A young man named Ben is ready for a night of drinking games and partying with his old friends when he goes sees the building weed guy, a man named Mike, to buy some weed. After getting stoned, on what Ben believes is laced weed , Ben and Mike head out on a hallucinatory journey of discovery.
Sounds simple, eh? Well when that journey consists of near a death experience, multiple visions and just plain trippy stuff then the road become a bit more complicated.
Director/writer Spyder Dobrofsky masterfully crafts a film that ultimately is a spiritual journey with Mike as the spirit guide and Ben coming to an awakening by the end of he film. But Spyder keeps throw the audience curve balls that makes us constantly question the reality of the moment. The film is shot black and white, with a small splattering of color at key moments, and has a very claustrophobic feel to it , especially near the beginning of the film where Spyder uses quick cuts and uncomfortable close-ups to recreate the feeling one gets when they get "too stoned". The film feels less and less claustrophobic as Ben gets closer to his journey's final destination. Though the overall message and story seem so simple, each scene, each frame, and every line of dialogue required my full attention. Not many movies do that to me anymore. For such a small budget film, the acting was excellent and believable but Aunt Jane was my favorite character, hands down. This is a movie to be seen by people who appreciate film as art, because is it art, but is accessible enough that the average movie watcher would it enjoy it as well. I look forward to seeing what Spyder has in store for us next.