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I Watch More Movies Than You
I Watch More Movies Than You
'Black Phone 2' and 'V/H/S Halloween' Movie Reviews and Deep Dive
The Black Phone 2 & V/H/S Halloween Double Feature Review
In this episode, Bobby and I tackle two of the most talked-about horror releases: The Black Phone 2 and V/H/S Halloween.
We start off discussing the return of Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill to the Black Phone franchise, the brainchild of Stephen King's offspring, Joe Hill. Bobby and I explore what makes their creative partnership so effective in crafting psychological horror and why their storytelling resonates so deeply with audiences. We spend quality time analyzing the Grabber—one of horror's most unsettling villains—and share our theories about where the sequel might take this terrifying character. We also discuss the Grabber and his potential place on the patheon of the horror villain zeitgeist, and place him up against Art the Clown and the likes! We also ask the dark questions about the Grabber, the one on everybody's mind- don't miss it! Leave a 5-star review with your thoughts on the Grabber, we'd love to read them!
Then Bobby and I switch gears to dissect V/H/S Halloween, the latest installment in the iconic found-footage anthology series. I break down each segment with mini-reviews, and Bobby chimes in with his takes on what worked, what fell flat, and which shorts delivered genuine scares. From inventive practical effects to slow-burn terror, we cover every twisted tale that makes this anthology perfect Halloween viewing. From the insanity that is 'Fun Size,' to the deprevity of 'Kid Print,' we have a blast ranting about our favorite parts of each and if the Halloween through-line is maintained. The list of directs is phenominal, by the way, and VHS Halloween is on Shudder now- don't miss it. I mean Paco Plaza, Alex Ross Perry, Casper Kelly and more, come on! REC anyone!?
Whether you're deciding what to watch this spooky season or you're a horror fanatic like us, this episode has all the insights you need in the two biggest horror releases this Halloween season!
KP (00:01.41)
Welcome back to I Watch More Movies Than You Got Can. And we are Cut Is It Rob or Bobby?
Bobbymom (00:05.414)
You got Rob.
Well, you know what? Today it doesn't matter. Yeah, there you go.
KP (00:10.958)
It's Brab. Well, you can't, hey, speaking of, we got Black Phone 2. Ever heard of her? And then it's that spooky season Halloween train keeps rolling right up. No, Bobby's keister. We got VHS Halloween on Shutter now. Have you always watched the VHS collections anthologies and they come out?
Bobbymom (00:15.997)
We sure do.
Bobbymom (00:25.113)
You
Bobbymom (00:35.987)
Not always I watched the first one and I had to go back recently and watch the others but but I remember the first one when it came out and and hadn't revisited until until now Yeah, yeah, yeah
KP (00:38.934)
Ooh, good one.
KP (00:44.539)
yeah.
KP (00:48.64)
Okay, cool. I love them. I'm a huge fan. They're neat and it's like about time we got one Halloween themed.
Bobbymom (00:57.405)
Yeah, yeah, was... Yeah, I was gonna ask you that too, like are you... Other than stuff... Other than stuff... Other than stuff we're covering, what else are you watching to get you in the spooky mood? No.
KP (00:58.67)
Are you enjoying your spooky season?
KP (01:05.196)
I'm not interested in answering.
KP (01:12.536)
No, that's a great question because life's been kind of crazy. So at least I did a haunted house, but as far as movies, as you know, the house got kind of turned upside down. So don't have the office or the space anymore right now and can't watch that with this. it's not a lot. mean, black phone too. VHS Halloween, Night Reaper, Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein. I mean, I may literally drive just to see that in theaters like an hour and half.
Bobbymom (01:29.179)
Right. Right.
Bobbymom (01:39.338)
yeah... Wow... Is it not local?
KP (01:43.358)
as of right now, no, it's a Netflix and he had to fight just to get some theatrical releases. So.
Bobbymom (01:45.535)
Okay. Right. Is there, or did you go to the Bellcore? Is that where you had to go? Oh, Bellcore is theater in Nashville that will get those limited releases a lot sooner than, I saw Birdman there. Cause Birdman was limited release and I saw Birdman there. Yeah.
KP (01:51.182)
What was that?
KP (01:58.735)
I wonder.
KP (02:02.282)
cool. No, I haven't, I haven't like planned it. I just know I want to see it really bad.
Bobbymom (02:07.825)
Yeah, yeah, just see if they're playing it because they were kind of like ahead of their time with the whole like they had like full menu, full bar before like a lot of other theaters did. It's a cool, it's a cool little spot. It's downtown Nashville, Street. Yeah.
KP (02:21.518)
Yeah, it sounds familiar. And then, know, AMC, the channel has the Fear Fest. So, you know, I got that going. I got a comic coming, an omnibus, it's the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, Ominous Omnibus. Yeah, I'm excited, especially because it's a Fortnite chapter coming out. I don't know much about the Simpsons. I always watch Treehouse of Horror though.
Bobbymom (02:32.997)
Right.
Bobbymom (02:39.987)
nice.
Bobbymom (02:47.355)
Yeah. Yeah.
KP (02:47.756)
So the Halloween's been playing, but I'm about to get really, we're going to talk about it at the end of this, so it only tees stuff, but I'm about to get really serious with it.
Bobbymom (02:55.443)
Did you uh, I'll tell you what we've been watching we we I don't remember if we cover this on the pod or not, but My wife had never seen the smile movies So we watched one and two And then last night we watched well, yeah, I know but But last night we watched
KP (02:57.774)
Yeah, I was just about to ask.
KP (03:06.583)
cool.
KP (03:13.006)
That's all there is. No, I'm just joking. kidding.
Bobbymom (03:21.403)
the remake, well not the remake, but the new I Know What You Did Last Summer.
KP (03:26.506)
interesting. I saw it in theaters.
Bobbymom (03:27.727)
Have you watched that yet? Did we talk about that on the pod? No.
KP (03:32.362)
I don't know. don't know. I think it happened during our hiatus.
Bobbymom (03:37.008)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Interesting, yeah. Hated it. But anyway, it was not good. was really bad. What's funny, I'm gonna spoil this movie real quick for people, but we're not even halfway through. And I looked at my wife and I said, it's Freddie Prinze Jr. And she was like, wouldn't do that. I said, it's Freddie Prinze Jr.
KP (03:42.86)
I didn't think it was good. Yeah. I did not think it was good. I like Freddie Prince. I like staring at him,
KP (03:50.296)
Smiley.
