Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
🎲 Episode 160: BOARD GAMES ARE TERRIFYING 🎲
382 Plays10 days ago
Do NOT touch the planchette.
This week, Matty & Andrew are rolling the dice on board game horror — from the real-life Ouija board possession case that inspired The Exorcist, to the brief and genuinely unsettling history of board games that have ended in actual murder (Yahtzee, we're looking at you), to a close reading of games so offensive they were banned outright.
And then we watched some movies. 🍿🎲
🎬 OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL — Mike Flanagan does the impossible and makes a Hasbro prequel genuinely terrifying. 1967 Los Angeles. One very bad Ouija session. A nine-year-old girl who will haunt your dreams.
🎬 BEYOND THE GATES — Two brothers clean out their missing dad's video store and find a VCR board game that may hold the key to his disappearance. The concept? *Chef's kiss.* The execution? We have notes.
Plus: Horror in Real Life, Whatcha Been Watchin' Bitch, and a closing game of making classic board games gay and horror-themed (you're going to want to play along).
🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!
💸 Support the show: frigay13.com/support
🖤 Welcome to our new patron, James!
#FriGay13 #BoardGamesAreTerrifying #horrorpodcast #lgbtqpodcast #queerpodcast #OuijaOriginOfEvil #BeyondTheGates #MikeFlanagan #BarbaraCrampton #horrorcommunity #getslayed #horrorpodcasts #queerhorror #gayhorror #ouijaboard #VHShorror
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Board Game Discovery
00:00:00
Speaker
You literally said love a good board game. I meant Scrabble. I meant Clue. did not mean whatever this is. The box says the gates.
00:00:12
Speaker
i meant scrabble i meant clue i did not mean whatever this is the box says beyond the gates it was in the It was in the back of the closet.
00:00:23
Speaker
Why does the box feel warm? It probably just as batteries or something. Board games do not have batteries, Andrew. This one does have a VHS tape. Hard pass. Absolute hard pass.
00:00:36
Speaker
It says insert tape to begin. oh it's already in the VCR. Why is it already in the VCR? First of all, why do we have a VCR? And someone was clearly watching it.
00:00:48
Speaker
Who was watching it? the Well, that I guess the previous owners this house. I hate this. I hate every part of this. Who are the previous owners now? According to the listing, unknown. Oh my God. Oh my God.
00:01:04
Speaker
Just one game. It says if you win, we'll collect all the four keys. Well, what happens if we don't collect the keys? It says you will be claimed.
00:01:15
Speaker
Claimed by who? the The woman um on the TV is is staring at me. She's staring at me. She's staring at both of us. She's smiling.
00:01:27
Speaker
That's not a good smile. That's an I've been waiting for you smile.
Podcast Milestone Celebration
00:01:31
Speaker
It's game night. It is not game night. This is a trap. It's episode 160. Board games are terrifying.
00:01:42
Speaker
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.
00:01:56
Speaker
Faithified we ought to be from life to death to rise. Horror in real life. Doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong.
00:02:09
Speaker
Horror in the movies. are going go? Where are you going to run? Where are going to hide? Nowhere.
00:02:24
Speaker
Why do we want it? Let's go! What you waiting for, huh? What you waiting for? I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. Sometimes.
00:02:44
Speaker
It's Mall Madness! The new shop till you drop game that really talks! fail at the fashion It's all the fun of a shopping spree! With Mall Madness you get it all! A bank account and your own credit card! Mall Madness really talks! To win, buy everything on your list and be first out of the mall!
00:03:04
Speaker
Mall Madness, the electronic shopping game that really talks! From Milton Bradley, it's the mall with it all! Welcome back to another episode of Fry Gay, the 13th Horror Podcast. My name is Matty.
00:03:19
Speaker
And I'm Andrew. And if this is your first time with us on Fry Gay, the 13th Horror Podcast, welcome to the podcast that explores horror, horror in real life and in the movies from an LGBT perspective. And folks, we are back with you for our 160th episode.
00:03:37
Speaker
um Andrew, remember when it was just 150?
00:03:41
Speaker
140 before that? 130? 100? Remember when we just had 10 of these? Now we've got 160. No, always get excited when we get to a new 10. Yeah, it just like makes me excited. like I'm like, we did it we can We keep going. and and like it's like it's like... It's like a new decade or something, you know, it's yeah crazy. we're but We're in the 160s now, everybody. Who knows what'll happen? Probably the exact same thing we've been doing for eight years, quite frankly. um So listen, welcome back, everybody. hope you're having a um hope you're having a great time wherever you are in the world. um and You're not.
00:04:19
Speaker
Yeah, right. Exactly. Andrew, how
Global Issues Discussion
00:04:21
Speaker
how are you doing? What's going on with you? um I'm doing pretty good um in general. I mean, obviously, the state of the world right now is very, very awful. And I i feel so bad for literally the entire Middle East. I don't know like how to even...
00:04:42
Speaker
fathom what they're going through because like if Americans eat could even understand what it would be like to have a bomb go off literally anywhere in the United States like they wouldn't even they wouldn't even fathom it but literally these people have to put up with it every day and I can't understand what that must be like and I hate that I have to think about it Yeah, it's, um it's, it is pretty wild that like the reason why we have another war is just so that Trump could cover up what a fucking disgusting creep he is. Like, it's just, it's, it's unfathomable.
00:05:24
Speaker
It really is. um I agree with you. I feel the same way. And um have you heard anything about the fuel protest in Ireland right now, Andrew? No, I haven't. Oh, man. And this is this is off topic, folks. But just to give you a little taste of what's going on over here, um it's crazy over here right now. So like the the the the price of fuel, obviously, across the entire globe is affected by what's happening in Iran and the entire Middle East and the Straits of That doesn't need to happen, by the way Exactly. right Precisely. But um you've got a bunch of people here.
00:05:59
Speaker
Who, um you know, look, the the the the cost of living living in Ireland is very high. It's gone up substantially, whether it's housing, whether it's food, whether it's fuel, it doesn't matter what it is. It's ah it's it's a very expensive country to live in, let alone visit.
00:06:16
Speaker
um Take it from somebody who's lived here for five years now. ah But you've got some people that are very upset about the the cost of fuel and the taxes around fuel.
00:06:26
Speaker
And so there has been from from this is Saturday the 11th right now. Last Tuesday, ah there were ah that there there was a but you might call it a coalition really of farmers and haulers. So like truck drivers that have essentially shut the country down.
00:06:45
Speaker
And they are blocking the motorways. They are blocking major cities. Central Dublin is a parking lot, basically. um You can't get around on the buses, or or you can, but only in a very limited way. ah Our tram in in Dublin is called the Lewis, the L-U-A-S, and it's like ah it's like a a train, basically. um You can barely get around on that because it gets stopped because the main thoroughfare in Dublin, O'Connell Street, is blocked.
00:07:14
Speaker
It is crazy. yeah it's it's It's been a wild fucking week in Ireland. And, you know, I drive a car, getting around has been a bit of a nightmare. And um it's not stopping. It's not stopping. And what's crazy is like all these right wing people are obviously co-opting all the anger that's going on. And um I don't know, we'll see what happens. But it's um it's some pretty crazy stuff over here right now. I'm not going to lie. So it's just like,
00:07:43
Speaker
You know, that this dumb war that we don't even have to have is affecting so, so much.
Return to Board Games
00:07:51
Speaker
You know, not to mention, you know, the fuel prices alone here and the inconveniences here, just like you said, the innocent people that are being killed for no reason, literally no reason.
00:08:04
Speaker
is just astounding. It's just, it's a sad, sorry state of things. It really is. Which is why we're coming to talk to you about board games today. yeah And so um that was that was a good transition, I think, right? You know, listen, Andrew and I have been media trained, you know, like we we know how to do this, folks. um Yeah, look, ah the world is ah is a pile of shit right now. We know that for sure. But one thing that we've always really appreciated on Friday day the 13th, and Andrew, I think you'll agree with me on this one, is that we we think about the really tough, weird, awful things in the world, and we also have a fun time doing it today. We have to. You you do
00:08:43
Speaker
you You have to laugh through some things sometimes. Yes. And you have to look at the audacity of some people's personalities and some people's thinking. 100% girl. And you have to just be like, this is ridiculous. And I just need to fucking step away from that and just have a little laugh or play a little game or do whatever. Like it's, yeah it's the only thing that will save us. poor Or just what we do on this podcast, watch a couple of horror movies that have exactly the same theme as what's going on right now. Yeah, that's what crazy. mean
00:09:22
Speaker
That's what we've been doing for eight years is helping people find their way through some weird and wacky shit in the world through through horror films and i'm really proud of that andrew i think i think we both should be and so you know look just a little thank you to all the community that that's that that has built ah but has has been built around this weird little podcast we've been doing for so long thanks everyone for staying with us and you know thanks for listening today too hope i hope you genuinely enjoy this despite the impending doom in the world moving on andrew ah we've we're talking about board games andrew
00:09:59
Speaker
What are some favorite board games of yours? Oh, gosh. um Some ones that I really loved as a child. Obviously, Clue is probably like my favorite like classic game. Clue's fucking awesome. What a great game.
00:10:12
Speaker
um I always liked the game of life. That was always By the way, do you know that over here, Clue is called Clued? Here's the thing. It's spelled C-L-U-E-D-O.
00:10:23
Speaker
Yeah, Cluedo. ah Well, here's the thing. I don't know if it's pronounced Cluedo or Cluedoo. Oh, i was I've always known it as Cluedo. I thought so too, but somebody recently said Cluedoo to me and I was like, wait a minute. Are you correct? I don't know. It's crazy.
00:10:41
Speaker
I've known some Canadians that do Cluedo. I think it's Cluedo too. I think it's Cluedo. Now, did you ever play the VCR game of Cluedo? never Never, no. Yeah, there was a VCR game. It was pretty interesting.
00:10:56
Speaker
um ah We'll talk about it. Okay, some ah some other favorite board games. a Game of Life. um Let's see here. If with the right people, I did like a Risk.
00:11:10
Speaker
Oh, I like Risk, yeah, yeah. With the right people, because some people take that search story a little so seriously. I know, I know, yeah. Um, and then let me think. Also, we are, we're including card games in this today too. We just are.
00:11:25
Speaker
Sure, yeah. um I also liked Electronic Battleship. Oh fuck yeah. Oh, do you mean, do you mean Rich Kid Battleship? Is that what you mean, Andrew? Yes, yes, yes. Because I liked when it would do the whole like, you hit my battleship.
00:11:39
Speaker
Boom. that whole thing um um But those were like probably my favorite of like the classics. I'm trying to think if there was any other... Oh, you know what when i I used to play with my aunt all the time was Othello.
00:11:55
Speaker
Oh, Othello was kind of like Go, right? Basically? Yeah. Yeah, it was like the black and white and you turn them over type of thing. What about you? um I like Scrabble for sure. Love Scrabble. Big, big Scrabble fan. i remember when we were young, my sister Lisa bought like the deluxe Scrabble game. Oh, I like travel Scrabble where you can click them in. Oh, travel Scrabble's great.
00:12:20
Speaker
um But like the the deluxe one was like a big like wooden board where like the stuff went inside. it we I thought it was like the fanciest thing in the world. Nice. um I love Scrabble. I love As we said, some card games, Uno, Skippo, love those games, always will. um Risk, you mentioned Risk, love Risk. I love being a little risque, you know what I mean? Battleship, love Battleship 2. I always wanted Electronic Battleship. In fact, I remember that being on my Christmas list many times and never getting it. um Thanks, mom. No, sorry. Exactly right. And um we'll be talking about this later on. But Nightmare loved Nightmare. um And that was ah you know the the VCR game that was called Nightmare, right?
00:13:07
Speaker
The original was called Nightmare, and then it transformed into Atmosphere. Into Atmosphere, right. um But Nightmare, I remember when my mom and I bought that in, I don't know, whatever store it was in, and we brought that home, we played that thing all the time. It became like a big family game. So we i I really loved that one. When I was a kid, of course, I loved Candyland and like stuff like that. But I'd say those are the main ones. I remember when when i was when I was obviously still young, um I really, really, really wanted this board game called Axis and Allies.
00:13:42
Speaker
And it was like... oh yeah, I remember that one. like It was like Risk, but like times a thousand, right? I think that became a video game too. Oh, I'm sure it did. And like I got this game and of course no one ever played it with me. You know what mean? So I got this expensive board game that my mom was probably like, why the fuck am I buying this for you?
