Weird Science

Director- John Hughes

Cast- Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Anthony Michael Hall

Country of Origin- U.S.

Distributor - Arrow Video

Number of discs –  2

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 07/18/2019

    Weird Science follows Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) as two young geeks who cannot get girlfriends, and constantly get picked on. One night Gary wonders if Wyatt could make a physical woman with his computer for them to have sex with. Using his computer, some hacked energy, and a Barbie doll the duo do manage to create a woman named Lisa, played by Kelly LeBrock.  Lisa is not just a mere sex-toy for the duo, she immediately works to make them seem cooler and more confident.  Of course even with a cyber sex slave, life is not easy, and their worlds are tossed into disarray.

    I watch a lot of films that are on the fringes. Exploitation cinema films with sexy and violent nuns, Nazisploitation numbers that push the envelope of grotesque violence. However, when watching those sort of films I tend to not be offended, as I am aware that these films attempted to garner sales through their exploitive elements, which were meant to be trashy over the top, and somewhat fun even at their most violent.  With that being said watching a John Hughes film in 2019 is a bit of a task.

    Weird Science on an entertainment level is pretty decent. The cast definitely fill the roles of the nerds, popular kids, and cyber genies very well. I am always a bit astonished that Ilan Mitchell-Smith's acting career never really took off for example. The atmosphere of the film is a bit darker than your average Hughes film of the era, and the visuals are solid.  The scene with the post-apocalyptic raiders at the party is still a highlight, and it is pretty cool seeing a young Robert Downey Jr. in one of his first roles.

   Weird Science has been reissued by Arrow Video in the U.S. and U.K. in a very well remastered Blu-ray edition. The prior studio edition of the film suffered from severe DNR that made the image waxy and not film like. Arrow's edition does away with that transfer creating a new film like and gorgeous transfer.  There are 3 versions on this set  2 are presented 1:85:1 and 1080p the third is an SD TV cut, and comes in 1:33:1 the first 2 are excellent, very film like, excellent detail, and colors that pop. Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA track that sounds quite solid as well. Extras aside from the 3 cuts include interviews with the cast and crew, a split screen option between the TV and theatrical version. Trailers, TV spots, featurettes, and more.