Bobbymom (04:02.715)
I said, is why, bada bing bada boom, harpoon for the chest. And I got it right. Down to the heart. I was very surprised by the harpoon part. But yeah, it was, I really said that, yeah. Yeah, no, I did, I did, I did, I did. I did not like it though. I hate, I did not like it.
KP (04:07.276)
Nice.
KP (04:11.074)
did you actually Wow. Wow. Okay, so you're just a liar. It was for now like I enjoyed like, know, the blonde she was fun and like, you know, new new character and stuff. Yes.
Bobbymom (04:22.779)
Madeline Klein is a great actress and I like her in it, but I don't like her character or no, no, no, no, it's very bad.
KP (04:31.574)
I mean, it was not a well-written movie. I'm with you. Like I, I, you know, me, I'm trying to enjoy things. I can, like, I'm glad I went to the theater. It was fun. It was just me in there, but it was just wasn't a good movie. But, but Bobby was just Bobby. I love that your name is Bobby mom on here, but it gives me a chuckle every time. There we go. Mike's right on that mouth. Now, now you said you sound excellent. if you know what I mean. So here's, here, let's do, let's do this. Let's start off with this.
Bobbymom (04:39.557)
No. No, no, it was bad.
Bobbymom (04:49.811)
Please don't say that.
KP (05:00.992)
Okay, as we're about to head into Black Phone 2, the Black Phone, the Joe Hill, obviously short story adapted by Scott Cargill and C. Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill. The first movie came out in 2021. Can you believe that's four years ago, by the way, it feels weird.
Bobbymom (05:01.095)
Okay, all right. Yeah.
Bobbymom (05:11.239)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Bobbymom (05:17.523)
It feels so strange. That movie came out on my birthday and my wife and I went to go see it and that's when we that was around the time we were like trying for our kiddo. So it was that movie like has a lot of and then when you and I kind of reconnected we watched Black Phone at my house. probably don't remember that. But yeah, no, it's a good movie. I really, really, really love that first one.
KP (05:24.258)
cool.
KP (05:30.578)
nice.
KP (05:39.398)
no kidding.
KP (05:45.344)
I think you like it. I will say this about the first one. You do. I think you do. I thought it was average with a great story though. A great story.
Bobbymom (05:47.637)
I like it more than you do. Yeah, yeah, I think so. Really? Really? Man, I thought it was just that classic, just that classic kind of horror. You could almost be transported and think that movie came out 20 years prior. Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah.
KP (06:10.22)
In the seventies. Now, now here's where I agree. It is claustrophobic. It's that cool era before like really good DNA technology and cameras and surveillance state we live under where like your neighbor and it's still, this is still true to some degree, but literally could have that going on, could have body. mean, they did, that did happen, you know, and I think that that's, that's a wild terrifying concept.
Bobbymom (06:21.798)
Right. Right, yeah.
Bobbymom (06:27.06)
Huh.
Bobbymom (06:32.134)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bobbymom (06:37.905)
It's such a terrifying concept.
KP (06:39.95)
And then you add the supernatural element of the black phone down there and everything and and it's neat and the grabber did always seem like there was more there like he's they created a great creature here. Like there's no doubt about it. Then you have Black Phone 2, which I think surprised well, it didn't surprise if you know financials and you saw how much money the first one made on its its return, you know. But you go three years later in the Canon.
Bobbymom (06:48.084)
Yeah, yeah, 100 % 100 %
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (07:01.204)
Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.
KP (07:07.552)
Right. okay, can we go into say spoiler alert, just spoiler alert for all black phone and black phone too. Okay. So insert, but so the grabber dies in the first one. So that's elephant in the room.
Bobbymom (07:08.285)
Right.
Bobbymom (07:12.83)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (07:16.98)
Yeah. Yeah, I assumed when this when we heard about Black Phone 2, I assumed it was a prequel.
KP (07:28.962)
Yeah, I don't know how it's you. Yeah, I'm with you. And this does a blend. It's interesting. So yeah, because the grabber is fascinating. Like you can't help but wonder his origin, how much supernatural, what are the rules gonna be set in this if it goes into like the whole universe of a movie franchise, you know what I mean? And now it probably is.
Bobbymom (07:35.047)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (07:51.412)
Does that not though, and this may just be a thing for me, does it not diminish a little bit when you get too much mythos, too much backstory for a character? I I think of the Halloween films and one thing that is so terrifying about Michael Myers in that first one is that there is no context. You just know from like a six-year-old.
KP (08:02.786)
Well, yeah, it can.
KP (08:17.442)
Yeah, nothing behind the eyes.
Bobbymom (08:17.532)
he's this evil force and there's like, yeah, nothing is he's just evil incarnate. And then you get future movies, Curse of Michael Myers, you start seeing some backstory and it's not good. I, I'm sure he does. And so, you know, I don't, I don't know that more is good when it comes to a creepy.
KP (08:33.272)
Yeah, John Carpenter hates all of them, by the way.
Bobbymom (08:46.172)
If you focus too much on the villain, think it starts to make it less scary.
KP (08:51.342)
Well, it's interesting. So I'll, I'll give the premise to this one. Um, because yeah, you're hitting on something and we'll, we'll talk about, especially because it's almost like when Michael Myers and Halloween came out in 1978, or it's obviously going to come out a nightmare on Elm street in 1984, leather face in 74, these other, they didn't know the audience was going to be so attached to the villain. So it wasn't played that way. Um,
Bobbymom (08:56.242)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (09:15.718)
No. Yeah. So it didn't matter. Yeah.
KP (09:21.006)
but this villain's complicated and which is makes him all the more a delight in my opinion. It is fiction people, because I'll bring up a pretty big question. But so in this one, you have three years later, right? So Finn, so you have Scott Derrickson, Robert Cargill, Joe Hill, course with the source material, Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke, ever heard of her? We got him. I love Ethan Hawke by the way. Oh, he's the best.
Bobbymom (09:26.568)
Right. Right.
Bobbymom (09:44.084)
I do I do too man
KP (09:50.52)
What a great, great person to play this to. And then Madeline McGraw. And it's really, I would argue it's really her movie. It's Finn's Little Sisters movie. Her's Gwen. Gwen, plays Gwen. And Arianna Rivas, Damien Bichard, James Ransone, Miguel Mora, Anna Lor, Simon Weston, know, good, little cast. And as I'll say this to you and I, going all the way back to 2012 and even further back, but Scott Derrickson, I think he's always going to have our ticket, right?
Bobbymom (09:53.201)
He's great.
Bobbymom (09:58.227)
Yeah. Yeah.
