Space is scary, and Gen X made sure this was well documented by making some of the best scary science fiction movies ever. Space, said Gen X, is crawling not with (basically) humans with antennae popping out of their foreheads, but with toothy anthropomorphic penises that want to plant their young down your throat, and with pods that want to steal (“snatch,” if you will) human bodies. And also nude vampire women.
“I sense something. A hormonal surge that I haven’t felt since High School.”
Some may contest this claim to greatness. How can we say that Gen X made the best scary science fiction when the baby boomers created War of the Worlds, and Millennials made Event Horizon?
War of the Worlds is cool, but it’s hard to be scared by an alien Simon game.
Look, don’t be a jerk, imaginary argumentative person. We’re not saying that no one else ever made a good scary scifi flick. But look what came out of the 1970s and 1980s: xenomorphs, body snatchers, the freaking SITH for crying out loud.
Apology accepted.
Yes it is.
Yes it was.
Yeah? Well we took it as one.
In similar fashion to Gen X scary television shows (as mentioned in last week’s podcast), Gen X movies were made during a massive period of technological upheaval. Scary images that tormented Gen X kids from the baby boomer era (like The Blob), soon had to make way for xenomorph terror. At the risk of sounding like an old person, kids today have been raised with special effects that look real. Gen X started out being scared by creepy but campy special effects, then suddenly our nightmares were invaded by acid-dripping phalluses. It’s a wonder we’re not all in therapy.
This leads us to today’s podcast, where we at Damper 3 try to determine which of the amazing scary science fiction classics that came from Gen X can be called the best. Rest assured that, as card carrying Gen X dudes who didn’t date much while young, we watch a lot of movies and so are well qualified to argue over this. Please join us!
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It Came From Gen X: The Best Scary Science Fiction