14. HOKUM (2026) REVIEW

Welcome back!

Did you miss us? We're back from our hiatus to talk about the trailers for RESIDENT EVIL, EVIL DEAD BURN, CLAYFACE, and EXIT 8. Then we review Damien McCarthy's HOKUM (2026). Special thanks to Vancouver Horror Show for inviting us to an advance screening. Thanks for listening!

CW for Hokum: Suicide and gun violence.

Time Codes:

Intro: 00:00:00

Horror News Intro: 00:01:11

Resident Evil Trailer: 00:01:48

Evil Dead Burn Trailer: 00:06:01

Clayface Trailer: 00:09:59

The Blair Witch Reboot: 00:12:11

Backrooms Premiere: 00:13:23

A Quiet Place Part III: 00:14:17

Terrifier 4: 00:15:42

Exit 8 Trailer: 00:19:36

The Vampire Lestat: 00:20:40

Hokum Non-Spoiler Review: 00:23:31

Hokum Spoiler Review: 00:38:08

Who What Watch Read When (Weh) Intro: 01:15:10

Something Bad Is Going to Happen: 01:15:43

No One Can Save You: 01:16:54

At the Mountains of Madness: 01:17:45

The Vampire Lestat: 01:22:12

Outro: 01:24:07

Special thanks to Moira Christy, Kiah Ellis-Durity, and Gordon Durity

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Now here we go.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

Just need to get a good witch laugh up there. Um welcome back to Whispers in the Woods, your last resort for horror news, reviews, and sometimes interviews. I'm your host, Emily. I'm Devin.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

And I'm Tom. Guys, best episode ever this week. Best we're back. And we're refreshed. We're refreshed and we're ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

You could say refreshed. I don't know about refreshed, but you can say slightly rested.

SPEAKER_03 0:54

Okay, I'll speak for myself. I feel refreshed. Maybe it's the hour and a half nap I had before you guys came over here.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Could be that, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

But I'm just raring to talk about Hokum.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yeah, I'm super stoked for that.

SPEAKER_03 1:06

Yeah, and happy to be back, and uh we should start with some horror news.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Alright. So, you know, it's been a a month. So there's been a lot of horror news and things that we can't mention. So I thought we should just kind of boil it down to maybe the biggest stuff that has happened recently.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

It really felt like we took a break and horror was like boom every bunch of things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

Uh so basically that just kind of boils down to trailers because there have been some incredible releases, and then also something from Interview with the Vampire, of course.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Uh cannot an episode without mentioning. Thank you. You'll never be free.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

But I want to talk about the Resident Evil trailer.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Ooh, yeah. Juicy.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

Yes, we were waiting on this, and I felt like it delivered. How did you guys feel?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

I liked it. Oh, I got so scared. I was about yes, I loved it.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

It looks fantastic. I see why they're describing it as the horror version of Mad Max Fury Road. Because you just have one guy, Austin Abrams, running from A to B to B to C to C to D, and there's something chasing him the whole time. I think it's gonna be relentless. Yeah, I do believe so. What do you guys make of it yourselves?

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Tent. Yeah, the little like phone dial-up noise that we routed.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Trailer motif, that's cool.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

I did like that. Yeah. Also, like I said, I think Austin Austin Abrams is a cutie.

SPEAKER_03 2:41

It's a good time to be an Austin Abrams fan.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

You called him a rat boy?

SPEAKER_03 2:45

Okay, I'm sorry, Austin, if you're listening. It was not meant as a direct insult, I guess. Lots of people love rat boys.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

As we and Devin agree. I think he's super. Most like individuals. I think he's super fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

He does a good look of like abject terror. I mean, we just see him like sweaty, covered in blood, and terrified out of his mind, uh, encountering weird creatures and zombies and things.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Yeah, what I'm saying is at the end of the day, like, I'm excited to see him as the main character. Um, I think he did a really good job in weapons. Oh my god. And I think he deserves to be a main character absolutely for his acting in that. I really liked it.

SPEAKER_03 3:26

Yeah, he was a standout from weapons. Obviously, Zack Krager likes him, saw some potential in him for like an everyman character who's gonna go through the absolute ringer.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

And for me, the monsters so far that scares me the most are when the legs are coming out of the dark door because they're moving in that really frantic way, which is not how humans work. Of course, our legs are never on the ceiling. So whatever's gonna happen there, I'll be hiding behind my hands in the theater.

SPEAKER_02 3:52

Yeah, so we saw like a really giant zombie. We saw the weird, like, like you said, arms and legs coming out of the door, spider zombies.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

So do you play these games? Sorry, we'll wait for my cat to stop making noise. Good job, buddy. Good job. And uh, do you know if that is a singular entity, this like spider zombie you mentioned with all the legs and arms?

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Yeah, I mean, in the games too, there are like an assortment of zombies.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

Yeah, so is it like one th a bunch of people that have gotten like fused together like a rat king?

SPEAKER_02 4:30

I don't think so. I mean, I haven't really played the newer ones too much, so maybe that is where that's coming from.

SPEAKER_03 4:36

Yeah, I guess we'll have to see. It's just like that doorway shot made me think that it's maybe some gigantic monstrosity with a whole bunch of people's limbs all stemming from like some grotesque mass.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Yeah, it seems like we're really gonna get an assortment of different zombies, which I do like. But some people are having problems with this trailer. I mean, people are just you know, haters at the end of the day, but um everyone really wants a like quote unquote Resident Evil game movie.

SPEAKER_03 5:10

Yeah, with Leon and Joe Valentine. This is not that.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

No, I don't care. Yeah, this looks awesome. Like, I love the ones from the 2000s, those movies are hilarious, but this looks like it's gonna be scary scary. And you know what?

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Mickey might just be joining us, and that's okay, so we have a special guest uh today. It is my cat who is eating hairs out of the blanket that the microphone is on.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

You guys hear the licking.

SPEAKER_03 5:43

I hope so. I hope so too.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Today you'll hear purrs.

SPEAKER_03 5:47

Mickey, what did you think of the Resident Evil trailer? His brain is just like a Windows screensaver.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

He's got nothing going on.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

But he's so happy to be joining us. Okay, what other trailers?

SPEAKER_03 6:02

There was the Evil Dead burn trailer. Uh, I'm sold on this. I have a feeling you're not Emily.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

I am not. Now why not? That it looks like it's gonna be the same sort of vibe as the last Evil Dead.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Which you weren't crazy about.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

I was not remembered either.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

Nah, too bad. No. Alright.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

The difference between these two and Evil Dead from 2013, which I really liked, is that one seemed like it had a much darker vibe. And I don't know. This new one seems a little fun? Yeah, fun, yeah. Evil Dead is supposed to be fun. I don't know what it is. It's like the last one was shot in an apartment complex, and there was a lot of like Gen Z stuff going on that I didn't really like.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

And I'm just a couple youths, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Yeah, a couple youths.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

I don't see as many in this one. I mean, there's a Wednesday boy up there. Not Bill Skarsgard, but kind of.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

I guess it's that. It's just seeming a little Gen Z. And not to be like, oh, I hate Gen Z, but I literally am Gen Z. But it can just be a little like cheesy, kind of cringe at times.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

We'll see if any of them are podcasters.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Yeah. That would be cringe.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Deb, how did you hold up? Because I know historically you won't watch Evil Dead Rise, and this, like Emily's saying, kind of looks like an extension of that.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

So yeah, again, Evil Dead is still like hard for me because it's been something I've been scared of my whole life. I still haven't seen the first one, only the one you showed me, the second one.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

Evil Dead 2, the greatest movie of all time.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

And then the other one with like the mom is a deade, I can't do personally.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

That's Evil Dead Rise. Yeah. That's fair enough. I feel like this one is also going to have some your mom is a dead eye.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Yeah, I don't know if I can handle that myself. That's fair enough.

SPEAKER_03 7:58

Okay, so I'll say for me, I think this looks like a lot of wicked fun. I like the cool camera movements. There's like this one shot that we don't know is in a mirror, and then somebody's head gets smashed into the mirror, and that was really cool and creative. I like these like whip pans that they're doing 180 degrees just at the start of the trailer. I feel like there is an opportunity to have it be a great jump scare. Uh, so maybe that is like a motif because it's not, you know, it doesn't lead into a jump scare in the trailer.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

How do you bring that up? I have noticed a lot more whip pans in movies.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

Totally, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:35

Right, that's not the trailer we saw.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

And it's just like, you know, Raimi inspired, uh fun camera work. So it's nice that they're paying homage in that way.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

And I do like the dishwasher scene. That's creative.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

Yes, what I enjoy about that is that that guy has to live through having a bunch of knives and forks in his back. Because usually I've seen like that kind of kill done before. And usually, like I just said, it's a kill. Somebody falls on a dishwasher with a bunch of open knives facing up, the most dangerous way to load a dishwasher. But then they're just dead. But in this case, he's alive, and that's worse. He dies. No, I hope he gets medical. It's in his lower back, so he's just like suffering through that.

unknown 9:17

Ouch.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Ouch, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:18

Biggest app.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

The director for this is Sebastian Venicek, who directed 2023's Infested.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Oh, that's a that's a spider one, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:29

Yes, I think. I think so. Yeah, it's pretty gross. And it's got some pretty nasty practical effects.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Ooh, just thinking about it, it's making my body feel bad.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

Okay, I need to check that one out. I know I think I know the poster and it I think that looks so good.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

So the one thing I will say about this new Evil Dead is I'm sure it will have some good practical effects. Practical effects and kills. You know me, I always love. Yeah. Um, it's also set to be released June 10th, which is soon.

