Horror Movie Talk

We watched Evil Dead 2 on Amazon and this movie has been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid. The combination of stop motion, practical effects, and Bruce Campbell’s amazing physical acting makes for one of the best comedy horrors ever made.

Evil Dead 2 Synopsis

Evil Dead 2 is the story of Ash and his girlfriend Annie who drive deep into the woods to have a nice time breaking and entering into a cabin that isn’t theirs. Following their felony, Ash stumbles upon the Necronomicon Ex Mortis – the book of the dead.

The book served as a passageway to the evil worlds beyond. Written long ago when the seas ran red with blood, and this blood was used to ink the book. in the year 1300 AD the book disappeared.

Ash plays a tape recorder with a translation of the pages from the book, and that’s enough to unleash more evil than they bargained for.

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Evil Dead 2 Review

Evil Dead 2 (1987) is sort of a remake of the first movie that started it all The Evil Dead, by Sam Raimi. It’s not a step by step remake, and it differs in a lot of ways, but the premise is very similar – people go to a cabin in the woods, find the book of the dead, and are attacked by a long-dead evil.

Where the first movie is deadly serious and quite disturbing, Evil Dead 2 takes a more comedy-based approach while maintaining an incredible array of shocking visuals. The effects in this are so over-the-top that it’s pushed into goofy, nervous laughter territory.

Couple these super-cool effects with Bruce Campbell’s most incredible performance of all time. He carries this movie in a way that amazes me every time I watch it. For almost half of this film Campbell manages to act alone, with almost nothing to react to and his energy is unbelievable.

Finally, I really enjoy how this movie manages tension with silence and stillness juxtaposed with loudness and chaos. It’s a classic that’s based on a classic, and Ash gets a sawed off chainsaw for a missing hand coupled with a sawed off shotgun – the most bad-ass pairing of weapons since peanut butter and chainsaws for hands.

Score

10/10

Spoilers

If you haven’t seen this movie, you really must.

Evil Dead 2 takes a very simple premise and creates a playground of special effects around it. 

There isn’t a tremendous amount to spoil in this one, it’s mostly the story of how a long-dead evil is summoned at an old cabin in the woods, and what Ash does to put it back in its place.

The end result is the most fun you may ever have in a horror movie, action is everywhere. The violence is so insane and prolific that you can’t help but laugh at the spectacle of it. 

No one but Sam Raimi could have pulled this thing off, and to be honest, no one ever has. The 2013 remake, Evil Dead is technically a remake of the first movie. So, number two continues to stands alone.

Final Recommendations

Everyone you know should watch this movie.

This week we watched As Above, So Below on Netflix. This tight package of a found footage adventure horror holds up very well over the years. Maybe we’re too easily impressed, but when a horror movie sets up a compelling premise, has interesting characters with motivations that makes sense, and a plot that maintains interest, it’s hard to be displeased.

On today’s episode, we review As Above, So Below, play a new trivia game with Ben Warrington, and read the latest from Horror Movie Talk’s social media accounts.

Synopsis

Loosely based on the classic literary work Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, this film follows a ragtag team of archeologists as they follow clues to find the legendary philosopher’s stone.

Their search takes them into the labyrinthian catacombs under Paris. Paris, France. As they wind themselves deeper into the claustrophobic caverns and through the nine circles of Hogwarts, they fight against their own demons and encounter far more than they bargained for .

Review of As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below is to found footage movies as your racist uncle’s one black friend is to all black people: It’s one of the good ones. The film is a combination of Indiana Jones, The Descent, and… let’s say… a haunted house movie. It starts off very strong, and sets up a full fledged plot, which is surprisingly rare in a found footage film.

The subgenre usually leans heavily on gimmicks and “unscripted” banter, and it’s a welcome relief that this one doesn’t. Also rare in found footage movies, the characters are actually fleshed out with relationships and backstories.

