Evil Bong
Evil Bong is a 2006 American stoner horror comedy film directed by Charles Band about a group of stoners who smoke from a sentient, malevolent bong that traps the smoker in The Bong World, a surreal realm filled with killer strippers and other Full Moon creatures. The ending features an extended cameo by Tommy Chong, of Cheech & Chong fame. Brandi Cunningham from VH1's Rock of Love with Bret Michaels and horror icon Bill Moseley also make appearances in the film, which spawned a franchise of sequels.
Plot
Nerdy college student Alistair McDowell moves in with law school drop-out Larnell, and his current roommates typical "surfer-stoner" Bachman and former baseball player Brett. When Larnell sees an ad for a large bong that the previous owner claims was "possessed", he responds. They receive the bong and start smoking. Alistair meets Brett's girlfriend Luann and her friend Janet, who Alistair develops a crush on.Later that night, Bachman's soul is pulled into The Bong World, which takes the form of a hellish strip club, inside Evil Bong, where he meets Ooga Booga and Ivan Burroughs, who warns him to watch himself around the Evil Bong. He is introduced to one of the strippers who has skulls on her bra that start biting his neck, killing him, while Ooga Booga watches on, masturbating. The next morning, the other roommates find Bachman dead on the couch. Alistair tells them that it is probably from the weed, but Larnell points out they all smoked the weed. Larnell also notices that the bong has changed; a face has started to appear. The trio hide his body and are nearly caught when Larnell's paralyzed, wealthy grandfather, Cyril, comes by to tell Larnell that he just got remarried.
Later on, the bong starts speaking to Larnell and tempts him to smoke from her, which he does. Pulled into the Bong World, he sees Bachman, the Gingerdead Man, and Cyril. Eventually a stripper gives Larnell a lap dance, and he is killed in a similar way that Bachman was killed. Back in the real world, Luann and Janet come over and the group smokes from the bong. After Brett and Luann pass out, they wake up in the same strip club and they are greeted by Jack Attack, and Luann is taken away by the bouncer. Brett is then treated by his ex-girlfriend Carla Brewster, a stripper in the Bong World. She eventually uses her lip-cupped bra to bite off Brett's genitals, killing him.
Meanwhile, when Alistair starts figuring out what is going on, Janet falls prey to the bong and passes out. Jimbo Leary enters and proclaims that the bong, named Eebee, is his and has a voodoo curse on it: once one takes enough hits from it, it brings one to the Bong World where it kills the smoker. In order to save Janet, Alistair enters the bong world. Meanwhile, Jimbo tries destroying the bong with a hammer, chainsaw, and a bomb. Eebee unleashes a cloud of marijuana smoke, causing Jimbo to pass out.
Meanwhile, in the Bong World, Eebee forces the strippers to seduce Alistair, but he breaks them off. During his search, he bumps into Jack Deth. Once he finds a stoned Janet, Eebee reveals her motives: to control the world by turning the air into pot smoke and the oceans into bong water, making everyone massive stoners. They take "vitamins" to make them sober again. Jimbo, who has just got sucked into the bong world, tells them to go ahead and escape while he takes care of Eebee. Jimbo shows Eebee the time bomb strapped to his chest. He activates the bomb and blows up Eebee. Back in the real world, the gang has their souls returned and everyone comes back to life. However, Jimbo has been apparently killed, along with the bong, which is now shattered into pieces. The final scene shows that Jimbo is now the "king" of the Bong World.
Cast
- John Patrick Jordan as Larnell, a stereotypical stoner, and the main character of the Evil Bong film series, though absent in 666, 777 and The Gingerweed Man, he returned in Evil Bong 888.
- David Weidoff as Alistair McDowell, a nerdy science student who is Larnell, Bachman, and Brett's new roommate
- Mitch Eakins as Bachman, a stereotypical "surfer" and stoner
- Brian Lloyd as Brett, a stereotypical jock
- Robin Sydney as Luann, Brett's attractive girlfriend
- Kristyn Green as Janet
- Tommy Chong as Jim "Jimbo" Leary, Eebee's longtime owner, discovers her in the Amazon
- Michelle Mais as Eebee, an Evil Bong who is awakened every time someone smokes from her. She gains power once she pulls a person into the Bong World and kills them.
- Jacob Witkin as Cyril Cornwallis, Larnell's grandfather, reliant on a wheelchair. He disapproves of his grandson in general and is recurring and vocal about it.
- Phil Fondacaro as Ivan Burroughs
- Tim Thomerson as Jack Deth
- Bill Moseley as Bong World Patron
- Brandi Cunningham as Carla Brewster
- Dana Danes as Bong World Dancer
- Gina-Raye Carter as Bong World Dancer
- Sonny Carl Davis as "Rabbit", the delivery man; although Davis' role in this film is minor, he becomes a main character in the series. Though he is a main character in the film series, his first appearance was in the 1991 film Trancers II.
- Sylvester "Bear" Terkay as Bouncer
- Dale Dymkoski as Male Dancer
- Mae LaBorde as Rosemary Cornwallis
- John Carl Buechler as Gingerdead Man
Production
Ebee's design was based on a thirty-year-old bong prop that Band and actress Robin Sydney bought at a head shop. Jeff Farley of Obscure Artifacts recreated it and made three different face molds with varying levels of detail for the different transformation phases it goes through after being smoked from. The tubes connected to the bong were blown around with compressed air. Eebee's name is a play on the film's title, as it phonetically sounds like "EB," the abbreviation for Evil Bong.
For his cameo appearance as Jack Deth, Tim Thomerson wore the coat from his other Full Moon character, Dollman, as the original was no longer available, leading to comments from Trancers fans about the inconsistent color. Additionally, Thomerson only agreed to the cameo since he was friends with fellow castmate Tommy Chong.
