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VHS (2012)
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Hunter and Ashlee will be diving deep into VHS (2012) and the familiar horror creators behind the segments!
As always, please reach out and let us know your thoughts on Instagram, TikTok, or by email at hazardousopinionspod@gmail.com and chat with us on Discord! If you love movies, add us on Letterboxd! Andy - Eric - Hunter - Ashlee.
Please send us your movie recommendations or suggestions for discussion topics. For our next episode, Hunter and Ashlee will be discussing Beetlejuice/Beetlejuice Beetlejuice! Watch ahead and then tune in to hear our thoughts. Stay safe, we love y'all!
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:21
Speaker
everyone, welcome back to Hazardous Opinions. Today, Ashley and I will be diving deep into VHS 2012 to continue our spooky season. Before we get to that, a few programming reminders. This episode will be the fourth out of five episodes for the month of October we have for you guys. Next up will be a sell me mini episode.
00:00:45
Speaker
A big way you guys can help us is by following us and giving us five stars wherever you get your podcasts. Also reach out to us with anything movies at hazardousopinionspod at gmail dot.com or on socials like Instagram at hazardousopinionspod and discord.
00:01:06
Speaker
We really appreciate all of you and your support. Now on to VHS.
VHS 2012 Film Discussion Begins
00:01:12
Speaker
VHS was released in 2012. Directed by multiple directors are involved with this since there's multiple different segments for the VHS tapes. So as we go through each tape, we will touch on the directors further.
00:01:28
Speaker
The plot of VHS 2012 is four thugs who make money putting their violent antics online are hired to steal a VHS tape from a spooky old house. However, things take a turn for the worse when they find a dead pensioner and dozens more tapes.
00:01:49
Speaker
The letterbox rating of VHS 2012 is an average of 2.8 out of 5 stars. My personal rating, I'll start with, is 3 out of 5 stars in letterbox terms. Ashley, what's yours? On letterbox, mine's also a 3. Okay. And on IMDB, my rating is a 6.2.
00:02:15
Speaker
6.2. Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. That translates pretty well. Okay. That's higher than the actual IMDb rating score. At least you enjoyed it more than the collective of IMDb did. That might change more when we talk about it. We'll see.
00:02:30
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Maybe get into a couple of hazardous opinions. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so after stating our personal ratings, I think with this movie, since it's so different having segments throughout, it's probably better to really say how we feel each segment,
Segment-by-Segment Breakdown of VHS 2012
00:02:54
Speaker
right? Instead of before the whole movie. That would make the most sense. That's what I'd like to hear. Yeah. And kind of just.
00:03:00
Speaker
break it down by segment yeah have a collective thought about it like at the very end kind of like as a movie as a whole movie so we'll start with our main segment that features these sorry excuses for men that keeps our structure for the movie and it is called tape 56 It was directed by Adam Wingard. Adam Wingard also directs Godzilla versus Kong. Blair Witch 2016, like Ashley appreciates. I think that one is terrifying and I love that one so much. It's weird it came from the same guy, but what else did he do?
00:03:38
Speaker
I know. Yeah. yeah Good point. Okay. Quit smiling. Um, you think Blair, which 2016 is better than the original, right? I do. Okay. Okay. Just wanted to get that. Okay. All right. Because I've had a couple hazardous opinions and I don't want everybody just after me. That'll definitely do it. But what else did he do?
00:04:00
Speaker
He also does The Guest, which I love. You know this one. Micah Monroe and our boy, Dan Stevens. I didn't watch that one. Oh, no. You're joking me. It's one of the best thrillers I've seen. Oh, wait, actually, I think I did a years ago, but I only watched it the once and at the time I didn't realize who I was watching. Oh, sure. So it didn't stick with me. So now if I rewatch it, I'll be like, I will love it. But I just didn't get around to rewatching because I forgot that they were in there.
00:04:31
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you gotta. It's like one of my favorite thrillers with like an 80s tinge to it without like really veering into 80s. Oh, you know, it sounds like me if that kind of makes sense. Uh huh.
00:04:46
Speaker
Yeah, that's why I'm trying to sell it to you right now. um He also did your next one of our favorite slashers, right? um i I won't say it's a it's a perfect slasher. Like I don't absolutely love all of it. Like kind of um if you take it as a collective, it's kind of the tone and your feelings are kind of it's Dampened it's kind of just gray like bland did all of the people that worked on VHS Have a part in your next or just the guy from tape 56 Adam Wingard the director did um Joe Swanberg he directs one of segments and that's um The sick thing that happened when Emily was younger. Mm-hmm. So he directs that one and he helps write it and And also Jones, Joe Swanberg was he played one of the brothers in your next. Yeah, Joe Swanberg plays ah the brother that has ah the woman with the short black hair and she's kind of like distant towards him a bit. You remember him? No. Well, it's been a while since I was kind of a dickhead to like he's the dickhead brother. OK, then. Yes. Yeah. OK. Yeah. Everyone just gets taken out in that one. So.
00:06:07
Speaker
I mean pretty much, yeah. And he also did Death Note 2017, which I know is not very popular with the fans of the anime, Death Note, but I, at least it was interesting to me, I don't know. i This is also written by Wingard and his frequent collaborator, Simon Barrett, and Simon Barrett will also come up again during the segments we talk about, so.
00:06:32
Speaker
Basically, this segment is what sets us up for these hooligans, finding the VHS tapes that we as an audience also watch along with them.
Analysis of Tape 56 and Amateur Night
00:06:42
Speaker
These four guys are hired from an outside source to steal a special VHS tape for a large amount of money. While trying to find the certain tape, they play through four, let's say strange, fucked up, all of the above.
00:06:57
Speaker
tapes before proceeding to play these. There is a whole ass dead man sitting in a chair in front of many TV screens playing static and white noise. Strange choice, right? But the criminals ignored that and watch the tapes anyways.
00:07:19
Speaker
Just sitting in front of him in the chair, in his recliner, sitting in front of his body. Oh, exactly. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. I don't know. Like, what do you, what do you think of tape 56? When it first started, and the characters are obviously insufferable and it starts out with a tape of them literally opens up with them recording a woman unknowingly.
00:07:48
Speaker
unknowingly, trying to sleep with her like, and she finds the camera, and then it cuts to, you know, them doing their other shenanigans.
00:07:59
Speaker
Yeah, this is the like, that's the tape they're going over. Yeah. And if seeing that opening, if I went into it, not knowing it was an anthology already, yeah I would shut it off because they were so insufferable. The characters that you're introduced to, but knowing that it was an anthology going into it, I knew they were not going to be the focal point. of Yeah. Yeah. Not constantly seeing them on the screen. Like fuck these guys. yeah Right. Yeah. Yep.
00:08:27
Speaker
So immediately I didn't care for them or what happens to them. Yeah, no, so me either. Yeah. And after each tape, the criminals begin disappearing one by one. This is one of the weaker segments of the movie for me. It's it's really unfortunate because it holds this movie together and it gives it a little bit of a main plot. Nothing pulls me in besides the dead man sitting in the chair.
00:08:58
Speaker
and how disturbing that is seeing him right behind the viewers like you said as they're watching each tape and like he just disappears randomly after some of the tapes and you know like that's why the guys are just dropping dead one by one but oh good they deserve it I mean, pretty much, uh, for me, I just want to get to the tapes and love the anthology world in this movie. Nothing feels flashy, different, or compelling to me here at all. This segment ends before we cut to our last VHS tape. The old man is basically a zombie and has been picking these guys off. Karma, I guess.
00:09:46
Speaker
Yeah, probably messed with the wrong person because they were had a video of them assaulting, literally assaulting a woman in like a parking garage. I honestly thought you were going to mention that before the um like almost sex tape. Like lifting up her shirt, which is a common theme in most of these segments. And yes. Very true. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't pick this one because of that. Come on. Yeah. Sure. yeah Um, but yeah, like they went to go. I don't, I just hated them and I was just so glad they were getting picked off throughout the movie. Oh, I know. They, they had what was coming to them. Honestly. Um, basically I don't have much thoughts besides the negative ones I mentioned for this segment. Unfortunately, you know, I don't want to say that.
00:10:41
Speaker
I really do. I enjoy all of Adam Wingard's stuff. His other filmography that we talked about like the guest that's one of my favorite thrillers ever and thrillers are part of my favorite genre of movies. So I think all of these directors definitely have some issues with their segments. Yes, but I mean, like they're all the same gripe I have which we'll get into when we talk about each segment but they've all gone on to do like some of our most favorite movies
00:11:15
Speaker
I know it's amazing and that's exactly why I wanted to pick this one for spooky season. I thought this would be awesome to kind of like especially people our age or whoever really enjoys the A24 of Ty West that is gonna pop up and obviously you and I we love radio silence yeah yes ready or not that's one of our favorite horror movies that's radio silence that does the last segment.
