Hallucination Strip | Blu-Ray Review

Raro Video restores an odd obscurity with Hallucination Strip, the one and only film to be directed by Lucio Marcaccini. As one easily can see several minutes into the feature, his lack of subsequent films is for good reason. A handful of Italian actors in supporting roles are out shadowed by the curious presence of American actor Bud Cort in the lead role in this uneasy stew of police procedural and youth counter culture. Wildly uneven and amounting to what seems like a whole lot of nothing, those mildly curious might be moved to give it a look.

Massimo Monaldi (Cort) is a student involved in political protests, particularly on issues pertaining to the current state of the education system as a means to oppress Italy’s youth. But he’s also a good time guy, running with a pack of rebellious youths whose main interests usually have something to do with sex, drugs, and lounging around. But when he steals a valuable snuff box from a girlfriend’s father (as a means to buy a boatload of drugs for a buddy’s upcoming party), he’s caught between the mob and the police.

Disc Review

Fans of obscure Euro-sleaze will perhaps appreciate the opportunity to see Hallucination Strip, which feels much less Euro and has much less sleaze than one would expect, even if it is unerringly trashy. The digital restoration looks exquisite and a striking locale and portrait of a certain time and place seem wasted in this trite exercise. The film’s dubbing tends to distract from noticing the soundtrack. But do yourself a favor—if you make it through to the end, check out the supplemental feature, an interview with film editor Giulio Berruti. It’s a fascinating look about the making of the film, concerning a director out of his league (Marcaccini was never heard from again and was rumored to have sold his farm to finance the film) and an uneasy American star jarringly at odds with the rest of the cast.

Final Thoughts

For better or worse, the sleazy exploits promised by the kitschy title are nary in sight, except for one oddly designed sequence where the effete and bourgeois Rudy (Settimio Segnatelli) trips on LSD and thinks he sees women painted as green reptiles (underwear intact, mind you) doing jivey moves, inspiring him to bail through a window. In fact, Hallucination Strip (retitled from its original moniker, Roma Drogata: La Polizia Non Puo Intervenire, in short, The Police Cannot Intervene) is surprisingly tame. Film editor Giulio Berruti claims he injected as many extra nude scenes as he could to sustain interest, yet the language is surprisingly scrubbed, with Bozzuffi’s inspector declaring “I don’t give a freak” at one point.

The presence of Bud Cort manages to be more amusing than distracting given that someone with considerable bass was tasked with dubbing him. There’s hardly a moment where Cort doesn’t seem awkward or out of place, his ill-conceived wardrobe and jaunty gait only overridden by his distracting look, as he manages an odd mix of scruffy while appearing extremely plucked.

Apparently not knowing a lick of Italian, this was Cort’s follow-up to Harold & Maude, which had been a considerable hit. Also considering his presence in a pair of Altman titles before that (MASH; Brewster McCloud) makes this trip to Italy to star in first time director Marcacinni seem even stranger. Considered a blatant flop, it was never released outside of Italy, and it’s easy to see why. Several supporting players, like Marcel Bozzuffi (who worked with Friedkin, Altman, Costa-Gavras) and another Francesco Rosi alum, Guido Alberti, might make this more interesting for cineastes than Mr. Cort. If anything, its misguided attempts at class contemplation are worth a laugh considering the dramatic action revolves around a bourgeois mamma’s boy and his highly anticipated acid party meant to serve as “a magical moment” that marks the “close of an absurd existence.” Uh huh.

Film: ★/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