As a scifi writer, I love the idea of throwing the bad guy out of an airlock. It’s like the ultimate in poetic justice. Better than taking a lame blaster to the heart, or being eaten by a space slug, or falling into a star. But what really happens to the human body when suddenly exposed to total vacuum? How do I describe it to the reader?
I ran across a great article on Gizmodo last week that sums it up quite nicely. Keep the science tight and accurate, and you can still have a really entertaining death scene. Here’s the article:
http://gizmodo.com/5924522/what-really-happens-when-you-get-sucked-out-of-an-airlock
Love the closing paragraph:
So, while the end of your life in space may not be nearly as dramatic as Hollywood would have you believe, exposure to its vacuous expanse is still going to suck. And, more than likely, you’re going to die. Sorry. Just remember to breathe out first.
And here’s a great GIF of a classic vacuum-exposure scene. Any other movies come to mind for you?
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One of my FAVS is from Event Horizon. Totally freaked me out.
That entire movie freaked me out…
I love it so much!!!!! lol The one part I can’t watch is where the chick falls after thinking she sees her kid. WAY too realistic and her swallowing once as she’s lying in a poll of amber liquid mixing with her own blood is just too much
Crap!! Now I have to watch it!
Outland…nothing like watching Sean Connery maneuver bad guys into various juicy vacuum-detonations,
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