Episode 209: A Box Grater is the Perfect Defence [Haunted Houses]

Dave 09:59

Yeah I mean everyone loves to do homework on their birthday. But at yeah these were these are these are fun. Well, ah, they're good they're good movies 1 is fun and yeah, yeah.

Cameron 10:01

It was good homework at least they are good. 1 one is fun. The other one is gripping I think he's probably the best way to put it. Oh god actually.

Leonard 10:04

Um, yeah, and the.

Dave 10:16

Yeah, putting it kindly.

Cameron 10:19

A friend of mine popped around halfway through the the not categorically fun one and he knocked on the door and I nearly jumped out of my skin because it sounded it sounded like there was a thumping in the wall which we'll get a get to for a second I completely freaked out.

Leonard 10:29

Um.

Dave 10:37

Yeah, yeah, that'll be our through line. It is things in the walls of your house so we're we were were not watching we are discussing housebound from 2014 and relic from 2020

Cameron 10:37

Ah.

Leonard 10:43

Oh yeah.

Cameron 10:43

Yeah, yeah, oh yes.

Dave 10:56

And ah housebound is a new zealand film and relic is from Australia.

Cameron 11:00

Yep, yeah, which was another pleasant surprise both from my stretch of the woods as it were.

Dave 11:06

Yeah, and and like when we decided on these I'd forgotten that that was the case because it's been a minute since I watched these youth the first time so like oh okay, yeah, these are these are from New Zealand and Australia.

Cameron 11:16

Yeah.

Dave 11:25

Um, for the coincience.

Cameron 11:25

And local film there there there is a there is a local film industry. It's just ah, it doesn't always get into our stretch of things. It.

Dave 11:35

Yeah, and a lot of the New Zealand stuff is just ah, ported overseas as location rather than exported their own films but they have them to so such as the one we watched? Yeah so we'll kick it off with housebound. Ah this.

Cameron 11:39

Oh yeah, yeah, well yeah.

Dave 11:52

Is it's the horror comedy. Um I a little lighter on the it's not um, tongue in cheek. Maybe.

Cameron 11:55

Yep, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, M Yeah yeah I can definitely feel that and this is also a thing we should point out is the is the director's first film.

Leonard 12:03

It's it's vague very ah egg or riy ah very shan of the dead ish. Yeah, or yeah early Peter Jackson yeah

Dave 12:07

Um, yeah, Peter Jackson

Leonard 12:17

Yes.

Dave 12:19

Um, yes.

Cameron 12:20

Which it definitely has that sort of energy especially near the start it feels I don't know if Amateur is the right term but it's got that sort of Raw slightly on polished feel which I actually appreciated because it was very different I watched these in the opposite Order. So I went from an incredibly highly produced, very effective film to oh this is going to be more fun I can calm down a bit.

Leonard 12:37

Yes.

Dave 12:45

Um, yeah, housebound reminded me kind of a frighteners of that era of movies.

Leonard 12:50

That there's also a bit of like early Sam Ramy like vibe to it as well.

Cameron 12:54

Um, yeah, yeah.

Dave 12:58

Um, yeah, and ah this I hadn't thought of it until I was looking at the the credits but um Gerard Johnstone the director also has done Megan which is um, apparently very well received.

Leonard 13:10

Yes, if.

Cameron 13:10

Oh really, excellent. Yeah I got to watch that. Yeah there you go.

Dave 13:15

Haven't seen that one but topical at least in terms of Ai doing something strange.

Leonard 13:15

A.

Cameron 13:22

50 people.

Dave 13:26

But yeah, so housebound in I'll just handle the summary. Um, this is about a a young woman Kylie and she's run afoul of the law.

Cameron 13:31

Um, yeah, please. So.

Dave 13:45

And is is house boundund. She's put under um house arrest for I think um a month. No no yeah as as a no hands just a month. It's much longer than that. Um, yeah, so eight months

Cameron 13:50

I was eight months yeah

Dave 14:00

And has an ankle bracelet so she can't go past the property line um of the house and she's she's basically sent back to live with her mother and her stepdad ah and the the home.

Cameron 14:03

What. Yep.

Dave 14:17

That her mother had it's not really recently Ninety ninety six so some years prior when Kylie was a child but had since moved out um had had.

Cameron 14:22

Yeah, that it would it would yeah yes button.

Leonard 14:35

Yes.

Dave 14:35

Bought that house and was Kylie was under the impression her entire adult life that it had been like a b and b before her mom like picked it up. But apparently no, it was a halfway house. And there had been a grisly ah murder committed there and now there are knockings and strange things within the walls stuff kind of disappears and.

Cameron 14:58

Yeah, yeah. And the power bills through the roof.

Dave 15:14

Yeah, and they have they're stuck with dial up internet I know that's not that's not part of the yeah team. Yeah, and it's up to Kylie to like figure out what's going on because she.

Cameron 15:20

Yeah I mean that's part of the horror to me. Ah.

Leonard 15:21

The sixty fifty

Cameron 15:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dave 15:32

She has nowhere else to go. She can't leave a house.

Leonard 15:34

Right? Oh and and most importantly I think is that her mother Miriam is just like yeah the house is haunted like yeah weird stuff happens because it's haunted because there were murders here. Um a murder here.

Cameron 15:40

Yeah, straight out. Yeah, no.

Dave 15:48

Yeah, well, she's not like leaning into that in the beginning because she she's pretending that it's was a bed and breakfast. But um, that.

Leonard 15:51

Right.

Cameron 15:57

So.

Dave 16:03

Of the characters. Um Mirrors One of my favorite just is like great energy.

Leonard 16:06

Um.

Cameron 16:06

Ah I love her. Yeah, she's um, she's played by Rima Terwiyata who's also in our hunt for the wilder people which is a really great film and she's great in that as well.

Dave 16:19

Yeah, she's she's kind of stole the show for me like shes just every time she's on the screen. It's like okay she has a little energy and she's kind of like I'm trying to I don't know she's not she'ss frenetic.

Cameron 16:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So.

Dave 16:38

Not frantic. She's like frenetic She has a lot of energy. She's like highstrung I guess is probably what her character is doing um and is just trying to like she's trying to care for her daughter but she also doesn't want her daughter there.

Leonard 16:38

M.

Cameron 16:39

Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

Leonard 16:46

Um, in.

Cameron 16:56

Yeah, no a laws. Yes.

Dave 16:58

Like this was not her choice. It's the the the the the system was like this is the place where you you have to be housed and so they're putting up with their ah her daughter and.

Cameron 17:06

And.

Dave 17:16

It's you can tell that she loves her daughter but she's also just kind of like because it's a weird. It's not the um, general feeling of oh you have a troubled child and now you're like ah you're you're angry at them like that's not that's not the case.

Cameron 17:32

Um, no.

Dave 17:36

It's more like oh now it just feels like a weird house guest that you don't get along with really anymore or or um I don't know like an in law that came and you didn't get along with them.

Cameron 17:42

Yeah.

Leonard 17:44

Um.

Cameron 17:48

E.

Leonard 17:49

Right instead of like a direct blood relative.

Dave 17:54

Yeah, instead of it's like your you know your direct relation mostly because Kylie's kind of being a jerk. Um this she's she's a jerk. Yeah, they just want look they have they have.

Cameron 17:56

E.

Leonard 18:00

And that not not kind of she she is She is a jerk.

Cameron 18:04

Yeah, absolutely.

Dave 18:11

2 nights a week where they watch a tv show. It's an hour long and they want to watch it and then she's just like not letting them watch their Tv show.

Cameron 18:19

Yeah I mean it Color Coronation Street is a classic.

Leonard 18:24

Um.

Dave 18:25

Yeah, and she was very sad that she couldn't watch her show and then cur heard her um her new husbands Graham think it's Graham yeah, ah.

Cameron 18:34

Yeah, yeah, just sort of a quiet. Yeah.

Leonard 18:37

Um, Graham.

Dave 18:41

I liked him too. He's just kind of a super reserved doesn't know what to it's so he's the embodiment of you don't know what to do with your hands, but it's his whole like person.

Cameron 18:53

Yeah, yes, yeah I mean you I can respect that like you don't know exactly what to do when your wife's estranged daughter shows up to be under house or as so just don't put your foot in it. You know, give them space.

Leonard 18:55

Um, yes, it right.

Dave 19:08

Yeah, he just like yeah.

Leonard 19:12

It and he just he just ah and that just appears to be his just like general state of being anyway like he is just like he is also like passivity embodied in in an a and a person.

Cameron 19:19

Um, yes m.

Dave 19:26

Um, he yeah, he's like the don't rock the boat but like ever yeah and and it's nice because Miriam isn't someone. That's like browbeating him.

Cameron 19:29

Yeah, yeah for sure.

Leonard 19:29

Yeah, yeah.

Cameron 19:39

Yes, no no.

Dave 19:41

She's just kind of happy-go lucky and he's just content to go along for the ride so it works for them like they seem very cozy, just quiet and and Kylie coming home is like the.

Cameron 19:52

Yeah.

Dave 19:58

Supreme interruption for that. You know there's not a lot of space so they're all they're all they're all bound together by the the thighs that bind in this house. But yeah.

Cameron 19:58

Yeah, absolutely. Stuck in the house this. Ah yeah.

Dave 20:18

So that's that's the setup I I dug the intro where Kylie and her buddy are trying to Rob like an atm and they just don't know what they're doing. They just really want that money.

Cameron 20:28

Ah, man that was so funny. Yeah, it's ah man.

Dave 20:37

They're not prepared and he he's like whacking the machine with a mal. Ah, it's a sledgehammer. He's hitting it. He's hitting it and then it bounces and cracks him in the head and they don't.

Leonard 20:46

50

Cameron 20:47

Sledchama. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dave 20:56

They don't do. It's like it's a weird like cartoon violence not to level of like a big like goose egg or anything forming but it it. It lays him out flat. There's no bruise but it snaps his glasses clean in half and he just is like.

Leonard 21:02

Um, yes.

Cameron 21:02

Um. If. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leonard 21:12

Um.

Dave 21:15

My soldiers be laying there with his tongue sticking out or something or like you could see birds going around his head like it's that like what he I mean he's probably he's not dead but it's really hurt. Yeah I mean it knocked him out completely. Yeah.

Cameron 21:23

Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, that's that's brain damage right.

Leonard 21:25

Ah, we but he certainly can. He's certainly can cost.

Dave 21:33

But they didn't They didn't go like oh make it gore fests because they could have done that they could have just had like his nose crushed and all kinds of bad but it's more just like this is there's physical comedy of it while still being serious.

Cameron 21:38

Yeah, no, no, they they saved the golf for later. Oh yeah, no yeah, it was like the the perfect economy of motion of Hammer down hammerhead backup and the guy just. Not flying backwards but like slips and goes completely straight down. It was so good that.

Dave 21:59

Yeah, it's in 1 like quick motion because he's just he's hammering like and like frantically at this machine. He's so mad and then it when it knocks him out. It's in 1 movement so you don't really even know like oh he's oh yeah, he's on the ground it just it's real fast.

Cameron 22:07

Yeah, yeah. Yep there he goes.

Dave 22:18

And the alarm's going off and so she's upset and like takes a crowbar to it and is trying to drag him and the little cash box and just gets caught. It's it's it's funny. Yeah.

