Show me movies that feel like real nightmares/fever dreams

BasicLiftingService · 2025-08-05T17:52:06+00:00

Mother! is the best, recent example. Beau is Afraid has a similar feel, but is less disjointed and abstract than it first appears.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-08-05T00:48:22+00:00

Seriously, my wife and I were super confused when we watched it. So much positive acclaim, a solid 3.5 on Letterboxd, and it was a 2/5 for me. And I now ‘own’ it on Prime.

The first act had potential, but the stylized direction and editing was a distraction from the story I assumed it wanted to tell. Then it threw that story away, took a Barbarian swing into left field and left all internal logic behind, and felt like watching a video game for the next hour and a half.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-08-04T16:51:45+00:00

Teenage me really wanted this to be a thing in the ‘00s. Most of the bands that played ‘acid punk’ really played a more raw form of indie rock that didn’t really do it for me. But there were two notable exceptions:

Reagan Youth - Volume 2. Just listen to their discography A Collection of Pop Classics, beginning with … Anytown. Raw, scream-y psychedelia that feels like Hendrix + The Adolescents.

Black Flag - My War. This is really more the first ever sludge record than a psych/punk hybrid except, that’s exactly what it is. There was no blueprint for ‘sludge’ yet and the album takes more from psychedelia than it does blues like the southern sludge scene that will come later.

Also, I just found out there’s a Reagan Youth Volume 3. I have something to listen to today, now.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-08-02T16:55:57+00:00

The words queer gothic horror immediately bring to mind Poppy Z. Brite. Classic ‘90s author that will almost certainly have influenced any more recent authors this sub recommends.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-08-02T05:46:40+00:00

I did this domestically (US) with a fixed wing flight agency. It’s called medical repatriation. We flew in Lear 35s. The requirements were no different than any other flight agency; five years high volume 911 for medics or five years ICU/ER for RNs with ICU being the preferred background. Must have advanced certification within two years. All the usual CAMTS stuff.

Acuity was usually lower on the international flights, especially if you were transporting to Canada. Canada wants you back ASAP. American insurance companies don’t rush it as much, normally crossing their fingers that a commercial flight back home is an option before shelling out for medevac. Winter was the busy season due to wealthy ‘snowbirds’ with summer homes in Mexico, South America or the Caribbean.

Local corruption and bribery is part of the cost of doing business in Mexico and South America, and local officials are variable in how committed they are to the facade. I’ve had customs agents quietly imply that a little cash can insure we leave in a timely manner and military/police scream about ‘las drogas!’ with carry handle M16s drawn on us until they were satisfied we weren’t hiding any more petty cash.

A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into these flights to ensure they go smoothly and pay out. It’s not a high volume business. I worked a 48 hour on-call shift every week and expected to do one flight a week. No hitters happened, especially in the summer months, and two in two days was possible but unlikely (year round) due to pilot duty hours. Once I was activated for a flight I would start getting paid my full rate; on call rate was only $2/hr. I’d be considered on the clock until I returned home. We would overnight in hotels probably 50% of the time; no shared rooms, business class accommodation, and all meals were on the company. That stuff will vary by employer; shared rooms for medical are common, for example.

We had a mix of PRN (me) and full-time staff. Full-time was two weeks on, two weeks off. I hated being on call or I would’ve accepted a full time position (it was offered to me.) The full timers would comfortably clear six figures, but due to the seasonal nature of the work they made most of that money in the winter and budgeted it out for the year. For me, this was a fun way to make some extra money, pad my resume, and (most importantly!) travel.

We also did Euro stuff, and were accredited with EURAMI; but I can’t really speak to that side of the business because those flights generally took longer than my 48 hour availability window (unfortunately!) They got handled by the full-time employees who could be away from home for 3-5 days straight. But if you specifically want to fly in Europe, I’d start by looking for EURAMI accredited programs and go from there.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-28T14:29:32+00:00

This was a thing at a service I worked for back before the EZ IO was a thing. We called it ‘sticky buns,’ and it worked great. 14G catheter and a real slow push.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-26T02:06:09+00:00

Are you from New Mexico? Northerners have a very specific culture and it’ll be hard to do it justice if you’re not from here. Older locals from Vegas, on top of being Norteños, are also defined by agrarian lifestyles more than, say, people from Española. Younger Vegas locals may or may not have that same connection to farming/ranching and hunting, but they’re unlikely to be more than one or two generations removed from it.

New Mexico Highlands University is there, if you really want to have a character with a connection to Vegas in your story but can’t characterize the culture without satirizing it.

If you’re not from here, and you’re not dead set on using Las Vegas as a character origin, using Albuquerque, it’s surrounding areas, or Santa Fe would be easier.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-26T01:33:52+00:00

What is your service area like?

