“High Spirits”: Smoke Signals from the Afterlife
High Spirits opens with a joke that probably shouldn’t work and then has the nerve to make you feel something. Directed by Samuel R. Watkins alongside Josh “Stixx” Williams, this dark-comedy short takes a premise that sounds like a late-night dare and spins it into something unexpectedly tender, surreal, and quietly disarming.
Three friends, mid-hangout and mid-high, land on a reckless idea: what if they could “share one last moment” with someone they’ve lost by sprinkling a bit of their ashes into a joint? It’s outrageous. It’s inappropriate. It’s also weirdly human. Because beneath the shock value sits a question we rarely say out loud: how far would we go for one more second with someone we miss?
A directorial debut that shows impressive restraint. The film is compact and to the point, trusting visual storytelling over heavy exposition. The pacing is sharp, never overstaying its welcome, and the slice-of-life authenticity grounds the film even as it tips into the bizarre. You believe these friends. You recognize their humor as a shield, their irreverence as a coping mechanism.
The set design deserves a nod as well. The single primary location feels lived-in and intimate, reinforcing the closeness of the group and the claustrophobic nature of unresolved grief. That said, this is also where the film misses an opportunity. For a short operating in one main space, more stylized lighting could have elevated the surreal turn, pushing the visual language as far as the premise dares to go. Similarly, the sound design occasionally feels flatter than the emotional beats it’s meant to support.
Still, these technical limitations don’t overshadow the film’s tonal balance, a tricky feat for a story juggling stoner comedy and mourning. High Spirits understands that laughter and loss often share the same breath.
By the time the smoke clears, the film leaves behind a gentle ache beneath the chuckles. It reminds us that remembrance isn’t always graceful, that love doesn’t vanish with a body, and that sometimes the strangest rituals come from the most sincere places.