Cameron 22:29

Yeah, ah tries to drive away and gets caught on the curb because their car their car has the not the not lifted wheels. The thing where you sink it down a little I think yeah, that's the word. Thank you.

Dave 22:40

Um, yeah, it's a low writer Susan Susan

Cameron 22:46

Yeah, ah man and then yeah, it's just um I mean the main set of this is the house and I don't know if design queues sort of pull over to your your guys side of the pond.

Dave 22:52

Yeah.

Cameron 23:03

But this felt like so many of the older houses I had visited as a kid. It's something about like the the tight cozy design that is just filled to the brim with other people stuff.

Leonard 23:17

Um, the.

Dave 23:17

Um, so I wouldn't I would say maybe this this to me is like some of my family in California have it's a smaller. The footprint of the like the land is smaller.

Cameron 23:26

Ok. Yeah, yes, yes.

Dave 23:34

Like there's a lot of space but not for the houses. So the houses are small and kind of everything's kind of cluttered in them and so ah, but the layouts a little bit I don't know they're just not built.

Leonard 23:35

Ah.

Cameron 23:44

Yeah.

Dave 23:52

The same way I can't I can't I'm trying to like the midwest house don't look like this and the East Coast houses do not look like this so I don't it's it's it's.

Cameron 23:53

Mm Yeah. No. So yeah, no, that's fair. That's fair, No yeah.

Dave 24:12

Understandable but I don't feel as much of like an attachment to it like to that design.

Leonard 24:17

Yes, same here it like it it it is it is a the kind of house that I have seen in tons of movies but never actually experienced for myself.

Cameron 24:28

That these exist there's plenty of them out this way. It's actually really like my grandparents old place but they had higher ceilings. Um, yeah, which was it was nice touch nostalgia and it is just yeah yeah.

Dave 24:30

Um, yeah. Consistent.

Leonard 24:41

Um, if.

Cameron 24:47

<unk>s got all the components you need like it's got those tight corners. It's got tight stairwells all these doors all over the place and then a basement filled to the room with things like a covered three-quarter replica of jesus um, which really got me. That was revealed is ah is a little jump scare. Ah I think the the thing that is so impressive to me about it is how believably stuffed full of stuff it is if that makes sense. It looks so lived in it looks like they just got someone's house and filled it with like.

Dave 25:17

It looks lived in. It's not.

Cameron 25:25

20% more stuff.

Dave 25:27

Yeah, and what's nice is for the set dressing. Um a lot of the things particularly in the basement are holdovers from the halfway house. So um, it's like paper filos like the filing cabinets.

Cameron 25:34

Um, yes.

Leonard 25:42

Get yeah.

Cameron 25:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah, ah.

Dave 25:45

Full of ah like patient records and it's like yeah, that's what you just keep in your bible would have got rid of that I mean Okay, ah.

Leonard 25:52

Well, they do actually Graham does actually explain that Miriam doesn't like to get rid of things.

Cameron 25:58

Yeah, yeah, and you know I guess they were in such a such a hurry to sell the place after grizzly murders occurred that they didn't clean it out properly and just assumed the new owners would throw all the old stuff out but Miriam will do as she does.

Dave 26:00

Um, yeah, um. Yeah I would say that seems like some kind of oversight for patient records to be just left somewhere in a house.

Cameron 26:23

Ah, oh it definitely is. But ah, it's probably fine. It's It's a helpful clue. Ah yes.

Dave 26:28

Yeah, it's yeah it like it works out. It's useful. It's very video gamy.

Cameron 26:39

Yeah, yeah, that's what is is environmental storytelling. Ah man. Yeah, um, but you yeah, ah.

Dave 26:41

Um, yeah.

Leonard 26:42

Um, in. We're also forgiving a a another important central character which is amos of the security security officer who literally just exists.

Cameron 26:56

Amos is great.

Leonard 27:03

Is introduced just to check on her monitor her ankle bracelet but then becomes a central figure when he discovers that a haunting might be taking place.

Cameron 27:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, this guy is like premier ghost hunter in his own time. Um, yeah.

Dave 27:21

Yeah, he has He has all of his own equipment. He has a very nice set of pajamas.

Cameron 27:27

And.

Dave 27:34

That I think that was my favorite part when um, her her monitor like gets bumped her ankle monitor when she's like scared in the basement and so it alerts him on his phone.

Cameron 27:43

Um, yeah.

Dave 27:51

That she may have stepped out of the out of bounds and so he comes you know comes over and she's like how did you? he's like yeah I'm actually like a neighbor I like I'm in the neighborhood and I live here and and he's just in his like jammies. Yeah.

Leonard 28:03

Um, this.

Cameron 28:04

Wearing the security vest over my Pyjamas? yeah, ah, yeah, yeah, he's he's great like again that that very affable character who who seems just happy to go along with stuff. It's probably the best way to put it. Ah, but yeah, the hauntings are happening. Let's talk about that. Um, in the middle of the night lights and machinery just go on and off seemingly at well there is a creepy little teddy bear with a cassette recorder. That randomly speaks backwards all the hallmarks of cool hauntings. Um including including the terminator bear with a cassette recorder which I think might have been my favorite little jumpcae because is they they sort of Chuck Eed it I guess.

Is the best reference for that like um, she gets freaked out by the bear with the tape recorder and throws it in the fireplace only for it to climb into the shower the next morning while she's taking his shower.

Leonard 29:03

Um. If if.

Dave 29:09

Yeah, and and she's justifiably upset by that.

Cameron 29:14

Freaked out. Yeah yeah.

Dave 29:18

Well I like that it it it turns on when she's asleep or going to sleep because she like rolls over and it's it's on the dresser and starts talking and she's like blinking like okay maybe Ill is dreaming and then it keeps going So she.

Cameron 29:22

Yes.

Dave 29:36

That's when she gets mad and throws it in the fire.

Cameron 29:36

Um, yeah, um, ah yeah, um, and this just sort of continues throughout. You know there's there's spooky thumps and bumps from within the walls. And yeah, one night she goes follows the sounds down into the basement and some some sort of dreadful claw from beneath the floor panels comes out to grab her ankle ah freaks out the bracelet goes off and that's when Amos gets in involved with all the ghost hunting stuff. And they really set it up as well like he's he's doing like all the all the readings he's putting up temperature sensors for the house. All kinds of crazy stuff. It's it's really it just starts turning into like a fun ghost film for a minute which.

Leonard 30:25

Yes.

Cameron 30:28

Is pretty great like like a a discount ghost bustis for 10 minutes um and then the the thought dickens. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely and um, yeah, sort of from this point on with things actually start happening and we get.

Dave 30:35

Um, yeah, it's like a what's like a fun found footage but not being found bridge.

Leonard 30:38

Right.

Cameron 30:47

Out of that sort of fun, slightly slightly awkward starting phase and start actually just doing stuff a lot and I really appreciate how this film continually switches it up like every every time something's revealed. Yeah every time Sunday revealed is like but actually maybe it was this.

Dave 31:00

There's a lot of red herrings.

Leonard 31:04

Um, right.

Dave 31:06

Um, yeah, it's great Scooby Doing a lot.

Cameron 31:06

Ah, yeah, yeah, it's a good way to put it. That's a lot of the feel I think it's definitely like that. Um.

Leonard 31:12

Yeah there's some Scooby. Yeah there's some Scooby. It's like it's like okay we're got set up the premise. It's a ghost story. But now that the murder in the the building has been disclosed and that it's an unsolved mystery There's a. Thriller element. That's introduced with ah with a weird neighbor surly neighbor and the discovery of what is it a pair of dentures there. We go? yeah.

Cameron 31:38

Yep. Yeah, yeah, hidden in the basement. Yeah yeah, yeah, a retainer hidden in the basement ah and along with a motive because Kylie's childhood room is the room that the girl was murdered in which great. Great.

Dave 31:41

Yeah, it's a retainer.

Cameron 32:00

Ah, thing to learn all those years later, but there's a little stash of ah thieed items including I I got to say I really like how this movie does check off's gun stuff because I think it does like 4 or 5 different things along the lines of it. Um. Earning early in the film kylies is Kylie's watching Daytime Tv she watches antiques roadshow about a very expensive pocket watch worth like two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and then finds a similar watch in perfect working order hidden beneath the vent in her bedroom.

Leonard 32:23

Um.

Cameron 32:35

Ah, So now we have Motive. We've got suspect someone who has dentures nearby. Maybe it's that old guy that old creepy guy across the way and at this point she ah essentially browbeats Amos into helping her break out. In order to go next door and investigate to see if she can get a copy of the ah the neighbors new dentures see if they match and it's almost like a body cop film at that point.

Leonard 33:02

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 33:08

Yeah, there's a lot of that kind of energy and the fact that he's just going along with it like happily for the most part he's questioning some of it at least.

Cameron 33:16

Yeah, is the most excitement he's had in his job. Yeah, we got a break in. Ah yeah, I'm helping you leave. Ah yeah.

Dave 33:25

Like this is the opposite of the job I'm supposed to be doing. Yeah um.

Cameron 33:33

Ah, but yeah, they they head next door. Do some investigating it is the traditional creepy man trash fire of a backyard hoarders' house with you know, like broken down cars and all kinds of just junk. Strewn around again. Another really great piece of set. It feels lived in it feels realistic in that way and Kylie breaks into the house while Amos waits outside finds the old man asleep in a pile of newspapers and ah and a single. Ah, armchair and gets her whole hand in his mouth trying to get his dental played out while he's asleep. It's it's it was real gross but also really teds because like yeah.

Dave 34:16

Yeah, that's like the worst part of the movie.

Leonard 34:22

Um.

Cameron 34:26

Ah don't don't know how deep of a sleep of this guy is but surely not that deep. Um, and yeah, he he wakes up like bolts upright like a fucking vampire out of a coffin and coughs his denches up into a random pile of junk. Ah. And um, you know Kylie runs away amos gets caught in a bear trap because that's just that's just strewn around his yard as well and she covers him with the with the the canopy of a broken down car.

Leonard 34:51

Yep.

Cameron 35:02

While she distracts distracts the neighbor by running off in in full view. Ah ah, and um, of course she's afraid that she's being followed. Um amos manages to get a call to the house. Ah, to her mother's house say to warn her that he is coming after her so she hides with a big pair of garden she is and someone comes around the corner. She stabs them and it's Graham the old ba switched. Oh yeah, it was a big pair. She is.

Dave 35:27

Yeah, this that part was where I thought she killed him I mean it was a big pair of shears.

Leonard 35:29

Yep, yeah. I I think there's the the really fun aspect of the way that like this film is shot and edited which is I did too and then she pulled the shears out and then there were the there was the.

Cameron 35:44

M. Ah, this hurts.

Leonard 35:54

Ridiculous cartoon Spurts blood and for whatever reason I was like ok, he's actually going to be fine because there's no way that our protagonist killed this man with in such and have such a goofy reaction to the murder that she just committed.

Dave 36:01

A.

Cameron 36:03

Um. Yeah, oh yeah, like it's being played for laughs once the blood starts spurting up. It's it's that sort of shock laugh. But yeah, like before she does that there's that that sort of dread moment of Olga did she actually kill him for sure.

