This week we’re journeying back to the cinema to break down the freshly premiered Talk to Me (2023). We announce our annual Spooky Preseason challenge, explore the inventiveness in its storytelling, gauge the caliber of its chills, and debate the...
This week we’re journeying back to the cinema to break down the freshly premiered Talk to Me (2023). We announce our annual Spooky Preseason challenge, explore the inventiveness in its storytelling, gauge the caliber of its chills, and debate the appeal of its characters. This episode contains spoilers, beginning at 34:22.
Mentioned in the Episode
Watch the Movie
Main Episode
2023 Spooky Preseason Challenge
TALK TO ME Directors Talk To Us About A24 And Magazine Covers
Jordan Peele Called Talk To Me's Directors After Being "Inspired" By The Movie | Comic Con 2023
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Crank up those pillows. I want to feel that pillow hit me in the face.
SPEAKER_03Deeper. Like a brick. Not deeper.
SPEAKER_02Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hackerslash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. I let you win. 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.
SPEAKER_00A total joke? A waste of time.
SPEAKER_02Or a slash. Totally killer. Pun intended. We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with the perspective 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 classic horror connoisseur Sean.
SPEAKER_00On God, I will punch you in the face.
SPEAKER_02And the paranormal paramour Binks. White people shit, man. I tell you. This week we went back to the theater to unpack a newly released film that blurs the line between the living and the dead and examines the consequences of crossing that line. Before we light our candles, though, we have some follow-up.
SPEAKER_00Well, let's follow up on a season. The spooky season is right around the corner, which means that the spooky preseason is upon us. Hell yeah. Yeah, I mean, man, no better way to pre-game than with us here because we are running a special challenge for our listeners pretty much the whole month of August, August 1st through August 31st. And we want you to help us pregame for the spooky season by joining our free Discord server and mingling with the fam.
SPEAKER_02Oh, for sure. Listen, if you're not on Discord yet and you don't know what it is, here's the T. It's safe, it's inclusive, it's a space for you to be you, for fans to be fans, and really just to connect over a shared love of horror movies. Regardless of what kind of horror movies you like, you'll find that it's a very friendly, very welcoming bunch there. Last spooky season was our first spooky season having a Discord server, and it has steadily grown since then. And let me tell you this, folks, I'm an introvert. You look at my Instagram, I post what, maybe once every couple months, maybe. This is my favorite spot on the internet. I think I found my people.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it it is. It is really a great, a great space for us all to come together and to celebrate that throughout the month. Uh, each Discord member is gonna gain points just for participating in our community by talking about all things horror, connecting with each other, and participating in our live stream chats.
SPEAKER_04And so on September 1st, we're gonna announce the community member with the most points, which is super cool. And then our top three winners are gonna receive a special package containing merch we're actually designing specifically for our spooky season theme. It's gonna look real cool. I'm super excited about it.
SPEAKER_02Oh, for sure. And can I also share a little cute sweet fact about last time we did this competition? Please do. Last year, our prizes were a hackerslash pillow and an embroidered blanket. Only three people in the world own this thing. And actually, through the power of this community and just like people becoming friends, you know, friends connecting every single day, they all actually had a trip together, and all three owners of that blanket pillow combo were under the same roof one night. That's so cute.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Great humans.
SPEAKER_04I love that. Well, we actually are also gonna be giving a little something special for runner-ups too. So I think it's really cool. We're doing this fun little challenge.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, y'all are gonna love this shit. Just wait.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. So just to recap all of that, right? Just join our Discord, have fun with us and the rest of the Hacker Slash family, get some points, win some cool shit. You can learn more by following the link in our show notes or by going directly to go.hackerslash.live slash preseason.
SPEAKER_02It's all there, I promise. Real easy to follow.
SPEAKER_00It is all there, and we are waiting for you. Uh, we also have a new patron, Joe. Welcome, Joe. It's great to have you.
SPEAKER_02Nice. Welcome, Joe. A little fact I love about Joe. Joe, I'm so happy you're here. Joe was in one of our watch parties in our Discord community, and then halfway through the watch party was like, nah, I need to be a patron because this shit is too fun.
SPEAKER_03Hell yeah.
SPEAKER_02And there you go.
SPEAKER_04A testament to how fun we are, the community, being a patron specifically. Yes, love to hear that.
SPEAKER_00One of us. One of us. Yes. And that is our follow-up.
SPEAKER_02Well, this week we're breaking down an A24 film that marks the directorial debut of two brothers who made their fame on YouTube. Now the film follows a group of friends tempted by a new pastime, summoning spirits with an embalmed hand. Things take a turn, though, when the thrill of communing with the other side proves to be irresistible, the stakes become too high, and the game turns deadly. This week, we're talking about talk to me. What were you all expecting going into this?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so I, like most millennials, have spent a lot of time on YouTube and actually remember Raka Raka, which is what the brothers, that's their account name. I remember them on YouTube and making like a lot of appearances on American YouTubers' videos. And from what I remember, they were just like absurdly ridiculous, like absolute goofy people doing ridiculous stuff. So when I heard that they were doing this horror movie, I was honestly super surprised. Very out of right field, right? Like, I guess it kind of has an air of Jordan Peel a little bit because I know Jordan Peel from Keen Peel, which is also comedy and like that kind of humor. So when he did horror, I was like, oh, didn't expect it. Definitely the vibe for Raka Raka. That being said, like Jordan Peel, love his movies. So I was thinking, okay, they know camera work, right? Like they know how to keep you entertained. And so I was expecting that. It's paranormal. And as my name says, I love this stuff, right? So, like, I knew I was gonna love the story, I was gonna love the vibe. I was expecting the jump scares and all that. So I was expecting a really good time, and the hype around this was extreme for sure. So I didn't let it get to me too much because we've had enough of that this year, you know, like the hype building up, and then all of a sudden I'm like a little disappointed, or sometimes not. Regardless, I wanted to like really soak this in and kind of have my own judgment about it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, see, I think I'm on the opposite of knowing much about this film going into it, right? Like, I remember watching the trailer for this a couple of times at the theater a while back, but didn't really remember much about this one other than the hand thing, and I had no idea it was linked to like YouTubers making the film and things like that, and so I was kind of going into this with a blank slate. Granted, the little things that I do remember, I was also expecting to get some really creepy, ghosty vibes, some really cool jump scares, something like that that was gonna be kind of unnerving and unsettling, but that's really just about it because I didn't look too far into it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, Binks, you made a comment about how most millennials spend a lot of time on YouTube, and I have this little nasty confession to make where I have really only come to appreciate YouTube in the last couple years. So, whatever YouTube culture is, I haven't really been a part of it. You could tell me, oh, a big YouTuber did these movies, I wouldn't have been able to, even in the first 75 guesses, even get close to whoever the fuck these guys are, right? Now, that being said, I am so happy to hear that they come from like such a comedy-based background because historically, you may you cited a really great example of Jordan Peele. Horror and comedy blend so well together because of the timing of their writing. Going into this, really only going in from the trailers, I was expecting high quality. I was expecting refinement. But I will say that I don't expect what I would you know describe as like hereditary level acclaim from this movie, now having seen Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, for example, which I think might be the last A24 film that I watched. There's this big spectrum of where these movies can fall for me. So I really went in neutral, thinking, all right, it's probably gonna be high quality in terms of the talent in this movie. It's probably gonna be shot really, really well, but I'm not going to give it more expectation than that. We'll just see where the chips fall. And let me tell you that this movie, I think I was feeling a number of things during its runtime, some of which was a resentment for some of the characters almost, but then a lot of deep appreciation for the set work, the set design, the props, the cinematography. But then I also I think struggled to really feel a deep emotional connecting that I think it wanted me to feel.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I saw the deep connection. I feel you there, no pun intended, but I I feel like this film was geared towards a younger audience, but even so, it still felt entertaining. I wasn't mad at it. In fact, like I actually found some of the moments throughout the film from like these kickbacks, random dialogue, being hassled by parents, it all really felt relatable in a way. That that kind of adolescent vibe or depiction felt right. It felt real, which I which I really respected. I also felt like, because we were touching on it just a second ago, that there was a really good blend of comedic value in this one. And there were just moments that I found myself laughing out loud. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, there was a good amount of people in the theater that were reacting to the movie as well, which is always a good sign.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. I mean, I was one of those people, all three of us saw this movie together, and we saw it with Ripley as well. And I was hitting Ripley so many times throughout the film. I was just like tense, at one point, quite literally at the edge of my seat. I remember at another point, I looked at both of you and I was like, are we seeing the same thing? Like, is this actually happening? You know, like I was entertained, I was hooked, you know, even the main character like riled me up a little bit in certain areas. I've had some time to like, you know, digest it since we watched it. So you'll be surprised later on where my conclusions landed. But yeah, I don't know. I just I think like overall the movie took me through the motions, but all because, like you were saying, Sean, I could relate to those times where I was hanging out with my friends, or especially in college at all those like parties and kickbacks and like, you know, or in Miami we call them ghetties, and like, you know, just that whole idea of which it's established in the trailer, it's like that whole like party drug type thing, except it's different, it's paranormal, you know? Like that's what's kind of crazy about this. So because it's paranormal, like I said already, like check mark plus it's instances and settings that I've been in, you know. I think it really helps kind of guide me through the feelings and the emotions and the entertainment.
