Narcotics: Pit of Despair

Duration: 10:00

Creator: Marshall (Mel)

Complete Record: Stephen Parr’s Synopsis for screenings: The hilarious and surreal “Narcotics: Pit of Despair”(Color, 1967) is probably the stupidest drug film ever produced. An ominous bongo soundtrack underscores our story of John, a high school senior. John’s on the track team, drives a sporty car and has a cute girlfriend. His friend Pete is a drug pusher. Pete invites John to a party. Hammond organ music and dizzying camera work prepare us for the high-flying party that follows. John meets femme fatale Helen. With her push-up bra and false eyelashes Helen lures John into the garage to get high. “Take a trip from Squaresville, get with the countdown, shake this square world and blast off to Kicksville”, the narrator intones as a joint gets passed around. John soon becomes “psychologically dependent” on pot and starts mainlining heroin, abandoning his girlfriend, his car, and the track team. He begins stealing from his mother(!) to buy drugs and soon sinks into oblivion. But wait! There’s help. Well, almost, a happy ending just wouldn’t help us see the light here. Don’t miss the spitting cobra at the end!