203: XX (2017)

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Worst part, the hairy feet with the long black toenails. Ugh. What?

SPEAKER_02 0:11

I said bitch, don't touch those.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. It's been three days. 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_04 0:35

Totally killer. Unintended.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies for the perspectives we've 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, the Gore Lover Alexis, hey everyone, and the Scream Queen Paris.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

I have dreams of an empire of misery.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

This week we're checking out a horror anthology that sure to counter the misogyny we all felt from VHS back in episode 149. But before we get down to business, we have some follow-up.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Let's follow up on a movie. Okay, so we finally made it back into theaters, and by we I mean just me and Chris, to see the 2022 Scream, the fifth installment in a beloved franchise. Now, really fun facts about this episode. It actually for a while was the number one search result in Apple Podcasts for Scream 2022, which was like kind of shocking. It was really a cool moment for us. And it's actually our most downloaded episode of all time, and it broke that record within the first seven days.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Way to hold it down, guys.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Appreciate it. We were there, but it seemed to be doing great. Yeah, I mean, you're not the reason we have abandonment issues. That's funny.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Yeah, it was a really fun episode, and I think there was just a lot of really good energy for that movie. And Chris doing her all-nighters that she does got it out probably the first ever episode of a podcast for that movie. I think we could say that for most new releases, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Mm-hmm. Yeah, most of the time that's the case. That's why I really commit to making myself miserable the next day. But we're out there first, so we are pioneers.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

Now, the rest of our listeners are also pioneers, and they saw the movie too, so we wanted to hear what they thought. And the poll results are in Scream 2022, the fifth installment, got a 17% hack and 83% slash.

SPEAKER_04 2:26

Well, this is good to hear because I still haven't seen it yet. I had the tickets. I told you, I bought the tickets. Ryan and I were gonna sit right next to each other in the back row, but life happened. 2022, aka 2020 version 3 um happened, so didn't get to see it. So now I know that our listeners think I should.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Surprises me that there's still 17% that would have hacked it. So I don't know. I wonder why.

SPEAKER_04 2:48

You can't make everyone happy.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

But you can make a lot of people happy. Some people don't like fun. Very true.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

I'm actually surprised this movie did as well as it did because I don't know, I feel like with things that are this beloved, it's very easy. It's a very delicate operation. Uh, but obviously we enjoyed it and a lot of our listeners did it as well. We have a couple comments. Daniel said, This movie was great, and Wes would have loved it. If you're a fan of the franchise, then you'll be a fan of this one. I didn't want an over-the-top motive. I wanted something simple, and that's what they did.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Sometimes simple is best, and I agree with you. It felt like a true return to form.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

We have another comment from Jay from Twitter who said, very solid requel. I think there were some problems, but overall it was a great continuation of the best horror franchise. We'll definitely be re-watching in theaters, total slash. Oh, and that's actually true. I watched this twice in theaters. It's one of those movies where like you can only watch it the first time once, and then you gotta watch it again now that once you know the killer and everything.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I've aspired to watching this more times in theaters, and I'm very disappointed that as of this recording I haven't made the time to, but I cannot wait. I mean they're gonna try to get back into a theater this week if it's still showing, or as soon as it's out streaming, I'm gonna watch it several times. I think I watched Halloween Kills like I think seven or eight times when it was all said and done. Wow, if you can watch it twice in theaters, I think I can manage to make it once. Yeah, Paris, who famously never rewatches movies.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

I know, I know. We have another comment from EC from Twitter who did not like the movie, and this is why. He said, Seriously, this movie sucks. I nearly walked out at the ending. I get some people are terrible, but really the rant at the end wanted to eat their cake and then sidestep into what we all knew what was coming. It's a hack job and feck this movie. Wes says thanks, but he'll pass.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Interesting. See, I'm here for the reviews that are like hacking it. I mean, because uh to me, Scream can do no wrong, so even this one probably couldn't. I haven't even seen it.

SPEAKER_03 4:45

So you're fueled by the hatred. I will say there is a layer of irony with that specific comment. But something completely unironic and something that I'm actually obsessed with is the fact that two of our patrons, Tony and Britney, met up to see this movie in theaters together and they like found each other through being patrons of this podcast. Like Hackerslash is bringing families together.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

That is so awesome. Bringing families together.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Nothing has warmed my heart more in 2022 than that very connection. It makes me so happy.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

I know, and honestly, just like keeping tabs on everything on social media, you could like see that they were like starting to like talk and chat. And Chris texted me, she's like, I think Britney and Tony met up to see Scream 2022. And I was like, oh my god, did they? And we're absolutely obsessed with this. So we are so happy that y'all got to hang out. Um, and it's just another reason to become one of our patrons, y'all. Another reason to join our Patreon is that our Discord server launched publicly on March 1st. Check the link in the show notes to join and hang out with us on Discord and have lots of fun conversations.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Mm-hmm. You can join if you aren't a patron, but if you are a patron, there's a whole section dedicated just to you, filled with exclusive channels that you can access.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Mm-hmm. And lots of fun little things that we have planned for the Discord patrons. And finally, we'd like to thank one of our newest members of our Patreon family, and that is Liz. Liz, I need you to know that Liz is one of the hottest names, specifically because of the movie Jawbreaker, where you get to hear the phrase, I killed Liz. I killed the teen dream. Deal with it about a hundred times. And for that, Liz, you are an icon. And that's our follow-up.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Welcome aboard, Liz. You joined at just the right time because this week we're talking about an experimental project that launched in 2013 in hopes of highlighting female filmmakers, particularly those in the horror genre. Now, the project took shape and there was only one requirement for each short. The shorts must be directed by women and feature a woman in the lead role. Now, the ultimate result was an anthology featuring four tales that center on complex women. This week we're talking about XX. Who's seen this one before?

SPEAKER_04 6:48

Oh boy, I had not even heard of this until now, and I apologize.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

I don't think you need to apologize for that per se. I mean, I only heard about this because I was doing research on, you know, women in horror and movies for you know women's history month. But I came across this and then I don't know what it was, the movie poster, but something about it seemed familiar, but then I realized I'd never seen this before.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

Okay, but wait, the episode we did that was also an anthology that I think was for VHS, if that's the one with the succubus storyline. I think we talked about this a little bit. And Mac, if you don't remember, that's totally fine, as I famously never remember anything. But somehow I remembered that this existed, and I was actually looking forward to watching it.

