium-Cleaving Color!”
How can you resist a movie that offers this tagline?
The Ghastly Ones!
Check out the “Doctor’s Warning” on the poster – a classic “come on” for the suckers at that time…love it! Now, back to why we are here: “The Ghastly Ones” is one of the world’s WORST exploitation films ever made! Check out this legendarily bad trailer!
Here is the plot: Three married couples spend the night in a Victorian-era house where they start getting killed off by a deranged psycho who’s bent on claiming an inheritance they are all entitled to.
Sure, that’s a servicable plot: but under the Direction of Andy Milligan, it’s a debacle! Here’s a great bit of trivia, thanks to IMDB: In several of the fight scenes of the film, the crew and their cameras and sound equipment are visible.
There are also moments when the director can be heard softly reminding the actors of their lines!
Now THAT”S film making! As one reader on IMDB stated:
“This is an absolutely horrible film in every way possible.”
Now, that’s what it took to get Mike Vraney to save your film – but he may have saved the best of all!
Behold an original drive-in theater ad for the amazingly bad, perfectly chosen by Something Weird video classic:
“Psyched By The 4D Witch!”
Earlier I mentioned this classic film. Well, it’s not so much a “classic movie” as it is a series of b-roll shots with a poorly written narration laid over it…and shots of this actress…
This movie was actually released in movie theaters…with NO synched sound at all, the worst voiceover narration ever recorded, and random footage strung together to fill time…in fact, it was described by Something Weird Video (who was smart enough to release it on DVD) as:
“the most maddening, jaw-dropping, mind-bending piece of celluloid lunacy ever to play American theaters!”
You understand that is EXACTLY why Vraney saved this film – he was passionate about the obscure, often atrocious movies that deserve to be savored by future generations of bad movie lovers!
Once again, congrats to Vraney and the SW team for keeping this part of movie history alive! I plan to honor their work by going to the website and ordering up a few obscure classics to enjoy forever…
RIP Mike! Go check out ALL of his movie – and there are hundred! – by clicking here!
http://www.somethingweird.com/
