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The only thing better than having your mind blown by a video essay is having your mind blown by a video essay about blowing up minds.
Serenaded by meditative Bach, “On The Importance of Exploding Heads” blows open the closed-minded assumption that an erupting noggin is nothing but an extreme indulgence of cinematic bloodlust. Instead, the video encourages us to open our minds up to the possibility that this grisly horror staple is more than just a special effects show stopper. That such scenes are, at their core, the ultimate metaphor for the glorious release of enlightenment. A representation of revelations so powerful they can’t be contained within the limited confines of the human skull.
Centered around the infamous head pop of David Cronenberg‘s Scanners, the video strikes an amusing balance between genuinely thoughtful insight and self-aware tongue-in-cheek. The arguments presented are sincere, but the absurdity of being so philosophical about something so grisly is not lost on the video’s creators. The result is inviting and hilarious; a liberating sense of academic indulgence that knows itself. What were we saying earlier about enlightenment? Does anyone else’s head hurt?
You can watch “On the Importance of Exploding Heads” here:
Who made this?
“On the Importance of Exploding Heads” was written and edited by Benjamin Shearn, a film editor and writer. His last feature, Ladyworld, screened at BFI London, Fantastic Fest, and TIFF: Next Wave, and it was presented as part of the Frontieres Showcase at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. This specific video, narrated by Matt D’Elia, is the first entry in Sheran’s new video essay series, “Driftless Significance.”
More Videos Like This
- “The I Am Not Okay With This Cast Break Down THAT Mind-Blowing Scene“
- A video from Scene Anatomy on how Dick Smith did the head explosion scene in Scanners. A shotgun was involved and if that doesn’t perk your ears up I don’t know what will.
- We love Mick Garris in this column, so here the man is talking about the trailer (which he helped to design!) for Scanners.
- Hey, did you know you can convincingly replicate the Raiders of the Lost Ark face-melt scene with a box of crayons?
Related Topics: Horror, Short Films, The Queue
