Obsession (Part 2)

This week, hosts Frank and Andrew discuss the supernatural future cult classic horror film Obsession (Part 2). What happens when you get exactly what you wished for?! Please join us for a scene by scene break down of this iconic film. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey folks, it's Frank. As aforementioned, we talked so damn much about this movie that we had to split it into two parts. So without further delay, enjoy the rest of our conversation on obsession. Okay, I have a question for you. I read somewhere that the trauma of losing his grandmother and his cat left him completely isolated. So he fears returning to total isolation more than he fears like Nikki's demonic actions. Like, do you see truth in that? Do you think we should cut this guy some slack?

SPEAKER_02 0:53

No, I mean, like we've we've discussed, I've already said this several times. I again I'm gonna call back, I know I just did, but I'm gonna call back to the dinner scene. He puts it together there. We have that horrendous, basically a sexual assault scene. Um I don't think I don't think so. I think this guy is so it does not matter what so like in this case, it doesn't matter what we think his intentions are, it matters what he's doing, right? So we we will get to this. We'll we'll there's a big moment later where it really puts this all together, like this, what we're talking about here, about why Bear really is just this deplorable character, is because, and this is confirmed later, he really cares more about the fantasy of Nikki being his girlfriend, being as normal and uh normal as possible. Uh, and he's willing to right now, anyways, he's willing to look past this weird shit because probably right now when the going's good, it's good. He's got this like caught girlfriend.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

This going is not good.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

Yeah, the going's not good.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

The going's been fucking terrible.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

Well, yeah, we had he yes, that night, the night sequence, I think, is the first huge like Nikki's actually can be so terrifying. And I think he's and we're about to go into another weird moment here where I think he's just shits his pants.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

So I think what I mean though is like this whole this like quote that I'm referring to is that he fears like if he addresses Nikki's demonic actions, quote unquote, that somehow he'll return back to being isolated. So he would rather this is just like another theory, like he would rather kind of put up with this and deal with this as opposed to being alone.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Do you think that there's any like truth to that, or part of it's true, or I think part of that's true? I mean, like at the end of the day, like he has companionship right now. Like he does, and like it's this is honestly we'll we get more of this later, but Nikki, the way Nikki behaves in some of these scenes, it can be representative of an abuser, like an abusive relationship. Despite her being the ultimate victim, freaky Nikki for in her form kind of acts like an abuser. It kind of acts as a controlling, that's not kind of absolutely acts as a controlling, obsessive, and possessive partner to bear, which we which escalates in crazy fashion. Uh like from here on out, it gets absolutely nuts.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

But what do you I also wondered, like on this thought. So she is like in the position of kind of acting like an abuser, but ultimately, like you said, like he kind of created that. So then I got to thinking, I was talking with my friend, and I started to wonder like, is this a modern retelling of Frankenstein?

SPEAKER_02 3:57

I guess like I think there are those themes, yeah. Like the care for what you wish for. You you know, Frankenstein's Dr. Frankenstein creates this, wants to create this monster, and it kind of gets it not kind of it obviously gets away from him. Yeah, it ends up like murder, destruction, brings complete ruin to his life. And this is just like that.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

And oddly enough, I feel like neither Bear nor Dr. Frankenstein truly recognize that they are the bearer of these tidings. Like they're like the thing with like, and I know you know we've talked so much about this, but like I find it weird, like whether or not you cause this wish to happen, or whether or not like you believe that you made this happen, you have a moral obligation to this person to ensure that they're like mentally okay. And he and he doesn't, and I know like we've we've just said that like so many times.

SPEAKER_02 4:55

What's so funny about you saying that is that what he calls the tabby cat company, that's what they say to him. Yeah, exactly. I think you have a moral obligation to take care of her in this time.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Like, it's just it's true. Like, it's yeah, it's like you created this mess and now you fucking live with it, dude. Like, obviously, he's like irredeemable, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, he's he's made some decisions that make him like a truly a villain. But I would like to say, like, prior to that, and maybe like warming up to that scene, maybe, maybe there are more nuanced elements to this character, but as I say that, I think I'm just saying it to like provoke discussion. Like, I don't actually think that there's much to pry into about him. Like, I think like he seems to want her adoration at the cost of like really terrible things, and that's kind of fucked up.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

And we'll see later, too. Like, uh like this, I think this is more apparent in the original script, but um I think in this story, uh freaky Nikki uses sex more than we even know to bring Bear in and like and like keep him invested in this like this this fake nightmare, this fake dream of a person. So uh so I think like even though Bear is irredeemable, my point of saying this is that I do think there's a lot that Freaky Nikki does. Obviously, real Nikki doesn't deserve any of this. I'm just saying Freaky Nikki does stuff that I think Eve if Bear, who's obviously like he's kind of meek, spineless, a bit of a coward, um if there's this force who controls through coercion and persuasion, then he's probably easily along for the ride, too. He's a dick.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

All right. Well, absolutely so. The next morning, Bear awakes and discovers Nikki has cut a lock of his hair. And when he asks Nikki if she cut his hair, she says, Yes.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

He says, like, she doesn't this whole scene is actually this whole scene is actually played, I think, like properly played for a bit of a laugh, and I like it a lot.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

I yeah, I agree. I think the audience was definitely laughing when this was happening. So he says, Let's not do that. And her facial expression is one of utter disappointment. She says she packed him a lunch and he asks if they can talk about last night. She says she's sorry, and he says it was kind of terrifying. And like, I know we're gonna get I I yeah, god, okay. Just to break the fourth wall here, like, and I might even cut this out. I keep talking about this over and over again, but one thing this movie is doing, which maybe I guess is slightly irritating, is she'll do something so super unbelievably insane, and then he'll respond with, it was kind of terrifying. She was acting psychotic, yet he will grab La Lunge and go to work. Like, there's never any interception or action as a result, and I think this happens like the more we talk about this, we like this happens so much that it kind of begins to grate on me a little bit as I'm talking about it.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

See, uh, it doesn't it works for me because he is such like he has this fantasy of what dating Nikki is supposed to be like, and I think his psyche will do everything in its possible to justify keeping it going, regardless of how crazy and like I think this ab I know maybe maybe not in terms of the actual terrifying stuff, but in terms of domestic violence, uh victims of abuse will absolutely just for a long time will justify what happens to them to keep the fantasy of their relationship going because the love is great, like the the love, the cycle, obviously the love bombing, the the the cuddle, the making, yeah, the kissing, the you know, the makeup sex. It's like the all that stuff plays into this. Oh, well, it's really good when it's good. So, like I can I can brunt the force of the bad for now. So I I I'm gonna disagree with you. Sorry, I don't really have agreement. So it's allowed to grate on you, but I for me it absolutely works, and I think it's yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

That actually makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

I think it's a great intended exaggeration to highlight this as opposed to keeping it her actions like not psychotic, and also it's just a lot of fun, it's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Well, yeah, it is a lot of fun, but it's just like it's just like what does he do? Nothing. What does he do? Nothing. But I understand, I understand from your perspective, it makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

But even at every turn when he's expected to do something, what does he do? Nothing. He's a coward. He he can't like he, aside from the fact that he's like wants this fantasy of Nikki, he's probably too chicken shit to break it off, anyways. Like, he's probably like, oh, just keep dating her, it's you know, like it's he's just a loser.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

No, and well, no, I know, but also like the simple explanation is he is a loser. Yeah, that's a simple explanation in the podcast. We we stopped the recording, we move on. That's a wrap. You watched it, right? Click, yeah. So I think what you just mentioned is right, like there could be an element to him not reacting because he is paralyzed with fear, he could be paralyzed with the fantasy. You are correct. So I think it is like a huge part coward, part fear, and a couple other elements that are kind of driving him to make these really bad decisions. So let's continue here. So she completely placates him with a simple kiss, and as you mentioned, his desire for her outweighs absolutely any logic. He asks her to promise him something, no more weird stuff, and no more watching him while he sleeps. She super promises. But when Bear goes to leave for work, he discovers a completely duct taped doorway. And as he attempts to tear it apart, casually, I might add, she tells him if he's having trouble with the door, he should just stay home. And as he exits, Nikki smiles again, frozen in an emotion, and proceeds to pee herself. Yeah, so that was intense.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

Yeah, there's there's some things I didn't catch the first two viewings. I saw in the third viewing here. So when just just to talk a couple a few things about this scene here is that when he enters and she's on the couch reading, she has got the book, The Art of what's it called? Uh the art of it's like some red pill. I think it's a red pill like like pickup artist book. It's called uh The Art of Seduction or Art of Something. It's like that, like the art of persuasion or seduction. I think art of seduction, and it's upside down. She is faking, she is faking reading to try and appear normal to him when he enters the room. Oh that's a I wouldn't put it faster. It's it just really I didn't notice it the first time, but you know, you see the book is literally upside down in her hands, and it's like so. She's just mimicry, like it's just this freaky Nikki is like is doing stuff right now to placate him into like thinking that she's back to normal.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And I think, like you said, she also uses sexual like the kissing to placate him, and like that was your point initially. I think that plays out.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

Yeah, we have a couple scenes later, like she she says, even towards the end when her face is a like mashed potato salad. Uh, she's she's like, I know what you need, and like, but we'll talk about it more later. And um a really funny moment here, aside from the when he's like, don't be weird on kind of stuff. She like practices a smile, and she's like, How's this? And it's like really funny because the smile is so obviously creepy and bad, and he's like, not great. It's just like a really, really funny moment uh between the two of them. Um, I mean, not really funny for Nikki, but it's funny for for the audience. Um, and of course, yeah, the leaving the the door is also played for a bit of a laugh because like he's just casually pretending that nothing's wrong with it, he's just forcing it open. It's that's just fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

What Bear does do is he proceeds to go to work and he confides in Sarah. He opens his lunch.