SPEAKER_02That's a really interesting take, and I think that's a another way to look at this, right? I think from these experiences that you have both had in your life, those are experiences that I have never had. Like I've never been like a house party, you know what I mean, like hanging out with friends in large groups. Like that was just like so far from like what my experience growing up, or even honestly, even as a young adult. But I will say that what I think this movie does really, really well, which surprises me, is it wields some potential to really hit you over the fucking head with some heavy emotional grief, and then it just doesn't do that. You know what I mean? Like what they do in terms of blending in their humor, blending in the focus of the story, this had the potential to be an absolutely devastating movie for me to watch, and I managed to not really feel much of a thing because I think it balances it well with what it's trying to do and in the way that it creeps you out. Granted, I didn't feel a lot of that creepiness, but there's something about the way this movie times what it's focusing on that it kept me distracted long enough to really not fall prey to that.
SPEAKER_00Interesting. Yeah, I was maybe a little bit different from what you felt, but I was surprised at how relatable some of the moments are, but how unrelatable the characters actually are at the same time. So I could see what you're touching on and maybe some of the grief or trauma or stuff that's happening throughout the movie, that you're not really getting those feels. I was more surprised at like how relatable the film was, despite how unrelatable the characters were for me, which feels a bit odd, but that's really the best way I can describe it. And I really thinking about like disappointments, I was really only disappointed by one aspect or direction the film didn't take, but we really have to save that banter for later. Ooh, I love when that happens.
SPEAKER_04I like how you were talking about the balance between like the humor and the grief, because I kind of noticed that as well. I think I was surprised by how brutal this film is for sure. I mean, the sound design was strong and effective, I'll tell you that much.
SPEAKER_02Bro, we didn't even watch this shit in Dolby. Imagine if we watched this with Dolby.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I could feel those pillow hits. The seats weren't made for that.
SPEAKER_04Look, I'll tell you right now, I don't think either of you have seen Oppenheimer yet, but talk to me in Oppenheimer in terms of sound design, just about the same. And I feel like that was strong as hell. And I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX, so that's how you really know. Okay.
SPEAKER_02These fucking movies are not the same. This movie has no business being in the same conversation, and then that's the way this bass hits.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But that's the point. That's the point.
SPEAKER_04Holy crap.
SPEAKER_02Not the creation of the fucking atomic bomb. Talk to me and the atomic bomb.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh. I'm really wondering if in like post-production or something, there's just somebody in the audio room, just like control room, just saying, hey, crank up those pillows.
SPEAKER_03I think so.
SPEAKER_00I want to feel that pillow hit me in the face.
SPEAKER_03Deeper. Like a brick. Not deeper. Deeper. Deeper.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I just think it was insanely effective. That's without question. But I want to kind of talk briefly about like the theme of grief, though, because initially I wanted to put it as kind of like a disappointment when it comes to the main character. Without giving too much away, obviously, we're talking about a movie that is centered around this character who is grieving. And I think what's surprising, but also a disappointment, is like navigating this fine line of grief for someone who has experienced something that very few people can relate to. And exactly, right? And so some of the choices that are made, some of the, you know, things that this character does, I could empathize, but sometimes it was hard for me to be empathetic. Like I can do it, but I almost don't want to in some capacity because it's like it cut it just really tows the line of like what are you willing to like excuse because she is grieving and not. So I just want to say, like, you know, going into this movie, a little disclaimer, there's like some real heavy stuff that like that is seen that, or like, sorry, there's some really heavy stuff that is shown. And the overall theme of what this um character is grieving is real tough. And I just it's it's I don't know, it hits a little bit home because I've had some friends that have recently lost their parents and to something similar. And so it's just like, ugh, I've had some time to digest it. It's a hard one. This is a hard character to love. Can't wait to get into her more later on, but just a preface for everybody. It's not a disappointment, not necessarily surprise. It's an overall feeling of in between those things that this movie's like got me questioning my life a little bit.
SPEAKER_02You know, that's a really interesting angle to take it from, especially because you have so many people that you know who are experiencing something very similar. However, I think the thing for me is that it almost like it doesn't go far enough in one direction or another. And that is where I think a disappointment falls for me, because there is a lot of potential there. And on the one hand, I think there are a lot of great things that this movie does to balance out what could be that heavy grief, but then when we get into the execution of that character in particular, I think I struggle with giving a damn. And that is really unfortunate. You know what I mean? Like that is where my my issue really falls. Is it because of how skilled the filmmaking is that I'm able to not think about that? That's maybe that's one thought. Or is it a detriment?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Cause I feel like what I struggled with initially is like, are they just God, is the word like sensationalizing, or like God, sometimes people just use like glamorizing and they just throw that word around everywhere. But do you get what I'm trying to say? Like trying to use something that is very real that has happened to people, or like, you know, just the overall thing of losing a parent or a loved one, you know, and then just having that as a baseline to excuse things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So, you know, again, not trying to get too into it. I'm walking a fine line already, I think. Nothing that isn't, you know, kind of already alluded to in the trailer, friends. In the first opening moments, even. Yeah, yeah. So I I just feel like this is a perfect spot to kind of give that heads up in a spoiler-free section, because people that maybe, you know, unfortunately and super sadly have maybe relate can relate to loss of a loved one, you know, just tread with knowing that a character may be either I don't know, maybe relatable to you or may do things that kind of like sensationalize grief in others. Again, I I wouldn't know, right? But like just say. Or you might not care. Or you might not care at all, which is in some ways probably for the best, right? It's just like because sometimes I think people like you've lost someone. I and I experienced this actually with a friend of mine, and they're like, you know, just because I've I've lost a loved one doesn't mean I can never watch these movies where like they've lost that where the characters lost a loved one, right? And I feel like sometimes people are like, oh, you know, super protective of that stuff. But I just like this character, this main character is so like interesting because at least to me, because it's made me think about these things. It's made me be like, damn, but Bianca, like you have to empathize, like you don't know what that's like, but you kind of do, but you don't, but you've got friends that have like I don't know, guys. I'm I'm super excited to talk about it more. I'm like, I just wanted to bring it up now because I feel like people need to give the heads up and then they can watch this movie and join us later for it.
SPEAKER_00Definitely. I don't know about anyone else, but I really didn't find this one scary at all.
SPEAKER_02Really? Not even a little bit.
SPEAKER_00I didn't. And here's the thing like I think you know, you're you're bringing up this grief and how a lot of movies use this, and I think I don't know if it is a distraction, I don't know if it is just something thrown in there to make just to be like heavy, or if it actually actually even needed to be in the story at all. But it the film is eerie, it's a little bit spooky, but overall it's not really that frightening because what they didn't do is really give you a whole lot to really be frightened about. It's hard to really dive into this without giving the rest of the movie away or tidbits, it's just really hard to kind of describe why I don't feel this movie is frightening. It's just what they what they chose not to show, what they chose not to build in some of the scenes and and the direction they went with this whole like party thing, instead of making a more intense, like intimate type of thing that's happened. I don't know. I don't know. There's something about the tone and the direction, and don't get me wrong, like it's still an entertaining film, definitely great cinematography. Like, there's not it's not like it's a bad movie, but when we're talking about is it frightening, this one does not hit in that way for me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, for sure. This movie is funny, this movie is chilling in some moments. There is a specific reference to something where that's very emotional, and that I was like, damn, I literally had just experienced that probably like an hour before going into the theater. So there's moments here, right, that you feel something, but fear wasn't any of those things. This movie is gruesome though, and there is a pretty brutal scene where you're like, what the fuck is going on? Oh, yeah, but not from like a fear place, but in like a damn, they're really doing this, and that's a little impressive, guys.
SPEAKER_04I don't know. I don't know. I kind of disagree. I okay, I agree, but I disagree. Like, all right. I said earlier, I was full on hitting Ripley's arm several times. Bless her heart. Like, I was gripping at one point. I was like, what the hell's about to happen? And some disgusting stuff for sure. Gruesome as fuck. Like, absolutely. That cannot be. I'm glad we're all on the same page on that front. I do think it was scary though. Like it got me. There's some moments that play with the dark, you know, there's some moments that like are just a little bit too eerie. You know what it might be? It's that they're not doing the typical cheesy jump scare route, though. It's it's still like doing the traditional stuff, but without doing all the jump scares. I don't know, I was scared. I was frightened, which I think to your point earlier, Sean, like maybe it's because of the tone and the party scene and all that stuff, and like they're trying to kind of live up that that it kind of maybe takes you away from the traditional scary horror movie, you know, check boxes that you feel like you typically would have checked to make to make sure that this movie is scary. And honestly, I think that's what makes this movie a little original because you know, we've got our run of the mill paranormal and possession films, sure. But this one focuses on spectacle, very similar. Funny that I brought up Jordan Peel earlier, very similar to like Nope and what he was trying to do with that, like the spectacle of modern day and and parties and This whole like party drug thing that they're trying to go off of with this hand and how people just like are desensitized to it. Maybe because they're living that up, it's not as scary, but I think in general, like this movie is original because they've kind of combined forces in that way. You know, what's interesting is think of like Ouija boards. You know what I mean? Like they they kind of took something that we already have in our day-to-day as like a paranormal thing that people will do to have a good time. Like Ouija boards are the party drug, right? They took kind of took that part of it and applied it to this movie, which maybe makes it a little less original, but we haven't really seen, like, yes, there's the Ouija movie, but like it wasn't it wasn't done in this way. You know what I mean? Like, maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not thinking over the movies and I'm blanking, but I think that this approach was really, really cool.
