-3.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=&dpr=1.5)
The 1970s were a great period for artistic change throughout the world, especially when it came to film. While the ’70s introduced the world to blockbuster films, it also produced several smaller-scale, niche films for audiences who were interested in stranger, more unconventional concepts and visuals.
This was especially true in the United States, as Motion Picture Production Code censoring came to an end at the closing of the previous decade. Internationally, television’s rising popularity also affected the type of films that were being made as rules for what could be shown in a movie tended to be much more lenient than rules about what could be shown on TV. As a result, creative filmmakers around the world seized the opportunity to create wild, trippy, violent, and flat-out strange films. Fifty years later, the users of Reddit joined together to look back and discuss their favorites.
House / Hausu (1977)
The 1977 Japanese horror film House (or romanized as Hausu), was described by Reddit user grakercub as “...weird and absolutely wonderful to watch.” The film revolves around schoolgirl Oshare (Kimiko Ikegami) and her friends as they spend their break from school at Oshare’s aunt’s home.
Unbeknownst to the girls, the house is haunted by evil spirits. As they spend more time there, the girls begin to disappear from the home one by one, but this is no Agatha Christie mystery. Although it’s a horror film, it’s also goofy and campy, with plenty of over-the-top, stylized gore and (perhaps intentionally) cheesy special effects. This strange, visually unique film is currently available to watch in The Criterion Channel Collection.
Pink Flamingos (1972)
RobotVersionOfMe’s suggestion Pink Flamingos is a disgustingly weird comedy directed by “Prince of Puke” John Waters, who was recently cast in Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The film stars iconic drag queen Divine as the filthiest person on Earth, but her title is threatened when a sleazy criminal couple engages with her in a battle of filth.
Whether in spite of or because of its nastiness, the film was a hit among counter-cultural activists and members of the NYC art scene. In the trailer for the film, which is composed of a series of audience reviews, one moviegoer even calls it “Better than Cries and Whispers.” This comedy prioritizes shock and disgust over humor, but if that’s what you’re looking for, then look no further.
The Visitor / Stridulum (1979)
Originally released as Stridulum, MovieMike007’s choice The Visitor is an Italian film directed by Giulio Paradisi about a young girl named Katy (Paige Conner) who has telekinetic powers. She typically uses her powers for evil and to terrorize the people around her.
Her mother’s boyfriend is secretly trying to get the mother to conceive another devil child, one that he hopes will have powers even greater than Katy’s. Meanwhile, John Huston’s alien character attempts to bring Katy to a place where her powers won’t harm anyone. Most viewers either love the film or hate it, as its bizarre story structure and plot are interesting to some but too convoluted and messy for others.
Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)
The 1974 Japanese fantasy Pastoral: To Die in the Country is a film inspired by avant-garde director Shûji Terayama’s own childhood. The story blends imagination and reality to the point where viewers are unsure of which is which. The imagery of the film is inventive, colorful, and full of psychedelic visuals that add to the film’s uniquely strange quality. Reddit user CephalopodRed praised this film and Terayama for his ingenuity while offering several other suggestions for weird ‘70s movies.
Eraserhead (1977)
David Lynch’s dark horror fantasy production Eraserhead features a factory worker (Jack Nance) who is driven crazy by his disturbing-looking mutant baby’s cries. It’s a very divisive film, with those who disliked it claiming it relied too heavily on shock value and not enough on story, or, like Reddit user dankmemesm88, saying it was too “disturbing and depressing” to finish. On the other hand, fans call it the closest a person can get to seeing a nightmare on screen. The world Lynch creates is bleak, depressing, strange, and disgusting, particularly in a dinner scene where the characters sit down to eat the tiniest, nastiest roasted chickens ever.
THX 1138 (1971)
A few years before the first Star Wars film hit the big screen, George Lucas’ first feature film THX 1138 was released. The film is a dystopian sci-fi thriller that can be compared in many ways to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984. A man and a woman decide to rebel against their oppressive society by refusing to take their government-prescribed medication and by pursuing a relationship, which is prohibited.
Much of the strangeness lies within the futuristic dystopia itself, as the citizens live underground and are required to regularly go to confessionals where they must divulge even the slightest misdeeds. With the agreement of several other Reddit users, one Redditor claimed that the original version of the film without the added CGI is the superior edition.
The Holy Mountain / La Montaña Sagrada (1973)
Cult auteur Alejandro Jodorowsky took control of nearly every creative aspect in his 1973 film The Holy Mountain, or La Montaña Sagrada. This trippy fantasy drama tells the story of a man whose uncanny resemblance to Jesus (Horacio Salinas) causes a chain reaction of events that make up the plot of the film. One day, he meets the Alchemist (played by Jodorowsky) who takes him on as an apprentice and tells him it is possible to “turn his excrement into gold.”
He is then introduced to seven wealthy people who each resemble a planet in the solar system, and they all embark on a pilgrimage to The Holy Mountain in hopes of discovering the secret of immortality. Visually, the film is stylish yet disturbing, full of colorful sets and costumes but also sacrilege, gore, and a lot of nudity. InvisibleLeftHand called the film “… insanely grandiose and a drug trip in itself,” claiming it was the strangest film mentioned in its Reddit thread.
Duel (1971)
Steven Spielberg’s 1971 made-for-TV movie Duel is a thrilling car chase film about a semi-truck driver who is angered by a passing motorist (Dennis Weaver) and becomes hellbent on getting revenge by means of vehicular homicide. The two drivers battle on their way down the highway, attempting to outsmart each other and bring an end to the ordeal.
The antagonist is never shown, lending a creepy, supernatural feel to the character. There’s not much else to the story; it doesn’t have deep themes or crazy plot twists, but that doesn’t stop it from haunting viewers such as JAGUART with its weird yet plausible premise.
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
ZorroMeansFox’s choice, Slaughterhouse-Five, is a dark-humor-filled sci-fi film based on the Kurt Vonnegut, novel of the same name. Directed by George Roy Hill (known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), the movie follows a man named Billy Pilgrim (Michael Sacks) who discovers he can time travel between different points in his life.
He revisits his time as a pacifist prisoner of war in Dresden at the time of the Allied aerial attack, but he also visits the future where he lives on the alien planet Tralfamadore with porn star and fellow earthling, Montana Wildhack (Valerie Perrine). While the film keeps much of the novel’s quirks and peculiarities, it also retains its tragedies and anti-war sentiments.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The most popular suggestion in Reddit’s “Any suggestions for weird movies from the [‘70s]?” thread was CarrieFishersBra’s recommendation A Clockwork Orange. Although it might’ve been the top choice simply because it's the most well-known film in the thread, it’s definitely not wrong to describe the film as “weird” or “strange.”
Adapted from Anthony Burgess’s dark comedy novel, this Stanley Kubrick directed film tells the story of a violent criminal named Alex (Malcolm McDowell) who undergoes an experimental rehabilitation program while in prison. Once the treatment is deemed successful, he is released from prison, but those he harmed in the past all want revenge. The strangeness is present throughout the film, from its production design, which famously includes a milk bar filled with humanlike furniture, but also the manner in which the criminals are psychologically conditioned.