Chekhov's Dirtbike August 26, 2013 9:44 PM   Subscribe

Cortex and Griphus' Hellraiser recap podcast WE HAVE SUCH FILMS TO TO SHOW YOU (previously) comes to the end of all Hellraiser movies so they watch and talk about the 2012 meta-fictional horror trope breakdown, The Cabin In The Woods. And structure, and false codas and what kind of human sacrifice it is. And it's neat.
posted by The Whelk to MetaFilter-Related at 9:44 PM (127 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite

I'm really not intending to come across as a negative nancy or anything, but wouldn't this be more appropriate to Projects? I don't really see how it's site-related, and I don't think anyone else connected to mefi would be encouraged to post a personal project to MeTa (however worthy?)
posted by smoke at 10:23 PM on August 26, 2013 [6 favorites]


You're wasting precious MetaTalk on this neatness!? Gah!

Though I really only have time to listen because the WE HAVE SUCH FILMS TO SHOW YOU podcast saved me hours of my life I would have wasted watching the Hellraiser franchise. Thanks guys!
posted by carsonb at 10:33 PM on August 26, 2013


Ooh, do 'Hot Dog The Movie' next. It's overflowing with structure. And aerosol cheeze.
posted by mintcake! at 11:29 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]


smoke: "I'm really not intending to come across as a negative nancy or anything, but wouldn't this be more appropriate to Projects? I don't really see how it's site-related, and I don't think anyone else connected to mefi would be encouraged to post a personal project to MeTa (however worthy?)"

Projects is only for your own stuff.
posted by Deathalicious at 2:25 AM on August 27, 2013


The outer layer of a frog's view of a British horror movie can only end in tears. They can be tears of sun, guthix, or a clown, apparently.
posted by unliteral at 4:57 AM on August 27, 2013


I think this goes on the Blue, if at all. Deathalicious is correct that Projects is for your own stuff, and smoke is correct that being created by two MeFites doesn't qualify it for MetaTalk.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:21 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


being created by two MeFites doesn't qualify it for MetaTalk

There are a number of WeeFites who would disagree with this.
Example
Example
Example

I happen to like the wedding and baby news, but if we're debating here, these things must be considered.

Also, I do think that mod projects are sort of in a category of their own somehow.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:04 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh, cool project btw. I did spend some time looking at it because although I am NOT into horror flicks at ALL, my daughter talked me into seeing CitW and I only had to hide my eyes a few times and it was really clever.
Jesus how easy to derail.
Sorry about that.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:11 AM on August 27, 2013


When this was first announced, I tried to watch Hellraiser specifically so I could listen. Couldn't get through it. Cabin in the Woods, maybe I can do!
posted by Kwine at 6:42 AM on August 27, 2013


Though I really only have time to listen because the WE HAVE SUCH FILMS TO SHOW YOU podcast saved me hours of my life I would have wasted watching the Hellraiser franchise. Thanks guys!

I had the opposite problem. No thanks, gentlemen. No thanks. Now I see fingers in mouths everywhere.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:11 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


...baby news...

Well, at least that explains why halfway through the Revelations podcast I felt like going out for a pack of smokes and never coming back.
posted by griphus at 7:17 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


This is a bit silly, yeah, but thanks for the love.

Though I really only have time to listen because the WE HAVE SUCH FILMS TO SHOW YOU podcast saved me hours of my life I would have wasted watching the Hellraiser franchise.

