Horror of ‘05 vs ‘25

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Warning.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Today's episode contains spoilers for various horror movies from the
year's two thousand and five and the current year, twenty
twenty five, but you've probably seen them, so you're fine. Hello.

(00:27):
My name is Jason Sepcio and on Rosey Night, and
welcome back to Axtravage of the podcast, when we dive
deep into your favorite shows, movies, comics, and pop culture
coming from my Heart, where we're bringing you three episode's
week plus news plus news.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
In today's episode, we are taking a twenty year trip
back to explore the horror films of two thousand and
five and see how that era changed the drama forever,
while also returning to twenty twenty five and having a
little look see at the current era of horror and
starting to decipher some of the trends and themes. In

(01:02):
two thousand and five, we're gonna be joined by A
Zero's movie expert, Jordan Creshola, the Great, then great Jordan
the Great Jordan Csola Vulture. Ever heard of it?

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes, ever heard of it?

Speaker 1 (01:16):
She's great, She's amazing. And in twenty twenty five, of course,
we are tapping in our number one youthful horror lover,
the youngest of the stream queens common laurenoo.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
But first, get your get your raizor phones out, get
your original iPod and iPod nano out, ski jeans out,
get your statement necklaces out. Fire up the Napster.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Lime wild, Fire up the live wire.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
It's time to go back to two thousand and five.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Okay, guys, I got a very special guest for you,
Jordan Cruciola, co host of The Austerian Podcast and also
an incredible writer with many bylines at many amazing places. Jordan,
how are you doing? Thank you for joining X ray Vision.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
I am so honored to be here on the occasion
to discuss really content we should never let be lost
to time, like the kinds of movies we should really
putting at the forefront of conversation, especially at such a
time of year as this time of year it's Spookie season.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yes, and I think that something that is really joyful
for me as an adult is kind of getting to
look back and redefine these eras where you know, at
the time, the conversation are often oh, it's a B movie,
it's not great, it's blah blah blah, and we kind
of get to go, well, actually these really helped me. Yeah,

(02:53):
these were the something that really interested me and that
kind of defined who I am as a view are. So,
what was the year of two thousand and five, like, like,
what was the kind of vibe of the year as
we moved into these movies coming out?

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Couldn't have been a better vibe for me personally? This
was Gosh, two thousand and five would have put me
into sophomore year of college, sophomore or junior of college,
like I'm I like the trying to make up for
what those gaps mean, Like how the like it was
did I start if for years five started? But sophomore
year of college, junior of college. Perhaps living with my

(03:33):
best friends. Life is good.

Speaker 4 (03:36):
Eugene, Oregon is amazing. I am.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
I'm going to see sn City with friends of mine
in two thousand and five, one of my favorite movie
going experiences of all time. We are I have like
some not like you know before we had film Twitter
and at times toxic places like that to take our
thoughts on movies. I did have friends who since middle

(03:59):
school we had known each other and I was in
college with them and we were big movie heads together.
And you know this year, you get an incredible you
get incredible slated movies that leads to the showdown at
the Oscars that produces crash versus everyone. And I remember
that the that Oscars that night we me and a
bunch of friends watched together because we'd watch every year
and have like a big like pizza party and everything.

(04:20):
And I remember like we were so outraged at Crafts
winning Best Picture that we went to the dollar fifty
theater to see the newly released Underworld two that came
out at the start of two thousand and six. So
that's where two thousand and five led me. But a
really great place in two thousand and five, and particularly
for tank Top horror, right.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
I think that's a really interesting thing is when we
think back to the zeros, often the biggest conversation is,
you know, torture porn, because two thousand and five you
have a hostel, you have saw two, so you're varying
more into that space. But actually, when you look back,
there is a lot more of this kind of like
tang Ta horror. So could you talk a little bit

(05:02):
about what that means.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
This was the era of this was the we are
firmly planted in Post nine to eleven white homo nationalist
go USA war on terror mindset like we are. We
are in the thrall of Bush Administration Part two. This
is a conservative America and we are as you said

(05:27):
we are. Two thousand and five is a big year
for punishment. We saw three coming out in two thousand
and five. We have Hostile arriving in two thousand crazy,
and we also have also from down Under you know
saw courtesy of James Want and Leewanel. We also have
Wolf Creek in two thousand and five.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
I'm not the crazy like really intense torch of porn movie.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, one of the real another one of those real
standard bearers for this era of just sheer brutality and horror.
So it is a it is a bleak time crossed
with This is the area era of the Michael Bayization.
Man owns Platinum Dunes crazy Horror. This is the remake
machine is in full effect. Platinum Doom's Dark Castle movies

(06:12):
like Thirteen Ghosts, movies like House of Wax, movies like
Sorority Row, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, new literation remakes which
even in the stark violence of the low Fie nineteen
seventy for original in lieu of the low finess, We're
gonna give you the sexiest ensemble cast.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
Ensemble costs, also the most.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Straight out of the CW and we are gonna make
We're gonna give them the worst day in the history
of human existence.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
I think about that movie alone because I do think that,
and now you know that is more of a reconsideration
of this stuff. But that Texas changel Massacre remake is
really scary. It's actually white brutal, it's highly it's it's
incredibly effective. The two thousand and three that when.

Speaker 3 (06:59):
It kicked off that remake boom, that is actually really good,
and to this day it's almost too difficult for me
to watch.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
It's so astonishing.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
I agree that I think a lot about I love
the original Texas chrainsfl Masacar. I rewatch it all the time.
I think it's a great Vibes movie. I think the
ending is super hopeful, that Michael Bay when I do
own it on physical media, but I barely watch it.
I remember the first time I saw it in the cinema.
Must have snuck in because it was definitely an eighteen
you know movie. I think I was seventeen in two
thousand and five, and my deepest memory of that movie

(07:32):
is when they chainsaw off somebody's leg and then he
he puts a baking paper filled with salt over the
frawa leg while the guy is alive, to like start,
you know, kind of I guess, preserving him to be
eaten by the rest of the family.

Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah, starting to brine him really.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, And it was so horrific. I remember being like
so deeply specifically thinking about what that would feel like.
I think you're right, it's a big year for punishment
and kind of like again that resurgence all the old
school conservative mentality of like teenages and sex and what

(08:16):
happens if you don't listen or if you do, you know,
illegal things like breaking and entering even accidentally the.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
Yeah, the sin Hunters, the sin Hunters have returned, but
they themselves. It's interesting, like because it's me and me
and my coast about s Terry on zam Wyman. We
talk about how the two thousands, like they took all
these old properties, they brought them back Black Christmas things
like that, But.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
It is also the era of the very sad backstory.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
So like you have you have, Like these movies, you
take these properties from before and then like as if
Black Christmas wasn't bad enough, you're gonna get like the
story of how the killer in the walls of the
sorority House was in like killing, killed his baby's sister
and was in it incestuous relationship with his mom, and
flashbacks to.

