The Weed Eaters will hit Embassy 3 in Whanganui on April 12 as part of its nationwide pre-release tour.
Cannabis, weed, marijuana, pot – Aotearoa’s most popular illicit drug takes centre stage in the award-winning, new film The Weed Eaters.
The homegrown blend of horror and comedy will tour 21 venues nationwide this month, with a stop in Whanganui this weekend.
Director Callum Devlin said the production took a leap making the film and he was glad to have support from the industry.
“We raised about 20 grand, which isn’t a lot of money for a feature film, but it was enough to pay for travel, food and keep everyone in their flat so they didn’t get kicked out,” Devlin said.
“It feels like a multimillion-dollar film.”
The plot follows a group of stoner millennials on a secluded getaway who stumble upon an ancient strain of cannabis that gives them a severe case of the munchies.
Devlin said the comedy was a “crack-up” when the film wasn’t trying to scare the audience.
It was filmed like a Western, written like a comedy and edited and scored like a horror film, he said.
The Weed Eaters won SXSW Sydney’s Best Feature Film award and the Jury Prize at the Gerardmer International Fantastic Film Festival.
Tour attendees can expect a pre-release screening and Q&A sessions with some of the film’s crew and cast before its cinema release on April 30.
It will screen in Whanganui at Embassy 3 cinema at 7.30pm on Sunday, April 12, followed by a Q&A hosted by musician and Durie Hill Elevator operator Anthonie Tonnon.
Stars include Alice May Connolly, Finnius Teppett, Annabel Kean and Samuel Austin, who also all held production roles.
Filming took place on lead actor and producer Kean’s family property in Kowai Bush, Canterbury.
This meant the crew could use the backdrop of the Southern Alps while saving on accommodation and location costs.
Only four to eight cast and crew were on set at a time, Devlin said.
“The crew was so small, we got to film in golden hour basically every night.”
The Weed Eaters explores New Zealand’s relationship with cannabis in a meta conversation.
“We were so close to legalising it during the referendum but just missed out,” Devlin said.
The crew supported safe recreational cannabis use and wanted to combine that idea with scarier plot themes.
“Cannibalism is pretty scary. Having the wrong kind of drugs is very scary. But what are we actually afraid of as people in our early 30s? The repercussions of terrible decisions in our lives. That is truly frightening.”
During the writing process, he drew from his experiences of watching horror films while “too stoned”.
Writing was also inspired by the crew’s anxieties and fears.
Devlin said they aimed for the film to be 80 minutes.
“It ends well. It ends correctly. But there is more to the story for sure.”
Colour grader Fergus Rotherham (Dangerous Animals, Boy Swallows Universe) played a key role in transforming the film’s look.
“I could watch a live stream of him doing the grade ... It was like getting a full body massage. It was just so relaxing and reassuring,” Devlin said.
The all-Kiwi soundtrack features music from composer Callum Passells, along with Sir Dave Dobbyn, Lawrence Arabia and Mousey.
Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings from Causeway Films joined The Weed Eaters as executive producers.
Devlin said Causeway Films had produced some of the world’s most frightening and successful horror films, including Talk to Me, Bring Her Back and The Babadook.
A follow-up film is not off the books.
“If I had 50 grand on top of the film, I would give it to our glorious cast and crew. Everyone worked for peanuts on this film,” he said.
The film’s tour will be funded largely by ticket sales, as well as support from the New Zealand Film Commission and its distributor.
They plan to take the film to British and US cinemas if the release goes well.
The Weed Eaters is rated R13 for violence, offensive language, drug use and content that may disturb.
It was Flicks’ favourite film of the 2025 New Zealand International Film Festival.
“This is such a naughty film. It reminds you of Black Sheep or something. Getting to go see that as a teenager was so exciting,” Devlin said.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus (Ngāti Whatua o Kaipara) is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.