Fans of low budget, drive-in level'70s horror will love Blue Sunshine, and will want to seek out the new DVD release. Written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, the 1978 movie incorporates preposterously staged action scenes and one of the most undynamic car chases imaginable. With few exceptions, the cast (many of the actors went on to bigger things) look ill rehearsed, slightly stoned or both.
And yet, as is often the case with this genre, there are redeeming moments of intentional humor. “Damn television shows”—a detective grouses after the witness to a heinous killing spree demands to see a lawyer—and social commentary. The story is actually interesting. Several people lose their hair, go berserk and turn into mindless, murdering zombies. The protagonist, falsely accused of the crimes, is on the run and trying to solve his case (a la Hitchcock) before the cops nail him. He finds a connection between the perpetrators—all of them had attended Stanford in the late '60s where they purchased a form of LSD (“Blue Sunshine”) from a dealer who has since become a rising politician.
Especially (and intentionally) funny: the scene in which a bald-headed, snarling zombie runs amok in a disco located inside a shopping mall. It's George Romero territory!