00:14:00
Speaker
um And I literally never played it with anybody. I just had all the pieces that I thought it was cool. That's stupid. Dumb. um And I want to talk a little bit about atmosphere because this was like a game that like transformed my life.
00:14:16
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, it was fucking awesome. Oh, i know what you know what? Just really quick. I should say in my teens, I did get into Dungeons and Dragons too. And I was more of a magic, the gathering kid. oh but And, and I love magic. the together i I loved all that shit. Cause I was so into like science fiction and fantasy and all that kind of shit. I loved it. And we had we had a little group in Hobart that would play D and d and it was, fun it was awesome. It was really, really cool.
00:14:43
Speaker
Yeah, we'll we'll talk a little bit more about Dungeons and Dragons in a little bit with one of my stories that I have. Perfect. um But yeah, so i listen, we had this store in the mall.
00:14:55
Speaker
um I can't remember what it was called, but it was like this. so It was like the where the swords were, where the candles were, where like the like Spencer's or something like that.
00:15:06
Speaker
It was not a Spencer's Gifts, but it was like, it was like where you would go to buy like spell books and candles. Yeah, sure. I miss stories like that, man. I do, honestly. And they had this game called Atmosphere and it was like, it was called Atmosphere the Harbingers.
00:15:24
Speaker
And I was I was scared of it at first, but I was like, let's, let's buy this. This is when my, this is when my mom was married to a man who had ah four kids. So when she was married to him, there was six of us. So it was kind of a yeah family. And, And so like this was a game that we I bought it and I listen, I've been doing this my entire fucking life. I had to educate everyone on what game we're playing. But but this is this is my so this is my toll in life is that I like to play games. So I have to like teach it to everybody. And so we we bought this game and it came with two VHS tapes, two VHS tapes. well my my god
00:16:05
Speaker
One was the instructions. You had to watch the instructions on a videotape. And then the second one was what you would put in while you played the game. And so you you basically, the the point of this game is that you would pick a character. i would always be the deceased little baby.
00:16:22
Speaker
i can't remember her name right now. That's so wild. That's such a wild choice. But she was the, well, she was the poltergeist. And so that's what I wanted to be. But there was like a witch, there was a mummy, there was like all these different like things. remember Elizabeth Bathory was one of them. that Yeah, the vampire. area Yeah, yeah.
00:16:40
Speaker
And so you had to like go around in this game was so complicated. Like there was gates and there was cards and there was yeah dice and like you. And also you're against the time on the on the screen because all the while it's only a 60 minute game because there's a VHS tape with clouds and thunder and everything going. And there was a gatekeeper and every once in a while he would go stop.
00:17:05
Speaker
Whose turn is it next? And then he would give you like, it's mine gatekeeper. yeah And then he would give you like a consequence and like, sometimes it was good. Sometimes it was bad. And you would just go on with this. And I was obsessed with it.
00:17:19
Speaker
And I, I think I ran that tape ragged. Like truly. And I would, and I would, I would love to know if there's anything out there like that now where you kind of like play against a clock on like, there's gotta be like a YouTube or something, right. Of like a game where somebody's gotten out there right now for sure.
00:17:38
Speaker
Yeah. um But yeah, i board games were such a quintessential thing like growing up in like the 80s and 90s. Oh, yeah. That's how we entertained ourselves. But I want to talk a little bit about when board games go bad.
Dark Side of Board Games
00:17:55
Speaker
Oh, my God. Andrew, tell me, please. All right. The first one I want to talk about is a Yahtzee experiment.
00:18:04
Speaker
Yahtzee was a huge thing in our family. Did you play Yahtzee as a kid? um We didn't have Yahtzee at the house. I remember that at my aunt's house, ah she had a Yahtzee set or or but we know whatever you want to call that. And so we would play Yahtzee over there, I remember, but we never had Yahtzee. It wasn't a thing for us.
00:18:24
Speaker
Yahtzee and Farkle. Loved them both. What was Farkle? What's Farkle? It's another dice game. um i don't know that one. How do how do you play Farkle? um So it's basically you roll dice and it's the equivalent of the amount of, I think, fives and threes that you get. It's complicated. I'm not going to explain it all. But like it's it'ss it's another dice game, essentially. Gotcha. gotcha So with Yahtzee, keep in mind, it's Christmas Day 2010.
00:18:52
Speaker
two thousand and ten Minnesota muner mother of three, Tamara Lee Mason, decided it might be fun to spend the day with her three sons, 17-year-old Jacob, 18-year-old Andrew, and 25-year-old Dylan, playing Yahtzee.
00:19:07
Speaker
The boys disagreed strongly. Jacob objected so strongly to the request, in fact, that he covered her head with a plastic bag and choked her with a belt. I'm sorry, what the fuck? Are you fucking kidding me?
00:19:23
Speaker
However, Mason's other two sons did not come to her aid. Mason had rolled a three of a kind, which set off her youngest. Then Dylan and Andrew helped Jacob place her body in a trash can to store until the ground was soft enough to bury her.
00:19:40
Speaker
When her remains were eventually discovered decomp decomposing in the backyard, the jig was up. Jacob was faced with second degree charges. His brother were charged with accessory after the fact.
00:19:52
Speaker
Holy shit. Of Yahtzee. So are they hopefully, like, are they going to be thrown off a bridge anytime soon? Is it that kind of thing? I mean, that's that's really fucking awful.
00:20:05
Speaker
I guess that that that brings up the other fact. Are you very competitive when it comes to, like, these kind of games? I mean, here's the thing. I'm not...
00:20:16
Speaker
competitive about most things. If I'm being real, the the only person that I'm ever really competitive against is myself, which is why I like running or why I like the occasional game of golf or whatever.
00:20:27
Speaker
Like when it comes to like team sports that I'm a part of, I like to watch sports, but like team sports that I'm a part of, I'm kind of like, no, or even like in like games like this, like I rather just have more fun than like win. It's not that important to me.
00:20:44
Speaker
I'm kind of the same way. I think it's who I'm playing against that makes me competitive. Yeah. Like if it's just like a fun, like group of like group of friends or like whatever, like I, I, I'm totally like, whatever. I don't really care about winning, but like there are certain people that I'm like, I will win.
00:21:04
Speaker
Beat you. You know, I i think for me, um there is a brother-in-law that I have, ah unfortunately, currently, and I absolutely fucking hate him. And I'm not joking. I absolutely hate this person. um He's probably he's probably like one of the only like three people in the world that I actually, like, lividly hate. And he was such a fucking dick when we were young about like playing Scrabble. Sure. he would And he would like make up rules and like make up shit. And we'd be like, you're like you're fucking making that up. But he like for him, winning was so important.
00:21:39
Speaker
I think I saw that early enough in my life that I was like, you know what? You absolute fucking monster of a man. i never want to be like you ever. Yeah, I understand. Because that's the thing is when people get too competitive over a board game, I'm like, bro.
00:21:53
Speaker
It's a fucking board game. Like if we're not having fun, what's the point? You know, like, come I'm totally I'm totally in your same lane. Right. Like when I when I see people that are too competitive, even honestly, even in like professional sports. Yeah. It's like, dude, get a job over it. I don't know. Yeah, like, come on You're fucking like throwing a ball, dude. Shut up.
00:22:15
Speaker
Yeah. All right. The next one, ah the next game that ends in tragedy is chess. Game. Yeah. Emphasis on the gay. are are Are you a big chess player? do you know how to play chess?
00:22:28
Speaker
Oh, chess. Okay. So I got a chess set a couple years ago um and I bought a book on chess because I wanted to get better at chess. And um I'm not great at chess. I know a couple of things in chess. Like I know a couple of like opening moves and like how to do this, how to do that. Other than that, not really.
00:22:49
Speaker
um So yeah, i I, I, but I want to be, i want to be good at chess. I don't know. Yeah, there's a documentary out there right now about chess that I i really want to watch. What is it?
00:23:01
Speaker
i have to look it up for you, but um it's all about like this like very big like chess expert, but then he gets challenged by like this internet chess person, and the internet chess person might be cheating, but... ah So I want to watch it, but like, I've always been fascinated by like the whole world of chess, like, and like how it, like, I don't know like, why is it so popular? And oh now people make money off of it. i don't know. it It's a very strange world. Not to mention the musical chess. Thank you very much. Yeah, but this one is a chess match that ended in tragedy.
00:23:37
Speaker
Hell yeah. ah Though it's typically thought of as an intellectual intellectual game for the highly sophisticated, chess has led to a number of deaths throughout the years, and not only the prison yards and city parks where it had become popular. In 2008, Michael A. Stewart of Iowa City, Iowa, was allegedly dispatched by a neighbor, David Christian, after a chess game went awry.
00:24:03
Speaker
I hate that word. all right it's very awry It's very hard for me to say. I know. It's okay, Andrew. Reportedly, both men had been heavily drinking.
00:24:15
Speaker
Who is drinking and playing chess? That's crazy to me. I mean, if I'm being real, life maybe maybe I'll get better at chess if I do. That might be the key, actually. um The men started arguing over the game and a physical altercation ensued. Subsequently, Stewart passed during the fight.
00:24:33
Speaker
Oh God, he died during the fight and Christian called it an unintentional occurrence that later took a plea bargain. What the fuck? How does that even That's very weird. um another death over chess occurred in 2001.
00:24:47
Speaker
An Ohio prison, an inmate named Christopher Newton terminated his cellmate, Jason Brewer, ah during a game. i i love how this piece talks about like how people are hard killed. It's like they terminated them. Yeah, I know. It's hilarious.
00:25:03
Speaker
I think I got this off Rancor. That's yeah my, ah during a game. someone Someone was using a thesaurus when they were writing this one. Yeah, though some believe Newton had committed the offense in hopes that he would receive the death penalty, Newton was later executed by the state of Ohio in 2007. So i mean all over taking your rook, wow they killed somebody. That's pretty crazy. Jesus.
00:25:27
Speaker
All right. And my last one, um should we do, i have two left, but let but I'll let you pick. Would you rather hear about Battleship or Dungeons and Dragons? I'd say D&D. Bring us on.
00:25:39
Speaker
All right. Dungeons and Dragons is a role-playing game which you create your own character. As a result, for those who love the game, it can be intense and some people can take it very, very seriously. Zachary Frank King was playing the game with Logan. Zach Frank, I hope you are listening to this right now. Oh, God, I did not even put that together. Zach, this person has your name and they're probably a crazy murderer. Oh, my God.
00:26:07
Speaker
He was playing the game with Logan Bryson and Daniel Shokryan in Cedar City, Utah. Shokryan was leading the game as the dungeon master. King took exception to what Shokryan was doing with his character. The next day, May 30th, 2009, King broke into Bryson and Shokryan's home and beat them in the head with a hammer while they slept. Neither men were killed, but both men were permanently injured.
00:26:38
Speaker
He pleaded guilty and was given two consecutive prison terms of five years to life. Five years to life? that's a What kind of sentence is that? That's a pretty, hey, listen, I'm going to charge you for this bag of peanuts. It's going to be between $1 and a million dollars. Seriously. Get ready for that. um that's That's wild. um You know, look, d d of I mean, thank God we were never that crazy about D&D. I mean, we had so much fun playing it. I i do remember there was, um I had a summer job at at ah at a at a county park and there was a guy that worked there who was like a teacher
00:27:17
Speaker
I forget his name now. um But like, you know, he was obviously a lot older but that than us. And he was always just like a little bit off. Like he had like, he had like some fucking anger issues, man. But like, he he once invited me. He's like, oh yeah, we've we've got a D&D, you know, group that plays. I was like, yeah you know what, why not? I'll come play, sure.
00:27:35
Speaker
And I remember that guy being super crazy about D&D and thinking, yeah, I'm never fucking coming back to this ever again. And I did not. hi Yeah, like life or death D&D. Yep. See, yeah like once again, if it's not fun, I'm not sticking around, dude. Like life is short.
00:27:51
Speaker
Stop fucking like, stop it, dude. Stop. we're We are a little too young to remember the true, like, satanic panic around D&D. Oh, yeah, sure. But, like, it it was an epidemic of, like, D&D was the devil. Like, sacrifice. grafi You become the devil. Like, it's so so it's so stupid. So dumb.
00:28:13
Speaker
But it's, but, Maddie, it's coming back. This like Christian pan panic. Well, Christian panic. I'll just call it that is coming back. Like it's it's well, yeah I I has and I said, I said, like, i I think we might be better calling it like Christian nationalist panic because yeah yeah that that's that is what has taken over America and is and is what is taking over a lot of Europe, too, right now.
00:28:36
Speaker
are these people who call themselves Christians who are not. And I agree. Like they're, they're complete. They're like, if you want to get real about like they're, they're idol worshipers themselves. Like these people like literally worship Donald Trump.
00:28:48
Speaker
So like, you know, you ain't got shit to say, motherfucker. Not a fucking thing to say. Like Andrew, that's pretty crazy shit. Yeah, the the fucking fact that JD Vance is now writing a book about his his path back to Catholicism. I'm just like, shut the fuck up. Okay, so did you know that that that the the book cover for that book um it has this like church on it and like there's behind it. Yeah, it's a Methodist church. that It's a Methodist fucking church. And let me tell you, as someone who was raised Catholic and is still culturally Catholic in many ways, like,
00:29:23
Speaker
like it there is no one more annoying than a convert to Catholicism. No one more annoying because they are so zealous that they get so into it about the Latin and the this and the that. And I'm like, boy, you ain't know shit about being Catholic. Like you don't know a fucking thing. And like,
00:29:40
Speaker
yeah like They get so weird about like the Crusades and that shit. And I'm like, yeah, that's not how like modern Catholics think. that That's not it at all. In fact, like like listen, the church has a lot of problems. Don't don't get me wrong. But like the modern Catholic church is actually really focused on like workers' rights and like you know this and that. like it's It's more liberal than like we might think. And like I know I'm saying a lot there. Trust me.
00:30:06
Speaker
But like, look, who's the leader of of that church, like literally speaking out against Trump and against the war? You know what i mean? There you go right there. Pope Leo, not fucking JD Vance thinking he's the fucking Pope himself or fucking Pete Hegseth, that fucking whiskey drinking fucking piece of garbage. Oh my God.
00:30:27
Speaker
Oh, God, biology, please go faster. that i know. I don't know. Come Like, I'm not going to say anything else because Lord knows. But like Jesus, like biology, do your thing.
Controversial Board Games
00:30:38
Speaker
um Andrew, do you know about another little board game called the Ouija board? I think we'll talk about it a little bit later. But yes, we've we've had we've we've actually done an entire episode on Ouija boards. Have you ever played a Ouija board before?
00:30:53
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. me too. I've made a Ouija board before. say maybe Have you ever played it in a graveyard before? um I don't think so. Oh, I did once. I did once with Michael, your husband, um in Step Cemetery in Bloomington, Indiana.
00:31:11
Speaker
Crazy. Absolutely crazy. um But Andrew, thinking about, you know, listen, the Ouija board for some people is a board game, right? And you know about the case of Roland Doe and the Ouija board. Have you heard about this before?
00:31:27
Speaker
I think I have. It is the basis of a little movie called The Exorcist. Perhaps you've heard of it, my favorite horror film of all time. So listen, in January 1949, 13-year-old boy from Cottage City, Maryland, known only by the pseudonym Roland Doe to protect his identity, began exhibiting behavior so disturbing that his family called in the Catholic Church.
00:31:51
Speaker
And what followed was one of the most extensively documented alleged possession cases in American history. and the direct inspiration for William Peter Bellatty's novel, The Exorcist, and of course, the 1973 film. Roland had been close with his aunt Harriet, a spiritualist who introduced him to the Ouija board.
00:32:13
Speaker
When Harriet died in January 1949, Roland reportedly tried to contact her through the board. Shortly afterward, strange events began. Scratching sounds appeared in the walls and ceiling of the family home.
00:32:27
Speaker
Objects moved without explanation. The boy's mattress reportedly shook while he was in it. Furniture slid across the floors. Roland began speaking in a guttural, altered voice and displayed what witnesses described as impossible physical strength." The family, Lutheran by faith, initially sought help from their minister, who in turn referred them to a Jesuit priest at Georgetown.
00:32:54
Speaker
The case was then handed to a team of Jesuit priests, most notably Father William Bodern, who performed over 30 separate exorcism rites over a period of several weeks in Maryland, then St. Louis, Missouri, where the family relocated, hoping a change of environment would help.
00:33:12
Speaker
During these sessions, witnesses documented extraordinary occurrences. The mattress lifting off the bed, Roland speaking Latin phrases he had no way of knowing, words and symbols appearing scratched into his skin.
00:33:26
Speaker
One of the most chilling accounts describes the word Lewis appearing raised on Roland's skin, which the priest interpreted as a direction to travel to St. Louis.
00:33:37
Speaker
The case was finally declared resolved in April 1949, And Roland went on to live an apparently normal life. He has never publicly confirmed his identity or spoken about the events. That's interesting. William Peter Blatty, who was studying at Georgetown during the case, read a 1949 Washington Post article about the exorcist exorcism.
00:33:58
Speaker
and he spent years researching it before writing The Exorcist in 1971. The Ouija board, a relatively minor element of the case, became central to the film's mythology, cementing in popular culture the idea that a talking board is a doorway the dead can walk through.
00:34:16
Speaker
Captain Howdy. So Andrew, just you know sort of harke i think a lot of our listeners probably know a bit about that story anyway, but it was kind of fun to to talk to to think about that again. it it was i hadn't really thought before about like, oh yeah, whatever actually happened to the real person. um i kind of wish that you know maybe maybe he's not even alive anymore, but wouldn't that be cool if he if the ah he had come forward? It would be so interesting to know more about him.
00:34:43
Speaker
I mean, if he was 13 in 1949, he's probably not alive anymore. Yeah, he did. it's It's just very interesting that like... it it And I've been talking about like culturally now, is that he wanted to keep this private and it it kind of became a thing through his church and like this all happened to him and everything. And I eventually ah went to the exorcist and everything, but like...
00:35:09
Speaker
he's still he's still be he He still became a private person. And like yeah nowadays, nowadays, that fucking shit would be a TLC show. it would be a oh girl It would be on HBO. It would be like on TikTok. It would be fucking everywhere. well i mean and And also like he he would be making a mint off of it, you know? like I mean, and at a certain point, you'd kind of be like, well, why aren't you making money off of this? To be honest, like go make the money, dude.
00:35:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's just crazy how much culture has changed. yeah You know, I will say this, and not not to get you know morose about it, but i used to have a real fascination with like the Ouija board and and everything else. And ah it it's not that I don't want to do it anymore because I'm scared about what would happen, but I i also sort of, maybe maybe especially now, I have a bit more of a respect for like,
00:36:03
Speaker
Well, maybe we should just let the dead rest. Do you know what mean? It's like, oh yeah I don't really need to know anything from them on a Ouija board. Like I i just, you know, if if if if it even is real, like I just, I just don't really need that. Like it's actually okay if I like just let you rest kind of thing. don't know.
00:36:23
Speaker
Well, i think I think that's like your being raised in capitalism of just like side hustles and doing this and doing that and doing this and doing that and doing everything and making money and do it. And you have to keep going. and You have to keep going. You have to have something else.
00:36:36
Speaker
It might be nice just to not. Yeah. Well, yeah. And like, you know, it's just, you know, it's like, it's like, you know, my mom just died. Like, you know, and like I said, maybe I have a new appreciation for it, but it's like, I'm kind of okay with her just being at rest. Like that's, that's okay. I don't need to like ask her some more questions now. Like I, I just don't. So I don't know. It's, it's, it's a weird thing. i don't feel the need to ever do it again is is what i I guess, what I guess I'm trying to say there.
00:37:06
Speaker
Well, and also like you kind of respect that she doesn't have to worry anymore. She doesn't have to like all that stuff. Like it's yeah it's the human existence. It's kind of crazy. Yeah, I agree. but I agree. um Do you want to talk a little bit about some banned board games? Oh, sure, please.
00:37:22
Speaker
I've never really thought about that before, that board games be banned. Yeah. ah So like I was thinking about when we but brought up the topic, I was like, are there any the any like games that have been like taken off the shelves like for some reason or other? And there are a couple that I found.
00:37:38
Speaker
So the first one is called Escape from Coldits. um That sounds like a real banger. Like, whoa, that sounds like fun yeah Keep in mind, this was released in 1973. I want you to remember that. 1973. Sure. Escape from Cold it's is a strategy game.
00:37:58
Speaker
Players can choose to either play as allies attempting to escape from a famous castle used as ah as a prisoner of war camp in 1939
00:38:07
Speaker
they can join the German team attempting to stop other players from being able to escape. The game was popular in the seventies as, ah as was a BBC TV show cold, it's, which is inspired by the game's creation.
00:38:23
Speaker
um Understandably, Escape from Golditz was caused a stir, especially in Germany. The original game had a swastika on the box. oop can't Can't do that in Germany. Can't do it.
00:38:34
Speaker
And the rules around Nazi memorabilia, particularly swastikas, are complicated in Germany. I like how they say complicated in Germany. It's true. and the yeah And the game was banned for this reason. But I find it crazy that this game was created 1973.
00:38:53
Speaker
when you think about when the the war was... it was barely, I mean, it was barely even 30 years old. but i know. Like, I mean, and you know, you would have had it would be like, i'm trying to think of a cognate here. It would be like a Vietnam game coming out in like...
00:39:13
Speaker
Well, no, it would be like someone being like, escape from 9-11. Well, yeah, honestly, yeah. It's a good point. Like, it's, I don't know. I don't think that, like, the Holocaust needs to be a game. Do you know what I mean? Like, which is, you know, but, you know, hearkening back to the game that I was talking about before when I was a kid, Axis and Allies, right? Which is like, it's basically risk, but like World War risk. Yeah.
00:39:41
Speaker
And, you know, a player could be the Nazis in that game. You could be, you could be Japan. You could be, forget how the game was exactly played, but like you could be America. You could be the, ah you could be the UK. You could be France.
00:39:55
Speaker
You could be the Nazis. You could be Japan. And i I think you could be like China or Russia, maybe something like that. exactly But like you could be the Nazis then, which is kind of crazy, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:08
Speaker
All my next band game is called Public Assistance. Oh, man, this is not going to be good. no Oh, no. um With the tagline, why bother working for a living? Oh, no. No. You can see why some people found Public Assistance offensive, a satire on the American welfare state. It's monopoly-like game that pits working people against able-bodied welfare recipients to see who can get the most money after taxes.
00:40:39
Speaker
Oh my God. After an outcry, including criticism criticism from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Patricia Harris, who called the out the game for being a racist and sexist, there was a complicated court case and some stores withdrew the game from sale. It was re-released years later. Secondhand copies can still be found online, but still some people find it distasteful. I don't even think we use distasteful in language anymore because that's ridiculous girl everything's distasteful now like come on listen if if i'm being honest if we're in the richest country in the world i welcome a welfare state everyone should get money a hundred fucking percent a and like and it i i have so as somebody who lives in a welfare state like people don't they don't understand what a welfare state even is they have no idea they have no idea
00:41:31
Speaker
It's also called just economy. I don't know. yeah it's it's it's It's actually just called helping people and like taking and like taking care of them. Yeah. And if you give people money, they'll spend it.
00:41:42
Speaker
Yeah. like look let's Look after people and guess what happens. They will they will be better. but that's That's how things work. Instead, starve. Instead, you know don't give them health care. and stay Let be sick. How about that? No big deal. We we like it when you die.
00:41:59
Speaker
Seriously. And my last... Banned board game is Serial Killer, the board game. i mean sounds like a This sounds like a good party game. Do you know what i mean? I feel like we would play this, honestly. And that's the thing is we would not even bat an eyelash about it. It would be fine.
00:42:16
Speaker
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Serial Killer of the Board Game raised some eyebrows when it was first published. A dark and twisted game and involved players traveling around the map of the US trying to kill people without getting caught, or at least avoiding states where the death penalty...
00:42:32
Speaker
The game was banned in Canada. Wow. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the dark content, and it's currently out of print. It's too morbid for most people to enjoy, although some players have created their own versions with slightly more tasteful themes using the game's core mechanics. So basically, don't get caught in a state where you're going to get the death penalty. You know, ah kind of actually want to play that game a little bit. It actually it sounds kind of cool.
00:42:57
Speaker
It kind of just sounds like don't get caught by the cops. Oh, it kind of sounds like murder murder in the 70s. Murder, she wrote. um Andrew, what a fascinating little journey through board games. It makes me want to play one right now.