SPEAKER_04 7:28

Yeah, the only reason I know what day it is is because we record on Sundays, but any other day of the week can't tell you what I have for breakfast.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

And this is how we killed Chris in round six or seven on our 200th episode.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Thanks, guys. But you're absolutely right. We did talk about this in the VHS episode specifically because of how that movie left such a taste in our mouths. I think there were two shorts in there that were fairly good, but a couple that just really reeked of misogyny and it was a bit of a bummer. I remember us wondering if something like this existed, and I was very pleased to see that it did. What really excited me though, in terms of like building up some positive expectations here, is the fact that the maker of Jennifer's Body is also a filmmaker for this. Very, very exciting. Also, knowing that the uh final film in this story is actually basically like fan fiction for another iconic horror movie, which I also found really, really exciting. So I went into this with high hopes. I heard that it was neatly produced, that it had great cinematography. I was a little surprised by some of the directions some of the stories went, but overall, I was looking forward to this.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah, Karis, I agree. I figured it wouldn't disappoint since Karen Kusama was on this, but I also am a fan of anthology. So, you know, I love a good short story, and then a few other ones after that. And exploring topics related to women, hence the title. I thought this was gonna be a really interesting movie.

SPEAKER_04 8:57

I didn't read anything about it, uh, so I hadn't like no idea what to expect. So anthology-wise, I'm thinking, is it gonna be like creep show? Is it gonna be like the outer limits, but for horror? Like, I had no idea.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

I knew that it was female-led and I was excited about that, uh, but it was also an anthology, so I was like, okay, hopefully there's some high points, hopefully the low points aren't too low. I was sort of tempering my expectations going into this. And honestly, while I was watching this, I was a little concerned. I'll I'll say the first story had a lot going on, and there were so many questions, and I was like, what is this? And then you get to the second story, and I was like, What is this? And there were so many opportunities where I felt like I wish it wasn't an anthology, and I wish we had more time with these characters and with these stories. But I also have to admit I fell asleep during the second story, and I had to finish the last two the morning after.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Paris, I know what you mean. Is it seemed like all of these could have been flushed out more and been an entire movie, which is why I liked it. But honestly, the freaking opening scene was so creepy and it grabbed my attention, and I don't know what it is about the shortness of 20-minute increments, but I was like, okay, it only needs to capture my attention for 20 minutes. Somehow it did keep me along for the ride, but I did have those like what is going on, what is going on, and what is going on in all of them per se. There was one that I really enjoyed, and I didn't care what was going on, but it was good. But the rest, the plot I was questioning.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

I I will probably say it more strongly than the both of you, but I spent most of the movie going, where the hell is this gonna go? And I, you know, I think your concern was realized in my mind while watching this. Uh most of the stories, I just like truly like I I got it. I understood the plot and even themes in some of them, but I just still felt while watching this that like they needed, like you said, like more time to truly deliver on each idea.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

See, this is something that I tend to feel with some of the anthologies that we've seen, but for some reason this one didn't throw me off the way that I think it threw the rest of you off. So it's what's really interesting is the first story is actually not written by a woman, but it's like a short story called The Box. Seeing this adaptation of it and seeing the changes to it, I wasn't expecting it to go in quite that direction. I still was left with questions, but I think what it did was help me have like a really good palette cleanser for each story afterwards. So while I may have been a little what the fuck in the very beginning, this the tonal shifts between the stories actually felt really good to me, and I felt really invested along the way. I think what's cool is that it could have been longer. There could have been more detail in the stories, and I would love to see any of these movies expanded upon, but I didn't feel like I was robbed of anything. It felt like the perfect cliffhanger for a short story, which I think was a big surprise, especially considering how different these filmmakers are. And considering even like the wraparound and the framing device of like there's like a it's like a stop motion animation, which I'll admit I don't entirely get, but I know that an incredibly talented woman who's like one of the only world-renowned uh female stop motion artists was the one to do it. It was really exciting to see how different of a style they all put and what a different flair they put. Particularly the differences between the second story and the fourth story were really, really shocking to me.

SPEAKER_04 12:39

Yeah, I think the whole thing kind of felt like a showcase. It's kind of like going into an art gallery that has four different artists. And so, of course, you're you're definitely getting very different styles. I think, I mean, I I know we've already mentioned it, but the thing that tied it all together for me was how disappointed I was in the execution of the plots. Um, I did feel that I wanted more. It honestly felt like we were getting responses, like we were getting Reddit one-sentence horror posts. I don't know if you're familiar with with that subreddit, but that's what it seemed like to me. And I know sometimes that's enough. I know sometimes that's like what you want, is like you want a small bite and then you want to move on. Um, I just like, I don't know. I like having answers to questions and I like seeing things really fleshed out. Um, so that was that was a dis a bit disappointing because I feel like with 20 or 25 minutes, you probably could tell a little bit more of something less. I think you have to really like boil it down to its just minimum.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

I agree. I feel like sometimes I try to understand things, and when I've been on the podcast and we've been talking, sometimes I'm like, it is what it is. I don't really need to understand it. But I think that's what disappointed me is I truly didn't understand the intent behind these. And I've seen anthologies, and unfortunately I am a fan of VHS, but I think because it's all kind of a specific genre, like a lot of gore, a lot of violence. And I think I knew the intent behind that, and this I was just like thrown off per se. But I did figure that Chris would somehow explain the significance of these, so I was excited for that. I was like, maybe this is a perfection where I need to be schooled on some things. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

Chris, you were mentioning the interstitials earlier, like the stop motion that we kind of got weaving the stories together, or at least like bookending them. And I was really surprised that that even existed in this movie, and I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Anything like creepy, unsettling, and related to like a corrupted innocence, like it was all like weird children's toys and like a spooky dollhouse. Um, I really enjoyed those, and I actually looked up Sophia Carillo's work, and I found out that I love her as an artist. So I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to her work in this anthology. Another thing that surprised me though was how I was able to identify two actresses in this movie, or I guess in this series, because with these sort of things, you kind of expect it to be like a bunch of nobodies that you don't recognize, which kind of helps you get into the stories a little bit better. Like, I don't know, if you like threw Renee Zellwerk into one of these, it would kind of really throw off the balance of all of them. But I immediately recognized Angela Trimmer as the like cute slutty girl from The Final Girls. And I also clocked Melanie Linsky, who is the main character in Yellow Jackets, or at least one of them. And listeners, if you haven't watched Yellow Jackets, it was the best show of 2021. And it's horror, so check that out. She's in it as well.

SPEAKER_04 15:29

I I think there's a lot here that could surprise you about these. I mean, I I do truly see it as like an art collection, which is very interesting on its own as a film, because so often with a film is just like pulp entertainment, which gets kind of boring after a while. So it's cool to see the minds of artists in film. I think I struggled though with with the with the horror aspect. I didn't really particularly find it scary, and I'm the worst person to ask for that because nothing apparently scares me. But um, it just didn't have that like truly horrible feel. I didn't get as much buy-in, perhaps because like how how how little time each story had on the screen. So you don't like get as much empathy as you would for most characters.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

I do get that. Don't know if you've seen on Netflix, but there is one sentence horror movies shorts, I guess they're called. But um, those are fantastic, and it's amazing what we can do with one sentence. But one short in this anthology was scary. And I remember doing some research on this for the podcast specifically for everyone. Um, so it wasn't like I was cheating, but I did see a still, and I was like, oh hell no. If I see this thing, I'm gonna have to be in bed. So I literally paused the movie in my living room just to go in bed because I didn't want to have to turn all the lights off. So yes, there is one short in this that is terrifying.

