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EPISODE 138: PHOTOGRAPHY IS TERRIFYING
917 Plays14 days ago
EPISODE 138: PHOTOGRAPHY IS TERRIFYING
In this episode we’re framing up a discussion all about photography— an amazing medium that can tell incredible stories… and terrifying ones too!
HORROR IN THE MOVIES
SHUTTER and POLAROID will have you thinking twice about buying that new Nikon…
WHATCHA BEEN WATCHIN’, BITCH?!
Listen in to hear what we’ve been watchin’... bitch!
–
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Transcript
Introduction & Podcast Theme
00:00:00
Speaker
Frygay the 13th Horror Podcast is a proud independent podcast. To learn more about the show, visit frygay13.com. Okay, come on. It's time to take ah promo photos for the episode.
00:00:12
Speaker
Promo photos? We've never done this before. Come on, we gotta try something new. ah Oh, okay. Here, give me the camera. You know I'm the human selfie stick. True, true. Okay. Now remember what Tyra taught us. Smile with your eyes.
00:00:25
Speaker
Okay. One, two, three. Perfect. Okay, let's see it. That's so weird. What? Do I have a double chin? Andrew, there's there's nothing in the photo.
00:00:39
Speaker
Wait, what? Do you know what this means? Vampires? It's episode 138. Photography is terrifying. I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom.
00:00:56
Speaker
I'm Marjorie Green, and I approve this message to save America, Scott socialism, and Scott China. They define reality from life to death to rise.
00:01:09
Speaker
in real life. Doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong. Horror in the movies. Where are you gonna go?
00:01:20
Speaker
Where are gonna run? Where are gonna hide? Nowhere. Because there's no one like you left. What do we want? Justice!
00:01:32
Speaker
When do we want it? Let's go! What are you waiting for, huh?
00:01:40
Speaker
I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. Sometimes that is better. When Jerry Kupzer threw his new SD card into his computer, he was shocked to find more than 100 pictures on it filled with people he did not know, houses he had never seen, but nothing could have prepared him for one particular image.
Podcast Focus & Social Concerns
00:02:04
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of Friagay the 13th Horror Podcast. My name is Matty. And my name's Andrew. And if this is your first time with us on Friagay the 13th Horror Podcast, this is the podcast that talks about horror.
00:02:17
Speaker
Horror in real life and in the movies from and an LGBTQ perspective. ah Welcome to episode 138. It's all about photography today, folks.
00:02:29
Speaker
um And, you know, look, it's exciting to be back with you. It's it's because we've had like a little like we've had like a like an extra week off kind of thing, which is good. And we're back with you now.
00:02:40
Speaker
And, you know, look, Andrew, ah we we don't do this anymore. But I did just want to stop for a minute because we used to do like the certified terrifying corner. And, you know, we decided that we wouldn't do that anymore. it Got a little too terrifying. But, you know, look, I, I, we're not going to harp on this for a long time, but I will say I am deeply, deeply afraid for what's about to occur on this planet because of what's happening in America.
00:03:07
Speaker
And um I don't know. I just want to put that out there. That's it. I just want to say that while we're on the air. Every day is like your worst birthday ever. Yeah, it just it just seems to never stop. And um it just keeps going on and on and on. I'm i'm really worried for our trans siblings.
00:03:25
Speaker
So, you know, look, if if you're trans and listening, I know we've got quite a few trans friends ah trans fans and friends, of course. um You know, look, we're we're we're thinking of you. um And ah if there are ways that we can be of of better help,
00:03:39
Speaker
You know, if there's if there's organizations that we should know about or places that we should be donating to, you got to let us know um so we can we can help out in whatever ways we can. you know, I think one of the unfortunate things about everything that's happening right now is that there's, you and I really do mean this, there's not a whole lot that people like you and me can do, Andrew.
00:03:57
Speaker
You know, this is such a huge problem. And unfortunately, the people that we elected to protect us from it Don't really seem to be doing anything, um which is also kind of hilarious. So I don't know. I just wanted to say that because this is a really scary time right now. And oh for sure we talk about about horror in real life on our show every single episode. We've been doing that since the very beginning.
00:04:19
Speaker
And we would be remiss if we didn't say something about this right now. So there it is. Yeah, it's it's it's. yeah There's a weird dynamic happening right now where I feel like everyone all of a sudden doesn't think they have any power. And I'm talking about not I'm not talking about people like us. I'm talking about people of elected official. Oh, you mean every single Democrat in office?
00:04:40
Speaker
Yeah. Where they're just like. They're just like, whatever, throw your hands up in the air. I don't know what to do. I've been doing it for, you know, this number of years, but I don't know what to do now. And it's just, it's, it's ridiculous. And people need to do better because that's what they're elected to do. And the only way that we can topple this oligarchy or whatever you want to call it is to have those people be, use their power for, it for, to, to get rid of these people and to put them in check. Yeah.
00:05:08
Speaker
so yeah Yeah, I'd say maybe the reason why they're not is because it just allows them to send even more fundraising emails over and over and over again. but Oh, well, we'll talk about that on another
The Evolution of Photography
00:05:19
Speaker
episode. In the meantime, we're talking about photography. So look, photography. ah Andrew, you've done a lot of photography.
00:05:27
Speaker
Yeah. Photography has been a huge part of my life for a really long time. um i was the editor-in-chief of our yearbook in high school. Oh, my God. Yeah. And I'm talking back in the day where we had to develop the photos. Then we had to take an exacto knife and cut them out and shit and paste them onto a ah template and send them into Jostens to get pages. So it was all very hand work. We were not in the digital age per se yet. And then when I went to college, photography was actually my minor.
00:05:59
Speaker
Oh, very cool. Yeah. And but this was back in the day, right? Right when we were getting into the digital era. So everyone was kind of carrying around those little Sony like handheld cameras to the bar. And, you know, you take pictures with them and then upload them to your computer the next day or take them to the CVS and get them printed.
00:06:18
Speaker
um But when I was in college, I still learned the art of actually developing photos like yeah printed art, um printed photography, excuse me. uh which is really really difficult if nobody's ever done it before you have to get in a pitch black room and transfer the film from the canister to another canister to develop it and then get those and take those into the dark room when you would see kind of in movies and get and develop them that way so kind of like in today's film we're going to talk about share from 20 from 2000 i almost said 2018 from 2008
00:06:52
Speaker
um And then another thing about photography that I just have in my notes here is I always hated with a passion school picture day because inevitably something would happen that day. You would get a pimple or you would try new hair product or was something crazy. Spill something on yourself.
00:07:08
Speaker
Yeah. You know, got school pictures, look looking back at it I don't know where my all my old pictures are, but <unk> it's so crazy thinking about how we did that every year and dressing up for it. And then our parents bought all those packages and everything. It's just crazy. And then they like sent them to people? I know. like if that's like That's just such a different, completely different era now.
00:07:30
Speaker
um You know, when I think about the the evolution of photography, i i I do think back to like when I was a kid and And ah my dad had Polaroid cameras. And we'll we'll be talking about a movie called Polaroid today.
00:07:41
Speaker
And the Polaroid was like the the camera of choice in our family because it was just, you know, it was easy. It was, it was you know, push the button. It flashes big and then out comes the actual photo. You let it sit for a while and there it is. So there's probably thousands of Polaroids in my family's stuff.
00:07:58
Speaker
um But it was always present. It was always there at parties and at at at at Christmas and at this and at that. there's There's never a time that I did that i i can't recall that the Polaroid camera being there. um And, you know, when when I think about the evolution of photography, you know, since since we were kids,
00:08:16
Speaker
you know i was born in 82. you know when digital cameras first came out i remember you remember thinking that that's just so bizarre that like this there's this thing that we carry now and it's a little camera and it's all digital and i remember those like big sony you almost had to use like two hands for it and there was oh yeah the camera was on it was on the right side especially in the early days yeah yeah yeah and then you know eventually i would have bought my my first uh my first uh not polar my my first digital camera um And then you know now we we all have these phones.
00:08:48
Speaker
where the like i i When I moved to Europe, I bought a really nice Nikon camera. And it's a Nikon ZFC2. And it's ah it's like ah ah a digital it's like a digital version of of their old camera. And it's a really beautiful camera. And it has you know changeable lenses and everything else. I've spent a little bit but spent a little bit of money on it.
00:09:06
Speaker
And I take it with me when I go on trips or like when I go on a hike or whatever. And inevitably, I always have the camera curse, which is i bring the camera along and then the weather is shit for the whole day. And so I barely even get it out.
00:09:20
Speaker
And then, you know what, there are other times, like, I'll be honest, that's a fucking nice camera. But you know what? The camera on my iPhone is also a really fucking nice. well and It's so crazy how how everything's changed so much. And it's in it's so those cameras, I have one i've one very similar, but it's so cumbersome. it's I know.
00:09:38
Speaker
It's a lot. But, I mean, there is something to it. It's beautiful. Yeah. It's just hard. It's hard to like carry around so much shit, especially you know where we live, where we're you know either walking or taking public transit 80% of the time. it It's not the easiest thing to kind of transport. And then you also have to think about, well, this is a really expensive camera. I don't want anybody to take it. yeah But you know one thing that's interesting about you know this this age of sort of if everyone's an amateur photographer now. Yeah. Is that like, I think, that I think what's been lost is, is a bit of what's been lost in nearly every other thing right now. Right. and
00:10:15
Speaker
It's like, you know, we, we listen to music now, but like, it's just all curated for us. Like there's, there's virtually no choice that we have in it any longer. It's just, everything is kind of pushed to you.
00:10:26
Speaker
Um, and like, it's, it's, it's nearly the same with with movies and TV. You know, you, you have a streaming service, you know If you think about Netflix, right there's no there's no ah there's no interface on Netflix where you can just look through everything. It doesn't exist.
00:10:39
Speaker
So you know there there are things that are pushed to you in different categories, and and they want you to watch what they're you know what they're showing you, of course. And then when it comes to photography... I think our brains are so newly conditioned that like, you know, like think about you, Andrew, with your camera that that is a film camera. You had to be, you only had so much film in the camera and you only had so many canisters of film with you.
00:11:00
Speaker
And so you had to really be choosy about, okay, this is the image that I want. I'm going to frame it now and then click because I want to do that. And now with our our phones, it's just but but but boom but's just... It's endless clicking.
00:11:14
Speaker
endless there's There's no thought behind it anymore, almost. Yeah. and That's... that's um I don't know. it's i feel know People get really interesting photos and put them on Instagram and whatever else, but I don't know. Maybe something's being lost there, too. Does that make sense? do you know what i mean? Yeah. I mean, I feel like there used to be more... um don't I don't think thought is the right idea, but there's there used to be just more...
00:11:38
Speaker
planning and more execution more thought yeah of of photography and now it's kind of lost its soul a little bit it's now you just capture everything you know your your yeah plate looks good that night you take a picture of it yeah yeah your plate doesn't look good that night you take a picture of it yeah like it's it's just um the the capturing of ah Life has just changed so much that I and I there's no way we're coming back from it. This is just the way things are now. Oh, yeah exactly. Completely. But ah it it it it has lost some of the and and, you know, that's why people don't really become photographers anymore, because yeah literally everyone's a photographer now. So there's no.
00:12:23
Speaker
There's less talent behind it. That's the only way to put it. And and and no one's really like practicing the art
The Role of Photojournalists in Conflict Zones
00:12:28
Speaker
of photography. It's just taking pictures now, if that makes sense. Let me tell you a little bit about some photographers that are still doing it.
00:12:36
Speaker
Cool. um And it's really important stuff because, look, we're we're in this new age ah across nearly the entire world. And also, we are we are recording on Sunday, February 23rd. is the elections in Germany today.
00:12:52
Speaker
everyone pray that the new neo-Nazi party doesn't take control, which it might. which is crazy, ah which will make photojournalism even more important, which is what I want to talk to you about right now. Right.
