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Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film
The Complete Viewers' Guide to the Weirdest Movies of All Time!
From the slightly offbeat to the outlandishly bizarre...from the no-budget quickie to the multimillion-dollar box-office smash...
Psychotronic films range from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes to E.T....from Angel's Wild Women and Hellcats of the Navy to/Dismember Mama and Let Me Die A Woman...from sincere social commentary to utter trash.
Psychotronic stars are ex-models, ex-sports heroes, dead rock idols, future presidents, would-be Marilyns, and has-beens of all types.
Psychotronic films keep sleepless fans glued to their TVs and lined up outside revival houses in big cities and small towns all over the country.
See these outrageous films through the eyes of Michael Weldon, the world's leading authority on Psychotronic films!
Arranged from A to Z!
Crammed with rare illustrations!
Featuring cast, crew, and characters!
Uniquely eccentric reviews of over 3,000 movies!
The author of this book has been watching these movies obsessively since the age of 6. He is now unfit for conventional employment. Because of the addictive nature of these films, we the publishers cannot guarantee that your sanity won't be endangered by reading this book.
From the slightly offbeat to the outlandishly bizarre...from the no-budget quickie to the multimillion-dollar box-office smash...
Psychotronic films range from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes to E.T....from Angel's Wild Women and Hellcats of the Navy to/Dismember Mama and Let Me Die A Woman...from sincere social commentary to utter trash.
Psychotronic stars are ex-models, ex-sports heroes, dead rock idols, future presidents, would-be Marilyns, and has-beens of all types.
Psychotronic films keep sleepless fans glued to their TVs and lined up outside revival houses in big cities and small towns all over the country.
See these outrageous films through the eyes of Michael Weldon, the world's leading authority on Psychotronic films!
Arranged from A to Z!
Crammed with rare illustrations!
Featuring cast, crew, and characters!
Uniquely eccentric reviews of over 3,000 movies!
The author of this book has been watching these movies obsessively since the age of 6. He is now unfit for conventional employment. Because of the addictive nature of these films, we the publishers cannot guarantee that your sanity won't be endangered by reading this book.
814 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 13, 2020
I'm not one to tend towards the hyperbolic when it comes to book reviews. I'm perfectly content to stick to the scale -- you'll never find me saying stuff like, "I'd rate it zero stars if I could!" or "TEN STARS OUT OF FIVE!". If something is so awful that 1 star is too much, chances are good it hit the dreaded Did Not Finish pile, and I don't rate things I don't finish. Also, no matter how much I love a book, five stars is the upper limit. How much further beyond "amazing" does one need to go when explaining how good something is?
Well, today I'm making an exception. Michael Weldon's Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film is absolutely worth the six-star rating I would give were such a thing possible. Ratings are, of course, terribly subjective things -- one man's trash is another man's treasure, as the cliche goes -- but I defy anyone with even a passing interest in motion pictures to pick up Weldon's book (or its sequel), turn to a random page, and not find something that piques his or her curiosity. Here, I'll do a test-run. Flip, flip, flip, flip, aaaaaaaand...voila, on page 236, we find:
I have never seen this movie. I had never heard of this movie. But, I'm sorry, did you say, "snakes on a submarine" and "television's dumbest disaster film"?! Hold my beer -- I'm in! There are over three thousand films cataloged and capsule reviewed in this 800-page monster. And sure, you're going to find the obvious stuff in here: the first several Friday the 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street entries; a whole mess of Godzilla and King Kong features, remakes, and rip-offs; everything Hitchcock ever touched; and anything ever put out by the likes of Russ Meyer, American International Pictures, Lucio Fulci, John Waters, Hammer Films, Roger Corman, Amicus Studios, John Carpenter, and George Romero.
But you're also going to read about old Republic and RKO serials, Grindhouse trailer compilations, direct-to-video schlock, women-in-prison exploitation, blaxploitation, made-for-TV weirdness, nudie cuteys, Euro-trash, Asian chop-socky, historical and pseudo-historical epics, sci-fi spectacles, big-budget disasters, animated features, musicals, Italian cannibal and western and zombie flicks, Ronald Reagan war movies, teen drive-in pics, Mondo documentaries, every Tarzan movie made between the 1930s and the 1970s, and literally everything featuring B-grade stalwarts like John Saxon, Robert Z'Dar, John Carradine, Uschi Digard, and Cameron Mitchell. If it came out between 1920 and 1982, and Red Letter Media talked about it on one of their Best of the Worst segments, then you're going to find it between these covers, and if not here, then in the sequel Weldon put out in 1996.