SPEAKER_02 13:50

The true, the true go of the movie.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Sorry. That's okay. He opens his lunch and notices a couple Polaroids Nikki has included in his lunchbox. One of her and him, and the caption reads, not me.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Yeah, this is great. So there's two photos are. I remember the first time I watched this movie. I don't know why I didn't really clue into this. Like, I I it took me a second watching to see what I was even looking at. I don't, I don't know. But it's these photos are terrifying because the first one that says you is taken from like a weird above security camera style angle. Yeah. It's really weird. He's like going about like walking to a desk. Like he's not involved in the photo at all. It looks like it's from a security camera. Very creepy.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

I don't know if you noticed this, but there are several references like that throughout the film where she has either filmed him or photographed him without him knowing. And there is a scene at the very end which we'll talk about, which I didn't realize until I watched it for the third time when I was on the TV. So clear, yeah. So clearly she is like traipsing about and spying on him.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

Yeah, yeah. I I did not notice that either until the third time I watched it. Um, and then the photo, the photo, which is really creepy. When I was allowed to sit in it uh the second time, which it says not me, and she has this like creepy ass smile and bear is just sleeping. Like, it's just this is uh one of those examples where Nikki, real Nikki, managed to break through for a second, I think, when she was writing this.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Yeah, it's like she just kind of like commandeered the brain again for just like a few seconds to be able to write him a message. So Bear and Sarah talk about Nikki that she thinks it's weird they're dating all of a sudden, and that she doesn't want him to get hurt. As Bear continues eating his sandwich, Sarah remarks his lunch smells weird. She reveals another post-it note saying, What's the verdict? Cat? Question mark, and Bear comes to the sudden realization he's eating his deceased cat Sandy. Now, why does she do this?

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Yeah, this is I think out of every moment in the movie, uh, this is probably the hardest for me to I guess, not hardest for me, but I guess this is the most open-ended for me to like kind of decide what is the definitive answer here. So I think um my first theory is this. I treat freaky Nikki as, like I told you before, I don't think I know you've used the word demonic, but I do want to disagree and for the audience too, I in no way think that there's anything demonic about this at all. This is like a because I used to associate demonic with demons in hell and possession of as a one spiritual demon um possessing a human. So I don't think it's that. I think that freaky Nikki is a newly manifested like persona, entity, not demon, whatever you want to call it, who's kind of like new to this. And she kind of the reason why I say this is because like socially, she's like trying to like in trying to placate and like impress Bear, she's got it wrong a few times. Um, and especially if she's trying to the cat, she knows the all freaky Nikki knows is that the cat is a focal point for Bear. Like he really keeps it. That he loves the cat. Yeah, he loves the cat.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

And that he misses the cat.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Yeah. So in my mind, the way I justify this is that Nikki doesn't under Freaky Nikki does not understand what like the social norms around a dead cat. Like so she knows so there's no sorry, there's no part of you that thinks like she's doing anything vindictive here. No, I think I think this is, and that's there's there's the second theory, which I'll get to in a second, which is a lot shorter than this long-winded rant here. But I will say, I think this is freaking this could be freaky Nikki's again, another effed up way of her trying to show that like she she like, oh, like bear likes his cat. Here's here's your cat. Like, how does you know what I mean? Like, she just doesn't get it.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

But it's interesting because he told her, he told her in the kitchen that, you know, don't do this. Like, like I appreciate it, but this is wrong and this is fucked up. And she said she knows. But part of me, like you said, with reading the book upside down, it's not even the fact that it's like Mimicry or that she's trying to be like a normal human. I think that she almost is at the point as the movie progresses where she's unable to even act like in the capacity of a normal human, quote unquote, anymore. So, like you said, I think she may have even forgot what the cat, like that she wasn't supposed to do something and just went ahead with it because she knows he loves the cat. It makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

And yeah, and that that makes complete sense too, because if we to further drive this point home, um a lot of times it seems Nikki can't function as a normal person when she's not in bear's presence. Whenever she's not in bear's presence, she's always up to no good and she's always terrifying. And oh, she's that little rascal. Um she's so cute. I don't know, she's just so cute. I love when she just pees in that puddle. Yeah. So, like, and that's the but that that thing right there, which we're gonna see the full effect of it later uh in a minute here. Yeah, I think when she went to cook, she doesn't like know how to do this properly when like in her own, she's just like bear, bear, cat, bear, bear.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

But it's kind of funny because she also has the wherewithal to like whip up a tuna salad sandwich. True, that's true. Like, like it's like she no, but that's I I think I'm like feeding into the point that like there are aspects that, yes, you know, I understand how to do this, and this is like a legacy memory from Nikki, but I also am not 100% sure what I'm doing, but I think this is right. Like she's just she's just fucking like shooting in the dark.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

And that's my 90% like what I'm leaning on here. 90% what I lean on. The only other like mini theory I had was that uh in conjunction with a not me photo, maybe real Nikki managed to like get like somehow convince freaky Nikki to cook the cat or could I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

I don't know. I don't I don't think so because I do know what you're saying, like I think like as a way to tell him to fuck off, sort of, or get revenge.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Uh more more to like hey, this is something something's really wrong here, dude. Like, maybe like don't look past this. I don't know. I'm gonna scrap that theory, but yeah, I I agree. Like I said, I think I I put a lot of my thoughts into that first series, so I think it's that's mainly what I'm gonna go with.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Well, I think that's kind of like I think that is I think that is what is going on, but I think you're right. Because I think with Nikki, I think the only I my theory is that Nikki can only pop out for like five seconds before being put back. Yeah, not a few yeah, absolutely to make a whole gourmet like turkey dinner. I don't know if like imagine, okay. This is my theory. Freaky Nikki gets tired of doing mundane shit, so she gets Nikki to do it, and if Nikki doesn't do it, she threatens to put her back in the cage. Yeah, maybe maybe.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Yeah, that'd be that'd be kind of a cool little behind-the-scenes thing for sure.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Okay, so after his shift, Bear drives Ian home and learns he's having a party and that he wasn't invited. Ian says it kind of looks like Nikki is going through something, and that Bear looks like he's taking advantage of the situation. Ian agrees to let Bear come to the party, but if he does, Nikki can't come. Now, this I find super fucked up. After Bear drops Ian op, he looks in the rearview mirror and he practices over and over again saying, You can't cook the cat. Like he is planning on not addressing anything, but ensuring she knows she can't cook the cat.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

Yeah, so this is like it's just like I said, this is we this is not subtle. This movie is very much beaten you over the head with that. Like he need he wants to continue the fantasy. And of course, we're gonna get to this uh next scene here, which furthers furthers this for us.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

So at this point, he has wised up to something being off, right? Like he is finally, for the first time in the entire film, Andrew, he decides to do something and contact one wish Willow. So the man on the other end tells Bear he cannot modify a wish, and that just because Bear chose this for Nikki doesn't mean her love is any less real.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

I need to, I need to, I don't want to skim this over. So I know people have seen this, but you said it, but Bear specifically calls this company, and his words out of his mouth are like, is there any way to like alter a wish? He does not ask to cancel the wish or relinquish Nikki of the freaky Nikki version. He asks to alter it. This is a guy who has seen he's she's cooked his cat, she's taped the door shut, she's cut his hair, she's on the freaky shit at nighttime. Um, and she's had a couple freak outs already. Um and yet he just wants to alter it. He doesn't cancel it.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

And this is why I I also sorry, I also think that the most interesting part about this. I mean, I didn't even clue into like the fact that he did that, but I think the second thing is that like he still is not sure that her love is real or not. That is the mark of an immature, like unfully cooked human. Like, for him to realize that there is a problem of this magnitude, and his first one of his first questions is does she actually love me? Does she actually love me? That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Yeah, like he did this conversation, and there's more to this conversation, I imagine maybe you're gonna mention here, but um he doesn't care about let's like really think about what he's done. He doesn't care about Nikki herself, he cares about how Nikki affects him.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Yeah, and I think this call to the one wish willow proves that unequivocally.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

And I I will go always go back to this, and this is my most pessimistic take on Bear. I think I really think when it comes down to Bear is the kind of guy, and I we I think I think there's like no, we know that there's actual guys that like this that exist. I think as long as Nikki is hot, adores him, and fucks him, she he's willing to like just whatever anything goes. He's like this, I get this girlfriend who fucks me all the time and she adores me and she's my crush. I've loved forever. It's it's that the going's good when it's good. I think he just relies on that.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

But it's interesting though, because like he does recognize that that's problematic in some way at least, because he calls this number to try and like quote alter this wish.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

So it's like it's problematic for him only, right? Like, he doesn't again, he doesn't care that it's problematic for Nikki, he's problematic for him.

SPEAKER_00 25:48

Yeah, exactly. So this is this is really sad. So he also learns that Nikki will be perpetually stuck in this state as long as Bear lives, and that quote, he has a moral obligation to her. So the man asks if Bear wants to talk to her. Oh, this is horrifying this is horrifying, and suddenly he hears Nikki screaming over the phone before it goes silent. And what I want to ask you is, is it the real Nikki who is screaming?

