This surprisingly intriguing horror film has people turning into bald,blue-skinned killers after dropping contaminated LSD ten years before."Blue Sunshine" is more fondly remembered for it's bald,thirty-something,ex-hippie murderers who are easily the most bizarre descendants of the living dead yet to reach the silver screen.This film is not easy to categorize:it's a horror film mixed with drug movie and also features paranoid urban legends and bizarre conspiracy theories.The title of this movie is taken from the name of a bad batch of 60s acid that seems to have some rather unfortunate long-term side effects.The film is badly lit and there are some dull spots,but "Blue Sunshine" is a must-see for experimental cinema enthusiasts.7 out of 10.
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HumanoidOfFlesh30 October 2007
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A small group of Stanford college grads, who had taken a bad batch of LSD called "Blue Sunshine," start feeling the side-effects ten years later. Instead of bad acid flashbacks, they start losing their hair and deteriorate into erratic, sweaty, screaming, zombie-like killers that hate loud sounds.
Ambitious low-budgeter has decent performances, a few good shocks and an interesting plot to offset some dated aspects to the story (like an unintentionally funny attack at a disco) and a seemingly incomplete ending (that seems to suggest this is based on an actual case!). Political satire remains relevant today and when one of the affected lurks around a mall at the end, DAWN OF THE DEAD (which was made later) will instantly come to mind.
Star Zalman King, also in GALAXY OF TERROR (1981), went on to direct and produce a record number of 90s erotic movies and TV series (RED SHOE DIARIES). The director also made SQURIM, JUST BEFORE DAWN and REMOTE CONTROL, all above average low-budgeters.
Score: 6 out of 10 -
kevinolzak6 January 20141976's "Blue Sunshine" was the second outing for writer-director Jeff Lieberman, following a solid success with AIP's release of "Squirm." Like Ken Wiederhorn, Lieberman hasn't gone on to direct that often (four horror features since), but by staying within the genre continues building the foundation for his growing cult. Unlike "Squirm," a straightforward tale of backwoods terror, "Blue Sunshine" is more of a thinking-man's picture, featuring a protagonist in Zalman King who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, behaving in the most guilty manner possible! It's certainly a challenge to warm up to a character described on screen as 'erratic,' but there are other compensations and mysteries that come together nicely for the fadeout. The title refers to a type of LSD available at Stanford circa 1967, and anyone known to have sampled it becoming irritable and homicidal after a decade's passing, preceded by their hair falling out. Among the cast, Robert Walden is a standout, funny even in a serious surgeon part, and Mark Goddard, enjoying a juicy screen role as a Senatorial candidate who knows more than he lets on. Ray Young ("Blood of Dracula's Castle") plays Goddard's bodyguard, smaller roles essayed by familiar faces such as Alice Ghostley, Stefan Gierasch, and Brion James (in one of his earliest films). Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater introduced me to "Blue Sunshine," which aired only once on Feb 12 1983, less than a year before its farewell broadcast.
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TonyDood15 August 2005Some films have a way of sticking out that is inexplicable. Explaining the plot of this movie (hippies took bad acid in the 60's and the delayed effect 10 years later is making them all homicidal bald lunatics who go berserk and kill, and only one guy can stop it all but he's on the run) is NOT the way to point out the joys of this film experience that keep one returning for more. This can only be done in one way, listing the movie's virtues:
**a memorable, creepy and weird theme song **a high level of tension even though there's no "mystery" to be solved **Zalman King's loony and inappropriate "method" acting **homicidal bald lunatics who go berserk and kill **puppets of Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand **a man going insane in a '70's disco **a cameo by one of the witches from "Bewitched" **camp humor.
There's something really satisfying about watching a woman in a robe with a bald cap on chasing around ugly, bad acting little kids with a knife. There's something wonderful about Zalman King screaming and pounding his arms against a door frame for no known reason, then walking around going "Huff! Huff! Huff!" forever after. I love how a good chunk of time is spent on a fetish-y moment when King buys a gun and is taught how to use it. If you've seen this you know what I mean. Like...hunhhh? Or why does King's girlfriend enunciate her sentences wrong, she says "I wanna GO with you!" instead of what she means, "I wanna go WITH you." She's a terrible actress, this Deborah Sweeny, but she's so spunky and has such an interesting face I can't look away. The same with King--his intensity was better suited to raping schoolgirls in "Trip With The Teacher" or being hostile in "Galaxy Of Terror," and who encouraged his "acting choice" of constantly stuffing his hands in his pockets every few seconds? There's also very little logic, conclusions are reached too quickly and what in HELL is with the junkie in the park? It all just comes out of nowhere and leaves just as quickly...