Leonard 36:13

Like it's. Yes.

Cameron 36:27

And we we do the traditional cut to the hospital. Um, as you got to do? yeah ah ah this of course doesn't ah doesn't seem to come up ever again apart from Graham not being around for the rest of the film. Basically.

Leonard 36:44

Yet.

Cameron 36:48

Doesn't get any charges added for this I guess you know they sorted all this out within a couple of days so maybe there's some reasonable doubt to be thrown around on this. Um ah, but Amos is pretty convinced that this has to be what's going on now. So when the neighbor next leaves. Ah, he sneaks in goes rooting through a pile of trash for the dental plate and gets shocked when the neighbor is actually already back and waiting for him as he tries to leave and we we get a bit of extra story. We've already had the story of the horning of the house then we've had the story of the murder in the house and we've had the story of that old neighbor's real real persnickety and strange and weird. Maybe it was him. We'll go check him out instead of immediately shooting amos for being on his property which seems to. Would have been his ah reaction from all previous things. Ah, he has a chat with him about how fifteen years ago during a storm a woman and her young son just kind of rocked up at his property asking for help and he took them in the lady died so he kept the kid around.

And the kid was a little ah little strange himself one of you know is the the classic trope of the the kid who's off yeah, um, always putting things back together after pulling them apart never going outside.

At any time all that kind of stuff. Ah, and ah you know he thought he was okay until one day he found him trying to put a dead cat that he had killed back together. Ah, it's a bit rough and beat the kid so hard that he himself passed out.

Leonard 38:22

Yes.

Cameron 38:33

And when he woke up. Ah little Eugene was gone but he couldn't have gone far because you know like said he he's a so got severe goraphobia. He can't be out outside for any real period of time. Ah, and. His his his room in the in the neighbor's house was a literal air duct that led into like a little cramped basement space and we start we start really playing into there's something in the walls. Yeah.

Leonard 38:58

Um. Yes, ah 1 of the thing one of the fun things is that ah Kylie's phone has been missing ever since she she arrived but she is constantly hearing it ring but can't find it.

Cameron 39:09

In. Yes, it's somewhere in the house. It's Disappeared. It's in the house.

Dave 39:22

Um, it's in the house.

Leonard 39:23

It's it's it's literally in the house. Yeah because she finds a cross. She finds a secret passage in her house after the the eugene revelation comes to light and then ah.

Cameron 39:29

Yes. Um, yeah.

Leonard 39:40

Discovers Eugene who has been living in their house in the walls of their house for decades.

Cameron 39:45

Yeah, which I loved the sort of reveal of this is like yeah this is actually what's going on in the house like because she she feels guilty after nearly killing Graham and does some housework for once and then.

Leonard 40:01

Um.

Cameron 40:02

What I think is the most relatable scene in any media I've ever seen. She tries to put the vacuum cleaner back in the closet and just can't get it to fit and eventually gets frustrated and tries to throw the whole thing in at which point it knocks the back of the closet out and reveals the crawl space like I've done exactly that.

Leonard 40:19

Um, getting yes I.

Cameron 40:22

Previously in my life I've gotten tied to the vacuum clean and not fitting in the space where it fit only 20 minutes ago and thrown it fully into the carbon and gone I'll sort this out later. Um, yeah, and it it is a great reveal because this house suddenly feels about twice the size.

Dave 40:33

Um, sister.

Cameron 40:40

Because these crawl spaces are tight but there's like a lot of rooms just sort of back. There is sort of ah a backroom space where you're not your no one's meant to be here. This is weird. It's freaky. It's where all the insulation is because this is New Zealand it does get quite cold. Um, and.

Leonard 40:42

Yes.

Cameron 41:00

She sort of explores through these back areas until she gets up into the roof proper up amongst all the the pink bat insulation foam which is again another very nostalgic Australian New Zealand touch because that's what everyone's roof insulation looks like around here is that. Big sheets of pink foam. Um, and Eugene is just sitting up there in like a little command center with his head set on plugged in and watching a little a little crtv presumably with like either ah a Vhs or a. Camera feeds somewhere in the house I'm not sure exactly what's playing on there I never got a good look at it. Ah but he is the most Tim Burton looking character in any non-tim burton film I've ever seen.

Leonard 41:51

He also kind of looks like ah Marv from home alone to halfway when he's being electrocuted in the basement say yeah yeah.

Cameron 41:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no I don't and I'll believe you.

Dave 42:01

Um I was getting like big Yahoo serious vibes.

Leonard 42:08

Ah, Cameron doesn't know who that is well he is australian so yeah, ah.

Cameron 42:16

Having I don't know everything about Australia I don't know where our prime minister Harold Holt went ah.

Leonard 42:24

Australia foisted him onto american audiences for approximately 4 years before he disappeared into the ether.

Cameron 42:26

I. That sounds about right? We've been importing your media log enough. You can have some of us.

Dave 42:42

Um, he's like the rick mail of Australia.

Leonard 42:42

Um, yeah, yeah, but like safer.

Cameron 42:45

Okay, see but that's a reference that I get and I feel like I should oh man. But yeah, um, Eugene has like this massive shock of gray fuzzy hair. He's wearing an awful motheaton cardigan.

Dave 42:51

Um, yeah.

Cameron 43:02

Ah, he has nails that are about two inches long and just falling apart and he has a big bung eye. That's all sort of all sort of clouded over and just rolling around in his head. Um, he's the most villainous looking person so far in the film in that he looks just.

Leonard 43:12

Um, that's just.

Cameron 43:21

Abnormal compared to the people who go outside all the time and eat a diet that does not consist entirely of whatever stolen from the back of the pantry. Um, and yeah, yeah, Kylie flees from him in. Kind of of a very tense claustrophobic chase sequence because it's all within the walls of the house and then the tension is relieved in I think the most glorious way possible where she fully throws herself out of the pantry through a little gap and in the chipboardds.

Leonard 43:39

Yes. Um, yeah, ah.

Cameron 43:54

And a full-grown woman emerges in a sea of pasta and.

Leonard 44:02

Um I don't know what I don't like I it's the it's the tone of the movie because like I because the way that the shot is framed and the visual like if the movie was graded darker if like the circumstances surrounding it were a little less.

Cameron 44:03

Um. Um, and. Yeah.

Leonard 44:20

Humorous, you know if Eugene didn't look quite as silly as as like there's a big. There's like big end of hereditary throw yourself out the window energy when she throws herself through the pantry but it's funny here.

Cameron 44:21

Um, yeah. Yeah, yeah, well it's crazy because like we'll get into it when we talk about Relic This is almost shot for shot parallel with one scene from Relic and in Relic that scene is terrifying that scene is awful.

Leonard 44:41

Um, ah yeah, yes.

Cameron 44:51

Here It is the funniest part of the film and yeah, it says a lot what you know lighting and direction can do for when when the basic premise of a scene is exactly the same but you you know put put the tone up or down switch out the angle a little and then do.

Leonard 45:01

Yeah.

Cameron 45:09

Everything except actually play a off track underneath it basically ah of course at this point ah things have gone a little crazy this this.

Leonard 45:11

You write. Um.

Cameron 45:24

The the counselor who was not mentioned at all. Ah Kylie has a counselor who's been coming around to check on her every every couple days Denis. Um, who is like the most milk toast useless man in his job I've ever seen just like oh well.

Dave 45:29

Dead Dennis I think.

Leonard 45:30

Yes, Dennis. Dick.

Cameron 45:44

Try and exercise your mind here. Take an online course or whatever with your dial-up internet is about his only answer for I hear things in the wall and someone grabbed my foot from under the floorboards last night um yeah yeah,

Dave 45:55

Um, yeah I mean he's very like marshmallowy. He's like Robert England if Robert England was a marshmallow.

Leonard 45:58

Yes, yeah.

Cameron 46:08

Yeah I can see it god um, so yeah, ah the the counselor along with the cop has have come around to sort of discuss the whole thing and from their point of view. Obviously Kylie's just sort of gone off the deep end. Ah, they also find the weed that was part of the the thieved stash from her room's previous occupant. But of course it's not the it's not the not the drugs you are taking. That's the promise. The drugs. You aren't a king. Um.

Leonard 46:38

Um, yes.

Cameron 46:42

You were diagnosed as bipolar however, a year ago and she like she went yeah to get the disability benefits. Everyone literally everyone has been doing that into therapy like but you were diagnosed so you should you should be taking your medication and part of me is like.

Leonard 46:46

Yeah, yeah. Um.

Cameron 46:57

Is this all just is this all just a fever dream being run as a comedy because that would turn this very dark very quickly I'm pretty sure that's not what's happening and pretty swiftly. We are shown. That's not what is happening. Um, oh yeah, absolutely um because.

Leonard 47:01

Right.

Dave 47:08

Now she's just being gas lit by this dude.

Cameron 47:16

Her mom Miriam comes in with tea and biscuits and or or I should say cookies sorry for you too? Um, yeah, and um, and in particular a very popular biscuit here in Australia New Zealand is the ginger nut which is a ginger cooking. It is famously.

Leonard 47:19

If this is.

Dave 47:21

Um, it's biscuits.

Cameron 47:33

So hard that it is inedible if you do not soak it first but everyone everyone still tries to put it in their mouth and take a bite. Um, and Dennis does this and has a great deal of trouble and so has to remove his dental plate. Um, which point it all comes together.

Leonard 47:37

Um, oh I'm aware I'm aware.

Cameron 47:53

Ah, um, Kylie is obviously freaking out a little takes her mom's side for so for some girl talk because.

Dave 48:03

Um, that's the it's the best like we need to go have our talk is there is our mom just is not getting it. It's It's good.

Cameron 48:07

Yeah, the most strained and awkward. No oblivious.

Leonard 48:07

Yes, ah, it's it. It. It's basically the the sting operation bit from the simpsons where he's going to step on your foot 2 times. And I think he's talking to you.

Cameron 48:24

Um, yeah oh god yeah um, so they step out and the Kylie asks Miriam to do what she does best which is natta gossip. Just sort of carry on while she runs down to the basement to check the employment records of the halfway house. Ah, she's she's got. She's got a hot lead and there's not a moment to waste and thus ensues the most.

Leonard 48:40

Um.

Cameron 48:57

God damn realist depri depiction of a mother um, continuing to talk as much as she can while also being very awkward about it. Um, yeah, yeah, um, Miriam is flawless in terms of how she's act because the number of times.

Dave 48:59

My team.

Leonard 49:00

Ah. Um.

Dave 49:14

It's it's it was like you get that secondhand like embarrassment you're like oh come on.

Cameron 49:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah, is this me as a child trying to leave every social gathering where my mom found another adult to talk to? Um, we got to go and she's just like oh how you lived down there have you tried this Yada Yada Just she's good at it.

Leonard 49:26

Um.

Cameron 49:35

She's very good at it that she's playing to her strengths. Um.

Leonard 49:36

I Love I Love that she's literally telling a story about like some somebody else's vacation time and I'm like this is nightmare.

Cameron 49:44

Yeah, it's so much.

Dave 49:48

Um, it this was good and then the scene. Um, when Kylie first came home and it was like like I um I think she needed to make a phone call or was when she lost her phone or something and her mom.