Speaker 4 (08:59):
That of the Christmas Cookies made of skin.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
And then in House of Wax you have the agonized
story rendered in front of you of like the conjoined
twin brothers that were cut apart at birth, and so
like you, everything is layered. You have the era of
like you couldn't really exceed the horrific violence that was
pioneered in the nineteen seventies. We've had better special effects
than two thousands, but it was like we had to
amplify the grotesqueer ye and the depravity by adding these

(09:24):
emotionally exploitive elements that were so perverse, Like you watch
them now and it's truly like this is these movies
are perverse. They are shiny, they are the casts are hot,
they are misted just so as a Michael Bay protagonist
would be. They're more tan than they've ever been in
their lives and they also are going through these like

(09:44):
I think the Devil's Rejects also comes out there, I
was gonna say, And you had the Michael Bay with
the sensibility and the the sort of moral stench of
a Rob Zombie movie, and that is like the combination
of the two tones combined to make two thousands.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
I think that sums it up so well because I think, again,
Devil's Rejects the first as soon as we thought about
two thousand and five, you know, How's a Thousand Corpses
and Devil's Rejects when I was a teenager were like
so formative, so important to see them, so great.

Speaker 4 (10:13):
They're touched on. They're touched on for sure, But.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
I mean, especially with Devil's Rejects, How's of a Thousand
Corpses is definitely more in that early torture, porn, punishment,
but there's like a comedicness as a circusness. But by
the time you get to Devil's Rejects, that's Rob Zombie doing.
Like what if Texas Changelmasaca was like a CD crime.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
Movie and you CD or somehow cedor somehow and a
crime movie and your protagonists are the worst world in
the people.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
In the movie, there's no one to cheer for. I
think a lot about the scene where a woman gets
sexually assaulted with a gun. Yeah, like that feels like
something that we had not realized as.

Speaker 3 (10:56):
A tagline to the two thousands, Like oh tow two
thousands in movies, a woman is sexually assaulted by a gun.
It's like, exactly here, it is like red, white and blue, bitch,
Like here we are.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
We're gonna take a quick break and we'll be.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
Right back, and we're back.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
I also think the funniest thing is there is this
duality where we also are getting you know, two thousand
and five is Constantine, two thousand and five is dark Water,
two thousand and five is you know. We're still getting
terrible made for TV video game adaptations like Blood Rain,

(11:52):
which I have again like totally crazy. We also are
getting because of, like you said, the success of Michael
Bay's kind of make industry, We're getting prequels to the
Exorcist character by Pushrader. Okay, Doom comes out that.

Speaker 3 (12:07):
Year, one of my favorite rock movies and one of
my favorite Carl Urban movies. And hey, look at that,
there's Rosamund Pike. I think Doom is one of those
actually underrated pieces of pop culture or.

Speaker 4 (12:18):
Faqu it, like it's so much fun.

Speaker 3 (12:21):
Like if you're gonna do if You're gonna do it,
like not cheap by like the dollars, like there was
money put into this, but sort of like the just
cash in video game adaptation opportunity that was a perfect
genre cast. Yeah, and therefore the chemistry of them is
making this movie that could have just been tossed away
actually really entertaining and highly revisitible completely.

Speaker 1 (12:43):
And also I will say I do think as well,
we have to remember at that time we hadn't really
had in Western cinema at least any POV action stuff,
so they that is a.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
Lie kind of stuff for us.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, that feels new, it feels refreshing. Some of the
other things I think are really funny about this year
is a movie that was very for some reason high
in my memories of this year and high in my
cinematic experience was Land of the Dead, I think because
George A. Romero came back, so we all went WHOA.
But then again two thousand and five, he's doing zombies

(13:22):
that are sentient before anyone else is doing that. He's
doing conversations about who gets to survive and who doesn't.
He's doing class so he's still bringing that to it.
And I also think that something you know me, I'm
always gonna bring up like the weirdest possible, like superhero thing.
But this is also two thousand and five. So Batman

(13:42):
Begins comes out.

Speaker 3 (13:43):
This year, right, and we have the watershed moment of
Batman Begins is gonna make everything grim dark, and we
have the gritty reboot and Batman Begins. We're gonna we're
I think we're about to get it in bond with
Casino Royale. It's gonna set us on a tone change
of pop culture rejector and coming out in the senior
as something like a fantastic for an electra. You have

(14:04):
the preceding era of bubblegum superhero movies running headlong and
sputtering in the face of Batman Begins, which is going
to be massive.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
And I think that is the thing that's so interesting
about two thousand and five is we have like Man Thing,
for example, comes out. I think Lions Skate or Legendary
has the license to make this marvel you know, horror movie.
It doesn't make any sense. It's like a completely wild film.
And there is a version of our timeline where if

(14:38):
Batman begins doesn't hit, we continue to stay in that
almost like B movie space for superheroes because that is
what people are making, and they're making legacy movies like
Land of the Dead. And it's a really interesting kind
of transitional period because also.

Speaker 3 (14:52):
It feels like it is two thousand and five, feels
like the year that the nine in the nineties truly
don't hmm, like any any carry for sensibility of projects
that had been in development for obviously years. You don't
make a movie in fifteen minutes the Alona big superhero movie,
and and superhero movies are doing big like x X
Men changed. Every Spider had a new trajectory at the

(15:13):
end of the nineteen nineties and the very beginning of
the two thousands exactly with Spider Man, and that I
think what you have with Batman and what you have
a Batman begins and what you are seeing so solidly
by the time Hostile arrives, where Esaw could have been
an outlier before or there could have been a subset
of movies that were like the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre update.
I think what you are seeing in two thousand and

(15:34):
five is the full sea change of nineties color and
optimism is dead.

Speaker 1 (15:40):
It's dead. Yeah, it's true. And I think that something
are no heroes. Yes. Something else that's really real about
that is this is also a crazy year of launching
careers or bringing people to the kind of fullfront because
something you talked about with like hope is dead, the
descent ultimate Hope is dead.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yes, we were obviously going to get to the point
where we because like for for how much big box
office horror is cashing in in god, the end of
the era of the set piece in the mid budget
horror movie.

Speaker 4 (16:10):
Like, if there's one thing that.

Speaker 3 (16:12):
House of Wax's showcase it is it is a perfect
time capsule of sort of a last gast of skeptical
mid budget horror. The incredible melting house at the end
of that movie again, the ensemble cast of not only
Chad Michael, Mariana Elisha Huthbert, but the epitome of the
era's stunt casting gimmick in uh Paris Hilton and the

(16:33):
incredible new metal soundtrack. Yeah, Jared Padileachy is like the
first death in this movie. And he's the guy who's
gonna go out. He's gonna be in Supernatural for twenty years.
This guy's gonna be the Amon phenomenon, like the amount
of the amount of hot teen sensibility zeite, I see
that is going on this with absolute as we've touched

(16:53):
upon the depravity and yet with like a horror movie
that looks better at its budget level, with the music
budget and a soundtrack that's gonna be printed on the
backs of T shirts ye for like years later as
people are collecting their horror bootleg merch like you have
it running headlong at this like high budget level, the
independent level. You have one of the best horror movies

(17:15):
of the twenty first century doing its completely own thing,
coming from director Neil Marshall who's already done is complete
own thing. And Dog Soldiers, Yeah, and Given is like
the ensembles in genre.