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Yeah, so uh I like this, and I think this is where this is probably the the only the major evidence we get that when Nikki's doesn't get to take control of freaky Nikki, she's in some kind of void or purgatory and in eternal torture. Um exactly, and this is this scene, I think, is that nugget of lore we get. We don't get too much in this movie, and which I like. Um, but this confirms for me that she's not, it's not I'm not gonna call it hell or something, but she's in some kind of I almost picture like a black void.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

I think she's just trapped in her own mind. Like she is trapped in like a bootcage in her own mind by this. I consider this to be a demonic possessive force.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

I I just I really categorize demons as something separate from what this is, myself. But uh, that's fair if you think that way. I'm not gonna try and I just don't think this is demonic as in the forces of Christian mythology in hell. I think this is like very much like this, it's just an emotion and this perversion of Nikki's any feeling she could have about devotion. I think it's perverted into this other persona. Yeah. So I think also fun fact, that's this is, I mean, I think everyone knows this by now, but that's Curry Barker's voice is the is the guy on the other line. I didn't know that. Oh, okay, cool. Yes, that's the direct that that is that is the director's voice. That is uh Curry Barker who's who's on the phone call.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

He's so chill, too. Yeah, you know what else, you know what else? This is why I like okay, I'm not saying okay, maybe she's not possessed by a demon, but the fact that like the person on the other end of the line has access to the voices in freaky Nikki's head where the trapped Nikki resides, there is something otherworldly going on here. Yeah, exactly. And I think even in that mythology, you deal with a lot of demons, yeah. You deal with a lot of, yeah. And so, like, I don't think for me, and I know like we just differ on this, I just think there's no evidence to the contrary that this woman has been like fully taken over by a being who, for whatever reason, is like fixated on this dude. Yeah, but I like this phone call so much because it like for me, it added this other layer to this film. So, like everything like we've seen so far has been kind of based in reality to some extent. But this phone call introduces us into like the world of the one wish willow. Like it's this whole other mythology, this whole other universe where this guy mans the phones and has access to the pieces of the wishes that have gone wrong. Like, that's fucking cool. Anyway, I thought this was really, really, really cool. That's no, I appreciate it too.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

So when he returns home, Nikki is in place. It appears she has defecated all over the living room rug. She says she ate a bug or has a stomach bug and was just waiting for him to come home. She says she'll clean it up, baby, before getting into the shower.

SPEAKER_02 29:42

Yeah, she's disgusting. She's like pissed shit and vomited herself.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

My question, so she did do a few things throughout the home while he was away, but uh what I'm thinking is she was mainly in place and waiting for him to come.

SPEAKER_02 29:58

She didn't move, she didn't move once, but she did not move once, she stood in the whole eight hours.

SPEAKER_00 30:02

But doesn't she create a little like shrine for him? No, that's later. That's that's later. Okay, so yeah, okay. So we are meant to believe that she has stood in place for the entire time he's been away from the house.

SPEAKER_02 30:16

Yep, she's she she's got the same smile and all. She's just like sweaty, she's pooped, peed, and vomited, and she's got greasy hair. And she's in the exact same spot when she when she left. So I think it's very much meant to say she froze in time in some way, like this freaky Nikki just literally didn't know how to function without him and just let all her faculties go while he was gone. Oh man. Poor girl, eh? Yeah, no kidding.

SPEAKER_00 30:45

So now, in terms of acting, I love this next scene because through the bathroom door, Bear calls out, Did you cook the cat? You you can't do that. And Nikki responds with a simple, okay, honey.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

Yeah, he's like really trying to like get it across while she's showering.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

He's like, Yeah, Nikki, you can't cook the cat. Like, it's just like but he's saying it. No, he actually says it in the most quiet, meek, non-confrontational way, so that you could barely hear it if you were in the shower. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Like, oh, I don't want to upset her. You can't do that, honey. She says, Okay, honey. And when Bear mentions he's going to a party later alone at Ian's, the water in the shower immediately shuts off. And she says she can finish showering and meet up with him. When he says it's a boys' night, that maybe he can just go, we hear a low, growly scream from Nikki. And a slam and a slam. Yeah, it appears she isn't happy about this. She snaps back into calm Nikki and tells Bear she'll just stay here then. And he says, You can come. And then she sobs. If you wanted me to go, you'd ask me to go. And so we run the gamut of emotions.

SPEAKER_02 32:10

Yeah, so like uh I really this like I just can't highlight enough. I think a lot of people who've watched this have probably the same feeling, but I always like you even when I think we kind of feel like Bear does in this moment, in terms of like, we're so scared how she's gonna react when he tells her it's just a boys' night, you know she's not gonna react normally, right? Like, you remember the first time I watched this, my my face was like that cringe, it's like, oh god, like what's she gonna do? Because he pauses like when he says alone. He's scared, yeah. He's scared shitless to say this. And when when she when he delivers the like, yeah, like just all go, you know, paraphrasing, and she slams a shot and she yells, like she's like she's like yells out of pure frustration, and it's like the detention man in the theater, even was like, it was just and like that reaction does make him feel bad out not invited. I'm like, that is the real thing. Like, so like he can't, he's so he in his meekness, he's overpowered by freaking Nikki's reaction, and decide and he's like, actually, no, you can just come, it's fine. He's just like, he can't stick, he can't stick to the city.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

Even when he says you can come, she starts sobbing because she knows he doesn't really want her to go. Like she can't handle the gamut of emotions she has run in this scene.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

Yeah, because and it's funny because she brings up like, and this is true, like he when he says it's just a boys' night, she's mentions how Sarah had been texting her about the party, and he didn't know that. So, like, she's extra, like, even freaky Nikki is extra pissed about this. So, I just I really really liked it. I just loved how terrifying her reaction was.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

And also, this is a sorry, oh no, I was gonna say, this is also a really great scene from a sound design perspective because you don't see her at all in this scene, right? It's from the perspective of bear, yeah, but you hear like the slam, and then and then she quiets. It's like the way that this is portrayed is so effective when you're watching it.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

I really enjoyed it, and I I watch I can't I can't say this enough. The the ambience, the lighting in this movie, the sound design, like this. There's a lot. This movie has the look, the sound, and the feel of a movie like 20 times its budget. It's just so well done. And like the sound design, you hit the nail on the head. The sound design is so good, and this is one of those scenes for sure.

SPEAKER_00 35:00

There's also like a whole lot of, I don't know if you notice this, but she does a whole lot of this. She's like, Like, that's like the Nikki fucking horn. Like, she just is ready to go for it. I like that she does it, yeah. It's so I actually do have quite a bit to say about the scene. So not to mention all the stuff that you just mentioned, but the fact that you mentioned they're in an abusive relationship, and she despite all of like the things that he has done to like cook the situation, she is doing like that classic abuser thing where she what am I trying to say? It's like she does this thing where I think you're trying to say, yeah, it's it's the guilt trip, it's like the emotional guilt trip.

SPEAKER_02 35:52

Yeah, you would have you would have wanted me to come, like that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

Like it's just yeah, like if you really wanted me to come, I would come. And I think it's like people in abusive relationships use those tactics to get the other person to do what they want them to do through like guilt and shame. And it's like too codependent, girl.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

And I'll say this that's not even like that tactic is very much used by in abuse relationships, but even in like toxic or relationships who go through unhealthy periods, I have known have known people who are really great, and maybe they're I don't know, knowingly or unknowing, will have a if if something doesn't go their way, they would pout, and their reaction could be like could make you feel like actually, maybe I should just do what I didn't want to do in the first place. Like, I'll just go along with the the option A, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 36:50

I think humans are so ruled, and I'm sure you'll agree with this. People are ruled by wanting to please other people, even people that say, I don't care what people think about me, and I'm my own person, we are all affected by the way you know we are treated by other people.

SPEAKER_02 37:11

I think I think people just we care about how others feel about something. So a lot of times, especially people we care about, we want to make them happy. And so sometimes it means placating, sometimes it means genuinely just compromising, and and that compromise might be an 80-20 in their favor. Um we often and and in healthy relationships, that's what happens is compromise. But um obviously in toxic relationships, someone will use you, like they know their partner will feel bad if they have a reaction that's you know they're sad about something, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Okay, so we enter Ian's party where a group of friends, complete with Bear and Nikki, are playing a group game of Jenga. One game that I wish I had, because this looked really fun. Each block reveals a question. Nikki pulls a block and begins to read a dark, disturbing retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. In her twisted version, the story focuses on Gretel harboring incestuous, romantic lust for her brother Hansel years after their encounter with the witch. And it's no secret that this is meant to mirror her own unstable mind and her bizarre dynamic with Bear, the love only a willow tree could conjure.

SPEAKER_02 38:40

Yeah, I like I this monologue is like I think it kind of leaves not only the room that she's that they're they're in there, but also leaves the audience kind of stunned for a second because it's so dark towards the end. Like she talks about how she would flay the flesh if she had to, of his of his, I don't know, limb or something, and roll it into a stump and put it, insert it between yeah. She says this. No, I know, I know, I know, yeah. And like she's it's so vulgar, she's like and put it between her legs, and it's just like, holy shit. And I also like here too, her voice starts out nice and positive, and by the end of her of her this this soliloquy here, uh, her voice is like almost unnaturally deep and dark. And I like that.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

I feel like she almost hates Bear.

SPEAKER_02 39:36

Yeah, I think like I think this is a permutation.

SPEAKER_00 39:40

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 39:41

Yeah. I could yeah, I think I think you could look at it that way, you could look at it as like maybe part of Nikki helped write that soliloquy.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Yeah, the that's the other thing I was wondering. Like, is this this part of her is capable of writing because this level of story I think is pretty incredible because this is a retelling, this is not a verbatim take from an existing story. So she had to employ creativity when she wrote this. So it's like, is freaky Nikki capable of doing that?

