Adrenochrome

Yes, there is a substance called adrenochrome. It is a metabolite of adrenaline. No, it is not a psychedelic. The major effect of the substance seems to be severe headaches.

But ever since Hunter S. Thompson wrote a passage about it in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, people have had a weird fascination with this semi-non-existent drug.

So, suspending my disbelief of the premise of this film, how was it? It was... okay. Some good fight scenes and some hot girls occupy much of the screen time.

Let me just say that anyone who compared this to Easy Rider is full of it. Yeah, there's a guy on a motorcycle, and some 60s-ish sounding music, but that's about the only connection.

Hunter Thompson does make an appearance of sorts. His literary alter ego - Dr. Gonzo - appears in one of the main character's hallucinations.

They used a rotoscoping technique a la A Scanner Darkly for the drug sequences. I think it mostly works, adding a layer of irreality to them.

Overall, I found it entertaining, but I won't be surprised if, in a week or so, I don't remember much of it.

That at least is the title in Germany for whatever reason. Misirlou is a song (title) and one that has been used by Quenting Tarantino in Pulp Fiction. This little nugget of information aside, are there similarities between this filmmaker and QT? I haven't studied up on Simms and his vita, but when it comes to the movie itself they are quite different yet Simms also gives a lot of nods to different movies (from Clockwork Orange to war movies and a lot more).

So while this is going on, you also have the director front and center in front of the camera. And I think you can argue he is not half bad. Then again the nature of the movie makes it tough to judge certain things. If you are not into experimental stuff, you will have a lot of issues with this movie. Add to that violence and nudity and it can be a very weird cocktail for some (or even many). Not really a good movie overall, but the freakish nature of it all and the fact that it is all over the place might elevate this for some viewers

A senselessly stupid MTV clips of drugs and gore with absolutely no substance and sense. Some Anti-American propaganda mixed in there, anti-soldier propaganda (Tom Sizemore trying to be Marlon Brando) and failing miserably. No actor is any good in here, except a girl in skull face paint (looks awesome) and Larry Bishop, spending most of his on-screen time with his face in some girl's ass. Best thing one can do in this crap movie. At times it seems writer/director wanted to make a sort of NATURAL BORN KILLERS / LEAVING LAS VEGAS, but either way he failed miserably.

Having no knowledge and expectations of this film, watched it with a clear mind with only knowing simply the plot description. As a whole, the film feels like it tries doing too much as a homage to grindhouse movies.

The story combines flashbacks with dreamlike sequences and a lot of trippy drug like moments. The visuals do look good enough as there are bright colors.

Even so, the story is entirely confusing as a lot of time, we do not know exactly what occurs is real or a fantasy.

The acting is subpar yet watchable enough. Had difficulty remembering any of the characters names by the end of the film. The lead actor resembled somewhat to Guy Pearce in Memento. A highlight character was a girl in skull face paint. Instant presence in each of her scenes.

Overall this film is a mess and a lot of these 9 and 10 star reviews are overrating it (perhaps people who worked on the film).

What the actual hell is Tom Sizemore doing in this mess? Misirlou (rebranded Adrenochrome) feels like a late-night YouTube rabbit hole turned into a feature film-with all the chaos, none of the polish. To its credit, the idea of throwing every American right-wing conspiracy theory into a blender is, on paper, quite fun. And yes, the absurdity of the plot has its own twisted charm.

But that's where the praise ends.

The writing is painfully clunky, lacking rhythm, coherence, or any real depth. The characters resemble NPCs in a broken video game, uttering nonsensical monologues.

Visually, it's a disaster: it looks like the entire thing was shot on a cheap camcorder stuck on autofocus, with random GoPro angles thrown in for added confusion. There's no visual consistency, just shaky, amateur-grade footage that makes The Blair Witch Project look like Citizen Kane.

The soundtrack isn't bad-some tracks even slap-but they can't save a film that feels like it was assembled during a paranoid fever dream.

Sizemore's presence is baffling, like watching a fallen star wander through a student film. If you're into cinematic oddities for the sheer what-the-f*ery of it all, give it a go. Perhaps using the drugs that abound on screen would make the experience more enjoyable. Otherwise, consider this your warning.