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EPISODE 107: SUPERSTITIONS ARE TERRIFYING
923 Plays1 year ago
EPISODE 107: SUPERSTITIONS ARE TERRIFYING
A special episode for Friday the 13th of 2023, Andrew and Matty dive into superstitions: why we have them, how they operate, and some of the wild ones out there!
HORROR IN THE MOVIES
Ummm… of course we’re watching FRIDAY THE 13th PART III and FRIDAY THE 13th: THE FINAL CHAPTER!
WHATCHA BEEN WATCHIN’, BITCH?!
Listen in to hear what we’ve been watchin’... bitch!
HOTTIE OF THE EPISODE
Who is the hottest of them all? Listen in to find out!
–
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Transcript
Introduction and Superstitions
00:00:00
Speaker
Frage the 13th Horror Podcast is a proud, independent podcast. To learn more about the show, visit frage13.com. Matty, Matty, what are you doing? We gotta record!
00:00:12
Speaker
I'm lighting candles, saying prayers, rubbing my belly three times, touching my nose, turning around twice, spitting to the east, collecting three teardrops, stepping over every crack, avoiding black cats, walking around every ladder, and hoping that our episode will be okay. Wow, that's a lot. Why are you doing this? Andrew, it's literally Friday the 13th today, and I'm spooked. Matty, there's nothing to worry about.
00:00:42
Speaker
Did you just knock on wood? Uh... Admit it, you just knocked on wood. No comment. It's episode 107. Superstitions are terrifying. I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom. I'm Marjorie Greene, and I approve this message to save America, stop socialism, and stop China. Say goodbye, we honor thee from life to death.
00:01:14
Speaker
Doubters, the Doomsters, the Gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong. Where are you going to go? Where are you going to run? Where are you going to hide?
00:01:42
Speaker
I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. Sometimes.
00:01:53
Speaker
I feel like it's good luck that the drawing is on Friday the 13th. My son last night was really upset. He said, tomorrow's Friday the 13th.
00:02:07
Speaker
Welcome to Fry Gay the 13th Horror Podcast. My name is Matty. And my name is Andrew.
Horror in Real Life and LGBT Perspective
00:02:13
Speaker
And if you're joining us for the first time on Fry Gay the 13th Horror Podcast, this is the podcast that talks about horror in real life and the movies from an LGBT perspective. And this episode, episode 107, is launching on none other than the namesake day of our podcast.
00:02:32
Speaker
Friday, the 13th, 2023. So, uh, we just put an episode out so, um, that we don't, we don't, we usually do them. Uh, what is it biweekly? We call it right. Andrew twice a month, whatever. Yeah. I get really confused by the term biweekly because I don't know twice a week or twice at like once every other week. So yeah. Right. And like, and now I only get paid once a month now. So now I've forgotten like what the other term is. If I'm being honest anyways, um, we're hearing your ear holes again. So congratulations. Here we are.
00:03:01
Speaker
It's a surprise episode just for you. We'll be back again in October with a little Halloween episode too. Folks, it is good to be with you. This is an episode all about superstitions and how terrifying they are. Looking forward to discussing these
Psychology of Superstitions
00:03:15
Speaker
things. I'm gonna talk a little bit about the psychology of superstitions. And Andrew has a pretty cool list of just some silly superstitions. And we'll talk about these. It's gonna be fun.
00:03:28
Speaker
You know, I think it is fun, Andrew, because I mean, like, that's if you think about it, without the superstition, we wouldn't even have a show. Yeah. And I'm I mean, Friday the 13th for me is really special, not only because I love watching the movie series, but I also got married on Friday the 13th in October. And look how that turned out. Still with that fucking guy. Wait, how many years has it been? Five, six, six years, six years. Yeah. OK. So
00:03:57
Speaker
I'm happy to be releasing this on that day. I think it's really special. And I and honestly, like it's very rare that the Friday, the 13th movies fit into our theme of an episode. So I was really happy to be able to watch these movies and talk about that because I didn't know when we would get the chance. You know what I mean? I totally get it. And folks, we are doing Friday, the 13th, part three and Friday, the 13th, the final chapter or part four.
00:04:26
Speaker
Um, later on in the episode, but Andrew, before we go to the fun stuff, let's talk about the not fun stuff, which is the certified terrifying corner. Um, and you know, like I have three things written down here and I think, um,
00:04:39
Speaker
I'm going to skip one of them. Yeah, that's fine. I think the I'll mention this one pretty quickly. And it's this one, the Biden administration this week, like I said, it's what it's Friday the 13th when you're listening to this. It's a surprise. It's not it's not live right now. We're recording this on the 8th of October. I know. Isn't that weird, the magic of this?
Current Events: Border Wall and Middle East Conflict
00:05:00
Speaker
The Biden administration in a very surprised move decided to continue building the border wall that President Trump began.
00:05:09
Speaker
I gotta tell you, I think this is wrong. I really wish... There is an immigration issue in America it needs to be dealt with. It needs to be dealt with with compassion and with love, not with a wall that was built by the maybe one of the worst presidents we've ever had in America.
00:05:31
Speaker
So I heard that that news and I was you know, I was actually just really sad to hear it. I was really sad, especially like I like I've never I never thought that I would be an immigrant in my life. And now I am. And like
00:05:44
Speaker
I know how hard it is to get into a country and like live and figure out your life and do all of it. And I can tell you that people don't do these things because they're like, because I don't know, they want to like steal from you. Like they're doing it for a better life, you know? And I just, I don't know. It makes me really sad. That's it. Yeah. I mean, I talked about this a lot when we did the patriotism episode before we went on break. And I just, I don't understand.
00:06:12
Speaker
And maybe one day I will see the other side. I'm not sure, but I just seriously don't understand the idea of not wanting to share where you live and the beauty of where you live with other people. I get it. I don't get it, but yep. All those, all those Americans who are, you know, just crying about jobs being taken away by immigrants. Let's see how many of those jobs you actually take.
00:06:33
Speaker
You should really be worrying about AI. Good luck with that. You buffoons, you people are. Anyways, the other thing we need to talk about, of course, is something that just happened this weekend and terrible news in Israel and Palestine. And Hamas, which is the terrorist organization, and I do use that word correctly, terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,
00:07:01
Speaker
Launch a surprise attack on Israel with thousands of rockets being fired into Israel and then a surprise invasion like this came out of nowhere and Israel hasn't had something like this in over 50 years since the Yom Kippur War.
00:07:18
Speaker
It is very, very bad. I was just literally just watching the news. I think the official count from Israel right now is about 700 people are dead. There's going to be hundreds more that will die for sure. Thousands of Palestinians are going to be killed because Israel is going to retaliate. Obviously they already are. And it's just so sad.
00:07:44
Speaker
This is going to sound like such a first world fucking thing. I hope nobody takes it that way. Trust me. It is weird. It's a weird coincidence that I also just happened this week on Tuesday or on Wednesday to book a trip to Israel.
00:08:00
Speaker
for my Christmas vacation. And look, my vacation doesn't mean anything in this. I'm aware of it. But I'll tell you, I was really looking forward to going to this place I've always wanted to go and explore the historical sites that I've always wanted to see with my own eyes and touch with my own hands, like the Western Wall and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and go to the place where Jesus was born and go to the place where he was crucified. And these are things that I've dreamt of in my life.
00:08:27
Speaker
And I'm so excited for it. And look, once again, it's okay. I can cancel it. I'm going to be all right. I'm not really worried about that. What's sad about it is that is it ever going to be a place that you can just rely on to be peaceful?
00:08:44
Speaker
that you could buy a ticket to go there and think, I'm going to go to this beautiful place and meet these beautiful people, Jews and Arabs. I'm going to meet Palestinians and Israelis. I'm going to share in their culture. I'm going to have conversations with them, eat and drink with them, and do all these things. And you can't do that. And it's terrible. And Hamas, the thing about it, there's plenty of people who are going to say, I don't know a lot about this. And that's fine.
00:09:11
Speaker
What I can tell you is this Hamas is not Palestine and Palestinians are not Hamas. Right. Hamas is an organization doing this. It is funded by Iran to create havoc and chaos. And that is what is going on right now. Palestinians want peace. Israelis want peace. Everyone wants peace. And the way that I mean, there are stories I was listening to today of Hamas terrorists going into homes and kidnapping children.
00:09:39
Speaker
insane the evil that is happening right now and look Israel has done its own share of really stupid shit and the settlements in Israel going into places and and and you know there are Israelis who have killed Palestinians too and there are there are things being done on both sides of this that are shitty but for the love of God can these people
00:10:00
Speaker
All of you, could you fucking grow up and let this shit go and create peace for your children that you claim to love so much?
00:10:10
Speaker
It drives me fucking nuts. I don't know if I have a broken brain or not, but I don't understand human on human violence. I don't understand it. I literally can't comprehend beyond
00:10:30
Speaker
Like just for instance, this is this is so trivial in the grand scope of things of what you're talking about. But I just want to put it in perspective for me is I was walking to the train the other day and just like I do every single fucking day, I walk on the right, I pass people on the left, I get back in on the right. That's just like normal. I mean, for a lot of people, they drive the same same idea is as as though you were driving. That's the side that you walk on. I totally get it. Yeah.
00:10:58
Speaker
And so I'm walking. I walk past this woman. I have my headphones in. I'm just walking. Oh, no. And she she runs up and I have headphones in. So I'm like, oh, I'm sorry. Like I take my headphones out and she goes, you just cut me off on the sidewalk. And I literally just I literally just looked at her and I said, I'm just walking.
00:11:21
Speaker
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Did she come up behind you or from in front of you? So I passed her. Yeah, sure. Yeah. And then she like sped up to tell me that I cut her off. Are you, are you kidding me? No. And I was like, what I wanted, what I really wanted to say to her was, are you having a bad day? Like, are you, because I'm just trying to get to the train like we all are.
00:11:44
Speaker
But it's this idea of control and this idea of just wanting everybody to do what you want them to do that we gotta let go of. We gotta let go of it. I've said this many times on this podcast before, life is too fucking hard on its own. Stop trying to make it harder.
00:12:05
Speaker
I agree. I agree. And, you know, like, look, I think what what people are fighting over over there is just it's their history. You you've all know a Harari who wrote the book Sapiens. And I don't know if I'm almost done reading it. Finally, it's a fantastic fucking book. If you've never read it before, like just trust me, read it. It's it's it'll knock you out. But he was on it. He was on a podcast, the Lex Friedman podcast that I listened to, which is a great podcast. I really quite enjoy it.
00:12:35
Speaker
And you've all know Aharari lives in Jerusalem, or maybe he lives in Tel Aviv. Either way, he was talking about, and this is before this happened, talking about the conflict and talking about what people are fighting for over there. And you just said history, which is true. But even one step further, they're fighting over stories. It's stories.
00:12:55
Speaker
Stories. Look, I am somebody who considers himself a very out-of-the-box, loose-leaf Christian. So I would consider myself religious. I believe in the power of myth. I don't believe literally in everything. That's not the kind of religious person that I am. Trust me. And if you've listened to the show, you should know that. But I do find comfort and solace in many of the myths and the stories that are part of my tradition.
00:13:21
Speaker
Right. And listen, folks, the Bible is just a fucking story. That's it. And if you don't, if you can't get that in your fucking head, you are literally a crazy person. You're a fucking crazy person. And if those if the stories in that storybook make you go out and kill people, you and I'm not talking about just the Bible, about the Quran and fucking everything else, every religious text.
00:13:49
Speaker
If you go out and kill people because of it, or if you think that you have a right to a land because of it, you are fucked up. You're fucked up. I'm sorry. All of you are. It's disgusting. Everyone should just be ashamed of themselves. But who should be ashamed of themselves most right now is Hamas because they are going to get nowhere with this.
00:14:07
Speaker
It's going to inflame things so huge. And because of their ridiculous terrorist action, thousands of people are going to die. And they're going to be kids, they're going to be women, and they're going to be men who did nothing to deserve it. And they should be ashamed of it. They won't be what they should be.
