313:, beating and terrorizing its patrons including a police detective and Alicia, and causing crowds to flee the mall in panic (an escaped patron delivers the film's most famous line to Jerry by screaming "There's a bald maniac in there, and he's going batshit!"). Jerry tracks Wayne to an empty department store and paralyzes him with the dart gun.
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are over. Flemming, now a respected local politician running for
Congress, lies and tells Jerry he never heard of Blue Sunshine. When Jerry visits Flemming's estranged wife, Wendy, he finds she is also bald and about to murder two children she is babysitting. Jerry saves the children by pushing the
287:
Jerry is wrongly accused of the murders and goes on the lam, trying to gather evidence to prove his innocence, helped by his friends Alicia
Sweeney and surgeon David Blume. After learning about a similar sudden mass murder by a bald police officer, Jerry discovers that ten years prior, a group of
480:
The movie gets a thumbs-up since quirky (Jeff) Lieberman directs. You know you are entering
Liebermanâs world when the very movie title is spoken by his parrot. I imagine that Lieberman had a checklist for his 70s style movie, things that were popular at the time. For example, random car chase?
308:
dart gun, Jerry goes to a
Flemming rally at a shopping mall, having learned that Flemming's campaign manager/ bodyguard Wayne Mulligan (Ray Young) was a heavy Blue Sunshine user. Before Jerry's arrival, the now-bald Wayne goes on a rampage through the mall
453:, deeming it "the kind of terror tale guaranteed to put you into a state of shock for ages afterwards, besides acquainting us with director, Jeff Lieberman, who has an undeniable, if wilful, talent." When reviewing the film for its local
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gave the film two and a half stars out of five and called it "an unjustly neglected genre classic that delivers a deft fusion of horror-movie tropes, social satire, and cult-film weirdness." In the
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An on-screen epilogue states that Wayne was tested, found to have "extensive chromosomic aberrations", and confined to a sanitarium, and that 255 doses of Blue
Sunshine are still unaccounted for.
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gave the film a mildly favorable review, calling it "too uneven to please a general audience" but "offers enough moments of interest for fans of horror films and offbeat cult items."
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after his brother, a physician, told him of accounts of people suffering nervous breakdowns associated with LSD they had taken years prior. Filming began in Los
Angeles in late 1976.
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Film critic Matt Johns has written that while he overall liked the film, the ending lacked resolution. Using his popcorn bag system, he awarded the film five out of five bags.
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Shot at the end of 1976 and into early 1977, the influential film gradually amassed an eclectic but hardcore following over the years. Its champions include
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felt the film was imperfect but effective, writing: "Despite its low budget and less than superb acting... the film can be quite chilling at points."
300:
Jerry schemes to prove that Blue
Sunshine is causing homicidal psychosis by finding a past user of the drug who is still living and can be tested for
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called "Blue
Sunshine," provided by dealer Ed Flemming, and are now suddenly losing their hair and becoming homicidal maniacs many years after their
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formats with two different cover art options. Synapse Films released the film in a special edition 4K Ultra HD through their website in June 2024.
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Check. Discothèque? Check. Conspiracy theory? Check. Obligatory âThis movie is based on true eventsâ disclaimer at the end of the film? Check.
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284:, brutally murders several party guests, and chases Jerry Zipkin into the nearby road, where Frannie is hit and killed by a passing truck.
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276:" and playfully tries to kiss his friend's date, causing the friend to pull Frannie's hair, which unexpectedly comes off. The
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In 2022, German distributor Camera
Obscura released a limited edition special mediabook edition of the film including both
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knife-wielding Wendy off her apartment balcony, but ends up wrongly accused of her murder as well.
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of the film in 2003. In 2011, New Video issued a DVD release as well.
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on
November 23, 1977. In the United States, it opened regionally in
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620:"People Lose Their Hair -- and Their Minds -- in 'Blue Sunshine'"
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584:. November 27, 1977. p. 9-V – via Newspapers.com.
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Synapse Entertainment released a special edition two-disc
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During a party, Frannie Scott croons the jazz standard "
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576:"Starts FRIDAY! A Trip into Horror! "BLUE SUNSHINE""
245:. The plot focuses on a series of random murders in
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457:release in December 1977, Russ Edmonston of the
431:on December 2, 1977, and the following week in
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288:college students had taken a new form of
817:. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
793:. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
745:. p. B6 – via Newspapers.com.
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304:damage caused by the drug. Armed with a
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595:Smith, Richard Harland (May 10, 2013).
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875:from the original on January 27, 2022.
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423:opened theatrically in England at the
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941:from the original on August 14, 2024.
919:from the original on August 14, 2024.