SPEAKER_03 16:48

I have a feeling I know which one it is, Alexis, uh, because there was one that was like the closest to being scary for me, and I think that's the one I would like to see turned into its own movie the most. Um but ultimately I don't think I don't think there's much of a fright factor here, especially with the first two stories.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

See, the second story felt more like a comedy to me. But I don't think again, I don't think it was supposed to be a really scary thing. But what it's this movie did prey upon was like the fears and anxieties of motherhood and several other themes that you would regularly encounter. But especially those those first two, it's kind of like your worst fears as a mother come to life. Not that that, not that I am a mother, but from obviously you know being so close with my own mother and then my sisters uh being mothers themselves. These are the things that you worry about. You wonder you worry about being connected to your kids and being able to provide for them, or you worry about the impact that you're having on them and wondering what kind of things are gonna ruin their day, uh, especially if you know you have a child with a lot of emotional burden. And then particularly that last short that we get feels like those themes all summed up into one. And again, it's semi-fan fiction-y, but it ultimately culminates in a message that I think is really satisfying for that. So sure, it's not scary. I think there is that one that maybe plays with more classic horror movie tricks, and and I think this movie isn't supposed to scare you. It's just using horror as an outlet and a backdrop, which I'm okay with because I felt like a lot of these stories were incredibly unique.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

It's interesting to consider the originality of these because I don't think any of them seemed to me like, oh wow, that what an interesting idea. A lot of them like, okay, that. Oh, okay, this. And I wasn't mad about that necessarily. I think the approach that these different storytellers took um definitely reflects their unique styles in contrast with one another. Like Mac is saying, like, four artists at a gallery, each one was pretty distinct in its own right, but I don't know that the stories had too many original components.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

I think maybe the themes are not that original, but I think them being put into an anthology and then the way that they were presented was original though.

SPEAKER_04 19:14

And I'll flip things around. I think the like the genre of each story that we get, and uh you know, just like the feeling of each story as an individual expression of horror, yeah, like it doesn't seem that original. I think where you get the originality comes from the depth of each story and the and the the deeper meanings. But that being said, I think the thing I found most surprising and disappointing was that I just didn't get a feeling of closure with the ending of each of each story. And I think as a whole, and and when everything wraps up for the for the whole series of them in the movie, um that the like structure we get in between with the with the stop motion, it's it's fantastic. And I that as an ending to the film, loved it. But within each story, I think the ending, I just felt like there was more to be said.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

I mean, I broke them all down and I literally said, Wish it was longer, didn't get it, funny. That's all. So it's very simple. I mean, when you only have 20 minutes to work with, was the ending successful? I mean, you can go a multitude of ways, I feel.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

See, I don't see the length of time here as a hindrance, though. I feel like what do we want to do in a short film? We want to tell a story, and we know it's not always possible to see things from like cradle to grave, so to speak. But I felt like if I if the story ended, I felt like it left me with a feeling of something. And that's what I look for. I don't need all the answers, but especially with like with anthologies, unless it's gonna be something trick or treat where it's an anthology with four separate stories, but it's all woven in perfectly to one greater one greater story. With something like this, this is like going to a library and picking up a collection of short stories. I don't need everything to be fully fleshed out. The first one I felt like oh okay, not the strongest thing to do. The second one, I felt like I was laughing. The third one felt like a okay, this is a good little horror bit. And the last one, I'm like, oh, okay, I see how this ends after 18 years. For me, it all felt conclusive, and honestly, they all hit the spot for me. I know we'll talk about this later.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

I don't feel like the time always necessarily is a hindrance for anything, but in these it was. But I I guess I'll talk about that more in the second half.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

I think it's more what was done with the time in some of these circumstances that was the hindrance. Whereas maybe if there was more time, more that could have been done that would have been more satisfying. But as far as the endings go, I think there were a lot of times where I was like, Where and how are they going to land this plane? And not all of the members of this lineup. Stuck the landing.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

Well, I feel like there are going to be some debates later in the spoiler section of this episode, but we'll make our way there. Now, before we actually rate XX from 2017, Alexis, how many people died in this film? We have a total of ten deaths in this entire anthology. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

But what about the animal report? You know, there's some things that are shown on scene and referenced, so not for the faint of heart.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

All right, well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings then. XX from 2017, was it a hacker or slash?

SPEAKER_03 22:29

So when I review an anthology, I like to break it down and then get myself an average. So starting with the first story, The Box, uh, I'd like to rename it the bullshit. Uh, it was giving just that. It was very, very bad, and it had me so concerned for what the rest of these stories were going to be. There was one element I liked, but the rest of it, my boyfriend and I were like, oh, this is terrible. The second story, so that one's a hack. The second story, I saw my girl from Yellow Jackets, and I was like, oh, cool, this is fun. And then I saw the rest of the story and I was like, oh God. And it put me to sleep. And I was like, okay, so this is this is not looking good. So that was a second hack. I woke up the next day and I put on the third story, which was Don't Fall. And I was like, oh, okay. I recognize some of these characters. I like what's happening. Not maybe like the strongest performances per se, but I was I was satisfied for sure, especially after the previous night. So that one got a slash for me. And then the fourth one was kind of hit or miss for me. It felt like maybe a diluted version of hereditary, and we got like a generic brand Tony Colette performance. But even generic brand Tony Colette performance is still really good in my book. So that one got a slash for me as well. I think the interstitials were really solid and I liked those. I was like, maybe I can use that as a tiebreaker. But when it comes down to it, I cannot recommend that anybody seek out and watch this collection of stories because of how much I didn't like the first two. And the second two were nice, they were fun. Um, they definitely made up for it in some capacity, but I don't think they were so great to outweigh how disappointed I was by the first half. So the average I'm gonna leave this with is a hack, sadly, because I so wanted to love this.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Interesting, interesting. So I was torn on this because I get what these artists are trying to do and I appreciate it. And I'm gonna be honest with you, I like the chunk of this. I like a lot of the characters. I think the women are solid in this. I have a lot of favorite scenes in each of the shorts, and I also have a lot of favorite visual elements. I think entirely this movie is very visually satisfying. But I think when I put all this together, to me, it's not something that I enjoyed watching, but I can't appreciate. And usually I will give a slash for that, but I I just would not want to watch this again. And I, if someone asked me, like my sister, for example, who we go back and forth on movies, I would tell her how I felt about it. And she would probably understand from my explanation that she doesn't need to watch it. So I'm gonna have to give this a hack.