Cameron 49:55

And we. Yeah, yeah, and her mom was sticking on the phone. Yeah.

Dave 50:05

Is on the phone just like no I It'll be a little bit I have an important I'm I'm I'm doing an important call but it's just like gossip on the phone. It's and and she's just staring. She's like staring at her through the doorway and then just talk. It's It's so awkward.

Leonard 50:11

Yes.

Cameron 50:11

Yeah, that's what's important.

Leonard 50:20

Um.

Dave 50:24

It's great.

Cameron 50:25

Ah, it's incredible. Um, yeah, and ah downstairs in a blaze of glory going through the employment records Kylie Finds Dennis was not employed at the halfway house. He was an unpaid intern who on his first day at work there. Got the shit kicked out of him by the subsequent murder victim. Um, because you know trouble children won't respond well to people who don't know what they're doing and this man is being shown throughout the film to be just terrible as a counselor so really plays into that. Um, so yeah, we've we've connected all the dots. He's got a dental plate. Ah that matches the dental plate found discarded in the basement which would probably match the bite mark on record on the murder victim we've got him in the not in deployment records. But in the incident records. Ah. And she turns around and we do the classic jump scare but it's her mother. Ah you know the man had to go to the toilet I can't stop him god I love miriam so much. Um, but then then we get this.

Leonard 51:30

Um.

Cameron 51:37

This this is the final sequence of the film. It's like what is this like Twenty Twenty five minutes it feels like it's it's relatively long. It is. It is just an extended pasty white terminator sequence. Ah.

Dave 51:40

There.

Leonard 51:40

Yes. Um.

Cameron 51:53

Where they they confront Dennis in the upstairs bathroom which he shouldn't have known about and when they point out he immediately just goes nuts and starts attacking them. Ah, and this sequence is gold every step of the way this is fantastic like.

Leonard 52:03

Yep, yeah.

Cameron 52:11

It's It's incredible.

Dave 52:12

Oh when they put like the clothes bin on him are.

Cameron 52:17

Um, yeah, yeah.

Leonard 52:20

And ah, but so the close bin thing for me is super weird because it invoked it evoked a memory of like it's literally like the first boss in rule of rose.

Cameron 52:34

I.

Leonard 52:36

Ah, the game roll of rose where it is like at a pasty old white man who is like kind of bound awkwardly swaying something at a young woman and I'm like that is such like the weirdest thing that this is making me think of.

Cameron 52:43

Um. It really is.

Leonard 52:55

With this scene but his positioning is almost exactly the same and I know it's not a reference but that's but my brain does it but my brain doesn't.

Cameron 53:03

Ah, um, yeah, look a You're not the only person who thought of a video game reference. My brain went this is discount pyramid head but he's he's got a butcher's knife. He's got a big conical thing over his head.

Leonard 53:10

The.

Dave 53:19

I Just thought he was like adalic. It was like what.

Cameron 53:19

Just kind of walking down a tight cordor towards a helpless protagonist I like also works. Yeah, it's It's so funny. Yeah, oh my God It's so perfect. It's.

Leonard 53:23

Yeah, and I and I love I love the cut to his POV with the camera behind the have the clothes been chasing after them.

Cameron 53:39

Absolutely ridiculous. Um, ah.

Leonard 53:40

Only only to slam and because he can't see well only to slam into the bathroom door and fold stairs.

Dave 53:44

This.

Cameron 53:48

Yeah, yeah, it's so beautiful. Um, that in the middle of this. They're like desperately attempting to tamper with the anklet because that will sum and help at this point It's turned from an impediment into a usable item. Ah.

Leonard 54:00

Um, think yes.

Cameron 54:05

And Kylie asked for scissors and her mom picks up a pair of nails just like good enough. Try try what we can with this um and Eugene who wasn't bad at all comes to the rescue with his secret tunnel through the medicine cabinet. Ah.

Leonard 54:24

Apt after that they after they discover that Dennis has murdered the police officer with a corkscrew.

Cameron 54:25

Um, yes, but the corkscrew in the shower Somehow God knows how he convinced him to come up there? Um, but ah, yeah, yeah I mean.

Dave 54:36

We got to go to the bathroom together I'm scared.

Cameron 54:44

Coulda works. Um, yeah, ah Eugene rescues them Kylie still manages to get stabbed in the leg but they get into the crawl spaces and Eugene has like a fortified door at the end of each of his tunnels. Because they they literally close the door behind them after they go through the cabinet and it's like reinforced wood this is like just being slammed on um but the anklet has been tampered with sufficiently amos has been summoned to help and knocks at the door and Dennis greets him.

Leonard 55:06

Um.

Cameron 55:18

And says oh it's terrible. You were right? Eugene took them into the walls I don't know where they've gone. Um, and ah it was like cool. Well I got a tracker so this will go off when we're near Kylie um.

Leonard 55:21

Believe she Gs.

Cameron 55:35

And go up stairs with Dennis menacingly following with his his kitchen knife. Um, and as amos tries to pry open the back of the col closet to get into the crawl spaces I need something to pry with turns around just grabs the knife that he was about to add with like. Ah, this is too thin just drops. This is perfect. Perfect comedy is incredible. Um, and then gets a gets a fire poker to the back for his trouble.

Ah, and now of course Dennis has a tracking device as well as ah as well as another weapon Eugene takes them up into his secret spaces and in one of the most predictable horror movie moves ever I think. Ends up getting stabbed through one of the pink insulation foam bats just because it feels like a solid wall you kind of get what the what the head space is but it is just foam. Um.

Leonard 56:40

And they before them that there there's actually a really nice scene where he shows shows Kyley a bunch of photos are not photos but pictures illustrations of like her entire life living in the house.

Cameron 56:46

Um, the drawings. Yeah yeah, and here's you in the but yeah.

Leonard 56:57

And incidents from her life. Um, and it's like strangely very sweet.

Cameron 57:04

It is and it sort of expands a bit on the um on that awkwardness that Miriam and Kylie had because you you know we we don't see it all but you know and like here's you snapping and punching your mum in the face here's you 2 making up.

Dave 57:10

Um, not yeah, ah. Um, and and it's not only that but um Amos ah he find he figures out that the um, the little teddy bear has it. The tape was a tape recorder and has the like the murder.

Cameron 57:21

Yeah. Um, yes, yeah.

Dave 57:39

Voice file on it. But um, it it's it's it has I think it's um, wasn't it playing back? Um, not the murders of it. It was playing back Kylie.

Leonard 57:42

Um.

Cameron 57:43

Um, yeah, well is. I I think I What as a child. Yeah.

Dave 57:57

As a child ah having been friends with Eugene in the walls.

Cameron 58:04

Yeah, it's her going. Okay I know you're there man in the walls. Can you tell me your name just hear Eugene like in the threatening murderer voice. Um, but yeah, like they they did have a relationship which as she grew up short. She.

Leonard 58:04

Ah. Um.

Dave 58:20

She forgot. Yeah.

Cameron 58:22

Rationalize her being yeah as her being ah a flight of fancy kid with her mom saying the place was haunted all the time of course I also thought it was haunted and that it was a person in the walls. Um, but yeah, they they do have like that sort of prior relationship there and Eugene is you. Ah, very sympathetic character like he has despite the cat killing implied earlier in the film. Um, like he's never had a chance to really get to be a person with people but he's not a violent person. He just wants to live comfortably in his walls.

Leonard 58:58

And make and make and little inventions.

Cameron 59:00

And have make little inventions and have his little parasocial relationships with the people who live in the house. Um, he's the he's the first Twitch watcher. Um.

Leonard 59:06

In. Mr.

Cameron 59:15

But yeah, he's not malevolent and even when Kylie presses on him on why he didn't help when he witnessed the initial murder. Ah he replies what he he was just a kid was he meant to do you know because ah yeah.

Leonard 59:27

Yeah I thought they would take me away too. Yeah.

Cameron 59:32

Yeah, he doesn't want to leave this house. He's happy here again. Jacking up the electricity bills and stealing the food. Ah oh yeah, exactly cross the way wasn't a good life. Yeah.

Dave 59:37

Yeah, well I mean his alternative was he was getting beaten like otherwise so this place was quiet and and and nice on the inside.

Cameron 59:50

And honestly I imagine that for him having Miriam be the way she is probably made for quite a nice life because he got got to sort of vicariously experience. Everyone in the neighborhood's life whenever she was talking on the phone she could he could just listen and be like oh this is what people are up to yeah yada yada.

Dave 1:00:02

Yeah, yeah.

Leonard 1:00:04

Um.

Cameron 1:00:10

Um, yeah, Eugene's cool I love Eugene he gets stabbed with a fire poker through the pack. Um, and ah the the chase continues. Ah Miriam and Kylie Flee onto the roof through a trap door built into the into the shingles. Ah. And like like when I said this is like a pasty white terminator sequence earlier I really meant it. Dennis is unstoppable. He's he's incredibly comedic and clumsy. But my god he just doesn't ever quit. Um and they they put together. The plan which is he's following Kylie so Kylie will hide behind the Chimney Miriam will hide over the slope of the roof which is smart and when Dennis comes to get Kylie Miriam just pushes him off the roof. Ah which yeah, perfect planned. Well well done well executed 10 out of 10 he did break all of your deck chairs when he fell on them. But ah, he's not moving folks. It's okay, ah.

Dave 1:01:17

Um, I feel like he could have directed this like relentless energy into like ah his career. Maybe just.

Cameron 1:01:20

Oh man, yeah Matt imagine if you put that much effort into being a better counselor as he does into murdering people who find out he killed so he killed 1 person fifteen years ago

Leonard 1:01:23

Um, yeah. Um.

Cameron 1:01:37

But the secret can't get out apparently well yeah, fat actually ah, everything's all good. They'll go call the police and try and figure this out like what do we say? there's been a murder committed Yada Yada There's been several murders committed.

Leonard 1:01:51

Um, have rors.

Dave 1:01:52

There's been several murders happening here.

Cameron 1:01:55

Yeah, um, and of course as any good slasher film needs. There is a last minuteut revival of the threat as Dennis once again, unstoppable impossible to be stopped. He fell fifteen feet off of a roof onto a concrete balcony kept on coming. Um, gets in there Ines Kylie im vague and and starts strangling Miriam with the telephone cable which brutal um and as as Kylie's knocked out the pantry opens and a little questing grimy nailed hand.

Leonard 1:02:21

Yes.

Cameron 1:02:33

Sort of just pokes her to try and wake her up and hands her a carving fork which this is the final Chekhov's gun we didn't go into huge details but the initial murder involved more than 60 stab injuries with a carving fork.

Leonard 1:02:41

Um.

Cameron 1:02:49

1 of those big 2 timed very sharp forks you use for carving a roast um and Kylie's handed this weapon and in a moment of rage and and defense of her mother stabs Dennis up through the chin into the roof of his mouth at which point we see.

Dave 1:03:04

If only if only he had had his dental plate.

Cameron 1:03:07

Yeah o had instantal plate would have stopped it exactly. Um at which point we see a big copper cable tied to the handle of the of the carving fork and Eugene goes and switches on the mains and we get a real scanners. Style head pop. Um, it was this this was like the the the effects through the film are generally very very, um, not subtle but like restrained like they they have good practical injury effects when they need.

Leonard 1:03:28

Um.

Cameron 1:03:43

When they need to and that kind of thing they got good makeup but it's very restraint and I think they literally saved their entire practical effects budget for this because it's an incredible pop a great like prosthetic crater of a head left behind.

Leonard 1:04:00

Um.

Cameron 1:04:02

Um, ridiculous, Absolutely incredible sort of the the finale the the finale the climax to all this horror comedy is this very horrific but very comedic just explosion.

Leonard 1:04:17

Yeah.

Dave 1:04:18

Yeah, good good. Have a fun time explaining that one. Yeah.

Cameron 1:04:20

So. Yeah, they did apparently um.

Leonard 1:04:27

Um, but I yeah they do and and once again, the the like the Egger right? comparisons like the.

Cameron 1:04:33

M.

Leonard 1:04:35

Like getting stabbed through the bottom of the jame like that's like the end of hot fuzz and then when his head pops I'm like that's when like it's almost like when the they push the piece of the church off of the head investigative journalistes.

Cameron 1:04:38

M. Um, yeah, yeah.

Leonard 1:04:50

Onto his head in hot fuzz and I'm like you just combined the 2 of them into like the same same kill and I'm like I'm totally cool with it because this is the vibe that this movie's been given me the entire time.

Cameron 1:04:56

Yeah, yeah. It is a pretty great vibe. Um, but yeah, we don't know exactly how they explained all this but they clearly did because the final scene is seven months later Kylie is getting her anklet off. Um.

Leonard 1:05:16

Um.

Cameron 1:05:20

Amos is here to take it off. He survived his stab in the back Graham is here to help celebrate. He survived his hospital stay after being stabbed for shears. Um, Miriam's here she was obviously fine Kylie's here she was obviously fine. They're sort of the the leading ladies. They both get to be the last girl. Um. And and ah Miriam is recording it on a camcorder because it's a happy moment when suddenly the thing runs flat which is impossible. She's had it on charge all night unless stares up the ceiling Eugene. Um, so he.

Dennis Not very good at killing someone unless it's with multiple stabs or he gets you directly in the back of the head I Guess Um, which I mean fair I will say it's actually very hard to kill someone with a single entry speaking out of.

Leonard 1:06:06

Um, yeah. Um.

Cameron 1:06:16

Study experience. Lots of injuries tend to be the north. Um, so kind of makes sense I mean look Dennis lived through plenty himself. Ah oh my god yeah, that was so much.

Leonard 1:06:21

Um. Each We we forgot to mention that he got a box greater to the face.

Dave 1:06:31

Um, oh yeah, it was the defensive ah stick your hand into a cheese grater.

Cameron 1:06:35

I I do I yeah.

Leonard 1:06:38

Yeah, yeah, it it was It was almost like it was almost like a dark soul's fist weapon to be perfectly obvious.

Cameron 1:06:44

If if it really felt like it and hey that's smart if you're being home invaded. That's not the worst thing to do not not to fight someone with but you're going to use your arms to block a lot of stabs and if you don't want defensive wounds. That's a great way to help avoid them.

Leonard 1:06:54

Nope.

Cameron 1:07:04

Um, but yeah, yeah, the the world's least effective most annoying offensive weapon because yeah, just at 1 point pinned Dennis down and just started slowly grading away. It is cheek or scar it was awful.

Dave 1:07:06

Um, and it's also an offensive weapon.

Leonard 1:07:17

Catch. Yep.

Cameron 1:07:23

But also you know it's not going to stop him? Um, ah we'll get him in get him in 4 hours with the blood loss if he doesn't patch it up. Ah yeah, um, this movie was a delight from start to finish. Ah.

Leonard 1:07:27

Um.

Dave 1:07:28

That's gonna sting.

Cameron 1:07:42

Really really good energy just a really good understanding of how to make things funny and some some very good acting by quite ah quite a few of the cast honestly. Um, considering you know this is a directorial debut and a a actually quite low budget sort Of. Festival film. But this this was never released in Cinemas This was released at ah at a film festival. Yeah yeah, um, and yeah this this film was great I Love it Kind of kind of mad I didn't know about it earlier because I.

Dave 1:08:03

Um, yeah, no I think it went to like South by Southwest and a few other ones.

Cameron 1:08:21

I would have watched the shit out of this like every year and I'm going to now I guess give it a rewatch in eight months or whatever. Ah, yeah, oh you guys thought.

Dave 1:08:35

Leonard.

Leonard 1:08:36

Yeah, no, it's great I love it. I love what it's doing I love the like like it it ah walking that once again, it's it's a horror comedy. It. It's doing of it's very much of. The vein of Sean the dead and it's doing it's doing the um, the horror genre kind of like let's have a little sampler platter of everything. Is it a ghost is it. The is it a a weird thriller.

Cameron 1:08:53

6 M.

Leonard 1:09:10

Ah, where the neighbor is the murderer of the of the the cause of the haunting. Oh it. Nope There's a creepy guy living in the walls. Oh Nope he's not creepy. He's fine just a little just a little off. Nope. It's just the weird milk toast idiot.

Cameron 1:09:23

A little off.

Leonard 1:09:29

That keep showing up that no one really pays attention to and is so unmemorable that we didn't mention him until we needed to. It's true. It is very true. Yes.

Cameron 1:09:39

I mean that what that's a good quality for a murderer to have on unmemorable is is a great quality to have if you're planning on killing someone Um, ah and.

Leonard 1:09:48

If. And Dave so.

Dave 1:09:53

So I watched the Burbs a lot when I was a kid and that's what this reminds me of like it has it. It towed the line of like oh is it something weird and spooky with the neighbors or the house.

Cameron 1:09:57

So. And.

Dave 1:10:09

And maybe it is. There's ah, there's some buddy energy going on. Um, there's weird like family issues. Ah it it toes the line very well between like comedy and horror um doesn't really.

Leonard 1:10:12

A.

Cameron 1:10:12

Yeah, yeah. E.

Dave 1:10:28

Doesn't lean really into the horror angle except for toward the end. Um, but the the comedy is present and yet it feels I can't say that it feels like realistic. Ah it's it's it's toned down. It's not like super slapstick. Yeah.

Cameron 1:10:31

First yeah. And yeah, it's grounded. Yeah as ah until the end.

Dave 1:10:48

And I think what it is the the comedic timing is just on point. So that everything lands I don't think there's a I don't think a bit of it happened where I was like oh that wasn't funny like no that was funny and the other part was like oh that probably should have like killed that person or or broke. You know everything's.

Cameron 1:10:57

5 Yeah yeah.

Leonard 1:10:59

Um, yeah.

Cameron 1:11:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:11:08

Everything's given a little bit of um, like wiggle room so it it is that sort of it's not cartoony like home alone level violence because it still can kill you but it's.

Leonard 1:11:09

So.

Cameron 1:11:19

Yes.

Dave 1:11:24

There's there's wiggle room like with the um sledgehammer or with Amos that that would have like snapped his ankle the bear trap but he's just like oh it hurts get it off my leg. We can't lee it's like okay.

Cameron 1:11:31

So oh yeah, yeah for sure. Yeah.

Leonard 1:11:37

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:11:42

Would have been way worse but in in this, it's like there's a lot of things that probably should be lethal but they aren't and that works because then it takes that much more of something to actually kill somebody I e for like Dennis.

Cameron 1:11:50

Written.

Leonard 1:11:56

Bright.

Cameron 1:11:57

Yeah, yes, yeah, yes, absolutely and they they play with that which is good because they let them lean into the comedy just enough.

Dave 1:12:01

And makes it make more sense like people are a little bit more rubbery in this in this world. Come by? yeah.

Cameron 1:12:15

To take the edge off most of it and.

Dave 1:12:15

Yes, I mean it's It's all like horrific situation like you don't want this to be happening.

Cameron 1:12:21

Um, yeah, yeah, but it's it gives you that expectation that they'll be fine. They can keep going like I think it does help that the first major injury is Dennis Not Dennis Graham getting stabbed with the sheers and he does live through that.

Leonard 1:12:34

Yeah, yeah, yes.

Cameron 1:12:39

Like it's played for laughs and then it's like no he is actually going to be okay, um, and so help sort of soften that when you know like Kylie gets stabbed through the back of the ankle and they're still able to walk and run for the next fifteen minutes of the terminator sequence. Um.

Leonard 1:12:55

Um.

Cameron 1:12:57

Yeah, it helps soften the violins a little and keep it funny instead of making it ah like like like you said Lenin you could absolutely adjust like the gamma and a few of the shot angles on this and it would turn into like a real slasher effect. Um, which is great.

Leonard 1:13:09

Right.

Cameron 1:13:15

Like it's it's got all the roots but they've decided deliberately to make it funny as opposed to some films out there that just end up being funny without any meaning to um which I love those personally but it's a different kind of love.

Leonard 1:13:26

Um I can see 50

Dave 1:13:27

Um, yeah I think this would have been mean if they if they leaned too hard into the violence like if if the last act ended up being like super seminious. It's serious. But if they didn't soften it still.

Cameron 1:13:34

True. Yeah, um.

Leonard 1:13:39

Right.

Dave 1:13:42

It would have been I don't think it would have landed as well I think they needed to have this kind of wiggle room.

Cameron 1:13:47

Yeah, yeah, fair enough.

Dave 1:13:51

But yeah I mean for something where it is it a ghost but it turns out not to be I think this works really well.

Leonard 1:13:59

Yes.

Cameron 1:14:02

Oh yeah, absolutely, it's really fantastic. Ah well speaking Fantastic What's that next film again.

Dave 1:14:09

The next film is relic from 2020 and another one where something's in the the walls mold.

Cameron 1:14:15

Ah, yeah, something in these walls.

Leonard 1:14:18

Yeah, it's It's the the the sadness of of caring for a declining love one. That's what's in the walls. Yeah yeah.

Cameron 1:14:30

Yeah god it really is isn't it. Um, yeah, that housebound was fun. 1 relic is the traumatizing one you have you have been warned also um relic I think is probably best gone into unspoiled. So.

Leonard 1:14:36

Yeah.

Cameron 1:14:46

If you've got the slightest bit of interest. Go watch it before you listen to this part like you'll still enjoy the romp of housebound after hearing all that but this is this is so much better as a clean experience I Think so.

Leonard 1:14:48

Um, each fit. Yeah.

Dave 1:14:58

Yeah, so a slight pause for a spoiler wall.

Cameron 1:15:05

Um, yeah, all right spoil it. Oh this one's hard to talk about because it's much more ambiguous about a lot of stuff which I really like as a.

Leonard 1:15:17

Me.

Cameron 1:15:21

As ah as a more serious horror film like sometimes what is going on is somewhat unknowable like you can get the the general idea of it. But the specifics are always a little out there and uncertain. Um, yeah.

Dave 1:15:34

Yeah, well for this one. Ah, it's pretty straightforward and in what it's the allegorical aspects of it. Um, but what does help is the director.

Cameron 1:15:39

M. Oh yeah, yeah for sure.

Leonard 1:15:44

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:15:51

Afterward did um I think several interviews where they specifically go here's what I was doing here's what we did and it's it's It's no different than what you're reading into it.

