News Article

This isn't something we'd typically cover at FEARnet, since it's not what we'd consider entertainment – even for the hardest of the hardcore. But it's such an unusual story that it's definitely newsworthy, especially knowing that Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky is behind it. We're talking about a recently-launched series of horrifying public service ads graphically illustrating the dangers of meth use. It's not just that they're intense and terrifying, but Aronofsky's surreal, hallucinatory approach to a real-life horror makes them even more nightmarish. We've included an example after the jump, but be warned – this is strong stuff indeed.

A far cry from the old '80s "This is your brain on drugs" PSAs (which actually became sort of a joke among TV viewers of that generation), these ads will remind you how the director was able to turn a drama about drug addiction into a complete nightmare in Requiem for a Dream. Aronofsky was quoted as saying that film was "a horror movie in which the monster is addiction," and this new series of short films falls right in line with that philosophy – employing state of the art makeup & CGI effects and clever cinematography tricks to lure you in and then kick you below the belt.

Taking a deliberately shocking approach to the horrors of drug use (or other health and safety risks) is nothing new of course, but this time we can safely say it's never been more shocking than this. The segments, which were produced by the advertising agency Organic on behalf of The Meth Project, are all viewable at their official YouTube channel. But we posted a very disturbing one right here.

Don't say we didn't warn you...