Stoner Films

Before I begin this episode of "Scribble Junkies", I have a pop-up quiz for you.  Which denomination of U.S. currency has animation on it?  And what is animated?  The answer will be found at the end of this blog.

So, back to the topic at hand. As a long-time fan of weird, off-beat films, I thought it would be interesting to make a list of the Top 12 "stoner" films.  Now, these aren't films like the ones Cheech and Chong made, that are about stoners.  No, these are the films that give you the feeling or near-experience of being stoned.

So, for better or worse, here is my list of the top stoner films, in ascending order:

#12. "Dead Alive", 1992, New Zealand, dir. Peter Jackson.  An over-the-top gruesome zombie comedy that just keeps getting weirder and weirder.  I also live the visual style that at times looks like a set made out of toys.

#11. "Crank", 2006, US, dir. Mark Neveldine, starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam.  A professional assassin is injected with a poison that will become lethal if his heart-rate drops.  I know it's an absurd premise, but that's what makes it a great stoner film.

#10. "Brazil", 1985, UK, dir. by Terry Gilliam.  A classic paranoid futuristic thriller, also visually delightful (which is a very important aspect for stoner films).  A high point is the plastic surgery facelift scene with Katharine Helmond.

#9. "Being John Malkovich", 1999, US, dir. by Spike Jonze, written by Charlie Kaufman, starring John Malkovich, John Cusack.  One of the most twisted concepts for a feature film, my favorite scene is when we see the POV of Mr. Malkovich selecting his handkerchief.  It takes boredom to new heights of surrealism.

#8. "This Is the End", 2013, US, dir. by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen.  Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco. What's great about this film is that it starts normally enough and then every 10 minutes, the plot makes an extreme twist into a whole new reality (kind of like drugs).

#7. "Yellow Submarine", 1968, UK, dir. by George Dunning.  Starring the Beatles, naturally.  There are two reasons why this is on my Stoner Films list: the amazing Beatles music and the totally trippy colors and designs of the late, great Heinz Edelman.  This is, in my mind, at the top of the list of the greatest animated films ever.

#6. "Koyaanisqatsi", 1982, France, dir. by Godfrey Reggio.  A souped-up documentary about a world gone haywire, and the cinematography is so extreme and amazing that the human brain just naturally goes into psycho-mode.

#5. "Mind Game", 2004, Japan, dir. by Masaaki Yuasa and Koji Morimoto. To my mind, this is the "Citizen Kane" of animation, but this isn't your normal animé film.  This film goes to a whole 'nother level of weirdness, plus the artwork is gorgeous.  Check it out, you'll love this movie!

 

#4. "The Saragossa Manuscript", 1965, Poland, dir. by Wojchiech Has.  I first saw this film while in college and it's still stuck in my brain.  It's a story within a story, ad infinitum.  After a while your brain gets so twisted around, it seems like it's going to explode.

#3. "El Topo", 1970, Mexico, dir. by Alejandro Jodorowsky.  A gunslinger travels across the Old West, with his 7-year-old naked son, killing lots of people - but the film is filled with all sorts of symbols and violent surrealism - a classic!

#2. "Trolls", 2016, US, dir. by Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn.  I've written about this film before, but just to remind you - the overly cutesy characters and backgrounds, the retro pop music and the way over-the-top psychedelic colors put this film at #2 on my list of stoner movies.

#1. "Forbidden Zone", 1980, US, dir. by Richard Elfman (Danny Elfman's brother), starring Hervé Villechaize, Susan Tyrell.  Probably the craziest low-budget psychotic film ever created.  What if Ed Wood dropped a lot of acid and made films in the 1980's?  You'd get something like this mind-warp masterpiece.

Plus, I've added one more bonus film:

"I Married a Strange Person", 1998, US, dir. by Bill Plympton.  I hate to self-promote, but whenever I appear at a Comic-Con I get dozens of people referring to this film as the weirdest film they've ever seen.  And I actually created the film for that purpose.  So I believe that qualifies this film to be on my Top Stoner Films list.

If you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

And the answer to my question from the beginning of this post - the right answer is a $100 bill, and the animated object is the Liberty Bell.  Congrats to all those who got it right!  And to all those who didn't, you've got to get your hands on more Benjamins...

--Bill P.