Speaker 4 (17:26):
I'm gonna say in genre.

Speaker 1 (17:27):
Ever, I agree. It's such a brutal movie and I
think it represents to me the duality of this era
because the movie is completely original, completely terrifying, too scary
almost for people who are your house of wax, totally
totally right. But it is coming out in the same year,

(17:49):
as you know, we get two hell Rais of movies
in two thousand and five, we get.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
That was absolutely the period of time the Hellers are
franchise when you could get two of those years right
in one of those was that his era.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
Of being in. So it is it is the Henry
Carvill hell World, which is my face. I have to say.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
I will say it's really entertaining, and that's one of
the top one, that's one of the top downstream.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
But the thing that's really funny is you have Dead Oh,
which is more of your traditional hell Raiser. Somebody is
in a mystery, murders start happening, you have to work
out what's going on. Hell Raiser. Hell World steps into
almost a little bit too late as well, which I love,
steps into the Internet and the horrors of the Internet
and online gaming and starts to kind of precurse this

(18:38):
era of Internet horror that I also really love, where
the worst thing you can imagine is what's going on
on the internet. You know, we have cry Wolf this year.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
There's this kind of notion hit me of the Another
hallmark of two thousand's horror friend groups who hate each.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
Other oh, they hate each other.

Speaker 3 (18:57):
They hate each other, and cry Wolf is Kreiwolf is
literally about a friend group that hates each other so
much they're going to turn their friendships into tales of
horror like insane.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
Okay, so the other big movies I think now the
big trends here before I let you go that I
want to talk about is we are in the peak
at this point of Japanese remake Comic The Ring too,
at this ring point because of how successful the Naomi
Watch The Ring was. We also have the remake of

(19:31):
Dark Water, which somehow this is how high quality and
kind of respected horror was in this era and has
been since. But just remember people talk about horror as
a forgotten era.

Speaker 3 (19:43):
You know Jennifer Wait what Connell, Jennifer Connelly, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:50):
From legend. You know she is in the Dark Water remake,
which you know John c Riley and Tim Roth, Like
that is obvious.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
I mean this post, this is post the oscar Akale.
It's of a beautiful mind that she was highly lauded for.
And this is this is not a like where did
she go? Jennifer Connelly, like, she's in the cultural consciousness.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
And there is also something interesting. I think about maybe
a transitional period between the people who were making a
lot of money to the people who are Because you
have the Wes Craven movie cust which I love, Christina Ricci,
Joshua Jeah.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
That's one of those ones that that's one of those
ones that the blessing of something like a film Twitter.
It's watching a movie like that finally get its just
deserves because an organized grassroots movement has a platform on
which to gather to say, hey, this movie didn't get
its fair shake the first time. Because that that's absolutely
worthy of being discussed. And his wider cannon force, no

(20:45):
question about it.

Speaker 1 (20:45):
So fun, it's very proto ya TV yey proto.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
And Kevin Williamson wrote that, right, Yeah, that's like Kevin
wake Yeah. So like along with Scream, I know you
did last time. Er Chi was like the guy who's
made his industry out of.

Speaker 1 (21:00):
The King of Teens Freaking Diaries.

Speaker 4 (21:04):
I honestly only learned recently.

Speaker 3 (21:06):
I was like, wait a minute, he did Vampire Diaries,
Blue Kevin, he's doing it.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
So so you have Wes Craven, but you also have
multiple Charles Band movies. This is when you know the
ginger dead Man comes out, so you still got your
full moon going on.

Speaker 4 (21:22):
And I guess you still got the full moon e go.

Speaker 1 (21:25):
Like the kind of guys who've been keeping the genre
float are still making these movies that I think were
meant to be kind of your mid mid budget e
mid Logan, isn't it.

Speaker 4 (21:38):
Yep, we've got a shouts out to.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
The I'm pretty sure that Lward there is Lward representation
of Christna Logan, so hell yeah to a queer queen,
and it's the best of her silent role. I am
gonna say the Terminator movie with Nick Stall and Terminate three, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes,

(22:04):
that's the one, and I think that, oh yeah, Claraine's
even pul Schrader.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
Right, these are big name guys, but this year is
Exorcism of Emily Rose. Suddenly Scott Derrickson is in the conversation.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
Yeah, the incredible movie, so scary, so scarcary.

Speaker 1 (22:22):
Brings back the notion of kind of your haunted Possession
films as something that can really scare you. We also
get you know, I think again George Romero, he's there.
It seems like that would be the thing, but really
it's about these handover moments because Tobe Hooper has a
movie that year, but with stuff like you know, a

(22:42):
new Saw movie yea, and people like James.

Speaker 4 (22:46):
Wan and honestly career highlight with Red Eye.

Speaker 1 (22:51):
Oh I love that movie, sir.

Speaker 3 (22:53):
Red Eye, come on, I mean, tight, impeccable even now.
And as to launching, this is also the year you
get I believe wedding Crashers, the dual threat of Rachel
mccadden's in those two movies, and so I mean, obviously
he'd already been introduced in like sort of smaller films,
but so pre who Killy and Silly and Murphy? Is
you understand him now as the sexy, nefarious assassin in

(23:16):
Red Eye?

Speaker 4 (23:17):
Come on?

Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, I mean I do think it's so interesting, even
like you have Johannes Robert doing Forest of the Damned, Yeah,
a brand movie that I can straight up say, I
can't recall off the top of my head. But he's
gonna go on to continue to make bigger horror movies.
WHA may call it Sarah. He is gonna go on
to become now one of the big budget directors of

(23:38):
our era.

Speaker 3 (23:39):
I am not a movie with Yamy call it Sarah,
and I'm like, oh, I'm turning out for that.

Speaker 4 (23:43):
That guy has a vision.

Speaker 1 (23:44):
He loves to make a crazy action movie. And even
if it's a horror movie, he's making a crazy action movie.

Speaker 3 (23:50):
Because How's I Love becomes a crazy action movie, no
doubt about it becomes a crazy action movie. And there's
an extended fight scene between a man with a wax
face Chad Michael Marine and Alicia Cuthbert in a burning
down wax house.

Speaker 4 (24:03):
That's a crazy action movie.

Speaker 1 (24:05):
Yeah. Also, guess who the director of, you know, one
of Constantine is. It's Francis Lawrence, Who's gonna go on
to become the director of Hunger Games so and.

Speaker 3 (24:18):
Who just came out with a career highlight in The
Long Walk, I mean, still doing outstanding work.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
And also as well, you know, directed I Am Legend
in two thousand and seven, another actually interesting, underrated movie.
And I think that that is the most interesting thing
about this era is it's kind of this handoff to
a new generation. Whether it's your rob Zombies, whether it's
your Neil Marshall's, the Old Heads, the Childs Bands, the
Full Moons, they're kind of still trying to work out

(24:46):
what people want. But there are these young directors, you know,
even Eli Roth, who are coming out with these different
things that are making people have a conversation of oh wait,
like horror is in a new era. I think as
a kid that this was the last time that I
really felt that feeling of like, oh, this is something different.
And I have to say, this is another classic Rosie watch.

