Buzz
Looking to dive into a psychedelic experience without taking any substances? These films will mesmerize you with their hypnotic visuals, entrancing soundtracks, and unconventional storytelling that push the boundaries of cinema.
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is a groundbreaking 1968 science fiction masterpiece from the visionary director Stanley Kubrick. Regarded as one of the most ambitious films ever made, it explores the story of human evolution, from primitive apes to the future of space exploration.
The film opens with a portrayal of early hominids in their everyday lives, until an alien monolith appears, sparking a transformative moment. This mysterious object reappears throughout the film, linking the past and the future. The rest of the story follows a group of astronauts on a cryptic mission, assisted by an AI named HAL, whose increasingly erratic behavior adds to the tension.
MGM Studios invested $12 million in Odyssey, marking the largest budget they had ever allocated to a film at the time. Initially promoted as 'an epic drama of adventure and exploration,' the film was met with disappointment by audiences. Mike Kaplan, described as 'the resident longhair in the publicity department of MGM,' was enlisted to rework the film's marketing strategy. He observed that the younger generation, particularly those of the 1960s counterculture, enjoyed getting high during the film's climactic moments. To tap into this trend, Kaplan designed a poster titled 'The Ultimate Trip.' Over time, the film earned recognition as a psychedelic classic.
9. Eraserhead
David Lynch's 1977 debut feature, Eraserhead, was a black-and-white, experimental body horror film. While attending the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, Lynch created this unsettling narrative about Henry (John Nance), a man who discovers his casual fling has led to an unexpected pregnancy. He marries the expectant mother and moves her into his home, but the experience of impending fatherhood becomes nightmarish when their baby turns out to be a disturbing, shrieking creature. The situation worsens as the mother descends into hysteria, leaving Henry to care for the child while a strange woman resides in his radiator.
Lynch's inspiration for the film's dark and suffocating atmosphere stemmed from his own experiences in Philadelphia. He recalled witnessing a woman who, bizarrely, grabbed her breasts and spoke in baby talk, complaining about nipple pain. As Lynch noted, 'This kind of thing will set you back.'
8. Irreversible
Gaspar Noé's 2002 film, Irreversible, is an unflinching, almost unbearable experience that has earned a reputation for being one of the most controversial films ever made. With its disturbing imagery, subsonic 28 Hz sound, and unrelenting violence, the film delivers a profoundly uncomfortable viewing experience. Told in reverse, it follows a man (Vincent Cassell) on a vengeful quest after his girlfriend (Monica Bellucci) is violently raped and beaten in an underpass. The assault is shown in a single, unbroken shot that spans nine agonizing minutes.
The film’s first thirty minutes feature a near-invisible low-frequency sound that mimics the rumble of an earthquake. This sound is capable of inducing nausea and dizziness. Unsurprisingly, many viewers walked out due to the discomforting noise and the even more disturbing scenes on screen. Roger Ebert observed critics leaving the theater and admitted he had to close his eyes during some of the scenes. However, Ebert later stated that enduring the intense experience was ultimately worthwhile, as viewers who persevered were rewarded with moments of tenderness and innocence.
7. Inland Empire
Inland Empire, released in 2006, is an experimental film by David Lynch that remains one of his most enigmatic works. Laura Dern stars as Nikki, an actress who lands a role in a film where she plays a woman involved in an affair. The man she becomes involved with is Devon (Justin Theroux), a character whose presence makes Nikki's real-life husband extremely jealous. As Nikki’s character begins to merge with her own reality, her life turns into a surreal nightmare, and she soon discovers the film she’s part of is actually a remake of a production in which the cast was murdered.
Both Laura Dern and Justin Theroux, who previously collaborated with Lynch, have openly admitted they have no understanding of what Inland Empire truly represents. The title of the film itself offers little clarity, being born out of a casual conversation between Lynch and Dern, where she mentioned her husband’s origins from the Inland Empire region of California. Lynch simply remarked, 'I like the word inland, and I like the word empire.'
6. Holy Motors
For those in search of something truly extraordinary and unconventional, Leos Carax’s 2012 film Holy Motors is an unmissable experience. After a 13-year hiatus, Carax returned to feature filmmaking with this strange and cryptic fantasy that invites multiple viewings to fully grasp its complexity.