SPEAKER_02 40:17

I think she I think she's capable challenge some perversion of the creativity that Nikki would have as a writer. Also, this this is a this is a soliloquy, this monologue lends credence to the lends evidence to the theory that maybe if there was ever a chance that Nikki did have feelings for Bear, uh, they were fleeting because this is very much like this is reminiscing, she's basically saying, like comparing that much like Hansel and Gretel have a brother-sister incestuous relationship, the relationship that freak that Nikki and Bear currently have is incestuous and wrong. Like it's it's this brother and sister friend thing that's been made perverted into this sexual uh story that's like absolutely wrong.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

Which is kind of interesting because like this is evidence in which we could say that like maybe Nikki really didn't ever have a crush on Bear. Yeah, so yeah, sorry, that's what I'm trying to say. Yeah, but you know what I'm saying? Like, because at the at the beginning we said like even Carey Barker was saying, like, oh, leave this up to interpretation, but this this monologue clearly points in the direction that no, no, no, she looks at him like a brother, and this is very much something she doesn't want, and she recognizes as being wrong, yeah, and again and against nature, and that's most importantly, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:39

So and that's there, and what you just said there, that's the crux of it. So that's why you can really either way, like one theory kind of supports the other. So at the end of the day, this monologue is very much about what is happening between Bear and Nikki is against nature and wrong. And then you can take that further and say, and in addition to that, uh, is also the the love that Nikki, real Nikki, had and that Bear shared was a friendship, brother-sister style friendship and love. And it's just further perverted by this one wish willow. And I just this I can never get enough. Every time this three times in a row when she gives this speech, I'm just hooked on every single line because it's so disturbing. Like, he he just like the some of the stuff she says, like he goes to leave, but I know he would lay with me as he had done many nights before. Like, it's just like these crazy, cool, disturbing like sentences and these like the imagery here is just really, really like gross.

SPEAKER_00 42:44

And doesn't this also lend like a whole other layer to this movie? Absolutely, yeah. I love it. Because in my opinion, this is really intellectual and like sophisticated and deep. It's so funny. I was talking, like, with I kept saying to people, like, oh, I'm not like super into this movie, blah blah blah, but like just after like reading this past scene, I'm like, wow, like that really does like fire on all cylinders. Like, now we've got this piece of like her inner, her inner world and how she really views this situation, even from the freaky Nikki perspective. I think is like really interesting. And I think like it's just cool.

SPEAKER_02 43:25

So really, really cool. And fun facts here, they they everyone in the scene at the up by this point was actually apparently super tired. They um to film the party scene, they'd actually pulled an all-nighter, they'd filmed well into the middle of the morning, um, filming multiple takes of this party scene, and they had to keep acting like everyone's partying, right? And I'm super awake. So apparently it was like one of the more difficult scenes to film, not because of the content itself, but because everyone was just so damn tired. Dude, I have to tell you, this seems like the chillest fucking party.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

So now I know why. Like everyone, okay. And the other thing, too, is like if your friend got up and read such a beautiful piece of writing, would you not be like, fuck, that was sick, even if it was weird? No, they all sit there like she's a fucking weirdo. So after she recites this, she casually sits back down and says, It's a new book she's working on. And so the reason I bring this up is because she, like we said before, she just did something super bizarre. Then she feels shame around it, and she tries to cover for it by saying, It's a new book she's been working on. Like it's that same behavior trait from earlier in the film where like she she recognizes what she's done is weird and she tries to cover for it. So those are two things I'm saying, but like it's interesting that even up until this point in the movie, she's kind of gone like psycho tits, but she's still in public when other people are around. I don't know if they link her to society or if they if if having them around her dilutes the feelings she has for bear. I don't know what it is, but she seems to like want to atone for like some weirder shit she does. Do you notice that?

SPEAKER_02 45:15

Yeah, yeah. No, it you we've said this before. Like, she she'll like she's late to the party, not not literally, but like figuratively late to the party in terms of like catching the reactions of people, she's slow to be like, oh, that was not good what it did. Uh uh fix this, uh, make excuses. Like, she just very much goes into um damage control mode, but it like after most people would, and but I'll say this too. You said this monologue, like you know, she gives this monologue, and you think I would see like if that was done by my friend, I'd be like, that's fucking gnarly. That's what the hell. But I will say this, especially once she talks about flaying the flesh and inserting his the stump or whatever between her legs. I do think that's something you can't walk back, and I think that would need the right audience. Like, maybe if that was a more intimate setting with her best friends and they knew her and how she wrote, I can see that maybe her friends be like, dude, that's fucking darkish. But aren't these like her best friends? They are there, but this is also the worst friend group ever. True, yes. Yeah, so I think also her, like I said, her tone does change through the monologue. She starts a little more zippy and ends very, very like tonally dark. And her voice is like deeper when she when she says it too. And also, I want to highlight too, one last thing here. I fucking hate Bear so much. Like, I know that Nikki, I know that Nikki is like a freaky Nikki and stuff, but like the most unsupportive coward ever, he just sinks further in his chair and that's uncomfortable. He doesn't support her to say that was like that was such a good job, or like he doesn't even try and make it land. Like, let's say you knew, let's say I'm picturing myself in Bear's position right here. Obviously, I would never do what Bear has done, but let's say right now is transpositioned into his consciousness right now. I would, if I saw what if I heard what she just read and I wanted to make this appear normal to my friends, I'd probably like at least like look at her, look around, and clap, or like, you know, babe, that was so good. That was so creepy and awesome. I can't wait to read the full book. Like, I'd probably like to do it. Isn't she weird? Yeah, exactly. That's funny, but it would probably help that land.

SPEAKER_00 47:22

Like, yeah, but you know what? He is such a sheep that he is so concerned about what everyone else thinks that he doesn't care about her. And and whether this was like one wish willow Nikki or any partner he has, he wants to satisfy like the group thing that he's like a good person, like he doesn't want to like rock the boat, and he wants to be accepted, and it's like at the expense of like first of all, you ruined this girl's life, now she humiliates herself, and you can't do anything but chill. And the thing is, after this next like part two of this party, he sinks, the scene ends with him sinking further into his chair.

SPEAKER_02 48:08

Yeah, he's such he's such a shithead.

SPEAKER_00 48:12

He is, and isn't that ultimately abusive? All right, I want to like get into part two of this party. Okay, yeah, yeah. So the group pauses, and when Bear pulls a jenga block asking him to kiss the person to his left, Nikki casually pulls Sarah's chair from the spot to Bear's left, inserting herself so that she can kiss Bear instead.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

Also, we have to mention her iconic frown here. The frown is hilarious. Like the camera, we don't before she does anything, the camera just pans over to her and the most it in a disturbing way, the most adorable frown, and probably the the one it's very cute. This is the one adorable thing that fricky freaky Nikki does do in the entire film is this frown is hilarious, and it's it's meant to be play like this. Is meant to be a more like glib, like funny facial expression for this scene. Sorry, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, that's okay. I also, yeah, I think this movie does like kind of inject humor where it can. Uh, but she does do a cute little frown, which I think is adorable. She's she's adorable. That that that woman. Yeah. Um, so he plants a very casual kiss on her lips, and she says, No one else on earth will ever feel what it's like to love someone this much. And then she stands to announce to the party that everyone in this room will die, never knowing the strength of the connection she has with Bear. And she says it like in the most like a bed.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

She says it like in the most like proclamation wavering voice. She's standing.

SPEAKER_01 50:00

It's so funny. I think it's really like rude, yeah. But she doesn't mean it like that.

SPEAKER_00 50:06

Like, like, I think from her perspective, she's trying to say she feels sorry for them. Right? Yeah, maybe I feel so sorry, you guys are such losers. Like, can you imagine if you and Sharon were around me and you're like, oh Frank, it must suck to be single. You'll never experience a connection like ours. Like, I love kids too.

SPEAKER_02 50:33

I don't I don't know if you're about to say this about when she's like, just kidding, and then actually, I'm not. I'm just kidding, she says, I'm just kidding. She like looks around the party, guys. It's just a joke. Yeah. And it's like, actually, no, I'm not kidding. So what?

SPEAKER_00 50:52

All right. Okay. This is what trips me out. So she casually brushes Bear's hair before snapping out of the obsession, cowering and screaming, and saying, It's not me, it's not me, breaking a bottle and stabbing herself in the face.

SPEAKER_02 51:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

Now, this I just want to, I just want to applaud the beauty of this scene from going from that speech to completely breaking down and self-harming, I think is awesome. And I think it's safe to say that Nikki is the one that did that, obviously.

SPEAKER_02 51:33

Yeah, and like this is also one of the one of those iconic shots of the movie that will forever be immortalized. Because we just get a great framed photo of her face, of freaky Nikki's face taking over, where she does this, like it's the shock and terror of having stabbed herself, slowly mutating into like the smile that like to make like it's you know, like she looks around the room smiling very uncomfortably while she's oozing from the face. It's oh it's so brutal, too.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

You know what I think about a lot when I watch this movie, like deeply. I think a lot about how once the wish wears off at the end, the brutality that has been done to this woman physically is a lot.

SPEAKER_02 52:21

Like it's stuff that would leave scarring. It would leave insane scarring. Her face will be forever pockmarked by the scars of what happens to her, and she wasn't even aware, you know.

SPEAKER_00 52:34

Like it's it's it's really like heartbreaking when you think of like just the physical toll that this stuff takes on her. I think is like insane. Oh, later on, like does Bear do, Andrew? Nothing, he does, he does, but he takes her to a hospital.

SPEAKER_02 52:53

Oh, yeah, sorry, yes, he does they do, he does try to get her hospital.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

He does something. I know you were gonna say nothing because he's done nothing up to this point, but I think at this point he's like, She's oozing blood from her face. I have to do something, like it's at the point where he has to, yeah, but they but this scene I didn't quite understand because he takes her to the hospital, and then he talks to like someone who works at the hospital, and they determine that she's not gonna go inside, and then he takes her home.

SPEAKER_02 53:24

Yeah, I think what this is showing is so she gets out of the car and starts dancing, and basically in her own way declining medical services, and so the uh the nurse or the triage nurse or whoever it is is basically like, Well, that's that then. Like we can't force her in the hospital to accept treatment. Uh, bye, like she's acting like a drunk idiot, right? Like, she's on the car dancing.