SPEAKER_02I would 100% agree with that. I mean, what this movie lacks in so many areas, I think it makes up for with doing something different. And even though it's not a scary movie to me, I can appreciate the direction that it moves in in terms of trying to scare its audience. I think if you're someone who is susceptible to being creeped out by paranormal things, I think this is gonna get you in a really refreshing way that isn't the same way that the conjuring scares you, but the same feeling of different that conjuring scares you.
SPEAKER_00Okay, yeah. I mean, here's the thing. I I think we can give this one credit for being original for sure. A different take 100%. I I think it feels a little bit like flatliners where you're playing around with shit that you shouldn't. It has some sixth sense vibes, some white noise, some frequency, right? But it definitely stands on its own, respectively. And it's really it's an interesting concept, and the execution was done really well. So I think you know, I really loved the lore surrounding this film, right? Just the little tidbits that we get in the movie. I all of that with the approach, I think is definitely fresh. It's original, it feels original enough for me. I I think we give credit where credit's due.
SPEAKER_02You know what though? Credit is mostly due for its ending, but I gotta say, that shit lost me like in and out in the third act. I was like, all right, come on, let's let's keep it pushing. The final moment that we get, I really fucking love.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But it's the road to the third act, and the road to that final moment where I'm just kind of like, um, fucking do it already.
SPEAKER_00Fucking do it already.
SPEAKER_02It sounds terrible, I know. Believe me, I know that's not like the most compelling way to describe an ending. I think you'll be happy when you leave the theater, but it had to do a little bit more to I think get up there on my list of all-time favorite endings.
SPEAKER_04Man, what is happening so far? I'm a little nervous for the scoring suddenly. I don't know what to say. I love this ending. I I love the journey. I was in it. Actually, it's an interesting fun fact. The uh Rocker Raka brothers, they they said that when they were pitching this movie to the studios, the studios wanted the ending to be like super cliche as of course, you know, whatever take that and imagine what you want. They wanted it to be super cliche and they responded that that sounded extremely boring. And that is why when they were pitching it to studios, A24 was the, of course, naturally, as one would expect, they were the ones that allowed them to like keep their their ending, how they wrote it, and like everything exactly how they planned. So I say all of that to say that it had the potential to be very cheesy and like boring, and thank God it wasn't, because what we got I think was super entertaining leading to it.
SPEAKER_00You know, I'm glad they got to keep their ending, and I'm glad that they didn't let some producer or whatever try to give them like a cliche, like rewrite to the ending because that would have been boring as shit. I really enjoyed the ending to this film, it was really well done. I think the whole turn of events, the confusion, the slow realization of what is happening, coming full circle. I I don't know what to say without giving anything away. It was just a really solid way to end the movie, giving you just enough to keep talking about it afterwards, which I think is always the perfect ending.
SPEAKER_02Well, it sounds like things are boding well so far. Let's go ahead and start making our way to our ratings before we actually score this movie. Sean, how would you describe the gore score?
SPEAKER_00Uh, this film gives you some really good gore. It's it's not a constant gore fest, but when it does happen, it is graphic and it is intense. They really went for the shock value in this one. It had me reacting when I saw some of these scenes. It's brutal and bloody enough to earn itself a medium gore score, I would say. I don't know if there's enough to get it to like high. It's maybe like a medium to high, like mid-range there. I almost went with high, but then when I think, you know, that was really only because of like the self-harm factor in this one, but that's not necessarily all gore. And so, viewers beware if you have a hard time with like self-harm and things like that. This one might be a little bit heavy, but I don't think it's enough to give it high. I think it's a really solid medium.
SPEAKER_02And what about the animal report?
SPEAKER_04Okay, look, I have to be honest, PETO would not be a fan of this movie, and it's not because it's like extreme, extreme as much as you would think, but they're just not gonna be a fan. I know this because, quite frankly, neither was I. I will say that there is a kangaroo that I thought was a deer. Don't ask me how I got those two confused. I don't know. Let's not get into it. Clearly, I don't know my kangaroos and deers very well, even though I know this movie was in Australia. Okay, let's move on. A kangaroo does meet an untimely fate, and then a character gets a little too up close and personal with a dog, and I'm gonna leave it there.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So, power through it, you know, power through it. Well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings then. Talk to me from 2023, now playing in theaters. Was it a hacker or slash?
SPEAKER_00Alright. Well, despite the fact that the dialogue was difficult to understand at times, the lack of connection to any of these characters, I still found myself having a great time watching the movie. I found myself laughing out loud. I was talking out loud at times, I think we all were. It definitely provoked some reactions out of me and some of the audience in the theater. This film had a very like heavy tone to it, but it cut through some of that heaviness with some great moments of comedy. And while I do think this film has its flaws, it's paced really well, it looks good, and I had a good time watching it. So this one is a slash for me.
SPEAKER_04Look, I have to say, thinking about it, maybe the hype for this movie was a little too too much. And also just the viewing experience, I want to say did not, you know, sway my decision on this movie. It's just a great viewing experience, nonetheless. I mean, we it was our first movie that all three of us saw, you know, together. It's my first time meeting Sean in person. That was fun. Yes, you know, it was a good time, and I think like it was an early screening, like, man, what a good time to watch this movie. It was so hyped, but I still try to like remove that from the movie, right? The movie itself was actually to me just as entertaining as all of that, though. I promise this is not a Barnheimer type of situation. Okay, like this is a straight up I had a good time watching this movie, and I also had a good time in the theater watching this movie. When you're watching a horror movie, you said it earlier, Sean, like everyone else was kind of like, you know, screaming in their seats or like a little surprise, you know, like that might influence you a bit or make or tells you, like, okay, this is like an effective movie. To me, I think it was effective. I felt a range of things, it's the paranormal goods, so obviously, you know, I'm gonna like the plot a bit, right? But I think what I found the coolest part was the fact that it's centered around, again, this spectacle and this younger generation and mixing this in with the complexity of grief. And there was times when I was like literally whispering a little too loudly at the screen, being like, fuck that, like, absolutely not, or like, you know, just really entertained, really captured. And yeah, maybe the characters, I guess it's unfortunate, you know, you guys didn't connect too much to them. I don't think I necessarily needed to to have a good time. All this to say, look, I don't think this is like the best horror movie that has come out this year, that as much as A24 and everybody else on the internet is trying to make this movie out to be, I'm gonna like lower everybody's expectations down to the ground a bit. But this is a fun movie for me. So it's definitely a slash at that.
SPEAKER_02I think helping to lower everyone's expectations is just about the healthiest thing that you can do for this movie in particular. Because I think if I were to walk into this having not seen bodies, bodies, bodies, and therefore having a good like feeling for the spectrum of A24's body of work, then I would have been pretty disappointed. I think in reality though, this movie is a fun time. It's a serviceable time. I think it's more than just okay, but I think there's some things that detract from it being like a really fucking phenomenal movie for me. It sets out to do some pretty cool things, and I think it does a really good job blending its humor in. I think that is honestly a cut above the rest. However, there are a couple other themes in this movie that I think it gets a little bit lost in the sauce, it's a little too heavy-handed, and I think it almost trips over itself on the way to the ending, and that's where I have a little bit of an issue. Overall, I mean, this movie's a net positive. You're gonna laugh, you're probably not gonna cry unless this is a very recent thing for you, then maybe you will. But I think for me to walk out of this movie not feeling much, and listen, I it doesn't take damn near anything to make me feel something in a horror movie. I think that says a lot too. And I'm still working on my feelings on that element of it. All in all, I think if you're looking for a spooky movie to watch with friends in a theater, you're not gonna be disappointed. It's a slash. With that, Talk To Me from 2023 is a universal slash. Now, like I said, you can find this movie playing in theaters, but if you're listening to this episode post its theatrical run, then check the link in the show notes to see where you can find it right now. And we'll see you in the second half so we can dive into these spoilers together. We'll see you in a bit.
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SPEAKER_02Yeah, they really spaced that shit out, too.