00:13:03
Speaker
um And this is an article from The Guardian um about female ah female photojournalists um that are in conflict zones. um and And in the past year, I look at a look at what they did. So I thought this was really, really cool. I'm going to read some of it to you.
00:13:20
Speaker
um And this article was from 2024, from the end of the year. it was December 30th. um And i'll I'll tell you about it. So it's called, it is it's not our job to make photos that are easy to look at.
00:13:32
Speaker
The female photographers exposing the cost of conflict in 2024. So for Lindsay Adario, a celebrated conflict photographer covering war in 2024 was all about a six-year-old girl from Ukraine.
00:13:47
Speaker
For most of the summer, Adario followed Sonia and her family as they navigated the final stages of her short life in a hospice in Chernivsy, Western Ukraine.
00:13:57
Speaker
The girls' treatment for retinoblastoma, an aggressive eye cancer, had been disrupted by the Russian invasion in February 2022 and then lapsed when the family were forced by the fighting to move to Poland as refugees.
00:14:11
Speaker
By the spring of this year, her body was riddled with tumors. Adario's images of Sonia's last days, published in the New York Times in October, are shattering but infused with tenderness and love.
00:14:23
Speaker
Sonia flies on a swing, ah like legs curled around her big sister and and sits in the family car, ah her small face resting forehead to forehead with her exhausted mother.
00:14:34
Speaker
Despite her vast experience of covering war and tragedy, Adario says Sonia's death left her numb with grief. She says, but feeling emotion on a job isn't weakness.
00:14:45
Speaker
You have to channel this into the work because my goal is to get people to pay attention to what is happening to ordinary people during in conflict. For me, the phonias of so the photos of Sonia and her family are as much a piece of war photojournalism as anything I shot on the front lines.
00:15:02
Speaker
Julia Kochitova, a young photojournalist from Ukraine, has also been documenting the war in her homeland in 2024. It is just one of 170 conflicts that have simultaneously raged across the world last year.
00:15:15
Speaker
For Kochitova, war photography is not just about the hardware of war, which I hate. It's about the humanity you experience when you're on an assignment. Her photographs of drone operators from the Kizhak Brigade hidden deep within the woods of Toretsk show the camaraderie and claustrophobia of soldiers living lost place there living close together in combat.
00:15:38
Speaker
The conflict is the most crucial moment for our country that most Ukrainians will live through. The people I photograph are all aware of how momentous this is. She has taken thousands of photographs this year, but the ones that stuck with her most document an airstrike on a children's hospital in Kiev in June.
00:15:57
Speaker
When the Russians struck the hospital. Hundreds of people came together to clear the debris in case there were kids under the rubble, she says. There were endless chains of hands helping people of all ages, all genders.
00:16:10
Speaker
I haven't felt anything like it since the revolution. It was a real sense of unity. That's what I was trying to capture in the photos I took that day. This year, photojournalists in Gaza have borne the enormous weight of documenting the war between Hamas and Israel for the world.
00:16:26
Speaker
No foreign journalists have been allowed into Gaza by the Israeli authorities since the war started in October last year, while also trying to survive and look after their own families. Fatima Shabir's photos are unwavering in their stark portrayal of the human cost of war and the relentless assault of airstrikes, hunger, displacement, death, and grief.
00:16:46
Speaker
Samar Abu-Elouf, a freelance photographer in Gaza, has created some of the most crucial images of the conflict. showing parents crouched over the bodies of their dead children, neighborhoods raised, and children's upturned faces staring at the sky as bombs rain down.
00:17:03
Speaker
It is, she has said, a job that is worth dying for. I'm not just a person with a camera. I'm a human being, she told CNN in July. Being a journalist in Gaza, it feels like you are dying on the inside over and over and over again.
00:17:19
Speaker
The Egyptian photographer Nariman El-Mofti also spent months covering Gaza from the perspective of children caught up in the war. She was four months pregnant when she began to tell the stories of a group of injured children evacuated from Gaza being taken from a hospital in Cairo to receive specialist care in Italy.
00:17:37
Speaker
Her photos from Italy have a futuristic quality, almost as if the children had been taken to another planet, which in many ways they had, she says. The children were so overwhelmed, they had been taken from their destroyed homes in a war zone and ended up in a country they hadn't even known existed.
00:17:53
Speaker
Everything was so strange and alien to them, she says. There is no way of knowing what will happen to them in the future. El Mofti says that she is creating a dossier for the future. Photography is a universal language, she says.
00:18:07
Speaker
I'm not naive. I don't think my pictures will change anything. But it's my job to say this happened to people because of war. And look, there's more to this article. I encourage you to go read it. that that That's about half of it.
00:18:21
Speaker
um But I think it's a really important one because you know of all the things that we just discussed before I started reading this about how people are sort of thoughtless when taking photos, it doesn't really take all that much skill anymore. You just need to have a phone and a pair of eyes, to be honest.
00:18:36
Speaker
um There are still people where the skill of photography and the art of photography is very much still at play, um both for their livelihoods, but also for how the world learns of what's actually going on in places where we really need to know what's going on.
00:18:54
Speaker
And we know when it comes to, you know, just think about, you know, the Russia-Ukraine war. i mean, we have we have a president in in the United States who is falsely saying that Ukraine started the war, right?
00:19:05
Speaker
But now, thankfully, we have people who are brave enough to go in and take photos to show the decimation of children and of of children's hospitals, for God's sake, by that filthy war criminal Putin, you know?
00:19:19
Speaker
or Or in Gaza, where look, that both Netanyahu, his regime and Hamas, they're both pieces of shit, quite frankly. But at and in the middle of it, you have these children and these families who are suffering terribly.
00:19:31
Speaker
And if no one was brave enough or had the skills to know how to do it with their cameras, we'd never know those stories really, you know? um So it's, it's, it's so incredible to me that, that, that, that journalists do the work that they do because it is so incredibly brave.
00:19:47
Speaker
um But photojournalists, I think often get forgotten because, know, You know, you read the New York Times or you read the Tribune or, you you know, you read but whatever paper you're going to read. You see the photos, but you don't often think about the person who took the photo and the danger that they had to put themselves in to take that snap right there.
00:20:06
Speaker
just think it's really incredible. So thought that'd be good to talk about on this episode. And um look, maybe the next time that you open a paper or the next time you go online to read an article. Really think about the human that snapped that, about their eyes that were right there, about the danger that they put themselves in, ah the smoke that that was around them, the the the bombs that were flying over their heads so to get that photo to tell you the story that you need to know.
00:20:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's ah it's a very interesting thing to think about. And then ah one thing in this article that you read about is is makes me so disheartened is that you know she says, ah one I forget which one, but she says, you know these these photos, I know they won't change anything. yeah And that's that's like the that's the saddest part about the world that we live in now is you can be...
00:20:52
Speaker
presented fully with images of what is going on. And because of what one guy says, or one conspiracy theory guy on YouTube says, you can put it out of your head and just be like, that's not really happening. Like, and da and then I'm going to go take 47 photos of my vacation and put them on Instagram. Like, you know what i mean? It's I do. and And I'll tell you, you know, and that this is, this is not too much of a tangent, I promise, but like, it's, it's one of the reasons to why I'm leaving all those social
Social Media's Impact on Society
00:21:20
Speaker
media outlets. Yeah.
00:21:21
Speaker
um You know, it's it's February right now. This is this is 20 years of me being on Meta products, right? Because I joined Facebook in 20 in 2005. And um I'm done with it. I'm done with it because I've spent too long on it because I spend too long on it every day.
00:21:37
Speaker
And because i completely disagree with their business practices and what how they're helping Nazis take over the world. um and And on top of that, too, i think Instagram has made us all dumb and numb.
00:21:52
Speaker
Dumb and numb. We see all these people around us, and we think they're just having incredible lives. And all we do is just is just give up everything to be just like them. and And then we we see so many other photos of this and that, whatever. It just numbs us to the stuff that we actually don't need to be numb to.
00:22:09
Speaker
And so, you know, look, I really encourage people like, you know, look, what what we'll do with our social media, I don't really know. But we I can tell you this, we don't post on Twitter anymore. that That's for fucking sure. And we will likely discontinue on on the other ones, too.
00:22:22
Speaker
But, you know, come see us on Blue Sky. At least it's it's there and it's it's not bad. But like, you know, everyone, you all need to think. We spend so much fucking time on those dumb things.
00:22:34
Speaker
So much time has been sucked away from you and you and it's just money in their pockets. You don't need it anymore. Instead, spend some time. ah go to an art museum ah and look look at a photography exhibit.
00:22:46
Speaker
Open up a paper and look at those beautiful photos that photojournalists have left you. Read a book. Read a book. Get the fuck off social media. Get off of it. Get especially get off of Instagram and get off Facebook. They're doing you no fucking good and they're not going to help you. You're just giving more money to the fucking Leviathan. Get the fuck off them, dude. Yeah. And we should say that we do not pay for any social media and we never will. So no, we don't. We only we only use it to communicate with our fans and followers and friends for that matter of when new episodes are and when they want to contact us. And that's pretty much it. We've pretty much discontinued interacting.
00:23:26
Speaker
Yeah. Unless it's direct. And just really quick, like if you're not following us on Blue Sky now, you should really do that because I'm serious. Twitter is run by a Nazi. We don't do anything on it anymore.
00:23:36
Speaker
Period. So yeah the only reason we're on there is because we don't want to give our handle up to anybody that could take it and do something bad with it. It's basically discontinued. So like, don't contact us there. And like on Instagram, like don't either.
00:23:50
Speaker
I'm going to be honest. Like if you want us get on blue sky, that's the one social media bastion that's actually left right now. Or or email us at. for yeah Or you can email us like other than that, please stop sending us notes at any of those. We we we number one, we don't really want to read them. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.
00:24:07
Speaker
And number two, you can get us better in another way. Come join the new community on Blue Sky. we we We need you over there because that is the one that is actually still good. ah now For now. for you You know what, though? the ah The good thing about Blue Sky is this, I will say.
00:24:22
Speaker
The creators know that they have one chance. They have one chance and that's it. And if they screw it up, we're all going to leave. Yeah. Anyway, sorry. That was a tangent, but just putting that out there. That's okay. No, we've we've lost half of our lives to this pla to these platforms that do us no good. so don need to we need to connect differently. And that's that's all we're going to say about that.
00:24:45
Speaker
All right. Well, let's talk a little bit about some other aspects of photography, maybe a little bit of the spooky side of photography. Bring it on. Bring it on. So I don't know if you've ever seen or well, you've seen this for sure because we just watched the others not too long ago. But um this post-mortem photography that was really popular in the 19th and 20th century. This is OK. This is but before you even go into this, Andrew. Can I ask you a question?
00:25:11
Speaker
Yeah. You've been to funerals before for your family, yes? Correct. Yeah. Do people take photos at at at funerals that you go to? No, absolutely not. maybe Maybe a family photo at the end. Sure. like Just to like capture like the like everyone being there. But people other than that, no.
00:25:29
Speaker
Okay, gotcha. so Because I have been to some funerals before um where people do. That's so creepy, man. And I'm always like... Why are you doing this?
00:25:41
Speaker
That's such a but I'm sorry. It just came to my head as soon as you said that. And it's i had to say it. It is so bizarre to me, isn't it? I crazy? Oh, my God. ah and And this is this is like the... This is what I was talking about a little bit earlier. There's there's a sort of displacement that modern photography does to people that like makes them so they don't have to feel anymore.
00:26:04
Speaker
And it's like, oh, just take a photo. like ah You know what I mean? I see you're saying. Yeah, but yeah, yeah. But I don't know. It's because I see funerals and celebrations of life as as such and just so take that time to celebrate the person. And that doesn't mean that you take photos of yourself. It's so weird. Exactly. I just think it's bizarre. Anyways, go ahead.