SPEAKER_04 25:06

You know, initially, Alexis, I I kind of wrote my score in a similar way to you, but now that Paris chose to like break things down, I I feel like I have We need to know everyone's short summary. Well, because like you like you say, like the four stories we get are are very different. So um I chose different favorite stories for different reasons. The first one we get is incredibly depressing, and when you understand the deeper themes at play here, it's even more depressing. And perhaps that's the point. That just it was not a it was not enjoyable for me. The second one here, like Chris mentioned, is hilarious. Not as hilarious as it could be, but obviously comedy. Um, I actually really enjoy the acting of this one the most. And so number two for me is is it's up there. Number three, didn't enjoy it all. Definitely seemed just like a B horror movie for some reason. Didn't seem like you've mentioned earlier, fleshed out enough in any way. Didn't really like the effects in it, so it was just not not it for me. And then the fourth one felt like the most developed story of of all of them. It seems like it had the most room to breathe out of any of them. It also had the most conclusive ending. Um in the mix though, I just didn't enjoy watching this movie. And I I'm not gonna apologize about it. You know, I think they did some great work here, but it just wasn't an enjoyable viewing for me, so I have to give it a hack.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Okay, well, I didn't expect to come here tonight to throw hands, but clearly I gotta throw hands. Looking at the shorts, I wasn't impressed by the first. I would give the first a hack. I love the attempt of it, and it could be close to being a slash. It misses in a couple points for me. The next three, though, are slashes all around. The framing device I appreciate for its artistry and its beauty. It's not something that I quite tap into. Uh really, it doesn't really resonate with me in terms of like we have an apple that's been rotting, and we have like a dollhouse, and and we dive into certain elements of it that like reveal some of these stories. There's something there that I feel like I'd be close to understanding if I watched it again, but I just can't quite get it. But this movie is absolutely a slash. Like, what the fuck are you guys talking about? I don't understand it. This movie has, for in my opinion, a little bit of something for everyone. Sure, the first story isn't it for me, but the second and the third and the fourth feel like very distinct styles of horror, all united by women in the female experience. And I absolutely love that. I think the acting is solid, a little bit spotty in the third, don't get me wrong. And the fourth one, even though I don't really love, I know I've keep describing it as fanfiction, I don't love the movie that it's inspired by. It felt like a really tumultuous tale that like hits at my emotional at my emotional heartstrings. It wounds my tender sensibilities in some ways, and it reminds me very much of we need to talk about Kevin.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

But ultimately, this is a showcase, and that's okay. This is an anthology, and I don't look for a full hero's journey in every single story. For me, the overwhelming majority of these stories were solid, so it gets a slash, and yet somehow, XX from 2017 has managed to earn three hacks and one slash. Now, again, folks, you can find this movie for free on YouTube. Please check it out, or not if you agree with these three. But join us in the second half, because apparently I have to defend this movie's honor. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

Flushing them out into something cohesive is hard, and you honestly shouldn't even have to do it. Pay us to do it. With Halfway Decent Endings, nobody will get off, but they also won't be mad about it.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Now we have a lot to get to here, but before we get into the specifics of our ratings, we do have the matter of gore to attend to. Alexis, what's the gore score for this film?

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Well, that is also a hack in this movie, too. I'm putting as an average of a medium because there's a lot of the shorts, preferably just two, that really don't have that much gore. But I think overall, like it's something that is kind of squirmy when it is on, you know, on screen, especially the box when they're eating off the freaking mom. Like, that was just so gross.

SPEAKER_04 30:01

And they go up close, like the kids are enjoying chewing it.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:05

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

I think just seeing the tendons, the tendons. You remember in Thanksgiving in the pilgrim movie, we got dad served for dinner, and this time we get mom.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

Yeah, but this looked really real, which I was happy about.

SPEAKER_03 30:18

Yeah, same.

SPEAKER_01 30:19

That was a head, like a fake head. A mother will stop at no length to feed her family. And I'm glad that was the lesson in that one because I totally missed that.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

I don't know that that's actually the lesson. I'm just saying she was happy to finally provide for her family, even if it killed her.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Very true, very true. Don't fall, though. That one was pretty bloody, would we say? When you get someone ripped apart.

SPEAKER_03 30:43

I honestly don't remember there being blood. I remember everybody dying, but I don't remember being gory.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

You don't remember where she's in the passenger seat, you know, and it's squirting all over the glass.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Okay, so I do recall a bit of that. And for me, my favorite was Paul because A, I love that he was fucking around with her so much, and then ends up getting thrown through the window. The dramatics of that felt really good.

SPEAKER_03 31:10

Yeah, that was a really good shot.

SPEAKER_01 31:12

That was the most dramatic, I think, of this entire anthology.

SPEAKER_04 31:16

I I think that that segment had the most like traditional horror gore that you would expect. Like it wasn't even that much, but it just felt like okay, this is what you get in most horror movies. Is that I think the the box had one of the most disturbing, you know, bits of gore for for sure. I mean, I was not expecting that for some reason, and when it hit, it was like I think the first one just showing the legs split open and the kids eating it and the dad eating it, that was worse than any of the crap that happened in Don't Fall.

SPEAKER_03 31:45

I feel that for sure, Mac. Uh, that was one of my favorite, I guess not technically a death because it was just like a dream sequence, uh, but that was one of my favorite deaths until we got to the very end of her only living son. And that mom and son like dying together and then just bleeding out on the kitchen floor was very satisfying for me. So that's my favorite count.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Okay, can we appreciate that 18 years after Rosemary had that baby, she died with him in her arms.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

Oh, is that what that was? It's Rosemary's Baby fanfiction.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Yes, it's the sequel, the spiritual sequel, to Rosemary's Baby. So she's running away from the cult.

SPEAKER_03 32:20

Oh, interesting.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Interesting. Very interesting.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

I've never seen Rosemary's Baby.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Oh, that was gonna be my next question. Yeah, I hadn't seen it either. Well, now you've seen the sequel, so here we go. Now you know all you need to know.

SPEAKER_03 32:34

Were the names and everything the same?

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Well, they're on the run, so they don't have to have the same names. They have different identities, you know?

SPEAKER_03 32:41

This sounds like your fan fiction, Chris.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

No, I shit you not. It's a very real thing. This was the intention. Because you even get the flashbacks to like her name was Cora in this, to like uh 18 years prior, she has the short blonde hair from Rosemary's baby.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

Oh, I actually do know that specific haircut from that movie. Because of course I do.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

I thought you were gonna say it was fanfiction from Halloween because of the whole sheets in the backyard and the guy coming through it.