SPEAKER_03 9:56

Yeah, can't wait. More on that as we get more trailers. Uh, I had one more trailer that I wanted to talk about, which is the Clayface trailer. And this is set in the DCU, and people are like, what, superheroes and horror? Yeah, in this universe they can do a movie of any genre. So this is like a straight body horror trailer. Uh, it's about an actor who gets disfigured, and then he takes some experimental substance. Maybe you might even say the substance, and then he turns into a nasty clayman. And what did you guys make of this trailer?

SPEAKER_01 10:33

I really like DCU. I like everything Batman related.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

This is set in Gotham.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Everything Gotham related. Yeah. I don't really know this about me, but every Saturday. Yeah, every Saturday growing up, I would watch all of these things with my dad, all the Gotham stuff. So as soon as Batman's involved, I'm there.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

I don't know if Batman's gonna be directly involved. It's in his hometown. So I'm there. They shot it in the same town in Scotland that they shot the Batman. It's not in the same universe, but it's gonna have that same kind of gothic architecture.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Personally, I'm not really like huge on DC or Marvel or like any sort of like superhero stuff. It's just not really my thing. But I do like that they're deciding obviously to go the horror route. Yeah, they're trying something new.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

So Yeah, I I'm excited for it because I do like DC.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

It's gonna get mad substance comparisons, like without a doubt, even though this storyline existed before the substance was conceived. Uh I really enjoy the final shot in this trailer when he has like he's in the bath and then he just smooths out his entire face. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

And Did you think that was practical?

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Yeah, apparently they do they did most of this practical. That's awesome. Old school practical effects. However, uh, studios do love to say these days we did everything practically. Everything's real, and it's not. So we can't.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

It's like made with local ingredients and it's one onion for the entire thing.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

It with a grain of salt, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Um, did we have anything more to say about Clayface?

SPEAKER_02 12:10

No, no.

SPEAKER_03 12:11

Okay, then I have just a few more pieces of, you know, like news. Uh there's a Blair Witch reboot slash you know, sequel, long-awaited sequel.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

With the original actors. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

The original actors.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

So they lived.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

Apparently, in some form. I have no clue. I mean, I guess we'll find out. We'll find out. And I'm really, really excited for that. Me too. That's like 20-something years.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Have you seen the remake?

SPEAKER_03 12:36

No.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Or not remake series.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Yes, no. But apparently people didn't like it. You saw the Blair Witch and people hated that.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

I saw it in theaters, yeah. I mean, I didn't like completely hate it, but it should have not been called The Blair Witch. I think.

SPEAKER_03 12:55

It's kind of like a lazy name, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Uh kind of like Wolverine to the Wolverine.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

But the original is one of my favorite films, and I watch it like once every couple of months.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

You can analyze that. I love watching video analysis on it too, and it's like the two guys did it, and all of a sudden, uh, yeah, I mean I wrote a whole article on it.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Uh huh. You did? Oh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

Where can we find that if people are interested?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

That is on Peliplat. Nice. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

Uh the backrooms had its premiere, and uh first reviews and reactions are out. It's looking pretty dang positive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

I had high hopes.

SPEAKER_03 13:34

Read a quick uh review. This is from Courtney Howard on Twitter, and she says Kane Parsons Backrooms is a trip, a brilliant, frightening vision, beautifully claustrophobic, pulse pounding, and freaky AF, superb world building, edge of your seat, suspense. And that was posted to the backrooms official Instagram, so they're uh excited to show off that people are enjoying it.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Well done, Kane Parsons. Yeah, Kane Pixels. I'm all at the end of the day. I think that's awesome. Good job. Still don't have a soundboard, so here we go.

unknown 14:04

Those are our hands.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

I I can't wait for that. That's end of this month. Yeah. Um, my last little piece of news A Quiet Place Part Three has begun filming.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Right.

SPEAKER_03 14:13

I don't have anything more about that other than uh Killian Murphy is back. Yeah. Uh Josh O'Connor, no, not Josh O'Connor.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

You can't do that.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Josh somebody. What was his name? Remick from Sinners.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

Oh. Oh. I should know because I've been watching.

SPEAKER_03 14:32

Also, Sir or Jimmy Crystal.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

And also because he's really. I love him.

SPEAKER_02 14:39

I do love Jack O'Connell. So he's he's an idiot.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Yeah. Um ever since.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

Okay, this sounds so weird, but ever since uh the Bone Temple, Loki kind of have a little crush on it.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Amazing. Wow, you should watch skins. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:57

I just realized Jack O'Connell is incapable of being in a horror movie and having normal teeth.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Yeah. Oh yeah. That's fun.

SPEAKER_03 15:04

Funny, huh? Weird coincidence.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

He's got a cute little face. Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

I'm not touching that. Uh so we have that's it for my horror news. Does anybody else have anything else?

SPEAKER_02 15:17

I've got some horror news for you. Let's hear about it. Do you want to go first, Devin, or do you want to go first?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

You go first, Emily.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Okay, we'll save the best for last then, eh?

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Exactly. That's not. Let's see what's on your paperwork.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

You already know. You already know what my horror news is, and we already know what Devin's horror is. So here we go, guys. There's no surprise.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Yeah, you got two guesses. And the three guesses, the first two don't count. We know.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

Okay. Terrifier 4 News. Oh, hell yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

What's up?

SPEAKER_02 15:47

It will officially take place around New Year's.

SPEAKER_03 15:52

Okay, ringing in the New Year. Yeah, so stabbed by art.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Exactly. I think it takes lucky, I think. Right after like the last one, which was Christmas. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Alright, so he hasn't been like laying low for a year like he has between movies.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

This is pretty soon after, I'm sure. And then the first two were like Halloween, so this is fun. Um Damian Leone says, No space, no Easter bunny. Art is bringing in the new year.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

That's funny. Is he referencing our whole art in space thing that we have? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Well he's been, I think he's like he talks to the fans, he comments on what fans are saying and speculating. So he knows that people have been like, is he in space? Is he in space? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Amazing. Uh I'm excited. I, you know, I watch the kill counts for these movies. So I'm excited to see that.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

One day you will watch the film.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

No, I will. I will.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

I will. I promise. It's also confirmed that Art's backstory will be revealed within the first 15 minutes of the film. Oh, good. I'm excited for you to tell me what it is. Oh, yes, Devin. I will be sure. Guys. Come on, you're killing me. Um, and then David Howard Dorton commented, all he knows is that it's going to be a quote unquote batshit insane finale. Cool. Which I love. They use the word finale? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Yeah, this is the last one.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Well, we'll see. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

It could be, you know, Friday the 13th, the final chapter. Exactly. Who knows?

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Time and time again, we've had horror movies be the last one, and it's really not. So I hope it's not the last one.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

Hey, did you see that David Howard Thornton proposed to his girlfriend in Art the Clown? Oh, I'm sorry to step on it.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

That's okay. Um I was just gonna say, yeah, on the topic, David Howard Thornton got engaged.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

So cute.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

He proposed at the Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo in Alabama in full costume, which I love. I think is the most romantic way to propose ever. And if my future husband does not do that, I will not accept it. I will say no. Why aren't you in an art costume? Where's the blood?

SPEAKER_03 18:17

Why aren't you covered in it?

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Where's your little hat? Exactly. The little flowers.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

That's cute.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

He was very cute. And like so many different like celebrities from the horror community were commenting on it. Congratulations. Yeah. It was really sweet.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

Dev, are you like conflicted here? It looks like you're like something positive related to terrifier.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

How can it be? So cute. That is so cute. That's so cute. And I'm so happy you're getting your terrifier for Emily.

SPEAKER_03 18:45

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

I'm so excited for you.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

I want Terrifier 5 and 6 and 7 and 8.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Uh, you know what? If you go see it 400 times, then maybe they'll they'll have to make Terrifier 5 for you and 6 and 7 and 8.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

That's my hope. And you know what? My hope also is, which is pretty morbid.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

Um, the do we need a content warning?

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Well, sure. Uh content warning. I don't know what the content is, but warning. The last terror fryer went to see in theaters. People threw up. That would be me. And people left the theater. That would also be me. And I hope that this one is just the same, really.

SPEAKER_03 19:28

Devin has already left the theater.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

She isn't even she didn't even buy the ticket. She's third-personing herself. She is not present.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

Well, Dev, how we talk about something that's more in your comfort zone.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Well, it's so funny. What horror news? So, first before we get into the big horror news, um, Exa 8 trailer. Oh, yeah. Looked really, really good. That movie's currently out. It's a Japanese horror film premiered at Cannes last year, and it looks really great. It's another liminal space type horror movie. So definitely.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Yes, except this one's in a subway station.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Yes, and watch the trailer with the Bolero song. And if you don't know what the Bolero song is, it goes ba da, and it just does that forever. It's by Ravel.

SPEAKER_03 20:15

It's pretty cutesy for like the content of the movie.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

If that well, that song, what that song is, it starts off at one tempo. That's why I think it's so smart they chose it because it starts off slow, but it's only the same couple bars that repeat, and it just gets louder and louder and louder for like eight minutes totally. Anxiety provoking. Exactly. So it seems like just like that song, it starts off one level and it gets progressively worse and more intense as time goes on. And then, of course, what? Interview with the Who? Interview with the Bamboo. Now known as the Vampire Lestat, comes out in June. I'm very excited. June 7th, but on June 2nd, guys. Oh my god, this is such big news. June 2nd, the Vampire Lestat is actually doing a concert. One night concert. And Louie will be present somewhere in the crowd. Whoa, that's it. And I hope they put Sam Reed on wires so that he can actually go flying while singing as Lestate. If I were to be present, I would no longer need anything else. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Do you think you would die happy?