00:26:22
Speaker
All right. So the invention of the daguerreotype, which is a kind of photography, you can Google it, ah but it it required people to sit for very long for photos because it would take a long time to develop. So that made it perfect for post-mortem photography because ah this was a way for the mostly the upper class at the beginning to take pictures of their loved ones post-mortem. So they would set them up in either a laying position or ah propped up against something and take photos of them to remember Why they wouldn't just want to take photos of them while they were alive, I don't know. But it really did flourish in photography's early decades.
00:27:02
Speaker
Amongst those who preferred to capture an image of the deceased, this this helped many photographic businesses in the 19th century. The later invention of the Carte de Visite,
00:27:13
Speaker
which allowed multiple prints to be made from a single negative, meant that copies of the image could be mailed to relatives. If you ever send me a person, ah a picture of a dead person in the mail, I will hunt you down because that's really gross. Yeah, for real. um This actually kept going and and into the early nineteen seventy s um which I thought this was like, I thought this was like eighteen hundreds bullshit that went all the way through the 1970s. Interesting to hear um some images and especially tin types and ambrotypes have a rosy tint added to the cheeks of the corpse.
00:27:50
Speaker
ah Later photographs photographs show the subject in a coffin, sometimes with a large group of funeral attendees. This was especially popular in Europe and less common in the United States.
00:28:02
Speaker
Photographs, especially depicting persons who are considered to be very holy lying in their coffins, are still circulated amongst faithful Eastern catholic eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians.
00:28:15
Speaker
um Now, I did look this up. This was mostly popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, um Iceland, And the Philippines was, I think, the ones that I saw the most popular.
00:28:28
Speaker
um But this is just a really bizarre chapter in photography that we don't really know about anymore because we don't take photos of dead people because that's a little strange in my opinion. But...
00:28:43
Speaker
um I don't know about you, but I prefer to celebrate um alive moments with my loved ones and not necessarily dead photos. Yeah, well, I mean, it's interesting to think about the the these photos. what i I think what i I'd like to learn more about, because this does sound incredibly interesting, is I would wonder...
00:29:05
Speaker
you know like What was some of the contextual writing around the photos in a contemporary sense? so In other words, like you know the what were there any books about these? Were were there any articles about them?
00:29:17
Speaker
you know what What were people thinking when they took these photos? right um you know was it for Was it for a deeper remembrance? Was it for celebration? I wonder more about that. It would be really interesting to like read like um what's what I'm looking for.
00:29:32
Speaker
like like First-hand accounts of of of the photos themselves. you know Just like see what was in the mindset of those people. because like an or you For you and me, it does it like it doesn't make any sense at all. i mean like you know yeah When my my mom dies, which won't be that far down the road, if anyone takes a photo of her, I'm going to punch him in the face. you know what i mean but like For somebody back then when photography was still very new,
00:29:56
Speaker
I wonder, like, what were they really thinking then? I wonder. Yeah. And I can tell you who someone who like me, who embarrassment is one of my worst fears in life.
00:30:09
Speaker
If someone took a picture of me after I die where I can't control what I look like in the photo. And that's my dying. Don't give me no ideas, Andrew. Don't give me no ideas.
00:30:20
Speaker
I will come back and haunt you. But. yeah the only The only thing is ghost will say is delete the photo. photo Delete all the photos where I have a double chin right now. What's your Wi-Fi password?
00:30:43
Speaker
Haven't you heard of Photoshop? You dumb bitch. Right.
00:30:49
Speaker
All right. Some other creepy things that I found on the internet. You know, we're talking about creepy photography. There is a ton of it out there. But because we're an audio platform, it's not necessarily the easiest thing to kind of find like eerie photos to talk about. So I found a couple of examples of some very...
00:31:06
Speaker
odd things that were depicted in photos. I think I have three examples here. They are a little, they are pretty disturbing. So I just want to put a little warning there, but um so the first one is the disappearance of Tara Coleco and the creepy picture left behind. oh my God.
00:31:24
Speaker
On September 20th, 1988, Tara Coleco vanished from the face of the earth. The 19 year old left New Mexico, her New Mexico home on her daily bike ride and never came back.
00:31:35
Speaker
Just before leaving, she jokingly told her mother she'd better come home looking for her if she didn't return. To this day, she has never, ever been found since 1988, unsolved a mystery.
00:31:49
Speaker
But in June of 1989, a mysterious Polaroid turned up in a parking lot in Florida, nearly 1,500 miles away from where Coleco had disappeared. Crazy. Crazy.
00:32:01
Speaker
Though unconfirmed, it appears to show Coleco, based on matching scars and the dog-eared paperback next to her, and a young boy, both bound, gagged, and absolutely terrified. Oh my god, Jesus. And that was found in Florida. She disappeared in New Mexico. so What?
00:32:19
Speaker
Crazy. And the fact that the other young boy has never been identified just shows that there's another unsolved mystery out there. my god. and it Was it somebody like selling, um ah what do they call that, like snuff pictures? or whatever Yeah, or they were maybe taking it to send for, um what do you call that money?
00:32:37
Speaker
um Like we would not reward money, but- Ransom money? Ransom money, thank you. um I don't know. like I was like, monopoly money? Yeah.
00:32:48
Speaker
ah Pay me on Broadway. but no um So that's like one of the one that I was like, that is really creepy that they found a random photo and it turned out to be this girl that disappeared almost a year ago. Oh my God.
00:33:03
Speaker
ah The next one is is about John Lennon. I don't know if you know this photo. It's it's somewhat famous. um On December 8th of 1980, John Lennon signs an autograph on his way out of a New York apartment building for a fan named Mark David Chapman.
00:33:19
Speaker
There's a picture of him signing his autograph. And then um just a few hours later, that man killed him. Jesus Christ. Fired four shots into Lennon's back.
00:33:32
Speaker
i He was pronounced dead 25 minutes later. ah Later, Chapman said, he was very kind to me. about their encounter earlier that night. A very cordial and decent man.
00:33:45
Speaker
i don't know a lot about um MDC, but ah the fact that he killed John Lennon is famous enough, I guess. But it's so strange that he would get a... an an autograph from him earlier that night and there's photo evidence of it it's insane he was he was deeply disturbed i mean look at that's and that's not a justification of course um if have you ever seen have you ever seen the musical assassins i have not no oh you should it's it's actually it's a really good musical um it's it's it doesn't it should be done more um especially now quite quite frankly it would be a great time for it to happen
00:34:19
Speaker
um But they they tell they tell his story really well in Assassins. um Yeah, it's it's ah it's it's an insane story. And just just goes to show you like ah you know how how how, I don't know, like how lucky we are that cameras exist to capture those crazy moments like that. Because how yeah insane is that?
00:34:37
Speaker
Jesus Christ. Yeah. And then my last one is entitled the creepy picture that foreshadowed the Columbine massacre. Oh God, I did not know about this one. Jesus.
00:34:48
Speaker
On April 20th, 1999, the Columbine high school shooting left all of America in shock after teenagers. I'm not going to say their names, massacred 12 of their classmates and, and one teacher before turning the guns on themselves Yeah. in the aftermath everyone attempted to make sense of how the shooting could have happened how two quote unquote normal teens could be capable of something like this parents police pundits and survivors alike searched for clues and retroactive warnings about the and the pre-shooting behaviors of the two teens Perhaps the most chilling artifact uncovered in the wake of the shooting was a class photo taken a few weeks earlier. And I looked at the photo. It's ah it's a classic photo of all the ah the the entire class in the bleachers, all like making funny faces or, you know, doing stuff.
00:35:33
Speaker
um And in this photo, it appears rather standard at first. But take a closer look at the top left corner shows the two shooters posing their hands like guns and pointing them at the camera. Oh, my God.
00:35:47
Speaker
Jesus. Crazy thing there. Obviously, this only continues to this day with school shootings. Now it's like every other day. But um and we don't know what to do about it because we can't give up guns because we love violence.
00:36:02
Speaker
I don't know. I'll tell you what, look with with the state of things now, that ain't ever going away. Ever. i it and that That's like almost one one lobby that should just almost stop and just put it put its put its efforts somewhere else. It's it's never going to stop.
00:36:15
Speaker
Yeah, seriously. But yeah, those were a couple of instances where I thought you know these were interesting stories that were captured on film. um There's a lot of other stuff out there. There's a lot of ghost pictures and stuff like that, but it's really hard to like convey over the pod. Of course.
00:36:32
Speaker
and and And that that was the thing like like with my article, too. i I really do encourage people to go look at it because they they have some of the great photos from those those women that that I spoke of. um And like obviously, we can't we can't describe them to you but in a way that you can see them. So like go have a look.
00:36:49
Speaker
Um, but you know, too, like if there are things like, especially we'd love to hear from you guys, like if there are, um if, if you have like photos where like ghosts have turned up or where you found orbs or like that kind of thing, we would love to hear more. We have some creepy photos from our time in, uh, in new England. So yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. And we like all the places that we went, we, we were sure to take a lot of photos, like just in case we did catch anything.
00:37:13
Speaker
And like, especially in the fucking conjuring house in Connecticut. Oh my God. A lot of orbs. I still remember like the way that the way that all of us felt in that place. It was so creepy.
00:37:24
Speaker
My Especially up in that middle bedroom. oh and then And then also in that basement. I felt like I could turn around and see something that I'm not supposed to see at any moment.
00:37:36
Speaker
i I think all three of us felt the same way. like It was cool to visit, but i I literally never want to go there again. Yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot of controversy about that place now. but What happened? ah that apparently yeah Apparently there was a duo there that was doing like um talking with the spirits, but they they are being like upended and like shown that they're frauds and all this stuff. But then they but then they continue to say that they're not frauds. It's very weird. Oh, God.
00:38:05
Speaker
If you just go on YouTube and look up like the Conjuring House controversy, I'm sure you can find stuff about it. But it's a very interesting thing because there's a lot of grifters out there.
00:38:16
Speaker
not just I'm not talking about gri grifters just in the paranormal world. Take a look at your politicians. A lot of them are just grifting and they're just ah saying things to say things to get clicks to be in the headlines. may so like Literally, we are watching the biggest grift of all time happening in America right now. Is this somebody just getting absolutely filthy rich off of all of it and relying on photography for a lot of it? Jesus.
00:38:40
Speaker
Andrew, I feel like we almost like we barely even brush the surface when it comes to this. like There's so much more that we could talk about when it comes to photography. Well, maybe there'll be a volume two in our future. We don't know. you never know. But look, in the meantime, that does it for this volume one. um So, Andrew, let's leave it there and let's come back and talk about what you've been watching, bitch. Yeah.
00:38:59
Speaker
Sounds good. Let's go.
00:39:03
Speaker
Let's all go the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat.
00:39:14
Speaker
All right, it's that time. It's that time again. It's that time for what you've been watching, bitch. What you've been watching, you photographing bitch? There we go. This is the part of the show where we talk about what we've been having our eyeballs on. That could be anything, but mostly it's movies and TV shows. that you know It'll be a different every once in a while.
00:39:34
Speaker
Yep. So, Matty, what you been having your eyeballs on? What you been watching, bitch? o so i've you know i have since so Since we last recorded, I've actually watched a lot of things. um And i've been I've been a lot better. i say it every year, but this is the year that I'm finally doing everything that I watch goes into Letterboxd.
00:39:52
Speaker
Every single thing. So i' I've been good about that. Now I just need to keep it up. So the first one, of course, you know, i'm thinking about all the Oscar films right now because... Oh, wait, is it the Oscars? Next week is the next week. I think. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways.
00:40:06
Speaker
um So the first one that i that I want to talk about is conclave, um which is up for a whole lot of awards and it's won a whole lot of awards already. um Conclave has ah it has, I mean, ah very impressive cast. It has Ray fines. It has Stanley Tucci. It has John Lithgow. It has Isabella Rossellini.
00:40:24
Speaker
um And then it has um some some stars that are that are very popular outside of America. um there There are especially some um some some Italian actors that are actually really, really famous in Italy.
00:40:35
Speaker
um And it is directed, um who directed this again? It's by but it's directed by Edward Berger um and written by Peter Straughan. um Conclave is the story, and it's really interesting that this is so popular right now, literally as Pope Francis is being very close to dying right now with pneumonia, right?
