WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:04.559 Weird. 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:57.960 We welcome back midnight viewers to Father Malone's weekly round up. 3 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:01.240 I'm Father Malone and ross for me in her own 4 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:05.640 tower overlooking a pit of nightmares. Is miss Ripley, Gen Ripley. 5 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:09.159 Do you copy? That's right? That whole tower is yours? 6 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:15.079 How are you pushing the send button? That's elaborate? Hey, gang, 7 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:17.680 let's do the business right up here at the start. 8 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:21.480 I'm on the socials at Fatheramalone. Is the handle on 9 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:24.640 the instas and the blue skies and the threads, and 10 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.680 the email is Fathermalone seventy one at gmail dot com. 11 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:30.480 If you want to contact the show for anything, and 12 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:32.760 if you want to subscribe and maybe send a little bread, 13 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:36.680 my way gluten free bread sourdough if you can find it. Weirdly, 14 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.000 I found that most gluten free loaves that try to 15 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:42.920 mimic sourdough end up mimicking regular whitebread. The best in 16 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:47.319 taste and consistency. Anyway. You can subscribe at patreon dot 17 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:50.799 com slash fondamalone. You'll get episodes early and commercial free 18 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:54.599 and bonus series only available there. All right, done, and 19 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:59.519 now onto the monsters. You're a monster. I'm a romantic 20 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:03.200 hopelessly so. A couple of episodes ago, I bemoaned the 21 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.760 lack of quality action romance, mainly because romance and nearly 22 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:10.080 any genre mashup is a delicaterick to pull off. Guess 23 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:13.400 where it's the hardest. That's right, horror. So what a 24 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:16.080 fucking delight? Our picks are for the week? One of 25 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:26.639 them is in theaters right now. I have new orders 26 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:29.319 that require me to go dark for at least a year, 27 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.080 maybe more. 28 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:35.400 A special assignment in an undisclosed location. 29 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:40.759 As an elite sniper. 30 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:44.039 Are you presently under any private or military contract. 31 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:49.080 No, there's not a lot of reasons for me right now. 32 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:57.240 What if I gave you a reason? There she is 33 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:01.120 West Tower Observation Post home for the next three hundred 34 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:04.680 and sixty five days. There is no outside communication here. 35 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:09.000 What's that on the other side? That is East Tower. 36 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.879 Contact with the other side is strictly forbidden. So what's 37 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.840 the mission? You keep people from going in the gorge? No, 38 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.120 you need to stop what's in the gorge from coming out? 39 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:26.479 What the hell is the gorge is the door to 40 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:43.439 Hell and we're standing guard at the gate. Show JESU, 41 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:10.520 what's the truth about this place? 42 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:21.399 What's the truth about the Gorge? 43 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:55.560 No place? 44 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.240 This place is evil. 45 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:08.560 The Gorge is a terrible title. It's certainly descriptive. But 46 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:11.319 since I've seen it, I've told half a dozen people 47 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.240 to watch, and they have repeated the title back to 48 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:16.120 me when I said it, and then the next time 49 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:17.879 I talk to them they ask me what the title 50 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:20.199 is again. I don't know if that's empirical proof that 51 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.360 The Gorge is a bad title. I just don't like it. 52 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.399 Am I judging a book by its cover? You're fucking right, 53 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:28.680 I am. And as usual, that's a huge mistake, because 54 00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:32.839 The Gorge is a fucking hoot. Mostly, I'd say, with 55 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:35.399 some minor quibbles. The first half of this movie it's 56 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:37.560 nearly a solid two hour movie. And I checked my 57 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:39.800 watch when I knew we'd gone too far astray. It 58 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:42.000 was at an hour twenty, which is better than most. 59 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:46.680 The first half of the movie is rock solid, engaging, mysterious, romantic, 60 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.519 and fun. Miles Teller, whose appearance on the recent SNL 61 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.519 fiftieth now makes sense. You know, Miles, the bad mister 62 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:57.199 fantastic in Top Gun Maverick. Why wasn't his call sign gossling? 63 00:05:57.639 --> 00:05:57.879 You know? 64 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:02.360 A baby Goose is a that other guy, Ryan Gosling. 65 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:07.560 Calm down, we're talking Miles Teller, the Whiplash guy. He 66 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:10.759 is a world class sniper who's been retired for lack 67 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.319 of a war and been doing mercenary work here and there. 