Sometimes, when you’re tripping on psychedelics, you’d like to travel into the depths of your consciousness and heal long-standing wounds. Other times, you’d rather immerse yourself in an uplifting or philosophical experience. Movies can provide an avenue toward the latter — and may still allow you to explore your consciousness in the process. Watching a favorite film can also be a way to relax and transition back to real life as the substance starts to wear off. Here are a few movies that may enhance or deepen a psychedelic experience, along with where to find them.
Best Comedies
I Heart Huckabees
If you’re looking for an existential comedy, this is it. The movie’s absurdity and deep themes hit differently when you’re in an altered state—and it doesn’t matter what kind of altered state you’re in. Whether you’ve smoked some cannabis or dropped a tab of LSD, this movie’s mind-bending nature will have you cracking up while still making you ponder the mysteries of space-time.
Available on: Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV, YouTube
Napoleon Dynamite
If you’re looking for something lighthearted and ridiculous with very little plot to follow, this one never fails. The randomness and awkwardness of the film can feel heightened, making it even funnier in an altered state. Plus, the bizarrely mundane world of Napoleon takes on a surreal quality that’s oddly mesmerizing, making the movie a lighthearted trip full of strange but amusing moments.
Available on: Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play
Being John Malkovich
The whole concept of entering someone else’s mind feels even more trippy, and the film’s bizarre twists get surreal fast. The mind-bending visuals and the off-kilter vibe turn the movie into an almost immersive, otherworldly experience that fully pulls you into its weirdness. This movie is perfect for watching while on psychedelics. Maybe you’ll figure out what it means to actually be a person by the end.
Available on: Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV, Youtube
Best Animated
Alice in Wonderland
This one’s almost too obvious, but also too trippy not to include. Psychedelics will send you right down the rabbit hole with Alice, where you’ll meet a Cheshire cat, a Mad Hatter, talking flowers, and characters that will truly flip your concept of reality on its head — especially if you pair it with a Pink Floyd album.
Available on: Youtube, Disney+, Hulu
Spirited Away
This is perhaps the best movie to watch while high because of its dreamlike visuals and deeply imaginative world. The vibrant colors, fluffy clouds, surreal creatures, and fluid animation create a visually stunning experience that pairs perfectly with an altered state of consciousness. The film’s themes of self-discovery, transformation, and navigating between reality and the spirit world can resonate even deeper after imbibing your favorite psychoactive. It’s like being transported to another realm, where every detail is rich and alive.
Available on: Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV, Youtube
Coco
Travel between the lands of the living and the dead with this moving Disney favorite. This film is a fun, emotional ride highlighting the beautiful tradition of Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, and its rich imagery of Marigolds and skeletons and the world of the ancestors. Most of the compounds and plant medicines we discuss on this website are compatible with those themes. Just be sure to have a box of tissues handy; you will need them.
Available on: Disney+, Youtube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Best Musicals
Fantasia
What better a backdrop to your trip than a montage of Disney characters dancing to classical music? Honestly, if you haven’t watched this classic yet, what are you even doing? Cancel your weekend plans and give yourself this experience. You’ll thank us later.
Available on: Disney+, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is great to watch while high because of its blend of fairytale magic, whimsical visuals, and fun storytelling. The familiar characters and enchanting settings take on a surreal quality, making the musical journey feel more immersive and dreamlike. Plus, the music and fantastical visuals bring an added richness that feels heightened when your consciousness is altered, making it an engaging and thought-provoking ride.
Available on: Disney+, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy
The Matrix
This one seems obvious. But it’s perfect for when you’re in the mood to ponder for the 17th time whether we’re all living in a simulation, whether we’ve been “red-pilled” or “blue-pilled,” or if we really have free will. All of these major questions are existential, so that will be the nature of your trip if you turn on this iconic movie. It’s also an opportunity to time travel via ’90s nostalgia, so strap in!
Available on: Netflix, Google Play, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube
Inception
Really, though, is life just a dream within a dream?! You might get further in resolving this conundrum with some mushrooms in you while watching this movie. The concept of experiencing dreams within dreams, and its stunning visual effects, become immersive and surreal, pulling you into its intricate world. The shifting environments, gravity-defying scenes, and the blurred line between reality and illusion make it feel like a psychedelic journey in itself.
Available on: YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV
Arrival
Contemplate how language shapes reality and how we might live if we knew the future with this enrapturing otherworldly film. The film’s themes of time, language, and communication are thought-provoking on their own, but when you’re high, they can feel even more profound. Plus, the alien language and concepts of perceiving time differently invite you to explore your own sense of reality. It’s a visual and mental trip that sticks with you long after the film ends.
Available on: Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play
Interstellar
Another classic that raises questions about the nature of time, and how things like space and love exist within such a construct. The vastness of space, black holes, and the journey through different dimensions can feel overwhelmingly beautiful and surreal when you’re in an altered state. The film’s exploration of humanity, survival, and connection adds an emotional depth that hits even harder while tripping, making you reflect on life, the universe, and everything in between.
Available on: Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play
The Neverending Story
Take a trip back to your childhood — no pun intended — with dragons, gnomes, and other fantastical creatures. How could this movie not make this list? Plus, you’ll have the theme song stuck in your head for the entire week after watching it, which will undoubtedly bring you (and everyone around you) belly laughs.
Available on: Google Play, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Best Documentaries
The Elegant Universe
String theory, quantum physics, and astronomy sound even more elegant in the midst of a psychedelic journey around the galaxy and beyond.
Available on: YouTube
Derrida
The French philosopher spotlighted in this doc makes a lot more sense when you’re in an altered state. I mean, of course ghosts are the product of the supplementary nature of language.
Available on: Apple TV, YouTube
Inside the Mind of a Cat
When you can get outside the confines of your own mind, is there anywhere you’d rather venture than inside the mind of a cat?
Available on: NetFlix
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DoubleBlind Magazine does not encourage or condone any illegal activities, including but not limited to the use of illegal substances. We do not provide mental health, clinical, or medical services. We are not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, or advice. If you are in a crisis or if you or any other person may be in danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, immediately call 911 or your local emergency resources. If you are considering suicide, please call 988 to connect with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
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