SPEAKER_06 0:04

May the Brahms be with you and also with you. We lift up our porcelain, lift it up to the Brahms. Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. We're flattered, truly. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack. Total joke, waste of time. Or a slash.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Totally killer. Pun intended.

SPEAKER_06 0:30

My name is Chris, and I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Yes, you are.

SPEAKER_06 0:36

The Gore Lover Alexis. Hey everyone. The cow of the creeper Ryan. Hiya. And a new friend who is joining us for a debut tonight. Our guest this week is a longtime listener, first-time podcaster, who has taken on the mantle of our Twitter account. So welcome to the show, Paris.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Hey sweets.

SPEAKER_06 0:54

As you're well aware, Paris, our whole deal on this show is believing horror is for everyone. So please indulge us. What's your connection to the genre and which flavor of horror is it that you fancy?

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Excellent question, Chris. So I've been watching horror movies from probably an inappropriately young age. I grew up with a single mom, and in the 90s it was super cheap to take your kid to the movies and like keep him quiet for two hours. So we would see a lot of movies, we started with like Disney and stuff, but then she kind of recognized, like, oh, my kid's a little bit smarter than that. So we started seeing like PG-13 movies and then eventually found out that we loved horror. My favorite movies are like psychological thrillers. I love something where I can't predict the ending, just because I feel like I've seen so much that a lot of endings you can see coming from a mile away.

SPEAKER_06 1:42

Alright, okay, that's fair. That's fair. So what would you say your favorite horror movie is?

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Probably your next. I love the way that it kind of flipped everything on its head. I also love a final girl, and Erin was the final girl to end all final girls.

SPEAKER_06 1:57

Alexis, didn't you like didn't she make your list in the 2020 recap? She sure did, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

She was a bad bitch.

SPEAKER_06 2:04

She is. I literally like her a lot. All right, Paris. Thank you so much for joining us. We're so stoked to have you. Now, those of you who have been here with us since the very beginning may remember that in our very early days with a very different team, we spent episode eight covering the 2016 film The Boy. Well, friends, for episode 84 this week, it's ya boy, Brom's The Boy 2. Now, this film is a follow-up to the original. While we still have the same director and writer for the first movie, we've swapped our girl Greta with a newcomer, portrayed by Katie Holmes. Listener, as always, the first half of this episode will be spoiler-free for this movie. But as it is a sequel, brace yourself. There will be spoiler discussions about the original 2016 film. We've all just left our respective theaters from the first available showing of the sequel in our areas, but none of you here were on the Hackerslash team when we reviewed the first one. So, Lightning Round, what's your rating and overall consensus of the boy?

SPEAKER_05 3:04

I'll go first. Um, I really liked it. I thought it was cool. It was one of those um movies where you didn't know what was going on until the end. Um, so I definitely would have given it a slash. The end wasn't my favorite. I think it once you find out it's a boy, uh a man, grown man in a wall. I feel like they don't like play it out enough. But yeah, but I would definitely give it a slash.

SPEAKER_03 3:26

Yep, I'm gonna agree with that. Um I go slash. I really enjoyed this first movie. I um was trying to put off watching it. I for some reason was thinking that the movie we're watching tonight is a was a remake, and then I was like, oh, it's a sequel. I literally have to watch the first one. Um and I enjoyed it so much. And Chris told me that a lot of people that she knows did not expect the twist that came, and I would agree with that. I was not expecting it, and I thought it was very successful.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

I too would have given the boy a slash. I found it to be enjoyable. I feel like it hit zero to sixty in a good stride, and then suddenly went 60 to 100 right towards like the last part of the movie, and I just like had this really satisfying speed to it, and the ending was great.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Uh yeah, The Boy is definitely a slash. I watched it a few weeks ago, and it reminded me that I'm really afraid of creepy doll movies. I kind of forgot that that was a thing because I blocked like all of the child's play movies out of my mind, and I was like, um, that movie looks stupid, it's a creepy doll, that's not scary, I'm gonna skip it. And then I watched it alone and I was very scared, and I was like, Oh yeah, I hate dolls, that's a thing I forgot about. So it was definitely a really well done creepy doll movie, and I was impressed by the way it handled something really commonplace. You know, we have like Annabelle, there's Chucky, there's so many attempts at doing this well, and this was a really good example of how to do it right.

SPEAKER_06 4:54

Yeah, I mean this for sure was another tale of a creepy doll. And just for full disclosure, while I enjoyed the latest remake of Child's Play, in general, I'm not a super big fan of creepy doll movies. I kind of think they're lackluster, kinda think they're boring. Dolls aren't a thing that bothered me, although my mom does have an affinity for a bunch of porcelain dolls. It's a little creepy, it's a little creepy, but folks, let's get into it. Brahms the boy too. Given that we all would have rated it a slash, what did you expect from this sequel going into it?

SPEAKER_02 5:28

So the end of the first one kind of leaves Brahms in an ambiguous place. Like we don't know what happens to him. Like, yeah, it's a dude that lives in the walls, but where did he go? So in this one, I was like, maybe he moves into a new house, figures out how to live in the walls there, and then Katie Holmes moves in.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Maybe he moves into a new house, gets a new job, builds a family, lives a life.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

On the road to recovery.

SPEAKER_05 5:55

There you go. Life outside the walls.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

I was kind of expecting the story from the first one as well. I totally thought we were gonna see it played out again with another family. And boy was I surprised.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

Yeah, actually, like when we met this family uh in the movie, I was like, Oh, but I don't want them to die. Like, they're so sweet. I like these people, and that I was definitely expecting just more of the same.

SPEAKER_05 6:21

Yeah, they were really relatable family. Yeah, they were unlike unlike you felt for them. Yeah, and she's disciplining her kid the way like now we're done with the doll. Bye. I wasn't sure because I hadn't seen any um anything about this movie, but same as you guys. I thought it was just leaving off where I thought it was a continuation, maybe like, hey, you know, this is someone else moves into the home or something. I had no idea, but I was pleasantly surprised, but also I was kind of worried in the beginning when we saw the garage, and it was like the like a weird way to connect the two that I was like, please don't let this be like this again. Because as soon as I saw the house, I'm like, oh goodness, that's not that house, but what house is that? So that's the guest house. Also, a guest house that's really far away. I mean, that's what happens when you're rich.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

You want to keep your guests at a distance. You can stay in our guest house, but you know, you can't really come to visit, sorry.

SPEAKER_06 7:21

That does make a great Airbnb property, though.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

But wait, isn't rule number one no guests?

SPEAKER_06 7:26

Yes. But I mean, I wonder how that would have worked in the first movie if the guest house is that far away. Is that out of the perimeter threshold?

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Rams is like, no, that's okay. That's not what I meant. That's outside of my jurisdiction.