It gives you enough of a reason to be hooked and interested early on, and has enough mystery and scares to keep you interested throughout. The idea of setting a horror movie in the Paris Catacombs is brilliant, and they take full advantage of all the elements that make them scary in real life. It’s huge and maze-like, it’s claustrophobic, caves be caves, and spooky bones.

It’s not without it’s flaws, but they are few and far between. The phrase “we gotta keep moving” is uttered one too many times for my taste. Like, really? We can’t rest and reflect  for a minute after a lifelong friend just died? But honestly it’s hard to find things to complain about with this one.

Score for As Above, So Below

9/10

Final Recommendations

This is a must watch in my eyes. It is accessible enough for fans of Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy, and scary enough for fans of The Conjuring. Watch it today on Netflix or, buy it on Amazon.

Other found footage movies that we have reviewed that might be of interest are The Taking of Deborah Logan, and Quarantine.

We watched It Follows on Amazon Prime, and to me, it remains one of the very best movies released this century. I have seen this movie mentioned in many “Best of” lists and quite a few “Worst of” lists, so it’s controversial, but it will give you something to talk about either way. 

Synopsis

It Follows is a story that focuses on a group of kids and one girl, in particular, Jay (Maika Monroe). 

At its outset, this is something of a romantic story that soon gives way to terror. As Jay’s new relationship with Hugh blossoms, she allows herself a glimpse of happiness before being forced into hell.

Watch It Follows

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It’s hard to say much about It Follows without giving away spoilers, but suffice it to say there is a monster, and it follows specific, defined mechanics.

Review for It Follows

When I first saw It Follows, it was in theaters, and I knew nothing about it other than that it was a horror movie. When I walked out of that theater, I had a distinct impression that I had seen horror history.

The care that went into making everything about this movie is immediately apparent. The musical score, the framing, and attention to detail, the use of extras – it’s flawlessly executed. Add to that a concept that is unique and taps into the core of our humanity, and I think you come away with a perfect movie.

It’s more than just a chilling concept or a well-executed film – It Follows feels like a new thing in horror. It feels like a movement toward the conceptual idea of what drives horror. Strip down the overburdened tropes and monsters that make up what horror was for decades, and leave just the essentials.

Like it or hate it, I can promise you that this movie will give you something to debate with your friends about for years to come.

Score

10/10

Spoilers for It Follows

It Follows is such a wonderfully done movie that is so simple that once you understand what’s going on, there isn’t a whole lot to spoil. Instead, let’s take a look at what works in this movie.

Endless Ambiance

The mood of this movie can be described as heavy melancholy, which is an exciting and unique choice in horror movies. The acting and the bleak settings tee up this feeling of sadness and innocence lost that works, especially with this perverse subject matter.

The acting is especially impressive when you consider that there are almost no adults at all in It Follows – just a bunch of teens. They all feel real, and they all seem like they are being left alone by uncaring or unavailable parents. These teens bond and end up sleeping wherever they end up at night.

The setting shifts between suburban Detroit and abandoned Detroit. The use of abandoned buildings and houses adds to the ambiance in such a fantastic way without being full of effort. Maybe I enjoy the setting so much because we never get to see movies that are set in these bleak and downtrodden areas. Perhaps it’s because I have a soft spot for Detroit.

Incredibly Perverse Subject Matter Done Right

It Follows is about a shapeshifting, slow-moving monster that is a sexually transmitted disease. If you have sex with someone who is infected, they pass the monster’s invisible leash to you, and suddenly you are granted the ability to see this monster.

The catch? The monster can look like anyone, even people you know and love. It can use these people to get to you and kill you; once you are dead, it moves on to the person who passed it to you.

It Follows could have been a raunchy sex-capade with a bunch of crass, boring, overused bullshit – but it’s not. Every sex scene is either tender and loving, or a deception, and many instances of sex are merely insinuated and take place off-screen entirely. The result is a very classy and thought provoking film that doesn’t take any of the easy routes.