00:43:12
Speaker
Maybe I will later. I'll probably play Mario Party instead. You know, um ah we when we're I'm going to be in the States soon, and and I'll be seeing Andrew and Michael and some other friends as we do ah ah an IU reunion in Bloomington. We should play a board game then, Andrew. today if we If we can get all those people to settle down Yeah, you know what? It's it's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. Not that you say it that way. it's Yeah, that's not going to occur. um it wont It won't happen. But, you know, wishful thinking. Maybe maybe we can play cards at some point. like Like a drinking game kind of thing. We'll see.
What You've Been Watching
00:43:50
Speaker
Anyways, folks, that does it for our Horror in Real Life component of episode 160. We'll be right back, Andrew, with what are doing next? What is it called?
00:44:01
Speaker
What you been watching, bitch?
00:44:05
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.
00:44:16
Speaker
And we're back with what you been watching, bitch. What you been watching, you dice rolling bitch. That's a good one, Andrew. Thank you. um We're going to roll the dice here as Andrew and i talk about some things that we've been watching lately. um Not going to lie for mine, folks. I haven't had a lot of time since the last time we recorded an episode. So it's a lot of rewatch stuff. Congratulations. But I'll talk lovingly about them all.
00:44:42
Speaker
Andrew, in the meantime, tell us what have you been watching? All right. My first one is a documentary series on HBO. It is called Neighbors. Okay. heard about Is this good? Because I actually really do want to watch it.
00:44:57
Speaker
It is incredible. Oh, I can't wait. This is so exciting. Because by the way, by the way, folks, I finally, I might have said this the last episode. I don't remember.
00:45:07
Speaker
We finally have HBO over here again, and I'm very fucking happy about it. Andrew, continue. Sorry. Yeah. So Neighbors is an A24 production and it pretty much is episodic. I think there are six or eight episodes. I haven't gotten through all of me yet, but um there every episode takes on two different cases. And it'ss just it's it's real people, right? yes is yeah Yeah. No, this is domestic ah disputes of like Neighbors. Fuck yes. I can't wait. it is just it is It is so petty and so ridiculous. And it just dives you into these people's lives that is just so incredible.
00:45:46
Speaker
um It is nothing like that. um What was that Oscar documentary? the The Perfect Neighbor? It's nothing like that. It's not as dire as that. These are disputes. These are not heinous crimes. Fuck yeah. um my My favorite episode so far has been about these neighbors who the one guy moves in, i think, with his either his aunt or his grandma.
00:46:13
Speaker
ah can't quite remember. And he starts getting um farm animals. And he says fucking cra what builds up like a farm and there are these two gay guys that live across the street who can't, who have an in-ground pool and they're like, this is our forever home. And now we can't live here because the smell is so bad. And they go to the, the, the I can't tell you it is so petty and so ridiculous. It makes you feel good about life again. You need to watch neighbors on HBO. Yeah.
00:46:45
Speaker
Oh, I, i do you know, i ah I'm glad that you reminded me because now I'm remembering that I i need that. Number one, it's available. And number two, that i I need to watch it. Extremely excited for this. Thank you, Andrew, for bringing that to our attention.
00:46:59
Speaker
Andrew, the first one that i have for you now is a movie that you can watch in in theaters right now. It's called Project Hail Mary. You might have heard of this. um So listen, I ah saw Project Hail Mary on a date and we we both enjoyed it. um You know, it's the same people who did The Martian, right?
00:47:21
Speaker
And so okay it's basically The Martian again, right? Because it's like, like you know, like like in The Martian, it's like Matt Damon is like a scientist. He like finds himself in this crazy situation and he has to like MacGyver his way out of it basically. Yeah.
00:47:36
Speaker
This is the exact same thing. But what's happening now is that it's Ryan Gosling. Yeah, it's it's Ryan Gosling. And he is part of this scientist crew that has to go into space because they have discovered this thing.
00:47:53
Speaker
that is happening with like a trail of particles from the sun to venus and this these particles they discover are like these microorganisms that are dimming the sun because they're they're using the sun's energy and like going to venus and whatever it's it's a little bit complicated i'm not explaining that very well but like they discover that it's not just venus and and our sun it's like suns all over the galaxy this is happening too And so they, they, I'm giving you a little bit of the movie right now, but i it's not a spoiler, i promise.
00:48:27
Speaker
They, they discover this one star where it's not happening. And so on earth, they put together a crew of people, they send them out there and then they got to go fucking figure it out. And so that's what this is, right? Ryan Gosling is this character named Grace, ah Mr. Grace, and he has to figure this shit out. He meets a special friend along the way. I won't give that away because the special friend is actually the best part of this movie for sure. It's really, it's very, it's very cute and very kind of heartwarming. um Other than that, though, you know, it's like I said, it's basically The Martian again, just a little bit different. um i I was not a fan of The Martian. Like I just the jokes became too much for me and I just kind of hated it. To be honest, this one I liked a lot better than The Martian for sure. The only thing I will say about this one is that it is just like a little bit long. It's just like, man, I like to be fair. on with Yeah, we saw it at 830. And like, already, that's already a little bit too late for me to be in the theater. If i'm I'm being honest in my elder years, but like, by we weren't out of the theater until like 1130, basically. And it was just like, man, no. Like this, this could have been easily a half hour shorter for sure. But even that being said, I still had fun with it. And if I had fun with that, then you might too. So anyways, that's it.
00:49:47
Speaker
ah Project Hail Mary. Cool. um My next one is another HBO hit. It is called Born to Bowl. Do you know about this at all? I i don't know, but this is right up your alley though. I do know that.
00:50:00
Speaker
Right up my alley. Get it? Get it? A little fun there, huh? um So this is another A24. I don't know what a twenty four and HBO have going on, but they're like synchronicities. Keep it up. It's crazy right now. um it It is a documentary about the PBA and like the series of bowling events that happen. It follows all these bowlers like throughout the year. that it's it's something I've never...
00:50:29
Speaker
known I've wanted but now I do want it yeah like behind the behind the scenes of bowling of just like oh of like all these listen as a childhood prodigy bowler ah true true very true I just really enjoy watching like the behind like there's so just for instance there's this one guy he's like the top bowler of like the last like 10 years like he's gotten like eight out of the 10 years of top bowler And he he is actually from Australia, but he comes to America six months out of the year to make all of his money playing bowling and then goes back to Australia to live with his family of like, I think like five kids. Holy shit. The rest of the year. Like, it's really fascinating. Like when you take out of context, like these people and I think that that's like what's missing from
00:51:24
Speaker
me So understanding and wanting to understand sports is I kind of want to know like about the people. Like I don't really care about the sport. I want to know about the people and like why they do what they do. A lot of these people that are in top bowling, they grew up with family bowling alleys like their their their family owned a bowling alley and that's how they got into it. And so like, I don't know, it's just really fascinating. and And they also focus a little bit on like the newer bowlers, like the people that are up and coming. That's awesome. Like, I don't know. It's just a really, it's a really cool thing. And I think that, I think that,
00:52:02
Speaker
of our generation, bowling was really important and it's kind of lost its luster in like modern day. And I just think it's fun to go back and see what's going on in the bowling world. So if that makes it, if that makes any sense to you and if that sounds of any interest to you, definitely check out Born to Bowl on HBO. I watch this for sure. Look, I love, look, one of my favorite films of all time, The Big Lebowski, and it's all about bowling, you know? They definitely bowl in the alley that Kingpin was filled. Oh, no way. Oh, that's crazy. That's awesome.
00:52:37
Speaker
Look, bowling fucking is bowling's great. um i went I went bowling last Sunday. i wonder if there's, i don't even know if we have bowling alleys here. I'm going to find one. That would actually be a lot of fun. It's a very American thing, so I don't know. It is, but there's got to be one here somewhere. Anyone in Ireland, of our our friends in Ireland, there's many of you now, um let me know if there's um a bowling alley here that I should go check out.
00:52:59
Speaker
On to my next one. Now it's all rewatches, folks. So guarantee you've heard of them. um I'll do a ridiculous one first. The Firm. Perhaps you've heard of The Firm before. The Firm was a movie from 1996. 1993. Pardon of me. 93. Starring none other than Tom Cruise. This is when Tom Cruise was really good looking, too. I feel like it was like his like, you know, like his Top Gun era was just before that thing. And like he was just he was a cute guy, you know. Directed by Sidney Pollack. And like, honestly, what a fucking cast in the firm. Tom Cruise, Gene Triplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Hal Holbrook, David Strathairn. Like, truly an all-star fucking cast with a John Grisham novel. um And have you seen this before, I'm guessing? Yeah? Oh, yeah. I mean, it's just been a very long time.
00:53:53
Speaker
Yeah. um So if you don't know the story of the firm, it is basically this. um Tom Cruise plays Mitch and Mitch is like the best guy, the best student right now at Harvard Law School. And so all these different firms and he and he's about to graduate. All these different firms want him and he could go pretty much anywhere that he wants to go. But he finds this little firm in Memphis, Tennessee that offers him like kind of exactly what he wants. Something where he could be, you know, ah ah a real star there and he, you know, he won't have to work like insane hours And, you know, his new wife, they'll have a happy life there. And they've got all these benefits and this and that. And like they're all really, really nice to him. And like they just like they win him over and he goes there.
00:54:39
Speaker
So he goes to work in this firm and um they are called Bendini, Lambert and Locke in Memphis, Tennessee. And like things seem great for a while. And then just suddenly things start to seem like, wait a minute, what is actually going on here? And then Tom Cruise finds out the truth about the firm. So listen, I started watching this because on Criterion Channel,
00:55:03
Speaker
they They always, their Criterion is really good at like curating things. um And so they always have like a big theme and like a bunch of films that meets that that meet you know that theme or whatever. And they had this one like about like corporate like corporate movies. So like like Wall Street's in there and some other ones. Boiler Room. Yeah. Boiler Room. um ah ah Primal Fear is in there. like like Stuff like that. And The Firm was one of them i was like, you know what? I fucking love watching The Firm. And I'll tell you what, I loved watching it again. It's such a good movie. There's there's the scene where um where Tom Cruise has to tell Holly Hunter like what's actually going on. um and ah or or whoever plays his wife. He has to like go tell her like what's actually happening, but the house is bugged.
00:55:49
Speaker
And so, and he, and he knows this. So he, so like he walks in and she's making dinner and she's playing music and he goes over and he turns the music all the way up. And then he brings her in and just like, like whispers in her ear what's actually happening. And all you see is her face just freaking out as she learns the truth. It's such a great scene. ah it's so good.
00:56:10
Speaker
anyways It's very skulls, if you remember that. It is, totally. yeah yeah But look, if you've never seen The Firm before, it is a little old. I'll definitely grant you that. But honestly, it's 90s. Don't tell us it's old. You know what I mean. It's 93 kind of thing. But if you haven't seen it before, i really do highly recommend it It's a Paramount, so it's probably on Paramount Plus too. But if not, it's definitely on Criterion Channel right now. Highly recommend The Firm.
00:56:35
Speaker
Cool. My next one is ah a show on Netflix that has a very complicated title. It's called Something Very Bad is Going to Happen.
00:56:46
Speaker
Have you watched any of this yet? Not yet. it's It's on my list, though, for sure. So I'm halfway through. ah So i will say that I'm going to, I'm going to say that before I say what I think about it as I'm halfway through. Uh, it's an eight episode.
00:57:01
Speaker
Uh, I guess like, i don't know if there's going to be a second season. I'm thinking that this is an isolated incident. If you will, I think by the way it's structured. Um, Um, this one, I feel have I have complicated feelings about this one because I feel i really like like the atmosphere. I think bringing back Jennifer Jason Lee in that role that she's in is really good. I think all the acting is really good. It's got that um one ah handsome guy from White Lotus season two. That was the ah the kind of like romantic guy. Oh, OK. Yeah.
00:57:38
Speaker
um And it's about um a woman and a man who are getting married, but they haven't, the woman has not met his family yet, but they're getting married at his family's estate. And so it's all about them like traveling back to the estate and everything.
00:57:56
Speaker
And in them like figuring out and her figuring out like what the family's all about. And the family's very rich, of course. And they have like complicated relationships within the family. And it's all about that. And here's what I'll say about it. It's kind of it's kind of a little bit like, what do you call it? Ready or not. Ready or not. Yeah. Yeah. It's got that vibe. But like, here's what I'll say about it is like,
00:58:18
Speaker
I need the show to stop edging me so much because i hate that i hate it every episode is like, what's going to happen? What's going to happen? What's going to happen?