SPEAKER_06 7:37

No, those humans in the guest house, those are mere peasants. So I I definitely expected a few things from this movie. And I think really what it came down to was expecting a level of quality similar to the first film. Not necessarily that I expected there would be a twist. I didn't expect there to be the same amount of tension, but I was hoping that walking away from it, I'd feel this same like, wow, I did not expect what I got. And I also expected plenty of jump scares uh at the expense of Katie Holmes, who granted I have not very been a very big fan of. I can't remember the last thing I even saw her in beyond like this. I think she was like the president's daughter in a movie, and she kept on saying the word home like excessively. This was like early 2000s, I think.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

You know what's weird is when the movie started, Alexis was like, Oh, Katie Holmes, and I was like, Oh, I just realized I don't know what Katie Holmes looks like.

SPEAKER_05 8:41

She aged in this.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Listen, she's had some maintenance done, she's looking good. Wasn't she in a Dark Knight movie?

SPEAKER_05 8:48

Oh, yeah, she was.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

One of the Dark Knight movies, right? She's on one of them. They killed her off in favor of Maggie Jillenhall, I think.

SPEAKER_03 8:55

No damn. It's like one of those things where I know her name, like I've heard her name my whole life, and I could not pick her out of a crowd. But now I can. So great.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

I honestly feel like she's most famous for the whole Tom Cruise thing.

SPEAKER_06 9:09

I agree with that. Yeah. All right, folks. So we had some high expectations, but how'd you guys feel while you were watching it?

SPEAKER_05 9:15

This movie was a little bit slow. I mean, like, you get this first scene, which I think is like impactful to see where this like family is coming from, the trauma that they had. But I really thought like it was very similar to the first one, really slow in the beginning, and then a lot of action towards the end. This one had a little bit more action, but definitely a little slow in the beginning for me, at least.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Yeah, I think I definitely agree a little bit with that. I was like super invested into this movie though. Like, I think because I just watched the first one and I I really did enjoy it, and I was really connected to all the things happening in that movie, and especially with the ending. So then when they came into this one, introduced some characters that I really liked, and then I was like, yo, I don't know where this is going. The only thing I was worried about is like if it was just gonna go to like the same house, the same things happening. Um, but once it wasn't that, I was like super in like down for the ride, you know.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

I I felt pretty good during it. I mean, I could have seen this being like a like a drama all on its own, like no horror element going on. Yeah. And just rooting for this uh this poor affected child to like grow through his trauma and the parents to develop a strong, healthy relationship with him and with each other. But uh so that that part was was like, oh go, yeah, don't worry about the horror part. Let me just see more of them growing and healing. But no, I it it was a bit so, but I I think that helped to have that like spike in the beginning, yeah. Like some immediate action, um, you know, that that kind of gives a little bit momentum moving forward, so you don't feel like totally dragged down for a good 45 minutes to an hour before something super crazy happens. But I I felt invested, engaged, if you will. I'm gonna be honest.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

I was actually scared again when the original movie was going on, all of the doll scenes and the jump scares, they really got me. Uh a little more than I'm willing to admit. But I once they revealed the twist at the end of the first one that it was actually just a guy inside the walls, I was actually a lot less scared because I was like, oh, it's a person, that's something I can understand. It's not this mysterious doll that can do I don't know what. So I was like, oh, I'll go into this one and I'll know that the doll has no powers, there's no nothing really to be afraid of with the doll. And that being said, like it still scared me all of the doll scenes. Um because I also felt like it was going to be following the same rules as the first movie, and this one really kind of maybe elaborated on what we thought the original rules were. So I was scared. I was also a little thrown off guard, but I was also kind of looking for another big twist, like the first one landed so well.

SPEAKER_06 11:49

Guys, just for just for reference, Paris saw a movie in theaters a few weeks ago and saw a trailer for this movie, and Techni's saying, Ugh, I just saw a trailer for a really shitty doll movie. And then I made him watch the first movie. What was your conclusion from that? Didn't you say you were like actually afraid of dolls?

SPEAKER_02 12:08

Yeah. Uh initially I saw that trailer and I was like, oh god, this movie looks bad. I'm definitely not gonna see this. And then it was like The Boy 2, and I was like, Oh, I actually do have to see this.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

Literally going to see this.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

So I watched the first one and I was like, well, I'll give it a shot, see what it's like. And then I was like, oh, this is actually a really good movie. Okay, so I'm not mad about having to see the sequel. Let's see where that goes.

SPEAKER_06 12:27

I think this was something where I wasn't sure how I felt about it the whole way through. I found myself enjoying so many moments of it, and I think I was more struck by that. I saw the trailer for this movie, and then I saw the second trailer that came out, and one of the things that I really admired was I think, you know, like Ryan, Mac, you guys hadn't seen the boy up until like today, really. I think if you hadn't if you hadn't seen the movie, the original, and if you had seen this trailer, the trailer would not have ruined the experience of Brahms for you. And I really appreciate it about this trailer. That being said, when I was watching this movie, I found myself remembering the trailer and just really appreciating how all those moments that were shown were reframed in that particular in this movie. Uh so I found myself surprised more than anything, just that it didn't go exactly the way I expected it to go. And I was I was really surprised that I felt Katie Holmes gave a really solid performance.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

I mean, the girl in the first one really sold that for me. So there was a really high bar for Katie Holmes.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

As a side note, uh, the girl in the first one, the actress Lauren in the first one, is one of the main characters on The Walking Dead. Oh, I love her, Maggie. Yeah, but they like forced her to have this horrendous southern accent in The Walking Dead. So like the whole time she's like, Oh, Glenn, I just love you. And so to see her in The First Boy not talking like that, I was so stoked. I was like, Oh god, thank you. Normal, normal.

SPEAKER_06 14:04

I will admit, and and shamefully, our listeners can review if they go and check out episode eight, it's a pretty big fact that I had a huge crush on her. Um she's so cute, and I I felt like she the name did not do her justice. I've never personally met a Greta, and uh I I don't think that she looked like a Greta at all.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

Greta's like a cute Eastern European name.

SPEAKER_06 14:28

She didn't look like a cute Eastern European though. As much as I was surprised in pleasant ways, I did hit a very disappointing moment in this movie, and it came as many movies do at its final climax. So that being said, what do you guys think? Did the ending leave a good taste in your mouth?

SPEAKER_03 14:45

No. Nope. Yeah, I I'm just gonna keep going there. The answer is no. If you could see my face at the end of this movie, it it wasn't good.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

So I had kind of a theory running through the whole movie, and the entire time I was looking for reasons to prove it right. So when the ending came about, I was like, surely this isn't where they're gonna leave it. They're gonna reveal that my thing was actually what was going on, and that's not what happened. So I was kind of like, okay, this is the ending.

SPEAKER_06 15:13

Despite how how crappy the ending was, at least for me. Um, I don't know that it was it was bad enough to to sync the whole movie. I think there's a lot of positives to spread around in there, but I will say watching Paris jump several times was fantastic. And it honestly made me a little bit sad that I couldn't be there sitting next to Ryan to see if Ryan was jumping.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Uh Alexis is the person you would want to sit next to during this movie. How many Alexis jumps were there? Oh, I'd say like a five. Yeah. I think there was like one. There was one that was really bad. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:46

Oh shit. Alexis got got by an easy one. Yeah, when someone walked by the window, I know. Like what it that the easiest one that there is, and I'm like, ah!

