What started as a hand-written, photocopied weekly fanzine became a time capsule of horror, exploitation, and weird cinema. Psychotronic Video, self-published and created by Michael J. Weldon, was born in the 1980s as “an alternate guide to movies on local TV stations.” The definition of “Psychotronic cinema” is long and varied, but one look at the covers of Weldon’s zine, several of which we spotted on Dangerous Minds this week, and you get the picture. Think grindhouse, drive-in, and science fiction matinée. Along with Weldon’s famous reviews were interviews with cult filmmakers like Larry Cohen, Timothy Carey, and Radley Metzger. The Psychotronic Encyclopedia Of Film was published in 1983, before Weldon even owned a VCR. There was a Psychotronic store in New York City’s East Village for a time, until high rents forced Weldon out. He’s since opened a Psychotronic store in Augusta, Georgia — but Psychotronic Video lives on amongst fans of collectible cult ephemera. Head to our gallery for monsters, shrieking women, and nods to the coolest cult films in cinema.