Joke's on you; the runtime of our 9 episodes on the Hellraiser films is in total several hours greater than the runtime of the films themselves.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:25 AM on August 27, 2013 [10 favorites]


You're using up all the Metatalk space! What if this becomes an enormous thread full of references to horror movie tropes expressed alphabetically in haiku, limerick, sonnet and i saw your peach in the fridge and I stuffed it up my arse form with the occasional recipe? mathowie might have to buy another computer.
posted by h00py at 7:41 AM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


Is the podcast enjoyable for folks who have not seen the films? I've never listened only because I assumed they would only be rewarding to fans. FWIW, I enjoy the How Did This Get Made podcast, but it is much better if it is a film I am at least slightly familiar with. I'll definitely tune in for the Cabin in the Woods episode.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:41 AM on August 27, 2013


We end up basically recapping the Hellraiser films in the process of breaking them down, so I suspect you could just come along for the ride pretty well; one of the things How Did This Get Made does well (Scheer et al's specific "here are our seven favorite terrible things" approach to snappy concision) also means they don't really go into any of the structural detail we tend to when we're sussing this shit out.

That said, I think it is probably helpful to have at least seen a picture of Pinhead and maybe seen one of the films (I recommend the first couple as basic horror media cultural literacy stuff regardless) or have read a bit of Clive Barker to at least have a good sense of the starting point from which the movies wander.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:46 AM on August 27, 2013


i saw your peach in the fridge and I stuffed it up my arse form with the occasional recipe

I am NOT making that recipe.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 7:47 AM on August 27, 2013 [4 favorites]


Have you never heard of sous vide?
posted by h00py at 7:49 AM on August 27, 2013


Is the podcast enjoyable for folks who have not seen the films?

cortex answered the question better than I could, but I personally implore you to actually watch CitW before listening to the podcast.
posted by griphus at 8:05 AM on August 27, 2013


Also, there's a Facebook group for the podcast. It's pretty active and the closest thing we're going to have to a forum, so pop in and say hi.
posted by griphus at 8:09 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Cool! I downloaded the Cabin in the Woods episode because I saw that movie recently and thought it was the most boring thing in the history of ever, but then a bunch of my friends were appalled that I would say so, so I'm hoping to get some insight into what I missed as I was eye-rolling and making snoring noises at my laptop.
posted by Squeak Attack at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2013


cortex: That said, I think it is probably helpful to have at least seen a picture of Pinhead and maybe seen one of the films (I recommend the first couple as basic horror media cultural literacy stuff regardless)

The first one is streamable on Netflix, FYI. I'll check it out this weekend.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:00 AM on August 27, 2013


Don't forget about Event Horizon: Hellraiser in Space part 2: the Lament Configuration is Your Ex
posted by boo_radley at 9:08 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Grimdark Solaris
posted by griphus at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Is there a transcript anywhere? I love Cabin in the Woods but don't love listening to things. I also hate fun, FYI.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 10:04 AM on August 27, 2013 [5 favorites]


When I was in high school I loved Hellraiser and Hellraiser 2. Then it got incredibly bad with Hellraiser 3, which I believe was the one with even stupider cenobites and it ruined everything.

I'm pretty sure the consensus on the podcast was that they disliked the second one and liked the third, which is wrong. WRONG.
posted by Hoopo at 10:06 AM on August 27, 2013


Is there a transcript anywhere?

It would be totally awesome if someone volunteered to do this, but I definitely don't have the time/patience for it.
posted by griphus at 10:08 AM on August 27, 2013


Oh I've been wanting to see this, better do it before I listen to this 'cast.
posted by Mister_A at 10:36 AM on August 27, 2013


Yes, do it, it is excellent. If you like horror movies, this manages to get it right on a meta-level that movies like Scream never did.
posted by Hoopo at 10:44 AM on August 27, 2013


MetaTalk: I also hate fun, FYI.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:57 AM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


I'm hoping to get some insight into what I missed as I was eye-rolling and making snoring noises at my laptop.

I'm guessing this response was due to a bunch of the horror movie tropes in the first half, which ironically makes you a great candidate for loving the hell out of the movie!
posted by naju at 11:15 AM on August 27, 2013


It sounds to me more a case of someone not familiar with those tropes.
posted by Hoopo at 11:20 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Like griphus, I both would be amazed and grateful to see a transcript made and do not even have the time or energy to transcribe two-and-change hours of us rambling, let alone to do so every couple weeks.

