A somewhat offbeat, not uninteresting portrait of Italian youth culture of the 1970s, "Hallucination Strip" stars then-popular young American actor Bud Cort. Bud plays Massimo Monaldi, a hippie type who's just as much into juvenile delinquency as he is into political protest. He buys trouble for himself when he steals a valuable "snuff box", or tobacco box, and gets caught between the investigating detectives - led by Inspector De Stefani (Marcel Bozzuffi) - and the local Mafia. He is also approached by his friend Rudy (Settimio Segnatelli) to procure drugs for a party that Rudy hopes will be a life changing event for him.
The advertising makes this seem as if it will be bizarre and trippy throughout. Such is not the case, as most of the time, "Hallucination Strip" tells a fairly conventional story. It isn't until the film is more than half over that we get a true set piece of psychedelia. The "dream" sequence goes on for a few minutes, and is very striking with its use of colour, makeup, and choreography. Overall, this is a very well made film that looks glorious on Blu-ray. It also serves as a 93 minute snapshot of a particular place at a particular time. Buffs should appreciate this for being a reasonably provocative combination of art and exploitation; there's sufficient female (and male) nudity to hold a viewers' attention.
Bud makes the most of the material, and his role, which was definitely different from others he'd played during this time. The rest of the cast is equally fine, with an especially effective turn by Bozzuffi as the detective on a mission.
This is entertaining enough to make one glad that there are home video companies that see fit to resurrect obscure items like "Hallucination Strip".
Six out of 10.
