Psychedelic film

Psychedelic film is a film genre characterized by the influence of psychedelia and the experiences of psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic films typically contain visual distortion and experimental narratives, often emphasizing psychedelic imagery. They might reference drugs directly, or merely present a distorted reality resembling the effects of psychedelic drugs. Their experimental narratives often purposefully try to distort the viewers' understanding of reality or normality.^[1][2]

Subgenres

• Acid Western adapts tropes of the Western genre popular in the 1960s and 1970s, augmented with psychedelic imagery or allusions.^[3]
• Psychodrama may complement dramatic elements of the film with psychedelic imagery based on psychological expansion or exploration.
• Stoner film exploits the comic potential of recreational cannabis, often punctuated with exaggerated psychedelia.^[4]

Examples

• The Red Shoes, 1948^[5]
• Daisies, 1966^[5]
• Point Blank, 1967^[5]
• 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968^[5]
• The Devils, 1971^[5]
• Behind the Green Door, 1972^[5]
• The Devil, 1972^[5]
• Fantastic Planet, 1973^[5]
• The Wicker Man, 1973^[5]
• 3 Women, 1977^[5]
• Suspiria, 1977^[5]
• Nosferatu the Vampyre, 1979^[5]
• Son of the White Mare, 1981^[5]
• Dead Man, 1995^[5]
• Requiem for a Dream, 2000^[5]
• A Field in England, 2013^[5]
• Friend of the World, 2020^[6]
• Yellow Submarine, 1968^[7]
• Zabriskie Point, 1970^[5]

See also

• Stoner film
• Surrealist cinema
• Psychedelic art
• Psychedelic literature
• Psychedelic music
• List of films featuring hallucinogens

References

1. "25 Great Psychedelic Movies That Are Worth Your Time". Taste Of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. 2 February 2015.
2. "The 100 best animated movies: the best psychedelic movies". Time Out New York. 8 December 2021.
3. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1996-06-26). "Acid Western: Dead Man". Chicago Reader.
4. Meltzer, Marisa (2007-06-26). "The eternal appeal of the stoner movie". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
5. tasteofcinema (24 August 2019). "25 Great Psychedelic Movies That Are Worth Your Time". tasteofcinema.
6. Melissa Hannon (31 July 2021). "Review: 'Friend of the World' (2020) is a Bizarre Apocalyptic Film". Horror Geek Life.
7. Complex Mag (5 March 2010). "What A Trip! The Greatest Psychedelic Movies of All Time". Complex.