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.
Subgenres Acid Western adapts tropes of the Western genre popular in the 1960s and 1970s, augmented with psychedelic imagery or allusions. 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.
Examples: Live Action 1940s 1948: The Red Shoes 1960s 1966: Daisies 1967: Point Blank 1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey; the Stargate sequence features slit-scan animation
1970s 1970: Zabriskie Point 1971: The Devils 1972: Behind the Green Door 1972: The Devil 1973: The Wicker Man 1977: 3 Women 1977: Suspiria
1990s 1995: Dead Man
2000s 2000: Requiem for a Dream
2010s 2013: A Field in England
2020s 2020: Friend of the World
Examples: Animation 1960s 1968: Yellow Submarine
1970s 1973: Fantastic Planet
1980s 1981: Son of the White Mare
See also Stoner film Surrealist cinema Psychedelic art Psychedelic Animation Psychedelic literature Psychedelic music List of films featuring hallucinogens
References