00:14:25
Speaker
So look, we could talk about this for a while. We're going to leave it there. Um, needless to say, I am not going to Israel for my Christmas trip. I'm canceling that this week. I think I'll be going to just little boring Florence, Italy, Andrew. Oh, just Italy.
00:14:40
Speaker
You know what? It'll be a bit more peaceful, I think, there. But I am serious when I say I am really hoping and even praying that peace happens over there because what this could turn into is just catastrophic.
What We've Been Watching
00:14:56
Speaker
Catastrophic. What this world needs is a little more peace these days. That's what I've been talking about.
00:15:01
Speaker
Anyways, on with the show. Let's talk about some superstitions. Speaking of stories, superstitions are quite weird, really are weird and interesting. Andrew, why don't we talk about some silly superstitions first? Yeah, so I wanted to talk a little bit just because we're releasing this on Friday, the 13th. I wanted to talk a little bit about 13. Why is it unlucky? Why? Why do buildings not even though they do have a 13th floor?
00:15:30
Speaker
It's called the 14th floor, but the buttons has a different. Yeah. Um, so it's, it's interesting the way that we came to 13 and why it's so unlucky and researchers, according to the history channel, researchers estimate that as many as 10% of the US population has a fear
00:15:53
Speaker
a little legitimate fear of the number 13 and each year even more specific fear of Friday the 13th. I'm not going to say the word. You can look up the phobia. It is the longest word I've ever seen in my life and I can't pronounce it.
00:16:08
Speaker
But literally, Friday the 13th results in a financial loss in excess of $800 million annually. Are you kidding me? Yeah, because people won't get married on it, they won't travel on it, or in some cases, they won't even work on it. So if you have today off because it's Friday the 13th, I mean, good for you. Andrew, I'm going to give that word a try.
00:16:31
Speaker
Okay. Go for it. Okay. Let me see if I can do this. This one's, this one's, I'm pretty good at pronunciation. This one's hard for me. It's real long. Uh, okay. So I want to say it's probably. Hold on. Wait, let's try it again.
00:16:48
Speaker
P-R-A-S-K-A-R-A-S-K-E-F-E-R-A-S-K-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E-F-E.
00:17:04
Speaker
So then going back, I'm like, well, what's up with 13? Why do we have this fear of the number 13 and of Friday the 13th? So then we go back to, guess what? Ding dong, the Bible. Really? Yeah, so really what we look at is that 12 is seen as kind of a quote unquote perfect divine number. Yeah.
00:17:29
Speaker
And so 13, some would argue, was to be the unusual one right after that. And then when we look at the Bible, we look at Judas, and Judas was the 13th class. Oh, yes. So a lot of people look at that as kind of where that comes from. I never thought about that. That's really interesting.
00:17:51
Speaker
And then also Loki, who is the god of basically chaos, if for lack of a better word, the mischievous god, he was the 13th guest at the party in Valhalla. So it's like it's it's got roots in why we why we think that 13 is so unlucky. Also, if Valhalla was real, I can guarantee you all those dudes that there would be fucking hot because they're like Vikings. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Well, they would all be.
00:18:21
Speaker
Go ahead. They would all just be fucking each other. Well, yeah, that's cool. I'm into that. I don't want to go to Valhalla. Let's go. Oh, God. This is going to sound bad, but I was watching these football commentators yesterday and I was like, man, I would really like to see a porn where he's the bottom and he's the top.
00:18:39
Speaker
Exactly. Look, this is this is the way our brains think. Ain't nothing wrong with it. Ain't nothing wrong with it. Listen, I'm not I'm not thinking about bombing or punching anybody. I'm just thinking about who would make the better bottom or top. Yes, I'm thinking about bombing a booty.
00:18:54
Speaker
Like that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, they're in a war on this ass. Fuck. Seriously. Okay, so some silly superstition. Oh God, I knew I was going to fumble that word. Superstition. My mouth doesn't work today. Superstition, superstition, superstition. So some weird superstitions that people have, obviously we have beginner's luck. This is just something that like, hey, they just picked this up and they're really good at it.
00:19:20
Speaker
Find a penny, pick it up. I remember this rhyme from my childhood. This is, and the thing about, I love this list because it always echoes me back to what I used to think like when I was a kid. But I hate this list because it doesn't give any history on why.
00:19:39
Speaker
But I don't think there is a why. I think we just pass it down as like stupid kids. You know what I mean? Yeah, true. I still will. I still will avoid. OK, this is what I'm going to say. This next one is don't walk under a ladder. OK, I don't do that because I live in constant fear that I am in a final destination movie. This is how I live my life. I look around at all things that could kill me at all times.
00:20:07
Speaker
And that's just how I live. Like, I don't know how to say it, but like, that's just like, that's just common sense. Don't go under a ladder because somebody's doing something up there. Well, I mean, also, I mean, like if you think about ladders, like, I mean, how many ladders are that big that you can even walk under them in the first place? Do you know what I mean? Yeah. And like, I think maybe like, and like, I think I used to avoid them. I think like, like living in Chicago was tough because I mean, think about how many or what are those things called in the outside of buildings?
00:20:36
Speaker
We're not ladders, not ladders, but they would be like landings. No, no, no, no. It's like when they're working on a building like window washers. Like, well, they're working on the building. They're like, they're like doing stuff scaffolding, scaffolding. Thank you. So like a scaffold is like basically a ladder, if you think about it. And so like, think about how many of those you had to walk under or you still walk under now, like when you're in the city, you know what I mean? So I think that one kind of like I got over that one a little bit, but also once again, when am I ever going to walk under a ladder?
00:21:06
Speaker
Yeah. This next one, it makes me a little sad because I actually did have a cat that was a black cat. And I think that this is the black cat crossing your path. I think we need to get over this. Like this comes from ancient Egypt. Like we need to let this go because there are so many people that won't adopt cats just because they're black cats. And I think that if anybody showed you
00:21:31
Speaker
Thackeray Binks was a great cat and we need to like get over it. So if I was going to get a cat, I'd want a black cat. I mean, I don't want a cat because they pee everywhere. Thank you. But like, hello, black cats are fucking cool. Actually, like I will tell you that the kind of cat that are those like black cats, those are some of the most well behaved and most
00:21:56
Speaker
Human like that's like they did like they want to interact with humans and so like we need to get over it The rabbit's foot never understood this don't understand why you ever did you ever have one?
00:22:11
Speaker
You know, I think that I bought one with like my tickets from the arcade, so I don't think that was real. But you know what I mean? It was probably just like a stuffed animal. Isn't that just like, that's such a weird thing that we all did.
00:22:27
Speaker
Yeah. Why did we have a rabbit's foot? Did you ever have a weird? Did you ever have a real one? Oh, I doubt it. I mean, I can't even remember. I'm sure that I had one. I had to have one from some gift shop somewhere, but I can't recall it. And I'm sure whatever I did, it wasn't real.
00:22:45
Speaker
But so, I mean, some of the other big ones, obviously we have 666, which is the, you know, the number of the beast knocking on wood, the wishbone. There's so many superstitions. But the crazy thing is, is that all of us as humans, we just accept them and we don't know. And I'm excited to hear about the psychology of superstition from you.
00:23:10
Speaker
because a lot of these things don't make any sense when you really actually think about them. Yeah, it's some really interesting stuff. It's an article from 2016, and I went through multiple articles trying to find one that I thought would work best. And I think this one is pretty good. It's from Vox, V-O-X, and it's called The Psychology of Superstitions Explained. So you can go read the whole article if you would like, but I'll read you some of it now.
00:23:34
Speaker
And what the author here does is they go into sort of like antiquated superstitions and then more modern ones. So I'll take you through it. They begin by saying, in November of 1896, popular science reported on a quote, curious superstition held by young men and its bonkers. This was the superstition.
00:23:57
Speaker
If one places a snake's tongue upon the palm of his hand beneath the glove, it will cause any girl, regardless of her previous indifference, to ardently return his passion if he were able to take her hand within his own. That's fucking crazy.
00:24:15
Speaker
Honestly, that's the root of the patriarchy, right? Yeah, right. Seriously, it's a snake's tongue on the hand. So people have been indulging in weird superstitions throughout history, like this one, for example. In 1888, the Washington Post republished a bit on a curious superstition seen in London.
00:24:34
Speaker
quote unquote, no marriage can be a happy one unless the bride has one hair of every member of her family sewn into the lining of her wedding gown. The news briefing read every member gross. Now, those are antiquated examples, of course, but are they really any more absurd than the rituals that Cubs fans perform today with their team in the World Series for the first time since the 40s? And this is in 2016, remember?
00:25:00
Speaker
And here are some of those superstitions that they and we were still doing. Sometimes reports that one 29-year-old sometimes refuses to scratch itches during games for fear that caving in will cause the Cubs to lose.
00:25:16
Speaker
The Aurora Beacon News in Illinois spoke to a family that, quote, won't wash Cubs shirts or jerseys worn during a game until the team loses when they wash off the bad luck. Scientific American talked to a 66-year-old fan who ritualistically shakes hands with his wife and another fan before the game starts.
00:25:35
Speaker
Superstitions are universal. No one is immune to them. Even smart, educated, emotionally stable adults believe that superstitions they recognize are not rational. This says Jane Risen, a University of Chicago Booth School of Business psychologist, who studies magical thinking and superstitions.
00:25:54
Speaker
It sounds like a contradiction that we humans can be so smart, but still succumb to superstition. But it's not. In fact, it reveals a key conflict between the two ways our brains think. Why are humans so prone to superstitious thought? Well, in 2013, psychologist Daniel Kahneman published a book called Thinking Fast and Slow, and it popularized a growing theory in psychological literature.
00:26:20
Speaker
The theory outlines two main channels or systems in which we think and how the two of them interact can explain how superstitious thoughts originate and stick around. So here they are. The first way, it's called system one, represents our immediate gut reactions to the world. It's the part of our brain that thinks in stereotypes and makes snap judgments.
00:26:42
Speaker
So, in the case of superstitions, system one, A, tries to find simple cause and effect outcome to make sense of the world. So, something like this. I wore this shirt the last time the Cubs won, so I should wear it again, right? Now, here's B, the other part of system one.
00:27:00
Speaker
System one is good at coming up with the worst possible scenario, so it begs us not to tempt fate, right? And it is really sensitive to irony. So people report that a person is more likely to be rejected from his top choice university if he presumptuously wears a t-shirt from that school while waiting for the decision.
00:27:19
Speaker
In the case of the Cubs, a superstitious person might think, the one time I didn't wear my Cubs shirt, they will absolutely lose, right? And then C in System 1, the final part of it, is that it thrives on a confirmation bias. So when people think about their superstitious intuitions, they are likely to automatically retrieve examples from memory that support them, Jane Risen writes.
00:27:43
Speaker
Confirmation bias fuels a cycle that empowers the superstition, right? So with the Cubs again, the Cubs won because I wore the shirt, because I wore the shirt. It's magic, right? So that's system one. Now, system two is the slower, rational brain that's more grounded in objective facts, facts, pardon me. So system two ought to jump in to tell us, don't be stupid, ratty old t-shirts don't win games, players do. And you're not a player, not even close.
00:28:13
Speaker
But the thing is, Ryzen argues in an academic review paper, we willfully ignore System 2. That is, we cave into superstitions even when we know they're illogical, and there's research to back this up. Here's one clear example. One study had participants throw darts at a board, and they were rewarded for their accuracy in hitting the bullseye.
00:28:36
Speaker
The researchers found that even with the reward, people were less accurate at throwing darts when there was a picture of a baby on the dartboard compared with when there was a picture of Adolf Hitler. The darts wouldn't cause harm to either person, obviously, but it's hard not to feel superstitious about it.
