10 Movies To Get You Hooked On Something Weird Video

Since 1990, Something Weird Video has rescued thousands of bizarre and wonderful exploitation titles from obscurity. To celebrate the work of founder Mike Vraney, who died last week, here are some of Something Weird's best offerings. WARNING: Some blurred but very NSFW images ahead.

Mike Vraney was inspired by his teenage job as a theater projectionist when he decided to transfer countless hours of film onto VHS and DVD. Vraney's passion was exploitation films — the splatter films of Herschell Gordon Lewis and the sexploitation masterpieces of Doris Wishman. On the Something Weird Video website, you can browse thousands of titles for purchase, both as DVDs and downloads. While it would be impossible to sum up all the greatness that the Seattle-based film distributor has put out over the years, here are some of the more notable Something Weird selections.

1. Something Weird (1967)

Something Weird Video

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

What it's about: An electrical accident disfigures Cronin Mitchell — but it also grants him psychic powers! He starts dating a witch in exchange for having his face healed, and learns that he can boost his powers by tripping on LSD.

Purchase: DVD or download

2. Blood Feast (1963)

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Something Weird Video

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

What it's about: Caterer Fuad Ramses is brutally murdering women and using their body parts in meals that he makes as a sacrifice to the Egyptian goddess Ishtar. This is a classic splatter film, and not for the faint of heart.

Purchase: DVD or download

3. Color Me Blood Red (1965)

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Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

What it's about: Struggling artist Adam finds success when he accidentally incorporates blood into his art. Soon, he's doing it on purpose, murdering his girlfriend and other hapless women who stumble onto his path.

Purchase: DVD or download

4. Deadly Weapons (1974)

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Something Weird Video

Director: Doris Wishman

What it's about: Striptease performer Chesty Morgan and her incredible bust star as Crystal, a woman seeking revenge for her boyfriend's death. She seduces her victims and smothers them with her giant breasts.

Purchase: Download

5. Let Me Die a Woman (1978)

Something Weird Video

Director: Doris Wishman

What it's about: Well, ostensibly, it's a documentary about the struggles transsexual people face on a day-to-day basis. But because this comes from the inimitable mind of Doris Wishman, there are also bizarre reenactments and graphic surgery footage.

Purchase: DVD or download

6. Damaged Lives (1933)

Something Weird Video

Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

What it's about: In this '30s V.D. scare film, Donald cheats on his fiancée with a loose woman and winds up contracting syphilis. He ends up at a clinic, where actual footage provided by the American Social Hygiene Society reveals the horror of V.D.

Purchase: DVD or download

7. Sons of Satan (1973)

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Something Weird Video

Director: Tom DeSimone (as Lancer Brooks)

What it's about: Jonathan looks for his missing brother Clark at the house of Dr. Natas (guess what that spells backwards!). Soon, he finds himself trapped in a gay vampire cult that's less interested in blood than other fluids. (Hint: This is gay porn.)

Purchase: DVD or download

8. The Adult Version of Jekyll and Hyde (1971)

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Director: Lee Raymond (as Byron Mabe)

What it's about: The title kind of says it all. Dr. Chris Reeder takes Dr. Jekyll's famous potions and transforms into Miss Hyde, a sex-crazed serial killer. This comes from sexploitation producer icon David F. Friedman.

Purchase: DVD or download

9. Basket Case (1982)

Something Weird Video

Director: Frank Henenlotter

What it's about: Duane was separated from his conjoined twin Belial at birth. Now adults, hideously deformed Belial travels with his brother in a basket. Together, they take violent revenge on the doctors who split them apart.

Purchase: Blu-ray or download

10. The Cocaine Fiends (1935)

Something Weird Video

Director: William A. O'Connor

What it's about: One of the many '30s films designed to scare you away from the allure of drugs, The Cocaine Fiends follows naive waitress Jane as she turns into a coke-addicted criminal sexpot.

Purchase: DVD or download

But wait, there's more!

So much more. Check out the entire catalog for educational scare films, sword and sandal epics, nudist camp films, and lots of really weird porn. And pour one out for Mike Vraney, who had the passion and the foresight to preserve these exploitation classics.