(25:08):
But since I moved to America and I was living
here and you know, had access to like streaming TV
for the first time and stuff, Tamarra, that's like a
straight to video.

Speaker 4 (25:18):
Oh my god, I'm so good.

Speaker 3 (25:20):
I watched it honestly finally for the first time three
weeks ago because it is available free.

Speaker 4 (25:25):
Once trea everywhere, and I was that movie.

Speaker 3 (25:29):
Is a fascinating case to so like it, like Jennado
on a like just the fact of that the premise
is like you're on the side of the you have
the sort of protagonist antagonist the movie like doesn't actually
isn't seem confident in who it's rooting for. Either it's

(25:50):
like bullies or it's person who is bullied who is
now back for revenge. There is like the deaths in
it are some incredibly creative punishing violence and also two
two male characters are made to have sex with each other,
which were made to receive as a punishment on par
with cutting parts of your own face off.

Speaker 4 (26:11):
And then like you're like, you're you're like, wait, that's
not the quote unquote worst thing that's gonna happen to you.
Like something worse is gonna happen.

Speaker 3 (26:20):
Got these guys like get away with whatever, and then
be like yeah, but at least they had to have
gay sex, and like.

Speaker 1 (26:27):
Like maybe that was a great day for those guys too.
I'm like, you don't know what happened next.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
You don't know, you don't know what, you don't know
what they chose to do after after what they were
hypnotized to do, and so but like and just like
the mixed messaging and like, like the the highs and
lows of that movie are an incredible peatri dish of
the problematic delight of the two thousands.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
To say, I totally agree, And I think it's really
interesting because we actually had two Tony movies that came
out that year too, and Tomorrow is very much American
Toady school Girl is bullyed, she disappears, you think she's dead,
but oh she's back.

Speaker 5 (27:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:04):
I also want to shout out before we go, because
I could. I'm realizing now, I'm like, this could be
a series itself. I'm like, so easy. But also I
want to shout out Mary Lambert because Urban Legends Blood
and Mary actually great sequel. Interesting.

Speaker 3 (27:19):
I'm pretty sure that's the one with Kate marrat in it.
Kate Mara's true crazy.

Speaker 1 (27:26):
But yeah, this was just such an interesting time for horror.
And if you were gonna, if you were gonna looking
back twenty years ago, if you were gonna kind of
put a stamp on what you think the moment was
or the message was, what was it for you?

Speaker 3 (27:40):
Okay, I'm gonna see two things in here. The first
one because we i we briefly mentioned the Jay Horror.
I want to share my theory that I don't think,
besides The Ring, one of the scariest PG three teen
movie I think ever made. What rewatched it recently absolutely
holds up. God, it's so good. I think the Jay
horror movie whorts the remakes here didn't ever hit because

(28:02):
I don't think maybe now it could be better if
there was another wave of that. I do not think
that studio horror allowed for the delicate storytelling at the
time of transporting the different cultural spiritual relationship between the
living and the dead that is present in Japanese like
myth and history, because there is like you watch, you

(28:23):
watch Ring, you watch, you watch Juwan, you watch and
there is a permeability between life and spirit that is
that is more accepted and more understandable in that different
culture from our own to where like you don't spend
half of a movie explaining a curse in a Japanese
horror movie, somebody learns about the curse, they tell somebody

(28:45):
else about the curse, and they're like, don't talk to me,
get away from me. You are you are soullied. Like you,
you will not ruin my li there is a buy
in to the nature and presence of the spirit that
you have to water it down so far for an
American audience to be like, the ghost is scary, and
we make the ghost scary for all the wrong reasons

(29:05):
that make them basic boring movies that lose like the
punch and resonance and soulfulness of the originals in Japan.
So that that my long standing theory about why j
horror just didn't connect even though the ring went off
so big didn't connect in our in the American market
in the two thousands. But I would say, I would say,

(29:26):
if like to put a if I were to sum
up this time, I think I think it really like
so I think some such a key thing.

Speaker 4 (29:33):
Two key things.

Speaker 3 (29:34):
One the true bridge time two thousand and five, a
true bridge time between what was possible in the nineteen
nineties and felt culturally and politically and socially crushed by
nine to eleven and the conservative majority that swept into
governance under the administration of George Bushout and what that

(29:55):
meant for a return to like focus on the family
and traditional family and all that garbage straw man stuff. Yeah,
I think it. It signified. It was so emblematic of
the dark time that we had truly arrived in in
a way that it was like, you need to let
go of the the optimism of prior while also giving

(30:17):
us a last great time again of mid budget, fully
realized big names attached horror that could play in three
thousand theaters at the in the last era of monocultural consumption.
This was when we were all we all generally had
the same awareness of what movies were playing in theaters,

(30:38):
even if he didn't go to the movies much, because
it was the same ads on TV, it was the
same ads in newspapers, which perhaps people people still read
at their morning.

Speaker 1 (30:46):
Magazines, the same ad magazines.

Speaker 3 (30:49):
People on the covers of magazines were people still generally,
I would say most people could be like, oh, that guy.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
They know their life and their backstory.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
Amateur Bill Horra we all recognized from two girls to
guys at a pizza place.

Speaker 3 (31:02):
You know, we got we got such good Ryan Reynolds
in two thousand subnote of two thousand and five. We
got Just Friends and Amityville horror. We got the definitive
Ryan Reynolds in two thousand and five.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
And he never changed after that. He was like, I've succeeded.

Speaker 3 (31:15):
I've peaked Just Friends one of the great Christmas movies
of all time, and Amityville one of the great hot
guy horror movies.

Speaker 4 (31:22):
Yeah all time. Those get hanging on by a thread
as a.

Speaker 1 (31:26):
Kid, him and the jammy pants and uh, you know,
loading the shotgun with one arm because he had the
big muscles. We were all like, oh my god, I
want to do that. Like, yeah, And I think as well,
what I love about your takeaway and I think Amateurville
is a nice place to end on this is also Yeah,
they tried to focus on that and go back to
the old school and go back to the seventies and

(31:46):
like what would happen if a family blah blah, but
just the nature of our age and the nature of
the people who are making the movies. I remember Amateurville
Horror hit super hard for a lot of me and
my friends because we had shitty dads. So even if
they like were trying to go back to this more
simplistic place, the audience was ready for stories that like

(32:08):
represented a reality in horror that maybe you know, they
were trying to go back to with the notion of oh,
the real Amateurville horror happened, like this is a movie
that's going to be a craze for that, but a
lot of us were watching it going like, yeah, I
can imagine my dad would try and kill us, Like
it sucks, but that's a real horrific thing like that happens.
And I think that hit in a way too.

Speaker 3 (32:30):
I think too that you have a perfect foil it
for the nineteen seventies, where when I think of the
nineteen seventies original, I think of and this is an
era of the of the Exorcist.

Speaker 4 (32:41):
This is an era of sort of spiritual panic.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
Of the omen And there you watched that movie and
I remembered the spiritual element of it.

