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[film reel clacking]
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[Robert Englund]
The movies have always provided
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a safe place to face our fears.
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In that dark movie theater,
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we deal with the monsters
terrorizing us in our real lives
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by seeing them defeated up there
on the big screen.
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Horror films like Dracula,
The Invisible Man,
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and The Wolf Man
provided a useful catharsis
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for a frightened populace.
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Those movies
gave audiences a place
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to share their collective fears,
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00:00:40,736 --> 00:00:44,609
or even national traumas
brought on
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by financial instability,
World Wars,
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and the global tensions
that followed.
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The financial fears
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and the wartime terrors
of the '30s and '40s
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were soon followed
by new threats.
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[screaming]
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A nation horrified
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at the thought
of nuclear destruction,
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of scientists going too far
and wreaking havoc with nature,
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and by a Cold War between
the Soviets and Americans
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that threatened
global destruction.
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National fears
of nuclear annihilation,
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Communist infiltrations,
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and an even more destructive
global conflict
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than World War II
resulted in horror films
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about science run amuck,
alien invasions from the skies,
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and extraterrestrial
body snatchers
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right here on Earth.
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The public, more than ever,
were drawn to movies
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that help them confront
those anxieties.
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♪
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[film reel clacking]
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[click]
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♪
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♪
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♪
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♪
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[film reel clacking]
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[whirring]
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[indistinct conversations]
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[man] The drive-in movie
takes care of everything.
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Courtship, babysitting, shelter,
Marilyn Monroe, food and drink.
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There's hot, delicious popcorn,
lots of candy, and cold drinks.
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Now...
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[man #2] It's showtime.
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♪
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[Carpenter]
I grew up in the '50s,
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so those were my formative years
as a moviegoer
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and somebody who loved movies
at the time.
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So I saw a lot of
science-fiction films
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and all the giant
monster movies,
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a lot of radiation-did-it
movies,
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that type of thing.
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♪
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1951-- went to a theater
in Rochester, New York.
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I saw It Came from Outer Space
in 3-D.
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In the opening of that movie,
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this big ol' meteor
comes out of space,
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comes right into the screen
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and out of the screen
into the audience
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and blows up in your face.
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And it blew up in my face,
and I jumped up and ran.
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[screams]
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But then I stopped,
and I thought,
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"That's the greatest thing
I've ever seen.
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I've got to go back
and see more."
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So that was the beginning
of it all.
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[Oswalt] Well,
when I was growing up,
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horror meant whatever
monster movies were on
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on a Saturday
on the local station.
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♪
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I grew up in Northern Virginia,
so we had WDCA, channel 20,
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and that was,
Saturday afternoons,
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there was a monster movie on.
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I've never seen venom
in such quantity before.
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You know, there's more venom
in this test tube
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than you'll find
in 100 tarantulas.
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As a movie fan,
it offered me something
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beyond watching
two adults talking.
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It was, two adults would talk,
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and then some kind of crazy,
engineered creature--
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somebody in makeup
or in a costume--
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would show up and bring mayhem.
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And that, to me,
was hilarious.
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♪
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To me, monsters were scary.
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A giant mutated ant,
a lizard man,
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fish man coming out of a swamp
or lagoon to kill you.
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[music swells]
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♪
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For me growing up,
you know, in my mind,
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Godzilla or one of
the half-dozen monsters
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that were on Monster Island
were going to, you know,
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come tramping across
the Northern Virginia suburbs
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and wipe everyone out
for some reason.
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♪
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[Romero]
Horror films in the '50s,
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I believe their popularity
came from the fact
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that there was
a changing perspective,
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that it was a world
that was saying,
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"It's time to look
at the entire world
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differently than it's ever
been looked at before."
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And that was heavy.
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♪
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And I think horror films,
just like movies in general,
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provided a level of escapism
that was unparalleled.
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I think in this country,
there were people,
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especially with
the nuclear threat,
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the nuclear scare,
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there was this unparalleled fear
among everybody,
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and so you've got
a heightened audience already.
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A short time ago,
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an American airplane
dropped one bomb on Hiroshima
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and destroyed its usefulness
to the enemy.
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[Englund] As the world
was reeling from
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the frightening destruction
caused by the hydrogen bomb,
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horror films
in the post-nuclear era
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began to focus less
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on the fantasy
of supernatural monsters
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and more on the real-life terror
that man creates.
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I think a lot of horror
borrows from its culture
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and borrows from its time
and makes movies about it
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and fashions points of view
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that we didn't have
when I started.
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[Romero] Got this heightened
kind of terror
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already instilled
in these people,
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and now you show them
a fucked-up horror movie,
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and it strikes a nerve.
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But I think that the commentary,
especially back then,
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allowed people
to kind of examine
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what struck that nerve in them,
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what nerve was struck,
how it made them feel.
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And I think it allowed people
to kind of look at things
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a little bit differently
and also have some fun
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in a time when there wasn't fun.
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Everybody was scared
all the time, every day,
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and there was no fun.
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And I think we need to have fun.
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We're built for it.
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- Aah!
- [laughter]
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[Romero] As a people,
we need to have fun.
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[Englund] In 1954, the horror
genre was forever changed
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with a Japanese kaiju,
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a giant monster film
called Godzilla.
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The now iconic monster
was originally envisioned
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as a larger-than-life octopus,
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but was redesigned
as a mash-up of traits
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from prehistoric dinosaurs.
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You know, Godzilla,
just to me,
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he just represents
something from my childhood
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more than anything.
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♪
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I mean, like,
it's one of these characters
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that I'll never be able
to remember
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the first moment that I saw him,
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because he was just
always around.
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He always existed.
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And being obsessed with
dinosaurs and things like that,
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he just--
he fit perfectly in that
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'cause he was a dinosaur with
a personality and with a name.
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As a kid, when you watch movies,
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you're not just watching
what's in front of you.
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Your imagination is still going,
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so the monsters in the suits
and the costumes and stuff,
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they don't just look
like guys in suits.
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You feel like they
are 100% real monsters.
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♪
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I think that whenever I was
making Godzilla vs. Kong,
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I remember the debate out on
the schoolyard when I was a kid,
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and I remember my best friend
at the time,
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he came in there, and he was
talking about how, you know,
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King Kong would win
in the fight and all this.
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And I just thought he was crazy.
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I just couldn't believe
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that he would think
that King Kong would win.
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I'm just like, "Godzilla
is Godzilla." You know?
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"He's not gonna lose
to a big monkey."
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I think as a filmmaker,
it's very important
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to always be half in touch
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with that sort of
half-formed part of your brain
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when you're a kid,
because there's still like--
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there's a magic there
that you can't replicate.
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[screaming]
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[Turek] Seeing Godzilla
come up over the mountain
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for the first time
is terrifying.
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He's one of my favorite monsters
of all time.
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♪
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I think what audiences love
about monster movies
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is seeing how characters react
to this monstrous threat
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and how they all have
to come together
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to face this thing
and understand the rules.
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There's always kind of a whole
process to a monster movie.
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It's like, "What is it?
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Oh, my God,
that thing can never exist.
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Holy crap, it does exist.
What are the rules to kill it?"
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[roars]
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[Turek] You know, I think
the monster movie as we know it
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00:10:08,303 --> 00:10:10,435
owes a lot
to that original Godzilla.
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[Englund] The original Godzilla
was an allegory
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00:10:13,047 --> 00:10:14,614
for post-war Japan.
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00:10:14,744 --> 00:10:18,052
Nine years earlier, during
the culmination of World War II,
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00:10:18,182 --> 00:10:20,315
the United States
had dropped atomic bombs
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00:10:20,445 --> 00:10:23,318
on the cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
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00:10:23,448 --> 00:10:26,277
killing more than 200,000.
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00:10:26,408 --> 00:10:29,019
It remains
the only time in history
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00:10:29,150 --> 00:10:31,195
nuclear weapons were used.
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00:10:31,326 --> 00:10:33,154
The original Godzilla
was all about
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00:10:33,284 --> 00:10:36,331
Japan post-World War II trying
to reclaim their identity,
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00:10:36,461 --> 00:10:39,290
trying to process
the aftermath of the atom bomb.
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00:10:39,421 --> 00:10:41,945
And it really felt like
Godzilla was this response
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00:10:42,076 --> 00:10:44,818
to man's hubris
in creating the ultimate weapon.
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00:10:44,948 --> 00:10:46,820
[speaking Japanese]
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00:10:57,526 --> 00:11:00,834
I can only imagine that watching
the original Godzilla
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00:11:00,964 --> 00:11:02,226
in the '50s in Japan
217
00:11:02,357 --> 00:11:04,098
would have been
a pretty intense experience.
