Blue Fire

It isn’t by accident Activision hired Dr. Timothy Leary as a consultant four decades ago. Much of how we talk about cyberspace had its architecture designed by LSD revelations way back when. Alli acknowledges these roots while pointing out how inspiration from visionary trips may still further be used as tools to get to the next level of reality via technology.

Reality takes a beating in Blue Fire as the non-narrative experimental factors are the roadside attraction. The filmmaker continues his mission to single-handedly bring superimposition back as an expressionistic tool. There is a startlingly effective image of a toy car superimposed over the POV shots of plunging off a cliff. The doubling of the dancing spirits dancing over each other gives a reason in the storyline, which is an impressive balance of style and substance.

“…the non-narrative experimental factors are the roadside attraction.”

The real treat is the spells used from Kenneth Anger’s underground film magick book. The director uses acid-tinged silent movie splendor to catch Anger’s subversive Babylonian decadence. The spectacles have an ethereally fun energy like those of Rabbit’s Moon and Inauguration of a Pleasure Dome. It is to Alli’s credit how well he wove the avant-garde visions into a coherent storyline, strengthening both. The final images are especially spellbinding and tint everything you watched, just like the cosmic climax in The Manitou. It also sounds as good as it looks, as Sylvi Alli delivers another one of her signature gothic drone scores.

Don’t let the denseness of the Jungian discourse turn you off, as this train’s destination is mind-peeling psychedelia. Blue Fire is another worthy installment in the oeuvre of Alli’s cinematic mind expansion.