Speaker 4 (32:50):
I remember the.

Speaker 3 (32:51):
Dread of the priest and the flies, and the overtaking
of a of a sick darkness of this family. And
then when I think of the Amityville remake in two
thousand and five, I think of the violence. I think
of his hot body, I think of the shotgunloading, I
think of the jammy pants that are just absolutely clinging
to the bottom of this man's waist.

Speaker 4 (33:10):
And I think of a.

Speaker 3 (33:13):
Replacement of spiritual cues with visual cues, which to me
indicates a difference in norms of what we could access
as a community and what our panics and what our
insecurities were around. We were sort of distant from a
place of like a collective I feel like moral assessment

(33:33):
of something, and wandering further from a place of like
a monocultural evangelical nation, even though that is still firmly
what we were in the groups of. And you watch
the two thousands, and it's the fucking horror factory.

Speaker 1 (33:44):
Man.

Speaker 3 (33:45):
Yeah, we want to hit hard, we want to hit fast.
We want you to scream. We don't necessarily want you
walk out wondering about the existence of God. We want
you to walk out being like I want to bring
my other thirteen year old friends and have our parents
sneak us in. And I want sensation. I want chakanawe,
I want gloss. And I think this get made. That

(34:05):
is the big I think that to me is so
in tonally indicative of again the shock, and we're on
Saw three, we're on hostile, which is like laughing, literally
laughing in the face of ripping a woman's scalp off
of her body as her like eye dangles from her face,

(34:26):
and we're not like again, you're you're not walking out
of there wondering about the existential nature of God. You're
walking out there being like I can't believe that happened.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Yeah, like, oh my god, how did they get this maid?

Speaker 3 (34:37):
And that it's not a criticism, it is just I
think very temperamentally indicative of celebutant culture of my super
sweet sixteen of again the you know, courtesy of the Red, White,
and Blue run the Dixie Chicks out of town, anti
gay merit. Like I think there is just a very
culturally cohesive superficiality that is so much fun to exist

(35:02):
in the moment, but is a very, I feel succinct
assessment of what the pop culture value system was at
the time that these movies were coming out.

Speaker 1 (35:11):
Agreed, Jordan, Where can people find you?

Speaker 3 (35:13):
You can find me on I'm clinging on to Twitter.
I'm fleeing on Joy or the Action Twitter. Folks are
still on Twitter and that's where we gather and I
will not we will not leave a man behind. And
so it's jor cru j orci are you on Twitter?
And the Feeling Scene podcast which comes out every week
on the network Maximum Fun.

Speaker 4 (35:33):
We're doing fun interviews with people who make movies.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
Love it. Thank you so much for joining us. This
was a joy and I'm sure you'll be back very soon.

Speaker 3 (35:40):
Thank you so much for having me. I could quite
literally do this all day.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
Thank you so much to Jordan crucio La for joining us.
What a fun conversation that was. And I will be
bringing in another horror expert who you know a little
bit better common lauran Off the time this ad break,

(36:20):
We're back, and I have been joined by the delightful
and lovely common Lauren Oscream Queen, how are you doing, dearie?

Speaker 5 (36:29):
I'm so well, how are you?

Speaker 1 (36:31):
Yeah? You know, twenty twenty five. It's a real horror movie,
but you know, it is living in a horror movie
talking about the things that we love, which is always delightful.
So me and Jordan just went absolutely ham on two
thousand and five horror movie. Yes, so before we jump
twenty five years ahead, what is your standout two thousand
and five horror?

Speaker 5 (36:52):
Ah, two thousand and five horror stand out. I have
to say this is where Joelle and I agree with
each other. The Descent definitely the standout horror for me.
That Girls Trip Gone Awry? Yeah, love it? Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:11):
Really interestingly as well, we obviously talked about that one
just like did not set off a spate of contenders
or copycats because I think it was just too unique.

Speaker 5 (37:22):
It was very unique.

Speaker 1 (37:24):
Yeah, it was hard for them to replicate it.

Speaker 5 (37:26):
It was in the found footage horror genre, which had
tons and tons of entries into it and tons of
like you know, really bad bootleg movies. But no, it's
it's definitely a very unique take on the genre.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
Yes, and guys, remember you've always got to make sure
you're watching the original English ending, which is the horrible
scary ending, and I think that that is the version
that most services have now. But yes, common let's talk
about twenty twenty five. Something that's really nice is that
we have carved out a great space to talk about
horror on this pod with you and Joel. Sadly, Joel

(38:04):
is a busy, incredible talented lady, so she is not
here right now. But look, we are coming to the
end of the year somehow and looking back somehow, somehow
and at the horror that we've had so far, Like,
what is your big kind of theme that you are
seeing throughout these movies?

Speaker 5 (38:25):
Well, you know, it's interesting. I think it ties in
a bit to what we just discussed with our guest Jordan.
You know, I don't need to paint a picture for
everyone of what the political climate is like that we're
in at the moment. Obviously we're all very keenly aware
of what moment we're living through right now. But you know,

(38:50):
when Jordan was talking about, you know, the George Bush
era two thousand and five conservatism, that kind of we're
back into that conservative era. It made me realize that
some of the most memorable times in horror are when
we're living through really conservative eras politically, and this is

(39:12):
another year where we're in a very politically conservative climate.
And the trend that I've seen, and we've talked about
this in our group Childs, is that it's all about
kids and the horror danger. Yeah, kids are in danger
and the horror that kids go through in various different ways.

(39:32):
And I think this ties into our political narrative of
you know, for the past several years leading up to
this presidential election that happened last year, you know, it
was all about like protect the children, Protect the children.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
Hashtag protect the children, and that had its own conspiratorial
kind of yes, you know thread, so it was leading
to and rabbit.

Speaker 5 (39:56):
Hole that, yeah, absolutely, and QAnon and all of that.
So and this is a common you know, I think
theme throughout our American history is this kind of misplaced
concern for children. And when I say misplaced, I mean
children are in danger and children are under threat, but

(40:19):
not in the way that creatives are painting it out
to be. You know, this is the.

Speaker 1 (40:24):
Thing that I love about your read on this because yeah,
throughout this year and I'm currently trying to work on
an article like this about this with a friend. I think, really,
since I spoke to the Philippo brothers on this very podcast,
Danny and Michael, who may bring her back, I remember
Danny saying, you know, there is something so haunting about

(40:48):
being a kid when an adult does not have your
best interest at heart, that does not have you know,
they almost have like an ulterior motive, right, And that
really set me off this year of like, wow, I'm
seeing so much horror that is in that space. I'm
seeing it with weapons, I'm seeing it with daily on Earth,
I'm seeing it with twenty eight years later. But what

(41:10):
I love that you read was to me, I was
thinking about this being, you know, there's some kind of
element of people like my age, like millennials, processing childhood trauma,
trying to tell people like, hey, this is what is
happening to kids like and I love that aspect of it,
which I find pretty subversive and radical. But I think

(41:31):
that you make a great point where it is also
a reaction, just like the movies of the eighties were
a reaction to satanic panic. This is a reaction to
this conservative idea of children not always in danger, but
now it's about what are they in danger from? And
I think that is what is interesting about twenty twenty five.