Cameron 1:15:54

Okay, yeah.

Leonard 1:15:57

Oh that's interesting.

Dave 1:16:06

But it's couched in more of a personal sense because this was specifically in response to their grandmother's passing so it's it's ah it's a more personal film in that regard. But.

Leonard 1:16:16

Ah.

Cameron 1:16:16

Ah, well that makes a lot of sense. And.

Dave 1:16:22

They wanted to leave it. Um, ah they are ah I want I Want to say they're Japanese Australian like they're the.

Cameron 1:16:36

Okay, yeah.

Leonard 1:16:36

Oh okay.

Dave 1:16:40

Parent. Their parentage is is mixed um, but they were living in Japan or taking care of their grandmother in Japan um, when she passed and ah it was it was due to.

Cameron 1:16:48

M.

Dave 1:16:58

Um, it's old age but there was um, dementia involved. Um, but the grandmother was in a traditional um Japanese home and the the trappings of the home were its own sense of like.

Cameron 1:16:59

Yeah. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:17:16

Horror ah alongside everything else going on. So That's part of when they were doing the set design of this house. They wanted to lean into aspects of um. Ah, traditional like Japanese Horror films. Yeah that that it with that lens that changes a little. It doesn't really change much but it it it clarifies I think things. Yeah, it's it like a design.

Leonard 1:17:34

Okay, that makes a lot of sense.

Cameron 1:17:34

Okay, that makes it. Yeah yeah.

Leonard 1:17:44

Yeah I think it informs a lot of it's helpful for informing. Yeah the decisions because because that does actually make a lot of sense.

Cameron 1:17:46

Um.

Dave 1:17:52

It was a design choice for for sure.

Cameron 1:17:52

Yeah.

Dave 1:17:58

Yeah, and just the way it's framed like the cinematography. It's very the grudge.

Cameron 1:18:04

I mean.

Leonard 1:18:06

It's very the grudge. Um that it reminds me a lot of ah Mike Flanagan's work of it feels ah like like Hill house quite a bit.

Cameron 1:18:17

Um, yeah.

Dave 1:18:19

And it and it's something. That's not only playing with um memory but space and how those 2 things kind of like tie together and then just generational trauma. So it's.

Leonard 1:18:26

Um, yes. Yeah, yeah.

Cameron 1:18:32

Yeah.

Dave 1:18:36

It's doing what housebound could have swerved into and it just took it that this is taking the um horrific aspects and occult things.

Leonard 1:18:43

A.

Cameron 1:18:46

Mm.

Dave 1:18:55

Ah, very seriously like there's no this one's not funny at all. No, there's There's very little like things in in the way of um.

Cameron 1:18:56

Yes, there there is not a funny to be found in this entire film.

Leonard 1:18:59

Now.

Dave 1:19:13

Levity is not the word I'm looking for. Ah, it's yeah like there's not. There's no kind of catharsis except for maybe the ending. But even that's ah up for debate.

Cameron 1:19:13

A brief respite.

Leonard 1:19:20

A. Yeah.

Cameron 1:19:26

Yeah, yeah I mean the ending carries its own special tread. So.

Dave 1:19:33

Yeah, it's a so that was the other thing where the director mentioned that um rather than saying that this is like strictly ah allegory that it still is a.

Cameron 1:19:51

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:19:51

Creature Entity feature like that they they they took the time to make sure that it wasn't something explained on purpose and isn't going like oh you know this is all just um.

Leonard 1:19:52

Okay.

Cameron 1:20:00

Yes, yes yeah.

Dave 1:20:11

Shorthand for dealing with like dementia and things in in the family and like having to this isn't just that This is also yes, there is an entity here but I'm not going to bother explaining it because then that takes the horror out of it.

Cameron 1:20:14

For Dementia. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Leonard 1:20:27

Out of it. Yeah, there is actually an aspect so this is i' had watched this like a couple of years ago remember really enjoying it and watched it again for for to the the recording.

Cameron 1:20:27

Yeah, which I can appreciate that.

Dave 1:20:30

Yeah.

Cameron 1:20:39

No.

Leonard 1:20:46

We're doing now and ah because I remembered like most of the film because the film is mostly like mood and tone and um, a lot of allegory I went into it the second time reading everything as allegory. Um.

Cameron 1:21:03

We.

Leonard 1:21:06

And it still works very very well it like through that lens like like purely as allegory like like this is a visual representation of this entire process. Um, and so like.

Dave 1:21:10

Yeah.

Cameron 1:21:11

Year.

Leonard 1:21:24

Yeah, that like there's an entity. There's an entity that's frequently seen in the background like a black silhouette and I'm just like yep, that's just the that's just the Dementmentia creeping up the the the yeah there's ah getting lost in the house that is very relatable and it it's.

Cameron 1:21:31

Ah.

Leonard 1:21:42

Feel like not relatable but like understandable if you understand yeah understand the you know the process The the awful process of it all that once again, but like reading it fear through a purely.

Cameron 1:21:46

Understandable. Yeah.

Leonard 1:21:58

Ah, allegorical lens. Ah, it's it works really really well. Um I Certainly wouldn't say go into it ah trying to do that.

Cameron 1:22:06

No.

Leonard 1:22:08

Although if you're you're doing this going into it blind. You couldn't possibly do it but it it works on a second viewing on that level as well.

Cameron 1:22:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Dave 1:22:20

Um, yeah, this is a film. Ah so I want to say I think you and I watched this and like tangentally like when it came out because it it just it came out in a weird time. It was like fall of 2020 um

Leonard 1:22:27

Yeah I think.

Cameron 1:22:31

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:22:37

And ah I think it got lost in the shuffle of other stuff coming out. Plus everything was getting shunted to like direct to on demand and yeah, no one was talking about that like I just didn't hear anything I just saw I think I just saw the um like the cover.

Cameron 1:22:45

Yeah, yeah, it had a rough go at that.

Leonard 1:22:47

Yep.

Cameron 1:22:54

So yeah.

Leonard 1:22:56

Ah.

Dave 1:22:56

Um, and that's like well I'll watch it and immediately. Ah I had I like tagged this mentally to go oh I want to talk about this? Um, but I also wanted I desperately wanted to talk about this in the same space as um, ah taking of Deborah Logan and ah, think it's like the haunting of rosaline lee that they they're all doing the same thing but they're all approaching it a little differently and the the rosalind I want to say it's ro only that one is.

Cameron 1:23:18

Okay, yeah.

Leonard 1:23:21

Yes.

Cameron 1:23:26

Okay, yeah.

Dave 1:23:35

Ah, son um I don't think he's his mother has passed and he's inherited her house. Um, but the specter of her of his mother the memory his mother's memory um is haunting the place.

Cameron 1:23:53

6

Dave 1:23:54

And it's not just it's not really her memory. It's like the things that she put him through and then it's it's it's steeped a lot more in religion and just just his upbringing is what's haunting him.

Leonard 1:24:06

Okay.

Cameron 1:24:06

Yeah. Okay, yeah, okay.

Dave 1:24:14

Um, ah, but it's doing a lot of the same. It's general like the things that happened to the way or the way his mother passed is like something he's worried about for happening to him too. So it's it's doing the same stuff. It's dealing with that same like.

Leonard 1:24:25

E.

Dave 1:24:34

The if something's bad is going on with your your close relatives and it is potentially something you can inherit like that worry. Um.

Cameron 1:24:42

Oh yeah.

Dave 1:24:52

For yourself and then also if they're still alive for them like what's going on with them and it's having to to deal with that and help them with it I mean all that the whole thing It's just difficult for everybody. Um, but the the things that happen to them. Ah.

Leonard 1:25:01

Right.

Cameron 1:25:01

I.

Dave 1:25:11

Can be like it's not something that you could like necessarily get away from like just because just because you distance yourself like that's not going to like solve anything is what that that particular movie is about.

Cameron 1:25:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Dave 1:25:30

And then Deborah Logan is more like this where it's it's the effects of dementia but to the to the degree of like how much of a person.

Leonard 1:25:35

You see? yeah.

Cameron 1:25:36

In.

Dave 1:25:49

Um, might remain or are they like being replaced by something else like ah they're just such a stranger to the people that knew them like as as the onset of it happens and in that and that film with it. It's It's like that's literally.

Cameron 1:25:59

Button. Yeah yeah.

Leonard 1:26:07

Yes.

Cameron 1:26:08

Yeah.

Dave 1:26:08

Possession film like it's a demonic possession. Um, this is kind of like housebound in in that it's straddling 2 things like it's showing a a sort of generational curse. Um, in in in the universe of the film like there is a weird mold demon curse that was visited upon the family due to the actions of like their great- grandfather and um.

Cameron 1:26:30

E.

Leonard 1:26:40

Yeah.

Cameron 1:26:40

Okay, yeah.

Dave 1:26:46

That's visiting ah the manitch's mother and then potentially like her as well and then her daughter and it's and that that one's transmitted specifically through a like mold because they fitted. Um.

Cameron 1:27:00

Yeah, okay.

Leonard 1:27:00

Um, yeah.

Dave 1:27:08

Maybe you shit their grandfather. Their grandfather was um, kind of left alone in a little cabin and and mistreated and in the end after he passed away.

Cameron 1:27:15

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:27:24

The cabin was left there but they took um the like a bit of a stained glass window and then like since it was nice. They put that into the house but that brought the curse along with it and then like infested um her mother's house dough.

Cameron 1:27:29

Yeah.

Leonard 1:27:32

Right.

Cameron 1:27:38

Yeah, pretty much.

Dave 1:27:43

That's that's the bit That's not the allegory I mean it is but in in the it's an actual physical thing in the film. Yeah.

Leonard 1:27:47

Yeah, yeah.

Cameron 1:27:47

Yeah, yeah, yes, yeah, yeah, this this is a a supernatural world. It's just that you can easily read into this is all being allegorical if you want.

Leonard 1:27:52

By.

Dave 1:28:01

Yeah.

Cameron 1:28:03

They got to be a little more explicit about like no no this is happening. This is a creature film. It's just a very good allegory for the decline of elderly relatives. Yeah yeah, um, also yeah that that stuff is real creepy I get very uncomfortable.

Leonard 1:28:09

Yeah, yes.

Dave 1:28:10

Yeah.

Cameron 1:28:22

Thinking of an old person all alone just sort of passing on their own which is is very sad for me I think it's rough.

Leonard 1:28:28

Yeah, and and also and also at least from from because this the it's just depicted in like dream sequences. So there's also an implication that because he.

Cameron 1:28:40

M.

Leonard 1:28:46

Bent all this time in this cabin alone when he passed. No one realized it for a time.

Cameron 1:28:52

Yeah, yeah, there's there's that one shot where all that's left of him is the outline of a human in mold and Rot on the floor. Which yeah, that'll happen. Ah.

Leonard 1:28:59

Yes, yeah.

Dave 1:29:06

Yeah, there it's it's some of the imagery again. Um I always like a lot of these things pull back for me um to Kirshi Kurosawa so I would say like that imagery is going directly into.

Leonard 1:29:18

Um, you.

Dave 1:29:23

Ah Cairo so pulse where when you you're just no longer for this world like you're tired of it. Um, and you can't you don't have again, you don't have connections with people and you lose all of that. Um.

