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Psych-Out

Play trailer Poster for Psych-Out Released Mar 6, 1968 1h 22m Drama Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 56% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Jenny Davis (Susan Strasberg) is a deaf young woman who has run away from home to search for her missing brother. Arriving in the hippie-filled Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, Jenny befriends a rock group with heavy psychedelic leanings, becoming close to band member Stoney (Jack Nicholson). Aided by Dave (Dean Stockwell), who used to be in the ensemble, Stoney and Jenny come closer to tracking down her sibling, and venture into trippy territory while on hallucinogens.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Sean Axmaker Parallax View [Director Richard] Rush appreciates the energy and the idealism of the culture at its best while acknowledging contradictions in the individuals within. Mar 14, 2015 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Richard Rush's inventive camera revels in all countercultural fauna and flora Sep 30, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 21, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member As far as bad movies go, this is a great one. It's really become a period piece, capturing the zeitgeist of the hippy / flower-child movement at it's psychedelic peak. There are some terrific surprises here, such as seeing Quantum Leap's Dean Stockwell as a spaced-out hippy. To me, the real treat is seeing Jack Nicholson pretend to play the guitar (while talking about how important "his music" is to him) when it's obvious he had not even held the instrument before taking this role. The Strawberry Alarm Clock performance is a nice added bonus! Great for fans of bad films with good intentions. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review delysid d this is one of the rare 60s hippie movies, they arent very good but theres not very many of them. other ones are the trip, riot on sunset strip and wild in the streets Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/10/17 Full Review Audience Member Jack Nicholson is way too uptight for the San Francisco hippie scene and he has a really bad ponytail (I mean really bad). When a deaf runaway, Jenny (Susan Strasberg), turns up at his band's pad, he looks after her as she tries to find her (drug-addled) brother (Bruce Dern). Of course, Stoney (Jack's character) is also romantically interested in her but so is perpetually zonked quasi-mystic Dean Stockwell and poor Jenny just ends up confused. The whole thing gets pretty heavy, man, because this is American International Pictures (produced by Dick Clark!) and there is a bunch of arguing, fighting, and bad trips to provide some tension. The music, courtesy of the Seeds and the Strawberry Alarm Clock, is actually pretty good and, for all its datedness, the movie holds together fine. It isn't quite the sixties psychedelic exploitation film that you might expect although it does come laden with all the clichés. Freak out! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Dick Clark produced vehicle about the hippy scene at Haight and Ashbury during the late '60s. Drugs are bad and they'll make you freak out having fire splashing across...you know what, you need to be stoned out of your freaking mind to receive any enjoyment out of this mess whatsoever. Even Bruce Dern doesn't remember jack about this film and he was as square as Dick Clark. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Wow man, far out crazy stuff. Story of a deaf girl who goes in search of her brother in San Francisco at the height of the hippie movement. Seeing as the story and location are authentic it adds a lot to the feel of the movie. Everything is ok in this film, nothing is great other than the real feel of hippy days. The story has it's moments as does jack Nicholson as a long haired musician hippy but in the end it's a flash back you don't care to repeat. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Ahahahahaha! Brings back memories! "It's just one big plastic hassle!" Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Psych-Out

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Jenny Davis (Susan Strasberg) is a deaf young woman who has run away from home to search for her missing brother. Arriving in the hippie-filled Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, Jenny befriends a rock group with heavy psychedelic leanings, becoming close to band member Stoney (Jack Nicholson). Aided by Dave (Dean Stockwell), who used to be in the ensemble, Stoney and Jenny come closer to tracking down her sibling, and venture into trippy territory while on hallucinogens.
Director
Richard Rush
Distributor
American International Pictures, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Dick Clark Corporate Prod.
Genre
Drama, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 6, 1968, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 1, 2015
Runtime
1h 22m