The two Psychotronic books are literal bibles of weirdness, not meant to be read cover-to-cover in a few sittings, but referred to over the course of years to build a collection of things to see (or things to avoid, depending on your tastes). They are top-notch examples of film guides tailored to a specific taste, and while it might seem sites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes render them less useful, the internet actually makes these books more valuable by giving you several thousand jumping-off points with which to start your own online research.
So, yeah, I'm only rating this five stars because I can't give it more. I finally fell into the Goodreads review trap. You caught me. Guilty as charged. Fortunately, thanks to owning a copy of both this and its sibling, I'll have plenty to occupy my time while serving out my sentence for pervasive full-frontal nerdity.
I regret nothing, and assume Michael Weldon would be proud.
Well, today I'm making an exception. Michael Weldon's Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film is absolutely worth the six-star rating I would give were such a thing possible. Ratings are, of course, terribly subjective things -- one man's trash is another man's treasure, as the cliche goes -- but I defy anyone with even a passing interest in motion pictures to pick up Weldon's book (or its sequel), turn to a random page, and not find something that piques his or her curiosity. Here, I'll do a test-run. Flip, flip, flip, flip, aaaaaaaand...voila, on page 236, we find:
FER-DE-LANCE
1974 TV
Producer: Dominic Frontiere
Director: Russ Mayberry
Screenwriter: Leslie Stevens
Also released as: Death Drive
Television's dumbest disaster film. It's about snakes on a submarine. With Davin Janssen, Hope Lange, Jason Evers, and Ivan Dixon. The British had to pay to see it. Leslie Stevens (The Outer Limits) was executive producer.
I have never seen this movie. I had never heard of this movie. But, I'm sorry, did you say, "snakes on a submarine" and "television's dumbest disaster film"?! Hold my beer -- I'm in! There are over three thousand films cataloged and capsule reviewed in this 800-page monster. And sure, you're going to find the obvious stuff in here: the first several Friday the 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street entries; a whole mess of Godzilla and King Kong features, remakes, and rip-offs; everything Hitchcock ever touched; and anything ever put out by the likes of Russ Meyer, American International Pictures, Lucio Fulci, John Waters, Hammer Films, Roger Corman, Amicus Studios, John Carpenter, and George Romero.
But you're also going to read about old Republic and RKO serials, Grindhouse trailer compilations, direct-to-video schlock, women-in-prison exploitation, blaxploitation, made-for-TV weirdness, nudie cuteys, Euro-trash, Asian chop-socky, historical and pseudo-historical epics, sci-fi spectacles, big-budget disasters, animated features, musicals, Italian cannibal and western and zombie flicks, Ronald Reagan war movies, teen drive-in pics, Mondo documentaries, every Tarzan movie made between the 1930s and the 1970s, and literally everything featuring B-grade stalwarts like John Saxon, Robert Z'Dar, John Carradine, Uschi Digard, and Cameron Mitchell. If it came out between 1920 and 1982, and Red Letter Media talked about it on one of their Best of the Worst segments, then you're going to find it between these covers, and if not here, then in the sequel Weldon put out in 1996.
The two Psychotronic books are literal bibles of weirdness, not meant to be read cover-to-cover in a few sittings, but referred to over the course of years to build a collection of things to see (or things to avoid, depending on your tastes). They are top-notch examples of film guides tailored to a specific taste, and while it might seem sites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes render them less useful, the internet actually makes these books more valuable by giving you several thousand jumping-off points with which to start your own online research.
So, yeah, I'm only rating this five stars because I can't give it more. I finally fell into the Goodreads review trap. You caught me. Guilty as charged. Fortunately, thanks to owning a copy of both this and its sibling, I'll have plenty to occupy my time while serving out my sentence for pervasive full-frontal nerdity.
I regret nothing, and assume Michael Weldon would be proud.
February 1, 2016
To this day I consult this book and I love every page of it! Obviously a labor of love, Weldon wrote perhaps the penultimate guide to weird little horror and sci-fi movies up to that time. The updated edition, unfortunately, was highly truncated and that I do not recommend. Stick with the original.
February 23, 2011
I defy any film fan to open this massive guide to any random page and not find at least one movie they absolutely NEED to see. Weldon's groundbreaking guide to b-horror, teensploitation, Tarzan movies, Elvis movies, cheap sci-fi, and all manner of other cinematic oddities is a must-have for the bookshelf of any serious student of weird movies.
July 18, 2008
This book introduced me to the film genre called "fucked up shit." As fascinating as well-made films can be, there is a wide world of wonder comprised of inept, cheapo genius, exploitation and just hardcore weird movies. A seemingly inexhaustible treasure trove for film freaks.
