I just watched, what is safe to say, the scariest movie I have ever seen in my life. Sunshine isn't the kind of movie title that would hint at a doomed space mission, gory deaths and a crazed captain. And yet it brought all of that- and more. I wasn't frightened by the flash scenes or moments that made me jump. That's the kind of fear that you laugh at yourself for moments after spilling your popcorn all over your date. What managed to seep into my mind and remain there, even now, one hour after coming home from the theater, was the backdrop: space.

The vast un-ending and, therefore, unimaginable thing that is outer space. Not even the blackness was creepy, for there was plenty of blinding white scenes to counter that. It was merely the infinite stars, planets, and unknowns that kept my mind reeling and my heart pounding.

For some people, these jitters are irrational. Beyond earth is just a conglomeration of more land and gas masses that float in some kind of cold soup. And the fact that it goes on forever doesn't need to be understood- who cares and who thinks about it? But I think it extends beyond space and into our psyche.

There is a prevalent fear in our society of the unknown and incomprehensible. This includes people and their behaviours, world catastrophes, and death. Death is the most important as it eludes us every time. There are no doctors, psychologists or examiners in this field that can explain exactly what happens after death. There are theories and hopes, but no facts. This scares people because there is nothing to compare it to; no past experiences can render any hint at what to expect. It's also frightening because it's eternal. Nothing on earth is never-ending, everything always comes to a conclusion. The human mind can not even imagine what forever would be, not theoretically and not when it comes to a more physical environment like space. We can understand the idea of forever, but we can't grasp the full picture: what it would be like to exist in it or see it.

I argue that the dread towards the everlasting can clearly be shown in stats of the percentage of church goers before, during, and after 9/11. Individuals flocked to holy institutions, either renewing their faith or suddenly feeling inclined to have faith. Many felt that the world was ending and this was the final symbol before God would descend onto earth. It would be hard not to believe that if deeply affected by the attacks. The smoke, fire, and chaos would fuel any doomsday theory. Some believed that it was all predicted by Nostradamus and it was a sign that his following predictions were true, as well. It ends with the world dying, if you are interested.

So people were scared for their lives and about something else. The resounding question seemed to be, if I die, what will be next? Will I just stop there, my mind gone and my body useless- no more thought patterns coming out of me- simply hit a big blank wall? To deny the eternal nothing would mean to want something more. Individuals hoped for something more and this hope led them to the church. The amount of worshipers would soon return to normal levels once things calmed down and people could push the idea of eternity to the back of their minds.

But it's always there. One only has to look up to the sky at night to regain that sense of foreboding.

I'm never seeing another space movie again.