00:11:41
Speaker
just so many different amazing creative minds in horror are involved in this. And just kind of see where they started out. Exactly, they started out. So I i won't fault them too much. I don't know how how big of a budget that they have for this, you know, but we will get into it. Some of the tapes they even with the budget they had or the time they had,
00:12:09
Speaker
you can tell the time and care in some of them, right? Oh, for sure. And we'll get into that. Yeah. You want to get into the first segment? Oh, fun fact. Before, ah for Tate 56, the brick house that all these fucking hooligans break into where they find all these VHS tapes, it's the same house featured in Marble Hornets, the popular found footage YouTube series that popularized the Slender Man.
00:12:38
Speaker
um So I thought that was kind of cool. I didn't know that. Yeah. I wasn't big on shorts on YouTube. Me either. With Slender Man, I got really familiar with the games. And I love the games. And I heard the movie was garbage. It was. It was. And ah yeah, stab me in the heart for it. no But yeah, let's get into the first segment that's involved. This segment is called Amateur Night.
00:13:09
Speaker
It is directed by David Bruckner, and I'm really excited to list off a couple of these, but ah he is involved in the ritual, The Night House, and Hellraiser 2022. I love, love the ritual, and there's a, there's a Selmy coming your guys' way about that one.
00:13:32
Speaker
and Hellraiser 2022 oh man what honestly to me what a revelation and i can say i watched the original before i watched this one and i could easily say which one i liked better i would have to agree i didn't watch i started the original hellraiser could not get into it i I understand. it I mean, I might need to rewatch. yeah I get it's like a staple. It's very iconic. It's a staple. Yeah. there It's got a standing in the horror community. I totally understand that. I get as like a little kid, like it pops on cable or something and it just sticks in your head, right? But yeah, I don't know. And he's also involved in another movie featuring segments like VHS, Southbound, which I recently checked out.
00:14:22
Speaker
and loved could maybe say it's better than VHS in totality. I'd say like as a whole south bounds better written by Bruckner and Nicholas Tkosky. If I'm saying that correctly in this one, we're thrown into a night of debauchery with three friends that are going to get shmammered and try to get girls back to their hotel room and film some amateur porn.
00:14:51
Speaker
Shane and Patrick give Clint camera glasses so that they can film discreetly. When they go out, one mysterious and shy woman named Lily comes onto Clint with the with the camera glasses. Lily and another girl go back to the room with the guys and shit goes south real quick. What do you think of the segment?
00:15:17
Speaker
Um, who was the guy that was with the other gal? That wasn't Lily. That's Shane. Shane. Um, and Patrick was sitting on the couch. Okay. Gotcha. Yup. You get me now. So Shane, um, the first thing that I was really shocked about was that the girl that they brought back, um, was she was passing out drunk on the bed. Yes. Um, I was really shocked that he stopped. Actually stopped.
00:15:46
Speaker
When she was passed out, because it seemed like he didn't want to. And if his friend wasn't there saying it would have been messed up if he kept going, I don't think that he would have stopped. Unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah. So I despised him. And yes once again, this is the first segment in tape 56. A girl against her will being recorded trying to make stuff, but trying to make her do stuff she didn't want to do. But I'm glad that he did stop.
00:16:15
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, same. Yeah, no, I was actually surprised by Shane and actually like the friend saying something as well. And I'm like, OK, I was I was relieved. um I don't know what would have happened. I wouldn't have been able to stomach if anything else that didn't go that way happened. Agreed. Yeah. And I think they didn't want to go there. Good. Thank God. um Yeah. Like the creators. I did love Lily. And did you happen to know the lore behind her?
00:16:50
Speaker
No, actually when I, when I was checking out more about each segment online, I noticed that there's a movie with her after, after the segment, her character was so popular that she ends up getting her own movie ah called siren. I added it to my watch list on letterbox after hearing about it, but I had no idea. Oh, so what did you think so far of the segment?
00:17:20
Speaker
Personally, throughout all the VHS movies, this stands out as one of my favorites still. Um, I agree, even though there are some hard to watch scenes from it, obviously. Yes. It is one of the more enjoyable ones that has always, when I think of VHS, I think of this segment. Exactly. Yeah. I will, I'll get into my feelings about it. It's not that I, obviously I do not enjoy watching that stuff on repeat, you know, or anything. It's just, um, I'll get into it. I will.
00:17:52
Speaker
Why I return to most of these VHS movies is because some of the segments are part of my favorite horror moments in like film ever and amateur night. It haunts me. That's, that's what I was trying to get into it. Like those hard to watch things and thank God, it didn't go a step further.
00:18:13
Speaker
But like, that's what haunts me. That's what is horror to me and scary, right? We're trying to feel something that's outside of ourselves, like outside of our real lives. And yes, yeah, obviously, like real things have probably happened to you, happened to me.
00:18:32
Speaker
some scary stuff in real life but yeah these moments don't always come up you know the tension slowly builds in a perfect way starts out as a night out like plenty I've been on but absolutely not with the intention of these guys. It gets hazy and chaotic, then ends in a horrific way. Rewatching, you do notice Lily coming down the stairs in the bar where Clint meets her for the first time. It's for a brief second.
00:19:09
Speaker
But I love how there's a slight glitch when it pans up to her like real quick like up the stairs It's like oh boy. We're in for a night. I like that too because you don't know she's with the group that she's standing by or she's by herself because I've been in situations where I There's someone, you know, like you're with a group of friends and you're just like, wait, who are you? Like, you don't know, like they just want to feel. Really? and Yeah. ah Like sometimes you're like hanging out with your friends and there's like someone that's like acting like they're part of your group and you don't realize them right away. And 1000% and I've also had friends be like, what happened to you? You know, like, or like, where'd you go? Oh, I was just hanging out with this group I never met and we're up till like fucking came back the next morning.
Lily's Story and Horror Elements
00:20:02
Speaker
Like that's a thing. So like you don't know if she's just there trying to blend in. Yeah. Or, you know, like you just don't know.
00:20:13
Speaker
That's interesting that you bring that up because I haven't really had that happen. I've always had my kind of, uh, tight knit and like, we just know right away, basically. But yeah, I mean, obviously we've like met a couple of people, like just randomly like, Hey, want to come over for our after party? You know, shit, shit like that. But yeah, no, that's interesting. I like that. Okay.
00:20:39
Speaker
But what the hell is a thing? I guess it's the thing. So, you ever come here before to Lilly? Basically, you could have, like, Clint could have asked, so come here often or some stupid shit like that, but one of the lamest ways to start flirting, you immediately realize even before this that Clint is also guilty of being a bad guy and so impressionable by douchebags, honestly.
00:21:11
Speaker
The genius of this is that Lily is acting so bizarre and strange that no one even notices because they're drunk and having fun. The quiet speaking, what she chooses to say, and the body language were like, come on, it's it's like right there, right? It's very obvious and they're so desperate on their mission that they dismiss it. She speaks so softly.
00:21:40
Speaker
Very neurodivergently. Yeah. Let's be honest here. Yeah, pretty much um speaks so softly and directly. My God, I like you. It like for but or lingers and as she lingers in the background and she has a peculiar indent in her forehead. Giving Dren from splice vibes. No shit. Oh my God. Thank you. Actually, that's yeah, that's lived rent free in my head for sure.
00:22:11
Speaker
Shane tries to have sex with Lisa, the other girl they bring back to the hotel room, and he's disappointed when Lisa ends up passing out like you mentioned. Shane then comes on to Lisa. He has sex with her. I was surprised that she did with Shane.
00:22:32
Speaker
uh but i'm assuming that was part of luring clint even more with the threesome i think she was kind of targeting clint a bit shit gets weird Can't believe Shane doesn't notice those gross ass feet with those scales. Clip those freaking nails. ah Sorry, I hate feet. Patrick tries to join. What the hell? Clint gets overwhelmed and hides in the bathroom. Where are you at in your thoughts here? I would definitely goop probably hide too. I'd probably honestly just would go out the front door and leave. Yeah. Not going to the bathroom.
00:23:15
Speaker
I know, yeah, still trapped in the fucking room, right? Yeah. Yeah, I would just like leave if that was me. But then Patrick burst through the door. Yes. Saying Lily bit his hand and he has a blatant bite mark and he's completely naked. It it already looks fucking infected. Yeah. Yeah. yeah oh My god, yeah, the guys pop back out into the room to see this crazy sex dying stuff With jumping off the bed and like I'm kind of paraphrasing here, but like they pop out a couple different times um But one of the times when Lisa fucking jumps with them off the bed with she really oh Sorry, yeah, Lily. Thank you. Sorry. They both start with L. I got confused um
00:24:07
Speaker
Yeah, and Lisa's still passed out through this whole fucking thing. Speaking of Lisa. Luckily. Luckily. She's sleeping through the entirety. Clint actually tries to wake her up, like, so, like, I could give him, like, a little pat on the back for that, but other than that, just, um, he's impressionable, like, he's guilty.
