Darren Aronofsky's Anti-Meth PSAs: Requiem Redux

Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream alone might've been enough to scare most folks away from hard drugs for forever, but it came out all the way back in 2000, when today's teenagers were mere toddlers. So as part of the public service program The Meth Project, which seeks to educate (or at least frighten the bejeezus out of) would-be first-time drug users, Aronofsky stepped in to direct four TV spots highlighting the nightmarish consequences of meth use. BE SCARED, KIDS.

Aronofsky's new PSAs are fairly simple, sharing a few key elements: He begins in close-up on the faces of his young teen subjects in quiet slo-motion repose, confronting his potential viewer with a face that reflects their own.

Then he pulls back as hell breaks loose, revealing the horrors that meth use can inflict upon the lives of promising, fresh-scrubbed young persons: Ghastly skin lesions, horrific suicide attempts, physical abuse of/by loved ones, emergency room freakouts. This is what the American Skins should've been like.

Warning: Semi-disturbing. But that's the point.

The Meth Project is an ongoing campaign that previously tapped other high profile filmmakers to create spots. Each "Wave" of shorts approaches the subject with a theme or tagline, showcasing different styles.

You can find an extensive collection of previous shorts by Aronofsky (Wave 3 & 6), Inception DP Wally Pfister (Wave 5), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Wave 4), and Tony Kaye (Wave 1 & 2) at the Meth Project Foundation website.

For more information on the campaign and new website, head to www.MethProject.org.

[The Meth Project via Next Movie]