SPEAKER_06 15:56

So was this movie scary for you then?

SPEAKER_05 15:58

I think the first one was a little bit more scarier than this one. I think this one I just was trying to figure out like what was going on the entire time or like what what what the boy was um and comparing it to the first one. So um, yeah, no, I wasn't really I I actually believe it or not, this is one that I'm turning all my lights off and going upstairs by myself. Um, not by myself like that, but I don't need you guys to turn the light off for me.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

Just so we're clear, we walked in the house and she's like, I heard a creak. I'm not going upstairs, I'm sleeping at Lon's. So I don't know how true that is. Damn, call me out like that. I just had to say. Um I think so. I was thinking about this, right? Like, is this scary? And we definitely jumped like a couple of times. And I think it has to do with what Paris was talking about, where in the first one you don't know what it is, right? So it's a question of is it paranormal or is it real? Right. And you get an answer. You get there's literally a 17-year-old or 20-year-old kid or whatever living in the walls. Um, and in this one, since you had already had the conclusion to the first one, you you already have a preconceived notion.

SPEAKER_05 17:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

So the whole time you're thinking, oh, this is happening because there's someone there that's doing it. And it it kind of like takes you out of the suspense of it a little bit, I think. Like the doll is a little bit less creepy, not all the way less creepy, but a little bit less. So I feel like this movie is like a little creepy, but not scary. Yeah, definitely creepy.

SPEAKER_06 17:26

Yeah, how appropriate coming from the Cowardly Creeper.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

Hey, I gotta make my namesake worth something.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

I can agree with Alexis. This movie still scared me, but it wasn't as scary as the first one. I think I kind of was a little more focused on figuring it out this time around, whereas the first one I was just along for the ride, like, what is this? What's going on? Oh, I'm also scared. Um, but yeah, the jump scares, I feel like were very successful with this movie, and I'm not usually one to fall for jump scares. It might just be my fear of creepy dolls, though. And Brahms is probably one of the creepiest with that vacant expression and that perfectly sculpted nose.

SPEAKER_06 18:03

And the very bullish and skin, yeah. What I think is interesting is how much atmosphere is created in this movie, and I want to surprise you guys a little bit here when looking at the team behind this, right? The director and the writer are the same ones from the original film, but the director of photography has worked on the Princess Diaries. Oh, yes, I love that. Hold on, it gets better. Made in Manhattan, Independence Day, and Stargate. What interesting. That's a diverse body of work. It is, it is. There's definitely some other work in the horror genre, but what's really interesting to me is that even with having such a different approach in terms of like the principal photography in this movie, the essence is you know it still feels very consistent from the first one. Did you guys feel that way since you watched it more recently?

SPEAKER_03 18:51

I do feel like it feels really consistent. I was actually thinking about that during the movie. I was like, these feel like they were made at the same time. And I I mean, I know it's not like a 30-year gap, but it's pretty rare that like a sequel seems so similar if it doesn't come out like immediately.

SPEAKER_05 19:05

Yeah, the same mood it sets, the same like tone, like all that sort of stuff that conveys in the first one definitely transfers over to the second one.

SPEAKER_06 19:12

I definitely want to give uh Alexis a shout out here for all of our listeners who have been keeping track of our hackerslash drinking game. Take a shot now because there's actually a tie to Stranger Things in this movie. Oh, I'd love to hear it. So Christopher Convery, the little boy who plays Jude, he plays young Billy in the latest season of Stranger Things. In the flashbacks where he's like on the beach with his mom and he seems like such a sweet child. That's it. I didn't notice that at all. I didn't notice that either. I'm surprised that that slipped past you. So we've been there, done that with creepy dolls. And while Brahms, you know, at least in the original, Brahms takes this really interesting, really different turn when you see your boy Brahms busting out of the walls.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

I think that this movie is kind of like on the edge of having a bunch of cliches and like classic tropes, like, you know, to have the boy that has some kind of trauma and then isn't talking, and like the parents are, you know, something happened, they're not necessarily always getting along. Like those types of things, and then, you know, something's talking to the boy, like those are kind of common, but they're not like very cliche in this movie. Like they don't like rub you the wrong way. You don't get sick of them, you're not just like, ugh, I've seen this. So they like walk a fine gray line there, but it worked.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

I am curious, Chris, what you think about this trope of horror movie dads who are like, stuff's going badly in our lives. Let's go out to the middle of nowhere together.

SPEAKER_06 20:36

You obviously know what I think about this mech and the fucking patriarchy, honestly. It's just honestly, every horror movie is some dude ruining some woman's life.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

Hey man, I will take a countryside vacation with my if I'm having a bad time. Okay. Chris does not speak for all of us women.

SPEAKER_02 20:55

Not all women.

SPEAKER_06 20:56

Okay, so you'd like to take a nice countryside vacation to a house where there was a boy living in the walls and also murdered. No one knew that.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

That was not on the Airbnb page.

SPEAKER_06 21:07

That's what I'm saying. Sometimes they lie, sometimes they don't tell you the whole story. I mean, there it wasn't there like a an article that came out recently about all the sketchiness and shadiness of Airbnbs?

SPEAKER_03 21:17

My point exactly. It's very sketchy. You just gotta wing it sometimes.

SPEAKER_06 21:21

Either way, I will say, Ryan, that although I may not speak for all women, and I should not, but the point is, most horror movies are the men in their lives just gaslighting them and telling them nothing's going wrong. There we go, there we go. Chris was right. Um there's a lot to say about this movie, and I'm so excited to get down to the specifics because I think as we look at how this story unfolds, it does some really different things from the 2016 uh installment. But let's start winding things down before we get into the ratings. Alexis, how many people died in this film? One lonely one. Yeah. Now, if only we also had. An object breaking count. That would be something. Yeah, right. Ryan, what is the animal report?

SPEAKER_03 22:07

Dude, I'm sad. Okay. We we had a good streak going. I feel like we've been like two months or something before I had anything to report. So we lost a good boy in this movie. It wasn't great. It was kind of a rough scene. It's not an on-screen situation, but there is some uh graphic imagery. And I'm very sad because he was so cute.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

Ryan, did you say that it was kind of a rough scene?

SPEAKER_03 22:33

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_06 22:36

Let's go ahead and get into the ratings of this film. Brahms, the boy to from 2020, starting starring Katie Holmes. Was it a hack or was it a slash?