SPEAKER_00They did space it out. They did. But you know, they they were, you know, they were they were good kills in their own right, right? We have Ducan in the beginning of the the film that kind of set the tone for kind of like what what was going on, what the vibe was, right? We got that, like the little just the stabbing out of nowhere. That was intense.
SPEAKER_04With the loud ass sound effects once again, just right at right at the top.
SPEAKER_02The moment when Ducan stabs his brother, that was one thing. But then that shard right into the eye, that was another.
SPEAKER_00That yeah. That was fucking that's where you heard the little gasps in the theater. It was the stabbing and then that, and then we're like, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02But then it's a whole insert entire runtime here until you get the other fucking kill.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was gonna say this is like the alpha and omega of the kills because it's the opening of the movie, first kill, and then the ending of the movie, the second and last kill. That's it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's like I think it's almost, almost misleading. I think in some ways you can consider it edging, I suppose, because you're like setting the tone of like this is what you're gonna get to, and then you just gotta hold on to that for the entire fucking movie until you finally get some payoff. And I don't know if I like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's like here here's what you can expect, and then you don't get any of that really at all.
SPEAKER_02JK. We're still crowdfunding it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And you know, the the second kill we get with with Mia, I mean, that one was intense. I mean, I mean, I don't know. Like there was a lot going on in that scene, right? You don't know if you know she's pushing Riley out into the street, and then all of a sudden she's out in the street getting ran over by a car. That was intense.
SPEAKER_04Well, because I think it mirrors the beginning, right? Where like the spirits were telling Ducket to kill his brother because it wasn't his brother, and then naturally then just killing himself. Right. And so that's kind of what she was doing, just wasn't as successful, I guess, or like or no, it wasn't because the sister ended up catching Riley, but I do love that it is kind of like a reference to this kangaroo slash deer and how they were positioned, and like how she was just like slowly dying, and it nothing was like no one was rushing to her at the moment to help her, nothing of that nature. Like she was just like there for a while until she gets up, and then you're led to believe, like, well, holy shit, she like I know she's a beast for surviving that accident. She was giving flat Stanley.
SPEAKER_02Tell me she wasn't with the way she was laid out. Quite literally, yeah. Yeah. I I guess here's my thing. I don't 100% know how to feel about the parallel with the deer. Because on paper, it's a cool thought. I I I do enjoy the idea of her being kind of reduced down to like roadkill on the side of the road that still no one's going to. But on the other hand, I don't know if it's the vibe I really want. You know what I mean? I feel like we'll get into this a little bit later in characters, but I feel like they kind of lost the direction that they wanted to go with the conversation on the deer and her having not been able to put the deer out of its misery. You know, and I think they do get somewhere with it, but I think it could have been done a little bit more efficiently and with a lot more like emotional weight and impact. But what really sold it for me with her death was obviously we know that some spooky shit is going on, we know that she's dead because she's in the hospital, she's seeing all this happen. It could be like some hallucination. But I just really fucking love the confirmation when someone's saying, Talk to me, and she's the spirit of the other side of the hand.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I really enjoy that.
SPEAKER_00For sure.
SPEAKER_04And the gasp and the good old gasp.
SPEAKER_00And the gasp.
SPEAKER_04I I'm not gonna ask this now because this is probably what you were meaning about going into characters later on, but I do want to come back to that. We will, because I think I understand where you're coming from, and I think I disagree-ish. I don't know. We'll see in a second. But man, we were talking about in the ending. I think that that was so great because yeah, at some point, once you're in the hospital, you're like, oh, wait a second, like this is definitely her ghost, right? Because what is these what are these possessions or these spirits or her mom essentially? What are they trying to tell her? What are they doing to her, right? Um, but to see that another party game just out here, you know, messing around, and then the good old Twilight Gasp at the ends was just a fine touch.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it it was, for sure. I I don't know for for that whole thing. Like, I don't know that the connection to the kangaroo needed to be there for me at all. Like it didn't, it also didn't hit for me. So like I just don't think it needed to be there for any value to the movie. I thought the whole thing really that was important was that like Riley just couldn't die, right? Wasn't the whole thing that like you can't die with the people inside you or whatever? Wasn't that the whole message? Or did I miss that message?
SPEAKER_04No, that they can't if you are like if you don't close the door, I guess, or if you just let them in your into your body for us after a while, they're just never gonna want to leave. But here's my here's my issue with that actually, is like they're never gonna want to leave. However, the longer that they're in your body, the weaker they are. So that kind of like doesn't make sense, right? Am I the only one that just doesn't see the movie's lore even sets it up that way.
SPEAKER_02Like Duckett's brother, when they reunite with him and like he's giving the lowdown, he is saying you just have to give it time because eventually it'll go away. Now, maybe they're completely wrong.
SPEAKER_04But but the problem is is that yeah, you give it time, but you are also gambling because you give it time, and I mean, I don't even know how Riley survived. If it wasn't for the sister putting her hand and that last bit, there's no way that Riley would have made it. And I he I don't even know how he made it to begin with. Let's start there. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Can I describe Riley and his non-death being she weren't with us for the Jaws 4 episode, Jaws the Revenge. There is a character in that movie who looks like they should have died, but didn't die. And in that movie, I was like, fuck yeah, I'm so glad this dude didn't die. And Sean's like, listen, I like the guy, but here's no way he should have lived. Fucking Riley should have died. I wanted Riley dead. My god.
SPEAKER_00Death to Riley.
SPEAKER_02I'm giving Sean's fuck them kids, let the baby die. That's right. A little bit. Like Riley, I think, could have gone at the end of the movie and just like made it a lot more bleak, and I would have been fine with that. I didn't really need Riley alive. Or if not Riley, then somebody else needed to fucking die. Sure. Between the beginning and end of this fucking movie, I think it needed to be Riley with the level of violence he that man's eyeball was practically out of his fucking head.
SPEAKER_00I know. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02It just does not make sense to me that he is not dead.
SPEAKER_04But I'm gonna challenge this. I'm gonna challenge this, and I want both of your opinions. When they were shopping it to the studios, like I had mentioned, right? That the studios were like, oh, you know, change the ending to make it boring or whatever. Don't you think that if someone else died, or if other people died, it would have really leaned itself to like, let's get down to the history of and like more history than what we get already, but let's get down to the history and how do we stop this thing and meh meh meh that we always get in these movies. You know what I mean? Because then more people would have died and died, and then you really have to get down to the root of how do we stop it. Whereas that's not the case in this movie because there is no stopping it. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02Well, I guess I don't really need the history, right? Let's say it's not Riley, right? Like let's say Riley's a fucking close call, whatever. Let's say someone else at a party has that same violent outburst and they actually did die. Whereas I think, right, if Riley had his grim moment and he fucking died at that party, that's a big oh shit. Like I think that was the point in the movie where someone should have died. I'm not saying have a lot more. I'm not saying go through the whole lineage of the hand and examine all the deaths, like like Naomi Watts going back in the history of of Samara in the well and the ring. I'm not saying any of that, but one fucking more. One more.
SPEAKER_00It's it is tough. You bring up a good point, Binx. I think I don't know what direction they could have gone in, you know, if Riley were to die. Like I don't know how the ending would have been affected or how they if they would have even been able to do anything similar or the same. So I I hear your point. I I honestly don't know the answer because I do truly love how they ended the film. Uh, but I also I I also think that it is like highly unlikely that this kid is still alive based on all the shit that happened to him. But he is. So congrats to Riley. I don't think he'll ever be the same. God. I mean, there's gotta be some brain damage there for sure.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. I refuse to believe, or this boy really is like fine and dandy, but after so many blunt force, you know, injuries to the cranium and his eyeball, you're gonna tell me that you can see just fine?
SPEAKER_00No way. No way. That thing was halfway out.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. And this parents is why you should teach your young boys to learn the meaning of no when a woman says no. So many women said no. He's like, But please, come on. I just want just for a little bit.
SPEAKER_04Until one woman said, Okay, sorry. Mm-hmm. Exactly. Someone's gotta say it. Someone's gotta say she Exactly. He's not gonna learn the meaning of no when when you've got someone else being like, Yeah, yeah. Actually, why don't you go do that and actually keep doing it again and stay that way because you're my mom. And so I'm gonna get let's not get into it. We're gonna we're gonna get into it in a second in the quality of characters. But we're talking about actually, but what I do wanna get into since we're talking about Riley and how disgusting his face was when he got beaten to a pulp, let's get a round of applause to this makeup team, okay? Fucking stellar. Let's give a round of applause to the special effects and makeup team. Because that face was disgusting. It was gnarly. Gnarly, how disgusting that was. Especially the eye, and like even when he was like bashing his head against the the wall and like the tile was breaking, and just like you're like really have no choice but to stare at his face and his smile as he keeps doing it. Disgusting. Didn't love it at all. Didn't love it at all. I mean I loved it, but like I didn't love seeing that. So I wanted to shout that out. But I think that obviously it's one of my favorite visuals. But makeup and costuming, all that stuff aside. One particular scene that I thought was just so like loved watching it, polar opposite, the silhouette of Mia when it was like the candlelight behind her, and it was just like a fine line of fire, like kind of like lighting her up. You guys remember that? I uh when she was kind of like in this abyss in the darkness.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I don't know, call it maybe a little cliche. I don't know. It just it was lovely. I loved it. I ate it up.
SPEAKER_02Listen, this movie is pretty fucking spectacular with its lighting. This is a very pretty movie.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Even when it's doing a lot of gross shit. Honestly, even the moment where she's kind of transported and she sees what's happening to Riley's spirit in this nether realm, even that shit looks cool. And that is a moment where it could have very easily looked like trash. This movie is very aesthetically pleasing. What I think I love most though is all the intricacy on the hand itself. I love the idea of it being an embalmed hand instead of like a Ouija board or a typical device that you would think. And I saw that obviously it is written, like there's so many different languages that are written on the hand itself. I actually want to go and see this movie again specifically to appreciate the hand itself more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I was trying to like, you know, after the movie, I was trying to find like still shots of the hand because I thought also the hand looked super cool. It's like one of the best elements in the film for sure, with all the handwriting over it feeling like really very like an urban legend kind of vibe to it. And I was trying to find still shots just to see if I can make out what some of the words are. Like obviously different languages and stuff, but it's hard to find like a good shot that you can actually like zoom in and get clear images of all the little writing over the hand. So maybe down the road, as the movie, you know, goes out of theaters, and maybe there's some more stuff lurking around, you can find out more. But I thought that was really cool, especially with all the lore around it, like you were talking about. And Binks, obviously, the gore and effects throughout the film, beautiful, well done, tasteful. But I also want to point out that aside from just the gore, but even some of the effects and the makeup like you were talking about, whenever the way everyone looks when they're using the hand, right? When they're like attached to the hand and they let, you know, the ghost or the dead person inside of them, they just looked so creepy. It was like a uh weird, I don't know, like you're possessed, but you're also like overdosing on drugs. Like you just looked like a junkie, and it was so crazy.
SPEAKER_02Sophie Wilde, who plays Mia, looks so fucking hauntingly beautiful with her alien eyeballs when she is possessed. Like you can't help but stare at her. Like, I would probably be scared out of my mind if someone was actually doing that kind of shit right in front of me. But damn, you just can't look away.
SPEAKER_00It it's it's it that was so well done, creepy. Like, what the fuck am I looking at? But yeah, to your point, can't look away.
SPEAKER_02Man, and even just thinking about those possession things, obviously we saw her do this a few times, right? She did it once, she did it again at that party where Riley ends up getting got. But I think my favorite scene in the movie overall is actually at the hospital bed when she does it a third fucking time. And let me tell you that this was very close to not being a favorite scene, and I think if this key moment hadn't happened, I would have kind of forgotten about it. Because it just felt like such an impossibly bad idea. Obviously, they they're going to the bed and they're thinking, oh, maybe we just have to close the door. I get how like sure the logic of it may be, but this man is barely alive on his hospital bed and you want that fucking hand near him again, it just feels like you're asking for trouble. But it's the moment when she is communing with the dead, and there's a little girl, and she says, I let you in. And you're like, What the fuck is going on here?
SPEAKER_00Right?
SPEAKER_02I absolutely fucking love that moment. If we had had even I I wouldn't even say more of that because I think it was so well placed, but I felt like after that moment things just got a little washy for me. But that was like a very high point.
SPEAKER_00What do you mean when we get to the glimpse of Riley and the orgy of the dead? Is that what you're talking about?
SPEAKER_02I mean, that was all a positive. But I mean, like plot-wise, like we then have some work to do where she's like figuring out what the fucking what the fucking the next steps are. That was a little weird. But this moment of like seeing what's happening to his soul, the hopelessness there, yeah, understanding that there's no way to get him back, but specifically because this girl let her in, fucking great.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think it's just great the fact that it can go both ways. That's so crazy. I just did, you know, that was such a nice kind of flip on you.
SPEAKER_04Well, you know what also goes both ways, I guess, in this scenario? Mia with Daniel, when they're on her bed, I want to bring it up because it upset me, but it's also a standout scene. So maybe it was my favorite. I don't know. I think like, although it's very funny and weird and problematic and creepy, and lots of other things, just like overall sad. I can understand to some extent, right? Because I again, I've taken some time to think about Mia, the illustrious and incredible character that is her. It's so sad that she is like so desperate for warmth, anything that will appease her in her grief, that she wants to basically like even snuggle up to Daniel's shin. You know, maybe, maybe that would be me. I don't know. It was definitely a little creepy though when the sucking of the toes started, that's for sure. But you know what? Hey, everyone's got their vices. And that's the part that I want to get to, okay? Because going back to what we were saying in terms of, you know, it being scary and whatnot, that was a particular scene that I thought was very creepy. That's when I grabbed Ripley and I was like, hold me, because I'm not prepared for what's about to happen. Anything creepy coming from a corner, I don't fuck with. And let me tell you, it all kind of connects and together and makes sense because I don't know which brother it was. Maybe it was both of them, but one of them essentially was like a PA or something like that for the Baba Duke. Oh, okay. And so that's how they, you know, the I think it was like the producer or something of of the Babadook, you know, helped kind of take this movie and push it forward. And it was giving Bobaduke in that moment a little bit, along with a ton of other movies, obviously. But like anything that's like playing in the shadows, just like slowly, creepily, like, you know, pulling out of that corner. And then like ultimately, let's call it for what it is. These ghosts, clearly, as we have seen in other scenes, they've got vices, they've got needs, they have personalities. And this one just wanted a little bit of a little toe action, you know what I'm saying? Just a little suckle, and maybe he had a good toenail, you know. Jesus Christ, that's disgusting. I'm just saying, they're not, they're not gonna and this is my thing. It's like ghosts are not always just gonna go out of there and be like boo, you know? Sometimes they're just gonna like, you know, suck your toe.
SPEAKER_02Okay, yeah. In this economy, I get that they might they're the ones paying for the fee picks.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh. I do think that to be fair, it's one of the creepiest scenes in the film. Like, I I I loved what they did there. As much as we have seen shades of that in a lot of other horror movies, it was one of the creepiest parts of the film, but then it was literally just decreepitized by the by the toe-sucking. Like it just got like a little bit too comical, not in a bad way. Like, I think that what this film does, it it does what it does, and and that's the way it is, and it was fine. I I enjoyed the film, but that definitely leading up to that with coming out of the corner in the darkness, definitely one of the creepiest scenes in the film for sure.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, to me, it's like what brings it back to comedy in some ways while also like you know, keeping the tension high, because even the dialogue and the scene that happens after the fact when they're all in this house or this basement or whatever, yeah. And uh, Haley, she's like, Oh, I think it was someone else that was like, Oh, you know, what do you what do you mean you were on the same bed? And she's like, What do you mean you were sucking his toes? Like, forget that part. Let's talk more about the toe sucking, please.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure, asking the questions that matter.
SPEAKER_00Of course, yeah. Oh, that was such a great moment. It's a great little scene. I, you know, for me, my favorite scene, because I want to talk about this because I also mentioned I'm gonna talk about my favorite scene and why, and I'm gonna tie it back to why I what I said is a disappointment for me, right? So I absolutely loved the scene where Mia first tries the hand at that kickback or whatever, and you get to see like just that little glimpse of the dead person that she's talking to, but it's just the way that they shot everything, and then they cut like back between Mia's face and her friend and all that stuff, right? And you could tell she's like she sees something, she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to look, she doesn't want to talk, and they don't see anything, obviously. So they're just like, Oh, what it's like that it's that feeling that you get with your friends when you're all spooked out about something and somebody's like, What was that? And you're like, What do you mean? What was that? What was that? I don't know. Like it's that kind of that creepy, that eeriness, right? And I loved it, but I also loved being able to go back and see what's in front of her, and I felt like I loved it so much that when they didn't give us that for the rest of the movie, literally, it was kind of disappointing. Like I wanted to see a little, like I'm glad we got the moments where we get to see the different people talking to different dead people and letting them in, and then they're doing the funny things, you know, whether they're making out with the dog or whatever it is, right? So I but I wanted to see a little bit more of the tension in that beginning stages of grabbing the hand and seeing what's in front of you, even for just a moment. I don't think it would have been too much visually, I think it would have been just enough, and I just would have really loved to see what they could have done with that.
SPEAKER_02Flip side, give me a Beetlejuice universe parody where the flip side of this is like a theme park queue where the ghosts are in line waiting however many fucking years to be next up whenever someone says talk to me. That's what I want to see. I want to see the waiting room, the Beetlejuice waiting room for this fucking situation on the opposite side.
unknownNice.
SPEAKER_04In a like purely comedy version of this movie, though.
SPEAKER_02Purely comedy, purely fucking comedy.
SPEAKER_04I will I will say I agree with you, Sean, because it's like maybe how realistic is it to some extent that they're just like instantly so cool with this being the drug. You know what I mean? Like clearly, we're you're kind of thrown into this universe or whatever, where like this is a thing that happens in this city, in this town that's known that like this is how they party or whatever, because it like automatically Mia's like, oh, you they're doing it tonight, you know, like on the social media, it's on social media, all this stuff. But nonetheless, like you do it once and all of a sudden, maybe maybe not Mia, because she's going through it, but like other people, you just do it once and instantly you're like, I'm hooked, I want to do it again. Like, it would have been cool to kind of still have a little bit of that where it's like a little creepy, a little eerie, quick glimpses, and then we get the scene of them just like parting it up and losing it. Because I think that was essential, and that was really great to drive home the fact that this is their party drug. But a little bit more of the first time would have been cool for sure.
SPEAKER_02I can agree with that. I think the closest that we get to that is Jade's very apparent disinterest in fucking around and finding out. Like she's just very skeptical and is trying to be a supportive friend and a supportive girlfriend. So I do appreciate her role in this whole thing about like the I don't feel great about this. I just wish there's a little bit, I think to your point, a little bit more of that energy, as opposed to just like the the automatic buy-in of it.
SPEAKER_04So great that you bring up Jade, because actually, I think she was one of my favorite characters, honestly. I think she's the one that like I related to the most because obviously, as we know, I well, I guess in some ways I relate to the most, but ironically don't, right? Because she doesn't believe at all, whereas I do. But I just feel like I would be her in the scenario of like I'm taking care of my little brother. I don't want him to get into this mess. Like, this is he shouldn't be going to this party. Like, what are you doing? You know? And I think it's important to see the perspective of a best friend of someone that's grieving. And I think the things that she like does throughout the movie and stuff like that was like really, I don't know, like I I I liked seeing that. And I maybe because in some ways I have been her, or or not even some ways, I definitely have been her, you know, like I've been the best friend of someone who's grieving the loss of a parent, you know. But I I found myself like when she was having moments where she was looking out for Mia, when she was just trying to be encouraging when they first go to that party, actually, and she goes up to her being like, You don't, you know, come on, like let loose, you know. I can relate to that. You just want to look out for her. That was super relatable, you know. In other times that she was trying to like put boundaries up because Mia was being Mia, you know, it's it's a lot. And I think she was just, I don't know, the most like level-headed at times, too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think for me, the only character who escapes without flaw is the mom. Except for that one time that she reacts a lot at Mia and basically says, get the fuck out of here, I'll call the police. But like it's kind of warranted, I suppose. Yeah. I do agree that Jade is pretty likable. However, I think where I kind of draw the line on some things with her, maybe it's just like from a lack of the relatability that I think you have for this character. It's like she has a hard time with Mia unless Daniel's involved. And I think that's what frustrated me. I felt like Mia had to bring up Daniel or had to say that Daniel wants to give it a shy for Jade to really give what Mia wanted to do credence or any effort or thought.
SPEAKER_04But here's the problem is that Mia, the things that Mia wanted to do were not good. Or pretty fucking toxic.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02And but she wants to do them when her boyfriend wants to do it, though. You see my my problem? Like it's not great. You know what I mean? Like, it's like pick a side and like stay on that side, Jade. Come on.
SPEAKER_04No, because here's the thing: the way I see it is that she only does the things that Mia wants to do when she brings up Daniel because Mia is using Daniel as a way to coerce her into doing something because at that point that's your boyfriend. And you and my boyfriend have a past, apparently, that you love to bring up constantly. So if you're going to bring up, bring up my boyfriend and kind of use that as a tool to convince me to do something, or say that, like, oh, my boyfriend's gonna do this or whatever, I don't know. I'm just kind of uh I being her age, let's also put it that into perspective, right? Being her age, I'd be like, Well, I'm gonna be wherever my boyfriend is, and you are, because you continue to bring up the fact that you once held hands with him in a little romantic way that I don't necessarily appreciate. So it's giving off that I need to like watch you. It's feeling very high school drama. For sure. And the thing is, because even when she does bring up Daniel, she still does not grab that hand. She goes to the party, right? She goes to the party and all that to be around Daniel to to basically surveil the situation. But it's not like she says, Oh, Daniel's doing it, why don't you do it? Because even when that was brought up, she still didn't grab that hand.
SPEAKER_02It's fair. I just feel like she excuses the things that Daniel wants to do versus Mia. And that's where I think like my only struggle with her is it feels like it feels like she wants to please Daniel versus just checking Daniel, fucking set boundaries with Daniel. Daniel, don't be a fucking idiot. Like she wants to impress Daniel.
SPEAKER_04And I think that she excuses everything that Mia does. I actually, I literally even wrote that down. She is definitely, which why wouldn't you? She is the best friend, and your best friend is grieving. Your best friend wants to look at your phone and make all these comments when you're talking to your boyfriend and you kind of laugh it off and all these other things. What are you gonna do? You have to you feel you're at a place where you have to excuse what she's doing, but it gets to the point where eventually she is the reason that your brother is in a hospital and it makes it a little difficult to excuse that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, you know, I think Jade perhaps should practice the boundaries that she sets for her little brother with everyone else in her life. Amen. And that's where a struggle is. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_04Look, everybody's lacking boundaries in this place.
SPEAKER_00My gosh. I mean, it's just a sticky situation for these for these uh kids to be in, you know, with all this relationship drama and family trauma and all this stuff that's going on. Just sticky. But you know, the problem the problem is like, yes, to your point, like people like Jade, where you may have been in those shoes you can relate to, not everyone's gonna be able to relate to that exact kind of scenario. And so that could be kind of hit or miss. And I think for me, with characters, even just characters as a whole, is there's a lot of things that these individual characters do that feel really relatable when I think back to like my childhood and my youth and things that I did as a kid and situations that I have been in, but none of the characters themselves to me were relatable, like none of their characteristics, right? Like there were moments where I wanted to feel bad for Mia, for example, and I know because she has some family trauma and all of that, but the choices she was making just didn't sit right with me. So like I couldn't I couldn't buy into what she was doing at all.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I definitely agree. Look, for all that I've said, I think like I've I've been in a unique position where sure I've I've like I've mentioned, you know, my unfortunately it's very sad, but my best friend lost her, you know, her parent, and so I I know what that's like, but the dynamics here are very vastly different. And so it's it's hard because I can you're put in a position where you have to empathize with these characters with the very little relatability that you might have. In my case, where not only have I lost, you know, of a very close one who's practically my parent, but then I've also been the best friend. Like I've I can see some things that I can relate to, right? But again, like you said, it's the choices that they make that is so different than what I've experienced that it makes it so hard for me to like sometimes even root for them, for me to like excuse some of the things that they do, you know. Sure, you know, I just championed Jade and I had her back just a moment ago. It's a lot easier to do that than it is with Mia, this main character. That's for sure. With the mom, absolutely, that that one's an e that's that's an easy, that's breeze. AO1 can do no wrong, all right? She's a Lord of the Rings baddie, easy. I mean, Chris, you even said it in the theater that she's like the only one that has done zero wrong things. Easy to have her back. Mia, by far and wide, is the hardest one to have you know to to excuse some of the things that she's done, which is crazy because she's not only the main character, but the one that has like gone through it, the ringer. So I don't know. I think that was that was a cool experience for me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think for Mia, I struggle with her in ways that are not exactly that are not exactly similar to, but remind me of my feelings on Anakin Skywalker as a character, right? Anakin Skywalker through a couple movies is super fucking annoying, right? This is how he is written, this is how he is directed, he's just kind of obnoxious. Then you see the fall to the dark side, you see all this tragedy, it murders younglings, it's intense, but you also see his motives for why. And Anakin Skywalker will go at great lengths to protect those that he loves, right? In this case being his wife. For Mia, this is very difficult for me because all of this hinges upon her journey of healing. Because it's not like she just lost her mom. It's her mom's remembrance day. So it's been a minute, and this has been a whole process for her. She is attempting to get out there again and really Jade's. Family has brought her in as if she's one of their own, and there's this distance between her and her father, and it's tragic that they cannot talk through that because they are healing in their own ways apart from each other. And so I think there's plenty of soil here to make a good case that Mia is not in the right state to make wise decisions, and I can understand that. The other element of this is that for as intense as shit gets with Riley, I don't blame Mia for Riley. She did relent. She did tell him 50-something seconds. When they wanted to stop it, she did she's like, please, no, it's my mom. But that was a relatable moment. That was like the Yeah, man, if you think you're talking to your mom and it's this fresh still.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02Can you really falter?
SPEAKER_00No, because everyone's probably gonna do that same shit.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. I definitely don't falter there. It's everything after where I'm just kind of like, girl, what the fuck are you doing? And it's it's struggl. I struggle hard with Mia. I struggle hard with I get it. You know, Daniel is a friend. Daniel is technically an ex from some childhood romance. You didn't need to have someone in your bed that night.