68 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.480 He's recruited. He's recruited by Sigourney Weaver, who may as 69 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:18.360 well be playing her character from a cabin in the 70 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.480 woods here to man a tower in a densely wooded 71 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:24.560 region in an unknown part of the world. We're assuming 72 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.639 it's somewhere in the Balkans. The tower overlooks a massive 73 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.439 fissure in the earth that drops down god knows how far, 74 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.759 Thanks to a constant swirling mist that obscures all view. 75 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.800 He's meant to be there a full year, maintaining perimeter 76 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:39.800 defenses and keeping constant watch for anything that tries to 77 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.519 escape the gorge. Facing him, on the gorge's opposite rim 78 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:47.240 stands another tower manned by a similar sniper, with whom 79 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:51.199 all contact is forbidden. That's a fucking intriguing premise. It 80 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:54.279 had me sold instantly. Now this may be owing to 81 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.839 another bit of fiction I've been enjoying for years, but 82 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.560 we'll get to that. I found the premise so exciting 83 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.959 that I kind of came into the movie completely cold. 84 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:04.519 I knew the stars, I knew the setup, and then 85 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.720 I stopped watching the trailer about a minute in. So 86 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:10.399 not only was nothing beyond the setup spoiled, and now 87 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:12.759 having watched the trailer, I realized that it didn't actually 88 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:15.439 give anything away, it also meant I had no idea 89 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:18.360 who the creative team was, which is an experience I 90 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.240 wish i'd have more often. I wonder how many hardcore 91 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:23.759 fans of a director would respond to one of their 92 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:26.879 films if they had no knowledge of their involvement and 93 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:30.600 were just blindly shown it. It's an instructive experience because, 94 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:33.360 above all, this is an incredibly well made movie. I 95 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.199 know they all should be for this price tag, but 96 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:37.120 let me tell you something. I've been in the horror 97 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:40.879 anthology TV trenches for many years now, so when everything 98 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.600 looks at this good and the direction is this assured, 99 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.199 you tend to take notice. I was in no way 100 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.800 surprised to find that this movie was made by Scott Derrickson. However, 101 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.720 he made Sinister and the Black Phone, so you know 102 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:55.040 the horror bona fides are there. I like both those 103 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.040 movies a tremendous amount, and he made Doctor Strange so 104 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:01.120 he can do action. Incidentally, Erickson was on board for 105 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:04.720 the Multiverse of Madness sequel to Doctor Strange and then left, 106 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:07.279 from what I understand, because Marvel pulled away from the 107 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.600 initial concept, which was full on horror. Obviously, some of 108 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:14.759 that remained, with Strange puppeteering his own corpse with a 109 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:17.639 cape made of writhing demons, and I think I'm one 110 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.600 of the few that actually enjoyed Multiverse of Madness After 111 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:22.800 seeing the Gorge. It kind of makes me wonder what 112 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.240 that film could have been because Derekson does really impressive 113 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:29.319 work here. There are moments throughout where I began to think, well, 114 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:31.879 this is just becoming a standard action scene, and then 115 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:35.000 it would defy expectation. One more word about that guy. 116 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.080 I don't know who said it, but it was remarked 117 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.080 that no matter how interesting or thoughtful an action movie 118 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.639 might be, it always ends with the hero and villain 119 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.320 punching each other. And since I've heard that, I am 120 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:48.960 consistently let down by the lack of innovation in our filmmakers. 121 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.759 That's why Doctor Strange knocked me out. Yeah, it was 122 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:53.879 a lot of the finale destruction you'd get in any 123 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:56.159 superhero flick. You even have a face off between the 124 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:59.679 hero and the villain, but the bargaining man frustrating your 125 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:03.440 villain to defeat is pretty fucking unique. That alone will 126 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:05.399 get me to show up at a Scott Derekson flick. 