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00:11:04,228 --> 00:11:05,882
I mean, there's images
in that film
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00:11:06,013 --> 00:11:08,145
that are, like, exactly taken
220
00:11:08,276 --> 00:11:12,062
to emulate the aftermath
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
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00:11:12,193 --> 00:11:14,282
the explosion
of the atomic bomb there.
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00:11:14,412 --> 00:11:17,894
The atomic bomb was dropped
on Japan in, what, 1945,
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00:11:18,025 --> 00:11:21,637
and the original Godzilla
came out in '54.
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00:11:21,768 --> 00:11:24,379
I mean,
that's not very long after.
225
00:11:24,509 --> 00:11:28,078
[Englund] Godzilla embodied
the fear felt by the Japanese
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00:11:28,209 --> 00:11:30,211
in the wake of these attacks.
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00:11:30,341 --> 00:11:32,996
♪
228
00:11:33,127 --> 00:11:36,391
A destructive beast that,
once unleashed,
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00:11:36,521 --> 00:11:40,569
could never really be
fully controlled again.
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It's a cautionary tale
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00:11:42,310 --> 00:11:45,313
that has taken on new meanings
over the years.
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00:11:45,443 --> 00:11:47,054
What I think is really
interesting about Godzilla
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00:11:47,184 --> 00:11:49,404
is he kind of went from
representing the atom bomb
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00:11:49,534 --> 00:11:52,189
to now kind of being
the defender of the earth.
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00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,148
Like, there's a lot of allegory
for climate change
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00:11:54,278 --> 00:11:55,758
in the monsterverse right now.
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00:11:55,889 --> 00:12:01,242
♪
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00:12:01,372 --> 00:12:03,418
And you can really see that
evolve from the '50s.
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00:12:03,548 --> 00:12:05,420
- [women screaming]
- [thrilling music playing]
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00:12:05,550 --> 00:12:07,335
[Turek] I think
the monster movie as we know it
241
00:12:07,465 --> 00:12:10,642
has changed significantly
over the decades.
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00:12:10,773 --> 00:12:13,123
[Englund] Throughout the years,
monster movies have followed
243
00:12:13,254 --> 00:12:15,386
the evolution of Godzilla,
244
00:12:15,517 --> 00:12:19,216
reflecting what people are most
afraid of at any given time.
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00:12:19,347 --> 00:12:22,219
Mutations are prevalent,
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00:12:22,350 --> 00:12:27,007
and because of our dabbling
in science and playing God,
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00:12:27,137 --> 00:12:28,312
giant monsters
are going to eat us.
248
00:12:28,443 --> 00:12:31,228
And those giant monsters
ranged from tarantulas
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00:12:31,359 --> 00:12:33,535
to giant ants
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00:12:33,665 --> 00:12:37,321
to giant vulture-looking
creature things.
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00:12:37,452 --> 00:12:39,541
I mean, like, there was just
so much out there
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00:12:39,671 --> 00:12:42,849
that wanted to eat us
because of our atomic testing.
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00:12:42,979 --> 00:12:48,115
♪
254
00:12:48,245 --> 00:12:53,250
♪
255
00:12:53,381 --> 00:12:55,644
One of my favorites
from special-effects movies
256
00:12:55,775 --> 00:12:58,255
in the 1950s is 1954's Them!...
257
00:12:58,386 --> 00:13:01,084
♪
258
00:13:01,215 --> 00:13:02,390
...in which we have
a group of ants
259
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:04,566
that get hit
with atomic radiation,
260
00:13:04,696 --> 00:13:07,264
and all of a sudden,
they go to extreme proportions.
261
00:13:07,395 --> 00:13:13,227
♪
262
00:13:13,357 --> 00:13:14,837
The movie
is incredibly effective,
263
00:13:14,968 --> 00:13:18,145
with these giant ants coming
after tiny, little people.
264
00:13:18,275 --> 00:13:20,930
Get the other antenna!
265
00:13:21,061 --> 00:13:22,497
Get the other antenna!
266
00:13:22,627 --> 00:13:24,412
He's helpless
without them.
267
00:13:24,542 --> 00:13:26,501
It stood out because, suddenly,
it was this idea
268
00:13:26,631 --> 00:13:29,634
of the tiniest thing
that you can possibly imagine,
269
00:13:29,765 --> 00:13:33,334
an ant, is what is going to
stomp on your house.
270
00:13:33,464 --> 00:13:34,770
Like, we did not have
271
00:13:34,901 --> 00:13:38,121
a lot of giant-creature films
at this time period,
272
00:13:38,252 --> 00:13:40,254
and so the idea of taking
something really small
273
00:13:40,384 --> 00:13:43,213
and blowing it up on screen
was awesome.
274
00:13:43,344 --> 00:13:45,520
[Englund] 1954's Them!
275
00:13:45,650 --> 00:13:47,522
was one of the first
nuclear monster movies
276
00:13:47,652 --> 00:13:49,306
to be produced in America,
277
00:13:49,437 --> 00:13:52,440
paving the way
for countless others to follow.
278
00:13:52,570 --> 00:13:55,399
Released at almost the same time
as Godzilla,
279
00:13:55,530 --> 00:13:57,575
the American kaijus
were inspired
280
00:13:57,706 --> 00:13:59,534
by newsreels of atomic testing
281
00:13:59,664 --> 00:14:02,493
as countries fortified
their nuclear arsenals.
282
00:14:02,624 --> 00:14:04,365
[Turek] Well,
I think a movie like Them!
283
00:14:04,495 --> 00:14:06,323
is just kind of like
284
00:14:06,454 --> 00:14:11,372
that archetypal
Atomic Age monster movie.
285
00:14:11,502 --> 00:14:15,637
You know, it's our meddling
with atomic testing
286
00:14:15,767 --> 00:14:17,378
out in the middle
of some desert.
287
00:14:17,508 --> 00:14:19,597
It's like, Mother Nature, man.
Don't mess with it.
288
00:14:19,728 --> 00:14:22,426
Let Mother Nature do its thing.
289
00:14:22,557 --> 00:14:25,560
Horror films tend to revolve
around emotional storytelling,
290
00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:28,998
and the emotion that
they focus most on is fear,
291
00:14:29,129 --> 00:14:30,217
and fear is a response.
292
00:14:30,347 --> 00:14:33,437
♪
293
00:14:33,568 --> 00:14:35,178
You know, as far back
as the 1950s,
294
00:14:35,309 --> 00:14:37,180
there was a fear expressed
in horror movies
295
00:14:37,311 --> 00:14:40,488
of the horrors of what
atomic radiation might do
296
00:14:40,618 --> 00:14:44,274
and how that might
corrupt nature.
297
00:14:44,405 --> 00:14:46,581
[man] Here, gentlemen,
is your villain.
298
00:14:46,711 --> 00:14:49,192
They almost never come up
unless they're disturbed.
299
00:14:49,323 --> 00:14:51,107
Disturbed? By what?
300
00:14:51,238 --> 00:14:52,413
Hydrogen bombs.
301
00:14:52,543 --> 00:14:55,242
H bombs have been blamed
for every freak accident
302
00:14:55,372 --> 00:14:57,157
that's happened since, up to,
and including...
303
00:14:57,287 --> 00:14:58,419
Fire!
304
00:14:58,549 --> 00:15:00,638
...great monsters
being disturbed.
305
00:15:00,769 --> 00:15:02,292
[Wilson] Some of that
was quite laughable.
306
00:15:02,423 --> 00:15:03,554
Like, we watch those movies now
307
00:15:03,685 --> 00:15:07,428
about giant spiders or ants
or whatever.
308
00:15:07,558 --> 00:15:10,735
But what we're dealing with now
is, around us, we see
309
00:15:10,866 --> 00:15:13,390
what happens when
you slowly poison the earth.
310
00:15:13,521 --> 00:15:14,870
Like, what happens
311
00:15:15,001 --> 00:15:20,528
when you just pump
toxic effluents into the water.
312
00:15:20,658 --> 00:15:23,835
Like, things die, things mutate,
they stop breeding.
313
00:15:23,966 --> 00:15:28,275
[man] Let us face without panic
the reality of our times--
314
00:15:28,405 --> 00:15:29,624
the fact that atom bombs
315
00:15:29,754 --> 00:15:32,279
may someday
be dropped on our cities.
316
00:15:32,409 --> 00:15:34,455
And let us prepare for survival
317
00:15:34,585 --> 00:15:36,631
by understanding the weapon
that threatens us.
