The Future--is here!
Or just around the corner--or..
Far, far away from the here and now--and there’s nothing to worry about, really--because it’ll
be someone else's nightmare.
So let them deal with it.
I’m just kidding--the thing is though, particularly when it comes to technology in horror--science
fiction is often in the driving seat, and movies with otherwise terrifying premises
based upon the ever moving progress of technology--don’t really tend to get their just desserts in
the eternal service of horror cinema.
However, some movies that lie in between the two often strike a balance that is deeply
unsettling, because as human technology makes progress--so too does horror cinema.
And in that case, let’s take a look.
Hello horror fans, what’s going on--and once again, welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Tech-Horror Movies.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was of course--from Ridley Scott’s 1982 neo-noir
sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner--because, well--I needn’t explain why it deserves
to be our opening clip for this particular list, because it’s Blade Runner.
It leads us to an important distinction though, because there are many classics of cinema
that could fall into this camp, but many of them don’t exactly hit the specifics of
what we’re looking for.
Hey, it’s a specific list after all--but honorable mentions go out to Ridley Scott's
other classic, Alien--as well as Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, James Cameron’s The Terminator--yeah,
you get the picture.
Kicking off at Number 5 -- Pandorum, 2009
Now--you know what baffles me?
This film got absolutely torn asunder by critics, and since it’s release back in 2009 it’s
been consistently trashed and run through the mill of films that you shouldn’t watch.
But I’ll say to hell with that--because when it comes to technology in horror, Pandorum
is one of the most insanely entertaining and genuinely terrifying movies in the subgenre.
And yes, I say that whilst acknowledging that this film is perhaps the most outwardly science
fiction flick on this list, but it’s in Pandorum’s approach to technology and the
ultimate implications of where it could take us that is truly disturbing.
Directed by Christian Alvart, and written by Travis Milloy, Pandorum tells the tale
of an interstellar art, called the Elysium--that carries over 60’000 people on a century
long trip to a remote, Earth-like planet, after our own Earth got chewed-up and spit
out and booed off stage.
Also, did I mention that the cast to Pandorum is absolutely stacked?
It stars the main man himself, Dennis Quaid--alongside Ben Foster--an incredible actor who deserves
much more time in the limelight, but who definitely gets it in Pandorum--because Foster knocks
this film out of the park.
Oh yeah--did I also mention that Norman Reedus himself is in this movie?
Albeit in a much more conversative role, but hey--it still counts, right?
I kind of don’t want to delve into the plot of this movie at all--because admittedly,
it relies on the many twists and turns and seat of your pants revelations to keep its
momentum going, and whilst it doesn’t really do anything new with the genre from an outward
perspective--what it does do, it does incredibly well.
As so far as technology is concerned--the final act of Pandorum will be worth the reveal,
and it’s existential depth is almost Lovecraftian in it’s approach.
If you’re feeling a film that’s Event Horizon, meets Sunshine--with a little sprinkling
of Prometheus thrown in, that handles the future of spaceflight technology in an incredibly
bleak and dread-inducing light, then yeah--Pandorum is exactly that movie.
It’s great.
Give it a watch.
Coming in at Number 4 - Unfriended, 2014
Yeah, we can’t really make this list without including this one, can we?
And truth be told, we have to give credit to a horror movie that is essentially a Skype
call gone wrong, because no matter how standoffish you feel about the premise--there is no denying
the fact that 2014’s Unfriended is a genuinely unsettling horror film, and as far as innovation
of the genre is concerned, it’s perhaps the most successful indie movie of recent
times.
You see, I understand why people have a grudge with this film--which is essentially a Teen
Slasher that takes place on a webscreen in a Skype Call--so why don’t they just turn
their computer off and call the police once things start going bad?
Well, I think that British Film Critic Mark Kermode put it best--they can’t turn their
computers off, because they’re addicted.
And that point in itself, from a technology perspective--drives its point home when attached
to horror.
Because what is the ultimate goal of horror cinema--other than to be a lens to the truth?
Written by Nelson Greaves and directed by Leo Gabriadze, Unfriended tells the tale of
a High School Student named Laura--who commits suicide after a video of her passed out at
a party goes viral.
A year later, and her classmates are taking part in a group Skype call--when slowly, they
realise there’s someone else in the call with them, and things quickly take a completely
different direction.
Now, listen--I know what you’ll be thinking--but for what appears to be a relatively cheap
and stupid film on the surface, Unfriended is actually an incredibly impressive piece
of horror cinema--and the way it deals with the cautionary tale of technology isn’t
as full frontal as some of the other entries on this list--but still manages to hit just
as hard.
Unfriended is a surprisingly great horror flick--and as far as technology is concerned,
it paints a pretty bleak picture.
Next up at Number 3 - Cube, 1997
I love this film!
And when I was about 9 years old--I accidently played a VHS recording of this instead of
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers--and was pretty shocked at the results.
As you may imagine.
In fact though, looking back at 1997’s Cube--this film was way ahead of its time in dealing
with the enigma and puzzling nature of technology--or, should we say, a technology far, far greater
than human-kind.
But, that would be spoilers, right?
And yeah, whilst I’m lumping in the sequels and prequels that have subsequently been spawned
from this film, we’re solely focusing on the original--because for a film that shouldn’t
have really been a success on paper, Cube is awesome.
Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, Cube tells the tale of five strangers who wake
up in a mysterious cube shaped-room, who then discover that this same mysterious cube-shaped
room is connected to others of its kind.