00:40:56
Speaker
um So Conclave is the story of a Pope who dies and um the Dean of the College of Cardinals who was played by Ralph Fiennes in this, um he is the person who has to put together and then run the Conclave.
00:41:11
Speaker
If you don't know what a conclave is, a conclave is the gathering of the cardinals or the curia. And the this gathering is completely shut off from the rest of the world. So they are locked into the Sistine Chapel.
00:41:24
Speaker
They all have their own like little hotel rooms in there. They cannot leave. All the windows are closed. The doors are locked and sealed and no one can come in and no one can go out.
00:41:35
Speaker
And so there is a lot of, you know, wonderment about this very mysterious gathering that happens whenever a Pope dies. so um And this is a movie that, that explores it. And it is fucking incredible.
00:41:48
Speaker
This movie is so fucking good. it is like, It's so many things. it's It's a whodunit. It is a spy movie. It is a thriller and it's all packed into one.
00:41:59
Speaker
It's so exciting. and Like you would never think that a movie about, about this would be that exciting. Trust me, it is. And it's because of the writing. It's because of the incredible cast for God's sake. They're all so fucking good in this.
00:42:13
Speaker
um And it's because of the design. The design of this film is so wonderful. But then on top of it, it's it's really just like um it's about what happens at the end.
00:42:24
Speaker
And ah what I'm going to say is this, if you have not seen conclave yet, just don't Google it. Don't whatever. Yes, there is a twist. I did not see it coming and my jaw was on the floor with it.
00:42:39
Speaker
And so like, look, it's really good. i've I bought it. I've watched it five times already. Oh my God. I'm not joking. I've watched it five times. It is really, really good. And I just, I can't say enough about it.
00:42:50
Speaker
It's not going to be for everybody. Um, but I, I do think that a lot of people would like it and look, thousands of people do like it for God's sake. I mean, the, the, the, the reviews everywhere are fantastic. The reviews on, on letterbox are out of this world and look, it's up for best picture.
00:43:04
Speaker
So this is one that I highly recommend seeing, see it before the Oscars if you can. Um, but really enjoyed it. It's conclave. Cool. Yeah, i I don't think that they really sold that in the previews. So good to hear that it was. I think they did that i think they did that on purpose.
00:43:20
Speaker
Cool. All right. My first one is on the complete other end of the spectrum. um It is You're Cordially Invited. This is a Amazon Prime original movie. It stars Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon.
00:43:32
Speaker
um This is pretty much about like two families that accidentally book the same wedding venue on an island. Oh, no. What will they do? And so, yeah, it's the hijinks around like, what do we do now? And like all that stuff. It's it's not it's not like a polished movie. This is just a pure like 2000s-esque comedy. Like it even feels a little older than maybe it it you know from a modern perspective of comedy. yeah um What I will say about this movie um that I thought was very strange ah is I'm not going to say ah the the characters or anything, but there is a
00:44:08
Speaker
there is a forced romantic um involvement between two characters that feels really odd given the perspective of the movie. um And by the end, when they were being forced, not they're not being forced together.
00:44:22
Speaker
The plot is taking them together, but it's just such an odd pairing that it took me a little bit out of the movie. And I'm like, why are we, and why are we infusing romance? romantic comedy into this, like just straight up comedy.
00:44:34
Speaker
So a little strange, but I still had fun with it. And you know what? Will Ferrell is not being too over the top. He's just like kind of being funny again, I think, you know, when Will Ferrell first came onto the scene through SNL and through movies like a superstar and things like that, where he was just kind of like a goofball. Like I liked that. And then we got like over the top Will Ferrell where like he was just forcing it. I felt like,
00:45:00
Speaker
And I didn't like him for a long time. So now to see him come the full circle and just kind of be back to like, the you know, the goofy guy, um'm I'm back into it. And Reese Witherspoon, you know, she's a she's a good actress and she's funny in these roles. So if you're looking for a lighthearted comedy, I can never recommend Queer Cordially Invited.
00:45:17
Speaker
Nice. Cool. ah My next one is called a real pain. It's also gotten some Oscar buzz ah for Kieran Culkin, who is up for a best supporting actor. um This is a movie that was written by Jesse Eisenberg and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. um And, um,
00:45:34
Speaker
Um, this is one that I really was hoping that I would like that. I definitely did not. Um, so what happens in this? This is, uh, it's called a, it's called a real pain and you'll, you'll, you'll know why if you watch it, this is about two cousins. I forget, uh, David and Benji, David and Benji.
00:45:52
Speaker
Um, and so, uh, it's Kieran, Kieran Culkin, course, and Jesse Eisenberg. And these are two cousins whose grandma has recently that she's recently passed away. And their grandma was a Holocaust survivor and and from Poland.
00:46:05
Speaker
And so she was in Auschwitz. She survived the war, survived the camps, moved to America, was was successful, her and her husband. And you know their family is is doing well and um are doing well enough for you know the the the the generation following.
00:46:20
Speaker
And ah when she died, she bought them um like part of like but what what she gave them was this trip to Poland to do this sort of like Holocaust remembrance tour that that that that people do.
00:46:32
Speaker
um And so they go to Poland to do this. And, you know, in the course of it, like you, you've got two cousins who are very, very different people, but like they they grew up together and they had a lot of fun together and whatever.
00:46:43
Speaker
And like of Jesse Eisenberg's character is like a very responsible ah person. He has a family. he has a, he has a new baby. um he lives in Manhattan. He has a really great job, all that kind of stuff, but bla bla blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:46:55
Speaker
And then Kieran Culkin's character is just sort of like, this fuck up who's like who's like a big a big stoner um doesn't have a job right now like lives in like upstate new york and uh like hasn't left the town where they're from kind of thing and just like he's super loud and over the top and he's just kind of crazy that that's that's basically what's going on here so imagine those two completely different people going on a holocaust tour and like some of the hijinks that can that that can occur from there So when they go on this tour, there's a lot of other people who are there to learn about the Holocaust. They're also you know families of survivors, this kind of thing, that kind of thing.
00:47:31
Speaker
And um like you you drop these two in there, and Kieran Culkin's character is just completely damaged. damage He is, he's loud. He's like, he's, he's constantly yelling at people, but he's also like constantly like, like making people feel really good. Like people really love to be around him because he's so loud and because he's so like charismatic.
00:47:55
Speaker
um But then like until he like gets drunk or until he gets stoned, he does something stupid kind of thing. And he does that kind of stuff often within the film. So but blah, blah, blah, blah. That's basically it. And ah the the problem with the movie is that it's just so it's so trite, if I'm honest, and like the writing isn't good enough to help it. In fact, the writing is is often pretty cheesy, I'll be honest.
00:48:20
Speaker
And Kieran Culkin's character is basically the same thing that Kieran Culkin always plays. And like, yeah, don't get me wrong. That's not always bad. You know, there are some character actors that like they always play the same thing and it works.
00:48:33
Speaker
You know what i mean? It's just that in this one, it it goes on for so long that you just can't stand it anymore. The movie only 89 minutes, it's barely even an hour and a half.
00:48:44
Speaker
And by like minute 60, you're like, is he fucking done being a weirdo yet? You know mean? like And like, to be honest, like, you know, there the way that the writing is like with with the other people on this tour, people are so like forgiving to him that honestly, it's completely unrealistic.
00:49:02
Speaker
Like if that were me and I had paid to go on this tour because my i but I'm from a family of Holocaust survivors and this is what I'm doing to like honor a dead family member and like honor our history and our and our heritage.
00:49:14
Speaker
Like you better fucking believe that if I paid that much to be on it and someone was acting a fool like that, I would tell the tour operator, if you don't get rid of that motherfucker, I'm going fucking sue you.
00:49:25
Speaker
Do you understand me? And like the fact that nobody does that is honestly so angering that it's ridiculous because at the end of the day, the stuff that his character does for everybody else, it doesn't really bring about any real catharsis. It doesn't really help anybody.
00:49:40
Speaker
It's just like the ravings of ah of a spoiled brat who like doesn't have a job. You know what I mean? And so I just I don't get into this movie. And i and it's unfortunate because i really wanted to like it. i think I think it could be a really great story.
00:49:54
Speaker
But I think it really misses the mark. So I would say if you're thinking of seeing a real pain, I wouldn't pay for it. I would wait for it to come on to streaming for free. Yeah, well, I can tell you that as of this weekend, it is streaming on Hulu for us US s people. So go there you yeah, I rented it and I think it was like six bucks or whatever.
00:50:12
Speaker
um But if I could take that six bucks back, I would. yeah i kind of had the feeling from the preview that i was not gonna like their dynamic and so i still might give it a watch just because it's free but um and it's up for awards so um but i probably am gonna feel the same yeah yeah all right my next one is a new one on netflix it's called kind of pregnant it's uh what the fuck It's Amy Schumer's new movie, which, listen, a lot of people give Amy Schumer a lot of hate and and don't really get it all that much.
00:50:45
Speaker
I mean, a lot of it was because of like Palestine and Gaza kind of stuff. I remember. But um I think she's funny. I've liked pretty much everything she's kind of steered. The Amy Schumer show was fucking hilarious. Yeah. um And so this is a movie about her and she's kind of in that part of her life where all of her friends are pregnant. You know what i mean? Like yeah sure she's having she's having trouble, like making new friends and holding on to ah friendships and whatnot in New York City because everyone's kind of either moving out of the city because they're pregnant or just kind of in their own family stuff. So she just feels really lonely.
00:51:21
Speaker
And so she, listen, this is gonna sound so stupid, but just go with me. um She signs up for a pregnancy exercise class and puts on like a fake pregnancy belly just to kind of like feeling what feel what other people are feeling in this moment.
00:51:37
Speaker
And then people start like saying she's glowing and she looks so good. and dadada da da And she just goes down this rabbit hole of like having to play like two different lives, one her pregnant life and one her not you know going to work life.
00:51:50
Speaker
And it's it's it's comical and hilarious. And you know I think Will Forte shows up as her love interest. And so it's just it's a stupid movie, but I was chuckling the almost the entire time. So take that for what it is.
00:52:05
Speaker
Nice. that's lovely um my next one is it was really hard to pick what what i was going to talk about for this one but i thought this would be a good one to chat about um is the bike riders jesus christ this movie is so good it is so so well done this one came and went without much fanfare it did and i'll tell you what people should watch this one because it is fucking incredible um another all-star cast right austin butler who is just god he is Austin Butler is a very good looking person.
00:52:36
Speaker
like I don't care what your taste is. don't care who the fuck you are. If you don't think he's good looking, you've got a fucking problem, dude. Jodie Comer is in this, who does a great job. God, she's so good in this. Tom Hardy's in this, in one of his best roles ever, honestly.
00:52:49
Speaker
Michael Shannon, Chicago's own. Fantastic in this. Happy Anderson, who has been on our show before. Happy Anderson is in this movie playing Big Jack, and he's really, really good in it.
00:53:01
Speaker
um Norman Reedus is in this movie and ah and a bunch of other people. um This is a movie about people who ride motorcycles. They are bike riders.
00:53:12
Speaker
And it is about ah this one specific motorcycle club called the Vandals, which was a group in Chicago. um And it's just kind of like this beautiful little beat generation, sort of like um like like no specific, but like a little exploration around their entire group kind of movie.
00:53:34
Speaker
it's It's just fucking cool. And they, and they've got this one, the, the, the, the main, the main like pathway through it is that one of their members is like, um, he has like a micro, he has like ah a microphone and, and he's like recording people like talking about just like how they're, how they're in the group and like where they came from and why they love it so much and that kind of thing. And he's like,
00:53:53
Speaker
And people ask him, like, you know, why are you doing this? And he's like i don't know. It's just maybe I'll write a book one day about it. That that kind of thing. And then one day he does. Right. And so he's like taking photos and he's doing this and he's doing that. And all these stories come out that are just incredible.