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Probably, honestly. I'm not one to cry at concerts or movies or anything, but it would just be so cool that this woman wrote a book in the 70s and now it's 2026, and like her book got completely panned, and all those people like it's poorly written, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Even though it's like the narrator's first languages aren't English, so makes you think. Um, but the for that to now them being like a concert for people who were not born anywhere near the seventies. Yeah. And like I just saw some comments online, and people like, I read this book in the nineties. I'm a fifty one year old woman. I'm so excited. I'm for this character.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

And the concert sold out. Within a day, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Well, it's not like it's sold out because the tickets weren't for sale. What you had to do was write why you want to be chosen to attend the concert. That's so cool. Yeah, and then that's you just write that it's closed. No, no, I just in general. Yeah, I will just write it in general. It'd be like, look at the Claudia costume on my Instagram that I made when I'm actually dancing in point shoes on aerial chains. Dang. Oh, I found the exact mask. But yeah, um, so that's really exciting. And they are filming the concert, so I'm hoping it will be available with the season to watch. But I just like that's next level marketing coolness. Oh, that's great. Especially because it's free. Like, that's cool. Yeah, that's super cool. So it's only in New York. Only in New York, because New York is the center of the world. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:43

It's not even where that season of the show's set. It's set in Montreal.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

Yeah, I think they go all over North America in it. So Montreal and then Toronto plays like every city in North America.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Yeah, it's kind of like on topic but off topic. I wanted to see a paranormal activity play that apparently was really good. Yeah, it was going on, it was showing last year, and it was only, I don't know, somewhere in the States.

SPEAKER_03 23:08

Yeah, shame.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

Yeah, in one state. And it only showed like four times.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Darn! Maybe it'll be back.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Hopefully.

SPEAKER_03 23:18

Yeah, sometime. Paranormal activity foreplay will be four play.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Oh, sad me up.

unknown 23:25

Right.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Well, is that all for horror news then?

SPEAKER_02 23:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 23:29

Alright, fantastic. Then I think we should do our Hokram review.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Let's do it. Hokram.

SPEAKER_03 23:34

First of all, let's have some content warnings. Uh so, you know, contextual spoiler, I guess, uh, there is some gun violence in this movie. Um, so we should mention that. Anything else we can think of?

SPEAKER_01 23:47

And also, I just want to thank the Vancouver Horror Show for giving us tickets. Yeah, yes, yeah, little story here.

SPEAKER_03 23:55

Um, so we won a giveaway or something, didn't we?

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Some sort of draw on Instagram and got selected to go see Hokum. So big thank you.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Advanced screening too. Yeah. Yeah. So we gotta see it a day or two before it officially came out.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

And let me tell you that screening was packed to the rim.

SPEAKER_03 24:14

Uh Devin and I unfortunately couldn't go.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

Emily went in on the happy I went. I really liked it. Awesome. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

So big thank you. Yes. Thank you so much. Uh, so we're going to do a non-spoiler review for a little while as best as we can, because this is a new one. Yeah. And then move into some spoiler time.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:35

Um, first of all, some production info. Uh, so this was directed by Damien McCarthy, the director of Oddity and Caveat. Two films which I believe were well received, and I had definitely heard of before this movie came out.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Have you seen them?

SPEAKER_03 24:53

Haven't seen either though. Uh they're on my list, especially after this one. And what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 24:59

I thought Oddity was absolutely phenomenal. Uh biggest jump scare of my life. Oh, I screamed so loud, and I was watching it with my partner, and he just laughed and laughed me after. Because I let out a scream like I've never screamed in a horror movie. So there's that. Um, also just like the plot, the acting, all of it was I didn't have any complaints. Um, and then caveat uh wasn't crazy about it.

SPEAKER_03 25:29

Was that before Oddity?

SPEAKER_02 25:31

Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

Okay, cool. So he's you know on an upward trend for you for his movies.

SPEAKER_02 25:35

Pokemon's the best by far.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Okay, then that's perfect. Then it's all going well.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

It's going well.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

He's just improving. That's fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

Give him more money. And it's an Irish film.

SPEAKER_03 25:44

What's interesting, this movie had a five million dollar budget, which is, I guess, moderate for horror movies. Tiny if we're comparing it to blockbusters. Yeah. And uh so far, as of May 10th, it has made 12.3 million worldwide. So that means that it has made its money back and some. Uh, and it hopefully the train just keeps rolling because I think this is a great movie.

SPEAKER_02 26:10

I think through a word of mouth, too. Like, I think other people are obviously gonna really like it too.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

So yeah, it's being well received for sure. Um, so let's set the stage then. All right. In terms of our characters. We've got Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman, who is a writer of a fantasy series, I want to say.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

I want to say fantasy series.

SPEAKER_03 26:33

Yeah, it's like the Conquistadors something, yeah, treasure hunting book series. Uh and what's he all about, you guys?

SPEAKER_02 26:42

He's kind of a grumpy man.

SPEAKER_03 26:45

Mm-hmm. Yeah. He likes drinking.

SPEAKER_02 26:47

He likes drinking. He seems, um, of course, like he has some sort of tragic thing that has happened to him. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:55

A horror character with some tragic guilt in his past. What's going on here? I've never seen this before. Crazy. Yeah. Uh, and when we meet him, he is looking through some of his parents' belongings. Yes. Uh, and he's got both of their ashes. Uh, and he finds photos from when they were at a honeymoon together in this Irish hotel. So then he decides he's going to go there and spread their ashes around that area. Uh, which is gonna lead into the horror of the movie.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

Yeah. And then we kind of go into like a fantasy scene of his book. Yeah, that was cool.

SPEAKER_03 27:36

Oh, yeah, it was fun to start in that way.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

I thought it was in the wrong movie. Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

Yeah, like I I really did like the this movie because it it had odd things like that, you know? In it stuff that I just wouldn't have thought I would see, you know? And also the the Jack the Donkey as well, you know? Like uh it's got a fun personality, I'd say, for a movie.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

It's a little bit quirky. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:02

Did you guys find it funny for once?

SPEAKER_01 28:05

A little bit at times. I did find it really funny, actually. In a dark way.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

There were there were funny characters. I particularly liked Jerry, a character I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

But he's love Jerry. He was the funniest part of the funniest guy for sure.

SPEAKER_03 28:19

Just like this woods dwelling, uh psychedelic taking uh woodsman, you know, Irishman as well. Yeah. Um I think it's a mainly Irish cast as well, aside from Adam Scott. Adam Scott. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Um, did you guys have a standout character beyond Jerry?

SPEAKER_02 28:43

The witch.

SPEAKER_03 28:44

Yeah, okay. I mean, mild spoilers, I guess it's kind of included in the It's kind of in the trailer. In the trailer, yeah. Yeah, you do see her. You know that there is gonna be like some mysticism going on through like the voiceover.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Yeah short.

SPEAKER_03 28:58

It's tied into the folklore for sure. So I personally really enjoyed the the villain, the like the monster of this beast. We'll talk about and yeah, there's another one too. We'll talk about them more in in spoilers, I'm sure. Uh for like our normal human characters, I was a big fan of Fiona.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

I really was, yeah. Fiona was I did make a comment after seeing the film. I was like, oh damn, I would have liked to have seen her more. Yeah, but I guess that was kind of the whole thing. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 29:27

She's kind of like, without getting into spoilers, she's sort of the linchpin of the story where you need to care about her within a very short amount of time so that you understand Adam Scott's or Ohm's motivations for all of the things that he does, the the lengths that he goes to for her, someone that he barely knows. So I think that the the one main thing that she does uh really like endears her to me.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

I agree.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

It was well done.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

I really like the Bellhop too. I can't remember his name. Oh, the guy that's obsessed with yeah, the Bellhop is a is a fun character too.

SPEAKER_03 30:05

I like a little reveal about him later on at the end.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

He's a fun character.

SPEAKER_03 30:10

Which is uh, you know, it it it's interesting the dynamic that he has with Adam Scott, especially because like when we get to the end, it it hasn't changed as much as I would have assumed it had. But it I guess it has fundamentally in little ways, you know? Yeah, it's like not so different, but it is different, you know? So there is like some fun character arcs and um dynamics at play, which I guess we'll talk about more in spoilers as well, too.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:37

Setting, you guys, what did you make of the setting? I love the setting. Love, love, love, love, love. Right?

SPEAKER_02 30:42

An old hotel? I feel like we haven't seen that a lot lately. Not in a while.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

I feel like filmmakers would be intimidated from the shining. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

And like, how are you gonna, you know, improve upon that?

SPEAKER_01 30:55

And they even make a reference to it at one point, which is I forget. It's a subtle one. Uh it'll be in spoilers later on. Okay, cool. But yeah, I do love a haunted hotel. Again, remember, 1408, that is still one of my biggest.

SPEAKER_03 31:08

So 1408 shares a bit of DNA with this movie, especially um being trapped in like a singular room. Yeah. Uh within a spooky space. So that was fun. I enjoyed all of like the Irish woods.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Love it.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

That was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Um and then also his home setting, too. I was actually talking with my dad earlier about this.

SPEAKER_03 31:28

Ohm's home in the beginning. Ohm's home in the beginning, yes.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

Um, currently in the town I live in, there's like a development being put up and it's advertised as concrete homes. And I'm like, why would you advertise as a concrete home? That doesn't sound comfortable at all.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Down with brutalism, come on.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Right? But his house is a concrete home. It's one of the most modern, minimalist grey wall thing you ever see. It's just like definitely says something about it. It does. It really does. It to be a very whimsical setting in contrast, a very old, beautiful hotel with a lot of detail and creepy little sculptures, and even an old elevator that the creepy elevator.

SPEAKER_03 32:06

Oh, yes, I enjoyed the creepy elevator quite a bit. Oh yeah. I I think I've been on an elevator like that once in my life, and it was in Italy. It might have been Florence, I think. And they're a trip. Like they're fun to experience, but you feel the age of that thing. The rattles and like the shutting gates. It's just like you feel boxed in even more, I think, than you feel in a elevator. Yeah, exactly. Um, so that was a lot of fun that we spent much time there.

