This poster originally appeared in the Daily Barbarian and was reprinted in the Fifth Estate, June 19, 1979–vol. 14, no. 3 (298).
Rarely does a horror movie of such magnitude reach the public, but when it does, it holds an unshakable grip on our imagination, if not our very being. Such is the latest film from 20th Century Technology–MEGA DEATH.
Produced at a cost of an unspecified number of lives (industry rumors put the figure in the hundreds of millions), the producers and directors of this full-length epic use the most sophisticated, and in many cases, most subtle special effects available to keep our attention glued on the show. This is definitely a movie that demands total audience participation for it to succeed.
MEGA DEATH traces the 5,000 year rise of civilization from its bloody origin to present day. At first the beast, posing as the benefactor of humankind, is greeted with open arms by people who recognize an opportunity to exploit the situation. Those poor souls who can tell a bad deal when they see one, are quickly destroyed when they get in the way. Even those who don’t much care one way or the other, are eventually eliminated as MEGA DEATH engulfs the planet. Approaching modern times, the beast is finally unmasked, and we are allowed to see it for what it really is. Scenes of everyday life take on a vividness so real as to defy belief. Millions of people all over the world getting up at 7:00 a.m. to go to work or shop; gray lifeless industrial regions juxtaposed against bright, lifeless–Have A Nice Day!–communities of tedious familiarity. Pollution is everywhere–polluted water, polluted food, polluted air, and even light polluted night skies! All while a seemingly domesticated populace continues this hideous normality day in and day out. It’s enough to make you want to smash the projectors.
MEGA DEATH is playing everywhere. So overwhelming is this movie, that getting away from it seems impossible. Yet try we must.
These days, if we want better movies, we will have to make them ourselves.
— George Orwell, Daily Barbarian, 1979
MEGA DEATH Industrial Plagues, Industrial Accidents, Pollution, Chemical Poisons, Nuclear Radiation, War, Alienation
Boredom & Normality Civilized Citizens The Worst Impulses of Human Beings
LimitedVision — General Public Suggested