Think about it. There are three ways to pass this disease on to the next person so you can avoid being killed by the monster:

1. You trick them into loving you and have sex with them
2. You love them and have sex with them whether they know you have it or not
3. You rape them

Those are the options and none of them are appealing.

Compelling Monster Mechanics

The way that this movie is laid out sets the stage for endless gameplay theorycraft. The age old question of “What would you do in a zombie apocalypse” is reimagined with the workings of this monster.

The best chance for your continued survival if you are infected would be to create a monster user manual that you can pass to your next partner and they can pass to their next partner. But sometimes you just need to take a rest from all the running, which might mean having a quicky with someone you view as disposable.

There are multiple confounding factors to add to the basic rules that make the game harder or easier. Are you good looking? Are you a male or a female? Are you a sex worker? Are you a swinger? How smart are you? All of these questions and more play a role in the likelihood of your survival. And remember, once you’ve passed it on, you can let your guard down only so far as you trust your partner’s ability to stay alive and pass it along.

In my opinion, this is the most interesting monster since Freddy, in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Lost Innocence

There is a moment early in It Follows where Annie asks Hugh who he would want to be in a crowd of people they are amongst. Hugh says he would want to be a young boy standing with his parents and when questioned as to why, he says something like, “things were so simple as a kid”.

Once you have sex, a part of you is forever changed, and a new world of possibilities and uncertainties are forced upon you. Every person you sleep with has the chance to be very dear to you, or they could hurt you deeply.

Lovers can be wonderful and bring lots of joy to your life. They also might spread a STD to you where a previously invisible monster becomes visible only to you and endlessly follows you everywhere you go in an attempt to brutally murder you.

Artistically Intentional

It Follows is made with such care and so much attention to detail that you just have to give it it’s due. The framing is always thoughtful, keeping strangers walking toward the camera in the background, or off a character’s shoulder works so well. It keeps the eye looking for what or who might be after Annie at all times.

There are all these beautifully framed shots that are still shots, or attached to a wheelchair, or above shots – it’s fabulous artistry.

 Final Recommendations

You are better off watching this movie, so just give it a go.

The hits just keep on coming over here at Horror Movie Talk! During quarantine, we’ve been catching up on all the classic slashers. This week we rewatched the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, and reminded ourselves why this franchise has such staying power.

A Nightmare on Elm Street can be bought or rented on amazon or your favorite video thingy.

Synopsis

A Nightmare on Elm Street wastes no time introducing you to one of horror’s greatest villains. Tina Gray, played by Amanda Wyss, is being chased in a dream by an unknown assailant with knives for fingers.

Before the fedora wearing pizza-faced man can introduce himself with a M’lady, Tina wakes up in cold sweats. Later we learn that this vivid nightmare is shared by her group of friends, including Nancy Thompson, played by Heather Langenkamp, Glen, played by Johnny Depp, and her boyfriend Rod, played by Jsu Garcia. 

Soon we learn that the scary man in everyone’s dream is a formerly alive child killer and pedophile (?) named Freddy Kreuger, played by the inimitable Robert Englund.

Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street

This slasher upped the ante of 80’s slashers by unabashedly adding fantasy elements into the genre. The Freddy franchise became one of the most lucrative horror franchises of all time. And for good reason!

The premise of a killer that comes to you in your dreams and can kill you in real life is truly unescapable. No zombie fortress, or gun can save you from Freddy. Everyone sleeps.

The film not only introduced one of horror’s most iconic figures, it also the bloodiest mainstream horror movie up to that point. It’s a tightly packaged and thoroughly conceived film.

Most of the scenes and special effects hold up even today. Some effects, admittedly fall flat, and a few enter the realm of so bad their good. Regardless, it still deserves its place as one of the genre’s tentpole films and cemented the creator, Wes Craven, as one of horror’s greatest minds.

Score

10/10

Robert Englund Interview

Robert Englund himself called in to talk with Horror Movie Talk about his latest project, JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales on Adult Swim. Skip to time code 54:06 in this episode to listen to Freddy himself chat about his life in horror.

Like Classic Slashers?

Check out our review of Friday the 13th!

We watched the original Friday the 13th on Shudder, and while it definitely represents the film version of pulp, it’s the original upon which so many slashers have been based. It delivers in a charming way and the twist is still impressive after all these years. It’s 40th birthday will be this Saturday, May 9th, 2020. 

Synopsis

Friday the 13th is the story of a group of teen counselors who are setting up a summer camp at Camp Crystal Lake.

It details the short story of the final days of these teen counselors. We also get a glimpse into small town americana, which is unbearably quaint. There isn’t a lot of story to this one, and that’s the point.

Watch Friday the 13th

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Review

Friday the 13th was the first independent film of it’s time to secure distribution in the U.S. by a major studio (Paramount).

Directed by Sean S. Cunningham (who went on to write and produce many sequels) and written by Victor Miller, Friday the 13th was the second of the big franchise slashers to hit the scene, following the success of 1978’s Halloween.

This movie birthed so many tropes and trends that it’s almost comical. It is also a great place to see Kevin Bacon in one of his earliest and sexiest roles. 

While it’s no crowning achievement in filmmaking, Friday the 13th does set the stage for 80’s horror very nicely with a parade of sexy but disposable characters, great practical effects by Tom Savini, and tense music by Harry Manfredini. 

Friday the 13th is a classic that is only dwarfed, in my opinion, by the sequel, Friday the 13th Part 2. If you haven’t seen this movie, don’t expect to be blown away, instead expect to gain a better understanding of the foundation of the slasher genre.

Score

7/10

Friday the 13th Spoilers

I’m going to level with you, even though there is a hefty twist at the end of this movie that is made better with time, you’ve had 40 years. Get with it.

First-person killing

A huge portion of Friday the 13th is spent stalking the campers with the camera in first-person perspective. This places the audience square in the feet of the killer and while that’s not a big deal today, it was in 1980. Sure, Halloween and Black Christmas had done this to a small extent, but it’s like the calling card of this whole movie.

To make the first-person perspective even more important, we are given clues throughout the film. We get to see the big work boots worn by the killer, and the rough leather gloves they are using.

We automatically assume that these manly accouterments lead to a big burly man – you know, the myth of Jason! But that just makes you a big sexist pig!

Who is the killer?

The one who is stalking around the camp and killing young lovers and camp counselors is none other than – Mrs. Voorhees! That’s right, she’s been stalking the camp for the last 20 years, taking revenge on those who she blames for the death of her son, Jason.

Critics were furious at this movie for a variety of reasons, mostly for being a n exploitation film that was sexist and distasteful. Apparently the irony of the killer being a woman was lost on them.

Packaging horror in the neatest of boxes

Friday the 13th accomplished such a beautifully simple packaging of the slasher genre into a neat little package that it’s no wonder why it spawned so many copycats. It was so chalk full of sex, murder, and weird, cautionary morality lessons that it was bound to be duplicated.

It threw caution to the wind and it’s sails caught a big breeze that allowed it to crank out a new sequel every year for most of the 80’s. Think about that. When was the last time you saw something with so much appeal? Harry Potter and Marvel Cinematic Universe come to my mind.

Final Recommendations

This movie is so quaint and tame by today’s standards that I really would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it, so long as they are interested in horror. This is a great entry to bring a new horror head into the genre because it gives the viewer such a strong idea of where all the tropes come from.

Don’t Miss JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales on Adult Swim!

JJ Villard is our guest on this episode and gives us a peak behind the scenes for his new show, JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales. Check out the trailer and the premier on May 10th at midnight on Adult Swim!

The one, the only (well not really), the original! Yes the time has arrived to finally unleash our review of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This episode we recorded over a year ago, back when we were zygotes.

Synopsis

Texas Chainsaw Massacre stars Mike Myers as a San Francisco poet who fears commitment and suspects his girlfriend may have a knack for killing off her significant others. Oh wait, that’s So I Married an Axe Murderer.

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No, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the story of a massacre that happened in Texas that involves a chainsaw. Maybe the intro crawl to the movie explains it best.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre can be found on Shudder right now. Use our promo code to get a free 30 day free trial.

Review of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is obviously regarded as one of the greatest horror movies of all time and has been highly influential in the genre. If I had to describe this movie in one word, it would be “unhinged”. A lot of elements from this film and the low budget could have made this movie a hot mess, but somehow Tobe Hooper pulls off a coherent and terrifying masterpiece. 

Score

10/10

Inspiration for TCM

This movie is one of three horror classics inspired by Ed Gein. The other two being Psycho and Silence of the Lambs (Buffalo Bill).

Ed Gein “only” killed two women, so he’s not technically a serial killer, but he would dig up dead bodys and make stuff from their skin and bones.

Soon after his mother’s death, Gein began to create a “woman suit” so that, as he stated, “…could become his mother—to literally crawl into her skin”. Gein denied having sex with the bodies he exhumed, explaining: “They smelled too bad.” 

Here is some of the items authorities found in his house:

• Whole human bones and fragments
• A wastebasket made of human skin
• Human skin covering several chair seats
• Bowls made from human skulls
• A corset made from a female torso skinned from shoulders to waist
• Leggings made from human leg skin
• Masks made from the skin of female heads
• A heart “in a plastic bag in front of Gein’s potbellied stove”
• Nine vulvae in a shoe box
• A belt made from female human nipples
• A pair of lips on a window shade drawstring
• A lampshade made from the skin of a human face

Final Recommendations

It’s a must see. If you are into horror movies, you just need to see it. It goes down in history with the likes of Halloween and Friday the 13th for supremely influential slashers movies.

We watched Quarantine for free on Crackle and it hasn’t lost it’s luster. This is still a staple of the found footage genre, and one that sticks out in my mind for a number of reasons. On this episode we go over the movie, play a rousing game of Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes, and talk about what happened to us over social media over the last week. We also discuss a bit of what it’s been like in our own quarantine.

Synopsis

Quarantine is a 2008 American recreation of the 2007 Spanish film REC. It’s very similar to REC in just about every way, but because it’s out of Hollywood, it seems to have dwarfed the original, despite not being as effective.

Quarantine follows a reporter, Angela, who is doing a slice of life piece on some local firefighters in LA. As she goes on a routine call with the crew, they end up at a small tenant building that houses a variety of residents.

Watch Quarantine

Stream it or buy it on Amazon

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It soon becomes apparent that there is some kind of infection going around the building as matronly and old tenants begin to brutally attack those trying to help them. The firefighters, camera crew and the tenants are all locked inside and soon they find themselves with more quarantine than they bargained for!

Quarantine Trailer

Review of Quarantine

Quarantine was directed by John Erick Dowdle who is also known for some staple cult favorites like As Above, So Below and The Poughkeepsie Tapes. 

It stars Jennifer Carpenter who we love when she acts in the horror genre. We just reviewed The Taking of Emily Rose, which also starred her.

I enjoy this movie because it has a great start, middle, and a decent ending, although it’s impossible to beat the ending of REC even though this tries. It has all the elements that make a great found footage movie. 

Watch REC

Stream it or buy it on Amazon

Click here to watch

The story is compelling, the situation is extremely relatable…now, and there is plenty of shaky-cam footage to keep your eyes clawing at the edges of the frame for whatever that thing was that just ran by.

I will say that Jennifer Carpenter’s acting gets in the way of the ending of this movie. She hams it up to such an incredible degree that I couldn’t stop thinking about every middle school girl nervous breakdown I ever witnessed or had myself – and there were more than a few.

Even with the overacting, I think Quarantine stands out as one of the classic found footage examples. If I had to point people to a movie to watch, I would point them at REC before this. You can find REC right now on prime for a few bucks.

Score

7/10

Spoilers for Quarantine

After watching this movie, it’s a lot more simple than it seems as it’s unfolding – not that it seems terribly complicated. It has a learn-as-you-go structure and there is a mystery that slowly unravels: why are we being quarantined and what is this sickness?

It starts with some engaging banter between our reporter and her firefighter subjects. I always enjoy horror movie beginnings that are light and breezy and fun. It’s a refreshing palate cleanser to what is going to become a horrendous scenario.

Queue the horrendous scenario. They get to the apartment building and they meet some creepy old grannies who are obviously afflicted with some malady. Ms. Espinoza, one of the old ladies in question, attacks a firefighter and rips out his jugular.

What is the infection in Quarantine?

The only real spoiler in this movie is what the malady is that affects the tenant building. In the first act we learn about a little girl in the building who has a mild fever. She has a little dog, who is also sick and was taken to the vet yesterday.

Well, this little dog was infected with some sort of super rabies it attacked some other animals in the vet that they took it to, and those animals started showing signs of rabies after only one hour, which is about a month too fast.

The CDC was notified about the dog and they traced it back to this building. Turns out, there are some rats loose in this building that exhibit the signs of rabies.

Good thing too, because while normal rabies is nothing to scoff at, this is sooo much worse!

Rabies public service announcement

To avoid rabies, these are the signs that animals with the disease portray:

• Aggressiveness
• Agitation
• Hallucinations
• Muscle spasms
• Seizures
• Paralysis
• Sensitivity to bright lights, sound, or touch

So, these rabies rats come from the attic, where a tenant who rents it keeps a bunch of experimental rodents and news clippings of his satanic death cult. Turns out, he’s been working on weaponizing the rabies virus, and either he set some rats loose in the building on purpose, or they escaped by accident. I haven’t seen Quarantine 2 but I bet they tell more about the story there.

The End

The end of Quarantine is not nearly as strong as REC even though it tries to accomplish the same thing. The problem is the camera, the monster, and the hyperventilating Jennifer Carpenter. It’s so loud and fast in this movie that when they find the emaciated rabies monster in the attic, there is no dread or tension to go along with it, just a panic attack being had by our reporter friend.

The end of REC, on the other hand, is downright chilling, and remains with me to this day.

Final Recommendations

If you’ve already seen REC or if you can’t stand subtitles, this is a great found footage movie with break-neck pacing and some really intense moments. Otherwise, start with REC then watch this to compare.

Links for this episode:

Kiggins Theater in Vancouver, WA

This week we watched The Wicker Man (1973) which can be found streaming on Netflix, and it lives up to the hype. On this episode, we are joined by Ben Warrington with his recommendations for movies to stream during quarantine, and we also read comments and questions from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Synopsis

The Wicker Man is about a wicker man. No, it’s actually about a scottish constable, Sargeant Neil Howie, played by Edward Woodward who is called to investigate the disappearance of a little girl off of the secretive and secluded Island SummerIsle. The main thing that you need to know about Sargeant Howie is that he is tired of your shit. The main thing you need to know about SummerIsle is that this Island Fucks.

As Sergeant Howie investigates the disappearance of Rowan Morrison, it becomes quickly apparent that the islanders are not to be trusted. They have shifty eyes from the outset, and even worse, they are Pagans! The devout Christian Sergeant Howie is ill equipped to face the strange rituals and attitudes found to be taught and practiced on the island. These blasphemous rituals include singing and dancing around the maypole and … premarital sex!

As the mystery of the missing girl gets unraveled, Howie learns about the agrarian origins of the island and its reliance on the old gods to provide a plentiful harvest. Sometimes the old gods demand sacrifice. Just sayin.

Review

The Wicker Man focuses on the true horror, feeling uncomfortable around weird people.

This movie is a classic for a reason, it is very discombobulating, and you experience the confusion that Sargeant Howie does. Anyone with a conservative christian upbringing might not have as extreme reaction to the Paganism as Howie, but the feeling of discomfort about sex and blasphemy is probably familiar.

The darkness at the root of this island is felt throughout, but isn’t overt. Mostly it’s a feeling of being toyed with and mocked. The island is like a bunch of Mean Girls.

The enduring legacy of the film is it’s conclusion and I don’t want to spoil it for those that haven’t seen it. All I can say is it made me feel lots of emotions, almost like a religious experience

Score

10/10

The Wicker Man (1973)

Add the Blu ray to your collection or stream it right now

Buy/Rent on Amazon

Spoilers

Expand for Spoilers

I pretty much knew the plot of the Wicker Man from the Radiohead music video for Burn The Witch, and also heard that the ending of Midsommar was very similar, but I was genuinely effected by the ending of The Wicker Man.

https://youtu.be/yI2oS2hoL0k

The pacing of the film really lulls you into a false sense of security. You know pretty much from the get go that these islanders are acting suspicious, but the immediate conclusion is that they are covering for someone in the village that commited the murder.

However, as we see the islanders, especially the landlords daughter Willow, continue to fuck with him, it seems like there might be a larger conspiracy. Along the way, there is enough clues revealed, that it feels like the secret is that Rowan is alive and going to be sacrificed.

The conclusion arrives, and it is revealed that Sargent Howie was the target all along. They had specifically researched him and identified him as the ideal sacrifice to the gods for a plentiful harvest. He was:

• An Adult Male
• A Virgin
• He comes with the power of a king in that he is a police officer
• He is a Christian
• He is a fool

When it is revealed that the method of sacrifice is to have Howie burned alive in a wicker man, it is genuinely terrifying. The camera stays with Howie as he sees the fire licking up at him in his final moments. It was deeply affecting.

Final Recommendations

If you want to delve into the classics, I would definitely add this to the list. If you watched Midsommar and want more of that.

Videos Mentioned in This Episode

We watched The
Platform on Netflix with a bunch of HMT fans over the Chrome Netflix Party
extension and boy, I love this movie! While I am certain that lots of purists
will debate whether this is horror or not, I assure you, it’s worth the watch
and will definitely find some way to make your skin crawl. The timing of this
release makes me wonder if Netflix has a bunch of totally apropos titles just
waiting in the wings to be released whenever they are most relevant. 

The Platform Synopsis

The Platform is about a
prison called the pit where there are three kinds of people; the ones above,
the ones below, and the ones who fall. This is a twisted place where every cell
contains two people and is stacked on top of a seemingly endless column of
other cells. 

Every day there is a
massive banquet comprised of everyone in the prison’s favorite dish. This
banquet contains enough calories for everyone in the pit to survive. The catch
is the banquet is placed on a platform that stops at every cell for a short
time, and it starts at the top and works its way down.

Some prisoners are there
by choice, some are there because of a crime, but there seems to be a promise
that is made to all of them upon entry into the pit – if you do your time and
make it out, you will be granted increased social standing. 

Our protagonist is a man
called Goreng (Ivan Massagué), who spends time with several of
the inmates of the pit. As he learns the ropes, he also seems to take issue
with the inherent societal problems that it represents: greed and desperation.

The Platform REVIEW

The Platform is a
Spanish film by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, and it’s one of the most
unique ideas that I’ve seen put to the screen since Cube. 

Watch Cube on Amazon

The spiritual predecessor to The Platform

Click Here to Watch

The minimal but rigid
design of the pit echos in the sci-fi dystopian walls of the film itself.