SPEAKER_02 32:37

Back to the location. I feel like, you know, like you said, like the whole concrete place that he lives in, uh, and then going into this more like whimsical location, it kind of like touches on the fact that at the beginning of the film he's a he's very like skeptical and very like pragmatic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He believes a certain thing and then at the end of the film it kind of Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

His eyes are a little bit opened. Um I liked also that he he's like like the kind of guy who's just gonna speak his mind because he knows or feels that he's right all of the time. Yeah. Like uh this is it wouldn't quite count as spoilers, but when he arrives at the hotel and somebody has shot a goat out the front, you know, like his reaction is to confront the person about it. Yeah. And just kind of like start a fight, basically. And then when he's in there and there's the old man telling the the creepy story, you know, like he also picks another fight, basically. Like he's just got this giant chip on his shoulder.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Like him at the beginning. I'm like, no. Who's this guy? And what he does to the other guy with the spoon. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

I didn't see that coming. Yeah, I think he has a really, really good character arc in this video.

SPEAKER_03 33:55

Yeah, exactly. Um was it scary? Question for you both.

SPEAKER_02 34:00

Yes. I was actually surprised with how much I was sweating in the theater. I was stanky by the end of the day.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

You represented Whispers in the Woods and stank.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

I did, I really did. I left a mark on that theater.

SPEAKER_03 34:19

We will not be invited back.

SPEAKER_02 34:21

Sorry guys. Uh no, but like I just, it's hard for me to be scared anymore. I feel like like you guys know, I'm very desensitized at this point, but something just hit a chord in me with this movie. I don't know. I got very scared at a certain part that we will get into. Right. Um, but I I loved it and I got scared, and I loved that I got scared. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

Dev?

SPEAKER_01 34:48

I really, really, really liked it.

SPEAKER_03 34:52

Was it scary? Did it scare you?

SPEAKER_01 34:54

Yes, it did scare me. Yeah, yeah. Because it's like they have something really creepy at the beginning because it's also some of it. Absolutely. You don't even realize the thing is there until it moves. You're like, what the shish kebab?

SPEAKER_03 35:04

Yeah, it does like kind of the undertone thing where like you're looking down hallways, you're like, wait, did I really see what I thought I saw? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:11

It was really good at like creeping up on you. Oh, totally, totally. Creeping you out. Like creepy is like the perfect word.

SPEAKER_03 35:20

Yeah, so many like suspended moments when it gets quiet. Yeah. You're waiting. It's like, when is the shoe gonna drop? When is the thing gonna scare me? And then it does. Uh I want you guys to be proud of me. I covered my ears for half of this movie. For half, but the first half the first half. Well, I was like, Exactly. I'm like, geez, this is like scary. I'm scared. I gotta like get into my safety bubble here. But then towards the latter half, I'm like, you know what? This is the type of scary that I enjoy. I want to actually give it, you know, everything and experience it. So I popped my fingers out of my ears.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Aww.

SPEAKER_03 36:01

And actually, you know, went on that ride. Uh, and I realized also that uh I need to do something with my nervous energy. So I was just like shifting and jumping and driving and wiggling around. Because oh my god, the moments of tension and waiting for those scares, and my hands needed to do something. So I was just like doing the Macarena basically.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

I was just like shaking my legs and like rubbing my thighs a lot, and like just I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

But it gave me for scares, it gave me exactly what I wanted, which was a fun time at the horror movies. Because I I love horror movies that are fun. I love when there is like a playful nature to it. It's not like too dour or taking itself too, too seriously. It's just like I'm gonna scare the pants off of you, and I'm like, good, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 36:54

And it did. That's why I'm now wearing a ballet leotard. There you go. No pants are gone. I said it's a onesie for me and a sweater.

SPEAKER_03 37:03

Did we have anything more to say, non-spoiler wise?

SPEAKER_01 37:07

No. I'd like to get into Um I'm just thinking like one thing. Just like this director and rabbits, I want to do some personal research on the connection between rabbits and all of the movies.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

If there's some How will we say long-eared animals? Because there's not a rabbit in this movie, but there is a donkey man. He's not a rabbit.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

He's not a rabbit.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

He's Fiona.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Oh, you're so right.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

I apologize. Yeah, there is a rabbit. There's a rabbit costume.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

I forgot about that. You're so right.

SPEAKER_03 37:42

So I thought I really thought you were just talking about Damien McCarthy is three for three for rabbit representation.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

Yeah, so I want to do some research myself. Interesting. So that's something listener research. Let us know. If you know anything about Irish folklore and rabbits. Right. Yeah. Oh, definitely. And Irish are big on rabbits. So I need to know what more of these movies could be saying. And that's it. And now we can get to spoilers.

SPEAKER_03 38:09

Okay, um, should we give it a star rating?

SPEAKER_01 38:13

Sure. Oh, the five.

SPEAKER_03 38:14

Okay. Like a real. I'm giving it a five. Five for me.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

Five big boobs. Whoa, look at that.

SPEAKER_03 38:21

We have a total of 15 stars for this movie. Uh they should, you know, put our review on a poster. Yeah. Because who's gonna give a better review than that?

SPEAKER_02 38:30

No one.

SPEAKER_03 38:31

All right. Uh starting alert. And best episode ever. Alert. Best episode ever. Starting at the beginning. Like we mentioned, we have these like flashes to the inside of Ohm's book.

SPEAKER_02 38:45

Which you don't realize. Which you don't realize. You think you're in the wrong movie. I really did. I was like, this is what the movie's gonna be.

SPEAKER_03 38:51

Well, I thought it was gonna be like we're setting up some like ancient artifact, and then we're gonna cut to present day, and you know, it's it's still around. Uh but yeah, this doesn't like feature in the movie too too much. I think it's brought up three times. So maybe we'll just like breeze through it. There's like a conquistador and a little boy, and they're, you know, looking for a treasure. It's uh in a bottle, the bottle gets stopped and they can't open it, and the conquistador wants to, you know, break the bottle on the boy's head so that he can, you know, look for his treasure. And just before he's gonna bring it down, uh we cut to reality. We see a red circle.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

There's a red circle.

SPEAKER_03 39:29

Yeah, that's true. There's the circle, and it kind of match cuts to the um the condensation left from his glass as well. So there is, yeah, a circle motif. That's cool. I didn't actually.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

Yeah, and that's really important for the mission. It match cuts. It is, it is.

SPEAKER_03 39:42

Yeah, cool match cut for sure. Uh, and we're nigh on our first scare. I enjoyed that. We come out the gate.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

I do like that. Me don't think that you're anticipating being scared right away.

SPEAKER_01 39:56

So especially because we're not in the setting that the movie takes place in.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

So it's like, oh. I love when a horror movie can catch me off guard.

SPEAKER_03 40:04

Exactly. So like Ohm's just riding in his brutalist house, and then he notices high up on a staircase that you can see, a silhouette. Yeah. Looks like a woman's silhouette. Then he, you know, shines his lamp and nothing's there. And then when he returns it back to its first position, it's a ghostly woman standing right beside him.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:26

Pretty cool, pretty creepy.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

I like that. And she shows up a lot. She does.

SPEAKER_03 40:30

Who is she? Well, we're in spoilers, but we'll we'll talk about it later when it's time. Um but yeah, and then then I guess he finds a photograph, he finds the um the ashes of his parents, decides he's gonna go to this hotel.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:45

And then uh he does. I don't think there's anything between that.

SPEAKER_02 40:48

No, the the like plot of this story, I think, is so perfect. Like it's not like too simple, but it's like perfectly I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 40:59

It's well contained, like it really is. Everything has a piece in this. Exactly, yeah. And uh, like we were talking about earlier with just like the motivations, the motivations are understandable, you know. Like I get why he is going to the hotel, you know, he wants to reconnect with his his parents, uh, specifically for a reason which we will get onto later.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

It all makes sense. Oh my gosh. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 41:25

And then getting there, like I mentioned, there's a goat that um it's standing on cars, which is cute, but it gets gets shot with a crossbow or standing on cars. Yeah, not a shame.

SPEAKER_02 41:37

Couldn't you just spray it with a hell once? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 41:40

So there's a I I would he be a groundskeeper? Yeah, the groundsman, yeah. The groundskeeper whose name I can't remember. If you guys take over on the synopsis, I'm gonna look him up real quick.

SPEAKER_01 41:51

Yeah, and um, right before he gets to the hotel, we also see a man in the woods looking at something. And then in the hotel, he enters, and it's a beautiful old hotel, it's a beautiful cold Irish day, and we just hear these words fado, fatto, fat oh. And then there's this old man. Terry Willem Defoe vibes. Yes, I would say. Well, maybe that's what Fado is, it's just Defoe. Defoe. Um, telling these kids this very creepy story with the most amazing, creepy little sculptures. Mmm, those sculptures made me feel bad in my bar.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

Oh yes, they had weird, freaky little faces. Yeah. Yeah, and uh he introduces us to the, you know, the myth of the movie. Yeah. Which revolves around a witch that supposedly lives in the woods around the hotel.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

Yeah, with the chain.

SPEAKER_03 42:40

What does she do with these chains?

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Like connects and drags people.

SPEAKER_03 42:47

Yeah, she's gonna like you up and then she's going to drag you off, and I think it's into the woods, and then there's going to be beings that are gonna pick off little pieces of you. Uh-huh. From behind you, uh, which I found really creepy, especially because he's telling it to two little kids.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

Yeah, two little kids in adorable sweaters. Uh-huh. And he seems like he's like he's pleasured by this. Yes. He likes making these little kids scared.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Yes, and Ohm's like, hey kids, go back to your parents and don't talk to strangers. And it's revealed that's the owner of the hotel.