I'm pretty sure the consensus on the podcast was that they disliked the second one and liked the third, which is wrong.

No, you're wrong! About the consensus, I mean; I'm not sure Yakov and I agreed about H2 exactly but I think we both thought H3 was a (comparatively) terrible pile of poop as Hellraiser sequel, even if it does has its moments.

It sounds to me more a case of someone not familiar with those tropes.

Yeah, it's a really interesting question to me: what does Cabin in the Woods look like to someone who basically isn't a dyed-in-the-wool horror junkie? I cannot remove the cultural context of the film from the film and I wonder if a lot of the things I found really delightful about it as a commentary on horror film culture would just read as sort of flat and odd taken totally at face value.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:45 AM on August 27, 2013 [3 favorites]


Yeah, it's a really interesting question to me: what does Cabin in the Woods look like to someone who basically isn't a dyed-in-the-wool horror junkie?

I think it doesn't necessarily require that you've actually seen all the movies, but it certainly does help to be familiar with them, just through seeing ads or awareness of the culture. I recognized most of the tropes in the early part without actually having seen most of the movies they were referencing, and I thoroughly enjoyed Cabin in the Woods.
posted by LionIndex at 12:01 PM on August 27, 2013


No, you're wrong! About the consensus, I mean

Ah, my bad.

I am certainly impressed you watched past the third one. You guys deserve a prize or something for that. I considered myself a huge fan of the first two, and after the third I decided to I never wanted to watch another. And then watched one anyway, the one in space, and it was also terrible, and I gave up.
posted by Hoopo at 12:02 PM on August 27, 2013


Yeah, it's a really interesting question to me: what does Cabin in the Woods look like to someone who basically isn't a dyed-in-the-wool horror junkie?

I was teaching some junior high school kids some sort of playwriting class a few months ago, and we took a break, and one of them said he had just seen Cabin in the Woods and it was terrible. I told him that this was an example of why I am glad not to be young anymore, because I've grown past knowing so little about film that I make statements that will embarrass and haunt me later.

I don't know if that answers your question, but I wanted to tell a story in which I was mean to a child.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:20 PM on August 27, 2013 [22 favorites]


I can testify that this podcast will tear your soul podcast listening schedule apart!
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:50 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Is the podcast enjoyable for folks who have not seen the films? I've never listened only because I assumed they would only be rewarding to fans.

Other than the basic Wikipedia entries and that time Pinhead met Marshall Law I have no familiarity with the Hellraiser stuff or Barker's oeuvre in general and have enjoyed the two shows I've listened to. I do think they could do with some shortening/tightening up (I do my podcast listening while doing house chores or work-work and use show runtimes to allocate my time/attention on a particular task; anything longer than an hour fucks up my schedule, but that's the fault of my quirk, not cortex or griphus.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:05 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, it's a really interesting question to me: what does Cabin in the Woods look like to someone who basically isn't a dyed-in-the-wool horror junkie?

As noted above, I am an aversionist. I thought it was a lot of fun because it was clever, and because it didn't really make any secret about the fact that all the things you expected to happen were going to happen. But it was still pretty light on the horror aspect. Sometimes with a twist, which made if more fun. But if there is an ugly suspicious looking toothless crone type guy? Yeah, he's gonna be a bad guy. If two people split up to cover the area faster, yeah, one of them's gonna die. Or turn into a zombie or something. I'm not giving anything away.