00:24:26
Speaker
this when they both come out of when clint and patrick come out of the bathroom to try to get out the front and door and lily is standing there with her arms behind her head holy shit it's such an ugly eerie scene yes yeah when all the lights are off it's just the tv glow and it's kind of like a goddess stance honestly like an old ancient like it was kind of yeah what the yeah No, I get you. ah Yeah. And Patrick has a shower rod as a weapon. And um I kind of said that goddess like stances straight out of like Dracula or something like that. I don't know. You know, um Patrick sucks ass and gets eaten too. Along with Shane. We didn't mention that when Lisa when Lily. Sorry.
00:25:19
Speaker
When Lily hops off the bed with Shane in that hovering move, um, she makes a meal out of the guy. Like actually before they even hop off the bed, she's like digging in his chest. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And then they hop off. There we go. Yeah. I was kind of, I was really paraphrasing there, but oh man, that sticks in my head. Lily flings Patrick's dick and balls towards Clint hiding behind the bed. Did you remember that? Just like had a question about that. Yeah. So she did it in like one like swift movement. Could you rip dick and balls off and they would stay together like that like she did or they separate? and
00:26:01
Speaker
Oh, you're asking like a very intellectual ah medical question right now. Yeah. Like would they stay together like that or would they separate? or yeah or you like just like Was like a twist motion? Like she just did it so quick. Are you asking me as a man right now? Because like this hurts my very soul or in general thinking about this. Okay. Maybe you know, you definitely know more than I do. Okay. Um, you know,
00:26:31
Speaker
I honestly don't think so. Like it would separate, right? It would separate. Well, she pulled off at just the dick. The base. I think like she pulls off the skin completely. Yeah. Yeah. I like. OK. Yeah. You're getting into the specifics. All right. Yeah. um I would just love to stop thinking about it because it's giving me a stomach ache right now. But but good for her nonetheless. I mean, good for her. at Honestly, Shane and Patrick deserve it. Yeah. um Oh, man. And then Clint makes his getaway. He's trying to knock on all these rooms trying to get like anybody's help at all.
00:27:15
Speaker
It gets no help. They're like, what the hell is this man doing? Just like, yeah, hey, get out of here. Yeah, one one woman like shushes him away. And I mean, it's a hotel, so like everything's close together. I'm like kind of claustrophobic and freaking out right now, you know, myself as he's running. And I love how the camera during this segment is not too all over the place. Thank God it doesn't make me nauseous.
00:27:42
Speaker
But, oh man, he almost gets to that group of guys. Oh, oh! He falls down the stairs and breaks his- Oh my god, okay, back up, yep, yep.
00:27:54
Speaker
Clint falling down the stairs and and Lily popping her head around the corner. Holy shit. That's a horror moment. Like i I forgot about that part. I watched with my buddies the other night and like when Clint looks back up the stairs and she's just also like peeking her head out like I even kind of like my heart dropped because it's very creepy. I hate that. That scene kind of drug on for a while too. Like it took a little bit for her to actually pee around the corner. So like when she actually does, it was like, exactly. It really catches you off guard. It's actually at the perfect time because it's not too long. It's not too quick. So yeah. Oh man. Loved it. And then Lisa comes down the stairs to Clint and like still is trying to come onto him. So that's why I think like she's very like really targeting him and actually wants him.
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah, she actually she like, well, now I think I should tell you about the lore. Oh, yeah really you didn't touch upon that. yeah So she's um a succubus and it could either go one of two ways based on succubus lore. She could either be trying to find a lifelong mate in a guy or because a succubus is a female demon.
00:29:13
Speaker
but She could be out on a mission trying to get the semen of a dead guy to take back to have other female like demons, like succubuses, impregnated to make them more. Yes. So it could either go on into it. She could have been on a hunt for semen or she could have been looking for a lifelong mate in Clint.
00:29:40
Speaker
Oh wow, that's actually interesting. And Lore, one of the main succubuses, like textbook succubus, is Lilith. And that's why her name's Lily. Oh, awesome. Yeah, I've seen a couple stories with Lilith, the wife of the devil, yep being involved. Yep, so that's Lily. Recently I watched ah Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that had Lilith in there. I think that's the most recent thing I've seen ah interpretation of Lilith come up.
00:30:10
Speaker
Yeah, that's interesting. Holy. I just knew that they were like, I kind of thought of the Odyssey with Odysseus and them being on the ship and Sirens. I know, I know she's not aquatic or anything like that. And also doesn't like seeing, you know, stuff like that. But yeah, Succubus is definitely more on point. um Thank you.
00:30:37
Speaker
So, after she tries to get with Clint and tries to fallish him, she gets so offended and sad that yeah he's not like reacting the way he should be right to a girl coming on to him. You you don't like?
00:30:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think she says so her she's like genuinely hurt she is yeah, she starts crying and then like I'm kind of wondering so yeah Clint makes his escape out of there again and Oh, yeah, and he also broke his frickin wrist steps. Yeah. Yeah, so like I totally understand that and I like that I like that part and it was It was a really cringy getaway because of that like he couldn't get up fully and then he almost reaches that group of guys and Yeah, and then he reaches up to them and then you see the guy look up and be like, Oh my God, kind of pull. yeah I don't know if he pointed, but like you could see an expression at least. Yeah. Yeah. And then Clint just gets picked up.
00:31:38
Speaker
And what Lillith reminds me, or what Lily, I guess, reminds me of so bad in that, because you see the ground just like getting further away from the glasses. So it's getting picked up and flying. yep And he looks up and sees her like wings flapping, and she's so reminiscent of Van Helsing. Van Helsing. Van Helsing vampires. Yes. I think. Yeah. Exactly like that. The wives. Oh my god. Can we cover Van Helsing? I just rewatched. I love Van Helsing. Oh my god. I love it. It's not the greatest but I love it. Frick yeah. Okay. Yeah. And then his glasses fall. They fall. Yeah. It's it's such a gasp of air when Clint gets grabbed by her. You're like you know kind of
00:32:27
Speaker
What I want to know is how his recording from the glasses got turned into a VHS. Very true. And you can kind of think about that for quite a bit of VHS segments throughout VHS as a franchise. I just kind of, I'm like, I'm kind of just like, uh, these are curse tapes. I kind of think of them as well, you know, yeah in a way. So I just think they appear. You're right.
00:32:55
Speaker
I don't know. In a world of where zombie guys sitting in front of the TV, I'm sure you can't think too much of where the exactly. Hey, it's a movie. We're not going to think about reality right now. Yeah. Do you think they made passionate love on an island somewhere after she whisks him away? Yeah, I wouldn't say no to her after all that. and Yeah. Yeah. How do you think she'd react? Rip dick and balls off.
00:33:20
Speaker
She's going for that though. Like that's her like prize possession. Don't you think? I think if, if Clint denied her again, first time she let it slide, but after she goes through all that and like, if he still wasn't interested, I think that she would rip it off. So like, yeah, very good thoughts. Um, do you think she killed him or no?
00:33:47
Speaker
I think that she got the semen she wanted as a succubus, then discarded him. Okay, you think she went that route instead of a lifelong mate. Yeah. Okay. Oh, interesting. I'm really glad you brought that up, honestly.
00:34:02
Speaker
Now we get to the second honeymoon. We'll kind of, we'll skip over the tape 56 stuff that happens in between because we kind of touched upon that, but like the guys are disappearing one by one, basically while this happens. So now we get into the second VHS tape, second honeymoon.
Second Honeymoon and Ty West
00:34:23
Speaker
directed and written by Ty West and Ty West has directed The House of the Devil, The Sacrament, which I've never watched The Sacrament, but I've seen The House of the Devil. He's also directed X, Pearl and Maxine. And Cabin Fever to Spring Fever. Do you like that one?
00:34:45
Speaker
It's so disgusting and it's so fun to just like watch and just be gross and make fun of. I actually really love that one. I actually, um based on the stuff that popped up on my ah time hop and my Facebook memories, yeah um I just rewatched ah Cabin Fever 2 with Ryan two years ago the other day.
00:35:07
Speaker
Oh, no way. And I was going through it. That was when my phone got, like, my phone got, like, wiped. Oh, shit. On accident. Anyways, we're sitting there and the title cards were coming up for cabin fever. And it said directed by Ty West. And I looked over at Ryan because I didn't know that going into it. Oh, yeah.
00:35:33
Speaker
And that was like one of the first things that made me a smile was saying that I was directed by him. Really? Yeah. Oh man. Anyways. And I also forgot he did the sacrament too, which I also recently rewatched with Ryan.
00:35:47
Speaker
Is the sacrament good? Should I check it out? It's based on Jonestown. It's of these vice, these people from vice go to like this commune to just like see what's going on. Cause his sister's there. One of the vice reporters sister is at this commune. Okay. Um, but it's basically like Jonestown, like drink the Kool-Aid Jonestown. Oh. Yeah. And Eli Roth is an executive producer and it's directed by Ty West. Oh, okay. Also found footage.
00:36:16
Speaker
Wow. is so ah All right. So I'm already understanding like why, why you love it. Yeah, probably. Yeah. Yeah. All your people, right? This follows a couple on their second honeymoon in Arizona who faced relationship troubles and a mysterious stalker who seems to have some kind of connection to the couple. What do you think of this segment?
