Strange Is Normal: The Amazing Life of Colin Wilson

STRANGE IS NORMAL is a cheap documentary that explores the life and times of Leicester-born author Colin Wilson, who came to fame with his 1950s book THE OUTSIDER and subsequently wrote hundreds of books on dozens of subjects during his lengthy career. Sadly, Wilson has died since this documentary was made, but his legacy lives on in his writing, and as a fan of the author I knew I had to watch this.

The documentary consists of Wilson being interviewed by a genial interviewer in the confines of his own home. He talks about the origins of his career, his brush with celebrity, and drops famous names at every instance. By turns he explores his favourite subject matters: fiction, the paranormal and supernatural, serial killers, and philosophy. The viewer gets a thorough understanding of the theories and practices that make Wilson tick, and I was never less than fascinated by the whole thing.

This isn't a perfect documentary by any means; the cheapness is apparent in the silly sci-fi style special effects superimposed over some of the scenes (put that down to director Philip Gardiner, who has made a career of cheesy paranormal documentaries). But Wilson is such an interesting man that it doesn't matter. Watching him wandering around his wild garden or looking in his huge shed (which has been turned into a library of sorts) makes for great viewing material, and I was hooked throughout and sorry to see it end.