SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is fake two, it's an eyeball.

SPEAKER_06 0:06

That was real.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to the spooky season with Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. Well, you certainly move fast. 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. A total joke, a waste of time, or a slash.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Totally killer. Pun intended.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with the perspective we've all gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac. Hola Muchachos. Agore lover Alexis. Hey everyone. The cowardly creeper Ryan. Hiya. And the Scream Queen Paris.

SPEAKER_07 0:53

God, I love this color on me.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

This week we're covering the first film to ever win around of the co-host Clash. Before we get down to business, though, we have some follow-up.

SPEAKER_07 1:02

We recently reviewed The Conjuring, a film that is nothing if not notable. Now, to be quite frank, you can listen back to our episode, but it did pretty well amongst our team. But we wanted to hear from our listeners as we always do. The poll results? I think they tell all. 11% of our voters hacked The Conjuring, and the other 89% slashed it.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

That tracks.

SPEAKER_07 1:24

I think so. I think the movie was initially well received. We have a comment from Joe on Instagram who said, I truly love this movie and this franchise, but some of the later iterations seem to be more fast food style instead of a well thought-out prepared meal.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Ooh, you know what? That is such an excellent way to describe that, Joe. I can really get I can really get behind that sentiment.

SPEAKER_04 1:44

Yes, because when you get a burger from McDonald's, it is a burger, but it's just not that good.

SPEAKER_07 1:49

You were fed, but was it nutritious?

SPEAKER_04 1:52

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_07 1:53

We have some comments from some of the haters on our Instagram. One of them said boring. Another said incredibly overhyped and overrated. And a third said nothing original and just unlikable characters. So this movie is not without its haters.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

It's so interesting because every time I feel like I hear about this movie, everyone just enjoys it. And don't really hear much negativity until now.

SPEAKER_07 2:14

I feel like the sequels have tainted it for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

That's true. Yeah, but I also think what's important is that we're widening our circles and horizons. I think that's what's been really cool as we continue the show year over year and we gain more listeners. We're hearing a lot more perspective and diversity of thought.

SPEAKER_07 2:31

And I love that. Speaking of diversity of thought, we have another comment from one of our newest patrons, MJ. First of all, hey MJ, thank you so much for your support and for joining us during the new blood drive, which is fully in swing. MJ's had this to say. Hey y'all, first time patron, longtime listener. Excited for the multitude of episodes coming this month. Anyway, the conjuring for me is an easy slash. I have a soft spot for possession movies being a Catholic kid growing up, and I think this possession in this movie is really intense and well done. I think y'all are being a little too harsh about the makeup and overall look of Bathsheba. I think it's terrifying. Best moments for me are the hand clap in the basement and the demon pulling the girl's hair in the living room. That was legit scary. I do think the other two movies of this franchise declined in quality, and I acknowledge the problematic nature of the Warrens being portrayed as saviors, but damn it, I see the hype for this. Looking forward to comment more.

SPEAKER_04 3:19

It's very exciting, and I appreciate someone going in depth with us like that, because sometimes we don't all have to agree, you know. We didn't like the makeup. Some people like the makeup. This is a movie that has a lot of opinions around it.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

But most importantly, ghosts aren't real.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

So that's right. Ooh, doesn't matter how it not really are, because one of our listeners also reached out to me to say that it felt like James Wan held her hostage through the entire thing, and it was a traumatic experience for her, which honestly, that's the kind of reaction to a movie that I've I've missed having myself.

SPEAKER_07 3:50

Damn, a hostage situation. Well, somebody that we have that is not a hostage is one of our other newest patrons that we'd like to thank. Belzora Holly. I love that there's the implication that there's a one and a two, Belzora Hollow, and we can't wait to hear more from you in the future. And that's our follow-up.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Well, keeping the party moving this month, each week we're putting the power in our listeners' hands to choose the victor between two movies nominated by Mac, Ryan, and Paris. We're calling this the co-host clash. They did the clash.

SPEAKER_05 4:19

They did the co-host clash.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

The co-host clash.

SPEAKER_05 4:22

It was a podcast smell. They did the clash. And they were talking tribe. The co-host clash. Tonight on Hack or Slash.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Now our first round pitted Mac and Paris head to head with their nominations 28 Days Later from 2002 and the Neon Demon from 2016, respectively. Now we pulled all of you, dear listeners, and forced you to make the hard choices. This is our largest turnout yet, and the winner with 59% of the vote was Paris. This week we're talking about the Neon Demon.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

There's no accounting for taste.

SPEAKER_07 5:00

Damn. Alright, let me just go through a couple of the comments that the voters left. We have a comment from Alexander who said, I hope Paris' pick wins. I'd love to see the Neon Demon explored on this podcast. Alexander, your dream has come true. Brittany Rose said, Gotta go with Team Paris for this one. I still love you, Mac. It's a solid choice, but I've watched it so recently and heard other podcasts cover it. This will be a unique ride and a first watch for me.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

Brittany, it's good to know you'll never stop loving me. I didn't know that you had started, but I appreciate it. She's one of our most loyal patrons, Mac.

SPEAKER_07 5:32

Of course she loves you.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Thank you so much for sharing those comments. Now I know that we are actually in the midst right now of polling for our next round of the co-host clash, and the race is honestly too tight to call at this moment, but Paris for now. Why did you nominate this movie?

SPEAKER_07 5:46

Okay, I'm gonna take you all on a journey. So picture it. 2016. I am but twenty-five years old. I'm at a pretty dark place in my life, and I see a trailer for this movie, and I said, What the fuck is that? Whatever, I'll take myself out on date and I'll go see it. I'm in the theater with one girl. It's just the two of us in the theater. She sat maybe three rows ahead of me and to the left. And I was like, Okay, it's you and me, girl, let's see what we have going on, because it really the trailers were so vague at this time. I'll tell you, she left about forty minutes into this movie. I watched the rest of it alone in that theater, and I was gagged, bitch. I saw this and I was like, damn, I could not have seen that coming. And this movie has sat with me ever since. I don't know if I've talked about it too much on the pod, but I used to work as a model for about seven years. I would travel to Paris and Milan and go all over the world, and it was really cool, but it also sucked a whole lot in a lot of ways that people don't think of and don't recognize. So when people hear this, they're like, oh my god, why did you stop modeling? That sounds so cool. And I'm like, actually, it's a very toxic industry if you think if you really get into it, and nobody wants to hear that side of things. So I really loved that this movie explored that underbelly of an industry that is incredibly harmful and toxic to so many people. And that's why I picked this movie.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Well, let's see if you made a quality pick, Paris, because it's time to review the first winner of the co-host clash. Now, who's seen this one before aside from Paris?

SPEAKER_02 7:11

I actually saw this when it hit Amazon Prime video, and I don't remember why I was so excited for it, if it was because of the director or what. I just remember like knowing that it was out there in theaters and then knowing that one day it would hit Amazon Prime. And so it finally goes up to streaming, and then I cued it up and I watched it. So this is actually my second viewing for the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 7:33

Man, I have this problem where the streaming services put their logo at the beginning of a movie, and so sometimes without realizing, I make the wrong connection, and I thought this was an Amazon Prime original.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

It sure looked like it.

SPEAKER_04 7:49

It they really Amazon Prime really makes it seem like it at the beginning of their movies. They are not Netflix, they want to be Netflix anyway. I hadn't seen this movie, I didn't know this movie existed before we had this cohost clash, thanks to Paris.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

I did know this movie existed. I had obviously never seen it, but it's just weird because it looks so familiar to me when I see the artwork of the cover. Like I know I've seen it, and I maybe have been like, ooh, this is tempting, but I don't think I ever thought it would even be a horror movie, to be honest with you. I thought it was like some psychological thriller, which it essentially is that as well.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

I want to go back to what Ryan said because the whole Amazon Prime original thing. So basically you can buy the like release rights, right? So you can distribute the movie and then it becomes one of your originals. So you didn't have to be there necessarily to like fund it as an idea, but you picked it up, you know, when it's at a festival, and then they handled like release to theaters and release to streaming.

SPEAKER_04 8:46

Yeah, it's just you know, there's a certain implication that comes with like Netflix original, Amazon original. Like I understand that side of it, I don't like that because it it is not the same, you know?

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Well, this movie's been chilling on Amazon Prime Video, and I hadn't seen it, I hadn't heard of it, and I'd only come to know of its existence once Paris submitted not the first, second, or even third version of his picks for the co-host clash, but the fourth version. To be fair, looking at just the title alone, I sensed this is a very Paris movie. This isn't one of those movies where Paris is taking a strategy like Ryan, who's identifying movies that she wants to see but hasn't necessarily seen yet. Maybe something that is hackable territory. This feels already like Paris' brand. And the only thing I did go into it was read what the film was about, and I thought, yeah, this is gonna be one of those things where Paris fucking loves and I absolutely hate, especially since he texts me incessantly to ask me if I watched this movie, and when I told him no, he said, You're gonna have such strong reactions, and I wish I could be there to see them. And that's when I knew this motherfucker set me up.

SPEAKER_04 10:00

You know, Chris, I think you are really on to something here because first and foremost, I didn't put a lot of thought into which movie I voted for, I just knew I didn't want to see 28 Days Later. And unfortunately, we pitted two very different movies against each other. So I was like, Neon Demon. Okay, cool. I wasn't prepared. And now that I've seen it, I think Paris was making a point to get the least horror film that he loved into our podcast. Okay, this is my thought about what he's doing here, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

I just want to throw out there that I did not vote in this round of the co-host clash, unless it's strictly up to the listeners. But I knew that I had already seen 28 Days Later and hated it when I saw it in theaters. It's one that I've been wanting to revisit because I've thought, okay, was I too hard on it when I was a kid? Why did I hate it so much? Is there something there that I could appreciate now as an older person? But I I did not know what I had in store for the neon demon. None of us did.

SPEAKER_04 11:02

That's the thing. Paris knew what he was doing to us.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

I I knew. Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_04 11:07

Mac did know and did not let on anything about it.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

I I gave I gave Chris one trigger warning. I forgot to give Chris a second trigger warning. So that's there's the this whole movie is is pretty triggering, I guess you could say, for many people. But I like I knew what to expect from the director going into the first viewing of it, um, you know, which is like amazing visuals, just absolutely amazing visuals. Like it's like a signature of his. But um, I also knew that I was going to be very grossed out because I have seen this before, and so I kind of like mentally prep prepared myself for that again.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

So interestingly enough, I figured it was Paris' pics. So it would either be some sort of haunted form of a woman's body part or beauty accessory, or maybe it's about models killing each other over whoever gets the spotlight, which I was possibly spot on on any of those.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Okay, well, hold on a second because you know what, we're in a time warp. I'm not sure at which point this free sides topic is gonna come up, but there was a point where we were coming up with these ideas of what would make a slash for each other, and we had to speak on that person's behalf. And I think one of the things I said for Paris was something that seems to set the feminist movement back by 50 years, but somehow he's cool with it, and I think that really speaks to uh what we're getting into here. 100% agree.

SPEAKER_04 12:28

Going into this for me, for some reason, I I think it's mostly from the cover, since I you know me, I would never watch a trailer or anything like that. I actually thought we were going for like some strange ex machina kind of vibes. I think it's because the cover shows an unrealistic person. So I was like neon demon, you know, neon could be robot. I don't know, maybe there was a bit of a stretch there. Uh so that was my initial expectation. And then I read the synopsis and I went, Oh, Paris, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

To be fair, the opening scene in this movie does show someone who looks very much like not a person. So you weren't far off in that in that regard. Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

So, Paris, I am curious because you and I didn't share thoughts while watching this movie, but the other three people here did let me know some of their sentiments. Um, I have some strong feelings about how it how it was to watch it. Obviously, I've mentioned that it it does gross me out a bit, and that's not a feeling I super enjoy, but I did feel that quite often while watching this, whether it was from like a moral perspective or just a physical issue grossing me out. But like you saw this in theater, and then you also got to see it streaming, I assume, on a nice big screen. Like, how on earth was this for you? And was it mostly filled with joy thinking about us watching it?