00:54:06
Speaker
Like it's and and then, of course, there's there's ah there's you know, there's a love story in this and there's there's violence and there's gang fights and all the other shit. It's fucking cool. And the design in this movie is awesome.
00:54:17
Speaker
takes place in Chicago, which is also like doubly cool. Cause they, they do a good job of like showing you like a vintage sort of gritty Chicago. It's really fucking cool. Um, it's just awesome, man, that the soundtrack is great.
00:54:29
Speaker
The acting's great. The writings out of this world. I loved this movie. Um, it's a wonderful ensemble film, in my opinion, like this ensemble just works so well together.
00:54:40
Speaker
um And like you just said, it kind of went with no fanfare. And I don't know why, because it was just so good. so look, I highly recommend it. I think it was awesome. It's also just fucking sexy to watch. I'm not going to lie.
00:54:53
Speaker
um So I recommend it. It's the bike riders. Yeah, I'm not going to say that the name was a little off for me because when you think like the bike riders, you think of like Stranger Things, little kids riding bikes. yeah So I don't know if people took it seriously when it came out, um but hopefully more eyes will get on it now that you've kind of recommended I hope so.
00:55:13
Speaker
right. My third one is the traders season three. I've talked about every season of the traders on this show. So it's no surprise. I'm talking about it again because um I'm sorry, but if you like any sort of reality TV, you need to be watching the traders. It's the best show on television when it comes to reality TV.
00:55:30
Speaker
um This puts, ah I think, 20 reality stars in a castle in ah Scotland. Oh, boy. And, they there are three They start with three traitors and everyone else is trying to figure out who the traitors are.
00:55:47
Speaker
But every night when they go to bed, one of the faithful is murdered. um And so it's just, it's like a big game of werewolf. Like we, you know, or um you the many other games that this is like, but Alan Cumming is the host.
00:56:01
Speaker
And this season is no, no, no, ah no slouch with all the different people. that i mean, we're talking Boston Rob is on this season. Chris shell from selling sunset. Gabby from the bachelorette. It is stacked. Bob, the drag queen from RuPaul's drag race.
00:56:17
Speaker
And, um, these people know how to put on reality TV. Let's just say that. And so, and there is one little trader that I cannot stand, but I'm not going to say anything. Cause I know some people have not started watching, but, um, there's one that's left that I'm really angry about, but,
00:56:35
Speaker
um it's It's quality reality TV. So if you're not watching it, I encourage you to get your 30-day free membership to Peacock and binge the shit out of it. Even watch the Australian one. The first season of Australian Traders, which is all normies, they're not reality stars, is captivating. There's even a psychic as one of the faithfuls.
00:56:56
Speaker
Nice. Really fun show. You should be watching it. But you know you're not a really a reality guy, so I understand you're not. Yeah, fair enough, fair enough. um Look, my last one is, ah this is actually a really good feel good one.
00:57:12
Speaker
um i I got home from a hike yesterday and i I was really tired and I was like, look, I just didn't have the energy to really spend too much time picking things. And on Sky, there was this new movie called Thelma um from 2024 from it,
00:57:26
Speaker
um and it I put it on. I was like, yeah, why not? I got to tell you, I'm so glad I watched this movie. It is so, so good. It's so charming. It's so well done. It's a wonderful story.
00:57:38
Speaker
And like this is like a movie that anyone... This might be the movie that brings America together. it's it's it's It's entirely possible. So what happens in this? Here's the little blurb from Letterboxd.
00:57:49
Speaker
um revenge has never been sweeter when ninety three year old thelma post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city which is l a to reclaim what has been taken from her So, so good. So there's a little bit of the story.
00:58:08
Speaker
She gets scammed by somebody who pretends to be her grandson who was played by Fred Heckinger. ah Fred Heckinger was in, um he was the son in the first season of, of what do he call it? Of, um,
00:58:22
Speaker
of White Lotus of White Lotus. So he has like, he has like a kind of like buck teeth kind of thing. He's a, he's a, he's a great little actor. He's really good. He's really good in this June squib herself plays Thelma Richard roundtree rest in peace plays Ben Parker Posey is in this. She plays awesome.
00:58:39
Speaker
Um, and Clark Gregg, uh, plays Alan, the dad and also Malcolm McDowell is in this movie. Although I won't tell you who he plays. It might give it a little, a little bit of it away. um So, look, it's a really, really cute movie.
00:58:50
Speaker
um And, like, you know, i have a ah ah ah ah special place in hell for people who prey on the elderly and who and who try to scam them.
00:59:02
Speaker
And I just I think those people are just among the worst of of humanity. um And this movie spends some time sort of really pillory in them, which I think is really cool. um the June Squibb's timing in this movie is so, so good.
00:59:17
Speaker
um Fred Heckinger, the way he plays the grandson is honestly so sweet and heartwarming. Like you you just you just love this kid. Parker Posey is the mom is just like typical Parker Posey. um And like by the end of the movie, it's just it's so heartwarming. like I cried at the end of the movie. It was that good.
00:59:34
Speaker
So if you need a movie that's going to make you laugh, make you cry a little bit, make you feel great about just like people, this is such a good one. I really can't recommend this highly enough, especially in the times that we're in We need a story like this.
00:59:46
Speaker
So if you have a chance, watch Thelma. Cool. I'll add it to my list. I'd never heard of it. Actually. Oh, you'll love it. it You'll love it. When I saw it on your list, i am admitted I immediately thought of Selma and I was like, this is a feel good movie. Nope. Nope. I'll leave that for the next episode. yeah All right. My last one is actually a book.
01:00:05
Speaker
It was my my read on this vacation. Nice. I've read now, this will be my third Paul Tremblay book, but um I read, you know, BlackRock and I, the incident at BlackRock, I think it's called. And i read the knock at the cabin, our cabin at the end of the world.
01:00:24
Speaker
um And so I had never gone back and read his first book. And so I was like, you know what? I need to go back and read his first book. And this is, this is interesting because I just looked on my bookshelf. I actually have this on my shelf and I haven't read it yet. So I'm anxious to hear your review.
01:00:37
Speaker
It is called a head full of ghosts. Um, the plot is as such, this is about a girl who went or a woman, excuse me. But when she was a girl, her sister may or may not have been possessed by a demon and jesus and they had it televised.
01:00:55
Speaker
So when, when she was a kid, she was on a TV show. Um, and then this is her story as an adult kind of retelling all everything that happened to a journalist who's then going to write a book about it.
01:01:06
Speaker
Um, um And so it kind of jumps through time, you know, it goes back and forth between your childhood and her modern day. And I got to tell you, there is something about the way that Paul Tremblay writes that I can't stop reading it.
01:01:19
Speaker
Like, I just want to keep reading. And that is just like, that's a talent in and of itself. And I never wanted to put it down. i think I read it in three sittings. Wow.
01:01:30
Speaker
And it's like a 300 page book. So it's it's not like a short book. um But man, when I tell you that this book ends with such a gut punch, I'm not giving anything away, but you just got to read it because it is is first off. First off, you're going to love it because you have your connection to the the exorcist. Yeah. And then second off, you he if you like Cabin at the End of the World, this is like that on steroids. Oh, nice.
01:01:57
Speaker
it is It is such a good book. I'm so glad I went back and read it. And now I'm ready to read his newest book, Horror Movie. Nice. And you don't don't forget to go back and listen to our interview with him way back in the day with Paul Tremblay.
01:02:07
Speaker
Yeah. um That's cool. I'm glad you read because that gives me... like i have so many books I haven't read on my fucking shelf like most people. and like Honestly, Maddie. I will actually read that. knowing knowing what you like and knowing you know and well how fast a reader are you could probably get it done in two settings you know holy shit so my god love it well look what a wonderful little what you've been watching bitch andrew brought us you are cordially invited on amazon kind of pregnant on netflix traders season three on peacock and a head full of ghosts which you can get at the library or where you buy books
01:02:41
Speaker
And Maddie brought us Conclave and A Real Pain, both On Demand Now, The Bike Riders, which UK listeners can watch on Sky, and Thelma, which is streaming also. So that does it for what you've been watching, bitch. We'll be right back with our first film of the episode, Shutter.
01:03:14
Speaker
The pictures you are about to see are real. They have not been retouched or manipulated.
01:03:26
Speaker
it is called spirit photography, an event in which images of the dead are caught on film.
01:03:49
Speaker
Emotional energy can be communicated on film. You mean ghosts?
01:04:00
Speaker
um
01:04:08
Speaker
are
01:04:31
Speaker
Say cheese and die Maddie, talk to us all about the movie Shudder. The most terrifying images are the ones that are real.
01:04:42
Speaker
A newly married couple discovers disturbing ghostly images and photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate and learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved.
01:04:57
Speaker
Shutter was directed by Masayuki Ochihae, written by Luke Dawson, and distributed and produced by twentieth Century fox Benjamin Ben Shaw is played by Joshua Jackson.
01:05:09
Speaker
Jane Shaw, his wife, played by Rachel Taylor. Also, Rachel spelled in that really annoying way with an A and an E. I can't stand that. It's it's ridiculous. Megumi Tanaka is played by Megumi Okina.
01:05:20
Speaker
Adam is played by Josh Hensley. Bruno. Yes, there's a character named Bruno. It's not and it is not ironic. ah played by David Denman, Ritsuo, played by James Kaisen Lee, Natasha, played by Daisy Betts, Seiko, played by Maya Hazen, Akiko, played by Yoshiko Miyazaki, and Murase, played by Kei Yamamoto.
01:05:40
Speaker
The film is rated R. It is 85 minutes long. It's a product of the USA and Japan. Released March 21st of 2008, filmed in and around Tokyo. The budget was $8 million, and the gross return was $48 million. Wow.
01:05:54
Speaker
Yeah, very. And I'll just say it right away. ah It's the the worldwide grossing has secured the film as an extremely lucrative success. I didn't know this did that good. I didn't. I didn't either. And I got to tell you, it must have been a bum time for movies 2008.
01:06:08
Speaker
I guess it was the. um i guess it was the um That was during the during the recession, wasn't it? That's sort of interesting to think about, too. um Look, ah first time watch for me. I don't know if it was for you.
01:06:21
Speaker
I saw this when it came out, but I literally could not i could not remember a thing about it. Yeah, sure, sure. um Well, what'd you think about it? um Listen, this is definitely ah you know kind of at the tail end of the J-horror remake time in America, because I know that this is based off a Japanese film that I have not seen. I should probably do my due diligence and see that movie. Maybe it's better.
01:06:46
Speaker
um But overall, I think this is kind of just like... right in the middle for me like it's not it's not scary enough to be good but it's not dull enough to be bad so it's like yeah it's kind of like riding right in the middle to where there are some scenes that i thought were pretty effective but overall it just feels like everyone's kind of sleeping in this movie a little bit especially our two main actors um Yeah, they just feel like they are they're dialing it in for a paycheck, if you will.
01:07:16
Speaker
um But there are a few effective scenes, the scene where he's in the dark room and, you know, the woman comes in and she's humming and she kind of like puts her hand around him and you think it's his wife and then his wife calls on the phone.
01:07:28
Speaker
i got a little chilled out by that. That was pretty cool. Yeah. But overall, I think this has like the the cardinal sin of like not being bad enough to be good and not being good enough to be bad. I don't you know what I mean. So it's kind of right in the middle. And I think that some of the some of the visuals in this were so bad, like, yeah.
01:07:47
Speaker
The part where, and I'll let you weigh in, but the part where they're taking pictures next to Mount Fuji, it Mount Fuji is literally a green screen. like you can like that Do not tell me that they actually like did anything in front of that because it looks so manufactured.
01:08:03
Speaker
And there's just so many parts of this movie where they could have been... Not manufactured like the part where the flies come out of her mouth. I was like, why is this not practical? I don't understand. But anyway, that's just my two cents.
01:08:15
Speaker
Matty, what are your initial thoughts on Shudder? ah It's not very good, is it? um I mean, look, it is... Joshua Jackson is dialing it in so hard in this movie that like you, it's just, it's, it's almost boring.