00:36:41
Speaker
I think once again, there's a guy trying to record his girlfriend. Wife. Wife. Yeah. um To do something sexual against her will and yeah to pressure her in course or into it. Common theme. Another gentleman recording.
00:37:02
Speaker
I know, I know, I'm disappointed. Um, but, but I think knowing that it's by Thai, I'm just slightly biased that I like it probably a little bit more than I normally would it if I didn't know it was by him. Okay. If it was just from Joe Schmoe off the street. Yeah. Then I'm be like, Oh, this is probably like my second fave though.
00:37:27
Speaker
No, third. Sorry. It's my third fave segment. I think of the movie. Why are you shaking your head? No, I just can't even right now. Why? I don't know. I'll get i'll get into it. I can't believe it's your third favorite. We have amateur night. We have October 31st of 98 second honeymoon. And we have the sick thing that happened when Emily was younger.
00:37:55
Speaker
And so this one's my third favorite. Oh my, okay. All right. Okay. People are going to be hearing some hazardous opinions finally. They better be. Okay. All right. To me, this isn't even your run of the mill mystery, honeymoon, crime slasher, however you want to describe it, or, you know, mish, mishmash, all those genres. It's very bland to me. The setting, the aesthetic, the plot devices like the fortune teller, the relationship troubles. Wow. Very profound with a wife not wanting to have sex with her husband on camera.
00:38:36
Speaker
And even the dialogue just felt very lazy to me. Uh, I like, Oh man, that's probably the meanest I've sounded in a while. And I don't like that, but yeah, ah those are just my honest thoughts about it and hazardous opinion, probably to you and maybe other people, but that's how I personally feel.
00:39:01
Speaker
Yeah. Well, going through it, it's very not that interesting. Mm hmm. Not really. No. um And then the only like first like oh shit moment you have is when what's the guy's name? Joe. so Oh, Joe Swanberg. He plays Sam. Yes. um And he also directed The sick thing that happened when Emily was younger. Yes. So he directed that one, acted in this one. Yep. But then when you see the video camera turn on and it records. Sam. And records Sam sleeping in bed. You think that it's. Stephanie. Yep. Oh. Good job. Hell yeah. I think it's.
00:39:49
Speaker
I do have character names because I knew I would fucking forget them. I knew that you would. So that's why I did not do it. You got it. and he so But video camera turns on and is recording Joe.
00:40:04
Speaker
Sam. or It was recording Sam. Sam. Gotcha. It's recording Sam and you're like, Oh, Stephanie has it. And then the camera pans over and it's recording Stephanie. So you might realize it's a third party. Yes. Which is very eerie and ugly. And you're just like not expecting that. Not at all. And is that after this scene when it cuts to them in the car and Sam is accusing Stephanie of stealing money?
00:40:31
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So I think the first night that the stalker was going around the room, I think she took that hundred dollars out of his billfold and I think dipped his toothbrush in the toilet or that was the second time. Can't remember the first time.
00:40:49
Speaker
Okay, um so those two things happen the first night. Yes, um which is you think if someone's sneaking in and recording you in your sleep, they'd be more menacing, but like they're being menacing in like a petty way, like almost like a funny way of dipping his toothbrush in the toilet and stuff. See, yeah, like stealing the money I get. Yeah, yeah, like that's a crime, right? Stealing. But like, yeah, dipping the toothbrush in, you're like, okay, what's going on here, right? Why would a random stranger do that?
00:41:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They have a little qualm about where the money went. And I can't believe he actually accuses his wife of stealing the money. Yeah. Like kind of a dick move. I'm kind of just really curious about what got them to this point in their relationship. You know, well he obviously seems like he's a piece of shit.
00:41:42
Speaker
But remember, he was like, well, it wouldn't be the first time you treated yourself. So that gives like a little bit of backstory of like what happened before. But obviously, being a short, you don't get all that back character. to be Yeah, no. So it was like a a hint that something in the past but like with all these segments, you have to dive in to the world yeah like where everything's at right now. Right. I forgot to mention the gal who plays Stephanie. Yeah.
00:42:09
Speaker
um Direct went on to direct the 2019 remake of Black Christmas, which I 1000% will never watch or recommend because it's up there with the craft legacy. Just garbage. I haven't seen the craft legacy. i mean I watched the craft because of you. Did you love it? So thank you. um Decent.
00:42:34
Speaker
No, you loved it. and So anyways. OK, yeah, um I loved it. Yeah. um But I agree with you. Black Christmas was so bad. I'm not. I didn't watch it. I have heard enough. I'm not going to go on. Yeah, you covered it. But I mean, there's not really much to say about this episode. The second time, you know, the camera comes up. She's also the the girl that we don't know, the third party. Mm hmm. A stalker that we're assuming.
00:43:03
Speaker
Oh, no, we do know she's a girl because she visited them at their hotel their first night and asked them for a ride the next morning. Yeah, you could obviously probably make that connection that the stalker is that woman that comes up to the room knocks and Joe Swanberg's character, Sam, goes out to talk to her and she wants a ride. We forgot to mention that earlier. No. Yeah. But um I was really repulsed and disgusted because the first time they show her messing with him. She's pretty tamed. And so when she does it again, you're not expecting her to just stab Sam in the throat. So that's why I think like, probably in like longer movies,
00:43:50
Speaker
they could probably get messed with a third time. But since the time restraint is a second time, so that's really off guard that she stabs him. And it's so visceral and realistic. And he's react and you know, I have a hard time with gore, like that type of gore. yeah surprised yeah and so she's like digging around in his throat with a knife and he's like gurgling and he's just like sleeping yes and even though he obviously like wasn't like the best husband to stephanie right just seeing him react like that like so surprised of being stabbed in the throat and his sleep was really sad and hard to watch for me and he was like gurgling just like wondering what's happening had it was actually really sad for me I get you actually. That was hard to watch. Yeah. It was really realistic. You describing it actually makes me feel more towards it because I was going to say one positive takeaway from this segment, the practical effects of Sam's throat being slit makes me it makes me grab at my throat every time. Like seriously, it was tough. And then it's tough to watch.
00:44:56
Speaker
Turns out, Stephanie is having an affair with a woman. The woman is the stalker that has been sneaking into their hotel room, asked Sam for a ride outside the hotel room, brushed Stephanie's leg with a knife, you know, did all this stuff, and eventually slits Sam's throat. Stephanie and her make out on camera after Sam's murdered. Then Stephanie asks her to delete the footage as they're in the car driving away.
00:45:24
Speaker
really paraphrasing, but I really dislike this segment. I just have to say it I tried to really examine why I was disappointed with Second Honeymoon. The House of the Devil. I was disappointed in that movie as well. I didn't bring that up.
00:45:43
Speaker
same i didn't i watched it once it didn't stick with me even though i had greta gurwig in there too no yeah and i love greta yeah um i do have to add yes when i was watching vhs for the pod um when that scene came up with Sam getting stabbed and then it cut to Stephanie and the gal yeah making out in the mirror recording it and in the mirror. yeah Our friend Josh came over right when that happened. He was like, what are you guys watching us? What are you guys kids watching us? Snuff film. I was like, no. Yes, but no.
00:46:21
Speaker
I love that. That's funny. ah Actually, the you've seen she dies tomorrow, right? Never heard. But spoiler.
00:46:32
Speaker
it's the title of the movie and I have it on my watch list but the main actress of that she is the stalker and I didn't realize like that the stalker would have been an actual like actress that has been in quite a bit of stuff she seems to be a good actress I can't recall the name right now because you don't see her face in this at all which is unfortunate but so you hated this segment Yes, I do think with ex, if you take out an old woman and man, and also an alligator, which I know you love, murdering these young people to me, I wouldn't enjoy it as much. Honestly, it would just kind of be a 70s porno slasher.
00:47:15
Speaker
Okay. I should probably clarify when I said it's my third favorite out of the five. It's just third in a line that I dislike the least. I shouldn't say favorite. Oh, damn. Okay. Yeah. No, that, that does make sense. Yes. Okay. I get you. Okay. And we had the same rating for this movie, right? Yeah, we did yeah three out of five. Okay. Just make it sure. Um,
00:47:43
Speaker
If Pearl didn't have the 50s aesthetic and David Coran sweat, I think that's how you say his last name. I would have walked away from the movie feeling bland. Mia Goth's performances help in those movies. I just think it's a delicate balance for me taking to Ty West's work. If that makes sense. It's it's just like I like some elements that he brings, but you know, I agree. Others. Yeah. Yeah. It's just ah they aren't.
00:48:14
Speaker
ah His works aren't complete things to me like they are to other people that really highly regard them. And hey, if you love that stuff, go go ahead. Yep, I encourage it. Did you see Maxine?
00:48:29
Speaker
Not yet. Okay. I did not. That's why I didn't speak on it. And we'll get to it and I'll ask your rate, your rankings of the three. And then I'll tell you mine. I'm not going to to say it on this on the pod, but perfect. Okay. I've been nervous to check out Maxine because of these feelings, by the way.