SPEAKER_05 22:47

A hack. Um yes. I don't know. I guess because the first one had so much to live up to, and you think with the same people like on this film as well, it just seemed a little bit joint disjointed in the whole story. And I think there's enough paranormal paranormal um puppets and like mannequin and all that sort of stuff, movies that I like the idea that you thought it was one thing in the first one, and I wish they continued that story and try instead of trying to make it like some were like other world thing. Like, so I was kind of over that. And honestly, that was the downfall for me, and I kind of ruined it, just left a sour taste in my mouth the entire time. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:30

So um, for me, I feel like this is really hard because it I I wouldn't say that this is like a terrible movie, and I think you guys would agree. Like, it's it I totally agree that the way they approached the sequel is not something I enjoy. I honestly think that you could watch this movie on its own and not have seen the first one, and it kind of stands alone as its own paranormal horror movie. Um, it gets it gets difficult, right? At the end of this movie, I literally had my hand in the air, like what I was saying, what just happened out loud. And it's it was it's tough ending. It's tough ending to be like, hey, yeah, you should you guys should go see this movie. Um, so I'm gonna go hack. However, it's not terrible, but I just it it just I mean it was like so many good elements at the beginning and during the middle and with the story and with the characters and everything, and then it just kind of went askew and it wasn't uh it just didn't do it for me. Didn't do it for me.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

I don't think this movie was a total joke. I do, however, think it wasted some of my time.

SPEAKER_03 24:38

See?

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Yeah, the first one set really high expectations. I really, I really think it was good. The the first movie, the boy. And going into this movie, I had my expectations set for that level of awesomeness. That being said, like you know, cinematography-wise, it was really cool. Um, acting-wise, I did a great job, the whole dynamic with like the the son and the parents, although the dad was a dummy for inviting this wrath upon all of them. I don't know. I think I think the child actor did a great job. I think, you know, I think I don't know. I I've really enjoyed everything up until the ending, is is kind of how I feel about it, which is tough for me to rate this. I'm like literally struggling as I speak right now. But I don't think it was a total waste of time. So I'm gonna give it a little soft slash. Soft slash.

SPEAKER_03 25:26

That's a pity slash.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

It's a pity, it's let's call it what it is. It's a it's a it's a drunken pity slash. I'm not even drunk, but it's a drunken pity slash.

SPEAKER_05 25:35

Sounds like you're saying something else. Yeah, that's the joke.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

Welcome to the party, Alexis. But no, I I enjoyed everything all up until the ending. The ending, hard hack, super bad hack for me. But I I think the rest of it, you know, I was I was cool with. So I'll I'll give it a pity slash.

SPEAKER_06 25:54

So, Mag, I I do feel similarly to you. And while the ending in this movie certainly did not leave a good taste in my mouth, I think I have rated far worse movies better. And the reality is, stripping away the bad ending, this is a solid movie with great atmosphere, beautiful cinematography, and excellent continuity in its story. And while it maybe didn't do the things that I was really hoping for from the original, it did leave me with a similar feeling of wow, okay, this is a sequel that went a different direction, but didn't go so far off the rails that I was left confused by everything. And ultimately, the performances by uh young Jude and Katie Holmes were far too strong for me to give this anything but a slash.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

I'm with you. I'm with you. The ingredients were there. You know, they chaved up they changed up some of the garnish this time, but the ingredients were still there and it was a it was still a decent dish to eat.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

I think they changed the protein and like it's a it's the same same recipe, different protein users.

SPEAKER_06 27:12

Here's the thing you know what, you know what? Like I lived a long time in my adult life uh only eating chicken tacos.

SPEAKER_04 27:19

Noted.

SPEAKER_06 27:20

Right? Like that's just that just was my thing. I didn't really like red meat, wasn't into it. But recently I started like you know, cooking up some uh some beef with moho marinade, and changing up the one thing in my tacos has still been good. It's different, but it's still good.

SPEAKER_03 27:40

I think this movie is kind of like going from like a delicious taco in in Miami with like like some variation of some pork or some beef with just like some onions and cilantro and everything, to like a tofu taco. Like it's still good, but it's definitely not the same. Taco Bell, still great.

SPEAKER_05 27:59

Just wouldn't you rather like the better one?

SPEAKER_06 28:03

I don't know. Chicken chaloup is from Taco Bell are banging. But I think we have one left, one score left.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Okay, so this is my first hack or slash.

SPEAKER_06 28:13

And you're the tiebreaker, so no pressure.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

It's a tie- Oh, it is a tie. Oh god, okay. So when I've been listening to this podcast, I've always kind of wondered like what is my standard for what a hack or a slash is. And I think I've decided that a slash would be a movie that I insist other people see. Um there's very few movies for me that are like that, but when I find them, I'm like, this is an incredible movie, you have to see it if you want to be friends with me. Go watch it right now and tell me what you think. So The Boy is absolutely a slash. That movie set a certain expectation. It was like, hey, this is gonna be a really bad creepy doll movie, and then surprised me right off the jump. It was like it's actually much more than that. We've managed to take a tired genre and breathe new life into it, so to speak. Um and The Boy 2 had a lot of really good things going for it. I was scared uh quite a few times, even though I had already known a lot more information than I did in the first one. So props for that. Most movies don't get that kind of scare out of me, but it really felt like with this one that they did such a good job in the original and were maybe afraid of playing into that and saying, like, hey, yeah, it's the guy in the wall again. Um, but as a result, in avoiding what made the movie so good originally, they fell into all of the cliche pitfalls that the genre has, like, kid with a doll, he's traumatized, he's gonna keep it with him. The parents are creeped out by it, they talk to the therapist, we're gonna kill the dog. Like, it seems like it hit every check mark that the last movie tried to avoid. And even though I was scared, I have to give this one a hack.

SPEAKER_05 29:57

Sorry. No, I'm kidding. Thank you. No, I agree with you. That's my decision on how I rate things is would I watch it again? And I don't need to watch this again, but let me tell you the boy I've watched a few times, and including last night.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

Um, can I just tell you, Paris? Uh, I'm glad that you have a concept of like what your hacker slash would be, but it's totally gonna change and you're gonna contradict yourself, okay? Whenever you hear or hear, you're gonna be one day you're gonna be like, man, this doesn't work with everything else I've ever said, but I just have to do it.

SPEAKER_01 30:27

Okay, I'm ready. Sometimes you're gonna hack something, and Chris is gonna be like, but you just gave all the reasons to slash it. Why did you hack it? And you're like, because my name is Mac.

SPEAKER_06 30:38

Yep. My name is Mac and I'm here to hack.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

That should be probably my new Twitter bio, just saying. Go ahead. Okay, but you slash a lot of movies, so hey, don't, you know, don't come for me, all right?

SPEAKER_05 30:54

Do you have a standard?

SPEAKER_06 30:56

No, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_05 30:57

No, I'm messy.

SPEAKER_06 30:59

I didn't mean it like that. Mac's really good at getting in my head and seeing where I'm coming from, and then veering left at the lesson. That's usually how that goes. But there you have it, folks. This week it's it's your boy, Brahms, and he hasn't fared too well. We have two slashes. One of them sounds like a pity slash, one of them's pretty confident, and we have three pretty intense hacks, one of which comes from the newcomer Paris.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

Oops.

SPEAKER_06 31:27

Hey man, you're showing up on your first day. Congratulations. Uh, but check this movie out and decide for yourself. Now, uh, while while we are clearly giving our recommendations, uh, it's still worth it to hear some of the stuff that we have for you coming up in the next half of the episode. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

And our all-new 2020 line of Brahms pajamas, 100% cotton, so your porcelain skin can remain cool and comfortable all night long. Now available at Baby Gap, Jim Bree, and Jack and Jill.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

Brahms Pajamas! Hey!