Bobbymom (10:19.932)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
KP (10:20.99)
Sinister ever seen it and Sinister I think is one of the special movies. It's like lightning striking. It's a generational film. It's Terrifying it's a vacuum of darkness. It's perfect. So and it has that we have the returning director of that and the returning actor But So black phone to you get dropped in right? He's the survivor the guy that killed the grabber
Bobbymom (10:28.958)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (10:33.245)
Yeah.
KP (10:49.132)
So after his life in captivity, now all of sudden his sister, and this is where it's so nightmare on Elm Street three, Dream Warriors. It's so incredibly Dream Warriors. His sister gets receiving calls in her dreams from the black dude to a T. And that's actually a very good Freddie movie, by the way. That's the second best one probably. Yeah, it's awesome. Was it really?
Bobbymom (10:58.44)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a good point. I did not think about it that way. Yeah, you're right, you're right.
It's a very good Friday movie. First one I ever saw.
KP (11:18.36)
First two of them too? No, I'm joking. So his sister gets these dreams of the black phone scene is disturbed visions of three boys being stalked in a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. Love to, I'll say it right off the bat, Bobby, if I can give my thoughts. Love the setting.
Bobbymom (11:20.494)
Heh,
Bobbymom (11:31.068)
Yeah, go for it. Love the setting. This movie looks really good. Visually, mean visually it's stunning. That's Super 8 camera. Yeah.
KP (11:37.452)
Yes, it's fab, agreed.
It is.
I know. it's obviously and I want to say this too. I think even though this reminds me of Dream Warriors and curtains with the ice games like that, this is an homage. There's nothing cheap about this. This movie loves those movies. These filmmakers love those movies. This is a hug to those movies is bringing back a Freddie.
Bobbymom (11:59.815)
Right. Right.
Bobbymom (12:05.096)
Yeah, well there's a difference between trying to wear the skin of something better and then writing a love letter to something.
KP (12:13.998)
Yes, agreed. And I think this is the latter. So, and two, know, Freddy doesn't have the only allowance to kill in dreams. But let's just be honest, this is a completely different movie than the first one. The first one was claustrophobic. This is a slasher. It's a popcorn slasher in the snow. As a Shining fan, obviously you got me there. You know what I mean? So then we get this return to life.
Bobbymom (12:15.548)
Yeah. Yeah.
Bobbymom (12:28.259)
it's so different. Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm, sure.
KP (12:42.638)
from the grabber from beyond the grave. So all of sudden we're getting this, like you said, this mythos built out, right? I have a couple of questions. I have a lot of questions. But I had a couple and I'll try to go through some, I your thoughts and then vice versa. But overall, right, Black Phone 2, I thought was good. I think I gave it three or 3.5 on letterbox.
Bobbymom (12:48.436)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (12:52.414)
Okay.
Bobbymom (12:59.668)
Alright.
Bobbymom (13:09.982)
Mm-hmm.
KP (13:10.794)
And I the gamification of reviews stuff, it's more complicated than that. And I think if I get a second viewing in, which I plan on, it might unlock that additional star. I was hitting the flask pretty hard when I was watching it in public. But what I think is, I'll go again and give a few of my thoughts on Black Phone 2, where I arrived at where I thought it was good, not great. And that really is where I'm at on it. And so I think...
Bobbymom (13:21.684)
Perfect.
Bobbymom (13:31.846)
Okay. Yeah.
KP (13:38.478)
I started questioning was the grabber consistent in this world created? Because in this film, again, we told people spoilers, you have him, they go to the camp, right? And they're in this pursuit. Once they're there, they start learning about wild Bill. They start learning about the origin story of this character, right? And part of that, then you have her dreams. And then you have the, Freddy Krueger, like, you know what I mean? You have him literally stalking her in her dreams to the point of trying to put her in an industrial oven.
Bobbymom (13:44.756)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (13:56.062)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (14:02.996)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
KP (14:08.546)
some really, really good scares from these dead kids trying to warn her in the dreams. Some really neat, like you said, it always goes to that granny super eight when you know to let you know she's dreaming. And that's fine. Where I had some issues, there's a lot of exposition in that cabin. And there's a lot of trying to describe, you know I mean? Like a lot, like I like the nightmare logic of a movie like this and you don't really got to give me roles. Do you agree with that?
Bobbymom (14:12.136)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (14:26.342)
Yes. Yes.
Bobbymom (14:32.488)
Uh-huh.
Right. Yeah, I agree. 100 % agree that you don't have to give me any rules, really. As long as it makes... Well, I'll say it this way. You don't have to speak the rules, you know? I think... In a horror movie, I don't necessarily need you to spell out the rules.
KP (14:49.294)
to include edge of consent. I'm trying to continue you little furry case the grabber come on now.
Bobbymom (15:02.836)
If it does its job, I should be able to see it in the film. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
KP (15:07.874)
Yes, okay, I'm with you. Yes to your question real quick. Does your, does your mic have a volume on it? Are you able to turn it up at all or no? Is it not? It may not. It may, you may just want it closer to your face and people, know, we're doing this remote this time. Amazing. Amazing. Yeah. So that's, here's my thing though. So I'm okay with, okay, say you do want to set the rules, right? Well, in the beginning of this film, he's coming after her and her dreams and he can hurt her. But then there's a point when they're out on the ice, which is phenomenal looking by the way, the
Bobbymom (15:20.254)
How is this? Okay, all right, yeah, I was down a little bit. Okay, yeah.
Bobbymom (15:28.201)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (15:32.019)
Yeah.
KP (15:37.624)
The phone booth and the things that Scott Derrickson did with that camera, that phone booth on that, is incredible. That thing moved and soared, it was a magician. You know what I mean?
Bobbymom (15:40.212)
Visually, yeah. Yeah.
That's my favorite thing about this movie is how it looks. Thousand percent is how it looks. Yeah. Yeah.
KP (15:52.128)
Yeah, it's stunning. He's so talented. But all of a sudden he went from being able to hurt her to just being able to hurt everybody and they're not nobody's dreaming.
Bobbymom (16:02.164)
Yeah, I don't know. I like the idea that you have this first movie that has very limited supernatural elements to it and you have a, ultimately you have a pragmatic, realistic bad guy. And I like the idea of, the horror genre does this a lot where it will,
KP (16:02.924)
What do you think that...
Bobbymom (16:31.762)
just give you something completely new or completely different in a new installment or a new part of the franchise. I like the idea of going from what we saw in the first film to a Freddy, but...
Just like I said, didn't... If a movie does what it's supposed to do, I don't need you to speak the rules to me. I should be able to discern it for myself. And I had a hard time doing that. This go-around. I had a hard time with that.