00:58:31
Speaker
Oh, it's not what you thought. And you know, the the thing is, Andrew, I i like ejaculating. do you know what I mean? Like, yeah I don't, I don't need, I don't need that. i don't And I also don't want that.
00:58:43
Speaker
I know. And so like, I like the show and I'm going to finish it, but it's taking me, it's taking me longer to finish because i can't, I don't know. It's just, it's not hooking me. Like like I wanted it to hook me.
00:59:00
Speaker
Um, I'm hoping that there's going to be a good payoff. Uh, there was a pretty good twist in last episode that I saw, but it's still not enough to like, come on, like, let's get over the finish line here. Like, could this have not been just a movie and like been over in 90 minutes or, or, or do you need it to be eight 50 minute episodes? Um,
00:59:21
Speaker
You know what i mean? So the ah the longer you're in there, the more it's better for, you know, Netflix's stats. yeah I just I I I'm going to watch it, too, for sure. And I'm glad that you're at least enjoying it somewhat. And, you you know, hopefully looking forward to a good end there. But like, I get it. i am I am not a fan of these things where you're just sort of strung along for so long. It's like, but I just don't get the point in that. I really don't. And that's what it's doing. And it's it's kind of pissing me off, but I'm kind of like, i need to know. I need to know what's going to happen. So yeah so is it achieving is it achieving the goal? Maybe. I don't know. we'llll We'll see.
00:59:56
Speaker
I'll report back next episode. that That was me with that that Idris Elba hijack show. i ah i Oh my God. It was it was the same thing. i And i I ended up viscerally hating it because of that. And I love Idris Elba. But like I just don't need to be fucking edged unless I'm like actually edging myself. like That's a different story.
01:00:16
Speaker
um Moving along to another rewatch. I told you I got three of them. Here you go. Perhaps you've heard, Andrew, you ever heard of a film called Get Out? fair Well, we were reviewed it on episode two. We sure did a long time ago. Listen, Get Out is wonderful. um And the fun thing about this is that I had the chance to watch it for with my boyfriend for his first time.
01:00:39
Speaker
Right? Oh, cool. And that was really cool because like like so many other things when when, you know, you watch it with somebody for, I think I even said this for the last episode too, but like, oh yeah, I did because we watched Clue for the first time. But like when you watch it for the first time with them, it's just like, it's really fun. Like you get to see how they think about it and how like they they they see it. And that's that's that's a really cool thing. But listen, for for anyone listening to a horror podcast that is somehow not seeing Get Out, What is the story? The story is... i actually forget their names now, like what their character names even are.
01:01:14
Speaker
um But it's it's a couple. They're going to see... They are going to see... um sec. My phone, like I hate it when my phone rings during a podcast recording because it's just, it's annoying.
01:01:27
Speaker
And it just happened right there, folks. Anyways, there is a couple going to see her family. Um, in this couple, she is white, he is black. And when they get to uh, her family's house, um,
01:01:39
Speaker
ah things are okay for like a minute and then things very quickly devolve into um a very crazy story. it's it's It's almost weird like not to be like not giving away kit Out right now. and right I don't even know how to explain it. But if you haven't seen it before and you really have been living under the horror rock, you need to see this. I i haven't watched it for a while. i will say it still holds up.
01:02:05
Speaker
And um it still remains one of my favorite horror movies. It's really, really good. So if for whatever reason you haven't seen it for the love of God, would you please see it? um And that's all I have to say about get out. Thank you.
01:02:18
Speaker
Cool. um My last one is also on HBO. Sorry about an HBO kick, I guess um is the pit season two. um As of this recording, we are one episode away from the season finale of the pit season two. Um, the pit is just, it's the best medical show since ER. r I'm sorry, all you Grey's Anatomy bitches, but like, this is the best, the medical show out there. i hate Grey's Anatomy.
01:02:50
Speaker
I hate Grey's Anatomy. Um, I did start to watch the pit, Andrew. i need to get back to it. Um, I watched part of the first episode and I got, I got waylaid from it, but it is really good.
01:03:02
Speaker
Oh, so wait, are you still in season one? Are you? Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I am definitely in season one for sure. Oh, my God. You need to watch my friend. I know. The show is so good. I know. was one of those things where I started to watch it and then bunch of shit went down and I just haven't gotten back to it yet, but I will get back to it for sure.
01:03:19
Speaker
So season two, obviously, I'm not going to give anything away, but it picks up from more season one. But like the pit is one of those where you don't really need to know what happened in the previous season because it's all about it. So the pit is structured in a way to where it's it's 12 hours. So it's 12 episodes.
01:03:38
Speaker
And so the first season is all about like that 12 hours. The second season is about 12 hours Friday. uh, 4th of July. my God. That's be wild. And 4th of July in Pittsburgh, you can imagine lot of shit is going on in colonial Pittsburgh. Um, and so it's just, I, I don't know what, there's so many stories in this that are so good. There's, there's a, a very tragic story about mom with, uh, with lung cancer. That's very, there's very touching. there's just like ton of shit going on. And there's one storyline,
01:04:15
Speaker
Um, and I'm not, and and it's about our, our main protagonist, uh, Robbie that, uh, is hitting me pretty hard and I'm not going to anything away, but, um, uh, but please, please, if you're not watching the pit, you, it, it is, it is stressful.
01:04:32
Speaker
So i but I will give you that because like it is, it's, it's an yeah ER. I mean, it's, it's, it's what people do every day and it's saving lives, but it's pretty good. Wow. So,
01:04:44
Speaker
God, I didn't even know you haven't seen any of it. I know I know. I'm looking forward to getting into it, and I promise that I will. I will i will report back on the next episode with not rewatches. i promise.
01:04:54
Speaker
Yeah, you you you are going to love it I can't wait. um And Andrew, my final rewatch, another one is a really good one. Weapons. um and I haven't seen this since I saw in the theater.
01:05:07
Speaker
Yeah. And I'll tell you what, this is another one that that he hadn't seen yet. So it was fun to watch it. He had another one that, you know, was just like new for him. And what a fucking great movie. What a fucking great movie this is. It's so fucking good. You know, Amy Madigan won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this, and thank God, she absolutely deserved it. I mean, I i will say Toni Collette deserved you know her Oscar more, that she never won, that she should have won for Hereditary, but it is what it is. Well, she walked so everyone else could run. it's fine Exactly. Very true. And that, and, and watching this, watching how masterful Amy Madigan really was in that role and how she made the choices to make aunt Gladys the absolute monster that she is like true fucking monster.
01:05:55
Speaker
is just nothing short of incredible like truly and just the way that the movie is formed the way that it is presented the filming the the music the the the editing the the acting from literally everyone in that movie it it's like it's just it's a fucking knockout like i i don't know how yeah i don't know how i mean i don't really know anyone that didn't like it but if you didn't like weapons i would just kind of be like what how how like did you watch the same film because one of the great things about it too is it's maybe one of the most satisfying endings to any horror film I've ever seen in my life like great it's just it's so fucking good so look if you haven't watched it in a while or since you know the theater in in your case highly recommend watching it at home because it absolutely holds up right on your TV and it is wonderful I honestly can't wait to watch it again it's beautiful yeah I'm kind of mad that they're doing like a prequel thing to it. Oh yeah. I heard about this.
01:06:54
Speaker
I want it to just be, I want, so it might be a little too much, I think, to be honest. Well, that's the thing is like, can we not just like let something be good and like just let it hang out? Not not when there's money to be made, Andrew. and not when there's money to be made.
01:07:09
Speaker
all right, well, that does it for What You've Been Watching, bitch. Maddie brought us to Project Hail Mary, The Firm, Get Out, and Weapons. And Andrew brought us Neighbors and Born to Brawl. Both of those are on HBO. Something Bad is About to Happen on Netflix and The Pit Season 2 on HBO. So, folks, that does it for What You've Been Watching, bitch. Stay
Exploring 'Ouija: Origin of Evil'
01:07:33
Speaker
tuned. We'll be right back with our first ah first film of the episode, Ouija, Origin of Evil.
01:07:43
Speaker
Mary, we invite you into our circle. If that's you, blow out the candles.
01:07:53
Speaker
god
01:07:59
Speaker
This is a scam. She deserved it, Mom. it's your job to stand at the curtains and not attack the clients. And you, young lady? What's a scam? You are so weird.
01:08:13
Speaker
Does she have a lot of problems? It's nothing too concerning. What's this? New prop for work.
01:08:22
Speaker
Spirit, can you hear me? Yes, we can.
01:08:30
Speaker
And we can see you. Who are you talking to, Doris?
01:08:35
Speaker
Daddy. Are you there?
01:08:40
Speaker
Who are you?
01:08:47
Speaker
Did you see her writing this? No. Because it's Polish.
01:08:53
Speaker
Doris, who did this? I'll show you. Are you here?
01:09:02
Speaker
Something is happening that we can't understand. um' concerned about your girl. The spirit world is dangerous.
01:09:15
Speaker
What are you doing? I'm not doing Stop it!
01:09:22
Speaker
Do you know what it feels like to be strangled to death?
01:09:28
Speaker
Mom! Mom! Mom!
01:09:31
Speaker
Something is wrong with Doris! She's experiencing something amazing! I believe she is channeling powers we do not understand. Doris?
01:09:43
Speaker
Doris! Are you there? Are you there? Yes.
01:10:08
Speaker
Behind every story, there's an origin. Maddie, tell us all about the origin of evil. It was never just a game. In 1967 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters bolster their fake seance business by adding a Ouija board to the act and unknowingly invite a genuine evil into their home. When nine-year-old Doris is overtaken by a merciless spirit connected to the house's dark history, the family must confront unthinkable horror to save her before it's too late. Directed by the one and only Mike Flanagan. Written by Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard. Produced by Blumhouse, Platinum Dunes, Hasbro, Alls Park Pictures, and distributed by a Universal. Alice Zanders, played by Elizabeth Reeser.
01:10:59
Speaker
Doris is played by Lulu Wilson. Paulina Lena Zander played by Annalise Basso. Lynn Shay plays the older Lena. Father Tom Hogan played by ah Henry Thomas. God love him. Mikey played by Parker Mack. The ghoul and the devil's doctor played by Doug Jones. And of course, ah well what's her what's her name? Because i I had to write it down again. I think she has a name.
01:11:24
Speaker
I think it's Jenny or something like that. Jenny Browning. Jenny Browning is played by Kate Siegel, who was on this show before. we just want to mention we love you. kate That will be a reoccurring fact we will mention in both movies today. true we've We've happened to have a lot of people on the show. And also both of the both of the films today are from 2016, too, which is kind of weird.
01:11:44
Speaker
Um, so yeah, uh, moving on a few, a few other things here. It's PG 13, 99 minutes, uh, made in the USA came out October 21st of 2016 filmed in l LA budget was 12 million and it made 81.7 million worldwide. So Andrew, um, this was actually my first time watching Ouija origin of evil. I've seen Ouija before, but never this one. Um, I don't think it's the first time for you. Tell me about how this one was for you.
01:12:11
Speaker
Yeah. um No, this is not a first watch for me I think I've seen this like ah maybe like three or four times. Eight times. Yeah. um And so, listen, we reviewed the original Ouija way back, I think like a year and a half ago, maybe two years. I was at Halloween. I was around Halloween time. like Something like that, yeah.
01:12:31
Speaker
And that movie sucks. It just is really, it's not good. And so for Mike Flanagan to then say, well, you know what? I'm going to take this crappy movie and I'm going to make a movie that is a prequel to that movie. I'm just like, what are you doing, dude? Like, you're so above this. Like, why are you doing this?
01:12:51
Speaker
And then he brings us this. And i'm i I got to tell you, watching it again, this movie is awesome. And I really, really enjoyed it. And it really did, even still watching it upon this time, had me a little spooked. There are definitely some moments, especially the looking through the planchette moments where i was freaked out. like It was really scary. And for especially for being PG 13, like I, I think that this is right up there with like the ring for like PG 13 movies that are actually scary. That's a really good point. Yeah.