SPEAKER_04 33:08

I don't know that I have a favorite kill. I think when you look at them individually, like the the first two are so depressing that I don't think you can really count. Like you can't pick one the first two stories, right? Like that just feels that just kind of feels wrong. And then, you know, the the fourth one it's pretty clear, you you get you get two to choose from. So I think most of the kills are gonna be, they just feel more concentrated and don't fall. So I don't know if I want to pick one because I think you guys pretty much picked the ones I would go for anyway.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Rightfully so, because I feel like I'm the extreme person, so I'm always like, I need something that's memorable that I can pick and choose which one I like. And I feel like we watch a lot of movies that have that ability, and this one, you know, to me, they were all kind of mediocre. So I'm gonna have to say only because I really enjoy the family in the box is the generically the deaths of the dad and the two children because the visuals in that of their sunken eyes and then just how they transform from like eating their mom and then Christmas is just depressing, and I just love this like look that they gave him, and I think it's really dimensional for them as characters progressing through the short and just in general their look in their current state.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

I can respect that. I think those deaths obviously I didn't get like super emotional about it, but it was disturbing to see, especially just two young kids, you know what I mean? And I think for that story, for me, it just showed like the how corrosive secrets can be and not being able to connect as a family. It throws me back to I remember when I first came out, I went back to my mom after, like, you know, it was all said and done. I was like, okay, no more secrets. And it felt so good to not have that. But you know, in the years prior to that, it feels like you're starving for intimacy or just love and acceptance. And I don't think that's actually the point of the story, but those deaths and just seeing them progressively decay. Oh man, it it it was powerful. The story itself wasn't super powerful, but those those visuals in particular absolutely were.

SPEAKER_03 35:17

Can we talk about like what the point of that story was? Does anyone have a solid grasp? Because that's the one where I was the most like, what is this? And then so unsatisfying with the nothing they gave us as an ending.

SPEAKER_04 35:29

I I think there's multiple layers to it all, and that's one of the most frustrating parts, even with the short story is that there's multiple layers to it. Um, the most important thing to know is that it doesn't matter what's in the box, the the box is just a tool to help tell the story, and that's one of the things that frustrates me the most about many stories and many like TV shows and movies that are like, oh, it doesn't matter, just like move past it. And I'm like, I this my brain doesn't work that way. I'm I'm too logical, I don't like it. But I mean, you could look at it in terms of like family dynamics, uh, you know, the the story bringing that up, but you could also look at it in terms of like um late-stage capitalism or or toxic consumerism, all sorts of ways where it's like, you know, at a certain point you have to realize, yeah, these kids are suffering, but like how many millions of others are, and then there's all these countries that have so much food that you just throw it all out and they're not doing anything to help these other people. So I don't know, but there's like different ways you could look at it.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

I did see it that way because the visuals of the food it seemed to be concentrated on, and I was like, damn, I'm getting hungry, but also I never ate this well as a kid, like at all. And they had different, like, you know, pizza at the end of the week, you know, Italian and this and that. So I was like, wow, there's a very good mix of things in this family. I'm like, they're getting they're getting fed well, but they don't want to eat.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

Yeah, that's where I was kind of confused because it really didn't seem like the mom gave a shit. And I don't know if that was just like bad acting, but the whole time she was kind of like, eh, whatever. Uh I'll I gotta eat, don't I? But it it was a really like milk toast performance, which is kind of why my favorite visual element is probably when she was laid on that table being eaten. Because I was like, oh, that's a really jarring thing to see, especially with how brutal they were with like not shying away from it.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

And her smiling.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

Yeah, and her smiling. The other thing that I loved visually, besides Sophia Carrillo's amazing animation work in the interstitials, is the shot we have in Don't Fall of our girl after she transformed into the creature. It's like upside down looking down the cliff at her next victim, also lesbian girlfriend. And that shot right there, I was like, she looks so long and gangly, and then just like up against the black night sky. I was like, ooh, that's scary. That's like the closest I got to being scared.

SPEAKER_00 37:41

Okay, so that's a really good one. There are actually a lot of visuals in Don't Fall that I was a big fan of. But for me, I think what stands out to me as a favorite is actually going back into the box story. And it's specifically when Robert, the father, is trying to talk to Danny, he's just like, hey man, you know how you can tell me. He's sitting on his bed, and we see in the background the mother come into frame. The way she moved, so tall, carrying her head so high, and the way she just turned, it felt very not of this planet. You know what I mean? This was something that without like having the expectations or like the understanding of where they were trying to go with this in the anthology. I wasn't sure if this was going to be like a twist on things, right? Where all of a sudden she is a parasite or a host, or maybe she in fact was possessed and her essence was in the box. You know what I mean? There were a number of ways that it could have gone. I I think obviously we see with the way the story plays out, that's not the case, but the depth in that frame was so stunning and it made me feel something for the first time in that in that short.

SPEAKER_04 38:47

I I I love that. I mean, it definitely covers like how immoral it is for us to consume the way that we consume. And you could look at that like consumerism on a global scale or at a country scale. You could also look at it literally about the fact that we eat sentient beings on a regular basis, and so the kids they could have realized how wrong that is, and like just they couldn't keep doing that, and then it like also makes sense for them the mom to be given up as a sacrifice for them in that dream. Um, I tend to look at it more with like the whole anti-consumerism aspect because I'm totally down for that, which is interesting, but but here's the thing though, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:23

I think that's the framing of the whole original short story. But I love the deliberate choice that this one made in a horror anthology by women telling stories of women to sharply turn, because in the original short short story, it's a father and son, and in this one it pivots to the mother. And then even seeing the evolution of the mother, we can talk about this later in characters, but to see her progression from trying to keep it together, you know, it doesn't seem like she's struggling at all. She's putting on, she's the one like who is concerned but isn't overly concerned, who's dreaming at night of providing and sacrificing herself for her family, and then to see where she is at the end of that, I see that more as a story on motherhood as a whole versus just the consumerism.

