The Minotaur is Blind: “Don’t Breathe” and Other Disability Thrillers
Aug 27, 2016 • Karl R. De Mesa
4. Carne Tremula (Live Flesh) (1997)
One of Pedro Almodóvar’s early diamonds in the rough, based on thriller author Ruth Rendell’s similarly titled book. It stars a very young and almost absurdly slim Javier Bardem (Victor) who has just left jail and goes to find his old flame, Elena. Said girl is however now married to the former cop (now basketball player, whut?) who was the same guy who became paralyzed by a shot from Víctor’s gun, when he and Elena were arguing themselves into a break-up, years earlier. Needless to say, said former cop in the wheelchair is not thrilled that Victor is out and sniffing around his wife’s panties.
3. Misery (1990)
Probably the ultimate in fan dementia, this is the movie that made everyone afraid of Kathy Bates. Novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates) from a car crash. She claims to be his biggest fan and cares for him in her remote cabin to recover, but said fandom turns for the dark turn when she discovers Sheldon is killing off her favorite character. The injuries and torture he receives at her hands are Yakuza-level gratuitous. GRRM, better hope your fans don’t see this flick and get ideas to, ahem, motivate you.
2. Teeth (2007)
Dawn (Jess Weixler) is a beautiful, chaste young girl whose unique, almost mythological disability comes to maturity at the most awkwardly sexual, hormonally inopportune time. Two words: vagina dentata. #ItBites
1. Planet Terror (2007)
Robert Rodriguez’s grindhouse, exploitation-territory obra is nominally a zombie movie, but it’s also a coming of age tale and female empowerment epic starring Cherry (Rose McGowan)—ex-go-go dancer, amateur weapons expert, and now single leg amputee courtesy of a pretty grisly encounter with a hungry ghoul. No problem; Cherry’s ex-boyfriend Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) finds a way to graft a machine-gun onto her missing appendage and she becomes a one-woman zombie annihilator. So much fun to watch it’s hard to believe it’s not actual exploitation era-made celluloid. Leg machine gun!
All photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures. “DON’T BREATHE” opens in Metro Manila theaters on Aug 31st.
Got any other horror movies or thrillers starring disabled or handy-capable characters? Let us know!