00:28:58
Speaker
So we cave into system one and indulge in superstitions. In Ryzen's view, we often acquiesce or cave into our system one thinking, even when we know it's irrational for a few simple reasons. The costs of indulging superstitions are often low, right? So not washing the t-shirt is kind of gross, but it's not costly. It doesn't cost you anything. Meanwhile, the cost of losing the game is horrific. So why not keep the t-shirt out of the laundry? What is there really to lose?
00:29:27
Speaker
Even people who report that a magic spell cannot cause damage are less willing to allow an experimenter to say a magic spell if their hand is at risk than if some other less valuable object is at risk. Another is that it's really easy to imagine the bad thing happening. It's just really hard to ignore it. So in the case of the Cubs, once again,
00:29:49
Speaker
It's especially true. The Cubs never make it to the World Series. They haven't won it in more than 100 years. It's really easy to imagine them losing. And that makes it harder to not be superstitious. And there's one more theory why superstitions endure despite our knowing better.
00:30:06
Speaker
They comfort us. They allow us to feel like we have some control over a chaotic world, even if our actions are meaningless. And when so few things in the world are predictable, there's an irresistible comfort. Superstitions don't make us stupid. They make us human. And that's the end of the article.
00:30:28
Speaker
Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. Isn't that a great little piece, too? I thought it was really good. I really liked that. I'm sorry I didn't butt in more, but I just was listening. Yeah, I'm sure you're fine. I think that the main thing that stuck out for me was the control aspect.
00:30:48
Speaker
That's all we're trying to do in this world is just gain just a little bit of control over what's going on around us, whether that's going through the cashier line or the self-checkout or this or or approaching someone on the sidewalk to tell them that they cut you off. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, everyone is trying to control everything around them. So it's not a surprise that like we're constantly into this.
00:31:12
Speaker
Yeah, all I'll say about that is you let it go. Like, let it look. Stress is so high in this world. I think that if we all let go of a little bit of that control, I'm not stressed about me. I'm not stressed. I think I'm not stressed.
00:31:36
Speaker
Like just. Every once in a while, just look around and be like, just exist, just exist. I think, you know, a lot happier. Look, I mean, I really do get it. You know, I, you know, for for a long time, I struggled with what I thought was anxiety.
00:31:53
Speaker
And finally I went to, and I also struggled with friends and family and everyone going, calm down, you're so anxious. And everyone constantly telling me that I was anxious, right? And I finally went to a good therapist, not to a friend, not to somebody who was dumb, not to a bad therapist, somebody who finally said, you don't have an anxiety problem. You don't have that.
00:32:14
Speaker
And it was amazing to get help from somebody who taught me that I had at least some control over how I felt, right? So I can't control the world, but I can control how I feel about it and how I react to it.
00:32:32
Speaker
And I think that's part of it too, right? And so it's a really hard thing to get to. It really is. I mean, look, it didn't happen for me until I was like 35, or actually later than that, probably 37. So I mean, it takes time. And you know what else it takes? It takes work. But if all we do, I mean, honestly, it's funny how I talk about superstitions connects back to the war in Israel, but it does. Because the more that we rely on superstitious thought,
00:32:58
Speaker
and on stories and on irrational thinking. Honestly, the more we see shit like what's going on in Israel right now. And I'm not real about that, you know? No. Like you can't control it. Like you can only control yourself. I mean, it goes it goes all the way. I mean, even this isn't as far back as Palestine and Israel, but like it goes back to like the Hatfields and the McCoys. Like they literally were at war, those two families for so many years.
00:33:25
Speaker
I don't think any of them knew why by the end of it. They didn't even know. They just knew that they hated each other because they were supposed to hate each other. It's really, um, humans are complicated. Seriously. Anyway, I think that will do it for our horror in real life segment. I hope you enjoyed it. Um, but we're going to go ahead and take a break and come back with a segment. We know you all enjoy and that's what you've been watching bitch.
00:33:57
Speaker
Let's all go to the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat.
00:34:14
Speaker
And this is the part of the show, snapping open a coke there. This is the part of the show where we talk about what we've been watching, which is why we call it what you've been watching, bitch. This could be TV shows, could be movies, sometimes it's books, sometimes it's podcasts, sometimes it's whatever we want it to be. But anyways, Andrew is going to tell us the first thing that he has been watching. Go for it.
00:34:35
Speaker
My first one is the new season of American Horror Story. We are, I think, three episodes in to delicate season eight thousand. Yeah. This is a weird one because I didn't I don't think I talked about it on the show, but I actually really liked
00:34:55
Speaker
American Horror Story NYC. I thought it was actually like a return to kind of like the earlier seasons of American Horror Story. Like I really liked it. This season, which Marcus, the return of Emma Roberts, who was like a fan favorite for for many seasons, you know, so I think I think starting with Coven, I think that's where she was introduced and then kind of like did other seasons after that. I really like Emma Roberts as a as an actress. But, you know, we won't go any too far with that. But
00:35:24
Speaker
This season, I got to tell you, this feels like Blueball's American Horror Story because every single episode is setting up all of this mystery with literally no payoff. And I understand we're only three episodes in, but I should know where the story is going. If you if you're not watching, basically, the story is about a young actress who has just gotten kind of like her fame and is like starting to be
00:35:51
Speaker
noticed in in in new york city and like she's you know she's she's riding the wave of of fame and she gets pregnant and then it kind of is a mirroring a little bit of like rosemary's baby type of storyline yeah
00:36:06
Speaker
But, like, there's no payoff. Isn't there, like, only a mystery? Isn't it like a Kardashian's in it or something? Yeah, Kim Kardashian plays her manager, which she's fine. She's not bad. She's not great. She's just fine. I don't know why they cast her in this role. Like, like anything in this show, I'm hoping it will pay off at the end of the day. But, like,
00:36:32
Speaker
So far in, I can't... Listen, I am an American Horror Story apologist. You are. There are many seasons that I will go down the drain for. This one just feels like it's not... It feels like they're writing it while it's happening. You know what I mean? I mean, that doesn't surprise me.
00:36:53
Speaker
Um, so I, unfortunately I can't recommend delicate, but if you like Emma Robertson, you want to see Kim Kardashian go for it. Um, I'm, I'm still going to write it out because I think there's only like two episodes left because it's like, and of course now Ryan Murphy is doing this stupid thing where it's American Horror Story part one. You know, I like, I got it. I mean, as with everything, right? I'm always happy for people to like whatever they like.
00:37:17
Speaker
I gave up on, and you know this already, I gave up on AHS a long time ago because it lost the thread for me. But if I'm being honest too, pretty much anything that Ryan Murphy does, I just don't like. It just feels so...
00:37:33
Speaker
So inauthentic and so forced in a lot of ways that I just like it's like even like with this I could do in a part one I'm like my god How much more do you fucking need to do and like also could you let someone else do something for once? Yeah, it's like to me like he just I feel like he just takes over everything like how much more do you need to do? I think more money do you need to make I think for me I think he has a lot of really great ideas But he just needs a better writers room and he just needs to like let them do their thing because oh
00:38:03
Speaker
He comes up with great ideas. They very rarely at the end of the cycle of whatever he's saying pays off, you know, look fucking murder house and and especially asylum asylum blew me away. It was so good. Incredible murder house. Also fucking fantastic. Bloody face for life. What bloody face for life, baby. I got a bloody face text from Andrew last week. It's true. He does that sometimes. I would love to see more of that anyways. OK.
00:38:33
Speaker
Um, my first one for you, uh, I'll start with the easy stuff first. Well, I, yeah, yeah. Um, I re-watched the Blair Witch Project just for fun. Um, the 1990, whatever. 90, what 98 or whatever. 99. Yeah. 97, 98, somewhere in there somewhere. Um, you know, like,
00:38:52
Speaker
I just it was it was on demand on now or whatever and I was like I had nothing else to do and like you know that I'm not a big fan of found footage I say that a lot and so I was like maybe just give it a try again just for fun and I've seen it obviously like um team times before you know what I gotta tell you on this watch I really did like it a lot more I had I was relaxed with it I had more fun with it and you know what
00:39:16
Speaker
on that particular day that I watched it, it was dark and stormy out and it was creepy as hell. It really was. So I don't want you to say too much because I do want to cover this movie at some point. I won't say a lot, but you know, like coming back to it after a very long time, it was, it was a good watch. I was glad to watch it again. So as you're thinking about stuff to watch in your spooky season, this might be one that you bring up again.
00:39:38
Speaker
Yeah, I even like both sequels, but that's so my next one is a random movie I missed. And I think a lot of people miss because I have not heard any of our queer community talking about this movie. It's on free form, which you can either go on their website or you can get on demand, depending on the cable company that you have. It's called The Thing About Harry. This was a interesting watch because it's kind of
00:40:05
Speaker
red, white and royal blue before red, white and royal blue. Oh, interesting. OK, so it's basically about this guy who lives in Chicago. He has his best friend who's a girl and they're just kind of like working professionals in Chicago. And they stumble upon this guy who they're both kind of attracted to, but they kind of don't know, like, what what's his deal? Like, is is he gay? Is he straight? So they're kind of like both.
00:40:29
Speaker
trying to figure that out. And it turns out, God damn it, he's bisexual. Now we need to figure out who's and he's a very charismatic guy. So like everyone's kind of attracted to everyone. Everyone knows this guy in Chicago, who everyone is attracted to. But you'd have no idea why you're attracted to them. Yeah, it's just it's a thing. And so the thing about Harry is
00:40:57
Speaker
It's a fun movie. I'm going to say it's very bubble gum. It's not. It doesn't it doesn't have like the sarcasm of red, white and royal blue. But I will say that it was really fun to watch. And I I'm really surprised that more of our queer content people have not been talking about it because for this movie to be on free form, which I if you know the history of free form, let me give you a little bit of lesson real quick.
00:41:26
Speaker
Freeform used to be a Fox family. Before that, it was actually OK. And Pax originally was a Christian channel. Oh, so the fact that Freeform now has the thing about Harry. I don't know. There's some there's some triumph in that in my little queer brain. So I encourage people to watch it. It's a fun little bubblegum movie. OK.
00:41:53
Speaker
My next one is called The Changeling. This is not The Changeling in the movie. This is The Changeling in the TV show, which is on Apple TV+. Can we not come up with new names, please? I know. Because there are also like two movies called The Changeling. Right.
00:42:08
Speaker
Um, this is, uh, it's a brand new show. I didn't even know this was coming out. Um, Lakeith Stanfield is in it. Um, who I think is really, really good. Um, you remember Lakeith Stanfield from get out of course, and also from, um, a bunch of other things. I think he's really, really good stuff.
00:42:25
Speaker
This is like a fairy tale kind of thing and it's about like a husband and a wife and like she she was on this trip and she got three wishes from this like witch woman and things just happen. It's a crazy show. I've only watched an episode and a half but I'm looking forward to it. It's all I've had time for this week. Looking forward to finishing it maybe even tonight because it's it's pretty fucking good.
00:42:50
Speaker
So if you have Apple TV plus, you know, I've said this before, like not everything, it's kind of like shutter in some ways, like some of the shows are good, some of the shows are not good. But the shows that are good are they're good, like they're really, really good. And this is one of them that I think is is really good. So if you have it and you can watch the changeline, I recommend. Cool. Yeah, it sounds it sounds interesting. Is it can I ask a question? Yeah. Is it filmed in like a fantasy way or is it filmed in like a real world way?
00:43:18
Speaker
Uh, real world, but with some like elements of magical realism. Okay. All right. All right. My next one is something you can find on demand as well. It's a documentary. Uh, yes, every once in a while I do watch a documentary, but this one is about Beanie babies. I want to read this.
00:43:39
Speaker
I want to I want to I want to watch this. It's called The Beanie Bubble. And it's all about the rise of Ty Ty, the Ty Corporation, how it started, how they came up with Beanie Babies, which anybody that is around our age is going to remember the craze that was Beanie Babies. Such a weird time in life.
00:44:02
Speaker
It is so weird to think that people put their retirement on the resale of baby babies. Yeah.