...and that's why I love this movie. Anyone can make a solid mystery, this flick is a quirk-fest. When I was young watching this on t.v. the tension of the last 20 minutes about gave me a heart attack, now it's sleep-inducing. Movies have changed a bit since then, obviously, and this probably doesn't "work" anymore. But I return to it again and again, I'm glad they gave it a good DVD re-master and included that weird and wonderful soundtrack. Oh, and did I mention the PUPPETS?? -
BrandtSponseller11 January 2005A number of people are inexplicably losing their hair, becoming overly sensitive to loud noises, making googly eyes, and most significantly becoming violently aggressive. The film takes a number of threads based around this and gradually ties them together--all of the affected parties turn out to have a common link. The focus becomes Jerry Zipkin's (Zalman King) investigation and solving of the mystery.
This is a fairly pedestrian 1970s suspense/horror film, made more interesting by some of the bizarre, murderous behavior and the eventual explanation of the behavior. There is a slight sheen of camp that one might think is unintentional, but there are clues that director Jeff Lieberman intended the campy aspects, such as the cutaway to the defaced poster of politician Edward Fleming accompanied by a comic-sounding horn/siren blast, and more obvious elements like the Streisand and Sinatra puppets. Still, the camp factor may have increased as we've become removed from this film's era.
The strongest horror material occurs in the very beginning of the film, after which it turns into a fairly effective suspense vehicle, although at times it has a more generic made-for-television feel. The biggest problem, unfortunately, arrives with the ending, which seems rushed and less than climactic, not to mention a very peculiar bit about how to handle a gun, and also leaves quite a few threads dangling (an attempt is made to tie them up slightly with some "here's what happened" text right before the credits). For me, the horror material was the most effective, so things went slightly downhill from the beginning, but the film was just goofy enough to retain my interest, and it held an 8 rating until the climax, which was poor enough for me to subtract a whopping two points. Unfortunately, such a misstep in the ending is much more difficult to surmount than a similar misstep in the middle of a film. A 6 out of 10 from me. -
preppy-321 March 2004Thriller about a drug called "Blue Sunshine". It seems a bunch of kids took it in college in 1966. Ten years later it starts to affect them. They have horrible headaches...then all their hair falls out...THEN they become homicidal maniacs! Jerry Zipkin (Zalman King) is unjustly accused of the murders. While on the run from the police him and his girlfriend Alicia (Deborah Winters) try to find out what's going on. And what does politician Ed Fleming (Mark Goddard) have to do with it?
Interesting premise but this movie does have some problems. King and Winters are just dreadful actors and have zero sexual chemistry between them; some of the dialogue is horrendous (and delivered badly); the plot has huge loopholes and where's the ending? Still, I did keep watching and found it pretty good.
The plot itself is interesting; there's some great acting from Goddard and Robert Walden (as a doctor); there are some suspenseful scenes; some very violent (and bloody) murders and lots of nice directorial touches by Jeff Lieberman (love the opening credits!). This got virtually no release in 1976 and is now (understandably) a cult film. Worth catching. -
TheExpatriate7006 February 2010I picked this up from GreenCine on a whim, and found it to be interesting, if not particularly suspenseful. It is a combination of violent horror and 70s era paranoia films (e. g. All the President's Men). The plot, in short, follows a young man wrongfully accused of murder who is trying to find out what is causing people in their early thirties to go bald and engage in killing sprees. (Early onset midlife crises???)
The performances are nothing to write home about, and the attempt to tack an anti-drug message onto this piece is mainly symptomatic of the anti- drug hysteria that would characterize the Reagan era. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile watch for a slow night. -
glenmatisse31 August 2020Wacky horror film where a little college drug experimentation leads to murderous rage down the road. There's a great scene in a disco that's worth a watch for that alone. It's low budget horror done right and almost has a Larry Cohen feel to it.
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planktonrules8 December 2013"Blue Sunshine" is a frustrating film. While it's main idea is really neat, the execution just seems amateurish and, at times, pretty dumb. It's all about a weird form of LSD called 'Blue Sunshine'. If folks took it, ten years later their hair begins to fall out, they have horrible headaches and they eventually go nuts and start killing people! Sounds a bit like a horror film of the 1980s, huh?
