In this psychological thriller, a man named Clayton Beresford Jr, undergoing heart transplant surgery experiences an actual phenomenon called “anesthetic awareness” which leaves him paralyzed but completely awake and alert. Hearing his wife of one day and his surgeon “friend” plotting to kill him and take his money, he lies helplessly on the operating table. Ouch!
2. Face/Off (1997)
Sean Archer / Castor Troy. Travolta is the good guy and Cage is the bad guy. No wait. Travolta wearing Cage’s face is the good guy and Cage wearing Travolta’s face is the bad guy. “Nothing like having your face cut off to disturb your sleep. Read the newspaper lately?”
3. Minority Report (2002)
Lots of eyeballs, or lack thereof, in this one. Tom Cruise has to swap out his eyes so he can’t be tracked by the Pre-Crime force. His “neroin” dealer is eyeless, presumably for similar reasons. “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
4. Last House on the Left (1972/2009)
This may not seem like surgery but it is. In this 2009 remake of the 1972 classic horror film, a doctor played by Tony Goldwyn, paralyzes a man from the neck down in his home with the careful and precise use of a razor blade, then proceeds to make his head explode by sticking it in a microwave that somehow stays on with the door open. Don’t feel too bad for this guy though. He had it coming.
5. Repo Men (2010)
In the future, a company called “The Union” sells artificial organ and limb replacements at a very high price. The catch is, if you fall behind on your payments, the repo man will come to collect your organ by tazing you to sleep and repossessing the item in question.
6. Brazil (1985)
In this futuristic satire and surrealistic masterpiece set in a dystopian world, Sam Lowry’s mother Ida, played by Katherine Helmond, undergoes frequent facelifts that are both humorous and disturbing.
7. Boxing Helena (1993)
More surgeries at home. This is the debut film of Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. After a hit and run accident, a surgeon kidnaps the victim, amputating both her legs (supposedly to save her) in his home. He then becomes so obsessed with her that he goes on to amputate her arms. If the film weren’t so campy, it might be truly disturbing, but it’s played more like a really bad soap opera.
8. Total Recall (1990)
On the lam, Quiad (Schwarzenegger) has to remove the tracking device from his skull with this handy gadget.
9. Gattaca (1997)
In a futuristic world where only the genetically engineered can aspire to anything beyond the likes of a janitor, Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is a “borrowed ladder,” assuming the identity of the recently wheelchair-bound Jerome (Jude Law) in hiding, so he can have a better life. The trouble is, he’s 2 inches shorter than Jerome.
10. Robocop (1987)
The ultimate cinematic surgery. And another dystopian futuristic film. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is transformed into a cyborg after a brutal attack in a futuristic, crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan. The film can be considered profoundly sad as Robocop has flashbacks and when he remembers who he was by checking police records on Clarence Boddicker.
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