SPEAKER_07 13:49

Yes, it was mostly filled with joy, Mac. The first time I saw this being in theaters, and for the most part, being alone in that theater felt like a movie had been made for me, and I was like, okay, it was a very surreal experience. This movie is very surreal and almost dreamlike at times. So being alone in an empty theater, which is very rare, was a really interesting experience for me. I mostly felt as if my personal lived experience, it which is so specific, a lot of people don't know this experience, for better or worse. I felt like it was being portrayed in a really artistic way and in a way that was super abstract, and I was like, you know what, there is so much accuracy within this movie that's like subtle and nuanced, and like at the same time dramatized and like heightened. But watching it this time, mostly I was thinking, oh, Chris is gonna hack this. Oh yeah, yeah, Chris is gonna hack this for sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah, this movie is definitely a show don't tell. So I felt like when I was watching this, I was trying to figure out what they were trying to convey, like the storyline. You know what I mean? I like need it slapped in my face. That's why I like flashbacks. I like when they tell it and I like when they tell it again. So this is very interesting for me. I almost felt like aesthetically, this was a great movie. During some scenes, I almost threw up, but it was just this weird vibe where I was very perplexed and I felt as if I was an alien watching something very foreign. That's the best way I could describe it.

SPEAKER_04 15:27

You know, there's something to that, Alexis. You're not crazy. And what you're getting at, like as far as the show don't tell, is really on the nose for this movie. And what we mean by that is like there's at no point any sort of explanation of what's going on, and often no explanation of anything at all, because a lot of it is no words, just people doing things. And it is a very, very different feeling. Like, you will, you know, we sometimes get on here and complain, like, oh, the character walked up to another one and then explained the whole story. And uh this director was definitely like that's the bane of his existence and would refuse to get anywhere near that thought. So it's interesting the way they do that. I think this movie felt like I was watching a music video most of the time without the music necessarily. That was my overall feeling watching this movie, because there are so many other feelings underneath that that we will have to get to.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Okay, so Ryan shared some of her feelings with me earlier. Alexis, I just found out before recording, but Chris definitely shared some feelings with me. So I am so curious how you're going to describe this to everybody, Chris.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Okay, so this movie opens up with a very promising shot of a young woman drenched in some blood from some spots, and it stars Jenna Malone, who I'm a huge fan of, especially from the Hunger Games.

SPEAKER_07 17:00

The gays love Jenna.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Always. This movie I think has a decent intention. There's a level of approach to the story that it wants to tell that I think makes a lot of sense, and I think that it tries to walk a fine line between art and making sense. But then at a certain point, it veers fucking hard into just trying to be art, and it left me completely behind. And here's the thing we've we talk on this show about so many different lived experiences in Paris. I'm glad you draw a personal connection to this. Horror is for everyone, but not all horror is for everyone. And this I think is one of those where I experienced such a wide range of emotions that I found myself struggling to even place the specific points that my emotions were aimed at. Because this movie does things that are in some points brilliant, but at most points fucking terrible. And there's some graphic moments that need not be on film for sure. So I think that was my biggest disappointment because this movie is aesthetically stunning. The performances seem like they're exceptionally high quality. Like Jenna Malone is so fucking committed into this role that she's in, and it's amazing. But it's the overall stepping back and looking at like the way the pieces fit together and the just some of the decisions that are made, and how ultimately some other characters on the periphery are either highlighted or cast into shadow and removed of any accountability or responsibility for any of these things that it drives me fucking insane. And that was like the overall biggest disappointment I had because there there's individual pieces that could have been really good, but assembled together, it felt terrible.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

That's such a strong feeling, and that's like I know the tip of the iceberg of of what you felt during during watching this.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

I'll get more into it as we go, but I usually like if I dislike a movie, right, try to save a lot of it for the scoring section, etc. And I don't want you to think that this movie is without room for compliment, because it absolutely is. There's a reason why this is exactly Paris' kind of movie. But the thing about Paris and I is that we are two sides of the same coin. So that means what is one for one is not one for the other. And there's very little gray area where those two things overlap. This movie is not where it overlaps. Not at all.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

You know, Chris, it it it reminds me of something though. Something something you said. Um, it just the movie is grotesque, I think, is is truly what it is. Like, and if you go back to, you know, I don't know, like historical paintings and stuff of of things that were deliberately grotesque, I think a lot of times you see like reality stretched a little bit, or you go like just off the rails to as far as you can go. Just like take things to an insane level that when you see them, you have this intense emotional reaction immediately. And so I would have a hard time believing it was not deliberate. Like it's I think it's very obviously deliberate. I think the director is very deliberate about the use of film as as art and not just let me just tell a story and get make money off of you. And I I think it's I've I've watched other films by him, and I think it's very on purpose the way I mean everything. Like you talked about some of the visuals. I think it's all very specifically done in certain ways to to elicit certain emotions from people. And sometimes like we don't enjoy the emotions that are being elicited here. And that's that's truly what surprised me when I'm watching this. I know what happens, I've seen it already, and I'm sitting there still feeling shocked by things on a second viewing, which is not, I don't think, super common for me. Not surprised by things, but shocked, like feeling an emotion to something that I've already seen before. And like that, I was not ready for. I just thought I was gonna watch it and be like, yeah, I've seen everything. I just need to, you know, refamiliarize myself. And it was like, no, like I'm sitting here looking at the film, being like, huh, like just punched right in the gut by what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

I'm not sure if punched in the gut is the right feeling for me. I was just so surprised at when I look back, and I know we were talking about this before, Mac, about how gory this movie was, but to me, it surprised me because I wasn't expecting a lot of the more violent themes that are in this movie rather than the gore. So I was just like, oh, I think I saw a lot of gore, but then it it was very confusing because at points it was an aftermath, or it when you think about it as a whole, there wasn't a lot. But I think because you when I think of gore, I think of violence and I think of other things that that this movie is loaded with and in certain particular scenes. But yeah, that's what surprised me is I went back and I thought there was a lot of gore, but when I think about it, there isn't. It's more violent than anything.

SPEAKER_02 21:45

And violent in tone, not even necessarily in action.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Yeah, you're that and that is also correct as well.

SPEAKER_04 21:51

To go back to something that you said, Mac, uh stretch of reality is like the way I think you would describe this movie perfectly. Like it Takes what you know and takes it as far as it could possibly be, but still within reality. So we don't get to the point of this isn't real or like this is some supernatural kind of thing. We don't get all the way there, but it's pushed as far as it could possibly be. I think for me, my biggest disappointment within this movie is how little happens, period, and also for so long at the beginning. There's so much of this movie that is absolutely nothing happening. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. Like shockingly nothing. And then when something does happen, it was infuriating what show what they chose to have happen as the first set of things that happen. And you really can't understand what I'm saying here without watching this movie. So you'll just have to forgive me and maybe watch it. But it's there's just uh nothing and then something, and the something is rough. And then it's rough and rough and rough, and then it keeps going. There's an escalation here, it goes up. This is an exponential growth of things happening, but the beginning is so dead.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

And that's the thing though, it is rough in a lot of places. It's a rough that summons a feeling of exploitation and unnecessary, like, what value did this add to this moment in this story? Because I failed to see a lot of the value in a couple particular scenes that we get, and I think that's what what really stands out to me as taking these things that like women are truly reasonably afraid of, and then putting in this film in a way that seems to just point out the horror of that, but it doesn't do so in a way that feels like it's catering to that experience or being hopeful about that experience. Okay, I've talked about like sexual assault in movies. So many times we discussed this on this podcast, and they often come in movies where it feels like it's just adding it there for shock value. And then there are some movies that take that tone and then take that approach, or there are others that try to do something a little bit different with it to respect that and come out from another from the other side of that. But this doesn't, though. It forces that in your face and then makes you linger in that. And I'm sorry, but I mean, I I don't need my face to linger in trauma without any hope for redemption. You know what I mean? Like that's this movie could have been frightening in some ways, and then it removed all that fear by just numbing you to it.

SPEAKER_04 24:27

I just want to take this moment to note that we still love you. We still love Paris, and that he didn't make this movie, so this isn't has nothing to do with because he picked this, okay?

SPEAKER_02 24:37

So what's interesting, I think, I mean, I I know Paris, you've yet to speak, right? But I think a lot of the stuff we've we've recognized so far that we find so shocking is just the brutality. And I'm curious if the brutality, not necessarily like violence that's displayed on screen, but if the brutality that's like felt constantly is something you would have ever felt in your time as a model.

SPEAKER_07 24:57

I love that question, Mac. The answer is yes, absolutely. There are moments in this movie that surprised me so much when I first saw it because of how accurately they portrayed moments where your consent is sort of not even on the table. It's like implied that you have no autonomy in this kind of job. There's really small moments where consent is completely disregarded. There's a moment where a character is told to take off their shoes, not asked to take off their shoes, but told, and it's very much you will take off your shoes. That's there's no question about it. And there's moments of touching that are non-consensual, but you kind of just go with it, and you say, Okay, yeah, it if it's gonna further my career, if it's gonna make for great art, uh I'll be a team player. I will absolutely forego my bodily autonomy and the rights to say no. And that's one thing in this movie that really surprised me because this director, to my knowledge, has no real fashion industry experience, no modeling experience, but to be able to accurately convey those nuanced moments of almost very like in that industry acceptable predatory behavior felt very poignant to me.

SPEAKER_00 26:09

So here's the thing that, and your ability to grab that from that, is a beautiful thing to reflect on your experience, as harrowing and horrific as it is. Here's where I think I struggle with this, right? Because you're right, this this director doesn't have any fashion experience. But rather, he frames all this through the world of women exclusively. And men are just side effects and not even collateral damage, but just side puppets along for the ride or orchestrating these things. And it's more about a power dynamic. Like if this movie was purely about that experience, Paris, like in just that alone, obviously with with like a strong female presence in that, but if men had a bigger role than just being pawns in this whole fucking thing, just like holding no accountability for that, I think this movie would have been way better. But it takes this moment and represents something that you felt, but then takes it a step further by putting this bl weird blanket over it that didn't need to be there.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

I I think that blanket is what takes it out of the scary zone for me, right? It's for me, it's not really something I would fear. I mean, I've never lived that kind of life. I have friends who have, um, and like some of them would look back at those times and be like, never again. And others had a really great experience modeling and would go back to it if they could. But for me, I just like I don't connect with any of that, so I don't really fear anything that's going on. It's very surreal, it's very out of this world. And for a lot of that, I think we're I just I just like rightfully felt disgust. I think disgust is actually something that I was supposed to feel while watching this movie. I think there's certain scenes like showing things that are happening and and attitudes that people have, and like you should hate it. You should like watch certain scenes and think like this is horrifying that humans could ever think this way. And I that's I don't know if I was connecting with the movie the right way, but that's kind of what I ended up feeling most of the time. I didn't really fear like people in the film, I didn't really fear like oh, I have I should worry about this in my own life. It was mostly just like, ugh, like I hate everything that's going on, but I 100% could understand that it does.

SPEAKER_04 28:09

Yeah, I think this movie as a woman has a lot of things that I fear in it, but I I didn't feel anything from this movie other than I guess some disgust and a lot of misery.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

I think misery is a good way to describe it. Not misery, I had to watch this movie, but like a misery I kind of felt for the characters per se, and what was going on in certain circumstances that the character and and or characters are put in, and this whole model lifestyle. Interesting enough, as soon as I put this on, I did think I was watching Mandy at first Call of Colors, but Paris, I'm not sure if you've seen a movie called Starry Eyes, but a little way more frightful, way less realistic, but I've seen that one because it just looked really scary. And one day I picked it up a few years ago and watched it, and it's very similar in terms of the themes and what people, actors and people in the entertainment industry actually go through um to get certain roles. Something obviously I'm not familiar with, but it reminded me of that, which I found out this movie came out before. Obviously, I still think this is very original for what it did, and I do appreciate the show don't tell, because I think I've seen some movies where they tell me that I'm used to someone telling me, kind of pissed me off that no one told me anything until I watched a YouTube video, I will admit, um, to clarify lots of things. And I was like, okay, I'm at a good place right now in my life for this movie.

SPEAKER_07 29:51

I totally agree. This is definitely a movie that the fear comes from humans and human behavior and things that exist in our world, but not the the horror movie kind of fear that you might be expecting. There are some super graphic visuals, but I don't find them to be particularly scary. But riddle me this can we at least agree that this movie is original?

