Blue Sunshine

source: Blue Sunshine

"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.

I 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.

This is a film that could have been so much more but unfortunately the script lacks any real drive or ambition to be memorable and the blame goes entirely to the director who wrote this. Story is about a bunch of friends who are having a party when one of them goes berserk and has his hair fall out and then proceeds to murder three women. Jerry Zipkin (Zalman King) is blamed for the murders and runs off to elude the police so he can investigate what has happened. With the help of his faithful girlfriend Alicia Sweeney (Deborah Winters) the trail leads to a politician named Edward Flemming (Mark Goddard) who attended Stanford University ten years before. *****SPOILER ALERT***** Flemming use to sell LSD while at school but this drug is called Blue Sunshine and everyone who took it then is now ten years later feeling the effects by having their hair fall out and becoming a homicidal maniac that kills anyone in their path. This film is written and directed by Jeff Lieberman who also made "Squirm" and if you view this expecting to see something outrageous and wild than forget it! Aside from the beginning when a woman is shoved into a fireplace there is really no moment that make an impact. The film has no real ending to speak of and when things are winding down a message pops up stating that a special task force was formed and that there are several more unaccounted people that have taken Blue Sunshine. I guess the film wanted to make a statement against taking drugs but this has the same effect as Nancy Reagan saying "Just say no". I kept thinking of what a director like Roger Corman could have done with a premise like this and Lieberman deserves all the blame for making this totally "Blah". The script makes no effort to describe what makes Blue Sunshine different or how Goddard got a hold of it ten years earlier. Corman would have made an exploitation film that viewers would still be talking about today and it would have been full of nudity and graphic events but alas, Lieberman instead directed a film that is completely forgettable. You know a film is in trouble when the main highlight is spotting a young Brion James in an early role. Excuse me Jeff...do yourself a favor and rent "Big Bad Mama" with Angie Dickinson and find out what you can actually do with a low budget film!

A 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.

1976'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.

The plot of this movie features seemingly normal people going crazy and slaughtering their family and friends. The carnage is mostly off screen but there are some disturbing scenes. Zalman King is trying to find out what is happening as one of the casualties was a friend. When the first person goes crazy, their makeup- though minimal- is surprising and really creepy. In fact, if I saw someone who looked like that I would run away screaming. This movie was better than I expected and did not telegraph every single plot point ahead of time. It's got a typical 70s feel to it, but I like that. A good movie to watch with friends, but I'm telling you, when you see the first killer you will be unprepared for his creepiness - so don't watch it alone.

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.

I 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.

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