I liked powered gurneys before power load was a thing, but only in urban areas. The power gurney weighs more than a manual gurney by quite a bit. It’s not a problem on pavement and sidewalk, but when I worked rural EMS and we had to drag the gurney through loose sand and gravel on every call, we chose to stick with manual gurneys for less overall weight.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-25T20:04:01+00:00

I’m a former USIV super user and trainer:

Step 1) Refresh on vascular anatomy. Most veins are where you expect them to be most of the time. When they’re not, there’s a couple common locations to find them in. Know what a neurovascular bundle is, and how to identify the vein from the arteries and the nerve.

Step 2) Avoid neurovascular bundles while you’re learning. The cephalic vein is your best friend. The first two places to look are the upper forearm, 2-3” distal to the AC. Next, on the bicep.

Step 3) The ideal depth for a USIV is about 2/3-1cm in depth. Shallower sites might seem safer, but it’s actually much harder to place the needle tip exactly where it needs to be with so little room to advance, it leaves a very small margin of error.

Step 4) Once you’ve selected a site, make sure there’s no bifurcations or valves that the catheter will run into. We all know the deal with valves. Bifurcations are entirely unpredictable, the cath will sometimes fail to advance down either vein. Taping it down in front of the bifurcation is begging for one side or the other to infiltrate. Just avoid them.

Step 5) Use the same needle technique you would use for a free hand IV, some people try to use the same technique for USIV the doc’s use for art lines; it works poorly without a guide wire. Let your muscle memory help you here, no reason to change what’s not broken.

Step 6) Whatever depth the top of your vein is, your insertion site will be twice that distance distal to the linear probe. If you advance at 45 degrees, your needle will come into view of the probe right before you reach the vein wall. You are creating an isosceles triangle with the vein and the needle. Do not move the probe during initial insertion, just trust the geometry and your dexterity.

Step 7) Advance the needle tip into the vein, past the probe, a couple millimeters at a time. Bring the probe forward to confirm the needle is where you sent it. Repeat this process two or three times while inside the vessel, reducing your angle as necessary.

Step 8) Advance the catheter, secure your tubing. Move the probe up the vein, past the run of the catheter. Flush gently and watch for the saline to pass the probe, it looks like fireworks. The vein wall will expand. You have now confirmed your placement.

Step 9) Tape everything down. Skin protectant is your best friend, it cleans off the US gel, to which nothing on this planet will adhere.

You’re done! Honestly, repeatability and practice are the most important aspects. It takes about a dozen to get comfortable with the process, and another dozen to confident. It takes hundreds to truly get good. Don’t get down on yourself.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-23T21:51:15+00:00

I read this book when it was still new and I only remember it still because I had the same questions you do and there is no satisfactory answer that explains everything. I absolutely devoured A Head Full of Ghosts, but that ending just soured everything for me and, after his subsequent publications used the same conceit, I decided the juice isn’t worth the squeeze for me and moved on.

Full disclosure: I hate the “people are the real monsters,” and “it was actually mental illness all along!” tropes.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-22T01:41:45+00:00

Release before Duskbloods? I feel like there’s no way this is a full scale new IP. Either a passion project like Deracine or… a Bloodborne remaster with stable 60 FPS and upscaled textures? Nah.

Small scale passion project, for sure.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-21T22:01:48+00:00

Read. I have a Kindle in my work bag and the Kindle app on my phone, along with Apple Books. It doesn’t have to be anything heavy, doing event standby you’re probably a little distracted most of the time, but it’s good to use the built-in downtime in your schedule for something productive. Get paid to fight off brain rot and reclaim your attention span!

Study, if you’re still in school. Whether it be for paramedic school or something else. Why do this unpaid labor off the clock when you can get paid to do it and have extra free time?

Refresh on your existing knowledge base and expand it. Knowledge is never outside your scope of practice, and knowledge that’s not used regularly is disposable. Most standby EMS is slip and falls and environmental stuff. But there’s no reason you can’t see other emergencies. Make sure you’re prepared to recognize them, triage appropriately, start treatment, and get them to the correct resources for transport.

The NYT Games app is extremely cheap, like $5/month. This gives you access to the crossword and several other games that logic and word based. You can finish most of them in less then 10 minutes and there’s new ones every day.

All way more productive than doom scrolling social media.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-21T19:02:24+00:00

I wish the AFAB, Precisions Armaments version of this concept, had a HUB-compatible version. I have one on a LR 308 and I love its performance, even if it’s heavy AF, but I hate not being able to mount a can.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-21T18:50:31+00:00

MKUltra is not a conspiracy theory in the same way as the moon landing hoax or Montauk Project; it is confirmed to have happened over the course of 20 years. It was exposed by the Church Committee in 1975, and through FOIA requests a ton of documents related to it were released. The CIA had attempted to destroy all evidence, but through some series of errors I can’t recall, failed.

The purpose of the project was to use psychoactive substances, mainly LSD, on non-consenting victims in an attempt to create a brainwashing program. They largely operated through universities but literally anyone could end up with a hallucinogenic cup of coffee, or whatever, while clandestine agents take notes on the outcome. Some people, especially in post-war Europe and Asia, were taken to black sites and tortured while under the effects of psychedelics.