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Oh, I I think it is very singular in its fucking audacity. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Audacity is definitely the right word. Like a thousand percent all the originality points. This is a bold move, Cotton.

SPEAKER_04 30:23

Y'all know I rarely feel like things are original at this point, but I I do think this one at least gets like half of the originality score, if not the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

What I find most original though is Max's approach to thinking that the ending is what he has to give me a trigger warning for, and not many other things in this fucking movie. The ending was tame at best. And honestly, here's the thing. Is it a bad ending? Nah. Does it have a message? Yeah. But by that point, I was so fucking exhausted by the rest of it that I was just ready for it to be over. So I didn't really feel much specifically about the ending.

SPEAKER_04 31:01

I also was ready for it to be over. Also, I feel like they introduce an element in the very, very end that just like really means nothing to me. And maybe it's because I gave up on trying to understand what anyone was trying to say a long way into this movie. But I don't know. It's not a bad ending. It is just like Chris said, you're a bit exhausted when you get to it.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

So that whole slow section you mentioned about the movie, it's all setting the table. And like I know it's boring, but it literally throws out things here and there that add up all the way at the very, very end. The only thing I'll I'll really say about the end is do not watch it if you plan on eating.

SPEAKER_04 31:42

I it's not I don't know. I think Mac is overplaying it a little bit, uh, unless you're just more sensitive to Yes, I'm sensitive to what happens at the end. Oh, interesting.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

Not I'm not as as sensitive as I thought Chris would have been. I thought that Chris was gonna like be like, oh my god, I have to turn the TV off just because of like certain sounds. But when when I watch the ending, I I think it's just like the idea of what happens is is in my head. And like the idea of what happens at the end like makes me feel like oh, like like churny stomach, and I have to like watch something nice afterwards.

SPEAKER_04 32:14

Do you remember what happened in the conjuring?

SPEAKER_02 32:16

Well, the conjuring was tame.

SPEAKER_04 32:18

Oh my god, compared to this, the bit that happens at the end?

SPEAKER_02 32:22

Like thinking about the conjuring, I can't think of anything that that I found really that shocking.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Interesting. Yeah, I'm not sure why you thought those sounds would be that bad for me. My gag reflex is not, in fact, triggered by sounds. But you're right, it does set the table in an interesting way. And do I get the one plus one equals two of it all? Absolutely. I just think that it wasn't worth the ride to get there.

SPEAKER_04 32:46

Yeah, let me just be clear. I think I also get it, and it also the the math wasn't worth mathing.

SPEAKER_07 32:52

So the ending of this movie is the thing that stood out most, and when I recommended this as a horror movie, the things that stand out to me the most are horrific in a myriad of ways. Uh, but the final visuals that we get are some of the most memorable things I've ever seen on screen. And to be alone in an empty theater seeing that for the first time, there's such a a juxtaposition of delicacy and brutality that has sat with me ever since.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

Yeah, there is something about watching a movie in a movie theater that doesn't transfer, I feel like, to when you're watching it at home, whether it be on your laptop or TV. I was at a point when I watched this movie where I had more questions and answers, and like I said, this goes to the show don't tell. So I was just sitting there pondering, is this movie letting me use my imagination to see what it was? But I wasn't sure. I I didn't think it was, I think it just forgot to put in a lot of dialogue.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

I I think so with our conversation before we started recording, I think you understand what happens, but you were curious because you knew like you knew there was more depth, you knew there was like other themes that you weren't picking up on, and you wanted you wanted some of those themes to be more like easily describable.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Yeah, it needs to be slightly made for Luxis, where they give you slightly more hints because I'm not into certain themes that this movie has, so I feel like you need to be outright if you're gonna do something so vague.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

Again, a movie made for Paris has little overlap for a movie made for anyone else. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 34:27

It's a Paris movie.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

It's it's a Paris movie for sure. Not like not like a bad thing. I just it was left for interpretation or people who are of like if you have a certain hobby and you only know the vernacular that's used in that hobby, then you're like, okay, I know what they're talking about. That's how I felt in this movie. I was like, they're talking about something I don't know. I I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

Oh, your experience watching this movie was listening to us talk about work.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Yes, that's exactly what it was like. So I think I was so caught up that at the end I was just screaming at the TV, no kidding, being like, fucking someone say something. That was my end reaction. I was like, can someone say something? Especially a particular character who's just fucking standing there the entire time.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

Well, we've talked about a lot so far, and there is the matter of scores to get to. But before we mosey on over there, let's mosey our way on to the body count. Alexis, how many people died in this film? Also very surprising, like this movie. Uh, only two people died. And what about the animal report? Our animal report is clean this week. Well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings and the neon demon from 2016. Paris's Victor from the co-host Clash, the first ever co-host clash, we're really starting out with a bang here. Was it a hacker or slash?

SPEAKER_07 35:42

Okay, I will obviously go first. As this was my selection, we know I am slashing this movie. Why I am slashing this movie? I think you kind of get it by now, but it sort of examines some of the darkest elements of an industry that I am very familiar with in a way that is both artful and poignant and happens to fall into a genre that I'm a big fan of. So, in a way, this movie was very much made for me. This target demographic for this movie, I have no idea who that might be beyond my own self. I'm not sure who is gonna be a fan of this type of thing, and I knew when I came up with this, I was like, I hope this movie wins, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope that it's gonna be a universal slash. I can almost guarantee it won't be. This movie, when it premiered, was very polarizing. Some people loved it, most people actually hated it. The Girl Inside My Theater left within the first 40 minutes or so. But this movie and the way it portrays something so specific and so near to me and my lived experiences, has left such an impact that this has easily become one of my favorite movies of all time. If maybe for selfish reasons because it shows me something that I know. Um like I said before, there are moments of really small violations of bodily autonomy and consent that when you're subject to something like this for years, you start to kind of misconstrue what power you actually have and what rights you actually have as a person with a physical form. Um something that I haven't talked about a lot is that as a direct result of my experience in the modeling in the modeling industry, I am a survivor of sexual assault. And for a long time I didn't realize that that's what I was because I was like, oh, I mean, it was this, it was that, and through therapy I was able to be like, oh no, no, no, that's what it was. Okay, got it. I was just conditioned and groomed by an industry that treated me as somewhat less than human to think that something like that might be okay. And for me, the way this depicts that is both beautiful, it's brutal, it's jarring, it's uncomfortable, and it's also at the same time a very superficial glance that's just bubbling with so much toxicity under the surface. Chris, you mentioned earlier that there's certain characters that kind of get off scot-free, and I love that the male characters in this movie are a complete afterthought because we're so used to seeing female characters portrayed that way. And in this movie, men take no accountability and no responsibility for anything that happens when we all watching know that they are the exact reason that any of this is going on. And I think that's very accurate because that's how things are in this world. It's hard to look at in that way. But I would like to finish this slash with a quote from an article I read from an author named Elisa Chavez. She said, Ultimately, I think the director assembled a great team of women to explore big questions in an atmosphere of respect. I think what came out was a beautiful, horrifying mess that contained at its core the kind of earnestness that makes it linger. Is it feminist? Is it necessary? Probably neither, but as a feminist, I'm glad it exists.

SPEAKER_04 38:50

Paris, I think that is a very eloquent slash. And I first and foremost want to note that I respect your connections to this film very deeply because I too have known I'm watching a movie that may not be everyone's cup of tea, but has something that I connect to that I can't let go of. And especially with how you describe when you saw this, I feel like a hundred percent I understand why you align with this movie, even if I don't necessarily see how you could, because I haven't been in those scenarios. And I think one of the things that's tough for me with this movie is that there are these realistic elements where I can understand, like I can see the realism in those moments of not consent and and things like that. There's a lot that happens throughout this movie, but those things that are so valuable to me are lost in a story that doesn't make sense. And there's so many scenes in this movie that are intense and offer no benefit toward the story. And that for me is just really difficult. The art is beautiful. So Mac asked the question about like, do we like to go through art museums? And I love to. I I love art. Art means a lot to me. I like to spend a lot of time in it thinking about it, working it through my brain to see what it means. But again, here it's like obscured for me. It's obscured by a horrible representation of women, in my opinion, and violence that doesn't have any payoff that's anything other than just violence on screen. And so it's hard for me. There's a lot of why scenes. This isn't a horror movie to me, and it's a hack, but I can understand and appreciate that Paris, you get to see something that you relate to in this because everyone deserves to see things that they relate to on screen because that's what we're all here for. We're all humans. That's what's really special about movies, is that they can connect to so many different people in the world, so it's a hack, but we still have Paris.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

Paris, I totally appreciate you opening up and being vulnerable about that. Yes, there are movies that I can connect with, including when we watch Fear Street and they have a sisterly bond, and that I connected with. And Chris, you can be the representative for this comment, but there are things that Chris and I do not align on, and she will be very passionate about because there are themes in certain movies that she can relate to, and I will straight up say to her, hey, I don't get this, like I need more. And that was this movie. I appreciated its beauty, it did a lot. There were some scenes where I just like couldn't stop staring at Elle Fanning, and I was like, obviously, this is wrong too, because she's also, I think, 16 while she's filming this. And I was like, wrong, so wrong. And I think where it got me, this movie was essentially to me, it oversexualized a 16-year-old, but I get that was the point, but it missed the mark for me. And I know it's because I can't relate, I know it's because there's themes that that just don't hit me. And I really wish I had watched a little bit more about it because I did watch a YouTube video. I'm like, this is smart, this is smart. It just didn't transfer into my brain somehow, which is probably me being shallow, I will be quite honest. But I'm just gonna have to hack this. Sorry. It's not you being shallow, it's the movie being dense, too dense for me.

SPEAKER_07 42:27

The movie asks a lot, and I totally understand if you're not willing to give all that because you have to do a lot of work.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

Yeah, and I think we've talked about it because I like the movies, horror movies, especially, where I can escape reality. I don't like movies with heavy themes, and that's just my cup of tea. And this I'm just like, yep, but too heavy. Not what I wanted to watch on Monday night or any night.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

Yeah, it's the opposite of escapism.

SPEAKER_01 42:52

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

There is there is some weight to it. You know, there's a lot of a lot of weight to it. It is really heavy. I'm I'm curious, Paris. Have you ever seen Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson? No, I don't think I've ever heard of it. You should 100% look up the trailer when you had a chance. I truly enjoyed watching that movie. One, Scar Joe is just super intense in it, but I feel like some of some of the themes that are kind of discussed here are are kind of flipped in their head and discussed a different way in that movie. But uh about the Neon Demon, this is a gorgeous film. The cinematography is fantastic. The colors, the shadows, the lighting, the acting is like next level in this movie. It is fantastic. Everyone involved seems to be really doing their best work, and it's amazing to watch, but I just hate watching it. So it's really hard to describe. It's it's really like you flipped a coin and it landed on the edge of it. It is a beautiful film. It is truly beautiful, but it is grotesque. So I think when you go into it, you have to know what you're expecting. But it's just not one that I can recommend easily for other people to watch. I specifically watched this when my wife was working because I knew that she would hate it. I kind of described some of the stuff that was going on, and she was like, thank you, because I this would have not been for me. Um, it's it's tough because like I'm I'm a fan of some of the director's work. I know like what's possible from him, I know the the stuff we're gonna see on screen is is intense. And I actually really loved the beginning of the movie. That is so up my alley. And I I think it's it's hard to watch because the themes explored are really brutal and and really tough. And it was I was struggling thinking about this today. Like, can I can I really judge this based on my enjoyment of it or based on how effective it is? And I and I think I have to go back to enjoyment because like I watched it, I got the themes, I felt what was being conveyed, and it it does impact you. It impacts you emotionally, it impacts you in all sorts of ways, and I just like I can't recommend it to people that I know, and that makes it kind of a hard one for me to slash. I don't think it's a joke, and I don't think it's a total waste of time, right? So it that's why I'm like, I'm really torn, but I want to go back to uh a quote from one from the director and just a a phrase that he used about why he made the movie, and he wanted to make a horror film about vicious beauty. And I like the idea of it, but I I think on screen what ends up happening is you can detect just hatred and and but like in between characters, hatred for the human form, hatred for the idea of of a just I don't know, it's it's hard to describe, but what I'll say is it just hurts to watch, and because of that, I I don't want to, but I feel like I I have to give it a hack.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Alright, so I know I've made my feelings abundantly clear, so I'll keep this brief for the sake of uh timeliness. I absolutely hate this movie. And I don't know that I've ever had such a strong reaction to hating a movie more in my life, and for the first time ever, four years doing this show, four years of watching movies that I consider to be terrible, this is the first time I was actually angry about it, and that's probably saying a lot. And on the one hand, you might be able to think, cool, cool, cool, that it did its job. It's meant to elisten such strong emotions. But here's the problem for me this movie is re-traumatizing in so many ways. Paris, I'm glad you find such a personal connection for it because we all deserve that. This movie for me though, dangles the idea of consent in your face and then doesn't hold accountable those who ultimately are responsible for it. And I've had enough of that in my life. I've had enough of even in the military uh being subjected to things and then to report things or to be around women who are reporting things only to be shown, oh well, it wasn't really his fault. Oh, he's got a whole career in front of him. This movie is that in a nutshell. And I think the bigger problem for me is this guise of well, okay, there's a lot of incredible women working on this movie. Absolutely there was. The Slumber Party Massacre is a famously like feminist film from the 80s. It's a slasher, it's a comedy, loved it. It's still financed by an exploitation producer. And sure there's a woman directing it, but that doesn't change the fact that he demanded that there be an opening scene of just naked bodies because they wanted to get see how hot all these women were. And she decided to give him that, but try to do it in a way that felt good for the moment, but it doesn't remove the underlying intent behind that. And this director may be wanting to tackle a lot of things, but he doesn't fundamentally understand women, and that's a problem for me. So this movie is undoubtedly a hack. And I'll get more into specifics later, but for now, the Neon Demon from 2016, the first winner of the co-host Clash, has earned four hacks and one slash. Now you can find this movie streaming on Amazon Prime. If you find that you typically like Bears' recommendations, then by all means check it out, and then join us in the second half so we can unpack it together. See you in a bit.

