Horror comes in various different shapes and forms. To some, it is the fear of the unknown (death or darkness). To others, it is the fright of the supernatural (ghosts or demons). However, one of the most startling horrors is the idea of slipping into insanity… to which there is no return. A truly terrifying feeling of loss of control as you ascend into madness, Jeff Lieberman captures the essence of it all in his 1977 film Blue Sunshine.
Looking back, Blue Sunshine was Lieberman’s second full-length feature film, and just a year prior to the project, he debuted in 1976 with the skin-creeping natural Horror film Squirm. These are two vastly different motion pictures; this set the trend for the New York-born filmmaker’s career when he later put out the Slasher Just Before Dawn in 1981, and the Sci-Fi film starring Kevin Dillion called Remote Control in 1988. Honestly, never making any two films alike, Blue Sunshine is perhaps one of Lieberman’s most crowned achievements and arguably one of the most overlooked Horror films of the ‘70s era.
In a screenplay inspired by real-life accounts of people suffering nervous breakdowns connected with their LSD usage years prior, Lieberman amplifies it all in a simply striking manner. A film that starred Zalman King (a talented actor who went on to a sensational career as a director and producer), it also featured Deborah Winters (an accomplished actress with many credits to her name), Mark Goddard (famously recognized for his role in the beloved Lost in Space series), Robert Walden (an Emmy nominated actor).
An outstanding cast, they bring Liberman’s screenplay’s intensity and innuendo to life in an extraordinary manner. This is while Liberman himself does a masterful job in the director’s chair, creating a distinctive mood. Shot in a way that the scenes play out naturally and at a steady pace, it is a smooth and engaging viewing experience. Combining everything together, Blue Sunshine is a story of curiosity, eeriness, and discomfort.
Providing a brief synopsis, it all begins with a group of friends at a party when, out of nowhere, one of them becomes unhinged and slips into a homicidal rage. From here, Jerry Kipkin (Zalman King) accidentally becomes the prime suspect in the incident, and he is soon on the run. Seeking answers as to what is going on, he finds himself in an improbable situation with hopes someone else does not break into a monstrous psychological state.
A race against time, more and more is revealed as Blue Sunshine burns on. Interestingly enough, the story is more than just a fictional Horror film. Why? There have been various reports that during the 1950s and 1960s, the CIA indeed developed mind-control drugs that could be used against foreign adversaries. These experiments included the development of LSD, which ironically became relatively commonly used within the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
Thought to be a mind expansion drug by those who used them recreationally, what if it was indeed planted in an attempt to control the human mind? A frightening thought, Blue Sunshine certainly raises a lot of questions about such theories while provoking you to consider the dire consequences of tampering with the fragility of the human brain.
Making for an absolutely sensational, edge-of-the-seat film, Blue Sunshine unjustly did not receive the acclaim it should have at the time of release but has since become dubbed a must-watch piece of 1970s Horror cinema. Finding more audiences as time went by, in 2003, Synapse Entertainment put it out on a lovely two-disc DVD. The darling of many film enthusiasts’ collections for two-plus decades, now in 2025, Synapse Films honor Blue Sunshine once more with a new Limited Edition 4K UHD three-disc set.
Set for release on April 15, 2025, this new release marks the first-ever domestic release of Blue Sunshine in 4K UHD. Initially released by German distributor Camera Obscura in Germany in 2022, the Synapse Films version offers you an all-new 4K restoration of the film, plus so much more. Breaking it down, you receive a 4K Ultra HD disc of the film, a Blu-ray disc of the film, as well as a CD with Charles Gross’s unsettling soundtrack.
Beyond this, you also get a ton of really cool special features such as commentaries from Jeff Lieberman, a nice booklet featuring a chapter from Lieberman’s 2020 book Day of the Live Me: Adventures of a Subversive Cult Filmmaker from the Golden Age, and a cool fold-out poster with the original theatrical artwork. If all of this was not enough, it is all packaged in a stunning box with new original artwork and the three-disc case itself sporting a really beautiful slipcover.
Esthetically stimulating to the eyes of avid collectors, it should not be understated how vivid the color and contrast are with the 4K restoration of Blue Sunshine from the original 35mm camera negative. That is why this is hands down the ultimate edition of Blue Sunshine you will ever own, with Cryptic Rock giving it 5 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment