The Movies

---DEATH TO SMOOCHY is available to watch for free on Tubi, amigos!Follow Danielle Ryan's writing on SlashFilmFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

In THE TRAVEL COMPANION, a struggling documentarian named Simon (Tristan Turner) has one professional (and personal) thing going for him: the friendship with roommate Bruce (Anthony Oderbeck). Bruce works for an airline and has Simon signed up as his travel companion, allowing Simon to nab free flights to anywhere on standby seating. For a documentary filmmaker, the ability to nab desired locations for free is crucial, allowing Simon to get rare footage on the cheap.Does he know what the movie's gonna be about? Not yet, but that's something he's marinating on.While Simon stresses over his movie, Bruce starts a relationship with Beatrice (Naomi Asa), a fellow talented director capable of handling budgets and sets Simon couldn't even dream of. And now, the airline perks are being placed into question, so Simon tries his damndest to keep his friendship alive whiel assuring those tickets stay in his grasp.The movie is less ha-ha funny and more relatably funny, laugh-not-to-cry funny to a guy whose own creative project often feels like it consumes him at the expense of time and memories spent with his loved ones.It's gorgeously photographed (New York is a fuckin' cheat. code.) and the jazz score is lush and frenetic. The movie doesn't necessarily tie everything together in a bow, but I'll choose to see that as an experiential stopping point. Wood and Mallis based the movie in part upon personal experiences so I imagine the lessons learned only extend as far as their own conclusions. Maybe we'll check back in in 2036's THE TRAVEL COMPANIONS (There's definitely gonna be a baby involved.) ---THE TRAVEL COMPANION is making its way around the country in select theaters - Find showtimes here.Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

UNDERTONE is best watched within two visual extremes: a movie theater and a laptop. What remains the same in those two instances is the intended environment: no distractions, enveloped by sound, whether from a Dolby Atmos sound system or a good pair of over-the-ear headphones.This is a movie where what you hear is the star of the show and what you see sets the stage for you to have no escape from some disturbing terror.Evy (Nina Kiri) is the host of horror podcast The Undertone, joined by best friend and co-host Justin (Adam DiMarco). One night, Justin shares an anonymous email received that features 10 different audio files. The files tell the story of a married couple seemingly experiencing a haunting. Typical fare for skeptic Evy but as the audio unfurls, she notices her environment growing a little darker, spookier than normal.Tuason is currently tapped to direct the next PARANORMAL ACTIVITY installment but I've no idea how he'll top what's done here. UNDERTONE is simple, predictable, even, but handled with such care and elegance that the result remains the same: a nail-biter of a haunted house movie that left me walking out of the theater with residue chills. This is a - great - fucking movie.---UNDERTONE is now available to watch in select theaters or on PVOD.Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

I interview Rushabh Patel, executive producer and star of the new horror movie I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE. Patel stars as Rian, a author who's checked into a dilapidated motel in order to finish his horror novel. However, the events he writes down on his laptop start coming to life, up to and including Rian meeting his protagonist, Katie, who's being stalked by a serial killer. Now, Rian must team up with Katie in order to save her from the most gruesome fate.I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE veers into surreal territories, moments where time and reality bend so I asked Patel about how to remain anchored in a performance that lends itself to such chaos.This is also Patel's feature debut as a producer so I also had to ask what he learned from working as an executive producer, being down and dirty with the movie from its inception. His answer is simple but crucial. Y'all gotta listen to this.---I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE is now available to watch, buy or rent on VOD.Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE is pitched as SCREAM meets STRANGER THAN FICTION, about a horror writer (Rushabh Patel) who realizes their story is coming to life within a dilapidated motel. Now, he needs to help his protagonist (Stephanie Hogan) escape the gruesome fate of being stalked and murdered by a serial killer.I appreciate some of the ideas presented, mainly the idea of someone covering up their internal turmoil with creative endeavors to routinely diminishing results. I like the idea that this writer is now forced to take on a different sort of responsibility to his characters and story; the stakes impose more heavily whenever real flesh and blood are involved.However, i found I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE to be mainly a half-formed smattering of these ideas, often discarding character development and a sense of tension, urgency for meandering runtime-extending conversations and the kind of dream sequences that serve a similar attention-grabbing purpose as waving a set of keys in front of a baby's face.I think this team has potential but this movie ain't it.---I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE is now available to watch, buy or rent via video on demand.Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

In DOLLY, a couple's romantic hike turns into a nightmare when they stumble across a mysterious hulking figure, dressed as a doll: dress, corn-yellow wig, and cracked porcelain mask.You've seen horror movies. Weirdos in the woods rarely bring good news.The woman, Macy (Fabianne Therese), is kidnapped by the gargantuan doll and brought to their house to live as the newest plaything. How will Macy escape? That's the flick.And it's at this point that I find myself wanting to stretch DOLLY into one of a few directions, kinda like how FRIDAY THE 13TH improved on its initial concept of "masked campground killer." Do we go into Dolly's psychology? Unlike Jason, there is internal conflict, gesticulated passionately in Max the Impaler's performance. Tender, though clumsy, maternal instincts clash with bratty, violent tantrums. Dolly seems to want to compensate for a love or stability they've clearly lacked in their own lives. I don't need a CHAINSAW MASSACRE kind of prequel, but I find myself drawn to this back-and-forth, wish to put Dolly in more situations to understand where they'd like to be as opposed to where they mentally are.We could also go for grimy gonzo. Director Rod Blackhurst wastes no time in treating body parts as a child would their macabre plastic graveyard of toys (My mind reverts to my son's decapitated board of Hungry Hungry hippos.) It's not just the gore, either. Blackhurst relishes in the disgust inherent within the dirtiest dollhouse on Earth. Just saying, there's a pacifier lying around that has to have the entire Hepatitis alphabet crawling all over it.The last direction we could borrow from Jason Voorhees? Unabashed silliness. DOLLY could uppercut a dude's head clean off and I wouldn't bat an eye. Some of this humor seems self-aware, poking a cheeky finger into the face of horror tropes. I wouldn't mind if DOLLY 2 further followed Tobe Hooper's example and eschewed its attempt at existential terror in favor of goofball parody.However, as it stands, the mixture leaves me unsatisfied. The movie's too bare-bones to flesh out its best character or relish in the nastiness. Macy simply makes the kind of decisions serving only to stretch out the runtime instead of providing an audience facsimile to root for. And by the sixth time Macy gains an upper hand only to allow Dolly the chance to get up and chase her again, I've rolled my eyes to the extent of twisting off their stalks.I don't endorse this movie. I endorse its potential. What's the saying? "Go write your first novel. When it's done, bury it in the backyard. Then, walk back inside and start work on your first novel."---DOLLY is now available to watch, buy or rent via video on demand.Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

In HEEL, a 20-something ne'er-do-well named Tommy (Ansel Boon) spends his night engaging in total debauchery. Any ingestable pill, powder or liquid is taken. In equal measure, every possible form of fluid is publically expunged from his body. Bouncers are sucker-punched. Women are seduced with inebriated charm. No form of property is safe.Tommy is a fucking shithead. And at the end of the night, he's kidnapped.He wakes up in a dingy basement, chained to the wall by a collar around his neck. A schlubby 40-something named Chris (Stephen Graham) greets him, announcing his intent to reform Tommy into a productive member of society. His team is a family affair: reclusive wife Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough) & sensitive son Jonathan (Kit Ratuksen). As you can expect, Tommy doesn't take too well to this.I'd expect more grime and nastiness with this kind of bad-dude-gets-kidnapped flick but HEEL immediately takes a sharp left turn. What starts as Tommy's attempt to slyly feign trust from the family evolves into mutual understanding and respect. This focus on relationships and Tommy's moral growth leads me to eventually question: Was all of this for the greater good? The chloroform, the elaborate railing system allowing Tommy to explore the home while still chained?When compared to our current prison system, is this approach a better shake? As is often with Jan Komasa's films (SUICIDE ROOM, CORPUS CHRISTI), the answers aren't so clear and it makes for cinema that lingers in my mind after the credits.---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

Búi Dam is on The Movies talking about his new documentary, BIRITA, which premieres today as part of the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival (CPH:DOX for short).BIRITA is named after Búi's mother, Birita Mohr, a legendary presence and actor in Faroese theatre. (The Faroe islands are located between Iceland and Norway, currently part of the Danish kingdom, though the independence movement is loud and fuckin' proud.)Birita was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011 and since then, hadn't performed on stage. In a bid to give his mom another at-bat and help her channel this joy and experience which lives baked into her bones, Búi put together a prodcution of Shakespeare's KING LEAR, casting his mom in the title role.He talks about the process of crafting the play, lessons learned about his mother and the relationship with his own aging, what legacy he'd like to leave behind for his children, and much more.BIRITA premieres at CPH:DOX today, March 15, at 16:15pm. More details can be found here.---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

SLANTED is about a Chinese-American teen (Shirley Chen) who undergoes an experimental surgery to transform her body into that of a blonde, blue-eyed white girl. She steps in looking like Shirley Chen, comes out looking like McKenna Grace. Why? She wants to be prom queen. She wants to be exalted, adored, loved, appreciated for her contributions, not dismissed or treated unfairly due to her race and oh...this is gonna backfire, isn't it?I interviewed writer/director Amy Wang about the movie, its origins, symbology, production process and the intricacies of building a unique dual role using two actresses. Listen on and venture forth!SLANTED is now playing, only in theaters.---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

SLANTED is the debut of writer-director Amy Wang, about a Chinese-American teenager (Shirley Chen) who undergoes an experimental surgery in order to become white. Not like skin-bleaching white. I mean, blonde hair, blue-eyed, McKenna Grace.Joan Huang, ever since her emigration to the U.S. from China as an elementary-school-aged kid, has absorbed and subsequently lived by racial hegemony. Fair-skinned, thin blondes reign supreme. Dark-haired Chinese girls do not. Prom queens don't look like her. The artists plastered on her bedroom walls also don't look like her. Hell, her Snapchats don't even look like her, partially due to a skin-lightening filter made by Ethnos, a company who keeps sending texts praising her loyalty to said filter, offering her a chance to change her life forever.Joan can dress the part of the school's local Regina George protege Olivia (Amelie Zilber), even dye her hair the same color, but as Olivia says, in one of the movie's most scathing lines, "I can still see your black roots." Something more drastic must occur.Joan finally gives Ethnos a shot. They offer her the ability to surgically transform her body, skin tone, hair color, facial structure, all of it, in order to abandon her Chinese identity and become white.Enter Jo (McKenna Grace). She looks like the ideal Joan's always searched for. On the street, she turns heads, elicits the warmest, friendliest smiles. Joan is now beloved, at the expense of the body and face she's always known.And as one can expect from a body horror movie, the MONKEY'S PAW of it all eventually rears its head but what I think allows SLANTED to stand apart from its most-often pitched combination of THE SUBSTANCE & MEAN GIRLS is the length of time by which I learn about Joan Huang. I meet her hard-working dad (Fang Du) who's more optimistic about adopting Americanisms than her mom (Vivian Wu). The movie reveals how racial hegemonies, contradictions and all, are adopted into the psyches of immigrant children. Joan doesn't see this rejection of her Chinese self in service of the benefits of assimilation as anything other than normal. To her, a surgery that rips her hair out of her scalp and cracks her jaw/orbital bones into a mold of a different genetic makeup is merely the logical path forward. She wants to be prom queen, right? Exalted, loved, adored? Like we all do. The roots of this self-hatred run deep and as a result, craft a portrait of someone with little stability regarding her own identity. It's already tough to be a teenager but Joan thinks she has no other recourse. Hell is the body of a teenage girl rejected and judged by the world.SLANTED is now playing, only in theaters.---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

On Sunday, March 1, I attended LSF Fest V at the Farr Best Theatre in Mansfield, TX. LSF stands for Litte Spark Films, a production studio based out of Arlington, co-founded by husband-wife duo Joe Manco & Catalina Querida in 2013.From music videos to 48-hour-shorts submissions, fake trailers for Texas Frightmare Weekend (including one starring Troma King Lloyd Kaufman) and much more, Little Spark Films has built a reputation in the DFW metroplex as a community-centered studio making irreverent, scrappy horror flicks with mischeivous grins and buckets of blood.Last month, LSF announced, after receiving a million-dollar investment from now-CFO Chris Rushing, their plans for expansion into a full-fledged genre studio, including a film slate, new executive team members and collaborations with outside productions as co-producers.LSF Fest V was their victory lap, a party celebrating the studio's past, showcasing recent works of friends and previous collaborators, alongside a few glimpses into what the future holds.Walking around the century-old theater, I got the sense like I was the new boyfriend at a family reunion. The LSF cabal, specifically, the crew from last year's short DEATH WORLD, showed up to support: actress and key makeup artist Tori Yeager, key makeup artist Regan Schenck, lead actor and cowriter Cory Ahre, sound recordist Cameron Hazelwood.If I'm the new boyfriend, this analogy suggests my date is Jacob Harper, fellow entertainment journalist contributing to 1428 Elm and his own podcast Talkin' Terror . We met outside the theater, started chatting and inevitably I learn he was a set decorator on DEATH WORLD. All roads lead back to Little Spark Films.LSF's social media presence includes a daily filmmaking tip, everything from respecting one's fellow man to ensuring your legal documentation is on-point. Their YouTube channel also features a guide on building one's own production bible. Judging from these posts and the wealth of repeat collaborators in LSF's circle, I get the impression these folks live in an abundance mindset, sharing whatever knowledge and resources (minus Lloyd Kaufman books, because y'know, you lend people books, you never get that shit back) they can.Schenck's short, SHADOWS AT THE ALTAR, played at LSF Fest V, along with Travis Patten's HAHTINU, which was co-produced by Hazelwood's company Pensive Pictures. LSF's future slate includes directorial efforts from Hazelwood and Ahre. Chief creative officer Preston Fassel has two scripts in production. It seems like the studio invests in the growth of their friends, building a community, not just a film library. If LSF Fest V was anything to go by, I think they've made good on that effort.---A BEN EVANS FILM dir. James Henry Hall & Bret K. Hall - a man makes a film starring his recently deceased parents. The feature aims to start production this spring; you can watch the short here.---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!⁠

IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH is a short about a woman named Veronica (Yumarie Morales) who struggles to reconnect intimately with her husband, Luis (Rufino Romero), after he underwent an exorcism.Director Alexandria Collins & writer Montserrat Luna-Ballantyne use conventions of the possession subgenre to reflect on how trauma lingers in the body, the difficulty in reconciling one's religious devotion and frayed mental health, and spousal abuse.This interview hops all around: Mexican Catholicism, bilingual childhoods, beautiful improvisations, the distinct glee expressed when messing up a gorgeous space with goofy fake blood, the works!---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

In SEAWEED SNACKS, Ellis (Patrick Cage) is a dad trying to traverse the awkwardness of being the only parent at a kid's birthday party who doesn't know anyone else...and who also just doesn't wanna be there.Enter Rick (Kamal Angelo Bolden). He's everything Ellis isn't: bubbly, outgoing, embraced by every other parent. And he's walking in Ellis' direction - ah, damn it.The movie takes a surrealist approach to entering me into Ellis' mind as he's bombarded by Rick's social (and overly personal) invasion. It's playful, mischievous, but that's mostly because I can also see way too much of myself within Ellis and I think I need that weird angle or insane sound effect to keep from reflecting too hard upon my life.Plus, I think the director, Sylvia Ray, is a big proponent of giving oneself grace if (and when) perfection isn't achieved. ---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

*FULL SPOILERS AHOY FOR BRB, ALL HOPE ABANDON YE WHO ENTER HERE*I interview Autumn Best, the lead actress in BRB, which premiered last Friday, Feb 20, at the Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles.In it, Best plays Sam, a socially awkward teenager growing up in the socially awkward early '00s. It's a time where dial-up and Myspace coexisted, a transitory time wherein people took their first steps in establishing a digital identity alongside - or in some cases, a replacement of - their analog one.Sam meets a guy on a chat group for fans of her favorite TV show and bolstered by her older rebellious sister Dylan (Zoe Colletti), who may have ulterior motives for supporting the following venture, they travel cross-country on a quest to meet Sam's online crush.Best's performance makes Sam like a raw nerve, to be tenderly handled lest a fiery or heartbroken reaction be provoked. She physically restricts herself in her body movements, her layered wardrobe. She'll look at herself in the mirror as though her own body is an outfit that doesn't fit right. It makes for a naked performance, one that feels honest to my experience as a teenager who's (still) so much more comfortable expressing myself behind a screen than in person.BRB is one of the current highlights of my year and Best my favorite performer. I can't wait for y'all to meet her.---Music provided Content ID free by @goodkidbandFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

*FULL SPOILERS AHOY FOR MURPHY'S RANCH, ALL HOPE ABANDON YE WHO ENTER HERE*I interview Mikey Riva, Jr., the director of MURPHY'S RANCH, which premiered yesterday as part of the Unstoppable Shorts program at the Sundance Film Festival in Los Angeles.The program highlights films made by and including artists with disabilities, bringing their stories and perspectives to the screen.MURPHY'S RANCH stars Hosea Chanchez and Lee Pugsley (a low-vision actor) as adopted brothers working as pool cleaners for high-value clients in the Hollywood Hills. They arrive at a new job. The client's a dismissive asshole - typical L.A. shit. But what gives them pause is the client's teenage foster child. It's not the social awkwardness but rather, the hesitation with which he discusses not wanting to be forced out into this camp by the "dad." The more they talk, the more nervous they get, the more they question if they need to intervene.MURPHY'S RANCH is a welcome dose of sun-drenched '80s buddy cop nostalgia, imbued by Riva's sense of comedy and wit. I liken it to how Edgar Wright put his own spin on genre tropes with HOT FUZZ. By the time the short ended, I was pumping my fist, ready for the story to continue. I'm happy to report that a full feature is Mikey's plan for the future.This was a fun hang. Hell, the movie's 12 minutes long and this interview is 90, so you can deduce that we had a ton to talk about: Mikey's origins, his choices, the chemistry between Chanchez & Pugsley, the importance of healthy community on a film set. Get a snack and drink and strap in. This interview's a doozy.MURPHY'S RANCH will play as part of another Unstoppable Shorts block on Feb 22nd, at 7:30 in Theater 5 at the Landmark Sunset Hollywood Theater. Find more of Mikey's work here.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

MEDUZA, directed by Roc Morin, is a documentary following Pavlo Aldoshyn, a Ukranian actor whose sniper training for a role turned into actual military service once Russia started the war with Ukraine.This isn't a first-person perspective on the daily itineraries of violence. Rather, Aldoshyn comes across as someone trying to cling onto his sense of humanity amidst a beastly environment wherein the only goal is making it to the next day.Humanity for the actor comes in creative bursts: musings on spirituality, expression, art, reincarnation and love.But it's in the breaks from Aldoshyn's interviews that Morin's collaboration with him is revealed. These asides traverse the world, from a Japanese widower's search for any remnant of his deceased wife to an Indian craftsman of complex animatronics depicting gods and demons.Morin describes his career as one driven by curious pursuits and MEDUZA is no different. What results is a mosaic of connection, the human threads that bind us all as conflicts threaten to shred them apart.MEDUZA is now available to rent or purchase from ⁠Amazon⁠.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

I interview Roc Morin, the director of MEDUZA. The documentary is about Pavlo Aldoshyn, a Ukranian actor whose sniper training for a role turned into actual military service once Russia started the war with Ukraine.We talk about Aldoshyn's perspectives on the psychology of working as a sniper, the benefits that can bloom from curious pursuits, and much, much more.MEDUZA is now available to rent or purchase from Amazon.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

This year's Slamdance Film Festival kicks off on February 19 in Los Angeles! From the 19th to the 25th (and extended to March 6 via an online program featured on the Slamdance Channel), the most exciting voices in independent film get to strut their stuff.In order to raise the proverbial curtain, here's a guide, from A to Z, of what shorts, features, documentaries, etc. you should give a shot.Check out the full Slamdance festival lineup here!---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

CRIME 101 sees AMERICAN ANIMALS director Bart Layton hop back into the heist genre by adapting Don Winslow's novella about a high-level jewel thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose meticulous style has allowed him to get away scot-free from a string of robberies along Cali's 101 freeway.However, his final score brings into the mix a set of monkey wrench characters: a morally troubled insurance saleswoman (Halle Berry), a chaotic and violent motorcycle-riding thief (Barry Keoghan) and an experienced, though disillusioned, cop: (Mark Ruffalo) the only one closing in on the jewel thief's tail.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

In BIGHT, a couple (Maiara Walsh & Cameron Cowperthwaite) struggling with intimacy is propositioned at their erotic photographer friend's (Mark Hapka) dinner party: He wants them in a nude rope bondage scene in order to break down all sense of ego, achieving total sexual, romantic and spiritual harmony. Kinky.But the second part of the phrase "erotic thriller" inevitably rears its head and as the consequences of revealed secrets unfold, boundaries are strained, even broken.BIGHT is available to watch now on Apple TV & Amazon.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

GOAT eschews the acronym "Greatest of All Time" for the literal: a teenage goat named Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin) who dreams of changing the game of Roarball, an animalian version of basketball played on rocky, icy, thorny, or burning-hot terrain that's treacherous at best, deadly at worst.He wishes to follow in the paw prints of the G.O.A.T., a black leopard named Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), whose hometown hero status goes all the way back to Will's childhood. She's the reason for his dedication.After a scrimmage between Will and Roarball star Mane (a deliciously unhinged Aaron Pierre) goes viral, the owner of Jett's team, seeing a promotional opportunity, hires Will to join, giving him the opportunity to prove, once and for all, that "smalls" CAN ball.Whatever ideas you have about how this movie unfolds are likely correct. This story and its characters will never, unlike Will, reinvent the game. But where GOAT earns my respect (yet not my endorsement, let's get that clear) is in its portrayal of basketball culture, Black-borne with influence stretching out to hip-hop, anime and sneaker culture.Each of these avenues allows fans to connect with their found communities, support each other through the collective challenges and triumphs of a beloved game. This identity strengthens over time to become not just fandom, but culture itself. The roots, indeed, run deep.I just wish the story and characters followed suit.Alan Chazaro's GQ article "The Unbreakable Bond Between Anime and the NBA"---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

It's time to talk about the nominations for the 98th Academy Awards, set to take place on Sunday, March 15th, 2026. Who was snubbed? Who was nominated for the 17th time (and still not expected to win)? Who made the cut to be considered in Best Picture? All shall be revealed.BUGONIA dir. Yorgos LanthimosF1 dir. Joseph KosinskiFRANKENSTEIN dir. Guillermo del ToroHAMNET dir. Chloe ZhaoMARTY SUPREME dir. Josh SafdieONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER dir. Paul Thomas AndersonTHE SECRET AGENT dir. Kleber Mendoca FilhoSENTIMENTAL VALUE dir Joachim TrierSINNERS dir. Ryan CooglerTRAIN DREAMS dir. Clint Bentley---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

Before the nominations are announced this Thursday, January 22nd, let's talk about my predictions for this year's crop of Academy Award nominees for Best Picture.Remember, friends: no guts, no glory!---ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER dir. Paul Thomas AndersonSINNERS dir. Ryan CooglerFRANKENSTEIN dir. Guillermo del ToroHAMNET dir. Chloe ZhaoSENTIMENTAL VALUE dir. Joachim TrierMARTY SUPREME dir. Josh SafdieIT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT dir. Jafar PanahiTRAIN DREAMS dir. Clint BentleyTHE SECRET AGENT dir. Kleber Mendonça FilhoWEAPONS dir. Zach Cregger ---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

If you routinely listen to the podcast, you've likely heard me say that art comes to you when you need it. So, is it mere coincidence that I wrap last year's Best Picture Showcase with I'M STILL HERE, a movie wherein a woman's husband is forcibly disappeared by a military dictatorship for the "crime" of assisting folks who criticize the government's policies, at a time when ICE kidnaps both undocumented immigrants and American citizens off of the streets, placing them in holding cells for endless questioning and processing, performing underreported amounts of atrocities to them?No. I really don't fucking think so.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

I interview Isabelle Armand about her documentary GLENDORA, ahead of its premiere at the Dances With Films: NY festival on January 16.The documentary, about a rural Mississippi town's struggle to redefine and strengthen its cultural history, is lovingly photographed by Armand, who sees the documentary as an exercise in collective memory, a way to archive generational history in a matter the town hadn't before gathered.Armand's previous project, a photobook titled LEVON AND KENNEDY, documented the process of exonerating two Black men wrongly convicted of murder, forced to spend a collective 30+ years in prison. The documentary further examines the systemic issues with impoverished communities, primarily populated by African Americans.However, watching the movie and talking with Armand, I don't get the sense this is doom-and-gloom. The movie, much like Armand herself, bubbles with joy and humor. It celebrates the ingenuity and love these people utilize for their home, shining a light on the talents that lie in places most would overlook.GLENDORA will premiere at the Dances With Films: NY festival on January 16.More information can be found here.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

Isabelle Armand directs GLENDORA, a documentary about a rural Mississippi town's efforts to redefine and strengthen its cultural history amidst economic struggle.Glendora, Mississippi is the poorest city in Tallahatchie County, with a population of less than 200. Marked by a history of cotton gins and sharecropping, the economic viability of the town remains inseparably linked to segregation. Once the White community left, so did the money.The documentary showcases multiple organizations and individuals' efforts to find success and shine a spotlight on the community. Whether it be a rapper growing a fanbase in his house, local government commissioning the construction of a museum dedicated to Emmett Till or a nonprofit providing educational, housing and medical services for the community, Glendora comes across as a town full of go-getters and entreprenurial spirits.Armand's camera sits right in the middle of everyday life, of prom parades, weddings and funerals. Her compositions let landscapes and skies sit open wide, allowing the buildings to stand out. These places are usually ignored (They won't make any architectural magazine covers) but through Armand's lens, they're lovingly positioned front and center. I think that sums up the documentary quite well.GLENDORA will premiere at the Dances With Films: NY festival on January 16.More information can be found ⁠here.⁠---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

PRIMATE is a stupidly simple movie. A pet monkey contracts rabies and lets loose a murderous rampage on its owners and their friends.I'm fine with this. In fact, after the movie's premiere during last year's Fantastic Fest, the buzz seemed to indicate the movie's execution of this concept was sufficiently wild, bloody, a gleefully wicked good time.However, I'm sad to say it: festival hype has hoodwinked me once more. There's no part of this movie that is devoid of cliche.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠tip jar!

In RAVENOUS, Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce) is assigned to a remote fort in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. His recent promotion to Captain comes with some caveats: During a battle with the Mexican army, he dug his head in the sand and played dead. This made him the de facto lone survivor and therefore, the only option for a "hero" the Army could praise.Boyd isn't a crusader. He vomits at the sight of a medium rare steak because it reminds him too much of battlefield carnage.At least the new snowy fort, full of similarly dejected outcasts and drunks, is quiet. That is, until a traumatized stranger (Robert Carlyle) arrives, telling them of a crazed cannibal in the mountains who's been killing and eating members of his party.As the Army does, they investigate. This is a horror movie so as I can assume you'll imagine, things don't go very well.---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠tip jar!

The best way to start a new year is by celebrating the old! 2025 saw me watch less new films than usual but as per usual, I stuck up for the weirdos. In alphabetical order, these are the movies that stuck with me, kept me thinking and guessing and analyzing for months:BIRDEATER dir. Jack Clark & Jim Weir BUGONIA dir. Yorgos Lanthimos THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA dir. Samir Oliveros SINNERS dir. Ryan CooglerWOLF MAN dir. Leigh Whanell---Follow The Movies on ⁠Instagram⁠ & ⁠Letterboxd⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠tip jar!

Today marks the last episode of Year 4 of The Movies. As such and as part of a yearly tradition, I take the last episode of each year to reflect on the good, bad and generally insane aspects of the show. I thank everybody who came on the show and anyone who helped me keep this thing rolling. Finally, I lay out some goals for 2026 to help grow and strengthen The Movies for another 12 months.2025 ended up being my most prolific year to date but I'm just getting started, friends. Buckle in.---Credit Song: "Blue" - Moving MountainsPlease rate and review The Movies wherever you listen to podcasts!Consider financially supporting the show by leaving a few bucks in the tip jar!Follow The Movies on Instagram & Letterboxd

ONIBABA is one of Willem Dafoe's favorite movies, as his visit to the Criterion Closet confirms. In finally watching Kaneto Shindo's moody 1964 drama, I found it to have a spiritual cousin in one of Dafoe's films, THE LIGHTHOUSE.Both movies center on a couple isolated from most of the world, whose work provides the sole respite for their otherwise stress-addled minds. In the latter, it's two American lighthouse keeper from the early 20th Century. In ONIBABA, a mother and her daughter-in-law survive impoverishment during medieval Japanese wartime by killing wayward samurai and escaped soldiers, stripping them of all possessions and chucking their corpses into a deep, dark hole.This bizarre yet practiced routine is interrupted when a neighbor, who knew the women's son/husband, returns, looking to rebuild his life. His arrogance and oafishness begins to complicated the women's relationship, slowly deteriorating over time.Shindo's movie is minimalist at heart, employing straightforward blocking and camera movements to get the story across, but it's not simple-minded. It plays like a Buddhist fable, allowing the spiritual and metaphorical to permeate through an otherwise grounded drama about human psychology and the fear of leaving one's familiar, if destitute, life behind for the uncertain future. It has a Gothic streak in its intense black-and-white cinematography, eerie dreaminess and frank sense of sexuality.ONIBABA is slow to start but where it ends left me satisfied, ready to uncover more of Shindo's filmography.---Please rate & review The Movies wherever you listen to podcasts!If you like the show, consider supporting it monetarily through the tip jar here!Follow The Movies on Instagram & Letterboxd

Guillermo del Toro has yet to find any boundaries when it comes to intimacy within a story or the scope of its telling. He uses genre like a stained palette, leaving residue of fusions and clear-cut influences.So it makes sense that his debut, CRONOS, is no different. Del Toro reinvents the vampire using alchemy, entomology, Gothic principles, the mixture of Medevial and Renaissance periods. But anchoring this smattering of ideas is the simplest one: the unconditional love between a grandfather and granddaughter.Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) is a Mexican antique shop owner raising his granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Xanath). One day, they discover a golden egg-shaped device hidden in one of the shop's archangel statues. After fumbling with the device's dial, Jesus is wounded when the Cronos machine pops out sharp, insect-like legs and latches itself into his hand, Facehugger-style. What starts as mere accident lingers in Jesus' mind as he finds himself not only drawn to the device but also its method of doling out pain. The more Jesus uses the Cronos device, the more vivacious and young he feels. But this newfound rejuvenation comes with an aching appetite for flesh, for blood.CRONOS introduces many of the subjects found throughout Del Toro's 30+ year career: death, fatherhood, the clash between an archaic past and promising future, Ron Perlman. It sometimes feels as though the movie is incapable of holding all the thought that went into its world's development but that's part of what I enjoy about Del Toro. His movies are never complete after first viewing. In a way, they're the amuse bouche to the boundless mind that hides beneath, a mere foyer to a curious mansion.---Please rate and review The Movies wherever you listen to podcasts!Financially support the show using the tip jar.Follow The Movies on Instagram & Letterboxd

It's time to talk about the black sheep of the HALLOWEEN franchise: SEASON OF THE WITCH. This 1982 paranoid sci-fi thriller infamously did not center around Michael Myers but instead on Silver Shamrock, a company whose trendy Halloween masks become the subject of scrutiny after an elderly shop owner is murdered by a mysterious assailant in the hospital. The old man had arrived the night before clutching one of the masks, whispering to Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins) that "they're gonna kill us all." Challis and the man's daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin) retrace the shop owner's steps to Santa Mira, California, a sleepy small town and the home of Silver Shamrock. And as they feel the town's collective eyes fix on them, garnering the attention of Silver Shamrock owner Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), they learn of what dark, ancient secrets lurk behind the factory doors.If you're a fan of movies like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and DEAD AND BURIED, this stylish, bonkers thriller, rightfully distrustful of corporate America and its voracious gaping maw, is a must-watch. It's equal parts prescient and entertaining.---Support the show financially by leaving a few dollars in the tip jar: (The current goal is to earn a year's worth of AMC membership. 4 movies a week for $26/month is a killer deal!)Rate and review The Movies wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow The Movies on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

When writing the watchlist for this year's 31 Days of Halloween, I put on Coralie Fargeat's REVENGE because I adore THE SUBSTANCE and wanted to see more of her work. I listed BYSTANDERS because I'd been following director Mary Beth McAndrews, then editor of Dread Central, for years and wanted to see what her debut would have to offer.But it wasn't until I began to research BYSTANDERS that I realized what serendipity had casually placed in front of me: REVENGE was not only a massive influence on McAndrews for her movie but also her entire Master's thesis on women-helmed rape-revenge cinema. It's one of her all-time favorite movies, a film she has represented under her skin with a - fucking stellar - tattoo.And while I find both movies to approach the rape-revenge subgenre in wildly different manners (I liken REVENGE to a sledgehammer whereas BYSTANDERS comes across like the slightly rusted aluminum bat lying in the corner of the room that you don't even register until it's swung upside your temple), both films register as entries in a new school of the subgenre, one informed and represented by the female gaze. Less exploitation, more examination.So today's installment deviates from the beaten path to talk to McAndrews about the impact REVENGE has had on her life and rape-revenge cinema, including its influence on BYSTANDERS. We talk patriarchy. We talk about ugly frat sweaters. We talk about the intricacies of killing peopl- I mean, boys, on film. It's a wild fuckin' ride and Mary Beth is a total mensch.Both BYSTANDERS and REVENGE are currently available to stream on Tubi.Follow Mary Beth McAndrews on Instagram and her website---Please rate & review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

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REVENGE is the feature directorial debut of Coralie Fargeat, Oscar-nominated for directing last year's total fucking banger THE SUBSTANCE.THE SUBSTANCE had a budget of $17 million. REVENGE had $3 million. And in comparing both movies, it gives me great joy to see that Fargeat's penchant for the surreal and gnarly diminishes not with a lowered budget. Her ideas remain just as ferocious and maximalist, like a sledgehammer to the face.REVENGE refers to the second part of the "rape-revenge" couplet as a woman named Jen (Matilda Lutz) exacts hers against three married men: one who raped her and the two friends who did nothing to stop nor punish it.These men (one of whom is her now ex-boyfriend) are armed with rifles, riding on ATVs and Range Rovers. Jen has on a T-shirt and shorts. She had heels at one point but sacrificed them to the desert. So, yeah. The odds aren't great.But spite is a hell of a drug. Some would say it's even better than peyote. Fire and brimstone ensues in a whirlwind of viscera and chipped nail polish.REVENGE is now available to stream on Tubi.---Please rate, review and follow THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky and Letterboxd

MOTEL HELL arrived only months after FRIDAY THE 13TH, poised to be regarded as merely another slasher imitator looking to cash a quick buck. However, Kevin Connor's horror-comedy, penned by brothers Robert & Steven-Charles Jaffe, deceptively avoided the pitfalls of its contemporaries. This movie, about a farmer and motel owner (Rory Calhoun) killing wayward travelers to grind into the blend for his famous smoked meats, dives into psychedelia, satire, even thoughtful discussions regarding social fears of the time.If the world is overpopulated, isn't Farmer Vincent doing the greater good by eliminating the riff raff? The sex workers, the weed-smoking rock and roll ruffians, the degenerate swingers, the health inspectors working as pawns for a meddling bureaucracy? Vincent's crusade might even be a calling from the Almighty.But nobody's perfect and when Vincent takes a liking to his newest would-be victim, a beautiful blonde named Terry (Nina Axelrod), the threads of this backwoods operation begin to unravel.Cue chainsaws, hypnosis, pig masks, mass hysteria and a stellar country song. Can you really ask for anything better?MOTEL HELL is available to watch on Tubi.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

*Apologies for the audio: I tried recording in the car & tweaked the sound as best as possible.*POSSESSION is simply a feel-bad movie. Andrzej Zulawski's chaotic magnum opus of divorce, abuse and horny tentacled fucks has to be seen to be believed. For those who grew up with Sam Neill as the heroic Dr. Alan Grant in JURASSIC PARK, prepare to have your childhood chewed up, spit out and bombed. This is a movie I don't often understand but within its swirling camera movements, frenetic performances and sickening score I relish. It's a movie made to be discussed for hours after every viewing, a communal experience built out of our human need to try and explain what in the flying fuck we just witnessed was.If you're into the two mighty Davids, Cronenberg & Lynch, this movie's gonna be your new freak flag to fly. Let's talk about it.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

THE MONSTER SQUAD brings the Universal Monsters of yore into the '80s with a healthy dose of sugar-blasted cereal and unmedicated ADHD. Directed by Fred Dekker (NIGHT OF THE CREEPS) & written by both Dekker and Shane Black (THE NICE GUYS, LETHAL WEAPON, KISS KISS BANG BANG, most of your favorite movies ever), this combined family drama, top-notch makeup effects and preteen comedy with unapologetic horror. Dracula calls a 5-year-old girl a bitch, because of course, he would? As was done to Freddy Kreuger in this decade, the Universal Monsters were sanitized into cereal mascots and plushies but Dekker and Black's script remind us not to be fooled. These are still vampires and werewolves, after all, ready to carve into flesh and crush whatever magic amulet threatens to lock them into Hell for good.So, who do you call to handle these beasts of death? A bunch of kids, obviously. The motherfuckin' Monster Squad.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