SPEAKER_07 48:01

And once again, I am left alone in the theater.

SPEAKER_02 48:11

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SPEAKER_00 48:46

Welcome back, folks. You are now entering the spoiler zone for the Neon Demon, which is earned four hacks and one slosh. Now we have a lot to get to here, but before we get into the specifics of our ratings and Paris' passionate feelings about this movie, we do have some gore to get to. Alexis, what's the gore score for this movie?

SPEAKER_01 49:01

You know, I know I alluded to this before the spoiler break, but I did put this as high gore. To me, when I think of movies that have high, I think of something that's consistent throughout the entire movie. And I feel like this is uh very inconsistently sprinkled throughout. So I'm just like, okay, I I can't remember the gore only in like two specific scenes, maybe three, but there was like one specific thing. And I think we can all say that matter of gore, not violence, set aside. I just want to talk about the eyeball. It was very beautiful, the blue eyeball on the blue carpet. Of course, the eyeball.

SPEAKER_06 49:41

The eyeball of it all.

SPEAKER_01 49:43

It was cheap.

SPEAKER_04 49:44

Of course. Well, honestly, when you pull an eyeball out of a head, it's very hard to make it not look dumb. I say, with lots of personal experience about trying to make eyeballs look real.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

I mean, I don't know, it was the whole cheapness of that's what you're throwing up. Like we got it, you ate her. Unless it was supposed to be for a comedic value. Honestly, an eyeball really wouldn't make it very far.

SPEAKER_04 50:06

Very soft and squishy. Surely it could have been like teeth, bones.

SPEAKER_01 50:11

It seemed like maybe it was stuck at the end of the esophagus, like where it means the stemic, where you get acid reflux. Ugh.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Well, so I thought it was, you know, hearkening back to Jesse's description of the moon being like an eye, you know, appearing down upon you. And I I didn't exactly get why they had to spit up the eyeball, but it was like she wasn't fully gone. She was still there viewing, watching somehow. I don't know. It's dense.

SPEAKER_00 50:37

Always lurking, always watching, just like a witchy eye. It's like the eyeball that the three fates share in Hercules. It's a whole fucking thing.

SPEAKER_02 50:44

Yeah, or like the what is that called when you give somebody the evil eye? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 50:48

That that was a triangle's okay, something I missed. Clearly, dense. I feel like sometimes I'm stupid when I watch movies.

SPEAKER_07 50:53

Alexis, you are not stupid. This movie is oftentimes too abstract for its own good. Um, I love the eyeball of the three fates, though, Chris. That's something I never considered, but this eyeball is fully shared amongst three women, so that's kind of adding another layer for me. I also love the idea that she absolutely ate this eyeball, vomited it back up, and it was still somehow intact. I think at that point it's really leaning into style over realism. And the scene leading up to that, you have Sarah sitting on the couch for what feels like an eternity where you can only see her one eye because her bangs are covering her other eye, and it's sort of like a foreshadowing moment of like, there's another eye coming. But the scene leading up to that, where Gigi absolutely like senpocoos herself in that gorgeous little blue room and just guts herself open, was such an explosive level of core that I hadn't anticipated, even after watching the girls bathe in the blood. I had not expected that to happen. And if there's one thing we know about me, it's I it's that I love an ending with an explosive climax of core.

SPEAKER_04 51:58

I'm sorry. I in that scene saw blood coming out of a woman but that was not her own and was definitely coming out of her vagina. Is that not what was happening?

SPEAKER_07 52:10

Oh, Jenna in the moonlight?

SPEAKER_01 52:13

Yeah, what were the mechanics behind that? Because that also happened. He killed her and bathed in her blood. And then this might be Yeah, this is TMI, but like if I'm in a bathtub and I get water inside me, I'm it's not like leaking out for days on the floor. I'll I could tell you that.

SPEAKER_04 52:31

I mean, is that what what was happening in that scene? I don't know. I'm asking you, Paris, like you made the movie and you know.

SPEAKER_07 52:38

That's always been a scene where I've been like, huh. Because she fully like bathes in the moonlight and then expunges a lot of fluid from her vagina.

SPEAKER_04 52:48

It's a lot. It's a lot. That's one of the things I can't deal with in this movie. That that is what purpose? What was it there for? And that's the least offensive of them all, really.

SPEAKER_01 52:59

I don't know. I felt like I, you know, was teased a little bit in the beginning when you do see this still, well, essentially it's not still, she's being photographed and her neck is slit. So I was like, am I watching this? Is she dead? I I love the beginning of this, and I just wish might be controversial. I don't think it's controversial. I think it's just a statement I'm making. I just wish there was more gore, probably. And a little less cannibalism, a little less necrophilia, a little less I mean, actually I'll take the cannibalism. If it was explained that they were like some sort of witch, vampire, see, werewolf.

SPEAKER_00 53:42

Okay. Here's the thing though, right? Consuming her body parts, feeding on her blood, feasting on her blood as if to absorb her youth. It's all very witchy. It's all very succubus, eating others to like maintain their youth and immortality. You know what I mean? Like it really is taking women in the fashion industry and turning them into the monsters of legends. Are they literally witches? No, but it's the whole classic, let me consume you so I can have your youth.

SPEAKER_07 54:11

I think it's also a pretty basic execution of an allegory of an industry that will literally eat you up and spit you out. And I think that super almost rudimentary depiction of that kind of ties into the superficiality of this movie. Like a lot of the tropes that this movie uses are so like black and white, very much this is the trope we're using. And in my mind, that feels like a deliberate choice because on one level this movie is absolutely so superficial, and things like that can be interpreted as such, but then like I said, really like just below the surface, you can find a lot more meaning, and the meaning is never good. It's uh it's pretty much always dark and bad in this movie, but I feel like that's one of my favorite depictions because you have all these other like super obvious metaphors that are kind of thrown in your face throughout the movie, and then this one kind of seems to be like the most obvious and the most heightened and the most gory of them all at the end.

SPEAKER_01 55:06

I mean, to me, the goriest part, I don't think I've ever maybe I just haven't watched that many horror movies. The goriest part had no blood, and it was the whole necrophilia scene. I was just one not expecting to out of the blue, never seen witches do that before. If they are witches, I'm assuming.

SPEAKER_02 55:28

I I don't know that it's about being a witch or anything. I think for her, it's it's about like she got turned down and was still horny. Yeah, and like so she tried to force herself on her, didn't go her way, and now she like wants to get this energy out, and this is literally all she can get is uh an actual dead person. I is I think what was trying to be like portrayed to us, and it doesn't bother her because the idea of a corpse apparently is cool with her.

SPEAKER_00 55:57

Because she doesn't need any resistance, and this is the problem, right? Going back, right? You see the beginning of these things for her character, she talks about how it's good to have good girls around, and you think, cool, is someone gonna be in her corner, and then she's just as predatory as everybody else in this fucking movie.

SPEAKER_07 56:12

Everybody in this movie is predatory as fuck. I think the interesting thing for that scene with me, because obviously that is absolutely a bizarre scene, is that oftentimes we're confronted with male characters doing things like this, and it's kind of like, oh, that's just the crazy psycho dude. But this is the first time I've ever seen a female character do something so depraved, and I was like, in a way, work, bitch, but on the other hand, like that's so far from anything I can relate to that like I can't even really stand by it in a full sense.

SPEAKER_00 56:42

I'm sorry, do you not remember high tension with the blowjob that's like you find out it was never really a blowjob with a decapitated head?

SPEAKER_07 56:48

Bitch, you know I love high tension.

SPEAKER_00 56:50

But that's the fucking problem, Paris. It has been done. It's just let some women be heroes or just normal characters without having to vilify every single fucking one of them.

SPEAKER_07 57:00

No, let them be disgusting villains too. They can be anything.

SPEAKER_00 57:04

You can make them be complex, but there's literally no one salvageable in this movie, Paris. Literally everybody was a monster. Everybody was a monster.

SPEAKER_04 57:12

Sorry, Paris, you're making a face. Who is salvageable in this in this movie? Name one.

SPEAKER_07 57:17

Okay, no, that's true. Nobody's salvageable in this movie.

SPEAKER_04 57:20

Not one person.

SPEAKER_07 57:20

Even the person that I think that's fine.

SPEAKER_04 57:23

Not even Jesse?

SPEAKER_07 57:24

No.

SPEAKER_04 57:24

Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_07 57:25

No, Jesse is completely corrupted. Quickly turned into a monster. Well, she's completely corrupted during the show. Or after she closes that show, she's the neon demon. She's holding that crown for a while.

SPEAKER_04 57:36

Yeah, I think it's just it it just sucks. Paris, like, we you know, we jokingly say that, you know, anything that sets women back, you're a fan of. But like, truly, it's really tough to have all the women in this movie suck. They suck towards each other, they suck towards everyone else. And then one of them who seems like they may not suck, also a lesbian, we love to see it. And then they're horrible also. And then the men are also horrible, which that's what we expect. And it's cool that they're like off to the side, but they're really not. They're really impacting people's lives like really intensely.

SPEAKER_00 58:10

They are as in the shadows and off to the side as their accountability allows them to be in real life. And that's a problem for me. If everybody's gonna be a monster, then make them all fucking monsters and have some measure of accountability or tragedy, but you have the people orchestrating all of this, right? The underlying patriarchy that is uh causing this entire environment with these unrealistic beauty standards, and yet here we are just ah i this movie's fucking infuriating. I can't get past it.

SPEAKER_07 58:36

Chris, for me, it makes sense because there is no accountability. This is the world we live in, and these men do get away with these things, and oftentimes women are fit with the blame, and it's like, oh well, women just hate each other and they'll just tear each other apart, but there's no accountability on anyone's part. And one of the more insidious things I think in this movie is Christina Hendrick's character, because she is also complicit in this. However, it's sort of implied, and this might be my own backstory filling in some gaps, but oftentimes women that work as agents have worked in the modeling industry, so they've sort of gone through the entire thing and like come out on some in some form on top, in a way where they can now hold some form of power, and then just to use that power to perpetuate the cycle is reality and it's vicious and it's hateful and it sucks.

