Drugs are a staple in the Hollywood lifestyle, both on and off the big screen. However, not all drugs we see in the movies are real. In fact, many drugs shown in movies are fictional drugs.
But when scriptwriters give a fake drug a seemingly real drug name, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking they’re real. So which famous science fiction drugs have you (and many others) been fooled by?
Here are 5 of the most famous fictional drugs from popular movies.
Contents
1. NZT-48
NZT-48 is from the movie Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro.
The premise of this movie is that Bradley Cooper’s character Eddie is a writer. He’s going through some intense writer’s block, struggling with money, not using his full potential, etc.
His girlfriend’s brother gives him access to a drug called NZT-48. This drug is able to allow the user to use their brain to its full potential.
The idea of this drug is based on the incorrect idea that we are only using 10% of our brain, so what would happen if we unlocked 100% of our brain’s potential? (Again, this is so wrong. But, this is also a movie. And a fake drug. Let’s continue).
Eddie begins taking NZT-48 every day. He finishes his book in a day. He suddenly understands finance and makes 2 million dollars in a matter of weeks. He runs for the Senate, publishes books, and gets the girl, all because of this miracle drug.
The side effects of NZT-48 include hallucinations and losing hours of time.
Now, the bad news is that this drug doesn’t exist, and there aren’t any drugs like it in Canadian pharmacies, or any other pharmacy for that matter. No drug is going to instantly make you understand the stock market or write a book in a day.
We suggest taking some college classes and getting a good night’s sleep instead.
2. Gambutrol
Gambutrol is the fictional drug from the 2005 film The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
It’s described as an anti-seizure medication with the unfortunate side effect that it makes you “immune” to exorcisms and/or doesn’t cure demonic possession. We say “unfortunate” because the movie suggests that Emily wasn’t suffering from epilepsy or seizures, but actually from demonic possession and was needing an exorcism.
This movie was based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a teenager who died of malnutrition when she stopped eating and drinking after her parents forced her to undergo an exorcism.
The real “Emily Rose” did take medication for her seizures, but it wasn’t Gambutrol (mostly because Gambutrol doesn’t exist).
3. Hypnocil
Here we have another of the most famous sci-fi drugs that appeared in the horror film Freddy vs. Jason.
This epic crossover of Nightmare on Elm Street and the Friday the 13th franchises gave us one of the best slasher showdowns of all time. Now, this film is no “Hall of Famer“, but it’s definitely iconic.
Freddy Kreuger is able to kill people in their dreams, which causes their real-life deaths once they awaken from the nightmare. However, in the movie Freddy vs. Jason, we discover that some people who had been previously attacked in their dreams by Freddy have begun to take the drug hypnocil, which suppresses you from dreaming.
While this would be the perfect solution to prevent a hell demon from killing you in your dreams, it, unfortunately, is a fictional drug. However, there are plenty of drugs that can calm anxiety and help you sleep if you’re still worried.
4. “Ladder”
The other drugs on this list have pharmaceutical names that make them seem more real, which is why it’s funny that this drug deemed “ladder” from the movie Jacob’s Ladder is mistaken for a real drug.
The main character Jacob, played by Tim Robbins, is a war vet whose life isn’t going well post-war. One of his sons was killed, his marriage fell apart, his apartment is rundown, and he is experiencing terrifying hallucinations that involve his violent death and shadowy figures in the distance.
It turns out that everyone from Jacob’s unit during the war is also experiencing these hallucinations, and many are mysteriously killed in explosions and other “accidents.”
We eventually discover that Jacob and his unit were given a new drug called “the Ladder” that was supposed to make them better soldiers. However, it instead caused them all to become homicidal and aggressive, which led to them all killing themselves and each other in a frenzy.
Thankfully, this isn’t a real drug, so we don’t have to worry about being drugged by our government to turn us into insane super soldiers who kill each other.
5. Novril
Last on our list of fictional drugs from movies is Novril from the movie Misery. This movie is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.
In this movie, a famous novelist named Paul gets into a car accident when he is rescued by his number one fan named Annie. Annie is able to dress his wounds and help him recover.
However, when Annie finds out that Paul has killed off her favorite character, all hell breaks loose. She informs him that he is essentially trapped there, no one else knows where he is, and she locks him in his room.
She also makes him burn the manuscript where he’s killed off the main character of his books (honestly, this was us when JK Rowling killed off Sirius Black).
Paul decides to hoard the painkiller he’s been taking in order to poison Annie and escape. The painkiller from the movie is called Novril; it’s described as an intense painkiller similar to codeine.
He fails at poisoning her, and she turns around and uses Novril on Paul to keep him sedated and strapped to a bed. But, he manages to bash her over the head with a typewriter (very symbolic), Annie is killed, and Paul escapes.
Novril isn’t real, but you can always pop some ibuprofen for your pain reliving needs.
Fictional Drugs You Thought Were Real: Wrapping Up
While some of these fictional drugs seem great, they are just that: fictional. The good news is that there are alternatives to these fake drugs, except NZT-48, but maybe that’s for the best.
Looking for a movie to watch tonight? Check out our top action movie recommendations.