127 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.679 In the Opposite Tower keeping watch for the Eastern Forces 128 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.120 is Dasha, a KGB sniper who takes the job knowing 129 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.080 her father will not live through the year she'll be away. 130 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:17.919 This bit pays off later in the film, though not 131 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:20.919 in the way it could have. Dasha is played by 132 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.480 non human Anya Taylor joy Is She simultaneously the most 133 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.320 beautiful woman in the weirdest alien creature on Earth. Like 134 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:31.240 Miles Taylor's Levi, she is in allowed contact with the 135 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.960 Opposite Tower. This mandate doesn't last and forms the bulk 136 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:37.240 of the film, at least the first half. I guess 137 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:39.080 I'm gonna be saying that a lot. It isn't long 138 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:42.759 before the two are sharing communication by handwritten signs and charades, 139 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.519 and it's all very charming. How could it not be 140 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:47.840 with these two leads? Okay, there is one bit that 141 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:51.679 is inexcusable. They're going stir crazy. That's understandable. So they 142 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.919 engage in shared activities like chess, also understandable, and putting 143 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.519 together a makeshift drum kit of barrels and pots and 144 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.360 pants and having a drum off. This is done in 145 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.080 a getting to know you montage now, putting aside the 146 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.440 connections to the Queen's gambit for her and whiplash for him. 147 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:11.759 It's really trying too hard. It took me out immediately. 148 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:14.159 At that point, we've already seen what's trying to escape 149 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:17.399 the gorge and we're still totally on board with the film, 150 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:20.600 And then the drumming you'll see. Tell me what you 151 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:22.759 think of it. Am I making too much out of it? 152 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:24.919 Because it's really the only flaw in the first half, 153 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:26.840 And I know it was in the script before they 154 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.720 hired these actors, but drums right after the chess, right 155 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:33.639 after the gambit, right after the whiplash, It was a 156 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:36.919 bit much. The second half. On the other hand, once 157 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.600 the film becomes interested in the why of the gorge, 158 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:42.720 it stumbles, not face plant. How am I going to 159 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:45.559 retain any dignity as I peel myself from the pavement? 160 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.840 Stumbles but still not quite the measured and thoughtful film 161 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.000 we had been getting. Yes, there are twists a plenty 162 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:54.480 in this film, and I'm struggling mightily not to reveal 163 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:57.360 any of those two. However, the trailer plainly shows that 164 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:59.559 at a certain point our heroes end up at the 165 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.440 bottom of that gorge. So let's talk about the place 166 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:06.320 our hero is warned is the doorway to Hell. There 167 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:09.799 have been untold numbers of attempts to depict a hellscape 168 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.879 on screen, starting with Lenferno back in nineteen eleven Part 169 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.679 My French, and then clumsily throughout the decades. Yes, if 170 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:19.919 you've got some red lights and some skeletal trees, you've 171 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:20.440 got hell. 172 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:20.960 Baby. 173 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.039 There have been a couple of exceptions, the most striking 174 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:27.879 one being Jigoku or the Sinners of Hell from nineteen sixty. 175 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:30.200 They really go for it in Japan. I do not 176 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:32.960 want to visit to that hell. Hell rasor two gave 177 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:36.600 us a brutalist hell. Everything was poured concrete and attended 178 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.399 by the worst thunder sound effects in film history in 179 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:42.360 recent years. I thought the nuclear Los Angeles as Hell 180 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:45.679 from Constantine was pretty great, with all those half headed demons, 181 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:51.919 silent Hill, the first one creepy as shit. Love those nurses, though, 182 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:54.879 but let's face it, nothing will top the depiction of 183 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:58.240 hell as featured in Bill and Ted's bogus Journey. Is 184 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.120 it hell proper than our star cross Lovers find themselves in? 185 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:02.039 No? 186 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.080 Remember, I said, the movie stumbles in the explanation, but 187 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:07.720 until then it may as well be Hell. And it 188 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:12.000 is so fucking richly realized and so skin crawling in 189 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.200 places that I'm still troubled by some of the imagery. 190 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:17.200 And I saw this movie a couple of weeks ago. 191 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:19.519 What's really funny is as soon as they got to 192 00:12:19.559 --> 00:12:22.080 the bottom of the gorge, my thought was, finally a 193 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.120 creepy landscape that doesn't have a whimsical bendy tree in 194 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:28.799 it like in Tim Burton's movies. The gorgeous production designer 195 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:32.039 is Rick Heinrix. Rick Heinrix was the production designer for 196 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.759 Sleepy Hollow and the visual consultant on Nightmare Before Christmas. 197 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.519 Shut my mouth. The score here is by Atticus Ross 198 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.919 and Trent Rensner. Who knew that guy was going to 199 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:44.679 be a soundtrack powerhouse. Oh everyone who listened to the 200 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:48.440 music right, The score is fantastic. So good. I happily 201 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:50.639 sat through the credits as it was trying to advertise 202 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:54.799 other Apple shows at me incessantly. This movie is a 203 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:58.440 really good time with some especially troubling imagery. But I 204 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:00.840 wouldn't be me if I didn't quibble some. There would 205 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.600 be more and more if I wasn't being spoiler phobic. 