01:13:29
Speaker
And so like, ah my initial response is I really like this movie. I think that everyone is doing their fucking job from like, from that little girl doing all her shit to the mom being the widow to Henry Thomas being the, ah you know, the reluctant a priest. Like I think everyone is locked in and doing everything they can. Like,
01:13:54
Speaker
And I think that like the way that they focus in on trying to also retcon the original movie, they do a good job. And I don't know, i I couldn't do this. Like, this is not how my mind works. Like when I look at Ouija, the, the original movie, I just go piece of crap movie. Don't want anything to do with it. When Mike Flanagan looks at that, he goes, well, what about this? And what about this? And what about this? He sees opportunities.
01:14:20
Speaker
And like, i I just, my mind doesn't work that way. And so I i i really, really applaud Mike Flanagan on making this a successful, scary, heartfelt movie because there is a lot of like really big heart in this. I mean, even the idea of a a fake seance person, even saying to a priest of all people is like, yeah, what we do is fake, but it also helps people.
01:14:49
Speaker
yeah and like And to shine a light on grifters like that, I was just like, wow, you're actually making me feel good about a grifter. And I've never thought about that in my entire life. So like, get it I don't know, there's there's something here. And you see like the the the the like the little... the little um pokes into like some of his later work that he'll do after this like especially with the some of the ghost work um and like the black ghost with the glowing eyes oh what is that from i also believe he does that in something else so like there's some things in here that he repeats but like i don't care if you repeat it if it's good so i don't know um so yeah that's my initial take on it what about you
01:15:34
Speaker
ah Yeah, i I think it's really good. You know, look, I i i say this later on and in the the main takeaways, but like I'm i'm definitely a Flana fan. i know that you are too. um There's very little that I think he can do wrong. And, you know, like when when I think about his whole body of work, ah you know, it's...
01:15:51
Speaker
It's almost like hard because like I think everything is so good and I think this is good too. it's It's almost like I have to rank it just like in terms of that specific context of just like Mike Flanagan's work. And so like is this one of my favorites from him? Not really. But like is it still really good? Abso-fucking-lutely. And like I i think you get it you get it right. And that is with every Mike Flanagan film or or TV show or miniseries or whatever.
01:16:19
Speaker
the best part about it is always the heart and like we think about dr sleep for example the best yeah there's lots of cool shit that happens in it the villains are like rose the hat as a villain is so fucking cool and this thing and that thing but like at the end of the day the reason why i love that movie so much was because of windy and danny and the way that he made the heart of that come together in such an amazing way And, you know, like the ah the the little girl and this and that, whatever. like It's just, he he is so full of heart. he is He is unafraid to be cringe in a world where, like, cringe is looked down upon.
01:16:55
Speaker
And I think that's remarkable as a millennial that, like, Somebody has that bravery to just go out there and do it. And he does it again here. You see it really early in the film when Doris goes to school and Doris is getting picked on.
01:17:09
Speaker
yeah actually like do doris is Doris is leaving school and ah ah her mom is picking her up. And um she sees that her daughter is getting bullied by these two little fucking asshole boys. And Henry Thomas's character, who is a priest, goes up to her. And, you know, obviously he's trying to comfort her. And he says something like, you know, ah it's it's it's really hard when when people say mean things, but it kind of makes me feel sorry for them because they're really just afraid.
01:17:36
Speaker
And like she agreed and like that maybe start crying in this view. And I really went, my God, that's, that's, ah you know, it's just one of those things that you bet Mike Flanagan would do.
01:17:47
Speaker
and and it's not just that it's other parts in the movie too. And, you know, he, he's really good at bringing families together on film and Oh, you mean manipulating grieving families is not a Mike Flanagan-ism? That is just it. And you know and look and look, in this case, like you know but look both you and I have lost our dads. I just lost my mom recently. So you know now thinking about you know being in ah in a family context where a parent is is recently gone, that is you know that's that's something really special to bring to bring to the camera and to bring to to a movie. And it's, it's going to affect people. And I don't think that he ever does it in, in a way that is, um, obviously not, not ineffective, but also not like, um, what's word I'm looking for? It's not, it's never trite.
01:18:34
Speaker
It's never trite. And, and it it always makes sense and it always feels authentic. That's one of the great things about, about Flanagan too, is it just feels fucking authentic. And this one did too. And there's so many other things that feel authentic. The little teenage romance between the, uh, Is Elizabeth the older daughter? is that it? um or us Lena. Lena. Lena. So between Lena and like her her boyfriend, Mikey. That whole kiss scene to the record is so good. And it's it's so sweet. like i mean And like i mean even like that the the kid that that plays Mikey, he's fucking great for what he has to do in this movie. And you like meeting the mom and you know wearing his you know his senior coat and whatever. it was just it's' Those parts are so cute and lovely. that when the bad things happen, the bad things are really bad.
01:19:25
Speaker
and you feel It makes you feel really bad. 100%. look, you you and I have both been part of grieving families before. Nothing's worse when you're in a grieving family and things start to go wrong, right? And so you've got you know this mom who's trying to hold it together with everything that she can, trying to hold it together so much that she has a fucking fake seance business. Like how hard would that be? and For $5 a session. For $5 a session, exactly. And so, you like you know like like you were saying back there, this could be seen as a movie about a grifter. Pardon me.
01:19:57
Speaker
But also, look, sometimes people have got to fucking grift. You know what i mean? you You got to feed your fucking kids. And you know ah in the meantime, it's not like she's, as the film shows, it's not like she's not looking through the paper looking for other jobs right now. So she's doing what she has to do. Everyone is doing what they got to do in this. You know, Lena's clean is going to school. She's trying to hold it together. Doris, God bless her. She's a little fucking kid. Henry's trying to hold it together as ah ah a widower who's a priest that runs a fucking school.
01:20:26
Speaker
You know, there's so much going on. And in the midst of it, of course, a fucking demon has to come be a part of it. So just to rock everyone's world. But in the course of that, the way that people discover more about their own humanity is something really gorgeous. The end of the film is harrowing for sure.
01:20:42
Speaker
And, um, and sad and really sad. And yeah, i I think it's, it's a great movie and, and you are absolutely right. Ouija part one, however we want to think about it is not good. So, you know, cheers. like we're so We just love to jerk off Mike Flanagan. Sorry, Mike. It's fine. sorry sorry Sorry, Elizabeth Siegel. so sorry Sorry, Kate Siegel. um We're jerking off your husband. We're so sorry about this. But it's the truth. He's one of the best horror filmmakers ever.
01:21:09
Speaker
Truly fucking ever. Because he draws that heart out of you. And so thank you, Mike Flanagan, for making another good one. Yeah. So a couple of things that I had in my notes here is um I really liked when Doris was kind of the ah the the the seer at the board and um ah she had those different voices. Like there's the one where she's with the woman and she does the creepy voice of like her husband and then she goes, ooh, that tickled. And I was like, that's really creepy. Yeah. um uh a couple of other things i said you know the genuinely the possession scene is really scary uh where she's like i said earlier where she's looking through the planchette and she kind of see like her neck is hurting do you remember this part where she's like yes my neck hurts and then she gets up in the middle of the night to go to like talk to quote unquote daddy um which is interesting because they didn't
01:22:07
Speaker
This is the thing that Mike Flanagan does that most people wouldn't is that the dad is there in some point at some point. Yeah. Whereas like in the, in, in my like rewatch the movie, I kind of forgot that. And so I just thought like, Oh, it's just a demon, like a demon or something is like taking over and like faking the dad thing. But at the end you find out that the dad is there. Like he helps Lena up to her bed. yeah He shows her,
01:22:35
Speaker
the premonition of like the thing that happened where he was like, uh, where he sewed the mouth shut on the doll to show her, like you have to sew her mouth shut so that she can't talk anymore to spread the lies and to spread the hate that the, uh, that the doctor was doing. I will say like, if anything, if anything, if I had a criticism of this movie,
01:22:58
Speaker
I think the ah the dump the of ah the Polish doctor at the end, I think is a little heavy handed, if I'm being honest. i I think so too, to be fair.
01:23:13
Speaker
Because like they just they don't show you anything. they just like Henry Thomas has like one like dump of just like all this stuff. And just like, oh yeah, there was a guy and he came over here and he was in a mental institution and then he saw his doctor and he knew his doctor as this doctor in Poland. and it's very complicated. But they like they don't really give you much of that earlier on in the film. But I think that that's like...
01:23:36
Speaker
in I think in Mike Flanagan's mind, that's that's the B plot because the A plot is the family. And so he really focused in on the family. So I wouldn't be surprised and I don't know there is. It's a really good way of of saying it, that it's it's the A and the B plot. And and yeah that's the thing with Mike. He's always going to focus on on that A plot instead.
01:23:56
Speaker
Well, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's like stuff that he filmed about that doctor that maybe got left on the the floor. You know what i mean? With Doug Jones as the doctor.
01:24:07
Speaker
I don't know but if there is a Doug Jones, you know, like good old fucking Doug Jones, man. Showing up everywhere. always good. God love him. um I think it's funny. By the end of the movie, they broke all the Ouija rules. There's only three and they broke all of them.
01:24:25
Speaker
do you remember Do you remember the rules? Yeah, I guess they did. Well, because one of the well they they they the rules were never play alone, don't play in a graveyard, and always say goodbye. And they us all um pretty quickly. like And like honestly, like the say goodbye part is the easiest thing. like Dude, just it's right there. Just say goodbye. That's the thing in the film. They never say goodbye. Yeah, they never do. And look and look where they are now. you know like this all This all could have been handled if you just said goodbye. That's it.
01:24:55
Speaker
um I find the scene with, ah what's his name? Mikey, where he gets hanged eventually. That's awful. um I find that scene harrowing because like you can see in both the actors, both the little the little girl and Mikey, both in Doris and Mikey, that she, because she's already threatened him before. There's a very like famous scene where she says like,
01:25:19
Speaker
do you know what it's like to be? I don't know why she's English. all of i was like, yeah, she and we're in London now. Hello. But she says like, know what it's like to be strangled to death? And she goes on this monologue about being strangled to death. And he's like, what the fuck? And then the next time, of course, he shows up to the house whose answers the door.
01:25:37
Speaker
Alice. And then, you know, that's the kind of shit. Like, look, I am not for hitting your kids, but sometimes I'm like, man, that's the kind of shit. Like just push the, get out of my fucking way, kid. Like I'm not going to listen to you talking me about fucking getting strangled to fucking death. You know what I mean? no what what What I would say to, what what I would say to that child is where did you hear this? Exactly. Jesus Christ. Like, go get a fucking cookie and stop talking about getting strangled to death right now. Hurry. But, it but it is very creepy. So it is, it is creepy. think of um and i feel so bad for for lena and that and mikey but like because they just had like this like amazing teenage moment yeah um and so you know that's sweet little kiss oh my god and and And listen, this is other thing, and i'm and I promise this is the last time i will let Mike Flanagan ejaculate after this, but like he like he he knows like what music to play. like The music is perfect for that moment. But...
01:26:38
Speaker
but um I'll move on from that. But like there's a moment ah where ah Mikey is reaching his hand into the wall and he's like finding like ah driver's licenses and stuff like that. Like in a and but right behind him. Alice is like doing these like crazy faces. It it really honestly did give me the chills because it's fucking chilling. And then at the fucking end, which is fucking walking on the ceiling and shit like fuck. It's fucking scary. That's that's one thing where I don't think that he had. I think that that's universal saying, yes hey, I think that that's universal saying, hey, can you make this more like the exorcist? Give us a jump scare at the end. Yeah. Yeah. Well, i mean there but there was also another spider walk in there, too. um So, I mean, there's also the moment where um Henry Thomas shows up at the house in the daytime and there's definitely exorcist music happening. oh yeah And he stands at the foot of the house before he goes in But I mean, you you know, that that stuff makes sense because, you know, Flanagan is a huge Exorcist fan. and Well, he's just a huge horror movie fan. yeah But, you know, I can't wait for his fucking reboot of all that shit because that's going to be so fucking good. But, um...
01:27:51
Speaker
You know, there there are those little homages that I definitely don't mind for sure. yeah but But I mean, it's fair. At the end of it, when she's walking on the ceiling, that shit, I get you. i i think that's probably the the case as well. it's It's definitely scary. Is it, you know, maybe a little out of the style of the rest of the movie? I would say yes.
01:28:09
Speaker
Yeah, that's that's what I mean. It kind of breaks the... um It comes out of nowhere kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, one thing I forgot to bring up is I think that the slingshot kid scene is ah particularly um shocking ah because you don't see that coming...