(41:53):
We're not saying like, oh, all kids are in danger
of you know, their teacher is going to be a
satanic you know, exploitas cultist, which was very much like
a made up fear of the eighties. What we're looking
at here is like Weapons.

Speaker 5 (42:11):
Absolutely, where the actual culprit is something kind of unseen
in the shadows, and the teacher is being blamed for
these kids having gone missing. The teacher has no idea,
and that is something that we see very much happening
in our reality. You know, teachers are constantly at the

(42:31):
blame for you know, different sorts of like media and
quote unquote grooming and all of this kind of stuff.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Yeah, and I just like deranged behavior absolutely, and I
think that Weapons is really interesting. I also think that
you know, everyone made this read when they watched the movie,
but Weapons is also very easy to read as an
analogue about school shooting something of our total era.

Speaker 5 (42:58):
I think, which very I will say Zach Cregor, he's
very we haven't really we didn't have like a weapons
episode on the pod, but I we we talked about it,
I think.

Speaker 3 (43:08):
But mm hmm.

Speaker 5 (43:09):
He's very coy about like, oh no, it's not about
school of shootings.

Speaker 1 (43:13):
Giving James Gunn talking about peace Maker where it's just
like James Gunn was like, well, none of this stuff
could ever happen in our real world, so it can't
be real, right, Like, you know, I think that Zach
Kreiger is a man who from Barbarian to this. I
don't think he's trying to explain the movies that he writes,
but I think that people who read it that way
are not incorrect. You know, the school setting. I would say.

(43:35):
Something I think is really interesting about Bring Her Back
is that is, yeah, you could you know, people have
asked me because of the poster and because of the trailer,
oh is it satanic? So I do feel like we're
having that fear of satanic demor ideas again in that
rise of conservatism.

Speaker 5 (43:53):
Well, and we did kind of see that. You know,
this was from twenty twenty four, but you know, I've
got to give mention to a class long legs, but
we did see that, We did see that in Long Legs,
and I think that this year, the twenty twenty five
was kind of the year that this all culminated into
a lot of different horror properties that we were seeing
this theme throughout, but we started to see it, I

(44:15):
think in the years prior and with Long Legs it
was that very satanic panic. I think all of these
things are related, you know what I mean. Cool, I
think it's just a rebranding. All of these things are
just rebrandings of the same kind of like unfound fear
that people have, especially like evangelical like the Yahelical Christian

(44:38):
Right has of like what is happening to children while
completely not acknowledging like like we've said, the real danger
that they're Yeah, bring her back is a great example
of that.

Speaker 1 (44:50):
You know, I love that aspect about it is it
does have a you know, there is a cult undertone,
but really it's saying, hey, guess what's bad kids?

Speaker 5 (45:00):
Abusive adults, abusive adults, and nobody is really ever concerned
up until the end are our girl from the child
Protective Services who unfortunately rip to that woman.

Speaker 1 (45:13):
She tried her best, and she tried her best.

Speaker 5 (45:15):
But yeah, there's you know, a lot of times people
in these movies aren't having the best interest for children
until it's too late.

Speaker 1 (45:25):
Yes, I think that is a really great read too,
because isn't that representative of the kind of pro life
notion of like you bare have this kid, but once
the kid is born, good luck, you are getting benefits.
You are not getting any help, Like if you are
ten years old, you're gonna give birth this baby and
then we're going to leave you. And I think that

(45:45):
is also reflected in kind of our next to that
we were highlighting here, which was Alien Earth. This kind
of notion of children forced to grow up too quickly
and ironically Alien probably the closest that we've to a
horror movie that at least alludes to one of the
worst child abuse scandals of all time with the Epstein.

(46:07):
Oh yes, but but there is at least something there,
And I think again that is an interesting subversive version,
Whereas in the past it would often go to a
Pizzagate or could some kind of conspiracy representation, demonic, satanic panic,
occult teachers. But here we are asking Noah Hawley is

(46:28):
asking the correct question, like what do billionaires do? And
we are not watching and what would a billionaire do
if they could create a child that is immediately an
adult that they own, you know. And I think that
that raised some very interesting questions, and we have another
kind of.

Speaker 5 (46:46):
Why should you why should you trust your children with
somebody just because they're rich, And they say that it's zact.

Speaker 1 (46:53):
That's a great point, because that is what they do.
They lie, They take these children, they essentially allow them
to die of an illness, and then they upload their consciousness.
I think that's a great call. I would also say
I think Twenty eight years Later is an interesting combination
of both of the things we're talking about, because that
is a movie where you have an abusive father and

(47:15):
enclosed kind of cult ish society, but it's also about
a child who's forced to grow up too quickly, who
has to go outside, who has to make sure, who
has to care for his sick mother, something that more
poor children are having to do in America.

Speaker 5 (47:31):
Yeah, and I think that will become like a continuing
I think in the years to come, we'll see more
or like this as this continues to be a theme
in our media. But yeah, twenty eight years Later, I
think is a great example of that because we have
are you know, the only really good character in the film,

(47:53):
the only one that is like, you know, someone that
we're rooting for is the child. You know, we're rooting
for the child, and you have to remember the child
is doing all these horrible things in order to survive. Yeah,
and not even not even reached adulthood.

Speaker 1 (48:09):
Yet, you know, and then they have to live with that,
And that's like another era of the fur another one
that I wanted. We also got like two Stephen King
adaptations this year, The Monkey and The Long Walk. The
Monkey I loved. I thought it was I love an
outrageous final destination esque type situation.

Speaker 5 (48:29):
You're for Stephen King adaptations, by the way.

Speaker 1 (48:31):
Yeah, And the interesting thing I think about The Monkey
is that takes it in a very textual way where
it's basically like what if you were cursed? But also
if you watch it, it also becomes very clear, very
quickly that it's also about well, the curse is your family.

Speaker 5 (48:51):
Trauma, the curses or mental illness. Mental illness, yes, absolutely,
and those things that you that you start to develop
in childhood that you have to carry into your adult
years and how does that thing follow you into your
adulthood and how do you carry that on, that monkey
on your back as an adult.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
You know, that's the thing I think as well, that
people forget about horror, And I'm glad that this year
has this duality where there are these super depressing like
Bring Her Back is hard to watch. I get it
why it didn't make money. Like it's gory, it's scary,
but it's so emotional and visceral. But you can have
a memory like Monkey that plays like Gangbusters in a

(49:37):
movie theater. It seems like it's like a Final Destination's
Bloodlines esque kind of romp. But when you really start
talking about it is a very textual story about childhood trauma,
about mental illness, about being raised by useless parents, about
the connections between our kind of relationships with our family.

Speaker 5 (50:00):
Very relatable and real stuff. Yeah. Yeah, and the Lung.

Speaker 1 (50:04):
I was gonna say, talk about the Long Walk.