SPEAKER_00 53:51

Like, do you know what I thought happened? What I thought I thought that he talked to the hospital worker about their insurance plan, and it just didn't cover her injuries.

SPEAKER_01 54:03

I'm not kidding. Like, this is what I thought. No, I thought they had to like turn around and leave. He's like, Oh, Nikki, you ain't got no insurance girl.

SPEAKER_02 54:11

Like, no, I think this is like I think by this point her face had stopped oozing. So the I guess the injuries probably didn't look bad enough to like merit apprehending her. So they probably were like, Oh, well, she's she's beat a drunk asshole. Like, sorry, but she doesn't want to come in, we can't force her in.

SPEAKER_00 54:28

Like, I'm surprised she has an eyeball left. I know, yeah. That's yeah, all right. So later that evening, a forlorn bear sits at the table, and he asks Nikki why she acted like that, and that she's scaring everyone. And all I have to say is he is a giant fuck nut. Like, why do you think why is he asking her this?

SPEAKER_02 54:56

So, this scene here is kind of what I would say really puts the bow on Bear's psyche. It really, if you haven't, if you really had some shadow of a doubt that maybe Bear was not a raging asshole, not raging asshole, but just like a a weak-willed asshole.

SPEAKER_01 55:17

Uh, this this not a raging asshole, a weak-willed asshole.

SPEAKER_02 55:21

Yeah, this scene.

SPEAKER_00 55:23

I love the sequence of events here. So Nikki says she knows Sarah likes him, and this is where we start to see Bear breaks lately. So he has a mini freak out and he shakes his hands and he says, Everything was normal. He asks her, Do you like me? She begins to tell him I love, but he cuts her off saying, Does Nikki still like me? And she says, I'm your freaky Nikki and smiles. Why does he ask her if Nikki still likes him?

SPEAKER_02 56:05

So this is like, I think maybe is coming to like coming to the end of his willingness to go through this fantasy. And I think this is where he's kind of at the point where he any dream he had of this fantasy going on is over for him. And I think this is his one last grasp at at make trying to like salvage this thing. Because what he just further one, he further reminds us that he is an asshole. He doesn't he at any point in this conversation, his frustration, he when he grip when he puts his hands on his shoulders, like, does Nikki like me? He doesn't care about Nikki. He doesn't say, is Nikki okay? You just bashed your face in with a bottle. Um he says, Do you like me? Like he he cares only how she affects him. And he she he cares only about the fact that the facade of this fantasy is collapsed in front of him. She's self-maimed, she freaked everyone out at the party. Um it's stuff that he can't bear anymore, I guess, because he's he's has this like this can this actual conflict for the first time. About she's like, Why can't you just be normal? Like, he doesn't care that she's normal for herself, that she can't be normal. She he can't stand that she just can't act like a perfect girlfriend for him.

SPEAKER_00 57:45

Like, I actually I have a slightly different take. Like, I do agree with you, but he says everything was normal. And I think, like, in his breaking, like when he starts to slightly break down, I think he this is the first we're seeing him if he would prefer it to be how it was. Yeah, Nikki has a friend, yeah, like everything was in its orbit, and now it's not. But the weird thing is that after all of these events, he's called the one wish willow, he's heard her screaming. Like, if you think of all the things that have happened up until this this point in time, for him to say, Does Nikki still like me is a really weird thing to say? And I think it's also a recognition that he knows Nikki is trapped in there, yeah. Yeah, it's just like all of these like observations kind of come to light. Yeah, I I also love here, I love how he he does say that.

SPEAKER_02 58:46

Does Nikki still like me? But then he also like says, like, uh why can't you just be Nikki? Yeah, and she like the acting here is so good, she collapses on her knees crying. Just a thing that you said before, the uh and she's like and she's like, I can be Nikki, like she screams it, like she's so desperate to like keep him involved here, and uh which which leads, which actually leads perfectly into what happens next.

SPEAKER_00 59:20

So he says, This is where I think he's talking to himself. He says, This is all I ever wanted, and that he wants this to work so bad. He says she has to go home for one night and take some space from each other. And Andrew, how do you think completely normal Nikki takes this? She sobs and she says she'll be anything he wants her to be, and he confirms to himself, finally, this is not real. He calmly tells her he loves her before she immediately turns into Linda Blair, backs away and begins speaking in a distorted voice.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:04

Yeah, so this uh put goosebumps on my even the third time around, I get my hair stands on end, I get goosebumps. Uh the reverse walk here with the music is terrifying. This is one of the freakiest scenes in the movie. And while I I I wondered what she said, I didn't realize for the third viewing about, and some people had some different interpretations of this, but I think ultimately it's agreed upon what she says, and it's also what she says in the script. Um, what do you think she says here, Frank?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:37

Honestly, I actually went to watch this again to read the subtitles, and it doesn't say in the subtitles what she says, and I have no clue.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:46

So this is really fucked up, but she says, rail me, rail my guts as she comes to a standstill. And in the script, this scene is even darker. So I actually like this. I like the movie version a lot more, like the reversal, like that wasn't in the script. Uh they have this conversation, and this is what I said before. I think freaking Nikheat to bring Bear back, like gets in this weird mode where she's like, she asks, she tells Bear, like, I want you to rail my guts, Bear. And I think she almost forces herself on him in the in the script. Something similar to that happens. She wants she uses sex for the first time aggressively on him. Um, but this is still like an interpretation that I think this reverse walk with her defaulting to what she this what she might know, what she knows might still work on Bear is like this the perversion of that affection is like rail music. Like it's so vulgar and gross. It's like the guardrails to being human are gone. Gone, yeah. And then like she's like, I'm you know, I'm so sorry, baby. Just for a second, then she lunges. Even that weird little lunge was like a junk scare for me the first time. Just terrifying.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:07

I just think it's like I just think like the physicality of the actress is amazing, like we said, but I always go back to like the physical toll it takes on Nikki. Like these actions, these unkind of human-like actions and movements and how they affect her body. Like, I always go back to like I wonder how this vessel. This is the thing. Okay, again, like I'm gonna veer off into possession just for a second. When you know, you watch a movie where someone is being possessed or there's like a demon, I'm not saying this is the case at all, I just mean the physical things that the body does, like it contorts, like especially like the um exorcism of Emily Rose. Like, I think like, what's her name? Carpenter had to do these like really wild movements to convey possession. And I my mind always goes back to like how the body would feel when the possession is over, like how sore it would feel and how damaged it would feel. So throughout this whole film, I often like look at like not only is the actress doing like a fucking killer job at movement, but I always wonder about like these otherworldly actions and how that affects a body that's not used to moving like that. And I think that just adds another layer of horror here, which body horror. Anyway, I I thought a lot about this while I was watching this. I agree.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:23

I just it's she does this, she does this. There's three key moments in the film where she like she does these like these freaky movements. We get the the dinosaur style tiptoeing, and then the plant, the the flower movement. We have this one, of course, and we get a little bit of it later on at the very climax of the film, but it's terrifying every time she does it. Like they really the direction of her and her like her own interpretation of it is so good. Like, she's so it can't be overstated how much I that this actress is just uh just absolutely crushes this like creepy shit, like boundary-breaking, freaky Nikki moving in in a disturbing way.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:08

She's okay. Anyways, I'm just gonna okay. A frightened bear says he's going to spend the night out this evening, and Nikki casually says, Okay, but she threatens him saying this. I had to rewind this like four times. I thought this was a killer. She says she'll feel warm in bed that night until she slowly begins freezing. That any thought of pain or regret will slip away like a chemical switch. It's not painful. You just let go of everything at once, and then there's nothing wrong. Or you could stay. Yeah, and then I just love she is directly threatening him with suicide.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:56

Yeah, so I like this too because first she goes into the back of the kitchen, pantry, or whatever, and she rummages. Yeah, she's a rummager, and she had a little rummager, she comes out with a knife in her hand, and this every line of this monologue is so killer. Like you said that part is unreal. And like, I love how she's describing the feeling of blood loss. Like, she's basically saying, like, she'll slice herself, and this feeling as blood leaves your body, it will be that feeling of like, you know, when you like you get like pins and needles in your hands, and that will slowly go away. And then she the the line I loved, she's like, and there'll be a darkness, except it's not darkness because darkness is a color. Like it's it's like the way she says this celebrity is so good and just like disturbing.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:42

I feel like freaky Nikki, like now going back to like the party monologue, and then this again, like this movie peppers these throughout, but she's using like again, like we said, like Nikki's creativity to like stirring up these thoughts, and I think it's like this one. Is so creative, like pain or regret will slip away like a chemical switch. Yeah. Why would you? I guess it's just like maybe I am more chemically balanced, but why would you want to be with someone? I mean, I'm not at all, obviously, but like I want to know like why you would want to be with someone that didn't want to be with you.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:20

It's like that's so much worse than because the feelings in the brain that we equate, not to go on a huge thing here, but at the long and short of it is a lot of times uh limerence, love, those those feelings, the the idea of lust, love, limerence act like a drug. And you some people, some people can't do the thing of like, I can't picture this person away from me for too long, where it's like a healthy person will be like, they know a healthy person knows that after a few days of no contact, you know, a week, two weeks, they will get better. They will feel better about it. But the unhealthy mind who has maybe it's nothing else in their life going for them, maybe it's just like this latching on this insane codependency, those chemicals that that feel good to have them there even for a second is all that matters for survival.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:14

But isn't this weird? Like for Nikki to be the freaky Nikki version to be so obsessed with Bear, to the point where she's gonna like threaten suicide to keep him around. Would she be okay with the idea that okay, he's here, which is all I wanted, but he doesn't truly want to be here? That's kind of like the thing I don't understand.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:34