SPEAKER_04 59:25

But that's I think what makes this movie exploitative is that it is real to not have the accountability. But the way it's done on film here has no payoff, there is no benefit. Not that it has to be like a good ending or anything like that, but there I just I can't find the value in this movie of seeing these things. It mostly just feels like what what Chris said earlier, like your face is just in the the terribleness of it all the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 59:54

Okay, here's what it is it's different when a movie, I think, um pulls up elements of this to show something, and you know that the target audience is someone who wasn't expecting that or like could benefit from seeing that. Yeah. It's almost like this guy's just holding this whole fucking thing on a platter and saying, Oh wow, what is this we have here? Huh? Has anybody ever heard of this? This is crazy. But the lack of consent is not news, nor is it news upon any woman that you show this movie to, right? And I think there's something here, Paris, that could have been so much more beautiful had this been more far-reaching or had a broader impact with more dynamic characters, I could have told a better, stronger story. But instead, this movie is cannibalistic within itself.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:36

I absolutely agree, Chris. It does feel as if the director is not necessarily the best person to be telling this story. I found a quote from the director in his inspiration for this movie, and he said, Two years ago, I woke up depressed one morning. I wasn't born beautiful, but my wife was, and I thought, I wonder what it'd like to have been born beautiful. And to me, that very much sets the stage for an outsider looking in, and that can be applied to so many different subjects that are touched upon in this movie. Very much somebody who doesn't understand the lived experience, but is looking on the outside and trying to form some sort of comment on it. And I think that is probably one of the biggest flaws of this movie. I think uh the vision was really well executed by the specific director, but I think the story could have been told better by someone else.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:23

I think when we hear the photographer, you know, utter the phrases that beauty is the only thing, like when he makes his way towards that, I felt like that was the d the director like speaking his mind. And it could be the absolute the absolute opposite. He might be trying to say that like this is the worst thing to think, but it kind of felt like that's honestly what he was trying to tell us.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:45

I'm not saying the director's an incel by any stretch of the imagination. He's probably a lovely man, but shit like that has massive incel energy.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:55

I feel that.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:55

I love that this movie brings up such a discussion because I know each week that we are talking about core that there's not this much around it. It's typically, what did you like? What was your favorite kill? So I appreciate there's some deep discussion about this, and then everyone can add to it. So I thought it was really interesting because we have Jesse and our three witches, are we calling them? Models. They're good and three models.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:21

Yeah, they're definitely not like intentionally witches, they're just something that's reminiscent of something we've known before.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:28

I have to ground it in some sort of reality for me. Not that witches are real, but they kind of are. Uh with vampires and uh twilight characters in this round. Yeah, these are just horrible models. But they actually had to endure a lot of fake blood during the production of this movie. They even had to obviously taste some of it in that shower scene. So the crew made it extra sweet, like syrup, in order to make it a little bit more pleasing for our performers. So some good things came out of this movie, I will say.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:02

Just not at basically their lives making this movie weren't as horrible as watching it was.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:08

Um, one of the things I actually really enjoy about this movie, and I'm not sure how filled it is, but I did notice all the nods they've done to other horror movies and specifically Stephen King movies. So there is the bathroom scene when Jesse's meeting uh Gigi and Sarah for the first time, and she's talking about, you know, the lipstick and the name of the lipstick, and you know, it's mentioned red rum lipstick, which I thought was like an interesting nod to uh some Stephen King. There's also another scene, like I was talking about earlier, where they're all washing off the blood. And as Ruby lays in the bathtub of Jesse's blood, um, pretty much that's evoking a scene from Carrie from 1976. I'm sure everyone noticed that. I mean, it wasn't super intentional, but you know, that shower scene definitely reminds me of the gym class when she gets her period and everything like that. And the bath reminds me of when Carrie's washing off the pig's blood after prom. So I just I appreciate a movie that's gonna give a little bit more depth. You know, I like my Easter eggs for sure. So these are very fulfilling for me.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:20

I definitely caught the red rum, of course, but then they started talking about alcohol, and I was like, I don't even know what you're talking about. We're talking about red rum. And then I realized that red rum does not just mean murder backwards. It is literally just the word red and rum, but it's very hard to forget that.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:34

So one thing that I can't really forget, Alexis, is the use of predatory imagery in this movie. There's obviously the scene where we have the mountain lion in Jesse's motel room, and then in the final scene where things really start to heat up, you have all of these different taxidermate predators in the background of so many different shots. There's like a, I think there's like a lynx, there's like a jaguar, and I love the way that this movie's not afraid to really lay it on thick with its use of imagery and metaphor because obviously at this point you realize every single character in this movie is predatory, and for that to just like be in the background of like, hey, these are predatory animals, and I think that makes for a really striking visual element.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:20

I'm gonna take mine to something a little bit more uh just like a really simple feature, which is just the framing of the shots. I was really impressed by the idea that you know you can you can frame a shot and you can hold on to it for a solid 15 seconds and just have it look like a photograph. And that's something that the director has done in other films, but a lot of people find it really boring. I'm okay with it when the shot is framed well. When you look at that and you're like, I would be cool just seeing that as a still printed as a poster or something. I I think like the composition is really compelling. The colors, of course, are amazing, but I think just like the way that we get things like set up on screen just like draws your eye to them or makes. You want to look away very fast.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:01

Yeah, there's truly one compliment I have for this movie, and it's its use of lighting. Mac, I think it does exactly what you're saying about like just drawing your eye and leading you through the frame, right? There is one moment in a scene that I absolutely otherwise detest, and even if I'm supposed to give a best part, I'm still gonna give a worst part for this thing later on. But there's a moment where Jesse is backlit as she's leaning against a wall to listen into what's happening in the next room over. And that one moment of just that silhouette was it was a powerful moment, but it was also hauntingly beautiful. And it was just like this perfect example of like great technical execution in the movie. Emotional execution, nah.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:45

I actually have a little bit of a similar visual element because of the way some of these shots are. So that's like almost one of them. But one of the main ones that comes to mind for me is where we have a camera off to the side in her hotel room, and she's just doing like stretching with her legs. It's really nothing happening, but there's so many of those shots in this film that as a movie I hated because nothing was happening, but as something to look at, they're just so interesting the way the camera would just be very peculiarly placed behind something or something is obscured, and you just see a little bit of what's happening. Those moments intrigued me, but I was very often just picked up to be dropped on the ground because there wasn't any payoff for me. But looking at them, I loved it. I was I was enticed by those scenes.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:36

That made a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:37

I'd like to talk about my worst visual element, which was the strobe light.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:41

Thank you. Is that when you almost threw up?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:43

Yes, I was I was like, I think because I was so captivated by it, but also so I was staring at the screen and then I was getting dizzy, and I'm watching this pretty close on my laptop at this point in bed. So it was a different experience than probably if I was I watched it on TV, but I don't know. And it was interesting, it was just it was hard to watch.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:09

It was particularly rough because of the frequency of strobe that we get and the movement that we get meant that your eyes were like flying around the screen trying to see something. And since nothing had happened so far, you were just knowing you just knew something was gonna happen in that room, and once again picked up to be drops on your butt because nothing happened. We all were just asked to have a seizure for no reason in that moment in this movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:36

Yeah, and I think since I did give a worst part, um I guess I'll give a best part, but not because of the situation it was, but it was the way this look that Jesse had was when Jack is like, I guess, examining her and she's about to get this test photography shoot. I'm not I'm really not sure the vocabulary and how to use it. Um, Paris, please correct me.

SPEAKER_07 1:09:00

A test shoot is basically if you are getting started in modeling, a photographer will take pictures of you for free to see how you photograph and see how you move, and then it's a way that your agency can get good pictures for your portfolio.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:12

Well, there you go. And I just loved there was just this starkness between the two. So he was dressed in all black and she's like glowing in this glitter and this gold facial tattoo stuff, um, makeup, I guess that's what it's called, and then this dress. So I just love the contrast between the two, how innocent she is looking at this point, and how innocent she actually is in this part of the movie, and how he is definitely, you know, not obviously a good character. I am glad nothing happened in that scene because I was expecting, I mean, stuff did happen, but I thought they were gonna go in a little bit more into that scene, and I think I probably would have been close to just turning off the movie if that one if that actually happened.

SPEAKER_07 1:10:03

That's actually among my favorite scenes, Alexis, because that's where they really tow the line of consent. I mentioned before the break, that's where Jessie's told to take off her shoes, she's taken by the arm and moved into a specific spot, and that very much happens on set. And at first, like your initial gut reaction is to be like, What? I'll take off my shoes if I want to take off my shoes, but then you have a room full of people that are like, no, this is normal, this is fine, this is okay, and you're like, Okay, I guess this is okay, I'll go along with it. And the way it kind of builds up to a moment of not specifically a sexual violation, but like absolutely a physical violation in a way that is depicted as something that Jesse walks away from being like, Oh, I think it was great, the pictures are beautiful. In her mind, she's already kind of changed her perception of what she can and can't say no to in her body. And that to me was a very profound scene. However, it's not my favorite scene. My favorite scene is the casting for the fashion show because that in my mind was the most accurate depiction of a casting I've ever seen in any kind of media. Being in a room for an hour or more in your underwear, room full of strangers, just waiting, is a very real experience when you're modeling. And then standing there, being judged, and having people talk about you as if you're not right there is also a very real experience. And then when Sarah does her walk and they don't even pay attention, and she's like, Should I do it again? Like you you obviously didn't see, and they're like, No, no, that's fine. That is so real, and it's so painful to be like, I just sat here for a goddamn hour and a half, freezing my ass off in my underwear in a room full of strangers, just for you to not even pay attention to me when I walk six yards, which is what you brought me here to do. And then for Jesse to kind of do the same exact thing and they fall in love with her, that was also a very relatable experience because if there's anything the modeling industry loves, it's a new face who doesn't know what they're doing. Because modeling is one of the few industries where you're almost punished for experience and for quality, because they like somebody who doesn't know what they're doing and looks like they are inexperienced. Because to them, they're like, oh, that's natural, that's organic. And if you get good at it, then eventually it's like, oh, well, you know, she's she looks like a model, and that's not what they want. So to see that super specific, super niche experience portrayed so accurately on film, I was like, damn, they nailed that. And then for her to just like start crying and then like have that breakdown in the mirror, I was like, damn, bitch, I feel you. I've been there, I've been on both sides of that. I've been the new face who absolutely nails it at every casting because, like, oh, who is this? He has no idea what he's doing. Fantastic. And I've been on the other end where they're like, oh yeah, we've seen you in all these different shows, we've seen you in these jobs, you're not really that fresh anymore.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:00

It reminds me of how on Instagram there's like a big fight as uh you know, influencers to seem authentic. Even though it's like clearly not authentic, but like that's the biggest thing is like, how do I come across as being authentic? And you're like, why do we have to pretend this hard?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:13

Yeah, I don't like that because I always look, I'm like, why isn't my boyfriend taking photos of me that looks like that? And I was like, probably because I don't sit stand there and be like, how does it look? How let me just take it and I'm only be embarrassed. So my favorite scene, I believe, follows yours, Paris, and it's when Sarah is so upset and she storms into the bathroom. And I think for the first time I get some emotion from her, and I'm actually happy because I think after that she's very cold, which is I'm assuming an understandable emotion to have after having that sort of experience. But then she throws, I mean, it's just an entire scene. She throws something on the glass, it breaks, Jessie cuts herself. Then she starts sucking blood off of her hand, and I was like, ooh. And I think that's where I wasn't really intrigued because I thought it was going in a very vampire way, and I was like, Yes, please take her, like I don't know, it's reminded me of some hocus pocus thing where it's like, let's take her blood, and then we we go back and we age back to like our 20s again. And I would have loved something like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:24

My my favorite scene kind of relates to some of your scenes, and it has to do with when Jesse meets with the agent, and I think the facial expressions you get on Christina Hendrick's face when she's talking to her and when she's when they're discussing specifically like her age, and like the back and forth between them, you can tell there's like this level of experience for the agent where this is nothing new, and they probably even had younger models that they've told to lie about their age. Oh, yeah. And it's just it's so insane to me because you can see how corrupt everything is all in one scene. It's like you don't even need the rest of the movie to truly understand how broken this whole thing is. And on Jesse's face, you don't get much throughout a lot of the movie. You can see she's she's got the facade up, she's trying to show just the model constantly. Like this is just like a still face. But she's processing and she's trying to like determine, you know, do I want to do this? How do I want to do this? Is this worth it? And honestly, it seems like the whole time she's just thinking, yes, I will do this. She seems uneasy, but it's almost like she knows that her seeming uneasy is what's selling her. And it seems more like a deliberate choice the more that it happens until she gets called out for it, honestly. But I think that scene stands out to me because it it truly sums up the movie in just one little scene.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:38