Anyway it was fun. Of course I was watching it with the kid, and everything is more fun with the kids, so YMMV.
posted by SLC Mom at 1:27 PM on August 27, 2013


Bona feedays?
posted by 256 at 1:30 PM on August 27, 2013


I'm a fuckin' trailblazer of paranoid overcorrections, basically.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:36 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


I will never forget the day I learned to pronounce "bona fide" because a friend told me it sounded like "bonerfied" and I said "oh okay" as if that was a regular word that comes up in conversation.
posted by griphus at 1:46 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


That's okay, I was legal drinking age before I realised that the "draught" in "draught beer" doesn't rhyme with "naught."

and that "debris" doesn't rhyme with "hubris."
posted by 256 at 1:50 PM on August 27, 2013


Cabin in the Woods was weird that way. It was very well put-together, but I had the feeling throughout the entire thing that Joss Whedon wasn't just winking at the viewer in a "Look how many tropes we both know, *wink*" way, he had a camera pointed at his endlessly winking eye, which was streaming to an IMAX/Jumbotron screen.

So not bad, per se, but I think the main message which I came away from it with is that Joss Whedon wants you to know that he's very clever.
posted by CrystalDave at 2:15 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, it's a really interesting question to me: what does Cabin in the Woods look like to someone who basically isn't a dyed-in-the-wool horror junkie?

I basically do not watch horror films ever, at all, and I loved Cabin. I think many of the tropes they were using (the larger plot arc, some of the major beats) are just pop culture knowledge at this point. Plus I loved the concept, and I am an absolute sucker for Whedon's sense of humor. And the ending was fantastic.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:27 PM on August 27, 2013 [3 favorites]


My god, those last couple of Hellraiser films were beyond terrible... I'll never forgive you guys for forcing me to watch them (what I'm going to stop once I've started... are you mad?). Still it will be bring me winning bragging rights in years to come "Oh, you've climbed Everest have you? Swum the channel? Well I've watched all the Hellraiser films. All. Of. Them."
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:52 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Cabin in the Woods was weird that way. It was very well put-together, but I had the feeling throughout the entire thing that Joss Whedon wasn't just winking at the viewer in a "Look how many tropes we both know, *wink*" way, he had a camera pointed at his endlessly winking eye, which was streaming to an IMAX/Jumbotron screen.

That's a fair criticism, but it's also a genre criticism. Horror movie have been referencing itself like this -- oh, gosh, probably since the second horror film ever made, which I presume was, in part, a critique and parody of the first horror film ever made.

It's one of the things that I find really interesting about horror -- that it is not just intended to scare you, but is also a discussion about horror, and sometimes about the ethics of horror. Targets, as an example, explicitly addresses the question of whether older horror tropes are outdated in a world where we are exposed to real, rather than symbolic, violence. And that film is pretty old -- about 44 years. But it's quite young when you consider that Jane Austin wrote Northanger Abbey in 1817, which is, in some ways, just one long gothic in-joke.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 3:37 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Also, "banal" is closer to "canal" than "anal." Word to the wise.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:53 PM on August 27, 2013


Did one us actually say "BAY-nul"? Because that's kind of awesome.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:08 PM on August 27, 2013


I pronounce anal the same way I pronounce canal.

Which either explains my troubles with my proctologist or my troubles with my last trip to Panama.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:11 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


anal canal (SFW, SNL)
posted by griphus at 4:27 PM on August 27, 2013


The gay clubbing area of Manchester is located around Canal Streett.

The C goes missing with alarming frequency.
posted by The Whelk at 4:30 PM on August 27, 2013


Hoopo said: It sounds to me more a case of someone not familiar with those tropes.

Oh, ha, no! I'm very familiar with horror movie tropes. I just kept waiting for the movie to do something new or interesting or sparky with them. Like, that's what passes for satire? I saw a bunch of the Scream movies. Meta's been done, Joss. But I admit I'm not a horror junkie, so I might not have the amused indulgence it takes.
posted by Squeak Attack at 5:03 PM on August 27, 2013


Also, "banal" is closer to "canal" than "anal." Word to the wise.

That beautiful tenor refrain'll
be heard all down Venice's canal!
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:26 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


So, a fart?
posted by Going To Maine at 5:42 PM on August 27, 2013


A Nu start
posted by The Whelk at 5:46 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm not sure how I feel about them branching out into enjoyable movies - then again after 8 Hellraiser movies I guess they deserve it.