SCARY MOVIE is a staple of my childhood, an entryway into horror movies during a time where I wasn't allowed to watch most of them.It's a time capsule, for better and worse, of the late '90s/early '00s sense of humor & general fatigue regarding the slew of teen slashers riding SCREAM's coattails.This was my intro to the Wayans Bros, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shannon Elizabeth during their own first Hollywood at-bats, before Hall would act for Paul Thomas Anderson & Wayans would do his best J.K. Simmons in HIM.Sophomoric? Absolutely. Problematic? You bet your ass. But the Wayans carried the parody torch into the millennium, better than their contemporaries. WAZZUP?!---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

WE ARE STILL HERE occupies a crossroads in the horror genre: that of the '70s & '80s-inspired supernatural chillers, the gorefests from guys like Lucio Fulci and the patient character studies of grief popularized in the '10s (anything A24 would touch).These elements shouldn't work so well together but I guess when you got a horror nerd like Ted Geoghegan writing and directing, it simply does.Paul and Anne Sacchetti (Andrew Sensenig & Barbara Crampton) have just suffered the death of their college-aged son, Bobby. In an attempt to lessen the pain, they pack up everything and move to a remote New England house with a strange 100-year-old history.The rest moves as you'd expect: Anne hears noises, sees things shuffling about on their own. She's convinced Bobby is somehow in the house trying to connect with his parents. Her husbands drowns the pain with whisky and denial. Once the supernatural grows too obvious to ignore, Anne calls their friends, Jacob and May Lewis (Larry Fessenden & Lisa Marie) to give the house a once-over and provide some much needed friendship.If you're equally a fan of movies like THE CHANGELING, DEAD & BURIED and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, you'll find the threads tying these elements together. It's patient enough with its characters to allow them the space to grieve while also brisk enough to satisfy any genre thrill-seekers. It's a unique balance that leaves me talking about every individual piece for hours after it's over. WE ARE STILL HERE is a pizza-and-beer-and-shoot-the-shit-forum of a flick and isn't that what we want from a proper Halloween watch?WE ARE STILL HERE's 10th anniversary Blu-ray is available to buy now from Dark Sky Films.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

We're 10 days into the 31 Days of Halloween and I feel like we need a palate cleanser. Recently, we've been talking about reanimating dead bodies, torturous twins, eating warm pizza off of cold corpses. I think it's time we take the holiday back to a more innocent, nostalgic time, where we only concern ourselves with what costume we're gonna wear and how much candy we can score.IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN is a 1966 TV special directed by José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez starring Charles M. Schulz' gallery of PEANUTS characters: Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Sally, Snoopy, the works.Linus, in lieu of trick-or-treating, elects to spend his Halloween night sitting in the pumpkin patch, waiting for The Great Pumpkin to arrive and give him a pile of presents. It's a reward for sincerity.Most of the others think Linus is crazy for believing in a C-grade Santa, but there's something admirable in Linus' valuing honesty of one's motives rather than the transactional element of trading "goodness" for material wealth. The movie operates more like a hodge-podge of PEANUTS strips and gags than as its own singular narrative but much like the ways in which memory flashes through our heads, the mosaic of musings about Halloween and the fall season leads to a highly emotional, nostalgic appreciation for the good times.Though if anyone were to ever give my kid a rock instead of candy, I'd slingshot that fucker through their teeth.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

GOODNIGHT MOMMY is the feature debut of aunt-nephew duo Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala (THE LODGE, THE DEVIL'S BATH). Patient, tense and psychologically disturbed, this movie drew me in and kept me guessing all the way to the end.Twin brothers Lukas and Elias (Lukas & Elias Schwarz) live in pastoral Germany, spending their summer days exploring pitch-black tunnels, bouncing on trampolines during rainstorms, harboring any stray cat or gigantic cockroach who happens to cross their path - typical 9-year-old shit.This idyllic season grinds to a halt when their mother (Susanne Wuest) returns from the hospital, head covered in bandages post-cosmetic surgery. She asks them to keep the house's blinds drawn, leave any newly discovered animals outside wherever the fuck they've found them, and for the love of God, just play quietly.Reasonable demands at first but the mother starts to grow impatient with the boys. She'll split them up, instruct one not to talk to the other, increasingly losing her temper. It also doesn't help that she mostly keeps herself cooped up in her room, not addressing or barely acknowledging the boys unless they trigger her ire. This isn't how a mother behaves. Is this lady even their mother? No. She must not be. Who is this intruder and what does she want with the twins?GOODNIGHT MOMMY excels in drawing me into the boys' points of view, almost like a perverted Amblin film. These kids have no qualms regarding taking responsibility into their own hands, investigating, interrogating their "mom." The entire movie is constructed like an elaborate tightrope walk, throwing in the right red herrings and turns in order to keep me on my toes, never comfortable affirming any conclusions to which I've arrived.And this finale? This last 20, 30 minutes? Some of the most disturbing visuals since I last watched Miike's AUDITION. It's different when kids are involved; what can I say?GOODNIGHT MOMMY is available to watch on Tubi.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

In Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) is invited to his ex-wife Eden's (Tammy Blanchard) dinner party in the Hollywood Hills after two years of radio silence following the accidental death of their 5-year-old son.Returning to his old home and stepping back into his son's room conjures the guilt and pain Will's tried to bury for two years. Eden, however, not only seems to be unbothered by this but never acknowledges the awkwardness or sorrow of the situation.The dinner party clashes on these fronts as Will hyperfocuses on every change to the house and odd behavior while Eden, along with her new partner, David (Michiel Huisman), deflect any concerns.But wait a minute. Why - are - there bars on the windows? Why does David lock the front door from the inside so no one can leave without a key? If this is supposed to be a reunion of old friends, who are these random people David invited from his and Eden's retreat to Mexico? Why are they talking about this commune of wellness gurus with evangelical fervor? What pills are in that unmarked bag in Eden's nightstand? Why does it not...feel safe to be at this dinner?There's a reason this made it to the 31 Days of Halloween, friends.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

