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AKIRA (biker gets turned into rampaging psionic blob)
AVALON (game-player searches for the next level)
BIGGER THAN LIFE (James Mason gets hooked on cortisone)
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (it’s raining doughnuts)
EXISTENZ (how to build a gun out of Chinese food)
INNOCENCE: GHOST IN THE SHELL (killer sexbots on the loose)
THE NAKED LUNCH (Cronenberg + Burroughs = mindfuck)
PAPRIKA (thief steals device to enter dreams)
SPIRITED AWAY (wraiths, witches, dragon-boys, a monstrous baby…)
VIDEODROME (James Woods has video cassette slot in his stomach)

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These are all films that made me go, “Wow, maaan!” except maybe Bigger Than Life, which made me go, “Whoah!” and which I have to admit I included in a bid to give myself cinematic gravitas. Interesting to note that five of these are animation (four of which are Japanese anime), two are about role-playing computer games, three were directed by David Cronenberg and only two are about taking drugs per se.

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But, I hear you asking, what about the stargate sequence from 2001? I didn’t include that because I think it belongs in a different list: the List of Superannuated Hippy Trippy Movies, which would go something like this:

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
APOCALYPSE NOW
THE DOORS
EASY RIDER
EL TOPO
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
THE VALLEY (OBSCURED BY CLOUDS)
WONDERWALL
YELLOW SUBMARINE

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Here’s a link to my Trippy Movie Scenes article in the Guardian, 13/11/2009.

Trippy pix (top to bottom): Paprika, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Bigger Than Life, Spirited Away.

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