But obviously, being a horror movie--in each of these rooms, there are terrifying contraptions
and designs which make it pretty difficult to stay alive.
You see, on paper--Cube should kind of suck.
It was the CFC’s first feature project--it had a relatively unknown cast, the acting
was kind of hit-and-miss, and the CGI was pretty damn laughable in places--but hey,
it was 1997--and like with many films that try to tackle technology as a horror concept--
this film did the best it could with what it had available, and the efficiency of Cube’s
egalitarian approach to horror is what catapults it to the cult status it deserves--which still
holds true to this day.
This film is damn entertaining--and whilst the later films serve to flesh out the actual
*technology* prefix of this list, as well as the wider implications of what the Cube
actually is, the first, mysterious foray into its design is a worthy horror experience.
If you haven’t seen Cube, I’d highly recommend that you do so.
Swinging in at Number 2 - Upgrade, 2018
I *also* love this film.
And shoutout goes to our Top 5 Scary Editor, Ryan, for forcing me to finally watch it.
And truth be told, whilst 2018’s Upgrade isn’t exactly the most explicit of horror
films--because, it’s not really a conventional horror film at all--I’ve been wanting to
find a place for it for a while on a Top 5 Scary List--and what better place than this
one.
However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t many, many elements of horror to this film--and
in fact, it falls in line with our most recent Body Horror series--although this one, of
course, is wrapped up in a neat little technological package.
Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, Upgrade tells the tale of a man named Grey Trace,
a mechanic of the near future, that shuns the advances of technology, instead relying
on the tried and tested methods of combustion engines and old school muscle cars.
Where have we heard that one before, right?
One evening, after taking a trip in a self-driving car, Grey and his wife get caught in a grizzly
accident--and he is ultimately paralyzed from the waist down--all of which leads to him
being implanted with a multi-purpose chip, known as STEM--and then things really get
turned up a notch.
I’ll try and keep the narrative as Bare Bones as possible, because there’s a lot
to be enjoyed in the A to B of Grey’s journey--and admittedly, part of the charm of this film
is how simple it is in its approach, all of which serves as the back-drop to the final,
fear-inducing realisation of Upgrade’s closing few scenes.
As far as technology in horror is concerned, Upgrade covers one of the most tangible fears
of the future--artificial super-intelligence, and the space that lies in between man and
machine.
I mean, I’m sorry if that comes off as a little spoiler-ish, but Upgrade covers some
weighty themes--and you may not realise it at first glance.
This film is entertaining as hell--and it’s a breath of fresh air in the speculative branch
of horror.
Give it a watch, you won’t be disappointed with this one.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot - Videodrome, 1983
Long live the new flesh!
Guys, come on--Videodrome was so ahead of it’s time that it vividly portrayed something
that didn’t really have a name at the time of its creation.
Obviously, that thing was Virtual Reality--although David Cronenberg’s depiction of it was a
little less virtual, and a little more grotesque body horror with Debbie Harry inside a latex
television set--but hey, that’s what we love him for, right?
The thing is, it’s exciting for horror fans to have a film like Videodrome in the canon
of cinema--because whilst this film was very much a product of its time--in terms of technology
in horror--this is the definition of a society facing something and more importantly, fearing
it.
As David Cronenberg explained, as a kid--he used to pick up stray T.V signals from Buffalo,
New York--late at night, after Canadian stations had all gone off the air.
He used to worry that he might see something strange and disturbing, that wasn’t intended
for public consumption--and thus, Videodrome was born.
The definition of Technology in Horror.
Written and directed by the man himself, David Cronenberg--and starring the legendary James
Woods--Videodrome tells the tale of Max Renn, a shock and awe T.V executive who’s looking
for something off the wall to reignite his failing studio--who stumbles upon a strange
new T.V show, Videodrome--allegedly being beamed out of Malaysia, which depicts the
brutal torture and murder of it’s victims in a strange, unsettling torture chamber.
Yeah.
All those Urban Legends you’ve heard about The Deep Web?
David Cronenberg was doing that in 1983.
But wait--there’s more, because the concession of this film being way, way ahead of it’s
time extends it’s fleshy tendrils to so many wider concepts in its fear of the future
that it’s disturbing how on the money the majority of this film is.
Videodrome is straight up disorentating in its scope--and it’s vile, dystopian view
of the future, wrapped in the cautionary tale of our society's obsession with entertainment
hits far closer to home that what anyone would have originally expected, and still rings
true to this day.
There’s a lot to be found here, and rightfully so.
It deserves its place at our Number 1 spot of Technology in Horror Cinema.
Well, there we have it folks--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Tech-Horror Movies.
What do you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add to this list?
Let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below.
Before we depart from today’s video, let’s first take a quick look at some of your more
resounding remarks from over the past few days.
CreepySims 666 says --
Think you’ve washed that top all too often Jack, which is a shame cos I love that top.
Top tip--turn the top inside out before you wash it, helps prevent taking the print off
the front.
-- You know what?
I love how much my t-shirts are such a hot topic of conversation over here at Top 5 Scary
Videos.
Maybe we should do a Top 5 Scary Top’s--because, let’s face it--I’ve only got like 5 anyway.
But, thank you very much for the tip CreepySims 666--I’ll take note.
On that note--that’s unfortunately all we’ve got time for in today’s video--cheers for
sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in particular, then please--be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.