SPEAKER_04 40:13

That's true. I mean it it definitely I think is a different a different telling of it, and it and it works in in that way like really well, where at a certain point, like you can't give everything to the point of you no longer existing, you have to be able to keep living. Um so I do love it. I think the second story that we get, uh the birthday party, is also pretty interesting in dealing with motherhood, but visually I loved the color choices in the birthday party and specifically the the out you know the wardrobes and the and the costumes. And it was just like such a different, such a different feeling going from uh the box to the birthday party. It was like, oh, upbeat and lively. Uh in reality, it's completely morose. Um, but it was totally black comedy, totally love that aspect of it. Um, and I think to have that duality of like there's a death at the very beginning of the story, but in reality, like we have all these like panda costumes and crap, it's it it worked really well.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

Yeah, so it's really interesting going from a story that we end with a mother who's just looking for this guy, and she says that she's hungry. Well, I suppose the entire time she hadn't been hungry, but she wants to get closer to death because death is the way that she'll be reconnected with her family. You go from that to then using uh a death as a comedic vessel. It felt like we can at Bernie's, it felt like don't tell mom the babysitter's dead. It felt like a comedy, but it's interesting is that this is actually inspired by true events. Like this actually happened. There was a death at a birthday party, and they had to grapple with do we keep the show on because we don't want to traumatize the children who are here right now? What do we do? And I absolutely love the way this frames, even there's a moment where you know they they tumble out of a closet together in the birthday party, and she's feeling this intimacy from her husband who has uh killed himself of an overdose, mixing drugs and alcohol, but she is just trying to keep everything together to give her little girl a party and not further project her own anxieties onto her daughter. I think the mix of that, the blending of the comedy, even though it's the least horror feeling of these, I think that's why it makes my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 42:30

Yeah, Chris, I had that as my favorite scene when Mary falls out of the closet with her husband on top of her. And, you know, even before that, she's just like, oh, David. You know, so I learned a lot in that short time frame about their interactions and just her in general. And I feel like there is a lot of pressure that day on her, and she just wants to deliver. And I feel like that is true for maybe a lot of mothers out there who have this, you know, they need to be put on a pedestal. I mean, I've seen some birthdays. I mean, I'm talking about daily life events, but specifically birthdays where people go all out. If I had got the balloon arches and shit, I've seen someone died, I would have kept on with the party. But I I just love that dynamic right there. And, you know, her not even really being upset over the death, but just being like, okay, I need to carry on. I need to be the person right now.

SPEAKER_00 43:20

It's the stoicism of the mother, yes. And I think where this hits for me, and this is not gonna turn into a therapy session, I promise. But I think about how many things my mom kept from me when I was younger in the name of not having me experience the same pain that my siblings experience. So, like my dad cheated and had two kids out of outside of the marriage. I didn't know about any of that till I was 18. And I think about how much pain my mom suffered and shielded in order to try to tell me in a different way where it wouldn't hurt me as I was growing up as a small child. You know what I mean? I think a lot of I saw a lot of my mom, not necessarily in this character, but. Or n and certainly my mom would not stuff a dead man into a panda suit at my birthday party for sure. But I think it's just that general essence, right? That you know, so often mothers are the unsung heroes who are trying to keep things going and keep things together and they don't allow themselves a mother a moment to breathe, or you know, and that's not to say that fathers don't either, especially we know there are a lot of single fathers around there or very engaged fathers. But for me, that's where this hit, and I think it just it made it my favorite story because of that.

SPEAKER_01 44:30

That's interesting because I feel like I'm on the opposite uh side of the spectrum because her only living son, very reminiscent of something my mom said in my childhood. You know, when the mom is talking about how, oh, now your father wants to step in after years of not being there. Oh, I've had to do all the hard work and raise you, and now you know your dad wants to step in once you're 18. Very similar to things my mom has said. She don't listen to podcasts, so I'm good. Um, not a therapy session, but that one felt felt like it hit home because my mom did say, Oh, your dad gets to have you in the summer. I have to be the one to take care of you through the year. And I mean, I understand where she's coming from. So that one hit for me, Chris.

SPEAKER_03 45:13

Speaking of therapy, I love how in the box the doctor was like, We can get him a specialist to talk to. He's not a psychiatrist, he's not gonna push any meds on him. And the dad's response is, then how is he gonna help him? I was like, sir, it's called therapy. You can talk about things and they can get better. You don't need drugs.

SPEAKER_04 45:30

I it's it's hard for me to pick a favorite out of all four of these things here. Um, I think it's easy for me to to pick some that aren't my my favorite. So don't fall just didn't really like play to me. It just wasn't like my vibe at all. Um, the box is such a it's such a tough one because I feel like it has such depth to it that it makes it really interesting, but it was so depressing um that I just couldn't pick it as a favorite. So I'm stuck I'm I'm I'm stuck. You know, I'm in between um I'm in between the birthday party and her only living son. And I'd have to go with the birthday party.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

I was gonna say my favorite. It's more your style.

SPEAKER_04 46:08

It's more my style.

SPEAKER_00 46:09

Is it because you don't want to let Satan win?

SPEAKER_04 46:12

No, okay. So here's the problem I have. Anytime I watch a movie where there's like a spawn of Satan, I want to see what happens when they win, and you never get to. And it's like, why leave me hanging? Show what happens, you know.

SPEAKER_00 46:23

Watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Let's just make that movie, Mac. Let's just make that movie. Let's let Satan win.

SPEAKER_04 46:31

Isn't that little Nikki? You know, they they tease it with Hellboy, like they give the scenes within Hellboy where he like he sees what would happen if he were to like become him his like full self or whatever. And I'm like, do it, man, put it on screen.

SPEAKER_00 46:42

Isn't that also the show Lucifer? Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:45

Like Lucifer's okay, it's just it's just like a CW like buddy cop comedy.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

So you would love that, Chris. The CW? No, I'm done with him. You're done with the CW? No, yeah, yeah. They're not enough lesbians on the CW anymore. Really dip down.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

It's honestly surprising to me that both Chris and Mac have chosen the birthday party as their favorite. One, I didn't get comedy. I got like like little like antics kind of vibes, but I didn't really get anything that was like, oh, that's supposed to be funny. It was more just like, huh, what an interesting role for Melanie to have chosen. Uh but we did, however.

SPEAKER_00 47:22

The hand reaching out of the falling panda with the head coming off. That didn't that wasn't funny with all these kids screaming. That was hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 47:31

It was fun. It was like, oh, okay. Um, I don't know. It gave me nothing.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

That's happened before to Paris. Nothing new.

SPEAKER_04 47:38

Yeah. I didn't feel anything from that. It's a particular type of comedy, though. I mean, like, there's like silly joke comedy, right? But there's also like the comedy of like how crazy certain situations are as well. So uh, but like the actions almost like a sitcom. Not exactly sitcom level, though. It's literally situational comedy. Yeah, I mean, true, true. But it's um when we think about sitcoms, we genuinely think about like a buffoon married to a beautiful woman who happens to live in Queens or something like that. So boring.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

I like my sitcoms dark sided, and this just didn't do anything for me. But we did get a new nominee for Wiggiest Wig, and that's that bitch Carla. What were the wigs in that movie?

SPEAKER_01 48:21

Totally put that down.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

And then the guy in the panda costume had a weird wig. I was like, what is this? What are the wigs for? Are they like part of a cult? Are they like together? Do they know each other? What's going on with the wigs? Maybe I was just distracted by the wigs the whole time. I missed everything else. That's actually very plausible.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

Was she a nanny though? I was confused.