SPEAKER_03 43:19

Yeah, so he uh you know makes an enemy in that way right after that.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

Yeah. And his grandson is also like the manager of the hotel.

SPEAKER_03 43:26

Yeah, so his grandson, whose name I'm looking for right now, is played by Peter Coonan. Uh, and he also tries to get a an um autograph for his kid. He does. It's important that he has a wife and kid. Also, the owner of the hotel is his father-in-law. Uh, and of course, Ohm's just like, no. Can he give their kid an autograph? Yeah. Because he's a dick.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Yeah, he's a very unlikely character. And then the man, the bellhop, big fan of his too. Oh, and Ohm also asks for a That is far away from everyone else, so he can get all of the writing done because it's Halloween. And as soon as they said it was Halloween time, oh my body got so happy.

SPEAKER_03 44:08

Yeah, there are these little like traditional jack-o' lanterns, just like yeah, the jack-o' lanterns.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

Oh, that filled my heart with I would love a hotel with a bunch of jack-o' lanterns on each floor. Yes, cards turnips.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

So the son-in-law who uh is at the front desk, his name is Mal.

SPEAKER_01 44:26

Mal, that's it.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

Let's remember that. Also, uh that's fun. Mal, as in, you know, like malevolent, kind of tells you his character.

SPEAKER_02 44:34

Yeah, Mal is like French? Bad. Bad, bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:40

So he seems nice enough at the beginning, but you know, we learn a bit more about him.

SPEAKER_01 44:44

Um it's okay, it's cool to know it's felt Mal. I thought they were saying Mal, so this makes it very different. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:50

I see.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

And what do you think om is?

SPEAKER_03 44:53

Om?

SPEAKER_01 44:54

How's it spelt?

SPEAKER_03 44:56

It's O-H-M.

SPEAKER_01 44:57

Kind of like the Sanskrit om, like when you're breathing in yoga. Yeah. Yeah, like omroging in peace.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

So what happens beyond this? I guess now he's just going to Fiona, I know.

SPEAKER_01 45:13

Trying to find his room, and it's a lovely, gorgeous, charming woman. Oh, such a lovely woman. And yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:20

Um, so he learns that there is a suite uh that is locked. Haunted off-limits because it's haunted, and it's been off limits since I think after his parents stayed there. Yeah. And uh exactly, yeah. Uh it's the honeymoon suite.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Specifically haunted by a witch.

SPEAKER_03 45:39

By a witch. So nobody goes in there. Uh, but then Ohm is going to go have a drink, uh, or many. A few too many. And uh he is approached by Connell, is the name of the bell boy, who's also a writer, you know. And uh Yeah, you feel bad for him. He's just trying to, you know. He's a sweet guy. He's a sweet enough guy. He he's just trying to like talk to him about books and the writing process, and he uh Ohm is just like not having it. And he even like uh pulls out his like tape recorder, yeah, records a note for uh, you know, potential character who's just like a uh guy who can't read a room, you know, naive, exactly speaking directly to Connell's face, just dissing him.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

He's just like a straight up dick dude.

SPEAKER_01 46:26

Yeah, and then he's heating up a spoon the entire time in the turnip. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:31

As soon as he started heating up that spoon, I was like, oh, he's gonna put it on his skin.

SPEAKER_03 46:38

Yeah, yeah. And he it burns his hand. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:41

Which is a crazy thing to do.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

Oh, um, you know what? One scene we forgot to mention. Uh, the introduction of Jerry. So we did see him when he pulled it. Yes. But a little earlier, Ohm goes and scatters his parents' ashes in the woods, and he runs into uh this character, Jerry, the mountain man, who introduces him to mushrooms.

SPEAKER_02 47:01

Yes, you know his mushroom milk.

SPEAKER_03 47:03

His mushroom. Mushroom milk. I love this character. I love him too. He's just super quirky and fun. Um yeah, so that's just how those two meet, and uh the idea of taking mushrooms to expand your mind is introduced to the movie.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

And just like when you can see the fee realm and so that has like story relevance, big story relevance.

SPEAKER_02 47:27

Expand your mind, which is kind of like echoes throughout the film. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 47:34

Oh, okay. One other thing. Content warning. We are going to talk about suicide now. Oh yep, attempted suicide. Because after uh after Ohm goes up to his room, Fiona realizes that he's forgotten his tape recorder, uh, she gets a bad feeling. They go to his room, uh, and she gets them to open the door and he's hanging there.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

And that really caught me off guard.

SPEAKER_03 47:59

That's a good jump scare, too.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

I think this like I I just want to go back a little bit. I think that this action that Fiona does really says a lot about her character.

SPEAKER_03 48:11

Exactly, yeah. That she kind of sees more than your average person, you know?

SPEAKER_02 48:15

Yeah, just from like the short little interaction that she had with.

SPEAKER_03 48:20

Yeah, she has this like intuition, something's wrong. He wouldn't leave his recorder, basically.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

You're right, and introduces him to the whole concept, and then he goes talks to Jerry.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

So this part where he like tries to kill himself, do we think that he's possessed?

SPEAKER_03 48:39

I wouldn't say so.

SPEAKER_02 48:40

Do you think that he like did this out of his own volition?

SPEAKER_03 48:44

I think he did it out of guilt. Because we major spoilers, yeah. We'll get to there. But like I think that this whole trip that he's doing is probably a goodbye trip for himself. Uh, and he is like trying to let go of things, but just can't seem to. He's in such a terrible mood, and he's just drinking a lot. Uh, and yeah, I think he was just ready to to end it.

SPEAKER_02 49:10

You don't think it has anything to do with the witch.

SPEAKER_03 49:13

No, don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 49:15

Do not think. She is not like awaken in the film yet, do you feel?

SPEAKER_03 49:19

No, don't think so. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 49:21

That's interesting because definitely okay, it's the hotel and the witch. But now that you've said that, Tom, and given the context of everything else, we know that will be revealed later.

SPEAKER_03 49:31

I I think he just attempted suicide. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:34

I think it could be either way. We'll get into it.

SPEAKER_03 49:36

But yeah. I like this little like sequence when he is like almost dead. Uh that he's in like this grainy black and white purgatory. He's in the elevator that leads to the uh the honeymoon suite, and then I believe the lights start to go out in the hallway. He's like trying to close the elevator doors, and then we see in like the reflection of the doors that same woman from before standing right behind him. So for some reason, he can't uh can't escape this woman, you know?

SPEAKER_01 50:05

I wonder why. Why is he carrying her ghost around with him? Yeah. And then yeah, he wakes up in the hospital. Again, this whole sequence for me, I'm like, well, what is real? What isn't? What is happening? I'm like, is this really how the movie's already gone? Yeah. Because then wakes up in the hotel. Or hospital rather, sorry, I'm calling it hotel because of Hotel Dieu in Montreal, but um, the hospital. And then goes back. And it's been like weeks.

SPEAKER_03 50:33

Yeah, it's been a couple of weeks at this point. And the hotel's actually closing for the season.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

Which I was like, shining by uh, yes.

SPEAKER_02 50:40

And then he goes back to like get his belongings or whatever he's gonna do.

SPEAKER_03 50:43

Apparently they've been holding on to them. I was like, well, that's the thing, is I was kind of like, why would they be doing that? But then I'm thinking, where else? I guess. You know, if he had lodgings there, that's like he's in a foreign country, sure.

SPEAKER_01 50:57

Right, and that's where he would go.

SPEAKER_03 50:59

And now we're going to, you know, start on a new path in the film because when he gets there and he wants to thank Fiona, uh, finds out that he can't. I think he finds out from Fergal, who's the guy that shot the goat with the crossbow.

SPEAKER_02 51:13

Yes. That Fiona?

SPEAKER_03 51:14

Yeah, that Fiona's actually been missing for quite a while.

SPEAKER_02 51:17

Missing.

SPEAKER_03 51:18

Mm-hmm. Uh Jerry is the suspect, so they're looking for him. And uh we find out that Jerry might be a little unstable. There's like uh some suggestion that he might have killed his wife in the past. Yes. Uh and then so uh I really enjoyed this though, that Ohm is now like, I'm determined to find her. You know, like he feels like he owes her one.

SPEAKER_02 51:40

So he saw something in her.

SPEAKER_03 51:43

And she obviously saw something in him.

SPEAKER_02 51:45

And I Well, thing to note is when they first have that interaction at the bar when they're talking, he mentions that she reminds him of his mother. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:56

Yes, that's so true. Yeah, that's so true. I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_02 52:01

And I think that says everything about why he's trying to find her. Indeed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:08

Um, here's one little ding I'm gonna give the movie. He finds Jerry so quickly, and the cops are looking for Jerry and can't find him. Yeah. And that doesn't quite make quite make sense to me, because he says, or uh I think Fergal says that he's just like hiding in the woods in a van, and then Ohm just like finds him like that.

SPEAKER_02 52:29

Yeah, I mean, maybe it's just the film's universe. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 52:35

You know, incompetent Irish guards, I guess maybe. Yeah. No clue. But that's just how it shakes out, yeah. Yeah. And they have a little like uh, you know, broin out under the stars together because Does he drink the mushroom milk or not? I don't believe that he does. Yeah. I don't think he does. But Jerry is definitely definitely on the mushroom milk. And Jerry also establishes that he knows where Fiona is because he actually had a communication from Fiona.

SPEAKER_02 53:04

Yes, he's kind of laying in the grass on the mushroom milk, and he's getting frustrated at something that Ohm's saying to him. Isn't he?

