13 horror movies to watch while high

Jerry Garcia’s favorite movie was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, a 1948 comedy / horror mashup that he says had “a general fascination with the bizarre” that would fuel his music career.

“There are things in this world that are really strange. I don’t think I knew that before I saw this film, that there are things that are really weird and that there are people who take care of them, ”Garcia said in“ The Movie That Changed My Life ”im 1995. “It became important to me, and I think I thought to myself that at some level I want to deal with things that are weird. […] It seems to be fun. ”

Many of my own passions are fueled by studying the bizarre, the weird, the baroque, and having fun – especially horror films and cannabis. The first time I smoked weed was kind of terrifying. I spent most of the evening wandering the streets of Salt Lake City in a paranoid fog of disorientation and sensory overload. Overwhelming, awesome, creepy, and hilarious, my first night stoned, awakened in me a deep, primal fascination for the unknown – a fascination that evolved into a deep love for cannabis and horror, and the rare opportunity to write about both about his Earn a living.

And the deeper I dive into the cannabis industry, the more company I have. It turned out that there is a rich tradition of cannabis enthusiasts who have mastered the art of grazing and watching horror movies. Just as “scare” isn’t the only goal of a good horror movie, the cannabis high is about much more than “feeling good.” If you get it right, horror movies and weed provide similar forms of catharsis through similar heightened realities, and weed’s ability to alter perception can directly amplify the sensory impact of the visual and thematic extremes of a horror movie.

And like cannabis, horror has always been an integral part of the counterculture that pushed the boundaries of mainstream thinking with a politically, socially potent edge that mostly produces progress.

Horror has always been a social comment.
Horror has always been queer.
Horror has always been political.

– Michelle Swope (@RedheadfromMars) October 7, 2021

For those who dare to indulge in a long, weird journey full of thrills, chills, laughter, and some really awesome pics, here are 13 horror films to watch at full blast this spooky season.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is director Tobe Hooper’s comedic take on the psychopathic killer hillbilly family of his groundbreaking first film, which unleashes them into a world of gonzo, heavy metal visuals, and slapstick gore. It’s funny, it’s frenetic, it’s grotesque, and there’s a chainsaw fight between Dennis Hopper and the series avatar Leatherface. Do yourself a favor, roll a blunt and watch the thing.

Mandy (2018)

Make no mistake: Mandy is a movie for us stoners. Nicolas Cage becomes a lumberjack full of Cage, whose wife is kidnapped by a cult in the forest, which drives a heavy metal odyssey of neon, blood and revenge, with a few psychedelic animated sequences – not to mention the strange fake advertising of the makers from “Too Many Cooks” – on the way. Everything boils down to the hottest, trippiest and most metallic film terror trip of the last time.

The Shine (1980)

I have a buddy who made it an annual tradition to wake up, bake and watch The Shining on Halloween. I can’t recommend it more strongly if your into something like this, seeing how Stanley Kubrick’s “Modern Horror Masterpiece” is an endless maze of images and ideas – both beautiful and terrifying – practically not after you, but rather Sightseeing calls for several heights.

If you’re feeling really adventurous and don’t mind a little relaxing, overwhelming paranoia, check out Room 237, a documentary about the many obsessive, intricate fan theories surrounding The Shining, the most believable of which is that the movie is a sophisticated one , subliminal visual essay on American colonialism and Native American genocide – cumbersome but perfectly plausible.

One or Everyone) of the OG Universal Monster Movies

The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Bride, The Wolf Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon – make your choice. Virtually every film in Universal’s classic monster lineup is in light, shadow, and mood. Having seen some of them with my dab rig this year, I can vouch for their ability to delight stoned viewers with some of the greatest black and white cinemas ever to be shot on film. Most of them are less than 80 minutes as well, so they’re a low and worthwhile time lift. If you don’t like black and white movies, it’s because you haven’t seen them before.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

When I first saw this excellent slasher mashup, I bordered on my mind and completely lost myself in its vibrant aesthetic, belligerent horror, and welcome laugh. Freddy vs. Jason’s visual palette deviates from the aesthetics of both Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series in favor of something that will not only work for both title slasher titans, but will captivate and envelop the stoned viewer as well. And if you haven’t seen a single Freddy or Jason movie, don’t worry – Freddy vs. Jason is a good starting point like any other.

