not as good as all the hype

A Brilliant Conflict

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Blistering performances.

This is the weirdest feeling movie I've ever seen. It's like Tim & Eric without the cynicism. A few questions:-Why are there 30 year-old bullies? -Why does nothing ever come of the gaping knife wound to Donnie's ribs? -Why did the director leave it open for a sequel? -Which fu**ing universe did this movie drag me to, and will I ever return?Man. If I had to give this a genre it would be Smut-Comedy. There has never been a more original movie. Most movies borrow elements from previous features, but I can't think of a single movie that this reminds me of. I hadn't seen this since grade school, I'm now 25 and just bought a copy on VHS for $20. I still find the same parts hilarious, but I have a certain amount of respect for the total strangeness of The Weirdo than I did back then. BUY THIS MOVIE. While you're at it, burn down your house and kill yourself. You'll thank me later... depending, of course, on if you actually kill yourself.. in which case you couldn't thank me. Just buy the fu&^ing movie at any cost.

THE WEIRDO (2+ outta 5 stars) You know, sometimes there are movies that have terrible acting, bad scripts, a silly story AND lousy direction... and I *still* kinda like 'em. "The Weirdo" is one of those movies... sort of like a cross between "Psycho" and "Marty". As poor as almost every element of this film is... I think it still comes through that the people involved *cared* about what they were doing. So what if the actors have trouble getting their lines out? So what if you can guess everything that's going to happen about 20 minutes before it does happen? So what if the scenes of violence look ridiculously fake? Okay, so I wouldn't exactly recommend this movie to anyone... but I heartily defend its right to exist! The story involves Donnie, the "weirdo" who is constantly harassed by punk teens, busybody townsfolk and an abusive mother. No one ever talks to him... or treats him like a human being... so he is filled with all this repressed rage. Suddenly he meets a pretty young crippled girl who takes an instant liking to him (being somewhat of an outcast herself). They fall in love.. but, too late. All the years of abuse have made Donnie resentful and, ultimately, psychotically violent to those who have wronged him. He goes on a bloody rampage of revenge until he is suddenly beaten to death by the angry townsfolk... or... IS he dead???

The Weirdo (actually entitled Weirdo, the Beginning on the video print) was a massive step up for director Andy Milligan after the train wreck that was Carnage (1986). Another in his series of 'dinner theater' productions, it was shot in Southern California with an amateur cast. And while I would never, EVER claim that it's a classic film of any variety, it weaves a strange spell thanks to Milligan's preference for deadpan dialogue, angular set-ups, and odd settings. Indeed, with the exception of only a few 'big city' shots, The Weirdo resides in a rural fairytale version of the Southland located not a million miles from the Spahn Movie Ranch. If Ingmar Bergman ever made a no-budget horror film, it might look like this, especially during its expository first hour, where characters argue, snipe, and moan endlessly at each other. With oddly affecting performances by cute little Jessica Straus and dear old Naomi Sherwood, as well as a generous assortment of gruesome deaths in the final third of the film, this is a unique example of truly independent filmmaking.

Oh my what to say. It is just another horror movie. Not because it was supposed to be scary but because it gave me nightmares of bad acting. I almost fell asleep while watching this poor excuse for a movie. I just think that sometimes people don't think about what will sell and what won't. Whoever thought this was a seller had to be drinking the night before and came to work with a hang over.