Acid flashbacks: The psychedelic horror film post-1979.

This article examines the psychedelic horror film subgenre, defined specifically as horror films in which characters ingest hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, tracing its evolution from the 1960s to the present. Drawing on Harry M. Benshoff’s analysis of the 1960s LSD film cycle, the article explores how these films reflect shifting cultural anxieties around drug use, social control, and countercultural movements, often blending horror, exploitation, and science fiction elements. While early films frequently portrayed psychedelics as dangerous and reactionary, later works engage more complexly with themes of political distrust, existential nihilism, and the failure of 1960s counterculture to effect social change. The subgenre serves as a sociohistorical barometer, using psychedelic imagery and narratives to negotiate ongoing cultural traumas and contemporary issues such as addiction, government corruption, and conspiracy theories, rather than simply rejecting the counterculture outright.