The problems with this film are many but the worst is the writing. Again and again, the main character (Zalman King) does things that leave the viewer baffled--wondering why he did what he did. The examples are plenty but would include running from the police when it's very clear he did NOT murder the folks at the beginning of the show as well as running after he kills one of them that is trying to murder kid--why not stick around and have the kids give you an alibi?! And, when the folks become bald nut-cases, why does EVERYONE run away instead of stopping them?! Near the end, one baldy runs amok at a disco. There are about 50 people there. Together they EASILY could have stopped the guy's rampage--but they don't. In fact, EVERY TIME one goes crazy, folks fail to react rationally--such as when the stupid hero jumps on the back of one--instead of using his tranquilizer gun!! The other problem is the direction. Too often the acting and scenes that were poorly done weren't re-shot. Overall, a cheap and crappy film that easily could have been better had the folks making it cared. -
Boba_Fett113819 October 2011In all honesty, this movie had all of the ingredients in it to be a good and original genre movie and perhaps even a cult-classic but yet ultimately the movie just isn't.
It's as if this movie is one big, long, anti-drugs ad, by showing what using drugs can do to you, even when you did this only maybe just once, as long as 10 years ago. But still, the movie its concept remains its strongest point. It's something original, that also really could had worked well, if only the movie got done by a bit more talented people involved, behind the camera's especially.
It just isn't a very well made film, or rather said it's lacking in about every way imaginable. The story isn't flowing well because the pacing is a bit off at times and the movie doesn't really succeed in building up its tension properly. The mystery elements and some of the more standard horror elements of its time also get poorly handled, which causes the movie to be a bit too much of an ineffective one. It's such a shame, since this movie obviously had so much more potential in it, judging on its premise and some of the ideas that the movie showed had in it.
But another reason why I think the movie doesn't always work out too well is because of its main character, who got played by Zalman King. He has got a good distinctive look to him but zero charisma. He's such a boring guy, who besides doesn't even speak all that much throughout the movie. Why is the main 'hero'? And why should we really care about this person in the first place? At the start of the movie it doesn't even become apparent that this guy is going to be the movie it's main character. He's just a person sitting in the background and he should had stayed there really.
It's not like this movie is bad and disappointing because it's a B-type of movie. On the contrary really. The movie is quite unique with both its story and style but unfortunately the style just isn't much good. It's not cheap but just very bland looking all. I don't know, perhaps the film-makers were trying to go for a more realistic approach to the genre but it just never really paid off.
I don't want to bash this movie too hard, since I still overall enjoyed it for what it was, it's just so that the movie so obviously could had been a so much better and more effective one, with just a few minor changes to it. Best thing would had been a different director. Jeff Lieberman directed the movie in even perhaps a boring kind of way, that made the movie too often feel like an ineffective one.
6/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/ -
atlasmb11 May 2014"Blue Sunshine" has little to recommend it.
The story is hokey, about people who go nuts due to drugs they consumed years before.
The acting, for the most part, is second rate, with little or no sense of reality, though clearly they were going for reality.
The music, the makeup, the scenery--everything feels second rate, probably due to a small budget. It is set during the disco era and feels as natural as polyester.
And if you think this might be a good horror/thriller, it is as scary a Godzilla film, meaning it is laughable. -
During a party a bald person goes crazy and kills a couple of people, but the wrong man gets accused of these murders. So, now Jerry Zipkin is on the run to prove his innocence. But also across town more weird murders are alarming the authorities. When trying to uncover evidence to clear his name, Jerry he finds out that 10 years ago, a group of people from the same college Stanford University have taken a new form of LSD called Blue Sunshine, which now has suddenly caused them to lose their hair and change into homicidal maniacs.
Hook, line and sinker it totally took me by surprise and made me sit up. This rewarding flick that's a very groovy slice of the 70s. Has become a cult film over the years and has been on my must-see list for ages. I was livid when I eventually came across it. Director/writer Jeff Lieberman (his debut as a director) delivered in what he set out to achieve in 'Blue Sunshine' and I wasn't disappointed in what I got, at all. He comes up with an effective and energetic shocker, that sets itself out by the excellent performances from a cast of mainly no-names (with the exception of Zalman King) and a original story, which seems to get better the more it moves along. Don't be expecting a fully loaded horror film, with gore and horror throughout. It's rather a psychological, sophisticated mystery thriller that works in some decent surprises and jabs that are spine tingling good. There's such a nice balance in this slow grinder that just pulls you along for the intriguing, but disquieting ride with our protagonist. So it's basically a well-paced story that's more a mystery with dabs of horror themes, the material isn't too shocking but some of the violence is nasty or just plain maniac, but not overly graphic. The most startling scene in the film would have to be the opening killing and some implied violence or I should call it the aftermath of a murder spot in house mid-way through the flick will cause a tingle. Crafted into it, is a tight script that doesn't sway of course, but sufficiently adds to the bigger picture.