KP (17:09.048)
Yeah, yeah, because yeah, I'm with you. And again, like I said, a lot of exposition. don't mind the run to, know me, I like long movies, but I do really like.
Bobbymom (17:18.579)
Yeah.
Well, I like long movies. I like long movies when they deserve to be long. You know what mean? And there's a lot of exposition. Having that exposition right in the middle of the film really slows it down. It really throws the pacing off. And you're dealing with a theme that's way more complicated in nature. All this makes it sound like I'm very negative on the movie. I'm not.
KP (17:28.462)
Yeah, there's some pacing stuff when you have that much exposition just right there in the middle of it.
Bobbymom (17:50.482)
I'm with you, it's good, but it's not great. It doesn't live.
KP (17:52.91)
I think we're talking about this way because we wanted it to be great, so bad. We love everybody involved.
Bobbymom (17:56.018)
I think so. I think so. And that is the plight of the sequel, right? Is that you... The sequels that I respect the most are the ones that are very different from its original. Because you just don't want to cut and paste. You don't want to do that. But... And I applaud that about this film. Because the first one made so much money, it'd been really easy just to put them in a room, do a prequel, have them do the exact same thing all over again.
KP (18:01.741)
Yeah, you're right.
KP (18:13.933)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (18:24.916)
except this time, know, he doesn't die at the end. It is...
KP (18:29.238)
It's like Dr. Schlate being so significantly different than The Shining.
Bobbymom (18:31.632)
Exactly, exactly. And a lot of people don't like Dr. Sleep because of that. I enjoyed it.
KP (18:36.654)
Yeah, actually, I enjoyed it too and I love Flanagan, another great filmmaker.
Bobbymom (18:40.092)
Yeah, and so I like when a sequel really tries to set itself apart. know, Empire Strikes Back, Two Towers, that kind of thing. Like there's big differences in those movies and it pays off. But this is such a wild swing that I think they fell in love with the idea and didn't flesh it out maybe like they should have.
Because one of the things I love about that first one is that it's just, it's so simplistic. know, that's what makes it work for me is that it's it's so simplistic. some horror movies do really well in that simplicity. And that is not a degradation. I'm talking about like, again, I'll bring up Halloween. Like that's an iconic horror film, whether you love it or not. That first one especially is iconic. And it's...
KP (19:14.69)
Yes, yeah, it's almost a single location film.
Bobbymom (19:36.762)
the most simple one of the franchise and there's something very special about that and we lose that here. Yeah.
KP (19:39.97)
Yeah.
KP (19:45.774)
Well, I think too, I agree. I think like what you're up against, cause you do have good writers here and stuff, but there was not, they had to, after seeing what it made and whatnot, I think they had to like, okay, we got to make a sequel somehow. I don't think there was ever, it was wrapped up so well in the first one. was a...
Bobbymom (20:00.305)
Yeah. Yeah.
Bobbymom (20:05.105)
Well, I was surprised in the first one that knowing today in like the way movies were made, I was surprised they killed him in the first one. But I always thought, well, it could be a Michael Myers situation. It could be a Freddy's, it could be a Jason situation. Yeah. It was.
KP (20:10.167)
Yeah.
KP (20:20.044)
Well, was, but yeah, it was. I think it was a little bit of retcon, especially with the mom story arc we'll get to. But, and again, I love big swings. I don't want people to think, yeah, and I love slashers.
Bobbymom (20:27.9)
Yeah.
I do too. No, no, no, I love it. It just felt like a very different, almost too different. Like I like it to be different, but it felt, and I don't say that as like a bad thing necessarily, but it was just a little, what's the word I'm looking for? A little jarring maybe.
KP (20:53.048)
think he was showcasing the grabber. I think they realized people gravitated to him so much.
Bobbymom (20:57.777)
Yeah, well, yeah, I think there might have been this little sensation of, we have another art the clown in our hands or do we have another, you know, an icon that can carry a franchise instead of it just being a good story? Right. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And maybe that's maybe that's what they thought this new like, you know, maybe that's what they thought. Because again, I mentioned the Terrifier, like
KP (21:12.386)
Yeah, like the Zoomers Freddy Krueger.
Bobbymom (21:25.263)
art the clown we've talked about this before like he has he has forced his way into the zeitgeist of those like i wish
KP (21:30.862)
Director Damien Leon's a friend of the pod.
Continue. yeah, he's got Fortnite skin now. Comes out tomorrow.
Bobbymom (21:39.54)
Yeah, I mean, you walk around, we went to, I can't remember where we were, but we were just driving through nothing country the other day. And there was an Art the Clown standee on someone's porch for their Halloween decorations. Yeah, it's become pretty universal pretty quickly considering, I mean, there's three films, but it's gained a lot of popularity in that figure. So I don't know if that was the thought process behind it.
KP (21:53.399)
Wow, no kidding.
Bobbymom (22:09.159)
you know.
KP (22:10.05)
Yeah, that's a good point. think, well, you're right. Because success happens and then you have to decide, you know, and it's so hard to get everything right together to make a movie. see why they got the band back together and that's his guy, you know? And the Grabber is on the verge of iconography and horror, zeitgeist. There's no doubt about it. May be there. I was dressed as the Grabber, remember?
Bobbymom (22:18.929)
Right.
Yeah, yeah.
Bobbymom (22:27.996)
Right. Yeah.
I think I would have rather... I've got a picture of you as the grabber.
KP (22:36.622)
before the movie came out. It's a wanted poster. But you know, and I do want to say, no, I'm about those chaps, but I want to say, you know, it's an endearing movie. It's like you said, it's beautifully directed. His son, Derrickson's son did the music, which is really cool, you know. And art does steal.
Bobbymom (22:38.393)
Yeah, it's completely unrelated to this movie. So see you in a onesie.
Bobbymom (22:57.97)
Right.
Bobbymom (23:03.246)
that's cool. I didn't realize that.
KP (23:06.424)
but again, this does so in reverence. It's not empty or hollow. It's a true blue ice cold horror flick. And it's a fun romp in October on the One Silver Screen. I really do think that. I think it's a fun theater watch.
Bobbymom (23:15.784)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't discourage it. I wouldn't discourage it at all. Like if you enjoy the first one, it's worth diving back in to see.
KP (23:26.328)
And the first one's grown on me. It's this weird thing, not on rewatches, because I haven't, but in memory. The more I think about the story, yeah, the more I think, that was really cool.
Bobbymom (23:32.315)
Yeah, it's very memorable. Yeah. Yeah, it's very memorable. man, I got, I mean, just thinking about it, I, and I've only watched it maybe two or three times in the last four years, but, and I haven't watched it in a while, but it's very memorable to me.