Tuesday the 17th Critique and Themes
00:48:46
Speaker
Honestly, like after after rewatching VHS, that's when I kind of had that light bulb moment. ah Like even after watching X and Pearl, both of them I've seen two or three times each. I want to say.
00:48:59
Speaker
Yeah. Joe Swanberg plays Sam, the husband. He's a known writer director that directs a segment coming up. Like we said, I know him especially from your next and found out he's worked with Jake Johnson quite a bit and has drama films. I want to see like he he finds these good actors and actresses and just creates these little independent films, drinking buddies.
00:49:26
Speaker
Heard of that one. Okay, that's with um Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson. Are you done with second? Yeah. Yeah. Do you want to move on to the worst segment of the movie? Yeah, let's do it. Thank you.
00:49:41
Speaker
Okay. Next segment that comes up is Tuesday the 17th directed and written by Irish director, Glenn McQuaid. He did. I, he directed, I sell the dead, which is a horror comedy. I've never seen it, but that's basically what he's known from.
00:49:59
Speaker
This is an homage to 80s slasher films like Friday the 13th from which the short gets its name. The story follows a group of friends who go camping in the woods. However, one member of the group knows more than she lets on and they begin being stalked and hunted by an invisible killer that glitches in and out of view. To me, this killer just has bad internet connection like we do around here. What do you think of this segment? If you want to know my Can you guess my biggest gripe CGI blood? You nailed it. Yep. That's on the camera lens for the majority of the segment. Hell yeah. Yeah. Yeah. but I'm your co-host. Look at that. But, um, is definitely to me the worst segment of the movie. I thought the acting was terrible. Yep.
00:50:57
Speaker
I didn't quite get the story. I mean, I got the story to an extent. I did too, but yep. Yeah. I don't know. thats I had a big question. Yeah. So the cringy main character of this one, when she was like, why can't I film you later on in the segment? Oh yeah. That's, um, that's Wendy.
00:51:25
Speaker
Wendy is her name. Yes. So um can we get into the killer? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Anything's up for this. Can she see the killer in real life and it looks staticky like that? Or can you only see it when it's only being filmed? So she was saying that while looking at him through the camera. Yes. OK. Yep. Gotcha. Yeah, because ah that.
00:51:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's the whole reason for the VHS camera, honestly. Gotcha. I would say. OK, OK. And once again, following just a group of douchebag characters that you do not care what happens to them. And I didn't like how they were roasting Wendy when she said that she liked to come out to the lake every year. Yep.
00:52:14
Speaker
And they're just like roasting and be like, recreational camping at a lake. Embarrassing. Like I didn't see what the big deal was about. Really? No, that's actually a big activity for people. But that was a little uncalled for. So, unless you deserve to be roast.
00:52:30
Speaker
so hes not Okay, very true. Yeah, and I'll get into it too. But like, yeah, it starts out like every other road trip slasher. Basically, I've seen too many to where unfortunately, this opening exhausts me when all the characters are in a car talking shit to each other. Like you said, not sure if it's the performance or not. But Wendy doesn't keep me in suspense at all. You're all gonna fucking die out here.
00:52:58
Speaker
Oh, man. Sorry. ah That's due to writing. And then her friends just didn't. And directing, I'd say. this Take another take, dude. just That was like the most I like checked out after that. Yep. And her friend. Why did you say we're all going to die out here? I know that's it that was it. That's. Yep. um I honestly don't have much to say about this one.
00:53:24
Speaker
OK, yeah, I'll kind of. Yeah, yeah, I'll carry it. Yeah. um The killer being barely formed and glitchy whenever we see him is it's nauseating. Is that one killer? It's one killer. Yep. Guy with a red head. I can't even make out what he is. There was one cool. There was one scene from the segment that I liked. Which one? It was where.
00:53:53
Speaker
I don't remember exactly what is happening, but you can see way in the background. Barely can see the killer forming, but it's so glitchy. He's barely there and you can barely see him making his way closer to the screen. That was before he kills. That was before the horrific CGI blood splatter on the camera. Yes. Yep. So right before that. before Dang, I didn't write down. I didn't write down his character name. don't you God, I hate when she comes up to him, but I'm just replaying every time she's. Oh, my God. its So, so cringy. Don't you want to fuck? Oh, yeah. Yeah, no. Oh, my God. Absolutely not. ah Anyway. um
00:54:36
Speaker
before that very douchebaggy friend gets his throat slit. Yup. As, as the killer is coming up behind him. I actually, yup. I agree with you there. That was, it was so subtle and like you couldn't yeah even really tell that it was in the point that he starts to come because rewatching this obviously you kind of want to see it and I was like watching and it it comes very like subtly very well actually that's the only that is the only positive I could probably take from this yeah unfortunately um I hate being I hate being like this but like yeah it just um it kind of made me a little irritated honestly
00:55:19
Speaker
Please give me at least a little more form instead of a non-frightening blob for the killer. Honestly, you just can't really make out a form at all. And Samantha randomly showing Spider a cheer routine right before getting killed? This actually makes me a little irritated with the writing. Absolutely doesn't make sense. And it's all for set up with getting stabbed through the eye. I think that...
00:55:46
Speaker
showing a cheer routine before getting killed only works in Thanksgiving. Very true. Oh, one of the best scenes in Thanksgiving. Yeah, you can't touch that. um
00:55:59
Speaker
Again, it feels lazy to me. Also with this group that I feel would not be a friend group either. Coming to these woods in the setup, I'm really curious how Wendy convinced them to come with her.
00:56:14
Speaker
well okay so the first note I have is she tells her friend I did not take notes down of their names so Totally okay. Spider is the guy in glasses. so convinceer Wendy and Samantha. Yeah, convince her friend to come out there. And then convince the other friends to come out there without telling each other. So they thought it was just a girls group, girls trip. ah again And then friends. And then when they got there like what? I don't know any of these were coming and found out she lied but then just did not question it further as to why she lied to everybody about why they were there. Yeah. Just didn't care anymore after that. and
00:56:49
Speaker
but you no Honestly, I don't believe it's because I watched this a couple times, but the hints at something dangerous going on with dead bodies appearing on the camera, ah like the killer, real quick, then disappearing, is really where I think the execution is lacking. Use sound to your advantage or something. It just doesn't feel like jump scare worthy at all when they pop up, you know, and glitch out. It seemed this very sci-fi B movie.
00:57:17
Speaker
It does. It's like, okay, yeah, I get it. Yeah, there's a... Sorry, this wall really fucks me up. My friend fell off and hurt herself last time I was out here. Yeah, okay. Thanks, Wendy.
00:57:32
Speaker
In theory, this idea is kind of cool with a killer coming in and out of reality or whatever Glenn McQuaid was going for. For me though, the execution just wasn't there. If he was going for horror comedy as well, the jokes and dialogue do not land for me either. it This whole thing kind of almost feels unfinished. Like we were kind of getting to the point of um earlier with kind of going over these segments, like some of them don't feel like there's a lot of heart and effort. No, they definitely could have used more takes that they didn't. Exactly. It's not like you're shot on film. Should we get to one of the better ones? Yes, please. The sick thing that happened when Emily was younger. Oh, this one's good. Yeah, I love this one. Um, it's directed by Joe Swamberg. Like we mentioned, ah he does drinking buddies with Jake Johnson, Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick. Oh, I hate Anna Kendrick.
00:58:31
Speaker
Great! um It's written by Simon Barrett. Like I mentioned earlier, he co-wrote Tape 56. Important to note that this is one of the first computer screen films.
00:58:47
Speaker
It's giving very unfriended and host. Yep, exactly. Even though this came out before. Some that I do really like actually. Host is scary. Host is one of the best horror movies I've ever seen. It's only like an hour long. I looked at it and I tried rewatching it, but I fell asleep because I was really tired, not because of the movie. 56 minutes or something like that, even less maybe. And it's a COVID movie, guys. Please check it out if you can.
00:59:15
Speaker
I have been thinking about rewatching host, but I cannot watch it by myself. I will have all the lights on and I probably honestly would still like just so I know Nell would not watch this. Do you want me to come over you me and Ryan watch it together that Brian didn't watch it. So yeah, oh shit. Okay, he might like it. Because it's actually scary. It's really scary. Yep. This follows James, a trainee doctor as he chats with his girlfriend Emily via video chats. Emily has been experiencing strange happenings in her apartment. And James begins to view stranger and more sinister happenings via the webcam. What did you think of this segment? man
00:59:58
Speaker
Um, the main thing that I felt while watching this segment was traumatized because I've gone through a relationship with somebody in the past. Not Ryan, obviously. No. Yeah. Where it was very much gaslighting to this extent.
01:00:22
Speaker
Maybe not. all this Maybe not like to like to take medication. We'll get to that obviously in this segment towards the end there. Yeah. Yeah, of course. But just the blatant making you seem crazy and that what you're thinking and feeling is not real. And like just being told that like you're crazy pretty much. Yeah. Yeah. Was really traumatizing.