318
00:15:36,761 --> 00:15:38,589
[Man #2] Here is
the motion-picture spectacle
319
00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:40,287
of all time.
320
00:15:40,417 --> 00:15:43,420
♪
321
00:15:43,551 --> 00:15:47,555
A million tons of water
alive with deadly rays.
322
00:15:47,685 --> 00:15:50,340
Awe-inspiring
in its significance for man,
323
00:15:50,471 --> 00:15:52,255
who learned
how to control the atom,
324
00:15:52,386 --> 00:15:54,518
but must now learn
to control himself.
325
00:15:54,649 --> 00:15:58,218
[Turek] There was a lot to be
afraid of after World War II.
326
00:15:58,348 --> 00:16:00,089
You know, the Atomic Age
wasn't just relegated
327
00:16:00,220 --> 00:16:01,830
to giant monsters.
328
00:16:01,961 --> 00:16:07,705
There was also stories
about atomic experimentation.
329
00:16:07,836 --> 00:16:10,099
You were dealing with mutations.
330
00:16:10,230 --> 00:16:11,405
And that fear,
331
00:16:11,535 --> 00:16:13,581
that fear of radiation
because of power plants,
332
00:16:13,711 --> 00:16:15,452
because of atomic testing,
all of that,
333
00:16:15,583 --> 00:16:18,412
that wasn't just exclusive
to the '50s, I feel.
334
00:16:18,542 --> 00:16:20,370
Like, even growing up
in the '80s,
335
00:16:20,501 --> 00:16:22,111
there were two things
I was afraid of--
336
00:16:22,242 --> 00:16:24,287
quicksand and radiation.
337
00:16:24,418 --> 00:16:25,593
You know?
338
00:16:25,723 --> 00:16:27,290
'Cause you just never knew,
339
00:16:27,421 --> 00:16:29,597
like, when there might be
an accident
340
00:16:29,727 --> 00:16:31,860
or if you were gonna get bombed.
341
00:16:31,991 --> 00:16:34,819
[Wilson] Horror films have
always stood as a warning,
342
00:16:34,950 --> 00:16:38,214
like, "This is what happens
if you transgress."
343
00:16:38,345 --> 00:16:39,563
And it's one thing
when it's like,
344
00:16:39,694 --> 00:16:41,565
"Don't go into the woods,
young teenagers,
345
00:16:41,696 --> 00:16:44,742
because the ax man
will chop off your heads."
346
00:16:44,873 --> 00:16:46,788
But, really, ecological horror
347
00:16:46,918 --> 00:16:49,225
has been telling us
for years now
348
00:16:49,356 --> 00:16:50,835
that we are going
into the woods,
349
00:16:50,966 --> 00:16:54,187
and we are going to get
our species' head chopped off
350
00:16:54,317 --> 00:16:56,189
if we don't take notice
351
00:16:56,319 --> 00:16:59,583
and behave in a more kind
352
00:16:59,714 --> 00:17:02,630
and responsible manner.
353
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:04,762
♪
354
00:17:04,893 --> 00:17:08,201
Them! is regarded as kind of
maybe like a step up
355
00:17:08,331 --> 00:17:09,463
from the other stuff because
356
00:17:09,593 --> 00:17:12,683
there is a little bit of
horror filmmaking
357
00:17:12,814 --> 00:17:14,207
that really works,
358
00:17:14,337 --> 00:17:15,773
like that whole opening scene
359
00:17:15,904 --> 00:17:19,603
where there's this little girl
left behind,
360
00:17:19,734 --> 00:17:22,171
and all we hear is
that high-pitched sound
361
00:17:22,302 --> 00:17:23,564
of the ant making its noise,
362
00:17:23,694 --> 00:17:25,000
and you don't know
what's attacking
363
00:17:25,131 --> 00:17:26,349
this little girl's family
and whatnot.
364
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:28,525
Really scary stuff.
365
00:17:28,656 --> 00:17:30,614
It ended up getting nominated
for an Academy Award
366
00:17:30,745 --> 00:17:32,660
and lost to
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,
367
00:17:32,790 --> 00:17:34,705
but still one of the landmark
special-effects films
368
00:17:34,836 --> 00:17:36,316
of the 1950s.
369
00:17:36,446 --> 00:17:39,101
♪
370
00:17:39,232 --> 00:17:42,496
Everything that we see
in the 1950s is about paranoia.
371
00:17:42,626 --> 00:17:45,673
It is about our sweet,
little, bucolic society
372
00:17:45,803 --> 00:17:48,328
somehow being infiltrated,
373
00:17:48,458 --> 00:17:50,765
whether it be via
atomic radiation,
374
00:17:50,895 --> 00:17:53,333
monsters from space,
monsters from the deep,
375
00:17:53,463 --> 00:17:55,335
the neighbor that
you didn't know was evil
376
00:17:55,465 --> 00:17:57,337
who's been living
next to you for years.
377
00:17:57,467 --> 00:17:59,730
It was all about
paranoia and fear,
378
00:17:59,861 --> 00:18:02,733
and it came out in
many different ways on screen,
379
00:18:02,864 --> 00:18:06,389
but it all links back to us
just being scared of everything,
380
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,522
scared that everything
that we believe in,
381
00:18:08,652 --> 00:18:10,611
that we hold true
as American values,
382
00:18:10,741 --> 00:18:12,395
it's all nothing.
383
00:18:12,526 --> 00:18:17,357
♪
384
00:18:17,487 --> 00:18:18,662
[man]
There's a great deal more
385
00:18:18,793 --> 00:18:20,969
to this American way of life,
of course,
386
00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:24,015
and it's all familiar enough.
387
00:18:24,146 --> 00:18:27,845
The Main Street of any town
is almost a symbol of America.
388
00:18:27,976 --> 00:18:31,501
That's where the stores are.
That's where we go shopping.
389
00:18:31,632 --> 00:18:33,764
Candy and ice cream,
buy all you want.
390
00:18:33,895 --> 00:18:35,592
[distorted speech]
391
00:18:35,723 --> 00:18:37,638
Movies-- come early
and get the best seat.
392
00:18:37,768 --> 00:18:38,900
[distorted speech]
393
00:18:39,030 --> 00:18:41,511
The raw, harsh,
unpleasant fact
394
00:18:41,642 --> 00:18:43,731
is that communism is an issue.
395
00:18:43,861 --> 00:18:45,776
Don't let the communists
use you.
396
00:18:45,907 --> 00:18:48,779
Please, don't be a dupe.
397
00:18:48,910 --> 00:18:51,652
[Englund] With the onset
of the Cold War,
398
00:18:51,782 --> 00:18:55,699
tensions between the U.S.
and Russia began to rise.
399
00:18:55,830 --> 00:18:58,485
Americans were petrified
by the notion
400
00:18:58,615 --> 00:19:01,966
that communism was everywhere,
hiding in plain sight,
401
00:19:02,097 --> 00:19:04,578
threatening to destroy
their way of life.
402
00:19:04,708 --> 00:19:06,101
Many feared that
403
00:19:06,232 --> 00:19:08,930
a Soviet nuclear attack
on U.S. soil was imminent
404
00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:10,540
and that
their-- their neighbors
405
00:19:10,671 --> 00:19:12,847
could be communist spies.
406
00:19:12,977 --> 00:19:16,677
The mass panic opened the door
to horror films
407
00:19:16,807 --> 00:19:21,551
that reflected this
escalating national paranoia.
408
00:19:21,682 --> 00:19:24,772
As we move into the 1950s,
we see film itself
409
00:19:24,902 --> 00:19:26,513
trying to push into new areas.
410
00:19:26,643 --> 00:19:28,341
We've all been sitting
in theaters
411
00:19:28,471 --> 00:19:29,907
for decades at this point,
412
00:19:30,038 --> 00:19:32,562
so the filmmakers and the
exhibitors are really looking
413
00:19:32,693 --> 00:19:34,869
for ways
to get more people in the seats.
414
00:19:34,999 --> 00:19:36,914
And especially with
the advent of television,
415
00:19:37,045 --> 00:19:39,743
they have to find a way
to get you off your couch now.
416
00:19:39,874 --> 00:19:41,484
So what we see them doing
417
00:19:41,615 --> 00:19:43,356
is really bringing in all
of these new innovations.
418
00:19:43,486 --> 00:19:44,835
Tony, this is important.
419
00:19:44,966 --> 00:19:47,490
[Englund] And the audience
that embraced the innovations
420
00:19:47,621 --> 00:19:50,450
and the gimmicks
were America's teenagers.
