The Acid House ★★½ 1998

Trilogy of tales written by Irving Welsh, author of “Trainspotting,” similarly centers on down-on-their-luck Scottish hooligans ravaged by drugs and drink. Its tone, however, makes its predecessor look like a light-hearted romp in the countryside. In “The Granton Star Cause,” freeloading loser Boab (McCole) gets turned into a fly by God during a trip to the pub. He proceeds to exact some disgusting revenge on those he feels have wronged him. “A Soft Touch” depicts the twisted relationship between brow-beaten Johnny (McKidd) and kinky wife Catriona (Gomez), who is sleeping with psycho neighbor Larry (McCormack). In the last chapter, “The Acid House,” tripped-out rave party boy Coco (Bremner) exchanges personalities with the newborn baby of suburban couple Rory (Clunes) and Jenny (Redgrave). First-time director McGuigan does a good job of translating the material to the screen, but sometimes goes over the top in showing these skanky Scots. Also, be warned that the Scottish accents are so thick that the movie ran with subtitles during its limited U.S. theatre run. If you liked “Trainspotting,” however, you'll probably like this similar entry in the “if it's Scottish, it's crap!” genre. 118m/C VHS, DVD . Stephen McCole, Maurice Roeves, Garry Sweeney, Kevin McKidd, Ewen Bremner, Martin Clunes, Jemma Redgrave, Arlene Cockburn, Jenny McCrindle, Michelle Gomez, Tam Dean Burn, Gary McCormack, Jane Stabler; D: Paul McGuigan; W: Irvine Welsh; C: Alasdair Walker.