Symbolism of Drugs in Horror Movies

Drugs began to become a staple of the splatter movies back in the late 1970s and 1980s. It came to be known that if someone did drugs in a horror movie, death was just about immanent. While first used as a tool to try to bring more reality to horror movies, drugs have become a horror movie symbol that has many different meanings.

One of the ways that we would know if someone was going to die in the splatter was if they did something that would go against what good old mom and dad would want. Drugs fit perfectly into this category. The taking of drugs is something that parents try to protect their kids from, but inevitably they have a good chance of failure. The same is true with trying to keep kids safe from those that would do harm to them in a horror movie.

Drugs are used to separate someone from reality so that the concerns of the day can be put on the back burner for s shot time. The funny thing is that, in a horror movie, the drugs do not separate the victim from the killer that might be hanging out around the next corner. How many times have characters taken drugs to forget about the creature stalking them (I know that you could name some, I could to. It is a rare example, though)?

Instead, drugs in horror movies make the problem worse since the reduce reaction time, and lower the concern of a person taking them. The easy escape from life makes it harder to escape from the real concern of the guy in front of you wearing a mask and wielding a knife as long as your arm. What a great horror movie tool.

The most obvious part of why drug use is so symbolic in horror movies is the old adage, “Drugs kill.” How blatant can you be? If you use drugs in a horror movie, you are most likely the next person to die. You will be gone well before you come down off of your high.

The next time you are watching a horror movie, and someone uses drugs, think about why the drug use is there. Try to figure out which category for drug use the character falls in to. If you are watching a horror movie, and you are doing drugs, I hope that Jason, Freddy, or Michael don’t get you next!