421
00:19:50,580 --> 00:19:52,147
Shh!
422
00:19:52,278 --> 00:19:53,670
[McKendry] "Let's make
the screen wider.
423
00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:56,369
Let's make it bigger.
Let's make 3-D.
424
00:19:57,718 --> 00:20:02,026
Let's let you sit in your car
so you can watch stuff."
425
00:20:02,157 --> 00:20:04,812
And so we see all of these
different new kind of gimmicks
426
00:20:04,942 --> 00:20:08,076
coming into play
to bring in theatergoers.
427
00:20:08,207 --> 00:20:13,037
[Englund] In 1953,
Vincent Price's House of Wax
428
00:20:13,168 --> 00:20:18,695
became the first color 3-D film
released by a major studio.
429
00:20:18,826 --> 00:20:21,872
3-D movies reached out
and grabbed moviegoers,
430
00:20:22,003 --> 00:20:24,527
attracting the growing
teenage audience
431
00:20:24,658 --> 00:20:26,921
and making them
jump from their seats.
432
00:20:27,051 --> 00:20:29,924
In the America of the 1950s,
433
00:20:30,054 --> 00:20:35,712
everything was consumable,
from fast food to fast cars.
434
00:20:35,843 --> 00:20:39,368
But the one thing that teenagers
couldn't get enough of
435
00:20:39,499 --> 00:20:41,022
were horror movies.
436
00:20:41,152 --> 00:20:44,678
They were going to
the pictures in droves.
437
00:20:44,808 --> 00:20:47,855
Horror producers were happy
to accommodate with a series
438
00:20:47,985 --> 00:20:49,900
of in-theater experiences,
439
00:20:50,031 --> 00:20:53,034
hoping to find
the next 3-D-like craze.
440
00:20:53,164 --> 00:20:57,430
And one of the more, uh, bizarre
gimmicks of the '50s
441
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,041
was Smell-O-Vision,
442
00:21:00,171 --> 00:21:04,828
which began and ended with the
film The Scent of Mystery.
443
00:21:04,959 --> 00:21:06,613
In short, it stunk.
444
00:21:06,743 --> 00:21:07,483
Oh.
445
00:21:07,614 --> 00:21:10,138
Then there was The Tingler
446
00:21:10,269 --> 00:21:14,882
which used a device embedded
in a seat called Percepto!
447
00:21:15,012 --> 00:21:16,971
This would immerse you
in the film
448
00:21:17,101 --> 00:21:22,106
by tingling your seat
during an on-screen fright.
449
00:21:22,237 --> 00:21:24,935
It turned out that there were
only two senses people
450
00:21:25,066 --> 00:21:28,939
wanted at the pictures--
sight and sound,
451
00:21:29,070 --> 00:21:34,031
and the only gimmick that stuck
was the drive-in movie,
452
00:21:34,162 --> 00:21:37,948
a place where families could
eat popcorn and drink malts
453
00:21:38,079 --> 00:21:41,909
while watching a movie in their
comfortable bucket seats,
454
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:43,954
and where a guy could hug
his girl
455
00:21:44,085 --> 00:21:48,394
during the ultimate camp
drive-in horror film The Blob.
456
00:21:48,524 --> 00:21:57,838
♪
457
00:21:57,968 --> 00:22:07,674
♪
458
00:22:07,804 --> 00:22:08,936
[gasps]
459
00:22:09,066 --> 00:22:11,678
♪
460
00:22:11,808 --> 00:22:13,244
[grunts]
461
00:22:13,375 --> 00:22:16,683
So The Blob is a really
good example of the Red Scare
462
00:22:16,813 --> 00:22:17,771
being exemplified on-screen.
463
00:22:17,901 --> 00:22:19,773
[whistling]
464
00:22:19,903 --> 00:22:23,994
This thing drops
in the middle of our town...
465
00:22:24,125 --> 00:22:26,040
Boy, that was close.
466
00:22:26,170 --> 00:22:27,998
...and just starts consuming us,
467
00:22:28,129 --> 00:22:30,958
just starts eating us up,
and there is no way to stop it.
468
00:22:31,088 --> 00:22:33,221
Steve McQueen's The Blob
comes out,
469
00:22:33,352 --> 00:22:36,442
and it's a whole different thing
that's scaring you right now.
470
00:22:36,572 --> 00:22:41,925
♪
471
00:22:42,056 --> 00:22:43,753
It's not the goofy Mummy.
472
00:22:43,884 --> 00:22:46,626
It's not Frankenstein anymore.
473
00:22:46,756 --> 00:22:49,498
That no longer
touched the same nerve.
474
00:22:49,629 --> 00:22:50,499
But the Blob...
475
00:22:50,630 --> 00:22:51,848
♪
476
00:22:51,979 --> 00:22:53,546
[Jane screams]
477
00:22:56,026 --> 00:22:57,724
What's the matter?
478
00:22:57,854 --> 00:23:00,422
Something that you can't
even wrap your head around.
479
00:23:00,553 --> 00:23:04,687
Something from space. Something
like-- I don't know--
480
00:23:04,818 --> 00:23:08,038
maybe a missile from Russia,
is also from space.
481
00:23:08,169 --> 00:23:11,999
And that Blob is very red,
just like our enemies.
482
00:23:12,129 --> 00:23:15,785
[screaming]
483
00:23:15,916 --> 00:23:17,961
And suddenly
they're in our hometowns,
484
00:23:18,092 --> 00:23:19,659
in our movie theaters,
485
00:23:19,789 --> 00:23:22,401
in our homes coming after us.
486
00:23:22,531 --> 00:23:25,229
Don't go in, Jim.
This won't do any good.
487
00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:27,710
It's the most horrible thing
I've ever seen in my life.
488
00:23:27,841 --> 00:23:30,713
[Turek] The Blob is
super-campy, but, you know,
489
00:23:30,844 --> 00:23:33,020
through all of its kind of
drive-in,
490
00:23:33,150 --> 00:23:35,022
pure drive-in spectacle...
491
00:23:35,152 --> 00:23:38,112
♪
492
00:23:38,242 --> 00:23:39,679
...at its core, and what people
493
00:23:39,809 --> 00:23:41,245
kind of latch onto
about its silliness,
494
00:23:41,376 --> 00:23:47,556
is that it is literally
a red blob attacking Americans.
495
00:23:47,687 --> 00:23:48,905
[gasps] Aah!
496
00:23:51,952 --> 00:23:55,042
Kate, stand still. Don't move.
497
00:23:55,172 --> 00:23:56,957
It must have absorbed
the old man completely.
498
00:23:57,087 --> 00:23:59,699
So you couldn't be
any more obvious
499
00:23:59,829 --> 00:24:02,745
about the Red Scare than that.
500
00:24:05,269 --> 00:24:10,144
The personification of the
Red Scare is an amorphous blob
501
00:24:10,274 --> 00:24:14,540
that will just roll around
and absorb you.
502
00:24:17,020 --> 00:24:19,632
- What happened?
- It's all over us.
503
00:24:19,762 --> 00:24:20,720
What do you mean,
it's all over us?!
504
00:24:20,850 --> 00:24:22,112
- Take it easy.
- What's the matter?
505
00:24:22,243 --> 00:24:26,639
I think it put a face
or a blob face on the thing
506
00:24:26,769 --> 00:24:28,031
that scared us most
507
00:24:28,162 --> 00:24:30,817
and gave us an enemy
we could fight against.
508
00:24:30,947 --> 00:24:32,949
What are they gonna do
with that thing, Dave?
509
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:34,908
Well, the Air Force
is sending a Globemaster in.
510
00:24:35,038 --> 00:24:36,997
They're flying it
to the Arctic.
511
00:24:37,127 --> 00:24:38,128
It's not dead, is it?
512
00:24:38,259 --> 00:24:40,261
No, it's not.
513
00:24:40,391 --> 00:24:42,742
Just frozen.
514
00:24:42,872 --> 00:24:44,439
I don't think
it can be killed,
515
00:24:44,570 --> 00:24:47,137
but at least
we've got it stopped.
516
00:24:47,268 --> 00:24:49,749
Yeah, as long
as the Arctic stays cold, huh?
517
00:24:49,879 --> 00:24:56,973
♪
518
00:24:57,104 --> 00:25:04,415
♪
519
00:25:04,546 --> 00:25:08,202
The Cold War and the Red Scare,
well, they seeped into horror
520
00:25:08,332 --> 00:25:09,899
through movies like The Blob
521
00:25:10,030 --> 00:25:11,771
and Invasion
of the Body Snatchers.
