Movie
Lucid
Narrative tropes
New Tech Leads to Disaster
mediumThe engineered drug 'lucid' is introduced positively — queer filmmakers encourage Mia to seek it out, and her artistic output genuinely flourishes after she begins taking it (benefit phase). Unforeseen harms then escalate: she loses track of time, place, and the reality/dream boundary, and the drug releases dark subconscious creatures rather than simply opening a creative door. She ignores warning signs by increasing her dosage. The disaster is a direct consequence of the drug working as designed — unlocking the subconscious — not a malfunction.
About this trope: A new technology or discovery is introduced and initially celebrated, then reveals hidden dangers that escalate to catastrophe. The arc is: marvel > adoption > warning signs ignored > disaster.
A Parent's Shadow
mediumThe estranged mother is the film's central antagonist, manifesting as a hairy monstrous creature Mia must directly confront. The revelation that there are blocks in Mia's mind she did not install herself implicates the mother as the source of inherited psychological damage — inherited secrets and sins creating the central conflict. Mia's arc culminates in a reckoning that is explicitly about defining herself on her own terms against the legacy buried under her suppressed identity. Conversations with the deceased grandmother further anchor the narrative in the weight of maternal lineage.
About this trope: A character must grapple with the legacy of their parents or predecessors — living up to high standards, running from expectations, atoning for inherited sins, or forging their own path.
Cultural messages
Be Yourself
highMia's core problem is an identity crisis — she cannot figure out who she really is, and the blocks in her mind she did not put there represent a suppressed true self. The creative block and looming expulsion signal the pain of failing to be authentic. The drug throws open a door to her subconscious, forcing confrontation with the monsters and the monstrous mother that embody her suppressed identity. The film's culminating reckoning — excavating and confronting buried trauma — functions as the turning point of self-acceptance; her artistic flourishing begins precisely when she starts this inward journey.
About this message: A character hides or suppresses their true identity to conform, then finds strength and happiness by embracing who they really are. Authenticity is the real superpower.
Movies that share these tropes
Full plot (spoilers)
Set in 1994, Mia Sunshine Jones is a young art student teetering on the edge of expulsion from school. Her professor dismisses her work and tells her to return only when she has created something that is truly her own — something with heart. The core of Mia's problem is an identity crisis: she cannot figure out who she really is, which has produced a paralyzing creative block that keeps her from completing a required self-portrait project. At her workplace, a pair of queer filmmakers encourage her to seek out a local witch named Syd, who supplies her with a drug called 'lucid' — a magical elixir engineered to unlock creative potential through induced lucid dreaming. Mia begins taking the substance and her artistic output starts to flourish. However, the elixir reveals there are blocks in her mind that she did not put there herself, and as she increases her dosage to uncover the truth, she loses track of time, place, and the boundaries between reality and dream. The drug does not merely open a creative door — it throws open a door to her subconscious, releasing a succession of dark creatures that inhabit her inner world. Among these manifestations is a Fried Chicken Monster and other surreal nightmare figures. Most significantly, her estranged mother appears transformed into a hairy, monstrous creature — the film's central antagonist — whom Mia is forced to confront directly. Mia also begins having conversations with her deceased grandmother, uncertain whether these encounters are genuine suppressed memories or drug-induced hallucinations. The narrative unfolds through visually hallucinogenic, fragmented imagery that shifts in format, focus, and colour as structural cues. The film is a surreal punk-infused psychological horror with dark comedy elements, and though it remains deliberately elliptical, the pieces converge into a coherent reckoning: Mia's journey is ultimately about excavating and confronting the psychological trauma and suppressed identity buried under the monsters her mind has conjured.
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb search, Calgary Underground Film Festival, Cinema Crazed, Eye for Film, Sublunar Films (official)