My childhood was spent in constant fear of one thing or the other. That was most likely due to the prevalence of horror movies on local television. Ironically though, my childhood monster wasn't from an actual horror movie. It was from the 1984 epic fantasy movie, The NeverEnding Story.
There was a particular scene, where Atreyu (the hero) had to pass through some kind of gateway, which was really just the road between a pair of sphinxes facing one another. The problem was that those sphinxes had a rather nasty habit whereby they'd vaporize all travellers on the spot, complete with cheesy 80s special effects. Only those who were deemed worthy were allowed to pass, or something like that.
I must have seen the movie about a gazillion times as a kid, but each time I watched Atreyu approach those sphinxes, it was with the same level of dread I felt on my first viewing. Still, The NeverEnding Story was one of the first fantasy films I completely fell in love with. It's been about 20 years since my last viewing, so I guess I really need to revisit Fantasia.
Wow, that's a good one - I can't remember the sphinxes, but it has been a very long time since I saw The Neverending Story!
ReplyDeleteThe sphinxes seem to be all I can remember, for obvious reasons. A quick trip to wikipedia has just juggled more memorable moments. Also, I just learnt that there's a remake in the works, scheduled for release sometime in 2014. Let's hope they don't screw it up too badly. *crosses fingers*
DeleteAfraid of being vaporized, huh?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't so much the fear of being vaporized, as it was a fear of standing in the presence of something so... sinister!
DeleteNeverending Story--a GREAT movie! I loved it, too, although my first-love fantasy film was... Oh ooops, I can't remember the name. It was with Tom Cruise, a gazillion years ago. LEGEND! (Thank you, Google). And then there was Labyrinth, with David Bowie as the "bad" guy--very cool as well :) Thanks for sharing and prompting all these memories!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I never did manage to watch Labyrinth back in the day, but I have rather vague memories of Legend. :)
DeleteI also loved the film and found the oracles to be terrifying.
ReplyDeleteMy monster: http://thewarriormuse.blogspot.com/2012/08/childhood-monster-blog-fest.html
Oh yes. They truly were. Overall, the movie had enough creatures and monsters to last an entire childhood.
DeleteI love that movie! The part that scared me the most was when he has to fight that wolf.
ReplyDeleteAllison (Geek Banter)
I can't even remember the wolf, which means I really need to watch this movie again.
DeleteGod, that terrified me too. I remember having nightmares about The Neverending Story sphinxes!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I wasn't the only one. :D
DeleteThe Never Ending Story was a great film ("Is he a nutcase?")! Sequel not so much. Childhood fears can be so powerful they move us as adults. Most just become fond memories. Funny how that works.
ReplyDeleteYep. The sequels were nowhere as brilliant as the original movie. Even though I was just a kid at the time, I could still sense something distinctly lame about them. :))
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