522
00:25:11,901 --> 00:25:17,603
♪
523
00:25:18,691 --> 00:25:20,867
During that time, Invasion
of the Body Snatchers,
524
00:25:20,997 --> 00:25:25,785
the original, was sort of a take
on McCarthyism of the time,
525
00:25:25,915 --> 00:25:28,309
you know, the conformity
of the family unit.
526
00:25:28,439 --> 00:25:30,833
You know, it was a good thing
to conform, it was a good thing
527
00:25:30,964 --> 00:25:33,009
to live in suburbia
with your two-car garage
528
00:25:33,140 --> 00:25:35,142
and your station wagon
and have your two kids
529
00:25:35,272 --> 00:25:36,796
and the perfect American family.
530
00:25:36,926 --> 00:25:39,799
I think Invasion of the Body
Snatchers sort of sent that up
531
00:25:39,929 --> 00:25:41,627
and sort of played with it
and the idea
532
00:25:41,757 --> 00:25:44,151
that, no, it's not a good thing.
It's a really, really bad thing.
533
00:25:44,281 --> 00:25:46,153
I am not insane!
534
00:25:46,283 --> 00:25:48,851
You tell these fools
I'm not crazy!
535
00:25:48,982 --> 00:25:50,853
Make them listen to me
before it's too late!
536
00:25:50,984 --> 00:25:54,814
The Invasion of
the Body Snatchers was the film
537
00:25:54,944 --> 00:25:56,903
that scared me the most
when I was a kid.
538
00:26:01,037 --> 00:26:03,257
It was a fascinating concept.
539
00:26:03,387 --> 00:26:08,262
I had never seen something
where something is buried
540
00:26:08,392 --> 00:26:11,787
in this thing
and it percolates in there,
541
00:26:11,918 --> 00:26:14,442
you know, until it's ready.
542
00:26:14,573 --> 00:26:17,924
And it decides when it's ready,
you know, not you.
543
00:26:18,054 --> 00:26:20,840
So that's pretty scary.
544
00:26:20,970 --> 00:26:23,059
It's like kids being afraid
545
00:26:23,190 --> 00:26:25,322
something's in their closet,
you know?
546
00:26:25,453 --> 00:26:27,020
There's nothing in the closet,
547
00:26:27,150 --> 00:26:29,413
but it's just as real
as if there was.
548
00:26:29,544 --> 00:26:32,591
Stay here and pray they're
as human as they sound.
549
00:26:34,331 --> 00:26:37,770
Communism in reality is not
a political party.
550
00:26:37,900 --> 00:26:39,119
It is a way of life.
551
00:26:39,249 --> 00:26:41,817
An evil and malignant way
of life.
552
00:26:41,948 --> 00:26:45,212
It reveals a condition
akin to disease.
553
00:26:45,342 --> 00:26:48,215
Their goal is the overthrow
of our government.
554
00:26:48,345 --> 00:26:54,090
The Communists are red fascists.
555
00:26:54,221 --> 00:26:56,484
Joseph McCarthy was a senator
from Wisconsin
556
00:26:56,615 --> 00:26:59,879
who definitely became, like,
the face of the Cold War.
557
00:27:00,009 --> 00:27:03,491
♪
558
00:27:03,622 --> 00:27:08,583
And he became the face of this
brigade to rid out Communism,
559
00:27:08,714 --> 00:27:10,498
that Communism
is everywhere in the U.S.
560
00:27:10,629 --> 00:27:12,195
and they are trying to take over
561
00:27:12,326 --> 00:27:14,415
our more capitalistic
way of life,
562
00:27:14,545 --> 00:27:16,199
and we have to rid it out
at its roots,
563
00:27:16,330 --> 00:27:18,245
and it is everywhere.
564
00:27:18,375 --> 00:27:20,508
Today, the free world
and the Communist world
565
00:27:20,639 --> 00:27:24,381
are locked in a peculiar
struggle for the minds of men.
566
00:27:24,512 --> 00:27:27,167
[McCarthy] We should remember
that practically every issue
567
00:27:27,297 --> 00:27:29,125
which we face today,
568
00:27:29,256 --> 00:27:32,999
from high taxes
to the shameful mess in Korea,
569
00:27:33,129 --> 00:27:37,264
is inextricably interwoven
with the Communist issue.
570
00:27:37,394 --> 00:27:41,007
Frightening, isn't it?
571
00:27:41,137 --> 00:27:42,443
We see McCarthyism
and the Red Scare
572
00:27:42,573 --> 00:27:45,185
really coming into horror films
in the 1950s
573
00:27:45,315 --> 00:27:47,143
in the form of paranoia,
574
00:27:47,274 --> 00:27:49,232
that we are scared
of everything,
575
00:27:49,363 --> 00:27:52,192
from aliens
coming down from above,
576
00:27:52,322 --> 00:27:55,935
things coming up from beneath,
to our next-door neighbors.
577
00:27:56,065 --> 00:27:58,285
The Red Scare was us
being scared to death
578
00:27:58,415 --> 00:28:01,331
that Russia was somehow
infiltrating American society,
579
00:28:01,462 --> 00:28:04,944
that Communists were here,
that they were a part of us,
580
00:28:05,074 --> 00:28:06,859
that they could be
the government officials,
581
00:28:06,989 --> 00:28:08,077
that it could be, you know,
582
00:28:08,208 --> 00:28:09,252
this person
that you know from work.
583
00:28:09,383 --> 00:28:11,951
It could even be
your next-door neighbor.
584
00:28:12,081 --> 00:28:14,388
And so not only do
we see horror films
585
00:28:14,518 --> 00:28:18,000
about a fear of each other,
but it's very much
586
00:28:18,131 --> 00:28:21,047
like that we ourselves
could be accused for this.
587
00:28:21,177 --> 00:28:24,006
We see these fears come out
in a lot of our alien movies,
588
00:28:24,137 --> 00:28:26,269
and it's very much
this belief system of,
589
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,315
we're running our normal,
everyday lives.
590
00:28:28,445 --> 00:28:29,969
Oh, look how serene it is.
591
00:28:30,099 --> 00:28:32,885
But at any time, boom,
aliens are here,
592
00:28:33,015 --> 00:28:33,973
and we're all destroyed.
593
00:28:34,103 --> 00:28:35,148
[man, amplified]
Listen carefully.
594
00:28:35,278 --> 00:28:37,324
The Martians
are coming this way.
595
00:28:37,454 --> 00:28:39,848
We must evacuate the city.
596
00:28:39,979 --> 00:28:45,593
♪
597
00:28:45,724 --> 00:28:49,684
[Englund] As Americans became
increasingly paranoid,
598
00:28:49,815 --> 00:28:53,122
a new otherworldly terror
emerged.
599
00:28:53,253 --> 00:28:55,037
[man]
After years of investigation,
600
00:28:55,168 --> 00:28:57,170
I believe that
the flying saucers
601
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:59,912
seen by veteran airline
and Air Force pilots
602
00:29:00,042 --> 00:29:01,522
are objects from another planet.
603
00:29:01,652 --> 00:29:03,916
[Englund] A wave
of UFO sightings
604
00:29:04,046 --> 00:29:05,134
throughout the country,
605
00:29:05,265 --> 00:29:06,527
which began with the infamous
606
00:29:06,657 --> 00:29:09,573
Roswell, New Mexico
flying saucer crash,
607
00:29:09,704 --> 00:29:13,577
invaded America's collective
psyche during the 1950s.
608
00:29:13,708 --> 00:29:16,058
[man] The Air Force itself
has officially admitted
609
00:29:16,189 --> 00:29:17,625
that flying saucers exist.
610
00:29:17,756 --> 00:29:22,021
I'm here to discuss
the so-called flying saucers.
611
00:29:22,151 --> 00:29:23,979
There have been
a certain percentage
612
00:29:24,110 --> 00:29:26,416
of this volume of reports
613
00:29:26,547 --> 00:29:30,159
that have been made
by credible observers
614
00:29:30,290 --> 00:29:32,466
of relatively incredible things.
615
00:29:32,596 --> 00:29:34,337
[man] With all due respect
to the Air Force,
616
00:29:34,468 --> 00:29:36,122
I believe that some of them
will prove to be
617
00:29:36,252 --> 00:29:37,819
of interplanetary origin.
618
00:29:37,950 --> 00:29:41,344
[Englund] And soon the Cold War
reached new heights,
619
00:29:41,475 --> 00:29:43,520
literally,
when the Soviet Union
620
00:29:43,651 --> 00:29:47,829
launched the world's first
artificial satellite, Sputnik.