I don't think freaky Nikki cares that far into it. I think this freaky Nikki is an obsessed, like she is a she's a weirdo. Yeah, well, she's a she is a perversion of devotion and love. She is not romantic, she is not caring, she is a perversion of the feelings of devotion and love and obsession. And so her objective, I almost view her sometimes like a terminator, like she's just her direct her directives in terms of like her algorithm is like this wish has got her making sure to keep bear in her presence at all times.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:14

Like, that's that is imagine if we like we saw it through the eyes of her and it was the terminator, and she was like sizing up his clothing. She's like, not a magic.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:26

I just mean like sorry, that was that was a I thought that was perfect.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:30

No, it was like per the perfect thing to say that you're right. She has an unwavering mission, and she does not care how she achieves it. You are right, as long as he's there. Why would she give a fuck? Like, I'm I'm asking the question like she's a normal person, she's not a normal person, she's not even a person.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:49

No, she's not.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:50

She is driving the person with no license, like she doesn't even know how to drive. Yeah, she's out of control. So, what does Bear do, Andrew? He crawls into bed with her, and indeed does stay. Now, this next part is my favorite part in the entire film. He receives a text from Sarah who tells him she needs to tell him something, multiple things, and that she's coming over. The bear slips from Nikki's grasping to meet Sarah. But before he can, Nikki calls out, and this is terrifying. Kill me, please. She's sleeping. It's me. Please don't wake her up. Just kill me. And this fucking guy responds with, Oh my god. What would be so bad? Like, what's so bad about being with me? And she simply says, I've never been with you, Bear. Just kill me. Favorite scene in the entire fucking movie where we see a paralyzed trapped Nikki have two minutes where she can talk to Bear directly and coherently, and I love it. It's scary.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:19

Yeah, this is horrifying. And it just again, we've said this over and over. I know people have watched this movie, is not subtle about this, so I don't I don't know thinking this is a big brain thing for me to say here, but it's just this again, he doesn't care about her feelings, what she's going through. He his immediate thought is about it how it affects him. His first response isn't, oh my god, Nikki, I you know, like it's you, like you. Oh, yeah. Like, what can I do? Like quickly, like, what could it? It's what would be so bad about being with me.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:00

Can I tell you something? This is the first blatant display of him being a captor. He now is fully in a position where he has kidnapped this woman and he isn't gonna do anything about it. Like his his evil response is well, what would be so bad? Like, this woman is paralyzed on your bed pleading with you, and you don't care, and worse than that, you hop in your friend's car casually, like that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:37

This is yeah, so this is this would be basically you could say he's borderline sociopathic here because big time he he walks away while she's still actively pleading. Yeah, and to get into I know we're you're gonna have a something to say about this, but he he manages to summon a smile and have a warm moment with Sarah minutes later. Like, fuck you, Bear.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:04

Dude, they kind of have like a meet cute, like if this was another movie, you'd be like, oh, it's just like a college romance, yeah. Like that's the that that's like the juxtaposition. Like it's the fact that he can, and we'll talk obviously the next scene. He gets into Sarah's car and they begin talking about Nikki, but the fact that he like he gets in and they like kind of cutely, it's almost like an indie film all of a sudden. Like, in I guess this is kind of an indie film, but this is like an indie moment where they're like, Are you going to like that band in Seattle? It's like it has nothing to do with like you have a woman held captive in your home. You psycho fuck. Yep. Because now this is the thing. I've been holding back on this, but the reason I love that scene so much is because it it just puts Bear in like a really bad position. So, yeah, like we said, so he gets into Sarah's car and they begin talking about Nicky. Sarah says, I don't think it's okay she's taking advantage of you. So Sarah has some sick. I just laugh because like she thinks she's taking advantage of Bear from all the signs and signals, which would make you think that.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:21

Like, like, let's let's be let's be clear. Sarah and Ian were both at the same party and saw that monologue and saw the stuff that she said. Uh, but she's like, I just don't like that she's taking advantage of you.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:34

Like, I don't like that she's taking advantage of you by stabbing herself in the face repeatedly with a bottle saying it's not me. Like, you know, Nikki, our friend that we hang out with for years. You know her. I don't like that she's taking advantage. I thought Sarah was fucking friends with Nikki. Yeah, well, and the other thing is, aren't Sarah and Nikki texting? Shut up, I guess. I don't know, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:00

Like, it's just like the worst friend group ever.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:03

This is okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:05

I almost can't continue. Also, too, like, I love this. Obviously, the way this scene um is framed, a great example. There's other words for this. I call it like uh, or people would call it hitchcocking horror. You know, the bucket, you know, something bad's gonna happen, but it when we talk about what's gonna happen happens, it's still just so horrifying.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:28

I think what I like about this is like I said to you before, like, I've trained myself to look beyond. Obviously, this scene is fit framed in a way where you're just counting down the seconds before someone comes up to that window. Yeah, right? Like it's framed with this big open space in the background, and that's very, very uh horror 101. Okay, so Sarah says she has some secrets she wants to reveal. This is important, Andrew. Ian and Nikki have been hooking up for over two years, and that Ian thinks Nikki is dating Bear to get back at him. Sarah thinks Bear needs someone more chill. Okay, wait, call attention to the party. A woman has stabbed herself in the face twice, screaming, it's not me, it's not me after the reading crazy. That's not chill. That's not chill at all. Dude, someone more chill. What about someone who's not eligible for like the hospital? Like, what if that was the litmus test? Like, what the hell? I literally wrote what the fuck, Sarah.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:39

Yeah, this again, that's probably done for the services of movie time and stuff, and like this movie's not about that, but like the fact that like no one asks about Nikki's wounds are like what the fuck happens?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:52

Doesn't care. Doesn't care. No, she he just needs someone more chill, like Sarah. So just do you want to say something?

SPEAKER_02 1:16:01

I was just to make some joke how she like pounces her lips and pushes her chest up, but she doesn't do that.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:08

She's so she needs someone more chill. She's bouncing up and down. And she has a water jug and she's wearing a white t-shirt.

unknown 1:16:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:20

Okay, so just as Sarah mentions that Bear was next to her in the game and was supposed to kiss her. Nikki bursts through the car window and repeatedly slams Sarah's head into the steering wheel until her face turns into a bloody pulp. What I enjoy about this film's practical effects, and this is most likely due to its limited budget, this scene gave me like Evil Dead vibes. I loved it. I thought it was like body horror that I needed.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:51

Yeah, this scene, like, this is amazing because like we we all know this. You've we you've seen it, and people listening have seen it. So it's like, you know, it's you know something's coming. We know Nikki's gonna show up and do something, but this still defied anything I pictured her doing right away because it happens with lightning speed. She is through the window, brick on the steering wheel, and her face plummeting repeatedly into said brick while the car is giving a little beep, beep, beep, uh, which is kind of funny. And she is left with like an eyeball still exposed and a bloody skeletal face. And holy shit, like, even for the budget, like this this prop is amazing, amazing. And fun fact. Sorry, let me cut you off.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:42

No, no, no. I was just gonna say, like, I didn't think this movie was gonna go there. Me neither. I didn't I didn't expect like you said, like, so suddenly it was like that's what I'm saying. This movie has so many, it touches on so many elements later on. And I wasn't expecting, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:59

Oh, yeah, yeah, we'll get to that. I I can't believe how far this movie goes, it goes there. So this scene, I've seen, I mean, like if I consume when I saw this movie, I was like obsessed with it. Um, I consumed a bunch of interviews and stuff. So, like the the stuff I learned from the interviews, this scene was longer. Uh, they not only did the head bashes have five or six more head bashes, um, they had the actress record, I don't know, it's not called Foley when you're dubbing yourself, it's called something else. Um, she called it whatever, but they actually had her recording gurgling noises. So to give the idea that she was still alive at the end just for a few seconds, gurgling in her own blood. But that was gonna give them the NC17 rating. So they actually had to cut that scene in half and not add those extra gross sound effects. So I thought it was really cool, and really cool too. So, this scene, this whole car is on a soundstage. They lit it from behind with um, like they have those uh uh uh background posters they drop behind it, and they have Nikki with a helmet on, like for practical effects, and she runs at a window which explodes. So she does she did do that herself. Oh, that's awesome! Yeah, so she does put her head through the window to crash the window, and she's wearing a helmet to protect the actress, obviously. And but it happens so fast you don't really see how act extra big the parent head is.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:25

It's it's really we're almost not even sure how she even gets through the window. It just is that like it's happened so frequently.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:33

She breaks it with a brick, like she smashes the brick through right into the wheel in one fluid motion.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:38

Then Nikki says, just remember you wanted this, and she's happy he did. Nikki tells him to breathe, and he has to help her get rid of the body. I and I just want to say this confused me because she says, This is all your fault. You wished for this. Baby, we can fix this. It is such a bipolar experience.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:04

Yeah, I love this scene because she simultaneously comforts him, tries to comfort him in quotations, and also lay it entirely at his feet, which is true. Um, yeah, I love it. It's okay, baby. Baby, it's okay. You know, you wanted this, you wish like she's just very like she's like consoling in an evil way.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:23

I I really love it. Yeah, that's what I mean. Like, there's part of her that makes me think it's like this, it's not vindictive, it's like she's breaking out of the obsession because she can't handle it.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:35

I I think too, like freaky Nikki is like at this point, she's like this persona's letting him know, like, you this is the version of me you wanted, and she's a she's like she breaks almost the fourth wall with it, right? She's like that's what I'm saying. Yeah, she's she's telling him, like, you literally wish for this, I'm here, so let's deal with this.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:55