01:28:27
Speaker
and i look I'll tell you what, look, ah it may be a bad, you know, ghost demon fucking thing, whatever, but I'll tell you what, the kid deserved it, man. Like, I'm sorry. Like yeah he's about to fucking do it to that little girl. Guess what? Now you're going down, bitch. Now you're the fact that the the fact that they do it off screen and you still cringe. Oh, that's effective. Yeah.
01:28:47
Speaker
Listen, slingshot kid. Now, now you know what it fucking feels like, you little bitch. Fuck you. um One other criticism I had towards the end, and this is very minor, but there is a moment in the end where she is stitching up ah her mouth. There's like a thing where you see like the needle, like just coming up and down, up and down, up and down. That's a lot. Yeah. There's no blood on the needle. It doesn't make any sense. like that's where like I guess you didn't really notice that.
01:29:15
Speaker
um It's just one of those things. It's like p it's PG-13. Like, yeah, that's what it is. um Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is they use the old Universal logo at the beginning. Oh, yeah. you notice that I did notice that actually. not it Now that it was kind of like then it would would have been the Universal logo they would have used in a 60s movie. so I think that was kind of cool.
01:29:35
Speaker
Yeah. ah Anything else you want to bring up about Ouija origin of evil? I think we're good to go ahead and rate it. All right. Here at Fraggy, the 13th Horror Podcast, we judge on a seven-stripe scale for the seven-stripe, the gay old rainbow. I am going to give Ouija Origin of Evil a six.
01:29:55
Speaker
I think it's spooky, well-crafted, and just enough ties the original. It almost makes me want to watch the original again. Almost. And I gave it a five. I but i brought my score up a little bit. And I said, I'm a devout Flanna fan and love his undeniable touch on this one. It might rank a little low for me in terms of his specific work, but it's still highly watchable. And I also think that Henry Thomas kind of steals the show. He's so good in this.
01:30:21
Speaker
All right, well, that will do it. We'll be right back with our second movie of the episode, Beyond the Gates.
01:30:35
Speaker
what if he's okay? What mean? I mean, not dead. It's seven months. If he's out there, not our problem anymore. Look at this place. Your dad really did a good job keeping it up, huh?
01:30:50
Speaker
Yeah, well, not much could pull him out of here. Do you have dad's keys to the office? What you think's back there? Guess find out. This is momentous. Shut up.
01:31:09
Speaker
Welcome, curious viewers. We found this like weird, probably banned VCR game. it's like ah It's like a board game, you know, but you gotta watch it. Obtaining the four keys allows passage beyond the gates.
01:31:22
Speaker
Only there can your father's soul be saved. Did you just hear that? Where did you say you found this again?
01:31:32
Speaker
and did you try to get into the house last night? Why, did someone try and break in? felt like somebody was watching us. Look, maybe you need to take a break from this for a while. We think our father bought this from your store.
01:31:45
Speaker
What if we just stopped? I'm not gonna stop until we find Dad. Then I suggest you play the game.
01:32:04
Speaker
the hell did this come from?
01:32:07
Speaker
Find your father. Take the final key. and become one with your new reality.
01:32:21
Speaker
That lady was smoking hot. I think I want it. It sure is now.
01:32:31
Speaker
Knock, knock. We're coming in We want to go beyond the gates. Andrew, tell us about Beyond the Gates. Some games you can't stop playing. Two estranged brothers reunite at their missing father's video store to liquidate his estate. Hidden in his locked office, they find a VCR board game called Beyond the Gates. the last tape their father watched before he vanished.
01:32:55
Speaker
As they play, a mysterious host on the screen begins drawing them into a supernatural game where the stakes are their souls. Directed by a Jackson Stewart, written by Jackson Stewart and Steven Scarlatta. Production distribution were handled by Destroy All Entertainment Spectacle Films and distributed by IFC Midnight. ah Gordon Hardesty is played by Graham Skipper. John Hardesty is played by Chase Williamson. Margot is played by Friend of the Pod, Bria Grant. Evelyn is played by Friend of the Pod, Barbara Crampton. Derek is played by Matt Mercer and Hank is played by Justin Wellborn. This is not rated. comes in at 84 minutes. It was came out on December 9th of 2016 filmed in Los Angeles, California. The budget was about 300,000. And this had a very limited release, mostly premiering on shutter at the time. Yeah. Yeah.
01:33:51
Speaker
um So, Matty, was this your first time watching Beyond the Gates, and what are your initial thoughts? Oh, Andrew, it was my first and last time watching it. Um... Yeah. Okay. So what I'm going to say is that, first of all, as you mentioned back there, Andrew, a strange little running theme that we have in this episode is that we've interviewed people on the show from both of the movies today. So we had Kate Siegel on. That was during the pandemic. It was maybe 2020, guess, when we had her on. Yeah, for sure. And then we also had Barbara
01:34:25
Speaker
um and then we also had barbara Crampton on can't remember when that was but what a joy she was barbara Barbara Crampton if you've never met her before if you ever get a chance to meet her in person you should um she's just ah she's an absolute delight a horror queen um and Bria Grant we also had her on when we we also had on the director i think too of a horror film called Lucky and that that was a long time ago um so you know so some really cool little connections there for us as as podcasters um so ah when when andrew brought this one to uh to this episode um i had never heard of it before but knowing that barbara cranson was in it and bria grant i was like oh okay cool you know hopefully that hopefully that's that's really good um
01:35:11
Speaker
It's not. It's just not. And um i won't I won't beat around the bush. And let me tell you why it's not. um Look, here's the thing. It's a good idea. And you know you heard me and Andrew both talk about how we both you know played, however you want to call it, nightmare or atmosphere. We both played that when we were kids. There's definitely a nostalgia factor. I'm going to guess a lot of horror fans in our generation who had, you know, the VHS players. I almost forgot what I almost forgot. Like what it was that? VCR. VCR. Right. But, you know, if you had a VCR and you played that game, like it's you know, it's probably part of your horror childhood, too. Right. And um so I thought it would be really cool. Unfortunately, it's just it's it's kind of it's it's kind of lackluster, um primarily because of the acting. if we're being real. Like the the acting in this movie is, it's it's it's just not good. And it's not good from from top to bottom. Like, I mean, you know, Barbara Crampton does a fine job. but So in this movie, Barbara Crampton plays like the... The the host.
01:36:10
Speaker
yeah The host, but it's like the gatekeeper of Nightmare or Atmosphere. um It's the exact same kind of thing. And she is, she's you know, she's she's fine. You know, she's Barbara Crampton. She's kind of the same thing all the time, you know, when it comes to like that kind of thing. But um i I just kind of felt by the end of it, like, what a waste of Barbara Crampton, if I'm being real. um So much more could have been done with her, and this movie could have been better around her. there the The two brothers, Gordon and John, um Gordon is so bad at acting.
01:36:41
Speaker
like Like, truly, he he's... he I'm not trying to be mean to you, Graham Skipper. um I'll never meet you in person, but i'm not I promise I'm not trying to be mean. But and maybe you're better in other films, but in this one, you're you're just really not good. And you're not good to the point. don't know I'm speaking directly to him. He's not good to the point that it kind of just ruins the rest of the movie because it's it's so stunted, so stilted. And so just like, what is he like? Why is he saying things this way? It was just, it was bizarre. If I'm, if I'm being honest, it was just fucking bizarre. um Honestly, Bria Grant wasn't that good. And the other brother wasn't good either. So you've got these three main characters who aren't really good, who are also working with a script that is atrocious in a lot of ways. I know Andrew, and not to take it away from you, but you, you had some stuff about the dialogue too.
01:37:36
Speaker
Some of the dialogue I was like, what are like, why, why are you saying it that way? that's's it was It was in 2016, and i I wrote in my thing, like, was it 2016 or 1996 or 1986? I'm not entirely sure. Like, that that really took away from it, too. So, you know, at the end of the day, you've you've got something that had a lot of ah potential about bringing the the nightmare or atmosphere game to, like, real life. and like having it play out and all this other stuff, which, do you know, look there are parts of it that are cool, but at the end of the day, it's just not an enjoyable watch. And I'm i'm sorry to say that I'm not even trying to be mean.
01:38:14
Speaker
Yeah. Um, I have similar feelings. I think I'm a little more positive on it than you are specifically, but, um, I think that this movie, I think the potential is the right word potential that yeah that you use, because I think that there is a lot in here that I think really works. I think that the The idea of like the the dying video store and the the missing dad and like their brothers coming together and then having to like save the soul of their father.
01:38:43
Speaker
and and this And this is giving a lot to this movie that I'm that i'm plotting it this way. you You definitely are for sure. Yeah. And like, and you know, like bringing the the new girlfriend and they, they add in the the plot of that. He was a heavy drinker and he hurt her.
01:39:01
Speaker
And like, there, there's like a lot of stuff in here that really does work. And when you, when I probably, when I like read this story, like if this was a novelization and I read this story, it, it it works. Like it, it, yeah it sure totally does. Like I, I am in, I am enjoying it.
01:39:18
Speaker
But script to screen, something happens. Yeah, agreed, man. I think that, listen, when you look at a budget of $300,000, that's literally nothing. So like I got to give them a little bit of grace when it comes to that kind of budget. Sure. sure Um, because I do think that there are a couple things in here that really work well. Like the fucking gore effects are hilarious. yeah Like when that, when they are, uh, gutting the, uh, the, the dummy and that guy dies in the bar and his guts pop out, I'm just like, Oh my God, this is how like, it's, it's funny. Like, yeah sure fair but like, but that's the thing about this movie is like, they don't know what lane they want to be in. They don't know if they want this to be a serious, yeah. yeah a serious family drama about like their father missing and they barely touch on that. Their mom died. yeah God forbid you, you know, actually just talk about like the person that gave you birth, but like, whatever, that's cool. and Um, And but then they they balance it with like this kind of like goofy like like, you know, we just did stitches in last episode like the gores of stitches level, but like they don't choose to be it's it's not a horror comedy and it's not a horror horror.
01:40:34
Speaker
it's like somewhere in this weird in between. And I think that's where, yeah, I think that's where the movie struggles is like either be one or the other, but because you got to choose the lane because like you can't have like heartfelt moments between brothers and then also have like,
01:40:51
Speaker
I don't know, this weird woman on a screen that only reacts to you when you play the game. i i don't know. There's like a balance here that that this movie couldn't find. And I wanted it to. Like, upon, like, I remember when this movie was coming out on Shudder in 2016. And I was really excited because, like, it looked like a movie that was for me. Like I was excited they were going to play on atmosphere. i was excited that they were going to play on VHS culture and video stores and all this stuff. And then you get into the movie. It's only what? 86, 84 minutes long. It feels like two hours. It feels long.
01:41:30
Speaker
It's long. Yeah. And so like, I just, I think that this is a movie that maybe they made too soon. Like let it, maybe let it cook for a little bit longer. Let it get a little bit more money behind it. That's fair. And I think that this could be a great movie. I really, really do. I think that there's an excellent idea here. I just think that they forced it a little bit, if that makes any sense. I think i think you you're you're giving it a much fairer assessment than me, I would say. And by fair, I guess I mean maybe a little bit more balanced. I think for me, like I was just so taken with how how bad that brother is. It's it's almost like hard to focus on anything else.
01:42:12
Speaker
And i I think what you're saying there makes a lot of sense that, you know, and I don't know if it's the script entirely. i don't know if it's, i don you know, I don't know. do you know Jackson Stewart at all? The director? i don't know. Yeah. Or or Stephen Scarlatta. that Actually, Stephen Scarlatta sounds kind of familiar in my head. Maybe he's written something else that that we know.
01:42:32
Speaker
um But it's just, it's a little bit all over the place. And like, you know, it's, you you've got, ah you know, as as you said there, you've got a little family dynamic and you've got like an alcoholic father, you've got these two brothers that are very different people and they're a little estranged and everything else.
01:42:49
Speaker
But like once again, because it's just so stunted and stilted, are but that those those are the words that keep coming to my head for it, like the dynamic between them, which should be really, you know, should be palpable. it should be It should be easy to understand. And it should also be, you know, really central to it. It just kind of gets lost in there if I'm being real. And, you know, like the the part where he tells, um what is Bria Grant's character's name, Margot? The part where, um ah but for one thing, that the guy is so weird, you wonder how he even has a ah girlfriend, if I'm being I know, right? And and especially like one as as good looking as Bria Grant. I'm not trying to demean her in any way. I'm just saying like, you know, Bria Grant's a a beautiful woman. And you you you kind of have to believe that like this nerdy dude gets that girl a little bit, if I'm being real. I don't really believe that in this either. In terms of casting, I don't. just This emotionally stunted, ah like emotionless person that is on our screen. Not even like nerdy. Yeah. And so like so it's like, you know what does that bring us to then? We have the brother who's like...