John Carl Buechler replaced Gary Busey as the voice of the Gingerdead Man.
Release
The original DVD release on October 24, 2006, includes a 20-minute behind-the-scenes special feature with the cast and crew. The special feature has been included on numerous subsequent DVD releases with its various sequels. The film also received a limited edition VHS in collaboration with Retro Release Video. Evil Bong was released on Blu-ray for the first time on Oct 05, 2021, in a box set called the Evil Bong Stash Box containing the first seven movies, the Gingerdead Man crossover and Weedjies: Halloweed Night. A special edition Blu-ray was also released in 2025 titled the Evil Bong-A-Thon, containing highlights of the series edited into one film.Soundtrack
Rare for a direct to DVD film, an associated soundtrack is available on Lakeshore Records and features music from Twiztid, Insane Clown Posse, Sen Dog, and Volume 10. It also has music from the film's composers, District 78, and two tracks from music group Kottonmouth Kings.Reception
published a positive review shortly after the film's release in 2006, saying that despite its flaws, "Evil Bong is an enjoyable little flick that truly harkens back to the early, glory days of Full Moon Pictures", but points out the horror is secondary to the film's comedy. The reviewer compares the humor in the film to that of a sitcom and furthers the comparison by pointing out that "the majority of the film is set in the living room of this one apartment ". Ultimately, the reviewer argues that the film "is the most well-paced movie Band has churned out in ages but even it hits a few lulls along the way due to the premise being too flimsy for both the running time and the film's limited budget". The review also covers the aspects of the DVD release and special features included.Spectrum Culture reviewed the film in 2017, over a decade after its initial release. The review heavily criticized the film with particular criticism given to the characters who the reviewer calls "an onslaught of college douchebags" and for taking place largely in a singular location. The review also argues that the vernacular used by the stoners of the film would be considered "total narc lingo" by "any true High Times subscriber".
Sequels
''Evil Bong 2: King Bong'' (2009)
Sometime after they helped destroy Evil Bong, Eebee, college student Larnell finds Alister McDowell at his dorm room door, remarking "I almost didn't recognize you". Larnell invites him in and explains something is wrong with him and his roommates Bachman, and Brett: Bachman has become narcoleptic followed by amnesia, Larnell has uncontrollable sexual urges, and Brett has become massively overweight due to an uncontrollable appetite.The group decides to call the delivery man Rabbit, who first delivered Eebee. He arrives and after a brief interaction with Larnell, agrees to trade information for marijuana. He tells them Jimbo Leary bought the bong in the Amazon in the 1960s while working for the peace corps. When half his friends die after smoking from Eebee, Jimbo locked her in his attic where she stayed until his wife sold it, leading to the events of the first film. Believing they can find a cure, the five men travel to the Amazon. There, they encounter Velicity, a woman who is continuing her recently deceased-father's research with his research partner. Larnell and Rabbit discover a pile of marijuana behind Velicity's hut, packed to move. Guarding it is Velicity's partner, Larnell's grandfather Cyril, who is inexplicably out of his wheelchair and able to walk. Larnell and Rabbit go inside the hut where Velicity explains that her father uncovered a prehistoric strain of marijuana cultivated by an ancient people, "the Poontang Tribe". She has found that the marijuana can be used to help cure people of health problems and severe injuries-explaining how Cyril is able to walk again-and Velicity is planning on donating the marijuana to help cancer patients. Bachman suggests that the marijuana could help them with their extreme side effects, so they smoke some and it seems to work.
Larnell pulls out leftover pieces of Eebee's face which Velicity immediately recognizes as Poontang craftsmanship. Eebee is brought back to life by the ancient marijuana smoke and Velicity takes the pieces to Cyril. She overhears a phone call between Cyril and a potential buyer, so she confronts him. He chastises her for her naivety, and she runs off upset. Having heard Cyril's plan, Eebee offers her help if he helps restore her original form, which Cyril does. Rabbit shows up and tries to cut a distribution deal with Cyril, threatening to expose Cyril's intended operation if he does not cut him in, when three Poontang Tribeswomen appear behind them, holding spears. They attack Cyril and capture Rabbit and Eebee. The three women bring Rabbit and Eebee to King Bong even larger, skull-shaped bong with eyes. They place Eebee on an altar next to King Bong and they argue, revealing a past relationship. The women "force" Rabbit to smoke from the King Bong and he enters the Bong World. Cyril returns to the hut, bleeding, where he tells the others what happened. Larnell, Velicity, Alister, Bachman and Brett head out to save Rabbit leaving Cyril behind.
They find King Bong and theorize that he is more powerful than Eebee and has the ability to pull a person's whole being into the Bong World, not just their soul. Eebee, still being bitter from King Bong's implied infidelity, tells them they have to destroy his "symbol", a necklace and the source of his power. Bachman and Brett enter the Bong World and are danced on by two mostly nude tribeswomen before being tied up and brought before King Bong with Rabbit. Larnell and Alister enter find the tribe rolling Rabbit up in giant paper, turning him into a massive joint that King Bong shrinks down to a normal size with his necklace. They untie Bachman and Brett and the group attacks the tribe while Larnell shatters the necklace, destroying King Bong and sending them out of the Bong World. They all walk off, ignoring Eebee's angry cries to them not to leave her on the altar alone. The film ends with everyone smoking in Larnell's dorm, everything back to normal.
Evil Bong 3: Reefer Madness, A galactic stoner comedy about survivors of a battle with King Bong whose Venice Beach head shop gets them enslaved by an alien’s sexy weed strain.