Like most of y'all, I love me a good apocalypse movie. Whether it is zombies, nuclear holocaust, or pandemics, the thrill of imminent global catastrophe sells popcorn (we will be discussing the popcorn in a future Cortex article).
While some are understandably looking for lighter entertainment to take our minds off of pandemics and natural disasters, there are those of us who are going back and rewatching The Stand, Contagion, and Outbreak, in a morbid effort to view these movies in a new light.
Most of these movies, however, are not scary at all -- most are meant to be spectacular fun, and many (The Day After, 2012, Independence Day) are unintentionally hilarious. And some, like the adaptation of Stephen King's mediocre book Cell, are terrible.
And, like many of us, I will watch every single one of the over 9000 movies about zombies that have been and are being released.
But none of these movies are scary or disturbing in the slightest. Sometimes, we WANT a movie to genuinely scare us -- so that we can come out of it saying 'I survived that.'
I want to talk about three movies that actually disturbed me (with one of those actually terrifying the everliving fuck out of me). In all three of these, it is largely the understated that makes one so uneasy. Let's start with the least scary of the bunch
When the Wind Blows (1986)
This wonderful little animated film is based on an apparently popular comic or graphic novel, and has some impressive voice acting. It is deceptively sweet and charming, but the viewer always knows something bad is coming, and the sweetness of the old British couple depicted (as main characters) makes the aprehension somehow even worse, as they attempt to turn away from desperation with a stiff upper lip. This film features an impressive soundtrack: Bowie, Genesis, Squeeze, and Roger Fucking Waters.
Testament (1983)
While has been many years since I saw this, I am certain it still holds up, and I have absolutely no desire to see it again. A California woman, cut off from communication with her husband during a nuclear crisis, does her best to care for herself and her children amidst uncertainty and health issues from fallout. The scenes I recall being the most haunting are wordless and presented matter-of-factly, sometimes with only the slightest of visual cues to suggest horror. This is not the feel-good movie of the year.
Threads (1984)
I made the mistake of watching this alone in the dark, while baked, after I think somebody here on Shack suggested it many years ago. This is one of the very few films (I can count them on one hand) to genuinely send me to a state of sheer panic and terror. I recently saw it available on Shudder so I watched it again, and it still created a serious amount of tension even though I knew what was coming. It is a made-for-BBC-TV British drama, presented as a "Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long running effects of nuclear war on civilization."
I have already said too much about this film, but I must add: Turn your sound WAY up when you watch this, if you can.
Thank you for reading, enjoy your 5 Lolabux, come back for next week's horror discussion: The 'Ernest' movies vs the 'Medea' movies - Which series is more terrifying?
If there is movies that I missed that are genuinely scary, PLEASE add to comments below, also remember to like and subscribe!