SPEAKER_03 53:14

Yeah, I think that it's that he doesn't Ohm doesn't believe that his wife uh, you know, wants to see him again, because he says that he saw his wife's ghost when he was on the the mushroom milk, and Ohm's like pfft, hallucination. Like he like he would, because he's a dick. And uh no, he's like, no, this is real. When you're on this mushroom stuff, it opens your mind up to, you know, things that normally you wouldn't be able to see. Yeah. Uh which pertains because Jerry's saying that when he was on the milk, as he usually is, he was trying to steal some supplies from the hotel. And uh He saw Fiona. He saw Fiona, yeah. So the service bell that's connected to the like always close down uh honeymoon suite started ringing, and there's this great jump scare where it's like, you know, looking up at the the ringing bell, quick tilt down, and Fiona's ghost is right there pointing up to it, like go there. And so that's now the plan.

SPEAKER_02 54:08

And then that's kind of a funny moment when it like match cuts to Jerry pointing at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_03 54:16

Yeah, that actor is hilarious. Like I think he's just really enjoyable in that. Yeah. Yeah. So then they gotta go up there.

SPEAKER_02 54:23

Yeah, he's Ohm's determined to go up in that.

SPEAKER_03 54:28

Yeah, but uh Jerry doesn't manage to come along because Jerry is found by Fergal, and you know, like citizens arrested, basically. Yeah, you know. Yeah, thrown in the car, and um, so it's just Ohm alone going up to the honeymoon suite. Where all of the This is where things get real. Yeah, I think it's gonna be a little hard for me to remember uh what happens like chronologically at this point. Yeah. But uh what happens. Yeah, it uh he gets discovered at one point by what's his name, Mal. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and he and Mal are up there together, and then when I know what happens, yes. Yeah, like Mal wants him to leave, right?

SPEAKER_02 55:13

Yes, yeah, he's like, There's nothing up here, you're not gonna find anything.

SPEAKER_03 55:17

But then of course Ohm's like, but what about this little dumb waiter elevator situation? And when he sums the elevator up, guess who's sitting in there? It is Fiona's corpse.

SPEAKER_01 55:27

Fiona's in her Holy Queen costume dressed as a rabbit.

SPEAKER_03 55:32

Yeah. And then uh Mal does a big old betrayal and just retreats and locks Ohm in that room. Yeah. Find out through a flashback, dude's a piece of shit. He's actually the worst character. He's fucking worse than Ohm.

SPEAKER_02 55:47

Yeah, basically, like Fiona was pregnant.

SPEAKER_03 55:49

With his baby.

SPEAKER_02 55:50

With his baby.

SPEAKER_03 55:51

She cheated on his wife. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:53

And she needed to go because no one could find this out.

SPEAKER_03 55:56

Exactly, yeah. So he drugged her and then brought her up to the honeymoon suite, locked her in to just dispose of her body, basically.

SPEAKER_02 56:04

And then she's like has the a voice recorder.

SPEAKER_03 56:08

She got the voice recorder, which I really enjoyed as like a like a recurring, you know, uh little plot device that it turns on and we hear, you know, like she's like, there is a basement down there, and it's and it's dark. Maybe somebody's in there. Yeah. And then Ohm is trapped up there, so he has to survive the night, basically. But there's some creepy things happening.

SPEAKER_02 56:31

Some really creepy things.

SPEAKER_03 56:33

The the jump scare that got me the best uh is that like the the ghost woman is continuing to show up. Yeah. And there's a scene when he walks into he's in the bathroom, I think, and then I believe the recorder turns on or the TV turns on or something. And as he walks out of the bathroom, you see him through like a window into the bathroom. Weird design choice for one thing. Weird design choice that you can see into the bathroom from the living room, but you he exits, so you can't see him, and then when he re-enters the living room from the bathroom, the ghost woman is directly behind him walking with him.

SPEAKER_01 57:08

Yes, yes. That was crazy.

SPEAKER_03 57:10

Oh, and that got me so bad.

SPEAKER_01 57:11

Especially because there's so many other sounds happening. Like you said, I'm like the TV's turning on, there's like lights flickering, and you're distracted and you're not quite sure where to look.

SPEAKER_02 57:20

Totally. But then when your attention is like refocused on him, we see this woman right behind him.

SPEAKER_03 57:27

That was just a well-designed scare. Because that also wasn't one of those scares where it's like it goes quiet.

SPEAKER_01 57:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:32

And then there's the jump. It's like, I'm not expecting a jump scare at all, even in the least right now, and then boom, there it is. Yeah, that was great.

SPEAKER_02 57:40

For me, the most tense part of the film was kind of like the whole scene where he goes down into the basement the first time, and he's hearing Fiona say, like, there's someone down here. And then he's down there, and then the witch comes out, and he's trying to get back up the dumb waiter before she comes. And he gets up and gets out, but she's still after him.

SPEAKER_03 58:06

Yep, yeah. She's like, you see her just kind of in the darkness, and then when he gets up there and he thinks he's safe, he peers down the shaft, and then she starts crawling up the walls like a cockroach. Terrifying, right?

SPEAKER_01 58:19

And that's what was also crazy. The witch was real, you know? Yeah, the witch. Right? Because we already have like a villain in Mao, and then there's also so we have a supernatural villain and a human villain. I'm like, oh yes.

SPEAKER_03 58:33

And then also, what about Jack the Donkey? How does he fit in? Who is he? What is that?

SPEAKER_02 58:38

I don't really know what he is.

SPEAKER_03 58:40

Neither do I Okay, so I would just say I think he is like a twist on like a children's cartoon that maybe actually existed from Owen's childhood. Uh, who then appears through like dream sequences, this really creepy ass sequence when he's watching a TV. Yeah. Uh-huh. This like fuzzy TV turns on, and it's like a children's variety show, basically. Yeah. With this terrifying donkey man with these big, like, ping pong ball googly eyes.

SPEAKER_00 59:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:10

And uh that's when we find out the truth of you know, Ohm's guilt.

SPEAKER_02 59:15

You know who I think has inspired this donkey character for this children's show? Who? Who's the guy that inspired uh the Jimmys? Oh, Jimmy Savage. Oh, Jimmy. Jimmy Savile. Yeah. I think Jimmy Savile is one of the most terrifying, disgusting men on the planet. Oh no doubt, yeah. And I think that he has now inspired a lot of uh horror.

SPEAKER_03 59:38

A children's show hopes that is a monster, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we find out that this ghost woman that we've been seeing is actually Ohm's mother. Uh, because Ohm was playing with his father's gun when he was a child and shot her.

SPEAKER_00 59:52

Which is so sad.

SPEAKER_03 59:53

Really sad, and his dad hates him because of that. I really did love like it's so darkly hilarious, though, that it's it's Jack the Donkey reading a letter from Child Ohm, being like I shot my mom and now my dad hates me. And uh Jack the Donkey's like, well, he should.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:11

Talking to the other children. Yeah. This is horrible.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:15

It is horrible, but I found it kind of horribly hilarious. Yeah. Like the performance of whoever's playing Jack the Donkey.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:21

Did a great job.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:22

Yeah, so good. Yeah. So now we know why, you know, he's so sad. Yeah, why Ohm wanted to go to the hotel and you know, why he feels so much guilt, why he tried to kill himself, all of these things.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:32

Another thing to go back kind of to the beginning for is at one point, I think it's Fiona that mentions to Ohm, like, oh, you know, if you see the witch or whatever, you gotta draw a circle around. And he like, you know, makes a comment like if I see a witch, I'm going to the Psych Ward, something like that.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:53

Yeah. Yeah. So he finds um he finds in the basement a bit of chalk. Yeah, he finds a piece of chalk uh next to like some runes, some sort of like arcane symbols on the walls. And yeah, going back to that scene when the witch is crawling up the shaft, he gets back to like this four-poster bed, draws a draws a circle around it, and then like this is the bit that I was like shaking and like jump jiving and wailing in my seat.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:22

Well, it has like circling him around the bed. Yeah. You can't really see what's on the other side. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:28

That was so cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:28

Because she can't cross it, but like she can't cross it. She can make scary noises at him.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:33

She can snarl at him. She's always dragging those chains as well, too. So like the sound design of that villain is fantastic. And when we do eventually see her, she's got like little sharp teeth as well, too. Like they've been filed down. Super creepy.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:46

At one point, when he's in the bedroom still, he's not on the bed yet, and she like jumps up at this like window.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:55

Okay, that that's like the kind of horror thing that just made me laugh. It was scary, like it got me, but I'm also like, I'm having fun. I'm having so much fun now.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:03

She does like a super jump and like her face just shows up in the window, and you're like, ah. And that caught me up because I'm like, well, that's goofy and horrific.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:11

It's goofy and horrific. My favorite type of horror. So yeah, that's uh one of the reasons why I loved it so much. But yeah, Ohm survives the night uh to the point where To his own surprise. To his own surprise, to the point where Jerry has returned to the hotel. He's like gotten away from Fergal, and uh he is, you know, talking to Mal, who's acting real shifty, because he knows that Ohm is just locked up there, and um starts to pull the butt the bell. So he's trying to summon him. Uh, and eventually it works, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:45

Well, yeah, he doesn't realize, like he doesn't think to pull the bell until um what's his name? Jerry is like outside. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:54

Yeah. Yeah. So uh Mal is hearing the bell ringing and he's like, oh God, you know, is Jerry coming back? Then Jerry comes back, just his own, gives up.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:02

Or I think like no, he pulls it and it's now which I was like, oh.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:07

Yeah, so Jerry's like almost going to leave, but he eventually comes back because something feels off. I mean, obviously Mal is shifty as fuck.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he said something about Fiona again, mentioning she's like, if something feels awful, yes, press that.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:20

Yeah. Yeah, so it's nice that you like feel Fiona's presence throughout the entire movie. Yeah, during this movie. Um so yeah, and then Jerry is going to go up and find Oh, which he does. He has a holler-on moment.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:33

Yeah, because unfortunately. Well, it's because Ohm, like, he somehow is able to ring the bell again.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:39

