''The Psychedelic Priest'' (also known as ''Electric Shades of Grey'' and ''Jesus Freak'') is a 2001 American film produced by Allied International Films. It was directed by

William Grefé William Grefé (born 1930) is an American writer and director of films, best known for his work in the exploitation field. For most of his career he has worked in Florida. He also worked for a number of years with Ivan Tors. In 2009 a documentary ...

, although he was uncredited, and written by Terry Merrill. It stars John Darrell, Carolyn Hall, James Coleman, and Joe Crane.

Plot

John, a Christian priest, says goodbye to his profession and takes a destinationless drive. He gets acquainted with a female hitchhiker, Sunny, who soon falls in love with him. However, John does not feel the same towards her and leaves, returning to work at the church.

Production

Also known as ''Electric Shades of Grey'' and ''Jesus Freak'', ''The Psychedelic Priest'' was directed by William Grefé for Allied International Pictures, although for professional reasons he was not acknowledged as director but instead director of photography. For his part, Grefé received a hundred thousand dollars in

trading stamp Trading stamps are small paper stamps given to customers by merchants in loyalty programs that predate the modern loyalty card. Like the similarly-issued retailer coupons, these stamps only had a minimal cash value of a few mils (thousandths of a ...

s. Writer Stewart "Terry" Merrill received the directorial credit instead. Filming began in 1971 in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and during which there was no official timetable or script. Shooting locations included

Topanga Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...

. The cast and the crew were largely non-professional, and real-life hippies starred in the film.

Release

The film's release was kept on hold after production, as it was felt that it would be a box-office failure. After three decades, in 2001, ''The Psychedelic Priest'' was finally released as a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

project. Distribution was handled by Something Weird Video.

Reception

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...

'' critic Bill Gibron described the film as an "accurate snapshot of America's collective hangover" although stating that it "has got to be the single biggest 'downer' since

rave culture A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

rediscovered the horse tranquilizer".

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Psychedelic Priest 2001 films Hippie films American romance films Films shot in California Films directed by William Grefe 2000s American films