Yeah, that's a good scene. It's one that definitely shows how complex this movie can be in really interesting and brilliant ways. I think my favorite scene comes at a point where you know a lot of people in this movie suck, but it hasn't quite gone to the very top of that mountain quite yet, and then it's just before it all comes rushing down where it's like wham, bam, bam, bam, bam, everybody's just fucking awful continuously. And that's the point where she gets back to her motel room and there's a dark shadow in the room, and she's freaking out, obviously thinking this is a person. She goes down to her shitty motel manager, he goes up there reluctantly with these two he's him and another guy, and it's that tension of oh shit, is there someone in there? Oh shit, is this gonna be kind of like a almost like a home invasion type of situation? And it was probably the one moment that really piqued my interest the most. Of course, then you get him fucking demanding that she's gonna pay for the damages, and you're like, Alright, this is gonna continue to just be pure shit. And from there, I think everything goes downhill. But I think the characters were at a point where are some of them redeemable? Has everyone proving themselves badly? I don't think so. I think Jenna Malone's Ruby, for example, was still someone who was like could be like a semi-positive influence for Jesse. And I think that that scene was just that final moment of oh, okay, okay, I'm here for this before everything unraveled.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:05

Chris, you're definitely onto something about the tension in that scene before we found out, of course, it was a big cat. It was a moment of distress where I did think this movie was gonna change, but it didn't. For me, the favorite scene that I can pick is one because it's interesting, not because I loved it in this movie, honestly. So when Dean is sitting there waiting for her after dinner, and he says, You want to be like them? And she says, I don't want to be like them. They want to be like me. And without the rest of the context of this movie, I enjoy a woman saying that about a trashy man that's above her and you know, supposed to be she could be seen like what she wants to be like him, but the truth is like she knows that she actually has the power in the situation and everything. I can appreciate it outside of this movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:58

So that's my favorite scene because that's really all I got. So going along with that, and maybe someone can clarify this for me. I think Elle Fanning is a way better actress than her sister for this role in particular. She's just amazing in knowing that she was actually 16 when she had this role. I'm I'm just curious. I'm just kind of in shock why she was still staying at the mansion after she had turned into the neon demon.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:29

Where else was she gonna go?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:30

Oh well, I guess somehow she didn't go and rescue her neighbor, so she couldn't go back to the hotel. No, because she's a horrible person.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:39

She doesn't care about anyone else. But the thing is, like the house, just like everything in this movie, the explanation of a house, why it's here, why no one else is in it when she clearly didn't own it didn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:50

She definitely owned it. She was a vampire, she had lived for years. It was in the family.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:57

I think she specifically states that she does not own it and she's watching it, and it doesn't matter how long she stays there for.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:03

I'm pretty sure she'd killed somebody that owned it, and somehow the rent was getting paid. But again, it doesn't matter. She stayed there because she was already there and she didn't have anywhere else to go.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:12

Yeah, I think the scene where she imagines that Kianu is like putting a knife into her mouth like puts that fear inside of her that she's vulnerable there. And when obviously her neighbor is assaulted, I think at that point she she doesn't think that she can handle it on her own. She needs people around her, and so she goes to stay then with who someone she thought was a friend.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:35

I don't know. It's very interesting. But I think these characters, one, she's miraculous at this, where you get this innocence, you get this transformation. I feel like it should have been a little bit stronger. I I think she could have came off a little bit more cocky, but I think these characters make you hate them. You they make you sympathize with certain ones. And I mean, I didn't think the acting was horrible at all. I think everyone played a part really well, and I think the casting was done very excellently as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:10

Well, I think she's specifically not cocky because she is initially kind of timid and finds out that that really sells and then keeps it going, even when she knows she doesn't have to be that way. You know, she like she she's very confident, I think, after a little bit, but she doesn't want to show it too much because that's not is what's getting her what's getting her those gigs is the fact that people think that she's innocent.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:32

I meant cocky later on when she's about to get killed. Like and I think she had enough power. I don't know, maybe this is where I suspend my disbelief, and now I'm into witches and witchcraft that I'm like, couldn't she have done something to prevent herself from being killed?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:49

Could she have been a normal person and left? Yes. But here's the problem: she's the neon demon. And the neon demon doesn't actually give you anything supernatural, it just gives you this false sense of immortality. And that's the problem, Alexis. Because she could she have done anything actually? No, because she's just at this point someone who has grown too big for their britches and is about to be made prey.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:13

Yes, and I just need to go on record here. This is the thing I have been really holding my tongue on for this specific section, and that is the dialogue in this movie is so horrible that it makes me physically hurt. The acting I think is great for who they're supposed to be, but there are moments here where the things that people say to each other are not even like intentionally dramatic or anything, in my opinion. It's just bad writing. And there are moments like where Kiana Reeves says, You're gonna pay for this, and then says, No, I'll find you. And no one ever even mentions the idea of walking away or running away or anything, really. And it's just little stuff like that, where it's just like, cool, like I understand you're trying to get to a point. And clearly, this director was not interested in a lot of dialogue in this movie. A lot of it is pregnant pauses that make you figure out what's going on, but the dialogue hurts me. It it it I was angry about the things that were said in this movie because they were just not yeah, for what little they're saying, I guess make it more meaningful.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:27

Or or something, but I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:30

I would say say more, but I this is just because I prefer a different type of movie. I mean, I say say more.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:35

I totally agree, Ryan. There are moments of dialogue in this movie that are absolutely terrible, and some of those moments I can find an argument for that being a deliberate choice, but then there's other moments, specifically with Keanu Reeves and the young photographer who is pursuing a knowingly underage L Fanning, and the scene between those two feels like such filler, dumb, bullshit, no-need, unnecessary, that it almost feels like they did that intentionally.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 1:23:07

Because it's like an afterthought. It's like, let's just throw these people in here to talk about something.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:12

And let me tell you, I already have beef. I already personally feel that Keanu Reeves is an absolutely horrendous actor anytime he tries to show emotion. I know. I hot take, and you know I rarely have feelings about actors, but he has no emotion. And when he's trying to make me think that there's a chick in a room that someone needs to go get a good look at, like obviously that's horrible, but also I don't believe what you're saying. And so that whole line just doesn't make sense. Everything is just feels like it was put there so that something could happen later.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:42

So flip it on its head. Is he telling him that he actually needs to go see this girl, or is he pointing out to this boy, I know you're seeing an underage girl, and I'm gonna make fun of you by saying you should go see this even younger girl that apparently is in the room next door, and he's just like, Yeah, you really gotta see it.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:59

I don't think it's that because he ends up raping her. So exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:02

Is it him?

SPEAKER_04 1:24:03

Why wouldn't it be him? Though she like sees things before they happen, like several times in this movie.

SPEAKER_07 1:24:08

It's absolutely Keanu Reeves.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:09

100% Keanu Reeves. And he came jiggling on the door.

SPEAKER_07 1:24:12

Tried to come for her first.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:13

Yeah, he like walked out of his room. I mean, I understand the first part was a dream, but like he walked into the other, you know, motel room.

SPEAKER_07 1:24:21

Ryan, with all that being said, I feel like some of the dialogue that we get between the more central characters to the story is really impactful. Specifically, I feel like Abby Lee gives a like a star-making performance in this movie. She starts off as a character who's seemingly vacuous and giving you nothing to work with. And when I first saw this movie, and even again this time, I was like, Oh yeah, she's not really an important character. And then after the scene with the casting, you have that dialogue between her and Jesse where she says, Do you know how lucky you are? I'm a ghost. What does it feel like? And Jessie's like, What do you mean? She's like, to walk into a room and it's like in the middle of winter and you're the sun. And Jessie pauses and she's like, It's everything. And then you see moments after, like Alexis was mentioning, she literally tries to drink her blood afterwards because she's struggling with the fact that she was once that girl, she is no longer that girl, and she is desperately clinging to be that girl. And the way she acts in the final moments of the movie, where she sees the eyeball and you see like her little like claw of a demon hand reaching for it, her face is like so empty and vacant, but you can tell that she's like so hungry and she's even like shedding a tear that it's such an impactful performance while doing very little. I feel like it was really well done on that character, or I feel like it was really well done on Abby Lee's part, and it made me like that character the most of all of them, which of course I like the more evil bitch of all the bitches.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:47

Classic.

SPEAKER_07 1:25:48

So as the only person who slashed this movie, I am prepared with a worst part, and it's been consistently the worst part for me every time. It's the scene where Keanu Reeves and the photographer are talking, and then the scene where Keanu Reeves then assaults the person next door to Jesse. I feel like we could have absolutely had the story without that, without any of that at all. Um, that's the one part where I'm like, this movie to me and my skewed standards goes too far. And then also there's a more basic element that I think is a little bit venturing into worst part territory, and that is some of the abstract scenes are a little bit too long, and I can absolutely understand anybody that loses interest or starts to fall asleep, specifically the scene where Jesse is ending and closing the fashion show. I get that it's like a metamorphosis and it's like a transformation sequence, but it is too damn long. And the runtime of the movie, we can definitely use an edit here.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:45

Look, that fucking shit about Keanu Re us is absolutely the worst part of this movie, and not to mention the corpse molestation, absolutely also the fucking worst part. But specifically, again, going back to what I was saying earlier about men lurking in the shadows and just orchestrating fucking everything, and there's no fallout. That young girl next door is just as unknown and unaddressed as she always was, and it's fucking infuriating. And that is the part, right, where it's like waking up in the middle of the night to being attacked. This movie need not do it.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:21

I am gonna give a best part, but I have to add to that worst part, and not only do we have that, but we have basically three back-to-back rape scenes. Not full on, there's some there's some gray area for some things that go on, but like more or less three implied rapes or almost assaults, and it's just too much for again how nothing happens in the beginning. Like that's the first set of action and like stuff happening that we really get, aside from just story, and it's so much to take in one time, and then it's a lot to take in the second thing that happens and. Then we have necrophilia, and it's just like not a bit too much. It's way too much. With that being said, I am contractually obligated here to give a best part. I would never betray Paris the way I usually do and mess this part up. The best part of this movie is the beginning scene when you have hope before you get through the rest of this movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:21

Very interesting. What a great answer.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:24

I know that I am one who not only sets the rules but always abides by the rules, but I refuse. Consider this my fucking protest.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:33

We love to see it. So I do like the opening scene. And I think that was the best part for me, one of the best parts of this movie. Due to the fact that I like this pseudo-snuff photography that's going on. And I'm just like confused. And I think it just sets you up for something. Although I'm not sure what it's setting you up for. But it looks so realistic. She was so calm. It was pretty. And I and I just really enjoyed it. I wish someone could take photos of like that for me. I mean, I wouldn't look as elegant. I'd be like, here, let me take the knife. Like I would just be so dramatic about it. But it's on my bucket list for sure.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:13

Alexis, I think you absolutely know what they're setting up for. They're setting you up for the fact that Jesse's gonna die.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:18

That's right. But you know, I'm not that smart when I watch movies because I just watch the movie and I don't think about it. So I was like, didn't occur to me even when she died that it was foreshadowing.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:31

Interesting. Well, the best part for me of this movie was just the score.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:35

Fucking hated it. The same tone over and over again.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:39

Not that the score is enjoyable, not that you listen to it and go, I want to get the album, but when you listen to it, it heightens the emotion that is being elicited from what's happening on screen.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:48

I was at a rave, but with a lot of synthesizers. A lot of times the score was the only thing going on on screen.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:56

What I need to know is how Chris felt about the score because it does have 80 cents.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:00

Oh, the score was totally fine. I wasn't bothered by it one bit. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to just forgive the rest of the movie, though.

SPEAKER_07 1:30:06

Of course. I don't think any score can.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:08

I mean, you'd be surprised. There's some great scores that really lift up. It's kind of like having a good personality with nothing else to offer. You know what else has nothing else to offer for me?