Yeah, he like uh busts the wall, finds the the cord, you know, lower down.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:43

I was so scared the witch was gonna be in there. He was gonna like grab her face whenever she's gonna be there.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:48

Yeah. Uh and yeah, so Jerry is able to go up, but of course Ohm is also able to go up. Uh with the elevator in the back. And Jerry unfortunately gets killed.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:02

Shot right in the head.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:03

Too bad, but you know what? He gets to join his wife. I guess that's what he wanted. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:07

So that's a positive spin on that.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:09

I can spin that. Uh, and that's it's still sad though. Uh, and then also at that point, what's his name again? Mal has little fire. So the hotel is now burning down. Uh, but Jerry has the key to like the gate in front of the elevator. So he's now trapped up there with Ohm, uh, which is too bad for him. And for Ohm, too, actually, because they're both now trapped in a burning hotel. In a bedroom. Uh Ohm goes down to the basement level again, uh, and Jerry follows. And I think maybe my favorite jump scare was Mal.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:46

Mal follows.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:46

Yeah, Mal follows. Jerry's dead. Sorry, Jerry. Uh, yeah, this is probably my favorite jump scare when Ohm is down there and he's hearing the chains.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:54

Oh yeah, he's hearing what's coming.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:56

The witch coming.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:57

But Mal does not know what to do.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:58

He's got no clue. He doesn't believe. Um, and then uh Ohm starts to draw a circle around himself, and just as he's about to join it, the witch is right there. Yeah. She gets it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:09

It's a chain around him. So scary.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Scary.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:12

Gotta draw your circles faster, guys. Use a protractor.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:15

I love the production design of the basement floor as well, too. It's so creepy. Really good. Yeah. Very believable.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:21

Yes, it seems like it was a real place that they just found, and they're like, what are you here?

SPEAKER_03 1:05:25

Yeah, it's like this dank tunnel in there, these like old lights on the sides of the walls. And then also people's hotel keys hanging from chains on the ceiling. Uh and when Mal gets down there, he finds the key hanging. And I love this jump scare too, right? When he's trying to untie the key and then the witch grabs his wrists.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:46

Yes. You think if you were trying to get it off fast, you would just rip it, but that's true.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:51

Yeah, maybe he was you know, he was taking too much time there. So then he gets chained. Same with Ohm. Um this is like the endgame basically.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:59

Yeah. And like it seems like a portal to hell opens up. What do you think that is?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:05

I agree.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:07

Portal to hell? Oh, yeah. She's literally dragging you to hell. That's what's at the end of the woods.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:10

There are like these two doors and two circles in both of the doors. You can see through them just like moving shapes.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:16

You hear that was like fire?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:19

Ah, just hear like a lot of nasty nonsense. And then the witch starts dragging uh Ohm and Jerry towards it. Uh that's true. Jerry's dead. Sorry, Jerry. And uh then I think that I think Ohm has the knife that Fiona used to cut him down with.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:37

Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:38

So he manages to cut his chain.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:41

And it's because his mom in that moment. Yeah, his mom appears to him. And it's like, it's not your fault. It was an accident. It was an accident. And then kind of reminds him that he has the knife. Which is nice.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:52

Yes. That's true. That does happen.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:54

So she was there all along for this reason.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:57

She wasn't there to freak him out. No. Despite all the freaking him out she did. Yeah. She's just there to look after him. Yeah, so that was sweet. Nice little like wrapped-up arc. Uh, but Mal's not so lucky. Mal doesn't have a knife.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:10

We love to see it, don't we? Oh my god. I needed to see that guy get fucked. This was satisfying.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:18

So then he gets pulled into this portal from hell, and I'm sure he's gonna get, you know, picked to bits by these weird like entities. They have like glowing eyes, I remember. Yeah, glowing eyes for eternity. Otherwise, you don't see much of them.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:30

Yeah, which I like. It was a good enough use of them.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:33

Totally. And then Ohm gets to escape. I mean, he's gonna die like he passes out, but then uh somebody can get the same same, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Fergal comes in, so just another good use of the character, you know. Like he, I think, was looking for Jerry, who escaped from him earlier, so he comes back to the hotel and then pulls him out of there, and uh Ohm's in the hospital for the second time in the movie. Yeah. Having a little uh, you know, recuperation.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:59

This is brought to you by Blue Cross. Make sure you have your international health travel. Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:05

And final scene: we have Ohm in the hospital visited by Connell.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:10

Oh Connell.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:11

Connell is the bellboy.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:12

The bell boy, yes, who works at the ice cream shop. Yeah, uh, yes, he does.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:17

Uh maybe. Or next door something. So Connell has a bunch of jobs. He wants to be a writer, uh, but he works as a bellboy and also uh an ice cream boy. And something else. Yeah, I'm sure something else too. And uh we get the conclusion of Ohm's arc because Ohm kind of agrees to read his manuscript. Yeah, I think.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:36

And also Connell's like, I did something bad. I drugged your whiskey with the mushrooms, and this is one he started seeing. Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:45

So he's been drinking it the whole movie. Yeah. Uh, so it doesn't mean that all of the stuff we've seen is a hallucination, it just means that his mind has been open to seeing which I like a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:56

Yeah. Also, Connell like brought him like a gift which was alcohol. He did. And then Olm's like, no, take it back. Yeah, and that's nice.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:07

Exactly, exactly. And like, maybe I'm gonna hold off on drinking.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:11

And then it ends with the epilogue because Fiona said she didn't like that the dad was gonna smash the bottle on the head, and that's not how it ends. So the bottle, since he has now quit drinking too.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:21

And the violence conquistador is gonna give the bottle to the boy.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:26

It's like I do love you, it's okay, like how his dad hated him, and now that whole thing has been healed. Exactly. They bury it next to the goat head.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:35

Yeah, yeah, there's like a more positive underlying or undercurrent to that scene than there was earlier, because obviously, you know, Ohm was projecting his own issues with his father into the end of his book, and now he gives it a happy ending where the boy and the conquistador decide to go off together. Nobody has to have their head smashed open to get it.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:56

Yeah, it's really sweet.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:57

Nonsense treasure.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:58

I feel like we kind of get it all in this movie. You do, yeah. It was shocking.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:01

Yeah, there's a reason why I gave it a five-star, just because I the like basically the only ding I wanted to give it was that he found Jerry and the cops couldn't. That makes no sense.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:12

He was on the mushrooms and his mind was more open to it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:17

I'll accept that can.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:19

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The guards couldn't find him, so whatever.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:22

I do like that that was a running theme in it. Yeah. I really liked that.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:27

Yeah. Well, what else do you think?

SPEAKER_02 1:10:29

Because I think that so many people in the world, especially right now, just need to open their mind a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:36

So whichever, like means, you know, like there's so many ways to open your minds, some involving mushrooms, some not. Exactly. And just like be more open-minded to see.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:46

That was really just like a very explicit way to open your mind.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:50

Open your mind, and then you can see more of the world. Yeah. Yes, indeed.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:54

So I think it was a very like message. On topic theme of what you know society is like right now.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:02

It's nice to have a happy ending.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:03

Yeah, it was a really nice happy ending.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:05

I'm gonna say this is my favorite horror movie of the year so far. I would agree. Uh, it hit more notes for me than I personally like in horror movies, which is like that sense of fun, that sense of spookiness, uh, wrapped up character arcs and a happy ending.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:22

And also a little Halloween mod with a little stink turn up.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:26

Love it. What were your two stars and a wish of the film?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:31

Okay, two stars and a wish. Okay, one thing I wish. Well, it's like this is such a good thing. It went by so much quicker than I was expecting. Because we were having fun. So much fun. I'm like, what? The movie's already over, which was a bit longer, but then there wasn't really anything more to add to it. Um, I want to know more, again, just about this guy in Rabbits and what all that's about. Um another star is just like the use of Fiona's character because her eyes are open the whole time she's in the sweet dead, and then it closes. Yeah, once the mystery is solved, yeah, and the man is good. Then she can rest finally, which is great because her eyes were also glowing like the creatures in hell. So then she's rested. And another thing I really, really liked is like the Jerry character is like an essential character in a horror movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:25

But he really was just a good guy, and uh his wife's death that he got blamed for was actually explained. It was more like a maid situation and all of that. So what do you mean a maid situation? It's like assisted. Oh, I see that one. Okay, that must be an acronym, I'm not aware of. Yeah, okay, cool. Medically assisted. Ah, that's the one. Yes. Um, so that was actually that, and it's like there was so much about dead mothers in this movie. There really was. Yeah, a lot. So it was interesting how it all showed up.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:55

What about you, Emily?

