A glimpse into the world of cinematic horror and sci-fi.
Miniaturization
Author: Serena Debegnach
The tag "Miniaturization" refers to events in which one or more characters undergo a significant reduction in the size of their bodies as a result of a process that's based in either fantasy (e.g. spells, curses, "Kafkaesque events", etc.) or science-fiction (e.g. radiation, chemical substances, other types of mutagens, etc.). Depending on the case, this shrinking might occur suddenly or progress slowly over time.
At any rate, it's a scenario we've seen rather frequently since the dawn of cinema, undoubtedly popular because the techniques and optical illusions used to stage it - some borrowed from the world of prestidigitation - have proven both effective and reasonably inexpensive.
Examples
- Cinema/Television: "Dr. Cyclops" (Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1940), "Girl in His Pocket" (Original title: "Un Amour de Poche", Pierre Kast, 1957), "Innerspace" (Joe Dante, 1987).
- Literature (fiction): "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (Richard Matheson, 1956), "The Micronauts" (Gordon Williams, 1977), "Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain" (Isaac Asimov, 1987).
- Videogames: "The Adventures of MicroMan" (1993), "Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story" (2009), "Grounded" (2022).
The table below includes only the films we’ve already reviewed, filtered by the current Tag. We know many important titles are still missing: they’ll come in time. Some features are reserved for our Patreon supporters.
| Title | Directors | Year | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| The 7th Voyage of Sinbad | Nathan H. Juran | 1958 | 7 |
| The Incredible Shrinking Man | Jack Arnold | 1957 | 7 |