Leonard 1:29:26

Um.

Cameron 1:29:26

Um. Yeah. In.

Dave 1:29:43

You just fade away into like a black mold and so that I think this is omars to that. Just like that imagery.

Leonard 1:29:44

Yeah.

Cameron 1:29:47

Ah, yeah. Okay, yeah, so.

Dave 1:30:00

But um, yeah, so the we didn't the general plot is we have um edna and this is the the mother. Um her.

Cameron 1:30:08

Yes, yes.

Dave 1:30:16

Her daughter Kay and granddaughter go to take care of her and I try to find her because she keeps vanishing.

Cameron 1:30:24

Yes, you know she's she's getting old. She's starting to forget things. Um the the opening shot. Yes, she wanders off and the opening shot of the film is she flooded her house because she ran a bath and then got distracted by her Christmas tree and just kind of.

Dave 1:30:27

No, she wanders off to.

Cameron 1:30:39

Stared at it until the the house filled with water. She's she's in decline but not being diagnosed explicitly because she's obviously still allowed to live out on her own out and out in rural Victoria so there's not.

Leonard 1:30:41

Yeah.

Cameron 1:30:57

You know there's not there are neighbors but they're not literally house to house to house packed These are properties with a large amount of space and it's easy. Not to see your neighbor unless you're specifically looking for them. Um, so she's not in the best location. To be having these kinds of issues in.

Dave 1:31:17

No, and it's it's progressed to the point to where she's She's really not able to take care of herself anymore.

Cameron 1:31:25

Yeah, like she she has good periods where she seems to have a handle on things but is able she's able to like the day today of life stuff like she can still feed herself. Make sure she gets around and does stuff but she. Quite easily forgets exactly who she's talking to forgets specific actions that are outside of her norm that she's done like giving a ring to her granddaughter. She forgets pretty quickly that she did that. Yeah.

Dave 1:31:54

Damn or or playing hide and seek with the neighbor kid.

Leonard 1:31:58

Yeah.

Cameron 1:32:00

Yeah god that that made me uncomfortable that the neighbor's kid has down syndrome. He's very sweet and he's also 18 now which is is fun. You don't see ah the music can smoke ajoit I'm allowed. Um you you don't see a lot of.

Leonard 1:32:08

Which means he can smoke a joint.

Cameron 1:32:17

People with down syndrome in film to start and you even more rarely see adults with down syndrome in film. Um, partially because I think the implication of it makes people seem more childish so might as well just show them as a kid but I don't get it. Um I've got a cousin with downs and it's nice to see. Represented just as people around the neighborhood like people are friendly with them. They they are able to function by themselves. Um, which was nice. But yeah Jamie had an incident where he was playing hide and seek with adna. And he hid in a cupboard and she went about her routine and locked the cupboard and forgot they were playing hide and seek or that he had even been there the which was pretty horrific and like the the brain blocking out him yelling in the background kind of thing because um.

Leonard 1:32:57

Yeah.

Cameron 1:33:10

I mean from her point of view. The house is full of bumps and scrapes and thumps all the time because it is literally physically haunted. So maybe that's why she sort of didn't really pass the the the yelling of poor Jamie in her in her bedroom closet. But yeah, it's pretty rough like um the the shot where they showed the back of the door with like the fingernail scratches on it is Zoui yeah, uncomfortable stuff.

Dave 1:33:29

M.

Leonard 1:33:39

Um, yeah.

Dave 1:33:45

Um, yeah, the whole the whole film is not afraid to sort of sit in that through the whole it's just sitting in that space the entire time like there's nothing comfortable about this movie. So.

Cameron 1:33:56

Yeah, no.

Dave 1:34:02

Um, it's doing its job in that regard now without being something. It's not the the horror in this is the it's like conceptual. Um for the most part and.

Cameron 1:34:07

Um.

Leonard 1:34:15

Yes.

Cameron 1:34:15

Yeah.

Dave 1:34:20

Ah, it's not having to rely on being graphic to to convey its message.

Cameron 1:34:25

No absolutely not yeah, which means that when it does actually get graphic. It is far more shocking like yeah yeah, there's so much of the horror is that.

Dave 1:34:35

They yeah.

Cameron 1:34:40

It's an everyday situation. You're sitting down with a grandparent or other elderly relative and they are just not all there. Ah which when you put that in the in the setting of this house that is definitely haunted like. Machines again turning themselves off and on at all hours of the day and night there are things banging inside the walls. Everyone is noticing but not talking about the black mold that is just slowly spreading throughout the house like we don't we don't want to talk about. We'll get her out of this house soon enough. Anyway, it's fine. Um.

Leonard 1:35:08

Yep.

Cameron 1:35:15

Kind of deal I Guess like the idea of an elderly person having to fend for themselves in that setting when they're already not all there is part of the conceptual horror of that and then it's just the the regular conceptual horror of watching a loved one sort of slip away from you.

Dave 1:35:17

Yeah, um.

Cameron 1:35:34

Ah, yeah.

Dave 1:35:34

Yeah I think the one of the tougher parts was when she um edna has the photo album and she's like eating it.

Leonard 1:35:42

Yeah, yeah.

Cameron 1:35:42

Yeah, ah yeah, she she wants to keep it safe and she can't think of any other way but to physically consume the photos or bury them out in the woods. Yeah yeah, and that that scene in particular is super.

Dave 1:35:45

Um, yeah, yeah or bury it.

Cameron 1:35:59

Ah, super raw. Emotionally I would say like she is so genuinely distressed about her situation like she doesn't want to go home because she knows it's not her home. It hasn't been since her husband died really.

Dave 1:36:01

Yeah.

Cameron 1:36:15

It's just been a lonely existence out here in the sticks and now something is there that is changing the environment to be more hostile and she can feel that she can understand that but she doesn't know how to express it properly anymore. Um. And and this whole time she's been very resistant to being moved out of the house because her daughter's main plan for that is to get her into a retirement home in Melbourne um, but she doesn't want that obviously and I don't think many people genuinely do.

And this is the scene where Kay sort of breaks down says I'm I'm sorry I left you out here all alone. You can come live with me in Melbourne we'll figure it out. We'll make space and make a way for this to work which is when she finally does accept that. Yeah I can leave the house if we can do that.

Leonard 1:37:09

Right.

Cameron 1:37:10

Basically got to stay with family. Um, yeah, and and then we get into extra dimensional space. Yay! Everyone's favorite. Um like through the film.

Leonard 1:37:18

Yeah.

Cameron 1:37:25

The the thudding and the bumping implies. There is extra space within the walls for something that big to be moving around in them. Ah, but it's not until fairly late in the film where edna's granddaughter Sam is scared off by her she she goes to check on edna in her bedroom and edna has a knife because she's. Constantly carving candles which is a great characterizing hobby and also means you can do lit candle sequences in the dark um comes it over with a knife to to get her out of the bedroom and sam runs down a flight of stairs for a solid 45 seconds

Leonard 1:37:53

This is.

Cameron 1:38:05

Just continually looping around and down around and down around and down around and down and importantly she acknowledges that she finally gets to the bottom and she looks up really confused um because the house is becoming bigger than it was before. Basically it's. It's expanded in weird ways. Um, and finally you know Sam goes back to the to the cupboard that Jamie got locked in and behind a pile of junk. There's another corridor in there filled with more stuff and post it notes. And all kinds of fun things and um, she enters the silent hillside of the house basically becomes a terrible maze and yeah, this this whole section is like yeah you know the in the wall stuff a housebound was claustrophobic but fun.

Leonard 1:38:47

Yeah, yeah.

Cameron 1:39:02

This is just purely claustrophobic and terrifying all the way through um because yeah, yeah, oh my God Ah yeah, yeah, it's really, it's really wild.

Dave 1:39:09

Yeah, if you want to talk about effective ah lighting.

Leonard 1:39:11

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:39:20

Um, yeah, and and just the idea of she's going through all of these things and it's um, it's memorabilia for like the most part So someone doesn't like.

Cameron 1:39:20

Um. Yes, yeah.

Dave 1:39:36

The memories leave them but had to go somewhere and you're going through or even just like um.

Cameron 1:39:39

Yes.

Dave 1:39:52

Say a loved one did pass and then you have to go through their stuff and there you're going to run into a lot of things that um may not have context for you Even though it's someone you knew.

Cameron 1:40:09

Button.

Dave 1:40:10

Or you thought you knew and they're no longer there to put context to the stuff. So then it it's still. It's still. It's a weird sense of like but but is it because this still has meaning to.

Cameron 1:40:14

Yeah, yeah, so it just becomes junk. Yeah. M.

Leonard 1:40:25

Good right.

Dave 1:40:30

Someone like they they they kept it for a reason generally and you have to try to figure out like is that does that is that alone enough reason to like hang onto it.

Cameron 1:40:45

So.

Dave 1:40:47

Like because it has sentimental value only or does this have like an actual meaning to you and so I think that that's what this part's kind of playing around with but also becomes a sort of narrative to.

Cameron 1:40:56

Yeah.

Dave 1:41:04

Sort of show Sam what's going on and then also scare the crap out of everybody because this part like this was the worst bit of the movie for me I mean like as far as like being like actually terrifying.

Cameron 1:41:06

Yeah. Oh it was it was so rough? Yeah yeah, yeah, um, yeah, this was this was the bit where my friend came to my house unexpectedly and interrupted me was right when Sam was.

Leonard 1:41:25

Please.

Cameron 1:41:31

Starting to scream and bang on the walls as she was trapped in an ever-trinking corridor. Oh my god yeah, it's every every time the corridor turns ° it doesn't get any less wide. It just cuts like half a foot off the height of the corridor.

Dave 1:41:33

Yeah, that's the worst part that the the tiny the tiny corridor.

Leonard 1:41:48

Um, yeah.

Cameron 1:41:49

Until you end up into like this sloping tunnel. That's just coming to a closed point in the distance somewhere and then you turn around and the wall has crept up behind you and is now filling the space where you used to be able to go back and leave and yeah, it's It's so bad. But.

Dave 1:42:07

Yeah, you don't want to be Jenji etoed through that.

Cameron 1:42:08

I ate it so much. No um, but yeah and then um and then kicking through the ceiling when it closes in too tight to only fall out of a wall in another part of the extra dimensional house. Yeah.

Leonard 1:42:23

Um, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cameron 1:42:28

It's it's wild and yeah, super super frightening and very uncomfortable as a sequence. Um and we eventually end up with all the characters back here. Ah which is terrifying because. Ka looking for edna finds that she's gone through to here as well to like and a space where there's 2 doors that are diagonal to each other. Um and she's picking the skin off her face with the with the candleknife I hate it again. Darrel.

Leonard 1:43:03

Yep.

Cameron 1:43:06

Um, and then we get the parallel to the ah to the pantry explosion scene where fleeing from fleeing from um Edna Kay and sam burst out of the fireplace into back into the real house out of the mantel.

Leonard 1:43:20

Yeah, and yeah.

Cameron 1:43:25

Yeah, or and again, yeah, super super horrific in comparison.