June 30, 2017
An incredibly exhaustive collection of eclectic films that Michael Weldon of Psyhotronic Magazine fame deems Psychotronic worthy and fit to be included in this massive film reference guide. It really is a brief and noteworthy tidbit of info on each film, always mentioning year, director, producer, screenwriter and then whomever else Weldon and others' deem noteworthy to mention. I love it because some entries are only a few sentences of info and others are a few columns. Concise and to the point, but beware, some shoddy films may get spoiled with major plot points and other films better in production get spoiled because the author feels if you haven't seen the film yet, tough shit. I loved this book so much. I have so many films to seek out now and because this edition is (I believe) only the 4th edition (1st Edition from 1983), many of the films discussed now have dvd or even blu-ray releases and some went from theater or t.v. only to VHS and eventually digital formats.
July 29, 2017
Perfect for when you're in the loo...
March 9, 2009
As the back suggest, this book is essential for fans of "ghouls, sci fi, beach blankets, drag racing, sex changes, crazed farmers, mad scientists, disaster, jungles, rock n' roll, gorillas, killer teens, bikers, ax murderers, cave women, sex goddesses, vampires and surfing" (he forgot Elvis movies and Spooky Old Houses...). Written before the advent of home video, it was intended to serve as a guide to those late-night movies that local syndicated channels ran before the Star Spangled Banner and sign-off each night. It was a golden age of actually-being-able-to-find-something-to-watch-on-television (if you could stay awake that long). The factor of serendipity doubtless drew many fans to "psychotronics" who never would have known about it otherwise.
Today, thanks to specialized websites, fan magazines and distributors like "Something Weird," there are more psychotronics fans than ever, and we have far greater power to track down all our favorite obscurities, which has increased the value of this book if anything. Trying to decide between watching Karloff in "Before I Hang" or Lugosi in "The Invisible Ghost?" Normal video guides just give both of them one or two stars, and a description that you could guess from the video box. Mike Weldon gives you the inside dope, from one who cares. Illustrated with dozens of great photos of men in rubber suits, women in bikinis, and lurid matinee posters.
Warning: Sooner or later, of course, obsession sets in, and you have to try to see every movie in the book. I don't see this as a bad thing at all.
Today, thanks to specialized websites, fan magazines and distributors like "Something Weird," there are more psychotronics fans than ever, and we have far greater power to track down all our favorite obscurities, which has increased the value of this book if anything. Trying to decide between watching Karloff in "Before I Hang" or Lugosi in "The Invisible Ghost?" Normal video guides just give both of them one or two stars, and a description that you could guess from the video box. Mike Weldon gives you the inside dope, from one who cares. Illustrated with dozens of great photos of men in rubber suits, women in bikinis, and lurid matinee posters.
Warning: Sooner or later, of course, obsession sets in, and you have to try to see every movie in the book. I don't see this as a bad thing at all.
March 10, 2015
Before the advent of the internet, books like these were CRITICAL! They were exhaustive collections of obscure genre films collected by someone that had the same inexplicable attachment to these odd films as you did. Of course now, it's much easier to find a community around anything, but back in the 80's, when this came out, being able to learn about "Twisted Brain," "13 Ghosts" and "The Gore Gore Girls" was a much more daunting proposition. Each Halloween, I cannot help but pull this book out again and try to determine what cheesy horror or Sci-Fi pic I'll try to watch! A truly masterful book on mostly undeserving, yet still beloved, films.
September 28, 2007
Possibly the most dogeared, passionate A to Z film reference ever written.
It's a shame that it went out of print, but you can find $30 used copies of it at www.abebooks.com (the worlds greatest source for used books).
It's a shame that it went out of print, but you can find $30 used copies of it at www.abebooks.com (the worlds greatest source for used books).
April 4, 2008
Full of information, entertaining reviews, and photographs, about a breathtaking range of interesting movies from big budget flops to shoestring-budget schlock, the most notorious to the most obscure.
April 22, 2008
Weldon's first film guide is 800+ pages of essential reading for fans of bizarre and obscure movies. Buy it, read it, love it. Essential.
March 26, 2025
I bought this book when it was first published in 1983 and it is one of my most prized movie reference books. I like that Weldon includes all kinds of genres under the "psychotronic" label; not just sci-fi, horror and fantasy, but noir, melodrama, teen movies, mysteries, porn-adjacent, and low-budget films of every kind. I decided as a retirement project to whip through the whole book. I wound up skimming many entries, but it was a fun ride. Weldon's style is idiosyncratic but generally respectful. A later Weldon book, The Psychotronic Video Guide, is crammed with many more movies but the reviews are not as much fun.
October 10, 2022
This one was an odyssey!