SPEAKER_06 32:26

Alright, welcome back. Brom's Colin the Boy 2 from 2020 has earned two slashes, well, really one and a half slash, and three pretty strong hacks. Now, before we get into why we rated the movie this way, Alexis, the gore score?

SPEAKER_05 32:43

Um, or lack thereof. I mean, there wasn't really too much gore. I do have to say though, two things. The kid getting stabbed, that's who I thought was like the second death, but he didn't die, so he's fine. But like, I didn't really I thought that that that had a potential to be a little bit bloody. It just went in, and no kidding, that went through his heart. It was on his right side, it was on the right side side.

SPEAKER_06 33:09

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_04 33:09

The heart's on your left side. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 33:11

No, no, no, guys. No, kind of like how dirt drivers in the UK drive on the other side of the car, their hearts are on the other side of their bodies. Yeah, they're in the litigated to the other side.

SPEAKER_05 33:20

Makes sense in the other side. Um, kindagory was the asshole face of the butt mouth. He literally had I who the hell designed that shit? Also, I gave it a hack.

SPEAKER_03 33:36

Um, I spent a lot of time thinking about that because I there are people that make these things in movies, like these monsters and whatever, and they put so much effort into it, and it's such an art form. And then when that popped out, I was like, who? I could have done better.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

These were choices that were made.

SPEAKER_06 33:52

And to be clear, these were choices that were made, and we're talking about the burn doll.

SPEAKER_02 33:57

Yes, yeah, the reveal face.

SPEAKER_05 33:59

Yeah, am I I'm confused. Like, it's the doll was like a body inside, or like like Chucky, like Chucky. But who, when, where, why, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

So many questions. Did they did they you think they were looking at it and they're like more pucker? Yeah, a little bit more pucker.

SPEAKER_05 34:15

Well, all I know is okay, so I've seen these commercials, and I'm pretty sure I was scrolling on Facebook and so it's where you can make an asshole um like cast shave of in chocolate of an asshole. Oh, good lord. I don't know where I saw this actually. I doubt it was on Facebook. Why are you like this?

SPEAKER_06 34:33

I'm severely concerned by Alexis' browsing history, and I feel like this is not the first time this has come up.

SPEAKER_03 34:40

Chris, I'm concerned that you didn't recognize this as a butthole mouth immediately. We brought it up and she was like, What?

SPEAKER_06 34:46

What it was was I was so caught up thinking about Chucky when Chucky got charred in child's play. But then also looking at the weird foggy eye, I wasn't even looking at the mouth.

SPEAKER_05 34:55

Yeah, I like the maggots, the maggots in it.

SPEAKER_02 34:58

Yeah, the maggot eyes were creepy for sure. But the butthole mouth distracted from all of it.

SPEAKER_03 35:03

Let's not let's not like minimize this. It didn't make any sense, right? Like uh just so we're clear. There were parts that were cool, there were parts that sucked, but overall it made zero sense for there to be a body or whatever inside of this thing.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

Yeah, because we linked it to the last movie in which we see it completely smashed and nothing inside. Yeah, dusty and then put back together.

SPEAKER_06 35:23

Well, this one's now that it did the same thing, it completely shattered.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

That's true. Gosh, yeah, that made no sense.

SPEAKER_06 35:30

Exactly. Just every element of it. Or being, you know, you know what this is? Suspension of disbelief. This is the power of imagination.

SPEAKER_05 35:38

No, imagination lands. We've got enough puppets that imagine you're that's true.

SPEAKER_01 35:45

That was actually probably the goriest part of the movie was looking at that butthole face. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 35:50

I was like, that looks like a straight asshole.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

It was definitely unsettling.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

I didn't want to look at it, but I couldn't stop. It's true.

SPEAKER_05 35:57

I couldn't stop because I was like, is he gonna try opening that or and start talking?

SPEAKER_03 36:01

Yeah, probably just gonna start talking.

SPEAKER_06 36:03

Hi, Mammy. Oh my god, it's like a char tickle mielmo.

SPEAKER_05 36:09

No, does anyone okay, anyone remember the I was waiting for the last rule to come up? Kiss me goodnight.

SPEAKER_03 36:15

Oh, but which that rule got really weird when it was a little boy instead of a woman taking care of him. I was like, we're getting strange here, but let's not address it. Let's just let it go. That's where I suspended my disbelief. Right, right. But yeah, lock clear of, of gore. But also, side note if anybody is interested, if you do look at the muscles, like legit muscles that are under your face, they are kind of disgusting, and you do kind of have a butthole mouth, but it doesn't look like the one in this movie. Speak for yourself. Um, just trust me, okay? We can Google it later. There's muscles that go around your mouth that are kind of weird, but this movie did not, wasn't trying to do it realistically.

SPEAKER_06 36:59

Ryan may be our resident graphic designer, but before that she was also our resident uh medical consultant.

SPEAKER_03 37:06

Doing my best over here. Google Google a skinless face. He'll have more gore than that. Nope, don't do that. Don't do that, you do. A drawing like a like a diagram, you know? Come on. Well then why doesn't Freddie Krueger have a butthole mouth?

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Maybe he should.

SPEAKER_03 37:23

Because it doesn't look good. That's why they shouldn't have done it in this movie.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

It doesn't market well.

SPEAKER_06 37:29

The 2010 at Marionell Street, he kind of has a butthole mouth. Yeah, that's true. Because it's kind of real.

unknown 37:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:37

Now so the movie is not gory. I will say that I my favorite moment uh in terms of like just violence in this movie was the kid getting impaled. Which I don't I don't feel proud saying out loud now that I think about it. But that was probably one of the best moments of this whole movie for you.

SPEAKER_03 37:56

Dude, he does he deserved it. He was the little butt. I won't like him. That's on the mind.

SPEAKER_02 38:07

They set that one up so far in advance that it wasn't even fulfilling when it happened. They were like, oh, here's a metal or a wooden spike sticking out of the ground, and this kid's being an asshole. I wonder what's gonna happen. Let's cut back to Katie Holmes drinking wine with her friend.

SPEAKER_06 38:20

I don't know. I just like it's not even about having to be surprised. It was more like your upper will come, and boy, did it come.

SPEAKER_03 38:28

I also liked when the doll turned, like you know, like he engaged in that moment. It wasn't just like some random thing that happened again. She never did in the original. Yeah, that's true. Because it was literally a person. Yeah, we the thing is like in this movie, so like in the first one, uh, you can kind of wrap your head around the concept of like a man coming out of the walls. There's all these hidden crawl spaces and everything, comes out, moves the doll, you know, when the doll does weird things, he's there doing it, right? But then in this one, they're like, wait, he didn't like there's nobody jumping out to like turn the head or anything.

