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Stephen McCole, Maurice Roëves, Garry Sweeney, Jenny McCrindle, Morgan Simpson ... see more see more... , Simon Weir , Marnie Kidd , Iaian Andrew , Irvine Welsh , Alison Peebles , Pat Stanton , Joanne Riley , Sarah Gudgeon , Alex Howden , Katie Echlin , Annie Louise Ross , Dennis O'Connor , William "Giggs" McGuigan , John Gardner , Kevin Mckidd , Michelle Gomez , Barbara Rafferty , Tam Dean Burn , Stephen Docherty , Gary McCormack , Scott Imrie , Ronnie McCann , Niall Greig Furlton , William Blair , Cas Harkins , Ewen Bremner , Martin Clunes , Jemma Redgrave , Arlene Cockburn , Jane Stabler , Doug Eadie , Andrea McKenna , Malcolm Shields , Billy McElhaney , Stewart Preston , Ricky Callan

This adaptation of three stories from Irvine Welsh's short-story collection of the same name reunites Annie Louise Ross, Kevin McKidd, and Ewen Bremner from the author's previous cinematic success, Tr... read more read more...ainspotting, which was also set in the author's native North Edinburgh. In the Kafka-esque "The Granton Star Cause," a lazy amateur footballer (Stephen McCole) has a very, very bad day that culminates in God (Maurice Roeves) turning him into an insect. In "A Soft Touch," a young husband and father (McKidd) finds his life disrupted when a psychotic neighbor (Gary McCormack) takes up with his wife (Michelle Gomez) and invades his wretched tenement. And in "The Acid House," a druggie low-life (Bremner) experiences a Freaky Friday-style body switch with the infant son of a pair of self-involved yuppies. After "The Granton Star Cause" was screened separately at the Edinburgh Film Festival, the completed film was shown at Cannes in 1998. The title is a play on the term "acid house," a form of sinister dance music that emerged in Chicago in the mid-'80s and helped fuel the formative years of England's rave culture. Former Doctor Who actor Maurice Roeves, who plays God in "The Granton Star Cause," also has cameos in the other two segments. Jemma Redgrave, niece of Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave and cousin of Natasha and Joely Richardon, appears in the title segment and lends her Bjork-haired visage to the film's poster. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Flixster Users

65% liked it

7,508 ratings

Critics

45% liked it

20 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Paul McGuigan

Release Date: September 1, 1998

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DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001

Stats: 344 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (344)

  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    Great film/s! The Granton Star Cause & The Acid House being the best!
    A great adaption from Paul McGuigan!
  • mjgildea
    November 17, 2006
    mjgildea
    A weak adaptation of Welsh's short stories. A few interesting parts, but you're better off reading the book or seeing Trainspotting.
  • g1pp4l
    June 24, 2008
    g1pp4l
    Funny, but only the third story is good.
  • Jubei
    December 14, 2006
    Jubei
    Based on short stories by Irvine Welsh-writer of Trainspotting. Sick & Depraved, just like, i like em
  • heybarbara
    October 7, 2006
    heybarbara
    A very disturbing but extraordinarily powerful presentation of the dimensions of psychosis, egomania and other human idiosyncrasies. Not for the squeamish or those given to prudery. Inventive in its cinematographic technique, if you liked the toilet sequence in Trainspotting you'... read morell love this.

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Critic Reviews

David Luty
March 1, 2007
David Luty, Film Journal International

What the three stories do share are solid ideas all dressed up with nowhere to go. Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson
June 29, 2004
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Cheap and unpleasant, yet compelling

David Nusair
November 9, 2002
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

If I could give this movie a negative rating, I would. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
August 23, 2002
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

...assaults our jaded senses... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
December 27, 2001
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's a one-joke film that fails to be amusing almost from the start, and shamefully wastes a talented ensemble cast in such a trite and depressing enterprise. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
September 7, 2011
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Brendan Kelly
October 18, 2008
Brendan Kelly, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

July 21, 2005
Houston Chronicle

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April 25, 2003
Globe and Mail

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Edward Guthmann
April 3, 2001
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

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The Acid House Trivia

  • Who wrote the books to which the movies 'Trainspotting' and 'The Acid House' were both based on?  Answer »
  • Paul McGuigan, director of the 2006 hit Lucky Number Slevin, made his directorial debut with a film adaptation of which Irvine Welsh novel?  Answer »
  • Which of the movies below was NOT directed by Danny Boyle?  Answer »
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