“Under the Electric Sky” is a 3D documentary film that follows six groups of people on their journey to attend the largest music festival in the US – Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas. Through 3 days of the festivals, the festival-goer will have the chance to experience Electronic dance music phenomenon, art installation, incredible lighting and sound system with many famous worldwide artists. The film not only reveals all elements that create such a global event but also make the audiences feel like they are a part of the festival.
EDC has made headlines with fatal overdoses, so you'd think directors Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz would examine the role Molly and related drugs play here. But the topic is mentioned only fleetingly.
"Under The Electric Sky" does a great job of showing the appeal of EDM, and can be an occasionally thrilling document of the musicians who create these infections beats. But on a human level, well, it could have used some more electric participants.
Though not a great documentary and essentially a colorful, 3D commercial for Electric Daisy Carnival, it works as both an introduction to a subculture many may be unfamiliar with and as a beat-heavy scrapbook for those who were there.
Slant Magazine
June 22, 2014
Just as queerness is conspicuous by its absence, so is any serious consideration of the drug use that often pairs with extended tastings of EDM.
The film's misguided determination to present a PG-13 version of a pasties-optional, three-day party gives an unreal air to a surreal event, though that doesn't mean "Under the Electric Sky" is without its blissful moments.
Under The Electric Sky is a fun backstage pass for EDC fans, but for DJ haters it'll just be a loud, obnoxious headache - so they should just stay away and let everyone else eat, sleep, rave, and repeat.
There's something slightly queasy-making in how this film summons the tireless piety of a church-recruitment pamphlet to describe what basically amounts to Burning Man as a business model.
