Ah, the subway...

On occasion, okay on a regular basis, I take the subway around town. One would think that taking the subway in Los Angeles, being several stories underground, know that if the power goes out it'll be the first time I've ever witnessed true darkness, and the possibility of earthquakes it would be scary enough. But not for me. I have recently developed a taste for subway related horror movies. Natural disaster simply isn't enough for that morning adrenaline rush, no, I need to think that there might me monsters, mutants, and psychopaths creeping around in the narrow subway tunnels. All the subway movies are based in places that have had an underground system for decades, with discontinued lines, blocked up passage ways, a subway grave yard... the LA subway system is only 18 years old. There are no secret tunnels, forgotten rail lines, there's no subway system below this one that was paved over to make way for the new line thereby infuriating ghost.

These movies, for the most part, are truly terrible, but there is one shining gem; Creep. Starring Franka Potente, of Lola Rennt fame, this movie manages to caputer all the most basic subway fears; falling a sleep at the station, missing the last train, and getting lock in for the night. With other people and one monster. The down side and upside of other people in any horror movie is that you, the heroine, can use the body count to as a count down to executing your brilliant save the day (for you) plan.
The other movies I've sat though are Knotrol and the Midnight Meat Train. The latter just has such a great title, it sounds like a gay porno, which is probably because it's by Clive Barker (y'know, Hellraiser). Knotrol is kinda more a psychological thriller set in a post Berlin Wall wall eastern Europe, which is enough to drive you crazy all on its own.
Anyway my point is that I cannot get on the subway without my gruesome death, not by being crushed by 1000s of pounds concrete, buried alive, or slowly but surely running out of air in pitch black darkness. No I need to think about where would monster hide, what's a good distance to stand away from the rails should someone push me, which one of my fellow passengers needs to be watched closely. I suppose this is because there's hope when there's monsters, etc, around. You can run, you can scream, you can plead and bargain, you can do a little damage. You can't do that when the tunnel collapses in on you. Ah, the subway...