Synchronic

Director duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead revel in an imaginative left-field approach to genre film-making (Spring, The Endless), and this mind-bending sci-fi thriller is no exception. New Orleans paramedics and best friends Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) find their personal lives intersecting with the spread of mystery designer drug Synchronic, a common factor in a spate of oddball deaths including spontaneous human combustion and skewering by sword. Though Steve is battling his own demons, he's soon drawn down a fantastical rabbit hole when he looks into the disappearance of Dennis's daughter. While the script meanders occasionally, the movie is anchored by friendship, love and sacrifice as much as it is by Steve's psychedelic exploits in time and space.