SPEAKER_03 48:40

She was like the nanny or the housekeeper. I thought she was also fucking the husband. We never got anything there.

SPEAKER_01 48:45

Yeah, she's all up in his office. I was very confused.

SPEAKER_04 48:48

I thought the wig was to like just make her look more robotic.

SPEAKER_01 48:51

Maybe. Except for the wives.

unknown 48:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:54

Perhaps.

SPEAKER_03 48:54

I gotta say though, her only living son came in at the end and stole my fave spot away from Don't Fall. I think because obviously I have a single mom and there's mommy issues there for sure. But just like seeing them like hug each other to death and then just bleed out on that kitchen floor, I was like, that feels right. That feels correct. And I think it's the one that had like the most interesting use of the 20 minutes. They gave us a little bit of backstory, but not too much, because obviously we don't need the full backstory, but it was like, give us something to let us know what world this takes place in. Give us some context, some awareness, uh, some reference points so we can kind of figure out where we are in time and space.

SPEAKER_00 49:36

And you didn't even see Rosemary's Baby. Jeez.

SPEAKER_03 49:39

And I didn't even see Rosemary's Baby. No. I mean, I probably would like Rosemary's Baby, to be quite honest. I might be Rosemary's Baby, we don't know.

SPEAKER_00 49:45

Okay, Paris, I'm blown away by the fact that you feel like there was enough context to really piece that together, and yet you still miss the entire link in the history of Rosemary's Baby. I am now curious to see how you would feel watching that movie, but I will say that I think her only living son was the the strongest performed of all the movies. And I say this as someone who doesn't typically like movies featuring uh hormonal teenage boys are typically don't like it. Not necessarily in like the teen camp counselor situation, but the just budding into puberty. I know this is his 18th birthday, but he's acting like he's never uh had a temper tantrum before. It felt a little bit weird. Uh but I do think that the the performances we get from her, from uh Stacy's mom in the principal's office declaring like something needs to be done here, and just the total lack of respect that she's given, everything in that short felt super harsh, but it felt very restrained. It felt like at any moment they could have gone just a little bit over the top and they held back from that. Even with the mailman revealing that he's been waiting and waiting for Andy to, you know, ex accept his place, right? And to uh accept the control that he can have over like this dominion, even when he's like sitting there yelling in her yard, it still felt it still felt restrained to me.

SPEAKER_03 51:25

I totally agree with that, Chris. It felt like it went right up to the edge and did not go too far to as as to be stupid. That scene in the principal's office, I was like, this is racism, this is racism, racism, racism, racism. And yeah, it ended up being something else, but I'm not convinced that there wasn't also like the intention of there being racist connotations within that scene. Uh I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was like, yeah, that was racism. And then I think the only thing I really didn't like, and this just comes from a visual standpoint, was just like the nasty toes of it all.

SPEAKER_00 51:57

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 51:58

The close-ups on the nasty toes.

SPEAKER_00 52:00

That was my worst part. Worst part, the hairy feet with the long black toenails. Ugh. What?

SPEAKER_03 52:09

And I get that it's supposed to be like cloven hooves, but like, do I have to taste it in my mouth? Do we need to be that close?

SPEAKER_00 52:16

Disgusting. And the fact that she reaches out her little motherly hands to touch and tap his toes. Ooh. I hate it. I hate it so much.

SPEAKER_02 52:25

I said, bitch, don't touch toes.

SPEAKER_00 52:27

Worst fucking part of the movie. And honestly, if it hadn't been for the toes, something from the box would have been the worst part of this movie. But the fucking toes, I draw the line, I draw the line at the long toenails that he needs pliers to pull off.

SPEAKER_01 52:43

What? Nasty. So we all agree that the box wasn't the best short ever. But to go along with that, trend, the mom. So Natalie Brown, who plays the mom in the box. I loved her in this strain, but I realized she played the same fucking character. She was a mom, slightly more overprotective about her son, but then ends up becoming these vampires that are sort of daywalkers. But literally, she plays the same person, very monotone what she turns. And I'm like, oh, where's her range at? I'm sure she does have range, but when I have two things to compare it to, same character.

SPEAKER_04 53:24

I didn't I didn't get a lot from the characters in the first one. Like the obviously the kids are are very saddening, and the kids did a good job of like somehow being completely like soul sucking, I think is the right term.

SPEAKER_01 53:37

Yeah, they were they were soul sucked. They remind me of the movie The Children, the kids and the children. Kids do be doing that, sucking souls.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:45

Yeah. I don't know how they're so good at just seeming like they've lost all will to live. I mean, it was completely complete nihilism in the in the eyes of a eight-year-old or whatever it was. So that was pretty impressive for some child actors to pull that off.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

Ooh, when he says you'll die, and he says so.

SPEAKER_04 54:04

Same.

SPEAKER_00 54:04

What the fuck? What the fuck? Kid deserves an Oscar just for that.

SPEAKER_04 54:09

Yeah. What's the what's the current generation of kids called?

SPEAKER_00 54:12

X. Y?

SPEAKER_01 54:14

Z.

SPEAKER_04 54:14

I don't know what. What are we on? Gen something. Z. It definitely felt like the current generation of kids who make those jokes all the time. I was like, man, he's gonna play Fortnite next.

SPEAKER_00 54:25

Wouldn't be the worst thing. It's my at least I get to escape crippling debt. My planets gonna expire before I do.

SPEAKER_04 54:33

Yeah, that's the that's kind of the vibe I was getting was like, oh, this is just a normal child in 2022, apparently. But uh I I think when you go through like each each of the stories, it's pretty interesting how to see how different they are. I mean, it's just so weird. Like in the in the birthday party, Carla like is kind of out of nowhere. I I I liked it, it just seemed like really random that she was there. Um the most interesting character there is obviously the mom. Yeah, and I wish we could like get more to see why she feels like she has to do this. Like, is there a history in this family that makes her feel that like high strung? Totally worthy of a series, to be honest. Um to see it all fall down at the end, but um maybe someday somebody will make something like that happy.

SPEAKER_01 55:18

It seemed like pressure from the community to me.

SPEAKER_04 55:20

I mean, it could be all imposed by her own brain.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

That that do be happening though.

SPEAKER_04 55:26

That's true though. The characters I least connected with though were in Don't Fall, and I don't know if you all felt differently. I just felt like I didn't care about any of them whatsoever.