SPEAKER_04 1:30:16

This movie. I definitely won't be re-watching it.

SPEAKER_07 1:30:20

Ryan, I have a feeling you're not the only one that feels this way. And I may be the only one that will re-watch this again willingly and with some amount of pleasure. It is a movie that I've revisited a couple times since I first saw it, and every time I get a little bit more out of it. And at the same time I recognize that this movie is not for everybody. Maybe it's only just for me. I'm excited to hear what the listeners think. Because I'm sure I can't be alone in this world, but I'm at peace if I am.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:50

I mean, people voted for this Paris, you know you're not alone in the world. You said that people hated this movie or they loved this movie.

SPEAKER_06 1:30:56

You got me.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:57

I'm not gonna watch this, but I would be interested in a second one that had a lot of B movie vibes minus some violence.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:06

She wants to see the biker demons from Mandy, but neon. Exactly. She wants. But models. Modeled biker chicks.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:15

You know what? I'll be honest, I thought I was never gonna watch the movie again the first time I saw it. And then I had to for this. So at this point, I I think I can confidently say, however, that I will not watch this movie again. And I feel pretty passionately that most people should not watch the movie. Not that they might watch it and not enjoy it, but I think most people should not watch it. It's just gonna make you feel bad, and you're just not gonna have a good time.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:39

Never again. But let's see what Mac has for us in fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:43

Well, that brings us to number one. Originally, Jesse was going to show nudity in the gold paint scene. That was changed, obviously, because Al Fanning was 16 at the time.

SPEAKER_07 1:31:52

Fact. I'm gonna say fiction because I feel like this movie deliberately did not show a lot of things. And this feels like one of them.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:01

You know, you could be on to something. No. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:04

It's almost like the lack of nudity is because she's so far and above everyone else.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:08

I don't know. I'll just go fact. Just cause.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:11

Yeah, it's a fact. So Carrie Mulligan was set to play Jesse, but she pieced out because of scheduling issues. So you get all fanny in there, she's only 16. Obviously, they're not gonna shoot her nude, uh, because you know, apparently he's not Rowan Pulansky, so at least that's good.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:25

I'm at least thankful for that.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:27

Yeah. Well, number two, Jenna Malone improvised most of the scene featuring Necrophilia.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:34

Fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:34

That feels factual. Jenna is a incredible actress.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:38

It's a fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:39

It is indeed. The director stated it was supposed to be just like kissing, but Malone took things to a more intense level.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:46

She is a quirky actress. This is not surprising, I feel like.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:50

Number three. Carl Glossman was the director's top pick during casting because he felt Glossman channel the energy of a young Ryan Gosling.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:57

Uh fiction?

SPEAKER_02 1:32:59

Yeah, fiction.

SPEAKER_07 1:33:00

I'm gonna say fiction as well, because the whole time I couldn't stop thinking that he looks like if Edward and Jacob had a baby.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:07

Well, this is a fiction, as it turns out. Many actors trying out for the part of Dean tried to impersonate Gosling, which kind of screwed them from their chance of securing the role. And number four, that amazing opening shot with El Fanning modeling as a victim required her to keep her eyes open so long that the hotlights burn the contacts under her eyeballs.

SPEAKER_04 1:33:28

Fiction? I feel like there's a way around that.

SPEAKER_07 1:33:30

I don't know, it is a really slow pan out, and she is absolutely unflinching. And this also sounds so specific that how could Mac have made it up? So I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_04 1:33:38

It's a logical fallacy. I've been down that thought process before. Don't do it, Paris. Fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:43

It is indeed a fact. And also, if you wear contact lenses and you keep your eyes open a long time, like it totally feels like they're going to be just burned into your eyeballs. Just saying.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:53

Don't sleep with dailies on either.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:55

Don't sleep with any contact lenses in. It's just not good for you. Well, number five. The director opted to yell brutality instead of action during filming.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:04

God, he seems like that kind of guy. Fact.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:07

That feels so random fiction.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:08

Yeah, I'm gonna say that's fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:10

It is indeed a fiction, but instead of action, he would yell violence, mother effers.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:15

Right. So worse, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:18

Oh, so much worse.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:19

Great. You shortening that is pretty funny.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:22

You're welcome, and that's been fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:24

Well, there you have it, folks. The neon demon, winner of the very first ever co-host Clash, has earned four hacks and one slash. We'll see if the next one fares better. And we've certainly had a robust discussion here, but it doesn't end here by any means. Obviously, there are a lot of feelings drummed up by this movie, and we want to know which of those feelings you have. So keep in mind there are a number of ways to reach out to us, starting with our website, hackerslash.

SPEAKER_04 1:34:50

If you're related to this movie, we want to hear from you, you can reach out to our HackerSlash Hotline, leave us a voicemail at 757-606-0128, or visit hacker slash.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:02

If you saw the Neon Demon go into the lineup and you're really angry at us for letting you watch it, you can send us an email to feedback at hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_07 1:35:09

And if you've enjoyed listening to this episode, consider joining the New Blood Drive and becoming one of our patrons. You can visit patreon.com slash hacker slash to earn cool perks for as low as $1 a month. But don't forget, if you decide to join our $3 or $5 tier during the month of October, you'll receive our fourth anniversary Halloween poster.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:26

We'll see you next time, folks. And remember, beauty isn't everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:37

Alright, welcome back to Freesides. We have a submission this week from Marshall who asks, if you had to pick one, which horror movie would y'all choose to be in, either as a villain or final person? And my answer is not going to be surprising, but I would choose to be an alien and be Ripley. Because if you can be Ripley, you should be Ripley. That's just how it goes. Like if you have the choice of being any other character or the one that survives, obviously be the one that survives. But Mac, that means we get to see you with nipples out and cotton panties in the end.

SPEAKER_07 1:36:09

That's my normal like state of being anyway. So Fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:14

He'd definitely be wearing silkies.

SPEAKER_07 1:36:15

That is accurate. Your ranger panties.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:18

You make a good point though. This is a hard question to answer, right? Because either you're going to be the killer or you have to choose to be one of the people that lives in the end. There's no way you say I want to be a part of this movie and then die. However, I had to go with what I hope will be an obvious and predictable choice for myself. And that is I want to be Tippy Hedron and the birds. Because I just want to ride in that cool little convertible down that little hillside and do the things and say, Of course, I know how to drive an outboard.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:46

I was gonna say the birds, but I be the birds.

unknown 1:36:49

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:50

No, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:51

Did you see my text by the way that I had sent in our group chat that I was like, this is totally Ryan? The lady had a scarf over her head, too. I was like, what? Yeah, it it truly looked like Tippy.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:01

Like it was adorable and I loved it. And you're right, it is me. It is what I want to be when I'm like 60.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:07

I applaud you on that. Um, this is hard because Ryan, you brought up a good point. Teeth.

SPEAKER_08 1:37:13

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:14

To be the villain-ish. I don't know. I don't call her a villain per se, but I mean, it would be funny to be able to use my vagina as a weapon. Yep. Fun is a word.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:26

Hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:26

As if you don't already. Yeah, I use it in a different sort of weapon. I'm stuck because I also would like to be broms, only for the fact that I would love to crawl behind walls, and I think it would be fun. I always like houses. I know. I always like houses that have like back stairwells. Like I always thought that was ingenuity at its best. I'm like, wow, they're rich. They got two stairs. I got one in the front in the house and one in the back.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:50

You you said broms, and I for a second thought you meant the doll.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:54

Same.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:54

And you were gonna say, I'd love to be dressed up and just sit there and carried around and cared for.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:59

That fact as well. You brought up a valid point. I'm tired in my life as a 31-year-old, and I wish everyone did everything for me, including changing my clothes.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:08

Just so you guys know, I I can confirm that she values cool stairways intensely. It's been of note many times in our friendship.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:16

Very true, very true. Stairs are the shit. Okay, so I've had to think about this for a little bit. And I'm gonna go with a character from Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon, and it'd be Taylor as the final girl, because I think having someone that's not Taylor be Taylor would be far more interesting. And honestly, a whole movie of me trying to make a movie and uh documentary, I feel like that's really on brand. I feel like if if there was a final girl, I'd I'd most align with her, but being less boring and annoying. That does feel like you. I feel like it'd be an upgrade.

SPEAKER_07 1:38:48

I also love that Chris made her choice based on how she can improve an existing film with her presence.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:52

A a film about films, yep. Very important. Meta slashers.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:56

This movie would be better if I was in it. You have to know like what your skills are and then apply those to your chosen film role, apparently.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:03

Just that one though. Honestly, I'd I'd cheapen every other movie.

SPEAKER_07 1:39:07

Okay, so I did think of dying in the movie that I was gonna be in, and it's any Friday the 13th or Sleepaway Camp or any camp movie where I can be killed, but as like the first slutty gay camper who dies after having gay sex at camp. Because no one's doing that. No one's killing the gays in these movies, and they need to.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:28

You really think that? What?

SPEAKER_07 1:39:30

Okay, well, if I'm not gonna be the first, I have a backup, and that is to be the killer from Malignant. If you haven't watched this yet, it is new. We won't spoil anything, but I'm currently working on a Halloween costume in which I convey just that.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:42

I'm excited to see you walk backwards, okay?

SPEAKER_07 1:39:45

Bitch, I'm double jointed all over. It's gonna be gaggy.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:48

Literally and figuratively. Oh my god, I hate it.

SPEAKER_07 1:39:51

Also, my arms are so long.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:53

I've never seen your arms, so I can't yeah. Oh my gosh, you are slender, man. Sorry, you're long as a human. That's all.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:01

I am, yeah. But you know how your height's supposed to be like the same as your wingspan? My wingspan has like an extra four inches.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:07

Oh, you should have been a swimmer.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:09

People always say that. I don't think I would have lasted in the locker room.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:12

Yeah, we all because we all heard it that one time when Michael Phelps was swimming, we were all like, oh my god, people with long arms, swimmers. Yeah. So we just regurgitate it because that's all we know what to say.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:21

And big feet. I think you should get one of those wingsuits because your wingspan will be so long that you would fly very well.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:27

Oh, you should be a flying squirrel. That'd be great.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:30

I would never. I'm so terrified of heights.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:32

You could be the first gay male Batman. Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:35

That was George Clooney. I know. I'm about to say that. There was already a first. And George Clooney confirmed that his character in the movie was, so. Did he? I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:45

I'm just making that up.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:47

Oh, damn, Mac. I'm working on top five hottest bats right now, and obviously Nipples Batman is on the list, so I was gonna use that.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:53

Have you ever seen the Virginia Big Eard Bat? It's a hot bat. No, not really, it's kind of ugly. But it has cute ears.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:58

Wait, can you send it? Because the number five spot is real loose.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:03

You should do an Austin bat. There's some bridge that they're like really famous for.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:07

Been there.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:08

It's super cool. There's like a bazillion bats that fly off of it, and you just like lean over and watch them.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:14

Yeah, so you just put Austin native bats, like Austin, Texas.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:18

Yeah, that that bridge is actually kind of fun. Except for like the days where they're feeling lazy and it's you know, darkness is falling and they're just like, nah, I'm good.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:26

Oh, actually. Speaking of Darkness Falls, being a movie in which you're the tooth fairy killing people wouldn't be a bad gig.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:33

Especially because you're killing like 12-year-olds. So it's easy.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:36

Yikes. Paris has a strong babies are not hot thing, but does not have a strong we don't kill babies thing. And it's just an interesting balance to have in your life, you know?

SPEAKER_07 1:41:46

Listen, you can kill a baby and it raises the stakes every time.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:50

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:51

It says nothing is sacred.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:53

Well, my backup, just to throw this out here, my backup choice for what movie I want to be in was obviously Candyman, because I want to meet Tony Todd. Thank you. And honestly, I could come up with like five or six more movies that I'd like to be in just to meet the person that's gonna eventually kill me because they're cute. Let's not have you be Freddy though.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:12

Honestly, though, Freddy. I would absolutely watch Ryan as Freddy. Ryan as Freddy, yeah, yeah, yeah. Older Freddy, not you or Freddie, not remake Freddie. Why's you gotta be older? Not pedophile Freddie. Cool Freddy from from the first one. Yeah, no, woodworking Freddie.

