Top 10 Movies to Watch While Stoned – A Mind-Altering Experience
Explore the best movies to watch while stoned, designed to captivate your high mind and leave you in a state of awe and wonder.
10 Best Movies to Watch While Stoned:
Sometimes, the influence of mind-altering substances can significantly affect the way we watch a movie. Perhaps we come to spot things we never noticed before, or maybe we finally understand a complex narrative – or at least we think we do. Opening up our minds to new ideas and interpretations, there are certain movies that just feel like they were designed to be consumed while high. Some of these films feature characters who engage in significant drug-taking, with these substances becoming central to the narrative.
Elsewhere, other movies that are fantastic choices to watch while stoned might have complex narratives or explore dense themes about the human experience, leaving us feeling absolutely perplexed or even transformed. It would be too easy to pick out ten films considered stoner comedies. Rather, we’ve predominantly gone for movies that are more visually or thematically compelling, leaving the stoned mind in a state of awe.
Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)
We begin with a film that might actually be easier to watch and understand if you’re high and are, therefore, in the same mind frame as its protagonist. Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel Inherent Vice sees Joaquin Phoenix play Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, an outright hippie stoner who somehow works as a private investigator. When Doc’s ex-girlfriend goes missing, he has to get up off his ass and go out looking, becoming caught up in three cases surrounding the criminal underworld of 1970s Los Angeles.
Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977)
Surrealism, anxiety, disillusionment, fatherhood, and death all coincide in David Lynch’s debut feature, Eraserhead, a horrifying black-and-white exploration of one man’s deteriorating psyche. Jack Nance stars as Henry, whose newborn baby resembles a gross alien creature, something that’ll have you feeling both repulsed and highly intrigued. The movie sees Henry struggle with his position as a father, living in a rundown city and experiencing sexual anxiety.
Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)
Widely considered one of the greatest action movies ever made, Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 classic Point Break is absolutely perfect for a smoke. With Keanu Reeves as undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as surfing bank robber Bodhi, Point Break possesses all the ingredients needed for a chilled-out easy watch with just enough excitement to retain interest.
Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
While Spirited Away might appeal to both children and adults, those older viewers who enjoy a bit of herbal refreshment might find the fantastical imagery more than captivating. The gorgeous animation and equally beautiful score are arguably even more enjoyable under the influence. The movie follows a ten-year-old girl, Chihiro, as she attempts to find her parents in an alternative spiritual world where they’ve been turned into pigs.
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995)
For the anime heads in the room who also like to partake, look no further than one of the greatest movies in the animated science fiction genre of all time, Mamoru Oshii’s truly iconic 1995 masterpiece Ghost in the Shell, a philosophical work of cinema that will provoke thought as much as amaze with its impressive visual prowess.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998)
Hunter S. Thompson was notorious for his incessant drug use, which he documented honestly and openly throughout his work. His novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas takes inspiration from his own experiences of the ‘60s countercultural movement, where drug-taking was mere second nature for young people. It was adapted for the big screen in 1998 by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam, with Benicio del Toro and Johnny Depp starring as a pair of friends who embark on an American road trip under the influence of various substances.
Hausu (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)
If you’re looking for something surreal, horrifying, and hilariously bizarre while being simultaneously stunning to look at, look no further than Hausu, a Japanese arthouse horror from 1977. Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, the movie sees a group of girls succumb to strange supernatural happenings, causing comedically odd events to take place.
The Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973)
One of the most psychedelic and visually stunning movies ever made is easily The Holy Mountain, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. The movie is a spiritual journey with an alchemist leading disciples to the titular holy mountain. Jodorowsky posits many questions about life, death, and everything in between – it’s the kind of movie that takes on a whole new meaning when you’re high.
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
This one simply had to crop up at some point. Perhaps the most stoner movie of all time, even since its release some six decades ago, Stanley Kubrick’s iconic science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey is a piece of cinema that hits hard at the best of times, so the effect is double, if not more so effective with a spliff in hand.
Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)
Our top choice has to be Richard Linklater’s mind-bending and even life-changing animated film Waking Life, released in 2001. While the deeply philosophical nature of the film might put a few stoners who prefer an easier ride off, the truth is that the film consults the more cerebral parts of our consciousness, which hits home even more when we’re high.
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