Cannabis and Horror: 7 Movie Recs for Spooky Season

Fifteen years after killing his sister on Halloween night in 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to his hometown to kill again.

In one scene, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) shares a joint with Annie (Nancy Kyes) while driving around the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois.

John Carpenter’s Halloween may not have been the first slasher film. It’s preceded by classics such as Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it’s widely credited as being the “first modern slasher movie.”

As we mentioned before, Halloween may not have been the original slasher movie, but it did inspire the whole slasher genre. So if you’re someone who enjoys this subgenre and want to check out its modern roots, definitely reach for this film for your spooky season sessions.

Five Michigan State University students go on a vacation to a remote cabin where they unknowingly awaken flesh-possessing demons.

On screen, there’s a very brief scene where protagonist Ash’s (Bruce Campbell) sister Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) is smoking a joint before reading the Necronomicon (the book of the dead). 

Fun fact: that was real marijuana.

Originally, there was supposed to be a scene where the students all smoke cannabis before playing with a tape recorder (that has demonic incantations on it). As a result, from using real marijuana instead of a prop, the actors found themselves too zoned out and laughing to get through the scene.

That scene didn’t make it to the final cut, but if you notice plumes of smoke and haze in the scene that did make the cut, it’s actually real marijuana smoke left over.

Evil Dead is arguably the quintessential scrappy indie-horror movie made by a few high school friends out in the middle of the woods. 

After a few private screenings, the film made its way to the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, where it was viewed and praised by author Stephen King, ultimately leading to a widespread theatrical release, launching the careers of director Sam Raimi (the original Spider-Man trilogy, Drag Me to Hell, Send Help) and actor/legend Bruce Campbell.

If you’re looking for horror series, Evil Dead is a solid go-to. The original trilogy has the most delightfully unhinged progression, starting off with straight-up horror in Evil Dead, then progressing to horror-comedy in Evil Dead II, and finally to a dark fantasy-comedy in Army of Darkness. 

Plus, you have three modern spin-off films with Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise, and Evil Dead Burn. And on top of that, you have the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series where Ash once again faces off against demons after…he smoked cannabis and decided to read from the Necronomicon.

Most horror series start to sputter off as time goes on, but the Evil Dead series, with the most badass protagonist in cinema history, stays solid throughout.

Hail to the king, baby.

A suburban family must enlist the help of paranormal specialists after their youngest child is abducted by malevolent ghosts.  

After putting their kids to bed, Diane (JoBeth Williams) and Steve (Craig T. Nelson) kick back by reading, watching a movie, and smoking joints. In an interesting twist, cannabis isn’t something that’s enjoyed by teens or college students, but rather by two parents in a pretty normalized depiction…during the Reagan era of the War on Drugs.  

While filming E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg was contractually unable to direct another film. 

So who did he recruit? Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper. Originally, Spielberg wanted to make a “scary alien picture,” after making Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but Hooper was less interested in a sci-fi movie and suggested a ghost story instead. 

Thus came Poltergeist, which Spielberg helped write and produce.

If you’re a fan of Steven Spielberg, or even liked Netflix’s Stranger Things, then Poltergeist is up your alley with its distinct blend of 1980s suburban nostalgia and supernatural horror. With its family dynamics and memorable practical effects, Poltergeist delivers scares with a signature Spielberg charm.

A scientific research station in Antarctica is infiltrated by a shape-shifting alien that assimilates life forms, leaving the isolated crew in a state of constant paranoia.

Throughout the movie, Palmer (David Clennon), the easy-going assistant mechanic at U.S. Outpost 31, enjoys kicking back with his headphones on and a joint.

Based on the 1938 novella “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell, The Thing is actually the second adaptation of the story, following 1951’s The Thing from Another World. And yes, this is director John Carpenter’s second entry in our article. 

Interestingly enough, the film bombed at the box office and with critics alike upon release, but over the years became known as a classic, with director Quentin Tarantino stating that it might be one of the best movies ever made and the inspiration for both Reservoir Dogs and The Hateful Eight (another film featuring Kurt Russell snowed in somewhere and not trusting anyone).  

For sci-fi fans, especially those who enjoy the Alien series, this is a natural go-to if you haven’t checked it out yet. But besides sci-fi themes, The Thing is also a masterful execution of psychological horror if that is more your fancy.

The paranoia experienced by the men at the station is as much of an antagonist as the titular crature. And finally, if you’re into close rewatches and movie debates (aka you’re a Christopher Nolan fan), the film's ambiguous ending has been the subject of fan disputes for over 40 years, with John Carpenter claiming he knows the true details of the ending…but he won’t tell us.

An aimless electronics salesman must save his mom and win back his ex-girlfriend amid a zombie outbreak in London.

The protagonist Shaun’s (Simon Pegg) best friend Ed (Nick Frost) is unemployed…except for occasionally selling cannabis. During one scene, he hilariously takes a call from one of his customers while surrounded by a horde of the undead.

Shaun of the Dead is considered Edgar Wright’s (Hot Fuzz, Scot Pilgrim vs. the World, Baby Driver) directorial debut, and the film also got early praise from Stephen King. The idea of the film came about with Pegg and Wright’s mutual appreciation of George A. Romero’s “Dead Trilogy” (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead).

If you’re looking for straight-up laughs mixed with horror, Shaun of the Dead is your go-to. The film itself isn’t really a “spoof” of the zombie genre but rather a funny movie set during a zombie outbreak. And if you enjoy seeing the dynamic trio of Pegg and Frost on screen with Wright at the director’s helm, the movie is followed by non-horror spiritual successors such as Hot Fuzz and The World’s End in what’s called the “Cornetto Trilogy” because, besides having the same main cast/director, a character enjoys a Cornetto ice cream cone in each film.

A group of five college students takes a weekend trip up to a remote cabin where their entire experience is a staged, heavily monitored sacrificial ritual.

One of the protagonists, Marty (Fran Kanz), frequently consumes cannabis in the movie, and it’s a core part of his character.  We don’t want to spoil too much, but his relationship with cannabis also plays a key part in the film's plot. While other films on this list feature cannabis, The Cabin in the Woods is arguably the only real “stoner” movie featured in this article.

The Cabin in the Woods is yet another directorial debut on this list, with Drew Goddard at the helm, who previously worked as a writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost, and later went on to pen the screenplays for The Martian and Project Hail Mary. 

Originally filmed in 2009, the movie did not receive a release until nearly 3 years later, with a premiere in Austin, TX, due to ongoing financial difficulties with MGM.

If you’re browsing through horror recs online and think “Oh, I’ve already seen that,” then The Cabin in the Woods is for you. From the direct callout of Evil Dead, with five college students deciding a creepy, isolated cabin in the woods makes for an ideal vacation destination, to homages to films such as Hellraiser, The Ring, The Shining, IT, The Faculty, and even games such as Left 4 Dead and Silent Hill, this is the horror film for horror fans (aside from Scream).

A family unravels terrifying, sinister secrets after the death of their estranged matriarch.

Cannabis and operating a motor vehicle don’t mix. Hereditary outlines this notion case in point.

There’s definitely a connection between horror films featuring cannabis and directorial debuts. Hereditary marked the debut of Ari Aster, who previously had the short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (calling that short film “disturbing” doesn’t do justice) and went on to write and direct another modern horror classic, Midsommar, which came out a year later.

Out of all the movies on this list, Hereditary is definitely the “scare the pants off you” selection. By tackling themes such as grief, loss, generational trauma, and general creepiness, this movie pulls no punches when it comes to scares.

You’ve been warned.