00:44:11
Speaker
Um, and it's fascinating. I didn't know it was a Chicago suburbs thing. I didn't know that it started here. Um, so it was a really, it was really interesting watch. Um, I had some beanie babies. I was not part of the quote unquote, like craze. Um, I did have some just because that's just what you did as a child of the late nineties. Oh yeah. We all did.
00:44:36
Speaker
Like we all had pogs. We all had Tamagotchis and or pocket friends. We all had Beanie Babies. It's just we don't see this as much anymore. The toy craze has really tamed down as far as like what's popular. But like back in the day, man, there were just things that every fucking Christmas there was like got to get. Yeah. Thing. Oh, yeah. And.
00:45:00
Speaker
Beanie babies just became this crazy thing, just like trading cards where people thought, I'm going to sell these in my retirement and it's going to sail me through the rest of my life. And it is fascinating to watch the people that created this talk about them. So if you think that that sounds like something up your alley, it's definitely a well done documentary about Beanie babies.
00:45:22
Speaker
Yeah, I need to watch that. My family, we didn't go too crazy on the real Beanie Babies. When McDonald's did the Beanie Babies, my mom got nuts on them. The Mini Beanie Babies. My mom was pretty nuts about a lot of McDonald's things. I had so many McDonald's toys. I had a gigantic collection of McDonald's toys. Huge collection. And I remember being in the car with mom. I can't remember
00:45:51
Speaker
God, it must have been, I don't know, 12 or something, 11. Being in the car with mom, literally going from McDonald's to McDonald's to McDonald's to McDonald's to get those little beanie babies. And I also like eating all of that food too. Like it was a weird time. It was such a weird time. Why were we obese children? Right. I mean, like, I don't know, probably because my mom was stuffing me with McDonald's every day of my life. Maybe that's it.
00:46:18
Speaker
Anyways, I'm looking forward to watching that. I'm glad you reminded me because I actually forgot about that. It's it's actually really well done. I can't wait to watch it. My next one is a movie that I've never seen before, and I am so glad that I watched it and it is good when a stranger calls back.
00:46:37
Speaker
So what is your relationship with the original when a stranger calls? I haven't seen that either. I gotta tell you, I don't even remember. So the reason why I watched this is because it was on, it was a movie, it was a movie. And like movie is like, I talk about movie, I think almost every episode now. Movie does a great job with curation and like letting you know when something is new on there, right? And so this was the featured film for like spooky season on whatever day I watched it. And I gotta tell you,
00:47:05
Speaker
This movie knocked me out. I think it is. It's genius. I gave it out of five stars on letterbox. I gave it a five. I cannot believe how good the acting was. Cannot believe how terrifying this movie is. This movie, if you're looking for a genuinely scary movie, this motherfucker will scare you. The whole, the opening sequence of this movie,
00:47:31
Speaker
is it's brilliant. It has to be in the top 10 of opening sequences. You've got to watch the original, because the original one is the same. I will. I will now, because I tell you what, this was just the ending. I'm not going to go things away, but the ending of this, oh my God. I walked away from this just going, holy shit. And I was shaken to the core. Shaken to the core.
00:47:54
Speaker
I've seen this movie as well and I really, really like it. There is a specific scene where the actor is blending into the background that terrified me to this day. I still think about it.
00:48:10
Speaker
insane how they made this shit happen. It not me. I mean, if you don't like this movie and you're a horror fan, I don't know if I can trust you like I honestly, I think because it was a made for TV movie, this doesn't get talked about enough because it is really good because I like I cannot talk enough about this. It is absolutely in fucking incredible.
00:48:34
Speaker
Yeah, agreed. I love that movie. Maybe we should try to work it into the show. I would love to. Yeah. All right. My last one is on Hulu. It just came out on Friday. It is R.L. Stine's Zombie Town. Listen, anybody that has listened to the show for long enough knows that I was in R.L. Stine Goosebumps to Fear Street to Christopher Pike to. It's just my childhood. I read every single day these stupid little books.
00:49:03
Speaker
And I'm going back and reading them again. I'm currently on the Saturday night trilogy. But Zombie Tone, I have not read this one. I think it's a newer release from Arlstein. The basic premise is that Dan Aykroyd actually plays a filmmaker who has had a series of really successful zombie movies.
00:49:26
Speaker
And he's been in retirement for 30 years and he's finally coming back to release a movie, but he's only going to show it in his hometown at his home theater. And the whole premise is that the movie that he's showing is going to turn everybody in the town into zombies. Yes. Listen, this is this is beginner horror. This is Hocus Pocus. This is that kind of show your 12 year old this movie. We need those. Yeah.
00:49:55
Speaker
I think it's really important. I mean, if we're gonna, if we're gonna, if we're going to get a whole new generation into horror, you can't just go in guns a blazing with like fucking 10,000 how corpses, you know what I mean? Like, don't show him when a stranger calls back. That's not a good idea. But if you
00:50:12
Speaker
But if you can get them in on something like zombie town, I think that's really fun. And 100% for me, like I don't have like a threshold. Like I, I can watch beginner horror. I can watch gross out horror. Like I don't, I mean, I'm going to enjoy it to certain lengths that whatever it is, like I can get enjoyment out of literally
00:50:35
Speaker
almost anything horror. So like a whole. Hey, Andrew, a hole is a hole, you know. Yeah, seriously. But I just thought that this was really fun. It's a fun little like I love when Hulu does their they call it Hulu, which I think is hilarious. Oh, cute. But I just thought that this was really fun. So if you're looking for something that's like entry horror to maybe show like a teen, like a preteen or whatever, I think that is a good is a good thing. I'll ask my brother if my nephew watched this.
00:51:05
Speaker
My final one is one that I was looking forward to seeing. It is the new exorcist, the exorcist believer. Very divided on the internet. Yeah, so I want to tell you a couple things first, right? First of all, Lighthouse Cinema that I go to religiously did not show this movie, so I had to go see it at... Really? Yeah, I'm honestly...
00:51:32
Speaker
If no one is like, no one is listening to this from the lighthouse. But if they if they were, I would say, you know what? Can you not fucking do that in the future for a very important film like this? You show so much other horror and you just chose not to do this. And so I had to go see it at fucking Senna World in town.
00:51:50
Speaker
And let me tell you, I don't like going to movie theaters like that. It's not my thing. They're gross. The clientele sucks. People talk. It's like it makes me upset that I had to go see it in that theater. Please see our last episode. Movie theaters are terrifying. Exactly. But I went fine and I booked the time and I didn't realize when I was booking it because it's a fucking stupid theater that I went to that I was booking a four DX viewing.
00:52:19
Speaker
4DX, if you've not done this before, is basically like being on a roller coaster for the entire movie. So not only... The first thing that happened was I sat down and I was not having a great day that day. It wasn't a good day for me. Some things happened. I didn't wake up in a good mood. I was pretty pissed off.
00:52:40
Speaker
But I sit down in this chair and it's it's not very comfortable, to be honest. And the movie starts and I find whatever. And then like a puff of air hits my ear and I'm like, what the fuck was that?
00:52:53
Speaker
And then I'm like, oh, it's going to be this. This is what's going on now. So fucking like, I mean, fucking the seat is moving, going side to side, going up in the air, going down, rumbling like there's smoke coming out of the screen. There's flashes and there's fucking like water vapor and wind. And I was like, oh, my God. And I already I wasn't feeling good. And I was like, what have I done? What have I done? What have I done? Anyways, I actually was able to put that aside.
00:53:21
Speaker
Believe it or not. But let me tell you, do not go to see a 40 X movie. It's very fucking stupid. So I watched The Exorcist and, you know, fans know The Exorcist is my favorite horror film of all time. I'm not a big part to can fuck off part three. I'm not really that big a fan of, but I understand it's it's good things about it. Didn't really watch the TV show and the other sequels were not at my alley. The ones I got to tell you, I got to tell you.
00:53:49
Speaker
You should watch the first season of the TV show. I might. It's really revisited. I might revisit. So the Exorcist believer. I've got a few things to say about this. If you don't mind, I'm going to go on for just a minute here because it's such an important movie. Right. Strong elements. Right. I mean, you've got a great cast. You've got Leslie Odom, Jr. You've got Ann Dowd, for God's sake. Norbert Leo Butz shows up in this movie. And Ellen Burstyn is in this movie. Right. So like that should alone be good enough.
00:54:17
Speaker
you got the opportunity to branch off of one of the best films ever made there you go you got a good director david gordon green whether you like halloween or not he's a good director and so that's why i was really surprised that this film just went into mediocrity pretty quickly
00:54:33
Speaker
And you know, there are a lot of good things about this movie, but the thing about the original Exorcist that works so well is that the Exorcist is so believable, even if you're not a religious person, right? It is so well researched. It's
00:54:48
Speaker
so well written. It's a precise knowledge of theology, of church canon, of the ritual itself. It goes into family dynamics that are really incredible. It examines the life of a priest that is on the edge, and it invites the viewer to really examine their own beliefs and consider just why it's such a scary movie in the first place, right? And so Believer, the new one, it actually does an okay job on the family part of it.
00:55:15
Speaker
I won't tell you what that is, but it goes into some interesting stuff. I was like, okay, that kind of works. The part where this movie fails is in the exorcism itself. That's not a spoiler. If you don't know there's going to be an exorcism in this, you should go get your head checked. Look, the exorcism should be the part that works the best and it's the part that works the worst.
00:55:36
Speaker
And so this isn't going to give anything away, I promise you, but like in the exorcism itself, this movie tries to like show a multicultural view of exorcism. And so it's like this tradition, that tradition, that tradition, that tradition, and they all kind of come together to do it. And what it winds up being is a group of people who have no idea what the fuck they're doing.
00:55:57
Speaker
And so it's almost like cringe-worthy if I'm being honest when you watch it. And it just doesn't make any sense. I think that the film does have some good things. I don't think it's as bad as everyone is saying. I really don't. And the internet hates this movie. You know what though? Look, I love the people that I'm talking about right now even.
00:56:18
Speaker
But some people, if our friends included on Twitter, on horror Twitter, love to go see something and immediately shit on it as fast as they can so that they can get the clever bit out there. I'm sorry, but that is fucking true. It's true. And if you're listening to this and you're offended, I don't really fucking care because you guys do that. You as soon as you're out that movie theater, before you even leave, your ass is on your phone going.
00:56:44
Speaker
Like, you know what? No one cares, right? Like, please. It's like our opinions, mine included, are not that important. I think people went overboard in how they hate this movie. I don't think it's my favorite one. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to really see it again. But look, there are some good things in here.
00:57:02
Speaker
And I think that the family dynamics of it mostly are what, are what you might want to watch it for. And also like this, fuck, this could be Ellen Burstyn's last movie. Like she is old as Methuselah. So like, I gotta be honest, it was lovely to see her again. Um, the writing's not that great for her, but
00:57:20
Speaker
You know, she's awesome and it's great to see her. The kids in this movie are really good. The two girls, like that's a hard fucking shit to play. Leslie Odom Jr. was really, I mean, once again, bad writing, but I think he did a great job, you know? So good things and there are bad things. I'll leave it to you to decide, but don't believe everyone on the internet. Go in and make an informed opinion yourself.
00:57:44
Speaker
Yeah, I do eventually want to see this. It's just not top of my list just because I don't know. And honestly, if you don't see it in the theater, Andrew, you'll be fine.
00:57:52
Speaker
OK, that's good to know, truly, because it'll probably be out by Halloween at this point. I mean, like, honestly, if you wanted to, fine. But I don't think it's going to be anything more special than like being with your good TV in your living room. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's good to hear because I was starting to get a little bit dejected that like I was like, oh, my God, I watch this movie. So it's good to hear that there are good things in it that you like. I agree. I want to issue you a challenge, though.
00:58:18
Speaker
And I really, really think you should watch the first season of the show because I think I think as a as a legacy person that loves the original Exorcist, you will get a great payout at the end of it. You know, I think I remember watching like the first episode and I remember you both talking about how good it was. And I think it was one of those things where like I maybe I was moving or maybe like
00:58:47
Speaker
I just lost it. You know, you know, like when something happens and then you just you honestly forget about a show, I think that's for me. Yeah. All right. Well, that will do it for what you've been watching. Bitch, Maddie brought us the Blair Witch Project, which I think is on shutter right now, but I'm sure you can find it anywhere. Yeah. The changeling on Apple TV plus when a stranger calls back, which he watched on movie and The Exorcist Believer, which is currently in cinemas.
00:59:15
Speaker
And Andrew brought us American Horror Story, Delicate, which, where do you even watch that now? You can watch it on FX or if you have AMC. Yeah, there you go. The Thing About Harry on Freeform, The Beanie Bubble on Demand, and R.L. Stine's Zombie Town on Hulu. So that does it for another edition of What You've Been Watching, Bitch. Take a little break here. We'll be right back with our first film of the episode Friday the 13th, part three.
00:59:58
Speaker
Weekends are a good time to escape to the woods. Unless the weekend begins with Friday the 13th. Because 13 is an unlucky number. But out here, so are 1 through 12. Because these are Jason's woods. And nobody leaves them.
01:00:27
Speaker
Alive. Friday the 13th, Part 3 in 3D. Jason. You can't fight him. You can't stop him. And now, you can't even keep him on the screen.
01:00:56
Speaker
Friday the 13th, Part 3 in 3D. Now, when it comes to killing in Jason's woods, Jason will come to you. Friday the 13th, Part 3 in 3D. A new dimension.
01:01:24
Speaker
It's Friday the 13th today, the day of this podcast coming out, and it's Friday the 13th, the movie. That's so stupid. Part three. Andrew, just tell us about the movie, please.
01:01:35
Speaker
A new dimension in terror. An idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naive friends visiting a cabin near Crystal Lake. Ignoring Camp Crystal Lake's bloody legacy, one by one they fall victim to the maniacal Jason, who stalks them at every turn. A little bit of, we'll talk about that description, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but that's fine.
01:02:00
Speaker
Directed by Steve Miner, written by Martin Catrazor and Carol Watson, production company and distribution was handed by Paramount Pictures, famously. Chris is played by Dana Kimmel. We've got to say her full name. Chris Higgins is played by Dana Kimmel. Rick is played by Paul Krakka. Yeah, that makes sense. Debbie is played by Tracy Savage. Andy is played
01:02:23
Speaker
most beautifully by Jeffrey Rogers. Vera is played by Catherine Parks. Shelley is played by Larry Zerner. Chuck is played by David Cadams. Chili is played by Rachel Howard. And Jason is basically in this version, is played by Richard Rooker.
01:02:42
Speaker
Radar, released on August 13th of 1982, comes in at perfect time, 95 minutes. Locations are in Santa Clarita, California. The budget on this one was only $2.2 million, which we'll talk about because that's really small for what these movies were bringing in at this point. Which also, I'm just going to say this really quick, is the exact budget for part four as well.
01:03:06
Speaker
And it made thirty seven million dollars. So Friday the 13th, part three, we've covered Friday the 13th, part two and the original. You can go back in our in our little catalog and find those if you will. So we are on part three. Maddie, what are your initial thoughts and have you seen this before? Yeah. Yeah. Yes. The answer is yes. OK, so Friday the 13th, part three is a movie.
01:03:33
Speaker
that it's like it's like it's like different parts of the movie. I it's why can't I think of what I'm trying to say here? It's like.
01:03:45
Speaker
I don't like it. And then I like it. And then I don't like it. And then I like it. Right. I get it. Yeah. And like the the initial parts of it, I think like the thing that I really don't like about this movie is the gimmicky part of it that is made for 3D. Like, yeah, I just any and I'm sure it was fun when it came out. I've never seen it in 3D before. I don't know if you have. You can come to my house and watch it in 3D if you would like.
01:04:10
Speaker
But do you have like a way to like see it in 3D? Yeah. So I bought the box set of Friday the 13th many years ago when it came out and it came with two sets of three. Okay. Gotcha. There you go. So, you know, I've never watched it that way. And I'm sure when it came out in 1982, you know, the week before I was born, for God's sake,
01:04:28
Speaker
I bet people had a blast with it and it was fun and it was a summer thing and cool and all the rest of it. Watching it now out of that context, the parts of it that are specifically made for 3D, they rule the scene.
01:04:45
Speaker
And I think that that's just why it takes you out of it. And I'm not even saying that it's bad. It's just like there's not a way for me to enjoy it in that context. And so, yeah, I can tell you there's there's even in this is when it really stuck out to me is at the very beginning when we have our two couples that run the general store and he's going to fix the the clothing line.
01:05:06
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Right. He looks directly into the camera to make sure that like the the stick is like perfectly in the camera. So I get like it takes you out of it. Yeah. And so I mean, there's there's just no way around that. Right. And so like, look, if I'm watching this casually, maybe I don't care.
01:05:25
Speaker
But the reality is you and I have a podcast about horror movies and so we're watching it and taking notes and like trying to be a little more critical than just the casual viewer. Right. So there's no way to escape it. And that's that that just is what it is. Now, that party don't like done.
01:05:42
Speaker
I start to really love the movie once the murders really start coming. And once the slashing just kind of goes down the line and they all basically die, then I really enjoy it because I love murder. Yeah. I mean, like, you know, it's just it becomes the slasher that it is supposed to be. And even the parts of it that are 3D there, I kind of don't maybe I just don't even I'm not paying attention to it anymore.
01:06:08
Speaker
So I'm more in the movie than right. So it's like this weird two sided thing that I'm on when I watch this because I hate that part of it. And then I like the part of it where it just finally gets going. I think that this movie like you know, I was thinking about Friday the 13th in general and I was like,
01:06:26
Speaker
You know, pretty much every entry in the series is like all archetype characters, right? It's just like the nerd, the punk, the bimbo, the jock, the whatever. And I started to think like this is not going to be some kind of new thought. I'm quite sure I'm not the first one to think this. But I was thinking like, huh, like you could watch that and go, oh, that's kind of cheap and stupid. Or you could go, you know, it's like it's almost like a fable.
01:06:48
Speaker
It's almost like a campfire story. And maybe that's why it works. You know what I mean? Are like these archetypes that are easy to understand. And I mean that in a good way. Like the archetypes actually work here and they do work. You know, like I think it's interesting. Like when you first meet Shelley, Shelley is just like such a nerd archetype.
01:07:10
Speaker
like he's chubby and he's got a big fro and like he's just sort of a nerd and he likes to play jokes and like you sort of write him off but I mean Shelly is an integral part of the Friday the 13th story without Shelly we don't get the hockey mask
01:07:26
Speaker
And without Shelley, like, I mean, shit doesn't happen. It's he's sort of an incredible character when you think about it. And the amount of fat shaming this person has to go through. Can we stop fat shaming? Shelley, please. My God. I think the hate for Shelley is unwarranted, if I'm being honest. That's stupid.
01:07:45
Speaker
There's so many, and I've listened to countless podcasts talk about because everyone covers Friday the 13th. Listen, things you're going to hear today, they're probably not original, but we're trying. Nothing is. And I'm really sympathetic to Shelley because I feel like he's just trying to get by the way he knows how, and he's just trying to make it work. And everyone around him is just,
01:08:09
Speaker
Countless, countlessly, just like making fun of him and making him feel bad about himself. And so like as like being like the nerdy chubby one growing up, I felt for Shelley. Sorry. Yeah. And like, you know, look, it's all explained when he comes out of the water after grabbing Vera. Yeah, I am so bad with that. I will not be good with the names today. I'm just saying that.
01:08:32
Speaker
when he grabs her leg and he comes out and she's like, oh, you're such a jerk, whatever. And he says being a jerk is better than being a nothing. And that's because that's how everyone treats him. Yeah. So like, I mean, the the the skinny dipping thing actually made me sad. It like, I mean, but I think it genuinely makes me and you sad who were chubby kids. Right. And so like, if you weren't that, then you don't know the terror of taking off your shirt in front of other children.
01:09:00
Speaker
It was awful because you got made fun of immediately, right? So like, look, I mean, I'm going a little bit overboard on Shelley, I realized because people are like, geez, Shelley, stand over here. But I mean, it's true, though. Some things that I was thinking about, like, well, no, no, I'll leave it at that as like my just my initial reactions. And we can talk about more details as we go.
01:09:21
Speaker
Yeah. So obviously this is not my first time seeing this movie. This is actually, I mean, listen, I think my ranking, just like when we ranked the screen movies, it changes constantly, depending on where I'm at in life. And when I've watched proximity to watching the movie, it's right up there. Like this is top five of these movies for me. I think all the characters are really likable. I think Chris Higgins gives Jason a run for his money. Yeah.
01:09:50
Speaker
to anybody else. Yeah. I think that Andy is the literally cutest guy in any of these movies. I think Rick is the stiffest actor I've ever seen in my life. Big time. Yes. But and then I think that Chuck and Chili look like they're about double the age of anybody else here. But that is that is absolutely true.
01:10:15
Speaker
But overall, I think that Friday the 13th, part three, I love these first four movies because they're so sequential. And the reason I said something about our plot, the reason I said something about our our plot summary is that they're like, oh, naive friends visiting a near crystal. Like these movies happen within like a week of like of of each other. Like it doesn't it's it's not.
01:10:41
Speaker
They didn't know what was going on. So I got to the cap. Just just one little thing to interject there. So whenever we do the worksheets for our episodes, I always take the descriptions from letterboxed because I just usually they are the best descriptions. This one, I actually noticed. I mean, I actually edited it just a little bit before the show with the time that I had. And I reported the one that is on a letterbox, which I'm just going to read it to you real quick if you don't mind. OK.
01:11:07
Speaker
Yeah. So Friday the 13th, part three, a new dimension in terror and idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naive counselors ignoring Camp Crystal Lake's bloody legacy. Blah, blah, blah, blah. I actually I finally found the little button to report it to letterboxed. And I said, can you change it? They're not counselors. And also it doesn't take place at Camp Crystal Lake. No. What are you doing? I'm actually for letterboxed. I'm really disappointed to be if I'm being real.
01:11:37
Speaker
And I'm sorry, that's real. I'm glad you did that because like that that's really irresponsible. And I know that that sounds stupid from people that are talking about a slasher movie, but I don't know. You're a fucking film website. Get it right. Yeah. I love the the where they're at at Higgins Haven. I think that all the set devices are really paid off really well. Yeah, I agree.
01:12:00
Speaker
from the barn to the house to even the van. I just think that they pay off everything really well in this movie. I think that Debbie and Vera I think are maybe the most likable people that get killed in these movies. I agree. Of almost all time. So the one thing I will say, those are my initial thoughts. Let's get into kind of maybe what we think is a little weird about the movie.
01:12:30
Speaker
The first thing that is weird. Yeah, the first thing that is weird. So beyond like, so let's let's let's take the 3D of it all kind of because we kind of talked about that. There are some weird lens things that I won't get into because I watched this on Blu-ray so you can see a lot of like there's like a hair on the lens.
01:12:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's and it's and it's all because if you if you watch Chris Lake Memories, the documentary about this, you know that this was a special camera that was used to film only this movie like it was a special 3D camera. So they kind of had to work with what they had to work with essentially. So like taking that all out of it. There are a couple of things that I just need to talk about. One is why do we have the subplot of Debbie being pregnant?
01:13:22
Speaker
I don't know.