SPEAKER_05 38:58

I really thought it was gonna be a guy because when the table flipped, I was like, yep, it's someone. Same when they were, I don't know, it was before or after, but the scene where the kid gets impaled. I really thought the the the Brahms is sitting there, but I'm like, the real one's about to come out right now. I was just wait every scene I was waiting for a guy to actually come out and this not be some supernatural thing.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

But so earlier I mentioned that I had a theory about what was gonna happen in this movie and the twists, and I let Chris know early on because I wanted to be right and I wanted her to know how early I called it.

SPEAKER_06 39:33

Um I wanted him to be right because this would have made a better movie.

SPEAKER_02 39:36

So hear me out. Brahms in the last movie, we don't know what happens to him. He uh ventures out into the world, gets some surgery to fix his burns, marries Katie Holmes, and is the dad in this movie.

unknown 39:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

Because if you look at it, the dad is the reason they went back to that house. He's missing from almost every scene where Brahms is doing stuff, and I could easily see him like luring his family back there so he could like get his kid to like play the games that he played as a child. Um, and then I was even trying to like justify it in that I was like, oh well, when he rebuilt Brahms, he put in like some animatronics so he can like move the eyes and move the head and shit. But I was really reaching there.

SPEAKER_05 40:12

No, I really thought there was some animatronics in there. I was like, this is a Chucky.

SPEAKER_01 40:17

Yep. Well, when they when it was when you get the scene of him being rebuilt in the in the in the first one, and then of course we revisit it later in this one, but when you get him scene rebuilt and you see him physically like moving the eyes in his head, and this one I was like, Oh, like totally put cameras and stuff inside it. That's why it's moving this time. I was like, I get it. He's getting a bit more high-tech. I like it.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

Meanwhile, nope, just just some just some baloney.

SPEAKER_02 40:39

Just a couple buttholes here and there. Just make it move.

SPEAKER_05 40:42

Just some old myth that goes back. I mean, there's not even a like reason.

SPEAKER_03 40:47

There's no like created this, dude. They ran through the history so fast, right? There just makes sense. They just run into a guy in the hospital and he's like, Oh, yeah, you don't know um every historical thing about this estate out in the countryside. Hold on, I'll tell you. Here you go. Here's uh the the the 1900s, the 50s, the 60s, here's what happened then, and it's just like, oh, okay, thanks. Thanks for wrapping all that up for us real quick. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_06 41:11

So here's the thing here's a couple of moments where I was happy in this movie. A, when Katie Holmes started to Google, because I was like, there's no fucking way this chick made it out in the first movie, and nobody knows about a fucking 30-year-old man living in the walls. I was disappointed that she stopped Googling, but I was happy to see that she finished.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Yes, yes, yes. Because she started and looked at it and then saw the weird stuff and then didn't do anything.

SPEAKER_06 41:34

Exactly. Now the history did get run through very quickly by this random guy, but I also appreciated that everybody around there knows the deal with this uh with this house. Now, here's my stance on on Brahms the boy. The data's missing from so many scenes that I think everything that we see with Brahms moving doesn't actually happen. It's all projection and a manifestation of the psychosis of Jude or the trauma of his mother. I think that's what it is.

SPEAKER_03 42:08

Jude or a Baba Duck on Deep. I don't know. I don't know, Chris. There's n I don't feel like there's unless you have some specifics. I don't in in the Baba Duck when you brought that up, I was like, oh wow, that's incredible. That makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_06 42:22

But here's the thing like the dad is not around. So every time we see Brahms do something, it is because Jude is looking at him or the mother is looking at him, and that's it.

SPEAKER_02 42:33

And then the dad comes in from the other room and he's like, Oh, you're probably just imagining things.

SPEAKER_03 42:38

Exactly, because I'm a typical horror movie dad. But in the first one, the dad seemed to have less of the of the relationship with him as well. So it it always kind of seems to be woman, motherly, like have a maternal focus. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_06 42:54

For sure. But either way, this m in this movie, uh Katie Holmes and Jude, they both experience something so horrific in the absence of the husband, dad, whatever. They experience that trauma, they're clearly not processing and dealing with it well. And this movie is just a reflection in the storytelling of how they work through that. And spoiler alert, they're not working through it pretty well at all. They kind of suck at it, really. But every time we see Brahms doing something, it's really just because uh he's interacting with them. It's not like he's just running around amok without being in the peripheral view of any of the characters. Even when we see him go into the room, Katie Holmes is like kind of following along behind him.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

I mean, I get what you're saying, Chris. They kind of did the same thing in the first movie where the only time that Brahms actually was shown moving or doing something spooky was when Greta was dreaming. So it kind of allowed them to play with what he can and can't do without actually changing the rules of this that's actually just a dude in the walls. But this time around it. It didn't seem like the ending didn't justify that being how it happened. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_06 44:06

And I and I don't disagree with that, except for with the exception of the father being there. And again, I have problems with the ending. So the ending screws it all up. But even when you look at that, you see you see Katie Holmes, you see crazy Joe, and you see Jude. Alright? All three of them affected and afflicted by Brahms in one way or another. The dad being there fucks it all up. Poor, poor choice for filmmaking, in my opinion. The ending, like levitating Joe is just like a trashy mode. I was like, what is happening right now?

SPEAKER_03 44:42

I thought it was gonna go all like uh religious spiritual me too. Supernatural at that point, and I was I was literally gonna be pissed. I was gonna come up here and bash the crap out of this movie because I hate, I hate that it's like a quick out for movies to just go this like weird spiritual thing, like for horror movies, and I hate it. But Satan. Yeah, yeah. Oh, it was Satan the whole time. Like, what? It doesn't even make sense, but anyway. I do also think that like there was a lot of opportunity. Like Paris was talking about his theory. There's a lot of opportunity for like random theories, especially if you're people like evidently us and probably Mackenzie, where like you're kind of trying to figure it out the whole time or like kind of predict it. So it was like Joe could be grown-up uh Brahms, the husband could have been grown-up Brahms, just all these different things. Um, and I just wished they had gone one of those ways.

SPEAKER_02 45:33

Ryan, I was literally looking for anybody with a beard to be grown-up Brahms. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:39

In the hospital, someone had a beard, and I was like, Is that him?

SPEAKER_02 45:42

That must be him. I did the same thing. I was like, that's gotta be Brahms.

SPEAKER_03 45:45

Literally not Brahms.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

I did think that I did think the dad could be because Brahms is is in 2020 in his late 30s, and I was like, oh, he could totally pull that off. But unfortunately, we were wrong.

SPEAKER_06 45:57

I mean, like looking at the math of that though, like in 2016 when that movie came out, like the whole idea is that Brahms had been living in the walls for 30 years, that puts him at at least a minimum of like 38 years old. Then he would have had to escape and get whatever done to his body, then meet Katie Holmes, then marry Katie Holmes, and then have a kid with Katie Holmes, then raise the kid with Katie Holmes.

SPEAKER_03 46:21

I thought he was in the walls for 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 46:23

He was born in 1983 and and supposedly died in 1991.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

I thought they were like, oh, it's been 20, oh, it's been 20 years since his death.

SPEAKER_01 46:31

They show his they show his tombstone eighty-three to ninety-one. Before he faked his death, obviously. Or grave marker, not tombstone, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_05 46:39

Well, he did die, I guess. Yeah, I guess he's no Brahms.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

He did the later man.