Denis Lavant stars as the enigmatic Monsieur Oscar, a man chauffeured across Paris in a limousine by his devoted driver (Édith Scob). Throughout the day, Oscar transforms into various eccentric personas, each one a new role, but there are no cameras, no audience – just the performance itself.
NPR’s review of Holy Motors aptly characterizes it as 'a love letter to movies.' However, this isn’t a film filled with obvious references. The more films you’ve watched in your lifetime, the more perplexing and elusive Holy Motors becomes.
5. Lost River
Ryan Gosling’s 2016 directorial debut, *Lost River*, showcases his admiration for cinematic icons such as David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn, both of whom influenced him while he starred in *Drive* and *Only God Forgives*. This film blends elements of fantasy and mystery with a touch of avant-garde filmmaking, while presenting a distinctive, fresh interpretation through Gosling’s lens.
A single mother, portrayed by Christina Hendricks, navigates life in the crumbling, post-apocalyptic Detroit. Her world changes dramatically when her son uncovers a hidden path leading to a secret underwater town, a strange place inhabited by a terrifying creature they must capture.
Peter Howell of the *Toronto Star* described *Lost River* as a visual masterpiece, saying, “Designed to daze and confuse, and succeeding, Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut is a stunner in visual terms alone.” Yet, despite its stunning visuals, the film only earned a 31 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
4. *Only God Forgives*
Set in the vibrant yet brutal world of Bangkok, *Only God Forgives* (2013) is a crime-thriller written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Julian, a drug trafficker tasked by his domineering mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) with avenging the death of his brother, Billy.
Julian’s world becomes increasingly entangled when he uncovers the truth about his brother’s killer—the man is also the father of a young prostitute whom Billy had raped and murdered. Julian believes the father acted out of justice in avenging his daughter's death, and he decides not to take the killer’s life.
Refn’s daughter, gifted with the ability to see spirits, would often wake up in fear in the Bangkok apartment where his family stayed during the film's production. The experience, combined with Thai culture’s openness to the supernatural, led Refn to understand that spirituality in Asia holds a different meaning. He recounts how this realization pushed him to make the kind of film he had always wanted to create.
3. Enter The Void
One film that stands above the rest is the 2009 masterpiece Enter The Void. Directed by Gaspar Noé, this mind-bending journey explores life and death from the perspective of an American drug dealer (Nathaniel Brown) in Tokyo, who consumes a potent hallucinogen, DMT. As the film unfolds, viewers are taken along for a psychedelic ride that challenges perception.
During his trip, Oscar is arrested by the police and fatally shot. The film, filmed entirely from a first-person perspective, shifts into an out-of-body experience, where Oscar, now deceased, watches the events unfold from above, revisiting key moments of his life while floating over the vibrant, neon-drenched streets of the city.
Robert Abele, a critic for the Los Angeles Times, sums it up this way: 'Delving into the chaotic, mind-bending world of drug culture and life beyond death — 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead' is referenced early, and nods to Stanley Kubrick and Kenneth Anger are present visually — Enter the Void showcases an exhilarating mastery of the cinema that explores altered states of consciousness.'
2. mother!
In this 2017 psychological horror film, Jennifer Lawrence portrays a young woman who spends her time fixing up the Victorian house she shares with her writer husband (Javier Bardem). One night, a stranger knocks on their door. Before long, his wife and children arrive, and things begin to spiral out of control as even more unwanted visitors take over their home, much to the husband's delight, while the young woman is horrified.
An intriguing detail about the film is that none of the characters have actual names. The main character is simply 'Mother,' and her husband is 'Him.' Other characters include figures such as Man, Woman, Fool, Pisser, Fornicator, and Whoremonger!
1. Climax
Avoid psychedelic drugs if you plan on watching Gaspar Noé’s 2018 psychological horror film *Climax*. The story follows a group of French dancers who are preparing for an upcoming tour at an abandoned school during a freezing winter.
After their rehearsal, the dancers opt to unwind with some sangria, bonding with each other. However, they remain unaware that the sangria has been spiked with LSD, quickly turning their celebration into a nightmarish, hallucinatory experience.
Noé wrapped up filming in just 15 days. He conceived the idea for *Climax* in December 2017, and by February 2018, the film was ready for its premiere at Cannes. Remarkably, none of the talented actors in the film are professional dancers.