You know the sick and
twisted world that lay in the basement of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs? That terrifying
and perverse reality that we like to forget exists in the real world? That
feeling is magnified in The Platform and made the subject of the entire
movie. 

To make it even more
hard-hitting, The Platform is clearly a commentary on humans and society today.
While it’s hard to draw many direct analogies with the real world, the standout
one seems to be human nature and the greed inherent therein.

The Platform is not without hope, but it is chock-full of extreme violence,
imagery, and ideas that make this a real stomach turner.  

This movie stays with
me, and I wouldn’t mind watching it again. It doesn’t hold your hand, and there
is clearly a lot of theorizing that one can do to try and determine the
symbology and lessons within. 

Score for The
Platform

9/10

Spoilers

The Platform does a lot of things right. It maintains
mystery, drama, tension, and is clearly meant to stand for something. Anything
that you might be interested in, this movie probably touches on it. On top of
all of that, it doesn’t hold your hand, leaving you free to interpret it’s
message or take it at face value.

In favor of spoiling the movie point by point, I will
instead share with you a few basic premises of this movie that I find the most
relevant and exciting.

The Rules of The Pit

The prison known as “the pit” is a mostly lawless place with
a few given rules. They are as follows:

• Some prisoners have opted in, others are being
  punished, but upon serving your time in the pit, you will be granted elevated
  social status.
• Everyone is allowed to bring one item with them
  to the pit.
• The platform contains everyone within the prison’s
  favorite meal made to perfect standards.
• The platform arrives on each level containing a live
  person once a day for some short amount of time.
• Each set of prisoners spend one month on the level
  that they are randomly assigned. If you lose your cellmate, you will be given
  another upon placement next month.
• At the end of a month, all prisoners are put to
  sleep by gas and placed, randomly on a new level.
• Anything goes within the pit. There is no law or
  order that can be broken.
• If you try to hold on to food for later, the
  temperature of your cell will be raised or lowered until your death.

The Meaning of The Platform

I really enjoy movies that clearly have a purpose or message,
and that purpose or message is left somewhat obscured. I won’t tell you what it
means because I don’t know for sure. I will tell you what it could mean.

Hell Allegory

There is an obvious allusion to the pit being hell because
there are 333 cells within it, which means there are 666 prisoners. Besides, it’s
just about as hellish as you can imagine, especially on the lower levels, which
seems like a nod to Dante’s Inferno.

At the very least it’s some sort of purgatory, where people
do their time and wait for judgement. At the worst it means torture and death.
Even living can mean hellish conditions like someone keeping you alive to feast
on you gradually to make sure your flesh doesn’t spoil as quickly.

Socio-Economic Allegory

Goreng decides to bring a book with him to the pit, but not
just any book. He brings Don Quixote, a book whose main character is a
proponent of equal rights. This is interesting because everyone’s rights within
the pit are equal, but that doesn’t mean everyone will be happy about it. Equal
rights and equal outcomes are different beasts, and here equal outcomes are not
law.

It’s clear that The Platform is meant to be a
commentary on capitalism. Capitalism is an interesting beast because it allows
you to succeed or fail, but guarantees nothing. Capitalism doesn’t play
favorites, so many end up losing.

Final Recommendation

If you are a fan of psychological horror or Cube, you
will enjoy this movie as long as you have a strong stomach. It’s not gore-porn,
but there are disturbing concepts throughout. I had a blast watching this, and
the dubbing didn’t bother me one bit.

The Bye Bye Man. What can be said about this extremely average film? Maybe you shouldn’t see it or think about it, but in all honesty, if you have some family that likes bad slashers, you should probably see this film on Netflix right now.

The Bye Bye Man is an average slasher that features a bad guy who is an amalgam of The Candyman and Freddy Kruger.

This isn’t one of our normal reviews as Bryce and I have been forced to record two separate podcasts due to the quarantine. Check out Bryce’s episode here.

Score for The Bye Bye Man

5/10

The Bye Bye Man

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