Even in the age of the internet, where you can find basically every movie online (thanks, IMDb!), this book is a valuable resource to fans of trash cinema. The five months (!) it took me to read this saw my watchlist expand twofold! Thanks to The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, I now have 1000+ movies to watch. If you like trashy, psychedelic cheapness, get a hold of this book.
Now where can I find that Psychotronic Video Guide...?
Even in the age of the internet, where you can find basically every movie online (thanks, IMDb!), this book is a valuable resource to fans of trash cinema. The five months (!) it took me to read this saw my watchlist expand twofold! Thanks to The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, I now have 1000+ movies to watch. If you like trashy, psychedelic cheapness, get a hold of this book.
Now where can I find that Psychotronic Video Guide...?
November 9, 2025
Gosh, what a tome. If you ever want to dive into the world of all kind of obscure horror, scifi, monster or thriller movie, this is the ultimate book. So many posters, movie stills, good looking actresses... you feel like lost in a video rental store of old. Highly recommended for every movie hunter out there!
June 7, 2018
"The author of this book has been watching these movies obsessively since the age of 6. He is now unfit for conventional employment. Because of the addictive nature of these films, we the publishers cannot guarantee that your sanity won't be endangered by reading this book."
September 3, 2023
Very readable and entertaining, but today (2023) not as helpful a reference book as when it was published. If you find an affordable copy and are interested in weird and wonderful movies don't think about twice of adding it to your collection.
August 21, 2018
Disappointed. I thought this would be filled with reviews, instead it's bare synopsis, more just an alphabetized list of movies.
December 19, 2020
Essential reference book especially back in the pre-internet days.
June 26, 2020
By far one of my fave books on films.
It's complete, and there isn't a single film i dislike in the entire book.
It's complete, and there isn't a single film i dislike in the entire book.
October 26, 2014
A seemingly comprehensive volume of capsule reviews on the weird, bizarre, low-budget and plain insane films released from the dawn of cinema to the early 1980s when this book was published. Weldon's droll writing and obvious enthusiasm for his subject makes this heavy book a great bedtime reader -- you can open the book to any page, read as little or as much as you like, and be entertained without staying up all night.
Copiously illustrated with movie stills and film posters, Psychotronic Film is sadly out of print but essential reading for those with a dangerous addiction to B-movies who are looking to make new discoveries. Dog-eared copies are on the shelves of film hipsters everywhere, so cultivate a few film friends and you are likely to come up with a copy. An essential reference for any serious film library.
Copiously illustrated with movie stills and film posters, Psychotronic Film is sadly out of print but essential reading for those with a dangerous addiction to B-movies who are looking to make new discoveries. Dog-eared copies are on the shelves of film hipsters everywhere, so cultivate a few film friends and you are likely to come up with a copy. An essential reference for any serious film library.
November 13, 2025
When America wants to dream dreams and see frightful visions it reaches for the movies. Hippies, commies, bikers, druggies, trannies, and Elvis Presley all inhabit the world of the psychotronic film; movies so weird they are delightful and subversive: TEENAGE CAVEMAN, THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ADAM AND EVE, THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN and all 31 Elvis pictures, though I disagree with Weldon that CHANGE OF HABIT is "Elvis's last and worst", after seeing STAY AWAY JOE. This is not MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER territory. The filmmakers loved their movies and made pictures no one else dared. I salute psychotronic films and would not want to live in a universe without them. Excuse me while I watch 5 MILLION YEARS TO EARTH again.
January 29, 2011
If you're into cult, weird or so-called "psyhcotronic" films, there is no finer guide in existence at this time. The books seem to be out of print, but dig around and find yourself a copy. You're likely to find a trove of films you've never heard of that are begging to be watched. Weldon is probably the top writer on the subject, and the books aren't up to date, but they're still invaluable for film buffs.
February 13, 2008
Capsule reviews of films produced by the hucksters, renegades, visionaries, unsung geniuses, and psychopaths from the glorious history of 20th century exploitation movie making. Sadly, and for economic reasons related to print and postal costs, the Psychotronic Video Guide magazine is no longer available but, a lot of what appeared in it up through the '90s is contained in this book.
January 13, 2008
A huge tome of B-film reviews, not always an accurate description, but for sheer volume of information on bizarre shit, it's unsurpassed.
July 3, 2008
The one that started it all...
August 12, 2008
The first, and probably still the best all-around guide to what's now typically referred to as "grindhouse" cinema.
December 10, 2009
Thousands of obscure films and b-movies. Perfect!
September 21, 2010
The greatest (and funniest) source of information about cult/grade z movies that I've ever come across.
November 22, 2017
I am in Weldon's debt, but I am still owed one more issue!
September 8, 2012
One of the first and certainly one of the best film guides of out there films.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews