309: Better Watch Out (2016)

SPEAKER_05 0:04

Fight me, children. You will lose every time.

SPEAKER_03 0:13

Season's greetings and salutations and welcome to Hack or Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. Good lord, you are breathtaking. 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_01 0:27

A total joke, a waste of time, or a slash.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Totally killer, pun intended. We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with a 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_01 0:46

Yeah, as long as you don't mind getting gum out of your pubes.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

The paranormal paramour Binks. Do you know what they do to white kids in jail? The Scream Queen Paris.

SPEAKER_05 1:12

Let's follow up on a movie. Okay, so here at Hackerslash, we did recently review the film Totally Killer from the year 2023.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Pun intended.

SPEAKER_05 1:21

Oh my god, stop. I actually thought about that. So I actually listened to the first half of this episode and then was like, ugh, so annoying. They convinced me to watch it, so now I can't listen to the second half of the episode until I've seen this movie. But we wanted to, as always, hear what you listeners thought. And the poll results are in. And here's actually what happened. 14% voted that it was a hack, and 86% gave it a slash, which is a really strong testament for watching this movie, I would say.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

It feels right. I think I am so mad I didn't get to be a part of that episode, but I remember texting you, Chris. I was like, it's such a fun movie. It's super fun. So 14% of people got it wrong. That's basically what happened.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

I think in my heart, the 14% did it for the gag of having the 80s range of a slash.

SPEAKER_05 2:09

Oh, it was meta. It was a meta poll result. True. Facts. We also have some comments from our friends on social media. This comment comes from Strange and Unusual, and they said 80s vibes, back to the future vibes, blood, and fun, fun, fun.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

That's a fun, fun way of describing this movie. I agree.

SPEAKER_05 2:27

Fun seems to be like a recurring theme amongst these comments because we have another one from Nietzu who said it was a fun little slasher with good PC and Gen Z stabs.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

That I totally agree. There were so many Gen Z stabs in particular. Not a bad thing, though.

SPEAKER_05 2:44

We also have a comment from Jackson Todd, who might be on the other side of history here, who said, it was okay, just a little too much meta material for me. We have another comment from our Discord this time from CD3Vane, and they had this to say. This was another fun entry in the Blum House. Let's turn other concepts into comedy slashers franchise. I'm starting a petition to have the next one be a slasher Jumanji. I don't have more of an idea than that, but the Blum will figure it out. I mean, obviously, we start with a teenage girl with parent trauma in some way, as that is a franchise staple.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_05 3:16

And here's the thing, I never realized that that was like a thing that they're doing, but they absolutely are. But I fear that we may have already done a slasher Jumanji with that one horrible, horrible, shitty movie where the video game is real. Stay alive. Ugh.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

Here's the thing. It wasn't that movie, Paris. Gatlop. Not a slasher, though. It's just more like a horror Jumanji.

SPEAKER_05 3:39

Gatlop?

SPEAKER_03 3:40

Yes, you heard correctly.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

It is a thousand percent Jumanji.

SPEAKER_05 3:44

Well, with that being said, we have a final comment here from Wanderlust RN. And they said this: I love this movie so much. Hot Tub Time Machine Meets a Serial Killer. And I'm sold, y'all. I need to watch this post-haste. That's a Jumanji reference. Just the word post-haste. Thank you all so much for leaving your comments. And we actually have even bigger thanks to give to our newest patrons, Landon and Michael. And I have to tell you, boys, I'm pretty sure there's a porn star named Landon Michael. So I think you're conspiring by both becoming patrons in the same month.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

You're onto something.

SPEAKER_05 4:19

Nonetheless, we're happy to have you. And that's our follow-up.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

Well, the holiday season is upon us, and while most seasonal horror relies on gimmicky, Santa themed villains, classic folklore, or the juxtaposition of a joyous holiday season in the macabre, this week's film aspires to subvert those expectations. Writer director Chris Peckover invites us into the unassuming winter tranquility of a suburban neighborhood, where a young teen babysitter's evening endures an unexpected shift from mundane to menacing. On the surface, we've seen this story before. This time, though, we're experiencing a film that serves as an intricate exploration of trust and peril within the confines of what promised to be a safe domestic space. This week we're talking about Better Watch Out. Who's seen this one before?

SPEAKER_02 5:06

So I have never seen this movie before. Didn't even know a single thing about it going into this watch, which worked out perfectly for me.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Never have I ever seen this movie, heard of this movie. I'm kind of disappointed in myself that I felt I was like, ah, whatever. I think the cover is what got me. I was like, I don't need to watch this. But it was nice. I'm excited that I'm recording this right now. I can say that.

SPEAKER_05 5:31

So I have definitely seen this movie before and have to take a little credit here. I believe I am the reason we watched this for the pod. Because as soon as I finished this movie, about two years ago, I think I watched it on streaming.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

Three years ago. I actually have receipts of the first time you watched it, December 25th, 2020, at 12 46 a.m.

SPEAKER_05 5:52

I watched it on Christmas. I'm a psycho.

SPEAKER_03 5:55

You said Y'all seem better watch out, and you had just finished it. So I think you started it on Christmas Eve and finished it on Christmas Day.

SPEAKER_05 6:02

Bat tracks, actually. Yeah, I saw this movie and immediately texted Chris. I was like, we gotta do it for the pod. And I won't give too much away about how I felt about it, but I felt it needed to be reviewed by this group of people here.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

That's crazy. I can't believe it's been this long since we got to this movie. I feel like this is one of these movies I've seen right around when it first came out a few years back, and I was just looking for holiday horror, and it's something that kind of fell into my rotation, and I'm glad it finally came around to the podcast. I can't believe it's been this long. That's wild.

SPEAKER_03 6:33

I've seen this movie exactly one time, but I just really had to take a moment to search back my receipts because Paris has been talking about this movie for literally years. And Paris, as soon as you watched it, you're like, okay, well, might as well toss it into next year's holiday lineup because we were in the midst of lamenting Christmas horror movies.

SPEAKER_04 6:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:55

So it could have gone one way or another. You eventually shared your feelings with me on the movie itself. It wasn't until March 15th, 2022, when I caught wind of it again and I was like, hey, is this the movie that you're talking about? I sent you the IMDB link and you said, yes, it was on some gay movie list, but it's very much not gay. Not sure where they came up with that. Maybe the gays like it. With those two pieces of data, I didn't have much to go on except for I'd probably have a just fine time.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

I love it. I was trying to reminisce. I love holiday, obviously, if you can't tell my Christmas sweater. So I was like, okay, I'm down for some holiday cheer. But I was trying to think of like what the fuck was I doing in 2016? I think I was in the blip or something because I don't know why I didn't watch this. It was one of those things where I was like, man, a pleasant surprise. I don't get surprised by really any movie post 2005. So for me to be like, oh, okay, let's watch this and let's see what happens was exciting. So thanks, Paris. A win.

SPEAKER_05 7:58

Well, listen, I feel like this movie really just kind of like slipped out and nobody talked about it. I think I just randomly saw it streaming and that's how I watched it. Sean, how did you hear about it when you watched it?

SPEAKER_01 8:08

I was literally just going down this rabbit hole of trying to find something different in holiday horror. I don't want to watch the same old shit right now. Let me dive into this. Is there anything good? And I just stumbled upon this movie and it just became something that I watch every year.

SPEAKER_05 8:25

Yeah, it's a very stumble-upon type of movie. Did it even have a theatrical release, Chris? Do you have the data on that?

SPEAKER_03 8:30

It actually premiered at film festivals. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Yeah, because I also hadn't heard of this film at all. So much so that I have to be honest, going into this, I thought that this movie was about two siblings trying to survive maybe a slasher killer of some kind, a home invasion of some kind. Obviously, it was extremely coarse-corrected once the movie started. Should have noticed the sexual tension in the gif that I picked on our Notion page, but it flew right over my head. Wasn't unaware that this was about a babysitter. A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

I think if you've never seen this movie before and just all you know is like holiday horror, and that holiday horror, especially Christmas horror, can be really hit or miss, then you're probably going into this one really a little wary, right? Holiday Christmas movies, you just don't know what to expect. They're either like gonna be really good or they're gonna be trash. It's really hard to find like a good one that really hits all the marks.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

I did read what it was about, and I love some good babysitting movies. I mean, we have I'm stuck in the 80s, I know, but don't tell the mom the babysitter's dad is like one of my favorite movies.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

So good. Great movie.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

So good. So babysitting, horror, Christmas. You know, you already got me hooked. It was one of those movies where I'm like, I'm in anything, babysitting, anything that requires you to possibly harm a child, I'm in. It's got my name all over it.

SPEAKER_03 9:55

This was an interesting watch the first time around because I knew absolutely nothing going in, right? I expected this might be a good vibe, but I don't think I was expecting fully how non-Christmas or non-holiday it is. This is a movie, much like I think P2, for example, is a movie that takes place coincidentally around Christmas. Child's play takes place coincidentally around Christmas. But this isn't giving Black Christmas, it's not giving Silent Night, Deadly Night, it's not giving any number of things, right? Like Krampus, etc. There are some holiday-ish moments in here, but I think even just the freshness of that reset my expectations while I was watching the movie. And it's really interesting because watching this for the first time, you kind of go on this ride, and we won't spoil anything here, but the second time you watch it, it hits different. This is one of those movies you can't watch the same way twice because then the second time you watch it, like you're picking up on different things in the dialogue, you're picking up on different cues, and I think it it honestly makes for an even better second watch experience.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

That's so true. That's a good call out for sure. You watch it a second, third, however many times, you definitely pick up on these different pieces of dialogue, cues, whatever, and you do watch it in a whole new light. I think this movie really feels like a lot of things. It it really felt like a dark comedy, kind of disguised as a psychological slasher type film of sorts. We talk about fuck them kids, it really is like fuck them kids in a whole new light. That's what this movie really feels like.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

So interesting that you guys are talking about essentially like rewatchability and enjoying it more the second or third time. I can't wait to talk a little bit more about my thoughts on that in the spoiler zone for sure. I would say I did not anticipate it being a horror comedy. That's another part that I was not privy to. So when there was a bit of that comedy relief or comedic relief, I enjoyed it for sure. I felt as I was going through the film an insane amount of annoyance. But what I will say, this casting, all in all, fantastic. We're talking icons for parents. So the main character, her name is Ashley, there's a side character named Garrett. They are the two main characters of M Knight's The Visit that just came out a year prior. Yeah, that's true. So that I was not anticipating that, so that was great. But here was the real gem for me. When Daker Montgomery hit that screen, Cullen woke up from his nap. Okay. I was not prepared for that. Should have, though, because the actor that plays Garrett is Australian, and so I should have known, you know, a little bit of that going.

SPEAKER_03 12:38

Oof, that was quite a treat. Wow. That was your treat. My treat was seeing Virginia Madsen, who was in Candyman. No, of course. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 12:47

We've got Lemony Snicket, we've got Our Queen from Candyman. Like, parents were phenomenal casting, incredible casting.

SPEAKER_05 12:53

I'll be honest. Going back into the second watch of this, I was like, you know, I've seen this movie before. I remember it being very good. Have not watched it once since then. I actually watched it with Dwight and pretended I hadn't seen it so that he would be more invested in it, and that successfully worked. But I was kind of expecting to enjoy it as much as I did the first time. And Chris, I'm not gonna lie, I don't know that I did. I think on the rewatch, it did not perform the same way it did for me. I think it's this is one of those movies where you can only watch it the first time once.

SPEAKER_03 13:25

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

I agree. Can't wait to talk more. I just like the first time once. Paris. Not twice. The first time only happens once. Yeah, but the first time once.

SPEAKER_05 13:37

But you can never have that experience again.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

Yeah. There are some movies where the second experience is totally flat, totally boring. This one though, I think has it's is ripe for the opportunity of okay, what can I pick up on now knowing what the outcome is? That's my gripe, though.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

I think it just depends. That I think that's it's just one of those things where it depends on how you like to enjoy movies, right? So, like you may watch this movie once, and obviously we can't really talk about like maybe why you may be watching this the first time would be the best time, but like you watch this movie once and you get this reaction, you're not gonna get that reaction a second, third, fourth time. But if you enjoy analyzing movies or if you enjoy finding different nods or different little Easter eggs and things that they do with the movie and paying attention to little cues, that's what I think is fun out of this movie.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Yeah, but I think in addition to that, listen, I just gotta say it right now, least surprising thing about this movie, Paris, is that you would not enjoy it on a second watch because first off, it's a Christmas horror movie, even as non-Christmas as it is, and you fucking watched this shit at like 11 o'clock at night on a Christmas Eve three years ago. Yeah. You were in the right situation for some bullshit.

SPEAKER_05 14:48

It was a perfect storm.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

Yeah, this movie is not bullshit, but I think you were more inclined to be open to something that you wouldn't typically be open to.

SPEAKER_05 14:56

Yeah, and I had probably just watched several shitty Christmas horror movies leading up to this.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

I think the perfect storm is needed, though, for this to be a successful watch. If you don't know what you're getting into, that's when the surprises come in. And I think that I enjoyed this movie because I was like, well, fuck. What? There was a lot of those moments. I feel like if I were to re-watch it, it would have to be with somebody that has never seen it, similar to what you were saying, Paris, to see what they think. Yeah. Because it's one of those sneak attack movies. You know, you're like, oh, fuck. Okay, I guess this is what we're watching right now. Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

I I gotta say, you guys are making me like self-reflect right now. Because my issue is that perhaps I'm cursed with being a massive Fincher, David Fincher fan. Maybe I'm cursed with loving mysteries and solving puzzles and who done it and everything else. Because my biggest disappointment, if anything, is well, I've really got two things, but it was predictable from there was no plot twist for me. There was none. If the only plot twist that maybe occurred was the whole plot of the movie, you're like really what we're focusing on, but the plot twist, the big surprises, I saw that from the jump. So I guess that's my part about re-watching. Why would I rewatch it again when I caught everything the first time around? But to your point, Sean, or at least understood was if you're the kind of person that loves psychoanalyzing every single thing of the film, watching and hunting down every single nook and cranny of what's on screen, then it's gonna affect your watch and whether you're gonna want to watch it again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

I think one thing that surprised me was that it was kind of gory. And y'all know I want to see pus. I want to see blood, I want to see those things.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Ew, pus. Why was pus first?

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Puss was number one on the list.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

You're shocked.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

What? I enjoy the dead. I want to see people die. It was kind of gory. It surprised me.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

This is important context because Paris has never been on an episode with Veto. So this is a getting to know moment. Oh, oh this is true.

SPEAKER_05 17:06

I've listened to a couple episodes, but never been in the same I want to live with the dead, Paris.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

I love it. I want the ooey and the gooey. So I was shocked. If you see the cover, you're like, oh man, these stupid little kids, nothing's gonna happen. And then you're like, oh shit, that's it's kind of gory. So I think that that was a surprise for me, and it made me invest a little bit more. Like I put my fucking phone down. I was like, let me watch this shit.

SPEAKER_06 17:32

So nice.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

I know. I didn't do other shit while watching it, which is what I usually do. So that was a surprise.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

My biggest surprise is what a damn fucking fool I was the first time I ever watched this movie because I noticed something that I had literally paid zero mind to, and that was how obscenely high the doorknobs and locks were because the movie is filmed in Australia. Wow. Okay, there we go. It's set in the United States, but it's filmed in Australia, and their door situation is a different situation altogether. And I was just like, okay, yeah, I remember reading a little bit about it, but then as I'm watching the movie, I'm like, how the fuck did I not notice this? Because honestly, if I were in that house, I'd be having black eyes all the time. I walked into a door, totally plausible in Australia. What the fuck?

SPEAKER_05 18:24

Wait, I guess with the pencil of it all, it is really high. It is really high, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

It's even more so when she's doing laundry, she starts the laundry and then she gets up. Yeah. And then you think, oh, well, she's leaning down, so that's why it looks high. But no, you realize that she's standing up and she closes the door. The doorknob is just fucking high. That's just how it is.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

I wonder why.

SPEAKER_03 18:45

It's like an eye level. I don't like that.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Do we have a rationale?

SPEAKER_03 18:49

Like, is it?

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Yeah, I know. I wonder why this is a thing.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

Now you need to share. What is the reason?

SPEAKER_03 18:54

I don't know why the doors in Australia are this way, but the doors in Australia are this way.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Is it because on average Australians are really fucking tall or something?

SPEAKER_05 19:02

It's probably so the spiders can't turn the doorknobs.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Okay, I got it, guys. Some people argue that this was to ensure children couldn't enter rooms, while others say it's more of a trend or fashion.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

I knew it was to lock kids in rooms. I knew it. Fuck. Or lock them out. Whatever you want. Yeah, whatever. You're still locking them somewhere. That's wild.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

I hate that I didn't notice that, and it makes me angry that I missed it.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

It's the little details.

SPEAKER_03 19:28

It's something I totally missed the first time I watched this movie. So I'm sorry if I'm like really shifting this perspective for you, dear listener, and you're about to watch this movie for the first fucking time. You ruined it. You'll be smarter than me, because how the fuck did I never notice this? In literally in every picture you see of this movie, and maybe don't search it before you watch the movie because there's spoilers. But in every photo, you can obviously see the fucking door handles. I'm like, God damn, I was not paying attention.

SPEAKER_01 19:56

Man, that's wild. I I have to actually just take it all the way back to when Binx was talking about the casting because I think what surprised me the most about this film was the acting and the main characters I think did a phenomenal job. So it was just something you don't really get out of a holiday horror film most of the time. You're you're usually getting a bunch of B-movie actors that just do B movie jobs, right? The average whatever, and you don't get much. And I think this was a little bit of a surprise. Tough to pick disappointments. I feel like I do have a slight disappointment, but I really can't go into any details. So I'm gonna have to save that for the spoiler zone, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_05 20:36

I think this movie's definitely full of surprises, most of which I would say fall under the pleasant category. Again, can't reveal too many in the pre-spoiler section, but I think disappointments for me both times that I watched this were which characters die. Again, don't want to get too specific, but there's multiple characters who die, and I'm like, oh no. So pretty much a bummer to see some of these kills, but overall, this movie is riddled with pleasant surprises.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

They were beautiful kills.

SPEAKER_05 21:08

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Said every psychopath. If I'm saying too much of myself, but thumbs up, nine out of ten.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

No pus, so not a ten out of ten.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

I think one of the other things that was a pleasant surprise about this movie was how it approaches scariness. This movie is not something that is going to be difficult for you and your non-horror-loving friends to watch together. This is like a fun home invasion movie. There is so much potential to have something that is not palatable in the holiday season. But this is, I think, is a good starter point. This is a good, hey, let's all get together, order a pizza, and just watch something semi holiday related that is enough of the overlap of our two circles in this Venn diagram that is our friendship. However, I will say that the only thing scary about this movie is privileged. And I'm gonna leave it there. This movie exaggerates a certain message, right? It's in narratively, it exaggerates a message, but I think it's still pretty spot on. We'll talk more about that in the spoiler zone, but I think that angle of it is probably the most frightening, even though it wasn't intending to be. I could not agree more.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Honestly, if there were two jump scares, they flew right over my head. Because I don't think that was the point at all. So I would say if you're concerned that this is like too slashery, too scary, maybe even just one jump scare, you'll be able to watch it. I promise. But the real thing to fear though, yeah, entitlement or privilege, those are key words.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

Or maybe if you have a pre-teenager, that's scary after watching this movie.

SPEAKER_05 22:49

I think that's scary before watching this movie.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Just the premise of having to babysit. I didn't want kids, and I don't want them still. It's not a it's not a aw, look at them cute kids. This is a fuck that.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Oh man. Yeah, I I can definitely agree that kids can be frightening for sure. I I think this film is more suspenseful than it is scary, although there are some moments that may pop out and get you, but it's almost done in a comedic, slightly campy manner. So I think it's all done to be fun in those exact moments, and the rest of this movie is much more psychological.

SPEAKER_05 23:29

Yeah. Absolutely support everything that's been said. The movie is not scary, it is irritating, it is infuriating, and you will be pissed off, but not very scared.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Which I think actually reminds me of some of the other elements of this movie that I've seen in other movies. I described in the beginning of this episode a young girl is babysitting and things don't go as planned. It goes from mundane to menacing. That's a movie we've seen 50 fucking times over. And I have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven-ish movies that all gave me the vibe and the energy of this movie. But that's not to discredit the movie at all. I'm saying that to recheck your expectation and just think don't fucking go into this expecting an Academy Award-winning piece of art, right? This is just a fun time. You've seen this shit before, but you haven't seen it with high doorknobs and winter.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Not with high doorknobs.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

Yeah, certainly. I don't think that there is much originality here. I will say though, there's a lot of toxicity wrapped around our antagonist that is quite literally an excruciating hard pill to swallow for 90 minutes plus straight, I gotta say. And even that is not original because I am certain that we have already reviewed so many movies this year alone, where we've had to sit and watch a very annoying and horrendous antagonist.

SPEAKER_03 25:03

But that's also not even original because it's also just what we fucking deal with every day. That's life.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

But yeah, it's not original because that's the reality and clearly what we have seen in media before, and that's because it's what we deal with on the daily. Lovely. It was so great.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

I know we're probably getting real serious, but I'll bring it back to the fact that this is a movie. To be fair, they didn't put babysitting in the title, so that's already a win. They're a little bit more original than 90% of all babysitting movies.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

And I gotta say, look, even with the casting, let me explain a little bit, because any person looking at that movie poster would definitely think that maybe they're siblings. They looked pretty identical to me. Really? Which makes the whole plot more disgusting.

SPEAKER_05 25:48

This never crossed my mind.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

Really? Oh, I don't know. I saw them instantly and I was like, oh my god, it's like I thought I was gonna get a Terrifier 2 sibling duo battling it out with a home invasion type thing, which also would have been unoriginal. But I don't know. Clearly not the case.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

To your credit, I don't think they look necessarily identical, but absolutely the poster does give older sister, younger brother duking it out from a fucking evil Santa that might have broken into their house. That's what I could have imagined for the title. Better watch out.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

Well, I think that's probably the point. They want you to think about something else.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

We have examples in the movie, right? Because the same girl has her sibling from the visit as one of the side characters. Who looks more like this girl's brother? Luke or Garrett? My vote is Luke, just saying. But M. Night Shamalon said Garrett, so I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 26:38

Garrett looks like he's siblings with a potato.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

Correct. I thought he was beans from even Stevens at first.

SPEAKER_05 26:44

A Mr. Potato Head. Literally beans. He's beans. He's beans for the new generation.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Here's the thing, though. This is one of those films that sure takes a lot from other films. There's a lot of inspiration, there's a lot of influence there for sure. You've definitely seen this stuff before, but I just think for what it was, for the genre that it's in, it feels a little bit fresh when you're watching shit like Krampus 6 or whatever the hell, right? Like I just feel like it felt fresh. It felt fun in a way to watch. So I'm not saying it's original for all the different influences that it takes, because it definitely takes from a lot, but I think in the way that it did its own thing, it's gotta get some credit. I don't know if you call that originality, but the way it's delivered is pretty fun.

SPEAKER_05 27:30

I feel like in the context of holiday horror, like you're saying, Sean, it is original. In the context of like media and film and culture overall, it feels like it borrows so heavily from so many different things. This really is Home Alone, if Home Alone was a horror movie to me. And I think part of that really plays into the ending of this movie because it ends in such a way that it feels like almost like a sitcom. Like, how do we wrap up this storyline in a hijinx-filled, like family-friendly like story? I think it's both satisfying and also kind of infuriating a little bit. And maybe that's just me, but I'm looking forward to unpacking that as we get into a space where we can speak more freely.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

Paris, you just took that right from my brain because a hundred percent it was giving sitcom, it was giving even down till there's a scene after a little bit of the credits. So stick around for that.

SPEAKER_05 28:27

Oh, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

Yes, sitcom, sitcom 100%, and you are so pissed, but you can't help but laugh. I I chuckled because I was like, oh, these assholes, they did it, they freaking did it.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

I think Paris, you nailed it though, like home alone as a Latina, this is like a fantasy world, right? This shit doesn't happen in my family. I don't know any of these people with these fucking beautiful decorations. No, there's no Christmas carolers where I fucking grew up.

SPEAKER_05 28:55

I don't think that's a real thing anywhere. I'm convinced that that's not reality.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Yeah, no, you get fucking shot if you do that outside my house. But the reality is it's already fantasy for me, right? When I was watching it, I was like, man, they have definitely have house people that clean this house. It's a very fancy home alone vibe. Like these motherfuckers are rich. And I think that kind of played into it and made you feel like the end. I was like, motherfucker, they're gonna get away with it. So it was definitely infuriating to me. I was like, man, okay. Okay, I don't know. Success of the ending, I I could have done it differently, I think.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

I'm very torn on this because when I first watched this movie, and again, pulling up the receipts here, I text Paris two years later about this movie. So December 25th, 2020, Paris is like, Y'all seen Better Watch Out? And I was like, Yeah, on Tubi. And then two years later, I was like, I finally watched Better Watch Out, and I can't believe we blank about the ending. I realized I hated this shit when I first saw it, but also now in retrospect, I think I love to hate it a little bit. There's so much I have going on in terms of like the complexity of my feelings about this ending, and I think it's because of something that I saw more of and noticed more of this time around. And I can't wait to get into it with the scoring and as we break down our characters. But for me, there was more to this movie that made the ending tip a little bit onto the positive scale for me.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Here's the thing everyone just shared some kind of feeling they got from the ending, and so for that alone, I think the ending to this movie was fantastic. Whether it makes you feel happy, angry, sad, whatever it is, it's got you feeling some sort of way, so it was a success just because of that. I think it was for me a fun ending. It's wild, it's semi-unrealistic, but it's fun nonetheless. And I enjoyed the little cutscene we get right after the credits rolls. I'm sure that's what we're all talking about. I just think it was super fun, and I think if it has you feeling anything, it's a success.

SPEAKER_05 31:02

That's a low bar, Sean.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

I don't know, is it? Because there's some endings that I'm like, oh, really? I feel pretty let down. You know what I mean? I guess if that's if if we're counting that as a feeling, then yeah, that is a low bar. I'm just saying if it gets you excited or angry or happy or sad, that's good. If it's a letdown, which a lot of movies are, man.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

All right. Well, clearly we have a lot to say, and maybe this won't be as unanimous as I thought it had the potential to be going into it, but let's start making our way towards our ratings before we actually determine if it's a hacker or a slash. Sean, how would you describe the gore score?

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Really, for the amount of violence you get throughout this film, it's not super graphic. It it's pretty tasteful. There is some gore there, mostly blood, though, and nothing else is kind of really shown or thrown in your face, rather. Really, even though some of the things you witness can be disturbing, it's giving a low gore score.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

And what about the animal report? It involves a cat almost in danger. At one point, hit a little bit. It is safe to assume that the cat is okay, alive, and possibly recovering. So I wouldn't say we're fully safe, but brace yourself for a moment of pain.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

All right, well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings then. Better watch out in 2016. Is it a hack or a slash?

SPEAKER_05 32:18

I feel like since it's my fault that we're all here tonight, I should go first. When I saw this movie, I was ripe for it to have an impact on me. And it did, and I think that impact was deserved. It was rightfully so. This movie is full of gags. I was gagged, so much so that I said we might as well put it in the lineup because the bar is so low for holiday horror. So if you did something that was even mildly gaggy or mildly like original, or like, oh, well, that's not garbage, I'm gonna be like, okay, for holiday horror, solid slash. Now, on the rewatch, obviously you can't have the first viewing experience again. You can't recapture that. I think I see it a little bit more objectively now, in that overall, not a great horror movie, not one of my favorites, not even that memorable, I would say. But I think for what it is, it's something that I would recommend you see if you've never seen it before and if you are in a holiday mood, because there's a lot to love about this movie. There's there's some incredible performances, just like Sean was saying. You get some really solid writing and really good like world and story building. I want to say that at this point, if you've gotten this far in the episode, it's almost too late. But this movie is best watched when you know nothing, when you haven't listened to us give you a spoiler-free preamble. If you just stumble upon this one cozy winter night and say, oh, what is this super vague-looking nondescript movie poster? What could this possibly be? If you have no feelings going into this, you will be like, I think, surprised and delighted. But if you hear us talk about the pros and cons of it, you might expect too much from it going into it and then have a lesser experience as a result. All of this is to say that it is still a slash for me. However, it is a weakened slash over time, and I probably won't watch this a third time ever. But definitely watch it once.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

I'll follow up with that because I I feel you, and I think I kind of agree in terms of my rewatchability for this film. Definitely agree with you about going into this blind. That's exactly what I did. I recommend the same exact thing. Don't Google it, don't look up any images, just watch it. Just watch it, and that's how you're gonna be able to enjoy it. Now, for me, obviously I went into this thinking it was two siblings surviving a home invasion. Then it was a babysitter scenario, and then it became something far crazier, which is great. But the thing is that once I was proven correct about my theories of this like plot twist and what the movie's about, I felt like I was just forced to watch this movie out and especially this antagonist be a royal pain in my ass. And that's the hard part, right? So don't be me, don't be the one that psychoanalyzes everything and looks for everything, because then you might ruin it and self-sabotage yourself throughout the viewing. This movie is a little bit tough for me to review and put into words without spoiling anything, and I think that makes the movie fun. But I will say I am tired of watching these real terrible antagonists, and I guess that's the point. These horror films, I just had a really hard time with this one. Granted, overall, that aside, I had fun with the film. The jokes are really funny, the cast is great, the kills are wild and unexpected in terms of their brutality. And the key to this, I think, even for myself, is you gotta lean into the dark comedy more than just thinking it's only a slasher film. If you lean into the satire, if you lean into the camp a bit or the gag, you know, then you're gonna have a better time and not really pay too much attention of how insufferable this antagonist is. So I'm gonna say I'm not gonna let the fact that I predicted this film nor that one character get the best of me and affect my scoring. So I'm going to give it a slash.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

I don't understand the bad reviews on this movie, to be honest. And I think that this movie is still fun on a second and a third watch. I think sure the film is mildly scary at best. I think it's somewhat funny. I think in some dark, crude sort of way, it's somewhat funny, but it's largely surprising. I think it's definitely an entertaining film. Is it darkly funny or deeply disturbing? I don't know. You can be the judge. Either way, I think the movie is worth a watch. I think it was, for me, maybe not for Binks, the first watch unpredictable. I was never quite sure where the film was going until we got to the end the first time that I watched this movie. I think it's cleverly written. I think this movie's actually beautifully shot, and I think the acting we get from these characters make it even better to watch. When you put this as a general horror home invasion slasher, whatever, it may not be the strongest of films, but when it comes to holiday horror, joy to the world, Christmas horror is not dead. I think it's a slash.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Dang. He said joy to the world.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Joy to the world.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Dude. Listening to y'all, I keep going back and forth now. Here's the thing: I don't want to feel very much when I'm watching a movie, especially a horror movie. I want to enjoy it. I want to like it for the things that I like, which is the gore, the blood. You're watching it for that reason, right? I don't really like the ones that get in your fucking head and you're like, oh my God. And then you think about it after it's done. When the movie is done, I want to be like, fuck, that was a cool 90 minutes. I'm it. That's it. Go back to doing whatever the fuck else I was doing. My life's already too stressful to stress in a movie. So this movie I enjoyed because of that. I think I was pleasantly surprised. I was excited at some points where I was like, fuck yeah, I like that. Also, babysitting, holidays, all of those things bring so many nice memories. And you know what? Without giving too much, if you put me as if I was a character in this movie, I would fuck shit up. So I really connected with it in that way, if you think of it in that way, versus just thinking of it as okay, it's this little entitled kid, blah, blah, blah. So there's a different way of thinking about it, if it's not a serious way. It's a pleasant delight. 2016, you wouldn't expect this movie to be out and actually for me to enjoy it. So for me, it's a slight slash. I'll say it like that. It's a slight slash. What I recommended to a lot of people. No, I probably wouldn't brag that I've seen this movie, but it's a slight slash because I enjoyed it and I had a good time with it. And that's all that matters.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

We've long established that I enjoy some pretty trash movies, right? It's okay. I like most things.

SPEAKER_05 38:55

And now we said it.

SPEAKER_03 38:56

No, we've been saying it in Paris. I like some pretty loosey-goosey things, and then the things that I dislike, I'm very passionate about disliking. Oh, the 55 hacks I've had to my name as of our anniversary in October, only two of them are Christmas horror movies. And that's not saying that we've done a lot of them, but the fact that there aren't six of them for every year that we've done a Christmas horror movie says a lot. My bar probably seems very low, but I really want to take a moment to emphasize that should not take away from how solid this movie actually is. Because it's not your over, oh my gosh, it's a Christmas movie. It has a ton of elements we've seen before, for sure, but it's the assembly of those elements and the commitment to the bit that really makes it stand out for me. And where this could have been bland with all those mishmash parts, it added just enough seasoning to hit the spot. And that seasoning came in the form of great performances. For me, that was a difference maker in this movie. You take out these actors, this is a totally different ball game. I think I'd probably be feeling a lot more of Banksy and what you were feeling in terms of like the antagonist. I know that you have some compliments for the performances that we get in the cast, but if I felt more of that towards the antagonist, I would find the movie insufferable, probably. And I think the reality is that this movie is chock full of men violating boundaries, but the characters and the performances we get make that worthwhile. So I didn't have the same struggle enduring it that I think even being maybe you had to some extent. This is a fun horror movie that happens to be seasonal, and it's a pretty, pretty convincing slash for me. And with that, we've somehow wandered into a universal slash. Now you can find this movie streaming online. Check the links in our show notes to see where you can find it right now. Go check it out, then join us in the second half so we can finally speak freely. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_05 41:07

Do you dread those pipe-sized terrors more than a visit from Krampus himself? Well, fear no more. With the naughty list, you're just a click away from knowing which kids are cherubs and which ones are the Chuckies. Every parent will tell you that their s not knows little shit is an angel. But with the naughty list, you get the real scoop on these hell years. Arrive prepared for whatever Antex mains do and avoid every booby trap designed to grope your boobies. Sign up for the naughty list today and raise your hourly rate tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 41:43

Welcome back, folks. You're now entering the spoiler zone for Better Watch Out, which has earned a surprising universal slash, albeit an unenthusiastic one. Yeah, we have a lot to unpack here, but before we get into the specifics of our ratings, let's go through those kills.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

We don't really have a long list of kills in this movie, but I do feel like there's a lot to talk about in the three kills that we do get. So I'm really excited to kind of unwrap these three kills. And now we're outnumbering this, but I gotta ask who wants to start talking about these because I think they're memorable.

SPEAKER_00 42:15

The fact that we had some type of reference to Home Alone makes it feel right. And I think that Ricky's death, it was just beautiful. It was awesome to see. I already liked the fact that he had a hole just made beautifully in his cheek where there's smoke. It was so beautiful. I loved it, and then the fact that he just got smushed with paint and the blood. I think Ricky's was probably one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_03 42:42

For sure. The smoke coming out of the cheek wound was such a move, and it was a really good one. Although I find it completely absurd that Ricky managed to be taken out by 12-year-olds, I gotta say the intensity of his kill fantastic because it was the immediate shock and horror on everyone else's face before you even get to see the blood pouring out onto the floor. That was intense. You don't have to see the gore because you can sense it from Garrett, from Ashley, and then you can really imagine it when Luke so enthusiastically says, His head exploded.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

What? You hear it.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

Oh, you hear it though. You hear the gunk. Yeah, you hear the gunk.

SPEAKER_01 43:26

It's intense. I think that's what it is right there. You don't see it, but you feel it. It was one of those moments that even though you didn't see it, that will you still went back, it was cringy, you were like, Ooh, that one fucking hurt.

SPEAKER_05 43:40

It was also sad. Why? I loved Ricky. He was hot, he was like helpful, he could have really turned this thing around. And then he just got home alone. And I was like, No, not Ricky. Lucky got home alone.

SPEAKER_03 43:55

Ricky did not deserve the fate that he got, but I will say. Ricky should have respected the boundaries. If Ricky respected the boundaries, he'd still be alive.

SPEAKER_05 44:04

Oh, of like not coming over?

SPEAKER_03 44:06

Yeah. And she said it so many fucking times. This is the thing for me on the second watch. This is the second thing for me, where it was picking up on, and we'll get into this in characters, but the nods from the dad, and you see how Luke is the way that he is. But then also even Ricky and his incessant calling, even to the point where she's like, Oh, please, why can't he just leave me alone? If he had fucking left her alone, he'd still be alive. Even if he's a sweetheart.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

The thing is, is Luke told him to come over. Yeah. Pretending to be Ashley, respecting the boundaries, but he was also thinks he's invited. So it was kind of lured into it, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_03 44:43

May think that he's invited ultimately, but if he had respected the boundary, that phone would have been shut off. Not completely, not literally shut off your phone. But just like let it go and just like cool, take a night. I'll see you around.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

This is a note where when a girl tells you, please leave me alone, please leave me alone, please leave me alone. Maybe don't take the first instance that they say, come over. Do you know what I'm saying? You should question that.

SPEAKER_03 45:08

Because if they've told you to leave you alone multiple times.

SPEAKER_01 45:10

Are you sure?

SPEAKER_03 45:12

Yeah. I say again, respect the fucking boundary.

SPEAKER_00 45:15

Well, I think everybody should have died, but this was a beautiful way to die. Crush in the skull.

SPEAKER_04 45:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:23

I love the yellow and red.

SPEAKER_01 45:25

It was a good choice.

SPEAKER_02 45:26

It was giving Mickey D's.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

Ketchup and mustard, for sure. A little bit. It's a much more realistic outcome than what happened to Harry and Marv. If if you kids are out there trying to booby trap your house against home invaders, definitely you can. This will be a mess.

SPEAKER_00 45:43

Yeah, it's fine. Make sure it's a full gallon, though. It has to be a full gallon of paint cans.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

Yeah, don't no empty paint cans for maximum damage. You want full paint cans.

SPEAKER_03 45:52

Oh, geez. I don't think this is a good thing for us to be saying. Don't try it at home.

SPEAKER_01 45:58

Do not do it, but if you did.

SPEAKER_03 46:01

You know how parents used to blame horror movies for their kids being shitheads? Now they're gonna blame horror movie review podcasts for kids being shitheads. That's what we're doing.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Yeah. If we could talk about another kill here, my boy. I'm gonna say Billy. That's not his character's name whatsoever. It's definitely Jeremy.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

It's definitely Jeremy.

SPEAKER_02 46:19

Yeah, well, he's Billy to me from Stranger Things. Gotta say, did I scream my ass off when he was on screen? Absolutely. Did I then gasp when he was gone two seconds later? Absolutely. I was devastated. I was like, why'd you do this to me and then take him away from me in an instant?

SPEAKER_03 46:37

You know what the real horror of his death was? He died looking so douchey.

SPEAKER_04 46:41

I don't know. He was douchey.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

He always plays douches, though.

SPEAKER_04 46:45

He was high.

SPEAKER_03 46:46

I'm not concerned about the behavior. The outfit was atrocious. Even if he had removed the dollar sign cash money hat, it would have been a step up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

My toxic trait is that I still found him attractive even with the dollar sign money hat.

SPEAKER_03 47:00

The man is an attractive man.

SPEAKER_05 47:02

The thing is, there's also an appeal to that kind of douche. I guess.

SPEAKER_02 47:07

I'm in therapy. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 47:09

I mean, listen, almost all of the men in the world like that are fathers, so somebody fucked him.

SPEAKER_02 47:13

Dang it.

SPEAKER_01 47:14

But that kill was super heavy, was it not? I felt like it was an intense moment. As douchey as he was, the actual kill felt pretty heavy.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

Was disappointed that he didn't. I feel like he almost had it. He almost had that swing. He could have figured it out. Yeah. That's my problem with both the death of Ricky and Jeremy. We said it. This is a 12-year-old. Try harder.

SPEAKER_05 47:39

Yeah, these men weren't that bright.

SPEAKER_00 47:40

I know. Fuck shit up, dude.

SPEAKER_02 47:42

But speaking of 12-year-olds, the saddest kill is Garrett, though. The saddest one is Garrett. I 120% gasped, was in shock. Went from one second to the next, that kid was flying to the other side of the freaking house.

SPEAKER_03 47:59

Yeah. That was nuts. The sad thing about it is, yes, okay, Garrett play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I get it. But he was already trying to opt out of that situation and clearly just lacked conviction, lacked a semblance of self-esteem and pride. But to stick through that whole thing, get shot, be faced with the horror that he is getting killed by his best friend, who he just was already down to be so supportive of. But really, what did it for me was when he was mid-saying, I want my mom, and then is fucking executed. Yeah. Like again, it's gun violence against kids specifically. Like gun violence and horror is already like a lot, but gun violence against kids, fucking unbearable for me. Like I was just talking about this on let the right one in an episode with the movie Battle Royale. It's just tough to watch.

SPEAKER_02 48:55

But can I just say you say that about kids, and my problem is that where was the kill for Luke, though? Right. You know, 100%. Where was the kill for Luke? That is the part that I could not stomach that he does not die because although Garrett is saying, I want my mommy, we have here, you're gonna tell me that the main antagonist motivation is that this little incel has mommy issues. No one hugged him.

SPEAKER_04 49:26

Don't they all though? Don't they all?

SPEAKER_02 49:28

I get it, but like, no, unacceptable. I needed that kid to die.

SPEAKER_03 49:35

Okay, so 1000%. I absolutely wanted Luke to get what was coming to him. And really, what I realized was this movie is take Billy and Stu from Scream, make them 12-year-olds, and make them a lot richer, and then fucking put them in home alone. That's what this movie is.

SPEAKER_04 49:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 49:56

But am I crazy and thinking that am I the only one? There's no way that kid is 12 years old to start. That's what 12-year-olds look like in 2016. Because okay, tell me that 12-year-olds look like that in 2023, fine.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

No, I don't think so. Kids look so much younger now.

SPEAKER_02 50:12

No, I think the opposite. At 12, I will literally pull up a photo of me at 12. There is no way on this planet that I looked anywhere close like those two boys, especially our man Luke.

SPEAKER_00 50:25

Thanks. Did you see how his mom hugged him at the end? We didn't look like that because we were rough around the edges. We had to figure shit out. But that kid got hugged from behind, bro. That's that's why he looks like that. It's protected.

SPEAKER_02 50:38

Talking like that at 12, full on button down, like he's a little frat boy. What is happening?

SPEAKER_05 50:44

Privilege. It's a poison.

SPEAKER_00 50:46

I know he was 12 when he was screaming. Like he when he killed his best friend and he screams and his voice cracks, like he his balls didn't drop yet. You hear it. Okay, you hear that.

SPEAKER_03 50:58

Which can we acknowledge what a great moment that was for him? Just that quick snap and to like, yeah, he was starting to annoy me anyway. What the fuck? Yeah. It's Patrick Bateman. Oh shit, that's given a little American psycho. That was brilliant.

SPEAKER_05 51:11

And that's all the kills. We deserved more. I think we could have padded the body count a little bit easier. It felt like the two boyfriends were padding the body count themselves, but like, let me kill a pizza guy. Let's get a neighbor killed. Let's really start racking them up.

SPEAKER_02 51:25

Poison the carolers. Do something. I really have to say, we mentioned it earlier. I think carolers are just not a thing. That's a myth.

SPEAKER_05 51:32

It's a myth. From ancient times.

SPEAKER_02 51:35

I've never seen them out in the wild.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

I have never, yeah, I've never seen them. That's so true.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

That's a Wisconsin shit. That's not where we live.

SPEAKER_01 51:45

Maybe. I think the carolers are what made Jeremy's kill even more intense because they were doing the Carol of the Bells while he was dying, which I thought was really great. And that's another nod to Home Alone. This whole fucking movie is the adult Home Alone.

SPEAKER_03 52:00

Caroling while someone is viciously murdered and dying, that is precisely Black Christmas.

SPEAKER_05 52:07

We love that juxtaposition.

SPEAKER_02 52:08

I realize we're talking about how this is basically Home Alone and how well timed of this recording. Macaulay Culkin just got inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

Oh yeah, he got his star.

SPEAKER_02 52:20

That's sweet. That's nice.

SPEAKER_05 52:22

I bet what they're doing is they're about to rev up for a Macaulay Culkin Renaissance. Mark my words, listeners. Macaulay Culkin's gonna be all over our screens next year in projects. He's probably already finished.

SPEAKER_02 52:33

His brother is already famous.

SPEAKER_05 52:34

Like Yeah, he's probably riding his brother's coattails, who rode his coattails originally, so I think it's actually fair.

SPEAKER_02 52:41

Wow. Look at us.

SPEAKER_05 52:42

I don't care for the Culkins. I never have.

SPEAKER_02 52:44

I never have.

SPEAKER_05 52:45

They look weird. They look weird.

SPEAKER_02 52:47

Okay, but you know who looks weirder?

SPEAKER_05 52:49

Beans.

SPEAKER_02 52:50

Is this kid? I'm not gonna let go of it. I'm not gonna let go of it. That kid's not 12. It's a conspiracy theory. However, the look of the two of them together, Ashley and Luke, it's still giving siblings, and I was reaffirmed once again, despite already knowing that it's a babysitter film, when they are both in the closet, just that visually was stunning when their faces are so close. Granted, was I supposed to pick up on sexual tension? Didn't work. But they just seemed so symmetrical. The lighting was so nice. You're like right at the tension point where you're like, okay, is he gonna discover that the closet's gonna open? Granted, that's where I started to realize, oh, this little shit's in and on it the whole time. He thinks this is how he's gonna bag her. Ew.

SPEAKER_01 53:35

He was 15, I think, when he made this film.

SPEAKER_02 53:37

And I rest my case.

SPEAKER_01 53:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 53:41

He's still a little baby teenager kid. 12 and 15. Looking says, please.

SPEAKER_00 53:49

I don't know. Creepy either way. If we're going into what made this movie so beautiful, I did not know it was in Australia, but just the fact that it brings you into the holidays. I know Rob's gonna talk shit because I like Christmas, but the snow, it felt cold, the door kept opening. It was just such a nice kind of feel to this movie that made me want to really be bundled inside, which is where this movie took place pretty much the entire time. And it's one of those things where I was like, okay, I get it. It had to make you want to be in there because if not, I would have been like, just fucking leave, which you couldn't technically for sure.

SPEAKER_03 54:32

The set design in this movie, 10 out of 10, really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 54:36

Yeah, exactly. I was gonna say you got this whole the vibe of winter, Christmas feel that kind of brought you into the visuals of this movie, and it is to the set design because it is crazy that the whole thing was just done on a set, right? There isn't any actual real weather, and I think that was kind of cool to learn. It was all just fake, and that was pretty cool. But I think what I really enjoyed was outside of the set design, I think the cinematography in this film is somewhat unexpected. I I wasn't really expecting it to go into these different shots that it did. It just felt really intentional. There was some really interesting things like the champagne pouring into the sink and the close-up of the bubbly fizzing in the sink, I think was really cool. I think leading up to that shot where the camera moves away from Luke and the carolers, and you get to see, like through the glass pane of the door, just Ricky tied up in the chair with the dead already, of course, but the paint can hanging perfectly in front of his face. There were some really good shots in this film and things that they did, and I think that was my favorite part of it.

SPEAKER_05 55:40

I totally agree, Sean. We had some beautiful cinematography here. A couple other shots that really stood out for me were like a lot of times where the camera would rotate 90 degrees, following the perspective of a character or a focal point. I remember there's a shot where we have Ashley tied to the chair on her back, and then she's hoisted upright again, and the camera goes from her perspective on its side to the upright position and perfectly tracks her while it does that. And we had a couple shots like that I thought were really strong.

SPEAKER_00 56:08

I agree. I think the one thing I will say is this movie allowed you to second guess certain things. So if you think of when he gets hit by the paintball, at first you're like, oh fuck, he just got he got done. You don't know. There's a moment where you're like, oh fuck, and all he has his feet. You're like, is he gonna move? Is he gonna move? There was it kept panning back to that, and I think that was beautifully done. When Ashley gets stabbed in the neck, and you're just like, what the fuck? That just happened. You didn't know it was gonna happen because it was from the behind point of view. And there was moments where it allowed you to think, Am I seeing what I'm supposed to be seeing? And I think going into some of these scenes, you needed that because if not, it would have been a little too campy. You needed some seriousness in it.

SPEAKER_03 56:56

Yeah, which I mean, really the seriousness in this movie I think exists between a lot of the characters, and there's seriousness in ways that we don't like, there's seriousness in the ways that Luke is a little fucking incel and is absolutely awful and deserved to have consequences that we got the satisfaction of seeing. But the actual seriousness that I think was a pleasant added note was the ultimate conversation between Ricky and Ashley. Because at this point, I had already been exhausted by Ricky, I was annoyed by Ricky, and to see him shift from this, like, I'm just gonna barge in here, eat this pizza, and just shift into hey, I'm really happy for you, and I don't have those things, and I understand it, but you're gonna be great, and I hope you're able to make it out of this. That was a moment where I was like, okay, Ricky, you have now earned a few points in your favor. I don't want you to die, although I know you probably will.

SPEAKER_01 57:53

Yeah, that's true. I think for me, I really enjoyed after all of that when Ricky does actually die. I think the scene and the sequence of scenes where they're just cleaning up the mess and the shot of Ricky being dragged across the floor and the close-up on the pencil with the flesh on it, and then he's trying to sharpen the pencil down to get rid of the evidence, like real forensics aren't gonna fucking figure this shit out. And I want to say, like, I don't know. Should you be putting flowers down a garbage disposal? I don't think so. I think that's a bad choice. I don't know what kind of garbage disposal they have at that house, but mine is for sure fucked if you put a huge fucking bouquet of flowers down the fucking garbage disposal, it doesn't seem like a good time.

SPEAKER_03 58:34

This child doesn't care about consequences, Sean. He only cares about having fun. So fuck whatever home repairs that his parents have to deal with now.

SPEAKER_01 58:43

Yeah, I guess so. I guess so. But you know, you think you're trying to get rid of evidence in some way, but you're just doing dumb things.

SPEAKER_03 58:51

Because he's a fucking child.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

Yeah, he's a 12-year-old. I guess we here it is. He's a 12-year-old.

SPEAKER_02 58:57

He's a 12-year-old that thinks he's a man and hates being called kiddo and does stupid things and is so terrified of his parents. What an eye roll, truthfully. And honestly, that's why I've struggled with a favorite scene. I mean, I enjoy generally when Garrett is on screen, his dialogue. I think he was definitely bringing the comedic relief. It's very evident that I can't stand Luke. And right from the start, too, from the jump, I was like, oh, this kid's insufferable. And I have a strong feeling now that I know that this is a babysitter vibe, he's giving so like a like sociopath, psychopath energy. He's in on this whole thing, and then reaffirmed obviously in the closet. So for me, I think I don't necessarily have a full-on favorite scene. So I'm gonna cheat a little bit, talk about least favorite scene.

SPEAKER_01 59:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 59:50

And let me explain, it's visually going back to that just for a moment. I think it's great how it's everything's laid out written-wise. It's I would take it as an homage to like Scream or When a Stranger Calls, and I'm talking about the particular scene where they're watching the movie, she's on the phone, looking outside the window. I liked that bit of it, but it was my least favorite scene because right then and there we're seeing that this kid is not a good kid, terrible, because he is extremely cringe, he's very inappropriate and forceful, and it's just not well. But then at the same time, her reactions to the film, her reactions to him, and just forgiving of that a little bit, and just gets up and then everything's fine afterwards with the liquor exchange and whatnot, it just didn't make sense to me. If that kid was doing that kind of stuff to me right then and there, I'd be calling the parents in that moment and say, You can take your 20 bucks back, I'm gonna leave right now.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:45

Because you're sensible.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:46

Now we know that he threw that phone in the fish tank on purpose. I kind of had a feeling, but whatever. Tell me that she needed to take off her whole ass fucking puffy sweater for a couple splashes of water. That was giving let's just have that moment of her like stripping off her sweater. Eh, whatever. I don't know, that's how I interpreted it. It was so stupid to me.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:07

Okay, so my favorite scene is actually a very small moment, but it's when we are first introduced to Jeremy in his car when he's like psyching himself up and rehearsing what he's gonna say when he gets in there, just because I felt like with so little, Dacre Montgomery told us everything we needed to know about this character. The mannerisms, obviously, the styling played a lot of played a lot into it, but I just feel like it was such a funny little candid moment where it's like hidden camera sort of capturing somebody in the vulnerable, very real state. And I don't know, something about that really stood out to me. I was like, this is so innocuous, but also endearing and also informative and also cringe.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:54

Mine was similar. Mine was with Jeremy and writing the aka suicide note, like not knowing what to say, and just being like, I'm sorry, which is what every fucking dude would say. What the fuck did I do? My bad. I love you so much. Forgive me for everything I've done. But I mean that he got there, right? And I feel like a lot of times when you're in these fucked up relationships, you're like, my bad, you don't know what you're saying sorry for. But it plays such a like interesting way, right? Like, we know motherfucker's gonna die. And this stupid ass kid is trying to create a suicide note. So if you think of it from that perspective, he's write something else, write something that cannot get me caught. So there's that perspective, and then him truthfully not knowing what he's really apologizing for, and being like, whatever, I'm sorry, I love you so much, and then the freaking why. It honestly was one of those moments where I was like, This is a typical dude that doesn't know what he's apologing for, but he doesn't want to be the bad guy, and then ends up being the bad guy for fucking the whole thing. It's his fault now for everything. So I enjoyed that as a two-way street from both perspectives. I thought they did that really nicely.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:08

Yeah, I think it's no surprise that some of the best moments we get in this movie all center around its characters, and even for as insufferable as Luke is, I think Levi Miller, who plays him, has a hell of a performance. His face is just so expressive. And if you look at his IMDB page and look at anything else that he's in, this kid has range on that face. Looking at this movie, going back to the beginning, going a second time and knowing what comes of this, knowing all these moments between him and Garrett where they're talking about the plans for later that night and they're debating whether the paint can would actually work. This movie really exaggerates this whole idea of Luke being able to get away with murder because he is a well-articulated young kid. He comes from a good family, he comes from wealth, he seems clean cut, he seems so innocent, he seems so nice. And throughout the movie, think about the moment she realizes that he's in on it, and she's talking him, she's talking to him and calling him a delusional infant, and you can see the snap, even though he does nothing. The tears are starting to well, they're starting to come. He is a fucking psychopath, but you see all of this, and he does nothing, but you feel everything, and then you feel his beginning to feel nothing aside from that rage. And again, we get that sudden snap when Garrett is dead, he's freaking out, and then all of a sudden just turns it off like a stone cold killer. It is honestly pretty wild, and I think that's the thing for me. Like, I do wish that we got to see the consequences for him. This kid needs to get locked up. Fuck that kid, absolutely. However, I'm not generally a fan. It's like, who does this movie serve? What audience? Who needs this movie? What is this movie trying to say? But I think the satisfaction of knowing she lived, she flips him off, and you just think, all right, she's gonna go to the hospital, she's gonna be okay. I'm living now with a piece and choosing to see this as a he's not getting away with things, he's living in the panic of this is a situation I can't control because now everyone else is here and she's alive, and I did not plan for this. So it's like a perfect suspension in that oh shit feeling.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:36

But this is where it becomes a sitcom because in just a few moments later it cuts to him turning to his mom saying, Ashley, I'm worried about her. We need to go to the hospital. Which, in a sitcom, that would tell you, Oh pull in the plug. Yep. I guess I'll be at peace with her being alive and flipping him off.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:56

For the same reason that you getting mad at Luke and Hating him as a character is the same reason you don't like the ending of the movie. It's a movie that's trying to get under your skin. The whole point is for you to hate this kid. This kid is a piece of shit. Nobody likes this kid, but the point is to hate this kid, and you hate this kid, and the movie succeeds in making you hate this kid. It's a frustrating movie to watch. You're frustrated the entire fucking time. You just want to fucking slap this kid across the face. That's really what you want to do, but you can't. And it doesn't give you any consolation at the end. The movie just completely just says, fuck you. That's what it does.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:37

This is me being fully reality. I had a different journey with his character from the beginning, to be completely honest. Obviously, I had no expectations, but maybe I had a little bit more empathy. But in the beginning of the movie, I was like, man, what a loser. Like this kid's a loser. His parents, oh my God, he's so sheltered and coddled. Coddled. Like, dude, this kid is never gonna get laid. This kid still listens to a fucking, I don't know, what the sounds of the womb. What the fuck was that machine? I don't fucking know.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:11

That's weird.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:12

You know what I mean? I was like, this poor kid is gonna get his ass kicked all the time. So I really connected with that. And then when the mom's like explaining how to keep him in his room, I'm like, oh man, and he has mental health issues, like and he's on medicine and he needs help sleeping. So I really believed it. I chose to believe it. Is that what I was gonna say? I was like, man, woe is me, this poor kid. And then he starts drinking, and I was like, all right, maybe he's not that whatever. But I genuinely didn't hate him from the beginning, to be honest. From the beginning, I was like, okay, I went in with this character and I felt the entirety of it. I felt it from the beginning of feeling a little bit whatever. And then me being a psychopath equally, I was like, when he started killing, I was like, that's fucking cool, dude. That he got him good.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:02

That is fucking cool. Good job, dude. Heck yeah, dude. That it was team Luke.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:07

I know. I was like, wait, like that's the way to do it. But then when he started going a little, you know, American psycho, I was like, oh no, somebody needs to end this. But I felt different. Is he entitled? Yes. Two minutes with that kid, he would have been down with me. I would have owned that little kid's life. But at the same time, I get it. I get the poor kid's fucking troubled. Do we send him to a psych ward or do we send him is he a Michael Myers, or do we just fucking drown the motherfucker?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:38

All of the above. But I I agree with you because I think when you first watch this and you haven't watched it, I think that is the feeling you get. Oh, he's just some kid that's been coddled that doesn't know shit or whatever, and then all of a sudden it slowly turns into something different. But I think the depth to his character is something to be said, just bringing it all the way back to what you opened with, Chris, because there's some moments in this movie that I think are really interesting to see from a kid of his age at that caliber. I I especially loved that scene where he's swinging the baseball bat and dancing around. It was giving Alex from a Clockwork Orange. Like, this is some really crazy shit that that I thought was really good that he did that I wasn't expecting at all.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:22

I mean, his dancing while cleaning and setting the whole thing up, I was like, oh, he's a fun little psychopath if you enjoy that type of horror, right? Not putting any seriousness to it. The reason why I watch horror movies is to giggle and enjoy and have fun. I'm like, oh fuck, that's fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:40

I actually love when we have an antagonist that's like quirky zany doing crazy things like that. I just if there was perhaps Luke saying less Ashley throughout the film, I would be less annoyed if there was less, I don't even know, an attempt of trying to be sinister in some of his facial expressions every now and then. I'm not saying that he's a terrible actor because when he snaps, that kid snaps. And hey, he's had a pretty great track record in filmography. He was Peter Pan, fun fact, in the more recent Pan, News to Me Today, was also in a spectacular now, didn't recognize him, but I do love that milk movie. Is he a good actor? Absolutely. There was just a couple of moments that were just so tough for me to sit through, and him saying Ashley in that tone so many times throughout the film. If you had a shot for every time that Ashley was said, you'd be in the hospital without a doubt.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:38

Okay, but riddle me this. What if Ashley would have said more and been a little bit more like aggressive? Her character was dumbed down so much. Because if that shit was happening to me, I would have been like, I maybe it's just my rage. This is the reality. But even holding the gun, I wouldn't have thought twice, right? I would have, even though it's a fake up, but I would have still tried to shoot, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:01

If only she knew a little bit sooner, and then she could have just came on strong to him and caught him off guard, and he could have been fucked, man. Not fucked in the right in the real way, but fucked in the bad way.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:15

This is why I say it's giving incel. Sorry, but like it really is because at the end of the day, Ashley was great and all, but nowhere near as big of a badass as she needed to be. If she's gonna be final girl, give me final girl.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:31

Yeah. More fight. Yeah, she did a lot of playing dead. More fire.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:36

Yeah, a lot of playing dead, and a lot of like just in shock, or come on, girl, you should have really lost. I loved her kind of really losing it on him. I thought that was great. She didn't hold back with that, but then that was really the most that I got from her until maybe towards the end. And then, especially at the very end when she flips him off. Like, that's the energy I wanted a little bit more to come through throughout the film. And we got instead way more of very creepy, annoying little boy.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:05

She was giving work smarter, not harder, by just playing dead and using the duct tape to slow the bleeding down.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:11

Okay, at the very end, though, with that little piece of glass, I would have cut the things off and then just like gone at him, we've been with a little piece of glass. Granted, we're also talking about if this really happened to me, I would have been passed out first sight of blood, anyways. Fuck it all.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:25

But but I think that to wrap up the point of the quality of the character, that's the reality though. They gave so much of Luke from the beginning to the end, and then everybody else to Paris' point, they fell a little flat, right? I think they could have done more with the other characters to give it a little bit more of a reality. But if they were only trying to get us to hate Luke and maybe forget about all the other characters, it worked, right? Because that's what we're talking about. We hate Luke, everybody else, meh, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:55

I just want to take a moment, an honorable mention of sorts, to just shout out the only character that was able to scare anyone, and that was the Santa light up prop.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:05

Dude, that's why I'm fucking wearing this.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:07

That fucking prop had three jump scares or some shit in this movie. The only jump scares in this movie. So shout out to that inanimate object because motherfucker did the job.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:18

Yeah. I also want to give a shout out to Luke's parents because holy shit, were those two just comedy gold anytime they're on screen.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:26

Yeah, they did like a full tight five at the top and then like came back at the end to wrap it up.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:31

It was fantastic. I have the line here, I like a lot of gay things. That had me done. That was too much.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:40

Speaking of gay things, obviously we loved the performance from Luke for the most part, but I feel in a way, because the movie relied so heavily on his performance, he was both the best part and the worst part.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:52

I agree.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:53

Because there were times where I was like, this kid's fruity. Which kind of throws the entire premise and the entire film out the window. Because I'm like, and it might just be the actor, it might be like at that age, it's hard to contain. And like when you're that young, like you can't really give a perfect performance necessarily, but there were a lot of moments from his performance where I was like, Oh, it's bad, oh, it's bad, it's child actor, which I still think he gets a solid B for the performance, and like doing what he did at his age, still very impressive, but there were parts where it fell through for me, and that was really the only thing we were tethered to was his performance, or at least me.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:35

I mean, I can back you up in the respect of the worst part of this movie for me was the groping scene with the chest of it all. It was the cringiest part of the whole fucking movie. It was the whole truth or dare, I dare you to touch her tit moment, and it's just again, right? Gun violence against kids, but then also women being tied up and fondled and just no, can't. Even if it is a 12-year-old.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:03

It starts with the dad, though, and I think we talked about it a little bit. Like he's looking at that babysitter, she's giggling, he's looking the fucking tie situation. Like all of it was very much okay, it's it starts with the dad being a creep. So yeah, I think that was the worst. There was a lot of cringe. If you connect to this movie, or if you're looking at this movie with the filters of there's some issues with just the the teenage kid being cringy, the father being cringy, just the groping, like you said, the truth or dare, you better dare me to make out. It's very aggressive in some of those situations. So if you connect with it in that like filter of like, fuck, if this were to happen, whatever, but I don't know. I think that it was definitely one of those moments where those parts I was like, okay, let's next somebody die. Can somebody die so I feel better?