For a low-budget production is stands up remarkably well and it's rather sad it's gone by with little impact, because Lieberman shows impressive talent here. The thick 70's vibe takes real control, but the cheesiness doesn't overshadow it, with a scene occurring in a groovy disco when a bald guy goes out of control because of the music. Which it's really making fun of the type of music in doing so? Although the score doesn't fall into that same fate as it's eerie as hell, by raising the hairs on your skin. These moments definitely added to the unsettling mood that's created and help build up those scenes with the bald psychopaths becoming rather freaky. Surely it would turn you off drugs! The camera-work was highly distinctive with its many shots. The only downside for me was the abrupt ending, but that's a minor squabble compared with the rest.
Ultimately a satisfying shocker that hits all the right keys. An outstanding cult classic. -
FieCrier23 December 2004I don't really understand why this movie would be a cult classic.
Yes, the plot sounds pretty wild. A handful of people unexpectedly are going bald, become sensitive to loud noises, and get headaches. Ultimately, they get pretty wild-eyed and kill people. A man who is wrongfully blamed for some of the murders tries to investigate what happened to his friend, who was the one really responsible. It appears that all the people may have taken some bad acid ten years ago.
There is a nice amount of paranoia in the movie, since whenever someone losing their hair, or wearing a wig, or who is bald shows up, they could be dangerous. But ultimately, the problem isn't as widespread as I thought it was going to be, and the cinematography generally isn't more than just competent. The ending wraps things up, but almost seems to indicate they ran out of money.
The picture quality of the Blue Underground DVD does look pretty good, though; I think they did the best they could in restoring it to make it look as good as they could. -
dracforever30 August 2022This movie is definitely 1970s but is still an entertaining watch. About the only things that I noted as negative were bad wigs and hairdos along with the weird colour and pattern combinations popular at the time. Additionally, some scenes were a bit hammy but I recall that being somewhat normal for lower budget productions of the time.
One scene I thought millennials may not quite grasp as normal was the campaign function at a shopping mall - stuff like that was common then including car shows, craft shows, and demonstrative sales.
Regardless, I still recommend this as a watchable at least once. (OMG IMDB the 600 character minimum is ridiculous.) -
Pookie-1018 September 2002Here we are with yet ANOTHER fascinating and curious 'overlooked' obscurity from the 70's. It just never ceases to continuously amaze me how much originality and unique creativity came out of that decade. One overlooked film after another, the fact is, it was SUCH a creative and "pioneering" decade on SO many different levels, there literally was only so much room for the 'popular hits'. This was a curious film, funny, bizarre, crazy yet always interesting. A genuinely superb and eerie score by Charles Gross, which contributed much and deserves mention, as well as Zalmon Kings always interesting antics. King was an actor like no other, and this film is one like no other.
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BLUE SUNSHINE is one of those films that I've been meaning to get to for a while and just never got around to. Well, having now seen it, I can say that I'm pretty glad I did. It's a pretty cool (but strange) film that even with the poor acting was still entertaining.
A bunch of Stanford University students ate a batch of bad acid and 10 years later are like freakin'-out, man....They start losing their hair and gain super-human strength and go all psycho on anyone around them. Jerry Zipkin is on the run from the fuzz after one of his main-men freaks out and kills a couple of chicks at a swingin' party, and Zipkin is inadvertently thought to be the bad-guy. Rather than turn himself in, Zipkin decides to investigate the matter on his own, which all ties in with this batch of bad "Blue Sunshine" doses, those that ate 'em, and a local politician who had somethin' to do with it too...it's just all way too far out and groovy, man....