SPEAKER_06 46:44

I mean, did he really though? Like Crazy Joe says he's dead.

SPEAKER_02 46:47

Also, who is Crazy Joe even? He wasn't even in the first one.

SPEAKER_03 46:50

Who is anyone?

SPEAKER_02 46:52

Who is anyone in this? None of them are Brahms.

SPEAKER_03 46:54

So the question is did the guy that was acting as Brahms in the first one, does he live? Is he dead? Is he gone? He has nothing to do with it. It's all just been a spirit the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

Right. Did they name him Brahms because they were affected by Brahms? Yeah, who came first? The name of the child Brahms or the name of the doll Brahms?

SPEAKER_03 47:11

This is more point.

SPEAKER_01 47:13

You know what I'm hoping for? I'm hoping for a number three. No.

SPEAKER_05 47:16

The kid becomes Brahms. But no, but wait. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 47:18

I want a number three where they have retcon number two, but not completely. They just kind of show the crazy parts were actually crazy parts.

SPEAKER_03 47:24

Okay, so here it is.

SPEAKER_01 47:25

Here's number three gets back to like normal.

SPEAKER_03 47:27

So here's number three. The kid becomes Brahms, meets the Brahms from the first movie that was living in the walls as an old man, learns from him, right? Learns that it's not a spirit, it's just him, and then goes on. That's what it is. Gets rid of the spirits.

SPEAKER_06 47:41

Basically, Brahms becomes Obi-Wan, Jude becomes Anakin. Yeah. And then it's just like they gotta fight the dark. A Jedi Council of Brahms.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Hey, what's up, Brahms? And Brahms. Nice to meet you. That's a good Brahms master.

SPEAKER_06 47:54

And the Brahms be with you, and also with you, huh? We are the worst people. We lift up our porcelain. Lift it up to the Brahms.

SPEAKER_01 48:04

The Brahms has ended. Go now in peace.

SPEAKER_05 48:06

It was super funny to see one of the parts where uh Katie Holmes is looking up the like bot, like the um the code from the bottom. And Mack is like, turn it over, turn it over.

SPEAKER_03 48:21

It took her 30 minutes. Yeah, it was obviously an upside down logo. And then she just read the words standard. I was like, clearly it's all upside down, but okay. And what does it matter if you find out what kind of doll he is? And also, why wouldn't he try both? You know? Right.

SPEAKER_02 48:33

And why would you write it so large on a torn sheet of paper?

SPEAKER_03 48:38

Also, another thing that didn't make sense, it was like all this relation to the previous family, but then like the doll doesn't matter because it's just a doll with like a body in it or something.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

The doll predates everything somehow.

SPEAKER_03 48:49

I'm poking holes out here in this story, y'all. Okay. I'm defending my hack.

SPEAKER_02 48:54

You're poking buttholes in this story.

SPEAKER_03 48:56

Oh Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 49:00

So clearly there are faults with this movie, but we can all agree that there are some fun parts with scattered within it. Now, when you think visually, I know your mind is drawn to the inevitable buttholes, but what was your favorite visual element?

SPEAKER_02 49:15

I really liked one thing that they brought back from the original was their use of transitions, like crossfades between certain scenes. Um in this one there was a scene where it showed Brahms and then it faded into a scene where his eye became the sun. And then later on there was a scene where like it was I think it was like a silhouette in a hallway or something ominous, and then it transitioned, it like crossfaded into Katie Holmes walking down a hallway. And I thought that they did that really well. Um it didn't save the movie by any means, but it was a really nice touch. It was an artistic choice that played off really well with the movie and the vibe.

SPEAKER_05 49:47

Yeah, I de I l I like those scenes. My least favorite though is probably when it transitioned, like when she saw Brahms and the camera was like shaking for some reason. I was like, what is going on here? And he went into the room and like locked the door. Psychosis. Oh, okay. It's her trauma. There he goes. Oh, I'm going into my other personality.

SPEAKER_06 50:08

Um it's kind of like in Jaws when the whole fucking shark thing is happening at the beach and they do that um zoom and push at the same time. Like they do the push-in and they zoom out. Then it's like, whoa! That's this, except with like a wavy effect.

SPEAKER_01 50:25

I I love the whole like push-in-zoom out effect though. Because it it's it's kind of like this where like you feel that stress.

SPEAKER_05 50:31

Yeah, I loved it. I appreciated when they went back into the house and she was trying to find Jude, and she was going um through the like mazes in the back, which I thought were pretty neat.

SPEAKER_04 50:43

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05 50:44

Yeah, that was my favorite. I liked seeing all that. I was wondering, I was waiting for the body of Brahms to show up there.

SPEAKER_02 50:50

I was waiting for her to accidentally shoot her son in the face with a shotgun. That's really what I thought they were building up to there, because they look alike. She would see him like down this like spooky hallway, like not really have a clear picture, and then just like shoot at it to destroy it, and actually realize she killed her son.

SPEAKER_06 51:03

Also, can I say I'm disappointed that nobody in this movie took the moment to say, Hey, Jude.

SPEAKER_01 51:11

When she was running through though, though, those like spider webs or cobwebs or whatever they were in there. Stress. I was like, She's gonna get a faceful. It's gotta happen. Look at them. They're like like four inches thick.

SPEAKER_05 51:21

I would not be crowing in there even though my kid was in there. Nah, right in.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

She had no hesitation. No, thank you. I actually visually I love the sequence of the robbery. I I love when like she walks on the stairs and you can see the robber in the background just kind of appear behind the stairs. It was really good. That was a good shot. And then when she when they turn to face uh little Jude, and he's like, Mom, what are you doing? Like, no, don't know. And then you like the lights come on and you like you see them, just great sequence of events.

SPEAKER_03 51:51

And Jude runs for the alarm like a good boy.

SPEAKER_06 51:53

Yeah, that was a terrifying moment. Yes, see her fighting back like that, like she was going at it.

SPEAKER_01 52:01

It was well done right there. Like she was like going at their faces, which is apparently where you're supposed to do.

SPEAKER_05 52:06

But she's badass in this.

SPEAKER_01 52:08

Yeah, that that that first scene that like I think set the stage for like what we might see in this movie, uh, you know, because it was they played did darkness really well, I think, in both of these movies. Especially in the crawl spaces, there were some really crazy dark scenes um that I think played really well, but that just like first scene just showed like we're we're gonna be able to handle darkness really well.

SPEAKER_03 52:30

Yeah, it was so good, and then it also built this character that's like really strong, even though something's happened, which is like you know, I I think a lot of people think they're gonna behave a certain way in in those uh situations, but like the strength that like makes you fight back in that is also what makes it like hard for you to like accept it and heal from it and stuff like that. So it really helped for the character development.

SPEAKER_02 52:55

I think you guys are right. That first scene really set the tone for this movie. Unfortunately, it felt like almost a bait and switch in that you see that strong, like tall silhouette in the background in the shadows, and you're like, Oh, it's Brahms, it's the guy. This is how it's all gonna go down, because you're already thinking about that from the last movie. And then they're like, actually, it's not. We're gonna change everything we said about the last movie and hit you with this instead.

