We're not afraid. What are Ukrainians no longer scared of after russia's war?
After February 24, 2022, Ukrainians no longer need to watch horror movies to tickle their nerves. Even the scariest horror movie seems like a light family comedy compared to the reality outside the window. When your city is bombarded with rockets, the "nightmare on Elm Street" turns into terror on the neighboring street. And no screen adaptation can convey real emotions.
However, these eight months have toughened us so much that we're no longer afraid to admit what we are so scared of or not at all. What terrified us until February 2022 no longer looks so scary.
Faced with this reality, we find solutions daily to stay calm in the face of stress while we have Halloween almost every day. Together with the Cinema Citi movie theater chain, we have prepared an article where five characters from the most iconic horror films will talk about what we are no longer afraid of and how it happened.
"It" is no longer in the cinema
The first days of the full-scale war were the most terrible. All horror films follow a pattern: the audience is afraid until they know what will happen next. The only difference is that we are not spectators and probably still don't know how to live on. But we are not afraid anymore.
That "clown" who wanted to scare us so much turned out to be an ordinary frightened boy who, ironically, gained access to enormous power. However, as in any good movie, there is always an even more extraordinary hero for an antagonist. In our case, we are not afraid because our heroes are the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The It movie is worth watching to distract yourself from reality and relax after watching the news.
The Shining Ukrainian-style
Jack Nicholson brilliantly played the main character in the screen adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining. Agree: even though Stanley Kubrick made this film more than 40 years ago, it is still scary to watch. It was frightening to us Ukrainians.
If you think about February and March of this year and watch the news 24/7, The Shining may seem like a comedy. Then we were afraid to go to the bathroom at night after watching such a horror movie. And now we jump out of bed at the sound of air raid alerts and run to the shelter or the place with load-bearing walls to save our lives. No imaginary "maniacs" can stand next to anxiety and night experiences.
You must've received a ring
We will never forget the morning of February 24. Everyone had their share of "rings." Dad called someone with one word: "War." Someone rushed to urgently give a ring to relatives and friends.
No director will be able to convey the horror that we experienced at one moment throughout the country. And now, remembering the characters we were so afraid of, we only smile and wish they were still the scariest thing in our lives.
But silence is scarier
When relatives don't get in touch, we are afraid. When there are no air raids for a long time, it's scary. Too quiet is creepy. This silence horrifies us Ukrainians.
Silence comes after every shelling or news. Silence means waiting for a needed message from relatives from Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Kyiv. It is when you write in chats, "Is everyone alive?" and you wait until the silence ends and the answer "Yes" comes.
That's what's scary.
Anthony Hopkins brilliantly played a maniac in the film Silence of the Lambs. But this was before russia attacked Ukraine. This movie probably would have been shot differently because we are no longer afraid.
We are stronger than the "astral"
When russia attacked Ukraine in 2014, to many, this war seemed unreal—some astral, something distant. But since February, this "astral" came into reality. It was a huge fear. We faced events for which we were not prepared.
It seemed: what could be worse than COVID? But, as it turned out, worse can happen. Will fictional screen characters scare us now? Hardly. But how to cope with the stresses of reality? Humor often helps. Ordinary and common. It is here, in this article. Are there any horror films left in the world that will scare a Ukrainian?
Now we watch them and relax. And, of course, it's not a bad idea now. For our readers, Cinema City has prepared hot movie news and free tickets, which we will give away on social media. Can you hear the popcorn crunching yet? Then head over to our Instagram and Facebook to claim your ticket.