...But seriously - BLUE SUNSHINE is a pretty cool slice of 70's weirdo cinema. Some of the scenes with the bald head freaks are actually kinda creepy, and in some cases just flat out comical. Not a great film by any stretch, but worth at least a one time view to the "cult" fans out there...The Synapse disc also has a short-film called THE RINGER that is another strange bit of 70's weirdness that deals with consumerism, drugs, music, the naiveté of youth, and "THE MAN" - and is pretty interesting too. Give this a look too. 7/10 for BLUE SUNSHINE -
but anytime I find that it is on, I have to watch. There are several funny moments(to me) in this movie. Like that fact that there is a disco in the mall...what!!! And was I high??!!?, because I could have sworn that there were puppets singing and performing at the rally. The silliest line I think is when Jerry is buying and later preparing to use the gun..."Hold the baby with both hands, let her down slow and steady, squeeze the trigger gently don't jerk it, cause if you jerk it it won't work." I mean seriously if a maniac is after you, who has time to recite a prose about how to shoot.Plus the facial expression alone of the people before they lose it is priceless. I like when Wendy lost it in her apartment, the little girl's acting in that scene was so awful.
All in all I enjoy watching this movie and will continue to watch it. -
So the plot is that 10 years ago, someone was selling a version of LSD that makes you go bald and crazy a decade later. Our Hero happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when the people who use this drug go on killer rampages, so he is trying to get to the bottom of this while the police are chasing him. And that's basically it.
It was kind of in the flavor of other kinds of movies of this period like Scanners and Videodrome, except that it wasn't actually, you know, good. You know who is going to go crazy before the characters do because they telegraph it a mile away.
As Nancy Said, Just Say No... to this movie.
Joe B... watching bad movies so you don't have to. -
BandSAboutMovies15 October 2019You know why I've never done acid? This movie right here. After all, it has an "inspired by true events" square up in the end credits.
After a series of seemingly unconnected murders in Los Angeles, only one link keeps coming up - every single person took the same strain of LSD called Blue Sunshine.
Yep - the sins of the past decade are ready to come back and destroy the "Me" decade.
Zalman King - yes, the same man who got your mom all tingly after you went to bed with Showtime's Red Show Diaries - plays Jerry Zipkin, a man accused of the murders who - in true giallo-style - must clear his name. That's because he was at a party where the murders may have started, complete with a screaming Brion James and Billy Crystal's brother singing Frank Sinatra songs before he starts throwing women into the fireplace.
If turns out that if you took Blue Sunshine, chances are that you're about to lose all your hair, go crazy and start killing everyone in your path. Of course, no one knew this ten years ago when they were all dosing on it back in college. Chromosomal damage can be a real b, you know?
How can you not love a movie whose title is spoken by a parrot? One that has a climactic disco shootout? Or is so 1970's that it ends up speaking for pretty much the entire decade?
Between the self-medicating Dr. David Blume, the hard-drinking and hair losing John O'Malley and Ed Flemming (Mark Goddard, Major Don West from Lost In Space) are all caught up in the grip of the bad trip. The effects pretty much sum up Flemming's political campaign: "In the 1960s, Ed Flemming and his generation shook up the system. Now he's working within it." He has become the system. It's as if the children in Manson's famous quote - "These children that come at you with knives-they are your children. You taught them. I didn't teach them. I just tried to help them stand up." - are even more dangerous when fully grown.
Goddard isn't the only TV star that shows up, as Alice Ghostly (Esmerelda from Bewitched) makes an appearance.
Writer and director Jeff Lieberman would lend his strange style to other films like Squirm, Remote Control, Just Before Dawn and the odd true crime TV show Love You to Death that starred John Waters as a Grim Reaper attending weddings of partners that would soon kill one another.
