December 3, 2019

Media that Kills: So Many Different Ways

Media kills in so many ways, it's honestly surprising how varied this genre is. It never fails to delight me to see what filmmakers will do with such a seemingly simple premise.



Black Roses: This movie fits our theme in a few ways, but I gotta say, this scene is probably the most literal interpretation of "media that kills" that I could ever find! (Excuse the Spanish, it's the only version I could find.)




The Ring: Like a haunted chain letter from hell, media can kill you for merely consuming it as intended. [Side story: before the US remake of The Ring was released, an unmarked version of this short film was mailed to my job. We watched it, and were thoroughly confused. A day or two later, free passes to a sneak preview of The Ring also showed up at my job. A few of us went to the screening and I was EXTREMELY UNNERVED when the tape we watched just days before was a key part of the film. When I got home, I unplugged everything in my house (except the fridge) and didn't plug anything back in for a good 9 days, just to be on the safe side.]




Videodrome: Definitely the most "out there" in this category, the voice-over explains it best, "TV will change your mind, Videodrome will change your body."




The Running Man: Sometimes when media kills, it's by design. (This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and I'm really not sure what that says about me...)




Terrorvision: Media can bring a monster directly to your living room.




Brainscan: But media can also make you the monster...




Pontypool: And with no further explanation, Pontypool is on this list. (Just watch it.)



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