621
00:29:49,657 --> 00:29:52,703
Sputnik marked the beginning
of mankind's space race
622
00:29:52,834 --> 00:29:56,316
and paved the way for a new
spate of sci-fi horror films
623
00:29:56,446 --> 00:30:01,234
that played directly upon
Red Scare-era fears.
624
00:30:01,364 --> 00:30:05,151
[Blum] The 1950s were
a spectacular era for sci-fi.
625
00:30:05,281 --> 00:30:07,370
Ray Bradbury had published
The Martian Chronicles
626
00:30:07,501 --> 00:30:10,199
in the '50s, and magazines
were publishing sci-fi work
627
00:30:10,330 --> 00:30:12,332
from different writers
in the genre.
628
00:30:12,462 --> 00:30:15,117
The decade saw a wave
of horror films set in space
629
00:30:15,248 --> 00:30:18,077
or films
that had aliens attacking Earth.
630
00:30:18,207 --> 00:30:24,083
♪
631
00:30:24,213 --> 00:30:30,437
♪
632
00:30:30,567 --> 00:30:33,005
[screaming]
633
00:30:34,615 --> 00:30:37,487
[Turek] Between the atomic bomb
and Roswell,
634
00:30:37,618 --> 00:30:41,491
where we're talking about
the first UFO sighting,
635
00:30:41,622 --> 00:30:44,016
people started kind
of freaking out, going,
636
00:30:44,146 --> 00:30:46,496
"Oh, my God, we're not alone.
637
00:30:46,627 --> 00:30:49,282
Not only do we have to worry
about World Wars,
638
00:30:49,412 --> 00:30:52,589
but there is another threat--
again, the other.
639
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,462
But the other is coming
from outer space. Holy shit."
640
00:30:55,592 --> 00:30:57,420
During a three-year
investigation,
641
00:30:57,551 --> 00:31:00,206
I found that many pilots
have described objects
642
00:31:00,336 --> 00:31:02,469
of substance and high speed.
643
00:31:02,599 --> 00:31:04,688
One case, pilots reported
their plane was buffeted
644
00:31:04,819 --> 00:31:07,387
by an object which passed them
at 500 miles an hour.
645
00:31:07,517 --> 00:31:09,824
Obviously,
this was a solid object,
646
00:31:09,955 --> 00:31:11,565
and I believe it was
from outer space.
647
00:31:11,695 --> 00:31:14,655
There's nothing more
intimidating than another person
648
00:31:14,785 --> 00:31:17,527
to a certain degree,
and horror is,
649
00:31:17,658 --> 00:31:20,487
by and large, I think,
a reflection of that.
650
00:31:20,617 --> 00:31:24,534
You know, like UFO invasion
movies from the '50s.
651
00:31:25,448 --> 00:31:27,537
- Where did they come from?
- I don't know.
652
00:31:27,668 --> 00:31:29,844
Those films have
a very consistent, you know,
653
00:31:29,975 --> 00:31:32,455
sort of Cold War
kind of vibe to them.
654
00:31:32,586 --> 00:31:34,370
You can tell, like,
the version of people
655
00:31:34,501 --> 00:31:36,416
being scared of each other
was very much
656
00:31:36,546 --> 00:31:39,506
based on that sort of like,
"Are you a Communist,
657
00:31:39,636 --> 00:31:42,335
are you not a Communist"
kind of thing.
658
00:31:42,465 --> 00:31:44,380
[screams]
659
00:31:44,511 --> 00:31:49,646
♪
660
00:31:49,777 --> 00:31:52,258
[Turek] I think people in
general are just afraid of UFOs
661
00:31:52,388 --> 00:31:56,566
because they're afraid of things
they can't understand.
662
00:31:56,697 --> 00:32:00,309
So naturally
Hollywood tapped into that,
663
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:04,139
and we started seeing
horror evolve
664
00:32:04,270 --> 00:32:08,056
from kind of
classic Gothic romps
665
00:32:08,187 --> 00:32:11,930
to sci-fi-infused stories.
666
00:32:13,714 --> 00:32:15,498
Look at it, will you?
667
00:32:15,629 --> 00:32:18,066
Beings from another world.
668
00:32:20,634 --> 00:32:23,593
[Englund] War of the Worlds
was already a well-known story
669
00:32:23,724 --> 00:32:27,119
before the film
was released in 1953.
670
00:32:27,249 --> 00:32:29,556
The H.G. Wells 1898 novel
671
00:32:29,686 --> 00:32:31,732
is considered
to be one of the earliest
672
00:32:31,862 --> 00:32:34,691
to envision
an alien race invading Earth.
673
00:32:34,822 --> 00:32:39,305
And the 1938 Orson Welles
radio play was so realistic
674
00:32:39,435 --> 00:32:42,003
it created a widespread panic
throughout the nation.
675
00:32:42,134 --> 00:32:48,183
I'm, of course, surprised that
the H.G. Wells classic,
676
00:32:48,314 --> 00:32:50,751
which is the original
for many fantasies
677
00:32:50,881 --> 00:32:56,148
about invasions
by mythical monsters
678
00:32:56,278 --> 00:32:58,324
from the planet Mars,
679
00:32:58,454 --> 00:33:00,630
a story which has become
familiar to children
680
00:33:00,761 --> 00:33:02,806
through the medium
of comic strips, novels,
681
00:33:02,937 --> 00:33:07,246
and adventure stories, should
have had such an immediate
682
00:33:07,376 --> 00:33:09,596
and profound effect
upon radio listeners.
683
00:33:10,727 --> 00:33:12,903
[Englund] The film version
took the story and updated it
684
00:33:13,034 --> 00:33:17,212
to reflect the fears that
gripped America in the 1950s,
685
00:33:17,343 --> 00:33:18,692
winning an Academy Award
686
00:33:18,822 --> 00:33:21,216
for its use of special effects
in the process.
687
00:33:21,347 --> 00:33:22,565
It is incredibly terrifying.
688
00:33:22,696 --> 00:33:26,613
After the pods crashed
into the countryside,
689
00:33:26,743 --> 00:33:28,702
you've got three guys,
including, like, a priest,
690
00:33:28,832 --> 00:33:30,486
and they're waving the white
flag, and they're like,
691
00:33:30,617 --> 00:33:32,619
"See? We're waving
the white flag. We're friendly."
692
00:33:32,749 --> 00:33:35,578
And you just see this giant eye
on a tentacle
693
00:33:35,709 --> 00:33:36,710
come up out of the ground.
694
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:38,407
- We welcome you.
- We're friends.
695
00:33:38,538 --> 00:33:40,409
[Turek]
And it just blasts.
696
00:33:42,629 --> 00:33:46,763
Footage looks like sparklers.
I was freaked out.
697
00:33:46,894 --> 00:33:50,898
I was, like, gripping my seat,
like, "What is that thing?"
698
00:33:51,029 --> 00:33:54,423
When you saw the Martian war
machine come up out of its shell
699
00:33:54,554 --> 00:33:55,598
and start flying
across the city,
700
00:33:55,729 --> 00:33:57,426
I was just, like, in awe.
701
00:33:59,472 --> 00:34:00,734
But that's what
they were selling.
702
00:34:00,864 --> 00:34:02,649
They were selling, like,
the other
703
00:34:02,779 --> 00:34:06,609
is no longer, you know,
in some remote castle.
704
00:34:06,740 --> 00:34:09,047
It's gonna come from the stars,
and it's gonna mess you up.
705
00:34:10,309 --> 00:34:11,832
[man] It's dead.
706
00:34:11,962 --> 00:34:13,660
I think audiences
were scared of UFOs
707
00:34:13,790 --> 00:34:18,621
because it was the totally
unexpected plot twist
708
00:34:18,752 --> 00:34:20,667
of their lives
after World War II.
709
00:34:20,797 --> 00:34:23,452
[man] There would be
no more peace in our time.
710
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,371
[Turek]
Imagine surviving World War II
711
00:34:29,502 --> 00:34:30,633
and going through
the devastation
712
00:34:30,764 --> 00:34:33,419
and emotional journey
of all of that.
713
00:34:33,549 --> 00:34:35,725
And then all of a sudden,
714
00:34:35,856 --> 00:34:39,468
you get word
that there are flying saucers.
715
00:34:39,599 --> 00:34:40,817
[laughs]
716
00:34:40,948 --> 00:34:42,732
We have come to visit you
in peace
717
00:34:42,863 --> 00:34:44,604
and with goodwill.
718
00:34:44,734 --> 00:34:47,650
[Bress] People have always
needed an outlet for their fear.