Speaker 5 (50:06):
Yeah, so, I you know, I saw the Long Walk,
and that's another one we talked about. And I think
our our either our group to had our news episode,
but we didn't have like a full discussion about it.
I really enjoyed the message of the movie. It takes
a long time to get to that message. I think
it's a it's a lot of walking, as the name
would imply, but yeah, it's it's a movie about it's

(50:30):
a movie about a coming of age ritual essentially where
in every state man, a young man, a young boy
who has become you know, eighteen years old, has to
go and walk at a pace of three miles per
hour and if you can't keep pace, then you get shot.
And if you and you do that until there's one

(50:53):
man standing, absolutely horrible and horrifying to watch. It's incredibly gory,
it's incredibly you know, gratuitous in that way. But I
think the message is really strong of that movie, of.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
Just the Well.

Speaker 5 (51:09):
And I think it's interesting the way that it was
interpreted by myself and then by my you know, my boyfriend.
So like my boyfriend interprets it as like, well, you know,
this is like kind of an analogy of or a
metaphor of what it's like to not be able to
live up to the expectations of manhood that and the

(51:30):
expectations that the patriarchy places on men two in order
to fit into our society as men. As well as
in the way that I interpreted it was I think
a little bit more a little less on the nose.
But just like the idea of the character, our main character,

(51:56):
I forget what.

Speaker 1 (52:02):
Our main characters.

Speaker 5 (52:04):
Yeah, our main character, he you know, he dies spoiler alert.
He dies at the end. He doesn't get to carry
on with the idea and the plan that he had,
but he had shared that idea with his friend, and
that was enough for his friend to be the one
to carry out that idea. And so I think the

(52:24):
another really, I think what was interesting about The Long
Walk in this era of kind of fascism and and
everything that we're living in is it it kind of talks,
It kind of shares this idea of how dissent or
a dissenting idea can be, you know, something that sets
us free and.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
Of correct choice. Though like, yeah, we should have done
that a long time ago, would have sold the issue.
But I think that's really interesting. I also think as well,
something that aligns with me with the Long Walk and
with your kind of really smart about the conservative edge
of what is inspiring horror. I also was just like,
this is young men getting drafted. This is men who

(53:10):
go to war and we know that they're never coming back,
and you're just asked to do it as a coming
of age. You're eighteen, you're drafted, you have to go
like I think that interestingly, we are in an era
now where, even if there is a swing back to
conservatism in the government and the art reflects it in
some ways, it feels like it's currently always making a

(53:32):
statement that is relevant, slightly relevant, and subversive to the
conservatism that may have shaped it. I want to also
talk quickly about what we thought was probably going to
be a big theme this year but ended up kind
of fizzling out. I think, in as you've coined it
in the X ray vision, It's twenty twenty five is
a year of no subtext, only text. And I think

(53:54):
that AI as it exists in our world right now,
with you know, at GPT having I believe eight hundred
million weekly users now, like AI is draining our water,
it is using our energy, guys, it's costing money, and
it is way more dangerous and scary than a sexy

(54:14):
robot Who's Gonna kill you, which has always kind of
been the horror iteration of AI. And I think that's why,
even though you guys know, I loved the movie Those
Super Fun, we had an interview companion great movie but
did not hit in the big way, one because the
twist was revealed, and two because I do think that

(54:35):
this I think earlier, when Companion came out early at
the beginning of the year, the idea of like a
sentient sex doll had already been done, but also seemed
a little bit further out, I think than people realized,
so it didn't necessarily speak to them in the same way.
But then by the time you get to Megan two, yeah,
which how many had many production choices that they probably

(55:00):
wish they didn't make. Now you know, a Quilla Cooper
was the writer who really you know, created Meghan, and
she was not brought back for this one. But I
think that by the time you get to Meghan two,
where Meghan is essentially a superhero, I think that people
an audition start an action star, which, by the way, guys,
number one rule of late you've got to wait till

(55:20):
later stage in the franchise that's gonna be like it
on the side, you can't do it like Megan. Five,
we get to Freddy Krueger doesn't start cracking jokes. Still
at least three exactly exactly before that, it's still a
little creepier. So like I also think that Megan was
already an era where people were like, wait a minute,
maybe I don't want a superhero who's AI. Like wait

(55:42):
a minute. By the middle of the year, suddenly AI
is the conversation point. It's taking away jobs, people are
being laid. Yeah, it is draining our day, sent.

Speaker 5 (55:51):
To spread misinformation, used to.

Speaker 1 (55:55):
Kill people like y all over the world use it
in a terrible way. So I think that it's interesting
that AI kind of the world caught up too fast,
and so it really is more movies like One Battle
after Another or Eddington, where I think those conversations are
being had about AI and about revolution and about revolutionary

(56:19):
ideas and stuff that are outside of kind of our
understanding of say a movie that came out in twenty
twenty four that I was very glad super producer Ian
brought up because it is just a fun be movie.
But like Megan Fox was in a movie called Subservience,
which was essentially your kind of companion esque, like what
if you got a sex doll and she was evil
because once she had sex with her, you treat her

(56:39):
like shit, which is what happens every time. But don't
treat them like shit. How about that. I don't treat
the AI robot by shit. But that movie already existed,
already came out in twenty twenty four, did not hit,
was on Netflix. I'm sure it did well. Congrats to
that director. I hope you got paid money. I love
Megan Fox, so I watched it and it is a
fun movie. But like that, I don't think that the

(57:00):
understanding of what AI really is, or why it scares
people or why it's dangerous was represented in the movies
we got about it this year, and I think that
is why it was not a theme that hit.

Speaker 5 (57:11):
But let me tell you one thing. I will say, yes,
I do agree with you on that, and whether or
not Subservience had the same plot of the movie that
would come out later Companion, I will say when I
talk about, you know, the movies I've seen with my
friends this year, and we talked about, like, oh, you know,
what was your favorite movie so far this year? A

(57:32):
lot of my friends have told me like Companion has
really stuck with them.

Speaker 1 (57:36):
I don't great movie. I love Companion. I think it
had a lot more interesting stuff to say. Plus also
revenge movie, which we as women, I feel like it was.

Speaker 5 (57:45):
More about that for I think most people, including myself,
what I loved about Companion than it was about the
AI kind of robot aspect of it.

Speaker 1 (57:55):
I also it was really weird vehicle that kind of
scared people off too, because the person you are rooting
for in that situation is not a robot a woman,
but it's a robot who is then also going into
the world and clearly about to cause some kind of
robot revolution or some kind of recognition that you know,
we see her show the other woman her metalhand. Yeah,

(58:17):
I loved Companion. I thought it was gonna be like
a big smash hit. I think revealing the twist with.

Speaker 5 (58:22):
The issue in the trailers, well not only are the trailers,
but the poster as well. Even the poster reveals the twist.

Speaker 1 (58:29):
And I think as well that interestingly, that is probably
the side of those stories that is always going to
be more interesting to people, is like, what if you
are a tool that is being used in a way
that is unfair or cruel and then you hit back.
You know, we love that from the days of old
revenge horror movies, exploitation, even black Expectation coffee, you know,

(58:52):
a lot of those movies are about people, so usually
women striking back, and I think that is a profound
thing in Companion, and I would love that in the future,
like AI bots, that will inevitably exist. I would love
if that's like their favorite movie and they'll start. So
that's also a big year for first time horror directors.

