Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Horror Film Day

The 19th is Dream Analysis Day, but the 19th is on a Saturday and I don't think most of my readers do much blogging on the weekends. On the 17th we're supposed to write a post that is like a horror film. Maybe I can combine the two.

So when I was a teenager I would have bad dreams after watching scary movies. The second version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers was an excellent film. Jeff Goldblum is just awesome. Of course, at the time I first saw it, I had no idea who Jeff Goldblum was. I wanted to see the film because of Leonard Nimoy.

Anyway, everyone in that movie was just great. I highly recommend the film. The first version is a classic and there's nothing really wrong with the third version either, but the second one was my favorite. I saw it when in a theater when I was twelve. I didn't get to see many movies back then, but I talked Dad into taking me on the argument that he had seen the original when he was a kid, so I should be allowed to see this one.

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a good movie, and it would have been a good movie if the plot had turned out to be about something totally different like a serial killer or Donald Sutherland finding out he's insane or some organized crime group getting rid of dead bodies. But the plot isn't about any of those things, it's about an alien invasion totally getting rid of the human race.

So that's pretty scary. It's one of those things that you hope never really happens. You wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Game over.

So I had a nightmare that night. I had a few more nightmares later. Didn't tell Dad about the nightmares til maybe ten years later. It was worth it. I still love the movie, but at the time I did not care for the nightmares.

A bit later came Alien. I did not get to see Alien in a theater. Dad went to see it, and he told me about the movie in every detail, but I did not actually see it for a few years. When I did see it I was babysitting a couple of kids, watching their cable TV. The kids had seen the movie before. They said they didn't mind watching the movie again, but it just wasn't their favorite and they weren't paying much attention to the TV. My eyes were glued to the screen most of the time. I'd look up once in a while and ask if they wanted juice or something, but I was very into watching the movie. The kids went to get some toys from their rooms, and I really didn't pay much attention to what they were playing with.

And then comes the dinner scene, and I know what's coming cause Dad told me all about the movie. And the kids have stopped playing for a moment and are watching this scene. And I'm on the couch, and they're lying on the floor right next to the couch. And we're watching the TV, and right when the parasite jumps out of the guy's stomach, one of the kids threw a red pom-pom in the air.

Yikes!!!!

But it was a bit of fun. And again I had some nightmares. It was still a good movie and I was still glad I got to see it.

For a while I tried to only see scary movies in the afternoon. It's bad going out to a dark parking lot right after you've seen a scary movie. And you're probably less likely to have nightmares if you have a bit of a break before you have to go to sleep.

But sometimes I still have nightmares about Sigourney Weaver Aliens (Giger Aliens, but people are less likely to know that name), even if it's been a while since I've since any Alien movies.

So I used to have these dreams that had spaceships and scary aliens in them. And then I'd get really scared of something and wake up. Then it was, thank God it was only a dream.

As I got older, the dreams were not so bad. In fact, the dreams were kind of fun. Spaceships and aliens, cool. But then something would jump out at me and scare me and I would wake up. Damn. I was having an interesting dream, and now I'm awake and I can't get back to sleep.

Okay, so here is one of the dreams. I'm on another planet or a space-station or something with a bunch of other people. Some of these other people are Marines. Big handsome Marines carrying laser rifles. Nice.

Anyway, at one end of the place is a lot of people. Normal civilization. Malls. Starbucks. Restaurants. All that sort of thing.

At the other end of this place is a small hive of Sigourney Weaver Aliens. They mostly stay on their end. In between our end and their end is a long hallway with a lot of empty space and a bunch of armored doors. Like airlocks or something. They might get through one doorway, but never more than two, and there's like ten. So if some of them get through a door, the Marines go and kill them and someone fixes the door.

So this is what happens when there are one or two aliens separated from the rest of the hive. The Marines are going to go and kill them and make sure that the doors are all secure now. But if it's just one or two, they can take small groups of tourists to have a look.

It's all perfectly safe. For one thing, you go in with all these big handsome Marines. For another thing, if you get scared, you just run back down the hall and hide behind one of those armored doors. But the best thing is that you're wearing this sort of armored spacesuit thing that's covered with this special acid resistant stuff. So even if one of them gets you, he can maybe get mad and throw you down the hallway, but he can't really get inside the armor to get you. So before you seriously got hurt the Marines would save you. All perfectly safe, see?

So I join a tour group and we get ready and put on the armored spacesuits and head down the hallway. And someone opens the first airlock. This is so cool. And the Marines say that it's all clear and we go inside. And we walk a ways and come to another one of those armored doors and someone opens that. And the Marines look around and give the all clear and we go through that door too. This is so exciting.

So we go through about eight of these doors without any trouble, and then one of the Marines says that if anyone wants to back out, now is the time. We should see some aliens after we go through the next door. But no one wants to go back, and someone opens the door and we walk through. And this is probably the most exciting thing that I've ever done. I'm going to get to see an Alien. There's probably an Alien just right up there, just right around the corner there. The Marines are going first, but it's all perfectly safe, cause I've got on all this armor.

And I'm looking at the armor, and I look down and realize that I forgot to put on my boots.

Yikes!!!

The Aliens are going to bleed acid on my feet and kill me.

I wake up.

Damn.


Okay. Analyze that one.

6 comments:

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

I love scary movies and I've seen all the Alien movies.. I probably had some bad dreams or something but can't recall.. I too loved to have *rap scared out of me.. But one movie in particular I won't see again was called "Snakes On A Plane".. That one had me holding my step-daughter's hand throughout the movie..I definitely had nightmares that night about being eaten alive by big bad snakes.. Sometimes I will watch a comedy before going to sleep to help.. great post.. I had nothing substantial to post for this little holiday..

Diva's Thoughts said...

I love scary movies too. I love Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm street. Those are my favs.

dmarks said...

"Alien" was my first R rated movie at the theatre. Obey Sigourney.

David in DC said...

I saw the original Alien movie, high off my ass, at a midnight showing, at age 17.

When that critter came out of the one astronaut's stomach, I thought I crawl right out of my skin.

I don't go to scary movies any more. If I ever do, I'll nix the pre-viewing herbfest.

Anonymous said...

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers (all 3) is a very good movie. I agree the second version is the best, the cast is the strongest. That movie never really bothered me much.

Alien, however, does bother me a tad. Not for all of the usual "jump" scenes, but rather the shear closterphobia of that movie. I could not imagine being trapped in space in a broken down ship with those coolest looking movie monsters ever roaming the halls and vents. Trapped. I have had nightmares associated to fear of being trapped on several occasions due to the movie. Funny part is, when I am awake, I have no problem with small spaces.

Giger has done several album covers, including Danzig's "How the Gods Kill" and was a prominent Chicago based tattoo artist for a time. His work was always in the ink mags. (I have no ink, but being around bands all the time...well)

Tara said...

Oh my gawd, what an awesome dream! But where did you leave your boots? Nothing like alien acid on the pinky toe, I'm sure. That would sting a bit.

I didn't see "Alien" at the theatre either, but I did see the movie and of course the part where the alien is suctioned on the guy's face and the dinner scene is carved into my memory. I did see "Aliens" at the theatre, though. I loved that one too.