Funded by individuals determined to save Americas youth from the soul-destroying effects of Marijuana (the REAL public enemy number one!), yet who had no idea of what actually took place at pot parties, Reefer Madness is the daddy of all cult movies. Unshakeable in its belief that a single puff of the devil's weed will send any Shakespeare-loving student down the path of murder, attempted rape and frenzied piano solos, it also has a shot at being the most berserk of all Marijuana warning films. According to the opening text crawl, Marijuana is a violent narcotic whose use leads to incurable insanity and acts of shocking violence, such as killing your entire family with an axe. No joke thats exactly what a character says at one point. Unsuccessful on its initial release, Reefer was resurrected as a midnight movie when a public domain print was discovered in the Library of Congress in the early 70s, becoming a hit with potheads and attracting a lawsuit from distributor Dwain Esper, who wanted his cut from a movie he claimed to have created for the good of his country. The case was thrown out of court.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