The director claims that two major TV networks expressed interest in purchasing the film as a "movie of the week." The opportunity to get double the budget was appealing, but after seeing the edits that the movie would need to be able to play on network TV, Lieberman decided to produce this for theaters. -
Coventry28 January 2008Jeff Lieberman is unquestionably one of the most fascinating filmmakers active in the field of horror and peculiar cult. The movies he accomplished are versatile and difficult to categorize, and the man himself is a rather unusual persona as well. I read a couple of interviews in which Lieberman claims not to be a fan of the genre at all and in case his films are reminiscent of others (for example "Just Before Dawn" to "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), it must be purely coincidental, as he states never to have seen the films. The last thing you could ever say about "Blue Sunshine", however, is that the idea is derived from something else. Its intriguing concept is totally unique and perhaps one of the most original ones ever to feature in a low-budgeted 70's movie. The outstanding I even daresay brilliant premise of "Blue Sunshine" actually makes it all the more painful to acknowledge that the overall execution of the film is slightly disappointing and even a bit boring. The opening sequences as well as the climax are sublime, but unfortunately everything in between moves at an incredibly slow tempo and it's very difficult to stay fully focused the entire playtime. The film opens with footage of several different & seemingly unrelated people beginning to suffer from physical ailments, like terrible headaches and the severe loss of hair. Jerry Zipkin even witnesses one of his friends going completely out of his mind and killing three women. Being the prime suspect in the murder investigation, Jerry discovers that his friend experimented with a type of drugs called Blue Sunshine back in college and possible the side effects only begin to show now, more than 10 years later. Jerry confronts the former junkies, who are now respectable people with important jobs, with their past and hopes to prevent further bloodbaths this way. As said, the plot is magnificent and Lieberman manages to continuously sustain an ominous & moody atmosphere, but the entire middle section lacks panache and memorable substance. Zalman King's performance as Jerry is good but his character is overly weird and not exactly likable. His response to the murders and especially his methods of approaching the other Blue Sunshine users are strange and it's actually no wonder the police suspects him of all the crimes. Don't expect any gory situations, neither, but the hairless psychos look genuinely creepy and menacing. The soundtrack is excellently psychedelic and the sequence shot at the disco is already legendary by now. In spite of Synapse's recent transfer to DVD, the picture quality is rather inferior, which gives a good idea of how obscure this film was all these years. Although not being the masterwork I anticipated (or hoped) it to be, I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend "Blue Sunshine" to any other open-minded fans of eccentric 70's cinema. All the other Lieberman films I've seen thus far ("Squirm", "Just Before Dawn" and "Satan's Little Helper") are worth tracking down as well.
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doctorgonzo233 May 2005I won't go into the plot details as they have already been fairly well covered by the other posters.
By far the best part of this film is the perpetuation of the myth that LSD causes chromosome damage (a study based on flawed data was widely quoted in the media circa 1970-80, in fact, you still hear it from time to time). It held my attention to the end and the acting was actually pretty good.
It's supposed to be a cult classic, so I checked it out. I might even watch it again. There isn't a whole lot of suspense, but the premise is good and the score is really original.
Check it out if you get the chance. -
hellraiser727 November 2019Drugs are always poison, like any poison no one ever really know slowly but surely their dying until it's too late. This is an under the radar gem, it's an interesting suspense thriller as it's one that deals with drugs which is something I really don't see much in the genre. Looking at this film now the issue is just as prevalent may 'be even worse that it was years ago.
I really like the plotline which I think is plausible as there are all kinds of illegal substances made and developed over the years, and some of them have made people do some really crazy crap, who's to say a supstance like this can't be made.
Zalman King is solid as the protagonist Jerry, and this was before he created that "Red Shoe Diaries" soft core porn series. He surprisingly is a capable actor, he sort of looked like actor Sean Penn at the time but he's not. His character is sympathetic this guy just seems to have the worst luck as he's not just pegged wrongly for murder which I'll admit is kind of a plot hole in the film. Seriously no one did a through autopsy on the Blue Sunshine corpse or form his look they didn't think there was something amiss about him, heck even a novice detective and medical examiner could spot this. But I really like how determined he is in not just clearing his name but also doing everything in his power to put a stop to the upcoming epidemic.
I like how he just exercises boughts of emotion, anger and intensity which I feel any of us may exercise if we ever were faced with his dilemma. On scene that was interesting was when he was investigating a family's home whom were unfortunately the victims of a Blue Sunshine killer. It was just interesting throughout that scene how he is just upset and is really angry as he goes through the house, and we see certain flashes of blood in places and some sound effects, that scene reminded me of the movie/TV show "The Dead Zone" almost in a way you can say is psychic as he sees those flashes in his mind. But it also just gave you the sad feeling knowing the awful effect the drug has caused, turning a place that was supposed to be a happy home for families has turned into a tomb.
The actress that places Alicia, she does a good job as the significant other, I like that she does what a good girlfriend/significant other should do she actually believes his innocence but also does help him out of both his dilemma and a life or death situation. It was also interesting seeing Mark Goddard whom you probably remember as Don West in "Lost in Space" which was cool as I actually like that show.
And of course, there are the Blue Sunshine killers whom are just a bit comical are really menacing. From the unnatural baldness and just their eyes and behavior you can easily see they are tripping out and becoming maniacs their people you don't want to come across.
