Le rayon bleu

A 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.

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

Wacky 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.

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.

Thriller 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.