Like, and the fact that she knows that he wished for it is another layer terrifying because it's terrifying, it's like she knows he wanted this, and I'm sure on some level, I know that she says, like, I'm glad you did, but I'm sure on some level she's like, Am I? And I'm not talking about real Nikki, I'm talking about the internal struggle of the freaky Nikki, yeah. But what does he do, Andrew? He helps her get rid of the body. He's such a fucking meek bastard, man. I read another piece on this, and the quote is as Nikki's behavior scales from erratic to outright murderous, Bear becomes physically terrified of her. So his passivity shifts from a choice into a survival mechanism to avoid her wrath. And I'm sure we can say that from like other parts of the movie that have already happened. The reason I put that in here is because I was wondering, like, why the fuck are you helping this person? And it got to the point where I was like, okay, he is just trying to like ensure she doesn't kill him or do something like outright fucking brutal worse than what she's already done.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:12

Yeah, and like this is just me, this is just me adding to the lore here or like to the scene, and this is in no way like, but it's like Nikki also freak Nikki almost possesses like Praetor natural power, like supernatural power, like her strength, like demonic to break through the window and grab this girl's head with like little resistance and just kill her. So like such ferocity. It's like even though he's like bear is taller than Nikki, I like that would still be like a fight I would not want.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:46

I'd be like, uh Okay, then this is what I don't get. She Nikki is locked away inside her brain, she has super strength, she is like a radican nuts and sort of demonic, but we don't think it's a possession.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:06

No, it's not it's not like it's not it's not possession in the standard sense. It is a form possession. I just don't think I just want to be I just don't think it's a like demonic implies like an this like entity for like a demon that has like he's he's operating the machinery of Nikki. I think the wish What's the difference? Because uh maybe I'm just for you, I'm splitting hairs here or something, but I think for me it's like the wish has manifested this another, not it's not a previously existing demon from the some other world or hell or whatever. I think the wish very much perverts the emotion that he says, I want Nikki to love me more than anyone else in the world. I think it takes this idea of love and perverts it into its own personality and inhibits Nikki with it.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:58

I think makes it makes her super strong.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:01

Well, like again, the super strength thing, I don't I don't think she's like super strong. I think for the scene, she's like like is unnaturally strong, but I'm not I'm not saying that's part of this possession. I think it just it makes her act too different. It makes it takes Nikki's uh like Nikki's emotions and perverts them in such a way that they blend to try and devote themselves to Bear.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:27

To defend you here, I will say when humans are under extreme duress, they are noted to have like increased physical strength.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:37

Alright. So we also get a very small scene here. This is very pivotal, where Bear is looking at Sarah's acceptance letter, bloodied, and he opens it to find after multiple attempts, she was finally accepted into a college, and this scene made me really sad. So Bear breaks down and screams, and we finally see some fucking emotion from this guy. Finally, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:08

I think here's where this is a scream, he screams in absolute agony and desperation that like it's gone so far, he knows his life is over at this point. I think this has gone to past the point, well past the point of no return. His dear friend Sarah, who he was kind of warming to in the last minute of her life, um was brutally murdered in front of him. And he knows, he knows, like he also helped hide the body. He knows in this moment, not only the tragedy of his friend not getting to live her life and getting to this college she wanted to go into, but freaky Nikki has like this is irreversible, irrevocable damage, and as like he knows that it's over. And one way or another, I think he knows there's not many options left. It's it's it's it's approaching being over for him.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:09

Yeah, and I think he started to notice that after they came home from the party, but this is a full expression of that emotion, which I liked. So he does something intelligent here. He hatches a plan, he rushes into the occult gift shop and secures another one wish willow. The clerk says he's aware of the consequences of the one wish willow, and he asks Bear if he's called the number on the pack. Bear says, What the fuck is wrong with you? How could you sell this to people? After telling each other to fuck off, Bear breaks down and the clerk asks him what he did. She's obsessed with me, Bear says. Bear determines maybe if someone else makes a wish to contradict the wish he made, he can undo his wish. So we have a plan. He has a plan.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:04

Again, I want to draw attention to two things here. Bear does not say my friend is trapped in a body that she can't escape and is going through hell and wants to die. He says she's obsessed with me. He and once again, even after everything, he cannot contextualize relationships or friendships as their own, like he can't contextualize people in his life as their own entities. It's all about how it's affecting him. Like this line, it might seem innocuous, but I think is very much just for even though all has happened, he he's crying, his friend's been murdered, he still says, She's obsessed with me. That is true, she's obsessed, but like that's his number one worry. It's not that he needs to save his friend Nikki from this fate.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:55

Which to be honest with you, yeah. Sorry, I want to I want to touch on that point for a minute. I think that there are a lot of people who operate in the world from this perspective of, and I'm not saying like full-blown narcissists. I just mean there's a lot of people that like live in the world as if it's a place that owes them or things that are done to them, or people make them feel a certain way, and they don't take ownership over their own free will.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:24

I had a one-to-one experience with this last year.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:26

It's so it's not like that odd to me that he would be coming from this perspective because it's just so common. Like, like it's very to me, it's like a no-brainer that he would think this happened to him.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:35

Also, he does not buy just one wish, one wish willow. He buys two. This to me lends this plot to be potentially Bears' motivation. We don't really know, but could it have been even darker? In that maybe his plan, or maybe part of his plan, was to get someone to unmake his original wish so he could wish the wish better the second time around.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:06

Whoa, my brain just broke.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:10

Do you like I would not put it past?

SPEAKER_00 1:29:12

No, I think that is genius.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:14

I would not put it past him. Now that he knows how the wishes can be perverted, to have a plan where he's like, I'll I'll I'll get Ian to un to wish that I never made a wish. Then I can use the second one wish willow to make this Nikki thing better. Like, not such so fucked up. Like refine it. Yes, refine the wish. Or or altruistically, maybe he's gonna try and wish everything is was back the way it was before.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:46

But I would he's not altruistic though, because if he was altruistic, he wouldn't have let a captive woman lie in his bed and ask her why it would be so bad if she liked him, right? Like he's not an altruistic person. So like the fact that you just mentioned that really lends cadence to like him as a character and him being just despicable. Okay. In his car, he attempts to make the wish himself, but the one wish willow will not budge and break, almost like it's cast of stone. Bear decides there is no better person to ask for help than from his pal Ian.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:23

Fun fact, just want to jump in really quick here. I love this little detail. When he opens the one wish willow, the jingle is different because it he's made a wish already. So oh my god, that's cute. The first time he opens the One Wish Willow, it has a really happy jingle. And then in this in the car, it goes dr. Like it's it's a negative jingle, like it's defunct. Yes, because it the one wish willow magic has already been used on him. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:52

Bear explains to Ian that Nikki has started acting weird out of the blue. She's so weird. Acting so weird, she's so weird, she needs to be more chill. Yeah. Duh. And that he made a wish that he broke a piece of wood and it came true. Of course, Ian has a tough time believing this and wants to know if it's a joke. Bear says, no, this is real. He tells Ian to make a wish that Bear never made a wish, and Ian can just be with Nikki. Okay. Actually, now that you were talking about like him buying the second one with Willow, but now he's telling Ian, you can just be with Nikki. Do you think he's just saying that to sweeten the deal for Ian to make this wish?

SPEAKER_02 1:31:40

I don't know. I think in his desperation, maybe he maybe he does it, maybe that is an outcome he's okay with as long as this wish gets unmade. And but maybe his original plan was still to refine the wish, but either way, I think he just he's trying he's so desperate to get Ian convinced to do this for him.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:59

I have a question.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:01

If I came to you, would you believe me? I don't know if I would fully believe you, but I would probably play along in terms of like if you like wanted me to break a stick and wish for whatever, I probably would.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:18

Would you do what this asshole does? No. Skin not believing bear does indeed make his one wish, but it's for a billion dollars. And I really appreciate what happens next because it's not only hilarious, but it also solidifies the lore that the one wish willow does indeed grant all wishes. Money begins pouring from the sky. And like I mentioned, I appreciate that this was like a more pragmatic wish come to life, and I thought it was like just a clever thing to pop into the movie.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:51

I also like, too, that this one wish willow is not always taking the monkey's paw approach, it just straight up gave him the money. Yeah, exactly. Thus indicating that like certain wishing for some things in life is inherently cursed, such as messing with free will.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:12

Okay, Andrew, we are heading into the finale after four and a half hours of discussing this movie. We have arrived at the finale. That's a long time. Okay. Bear heads home to ask Nikki to do something for him. We see a full-on candlelit shrine to their love. And oh my god, Sarah's naked, bloodied body positioned in a rocker in the next room, and things indeed have elevated to new heights. Nikki says she'll do anything for him and screams, Why can't you love me? before smacking herself in the face. Well, Bear tries to calm Nikki so he can put his plan in motion. Ian bangs on the door outside. When he enters the house, Nikki shoots and kills him. Ouch!