Dave 1:43:35

Yeah, this one this is ah it's a tough ride I I remember like I just I enjoyed watching it as it was happening and then kind of getting into the back half of the movie going. Oh yeah, this is like really effective.

Cameron 1:43:38

Yeah, yeah.

Leonard 1:43:50

Yeah, yeah.

Cameron 1:43:51

So yeah, yeah, it's it's like a really great use of atmosphere and especially lighting like you said, um, everything is like the perfect level of dim And yeah.

Dave 1:44:02

Yeah, but it's not like you can still see which is that's that's a tough thing to get across I think in a lot of digital media like they they they've got it finally down a little fine tuneed A little better particularly with like.

Leonard 1:44:05

Yeah.

Cameron 1:44:08

Exactly. So. Yes, yes.

Dave 1:44:21

More modern displays to where the the the true like blacks are visible and not artifacty because that's what really sucks trying to watch our old Dvd or something and like oh the scenes that are dark are like unwatchable.

Cameron 1:44:28

Yeah, yeah.

Leonard 1:44:31

Um. Right? They're too crushed.

Cameron 1:44:37

And.

Dave 1:44:40

Yeah, but yeah it it is in in this is a go ahead. Yeah.

Cameron 1:44:42

Yeah, is rough.

Leonard 1:44:48

Um, yeah, it and then it get it's it gets rougher because then then we have to watch and ah them beat this old woman.

Cameron 1:44:58

Yeah, yeah, yeah, pretty much Grandma became too strong. You got to stop praying for her. Um, yeah, no, she she follows them out of the wall and.

Dave 1:45:03

Grandma became too strong.

Cameron 1:45:13

To protect her own daughter Kay gets a lead pipe ah or some some such that I think she grabbed from the interior wall space and beats an old woman half to death with it. Yeah I mean you know she's she's a weird.

Leonard 1:45:25

Yeah gap. Yeah.

Cameron 1:45:31

Creature that walks on broken limbs and screeches and has all of her skin and hair for she's still mostly in the shape of you know someone's Grandma which is really uncomfortable. Yeah, and then it gets worse.

Dave 1:45:44

Yeah.

Cameron 1:45:50

Even worse. Ah because they're ready to leave now that grandma is unconscious on the floor and also still a monster and Kay can't make herself go because she looks down at her and she has a post-it note that says I am loved and smiles. Back up at k as they're about to leave and you know it makes sense is her mother. She she can't leave her and shuts sam out of the house and goes and takes her upstairs to her bed. Um, and this this is the weird sort of resolution part where like.

The the violent tension is gone like Edna's not a threat anymore. But there's still the the creeping tension of what exactly is going on. Um and what exactly is going on is that the thing that is wearing edna's skin. Is revealed strip by strip. Ah, as as Kay literally pulls her own mother's skin off of her to reveal like a withered mummified husk of a humanish creature underneath. Yeah.

Leonard 1:47:08

That is still yeah that that is but is still her mother and like that's like ah up on yes at this point once again like doing like the allegory run for this film I'm like it's still. It's to like it's it's it's.

Cameron 1:47:10

Is still her mother. Yeah. And yeah.

Leonard 1:47:22

Not my mother anymore but it is still my mother. What can what can I do really.

Cameron 1:47:24

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, except you know, give her comfort and help her help her change. Um, yeah, and you know they lie down together and. Sam actually ends up coming back into the house because she herself can't leave her own mother behind ah and lies down behind Kay and we get 3 generations of the family lying together the grandmother who is fully gone. As it were subsumed by this this mold this curse. Whatever turns you into the bog mummy. Um, then we have Kay who is in the process of acceptance of that and as we watch from sam's perspective. You can see a black. Bruise of that mold beginning to spread on Kay's own shoulder with yeah like in the allegory for mental decline. It's way more likely to happen to you if 1 of your parents or grandparents. Have have suffered from dementia or alzheimer's or anything like that. It is heritable. Um, and that is this the sort of final note of Horia is that this is not run its course essentially and.

Yeah, yeah.

Leonard 1:48:52

Um, yeah, it's a it's a It's a really fantastic movie. It is a massive bummer.

Dave 1:48:54

That it.

Cameron 1:48:59

Yeah.

Dave 1:49:02

Um, it so it is but then you have like this this catharsis this like and grief coup pulled with like acceptance like this is just how this is how it is now.

Cameron 1:49:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah that you can still show. Love.

Leonard 1:49:13

Yes.

Dave 1:49:20

And we just try to still stick together. So yeah, yeah, no exactly. And um, so this like for for me personally.

Cameron 1:49:26

And be loved. It's just working out how to do it in this new state.

Dave 1:49:38

Um, a large chunk of like most of my family that's elderly has Dementia or Alzheimer's yeah and so and it's on like multiple sides of the family and it's.

Cameron 1:49:47

Whole fun. Yeah yeah.

Leonard 1:49:48

Yeah.

Dave 1:49:57

It's It's not just it's intergenerational. So it's like brothers and sisters all got it and you're like okay that's um, super.

Cameron 1:50:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool.

Dave 1:50:11

It's it's difficult to deal with on the regular. But then you go Well the odds now of that passing down are very high so that's um, that's something that's yeah, it's watching this? ah.

Leonard 1:50:15

Yeah, exactly.

Cameron 1:50:17

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:50:30

The closer that this hits to home I think the better it makes the movie like it's more relatable so you get you can get more out of it. But I don't think that that's um, giving it like a short shrift for anyone else. It's It's a very well put together film.

Cameron 1:50:36

I. Yeah.

Leonard 1:50:48

A.

Dave 1:50:49

Like regardless and you can watch it without the allegory lens on and just be like yeah this is spooky and you can. There's a I think what it's doing is it. It gives a sense of empathy to all of the characters.

Cameron 1:50:55

And. Yeah.

Leonard 1:51:07

Um.

Dave 1:51:07

So you can you can be put into kind of any of their shoes and go yeah I like I see what's happening. Um, you don't like you don't want to be there but at the same time like there isn't anyone else to help like the the nearest neighbor.

Cameron 1:51:21

Yeah, absolutely I.

Dave 1:51:27

Can't like they're they're not able to do that. Um, it's already damaging to them. So all that's left is family and it's like a very limited amount. So yeah I um got I.

Cameron 1:51:34

Written. Yeah.

Dave 1:51:45

Really liked this movie but it's not this this. This isn't the the even though it's really good. This is a hard one to watch So this doesn't go on the a I'm going to watch it every year and and make it a annual thing. No.

Cameron 1:51:55

Yeah.

Leonard 1:52:00

Yeah, no.

Cameron 1:52:02

Written.

Dave 1:52:05

Every couple of years is probably good enough because this does deserve at least a second viewing. Um I mean even if it's just for the cinema time. There's a lot going on. Um and it's just very. It's very visceral but it's also very visual so it's just very well.

Leonard 1:52:08

Agreed.

Cameron 1:52:09

Yeah, yeah. And. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's really well done. But yeah, it's very difficult to watch like.

Dave 1:52:24

Filmed. Now.

Leonard 1:52:34

Yeah, it's ah it's it's it's requiem for dream territory honestly like it's ah it's a well-made film. You probably won't want to watch it again at least for a couple of years

Cameron 1:52:43

Um.

Dave 1:52:49

Yeah, yeah, you know, 2 2 three years about the I think that's the sweet spot of of it's just enough time to like forget.

Cameron 1:52:50

Yeah, I'm thinking 2025 I'll come back.

Leonard 1:52:54

Yeah. Yeah I mean to be perfectly.

Cameron 1:52:58

Yeah, yeah.

Dave 1:53:06

So I'm of the impact. So then the second time you watch it. It isn't any less impactful.

Cameron 1:53:08

Um, yes, yeah.

Leonard 1:53:12

I mean it was it has roughly been three years since I I watched it the first time so I can actually attest to yes, give it to 3 years before going back.

Cameron 1:53:26

And.

Dave 1:53:30

But yeah, and if you again if you like if you watched this and enjoyed it or found something worthwhile in it. Um, it's aside from just being a good spooky film. Yeah, definitely check out. Um.

Cameron 1:53:45

Button. Yes.

Dave 1:53:46

Taking of Deborah Logan and the haunting of rosal Linley they're they're adjacent like very closely to this one. Um and are so particularly deborbra Logan like that's it's a good like that's another messed up movie.

Cameron 1:54:00

Button.

Dave 1:54:06

And that that one is a little bit more found Footage E because it's ah it's a film crew. So mileage may vary a little more on that one. Um, this is stronger for being a like just ah, a regular spooky film.

Cameron 1:54:10

Yeah, so. Button. I Yeah yeah for sure.

Dave 1:54:25

Yeah, but yeah I think that that wraps us up for today so that was housebound and relic and they're both great and we'll have to find something I've been reading books that are similar to these that are recent. But I haven't seen any other films that are dealing with these kind of inside the house inside the walls of the house recently? Anyway, oh um, barbarian.

Cameron 1:54:54

Yeah, there might be a couple on Netflix barvarian I think ah I think that I think there might be 1 on Netflix called his house.

Leonard 1:54:58

And he yeah Barbarian um were up go on cameron.

Cameron 1:55:07

That from the description and the short sniffet I've seen looks like it might fall under the same idea of in the walls of the house. But I've not actually watched it So I'm not sure I.

Dave 1:55:12

Um, whom. I Did I see that one I may have watched that I'll have to look at that they um like little little cover I think that I want to say that that that's the one where with the refugees. Um.

Leonard 1:55:22

Um.

Cameron 1:55:23

Yeah.

Dave 1:55:36

And there's generational issues going on in that one too pretty sure it's same movie if it is that was good. So yeah, anyway, let's um, wrap this up, we hit the the 2 hour Mark pretty much. Um.

Cameron 1:55:40

Yeah. And if if it.

Dave 1:55:52

To our little admin and then send everyone off into into that goodnight Leonard where I can folks find you on the interwebs.

Cameron 1:55:56

And.

Leonard 1:55:59

You can find me on Twitter at Dr. Fausta's dead. You can also find me on Twitter at Umbernox Productions and you can find me on Youtube under both of those names as well Cameron where can people find you on the internet.

Cameron 1:56:17

Primarily you can find me on Twitter at night underscore Twitter that's night without a k twitter still exists for now again, it's it's held on far longer than we ever hoped it could ah so find me there. There are details for finding me elsewhere. There. If I remember correctly. So yes, okay.

Dave 1:56:39

And you can find myself. Ah still yep, still on Twitter it's it's kind of it's kind of fallen apart. Um a little bit. Yeah and but you can find me there at sting on underscore plus.

Cameron 1:56:41

He chugging a bit. It's It's been acting up a little bit for me as well. Well.

Dave 1:56:54

The podcast is also still has a Twitter mon underscore demonster and a bit of um, good new new news new news. Um, we have another cohost joining us next week and for the foreseeable future. Um, the ugly machine on Twitter it's Matt so it's not old Matt it's new Matt New Matt will be joining us. We will be covering and a bevy of cryptids next week so look forward to that one all right folks.

Cameron 1:57:16

Not that that. Indeed.

Leonard 1:57:29

Um, knees.

Dave 1:57:32

That's ah Bye-bye from us.

Cameron 1:57:35

Bye everybody.

Leonard 1:57:37

Goodbye.