SPEAKER_04I preach it to the to the frickin' clouds. I don't even know what look. Let's let's clarify a few things because I just want to clarify a few things. I agree with you that Mia is not necessarily at fault for Riley and what happened to Riley completely. I think that there is some accountability to be had there because you should respect what your best friend tells you about their own brother. As much as you have been taken in by this family, it's not necessarily like it's not right to disrespect what she uh says and what you know are next are the rules. And that the mom has made very clear, like this ain't new to you, fam. And you've clearly have been friends with this family for years and years. So you should uh proceed this with care when you know what potentially might happen because you've done it several times at this point, and everybody has, and whatever. Like this is a kid we're talking about, especially when at the beginning of the movie it's they made a comment about looking dead at him, saying that they want they want him. You know what I mean? They want to be in his body because he's young, but like whatever, right? Okay, fine. I agree with you, it's everything afterwards. That's just like, what are you doing? But you know what? Grief is a beast, and that's the that's the stuff that like after we watched the movie that I've in the last couple days I've like really ruminated on, I've really thought about it. Because although, you know, in all in in some shape, way or form we've all been through grief and we've all like experienced the depth of that, we can't necessarily say that our grief would be the same as someone else's. And so the things that we would do wouldn't be what someone else does, especially at Mia's age and how young she is, you know, because I agree with you. I could say that if if it was my mom, you know what I mean, or like my dad, I would want a few seconds more. And I would my first thought wouldn't be like, oh my God, you know, like something's gonna happen to him if I it needs to cut it off right now. You're just like in such depths, like you're drowning that you're do anything. So completely get it. But to go, to go to the lengths of like doing it again, God, it's just like the the thing about Daniel and like I said it earlier, even though it was my kind of like my favorite scene and it stuck with me. It's like to disrespect your best friend again, not only with what you did already, but with with this man, oh God, come on, Mia.
SPEAKER_00Terrible.
SPEAKER_04It's tough, it's tough.
SPEAKER_00I think there's something really interesting that Ripley brought up after watching the movie, which was the fact that, like, when we're talking about Mia and everything that's going on with Mia, right? The fact that, you know, the the lack of presence of her father and the way that they didn't really show you the father straight on was an interesting point that Ripley brought up. And it's like she's talking to her mom, and she keeps trying to, like, obviously, she does it again to try to reach out to her mom or whatever, and it just makes me wonder, like, because obviously there, you know, there's a lot of things that they're trying to get her to do. Like, was that her mom? Was that not her mom? Like, I don't know. I don't know if they ever really confirmed that. I think that like it sounded like they were playing tricks on her to get her to you know kill her father, and we didn't bring that up in in the kill section because obviously her father didn't die, but god damn, somebody gets stabbed in the jugular and you're bleeding out for god knows how long. Yeah, I don't know how that guy fucking lived, to be honest with you. That's another one. That could have been a death.
SPEAKER_04That could have been a death. I agree, actually. I think I would have that one override.
SPEAKER_00There's your one more.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, there's your one more. I don't know, that man's been through a lot.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, for sure. For sure, for sure. But I'm just saying, like, it just needs a win.
SPEAKER_02He needs a win.
SPEAKER_00The reason I bring this up, right, is like, what is the purpose of intentionally not showing you the father straight on? He's always kind of in the shadows, like is you see the side of him, the back of him, never front on. And then you have this whole, you know, depth of the mother trying to like convince, you know, Mia that, you know, that's not her father.
SPEAKER_04Well, I think that this is kind of like what Ripley was saying. It's like by not seeing the father full on, you can then understand the depths and the desperation that Mia has for her mom, then. Because it's it's like there's so much disconnect to the father that at this point Mia is the epitome of loneliness, of grief and loneliness, and she'll do anything to not feel lonely anymore, which is why she keeps connecting with this hand, and even though it's not even her mom initially, right? She's just out here like playing with these like spirits and these ghosts all the time, so that she can just feel something else. That's why she says it's like the best feeling in the world, just to not be herself anymore, to not feel lonely. And so to not even like to make it very clear that the dad is not necessarily someone that is very close to her, and so not close to us. We don't have the privilege of seeing his face, or like by seeing his face, we would then have a sense of warmth of like family that she in her perspective, she does not have. After Ripley brought that up, that's kind of like what also had stayed in my head for um the last couple days thinking about it.
SPEAKER_02No, for sure. It definitely drives the isolation and disconnection. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Sure.
SPEAKER_02And I think what's heartbreaking is to think about how it's executed here versus let's take let's take the boogeyman, right? In the boogeyman, you have a family recovering from loss where a mother has suddenly passed is very unexpected, and then you have a father who's healing one way very clinically and very away from his daughters, and then daughters that crave that connection or just the room to talk about it. But what's interesting in here is that you see the physical distance between them, you see the distance and depth between them, but there also isn't a lack of interaction.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Like the father will ask questions, but she does not respond well to those. And it looks like communication that has broken down, that has eroded so poorly over the last, let's say, year, for example, that he probably doesn't even know where to pick the pieces back up. Like, how can you possibly rebuild when everything is like has been eaten away with acid? Like, you don't even have foundational building blocks to go off of anymore.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's some tough shit. It's deep. Let me tell you what, that mean lesbian was funny though.
SPEAKER_04I was just gonna say, you know, we've we've gotten deep, but we cannot end this episode, I refuse, without highlighting the comedic characters in this movie. And that that Haley, she was she was something. She was an asshole through and through.
SPEAKER_02She really was, and I started out really fucking hating her. As soon as she was like looking square at Mia, I was like, fuck her, man. What's going on with this shit? But her and Joss are the buddy comedy that I need.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. They are the buddy, they are the the duo. They are the duo for sure, because they're very much like, damn. Good luck. We fucked up.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh. Gotta go, gotta blast. Yes, comedic value, 100%. You gotta love it for that. I think when you even what you just mentioned, and I think it's something that I'm latching on to, is just like kind of the relatable moments, and it's just that moment where they walk into the kickback and Haley or whatever is mean mugging or making comments, right? That is such a relatable moment when you walk into a party or a kickback and you don't know anybody or you're not friends with these people, and you walk in, it feels like everyone is just looking at you like, Why the fuck are you in this room right now?
SPEAKER_04Especially when you weren't necessarily invited to the party, right? But your best friend is the one that's super popular, and so they go up to her and they're like, Why did you bring her?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they're like, Yeah, come on, it's gonna be good. No, no, I know them all, it's cool, and you're like, Oh, okay, I'm going. And then you walk in and you're like, Wow, this is fucking awkward.
SPEAKER_04This is awkward. I'm the clown. Thank you so much for bringing me here. What a great time. Absolutely, 100%. Real quick, though, I think we can all agree. Sue, Aowen, aka Eowen, the the real hero of the whole movie, phenomenal. What really should have been my favorite scene was her going from door to door back and forth between all of them, being like trying to be slick, you know, trying to get them to be honest about having the party and stuff like that. Because that's a mom. Through and through. We want to talk about relatability. That was the moment because you're gonna tell me that your mom didn't have a social life, you're gonna tell me, you're gonna look at me and tell me that your mom doesn't know the shit that you're plotting. Mom, always know. There was 5,000 steps ahead.
SPEAKER_00For sure.
SPEAKER_04But those kids held strong, they held strong, and you know what? More power to them. I would have cracked by the third time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they did a good job.
SPEAKER_04I would have panicked. I would have panicked and been like, you know what? Fuck it. I can't do this.
SPEAKER_02That's where they all have to like dissect, and only one of them knows one very small part of the plan, so they can all speak very honestly with plausible deniability for everything.
SPEAKER_04Yep. The less you know the better, the less you know the better. And the second one, not not the second MVP, but the second character that I want to bring up that was funny in my opinion, was Riley's friend. He has like a few moments that were just like ridiculous. Because again, you've got you've got the best friend, and this is from a from a boy's perspective, right? Obviously, but like you're trying to be cool and like you know, act all tough in front of your best friends and like act like you're older than you really are, and that kid really believes it. That kid feels and acts like he is 19, busting it with the rest of them.
SPEAKER_00That's true. Yeah, that's true. I'm pretty sure he said some raunchy ass shit on that curb.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. Try to act all tough.
SPEAKER_02Man, I actually found him so unlikable.
SPEAKER_04Well, no, and that's the thing. I'm not saying that he was fantastic, I'm saying that he's memorable, and I have to bring him up because that's the point. He needed to be the unlikable character that Riley is trying to be all cool, you know. Like that's why he's trying to act tough, and like that's is that not masculinity? You know what I mean? Like trying to act all cool, you know, to that is teenage youth at its finest.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. If teenage boys were less teenage boys, Riley wouldn't have gotten something. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_04I'm just saying that character was necessary, and that actor that played him, real funny kid. Yeah, messed up, but real funny kid. And I actually, now that I say that, Joe Bird, the actor that plays Riley, this is his first movie ever. Imagine your first movie being this one where you are looking like a swollen balloon.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh man. But you know what? Look, I had to bring up these characters because now, on to my worst part, and this may be to some surprise. I will agree finally that these characters in general needed a little bit more meat and bones, okay?
