Documentary: The World's Scariest Drug Post 1

1. World’s Scariest Drug (Documentary Exclusive). Dir. Ryan Duffy. Perf. Ryan Duffy. VICE, 2012. Film.

The world of drugs has always been a disturbing place, but it seems that the “new” scopolamine has brought a new, frightening level to the possibility of drug-related crimes. Known as “The Devil’s Breath” in Colombia, scopolamine is a drug similar to rohypnol, also known as “rufies”, in that it removes memory of an incident after using drug, but more chillingly, the victim remains him/herself. The victim is still awake and conscious; however, he or she is subject to the whims of any suggestion without resistance. Ryan Duffy of VICE goes to Bogota, Colombia to learn more about “the Devil’s Breath” in the cocaine capital of the world.

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Duffy, the director and main person in the documentary, explores the dark and dangerous streets of Bogota, Colombia. His growing apprehension and suspicion of the horrors surrounding scopolamine manifest themselves in the myriad of rhetorical devices used.  To explain most of the conflicts, Duffy utilizes voiceover and describes Colombia and its troubles, referring to it as “the cocaine capital of the world”. Through actually a rather straightforward script, Duffy makes the story all the more chilling; his blunt assessments do not attempt to hide the stories surrounding scopolamine. He constantly foreshadows to the next event, keeping viewers engaged and further perturbed by this “Devil’s Breath”.

            The lighting of “World’s Scariest Drug” also plays a role in telling the story. Almost the entire documentary is shot in low light or near darkness; even the happier scenes such as eating in fancy restaurants is done by candlelight and large shadows. Use of limited lighting depicts a both literally and figuratively “shady” world surrounding scopolamine. The only exception to this is when Duffy and the rest of his team is inspecting and observing the scopolamine plant, the Borrachero Tree. Perhaps this rhetorical choice was made to depict the natural origins as seemingly harmless when in reality it is a dangerous plant, increasing the deception that is the theme of using scopolamine.

            The parts of the documentary that quite literally spoke the greatest volume were the victim (and chillingly user-against-others) testimonies. Several rhetorical devices all served to add to the potency of these portions and added to the message that scopolamine wasn’t merely a strong drug: it was equivalent to death and total loss of control. Captions were provided when the people spoke in their native Colombian. Camera angles often directed it so that the viewers were looking directly at the faces of those speaking, but the speakers were looking off to the side or someone else. They were always close-ups, but sometimes the faces were blurred for identity protection. All of this emphasized the logical conclusion that you don’t even want to mess with this drug. The native languages, having the speakers not look at the camera, and sometimes having blurred faces combine to create a sense of distance and lack of believability. Even Duffy describes the stories as “camp fire horror stories you’d hear when you were younger”. However, viewers suddenly and rather forcefully come to the conclusion that all of this is real when it dawns upon them that those are actual people who have lived and survived through the terrible experience. The manner (either fearful, cold-blooded, or simply still confused) in which the recorded Colombians described their experiences with the drug leave no room for doubt: scopolamine is equivalent to death: if not physical, then a dying of emotional and mental capabilities.