206 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:06.080 But the basic premise is that the East and West 207 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:08.840 have built towers at the gorge, manned with snipers to 208 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.399 keep the residents from the gorge escaping. Over the years, 209 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:15.960 they've completely high tacked the entire areas, so the gorge 210 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:20.600 is ringed with sensors and automatic miniguns. The attendant is 211 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:23.960 effectively there to reload the miniguns and replace light bulbs 212 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:27.159 in electronic gear as it burns out. They also aid 213 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.559 the miniguns during the attack, but they use their own minigun, 214 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:35.720 So why do they need snipers? Highly trained top of 215 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:40.279 their game, world renowned snipers. Put a Blackhawk door gunner 216 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.000 on there, someone who knows that falling from a great 217 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.960 height is something to avoid at all costs, and wouldn't 218 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:48.960 you know, find themselves at the bottom of the gorge 219 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.720 they were meant to watch over just a thought also 220 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:56.039 Miles Teller's Levi is an aspiring poet. His poems are terrible. 221 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.679 She collapsed the night, Get the fuck out of here. 222 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.000 Mentioned at the top that I responded as positively as 223 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:05.759 I did because the film echoes another bit of entertainment 224 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.840 I've been enjoying over the years. Write this name down 225 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.879 podcast lovers. Tower four that's an audio drama produced over 226 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.559 at seven Lamb Productions. The whole shebang is written and 227 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:20.000 directed by Robert Lamb, and he's doing the lord's work. 228 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:22.639 Tower four is about a guy at a crossroads in 229 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:25.320 his life who takes a job as a fire watcher 230 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.679 in the Wyoming Wilderness. He's manning one of four towers 231 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.159 with his only contact a woman in another tower. What 232 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.919 follows is lost level spookiness and enough conspiracy to make 233 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:38.720 Moulder blush. The voice cast is top notch, especially Gina 234 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:41.720 Coyle as Amber. She pulled off that neatest of tricks, 235 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:44.679 making me hate her and then love her. Parallel thinking 236 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.200 here with the gorge, what with the watchtowers and the 237 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:51.360 mysterious creatures. But Tower four avoids every stumble in three 238 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:55.279 seasons that the Gorge drops precipitously to in two hours. 239 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.120 Don't get me wrong, The gorge is fun. You should 240 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.600 definitely see it. But when you're ready to really get 241 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.360 into the ideas hinted at in the film The Isolation, 242 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.600 the questioning of one's own sanity check out tower, for 243 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:10.879 you're supposed to be in your tower. You ran out 244 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.679 of silver reserve. I got the white truffle. Mama, HP, 245 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:21.720 get us out of here, K, thank you, HP. This 246 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.919 show's so good it ought to be televised. Hey have 247 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.120 you seen Heart Eyes, Heart Eyes? Heart Eyes? Have you 248 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:32.919 heard of Hard Eyes? Yeah? I had an either good choice, 249 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:35.840 rip you said it. I feel like the horror community 250 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:38.639 dropped the ball on this one. Probably too busy, still 251 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.559 jizzing over No Sparatu, which is a drag because that 252 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.440 flick doesn't have one iota of the romance going on 253 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.200 in this film. It's still in theaters. You can see 254 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:49.399 it right now. This is Hard Eyes. 255 00:15:56.919 --> 00:16:00.360 You just to go to true m HM. 256 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:05.639 Can't take my eyes off of you. You'd be like 257 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:07.159 Kevin since. 258 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.240 You just. 259 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.600 In the past two years, a mass maniac known as 260 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:28.360 the Hard Eyes Killer has stocked hunting and brutally slain 261 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:33.559 couples on Valentine's Day, with no motive yet uncovered. 262 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:39.080 This is more than just a. 263 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.360 He's like Cupid with a kink. 264 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:47.200 So much. 265 00:16:52.960 --> 00:17:16.000 We're being chased by a fucking serial killer. M yeah, 266 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:18.640 he's going to keep killing people? 267 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:28.799 Well, En, did come on? 268 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:42.119 Have mey Valentine's there? 269 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.160 Happy Bday? 270 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:44.240 Get killed? 271 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:44.559 Alright? 