SPEAKER_02Now we said it. All right. We've been saying it, but now we said it.
SPEAKER_04I know. I wanted to wait till the very end because I really just I really wanted to champion them as long as I could, okay? They do need a little bit more meat and bones. I think I needed just a little bit more to feel just a bit more invested. Not that I think it's necessary every single time in a movie that you need like this whole big plot and like backstory and all this stuff. You don't need phenomenal characters for the movie to be great overall. Not every single time. But if we could have had just a sprinkle bit more, yeah, I I think it would have it would have been good. It would have been even better. It would have maybe, I would assume, based off of what you guys have shared, made you feel a little more confident in your slashes, right? Like just a bit more. I understand that this movie's about like reckless kids acting a fool and being this like paranormal vessel and stuff and all of that, right? With this party drug thing. So you can't expect to really love them when they're being so stupid, you know? Nonetheless, just a smidge more would have been cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I mean, it's one, I'll just say it's a it is a solidified slash for me. Like, I'm not doubting my slash. Yeah. So like it it's it it wasn't a make or break for me. I just think that if you're gonna have a movie, my personal opinion, if you're gonna have a movie where all of the characters are dislikable or unrelatable, then kill them the fuck off because I want to see some death. But the fact that you give us a bunch of characters that we don't give a fuck about, and then none of them, yeah, none of them die? Come on. That's just a miss for me. That's a miss for me.
SPEAKER_02And they're non-refundable. But you're stuck with those fuckers.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. But you know, I I kind of I said it before, right? I think the worst part of this movie for me is that I just wanted to see more of the other side, and the other side just meaning like I wanted to see more of those scenes where they're you know grabbing the hand and that that tension going back and forth and getting visuals of like who they're talking to. But, you know, I I don't know what because the direction they went in, right, to to what we talked about is that it's kind of like a kid's like party thing, like they're addicted to it, it's fun, like they they're they love the feeling, whatever that feeling is, it's like a it's like a drug thing, it's like a weird addiction. And so if they did less of that and more of like the intense kind of supernatural talk to the dead, then maybe it would have been a different type of movie, and maybe it wouldn't have been the same. So I I don't know, but as it stands, that is the worst part for me now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean the characters are a rough number, thanks. I'm glad you uh got to that point of acknowledgement this far into the episode. But it's actually not the worst part of the movie for me. I think had the characters been who they are and you left it as is, it would have been fine enough. But for me, where it lacks is the character work that we get in conjunction with what feels like the way they juggle and fumble a few things as we get into the third act of the movie, because I just lost a lot of interest there. From the moment that that ghost lets her in to the point where she finally is stabbing her dad. Between that, I'm like, all right, what's going on here? And it's not that it's that long, I get it, but the momentum really died out for me. And we get to this point where she's then reflecting on the kangaroo. She sees the kangaroo in the hospital, and it's like, okay, you couldn't put the kangaroo out of its misery. Are you gonna put Riley out of his misery? What are you gonna do about it? And then it just doesn't really deliver on it. So yeah, you can find the parallel there with her being the roadkill now, and it's ironic, but it's not enough of a thing for me on top of the closure with the family, on top of destroying the family, the adopted family that she has found in the wake of losing her mother. Yeah, there's no repairing of this relationship with her father. There just was too much going on in that third act for me. I think this movie would have very much benefited from a simpler story.
SPEAKER_04You know, I'm so glad that you brought that up because I forgot that I wanted to ask if it was that. I figured that it was maybe a little too much all at once to get to drive home the fact that it was putting her out of her misery.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's uh it it wasn't a great moment. It wasn't a great moment. It felt like, again, just doing a doing a little bit too much when I think there was room to maybe explore those themes earlier in the movie. But I will say this if I want them to lose a theme, it's not dealing with the passing of her mom. Because earlier I mentioned that there was a moment in this movie that hit me before even seeing the movie, and that was like an hour before I got to the theater, I pulled up my phone to text my mom. Instead of going to my text thread, I typed in my mom's first name, which is also my grandmother's first name, and my grandmother's contact came up, and I was like fucking devastated. And there's a moment where they acknowledge this, like you just haven't been able to delete the contact from your phone. And I'm like, man, that's the that's the shit right there. So it was cathartic in a way, and I think looking at the journey that Mia goes on in this movie and seeing what she expects maybe is her mother, seeing the ghostly apparition of her mother and processing that, I felt like that was so strong. I wish I wish that they had just focused on that and not try to pack in everything else. But let me tell you, I do plan to watch this movie again. One to see if I like it more holistically on a second viewing, but two, to carefully study the hand and to take as many notes as possible. Because as soon as that hand is available for purchase as a prop, I will be buying it and I will be creating a parody video of the song Part of Your World set from the ghost perspective.
SPEAKER_04Oh Jesus Christ. You're welcome, of course. Yeah, no, for sure I'll definitely watch this movie again, without a doubt. No question. I had such a good time watching it. Um, yeah, I'm I might even like ask my mom if she's you know down to go see it, or like I I also feel like, man, we had like we got we got the early screening for this movie, but we also found another early screening, and then it was like I was we were going to see this opening night as well. Like it was just I was prepared to see this movie three times before I even saw the movie. I am still debating though, all excitement aside, still debating when I do, and here's why. I do want to see this with my mom for sure, because she just loves this stuff. But I think like in the last couple days, I've definitely been thinking about this movie a little bit more than I should. It's just like it's pretty heavy. Heavy, and I've got like a lot of things going on that I'm like, oof, it's it's a lot to to digest, on top of just how brutal it is, but it's worth it, it's for sure worth it to rewatch.
SPEAKER_00It is definitely worth a rewatch, it has rewatch value for sure. I definitely feel like I want to watch it one or two more times, like as soon as I can. I just want to kind of grab a little bit more out of the film. I I was talking about this after the movie too, like the way they ended it was so well done. Like that whole coming to realize that you're actually dead, Mia walking through the hospital trying to get people's attention, like the lights are turning off on her, like she's slowly descending into darkness, and then the the candle, the flame flickers on, right? And she's walking towards it, and you're like, Oh, here we go, right? And then there she is on the other side, about to talk to somebody else through presumably the other hand, right? And and I just think, man, what a great way to cap this movie off. And while this movie has a ton of rewatch value, I don't know if this movie needs a sequel or a prequel. I don't know if I want it. I think it was just so well done. Like, if they go and do a sequel for a continuation of this story, I feel like it's just gonna get fucked up somehow. And I just think, man, I don't know. Some prequels out there have not been good lately, they just haven't been good. So don't give us some bullshit.
SPEAKER_04Do you want me to tell you another fun fact I have oh no, yeah, let's hear it.
SPEAKER_00They're already approving a sequel, it's already in production.
SPEAKER_02They're pulling a Ty West and it's already done. It's theaters in October.
SPEAKER_04God, no, no, no, not like that. But the brothers have said that they have enough material like to make this like a thing, like a universe thing in a number. Yeah, but like, or at least a sequel for sure that they want to explore, but they want to see how this goes. And let me look, I've mentioned I realize now, I've mentioned Oppenheimer or slash Barbenheimer twice. But look, it came out last week, guys, and it was a cinematic masterpiece and experience, and I just bring that up because you know it is competing against the high of of Barbenheimer that's still probably like going on a whole week later. And so I think the brothers are like, Man, we've got the material. I just hope this movie does well, and I think that it will. Because of how much hype this movie had to begin with in the months leading up to it. I mean, this movie technically debuted last year. It's just that it's finally like got picked up for mass release now. So this was on this again, because they're YouTubers, this movie was talked about on YouTube for a good while, you know, it's been shopped around for a while, so we'll see. But to break your heart, they definitely are thinking about it.
SPEAKER_00If it's good, I'm in. But just because this movie does well does not mean you need to make a fucking season. Sean's like, I agree.
SPEAKER_02If it's good, I'm in. Odds are it won't be.
SPEAKER_00May the odds be forever in your favor.
SPEAKER_02Yep, yep. Well, we'll wait and see what happens, but for now, talk to me from 2023 has earned a universal slash. Now, we've certainly had a robust discussion here. There's been a lot to unpack. Binks and I have disagreed on a lot of things, but you know what? The conversation doesn't end here by any means.
SPEAKER_04No, it does not. We want to know what you think. Me personally, I just want to know if you would ever play this kind of game at a party, because if you would, damn, you're brave as hell. Or stupid. I don't know which one. But please, either way, let us know, just in general, your thoughts about the movie. Uh, you can join in on the conversation by hanging out with us for free in our Discord. Click the link in our show notes to sign up.
SPEAKER_00And hey, if you've enjoyed listening to us, consider letting us in and becoming one of our patrons. Visit patreon.com slash hackerslash to enjoy more of the show with early access, extended episodes, bonus content, and live shows.
SPEAKER_02We'll see you next time, folks. And remember, they're never going to stop.
SPEAKER_00Just burn the fucking thing.