01:00:48
Speaker
Oh, so like it did hit. It hit home. Yes. Yeah. Thanks. We don't have to deal with that. I don't have to deal with that anymore. Thank God. Thank God you're in a better place. And I mean, that's when horror is at its best when it actually hits home. Yes. You do. Like um that's what generates the big feeling horror, right? Yeah. So I enjoy that even though it's not.
01:01:14
Speaker
Some people's taste or they want to feel that in their lives, but I do. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe I'm weird. But that was my main takeaway. I was just like, Jesus Christ. I was like, this is like hard to watch. Does that happen to somebody else? so I feel so bad. I didn't know. But like, yeah. And of course. I'm glad it's done with. Me too. Yeah. And once more. Lady.
01:01:48
Speaker
being recorded against her will. Ashley, this is your segment during VHS, but it is a very fair assessment, honestly. But it it's not my favorite, but it's not my least favorite either of the segments. Yeah. um But since you like it, why do you like it? So this is one of the best paced segments I've seen in a VHS film.
01:02:16
Speaker
With a limited amount of runtime, I feel like Swanberg and Barrett do a wonderful job with throwing us into this situation. You care for Emily and you're lulled into a false sense of security with James. They've been together for a long time you feel, even with that distance of the computer screen and not being in person together even.
01:02:39
Speaker
love the fact that it seems like an ordinary paranormal occurrence, but things get more actually sinister when it all plays out. I don't usually like UFO things. But when we get to the reveal, obviously, it's a UFO alien type thing. And I actually enjoy it. It just it kind of feels like, like you said, it kind of feels like a cycle lot. It's a psychological horror I would categorize because of how you felt.
01:03:06
Speaker
with the gaslighting and stuff like that. I love psychological shit. So like, Did you have any questions about it? Hmm. I actually really didn't have any questions about the plot. Obviously, you're gonna have questions about what's happened before this because we're thrown right in, right? Just like all the other segments. like Yeah. What was the fucked up thing that happened to Emily? Okay, so my question. Yes.
01:03:36
Speaker
So when they're talking, she's like, well, we haven't been ah apart this long since we were 12. So they've known each other since they were kids. And there's obviously like backstory to where she's reacted as a way that she's doing now. And it's like the, oh, this is like before.
01:03:57
Speaker
you know yeah so My question was they gave like this backstory of them knowing each other for so long. and so If he was like grooming her this whole time since they were kids,
01:04:13
Speaker
I think it was out of convenience. Honestly, it's kind of like a childhood sweetheart, right? Like that's what you feel the betrayal is even more there because they've known each other for so long. Like I catch that line every time I watch this movie. So I like I get you. That's the only kind of question I had. And I came up with two things. One.
01:04:40
Speaker
It was coincidence. um and Both of my things do start out as coincidence with them. Yeah, childhood sweethearts. And it's either James making Emily like gaslighting, ah making Emily think this alien occurrence now is like a scary, actual scary situation she had when she was younger or something.
01:05:06
Speaker
you know kind of like playing off of it and that's why the aliens appear kind of as ghosts you know what i'm saying she's way braver than i would ever be i know yeah and like i'm kind of wondering why the aliens look like that and like kids and stuff like that i i feel like maybe something actually happened when emily was younger and James when they were older like past that point that's when he came in contact with the aliens started working for them shit like that when he actually knew what was going on. The other option too that I came up with sorry is um that like
01:05:41
Speaker
uh when she was old enough to have an alien in yeah her arm or something James did it like I just I don't know why he was so young and came in contact with the aliens yeah yeah yeah but after you know, we find out James is just next door to Emily after she cuts into her arm and takes the fetus out of her, the alien fetus. yes And then he starts talking shit to the alien kids, like, not how many times she can go through this, like, like kind of getting mad at them. It's their fault. yep Back to gaslighting. Nothing's his fault. And, but very true it ends with him on Skype.
01:06:29
Speaker
More boobs immediately. Yes, but he's doing it to another girl. Yeah, so Emily and him know each other since they're kids But him just coming up with some random other girl kind of just like negates all that So is it just like right does he have that relationship with Emily? But also he's just doing it to these new random woman that he meets as well. He's got a side woman.
01:06:52
Speaker
Okay, that was my name. For sure. Yeah, so it's not negated. that That's my main takeaway. Like, ah started with Emily, the aliens required more or something like that. And James, you know, like, ah him being away from Emily allows him to do that. Unfortunately, I feel well it's very all traumatizing it is but one thing that was sorry and i didn't mean to no you're good yeah um one of like the just the ugliest things that happened in there was emily saying like after she was like they diagnosed me with schizo something and like bipolar and whatever it was schizo effective This gets thischiz so effective to Disorder. Yes, so that's what it was. so Yeah. And she was like, oh, thank you for being here with me for all of this. And he was like the reason that I was so ugly. Yep. No, I know that it really punches you in the gut. Once the occurrences come to a head on last night and Emily passes out, gets knocked out after seeing the aliens we thought were child ghosts, the the truth is revealed.
01:08:04
Speaker
And it leaves an itch like an itching memory with me. It's so sinister. And it's the ultimate betrayal that not only has James been using Emily, his longtime girlfriend as a host for an alien offspring, but also he uses other women for the same thing. And also he was recording everything. Yes. When he told Emily he wasn't.
01:08:30
Speaker
Very true. And she's like, did you record this? Oh, no, sorry. But he obviously was because we were watching it. Yeah. How'd you forget that many times when like something kind of traumatizing has happened to your girlfriend. Awful boyfriend. um But yeah, he's a cheat. He's a gas lighter and he's working with aliens. Like, fuck that guy. It's so sad. It's really messed up that Emily the next day is in a cast and beaten up. While believing the accident was her fault,
01:09:01
Speaker
This actress does a great job at making us feel for the character actually in a shorter amount of time. She was like the only person in the whole segment that actually was like a character. Pretty much that you like felt for. and Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's intentional because obviously ah that man has no heart and It's the very end of the segment. We didn't have much time with that girl. I think that might be why I lo had that one a little bit less than second honeymoon. Really? Was just because the way it made me feel. OK, yeah. So even though it's like but it's one of the better segments. It's more effective. Yes, it just I don't like watching. it That's interesting, actually, um because I with me, when things are more effective, that's when I enjoy it more.
01:09:52
Speaker
You know, uh, so that's why I really enjoy this one. Um, that last video call chat between James and this other woman, you can't help but shake your head slowly and disappointment. You're like, just like amateur night, this segment sticks with me and haunts me. I don't usually like UFO anything, but I enjoyed this. And then we move on to our last segment.
10/31/98 and Radio Silence's Approach
01:10:19
Speaker
In tape 56, the old man comes down the stairs and kills the last guy. Rips his throat out. yeah Throws him down the stairs.
01:10:30
Speaker
There we go. Yeah. Yeah. ah Like you, I don't really pay attention to this segment. So I was like doing stuff while that so was on TV. I was taking more notes on stuff I loved and enjoyed about this. And yeah, um, that's just me and you. So the last segment, after the last guy dies, this VHS just plays by itself. This is 10 31 98.
01:10:58
Speaker
This is directed by the filmmaking group named Radio Silence, which consists of Matt Bettinelli, open, Tyler Gillette, and Chad Volilla. I think that's how you say that. They've casually made a few of my all time favorite films, including ready or not, scream five and six, and Abigail.
01:11:24
Speaker
They also helped create and star in Southbound that I mentioned earlier. All three of the guys from Radio Silence star in this, which I think is really awesome and a strength because it really feels like they have full control of the segment by directing, writing, and starring. This is also written by Radio Silence and they also wrote it with Justin Martinez.
01:11:49
Speaker
This follows a group of friends who head out to a party at a friend's house, only to end up at the wrong address. However, there's something terrible lurking in the attic of that house, and soon the boys are running for their lives from a powerful, demonic entity. What do you think of this segment?
01:12:09
Speaker
I think this one is my favorite of the bunch. awesome And it is the one segment that doesn't have any sexual premise or innuendos or filming a woman taking advantage of a woman against anything. I love that you bring that up because in all of the radio silence stuff, it seems like there's none of that.
01:12:36
Speaker
No, and it did not need it. They're not interested in that side of horror and that's great with me. Anyways, yeah, awesome point. But I really like this one. um Not to jump ahead or anything, but so they are looking for a Halloween party. yeah Can't find the address.
01:12:59
Speaker
They see these guys walking into a house that's probably blatantly the house they're looking for. And they're like, no, that's not it. and So they keep going and find a different house that they go into. Damn it. Yep. Unfortunately.
01:13:14
Speaker
And they're like, oh, I think this is it. Oh, it must be a haunted house. and We have to find the party. Oh, my God. When does that ever happen? oh I mean, hey, we we live in North Dakota. Sure. That was Los Angeles or something like that. Huge city. Yeah. Like like that maybe does happen. I don't know. But yeah, didn't he didn't hear any music. No people. And they're it's a big like they're going through the house. Yeah. Yeah. To no avail.