After a long week of watching Halloween movies, it's good to grab some friends, get cozy in your pajamas, munch on a pizza, sip some beer, smoke some weed and settle into a slumber party. If you're lucky, it might even be a slumber party MASSACRE!1982's THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE, directed by Amy Holden Jones, is one of my all-time favorites: a clever satire on slasher flicks through the female gaze. When a slumber party hosted by a group of teen girls is crashed by a drill-wielding maniac on the loose, they've got to band together to stay alive and fend this fucker off, assisted by two sisters from across the street.Perspective is the name of the game here, as Jones' lens eschews most of the slasher subgenre's conventions. FRIDAY THE 13TH blew the doors wide open in 1980. The next year, its gang of imitators hacked on through, giving audiences a crash course in the cinematic language of masked men, their gruesome kills and POV shots. Jones grounds her killer, often using these conventions as red herrings, to contrast the blunt and rather matter-of-fact approach of the killer. Women constantly need to keep their head on a swivel because, as Jones reminds us throughout the film, the difference between life and death can last only seconds, occur in broad daylight and be perpetrated by your everyday Joe.It doesn't take much for you to become the pizza boy lying face-up in someone's living room with drill holes where your eyes used to be.---Follow, rate & review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

Donate to the Go-Fund-Me for Gabe Bartalos here.---Just cause I've wrapped up the Universal Monsters series doesn't mean I'm quite yet done with the classics! Frank Henenlotter takes his goofy and gaudy turn with the FRANKENSTEIN story in his 1990 opus FRANKENHOOKER.This movie sees Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) as certifiably cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs after the accidental death of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen). Obsessed with using his self-taught medical and surgical knowledge to revive her, Jeffrey decides to harvest body parts from the sex workers of New York City, reinventing his girlfriend in his own sexually fantasized image.Henenlotter is a master of exploitation, crafting disturbed yet humorous stages from which I can't look away nor stifle the naughtiest giggle. However, unlike Elizabeth (and Jeffrey, post a few drill sessions into the back of his skull), this movie is not brainless. Slipped in-between some nasty bouts with explosive super-crack and a tunnel of lady legs lie some sharp commentaries about the exploitation of women's bodies in a patriarchal image and an advocacy for legalizing sex work in this country.All this while a re-animated Elizabeth goes on a hooking spree, accidentally coursing hundreds of thousands of watts of lightning through each trick she finds. God, it's rarely felt this fun to engage in such bad taste.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

Today, we're wrapping up the Universal Monsters with CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON! The Monsterverse jumps into the Atomic Age of the '50s as a group of scientists/archeologists venture on a fossil-finding expedition in the Amazon. What are they looking for? An evolutionary missing link between animals of the sea and land, teased by a webbed long-fingered claw found in a cliff face.But this undisturbed lagoon holds on to its ecological history much longer than expected. The Gill-Man breathes the past into modern day, a survivor of history. And he's not too pleased with a bunch of whites fucking with his home.I love this movie. We're no longer chained to the folklore of yore but rather using their examples to look forward to the promise of the future, the what-ifs of space travel and colonization. By examining the Gill-men and other sea creatures (about which we know woefully little), we can potentially grab clues as to how to adapt ourselves to strange new worlds. But lest we forget, all discovery comes with responsibility. It's only new to us. It's old hat to the Gill-man. Be a good guest.---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

My favorite Universal Monster movie is 1941's THE WOLF MAN, starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot. Larry returns home after 18 years to bury his brother and reconnect with his father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains, who also played the Invisible Man). He hits on the - engaged - neighbor (Evelyn Ankers), goes out with her and her chapero-I mean, friend, to get their fortunes told at the gypsy carnival in the forest. The friend's attacked by a wolf. Larry beats the life out of it with his silver-tipped cane but is bitten in the process. Curse successfully transferred.It's in watching Larry's mental deterioration, his anxiety regarding the nights he can't remember and the coincident murders at the places he's been, that makes THE WOLF MAN so fascinating. It's a mental breakdown accented by literal fog and shadows, witnessing a guy desperate to break an evil, a tragedy that's befallen him and his loves.It's something that only grows more poignant with time, especially in the wake of Leigh Whannell's remake, which turns the curse into something parental and generational. We're all dealing with the remnants of shit that, whether purposefully or not, we've made attempts to avoid or block. Who's brave enough to face that darkness head-on (apply directly to the forehead)?---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

*God, if I can somehow get Clancy Brown to introduce this show, it'd be beautiful but now, you'll just have to imagine his deep, rich voice* DAY 2! GIVE IT UP FOR DAY 2, EVERYONE!31 Days of Halloween continues down the Universal Monsters track. Not even a year after DRACULA's release, wunderkind producer Carl Laemmle Jr. comes back swinging with FRANKENSTEIN, a James Whale-directed adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel.Bela Lugosi is interested in returning. Junior is stoked! Lugosi reads the script and waitaminute, this is for the monster; I wanted to be Henry Frankenstein, what the fuck?Enter Boris Karloff, a veteran English stage actor with 80 credits to his name before taking on the role of the lumbering Creature.Borne of the crude surgery of dead parts and a good ol' blast of lightning, this Creature is the product of Frankenstein's (Colin Clive) defiance against God, the natural order, showers (Look in my eyes and truthfully deny it, I dare you. Henry be stinky.) and sanity.This movie established the benchmark for many who would follow. Any mad scientist crafts their lab in response to the bubbling breakers and sparkling electronics of Whale's movie. The locked-knee hobbling accentuated by grunts and baritone moans for any monstrous brute comes from Karloff's performance. Even cartoons joke about angry mobs with torches and pitchforks, aping this movie's ending. The influence reaches further than one can imagine.And while I dock points for the movie meandering about Henry's wedding (The dude just created life and you people wanna think about bouquets?) and a lack of time developing the Creature's intelligence, as does the novel, that influence makes this a must-watch. For this Universal Monsters run, it's important to see where we've been to better chart where horror can go. ---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd

Merry October, you beautiful people! For a holiday as fun as Halloween, who has the right to limit the party to one day? No-fucking-body.That's why on THE MOVIES, I'm celebrating for 31 straight days. This project allows me to further dig down the rabbit hole of my favorite genre, horror, discovering subterranean weird-ass, BARBARIAN-esque detours I've yet to witness. Hold my hand and don't let go. For this entire month, we're gonna get scary.How better to start this bacchanalia of blood than with five days of the Universal Monsters? And how better to begin this run than with the eternally imitated progenitor, Count Dracula? Tod Browning directed and Karl Freund directed the photography (and the whole movie, depending on who you ask) but for my money, this is Bela Lugosi's movie. He's hypnotic, alluring, even amiable at times but don't cross him. He'll just as soon eye you like a panther and in one move, strike. This performance is so iconic, even SESAME STREET had to ape it. Does an Academy Award even MATTER at that point?---Follow, rate and review THE MOVIES wherever you listen to podcasts!Follow THE MOVIES on Instagram, Bluesky & Letterboxd