01:43:58
Speaker
the brother who was like I don't know how to talk about them. I guess like he's like the, if he he's not really the nerdy brother, he's like the successful brother. The straight laced one. He's the straight laced. He's a successful one with like a steady job, whatever. So I mean like if it's, if it's it's certainly not for his fucking personality.
01:44:14
Speaker
It's certainly not for his whatever. Like, is it for his money then? Like, I mean, like this is where your brain starts to go because you're like, if the casting is that bad, then what? I don't really understand this. And also if he is the richer brother, he sure doesn't look it like even even even when it comes down to like, OK, the costumes here, even those were sort of chintzy if we're being real. And like, I get it. 300,000 isn't that much money, but it's still 300,000 fucking dollars So like, I don't know, find some artists to do it better the next time. i don't know what else to say. I sound mean with it, but I mean, look we've got a podcast about horror movies. You know, I'm sure people talk mean about us. You're welcome to. So um I don't know, man. what Tell me like what what was a really good part of the movie for you? Tell me something like that.
01:45:00
Speaker
um I do think that all of the scenes where they're literally actually playing the game are good. i think that when they sit down at the board and they have Barbara Crampton on the TV and they're like trying to figure out how to play the game and there's like the part where um the instructions are not there and then all of a sudden they appear. And i think that all the stuff with... Honestly, all the stuff with Barbara Crampton is like the success of the movie. is like I agree with you, yeah.
01:45:29
Speaker
where she's like just staring at them and like can you imagine putting on like your VHS game and the and the host just comes on it stares at you like that would freak me the fuck out man I mean if and like if it was Barbara Crampton I'd kind of like it to be honest Well, and like that's a they like, that's the thing where I think this movie is successful is like the idea of like, ah like where you're in fucking Jumanji essentially, you know what mean? Like, yeah, agreed. And I, I did think that it was funny that like, they, like this guy does have good ideas, like, because there's even a part at towards the end where the father appears as a ghoul towards the end. There's uh, Um, um, uh, what's the Jack Nicholson movie? Uh, Dr. Sleep. What's the movie? Uh, the shining. Yeah. The shining. There's a, there's a shot when he front finally faces his father. There's a shining, uh, in oh yeah the music in the music. There's like a yeah boom.
01:46:29
Speaker
Yeah. And I was like, Oh, like oh this guy, like um boom, boom, boom. it It does that in the music. And I was like, oh, that's kind of fun. like So like i I feel bad for this director, I think, because like i think that yeah I think that this was just half-baked. I think that he needed to let this cook a little bit longer. In yeah order for it to be a good idea, because there's good stuff in here. There's good stuff in here. I promise you there is but like, but just like a category in their video store that I noticed kind of sums up this movie.
01:47:05
Speaker
but There's a category in their video store called, general film. Yeah. And that's kind of how I feel about this movie is that it's just general. Like, you know, if, okay, if, if Mike Flanagan only had 300,000 for a movie, you know what you would still get out of it?
01:47:26
Speaker
Mike Flanagan's heart. You would. yeah He might not have enough money to do a bunch of effects or to do a bunch of gore or to whatever, whatever. But you would walk away from that movie, I can nearly guarantee it, with an understanding that the people acted really well, that the story was solid, and that his heart was all over it. And this is a movie about two brothers whose dad just fucking died. Or is missing, yeah. or or or Or is missing, yeah, yeah. But you know they're they're trying to work through, like that that's some real fucking strange, like it's it's grief to work through. It really is. like What the fuck is going on?
01:48:05
Speaker
I don't walk away from it feeling that that was real at all. And, you know, that I just, I think it's a shame because like you said that the, the elements are there, but you know, if you, if you put it together, slapdash, which is what happened, then it's going to be a slapdash, you know, reception of it too. And that's a real shame.
01:48:24
Speaker
Yeah. I, I, I totally agree. I think that, there's There's enough in here. And like honestly, like even to think about like how to put together the game and like all this stuff like with the keys. and Totally. And even had the drifter, the noble one, the maiden and the father. like there's There's enough ideas in here where this should be good. I don't i agree.
01:48:46
Speaker
i don't know why it's just not. and i it's it's real i it's Andrew, I do. It's because the acting sucks. yeah and At the end of the day, that's it.
01:48:56
Speaker
And it's honestly just really frustrating because we've seen Bria Grant do great things. And this movie, she's given a character that is all supposed to be bitchy and annoying, but also heartfelt. And you're supposed to care for her. so that's That's a lot to play, man. And it's like and it's literally...
01:49:15
Speaker
it's literally scene by scene her character changes. And so like that, that, that to me says, Oh, you don't know how to write for women. Sorry. i would agree. And look, you know, here's the thing too. You're, you're making a horror film. Good for you. Just because you got Barbara Crampton to be a part of it does not make it good.
01:49:35
Speaker
Sorry. Yeah. But it doesn't. You know, that's that's not you you don't just get to have a legend in there and then you're automatically stamped. Great. That's not how this works. And this is one where the work wasn't done. And and I and I think that's some I think that that just sums it up for me, to be honest.
01:49:51
Speaker
Yeah. So do you want to rate this movie? I'm happy to. I gave it a three, which is not a good rating. And and they they're going to suffer for it. I said extremely stunted and poor acting in the main characters. Honestly, makes this nearly unwatchable. I agree with you, Andrew, on the dialogue. Was it 2016 or 1996? And I said, what a waste of Barbara Crampton.
01:50:14
Speaker
I'm going give this a four. um I said i really like the idea this. That's generous, to be honest. That's generous. um But poor acting and by the leads and some goofy dialogue really take it out for me. um The parts I really enjoyed, i really enjoyed, but it needed a second script pass and more budget to pull it off.
01:50:32
Speaker
Well, folks, that does it for our favorite film of the year, Beyond the Gates. um Listen, we'll be right back to close out the show and play a little game called These Games Are Bored.
01:50:44
Speaker
Gather round, mice. What are we doing, bud? We're going in for the baked cheese, but it's every mouse for himself, so don't get caught. Mouths!
01:50:55
Speaker
Shit, it's Mousetrap! The game's Mousetrap! Build a contraption to trap the other mice, but don't get caught yourself! Turn the crank, boom the boost, suddenly! We're down the shoe! Move the hand, the marble drop! The dive of flip, we just can't stop!
01:51:07
Speaker
This is zany action, the crazy contraption, the fun is catching! Mousetrap! You wanna bite? It's Mousetrap! Folks, that was episode 160 of Freigate the 13th Horror Podcast. But before we leave you, as always, we have a game that Andrew has lovingly cooked up. Andrew has a game today called These Games Are Bored, which I think is a really great title. Andrew, tell us how we're going to play this game.
01:51:33
Speaker
All right. So this is going to be a little bit of ah make it up as you go, but you need to take a classic board game and I need you to make it not only gay, but also horror themed.
01:51:47
Speaker
Can you do it? Oh, this going to be, ah do you have one in mind right now, Andrew? I do. I can go first if you would like me Why don't you go first, please? All right. Mine is a play on Mouse Trap and it is called Homotrap.
01:52:00
Speaker
and it is about And it is about navigating... See, if I did this one, it would be called Twink Trap. and Well, it's pretty good, too. But it is about navigating life as a gay person, and you are going through... and Oh, your first your first ah potential trap? Falling for the straight man as ah as a high schooler. Don't get trapped. Your next one is Going to a gay bar for the first time. Don't get trapped. Don't get, ah you know, drugged.
01:52:32
Speaker
And you just go through all these manipulations. Don't get drugged. Hey, has someone who has been drugged at a gay bar? I can say that. So ah this is funny the way you said it. But that would be that would be my take on it is just like the horrifying way of trying to navigate life when life hits you at every turn as a gay person.
01:52:58
Speaker
You know, Andrew, I think that's actually that that's a game that we can definitely do. um okay okay i I like that. I kind of want to play this game. What did you call it? Homotrap?
01:53:08
Speaker
Yeah, Homotrap. I like it. and And we can we can even have like specific like I said, we could have a Twinktrap one and whatever. um I'd be good at Twinktrap, I think maybe. I don't know. We'll see. Anyways, you're trapped immediately. I think i think I lose the game in the first 30 seconds. Anywho. Okay, so i think this is I'm never I'm never as good at these things as you are. um So I would I would definitely play Candyland.
01:53:36
Speaker
And I'm trying to think of ah a good way to to do this. So, because ah ah if I remember correctly, like with Candyland, did you roll a die in Candyland? No, you flipped over cards and they had colors on them. You flipped over cards and you had to like go to that color on the little like Candyland track, right? Yep.
01:53:53
Speaker
Yep. Right. Okay. So um maybe in Candyland, there is, so you're, so you're all gay. Yeah. We're going to start with that. All the players are gay.
01:54:05
Speaker
And in order to get through the game, you have to um go to different um clubs. And at the different clubs, there is candy that you have to eat and try. but in the game... quote, unquote, candy. Exactly right. but it but But the game is actually real life when you play it. So when you land on the colored square, you have to do a little bit of that particular kind of candy. And then you, by the end of it, you get to the, the magical candy land, which is really just a big party. And by the end of the game, you're all so hopped up on whatever the fuck you just took that you're actually having a gay party in your house right there. And that's a Kiki.
01:54:46
Speaker
There you go. That's my gay candy land for you. Literally off the top of my head right now. That's it. Yeah.
01:54:53
Speaker
Oh, God. So, bing, binger the game. Basically, yes. That is essentially what it is. um I don't even have another name for it. Andrew, what another delightful game that you brought us yet again. Thank you very much.
01:55:06
Speaker
So, folks, that does it for this episode of Fragge the 13th Horror Podcast. But as always, before we go, a little housekeeping. um a reminder that we are a proud independent podcast. And we don't have ads, right? So you just listen to a show that was I don't know how long this one is about two hours. And guess what? You didn't hear one ad in it, did you? Isn't that awesome? Unlike some other podcasts that I know of where you hear an ad like every five minutes or even more than that. We didn't get mattresses or therapy. Exactly.
01:55:38
Speaker
So, you know, like, look, um and instead of listening to another fucking BetterHelp ad, you just got to listen to some good content. At least I hope it was good for you. So um that's pretty cool. We're really proud of that. um And so what we do rely on, though, is people to become patrons of ours. And so we have a Patreon that you can join. um It's really easy. And all you have to do is go to our website, www.fragay13.com slash support. The link is right there for you. And once you're there, you can become a patron for literally just a dollar a month. So for 12 bucks a year, you are helping us keep our little podcast that could going. And what do we need that money for? Honestly, just to break even. Andrew and I have to rent a lot of movies for this, as you might imagine. we have to um We have to buy equipment every now and then. We have software like like what we're recording on right now called Zencaster. We have a website that we keep up. All of those things cost money. And look, we're going to keep doing them no matter what.
01:56:33
Speaker
But if we can break even, that just kind of helps us out a little bit. So if you want to do that, we would love it. But if you can't do it, we also understand. And Andrew will tell you another way you can support the show. Yeah, you can also support the show by leaving a review. Can I state that any louder? ah review. When's the last time you had a review? You said this the last time. It's been like two two years ago. That's really fucked up. Like, what the fuck? um So go on to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and just hit five stars. If you want to like write down a review, you can do that on Apple Podcasts. That's totally fine. But like, can you just do it? We're we're literally 10 away from our next goal. Can you just fucking do it? I know there's a couple of you listening right now that have not done it. Just go fucking do it.
01:57:18
Speaker
um i want I do also want to mention we do have a new patron, ah James. Just joined. James, welcome. James, I hear that you are a flight attendant from Dallas, Texas. ah We hope that right now you're flying very safely. We hope that no one's being a dick to you on board. And um thank you so much, James, for listening to the show.
01:57:39
Speaker
Yeah, and he recommended Housebound for our next What You Better Watch a Bitch. Oh, okay, cool. Nice. One of us will have to watch that movie. Housebound. But, you know, really when it comes down to it, we really just appreciate everyone for sticking around for the last eight years and reaching out on social media and hanging out with us every couple weeks when we release episodes.
01:58:02
Speaker
And really, at the end of the day, for just going ahead and get slayed.