Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Today's Horror Choices 02/28/17 - Science Can Bite Me

National Science Day is upon us, which means it's time to study up on such classics as Re-Animator, a clear favorite in the Fear20 Taima channel. While the actual science involved may not be all that accurate, the driving force behind the plot is clearly one man's insatiable thirst for knowledge and understanding which drives him to do the unthinkable. In that regard, many Frankenstein films would also be appropriate, but there are about a hundred other holidays that will force me to bring up the big guy throughout the year. Instead let's turn our attention to other science-themed horror flicks, like Scanners or Dreamscape, in which our attempts to understand the capabilities of the human mind lead to all sorts of pseudo-magical shenanigans. Plus, who doesn't want to see that gross head prosthetic  again?

Yeah, that's the one. *shudders*


Maybe you'd like something that takes itself just a tiny bit more seriously for Science Day. 2012's Decay prides itself on being "The LHC Zombie Movie". Set inside the Large Hadron Collider, it follows a team of scientists who yadda yadda yadda everyone's fucking and yelling and getting chased by zombies. It's actually pretty good as far as zombie movies go, but I'm hard-pressed to remember the exact details of the plot right now, given that it's been a few years since I saw it. A more memorable experience, and one which is likely to hit close to home for the, err... "mental explorers" among us, is the surreal masterpiece that is Altered States. The entire movie is about getting high in the pursuit of a moment of cosmic revelation. There are no monsters here, except those that exist within the very deepest recesses of our own minds. Heavy shit, man....

Maybe you're not so much into science. Maybe you're like, "Fuck science. Science ruined our imaginations, man. Nobody believes in shit anymore. Make Santa Claus real again!" Well, I have good news for you, sir. Today is also National Tooth Fairy Day. The Tooth Fairy has played a part in several noteworthy horror films. There's Darkness Falls, which was an unremarkable early 2000s monster movie. There's the made-for-TV Don't Be Afraid of the Dark from 1973 and its big-screen 2010 remake by The Guillermo of the Bull. I'm pretty sure the original is better, but I can't remember why I think that. Big G's really good at lighting and set design and whatnot, but the old versions of the monsters just manage to be creepier in general I think. Another movie about the lies our parents told us came out in 2006, this time straight to DVD and simply titled "The Tooth Fairy". I haven't seen this one yet, and judging by the trailer it's not very good, but I'm pretty certain I can at least assure you that you will be subjected to neither The Rock nor Larry the Cable Guy should you choose to watch this movie.

Then there's Red Dragon, the third of the Anthony Hopkins Hannibal movies in which a detective hunts for a serial killer nicknamed The Tooth Fairy for the way he bites his victims. It's just what the press calls him, though, and really doesn't play much of a role in the actual plot of the film. Still, I would be remiss not to mention it. I also feel obligated to mention that Red Dragon is actually a remake of an older movie called Manhunter, which predates The Silence of the Lambs and features Brian Cox in the first cinematic portrayal of Hannibal.

Today we wish a Happy Birthday to Dawn Rae Chong, daughter of Tommy Chong. She was in Tales From the Darkside: The Movie and The Borrower (not to be confused with The Borrowers, released 6 years later).

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