SPEAKER_03 53:17

It's not your boy. They also started first with the silhouette of the boy at the very beginning, like one of those very first scenes, which was so good, and we were all just like, like the whole theater, all six of us. We're like, and then you know, a few minutes later. Yeah. A few minutes later, we get the same silhouette, but you know, an actual danger instead of just her son playing games.

SPEAKER_02 53:41

So he's all grown up.

SPEAKER_03 53:43

That happened fast.

SPEAKER_06 53:45

While there were a lot of beautiful moments in this movie, and impaling is aside and and creepy Brahms mask aside, I was disappointed that original Brahms never came to light. And it just reminds me of this point, and and I'm curious to get your thoughts. Paris has a certain affinity for OG Brahms.

SPEAKER_02 54:06

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. Like I said before, when it was the creepy doll before we found out it was a dude in the wall, I was very scared. And then he comes out of the wall and I was like, Well, he's kind of cute. What's so scary about that?

SPEAKER_03 54:18

But he puts his hands on the side of the mirror. Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. He was very hairy, okay? Front and back, a whole bunch of hair. Good.

SPEAKER_02 54:28

He had a solid beard game, he was visibly tall. I was like, you know, this is a lot less dark.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

He had his clothes were spoiled. This is who are you?

SPEAKER_02 54:43

I googled the actor afterwards, and he's not as cute without the mask on. I'll say that.

SPEAKER_03 54:48

Was he cute with the mask on?

SPEAKER_02 54:50

The mask left potential, you know. He could have had a really good thing.

SPEAKER_05 54:53

We need to have a conversation about your preferences. Don't you hate when that happens though? And you think someone's cute and then they take their mask off? No, their mask, or they smile and you see their teeth, and they're ja-I mean, I can deal with not perfect teeth, but jack the fuck up. I was like, damn.

SPEAKER_01 55:08

I think all he's saying is that we can take him from crawlspace bear to, you know, maybe guest house otter. I'm gonna say that's exactly he would have been a great candidate for a makeover.

SPEAKER_06 55:17

Ryan, Ryan, I think you have no leg to stand on since you loved Freddie Krueger.

SPEAKER_03 55:22

I know, but the chest hair that peaks out the shirt, man. That's some that's I agree with you.

SPEAKER_05 55:28

I hate body battle? Oh, I love hair.

SPEAKER_02 55:31

Alexis was Brahms Hot.

SPEAKER_05 55:33

Yes, he was. I would agree when you said that. I looked and then he had this like nice like beard. He was partially hunchback. He lived in a crawl state. He was also wearing a cardigan, wasn't he? Yes.

SPEAKER_04 55:44

Yes, and it was like he was addressed.

SPEAKER_03 55:46

Doo-doo spread all over the back of it. It was bronze.

unknown 55:49

Stop.

SPEAKER_02 55:50

I'm saying makeover. Let's give him a makeover. He's gonna be a 10. Maybe a nine.

SPEAKER_05 55:55

Oh my god, you people are crazy. We like mysterious men. Here's the thing, Ryan.

SPEAKER_06 56:00

I thought this was crazy as well when he first texted me. Um, and and when you look back at it, I think you called him like you called him a daddy, didn't you?

SPEAKER_02 56:08

Brahms is a daddy. Yeah, no. I stand by that.

SPEAKER_06 56:10

Brahms, when you look back on the rules, it kind of changes the whole context of the first movie because Brahms is a Dom who just wants to be a sub.

SPEAKER_04 56:18

Ooh.

SPEAKER_06 56:19

That's all it was. But anyway, so Ryan, no, I agree with you. I like it, I think he was disgusting. Like body hair out. But he's literally I was I was watching today a supercut on YouTube of all the times that Brahms the doll showed up. And the first comment was dot dot dot. But did anyone else think that Brahms was low-key hot when he was revealed? Bro, this is the first reply to that comment?

SPEAKER_03 56:48

You mean high key hot?

SPEAKER_02 56:50

Vindication.

SPEAKER_03 56:50

I don't understand. There was there's no okay. First off, he lives in the walls, right? So there's no uh there's no muscle composition on his body.

SPEAKER_05 56:58

What do you mean he had to go up and down the steps through little things?

SPEAKER_03 57:02

So hard. So hard. Okay. I just can't. I can't. I don't understand anybody.

SPEAKER_02 57:12

Being tall and having a beard gets you very far.

SPEAKER_05 57:15

That is very true. You can be ugly and grow a beard and be ten times older.

SPEAKER_03 57:19

Do you know how much stuff is probably in that nasty beard? Ugh. That beard that almost connected to his chest hair. Max over here sitting here with a beard right now. Oh, it's the curly hair. He just pulled up a picture. It's the curly hair that got you guys. That's what it is. It was it was cute. Oh, it's the curls.

SPEAKER_02 57:37

Brahms had good hair.

SPEAKER_06 57:38

I would be curious to know if any of our listeners agree with these two knuckleheads who uh think Brahms is a hottie. Ugh, please don't.

SPEAKER_02 57:44

That should be the new listener question. Was Brahms hot?

SPEAKER_06 57:48

Please don't be too. But was Brahms?

SPEAKER_05 57:50

No, I'm looking at a photo right now. It's the emo hair, the emo curly hair over the anything emo is hot to Alexis.

SPEAKER_03 57:57

Yes. Um, listeners, please don't be like when I we asked for your opinions on creep and everyone disagreed with me. Okay. Please be on my side here. I deserve this. I put in a lot of hard work here. I've been making a good argument. He's not a daddy. It's gross.

SPEAKER_01 58:12

I'm I feel like this whole conversation is just a plus one for me having dark curly hair.

SPEAKER_03 58:16

So let's put the mask on you.

SPEAKER_06 58:18

Yeah, don't do the mask though.

SPEAKER_02 58:20

That would be a great Halloween costume.

SPEAKER_06 58:22

He says, twirling his uh finger, his hair around his fingers. The mask does remind me of the mask from Hush, and I do enjoy that. Yes, it really does. Yep. All right, folks. So the team is split not only on this movie, but also the sex appeal of Brahms, which is not a place I thought we would get to, but we have to know your thoughts on both of those subjects. 1.5 of us gave us a slash. Uh, one of those slashes came out of pity, so we're knocking it down a peg. But three of us gave it a hack. But really, what this comes down to is your perspective and what you thought of this movie. So keep in mind that we want to hear your thoughts, and there are a number of ways you can reach out to us. First and foremost at our website, www.hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_05 59:07

And on our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 59:11

And you can also hit us up at the Hackerslash Hotline. You can text us, call us, leave us a voicemail, or an audio message. The number is 757-606-0128.

SPEAKER_01 59:21

And if you've been living in the walls of your house for the last twenty to thirty years, but somehow still have access to email, you can send us an email to feedback at hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_06 59:30

We'll see you next time. Bye.