719
00:34:47,781 --> 00:34:50,392
I think every generation
720
00:34:50,523 --> 00:34:53,613
has their own sort
of external terrors.
721
00:34:53,743 --> 00:34:56,877
[air-raid siren blaring]
722
00:34:57,007 --> 00:34:59,358
♪
723
00:34:59,488 --> 00:35:00,663
Well, I think in the '50s,
724
00:35:00,794 --> 00:35:02,578
you're talking
about a generation of people
725
00:35:02,709 --> 00:35:05,451
that are around
right after World War II.
726
00:35:05,581 --> 00:35:08,671
So there's been a break from
real terror and real tragedy
727
00:35:08,802 --> 00:35:10,804
and people coming home
in body bags,
728
00:35:10,934 --> 00:35:13,763
and then they're surrounded
by this suburbia,
729
00:35:13,894 --> 00:35:17,506
this new thing,
this Baby Boomer generation.
730
00:35:17,637 --> 00:35:19,595
And yet they're
hardwired for fear.
731
00:35:19,726 --> 00:35:21,858
[Turek] You know, movies
like War of the Worlds
732
00:35:21,989 --> 00:35:23,730
and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
733
00:35:23,860 --> 00:35:25,688
are two examples of movies
734
00:35:25,819 --> 00:35:28,822
that I think did well
with the fear of UFOs
735
00:35:28,952 --> 00:35:31,781
because War of the Worlds,
the Martians showed up
736
00:35:31,912 --> 00:35:34,001
and they just started
eliminating stuff,
737
00:35:34,132 --> 00:35:36,960
which is, at the time,
I'm sure what was prevalent
738
00:35:37,091 --> 00:35:40,703
in everybody's mind, was,
"If aliens come to Earth,
739
00:35:40,834 --> 00:35:42,792
they're just gonna,
like, go to war with us."
740
00:35:42,923 --> 00:35:45,447
Bilderbeck has calculated
how long we have got
741
00:35:45,578 --> 00:35:47,754
until Martians
take over the entire world.
742
00:35:47,884 --> 00:35:49,756
[Turek] You know,
The Day the Earth Stood Still
743
00:35:49,886 --> 00:35:53,934
is an alien coming to Earth
and basically saying,
744
00:35:54,064 --> 00:35:56,589
"Get your shit together,
human race.
745
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:58,852
If you don't,
it's not looking good."
746
00:35:58,982 --> 00:36:02,812
It is no concern of ours
how you run your own planet.
747
00:36:02,943 --> 00:36:06,903
But if you threaten
to extend your violence,
748
00:36:07,034 --> 00:36:09,776
this earth of yours will be
reduced to a burned-out cinder.
749
00:36:09,906 --> 00:36:12,909
[murmuring]
750
00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,478
You know, a lot of these movies
that we saw during that era,
751
00:36:16,609 --> 00:36:19,699
it was not just aliens
coming to us.
752
00:36:19,829 --> 00:36:22,310
It was us heading
out into space.
753
00:36:23,877 --> 00:36:28,795
So you saw films like
Forbidden Planet, you know,
754
00:36:28,925 --> 00:36:35,715
where it was, in an effort
to advance the space race,
755
00:36:35,845 --> 00:36:39,806
we went exploring and came upon
something unknown.
756
00:36:39,936 --> 00:36:41,808
You know, an unknown threat.
757
00:36:41,938 --> 00:36:44,680
So it was kind of like the movie
758
00:36:44,811 --> 00:36:47,509
was a direct result
of our greed
759
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,251
and need to beat the Russians
at their own game
760
00:36:50,382 --> 00:36:54,429
and get to space first resulted
in something catastrophic
761
00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:56,692
or discovering something alien.
762
00:36:56,823 --> 00:37:03,395
♪
763
00:37:03,525 --> 00:37:04,787
[Hendrix] In the '60s,
764
00:37:04,918 --> 00:37:06,833
you start getting to
the serial killer fear.
765
00:37:06,963 --> 00:37:08,791
It's someone who looks
just like us,
766
00:37:08,922 --> 00:37:12,665
who seems nice and polite
and does horrible,
767
00:37:12,795 --> 00:37:14,710
horrible things
when we're not looking.
768
00:37:14,841 --> 00:37:17,452
And it's that idea
of a human predator,
769
00:37:17,583 --> 00:37:19,585
someone who lives amongst us.
770
00:37:19,715 --> 00:37:26,026
♪
771
00:37:26,156 --> 00:37:30,552
[Englund] After the sci-fi wave
of the 1950s started to wane,
772
00:37:30,683 --> 00:37:33,816
horror films began
to look closer to home,
773
00:37:33,947 --> 00:37:38,081
at the terror
in our own backyard.
774
00:37:38,212 --> 00:37:42,825
In the early 1960s,
stories about serial killers
775
00:37:42,956 --> 00:37:47,047
began to creep their way
into the news,
776
00:37:47,177 --> 00:37:52,835
pushing an already tense nation
closer to the edge.
777
00:37:52,966 --> 00:37:54,576
Ghosts are scary, yeah,
778
00:37:54,707 --> 00:37:56,491
but what's really scary
is that guy next door
779
00:37:56,622 --> 00:37:58,101
or that guy
you're hitchhiking with.
780
00:37:58,232 --> 00:38:00,626
[Hendrix] There was Melvin Rees,
the Clutter family killings
781
00:38:00,756 --> 00:38:02,541
that became In Cold Blood,
782
00:38:02,671 --> 00:38:04,847
the Boston Strangler
in the early '60s.
783
00:38:04,978 --> 00:38:06,588
And these were all crimes
784
00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:07,850
where people were like,
"What is going on?"
785
00:38:07,981 --> 00:38:09,504
These people weren't killing
for a reason.
786
00:38:09,635 --> 00:38:10,810
They weren't doing it for money.
787
00:38:10,940 --> 00:38:12,594
They weren't doing it
for profit.
788
00:38:12,725 --> 00:38:14,596
They were doing it
because they seemed to enjoy it.
789
00:38:14,727 --> 00:38:16,468
These were crimes of passion,
not profit.
790
00:38:21,864 --> 00:38:25,912
That coincided with Ed Gein
getting arrested.
791
00:38:26,042 --> 00:38:28,871
He was a killer who was arrested
for a murder in '57
792
00:38:29,002 --> 00:38:31,439
in a small Wisconsin town.
793
00:38:31,570 --> 00:38:32,745
Police searched his house,
794
00:38:32,875 --> 00:38:34,616
found all these body parts
and trophies
795
00:38:34,747 --> 00:38:36,009
and things he made out
of his victims
796
00:38:36,139 --> 00:38:39,491
and bodies he'd exhumed
from a local cemetery.
797
00:38:41,057 --> 00:38:44,626
He became sort of this--
this bogeyman.
798
00:38:48,238 --> 00:38:52,068
Ed Gein would be the inspiration
for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
799
00:38:52,199 --> 00:38:54,984
And that really threw everyone
for a loop.
800
00:38:55,115 --> 00:38:57,770
Psycho is the beginning
of modern horror.
801
00:38:57,900 --> 00:39:03,906
♪
802
00:39:04,037 --> 00:39:05,995
I mean, Psycho is
absolutely brilliant.
803
00:39:06,126 --> 00:39:08,781
All of this comes
from Hitchcock's Psycho.
804
00:39:08,911 --> 00:39:11,479
That was arguably
the first slasher film.
805
00:39:15,875 --> 00:39:19,966
Psycho brought a level
of terror to film
806
00:39:20,096 --> 00:39:22,011
that I'd never seen before.
807
00:39:22,142 --> 00:39:26,538
It was the first time that
I realized there was editing.
808
00:39:26,668 --> 00:39:28,496
It was because of the montage.
809
00:39:30,106 --> 00:39:32,544
That was the whole
change of film.
810
00:39:32,674 --> 00:39:35,198
I'd never seen anything
811
00:39:35,329 --> 00:39:40,856
that was as violent as Psycho
was, or as terrifying.
812
00:39:40,987 --> 00:39:43,685
And it was because of the
brilliance of Alfred Hitchcock.
813
00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:48,995
[Holden-Jones] The first horror
film I saw ever was Psycho,
814
00:39:49,125 --> 00:39:52,651
which I saw on television
at a slumber party of girls.
815
00:39:55,915 --> 00:39:58,047
And I remember being terrified.
816
00:39:58,178 --> 00:40:01,964
It began the serial killer,
the lone murderer,
817
00:40:02,095 --> 00:40:04,663
the senseless killer genre
818
00:40:04,793 --> 00:40:07,187
with at least one scene
with extreme gore.