01:13:44
Speaker
Oh, I know when, uh, when Brennan and I were watching this, uh, showing it to him for the first time, he was just like, okay, in 98, this is a mansion. Oh, I forget. Yeah. Yeah. So like it goes all the way to 1998. And you're kind of thinking like, Ooh, like all the hallways and the doors, it's really cool because you kind of think of, um, the houses and scream.
01:14:09
Speaker
Almost like all the hallways, all the doors, like all that. Yeah, I love it. And when weird shit starts happening. OK, so they're going through the house. Wait, before we get to the house. Sorry, I didn't want to bring up. This one starts out really well. it It's a small peek into the guys's personal lives real quick. yeah They honestly seem so normal and not like dickheads, unlike many of the characters that we've come across so far.
01:14:39
Speaker
It's a nice transition from that barbecue that they're having into they're getting ready to go out for Halloween night in their costumes and stuff. It feels like, okay, we're getting ready to go out for Halloween or some shit, you know? Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, no, anyways, I just wanted to like cut to the beginning before shit starts going down. I just wanted to add that.
01:15:01
Speaker
um Good point But yeah, so they're in the house they go in Thinking that they have to find the party and there's stuff that's moving doors Closing and just like stuff happening in the house and the guys think it's a haunted a house attraction and Yep. And what I really love about this whole thing is you can tell the camp, the guy with the camera is noticing before the rest of the friend group. Very true. That it's, there's something not right about the house and it's probably not just an attraction, but he's so caught up in his friends thinking that's an attraction that he's still going along with it. You know, he's getting very wary. Kind of. He's kind of like, what? Yeah, a couple times and he just carries on. yeah Yeah, he's just like noticing before them. Like, I just think that's really cool. like I do too. and I think I think they're great with story. Yeah, usually ah blatantly, obviously. Exactly. We love it. Is it a strange coincidence that this has set the year I was born? I mean, yes.
01:16:11
Speaker
Okay. Thank you. I don't know, but I'll take it as personal purposeful. So like, thank you. Radio silence. I love it. um Aren't you too old for this shit? No, sir. Frickin bats. I love Halloween when he was getting ready to go out the camera guy. That is you. What about you?
01:16:29
Speaker
No, you love bats. They're all over in your living room and kitchen. Oh, but and you love you also love Halloween too. And you go out and dress up still, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So we're on the same page, but this is your birth year. I just don't want to seem like a loser. Okay. Unlike other horror stories that I've seen play out over Halloween night. This one feels like it actually happened by chance.
01:16:52
Speaker
And it's such a random, terrible thing that happens to our characters. They just wanted to celebrate Halloween and get crunk, but they happen upon the wrong address.
01:17:04
Speaker
it fricking happens, you know, I just like I wanted to say it just happened upon them and it's so unfortunate. Yeah, that that's just what I wanted to touch on. I really love the setting of the huge house. Like I was saying, it would actually be really nice in 98. It's completely and empty of people. Like you said, they think it's, a you know, they have to find the party. These guys keep having fun and messing around the house exploring. Then there turns out to be a cult upstairs in the attic.
01:17:33
Speaker
really flips the segment on its head by just entering the upper level of the home literally and metaphorically i guess upper level cast him down
01:17:47
Speaker
god I had to. Hopefully that didn't get too loud. No, I just, so like, yeah they're just watching this sacrifice. I think it is a sacrifice. You know, this, it seems like the demon is inside this girl and all these older men are sacrificing her and trying to kill the demon along with her or Textbook exorcism. Yeah. They keep saying stuff about the demon, like cast him down. And I love that the guys start joining in and that's how they get noticed. do You know, like that's just a funny, like, God, shut up. You could have made it out. But like I love how the bodies start levitating and getting thrown around all of a sudden. Like when ah when the whole cult starts noticing the guys and then like something starts going wrong.
01:18:39
Speaker
and the arms and the hands popping out of the walls, the birds, the handprints, the window closing. That was practical. Really? The window closing. No way. Yeah. I guess I spent like a long time working on that. Holy shit. I mean, like it looked, it looked pretty cool. It looked really, really cheesy. I looked it up. I wanted to see if it was CGI refers practical and yeah, they built that.
01:19:09
Speaker
Wow. Holy crap. Um, like of course, most of these aren't great effects. If you were to like focus on them, but thankfully like that window is practical. So that probably helped, but, um, it's, it's good to show all these things sparingly, right? They're shown really quick and they get cut from, if you kind of focused on them for a while, I'm sure the CGI would kind of pop out at you a little bit.
01:19:39
Speaker
All this also answer the comedy of it. Like ah when the guys are going through, they're like, oh my God, well what the fuck? You know, kind of just the reactions. It's not so so dour.
Horror Settings and Character Dynamics
01:19:50
Speaker
And the more we're talking about it, radio silence as a collective, like the stuff that they make. Yeah. Takes place in big houses. You're right. like I wonder if that's like their fav setting. You're right.
01:20:08
Speaker
What the hell? Besides us Scream 6, that was, ah hey, it ends in a theater. Yeah. All right. But I mean, I guess I was just mostly talking about Abigail on Reddit or not, but still mentioned big houses. Yes. Yeah. And Stu Mocker's house at the end of Scream 5. That's kind of what I was thinking. I would say that's a pretty big house. Yeah. Yeah. Love it. God, one of my favorite settings. Is that one where you have silence? Still?
01:20:35
Speaker
Yes, ma'am. They did the first. They did five and six. Yeah. Okay. I didn't know that. Um, I was just like making sure. Oh, no, you're good. Okay. Okay. Cause I was going to mention Stu's house, but I, I didn't just cause I I'll cut this out just to save face for you. yeah Yeah. But I thought so. I was just making sure. No, no, you're good. Yeah. But yeah, they go back and save the gal.
01:20:58
Speaker
I love this because like it also adds to the characters not being dickheads like we've come across like the the camera guy at least. Yeah. You know, he's like, wait, we can't leave. He turns his friends follow him though. Some friends would probably just leave. I think that's why they probably ended the movie on this segment on a good note. True. After all the trash characters we just had to deal with.
01:21:25
Speaker
Very true, yeah. had to do Good placement. Saved the best for last, right? Honestly, though. Well, i I do love amateur night. Very well done. Well, they started great and did great. That's why they had to draw you in. you True. And we had one good one in the middle.
01:21:42
Speaker
Yeah. And then not to end on a good note too. Yeah. You got to keep you invested somehow. Yep. So no, very true. Yeah. Yeah. Good pacing in this one crap as a whole. Unfortunately for these friends that are good guys, just trying to help. They accidentally save a demon from being banished, executed. They think they successfully completed the mission, then end up being killed for being good humans. Just trying to save a woman like damn.
01:22:12
Speaker
did her friend group get killed in the past and that's why she killed them. Who's? The girl. Oh the the girl with the demon inside? Yeah. I don't know. I feel like I remember reading that a while or hearing that like a while ago. I didn't look it up this time watching. Okay you don't really get much backstory with the girl so like that's unfortunate like it's unfortunate for I don't know. I guess that you could say the demon turned on them when they were trying to rescue the girl. Yeah. Well, you know, bring her out of a bad situation. They're driving in the car and all of a sudden shuts down. We're making that up. No, you're good. We're thinking of something else. But I was thinking after the movie was over. Yeah. How shitty all the guys were. So like the first one amateur night. Yes. All those guys. Yeah. Take advantage of multiple girls.
01:23:06
Speaker
Bad. Second one, he was being horrible to Stephanie. Yes. Third one. Stephanie was also horrible. She was, she was, she was. But third one, um the girl brought all of them out there, all her friends out to the woods to get killed. Bait.
01:23:29
Speaker
Yes. Yes. And then with Emily, she was just gaslit the shit out of. And then this one, they tried to save this girl who just ends up getting them all killed. So all the women are just kind of depicted shittily in this one and the whole movie. And I was wondering. To be fair, it wasn't just a regular girl. There was a whole ass evil demon inside of her and like So they think they're saving a regular woman. Yeah, that's the thing then it turns. Yeah, but I was wondering if cuz I don't think all of the these Directors I think that they didn't collab and say what they're doing. I think they're keep they're keeping it a secret, right? I Actually don't know I think that they were I want to look that up though. um I think they all saw it at the premiere All their videos together. That's interesting
01:24:26
Speaker
and concerning that all of them have segments of very similar themes of misogyny and I'm not the type of person that gets mad about that kind of stuff but it was just very obvious in this movie in each segment okay ah sure that they all had a big that all had a big part in each segment so I don't know if that was like a theme given to them like hey or were they all just like Yep, this is what I want to show in in my segment. Honestly, I think it was also maybe the time. And well, yeah, in 2012. Yeah. Like all these people, that's probably what people acted like. Yeah. You know, unfortunately. Yeah. But like I can still think of guys that act like I know people that act like this. It's also in tape 56. What are these guys in the early 30s? Very true. Yeah. Like I almost wondered, like,
01:25:23
Speaker
Obviously, we were younger in 2012. All we were worried about was the world ending. I don't know if all this stuff was happening or something like yeah people trying to get viral and stuff like that with these. What would you call them? Something tapes. Not snuff film. What were they getting? like What, 50? Were they getting paid for their videos that they were doing?
