Image via Complex Original
Colors awhirl. Imaginary sounds loudly humming in your ears. Inanimate objects suddenly glowing with new life. No, we're not on drugs, but we can't say the same for the people in the following movie scenes. And while Complex certainly doesn't condone drug use (those D.A.R.E. presentations really got to us), we do approve of any film than can take us on an effective "trip" while we're still lounging lazily on our couches.
Magic Trip, a new documentary in theaters today, follows infamous author Ken Kesey (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) on his LSD-induced adventures across America in 1964. But if you're not quite ready to move beyond your bed, we've got you covered. The way we see it, there are two types of substance-abuse scenes: ones that merely show people on drugs, and others that make you feel like you, the viewer, are the one on drugs.
We prefer the latter. So sit back and trip vicariously through our favorite on-screen fiends in the 10 Greatest Drug Scenes In Movies.
10. Taking Woodstock (2009)
When "Woodstock" crosses our minds, two words tumble along with it: music and drugs. This scene from Taking Woodstock, where we follow Elliot (Demetri Martin) as he takes his first LSD-induced trip with two strangers in a van, encapsulates the two.
We watch as Elliot's narcotic experience slowly unfolds, seeing fingers absentmindedly graze skin, images on a roof's static painting turn into crude animation, and a massive Woodstock crowd turn into a giant wave of undulating colors. Or, as his LSD partner-in crime says, "Tiny little people on stage with their waves of tiny electric voices." Far out, man!
9. Natural Born Killers (1994)
The desert is not the ideal locale for taking mushrooms, especially when considering the amount of unknown hazards you could potentially be hugging or talking to post-consumption. But for Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis), it's just straight up bad-decision-making. Watching the homidical couple wrestle with their (many) demons as the screen sporadically shifts to black and white, with scenes of nature randomly spliced in for good measure, is enough to make us want to make like Mickey and vomit, too.
8. Pulp Fiction (1994)
When Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction debuted in 1994, John Travolta once again epitomized cool. Which might explain why he makes this mobster taking heroin look less like a strung-out scumbag, and more like a badass in a state of bliss. Everything from the heightened sound of the bag holding his needle unzipping and his lighter flickering to his slowly drooping eyes and smug smile make for an almost romanticized depiction of drug use.
7. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Everybody loves a good dance number. But a high dance number? Now that's worth watching. The elaborately coordinated, drug-infused dream sequence in The Big Leboswki makes our list for that alone. Other bonuses include bowling balls falling out of the sky, tangos with Viking women, men dressed in red running with oversized scissors, and Jeff Bridges taking down pins with his face. What more could you possibly want?
6. Enter The Void (2010)
French writer-director Gaspar Noe describes Enter the Void as a "psychedelic melodrama," and we couldn't agree more. Taking on a dead drug dealer's firsthand point-of-view is trippy enough, but Noe's portrayal of the character's mean DMT trip feels like the inside of a nightmare. We hear the narrator inanely mumbling his every thought as we descend slowly out of reality and see colors shift uncomfortably in and out of focus. The end result is a psychotropic reality that looks like a cross between hell and a Macy's fireworks display.
5. Spun (2002)
If Spun highlights one thing about drug use most effectively, it's the gaping disconnect between its users and reality.
In this scene, Ross (Jason Schwartzman) and Nikki (Brittany Murphy) do line after line of Meth while driving. Nikki talks about her baby, whom she's only held once (and, due to her habit, will clearly never hold again), and Ross talks about how his girlfriend misses him and is so in love with him while his crank-induced memories burst onto the screen, betraying the truth about her feelings.
What's more disturbing than the way their faces appear with the road running down the middle? The sad lies they tell one another: "You know what the best part is, Nikki—I'm not hooked". Um, hate to break it to you, but...
4. Easy Rider (1969)
Here's one drug scene that can easily be described as "beautiful." Maybe it's the muted colors, or perhaps it's the hanky-panky shot beneath the shining sun, but just watching this gives us the feeling of euphoria.
That is, until we end up in a cemetery, and actually listen to the words of the creepy prayer-like chants, which seem less religious and more demonically-inspired. "I can feel the outside, but I can't feel the inside, OK?" Statements like that can turn a good trip bad.
3. Trainspotting (1996)
Remember that classic horror moment in The Exorcist where a possessed little girl's dome piece does a 360? Now imagine watching a baby pull the same move, while on a massive amount of drugs. Enough said.
2. Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Thanks to a nasty pill-popping habit, Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) goes from a well-meaning Staten Island mother to a full blown amphetamine addict whose refrigerator seems to have it out for her. In this scene, we take a trip into her shaky, game-show crazed cranium, and it's truly terrifying. To think, all of this was to fit into a red dress.
1. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
At his best, Johnny Depp really pulls you into his performances, which explains why almost every scene in Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas makes us feel like we, too, are (read: wish we were) in Vegas with a suitcase full of goodies a la Hunter S. Thompson. But alas, our vices (tequila and Starbucks coffee) seem pretty subdued when it compared to the Thompson variety.
Which is why we enjoy watching Depp and co-star Benicio Del Toro play deviants. That, the contorted faces, and Depp's nearly nonsensical interactions with strangers make this the most enjoyable "trip" we've ever (and probably ever will) taken.