So you just got home from watching Doctor Strange, a film that – whatever its flaws – aimed to expand the horizons of superhero movie visual effects and undeniably succeeded. Doctor Strange travels to wild new dimensions, hops out of his body, fights with his own clothing and warps time itself over the course of his new movie, to the delight and blown minds of audiences everywhere.
The question you have to ask yourself now is, what next? Not many movies try to evoke the sort of psychedelic insanity that Doctor Strange throws on screen, and many of the movies that do are the sort of esoteric art house oddities that don’t exactly make for a great double feature with a Marvel superhero flick.
Also: Tilda Swinton Talks ‘Doctor Strange’ and ‘Suspiria’ (Exclusive Interview)
Don’t worry, Crave has you covered. We’ve got ten of the most psychedelic movies ever made, entertaining blockbusters, kooky historical oddities, and timeless classics with some of the most exciting imagery ever put on film. You’re welcome, internet. Enjoy.
Ten Psychedelic Films to Watch After ‘Doctor Strange’
Top Photo: Warner Bros.
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
10 Psychedelic Films to Watch After 'Doctor Strange'
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Barbarella (1968)
Roger Vadim's oversexed, overstuffed, overdesigned, and overall just plain overwhelming adaptation of the French sci-fi comic Barbarella is one of the most entertaining freakouts of the 1960s.
Photo: Paramount
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The Cell (2000)
Jennifer Lopez travels into the mind of a serial killer in Tarsem Singh's unscientific but unbelievable (in a good way) head trip. These hallucinations aren't how crazy people think. They're how crazy people think that OTHER crazy people think.
Photo: New Line Cinema
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Pick a Terry Gilliam film, just about any Terry Gilliam film, and you've probably picked a psychedelic classic. We're giving a narrow edge to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for capturing, for better and worse, what an acid trip really feels like. (Er, at least that's what we've been told.)
Photo: Universal Pictures
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Life of Pi (2012)
A mind-blowing rumination on religion, wrapped in a weird tale about a young man, adrift at sea, with only a man-eating tiger to keep him company. Ang Lee's film features some of the most gorgeous visual effects on record, in service of spiritual enlightenment or - depending on your point of view - the exact opposite of enlightenment. Your call. Have fun debating it.
Photo: 20th Century Fox
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Paprika (2006)
Why watch Inception when you can watch the even weirder, even more fascinating film that inspired Inception? Satoshi Kon's animated classic is also about technology that lets one person enter another person's dreams, but where it goes from there is equal parts genius and insanity.
Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan
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Speed Racer (2008)
Speaking of anime, Speed Racer is Wachowski Starship's noble attempt to adapt not just the plot, but also the exuberant feel of Japanese animation in a live-action/CGI hybrid. The result is a hyperkinetic whirlwind of colorful silliness, a misunderstood and marvelous cinematic experience that will fry your mind.
Photo: Warner Bros.
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Tron: Legacy (2010)
The original TRON was trippy enough, but Joe Kasinski's follow-up dials the style and subtext up to 11 (and beyond). Someone else gets sucked into The Grid, and experiences an updated world of light cycles, religious mumbo-jumbo and some of the prettiest CGI in history, all set to a perfect and thumping score by the inimitable Daft Punk.
Photo: Walt Disney
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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick's mind-expanding sci-fi film takes you from the dawn of human intelligence to our experiences outside the furthest reaches of science and human understanding. Enigmatic, dazzling, and still one of the most original and exciting sci-fi stories ever told, with imagery that you will never forget.
Photo: MGM
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The Wizard of Oz (1939)
It may seem like a quaint kids film now, but The Wizard of Oz was an innovative visual effects spectacular back in 1939, introducing audiences to exciting new storytelling techniques and bizarre imagery that still delights and dements new audiences today. For extra psychedelic weirdness, synch it up to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and let the madness sink in.
Photo: MGM
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Yellow Submarine (1968)
The Beatles (not, sadly, played by the actual Beatles) get sucked into an ongoing conflict with the Blue Meanies in this animated oddity that boasts weird and colorful animation, and - of course - one of the best soundtracks ever.
Photo: United Artists