The only bad thing about the film is a little of the second half, it's just some of the middle not much really happens. Things don't pick up again until the third final half. Other than that, everything else is fine.
What really powers this is in its suspense and there are some good suspense scenes that just build up and pay off in full. I even like how there is just this atmosphere of doom as each of the Blue Sunshine maniacs are all ticking timebombs ready to explode, and the suspense is hoping Jerry can find out the identity of the Blue Sunshine users and get just in time to save the day. I won't say what they all are so I'll state two, I really like is seeing the Blue Sunshine maniac in the disco dance club and we just see him throwing and beating and throwing some clubbers up, man that guy hates disco. And of course, both Jerry and Alicia are trying to stop him, but Jerry keeps getting thrown around which is almost kind of funny, but it's the one thing Alicia does to help Jerry that I actually found funny.
But my favorite sequence in the film is the final minutes which are one of my favorite suspenseful sequences which is also one of my favorite stealth attack battles as it pretty much a one on one where Jerry has to not just find the Blue Sunshine maniac in the department store but he has to successfully trance him and he has only one shot to do it. So, god forbid he is spotted but also that he even remotely misses.
But I really like the cinematography and just the tense contained atmosphere, almost reminds me of certain sequences in the video game "Resident Evil" where you just not sure where the danger is and it could pop out at any moment away from your sight. I really like the ending which really gave me a cold chill, I won't say what it is, but it shows we could only be seeing the tip of the ice burg.
If the film has a message it's if you're going to do harmful substances, take caution because you never know what any of that stuff will do to you in the future. So, stay away from the harmful substances at all costs, because the next sunrise could be your last.
Rating: 3 stars -
A group of former college buddies find the drug experimentation of their youth in the 60's coming back at them in a scary manner. Those who dabbled in a psychedelic drug called Blue Sunshine now find themselves experiencing severe hair loss and homicidal urges, resulting in a series of murders. One of the old gang becomes a chief suspect in the killings and so sets out investigating the case.
This is one of those movies which sounds like it is going to be brilliant ahead of seeing it, with its bald-headed maniacs quite a striking idea. In truth it doesn't quite measure up to its potential if I am honest. Yet it remains an interesting effort which has garnered a cult following or sorts. It combines several topical ideas of the 70's in a fairly original way with drug paranoia, political cynicism and the fall-out of the counter-culture all meeting head-on here. In some respects, this one feels not entirely dissimilar to the types of movies David Cronenberg was making at the same time as this. Although it definitely lacks Cronenberg's focus and intelligent approach. Nevertheless, it does generate some memorable scenes such as the sequence where a baby-sitter pursues a couple of young children while brandishing a large kitchen knife (a scene where the real parents of the children thought was so disturbing that they removed the kids from the production forthwith, resulting in their voices having to be dubbed rather unconvincingly), while there is also the opening attack sequence too, where a man goes berserk, killing three women at a party, going as far as to throw one of them into a lit fireplace. Generally speaking, the idea of the bald lunatics is a good one though, and one which I am sure was even more potent in the 70's which clearly was a 'hair decade' - full-on baldness was no doubt 'a bit weird' in those days. Essentially, the concept of bad LSD leading to homicidal ex-hippies was very good though, even if the film ends on something of an anti-climax, which suggested that the production may have run out of money and had to wrap things up with text-on-screen. But despite issues such as this, I would certainly label Blue Sunshine as a movie well worth catching if you are interested in cult 70's horror or films which have a counter-cultural element. -
rspress26 January 2005A group of college kids who took the acid "blue sunshine" in 1966 are now getting headaches, losing hair and killing people in the most violent ways. Jerry Zipkin, ineptly played by Zalman King spends most of the film delivering his lines like he has to go to the bathroom.
King gets the blame for several of the murders because he is trying to find out who has taken the blue sunshine, arriving just before the homicidal effects kick in. Of course simply telling the people about it could save them but this little fact eludes him. Instead of feeling sorry for King we wind up wishing he took the acid and would off himself saving us from his bad acting.
A few people in this film went on to other acting gigs.....it is very easy to see why King did not. This film is an opportunity missed. It has a great premise and tons of potential but it is pretty much ruined in from the start by very bad acting...mostly by King. I wonder if Zalman King took some acid in 1966 and made this film in 1976 when the effects kicked in and removed his talent. If the knob of the TV is broken and you are pinned under the sofa and are waiting for someone to show up to save you....then you might want to catch this film, otherwise use the remote and do the right thing.