01:13:23
Speaker
it does not make any sense. And I'm sorry, I wrote, I wrote in
Movie Oddities and Humor
01:13:26
Speaker
my notes. I said, if that girl in a bikini is pregnant, then I'm having triplets because she's a tiny person quadruplets over here. Um, and I, I, that always takes me out of it when I'm watching this movie, because not only they say that she's pregnant a couple of times, and then they also, when Andy is doing his whole handstand thing, she's like, uh, and she's like, he's like, do you want a beer? She's like, yeah, I'll take a beer. And I'm like,
01:13:53
Speaker
You're pregnant though. Like, I don't, and then eventually, eventually she does. They won't have that beer. I'll forget about that beer. Yeah. But like, yeah, it just, I wish they would not have put that in the movie because it doesn't make a lot of sense. Um, my favorite thing that I've read about Andy is this and it's all, you know, I love letterbox reviews and there's a really popular one for this movie and it says,
01:14:17
Speaker
If this is from Letitia Fernandez, Letitia says if some dude was walking around the house on his hands all the time, I'd also kill him. And I agree. And let me tell you, when Andy gets killed, dude gets done dirty.
01:14:33
Speaker
And I actually I wrote down in my notes, like I kept writing. Oh, he got done dirty, too. He got done dirty with a machete to the crotch. But you know what? Perhaps if you weren't walking on your hands, you would have been able to see the killer that is behind you. It's the original Terrifier. It's seriously right. I will say some other things about stuff. Right. It's about like little details.
01:14:57
Speaker
Yeah. OK, I get it. Shelley's playing a joke. He gets the wetsuit on so he can go into the water. I don't know why you need the wetsuit, but OK, cool. Maybe a little maybe a little bit overboard. But there you are. Why the hell he have a harpoon?
01:15:12
Speaker
And also, can I just say this? Who on Crystal Lake, like you're not in the fucking ocean. No, what the fuck you got a harpoon? Why are you getting some bluegills over here? Why do you have a harpoon there in the first place? And why the fuck should they got one? Like you could he could have done the joke without the harpoon. Now, I love this machele, but you did yourself dirty having that harpoon, buddy. Agreed.
01:15:42
Speaker
But
Jason's Character Analysis
01:15:43
Speaker
there are a lot of questionable things in that bar and that I don't know why they're there. But also, let me ask you this question because you're you're far more of an expert on Friday the 13th than I ever will be. How old is Jason in this movie? So there's kind of like two schools of thought there. There's kind of the thought that, you know, when Jason was killed, they show him in the first movie that he was a certain age and then like there's two thoughts. And I think that there was one thought that he's around like 25.
01:16:12
Speaker
And then there's a thought that he's like forty five. Like it's it's kind of. He definitely he on the forty five side here, because I'll tell you what another one I put down really, really quick was he looked too old because when you you see like when he gets the mask after the Shelly thing, right? It is old hands, old, old hands. And you can see the back of his damn head. And like I get it. Like it's Jason. I get it. But like he looks very old.
01:16:39
Speaker
Yeah, and I did want to ask you one thing. I wanted to get your perspective on this because I've kind of gone back and forth on this. As many times I've watched this movie, I've gone back and forth on what I think is going on here. So we have the date that Rick and Chris go on, which he takes her to a storm drain. I'm like, sounds like fun. Romantic, Rick. A hole's a hole, you know?
01:17:06
Speaker
Um, and, and she ends up telling him what happened to her when, you know, years back and she basically tells a story about how she was really pissed off at her parents because her mom hit her and her parents were really awful to her. So she ran away for the night to like, kind of give them a lesson to like, Hey, you should care about me more. And she spends the night in the woods and that's where she's attacked by Jason. What I, what I find
01:17:33
Speaker
very frustrating about this story is that she goes to this whole rigmarole telling the story and then at the end of it she just goes and then I woke up in my bed I blacked out I don't know what happened. So are we to believe that Jason raped her or not?
01:17:51
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, I because we only get that bit of it and then we only get the bit, you know, near the end where she goes, it's you. I just don't know. You know, I think, too, there's there the film could have gotten there a little faster. Right. Yeah. So I mean, this doesn't happen until I mean, how long in the movie do you think that that scene is?
01:18:16
Speaker
I think it's like an hour into an hour and a half. I mean, like an hour in for a critical part of the story for one of the characters is it's that's that might be too far, bro. You know what I mean? Like I and I'm not saying it has to happen in the first five minutes, but, you know, the the things where she is feeling uncomfortable, she's not sure what she wants yet. She I want to get to know you more. I think that those things are probably the clues to tell us that she was at least sexually assaulted or something like that. See, that's what I think, too.
01:18:44
Speaker
But I mean, you know, we're never going to know because they never say. Yeah. Another thing, but it is it is just to stay on that for a moment. It does add.
01:18:55
Speaker
It adds a far more sinister dimension to Jason to Jason. Yeah. I mean, instead of just being, you know, a supernatural killer that you can't kill, he's also a fucking rapist like that. Well, and it gives it gives Jason sexuality because. Yeah. Interesting point. We don't have that really. Like he's not in it for the girls. You know what I mean? Like, but this shows maybe
01:19:21
Speaker
He does have some proclivities, which is interesting. What do you think about that?
01:19:25
Speaker
I mean, I've always read it that way, but I've also heard a lot of people just kind of be like, oh, whatever, it doesn't matter. You know what I mean? What do you personally think about that choice for the movie, though? I think it's an interesting addition to a villain that we don't get too much about at the end of the day. And I think it does give him for basically. So when we when we think about Jason and especially in this movie,
01:19:54
Speaker
And we'll talk about it in the next movie, too.
Comedic Elements in Horror
01:19:56
Speaker
But he's labeled as like a mongoloid, like a like just like a horrible, awful looking person. Yeah. And that's all we kind of get about Jason. He's he's out for revenge and he's deformed. And I think that giving him a little bit more, we do get a little bit of it in in part two, where we get a little bit more about the mom and the relationship between him and his mom and why he's doing this. Yeah.
01:20:20
Speaker
But I think giving him another dimension of actual like, you know, whether whether you think it's, you know, it is bad that if he if he sexually assaulted Chris, but it does give him another dimension that we can latch on to, if that makes any sense.
01:20:35
Speaker
Yeah, no, it does. It's you know, I just I haven't I haven't thought about this for a while. And, you know, Jason wouldn't be like my favorite killer. You know, I'd say Michael Myers probably is. And I'm trying to think like how how wild that would be if Michael Myers got sexuality. You know what I mean? Like it is it is really crazy to think about. It changes the whole dynamic. It's crazy. Yeah. Some funny things that I wrote down
01:21:01
Speaker
Um, uh, I forget what her, I think her name is Julie. They only say it like one time in the movie, but it's the stoner girl, basically. Um, I, I love her part when she discovers everybody died that is, that is dead. Um, I, I did hear in the documentary that she was very sick that day. And so she probably wasn't doing her best acting, but her running around that cabin, just going,
01:21:27
Speaker
They're all dead. Annie, you're dead. And then she gets stabbed in the stomach by the fire poker. I just that sequence cracks me up every single time because she just is running around doing her thing.
Chase Sequences and Final Girl
01:21:42
Speaker
I want to talk a little bit about the final chase scene because I think that in this Friday the 13th, it strikes the right balance of being stalker, but also fighting back, but also not.
01:22:00
Speaker
but also not being too long because we'll talk about the next movie but this chase sequence I think is like perfection. I think Chris Higgins gives the best fight of her life in this from rolling up the window.
01:22:16
Speaker
which also I have like a childhood terror of getting my fingers in the window with that roller thing. So like that was part of it. I'm from her realizing that she has a reserve gas tank. She's a smart girl. Like she's smart. And you don't see that all that much in these movies. I mean, we have Amy Steele from part two. She's obviously psychologically smart, but maybe not as physically smart as Chris Higgins. Yeah.
01:22:43
Speaker
I think that Chris gives Jason a run for his money. She fucking hangs the guy. Who would think to do that? I do have in my notes, I don't know how he survives being hanged like that. How he survive all this shit. Come on.
01:23:01
Speaker
That is one of my favorite parts, though, is where he shows her his face and she's like, no, no. I love her reaction in that moment. I think Chris Higgins is probably my favorite final girl of the Friday, the 13th movies. I really enjoyed the part where they bring her out of the house and and walk her to the where she's literally out of her mind.
01:23:24
Speaker
And I wrote down, that's how I feel most days when I'm walking out of my house, if I'm being real. Anyways, I think it's just, it's really well done. And she plays it to a T and, you know, the little dream sequence just before that with, you know,
01:23:42
Speaker
The Pam Voorhees coming out of the water and shit with the fucking worms and come out of her fucking head, skull, just that's crazy shit. And then right before that, I wrote down, Jason needs to relax. Like, because you just check when he comes out that house, seeing her in the water in the canoe, I'm like, could you just.
01:24:00
Speaker
What if you just didn't do this right now? You could not do this. Oh, one thing I thought it was really funny and it's duplicated in the next movie, but it's really funny when Chris is freaking out when the wind is like blowing all the doors open and the windows open and everything.
Unique Character Quirks
01:24:16
Speaker
And she goes, Rick, help me. And then Jason throws Rick through the window. That's great.
01:24:23
Speaker
Um, I also, I do like how, like, if you think about it, it's like, he's so petty Jason is petty and he's also like the best comedian ever. Like he knows he has the perfect timing for everything. Yeah. Um, one thing I did have in my notes that I thought maybe Wes Craven picked up on for scream is there's the part where Chris is it's right before what I was just talking about where she's running around looking for Rick.
01:24:46
Speaker
And she has this moment where she walks outside and is like, Rick, Rick. And just off of her peripheral, you see Jason holding Rick, like silencing him. And he's like and he's kind of like kicking his leg out trying to get her attention. And I was like, oh, that's the original Drew Barrymore like yelling at her parents to help like, you know, it was kind of like very mimicky of of that. So I thought that that was an interesting note to have. Interesting. I think for me,
01:25:15
Speaker
The only thing that I don't like about this specific entry, and we see it echoed a lot in these movies, is I don't need a five minute sequence of the of the second movie at the beginning. I don't. Actually, that that whole sequence is discombobulating if I'm being honest. Trust your audience to understand where we're at in the timeline. That's all I'll say. That's the that's like one of my big dings.
01:25:39
Speaker
apart from some of the 3D things that you talked about, obviously that really are just like a sore thumb in the in the filmmaking process. However, I do enjoy watching it, watching Andy play with the yo yo. So Andy is Andy is sexy. He is so cute. He's he's very cute. It's like I know we're going to talk about in the next one, of course. But like, I wish that Crispin Glover could have been that cute in part four.
01:26:07
Speaker
Because I think Crispin Glover is so cute, but his character is weird. It's so fucking annoying. Like it's not cute. And I think what makes for me, I think what makes Andy even more sexy is how nice he is to Shelley and how nice he is to Debbie. Like he's just like a nice guy. And you don't see that very often in people that, you know, are just going to be dispatched one by one. So why do they have to walk on his hands?
01:26:33
Speaker
Why? It's just it's his party trick. You know what? It reminds me of I have a gym in my complex here and I haven't been there forever. But when I did go, there would I would run on the treadmill and like there's weights around there, too. And there's like this big, huge bodybuilder guy that lives here. And like, I don't know, he's fucking like Russia or some shit. He's like doing gymnastics and that kind of shit. You know what I mean? Yeah. And like this guy,
01:27:00
Speaker
constantly does handstands all the time. And he does a handstand right behind the treadmill. And I cannot tell you as somebody who's like running on the treadmill how incredibly annoying it is to have somebody right behind you doing a head a fucking handstand. It's very discombobulating. Oh, it's awful. And so I'm watching this movie. I'm watching Andy. You know who I'm thinking of that fucking guy. And so I'm thinking the whole time. I hope you debt. I hope I want you to get killed right now. That's how I can't stand this guy.
01:27:28
Speaker
Two other things really quick and then we'll grade the we'll grade the movie. Sure. I Andy does have the typical I'll be right back line. Just want to throw that out there. I think it's funny that Debbie is reading a fangoria all about. Oh, it's so funny.
01:27:45
Speaker
who is the actual effects. It is like a meta moment, which I think is appreciated in these movies that are very surface level. I think that it's funny to have those little moments. A couple trivia things for you too that I thought were really interesting.