SPEAKER_05 1:15:57

Let's move on, please.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:58

His father says, I don't know about you, tiger, but I'm gonna miss that girl. What the fuck? Yeah, tiger.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:05

Ugh.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:05

Tomatoes, tomatoes, please.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:08

I'm still triggered by the worst part for me of this entire movie was the hug. The kid is freaking out. He's looking out the window because he just got this oh shit, she's alive moment. But then the mom comes and like hugs him so creepy from behind Spoons him, and you can see his face change from oh shit to mommy's got me. Never, I'm never saying that again, but whatever. Like mommy, dearest.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:36

He finally got the hug that he hadn't been getting for however long. That was the whole thing. It's almost like he just needed it. I don't know. He it's just crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:46

I'm sorry, but it's true. And and she even says to him, Now I I can understand why. Why she stopped basically touching you and and hugging you and giving you any type of affection. Keep listening to your womb music or whatever the hell to go to sleep.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:00

Not the womb music. Listen, you can't breastfeed forever.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:03

That's what that was. It was the sounds of the womb. My listen, I've heard, I don't know, I've had nephews that we had to play that in the car to make them go to sleep. And it's so disgusting because you just hear fluids. Okay, but I think for me, that definitely was the worst part. I hate hugs to begin with. Unless I really want to hug you, you're not getting a hug from me. I have to mentally prepare. And Chris knows this. I go into a situation like, yes, I'm gonna hug people tonight and get ready for it. But if anybody hugs me from behind, nah, dude. Never. I it's disgusting.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:41

Never.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:42

It me it almost ruined the entire movie for me. I'm not gonna lie. Ugh, gross.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:47

Leave it to a hug to make it the worst part of the movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:51

I love the paint can in the head. I love that. I hate the hug. Something's wrong with me.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:57

Look, I agree with you, Paris. I think Luke ultimately, in some weird, twisted way, is both the best and worst part because you know what? Ultimately, you are right, Sean. The goal was to hate this kid and it worked. So maybe it is the best part in that respect. And something about this character will stay with me, unfortunately. And that also is the worst part because I'm afraid of 12-year-old boys in button-downs and little sweaters over vest things, and that whole outfit was cringe. I almost went to check if whether the top button was buttons, because if the top button had been buttoned, then I really would have lost my mind. I would have been like, there's no way on this planet that I could ever approach a young 12-year-old boy in a button-down ever again, because I just can't trust them. You just never know. And I'm certainly never babysitting. I'll put it that way. To be blunt, never babysitting ever.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:53

No, I've always said tween boys are amongst the worst demographic on this planet. Like when you see a group of them walking towards you, I'm like, oh take them out.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:03

Like I listen, I'm gonna be inclusive. Any boy, girl, whatever. Come on. The ring, you're right. The ring orphan, although technically to orphan, listen, that age range is just fucking creepy, and I hate it. I don't like it. From the age of Damien and the omen to the age of whatever fuck this kid's name was, Luke, I I'm done. Like, that's the age range that I don't want to deal with as a child. Give me gauge. I'll hang out with a little gauge all the time. That kid's cute. Zombie or not, I'll put him in a little cage and take him with me. But no.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:44

I don't know. I think we touched on some good stuff for like worse parts. I think another thing for me, and maybe this is just not being able to fully suspend disbelief, is just the fact that there's no fucking chance in hell that this kid gets away with this shit, even if he gets to the hospital and kills Ashley. There's no way it's not set up good enough. There's forensics. This motherfucker's going down.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:05

Oh, I don't know. He's a minor, he's white, and he's rich. Look at Kyle Rittenhouse. I'm sorry. Look at what's his face? Who changed his name?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:14

Brock Turner.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:15

Yeah, Brock Turner, who just changed his name, and now his new name is out there in the public, so go look it up and continue to ruin his life. These boys get away with these things every day.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:26

I don't know if you're getting away with a triple murder inside of your house. I don't think so. But in my mind, I go in there as a forensics and I'm looking at what the fuck happened. I'm gonna see some fucking crazy shenanigans that are going on in that house.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:42

Sean, I thought you were gonna pretty much just say you would beat the crap out of this kid easily. And that's what would happen in the real world.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:50

I definitely would not get fucking home alone in the face. That's no, dude.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:54

Yeah, I would have beat the shit out of this kid.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:56

I would have sat on him.

unknown 1:20:57

Sat on him.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:59

It wouldn't have taken me that long to break that duct tape. Let's be real. I've done it with my teeth before. I would have done this so quick. I would have literally just dude. This kid, all of them. I would have hunger gamed these kids so easily.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:15

Definitely.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:16

Fight me, children.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:18

You will lose every time.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:21

Every time. I wouldn't have thought twice. There's no moment.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:24

The back of this hand.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:26

Exactly. The chancleta, bro. That shit. Yeah. No, dude. The anger that uh would have happened. I thought that's what you were gonna say. We're really culminating the fuck them kids here.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:38

That's a more of a what I would do versus what the worst part is because that's true.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:43

Listen, for as awful as all this shit is, I think I can continue to watch this movie on an annual clip, probably. I don't know that I'm gonna get the same mileage out of it. Like I'm feeling I felt great about it the first time. I feel pretty good about it this time. Maybe the third, fourth time, etc., it's not great, but I think I'm so mentally checked out of most Christmas movies, and I don't take them seriously unless it's Black Christmas that it's not gonna harm this movie's reputation really. It might get to the point where I'm like, okay, this is no longer fun, but I think I'm having a good time with this.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:18

Yeah, I don't know. I've watched this one probably three or four times at least now. So I think I'm not saying it's as impactful as the first time, but I still find myself having fun with it during this type of scenario, the season. It's December, it's the holiday season. This feels right. I don't know. It's a holiday horror film that I have had on rotation the last few years. I think it's fun enough. It's basically the horror version of Home Alone. So if you're looking for something like that, but with a little bit more kills, more conviction, then maybe this is what you want to throw on for that kind of vibe.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:55

Yeah, I definitely don't think I'm gonna watch this one again. I've I got quite a bit out of it the first time, the remaining value out of it this time, and I think we are we're good. We're good. But as a result of this film, I will be 1% more optimistic about holiday horror because I know that there's hope and I know that it can be done well.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:18

I will forever watch Gremlins 2 as my favorite holiday horror movie, and I'll continue to watch Gremlins every year, but I probably will forget about this movie and only remember it because of this podcast and say, Hey, we had a fun time tonight, but will I watch this movie again? No, uh, I didn't know it existed before. It's a slight slash for me, and uh it'll stay a little gauge, but yeah, no, I probably won't watch it again. It's not for me.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:51

Yeah, I think the circumstances have to be just right because it wasn't entirely terrible at all. I just don't think I can stomach this character once more. And to what we said at the very beginning, if I hadn't found it so predictable, I probably would have wanted to see it again so I can pick up on the supposed things that I would have missed. But since I knew right from the start that this kid was very off, I'm like, why would I watch it again to know what I already know, right? I would be curious to see if some of my friends or other people that aren't too into horror would want to see this and like maybe find out what their reactions are, what their opinions are, because I think this movie is one, and we've said it, that isn't necessarily like for major horror fans. If someone wants to watch something a little bit scary and for the holiday season, okay, fine, watch this, but preface it with a little bit of can't tell you what this movie's about, but do know that you're gonna really want to talk about a couple things at the end of it and leave it at that.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:51

Yeah, that all feels like a very safe bet. And listen, I went into this expecting the score that we got, but I don't know that I expected it to be such a wide range of feelings towards the movie, which I think makes for an interesting experience. But for now, there you have it, folks. Better watch out from 2016 has earned a reluctant universal slash. Now we certainly had a robust discussion here, but the conversation simply does not end here by any means.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:18

We definitely want to know what you think. What would you do if the child you were babysitting turned out to be a psycho killer? Let us know. 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_01 1:25:31

And if you've enjoyed listening to us unwrap this episode, consider 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_03 1:25:44

We'll see you next time, folks. And remember, I'm allowed to like gay things.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:48

Hey, you'll always be my little buddy.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:50

Dude, your piss freeks.