KP (23:54.347)
it's just so unique and anything with kids is so unsettling and you're left with some.
Bobbymom (23:55.996)
Yeah. And, and, and seeing, getting to see, getting to see Ethan Hawke stretch his like villain legs. I mean, what's that line where he goes, you know, wait, this is my face. And he's, it's just, it's so creepy. It's so eerie.
KP (24:05.484)
Yeah, it's awesome.
KP (24:11.758)
There is speaking of, again, the writing is great. There's a sequence and I wanted, here's where I wanted to know a little bit more. So he's obviously in hell, right? That's what they perpetuate. And he goes, hell isn't hot. It's ice cold. And you don't remember any of the good stuff about your life, only the sin. And I am an endless well of sin. He says that in Black Phone 2 and that's, that's Derrickson and Cargill. Like that's the writing coming out, you know? Yeah, it's incredible.
Bobbymom (24:20.113)
Right. Right.
Bobbymom (24:29.043)
Well...
Wow, yeah.
Bobbymom (24:36.913)
Yeah, yeah, that's some Dante's Inferno. Yeah. Have you read Dante's Inferno? In school? Yeah, yeah, yeah. They get to the center and Satan's frozen because his circle of hell is completely... That's what I thought of when he said that. It was like, they... Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
KP (24:41.006)
Like that's incredible. Like what was I did at yeah, in college. I just don't remember humanities.
KP (24:53.998)
Oh, that's right. That's cool. That's why someone else said that at work. That makes sense. can't. I love Dante's Infono, but I just cannot remember it that well. Wow. OK, that's really neat. And again, you know, I wasn't huge on the first one, but I love the concept. I love the creature design. I think this one might be a tad more rewatchable for me, maybe a little bit more enjoyable, but I love.
Bobbymom (25:18.843)
Really? The second one? Well... Yeah, yeah.
KP (25:21.83)
Yeah, I love the winter shining vibes. The Christian imagery he talks about, because Derrickson is a Christian, he always brings it up and adds kind of a layer, think, good and evil and things of that nature. And I think that the Grabber has a real chance to be Gen Z's Freddie. This had the chilling bite of Sinister. It had the brutality to children.
Bobbymom (25:28.563)
sure.
Yeah.
Bobbymom (25:39.751)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (25:46.067)
Mm-hmm.
KP (25:48.738)
but it held a lot more punches than that 2012 film did.
Bobbymom (25:48.968)
Mm-hmm.
It's gonna be 2012. Oh, oh, oh, right, right, right, right, right. Let me ask you this. You mentioned it being like Gen Z's Friday. Do you think with as much as the, we just talked about it potentially with Art the Clown, but do you think that with the,
KP (25:54.25)
Yes sinister. was comparing it to, yeah sorry.
Bobbymom (26:13.201)
You know, we have access to so much more and there's so many more films out there now. Do you think with the way films are being made now, streaming the amount of films coming out, do you think we'll ever be, you know, we can look to yesteryear and we could say, Freddie, Jason, Michael Myers, Who Am Missing, Leatherface, like, we can look back and see that, yeah, yeah, exactly. And so, so you have,
KP (26:37.134)
The Universal Monsters before that.
Bobbymom (26:42.705)
You have that generation that's like 70s and 80s that like has gone on and gone on and gone on all the way up to, we're we're millennials, but we we connect with those movies from the 70s and 80s because they were perpetuated and they do remakes and they do reboots and all that. Do you think these characters like say are in the grab? Do you think they have the legs to become in the way media is consumed today? Do you think it has the legs to be what?
Those films were to our parents' generation, thus also to us.
KP (27:15.276)
I don't know, man. Like honestly, know that it'd be easy for me to say no, but having playing, you know, playing Fortnite, for example, the biggest game in the world right now, it's a huge part of the culture where we dropping, you know I mean? And like this year, the Fortnitemares has for the first time ever Jason Voorhees and it has Art the Clown and it has the Grabber and it has Scream. That's who we're probably missing, Ghostface.
Bobbymom (27:31.059)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (27:42.175)
yeah, Ghostface is weird because Ghostface came in the 90s, so he was like kind of by himself. Really.
KP (27:48.598)
It's a good example though why I think it can happen is because that was a. my goodness, boy, we covered by the way if anybody wants to go back. Wes Craven, so that was just so well like the script was like the main character. It was such a good script, so I think if the if done properly and now and they're putting their stuff out there and like I said, it's in Fortnite and different things like that. Call of Duty like different.
Bobbymom (28:00.69)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (28:05.051)
Yeah. Yeah.
KP (28:17.696)
Art, art's in both, Jason's in both. And I know Jason's older, like you said, he's of yesteryear, but yeah, I think they do. I think you have to create really good, well, I don't even know if you have to have good movies because like, if you look back to those movies,
Bobbymom (28:22.48)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (28:32.059)
No, they don't have to be good, they just have to be popular.
KP (28:34.39)
Like Scream had the best average. And it's not as big as Jason or Freddie. Like there's like two good Freddys, maybe three and like two good Jason's.
Bobbymom (28:37.585)
Yeah. No, I don't know. mean, I, Lacey last year, Lacey and I rewatched all the Friday the 13th and I enjoy them. I wouldn't say no, no. And that's, that was what I was trying to say earlier is that like, love, you know, they make that switch. The first one it's his mom and then, and then it plays later. is Jason. And I like that they're able to make.
KP (28:52.142)
It was not even Jason in the first one.
KP (29:02.051)
Pamela.
Bobbymom (29:07.795)
these big shifts like that in franchises to keep them going. That's why I wasn't completely turned out by the way they did Black Fun 2. I wasn't turned away by that. Do what?
KP (29:14.07)
Evil Ash.
KP (29:21.356)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We need a Freddie versus Jason. Think we'll ever see one of those again, a Freddie versus Jason.
Bobbymom (29:29.427)
You know, mean sure what not like what's weird is that we got Freddie and Jason then because I that concept feels like so today right like it feels very like how we have all the Interconnected cinematic universes and all that like that's a very like now concept So Freddie versus Jason was kind of ahead of its time in a lot of ways. I don't think that's Technically a good movie, but I but I really enjoy it. You know what I mean?
KP (29:38.497)
Yeah, it does.
KP (29:48.654)
Oh, 2003, man, was a medicine.
KP (29:56.588)
It might be my most watched movie of all time.
Bobbymom (29:58.676)
And that's what I mean is that, wow, that's interesting.
KP (30:01.366)
It really might be. I throw it on all the time in the background.
Bobbymom (30:04.861)
But, well, you probably need to see a psychiatrist about that. it's interesting. Yeah, Pennywise too, yeah.