01:08:34
Speaker
Um, and like there, you know, like, like you said, there are a couple of, of, of moments in the film that, that are kind of spooky and whatever, but it just, it, it doesn't like hit you in the way that other like J horror, um, or, or even like K horror remakes in America i do hit you you. know what i mean? Like, You know, for example, this is, this is nothing like the ring, right? Which is ah a wonderful Asian film, Asian horror film that is, you know, not a bad remake of Ringu, the original, right? But this one is just, ah,
01:09:05
Speaker
It's not great. And what's surprising about it is that it is it's run by a Japanese person. Right. This is directed by by Masayuki Ochiai. And I don't know much about this person. I'll be completely honest with you.
01:09:17
Speaker
um But it is kind of funny that like even with like that hand on the film, it wasn't it wasn't like matching up to maybe what it should be. um I just think that like the writing wasn't good enough. I don't think that the story is strong enough either, to be honest. like um I think like when when it when it gets to the parts in the movie where you know some some really disturbing stuff is being shown, right? So like you know when we do finally get the reveal of of those photos and like you know she sees them on his computer and you know there's, what are their names? Bruno and whatever. Bruno and Adam are like holding this girl down while Ben is taking pictures of it.
01:09:54
Speaker
That's a pretty disturbing thing because the wife like doesn't know what happened. I mean, she might have thought that they were raping her or God knows what else. Right. But like, by the time we get to this in the movie, these characters are so stupid.
01:10:06
Speaker
I don't know. it's It's almost like hard to believe some of it. And like you don't it's it's it doesn't hit you in the way that maybe that maybe something that serious should. If I'm being honest. Yeah. And so like I just, I don't know, man. like but Joshua Jackson in the lead is is definitely not good.
01:10:24
Speaker
Miscast, this should not have been him. Obviously, he was cast because he's Joshua Jackson and because they they probably thought this was going to be something really, really cool. um But it it did not work out that way. I've never seen the original film.
01:10:36
Speaker
Have you? no, no. no um you know I do wonder like if that had a really if that had a different... I'm sure it must have been better than this, I would imagine.
01:10:47
Speaker
um it was It was from 2004. It's not a Japanese film. It's a Thai film. It's a Thai supernatural horror film. um And it's basically the exact same story. And so I do wonder you know this one, if it's if it's a lot if it's a lot better than than than um than what we're seeing and in this 2008 remake or reboot, whatever you want to call it.
01:11:06
Speaker
um There is an unrated cut. It's five
Movie Discussion: Critique and Analysis
01:11:08
Speaker
minutes longer. I did not watch that one. I'm guessing that you didn't either. I just watched the one that was streaming. So, yeah same like you know, I don't know if if there's if that might make it better. It's possible.
01:11:18
Speaker
But I will say this. I just I didn't really enjoy it. You know, one thing that that is interesting is that, like, I do think that Rachel Taylor. I think that Rachel Taylor is at least trying. Like, i I think she's really trying hard and she's doing the best that she can.
01:11:31
Speaker
But once again, like there's not much that she can play off of if, if all she's playing off of is a sort of the wet sock that is Joshua Jackson. So I almost felt kind of bad for her in this really.
01:11:42
Speaker
um There, there were some other interesting parts too. Like um it was interesting to like, see sort of like, like this, this vision of an immigrant in, in Tokyo.
01:11:54
Speaker
who like isn't having a good time. Right. You know, like there's, there's so many stories about how amazing it is to be an immigrant here or there or whatever. Especially like if they're American, like they're going to go there and a great time and buy everything blah, blah, blah, blah.
01:12:06
Speaker
But I can tell you it's not all that glamorous. And like a lot of times you do come across a lot of like cultural differences or things you don't know about that can kind of make you feel bad about where you live.
01:12:18
Speaker
And it takes a lot of time to get over that. And so like, this is a very personal thing for me because I i am that person. um And, you know, now I've come to really love the place where I live, but it takes a while. So it was really interesting for me to just see that dynamic um that, you know, she has to deal with in the movie beyond just like the the the actual plot itself.
01:12:35
Speaker
um So, you know, look, it's I'm not mad that I watched the movie, but I'm also I never want to watch it again, for sure. And it just didn't hit me the right way. Yeah, there was a weird thing in this movie that they that they tried to play up, and it was like that all the women around Joshua Jackson are like smoking hot, and there's like ah there's like a tinge of jealousy that they kind of play with in the movie, but they never it never pays off.
01:12:58
Speaker
Yeah, because I didn't didn't think about that. It's a really good point. Because she actually becomes friends with the one, um the the photographer assistant, and she ends up being like super nice and has a smoking hot ex-boyfriend that they go and visit.
01:13:11
Speaker
ah um But... There's just like, that there's like parts of this movie. There's parts in both these movies that we're going to watch that they play up that just never, they never pay off. Yeah. Which as like, as someone who's just watching it for fun, you can kind of just like get beyond that. But when you start to look at it from the lens of needing to, um you know, talk about the movie, you're like, wait,
01:13:33
Speaker
whatever happened with this? Like, why did they never, because there's definitely parts, like there's a huge red flag in their relationship of they get in one fight about, she saw the ghost and he doesn't think the ghost is real. And all sudden they're sleeping in separate rooms. You know what i mean Like it's, they, they, they show this couple at the beginning at, you know, fresh off of their marriage and they look like they're so happy and they're so excited dah, dah, dah.
01:13:55
Speaker
And then they just instantly fall apart. And it's just, it's so weird. um I will say that what I did like about the movie is that it just it goes right from the beginning. There's no does. There's no like I don't have to wait a really super long time for the action to happen of the movie.
01:14:11
Speaker
um What I will say about that action, though. So let me get this straight. They're driving through the countryside of Japan and she sees a quote unquote girl and they hit this girl with their car and then they skid out for no longer than five minutes because she can't press the brakes apparently. Yeah. you The skid there. I'm watching this and I'm like, why don't you just.
01:14:35
Speaker
but Why don't you just steer the car? Seriously. like why Why are you? why are you to go it's It's not Mario Kart. Like, why are you doing this? They effectively go off the road and hit a tree. So their car is totaled.
01:14:46
Speaker
They don't go to the hospital and automatically they have another car there just to take them the rest of the way. I was like, did they just have a backup car? Sure. yeah It's so strange. yeah um And then, you know, there is some cool parts with some of the spirit photography.
01:15:01
Speaker
i thought it was really funny that they have a whole magazine devoted to spirit photography. I know. to be right right um And then it just shows that they like fake a lot of their photos, which I thought was like, oh, here's the grifting side of things.
01:15:14
Speaker
um the one thing that i could not put my finger on in this movie and i don't know if it's because of the writing or maybe because of the editing is that i can't tell if they think that she's a ghost or if they think she's real because there are parts in this movie where they're like thinking they're talking about the girl as she's like a real person as someone who's corporeal now like stalking him but i'm like it is clear that this is a ghost no like Yeah, I mean, that would make sense to me.
01:15:44
Speaker
um But here we are. Yeah, it's it's ah it's a wild ride of them like arguing about this ghost. And he's kind of talking about it like she's a stalker.
01:15:55
Speaker
And like, but you've seen her as a ghost. So I don't know if it felt like there was one scene, you know, the scene where they go to her house and they find her dead body. Yeah, yeah. That felt out of a place to me. And I'm wondering if that was supposed to be edited into the movie earlier than rather than later.
01:16:13
Speaker
it just it felt a little unbelievable, too. I know that this body is just still there. Like, and it's like, I don't know. I i didn't i like, OK, it makes sense in like psycho, but it doesn't make sense in like 2008.
01:16:27
Speaker
And it she's like on a patio. So like somebody wants to see her. like it's it's It's like one of those like like like little like tropey things like that comes in and just like, oh, this is just going to be something really scary if we if we do this. Because then her head like then her head can fall off. Like, I yeah i don't yeah I don't know.
01:16:42
Speaker
I don't get that. I don't dig it. I also, the the leap to spirit photography so quickly in this movie is so funny because they're they're showing um like the photos of them at Mount Fuji.
01:16:56
Speaker
And there's like a lens flare like on the photo the photos. And the um a photo assistant immediately goes, oh, that's spirit photography. And that was like, wait, what? Oh, is it? There could be other explanations, but...
01:17:07
Speaker
uh okay because when they when we see the the ghost in photos later it's very clearly like an image of like a person you know what i mean and in those it's kind of just like a flare so i was like how did we just automatically jump to spear of photography and also god how about the the the photo shoot that he's doing how cheesy is that photo shoot i like I like that it's like, um, Oh, what's the right word? It's like appropriation, but in that same country, it's so strange. strange And like, and then, and and he, like, it's, it's, it's hard to even like, believe him as a photographer.
01:17:42
Speaker
If I'm being honest, like, like he's like, okay, that's enough color. Let's do black and white. And I'm like, my God, who is this right now? Like, well, this doesn't make any sense to me. Yeah. And it's it's just so funny that he doesn't believe her because in most movies like this, she's the one seeing the ghost and she's the one experiencing things and the guy has never seen anything. But throughout this movie, from almost the beginning, he's seeing the same things that she is, but still won't accept it.
01:18:09
Speaker
And then the fact that he doesn't tell her like, oh, that's the ghost of a girl who I used to work with is so strange because he could have way he could have gotten way ahead of this and been like, you know, we dated, but it didn't work out. And blah, blah, blah. He could have explained it away. Completely. like And it wouldn't have gone down the road. Not that I'm saying that he didn't get what he deserved, but, you know, I'm just saying like...
01:18:31
Speaker
And then the fact that he didn't unpack from a trip from two years ago. Yeah. There's just an unopened suitcase with clothes and everything in it. And that's just the thing. There's just so many weird things like that. And it just sort of all scales out to be like, just not a very enjoyable movie at the end of the day. Like, it's just, I wish it was like, it would be kind of a fun little, you know, early two thousands kind of thing, but it's, it's just, it's just not. Yeah.
01:18:57
Speaker
you know i don't know and and it's funny because like obviously they edited this so it was pg-13 but you can totally tell where they like edited out like i'm guessing the unrated version is a little more gross you know what it's got more blood and guts because the blood and guts in this this guy jumps off what can no you know more no more than like an eight-story building and he just has blood just pooling around him no that guy would be obliterated when he jumped completely back in the balcony um So there's parts like that where I'm just like, what is going on here? Like intestines would have sprung out of the body. Seriously.
01:19:29
Speaker
I did think that the one kill of Adam was kind of inventive. that the through the Through the camera, kind of like blowing back and so into shards of glass. I think that that's, you know, when anybody can come up with an interesting kill in a movie like this, it kind of stands out.
01:19:45
Speaker
That's kind of like the final destination person in me. But um yeah, just overall kind of just a little bit of a snooze fest. um It was like not even the ghost, not even the ghost was that creepy. She was kind of just like pretty. Yeah.
01:20:00
Speaker
Yeah, it once again, like it didn't have that same like like good quality of like the other films that are sort of akin to this one and that and that same sort of like ring sort of, you know, circle of movies.
01:20:11
Speaker
um As always, there are there are always some really good letterbox reviews of this. Let me read you a couple of them. One from Mr. Sneaky Man just says more like shitter.
01:20:22
Speaker
Makes sense. Um, there's one here. The Japanese love paranormal phenomena says Megumi, uh, in the movie. They call this a re-imagining of a Thai film shutter. Apparently Americans imagine adding shit to good films.
01:20:36
Speaker
Um, so there you go. Uh, and there' the there's a bunch of other ones. Mine is on that. That just says, wow, it's not very good. um So, I mean, look, it's um it's just, it's I think it's just kind of a forgettable movie at the end of the day.
01:20:50
Speaker
you know Well, this just shows the writing in this movie. The the last line in the movie, as as ah are as our Jane Shaw gleaves, after finding out everything i about her boyfriend, she goes, I need time to think.