My write in request is Event Horizon - the OTHER Hellraiser in Space.
posted by Artw at 5:47 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm going to go with Jason X, the other horror franchise they took into space, because it is a beautiful masterpiece.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 5:49 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


I will say that the moment in Event Horizon when they find the old video footage of what happened onboard the spaceship when hell cracked open is actually what I think the world of the Cenobites would really be like.

Here's that scene. I'd warn against spoilers, but nothing is actually spoiled, and captain Cowboy Curtis's curt "We're leaving" at the end of it is inadvertently one of the funniest lines in the history of horror.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 5:55 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


Oh shit. Are we nominating good horror movies for this podcast now?

Event Horizon
Alien
The Shining
The Ring (American)
Psycho
The Blair Witch Project
Cable Guy
Marble Hornets
posted by 256 at 5:58 PM on August 27, 2013


the other horror franchise they took into space

Leprechaun 4: In Space
posted by 256 at 5:59 PM on August 27, 2013 [3 favorites]


Bunny: That scene from Event Horizon has stuck with me perhaps more than any other scene from any horror movie.
posted by 256 at 6:03 PM on August 27, 2013


Critters 4 takes place in space too. AND IS ON YOUTUBE!
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 6:05 PM on August 27, 2013


My write in request is Event Horizon - the OTHER Hellraiser in Space.

Hear, hear.
posted by homunculus at 6:16 PM on August 27, 2013


I will rewatch the shit out of Event Horizon, fwiw. But I'm not gonna railroad griphus on this, we gotta come to a like mutually-satisfactory consensus on shit.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:20 PM on August 27, 2013 [4 favorites]


Horror is not the realm of consensus-decision-making, cortex! AT BEST, you might consider demarchy, but that's only if you have enough for a citizen's jury!
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 6:23 PM on August 27, 2013


Can you be bona fide, or can you only establish your bona fides?
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:02 PM on August 27, 2013


Marble Hornets

Oh, is there an actual Marble Hornets film these days or is it still the five hundred YouTube clips?
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:03 PM on August 27, 2013


Because of this podcast I rewatched TCITW.


I refuse to belive this isn't an SCP adaptation. And I mean that all the possible respect, because everything I write is basically SCP fanfic.


Also Helmsworth looks werid with short hair.
posted by The Whelk at 7:21 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love you's guys. I really do.
posted by slogger at 7:48 PM on August 27, 2013


DO WISHMASTER!!!

THEN WISHMASTER 2!!!

You can skip Wishmasters 3 and 4 though, they fired the original genie and padded the whole thing out with gutwrenching softcore porn. Also they cut the genie's awesome "crawler form". Criminal.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 11:13 PM on August 27, 2013


I know you guys kept on with the "rate us on iTunes, it's apparently a good thing to do", but fucked if I could figure out how to do that and make the rating stick. I just kept on getting prompted for my account password, and even when it looked like it had worked it'd just go back to saying "rate this podcast". fucking iTunes.

I hadn't seen number 9 until a couple of months ago and though I knew how it came to be I was still surprised by just how much it looked like a daytime soap. a couple of indoor sets, one take and you're done. classy.

Still it will be bring me winning bragging rights in years to come "Oh, you've climbed Everest have you? Swum the channel? Well I've watched all the Hellraiser films. All. Of. Them."

I'm like that with the Universal Soldier movies.
posted by russm at 1:09 AM on August 28, 2013


I'm like that with the Universal Soldier movies.

I've just had a flashback to Sex Lives Of The Potato Men, which I now remember as a dream or a nightmare... I think, to be honest, nothing will beat getting through all of that. Nothing. It's like the Cthulhu of bad movies... it's sounds just a bit rubbish and silly. But the reality. Oh God the horror... the horror...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:41 AM on August 28, 2013


Do Season 1 of Marble Hornets, pretend the rest doesn't exist.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:55 AM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'll put in a bid for The Stuff.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:57 AM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


That's okay, I was legal drinking age before I realized that the "draught" in "draught beer" doesn't rhyme with "naught."

That's probably why we spell it "draft" around here.
posted by octothorpe at 6:10 AM on August 28, 2013


You can skip Wishmasters 3 and 4 though

That's really not the ethos of the show.

I like to think if they watched the Halloweens it would be watching them especially Season of the Witch.
posted by Artw at 6:13 AM on August 28, 2013


Oh man the Wishmaster movies, constantly bringing up the question "Did they do this for the effects shot or does a producer have a really specific fetish..."
posted by The Whelk at 6:25 AM on August 28, 2013


They lack the strict logic of the Nughtmare on Elm Street films, it's true.
posted by Artw at 6:40 AM on August 28, 2013


Marble Hornets is godawful. Do people still pretend otherwise for some reason?
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:58 AM on August 28, 2013


Guys! Guys! The fun never has to end! EVER.
posted by Artw at 7:18 AM on August 28, 2013


I'll put in a bid for The Stuff.

As the guy who feels the need to make a The Stuff joke every time someboy talks about yougurt on Metafilter even though I haven't seen it in 20+ years (whenever it was on HBO all the time), I second this bid.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2013


Is Marble Hornets still going? I kind of gave up when it became all tapes within tapes I had no clue what was going on

Oh and def vote for Event Horizon.... I could actually do with watching that for something I'm planning to do. I remember Jason Isaacs (Hello!) talking about it on the radio... seemed pretty proud of it and he said he wanted to keep the fake body of himself they created for the film (but I don't think they ever used)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:42 AM on August 28, 2013


The first season of Marble Hornets ends shockingly and with an uncertain future. It's actually not a bad ending for horror. They had more ideas, so they made Season 2, and about halfway through decided to do a third season because they needed more time. Season 2 is not as good as one, and 3 has been kind of a mess.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:13 AM on August 28, 2013


Oooh! Do the Child's Play movies!

Because when the first one came out, I remember being all, what are they thinking?! A ventriloquist dummy? How is THAT going to work? Except, hey, what do you know, it is creepy and kinda scary after all.

After that, the movies start to get campier and slashier and I'm not a slasher fan but whatever, some people like that stuff I guess.

And then, one day, someone comes up with the brilliant idea of Chucky in love. Hey, they did it with Frankenstein. How bad could it be?

Really, really bad is the answer. Bride of Chucky is a hot mess of cheesy fetishistic puppet porn. Just a big ol' sadomasochistic slashfest. It's not even scary.

I know some horror fans disagree. So what if BofC is corny instead of frightening or even terribly clever? There's lots of self-referential horror jokes for the horror lovers, anyway. Jennifer Tilly slutting it up, an impossibly young Katherine Heigl. John Ritter does Pinhead. What's not to love?

But I dunno. Maybe I'm a prude, but I kinda draw the line at freaky puppet sex scenes and burnt-up demon-spawn baby-puppet cop killers.
posted by misha at 10:03 AM on August 28, 2013


Blamed (fairly randomly) for a horrible murder in the UK!
posted by Artw at 10:17 AM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]



Marble Hornets is godawful. Do people still pretend otherwise for some reason?

Pretend? Season One was the best slow reveal of creeping terror that I've ever seen.
posted by 256 at 11:45 AM on August 28, 2013


Lake Mungo, which I found through an AskMe, did a good job of that.
posted by Artw at 11:55 AM on August 28, 2013


Do the film version of The King In Yellow!



Oh, haven't you heard of it? I suppose it was rather overlooked when it came out, but it really is an excellent adaptation of the original play. The visuals are especially good- the twin suns setting over Carcosa, the black stars appearing in the evening sky, reflected in Lake Hali. Simply stunning.

It really has given me an entirely different perspective on things. Many of the trivialities of daily life no longer concern me. Instead, my attention is pulled to things that would otherwise have escaped my notice- the structure of certain plants, the movements of small animals, the unconscious habits of people when they think they are not being observed. My mind practically struggles to reach out, to know things, to take them apart and see how they work. I sleep much less now, and yet still feel rested. I take walks at night, guided as much by smell and sound, as by sight. I perceive a human figure some distance away, ignorant of my own presence, and I feel energized, like I could simply pull them, and the rest of the world with them, towards me. I am becoming different. Not a different person per se, but something else entirely.




Stay away from The King In Yellow 4, though. It's fucking awful.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:13 PM on August 28, 2013 [7 favorites]


There was a direct to video version of The Hanged King's Tragedy that's pretty good. It really moves you.
posted by The Whelk at 12:19 PM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


There was a direct to video version of The Hanged King's Tragedy that's pretty good.

that is to say
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 2:29 PM on August 28, 2013




Sort of both? TBH I would have prefered it if it hadn't so clearly gone "fuck it, it's Hellraiser now" in the third act.
posted by Artw at 2:45 PM on August 28, 2013


(I would have made the spikes thing a Tillinghast engine and ripped off From Beyond hard - messing with hyperspacial geometry screws up primate perception leading to hallucinations, panic, murder. What's worse it it draws the attention of THINGS from THE OUTSIDE, and you can never turn it off...)
posted by Artw at 2:48 PM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'd be totally up for an Event Horizon episode. I watched that movie once when I was 19, didn't really "get" it, tried watching it again recently (while totally not in a scifi/horror mood), got bored and turned it off. I still really like the concept and I wouldn't mind developing an opinion on it beyond "meh."
posted by griphus at 2:52 PM on August 28, 2013


Also, am I trippin' or did that movie have a bunch of crossover with Rendezvous with Rama as well?
posted by griphus at 2:54 PM on August 28, 2013


Lifeforce maybe?

If you're ever after a similar but far shitter movie...
posted by Artw at 2:58 PM on August 28, 2013


Lifeforce is definately a film that is at once amazing and terrible.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 3:00 PM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


If you're ever after a similar but far shitter movie...

I have a personal rule to not watch direct-to-video releases named after '70s prog albums.

Tarkus Saves Christmas ruined it for everyone.
posted by griphus at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


I haven't seen Event Horizon since it first arrived on VHS. My vague recollection of it is Hellraiser meets Tarkovsky's Solaris, with Alien's faulty electrical and lighting systems.
posted by naju at 3:08 PM on August 28, 2013


I am listening to KMFDM right now.
posted by Artw at 3:13 PM on August 28, 2013


I just saw Event Horizon last night. If I have to pick one, I pick "terrible." Blood flood from The Shining. Villain and alternate dimension from Hellraiser. Blue-collar design sensibility from Alien. Cooper from an altogether different movie. The reveal of what happened to the crew was good, though.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 4:17 PM on August 28, 2013


A brief intrusion of Orbital onto the soundtrack is absolutely the highlight of the film.
posted by Artw at 4:22 PM on August 28, 2013


I am listening to KMFDM right now.

Listening to KMFDM should really be your default state.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:05 PM on August 28, 2013


Event Horizon should have a Cherenkov's dirtbag.
posted by bleep-blop at 5:19 PM on August 28, 2013


Similarly, I really wish Sunshine hadn't gone "Fuck it, it's Event Horizon now" in the third act. Actually maybe an entire podcast devoted to films for which the third act is better left completely unwatched could be fun.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 2:07 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


Third acts seem to be hard to do. I'm usually bored to death during the last forty-five minutes of action movies since they mostly just break down to the same fist fights on steel catwalks and improbably tight deadlines to get something done.
posted by octothorpe at 4:29 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Lifeforce is definately a film that is at once amazing and terrible

I rewatched Lifeforce again quite recently and I was impressed by the fact that it's about half-a-dozen films in one - space pic, Hammer horror, conspiracy thriller, zombie romp, post-apocalypse, Quartermass rip off... and that's just off the top of my head
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:29 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Third acts seem to be hard to do.