KP (30:07.564)
It's so, yeah. yeah, Pennywise, by the way.
Return to dairy.
I think to answer your question, I time will tell. I think the grappler is uniquely designed and looks good enough and has good filmmakers behind him. might honestly, he might last and art does in like that that film fest horror fangoria crowd, you know, and art and he may burst out even of that if they make a movie more approachable.
Bobbymom (30:19.443)
Sure.
Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah, he may.
Bobbymom (30:32.275)
Yeah. I would like, I would like to see them explore this version again, but maybe make it a little tighter, a little less on the nose on some things and, uh, just make him stick, keep him kind of encased in as a, uh, just a boogeyman, you know?
Just keep him as a boogie man. If you're gonna be this dream version, just keep him as that. Less about his background, less about the exposition. And I would also like to see a prequel. I'd like to see something that took place before the first one to kind of get back to that realism a little bit.
KP (31:20.814)
Yeah, because they took a perfect ending and had to create a story that worked. You know, it already worked and ended. And so I'm with you. Like it's not an easy thing to do.
Bobbymom (31:23.853)
Yeah, right. Right.
Yeah. I will say that I enjoyed, I enjoyed the first one more. It's just more my cup of tea, I guess. And yeah, that's, you know, that's really, that's, that's really what it is for me is it really came down to how, how, yes, how tight the story was. And, you know, you're, you're really rooting for those kids and
KP (31:39.916)
Yeah, it was incredibly well paced and it was tight. Good beginning, middle and end. Yeah. Claustrophobic.
KP (31:58.837)
man, yeah.
Bobbymom (32:00.231)
I mean, you would anyway, but they come at it from such an angle that I was in the theaters cheering at the end of the first one, 1,000%. Yeah, 100%, 100%.
KP (32:15.212)
that could do the Kings. The King family knows how to write children you root for. They really do. And I and it's so scary and everything is so big. And this is actually scared.
Bobbymom (32:24.538)
Joe Chill, Joe Chill, Joe Hill is, he is just as talented as his dad in my opinion. He's got some really, really good stuff out there. And he doesn't get the accolades that his dad does. It's a big shadow, but I have read a lot of his graphic and all his comics and stuff.
KP (32:38.286)
Wow, that's a hot take.
KP (32:44.462)
That's a big shadow, man.
KP (32:51.362)
Torn is your favorite? Lock and Key.
Bobbymom (32:54.1)
Well, Lock and Key is really good. He did one that I read a couple years ago that I still... it's a mini series. I still think about it. It's called Basket Full of Hoods. my gosh, it's good, dude. And he... and he is very scary. And then he's more of a comic book guy. So he has less novel and more comics, but he is... he is such a good storyteller. And now can he stand up against like Prime, Stephen King? Maybe not, but...
KP (33:03.94)
I've heard that's great.
You're like scary.
KP (33:12.61)
That's pretty cool though.
Bobbymom (33:24.112)
He's, if he can't, as far as today, I'm more interested in, as of new stuff coming out, I'm more interested in Joe Hill's stuff than I am King's.
KP (33:28.065)
I'll be rooting for him.
KP (33:34.252)
I'm very thankful. I'm a Stephen, you know, I've been to Stephen King's house. I'm just, I'm a diehard, but I will be rooting for.
Bobbymom (33:37.108)
Oh yeah, me too. I mean, I've read several of King's books and I love them. But Joe's got a very, it's similar to his dad's, but he's also got a very unique voice.
KP (33:45.55)
Yeah, I feel like I was raised by him.
KP (33:56.972)
Yeah, I love this stuff, especially while I know Neil Gaiman is kind of a hot topic right now. Actually speaking of potential pedophiles, and by the way, I don't say that lightly, I have read more Gaiman than I've almost read anybody. man, just an enormous fan. Yeah, I feel weird even, you know, but.
Bobbymom (34:02.802)
yeah.
Bobbymom (34:06.772)
You
Bobbymom (34:13.97)
Really? Interesting.
Bobbymom (34:20.308)
I've been hit or miss with him. I tried Sandman and I couldn't get into it, which feels like it'd be right up my alley. And I put it away thinking I'll come back to it because I know I'm just maybe part of it. I also just, I told myself at the time, I'm not in the right head space. I'll come back when I'm in the right head space. Because it does feel like
KP (34:23.532)
Really? just...
KP (34:29.836)
Yeah, it does. Yeah, that's interesting.
Maybe it's the art style?
KP (34:44.726)
I say, I can say that.
Bobbymom (34:45.842)
You'd think like with Twin Peaks and everything, you'd think that Sandman would be just, I would be obsessed with it. But no, I'm very hit or miss on Game of
KP (34:56.716)
Let me ask you this, because this is the big question in Black Phone, the Black Phone and now Black Phone 2. And it may not need to be, because I want to say something about filmmaking. Sometimes it's what's not shown on screen, right? And like really good filmmakers in some certain subjects, it's way better to not show on screen, but you can still touch these things. So my question to you, do you think the grabber,
Bobbymom (35:01.414)
Okay, okay, I'm ready. I'm ready.
Bobbymom (35:18.846)
Right.
KP (35:26.486)
was a pedophile.
Bobbymom (35:30.29)
Hey, can you hear me? Okay, sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know. I think they skirt that line. I think they're trying to... I think they want to say it, but they are afraid to say it because what's weird about these types of movies is that...
KP (35:31.19)
Yes, Bobby dropped his mic. He's back. Get it right on your mouth too. It helps. But do you think the grabber is a pedophile?
KP (35:43.47)
So you do think that's intentional. They're definitely hinting.
Bobbymom (35:57.681)
you find yourself becoming fans of the bad guy and for some reason so okay you know I'm sure you know this but you know the original script for the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy was a pedophile and they said no no no no he can't be a pedophile he can kill kids but he can't rape them and so you know so they they alter it just a little bit and
KP (36:16.972)
and there's definitely stuff left in, man. You know what I mean?
Bobbymom (36:27.144)
And then when they do the remake, the 2011 remake, they decide to go back to the original idea and make him a pedophile.
KP (36:31.246)
That's your favorite.
KP (36:36.834)
That guy actually kind of looks like one too.
Bobbymom (36:38.994)
And he didn't, Jackie Roel Hailey? Yeah. Roar Shot. So they make him not only a child killer, but they made him a pedophile. And people did not respond well to that. I mean, that movie had a lot against it anyway, because it wasn't Robert Englund.
KP (36:42.242)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, there you go.
KP (37:00.534)
Yeah, it's a tough one. Get Jim Carrey.