01:21:03
Speaker
No, I don't. I mean, what a what a line. I wrote this stuff. I did appreciate that they paid off the crook, like his crick neck back thing. I think that that was kind of cool. Like it shows at the end that she's been riding on his shoulders the whole time. And like, even when he went to the hospital, he weighed like 275 pounds. So her weight was on him the entire time. I think that that's kind of a cool idea.
01:21:28
Speaker
Does it, it doesn't really like pay off in the movie. Yeah. Not really, but it's a cool idea. Like the guilt is actually like a real heaviness, which the I don't know. The more I talk about this, the more I don't like it. So maybe I should just stop talking. I've already reduced my score for it. So Andrew, tell me, what is your score for shutter I'm going to give it a three. um I said it's kind of a shell of a movie.
01:21:54
Speaker
Some good ideas, but it it just never feels fully committed to its idea. You can tell this came out at the end of the American J horror remake era. ah Yeah, I also guess I guess I should say tie horror era. yeah Yeah, it's like it's like maybe just like like pan Asian horror remakes kind of thing, I guess. Like and and I give it a three, two. And I said, i look, it's it's not very good. And Joshua Jackson is as dialed in as a dementia patient in this.
01:22:16
Speaker
um So yeah, look, and it almost makes me feel bad because I feel like we're kind of low energy on this one. But like, listen, y'all, it's just, it's kind of a low energy movie. I'm just going to be honest. We're matching the energy that Joshua Jackson gave us. That's that's it, Andrew, right there. So look, that is Shudder.
01:22:32
Speaker
Now let's move on to our next film, Polaroid. Hey, found something.
01:22:44
Speaker
What is that? It's camera. Are you ready?
01:23:01
Speaker
Is anybody there?
01:23:13
Speaker
that? Where'd you get it? I work at this antique store. This is so cool. Try it out on me. Good photo. Yes. Smile.
01:23:31
Speaker
You work with Tyler Drew at the antique shop. Yeah.
01:23:41
Speaker
Tyler's dead. What? I think you're all in danger. what are you talking about? You see that shadow? After Tyler died, the shadow moved to this photo. i think if the shadow moves to your photo, you die. If it really freaks you out, we can get rid of the damn thing.
01:23:54
Speaker
Don't. Problem solved.
01:24:00
Speaker
What the? Ah! Fuck it!
01:24:07
Speaker
um
01:24:15
Speaker
Sometimes to deal tragedies, we make up urban legends. Except this wasn't an urban legend, this was real. He's coming. You did this.
01:24:33
Speaker
It's moving. Run! Get the doors! Get the doors!
01:24:40
Speaker
Hello?
01:25:01
Speaker
Don't forget to let this review you hang out to dry before you can see it. That was so bad. i am i am the worst at these. You should just do them all the time. Anyways, Andrew, tell us about Polaroid. Beware this camera.
01:25:13
Speaker
Once you take it, it takes you. oh no. High school loner Bird Fitcher, weirdest name ever, has no idea what dark secrets are tied to the mysterious Polaroid vintage camera she stumbles upon.
01:25:27
Speaker
But it doesn't take long to discover that those who have their picture taken meet a tragic end. Bird and her friends must survive one more night as they race to solve the mystery of the haunted Polaroid before it kills them all.
01:25:42
Speaker
Directed by Lars Keevberg. Written by Blair Butler. Production and distribution were handled by Vertical Entertainment. Bird is played by Catherine Prescott. Lena is played by Grace Sabritsky.
01:25:53
Speaker
Connor is played by Tyler Young. Casey is played by Samantha Logan. The entity is played by ah Javier Botet. Oh, really? didn't know that. ah Avery is played by Katie Stevens. Sarah is played by Madeline Petsch.
01:26:08
Speaker
Mina is played by Priscilla Quintana. Tyler is played by Davey Santos. And Sheriff is played by Mitch Pelleggi, who is Mitch Pelleggi, baby. Come on. The most recognizable one in this movie. Love Mitch Pelleggi. Yeah.
01:26:21
Speaker
p rated pg-13 this comes in at 88 minutes so yay for us two movies under 90 minutes uh but they both felt much longer released on january 10th of 2019 locations for uh shooting were in halifax nova scotia canada and the budget was eight and a half million tragically this only made 1.7 million and i think this is one that not a lot of people have seen so maybe we can shed new light on it Yeah, I don't I don't know why it made so I didn't look I didn't have a ah ton of time to look into it. I don't know why it made so little at the box office. Well, it was a January release. That's probably why. Yeah, but I mean, like it it made like disastrously low, which is just yeah crazy because I i was thinking, well, was the pandemic? I was like, no, because it's the at the beginning of the year.
01:27:06
Speaker
um I do know, I mean, look, there there are ah there are not a lot of great reviews for it, quite frankly. And there there is, this i mean, it it take deal oh there's always some dumb review that you can you can pick and choose from, but there is one from The Independent that reports that it is considered the worst horror film ever made.
01:27:26
Speaker
I'm not sure that I would say that. That's not bad. It's way too far. um But i do i look, I don't think it's great. this This was a first time watch for me. um And i look, I don't think it's a bad movie. It's definitely not my favorite for sure. um and And I think there's just a lot of weird stuff in it again, like um weird stuff as little as like, why is she named bird again?
01:27:52
Speaker
Like, what is, what is the point of that? And then like just some annoying stuff to the point of like the way that these characters behave. And I can't remember which one is the boyfriend. That must have been Which one do you think that's Connor?
01:28:08
Speaker
I think it was Connor. I can't remember if it was Connor or the annoying one. Right. It's not Tyler for sure, because Tyler's the cute one. Tyler's the cute one. So I saw. OK, I think it's Connor who's played by Tyler Young.
01:28:19
Speaker
Yeah. um I mean, look, ah he he's a very annoying character. and And the reason why I'm bringing it up is because it's doing this thing in the movie. Okay, like so so here's the thing, right? We we know that um this this girl, Bird bird Fitch, um ah gets this this gift of this Polaroid camera, and it's like ah it's like a really cool old one with like leather on it, and there's there's initials on it and everything else.
01:28:42
Speaker
And she quickly discovers that if you take a ah photo of anybody in this with this camera, they are going to die. and And in in the the the Polaroid that comes out of the camera, there's like ah a creepy sort of like misty, like black thing that's like a shadow that that's like hanging around the person who was going to die.
01:29:01
Speaker
And so she puts this she puts two and two together pretty quickly. And there it is. Um, this character, however, um, decides after his girlfriend dies from this phenomenon, um, that it's bird's fault and like, won't stop talking about it being bird's fault for so long.
01:29:21
Speaker
I mean, like for, for a substantial part of the film, it's like a, it's like a theme. And like, I'm just thinking in my head, could the writer do nothing better here? Is this all that you had to work with?
01:29:32
Speaker
And like, i you know I know it sounds very picky, but look, it's it's it's my podcast, so I can be. But on top of it, like, it's just dumb. Like, that's that's not good writing. That's just that's shitty writing.
01:29:43
Speaker
There's nothing more that you could do with that character besides have him blame the girl who clearly is not to blame for this. And then it just leads to to more drama because his hijinks cause another person, cause the other guy, whatever his name is, it must be, that must be Tyler, right?
01:30:00
Speaker
cause Tyler to accidentally take the photo of him using the same Polaroid. So like, I don't know, it just, there there there are things in the story that just are sort of grading like that.
01:30:10
Speaker
But look, I think that the idea for the movie is really good. um And you know while there are some of those annoying parts, like for example, that character, they're not all annoying. um And I think, you know, for for a film about a bunch of young people, you know, sort of centered around this this weird Polaroid camera and then the discovery of this like serial killer, um you know, there's actually some cool stuff to work with there. It's it's not a bad idea. There's some cool twists and turns with that story too towards the end that I kind of appreciated. so I would say so. I mean, how how did you feel about it?
01:30:40
Speaker
So i I know I watched this when it came out in 2019, but I couldn't remember. i kind of i will Listen, we watched so many movies that when one goes in my brain, one has to fall out and one this fell out eventually. But overall, like I think there's some good ideas in here. i think that we are burdened a little bit by the writing because some of the writing is not all that great. like there's There's part in this where they... so what I forget what the character that says this, but they just say, just don't be by yourself.
01:31:08
Speaker
Like, I'm like, what? Okay, sure. And then they all and then they all proceed to be by themselves, which I'm like, what are we doing? um I think that there are some interesting ideas like how the entity ah how the entity is reacting just like film would. I think that that's kind of a cool idea.
01:31:25
Speaker
I think that when they try to catch the pictures on fire and it actually catches them on fire, I thought that that was kind of interesting. Yeah. Like a thing. So that you can't just get away from it. You have to try to trick it.
01:31:36
Speaker
And I think the way she and eventually ends up tricking it is pretty good twist too. um I just think that there, I think that these are some really young actors, ah some of which are just not very good yet.
01:31:48
Speaker
Um, um, I think our main character of bird, I think that she's probably pretty good. Um, and then everyone else is kind of just okay. Or, or even mid, if if you, if you ask me, especially the couple, like you were mentioning that the boy and girl couple, those, those are just very young actors and they just haven't quite gotten there yet because they are so annoying.
01:32:08
Speaker
Um, but like, i don't know, there's just some good ideas in here. Do I think it's executed like the best to know, but when we think about a movie where the main, um, you know, the the main idea is a haunted camera. Like, what are you going to really do with that? You know what i mean? You kind of have to, you kind of have to just lean into it and you kind of just have to take it seriously.
01:32:28
Speaker
Otherwise it's just going to come off as yeah inauthentic or goofy. Um, I did think of you in this movie when the yeah little lesbian says a good, but it's a good, but I mean, true.
01:32:40
Speaker
but so um I think that there's some there's some funny stuff in here that it's all centered around this town called Locust Harbor. I don't know if that's a real place, but it's a very movie sounding place. like It's a very like Hallmark movie sounding place. um I think that I really wish Tyler, who is the guy who gives her the camera in the antique shop, I really wish he was around more in this movie because he's cute very cute to look at.
01:33:06
Speaker
um And i I and once again, though, in this movie, we have the back the back story of her and her dad getting into a car accident. And that's why she has like a scar on her neck. And that's how her dad died.
01:33:19
Speaker
But it really never pays off in the movies. It's not like it's a main thing. Like she has to get over the death of her dad or i don't know. It just felt like a it felt like something added on for no good reason, because we're meant to believe that she has like um is ostracized at school because she has like a scar or whatever.
01:33:40
Speaker
But she has like all of her these friends around her. So she's not like a weirdo by any means. So I don't know. It just felt like an added on thing that the writer did that I don't see why we needed it.
01:33:51
Speaker
So that was one thing that I i thought about in this movie. and Yeah, it um it doesn't really. i mean, it's about to say doesn't tell you much about her. i mean, it does tell you much about her, but it doesn't. It doesn't. but Beyond the scarf.
01:34:04
Speaker
It doesn't like, I don't know. It doesn't, it doesn't really, yeah, it doesn't really do anything else. um I did think it was funny. And I thought of both of us that we would probably do this if we had Halloween party, or I guess they call it a costume party because she missed Halloween or whatever is that they get, everyone gets a tarot card when they come to the party, which i thought was funny.
01:34:22
Speaker
That's interesting. Yeah. um But I did think it was funny. And this is just me being a nerd that the odds of each one of them getting a greater Arcana tarot card is just kind of crazy. Yeah, right. Exactly. Right.
01:34:33
Speaker
um But that's just the nerd in me. Yeah. And the other thing that in this movie, I was like, oh so they're going to go look for like look at the newspaper and like try to figure out the mystery and everything.
01:34:46
Speaker
But then they just go to like boxes of newspapers. And I was like, libraries store newspapers like this and you can just take them? Because in any other movie, they just would have gone to the microfiche or to the internet. The microfiche. Also, um can I tell you one thing? So, like you know, like when we first see the mom in this Like, yes, like she like she like comes into the house and and the mom's like, sorry, honey, I have to pick up another shift. And and she's like, oh, no, really?