01:28:03
Speaker
Um, I did not know this. I know that Henry, Henry Manfredini did the music of course. Uh, but the theme was included on releases of the film soundtrack. And according to Manfredini became popular at gay clubs at the time. Well, if you remember for the first 50 episodes of this podcast, we used that music in our opener. We did. Um, I just didn't know it was going to be so popular for people that love to dance like disco Jason. Come on. True.
01:28:29
Speaker
Another thing too, I guess the decision to dress Jason in his signature hockey mask occurred during a lighting check on set. The film's 3D effects supervisor Martin Sadoff was a hockey fan and supplied a Detroit Red Wings goaltender mask to Steve Miner.
01:28:44
Speaker
which became the iconic mask for all time. Mm hmm. There are 12 kills in this movie. If you count Jason, which he doesn't die because obviously we're about to talk about part four. But if you count Jason, there's 13. So I thought that that was interesting. How about that? I don't know why these girls always want to get in canoes at the end of these fights. I literally wrote down my notes. We back in a canoe, y'all.
01:29:11
Speaker
But it is what it is. Maddie, what do you give Friday the 13th part three out of seven stripes for the gay old rainbow? Part three, I give it four stripes. And I said, I popping. You know what I mean? I said, while there are some weird camera tricks and some stiff acting from Rick specifically, I do love Chris Higgins and I love the fight that she gives Jason. I'm going to give this a five and a half. Well, there you go.
01:29:41
Speaker
Folks, that does it for Friday the 13th, part three, but never fear, we're back with part four in just a moment.
01:30:10
Speaker
Three times before, you have felt the terror. Known. The madness. Lived. The horror. But this is the one you've been screaming for. Friday the 13th, the final chapter.
01:30:38
Speaker
Jason is back. He moves like a shadow, dark and silent. Is that how you change your mind? He never utters a word. He doesn't even seem to breathe. Where the hell is the card scroll? Simply, mindlessly, mercilessly,
01:31:08
Speaker
But now, Jason's reign of terror is over. Friday the 13th. The final chapter. Jason's unlucky day.
01:31:26
Speaker
Alright, we're no longer at Higgins Haven. We're gonna go take a little sidestep over and visit the Jarvis family in Friday the 13th, the final chapter. Jason's back, and this is the one you've been screaming for.
01:31:41
Speaker
After the crystal-like massacres, Jason is pronounced dead and taken to the hospital morgue, where he is mysteriously revived, allowing his diabolical killing spree to continue, at the camp where the gruesome slaughtering began. But this time, in addition to terrified teenagers, he meets a young boy named Tommy, who has a special talent for horror masks and makeup, leading up to a horrifying, bloody battle. Has Jason finally met his match?
01:32:09
Speaker
Friday the 13th, the final chapter, was directed by Joseph Zito, written by Barney Cohen. Once again, Paramount Pictures. Trish is played by Kimberly Beck. Tommy by Corey Feldman. Rob by E. Eric Anderson. Sarah by Barbara Howard. Doug by Peter Barton. Jimmy by Crispin Glover. Paul by Alan Hayes. Samantha Judy Aronson. Tina and Terry were played by Camilla and Carrie Moore.
01:32:38
Speaker
Ted, played by Lawrence Monison, must be. Jason, played by Ted White, although he was not credited for it. The film is rated R, 91 minutes, obviously from America. We didn't write down the location. I think it's also Santa Clarita, to be honest. Came out April 13th, 1984. Same budget for this film, 2.2 million, and made about the same at 33 million. Andrew, your thoughts?
01:33:06
Speaker
So the final chapter, which I think a lot of people give a little bit of like, because it's called the final chapter, it actually is the final chapter in this story. So you know what? Everyone that get poo poo sense. Yeah, it is because we don't pick up later until like I think it's right 10 years later with Tommy Jarvis. I just wanted to get that out of the way because it does bug me when. Yeah, sure. Oh, it's not really the final chapter. And I'm like, well, for this story, it is.
01:33:33
Speaker
I really like this movie. I think that it's a fitting end to this kind of like part of the of the depiction of Friday the 13th and of Jason. I don't think it's as strong as part three if I'm totally being honest. I think there are way too many characters that we can't really sink our teeth into anybody because there's just so many of them.
01:33:58
Speaker
I think that this is Jason at his meanest. I think that he is fucking angry in this movie and it kind of shows in the way that he kills people. I think that this is one of the more gruesome entries into Friday the 13th and I have fun with this one. I have a lot of issues especially with the family unit and
01:34:21
Speaker
that we don't get a satisfying conclusion for that unit. We'll talk about it in a little bit. But overall, I have a lot of fun with this. I think that it's really cool that we bring Rob into the mix because he echoes back to part two because he's Sandra's brother when he's out there looking for her. I think that that's a nice little callback.
01:34:42
Speaker
Overall, I have fun with this movie. I will talk about the issues that I have in things to come. But overall, a nice little ending to a quadrility, if you will. What about you? Yeah, I feel, you know, the same, really. I think part four is it is interesting because like I just think there's some stuff that we could do without if I'm being honest and like
01:35:11
Speaker
One of them right off the bat is the doctor at the beginning, uh, under Axel or whatever his fucking name was. I love that nurse though. I love all the shit she gives. The nurse is great, but the doctor is just like, I was thinking about like, why, why are we making these choices?
01:35:27
Speaker
And like, you know, I get it's like archetypes and everything else. But at the same time, I was just like, he, when you meet the doctor, he is carrying the sandwich that must have so much mayonnaise on it or whatever that it's like literally dripping off.
01:35:42
Speaker
Well, we get the classic corner that can't stop eating. It's just it's so it's so gross and set it down on the body and talking about like the girl being cute. And I'm just like the doctor is just so gross and like who's eating that much mayo on a sandwich and is he jacking off to jazzercise? Like just every everything about him is just so gross and like I get it. I guess that makes him easier to kill. We want him dead, you know, whatever. But I just I just thought
01:36:10
Speaker
I don't know why that bothered me so much, but it really bothered me. My favorite line in the opening kind of sequence in the hospital is when the nurse looks at Axel and she says, Axel, you are the Super Bowl of self-abuse. Yes, totally. Right. And God, when she starts to have sex with him, I'm like, why are you going to have sex with this disgusting person?
01:36:31
Speaker
And also when he jumps up and says, jumping Christmas, oh my God, I just, I hated him. So thank God, thank God he was dead. So I think that the film has a lot going for it. I think Corey Feldman is fantastic in this. This is probably the most star-studded cast we get without a doubt. And I think he is remarkably good in this. And I think I knew that before, but watching it again with a critical eye,
01:36:59
Speaker
just really well done, especially the end. Like he was a kid. And I also thought, God, is this is this the movie that fuck Corey Feldman up? You know what I mean? But also the friends.
01:37:13
Speaker
They don't make a lot of sense, do they? No. I mean, it almost seems like there's like two... This to me feels like there are two friend groups that are being forced together. And I'm just sitting there thinking, why? And every part with the friends is so awkward and...
01:37:33
Speaker
It just doesn't feel it just doesn't feel right. Every single time that they're that they're together. Do you know why? Do you know why I think that is why I think it's the twins fault. I think that Tina and Terry present a very malicious and manipulative energy into this friend group because they're the ones that break up Sarah and I think no, Paul, Sarah and Paul. Yeah.
01:38:00
Speaker
They're the ones that get in between the Crispin Glover and his friend. Yeah, they're they're always the ones stirring the pot. And I don't like it. And also like they do it like right in front of everybody like that. That was like made me so mad as I was like, right. Like Paul.
01:38:21
Speaker
Paul. They're literally right there. It's like literally fucking somebody in front of your wife. You know what I mean? I just thought that was so weird and it didn't make a lot of sense to me. And that being said, I still liked some of them. I really loved Teddy. I thought Teddy was really funny and he wasn't bad for the role. And Crispin Glover
01:38:47
Speaker
Oh, my God. What a what a fucking weirdo. I know such a weird role. It doesn't and it doesn't make. Well, I mean, actually, no, it does make sense. I don't know why I was going to say that. I mean, it makes perfect sense. He's a he's there. He's supposed to be playing a sex starved teenager who knows no idea of what he's doing with it. Right. So that all makes sense. But it's just like iconic dancing, though. You got it. It was like it was like he was like the original Elaine for God's sake. Yeah, seriously. Oh, my God. You're totally right.
01:39:17
Speaker
Oh, absolutely terrible. And the whole dead fuck thing actually was kind of a funny trope throughout the... Oh, I hate using the word trope. It was a funny motif throughout the entire movie. Look, lots of other details. The movie, once again, it's sort of like part three in a way for me, but with a very different slant.
01:39:34
Speaker
The parts with the friends, I'm just less into it. But the parts without the friends, I'm all into it. The whole Rob thing is fucking cool. I love Rob. Oh my God, I love him. And the brother and sister thing, I love it. It's really, really good stuff. I was thinking, could we have this movie without the friend group? Could that work if it were just that?
01:40:00
Speaker
And I almost wish that there was an experiment where I could see it happen because I just didn't want any of the friends anymore.
01:40:05
Speaker
Yeah. Um, some people that I noticed that are on screen, obviously we have Crispin Glover, we have Corey Feldman, but then I also was like, oh, Peter Barton, we, he was in hell night. So we just, yeah, not too long ago. And then also, uh, is it Sarah? Yeah, Sarah, uh, was in weird science. She was one of the romantic interests in weird science. So I just thought that that was interesting.
01:40:30
Speaker
So good. Just like just like Vera in this movie, I wanted more or in the last movie, sorry, I wanted more Sarah because I think the Sarah Samantha relationship is really interesting. Yeah. And because like Sarah is kind of like the provocative one and the one that's having sex and Samantha is kind of played off as like the Virgin, like type of character.
01:40:52
Speaker
I just I liked their relationship and I liked how they played off of that. It's a funny thing. Watching these movies back to back is you start to see kind of the sequence of things like whenever girl is given a lot of screen time at the beginning. Yeah, they're likely going to be the first one that dies. Yeah. So and I did read in some of the trivia that Sarah, who dies on the raft, who gets kind of the Kevin Bacon death, you know, through the sure skin.
01:41:21
Speaker
Um, she, uh, when they filmed that scene at night, it was so cold that she almost got hypothermia from filming that. Um, I think that, I think that Paul is maybe the most despicable character I've ever seen on screen. Paul sucks. And I wish he didn't because he is a cute guy, but that fucking guy sucks. Yeah. And you know what? When he gets speared in the Dick, I'm kind of like, okay with it.
01:41:50
Speaker
motherfucker. I think Ted White as Jason is really, really good in this. I think he brings a veracity and like I said at the beginning of this, he's just really angry in this movie. I think that Jason is like,
01:42:06
Speaker
Fuck Chris Higgins. She almost killed me. I am going out with a bang, you know what I mean? And I'm fucking corkscrewing people, pulling people through windows, just doing the whole damn thing. But I will say Jason covers way too much ground in this movie, because one time he's downstairs and the next time he's pulling somebody through a window upstairs. And I'm like, you're not that spry, Jason, for he's he's all over the place. You know, one thing that I thought about in this movie, too, when it when it came to the way that Jason killed
01:42:37
Speaker
is he displays everything now, you know, you know, he's got, he's got a Crispin in the door sort of crucified in a way. He's got the other person over here, person over here. And I was thinking, you know, do we ever really talk about Jason as a serial killer? I mean, he's very theatrical. Let's just say that. I mean, like, do you know what I mean? Like, I mean, once again, you're far more into the series than I am. Do you ever hear him just like talked about as a serial killer?
01:43:06
Speaker
Umm...