01:25:49
Speaker
and tip fifty yes yep they were paid to find the VHS tape in the house originally too that's why yep and were they trying to make money by putting their crimes on the entry of the watch yep okay like I said I didn't pay too much close tend to that one no you're good um I realized that on like my Four three, okay, okay something like that. So like yeah, they're like what early 30s thing. It's so fun to be breaking into a house Maybe if you were a teenager, dude, yeah Damn, Ashley, you're really shitting on these guys. I hope they hear deserve it No, they do yeah And also with uh with 10 31 98 It's a huge psych to me like psych
01:26:37
Speaker
And I do feel like this would easily happen to me. I would go back and savor. It would happen to you. It would. would Right. yeah I wanted to bring that up because you're with me. All right. And that's why this ah one also sticks with me and haunts me because, yep, I would get myself into this situation. And they all get stuck in a car on the
Horror Anthologies and VHS Franchise Impact
01:27:00
Speaker
train tracks.
01:27:00
Speaker
Yes. Forgot to mention. Yeah. So like the car stalls on train tracks and it's just it's horrid. It's just. Yeah, it's like, oh, no, I know what's happening now. Basically, it's sad. It reminds me a limiting ticket. Oh, kind of. Yeah. I need to rewatch that.
01:27:20
Speaker
Ah, so good. One big point that I want to say about three of these, three of these segments and VHS as a franchise. I know not every creator wants to go with having depth at all with these segments. Totally fine. You interpret horror how you want to hand it to us as an audience.
01:27:43
Speaker
The sick thing that happened with me when Emily was younger, amateur night, they do have depth in craft and 1031.98 does exude heart for me. I'll say I understand why these guys have continued on to have great careers and success, honestly, especially radio silence, our favorites.
01:28:05
Speaker
Now on to reminds me of, in honor of all the other VHS films, Shudder and my people, Kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan, I'll bring up VHS Beyond that is now available to stream on Shudder and AMC Plus and available to rent on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, et cetera.
01:28:31
Speaker
I want to shout this out because I was really excited for Kate Siegel's directed segment, and especially since her and her husband, horror legend already, Mike Flanagan. I don't usually take to Alien or UFO horror, but most of the segments of this one I really enjoyed, honestly, and like I'd recommend it to anyone that loves sci fi UFO found footage, anything.
01:29:00
Speaker
I watched VHS Beyond last night. Yeah. What did you think? I got to Kate's segment. Yup. Stowaway. Fell asleep. But well, no, I meant to watch it today after work, but I was working on other stuff after I got home.
01:29:17
Speaker
But I got the Justin Long one and it definitely was a nod to Tusk for sure. You're welcome. Oh, yeah. It had to have been right. It's so obvious. Yeah. But I'm really excited for Kate's because I saw it while it was on TV. Okay. But then something came up. I don't know if someone came over, but I was like, I'm pausing this right now because I can't pay attention to it and I want to pay attention to it. Sure. So I'll probably do that tomorrow, honestly.
01:29:41
Speaker
but um I really loved not to go on a tangent real fast, but The first segment stork of VHS beyond yeah really is is different than anything I've ever seen and Really draws you into the movie. Yes, like it just like sucks you in like it is so and it's scary the scenery and imagery is like it really is it's like it It seems like POV from like a video game, but like a really horror, scary video game or something. Yeah. Agreed. It, it might not be complete and full or anything. I don't know. I didn't really examine the writing, but like you said, the, the feeling of it and the looks of it, it just, horror it kind of reminds me of Outlast, the horror video game and Resident Evil seven. Also. Dead Space? Dead Space a bit. Yeah.
01:30:39
Speaker
I didn't play video games, I was just guessing. Hey, no, hey, good job. I didn't really play Dead Space, but Andy and Eric, they would know. Yeah, if you watch this segment, it's just, oh man. It was good. It is, it's interesting, even if not everything's perfect. That's good. Really launches you. Wait, what else did it remind you of though? Stuff at the end. Oh, no, you're good. Also, honestly, any horror anthology, especially one of the best, Southbound.
01:31:10
Speaker
ah trick or treat. Well, that too, but southbound is like it, it more encapsulates like what VHS is what what I meant. Yeah, I remember I, memorized ah we talked about this, I started it a while ago, just never finished it, like sat down to watch the rest. But I'm going to you have to I will. Yeah, I feel like as a whole, it's better than any VHS.
01:31:36
Speaker
Why do you think there's no anthology movies in the theater? They're always just straight to streaming or physical media or. Very good question. I wonder. I bet of trick or treat too.
01:31:54
Speaker
becomes a thing will be in theaters but that one yes um i think found footage is a little on and off now because of uh the paranormal activity of it all yeah of like The movie community it kind of has died down and I would say so for me my reminds me of um I didn't think of this before the pod Because I couldn't think of much else outside of other VHS movies but one That pops into my head of finding movies somewhere ah Sinister to
01:32:36
Speaker
all When he finds the film role the film reels in the attic. One of my most disappointing horror movies ever. It's been a long time since I watched it, and um but I thought that was the best part of the movie. that The only part that I remember is very fair yeah is the stuff that was recorded outside of that. I don't remember.
01:33:00
Speaker
Yeah, I just think the first one is so good and so complete. um That's kind of underrated, honestly. It is. Yes. We should. We should. die with you anyway We should touch on it. Yeah, we will. um Us horror fans over here. The acting really disappointed me in it, honestly, and and the story. So like I got to revisit it because it has been a while. But who's the dad in that? It's not Ethan Hawke, right? Nope.
01:33:30
Speaker
The one, I'm picking one segment and that is 10 3198. Yup. And the rearranging house. I know what you're going to say. This reminds me of grave encounters. Yes. Yup. Love it. Yeah. Yup. Also found footage.
01:33:47
Speaker
And especially with the like the subtle CGI, it's not going to be amazing CGI, but at least it's just shown for exactly a little bit. Yeah. Yep. The right amount. Other than that, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that just reminds me of. That's not another VHS. I can't really either. No.
01:34:07
Speaker
And just one last thing I want to add about the BHS franchise as a whole. I haven't seen all of them. um It got to a point where a lot of them are really hit or miss. Mostly miss, but I might after watching this revisit them and maybe I'll think differently.
01:34:24
Speaker
But I think it's a great way for directors and writers to get their name out there and get a segment out there. um And yeah, you're just introduced to a lot of creative minds in one movie. And who knows from VHS 2012, they've gone on to do great things that we love. So who knows what, like,
01:34:52
Speaker
the sequels will bring later on from the minds that had segments in those ones. Upcoming VHS movies. Yes. yeah And the ones that have been made already, like it could bring good things. So it's a good way to just get introduced to a lot of, like I said, creative minds. Yeah, definitely agreed. Like, yeah, it's one of the best ways to an entry point, right? Exactly.
01:35:20
Speaker
maybe even more of an entry point than just doing a really little known independent film. Even just, yeah, just it's a step up yeah at least. And you're around a bunch of people you could learn from. Especially because now VHS has so many movies out there. Everybody knows. And just because it's a VHS movie, people are going to watch it. And pretty much you'll get your name out there in some way, just because you're attached to VHS.
01:35:48
Speaker
Basically, even people, I see the reviews of VHS on letterbox and I see one and a half stars for all of them. Why do you keep returning to them? Right. You know, like, yeah. So you're always going to wonder how it is for me, all the VHS movies I've seen all of them. Um, just finally watch viral. I'd say basically for all of them, besides viral.
01:36:14
Speaker
they are very hit and miss. It'd be like 65%. I like it. You know, if that kind of makes sense. I was kind of texting Andy and telling him the same thing. Like it's either, it's between 50% and 65% that it's likable, right? 65 might be a little generous, but I need to watch here you need to watch them.
01:36:36
Speaker
There's some that just really stick in my head. And I almost wish that was like a whole movie, but some of these segments are so good because they're very contained and that's it. Yeah. Like I said, when I think of VHS as a whole, like when I just think of VHS, I think of amateur night. Yeah. And I think of 10 31 98. Exactly. Like yeah those are what VHS is to me. Where it all began. Yes. Yeah, definitely. Is that all? Yeah. For,
01:37:06
Speaker
That's all I have for VHS 2012. All right. Yeah, that's all I have. Um, where to watch. This is available to stream for free on Amazon prime video or Peacock and also to rent on Apple TV plus YouTube, et cetera. Lastly, make sure to follow us on socials on Instagram at hazardous opinions pod. Join us on discord.
01:37:30
Speaker
and follow our individual accounts on Letterboxd. All of the links will be in the episode description for you guys. If you want to reach out to us, you can email us at hazardousopinionspod at gmail dot.com. Also, if we could have you guys follow and rate us wherever you get your podcasts, it helps out a ton. We appreciate your support and thank you so much for listening. Bye, everybody. Bye, friends.