819
00:40:07,317 --> 00:40:09,668
It's a pretty great film, actually.
820
00:40:09,798 --> 00:40:12,410
It's one of the best
horror movies ever made.
821
00:40:14,977 --> 00:40:16,892
The thing I like
about Psycho is that--
822
00:40:17,023 --> 00:40:18,981
I mean, obviously Hitchcock
is a master of storytelling,
823
00:40:19,112 --> 00:40:20,766
but he was also
a master of marketing.
824
00:40:20,896 --> 00:40:22,071
And so you had Janet Leigh,
825
00:40:22,202 --> 00:40:23,812
who was this huge movie star
at the time.
826
00:40:23,943 --> 00:40:24,944
She's all over the posters.
827
00:40:25,074 --> 00:40:26,815
She was top billing
of the movie,
828
00:40:26,946 --> 00:40:28,730
and then she's murdered
at the end of the first act
829
00:40:28,861 --> 00:40:29,992
in that very famous
shower scene.
830
00:40:30,123 --> 00:40:32,168
"Aah! Aah! Aah! Aah!"
831
00:40:32,299 --> 00:40:34,867
And really,
that hadn't been done before,
832
00:40:34,997 --> 00:40:38,044
and audiences were fully,
completely taken by surprise.
833
00:40:38,174 --> 00:40:39,698
And after that moment,
you're like,
834
00:40:39,828 --> 00:40:41,613
"Anything can happen
in this movie.
835
00:40:41,743 --> 00:40:44,137
All bets are off."
836
00:40:44,267 --> 00:40:46,095
Psycho has a totally
brilliant opening.
837
00:40:46,226 --> 00:40:49,577
It spends a great deal of time
with Janet Leigh.
838
00:40:50,317 --> 00:40:54,060
And you're worried
because she's stealing money.
839
00:40:54,190 --> 00:40:58,499
She steals some money
in the office and then she runs.
840
00:41:00,066 --> 00:41:01,981
So it's like you're already
worried for her.
841
00:41:02,111 --> 00:41:03,678
She's on the run.
842
00:41:03,809 --> 00:41:05,724
What's she doing?
This is very strange.
843
00:41:05,854 --> 00:41:08,291
And then, you know,
the Bates Motel
844
00:41:08,422 --> 00:41:11,991
is not the most reassuring place
with all those stuffed animals.
845
00:41:12,121 --> 00:41:13,645
You know it's not
going to go well,
846
00:41:13,775 --> 00:41:15,081
but you don't know how.
847
00:41:15,211 --> 00:41:16,996
The idea of getting murdered
in the shower, like,
848
00:41:17,126 --> 00:41:19,781
when you're at your most
vulnerable is very terrifying.
849
00:41:21,174 --> 00:41:23,916
It's tied, of course, to nudity,
to vulnerability,
850
00:41:24,046 --> 00:41:27,528
to being naked in the shower,
but interestingly, not to sex.
851
00:41:27,659 --> 00:41:30,879
It's more to the fact of the
moment you're most vulnerable,
852
00:41:31,010 --> 00:41:32,707
alone in a shower,
you're naked, you know,
853
00:41:32,838 --> 00:41:34,709
have nothing to defend
yourself with.
854
00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,669
After that,
I think that it's waiting
855
00:41:37,799 --> 00:41:39,888
for the next bomb to explode.
856
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:45,198
Psycho broke out as being
incredibly violent
857
00:41:45,328 --> 00:41:48,070
in the one shower scene,
but if you watch the film again,
858
00:41:48,201 --> 00:41:49,985
it's really
a psychological portrait.
859
00:41:50,116 --> 00:41:52,379
There isn't that much
constant violence in it.
860
00:41:52,510 --> 00:41:56,122
And in fact, it is possibly
the beginning of the fascination
861
00:41:56,252 --> 00:41:58,820
with the psychology
of the killer.
862
00:42:02,781 --> 00:42:04,173
It was voyeuristic,
863
00:42:04,304 --> 00:42:08,874
and so it violated
all kinds of social codes
864
00:42:09,004 --> 00:42:12,094
because you were in the position
of being the voyeur.
865
00:42:12,225 --> 00:42:13,966
And there was
something else he did--
866
00:42:14,096 --> 00:42:16,925
he made you sympathize
with Norman Bates.
867
00:42:17,056 --> 00:42:19,885
He made you sympathize
with a psycho killer,
868
00:42:20,015 --> 00:42:24,280
because you knew his mother
had driven him to it.
869
00:42:24,411 --> 00:42:29,938
The reviews were so negative,
so outraged at Psycho,
870
00:42:30,069 --> 00:42:32,027
that Hitchcock almost pulled it.
871
00:42:32,158 --> 00:42:34,029
He almost thought about
pulling and recutting it
872
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:37,163
and using it as an episode
on Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
873
00:42:37,293 --> 00:42:39,426
he was so crushed
by the initial reviews.
874
00:42:39,557 --> 00:42:44,126
And then they opened it, and
the lines were around the block.
875
00:42:44,257 --> 00:42:46,302
That changed everything.
876
00:42:46,433 --> 00:42:48,914
It also changed filmmaking.
877
00:42:49,915 --> 00:42:52,308
Nobody ever thought about doing
what Hitchcock did--
878
00:42:52,439 --> 00:42:56,051
moving from the point of view
of the killer
879
00:42:56,182 --> 00:42:58,140
and making you feel sorry
for the killer.
880
00:42:58,271 --> 00:43:01,753
It was just shocking
on every level.
881
00:43:01,883 --> 00:43:03,319
And the acting was just great.
882
00:43:03,450 --> 00:43:05,974
The reveal that he's actually
his own mother
883
00:43:06,105 --> 00:43:07,715
is pretty frickin' great,
let's face it.
884
00:43:09,238 --> 00:43:12,024
I also loved the twist ending,
as everyone did in Psycho.
885
00:43:12,154 --> 00:43:13,286
It's now so overdone,
but at the time,
886
00:43:13,416 --> 00:43:15,244
obviously, revolutionary.
887
00:43:15,375 --> 00:43:18,030
[Holland] We have that shot
from outside where he's saying,
888
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:19,292
"Mother, Mother,
you shouldn't have done it."
889
00:43:19,422 --> 00:43:22,121
So you think it's his mother
that's doing it.
890
00:43:22,251 --> 00:43:24,297
Then it's not until the very end
that you realize
891
00:43:24,427 --> 00:43:27,256
he's stark raving mad
and he's mummified his mother.
892
00:43:27,387 --> 00:43:29,781
And, you know,
and the chair swings around
893
00:43:29,911 --> 00:43:31,739
and there's Mother!
894
00:43:33,001 --> 00:43:34,394
[screams]
895
00:43:34,524 --> 00:43:39,747
I mean, every code
that he could have violated,
896
00:43:39,878 --> 00:43:41,227
Hitchcock violated.
897
00:43:41,357 --> 00:43:42,968
And he did it
with his television crew
898
00:43:43,098 --> 00:43:45,361
in black and white for no money.
899
00:43:45,492 --> 00:43:48,103
[McKendry] It felt like after
Psycho horror films shifted
900
00:43:48,234 --> 00:43:51,759
much more into kind of
the naivety of society.
901
00:43:51,890 --> 00:43:53,195
This is an ax.
902
00:43:53,326 --> 00:43:55,328
[McKendry] The naivety
that we all believe
903
00:43:55,458 --> 00:43:59,941
that we live in this perfect
little suburban bubble
904
00:44:00,072 --> 00:44:02,465
or that our little
upper-middle-class lives
905
00:44:02,596 --> 00:44:04,642
are so sweet.
906
00:44:06,426 --> 00:44:08,297
But they're not.
907
00:44:08,428 --> 00:44:12,040
[man] ...that a ghoul can be
killed by a shot in the head.
908
00:44:12,171 --> 00:44:14,129
They're coming to get you, Barbara.
909
00:44:14,260 --> 00:44:16,436
[thunder rumbles]
910
00:44:16,566 --> 00:44:18,046
Terror and violence
are just knocking at our door
911
00:44:18,177 --> 00:44:19,265
at any time.
912
00:44:19,395 --> 00:44:28,013
♪
913
00:44:28,143 --> 00:44:36,151
♪
914
00:44:36,282 --> 00:44:44,769
♪
915
00:44:44,899 --> 00:44:53,038
♪
916
00:44:53,168 --> 00:45:01,176
♪
917
00:45:01,307 --> 00:45:09,881
♪