(59:14):
Drew Hancock, who made Companion first horror film. Obviously biggest
horror movie of the year is Sinners by Ryan Coogler,
his first horror Unbelievable that is currently Good Boy on
another fantastic movie that we love that I also think
is very inventive. I think this is a really great
year for horror, and I think it will be looked

(59:36):
back upon as such. It's interesting to talk about twenty
five years twenty years ago when you know we've had
twenty years to look back and with these we're really
kind of living through it. Just before we leave, I'm
going to read the top five current Letterbox Community horrors
of twenty twenty five. Letterbox just revealed that twenty twenty

(59:57):
five best twenty five horrors. Now I will say we
just have foundantastic fest so some of these are not
out yet. Sinners number one, correct. I think for me,
I'm putting out there guys, I think Sinners is the
movie of the year. I think it's the best movie
of the year. I don't think there's a movie that
comes close. I know a lot of dudes are out
there saying it's one battle after another. I do not
think that has the juice compared to Sinners. It's a fun,

(01:00:18):
what buster action by an auteur, but it's not Sinners.
Sinners is a transcendent film. Number two is a movie
called Obsession, which I am so excited about. Just debuted
at Fantastic Fest, so we have we have not had
a chance to watch it yet because it is not
currently outcommon. I think you were gonna love this.

Speaker 5 (01:00:36):
Am I gonna be obsessed?

Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
You're gonna be obsessed. It's by director Curry Barker, and
it has a very simple premise. Okay, when a hopeless
romantic makes a wish that his longtime crush falls in
love with him, a sinister enchantment ensues. So it's the
practical magic be careful what you wish for. He wishes
that this girl loved him, and it is. It was

(01:00:58):
actually the biggest financial pickup at Tip International Film Festival.
It's basically being described by some reviewers, including Josh Lewis
on Letterbox. I like this description. It's a high concept,
cringey team rom com turned gory possession.

Speaker 5 (01:01:16):
Movie and a simulator the movie exactly right.

Speaker 1 (01:01:20):
I'm like, this is We're ready for it. The third
one is another one that I haven't seen, called The Plague,
which looks.

Speaker 5 (01:01:28):
Like it is a sounds like a Robert Eggers movie.

Speaker 1 (01:01:31):
I know, right, I'm like a socially awkward tween endures
the ruthless hierarchy at a water polo camp, his anxiety
spiraling into psychological turmoil over the summer. Sounds a bit
rough for me. I gotta tell you guys, that's two sounds.

Speaker 5 (01:01:46):
Rough, but actually more childhood trauma.

Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
Big childhood trauma movie. This is People are saying this
is the second best horror movie of the year. I mean.
David Rlick, Indie Wire's film critic, wrote, sometimes I'm so
fucking glad I never had to be young again, And honestly,
I feel that every single day I am. I'm always
glad that I am not a child, So that one
is meant to be incredible, very like middle grade Horror

(01:02:10):
Bullying Number four, another movie that has not had a
wide release yet, but I have only heard incredible things
about Is It Ends, which is very I've heard, very unexpected,
and it is about friends who are on a late
night food run who become trapped on an infinite highway

(01:02:34):
with other worldly terrors lurking beyond and the whole movie
they're just in the jeep Cherokee. But everyone says it's
so good, like Supersentive exactly. And also this is quite
interesting to me too because it is also something that
we are going to see in one of my most
anticipated movies, which is Exit eight, a Japanese horror movie

(01:02:57):
that has been on the tour right the press right now,
and it is about It's based on an really cheap
online like three dollars indie game where you basically have
to escape from a Japanese subway by noticing anomalies.

Speaker 5 (01:03:13):
Yes I've I have, yes ooh.

Speaker 1 (01:03:17):
So I'm very excited about that one. And finally the
Fix one is weapons. So, as you know, guys, we
are clearly big fans Gladys year, and it has been
a great year for horror. I would just say, like
the fact that there's three movies on there we haven't seen,
hints that again, this is probably gonna be one of
those things that we look back on and say, WHOA,
twenty twenty five.

Speaker 5 (01:03:39):
I mean this, Yeah, twenty twenty five great year for horror.
I have to say, I was looking at the list
of horror movies before we started this recording, and I
have to say, I haven't seen I haven't seen most
of them, and that just tells me that, like, this
genre is alive and thriving, and that just makes me
really happy. Honestly.

Speaker 1 (01:03:58):
It is the biggest, I mean, the funniest thing is
the biggest difference between twenty five and twenty twenty five.
It's streaming now. There are so many streaming services. We
have movies like The Ugly Stepsister. Didn't even talk about
that fucking incredible movie. It's on shutter Like that's a
original Frankenstein. That's number nine of the Letterbox Top ten,
which we obviously we haven't had a chance to see yet,

(01:04:19):
coming coming soon and it will be in theaters, but
it's going to Netflix. I think we get so many
more I didn't even talk about. You know, there's definitely
been an interesting era. This year of couple's horror Together
Together Companion. These notions are a bone lake, which again
I had Mercedes on to talk about such a fun,
weird horror movie. It has been a fantastic there's also

(01:04:44):
Code Perform. I want to say Codependent. Yes, And obviously
you know Jason is not here to talk about this,
but I do want to shout out one of his
favorite movies that he pointed out to me from this year,
which is Friendship by A twenty four And finally he
is right. It's on hbox. That Ship is shot and
filmed like an A twenty four horror movie, but it

(01:05:05):
is like a comedy and kind of about those awkward
the awkward nature of being a human and trying to
make adult friends. So yeah, interesting year, comment and a
great great episode. Thank you to Joel for thinking this
was so fun. But yes, thank you so much, comment
for joining us, appreciate you.

Speaker 5 (01:05:23):
Thank you, Rosie.

Speaker 1 (01:05:26):
Tomorrow and Extra Vision.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
We've got another episode of XRGC where we'll be talking
about monster movie remakes. Are they good? Do we hate them?

Speaker 1 (01:05:36):
And we love them? Do we need them?

Speaker 2 (01:05:38):
What lessons to glean from the box office returns of
twenty twenty five no superhero movies in the top five
grossing films.

Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
Folks, is it? What does it mean?

Speaker 5 (01:05:49):
What does it?

Speaker 2 (01:05:50):
That's it for this episode next for listening. X ray
Vision is hosted by Jason steps Young and Rosie Night
and is a production of iHeart Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:05:58):
Our executive producers are l Monique and Aaron Kaufman.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
Our supervising producer is Abu Zafar.

Speaker 1 (01:06:04):
Our producers are Common Laurent Dean Jonathan and Bay Wag.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
A theme song is by Brian Vasquez, with alternate theme
songs by Aaron Kaufman.

Speaker 1 (01:06:12):
Special thanks to Soul Rubin, Chris Lord, Kenny Goodman and
Heidi our discord moderator.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Hosts And Creators

Jason Concepcion

Rosie Knight

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Horror of ‘05 vs ‘25