SPEAKER_02 1:12:57

I really loved the witch.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:59

Oh, she was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:00

I want to say that I would like to s have seen more of her, but I don't think that it would have. I think that they showed her a perfect amount in the film. Yeah, yeah. And that's why she was so effective and why I liked her so much. But it was just like awesome, like you said, Devin, that she was like a real witch, like a real person, not just like some like CGI witch entity.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:26

Maybe a friend of Gladys, we don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:28

Woo! Sisters. Sisters. Yes. Um, and yeah, I thought her makeup, I thought her wardrobe, I thought just the character as a whole was just very well thought out and very effective. Um, and then I would agree with you, I really liked Jerry's character and just like the theme that he brought to the film. Um, I always love like an outcast character that is misunderstood, but is actually like a good guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:02

Um, so I really liked seeing that. I like liked his character a lot. Me too. And then, yeah, kind of like you were saying as well, like I wanted to see more because I was loving it so much, but at the same time, it was like just perfect the way that it was. Totally. What about you?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:21

Uh, I love Jack the Donkey.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:23

I do too.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:24

Jack the Donkey gets to be one of my stars. Uh, then, like I've already mentioned, happy ending, good scares, fun atmosphere. Um, I really enjoyed the whole conquistador thing. Yeah. Cool characters. Um, my my one wish. Just what I said earlier. I just wish that they had maybe had a more concrete reason for why the police couldn't find Jerry, whereas Ohm could find him real quick.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:49

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:49

That's it. That's it. My one pick.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:51

So go watch Hokum in the watch home. Yeah, go take a look at it.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:55

And we're, I'm sure, looking forward to the next Damien McCarthy horror movie. Yes, we are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:00

I hope it takes place at Easter.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:02

Well then, guys, it is knowing him. It will. Yeah. Maybe he's building up to like an Easter bunny horror movie.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:11

You could be predicting the future, Devin.

unknown 1:15:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:15

It's time for our famous segment, Who What, Watch, Read Win. The segment of the show where we get to talk about whatever we're watching or reading or enjoying or are about to watch, read, enjoy, in the horror genre. Who likes to go first?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:31

Guys, I don't think anything is gonna top my Bigfoot audio. I'm just gonna say no. I gotta find something that is best.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:41

Bring it back.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:42

The best when the truest that ever was.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:47

Yeah. God, then we got it. But do you have any? Have you been watching anything?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:50

I mean my head. Okay, I did start watching that um something bad is going to happen show. Oh, thank you. Do you remember one? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:01

Yeah, that was uh that was like a wedding movie, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:16:04

Uh it's like a series. Oh, it's a series? I didn't know that. Yeah. Yes, and it's exactly what we predicted it was going to be from the trailer. It's giving me uh absolutely nothing.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:20

And it just very much feels like, oh, uh, something's gonna happen, something's gonna happen, and nothing is. Nothing happened. That's the title, isn't it? Um there was like all sizzle, no stake.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:30

Yeah. Alright.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:31

The acting is like okay. I'm not like totally in love with the main character, which I think you should be to get. Is it the girl or the guy? The girl. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:41

Padretti. Is that who it is? From Hill House? No. No, okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:50

Well, that's a shame.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:51

Yeah, not too great. And it's kind of the only thing that I've had time to watch recently, so I am a bit sad that I'm not really liking it. Um, and I haven't had much time because I've been shooting my short film. Oh yeah!

SPEAKER_03 1:17:07

No one can save you?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:09

No one can save you, yes. And we just shot like the most uh like complicated day of the film, so I'm glad to have that done with. I mean, I I was super happy to do it. Like it was an awesome day. Um, and the makeup artist did a great job on all the characters that needed all the special effects. Sweet. Nice. Um, and yeah. I love it. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:36

I can't wait to see it.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:37

I'm very excited for it. I've I've put in a lot of hard work and I think it's gonna turn out good.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:42

So I know it will your other one, so I have no doubt. No doubts.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:47

Yay! Congrats, Emily. I'll go next.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:51

Um, so I have been reading At the Mountains of Madness, an HB Lovecraft novella. Uh, this is about a bunch of Arctic explorers who go up to like the farthest reaches of explored space in the uh North Pole, and then they encounter this huge, gigantic mountain, like tall as the eye can see, basically. Uh, and then they uncover these like eldritch beings that have been like, you know, frozen under the ice for ages and ages. Uh, and what happens when they thaw them out? Probably nothing good. Yeah. And then there's like this discovery of an old city and um that was like created by these old ones. It really like does a fun job of kind of tying together a lot of Lovecraft lore. Uh like explaining his mythology about like the creation of the human race and life on Earth, um, and like what pertains to the Necronomicon. That's cool. Um, yeah, so it's a lot of fun. Um I'm nearly done it. I think I have like six pages left, so maybe next time I'll give a you know full recap or my final thoughts are.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:57

Yeah, I love book reviews.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:59

Yeah, yeah. So that's a novella, so pretty long, but like a hundred pages or so.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:03

Have you read the Necronomicon?

SPEAKER_03 1:19:05

No, no, I have not.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:07

I saw it at the bookstore on Hastings.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:10

What like actually is like that that you can buy? Because like in Lovecraft lore, it's like written by the mad King Abdul Alza Red, something like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:21

That's true, I have seen them in stores before too, and they have like the little symbol on it.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:25

Yeah, so it's like, well, who created that? Who wrote that? Is it like actually old in any way, or is it just like, you know, a spirit Halloween prop?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:35

I think that it is old in some sort of way. Yeah. Like it is an actual idea.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:41

I might be wrong, but to my knowledge, Lovecraft invented the Necronomicon. As a as a concept. Like it's an invention of his, and then people have referenced it and made their own.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:53

Well, maybe I would just like to believe that it is like an old creepy thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:58

Here, how about while Devin starts her who will watch Read When? I'm just gonna look at it.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:11

And I saw this head on said Necronomicon, and I'm like, I don't really know what this is, but I've heard this word said too much in a spooky-ooky way. Because isn't that the book in the evil day? Exactly. And do you know what I'm trying to avoid? Accidentally conjuring dead ice my whole life. Don't read the Latin.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:26

So, what you can buy as Necronomicon is just a collection of tales of Lovecraft.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:34

That's not what I'm saying. That's not I know what Emily's talking about. Okay. I know exactly what it was. No, it had a bunch of weird writing in it. Like it was, it seemed like some sort of like unscripted.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:44

There's like a creepy kind of star-ish shape symbol with like a like 25-pointed star. Like it's creepy.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:50

Yeah, yeah. I wish I bought it, to be honest. No, I'm happy you didn't, because I like being a lot.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:55

Is that the one then? Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:56

The Necronomicon, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:58

Okay, a study of ancient ritual magic and esoteric grimoire traditions.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:04

That is the exact book I saw.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:06

Which is written by the devil.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:10

288 pages.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:12

Who's it written by?

SPEAKER_03 1:21:13

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:15

See? Don't buy this book, guys. Don't do it. And if you read it, Emily, make sure I'm on the other side of the channel. Ed Simon. I will not read it out loud.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:23

I'll take it. It Ed Simon. It's written by a dude.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:27

Of course. I mean, everyone is a dude, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 1:21:30

Uh it's from 1977.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:32

So that's peak spooky times. Yeah. 1977? Yeah. That's when everything.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:37

Could just be like a collection of um, you know, fun old magic myths and stuff by someone who probably likes Lovecraft.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:44

Fun?

SPEAKER_03 1:21:45

I don't know about fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:47

I just wanted it to be like a super old book.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:49

I know, I know, like, I know. But like in the in the Lovecraft universe, it's this super old book that's written by someone who, you know, I don't want it to be real dreamed too much and and learned the secrets of the universe.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:01

We could do something so crazy. I'm gonna do it on my own time and then come up, we'll figure out the numbers of Ed Simon, and we will come up with our own lore and patterns to make it be like I am the devil to read my book. I would like that. I'll do that just for you, Emily.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:17

Devin, what have you been reading, watching, listening to?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:20

Oh my gosh. So funny. What do you think, dog?

SPEAKER_03 1:22:26

But wait, you can't be watching reading Interview with the Vampire. It's not out yet.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:29

I can be rereading the books. Alright, give it to us.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:34

Which one are you on right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:35

I'm rereading The Vampire Lestat. It is disintegrating in my head.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:40

Oh, I've seen this copy, yeah. Love to death.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:47

Yes, exactly. What I'm gonna do is by myself, I found it online. The special edition. It's the first three Vampire Chronicle books. Why? Really big, really hefty, thick, heavy book. You'd have to need like one of those plants to stand on the And then I have my little scroll thing in my half-crescent moon glove. One of those little monocles.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:09

Yeah, it's like and you read it by candlelight, of course.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:12

Yeah, yeah. And then I go, I was 33 when I was turned into a vampire. So I'm gonna order that book. Hi.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:19

My name's Lestat. I have long blonde hair. You probably wonder how I got here.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:23

Well, it starts with this guy named Marius, and I don't want to spoil it too much for y'all. But um, yes, I've been rereading it just because I'm getting really hyped up because I want to have a little interview with the vampire viewing party, so somebody's gonna have to watch two seasons really soon. I'm not giving anybody side eyes, Emily.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:40

Um somebody, somebody who will remain nameless probably just should because it's a good show.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:45

And then somebody would enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:47

Nameless Friends! I don't know who she could be. Um, perfect.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:51

I'm not talking about you, Emily. Oh, it's a nameless.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:54

That's embarrassing. Um but yeah, so I've just been like planning, quite frankly, a viewing party for Interview with the Vampire and trying to perfect like bleeding cupcakes. Vegan bleeding cupcakes. Cool. Yeah, so we shall see. Great.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:12

Well then, I guess there's nothing left to do but wrap up the show. Guys, where can people find us on the socials?

SPEAKER_02 1:24:19

I am at emily.english underscore on Instagram and at horrorho on YouTube.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:27

I'm Devin Ellis Dirty on Instagram and Devin Ellis Dirity, or Devinley Ellis Dirity, I never check on YouTube.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:36

I'm Thomas NJacson2002 on Instagram, also Thomas N. Jackson on Letterboxd. You can find this show at Whispers in the Woods Pod on Instagram if you wanted to give us an episode suggestion, comment, or critique, or just want to say hi, please do. Also, um rec uh recommend the show to a friend if you would. That is how we get new listeners. If you've got a horror-obsessed person in your life, uh, send us their way. Uh also special thanks to uh Gordon Dearity for our mic, special thanks to Kia Alice Dearity for our logo, and special thanks to Moira Christie for our themed. To go. Thank you to you guys for uh doing the pod again.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:21

Yeah, you guys.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:22

It's nice to be back.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:23

It really is really. And just another thank you to the Vancouver Horror Show. And you can go follow them on Instagram too, because they do a bunch of cool things.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:32

Well, we will see you guys sometime. Yeah, one day.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:36

All right.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:37

All right, deal with your lizardine.