Bobbymom (37:06.92)
But I think that worked against it. I think it worked against it. And so I think they're afraid to say it, but the idea of him, the van, the mask, the... A lot of it...
KP (37:06.936)
Kevin Bacon.
Yeah, and that's.
It's tough subject,
KP (37:22.158)
What about the shirtless in the first one and he like plays with his hair and moves the gut?
Bobbymom (37:25.076)
Yeah, there's a lot of insinuation that there is a... Well, I'll say it this way.
I think they found him the middle of the by saying that this was a sexual release from him, even if there wasn't.
KP (37:45.326)
That makes sense.
Bobbymom (37:46.308)
molestation of any kind. Like it's almost like the act of killing was the molestation, if that makes sense.
KP (37:52.364)
And like, maybe it doesn't matter. You know what I mean? Like, obviously it does to the kids and they get murdered.
Bobbymom (37:55.035)
Right. It does matter. But they take him to such a sinister place that it's like, there's a lot of darkness surrounding him. And this movie makes you feel even more so. The second one. Right.
KP (38:12.238)
Yeah, I mean, he came back from hell. Like, that's what's interesting. Like, he had, I guess, the power of revenge, even though he was the one killing all the kids. Were you okay with that, let's find the bodies and he loses his power?
Bobbymom (38:20.744)
Yeah. Right.
Bobbymom (38:29.012)
don't know. gonna have to... That's fast. There is so much going on here. And I wasn't prepared for that because of how simplistic and streamlined the first one was. I feel like I need to re-watch it to get a good feeling on all that.
KP (38:30.028)
that kinda hinted at.
KP (38:34.282)
I know, there was a lot.
KP (38:44.238)
I don't know if you have this movie in the first one though. I really think this is just completely came up after the success. You know what I mean? Like I don't think, I think there's such polarizing movies. I'm okay with saying good, not great. Still go watch it. It's awesome. There's some really scary parts, some really pretty parts, really talented filmmaking.
Bobbymom (38:49.943)
thousand percent. Thousand.
thousand percent.
Yeah, good night, Gary. I'm with you.
Bobbymom (39:03.014)
looks good, like physically looks good.
KP (39:06.286)
It does. So you want to leave Black Phone 2 there? All right, up next people, the anthology, latest entry, VHS Halloween. It's on Shudder. I think it was on their Fantastic Fest. Shudder, Bloody Disgusting, Sin and Acolypse, they all gather directors around and you have a, you get a campfire with a bunch of directors and you get some twisted tales. I believe I read that from one of the reviews I like on Roger Debert. And that's exactly what these are.
Bobbymom (39:08.978)
Yeah, let's leave it there.
Bobbymom (39:35.124)
Right.
KP (39:36.054)
Right, like they all have a theme, a through line. This one is Halloween. This one is this weird diet, phantasma drink that's supposed to be this kind of connective tissue throughout. This is focus group. You know, it's a...
Bobbymom (39:50.388)
Right
I another reviewer, I forget his name, say that this reminded him to that 90s Coke versus Pepsi. Like that blind taste to us, and they'd always say, it tastes the same.
KP (40:07.446)
Yeah, yeah, I can see that.
KP (40:12.814)
Yeah, I could see that. You know, okay, well, let's just start here. So do you want to go, what I could do is, because again, know, fun little anthologies on Shutter now. I could just go through, name the individual movie, we give a couple thoughts and then go to the next and then say, then wrap it up. You want do that? Okay, so you had, so it's Alex Ross Perry's,
Bobbymom (40:35.174)
Yeah, yeah.
KP (40:43.213)
I guess you'd call it Evil Short about a cursed video store. okay, hold on a second. I'm having my things. Okay, anyway, so VHS franchise. A lot of people have seen it. It got really famous the first two, I think, are regarded as some of the best. Then they had the 80s and they had the 90s. About time we get one of these, which is cool. I love these omnibuses. They've become such a staple now and I love...
Bobbymom (41:01.459)
Mmm.
Bobbymom (41:08.111)
Mm-hmm.
KP (41:11.756)
Some of they got me they got the director of a wreck REC that zombie movie South America, which is awesome by the way. But these can be uneven. I will say that they can be very uneven. The individual movies within the anthology. And you know, this one is no exception.
Bobbymom (41:17.947)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (41:26.619)
Like the franchise or the individual stories? Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bobbymom (41:36.252)
Right.
KP (41:37.4)
What was the first? Do you remember the first one? What was the first? Pardon me, I'm sorry. What was the first? That's my bad.
Bobbymom (41:40.709)
Mm-hmm. The 2012 ish.
I'm sorry, you're talking about... which one came first?
KP (41:53.166)
Cause I'll give some direct, I'll look it up while I'm giving some directors. Cause you do have Casper Kelly, as we mentioned, who has done a lot of these. Also credited with the adult swim Yule log. Some of Mandy, Archie Aquatine Hungry Forest, Emmy nominated if you're pretty facing on that. just, you know, these, people have some too many cooks as a writer on that TV show. And then you have.
Bobbymom (42:00.851)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (42:08.403)
Hmm.
Bobbymom (42:20.113)
Yeah. The, you're talking about the individual stories with, with, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
KP (42:27.406)
That's one of the direct, yeah, you got Brian Ferguson, R.H. Brian Ferguson did Flamingo, which was a short in one of these before, Red Room.
Bobbymom (42:41.905)
That diet of Hentasma was the first one, I in this.
KP (42:45.652)
Okay, so that can't okay and then it goes to okay. I gotcha.
Bobbymom (42:49.479)
then it goes to font size or whatever.
KP (42:54.732)
So the first, what's the mommy one? Was that not the first one?
Bobbymom (43:03.431)
Hmm?
KP (43:04.27)
Cause you have the diet phantasma thing that plays in between. I think they should have Halloween commercials in between by the way. I know I heard that on a podcast. I'd love to give credit and I can't, but I agree. Like I think so too. So the first proper segment in Halloween VHS, VHS Halloween is Anna Slokovich's inspired Koochie Koochie Koo. Okay, so in Koochie Koochie Koo, you got these two people.
Bobbymom (43:10.477)
that would have been good.
Bobbymom (43:24.691)
Oh, the Coochie Coo, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, that was the first one. Okay.
KP (43:33.634)
Well, they're trick or treating, right? And they go to this house you're not supposed to go to. I love that it's Halloween. I love it when they actually stay on theme. I'm a huge fan of that.
Bobbymom (43:35.089)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
I love, I love freaky movies that are on Halloween. They're the best, yeah.
