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I faced a scary chapter from my past this last weekend. I watched the old black- and-white movie
"The Killer Shrews" in broad daylight with my husband nearby for protection. That's right folks, I faced one of my worse fears and I stared it down.
Growing up in Rupert, there wasn't a lot to do on weekends as a kid who couldn't drive yet. We made our own fun (this is future post material right here) and we made use of what we had for entertainment. Mom and Dad would usually go out on a Friday night date, which left Paul, Lee, Carol and me home alone. Carol was the youngest and she usually went to bed early and then Paul, Lee and I would settle in to watch "Friday Night Frights" on TV. We watched some of the old classics, many in black and write and most so unbelievable and stupid that they hardly even stirred the imagination. However, one night along came the movie "the Killer Shrews" and my life was changed forever.
This movie freaked me out. I mean, scared me silly. Scared me enough that just remembering it while sleeping alone in the family room while recovering from having my appendix surgically removed some time later caused me to have to go sleep with Mom and Dad during the summer of my 7th grade school year. Um, that's kind of embarrassing to admit. It messed with my sense of security at home at night. Forever thereafter I dreamed and worried about being attacked IN BED at night by some animal that was in the house. The movie placed in my psyche an image of a animal predator walking silently around the house at night looking for a meal. Arms and legs that weren't tucked securely under the blankets were fair game for being bitten, and then the poor defenseless victim would be dragged from his or her bed and consumed whole by ravenous beasts with fangs a full six inches long.
The plot was stupid and simple. Scientists went to an island to do genetic testing on small mouse- like creatures called shrews, trying to get them to grow and reproduce in new ways. The experiment ran amok and the genetically-altered shrews then took over the island. The scientists were holed up in a house surrounded by a high fence, but the shrews begin to burrow in through the adobe walls and attack the terrified people inside. Even the saliva of the shrews was fatal if it touched human skin. In the end, the hero and heroine escape on a boat, but not before the ghastly deaths of three or four of the other scientists.
My walking partner and I were talking about scary shows we'd see one morning and I told her about "The Killer Shrews" movie. She laughed and said that her husband had just bought a DVD of some old horror movies and that she had noticed the title of "The Killer Shrews" on the DVD. Could it be the same life-wrecker from my past? If I dared watch it, would it conjure up all the old images and fears? Would I ever be able to sleep alone at home again? I borrowed the DVD and put it on the shelf for more than a month, working up the courage to watch it. Finally, last weekend, we took it down and put it in the DVD player.
Terrible special affects, horrible acting, unbelievable plot, laughable creatures - but it still gave me goose bumps and I'm not taking any chances. I'm keeping my arms and legs completely covered by the blankets even if it is 80 degree is our room at night.
"The Killer Shrews" in broad daylight with my husband nearby for protection. That's right folks, I faced one of my worse fears and I stared it down.
Growing up in Rupert, there wasn't a lot to do on weekends as a kid who couldn't drive yet. We made our own fun (this is future post material right here) and we made use of what we had for entertainment. Mom and Dad would usually go out on a Friday night date, which left Paul, Lee, Carol and me home alone. Carol was the youngest and she usually went to bed early and then Paul, Lee and I would settle in to watch "Friday Night Frights" on TV. We watched some of the old classics, many in black and write and most so unbelievable and stupid that they hardly even stirred the imagination. However, one night along came the movie "the Killer Shrews" and my life was changed forever.
This movie freaked me out. I mean, scared me silly. Scared me enough that just remembering it while sleeping alone in the family room while recovering from having my appendix surgically removed some time later caused me to have to go sleep with Mom and Dad during the summer of my 7th grade school year. Um, that's kind of embarrassing to admit. It messed with my sense of security at home at night. Forever thereafter I dreamed and worried about being attacked IN BED at night by some animal that was in the house. The movie placed in my psyche an image of a animal predator walking silently around the house at night looking for a meal. Arms and legs that weren't tucked securely under the blankets were fair game for being bitten, and then the poor defenseless victim would be dragged from his or her bed and consumed whole by ravenous beasts with fangs a full six inches long.
The plot was stupid and simple. Scientists went to an island to do genetic testing on small mouse- like creatures called shrews, trying to get them to grow and reproduce in new ways. The experiment ran amok and the genetically-altered shrews then took over the island. The scientists were holed up in a house surrounded by a high fence, but the shrews begin to burrow in through the adobe walls and attack the terrified people inside. Even the saliva of the shrews was fatal if it touched human skin. In the end, the hero and heroine escape on a boat, but not before the ghastly deaths of three or four of the other scientists.
My walking partner and I were talking about scary shows we'd see one morning and I told her about "The Killer Shrews" movie. She laughed and said that her husband had just bought a DVD of some old horror movies and that she had noticed the title of "The Killer Shrews" on the DVD. Could it be the same life-wrecker from my past? If I dared watch it, would it conjure up all the old images and fears? Would I ever be able to sleep alone at home again? I borrowed the DVD and put it on the shelf for more than a month, working up the courage to watch it. Finally, last weekend, we took it down and put it in the DVD player.
Terrible special affects, horrible acting, unbelievable plot, laughable creatures - but it still gave me goose bumps and I'm not taking any chances. I'm keeping my arms and legs completely covered by the blankets even if it is 80 degree is our room at night.
2 comments:
Von- Congrats on your new blog! I'm excited to keep more current on the Romney happenings. I only watched friday night frights because there was nothing else to do- I didn't want to be alone in any other part of the house. I always hated each movie and you and paul trying to scare me during commercials when we would go out into the kitchen for a treat. I had many horrible images in my head for years to come following any number of movies. Sadly you sleeping in bed with mom and dad in 7th grade doesn't sound so bad when you remember me sleeping with them when I was home for the summer from college and had to after watching poltergeist. . . I too have faced my fear and watched it again recently with Kylee and Brody. Stupid/funny but still the clown on the chair was still freaky.
Vonnie . . . have you checked the basement closet for . . . KILLER SHREWS? I didn't want to tell you about them, but they are bigger than you had ever imagined. Only by sheer luck have you avoided them so far. But, I understand that they are hungry.
ree ree
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