Horror and sport go hand in hand like…well, two things that don’t particularly go hand in hand. But on those rarest of occasions the genre splice begins and we can bring together our undying love of both seeing sweaty men in shorts running around chasing a piece of leather and watching sweaty women in shorts running around escaping a crazed Leatherface. Sporting equipment itself is abundant in the history of horror but that’s usually because it’s being utilised in the death of an unsuspecting victim. Who doesn’t recall the strategically face placed ice skate through a teen’s face in slasher sequel ‘Halloween H20’ or the well varnished cricket bat used by Simon Pegg to fend off zombies in ‘Shaun of the Dead’? I mean heck even gym equipment goes bad in ‘Final Destination 3’ when jock Lewis ends up with a splitting headache following his workout. Let’s take a look at just a mere handful of the sporting horror flicks we’ve enjoyed.
Graduation Day (1981) – Athletics
In Herb Freed’s classic early 80’s slasher flick ‘Graduation Day’ time is up for a group of high school track runners as a mysterious black-gloved assailant complete with stopwatch goes on a rampage with the class of ’81. Honestly I’m not entirely sure why of all the athletic types would you want to hunt down victims whom if they see you are likely to be able to out run you but I digress. So who’s knocking off these Midvale High School students and to what end? Whilst most sports betting site‘s sadly at the moment don’t accept “Which victim will be next” wagers we’re left ot unravel the mystery ourselves. Expecting us to spill the beans? Do the homework yourself…go rent it!
The Descent (2005) – Caving
For those who enjoy spending their recreational time squeezing through tight spots, banging their heads constantly on solid rock and have literally no sense of claustrophobia are likely to get a real kick out of Caving (AKA Spelunking or Potholing). Nowadays tagged as an extreme sport those whom are willing to drop beneath the surface and venture around the dark cavernous realms of our underworld. For a group of adventurous young women in Neil Marshall’s ‘The Descent’ things falter slightly when they just happen to cross paths with human/bat-like creatures hungry to feed.
I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer (2008) – Cricket
“I don’t like Cricket……I Love it”. Ok that might be a bit strong but this Australian comedy horror from co-directors Stacey Edmonds and Doug Turner may help you like it a little more. It’s a revenge story fundamentally that finds a mysterious mustachioed crazed killer on the rampage seeking some deadly comeuppance for those whom bullied him as a child. The psycho comes complete, as expected, with an array of dangerously altered cricket equipment to seek his revenge. This includes a razor sharp cricket glove, a bunch of sharpened stumps and ball full of nails that you would certainly not want bowled directly at your googlys! Trailer below.
Frozen (2010) – Skiing
Although there’s very little actual skiing involved in Adam Green’s claustrophobic-esque thriller ‘Frozen’ there’s plenty of snow and chills. A group of childhood friends are enjoying some slope action one Sunday afternoon when it all turns sour. The trio, due to a combination of human error, miscommunications and bribery, find theirselves stranded high above the hard white ground trapped in a ski lift. They struggle the rest of the movie for survival fighting off different elements including the cold, wolves and each other’s company.
Deadball (2011) – (aka Deddobôru) – Baseball
Merging together all the usual comedy horror trappings associated with over-the-top Japanese eye-candy the 2011 feature ‘Deadball’ from director Yudai Yamaguchi tackles the sporting subject of baseball – ‘Battle Royale’ style and then some. The splatter flick finds the young Jubeh accidentally killing his father when pitching a baseball to him. Turns out Jubeh has one heck of a powerful throwing arm. And years later heads up an insane group of death row inmates to play baseball against a group of high school girls whose team just happen to be trained by neo-Nazis. Most of you may be more familiar with Yamaguchi’s work having donated his incredibly bizarre ‘J is for Jidai-geki’ segment to horror anthology ‘The ABCs of Death’. You can check out the absolutely insane trailer for ‘Deadball’ below.
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