The two big ones on the table are Gattaca and Splice. Both take things to Huxleyan extremes, focusing on how gene editing risks exacerbating existing societal inequalities and giving rise to biological horrors that reflect the worst of humanity back on itself.

And in this time of coronavirus conspiracy theories and pandemic terror, sometimes its a nice breather to watch what amounts to the film version of Scientists Gone Wild. These movies are basically like Frankenstein on steroids, where humanity's aspirations towards a very Eurocentric idea of perfection send them barreling full-throttle towards their own untimely, unnatural ends.

There are theories out there that suggest people enjoy horror movies because they allow viewers to experience controlled fear. These movies offer precisely that, a sense of escapism that is still heavily entrenched in the harsh realities of our modern society, where staggering, historically unprecedented wealth inequalities and shoddy administrative control of a virus have veiled the world in a sense of doom and tragedy.

Some may say I am being dramatic. I would counter by saying that the severity of the situation is subjective and varies between people in different circumstances. For some, this is indeed a frightening glimpse of the End Times prophesized in many major religions. For others, this is the biggest money-making opportunity they've seen. For some, it's a chance to reconnect with family .For others, it's a period of uncertainty and housing struggles caused by staggeringly high unemployment rates.

But there is a glimmer of hope amidst all the hurt and chaos (though not much, at least not when compared to the slow gain activists are making in the real world). Well, some modicum of hope in the midst of corporatism exerting undue influence on scientific progress, anyway. Basically, the really horror in both of these film is the looming specter of cutthroat profit-mindedness at all costs.