272 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:44.920 Ah? 273 00:17:45.599 --> 00:18:02.400 What was Why would he say that? Scream? Wes Craven's 274 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:05.920 blockbuster owed to slasher films is pretty fondly remembered. And 275 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:09.240 there's good reason. That's a scary fucking movie, first of all. 276 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.079 In second, it's got to be the rules, right, got 277 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.640 to be the meta commentary. No, that was the shit 278 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:17.880 that bored me in that film. It's the kind of 279 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:21.319 thing that makes dumb people feel smart and dabblers into experts. 280 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:24.640 If no one had said a deconstructive word about slasher movies, 281 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.440 you wouldn't have missed it in that film. Trust me. 282 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:31.119 Those are likable characters played by charismatic actors being put 283 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:35.200 through the paces by a master filmmaker. No, the second 284 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:38.680 thing Scream actually accomplished was it operated as a kind 285 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:42.279 of cultural pressure valve. You know, all those gross movies 286 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:45.400 with maniacs stabbing people that were generally poop pooed in 287 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:48.720 the previous decade, Well, we actually loved them, and we're 288 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.200 kind of tired of pretending horror is a lower form 289 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:54.480 of entertainment. What followed was a deluge of ain't we 290 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.119 so clever slasher clones that were sub part of the 291 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:59.960 films that they were trying to parody and or emulate. 292 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.160 Since then, horror has done what it does best, mutate 293 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:06.680 into a dozen different variations, all to greater success. So 294 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.079 every time I hear there's a new slasher film coming 295 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:12.759 down the pike, I get wary. Which way are they going? 296 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:15.319 Is it all going to be winking? We're all in 297 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:19.039 on the joke here affair. If so, I'm not laughing anymore. 298 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:22.640 Hang lanterns on every inch of space. It doesn't absolve 299 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.720 you from lazy storytelling. If you don't know. Hanging a 300 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:28.480 lantern is a writer's term for addressing a problem to 301 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:31.319 the audience before they figure it out. The most obvious 302 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.759 and over used one these days is I can't get 303 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.160 any reception out here. Oh my phone's almost dead. When 304 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:40.240 I hear about your hatchets, you're behind the masks. I 305 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:43.680 go in skeptical and I come out not disappointed because 306 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:47.440 they're bad. Hey, everyone's least favorite movie is someone's favorite. 307 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:49.440 I dig that. I love that there are people out 308 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:52.880 there still slaving away, keeping the knives, sharpen, the masks masky. 309 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:57.319 But I'm over meta commentary, including that reboot of Scream 310 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:01.000 and all of its self seriousness. Jesus Christ. Up, it's 311 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.960 a movie about a guy in a ghost mask stabbing people. 312 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.799 It has no more weight than that, even the movies 313 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.119 that aren't overtly winking. And I know a lot of 314 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:13.440 you love this flick, but with Terrifier, I can appreciate 315 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:15.960 the love and attention on screen, but it isn't really 316 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.759 saying anything other than these are kind of great movies 317 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.839 and don't you love a charismatic villain. Basically, we miss 318 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:24.640 Nightmare on Elm Street. I think way more successful was 319 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:27.039 in a Violent Nature from last year, where they re 320 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:30.160 envisioned the slasher film from the killer's perspective. That one's 321 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.039 pretty great. And of course all the streaming channels are 322 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:35.640 choked with indie flicks made by anyone with a knife 323 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:37.960 and an iPhone, and they're all kind of doing the 324 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:40.839 same thing. You know what recent slasher film I prize 325 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.599 above all the rest. Happy Death Day. That film from 326 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:48.440 twenty seventeen managed the seemingly impossible feat of being knowing 327 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:52.799 without winking, real characters in outrageous situations where the comedy 328 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:56.400 is funny and the horror is genuine. Christopher Landon, the 329 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:59.079 director of that film and writer along with Michael Kennedy 330 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:02.759 of The Spiritual Freaky with Vince Vaughan. Another really good 331 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.480 take on the slasher genre. Are the writers here on 332 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:08.240 Hard Eyes. I'm laying a lot of praise in their direction. 