897:from the original on August 14, 2024.
783:Hutchinson, Tom (November 27, 1977).
769:from the original on August 14, 2024.
695:
645:Alexander, Chris (October 30, 2015).
556:List of films featuring hallucinogens
256:Over the years, the film attracted a
253:that they had all taken years prior.
861:Wilkins, Budd (September 20, 2011).
827:
735:Edmonston, Russ (December 9, 1977).
438:
1102:American psychological horror films
830:"Blue Sunshine - Review - AllMovie"
13:
1147:English-language independent films
1097:1970s psychological thriller films
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611:
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978:Blue Sunshine at the TCM Database
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603:. TCM Underground. Archived from
1117:Films directed by Jeff Lieberman
408:Lieberman devised the story for
386:Adriana Shaw as Barbara O'Malley
374:Richard Crystal as Frannie Scott
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901:
879:
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389:Bill Sorrells as Ritchie Grazzo
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177: (Raleigh, North Carolina)
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1142:English-language horror films
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526:
403:
1132:1970s English-language films
762:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
737:"'Blue Sunshine' Faded Film"
356:Ann Cooper as Wendy Flemming
7:
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359:Ray Young as Wayne Mulligan
154:November 23, 1977
141:Cinema Shares International
10:
1163:
1112:American independent films
455:Greensboro, North Carolina
433:Greensboro, North Carolina
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383:Barbara Quinn as Stephanie
169:December 2, 1977
1122:Films shot in Los Angeles
1107:Films about hallucinogens
1021:
909:"Blue Sunshine (Cover B)"
887:"Blue Sunshine (Cover A)"
511:and even the late critic
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33:Theatrical release poster
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1127:Films set in Los Angeles
229:written and directed by
581:The News & Observer
519:screened on TV in 1982.
429:Raleigh, North Carolina
392:Jeffrey Druce as Junkie
319:
267:
1092:1977 independent films
785:"House of disillusion"
719:on September 13, 2018.
521:
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371:as Lieutenant Jennings
365:as O'Malley's Neighbor
1059:Satan's Little Helper
807:(November 23, 1977).
742:Greensboro Daily News
607:on December 17, 2014.
601:Turner Classic Movies
499:
497:, Simon Abrams wrote:
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460:Greensboro Daily News
435:on December 9, 1977.
1137:1970s American films
913:Camera Obscura Films
891:Camera Obscura Films
790:The Sunday Telegraph
446:The Sunday Telegraph
425:London Film Festival
164:London Film Festival
472:Fawn Krisenthia of
280:Frannie then has a
225:is a 1977 American
115:Brian Smedley-Aston
1013:Films directed by
828:Guarisco, Donald.
809:"Apples and pairs"
676:Krisenthia, Fawn.
443:Tom Hutchinson of
341:as Edward Flemming
1087:1977 horror films
1069:
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937:. June 27, 2024.
712:The Village Voice
439:Critical response
353:as Detective Clay
335:as Alicia Sweeney
218:
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1043:Just Before Dawn
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132:Charles Gross
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119:Russ Kingston
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839:. Retrieved
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814:The Guardian
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685:. Retrieved
682:Cult Reviews
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339:Mark Goddard
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274:Just in Time
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243:Mark Goddard
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186:Running time
82:Mark Goddard
658:November 1,
540:4K Ultra HD
396:Brion James
327:Zalman King
311:discotheque
306:paraldehyde
247:Los Angeles
235:Zalman King
227:horror film
72:Zalman King
57:Produced by
39:Directed by
1082:1977 films
1076:Categories
935:Rue Morgue
631:2017-11-01
625:PopMatters
562:References
527:Home media
507:filmmaker
404:Production
380:as Ralphie
378:Bill Adler
302:chromosome
190:95 minutes
173:1977-12-02
158:1977-11-23
104:Don Knight
49:Written by
687:August 5,
509:Joe Dante
214:$ 550,000
109:Edited by
16:1977 film
939:Archived
917:Archived
895:Archived
873:Archived
841:July 24,
835:AllMovie
767:Archived
550:See also
504:Gremlins
467:AllMovie
449:praised
203:Language
128:Music by
65:Starring
544:Blu-ray
416:Release
398:as Tony
264:since.
206:English
195:Country
171: (
156: (
1062:(2004)
1054:(1988)
1046:(1981)
1038:(1977)
1030:(1976)
1027:Squirm
476:wrote:
241:, and
211:Budget
162: (
294:trips
962:IMDb
843:2012
689:2011
660:2017
542:and
320:Cast
278:bald
268:Plot
971:at
960:at
533:DVD
290:LSD
251:LSD
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
