A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The Prosthetic: Freddy’s claw
The Awesome: Another, like Wolverine, that straddles the boundary of what constitutes a prosthetic, but we think it counts. He never appears without it for a start, so we’re going to presume that it’s a permanent part of his being. Plus it’s awesome on the grounds of being so terrifying. The moment where it appears from the bathwater has to be one of the greatest scenes in horror movie history…
How We’d Use It In Everyday Life: We’d go to the local sauna and hide under the water in the Jacuzzi…hey, wait. Come back!
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
The Prosthetic: Grace McLean’s Leg
The Awesome: Little Grace’s leg doesn’t double-up as a machine gun. It doesn’t fire heat-seeking missiles from the foot, nor is it indestructible. It doesn’t even allow her to run at the speed of light. But what it does give her, and we the audience, is hope. Hope that the human spirit can triumph over all odds. Oh, Grace you brave little thing, take that hacksaw and carve off my leg. I want to be like YOU!
How We’d Use It In Everyday Life: We’d find ourselves a horse. We’d find that horse, and we’d ride, dammit. Our bodies may be broken, but our spirit never will be! Ahem…
Star Wars (1977)
The Prosthetic: Vader’s…everything
The Awesome: It’s Darth Vader…do you really need a description of his awesomeness? It’s what I’m being paid for? Okay, fair point. Well, after scrapping with more or less everyone in the galaxy, Vader has had to have all his arms and legs replaced, and must wear some pretty industrial kit just to help him breathe. And despite all of that, he still manages to rule with an iron fist (so to speak). If there's a better advert for prosthetics out there, we haven't seen it.
How We’d Use It In Everyday Life: We’d dress in black, start an evil regime, attempt to murder our offspring…you know, the usual stuff.