333 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:12.519 The script is genuinely funny without becoming twee. This being 334 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:15.759 a romantic comedy trapped in a slasher flick, they managed 335 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:18.440 to put our couple through every goddamn rom com trope 336 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.720 you can think of, and they do it with just 337 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:23.960 enough subversion to keep things lively. And though the movie 338 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.400 is a two hander with Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt 339 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:29.839 in the leads, every character that wanders into frame seems 340 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:34.279 fully realized and not just ciphers for exposition. Everyone gets 341 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:37.680 a moment here. It's kind of remarkable. Also, putting Mikaela 342 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:40.240 Watkins in anything as a smart move, even with the 343 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:44.359 worst material, so she fucking shines here the conceit is 344 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:47.039 that a mass killer great mask by the way, with 345 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:50.359 red heart panels for goggles, has been every year on 346 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:54.799 Valentine's Day, murdering couples in different cities, so Boston and 347 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:58.279 New York and now Seattle, where our leads are rival 348 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:03.240 copywriters at an ad agency handling a Valentine's Day jewelry campaign. 349 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:05.759 So we get a killer who prays on couples on 350 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:09.599 Valentine's Day, mistaking our leads for a couple as they 351 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:12.759 are spotted leaving a restaurant after what was a contentious 352 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:17.519 business meeting and targeting them for death. That's great. And 353 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:20.000 then yes, over the course of the film, maybe it's 354 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:22.920 trauma bonding, but these two fall in love and it 355 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:25.880 feels fucking genuine. Doing no small part to those two 356 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:29.359 leads I mentioned, Olivia Holt completely won me over. I 357 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:31.960 don't know her from anything, so she was a total surprise. 358 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:34.440 Mason Gooding, on the other hand, will be known to 359 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:38.279 anyone who's endured those recent scream legacy, whatever the hell 360 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:41.559 they are now. He played the appropriately named cheeks in 361 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.160 the first two films in that reboot, and he is 362 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:47.279 so fucking charming, not just good looking and can hold 363 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:49.960 his own. But there are moments over and over again 364 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:52.839 where he managed to keep things grounded even as the 365 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.519 film is spiraling out of control. I mean that in 366 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:58.400 a good way. This script never loses focus, and I 367 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:01.359 just found out that he is Cuba Gooding son. There 368 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:04.359 you go, Cuba Gooding Junior did do something of worth 369 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:08.359 after that, Oscar Win. Other cast members include Devin Sawa. 370 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:11.200 He's lost all of his boyish features and now looks 371 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:13.039 like the guy who would show up at your Avengers 372 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:16.440 themed party as Hawkeye. He and Jordana Brewster from The 373 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:20.079 Fast and the Furious Movies stars detectives Hobbes and Shaw 374 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:23.279 might be the only joke that doesn't work. Jordana Brewster 375 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:26.240 has always given frightened emu that just emerged from a 376 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:29.440 tanning bed vibes. But I've really enjoyed your performance here 377 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:32.240 as a cop who knows all too well how rough 378 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:35.279 Valentine's Day can be for a single person. We get 379 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:37.720 a pretty spectacular kill at the outset of the film, 380 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:40.599 but then given that this killer targets certain couples, and 381 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:43.440 he does so with our leads early on, I kept 382 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:45.319 wondering how they were going to give us the goods. 383 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:49.319 This is more Terminator th Jason Vorhees. But fear not, 384 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:52.200 there was a couple's event going on in town, just 385 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.440 waiting for a highly polished blade to descend. Do any 386 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.039 of you remember Isn't It Romantic? That was the Rebel 387 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:02.079 Wilson meta romantic comedy that came out the same year 388 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:05.039 as Happy Death Day twenty seventeen. It was a character 389 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:07.279 who wakes up in a romantic comedy and has to 390 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:11.799 play along with all of the expected conventions. Not one 391 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:16.039 laugh in a ninety minute movie designed for nothing else. 392 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:19.319 I laughed a lot during Hard Eyes at all of 393 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:22.240 the same targets they had in that previous film, and 394 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.000 it didn't even have hippies getting impaled by lugnut wrenches 395 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:28.480 at the drive in spoilers. Olivia Holt's next film is 396 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:32.240 called The Jingle Bell Heist, a mashup of romantic comedies 397 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:35.799 and crime thrillers. I am down due to her participation. 398 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:38.720 Hopefully it has one tenth of the wit of Hard Eyes. 399 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:43.960 And that's the roundup. Ripley two positive reviews. See that 400 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.640 we're doing our part in the new dystopian hellscape we're 401 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:50.000