5 Films You Do Not Want to Watch High

March 23, 2022

by Ma Raim

First things first, just as a disclaimer: all of the films in this list are legitimately brilliant movies and if you haven’t seen any of them then I highly, highly recommend you do so sooner than later. We like nothing better than kicking back with an indica and settling in for a powerful piece of cinema. That being said, there are certain movies, regardless of objective quality, that just simply do not lend themselves to a nice, chilled, watching-a-film-high experience, and these, I believe are a few of those.

Five Films to Not Watch High

Schindler’s List

Starting in at the deep end here. Schindler's list is an exceptional film detailing the true story of Oskar Schindler, who smuggled a large amount of jewish people out of a concentration camp during WWII. Brilliant performances all round, a fantastic script and soundtrack, all anchored with Spielberg's legendary directing skills, and abso-bloody-lutely heart wrenching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG22XNhtnoY

If this brings a tear to your eye at the best of times, smoking up before or during will leave you a trembling, whimpering pile of tears, snot and kleenex. Every single emotional point hits so much harder when you’ve got THC floating around in your noodle. The girl with the red coat, the indiscriminate violence and—be still my beating heart—the ‘I could have got more out’ monologue toward the end. This really is a film to watch when your brain is completely free from anything that’s going to make you feel more than usual! How powerful of a film is this? Well, one time 65 million people watched it together.

Related: 5 Best Movies to Watch High

Saving Private Ryan

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

There are few war movies as visceral, realistic, and engaging as Saving Private Ryan. Famous for its brutal realism and accurate depictions of the horrors of war, it tells the story of a small unit of soldiers tasked with finding the eponymous Ryan during the final days of WWII. Spielberg done did it again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CiW_DgxCnQ

The most jarring aspect of this, particularly when you’re high, is the suddenness and intensity of the violence being depicted. From random sniper attacks to gruesome, tense hand-to-hand fights, this film really pulls no punches whatsoever. You feel every shot, every punch and, more importantly, every tear shed from each character. A true masterpiece of filmmaking that has absolutely no place in a room filled with weed smoke, Doritos and beanbags. This film losing out on best picture to Shakespeare in Love at the 1999 Academy Awards is still considered one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history.

Snowpiercer

Directed by Bong Joon-ho, Snowpiercer is a brilliant dystopian action thriller based on the french graphic novel ‘le transperceneige’ about a world in the not-too-distant future that has been ravaged by a man-made ice age after humanity tried, in vain, to reverse the effects of global warming (subtle right?). The survivors traverse the planet on a single train with a perpetual motion engine as social dynamics divide and define the passengers. Another brilliant feature with amazingly committed performances across the board.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0

Nonetheless, similar to other films on this list, it does nothing to shy away from the absolute depths of depravity that humans are willing to sink to when desperation kicks in. Smoke a joint and watch this and you will be looking over your shoulder every time you step on a train for the next several months. The realism of the characters' behaviour really plants a seed… Bong Joon-ho also directed the incredible Parasite, which also might be too twisty and intense for a smoke session, but is a definite sober recommendation.

American Psycho

There are certain films that put you right in the driver's seat of the protagonist, and at the least-stoned of times, American Psycho fits the bill exactly. With some eerily clinical narration and truly disturbing scenes and concepts, this acerbic, cynical black comedy/thriller really makes you sit back and take stock of what exactly ‘crazy’ means.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YnGhW4UEhc

It follows Patrick Bateman (a brilliantly cast Christian Bale), as the eponymous ‘Psycho’ whose murderous urges seep into every aspect of his life and his mind begins to unravel entirely. Funny, creepy, iconic and totally engaging, for the most part it does work with a nice, crisp Sativa high, right up until it doesn’t. The third act goes completely off the rails as his psychopathy comes to a thundering crescendo making you wonder who is crazier, him? Or you for watching this film when you’re high as a damn kite.

Memento

An absolute masterpiece from the master of sci-fi thrillers himself, Christopher Nolan. Memento follows a young man (Guy Pearce) with amnesia who has taken to tattooing himself obsessively and collecting polaroids to keep some semblance of his memory whilst looking for the man who killed his wife, John G.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDWylEQSwFo

As incredible as this film is, even when completely sober, you still feel the intense confusion and displacement that the main character exudes. He is confident, brave, capable and completely lost. You add some weed to that cocktail—Sativa in particular—and you’ll find yourself tying your neurons into gordian knots just trying to keep up with who is who, when is when, and what is what! I’d recommend you watch this one stone cold sober before sticking the devils lettuce in the mix.

What do you think of this take on a stoner movie list? If you're a film fan, why not check out our 5 Best Stoner Movies list and our 5 Best Movies to Watch High? Yes, there's a difference.

If after all of this tension-inducing cinema you need something to chill you out, take a look through our online cannabis dispensary.