SPEAKER_02 1:34:12

And also, Nikki's wearing Sarah's clothes. Nikki has put a shitty, like tried to sort of tattoo herself with black ink. And if you look at the corpse of Sarah and you look at Nikki's head, Nikki seems to be wearing strands or a portion of Sarah's scalp over her hair. And that's why her hair is super dark now. It looks like she's trying to look for she's trying to look like Sarah for Bear.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:42

And that's one thing I didn't realize, like until I watched it for a third time. This is one thing I was going to talk about, is that she has made herself look like Sarah because she knows she thinks Bear likes Sarah. But to like to go to that extent to look like her where you've taken her scalp off her head, put it on your head, and tucked your hair back, yeah, is disgusting. Like, like you said, like she's reached a full climactic level of haywire here. And it's really disgusting. And I appreciate how subtle this is, actually, too, because I didn't know the first two times I watched it that she was wearing Sarah as as a costume.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:21

Yeah, and I'm not sure if this was like a chronologically if this is filmed like before he goes to Ian's house or something, because I found it interesting that Ian knocks on the door and he says, Bear, it's real. I have like a billion dollars here, or something like that, dude. So I'm curious if A, maybe this is just a continuation. He it's finally hit him. He actually has a billion dollars, so he runs over to um his house. But it just this is like a little tidbit, it's not like an opinion of anything. I'm just like, I'm just curious about what happened here. Or is this simply like, did they film maybe Ian getting the billion dollars was maybe not filmed yet, or maybe they were debating on filming it, and that's why he's already here saying, dude, I got a billion dollars, like it's real. You know what I mean? I was just curious about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:18

I I took that as Bear rushing out of Ian's house very quickly after that billion dollars begins to pour, and Ian catching up with Bear at his house to say, like, okay, okay, I believe you, like, there is a billion dollars. That's that's I'm totally on board. I'm there to help you, I'm there to support you. And just as he's like the one, actually, I don't even know if they either either of them would be able to make a wish at that point because they had already made their wish, but I think he was there to like help like support Bear. The tragic part of this is that he's basically innocent, and he fucking gets shot by another innocent person. Yeah, and wearing this like thing as her, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just it's I found that really sad and really shocking. This scene. Oh, this was and she takes her second victim.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:16

Absolutely crazy, and like she's screaming in Bear's face, like, like, tell me you love me, and she pukes on him, even and like she says to him, I'll rip my eyes out of my fucking skull before Bear decides to scream back that he loves her.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:38

That just momentarily like placates her, exactly. Yeah, but this again is like, yeah, but this is like this is full tilt insanity at this point, right? Like, I don't think there's anything logical that would help calm her down. But Bear has a plan, one better than asking Nikki to make a wish. He's going to kill himself. Bear ingests the bottle of pills his cat Sandy ingested before she died. And the music playing while he does this is beautiful. Again, like total nod to the score, very beautiful, like introspective scene.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:13

At first, I thought maybe he was gonna pop himself with a gun. And then when he when he moved, and I thought that's the movie's just gonna end on a brutal blows his brains out, but then like when he moved the gun to his chest, I'm like, no, he's out, he's gonna chicken out of this because he's a fucking coward.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:28

So before the pills can take effect, we hear a snap from outside the door, and Bear's entire disposition changes. What did Nikki wish for? For Bear to love her, and when he steps outside the bathroom, we see a bashful and severely injured and bloody Nikki waiting for him. The two look at each other completely obsessed. And I'd like to highlight this as the two are like they're sort of communicating in this like bashful, like, oh not you.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:03

Yeah, it's really adorable.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:06

It is adorable, but also like insane. But it's also strange that, like, the insane full expression of freaky Nikki knew to make a wish, I thought was a little like suspect, but I really enjoyed that twist. And this is when I noticed like the videos of Bear sleeping, like playing on the television. Yeah, it sort of exists between the two of them.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:31

Yep. And fun fact about the scene. So during the scene here in the bathroom, um, I know we're just jumping back a few seconds here, but um there the mics were picking up Bears, the the actual actor's heartbeat. Because the scene was so intense, like it was a very intense scene. It was quiet in the bathroom. So the mics had actually picked up his heartbeat that because it was that close to his body. And they composed cool. The composer used his heartbeat in the music, especially when the uh he is putting the gun in his mouth and stuff. That this the soundtrack has this gentle pulse going, and that's actually the heartbeat that they end up using, apparently.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:11

Oh, that's amazing!

SPEAKER_02 1:40:12

Yeah, I thought it was really, really cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:15

That is really cool. So as the two approach one another and kiss, bear's breath trembles, and we get a close-up look at the cracked one wish willow before Bear succumbs to the pills and dies. Nikki embracing him cries, What did you do, baby? before completely fucking snapping out of the wish and awakening to her surroundings like from a nightmare. And I love this part. She looks around at the carnage and she drops Bear's body like a sack of fucking potatoes and just begins to whimper. Like she is thrust back into a reality not of her own making.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:06

So this is uh another fun fact here, and I love this ending. So the original ending, they they actually shot this before they they shot the original ending before they shot this ending, and they were gonna do the Nromeo and Julia ending. So in the ending, in the ending that we see here, she puts she does for a sec couple seconds, has the gun to her in uh to her head or under her mouth or something like that, and but then she snaps out of it at the like just in time. So in the original ending, she was gonna blow her brains out, and then that was the ending there. They they were both dead on the couch, her two friends dead in the house, and that was the end of the movie. And then it was, I believe from the interview, it was his dad, I think it's his dad, who is also he's also a writer, suggested that they film this other ending. Let's just film it. Because I I think Curry was playing with the idea of having her snap out of it, and then the dad encouraged him to film the ending, and that that was the only take they did, I think, was is the one we see. And um, I love that she awakens to a literal house of horrors of all four of them that started this movie out are now all four in this house, except all three of her friends are dead. And the movie closes with the credits, and she's still sobbing over the credits the entire time, and it's just hauntingly, hauntingly depressing and sad and fucking amazing.

SPEAKER_00 1:42:37

I love the switch from crying, like what did you do, baby? Like really holding Bear close to her heart to like literally dropping his body like she doesn't give a fuck. Oh, yeah. And I love, I love that that's the treatment he gets when he's dead. It's perfect. The sad part, obviously, is that now she's thrust into this reality where she's going to have to deal with the consequences of things she didn't do, and no one will believe her. Yeah, who's gonna believe that? Like it's it's horrific. And one more thing, not to mention, like all of like the we were talking about like the physicality and the movement, like her returning to her body and how painful that would be. Like, this is I'm very happy she's back, but what a horrific tragedy to come back, come home to.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:35

Yeah, aside from the insane facial scarring she'll have from the the bricks splitting her forehead open, the bottle, like all that shit. She just wasn't chill at that moment. No. Uh, but I like to think that this is clearly a world where one wish willows exist and they do work. Um, and I know that's absolutely crazy that these weapons of mass destruction are lying around, but I think a good lawyer would be able to get their hand, hopefully get their hands on one and make the case that she was under the one wish willow. That's my that's my there's a courtroom drama out there where a lawyer proves her case.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:14

But it's so weird though, because like she has to live with so many whether she's alive, I don't know. It's like, yeah, yeah. And then what's the ultimate tragedy of this? And it's obvious, is that she starts out as this like really cute, kind woman with all these dreams, like this creative artist, this like burgeoning young person, and just kind of like returns as this just completely broken soul. And it just it's it's super sad, obviously.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:45

Yeah, it's but it is really sad. This vibrant woman, and her autonomy is ripped away from her, she's subjected to all sorts of horrors from herself and otherwise, and left as a discarded, a discarded, trauma-ridden, like broken person at the end of it. Like just and through no fault of her own. Uh, just yeah, man. Unreal.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:13

What would you give this movie out of 10?

SPEAKER_02 1:45:16

This is my first one. I know you're not as enthralled by it, uh, but I am I am now here. We're now three months later after it's original, we're almost coming to the third three months of uh when it was released. I still this will go down for me as one of my favorite horror movies of all time. I give this a 10 out of 10. I can watch this, I can watch this anytime anywhere. So I can watch this again and again. It's consistently good. The pacing is on like just non-stop. This movie does not waste a single scene. The acting from these newcomers is especially in this Indian Averetti. I know that's her stage name, but she's just uh unreal. And I just hope another movie, another director can capture the insanity of her performance in some of these scenes uh again, because like she's just she can do this kind of stuff, and it's just really, really cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:16

I'm actually curious, like, when award season does come around, like what will happen? Because this is one of those performances that like Smile 2. Sorry to go back to that again. I understand why they would have like snubbed that actress Naomi Scott because you know it's a horror movie, it's low brah, blah, blah. But this one is like it's such a like an iconic, already like cult classic, and it had such a huge effect on not only the economy, but like our culture for 2026. I'm wondering if they'll actually like think, oh, let's actually give this woman some kudos and some credit for once. A horror actress will get you know something.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:59

Yeah, and like this is a movie that proves like like, yeah, we obviously word of mouth, but word of mouth has to exist on the basis that like you're that people have seen a good product and they want to spread it around. This is I loved this movie, and I love the horror movies that came, some of the horror movies that came out this year because it showed that like audiences will show up for good movies, and horror movies are are very obviously horror movies are a dime a dozen. There's a reason why there's like out of all the genres out there, horror movies probably have some of the most slop on streaming services you can watch because they're so cheap to make. But it just this movie, I love this movie because it gives me hope that like even in these trying times of the economy and stuff, that people will still pay a pretty penny to go see an incredible story and an awesome, awesome character-driven plot like this. I just this movie I think will go down in history as one of the greats for for not if if not for the fact that it's an amazing movie, of what it like what it really means in the uh 2026 and and going forward. I think it's just an awesome, awesome achievement. So, like I said, this is a this is a 10 out of 10 for me across the board.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:16

Okay, my rating is an 8 out of 10. I think this is a fantastic movie, and you've heard me like gush about it. I think it's brilliant. I think there's so many cool scenes. I think my rating, I think, struggles mostly from I guess like I I guess because my bar is just so high, and there's so many movies that I just like absolutely adore that maybe I'm unfairly giving this an eight, but yeah, I still think this movie is like excellent, and I really, really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed talking about it. I do think that there were a lot of like redundancies, but I s but that's just from the discussion. I I think overall, like it's just a fantastic movie, and I think it's great. And I I'm glad that you like it so much, actually. Because you don't I don't I haven't heard you gush about a movie in a long time, Andrew. Let's wrap it up. We've been chatting for a very long time. That is obsession, folks. And uh join us for our next feature film, why don't you?