01:43:08
Speaker
I don't know. I guess I've never really paid attention. I think that we just always know Jason is the killer. You know what I mean? I don't know why it just struck me. You know, it's like, oh, look at how he displays everything now. And I mean, he's very theatrical. It's he's like a serial killer. I mean, even I and I forgot to point this out, but I do think that's funny that what the nurse gets excited when the morgue that she works at is mentioned on the news. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. But even during the news
01:43:37
Speaker
like commentary. I don't think they ever refer to him as a serial killer. I'm just trying to remember, but that's something that somebody to think about or something to pay attention to when on rewatch. And listen, I haven't really I have to I have two major things that I think that this movie just really drops the ball and and I'll get I'll get through it and then we'll go on to things that I really liked. But
01:44:01
Speaker
I don't know why Gordon is here. I completely agree with you. Yes, it makes no sense. I think Gordon is a lovely looking dog, but he is not there when he's not supposed to be and then automatically is there when he needs to be. And it's just, it doesn't make a lot of sense. His death, quote unquote, because I'm sorry, if Trish can jump out that window and take that tumble,
01:44:28
Speaker
then I'm sorry, Gordon can too. And so in my cannon, Gordon is alive. But I just, I don't understand the inclusion of the dog. It serves no purpose. It makes no sense. And I don't know why it's there. The other thing that I take a little bit of credence with is the, the off screen killing of the mother because she is such a prominent part of the
01:44:54
Speaker
beginning part of the movie. I don't I don't really understand that choice. Like why? Why? So there is a deleted scene where Trish finds her mom dead in the bathtub. OK. But at this at at the same time, we get some of the most brutal kills in the Friday the 13th series in this movie. And yet we off screen kill the mom and then we never see her for the rest of the movie.
01:45:22
Speaker
Makes no sense to me. I'm sorry. Filmmakers, you dropped the ball on the mom character and what she represented in the movie. That's just my take on it. I think it's I think it's odd. I think another thing in this film, too, that I noticed is that people just have such strange habits like and like the way I realize it was like, why is everyone like, do you take a shower at night?
01:45:48
Speaker
Well, I think it was. I think what that was meant to serve is that they just had sex and they were showering up for sex. But look at me like, do you shower at night? People are always showering at night in these motherfuckers. And I'm like, when's the last time I took a fucking shower at night? Who's got time for that? Just on the shower part, I did put something in my notes because I was like, damn, this water heater is
01:46:11
Speaker
big because it's fucking real. Seriously, it's like they're loving these showers. Jesus. And like, and like back to the kids themselves, like the whole like dance thing to like, what was everyone doing? Like that scene is so fucking weird. You you when you go into the scene, you've got the one couple making out on the stairs in front of everybody. And I'm like, what?
01:46:39
Speaker
What are you doing? That's so fucking weird. And then you've got Crispin Glover saying, would you care to dance?
01:46:45
Speaker
Who the fuck wants to dance? You're just sitting there. It's like you're not at a bar. You know what I mean? And just the whole thing is just so very awkward. I do really love it when Jason gets the corkscrew and is the comedic genius of Jason Voorhees. I love that Jason was waiting for that joke. It was perfect. And then who does he throw out the window shortly thereafter?
01:47:10
Speaker
I can't remember. I think it's. Oh my God. I wrote down or Terry. I can't remember when I tell you he launches her out that window and she fucking it's like she's in a ballet and she just goes out. I was laughing. I'm still laughing about it. I was laughing so hard and she and she hits that car. Oh, and the car just like implodes. Basically, it was hilarious. That's the other thing is so.
01:47:40
Speaker
We we are meant to believe that so I can't I literally can't remember which twin leaves and which one stays. I think Tina is the one that one of them being honest. The fact that they do not hear her get impaled on the side of the house. Thank you is inexplicable to me. Come on, everybody. That's you know, the suspension of disbelief there, I think.
01:48:03
Speaker
I also wrote down how Jason gets so fucking strong. Like, how are you that strong? He literally just got an axe to the head in the last movie. How is he still going? My Jesus God Almighty. And then I will say, oh, the girl gets hit with an axe at the door. I was like, oh, you got done, dirty girl.
01:48:22
Speaker
And then what I will say about her is I don't know how she I do not know how she folds her towel to stay on. Girl, girl, you got some talents there because she is running in that towel. Now, let's talk about Rob's death. Right. Rob's death is the is like the craziest one because he is just screaming. He's killing me. He's killing me. He's killing me. And I was like, oh, my God. And then I sat there and I.
01:48:49
Speaker
I started to think about death, Andrew. And I was like, oh, my God, when I die, is that what I'm going to be saying? I'm dying. You know what I mean? That is just that scene was harrowing. Listening to him scream. He's killing me over and over again.
01:49:05
Speaker
Yeah. The other one that I really like felt for was Doug when he's in the shower. And he he does have like a little bit of a homophobic joke where he's like, oh, Polly, Polly, Polly, drop my bar of soap. You want to get in here with me? And I was like, well, Peter Parton, maybe he does because you're a very attractive man. Yeah. Listen, maybe it was actually just a funny little invitation. He wanted it.
01:49:30
Speaker
Seriously, but when he gets his head basically just crushed in, I was like, there is no worse way to go. I don't know. Oh, God. I get serious. I would hope that I would die quickly, but I don't think you die quickly right there when Jason chases them into the bedroom and the ugly bookcase does not stop him. Go figure. Why? Why would that stop him?
01:49:52
Speaker
And she get his head in a damn computer monitor. I know. Come on. And it's like and like also when she picking that thing up, like, I mean, think about computers of yesteryear. They're not, you know, what we have now. And even and this is even older because it was 84, for God's sake. That monitor had to be heavy as fuck. Yeah. She picking that thing up like it's nothing. I was like, damn girl. Yeah. And for you.
01:50:19
Speaker
Honestly, and, you know, Friday, the 13th fans might hate me for this, but I think I think Trish is one of the more unlikable final girls, if I'm being totally honest. I mean, she does give a good run at the end. She really does. Yeah. But what she what frustrates me about Trish is she's in the house with the where the vacationers are. And that's when Rob is killed. And so she runs back
01:50:47
Speaker
and goes to the Jarvis house where Tommy is. And then when Jason comes in, she runs back to the other house and I'm like, girl, make a decision. Like where are we staging this final fight? Because like you got, you got to make a decision for Jesus. You have to decide. Yeah. And, and ultimately like at the end of the day, she really isn't even the final girl. Tommy Jarvis kind of is.
01:51:11
Speaker
You're right, because he's the one that really puts Jason down at the end of the day. And finally, I'll just say really quick, he takes a play out of Amy Steele's book from, you know, from part two, where he kind of like plays with his psychological psychology and dresses up as him as a kid. But what Tommy Jarvis does and what they play off is psychosis at the end, because I don't particularly love the last frame of this movie. I don't either.
01:51:41
Speaker
What they play off of psychosis is what I would do because I'm sorry, if I see those fingers moving, I am going to stab forever. I'm going to continue to hack away at this man until he has no head, no arms, no legs, no feet, no liver. I don't know. I mean, it's what you're screaming for everyone to do in every horror movie, which is make sure they're dead.
01:52:06
Speaker
Yeah. And so the fact that go and so the fact that they have that last I think that this movie would have been far better if they would have just ended with him hacking Jason up and just being like spit on you. You're done. Good night. Yeah. But they have to add on this hospital scene where Tommy is now basically being set up to be
01:52:31
Speaker
It's the classic part four because even in Halloween four, you get What's Her Face as potentially the new killer. I don't like this motif of survivorship equals
01:52:49
Speaker
that you're going to repeat the violence, if that, you know what I mean? I don't think I'm putting it. I'm not putting it exactly how I want to say it, but you'll you'll you understand. I think I think I think that will make sense to people, too. I mean, yeah, I think that's a bit of a silly thing to imply.
01:53:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, but so you get raped, you're gonna go rape somebody, you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or, or, you know, or the classic thing, you get molested, you're gonna go molest somebody. I mean, like, these are things that aren't real, right? And like we, well, you know, there may be some proclivities that occur or certainly trauma that happens is what I really should say there. I think it's a big stretch to do it the other way.
01:53:29
Speaker
I totally agree. Um, I did appreciate the, there's a small effect in this that I thought was really gross. Um, and then we'll leave it at that, but it's where, um, the initial shots of the machete to the head. And then when Jason falls down and slides, like legitimately difficult to watch.
01:53:51
Speaker
It is. It's a great effect, but it is really gross to watch. But yeah, overall, what do you think about Friday the 13th, the final chapter? Yeah, I gave it a four again and I said the friend group just doesn't make sense. Take them out. And honestly, we'd have a great movie.
01:54:10
Speaker
And I said the family dynamic that this one brings is interesting. And this is obviously the most star studded cast, but something about the friend group just feels off sometimes. And we both have the same idea there. Well, folks, I gave it a, oh, sorry. And I gave it a 4.5. Sorry about that. I forgot that, um, folks that does it for our final film, which is the final chapter. Um, we'll be right back with our, uh, with our final game of the episode, which is hottie of the episode.
01:54:45
Speaker
All right, that does it for episode 107. Hope you enjoyed listening to our Friday the 13th content on your lovely Friday the 13th. But before we go,
01:54:59
Speaker
We always got to play, because we're a horror podcast, we always got to play a game at the end. It's just like what you do as a horror podcast. But tonight we are playing hottie of the episode, which if you don't know, it's very, very complicated game where we pick out who we think is the hottie.
01:55:20
Speaker
the episode terribly complex game here. It's really hard. We've been doing it since episode one. We're going to continue to do it forever and ever. Until episode 1000. We're still doing this at 1000. Please take my microphone away.
01:55:38
Speaker
Maddie, who is your hottie of the episode? Tough choice, but in the end, it does have to go to Crispin Glover, actually. I think he has a just like a youthful charm to him, even as weird as he fucking is. And look, he's just cute. I can't help it.
01:55:58
Speaker
And in no surprise, I am going with Andy depicted by Jeffrey Rogers. Andy, you can do handstands in my dreams for the rest of time. You can do handstands on my dick. How about that? Uh, don't know how that would work.
01:56:14
Speaker
But I don't know either, just sounded like the right thing to say. Folks, that was episode 107 of Friday the 13th podcast. Thank you for joining us, especially if this was your first time with us. Go back and listen to some others. You can have fun by going back to all 106 other episodes, if you'd like, plus a bunch of bonus shit that we did a long time ago.
01:56:33
Speaker
Um, some housekeeping for you really quick, uh, folks, if you want to support Friday, the 13th, which is a proud independent podcast, you can do that. You can buy merchandise or you can, you can become a patron on patreon by going to Friday, 13.com slash support.
01:56:51
Speaker
Yes. And like I say, in almost every episode, if you thought this conversation was worth just $1, if you, the last two hours of your life was worth $1, we would really appreciate if you could go onto Patreon and subscribe. I realize that's not, it's not, it's not for everybody. Totally get it. But the other thing you can do that's free,
01:57:12
Speaker
is leave a review that could be on Spotify, that could be on Apple Podcasts, that could be on the good pods, that could be on literally anywhere where you listen to this. Or even just tweeting about it, you know what I mean? Or writing about it on Facebook, whatever. Literally anything that you can do to spread the word about the show, we are so thankful and listen.
01:57:37
Speaker
We do this for almost free. So I need you to at least do that. If you're into podcasts, think about all the podcasts that you listen to. Most likely, the ones that you are really into or the ones that you listen to all the time are ones that, go figure, your friends told you about. So people get this stuff from word of mouth and then they go check it out and then they look at the review and they go, okay, I'll listen to it.
01:58:05
Speaker
It's like the number one thing for people like us to do this. So if you can do that, it really does help because we want to build our audience even bigger and bigger and bigger. And why is that? Because we think we have the loveliest audience on earth. People who care about each other.
01:58:20
Speaker
People who are really into horror movies, obviously. People who care about the world and they want to listen to different perspectives and learn how to do things in a better way, maybe. And that's a special group to be a part of. So the more people we can get like that, maybe we'll change the world for the better. You never know, even in a little tiny small way. For sure.
01:58:38
Speaker
Well, I hope you had a great Friday the 13th and, you know, no ladders were involved. Be careful out there. We figured it out and we had no final destination in our life today. But we will leave you with one, one little thing, and that is for you to get slayed.