SPEAKER_03 1:42:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:42:28

Who goes to brunch? Yes. Ooh.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:31

I can't think of any horror movies right now that feature a killer robot, but uh maybe that's just bad memory.

SPEAKER_00 1:42:38

Maul Chopping Mall.

SPEAKER_07 1:42:40

Maul killer Chopping Mall, that's what it's called.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:42

Oh yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:42:43

Alien, the android with the decapitated milk innards.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:46

Oh, I would absolutely be one of the androids from one of the alien movies, just not the one that dies. So well, they all die, I guess, but we don't know that Sigorni Weaver wasn't a robot. I think we do know that because you if you keep watching the series, you'll find out that she's not. I'm not gonna do that, you know.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:02

We could be in the thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:03

Now that would be interesting, but not if I was any one of the things that was imitated by the thing. Plus it's cold in the thing. I don't want that.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:11

But what a fun game of trying to figure out who's the imposter. Not fun when your life is at risk. A lot like real video games, you know?

SPEAKER_00 1:43:18

Listen, the only thing that's not fun about that is knowing that you'd have to see a scene where a bunch of dogs die. And I'm not okay with that. True.

SPEAKER_06 1:43:26

I'll survive.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:27

I'm sorry. Thirty days of night?

SPEAKER_01 1:43:28

Why aren't we talking about that? Because also cold and those vampires run fast as fuck. Bro, we could be the vampires.

SPEAKER_06 1:43:36

Ooh, were they hot?

SPEAKER_01 1:43:38

Oh yeah. They are hot. No, they they weren't hot.

SPEAKER_06 1:43:41

Well, if we were them, they'd be hot.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:43

I mean, they're kind of cool. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:45

The main dude is the hottest he's ever been in that movie. Josh Hartner, for sure. We talked about that. No, no, no, no, no, not him. The main vampire.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:52

The main vampire was hot?

SPEAKER_04 1:43:53

He's not hot, but he's the hottest he's ever been in that.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:56

Are you like a true blood person or something? Like vampirism is hot to you? No. Vampirism is objectively hot.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:02

Clearly, being a vampire made him hotter, is what I'm trying to say. But what would we all look like as Cullens is the real question.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:08

Sluts.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:09

Better. That's not a horror movie. We're not talking about that on this podcast.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:12

I would obviously be a werewolf in that scenario because I'm constantly on fire in terms of heat. So oh, that's true. You would all be cool little vampires, and I would be like, I guess I have to get shirtless and let my belly hang out because I'm a werewolf now. And then Mac and I would have our own love story spinoff.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:27

Alexis might actually be a werewolf, though.

SPEAKER_07 1:44:29

I see that for her.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:30

Why? Because I'm hairy. I don't know that about you.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:34

I mean, look at my legs, my arms. I don't think that's even true. Because I shave every fucking part of my body. Okay. On a side note, I am excited on our our yearly rewind episode. I would wonder if like there's certain things if you listen to us throughout the year that you would know about us. Like Mac says constantly he's hot. So like I wonder what other people would think. This is totally off topic.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:59

I like to think that over time people get to know things about our character, but then I realize maybe I think people care too much and they just like tune in for one episode. So every time I say, you guys know this about me, it's probably not true. They really probably don't.

SPEAKER_07 1:45:12

But the implication is that they do, and that's what matters.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:15

Hopefully. Okay, listeners. If you've listened to more than one episode, feel free to ride in with what you've learned about us so we can recap that at our end of your episode. I love that.

SPEAKER_06 1:45:25

Do that.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:25

I'd love to know what people think about me because I imagine it's not what I'd like people to think.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:30

Also, I'm really curious how the listeners would answer this question for us. Like, what movie do they want to see each of us in, and who would we be in that movie? Oh my god. Just based on what they know about us. Play casting director.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:44

Oh yes, please. It'd probably be really like like we want you to be in the movie that you're the most miserable in, right? So Mac would be in a movie where well, this doesn't make sense. I was gonna say Mac would be in a movie that has a first person point of view, but um, that's life, so that doesn't work. But you know what I'm saying, right? Chris will be in a movie with lots of gore. Alexis would be in a movie with no gore at all, and lots of lights.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:07

I would be in a movie with just straight white men and no women with speaking parts.

SPEAKER_04 1:46:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:12

And in Ryan's movie, there would be no boobs visible anywhere.

SPEAKER_04 1:46:16

Or too much boob.

unknown 1:46:18

Is there?

SPEAKER_04 1:46:19

Actually, there is too much boob. Carrie was too much boob.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:22

We already watched Hatchet. How about excessive man boob?

SPEAKER_04 1:46:24

I don't want any man boob. I'm good. Okay, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:27

It's too much boob, but for the wrong people. The wrong kind.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:34

She's one of our most loyal patrons, Mac. Of course she loves you.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:38

Truly, but I often sometimes wonder who other just loves the collection of us, but not us individually. Oh yeah. Yikes. These are deep philosophical questions that keep me up at night.

SPEAKER_04 1:46:51

I think Paris was on a war path. What's the movie uh with the chick, the hot chick robots that are in the fancy house? Yeah, it's deaf w- oh. No, it's not. There's a girl.

SPEAKER_08 1:47:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:11

And he like she like makes suite with this guy that's at this house as he's a smart dude. There's a guy that keeps it.

SPEAKER_07 1:47:19

Halloween season of the witch?

SPEAKER_04 1:47:21

One hot girl robot in that. She kills him, tricks him into thinking she's nice, kills him.

SPEAKER_07 1:47:26

Oh, ex Machina.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:27

Ex Machina, thank you.

SPEAKER_07 1:47:30

This is my favorite game.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:32

So I'm I'm curious, okay, because Paris, uh, you and I didn't chat during the viewing of this, but the other three people here have shared some of their sentiments with me. The other three?

SPEAKER_00 1:47:42

Yeah, okay, yeah. Yeah. I'm just looking at you three. I'm like, wait, how's the third? Who is the third?

SPEAKER_06 1:47:49

Chris.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:49

It's me. In the small corner. Oh, okay. It's not you.

SPEAKER_06 1:47:52

Hacker math.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:53

Yep. Me and Math never was friends.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:58

That was my overarching arching? Arching? Arching. Overarching?

SPEAKER_07 1:48:05

Now I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:06

I don't know. They both sounded good.

SPEAKER_07 1:48:08

Overall.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:09

That was my overarching feeling. Yeah, that sounds dumb.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:15

Okay. So I'm I'm not quite sure you why you thought it'd be that bad for me. I don't like some of those things in movies, but it's not gonna bother me. Like that doesn't trigger my gag reflex, right? Like my gag reflex is independent. The whole issue is independent of seeing it in a movie? Mine do.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:37

Okay, I have a question. I know we're I know we're talking about the end. I have a question. Who likes to walk into an art museum and look around and not speak the entire time? Like just go in on your own.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:47

I do it often.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:48

Okay. Paris. I like to talk. I'm a talker. Alexis. Art museum? Go in, walk around, just look around on your own.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:55

I go through them pretty fast because I don't sit there and read. I look cool. Bye.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:00

Chris?

SPEAKER_01 1:49:00

I only go with company and I go to talk.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:02

Interesting. It's so interesting because I like I I thought that that was going to predict kind of how all of us were going to feel about it, but it it has no relation whatsoever to how we view art in in film. So I like the sentiment though, Mac.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:16

Good case study. It didn't remind you of Edward sucking the venom out of Bella's hand in Twilight. Very, very, very reminiscent of that for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:29

You should have known that Paris wasn't picking a vampire movie.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:33

I do love vampires sometimes.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:36

Do you love vampires? Caddy vampires?

SPEAKER_07 1:49:38

You know I'm a Twilight bitch.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:40

Is that the only vampire movie you've ever seen?

SPEAKER_07 1:49:42

It's the only one with hot vampires that I've ever seen. Interview with the vampire didn't do it for you? Never saw it.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:48

It's very gay. You'd love it.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:49

But isn't Kirsten Dunce playing essentially the same role as L. Fanning in this movie?

SPEAKER_00 1:49:53

Yeah, but do you really have to care about Kirsten Dunce? Absolutely not. You'd probably love it for Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, who are very gay.

SPEAKER_07 1:50:00

I love Kirsten Dunce. Kirsten Dunce is one of my top five favorite queens of all time.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:05

Yeah, but she's not that important in the movie. I mean, she is a very central character, don't get this wrong. But I'm saying that you would watch it for different reasons.

SPEAKER_07 1:50:12

I should watch this movie. I can I can concede that.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:16

I'm sorry. Are you do you mean to tell me that Elle Fanning is Dakota Fanning's sister?

SPEAKER_06 1:50:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:22

Yeah, I figured they were sisters. Yeah. Honestly, I hadn't even been troubled to fucking consider who this person was. I love Dakota Fanning so much. Don't slander her.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:31

Oh, I'm not slandering her. I just think this performance.

SPEAKER_07 1:50:34

Yeah, I think we have room for two fannings in this world.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:37

This role that Elle is playing probably outshines her vampireness in one one of the twilig she was in as the head witch. As a head vampire. All the twilights.

SPEAKER_07 1:50:51

Oh Alexis, you've done it now.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:53

No, I'm kidding. Chris knows I also love all the twilights.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:58

She's miraculous, but not cocky enough. I know the wording on that's kind of weird. So we all agreed on what we're getting Alexis for her next birthday? A photo shoot.

SPEAKER_07 1:51:11

A cute murder photo shoot where apparently she gets a knife to hold.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:15

Right. She gently grazes the knife along her skin while she gets the hose again.

unknown 1:51:20

Oh god.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:21

Also, I'm very tempted to maybe do a saw-inspired one from our poster. So I was like, oh, I kind of look cute in a saw trap. Kinda cute, not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:33

It's a roach on my ceiling. It's right above my bed.

SPEAKER_07 1:51:36

What is a bug?

SPEAKER_00 1:51:38

There's a roach on my ceiling and it's right above my bed. So if I try to hit it. Chris, no. Oh my god. Extra protein.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:45

Shut up. Shut up.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:46

You don't fucking get to make protein jokes about what you failed to warn me for. She's actually actually enraged about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:52

So I honestly didn't think about it because I thought like the retching sound and the like the idea of vomiting really upset her.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:57

It was no sh vomiting upsets her when she does it. Gagging is hard for her.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:04

I hadn't seen this movie in a minute. And I, as I watched it, I was like, Chris is gonna hack this. Yep, she's gonna hack. And as the sequence of events unfolded, I was like, Chris will absolutely hack this movie.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:14

Yeah, the throwing up was nothing.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:16

Yeah, at that point I figured she wouldn't even finish.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:17

It really was nothing.

SPEAKER_00 1:52:18

I didn't give a shit about the throwing up.

SPEAKER_06 1:52:20

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:20

I literally just watched a demon throw up into someone's mouth. And this is but it was so fake. This is fake too! It's an eyeball.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:27

That was real. But she goes on for five minutes going on.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:30

Yeah, her eight hours of I was like, just get it out, honey.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:33

Chris, what's the what's the game plan?

SPEAKER_00 1:52:34

I'm just gonna wait until we're done because he hasn't moved, he hasn't moved in a little while.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:38

I hate that. We're gonna finish and he's gonna be gone and you're never gonna know where he is.

SPEAKER_00 1:52:41

Yeah, that's so then she's gonna text me later and be up all night because she can't find it.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:44

I think you're good. Remember that time you killed my spider?

SPEAKER_00 1:52:47

Yeah, yeah. This is a roach though, and it's like if I if I knock him down, he will fall on my bed, and I'm trying to avoid that. So I gotta get a broom and like sweep him to the other side of the room. No! I do have to be up all night anyway, watching documentary now. I'm on a I'm on a washing shit exchange from a co-worker and I.

SPEAKER_06 1:53:04

Where do you have time for that?

SPEAKER_00 1:53:05

I know. I'm making time for it after this podcast.

SPEAKER_07 1:53:08

Oh good god. Okay. Let's get back into this.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:13

I'm sorry, did you not see her get naked in an elevator in the Hunger Games?

SPEAKER_02 1:53:18

Did that happen? Of course. Which one was that?

SPEAKER_00 1:53:20

And what was the timestamp?