Dracula AD 1972 (1972)

Hammer Horror Productions ode to swinging London and the vampire lock is one of several Hammer Dracula films starring Christopher Lee, the greatest cinematic Dracula of all, in the opinion of many horror fans, including you, for real.

Dracula AD 1972 releases Lee’s Dracula in swinging London to kill Van Helsing’s descendants. It also has some fun, low-budget set pieces that are a great time to go when you’re high.

House (1977)

House is an extraordinary Japanese haunted house “comedy” horror film that will throw the gauntlet of any other film you think is the wildest you have ever seen. Six teenage girls take a trip to an aunt’s house in the country, literally all kinds of supernatural chaos arise, and each girl is slowly being consumed by the house. In all fairness, the movie’s many psychedelic nightmare delights could make it the absolute best high watch of all time.

Manhunter (1986)

Most would consider Manhunter a thriller rather than a horror film based on Thomas Harriss first Hannibal Lecter novel, but these people didn’t enjoy seeing this vaporwave shop repeatedly amid a heavy indica haze like me. Published five years before The Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter follows another FBI investigator, played by William Petersen of CSI fame, who, with the help of an imprisoned, mad cannibal, is chasing down another serial killer. The plot will please all true crime fans out there, and its minimalist feverish dream graphics and synth-heavy 80s soundtrack make Manhunter a first-class couch-lock film.

Thirst (1979)

I honestly don’t know why this movie isn’t a bigger deal among horror fans. Thirst offers a fresh, Rosemary’s baby-esque take on the vampire genre centered around a woman abducted by a strange medical cult that believes she is the descendant of an all-powerful, blood-sucking race. It has what it takes to be a great horror high-watch, with haunting terror sequences, a hypnotic pace, and lush, gently ultra-powerful cinematography. Take your favorite food with you with a warm blanket and indulge in it.

Rob Zombies Halloween II (2007)

This is one of the most controversial films in horror history. Rob Zombie takes the mythology of the original Halloween series and tosses it into a filthy blender and bakes this damn porridge into a uniquely trippy meditation on death, generational trauma and local celebrity. In my experience, the higher you get when you see it, the things that make this such a worthwhile departure from a popular horror trait formula show up.

Body Double (1984)

From Brian De Palma, master of tension and awesome aesthetics, this delightfully trashy, deceptively profound thriller from 1984 is a satirical examination of exploitation, commerce and illusion in Hollywood with a complete music video for Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” baked in for a good one Measure. Spark up, enjoy and, to paraphrase the movie’s cryptic tagline, don’t believe everything you see.

The Fog (1980)

Although not quite as popular as the horny horror classics Halloween and The Thing by director John Carpenter, The Fog is just as cool and visually immersive. A nautical ghost story with a phenomenal cast and frugal use of a limited number of effects, it’s a classic creepy thrill that, ironically, is ripe to enjoy under the influence of a crisp, potent dab high. Stay away from the fog!

The Mask of the Red Death (1964)

It’s time for a new dance to begin … the dance of death! If you are a horror fan, one of the things that excites you about being able to process real life trauma through the genre’s catharsis is the odds. Roger Corman’s loose, unwieldy adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s most psychedelic story, The Masque of the Red Death, from 1964, gained widespread appeal last year due to its newfound relevance at the height of the pandemic. Strange, like a groovy, colorful, hedonistic portrayal of an evil prince, played with fiendish snark by the great Vincent Price throwing a fortified party for his elite inner circle while a pandemic devastates the population, would feel so prescient in 2021 …

… happy Halloween guys.

Featured image by Gina Coleman / Weedmaps