I'm not clear on why they're the preferred structure for film. In theater, a three-act play will take three to four hours to perform, with between one and two intermissions. It's a form designed for long storytelling, with each act serving as a sort of mini-play.

I guess that may be why so many tentpole films are starting to be three hours long, although that seems to have more to do with having to provide both massive narration dumps and protracted scenes of visual spectacle.

2001: A Space Odyssey uses a three-act (and arguably a four act) structure well, but, then, one entire act takes place before the dawn of recorded history, the middle act(s) take us to the moon and then to Jupiter, and the finally beyond the infinite. And that film is only seven minutes longer than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 9:19 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


I'm not clear on why they're the preferred structure for film

There was a book.
posted by Artw at 9:23 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


An argument can be made that Sunshine was created as a subversion of the three-act structure by spending a lot of time and money to make it clear that the third act was not just unnecessary, but ruinous.
posted by griphus at 9:26 AM on August 29, 2013


Whatever Boyle's and Garland's motivations, it came off as a big Fuck You to the movie viewer.
posted by octothorpe at 10:35 AM on August 29, 2013


Not either of their finest moments.
posted by Artw at 10:40 AM on August 29, 2013


NOT A SINGLE MENTION OF PHANTASM?!

WHAT THE FUCK
posted by Z. Aurelius Fraught at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]


Rewatched Event Horizon last night... it wasn't completely terrible.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:05 PM on August 30, 2013


WHAT THE FUCK

I see you've just watched Phantasm.
posted by Gygesringtone at 12:10 PM on August 30, 2013


I love this tag-line.
I envision a bespectacled Anton doing 360's around a Cherry tree.
posted by clavdivs at 7:51 AM on September 1, 2013


C'mon, let's go sleazy.

Sleepaway Camp. One through four.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:01 AM on September 3, 2013


/was previously unaware of 2-4.
posted by Artw at 11:05 AM on September 3, 2013


Remain unaware, I beg you.
posted by griphus at 11:12 AM on September 3, 2013


It's always a worrying sign when there is a 3 or 4 and you didn't know about 2.
posted by Artw at 11:14 AM on September 3, 2013


Hey now, the first Sleepaway Camp has tender feathered hair 70s gay love. And ...other things. It's most " hey guys, let's make a movie!" hey guys lets make a movie I've ever seen.
posted by The Whelk at 2:14 PM on September 3, 2013


Finally watched Cabin in the Woods last night on Netflix streaming and it was terrific. Listening to the podcast now. You guys really have something with the podcast-good chemistry, great radio voices. Reminds me a little bit of Battleship Pretension. I hope you keep it going.
posted by Kwine at 8:52 AM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


Just saw Cabin in the Woods; listening to the podcast now. Nice dig at Van Sant.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 2:10 PM on September 15, 2013


I don't even remember what my joke was, just that I made it. Probably about Psycho? Probably about Psycho. I actually really love the dude and thought the remake was an interesting thing to do even if not really a necessary one.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:35 PM on September 15, 2013


Yeah, I figured, I just liked the joke. Also, the big statue of Christ is in Rio de Janeiro, not Buenos Aires, but that's kind of pedantic of me to say and you probably realized it soon afterward, sorry, agh.

Definitely want to see Ken Burns's Godzilla/Pacific Rim, though.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 4:20 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


For a second I got Van Sant and Von Sydow mixed up and could not for the life of me remember when we made a dig at Von Sydow because it's not like that would be out of the ordinary.
posted by griphus at 7:04 PM on September 15, 2013


Don't mess with the Ming.
posted by Artw at 7:27 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


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