01:35:10
Speaker
And I was like, why is like every mom in horror movies like this always pick up picking up another shift? Like, it's always like, oh, I've got to work again at night. I'm so sorry. That is there always and they're always a nurse. Yeah, they're always a nurse or or they're like, like ah they're like a cocktail waitress or something like that. And like, that's always a thing. It's so bizarre to me. um Yeah, it was just weird. I had i had to point that out.
01:35:31
Speaker
Yeah. um One thing I did write down in my notes is this movie is lit like a gay man's apartment. It is all, it is all lamp lighting. That is true. No overhead lighting. Nobody turns on the lights in this movie. It drove me absolutely bonkers because we watched this during the day. So I had to like um put down all the shades, she even see what was going on in the movie. I was like, can we just turn on a light, please? Especially considering that the entity can't be in light.
01:35:57
Speaker
So why wouldn't you make that a part of the movie? Why wouldn't you just turn on some more lights? How about that? Anybody? um ah Let's see here. What else do I have? I do like the design and that they used an old classic Polaroid because i you don't see those very often. It's mostly like the 80s, 90s version the Polaroid.
01:36:15
Speaker
um I want that camera. i think it looks really cool. Yeah. And and this this is a real camera. there There is one called the Polaroid SX 70 camera. It is a folding single lens reflex LAN camera from Polaroid it produced 1972 to it is fucking cool looking.
01:36:30
Speaker
it it and it is fucking cool looking Yeah. And it's so cool that it like folds down so you can carry it easier um because that's always the thing with Polaroids is that they're just so cumbersome. They're big. um A couple of things in the movie that I did like. I do like that the lesbian survives and not and is not ripped from our from our LGBTQ hands.
01:36:50
Speaker
but Um, I thought that the part where entity rips the photo of the sheriff in half and he gets ripped in half was pretty, pretty cool. Yes. Um, and I don't know. I think that there's some good ideas in here. i think that when they go and visit his wife and they, you know, she tells the story about how, um, these four kids, ah kind of, um, bullied her daughter into killing herself and dah, dah, dah, dah. And then you find out later that it's the opposite. I thought that that was a good twist. Um,
01:37:17
Speaker
um So overall, I had i had more fun with this movie night than I thought a movie called Polaroid was going to be, I'm being honest. I mean, that doesn't forget some bad writing. Yeah, i certainly i liked it a lot more than I liked Shudder, I'll be very honest.
01:37:30
Speaker
Oh, and by the way, if you haven't seen Polaroid, um you don't have to rent this. um It might be streaming for you already, but you can watch it on YouTube, which is actually how watched it. cool. If you haven't watched it, you you can watch it for free there. It's not the best quality, I'll be honest, but it's good enough.
01:37:46
Speaker
I watched it streaming somewhere, so it is available. I think Amazon maybe. so but i mean yeah look in in In comparison to Shudder, this may as well be yeah Citizen Kane, for God's sake. um And, you know, there there are parts of it that are definitely, you know, they don't work. But I mean, look, they're they're <unk>re few and far between. I think I do think that this movie gets maybe panned a little bit too hard. Like, for example, The Independent calling it the worst horror of film ever made. That is absolutely not true.
01:38:14
Speaker
yeah i don't even know how you could write that about this movie. This movie at least has original ideas. like you know i mean They must have had just had a very, very bad day. It's entirely possible. um And then, you know, like I'm looking on, you know, once again with with some Letterboxd reviews.
01:38:26
Speaker
Here's one from somebody called Bruno that says, the shittiest movie I have ever seen in my entire life. And there is another one here from wind blade too. This is kind of funny. It just says, Hey, scarf girl, what you doing wearing that fucking scarf again? You're so stupid. Ha ha ha. You and your scarf, scarf, bitch. Ha ha. Stupid little scarf girl.
01:38:47
Speaker
I bet you wear it to better. So they can't believe you have a scarf. Fuck you. Scarf girl. That made me laugh. Another one here from Jamie. This has the exact same plot of an episode of goosebumps starring Ryan Gosling. And it's important to me that you know that.
01:39:00
Speaker
um And then there's another one here from Allie Bug that says me when she was pointing the camera at her dog. Bitch, you better not. i know i said the same thing yep yep that dog never shows up again in the entire movie though so might as well be dead another thing that doesn't pay off right kind the the writers need to come back and close the loops on this shit man come on seriously jesus oh um i did appreciate that like there are three survivors at the end that was kind of refreshing of like not everyone has to die little final um
01:39:33
Speaker
And that woman who played the the um wife of the serial killer, she was familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I know she's played old ladies and other stuff. um the the old The old ladies always play further old ladies, you know? Yeah, yeah.
01:39:48
Speaker
um And then i thought the the ending is so bizarre because she goes, she, she, her and her friends survive. And then she goes, have something I have to do first. And I'm thinking, okay, she's finally going to say goodbye to her dad and like, maybe like drop the,
01:40:05
Speaker
um like the the what does she have like the watch or whatever yeah with her his picture in it like she was finally gonna either get rid of that or like she was gonna go bury it or go put it at his grave or something to pay off like that relationship but no what does she do she goes and throws the camera in the river for another person to find later on like i'm what are you doing girl smash that thing in half like what are you doing Also, by the way, um the character that I was talking about is not named Connor. And I don't know why I don't have him in the the in the credits here. But that that character was played by James Paxton, they the really annoying one. Tyler Young, Connor. I think Connor is actually the good one concerned. That actor needs to reconsider his hairstyle because that hair was driving me absolutely bonkers. I would agree. would totally agree.
01:40:51
Speaker
And you can also tell that they shot this at two different times because Connor's hair is like significantly longer halfway through the movie. yeah And I was like, wait, what happened here? right And for a second there, I completely thought he was the kid from Riverdale because they look very similar. Yeah, I could see that.
01:41:12
Speaker
and Well, and speaking of Riverdale, we get a little cameo from Riverdale girl in the beginning. She's the one initially has the we didn't even talk about the cold open of the girl who just finds the photos of her but with her mom's stuff, which never pays off either ah because they don't even really talk about that character. They just do. They even say she died. i don't know. I don't think so, because the Tyler character just got that camera in an estate sale.
01:41:36
Speaker
So, OK, OK, OK, Keenan. OK, I'm fixing this for everybody right now. Keenan Tracy. plays devin and devin for whatever reason i love this out of the fucking credits devin is the annoying one right got ah connor is this the good one and he's played by tyler young um just want to get that straight there we go and tyler once again is the cute one and tyler is played by davis santos who we play
01:42:02
Speaker
Jesus Christ. It was funny though, because they show him ah when, when he initially was interacting with bird in the antique, I thought that he was like older than her. Like I thought that he was like maybe college and she was like ah a senior in high school, but then they show a picture of like the people that have died in the high school. And he's like, he's one of them. So obviously he was in high school, but I was like, that makes that dynamic even weirder that they go to school together and that he tries to kiss her after giving her the camera.
01:42:29
Speaker
Yeah, there's just a lot of weird choices in the writing in this one. I think that that's where it gets a little weird because the overall plot's not bad and the execution's not bad. and I think we just have two movies where there were a lot of weird choices made.
01:42:42
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Should we just rich we just rate it then? Yeah, yeah, it's fine. I mean, we we we could go in circles all all around it. Look, I gave this one a four um and I said some good stuff, but ultimately kind of a cheese fest. And how many more times is the one boyfriend going to blame her for the situation?
01:42:58
Speaker
Come on. And I'm going to give it 4.5. I said not a bad premise and I kind of like the twists and turns, but apart from our main girl, the acting pool is very shallow. agreed.
01:43:08
Speaker
So folks, that does it for Polaroid. We'll be right back to close the show and with a little game. Shantae, you stay. Shantae, you stay. Shantae, you stay.
01:43:19
Speaker
Shantae, you stay. And folks, that was episode 138 of the 13th Horror Podcast. But before we let you go, as always, we have a little game. And it is the return of a game we haven't played in a little while, which is really, it's probably one of the most complicated. and It's more complicated than Monopoly, than um Axis and Allies, than Settlers of Catan.
01:43:42
Speaker
um It's called Hottie of the Episode. And basically, it's where Andrew and I pick one person that we think is the hottest. That's it. So, Andrew, tell us, who is your Hottie of the Episode?
01:43:54
Speaker
Well, I don't know if I alluded to this earlier, but I think Tyler from Polaroid played by Davi Santos is pretty cute and he's got a nice smile and I wish you wouldn't have been in the movie more.
01:44:05
Speaker
So maybe if there are other movies that this actor is in, send them along to me because I would like to watch them. Lovely. ah My pick is Tyler Young, who played Connor in Polaroid.
01:44:16
Speaker
Acceptable answer. he's He is that he is he iss cute. And he's got great hair and just like... he's just got that face that you just you want to make out with you what i mean like that's just the end of the day so that's my pick right there and that is a good little hot of the episode so andrew before we let these people go all together um first off just want to say thank you all for listening and look if you want to support um a a proud independent podcast like us there's a number of ways that you can do it let me tell you about a couple
01:44:48
Speaker
First off, you can go to our website at www.frygay13.com where you can buy merchandise from us or you can become a patron on Patreon. Andrew, I believe we have some new patrons, don't we?
01:45:00
Speaker
We do. Danny and Lisa are our newest patrons. I got to speak with Lisa a little bit. Oh, cool. And she from outside Salem. Oh, very cool. That's awesome. Yeah. So thank you very much for signing up to you patrons.
01:45:13
Speaker
And before we get too far into this sayonara, I did want to say to you, happy seven years of the pod. Oh my God. Andrew, I completely forgot. That's right now. um Seven years. Seven years ago, we sat in your noisy little apartment and recorded our first episode.
01:45:27
Speaker
Andrew, how has it been? I cannot believe I forgot this. How has it been seven years already? Crazy, crazy. think about Think about how much has changed in seven years. Yeah, there's a lot. like You know what's really weird in in in podcasting world is there are so many podcasts that were out there when we started that are just gone now. They're gone now. It's crazy. Yeah, it really is.
01:45:48
Speaker
um You know, ah go we we we we won't take too long on this, of course, but like, you know, a lot of people have helped us along the way. um and you know, look, there are there are people who have listened to this show since day one.
01:46:03
Speaker
That's crazy. like Since sense literally day one, I'm thinking of um Amber in my head right now. I'm thinking of Dougie in my head. um Who else is in your head right now as people who were with us from the very beginning?
01:46:15
Speaker
From the very beginning, i mean, um gosh I'm trying to, I wonder if some of the people that we've communicated with over the years still listen that were there at the beginning. But those the those are definitely the two that I think of first. Yeah, yeah. so you know, listen, thank you to everybody. If you've listened to us for a day, listened to us for seven years, thank you very much for being with us.
01:46:33
Speaker
um Look, we're, We're not making millions off of this. We're not, we're not even making hundreds, quite frankly. now um So if if you're listening, this is truly a labor of love. it's something that we we love doing. And, you know, we've said it from, for a very long time, unfortunately, there's always going to be enough material in the world where things keep being terrifying and, and, and and horrible.
01:46:51
Speaker
um So thank you for coming back to us to keep listening to our points of view about it and and hopefully to find, to find yeah some synergy there with us. And, you know, I, I hope,
01:47:02
Speaker
as always, that we've been really good companions in the dark to you. um And I hope that we continue to be. But that doesn't stop you from relieving a review. Exactly. we appreciate you listening, but we need your reviews. Wherever you listen to podcasts, whether it's on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, many of the other ones that are out there. we hit 400 reviews yet? We're at 390. Come on, people. need 10 more of you to write a fucking review. Go fucking do it right now.
01:47:30
Speaker
Yeah. And stop taking so many selfies. yeah Get the phone out and leave a review instead. Exactly. But, you know, i think that will do it. um We only have one less thing for you to do, and that's for you to go ahead and get slayed.