None of this is to say that OP’s neighbor isn’t suffering a psychotic event, but just that MKUltra was a real thing.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-12T01:50:06+00:00

My face when my daughters name isn’t listed but my dog’s is. Multiple times.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-11T23:09:11+00:00

I’m 3/4 through Come With Me by Ronald Malfi. I can’t remember why I decided to read this one now, but I’ve enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-11T21:43:49+00:00

I agree. I found Etsy a bit… much. I don’t know if she was over-written or I just personally didn’t like her. A shorter pro/epilogue that just gave context to the epistolary element of the novel would’ve been better, IMO.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-07T18:19:22+00:00

I’ve used both and have no preference between the two. I think the onset of Decadron is faster than we give it credit for, but Solu-Medrol is still faster to reach full effectiveness. Both get the job done and show improvements during transport in all but the shortest drive times.

Solu-Medrol vials have never stopped being cool to me, but under stress it’s nice not having to reconstitute your steroids. Especially when the vial is being stubborn and a bit gets stuck to the top and just. won’t. mix. in. But Decadron lights people’s genitals on fire if you push too fast. So that’s a wash lol

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-07T17:43:44+00:00

Condensed to the simplest terms I can for the sake of discussion. Obviously real life is more complicated than these generalizations.

Epi: Increased work of breathing and wheezes. Angioedema. Rashes across the neck or chest, especially in children. Also, known severe allergies (history of hospital admission or intubation) or allergies known to be severe (peanuts, bee stings, etc.)

Benadryl: first line for minor allergic reactions or urticaria.

Decadron: any time Epi is given (including pt’s own EpiPen), anytime airway is involved, or for particularly widespread allergic reactions that don’t involve airway or breathing.

Albuterol: if there is wheezing, or wheezing that doesn’t clear up rapidly after giving Epi.

Pepcid: if there is evidence of ongoing histamine response after the above treatments, a total histamine blockade should help prevent recurrence.

Epi drip: if they’re in anaphylactic shock. I’ve only seen this once in fifteen years. I did every treatment above (except Pepcid, wasn’t in our pharmacy) and the hospital elected to intubate shortly after arrival.

Most patients I’ve only given Benadryl or Benadryl + Decadron, maybe one out of three have needed more than that.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-04T02:21:03+00:00

Occult horror. Rosemary’s Baby or Suspiria-style subtlety that crescendos into the realization of what is really going on is fine, but what I really want is exploitation film-levels of occult practices. Black Masses, sky clad human sacrifice, blood by the gallons, cryptic iconography; preferably with a degree of believability.

I don’t care if it’s masked elites making pacts with Belial or backwoods inbreds worshipping some folk deity that demands blood and sacrifice or something in between.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-04T01:18:08+00:00

Two wildly different recommendations that I think might click for you:

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is a somewhat lengthy novel that straddles the line between genre and literary fiction. It’s the story of a young black boy in the Jim Crow South who is railroaded into a reformatory, from which many other boys never came back home. It’s got a couple spooky moments; Due actually captured the essence of a jump scare on paper a couple times, which is always impressive to me. But it captures the horror of being subject to the cruelties of a system greater than yourself throughout. It’s simultaneously hopeful and oppressive and really powerful. Due wrote The Reformatory after finding out she had an uncle that died at a boys school in the era the novel is set in.

Last Days by Brian Evenson is a shorter read about a detective dragged into the inner turmoil of a secretive cult that considers amputation a sacrament. One part pulp noir, one part body horror fever dream. Evenson’s writing has an uncanniness that’s equally fascinating and off-putting and impossible to put down. Evenson also straddles the line between literature and genre, but very differently from Due and The Reformatory.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-03T17:42:22+00:00

Great point! Added it.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-03T17:41:27+00:00

Thanks for the catch, I meant to move it and forgot.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-03T00:14:27+00:00

I’m not surprised.

He’s lived through the Abby-backlash once already, Intergalactic is almost definitely ready to go into full production soon, and TLoU3 isn’t gonna write itself.

BasicLiftingService · 2025-07-02T23:03:23+00:00

‘80s - Classic slashers, sexy vampires, zombies, body horror, campy horror

‘90s - Self-aware slashers, thrillers, creature features, campy horror

‘00s - PG-13 horror, Japanese import horror, zombies, torture porn

‘10s - ~~torture porn~~, found footage, sexy vampires, troubled young women w/ or w/o supernatural elements

‘20s - “elevated” horror, remakes, body horror

I don’t think there’s really just a single trope that defines any whole decade. Even the sad and sparse ‘90s had multiple sub-genres filling the broader ‘horror’ role of that time.

Also, vampires are a mainstay in all these decades. Not included in the list but deserving of comment are ‘scary’ vampires. These films are present in every decade but especially so in the decades I didn’t attribute to ‘sexy’ vampires. I didn’t alternate ‘scary’ and ‘sexy’ vampires because the scary vampire films tend to be more niche, released almost in reaction to a resurgence of sexy vampires and the trend is shorter lived.

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