SPEAKER_03 55:34

I do feel differently, Mac. I feel like in the box, all of those characters were flat as a board. I don't even want to talk about it anymore. The dad, the mom, bad acting, the children. I didn't see the Oscar performances y'all are talking about. The way that girl ate in every scene, I was like, please leave the frame. Uh birthday party, it felt like Melanie was the only live person in a sea full of like weird character wigs. Um, so like she did a pretty solid job of like being the only thing in that. Uh, don't fall, though, is where I felt like we had some characters that had like semi-plausible, like semi-realistic backstories. You're kind of dropped into these relationships, and you're like, okay, I can kind of get this. They kind of did that thing though that movies like to do where they don't want to tell you directly, oh hi, you're my sister. But they kind of slipped those relationships in, like, She's my sister. Yeah, like kind of casually. And I was like, I wasn't so casual. I also don't know that I cared that your siblings, or if it even was that relevant to the story. But I think the best characters came in her only living son, specifically the mom. I think she did a really great job of acting. I like I said, she's giving like Walmart brand Tony Colette, which is still a lot better than a lot other people are giving. I think that woman has a really great career ahead of her or behind her. I don't know her.

SPEAKER_00 56:51

But surprisingly, new Walmart that sometimes has good things and not just like oversized Looney Tunes character t-shirts or like wolf shirts, you know what I mean? Like they have some good items now.

SPEAKER_03 57:01

Yeah, where it's like almost comparable, but you do definitely save out, save a lot of money. And then I think the son actually did a pretty good job too. He reminded me of like a young Heath Ledger and watching him eat that like stillborn egg, I was like, ooh, nasty bitch.

SPEAKER_04 57:14

I I have to agree that the acting in that one was was phenomenal. And I didn't know like which way the story was gonna go, and with the son, I obviously got like school shooter vibes off of him the entire time. I thought that's where the the story was gonna head because he really nailed just an absolute piece of crap that would just like do that. It makes sense though that he's the son of Satan.

SPEAKER_00 57:38

We need to talk about Kevin.

SPEAKER_04 57:40

I do want to say I think the best part of the movie was the stuff not inside the stories, it was the stop motion. Um, I know we've talked about it a good bit, but it was just really like actually enjoyable to look at and to watch, and I liked the little story that was being told with all of it. Um I found it actually the most compelling of everything in this movie.

SPEAKER_01 58:00

Interestingly enough, I find the antagonist in Don't Fall my best part. This windigo creature that Gretchen turned into is remarkable. The body movement per se that she's doing, and you know, the scene where she's hovering inside the windshield sort of area, dashboard, whatever you want to call it, part of the car. But I love that, and I just love it, it just looks so creepy, and that's what made me go into bed and make sure I stayed there. I even made sure I went to the bathroom before I even saw the scene because I saw a still on it, and I was like, yeah, that shit is not gonna be coming up on my screen, and I'm gonna have to go somewhere in my apartment.

SPEAKER_03 58:42

I love that, Alexis. I also loved Sofia Carillo's incredible stop promotion animation, like Max said. Also, follow that woman on Instagram. She has like less than 10,000 followers, and she's an incredibly talented artist from Mexico. So support that bitch. Uh, but I think my favorite part of this whole anthology is the monologue that the mom delivers at the end of her only living son. That was the closest I got to forgetting all of the like budget DIY vibes that this whole thing gave me.

SPEAKER_01 59:10

I didn't think this had a budget DIY feel.

SPEAKER_03 59:13

Really? It felt like knockoffs of better things.

SPEAKER_01 59:17

I mean, but the the production on these was great.

SPEAKER_03 59:21

Not on the box for me.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

Maybe not the writing, per se, but the guts of the story.

SPEAKER_03 59:26

I don't think it had enough guts for me to do it again, though.

SPEAKER_01 59:29

Oh fuck no.

SPEAKER_03 59:30

Yeah, I won't even watch my favorite one again. I might watch Rosemary's Baby though. So there's something.

SPEAKER_00 59:35

Honestly, I'm disappointed. I will absolutely be watching this again. No time soon by any means, but this is something that I was even texting someone as I was watching this movie saying, Oh yeah, this is actually pretty good. If you don't like the misogyny VHS, watch this.

SPEAKER_03 59:49

I dare say VHS was better. Sadly, I hate that that's true. Oh, I do like VHS, but not for Yeah, the succubus storyline still remains the best short of all of them.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:02

Well, clearly I can't do enough to defend this movie's honor, but let's see if Matt can at least dig up some interesting facts with factor fiction.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:10

Number one, the reason the birthday party seems tame is because the director, Saint Vincent, is not a fan of horror movies and instead made a black comedy on purpose.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:20

Fact?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:20

I'm sorry, do you mean Saint Vincent the musician?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:23

I do indeed. She made the birthday party? What the hell? Indeed.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:28

Yeah. What? I mean, I knew that part, but I don't know why.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:30

Do I need to rewatch this? I'm gonna say. Wait, so that happened to her? Oh, sorry. Okay, um, I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:39

This indeed was a fact. And this was also, I think, her directorial debut as well. Number two, Karen Kusama, wanted her only living son to be a spiritual continuation of Rosemary's Baby because she hated that the original ending left her wondering what would happen afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:53

Well, Terrace, if we had only watched uh Rosemary's Baby, maybe we might be able to answer this.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:58

Honestly, Rosemary's Baby could tell you exactly what happens and we wouldn't even know. Mac could just be fucking with us.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:03

I'm gonna say fiction.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:05

I'm gonna say fiction too, because that's Mac's motivation.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:08

This is a fiction simply because I made it up. I have no idea what she thought about Rosemary's Baby, but um, good catch. Number three, Roxanne Benjamin stated in an interview that the creature in Don't Fall has barely any backstory because most films of that genre provide lackluster or culturally offensive origins to their creatures.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

Uh-oh, this is totally a fact.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:27

I want to say this is fiction. I feel like there's a rich backstory there. Good catch. This is fiction. I have no idea. I just made it up.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:33

Oh. Understandable though, for those reasons.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:36

Yeah, you're welcome. Number four. Jack Catcham, the writer of the short story The Box, that inspired the segment in the film, responded poorly to seeing his story visualized, stating that the lack of internal dialogue left the box without any of its meaning.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:49

Total fact.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:50

That feels like a fact because it felt completely void of meaning. Wow. Well, this one was a complete fiction. Uh, he actually, like, knew the director for years and enjoyed her visualization of his story. Well, that makes somebody. And that's been fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:03

Well, there you have it, folks. XX has earned three hacks and one slash, and apparently I couldn't do a good enough job defending it. Now we've certainly had a robust discussion here, but it doesn't end here by any means. We want to know what you think of the movie, and we want to know which story is your favorite. Keep in mind there are a number of ways you can reach out to us, starting with our website, hackerslash.live, or on our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:26

Or if you've got Chris's back, you can also reach out to our Hackerslash Hotline. You can leave us a voicemail at 757-606-0128, or visit Hackerslash.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:41

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SPEAKER_00 1:02:53

We'll see you next time, folks, and remember if you don't eat, you'll die. Bye.