Written, directed, and starring Mycle Scheuer, Trip Report by a Psychonaut takes us on a mind-bending journey featuring two friends and a single pill on a road trip of the mind unlike any other.
Ayo (Toluwa Banjo) arrives at her friend Konrad’s (Mycle Scheuer) home to find the door unlocked and no answer when she calls out. Concerned, she lets herself in and follows the faint smell of weed to his upstairs bedroom, where Konrad lies on the floor in a meditative haze. As he returns to this current reality, he tosses her a small yellow pill and asks if she wants to join him. Not knowing the origin of the pill, she refuses.
Determined to keep an eye on him, Ayo insists on staying to make sure he’ll be all right. Konrad demands that she not interfere unless his life is truly in danger. Ayo swears to let him experience the trip on his own terms. With the rules set and the air thick with the scent of cannabis, Konrad swallows the pill, settling back onto the floor as the first waves of his psychedelic journey begin leading him to partake in the dangerous “knife game.”
“…Konrad swallows the pill, settling back onto the floor as the first waves of his psychedelic journey begin…”
Trip Report by a Psychonaut is quite a “trip.” With almost no money to make a short, Scheuer manages to present his personal journey with psychedelics, which actually tells a story with conflict. It’s a well thought-out story, considering the subject matter…and pays the proper attention to his co-star Toluwa Banjo. The acting may not be great, but this is a story where we’re not expecting Oscar-winning performances.
As a film, Scheuer may not have access to expensive professional equipment, but he does make the most of what he does have, which is close to nothing. His creative use of lighting and the absence of lighting, along with some off-the-shelf digital effects, shows that a lot of thought went into the final presentation…more than other DIY filmmakers do. It’s all in service to the story.
Trip Report by a Psychonaut captures the raw spirit of no-budget filmmaking while delivering a surprisingly cohesive and psychedelic story. With its blend of lo-fi visuals, eerie atmosphere, and psychological tension, Mycle Scheuer shows us the road trip in his head through one on the screen.
Trip Report by a Psychonaut is now streaming in full on YouTube.
"…captures the raw spirit of no-budget filmmaking,,,"
