It all begins when Carl Swift (Ian Rose), a shy young man from Manchester, has a tiff with his mother (Corinne Carter-Skinner) about his homosexuality. He leaves home and takes a train down to London where he finds work in a sex shop, where he becomes friends with Finney (Orlando Bloom), a druggie who introduces Carl to his dealer, Jean (André Schneider), and Sadie (Marla Welsh).

Together, they experience the hip London nightlife clubs, The Ministry of Sound, where the Asian Underground music rules the young peoples' lives. Carl falls in love with Matt (Dean Ure), a hustler, and is fascinated by Jean's bisexuality and openness toward him. Everything's going fine for Carl and his mates until they do a cocktail of acid, heroin and ecstasy that goes terribly wrong and leads Carl into a murderous frenzy. Finney and his girlfriend (Joanne Morley) are his first victims, and there are many others to come...

"Lullaby of Clubland" is a well-made chiller, not great, but still worth watching. It contains loads of adult themes, such as drug abuse, homicide, and explicit sex scenes. Ian Rose and Marla Welsh are rather forgettable in their starring roles; Dean Ure, André Schneider, and Joanne Morley are a pleasure to look at - and their acting is a knock-off. It's a pity that Orlando Bloom has only eight minutes (and 17 lines) here, because he was never as good-looking as now.

"Lullaby of Clubland" took seven months to shoot, followed by five months of postproduction. Produced by David M. Thompson, this is a solidly made big budget film.

Mikey Myers, the director, killed himself shortly after filming was completed, followed by seven other crew members. Watch out for Jason Orange and Dani Behr in small parts.

Reviewed: 30 March 2002

"Lullaby of Clubland", based on a story by London artist Zaha Radid, tells the story of an acid trip going terribly wrong. Directed by Mikey Myers, who committed suicide shortly after filming ended, it stars a whole bunch of hot British newcomers: Ian Rose ("Like it is"), Marla Welsh ("Blade2"), André Schneider, and (in a cameo appearance) Orlando Bloom were involved in this thriller. 132 mins.

Reviewed: 12 March 2002