Misirlou

'Guy on a motorbike comes to town. Nobody likes him, especially not the police. He takes various drugs to have a more interesting time, but instead, this leads to violence and killing.' You could summarize 'Easy Rider' with these words, but 'Adrenochrome' just as well, 50 years later. This low budget movie took a lot of effort with the visual effects. Computer painting in comic book style and such kind of graphic tools are omnipresent. But apart from the occasionally impressive exercise in style, it has little actual content to offer. I was hoping to dream in the following night about the skull face girl at least, but it didn't happen, so the makers didn't impress my subconscious as much as they wanted to. And they tried hard. You can give this a shot if you like weird movies - did I mention the surfer cannibals? - or just run out of drugs but want to feel like you didn't. I voted an undecided 5 of 10.

A senselessly stupid MTV clips of drugs and gore with absolutely no substance and sense. Some Anti-American propaganda mixed in there, anti-soldier propaganda (Tom Sizemore trying to be Marlon Brando) and failing miserably. No actor is any good in here, except a girl in skull face paint (looks awesome) and Larry Bishop, spending most of his on-screen time with his face in some girl's ass. Best thing one can do in this crap movie. At times it seems writer/director wanted to make a sort of NATURAL BORN KILLERS / LEAVING LAS VEGAS, but either way he failed miserably.

There is no movie or movie making here, it is just some self indulgent stoners who thought they would make a film to 'blow their minds', the result is just a busy mess of childish incoherence by people trying too hard to be hip and 'unique'.

Adrenochrome channels a grindhouse-infused John Waters as it takes the viewer on a breakneck trip through a shattered kaleidoscope of blood, violence and bacchanalian debauchery, not stopping to make much sense along the way. This may not be an "instant classic", but it smashes through its fragmented narrative with enough charm to one day develop a low key cult following. Best consumed under the influence of multiple psychedelics.

Yes, there is a substance called adrenochrome. It is a metabolite of adrenaline. No, it is not a psychedelic. The major effect of the substance seems to be severe headaches.

But ever since Hunter S. Thompson wrote a passage about it in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, people have had a weird fascination with this semi-non-existent drug.

So, suspending my disbelief of the premise of this film, how was it? It was... okay. Some good fight scenes and some hot girls occupy much of the screen time.

Let me just say that anyone who compared this to Easy Rider is full of it. Yeah, there's a guy on a motorcycle, and some 60s-ish sounding music, but that's about the only connection.

Hunter Thompson does make an appearance of sorts. His literary alter ego - Dr. Gonzo - appears in one of the main character's hallucinations.

They used a rotoscoping technique a la A Scanner Darkly for the drug sequences. I think it mostly works, adding a layer of irreality to them.

Overall, I found it entertaining, but I won't be surprised if, in a week or so, I don't remember much of it.