I watched "The S From Hell"

...so you don't have to (you still can, though). 2024, Mar 5

I still have not looked into Guby, but I did watch a short documentary on the Screen Gems' vanity plate. I came across it after an extended wiki walk through TvTropes.

I have heard remarks of 80s-or-so kids being scared of TV closing logos before, and for the uninformed, the Screen Gems logo with the yellow background (apparently introduced in 1965) was one of them.

The film's poster and TvTropes blurb (There isn't an entry specially for it, but it is mentioned in the article on vanity plates, which is where I found it) would make it seem that the documentary was a silly work. In a way, it was. But it also managed to achieve it's stated goal, which is to instill some fear and dread via the logo and surrounding lore. It's the execution that matters, after all.

The beginning of the film wasn't especially scary. It touches upon the logo's backstory and introduces the subjects interviewed. It does show the Screen Gems vanity plate two times, though, and every time it did, I would scroll down to hide the video. I was like: "This is the one. This is the jumpscare." No, it wasn't. The real scares came past halfway into the movie, where after some description porn (no better term) regarding the logo, we see a fantasization on how the logo may be used for evil. Also, it's my turn to do description porn.

Here's the scene: in a Screen Gems studio, a simulated live audience consisting of one family in a fake house is being subjected to a test screening of the logo. After the chosen show, the logo comes on. It then starts to loop endlessly. Perhaps it's a horrible mistake, it's not clarified. Things devolve quickly for the test audience. Meanwhile, outside, an executive looks in horror, as the results play out on monitors.

After that, there's a testimonial on one female having a nightmare when she was six. She recalled running away from the logo, which was blue in her dream, as it chased her. Now, I am familiar with dreams causing phobias. I had a similar situation, except in my dream, it was a ceiling fan. Also, the concept of a two-dimensional abstract shape pursing you is outright scary to me.

Sweet dreams.

Yes, I'm that easily scared. I should have recorded a GIF. (But then, I wonder if the film producers found it unnerving too, as, yes again, it's the poster image. Her thing about her brain turning the logo blue to try and protect her was particularly chilling.)

It does not help that I wrote parts of this just before I went to bed. I'm my worst own enemy.

....and it ends in the Screen Gems logo. Very funny /s. Well, it is horror.

So, what are your thoughts?

The film runs in at eight minutes. It really leaves a lasting horror effect (always good in the horror industry), though that might be just for me, because, again, I'm easily scared. It makes good, clever use of external footage. On a second rewatch, I realised that the studio test audience scene may have been from somewhere else. Yes it was; Halloween III. The S From Hell's version is scarier, but maybe that's just because I need to watch the other film fully for the full effect.

Also, the nightmare testimonial really got to me. Again, I am familiar with dream-induced phobias, and the scariest fact, is yes you too can be a victim of sigmaphobia! Wow!...Remember how I wrote some of this before I went to bed? I had trouble sleeping (no logo chase for me though, thankfully).

In conclusion, this is a somewhat serious short documentary about a silly subject. It is indeed scary, at least to me. It's also low budget, but in a modern way that doesn't affect the impact of the story (unlike some 70's films, I've heard). All in all, 7 / 10 arbitrary units.

(nb. The Youtube link in the TvTropes article has been dead since 2011, but the title, debut location mentioned and running length of the film match up.)