KP (43:42.83)
they're the best. Yeah, that'd be yeah, I agree. So they end up at this urban legend, you know, house or this story of mommy. And they go in and you have, you know, again, spoiler alert people on all of these go watch it on shutter now leave us that five star review plays we love you and your thick frickin moms. But all these are found footage, right? Like that's obviously kind of keeps that alive, which is cool. But they go into this house of horror, right?
Bobbymom (43:52.614)
Mm-hmm.
KP (44:12.334)
And you have this giant, I call it you man baby, no I'm joking. You have all these, you can tell it stinks, they're talking about that, like the milk stench. And you got a deranged little set piece here, you know what I mean? So you should go in here and all these things are kind of pointing to this creature, this mother, right? And they're going into these rooms, each room is scarier than the one before it. This fat man baby's running around, they're trying to get out.
Bobbymom (44:28.434)
Yeah.
KP (44:42.062)
And then obviously, you know how it ends, they get to actually see her and there's this killer lullaby. And you can argue why she didn't sing that in the beginning, but puts them in a trance, has a lot of breasts. So my question to you, gross film, it's, know, cool, but thoughts.
Bobbymom (44:48.403)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (45:02.491)
It's... it's... yeah... darker than what I expected.
KP (45:12.46)
Yeah, yeah, I concur. This is a dark set of movies.
Bobbymom (45:15.456)
very dark. I don't know why I didn't, anticipate
there's just a lot of
Bobbymom (45:33.332)
I think it's a mixture of, cause you know a lot of times in more, I hope this makes sense, sometimes in more graphic horror films there's almost sometimes a lighter tone to it. But this feels dark both in tone and in gore. No, no, no, no, but I guess I thinking the whole thing, but yeah.
KP (45:49.836)
Yeah, that actually does make sense.
KP (45:55.82)
It's not even the darkest film in the series. Which is crazy.
Bobbymom (46:05.978)
It
It's weird, it's, I don't know how to describe this. I like, I liked this movie, right? Overall, the VHS Halloween. But it left me very unsettled. Does that make sense?
KP (46:27.522)
Yeah, it does. like, definitely intentional.
Bobbymom (46:30.973)
So, that's what I'm getting at, is that this worked, this did the job, right? Like it did what it was supposed to do to me. I just don't like what it did, you know?
KP (46:35.64)
Cool, okay cool, yeah.
KP (46:42.07)
Yeah, that's fair. Yeah, that's great. That's a great way to word it. Yeah, I enjoyed this one too, actually.
Bobbymom (46:45.519)
D-
Bobbymom (46:51.187)
Anything to do with a light.
There is some things work horrifically better because they are the opposite of what they're supposed to be. My example is the best example in the world of this is the twins from The Shining, right? Because that should not be scary. But yet when you take something and you, for lack of a better word, you pervert it.
KP (47:15.886)
Hmm.
Bobbymom (47:27.867)
to give you the opposite feeling of what you should have when you see, you know, like, you know, two little girls, that should be an innocent, you know, it's children, but it's freaky in the context of that movie. And so when you take like a mother character or anything like this, and you make it, you, even if the character itself isn't freaky, if you put it in a,
KP (47:33.944)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (47:56.774)
wrong setting it's
It's really bothersome.
KP (48:03.342)
She definitely ends up being freaky.
Bobbymom (48:05.584)
Right, I know, but I just meant like in any way, in any situation where you take something that's supposed to be innocent, innocent's I'm looking for, and you take that away, it becomes very creepy. Yeah, yeah.
KP (48:12.568)
Yeah, I see what you're saying.
KP (48:21.646)
Yeah, I like your work, perversion. Yeah, I like that. It's like the whole, if you wanna look at Christianity, for example, things are good and then perverted by the devil, right? Perverted by, it's like, sad, different things of that nature.
Bobbymom (48:33.222)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. There's a Paradise Lost, if you ever read the...
KP (48:39.886)
I just referenced that book earlier today. Yeah, I was trying to think of the other film, the antithesis to 1984, the other one where it's the utopia. I said Paradise Lost on accident.
Bobbymom (48:42.609)
Really?
Bobbymom (48:48.66)
Uh-huh. Alright. Paradise Lost by John Milton.
Satan's cast out of heaven, just like in the Bible, a thousand percent. And in his and Milton's interpretation, Satan can't create anything. He wants to be God, but at the end of day he's not. So when he designs hell, it's just a—this is the word to use—a perverted version of heaven. So it's just the upside down, really.
KP (49:00.504)
Perfect reference by the way, is Miltonian.
KP (49:23.118)
Yeah, that's great.
Bobbymom (49:27.604)
of heaven is what it boils down to. Yeah, yeah. And so, okay, we're not gonna go with that, but...
KP (49:28.738)
Yeah, hey, that's prescient. got some stranger things coming up.
KP (49:38.678)
No, but I got you, like motherhood and all that are good things. And then this short completely throws that on its head and creates this monster out of it, which is kind of neat. You know what I mean? And it doesn't go like Babadook. It's not cerebral. It's very visceral.
Bobbymom (49:42.662)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (49:49.512)
Yeah. Yeah, 100%.
Bobbymom (49:55.546)
No. No. No. But it's... it's god it's so creepy. It's so creepy.
KP (50:01.998)
See, that right there, you saying that, that means it did its job. So that's just the first one in VHS Halloween.
Bobbymom (50:06.984)
Yeah.
Yeah. Do you think these get worse as they go? Or did you find reprieve? Yeah, balances. Which is probably a good thing, right? Like if you knew it was gonna only get worse.
KP (50:14.444)
I think it bounces.
KP (50:21.262)
True. Yeah, because I think it ends strong. So our next one, then you have obviously the interlude with the diet fantasma, right? But then our next actual short film is Oots, Supra, Sick Infra, directed by Paco Plaza. He's the guy that directed Wreck. Spanish film director, incredibly talented. So that one, you got the abandoned mansion in Madrid, allegedly home to the...
Bobbymom (50:27.751)
Yeah, yeah.
Bobbymom (50:39.763)
Hmm.
Bobbymom (50:43.251)
Mhm.
Mm-hmm.
KP (50:47.894)
A famous medium and this is bizarre mass murder during a Halloween party. And the victim's eyeballs are removed and there's nowhere to be found. And there's only one survivor, Enric, questioned by the police. They want to take him back there. And all of a sudden there's all these occult phrases, hieroglyphs, and they make Kim read, and by the way, shout out to this movie, As Above So Below. Three times. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Which is cool homage, you know. But so the investigators take him there.
Bobbymom (51:09.645)
Yeah, well that's what that means.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
KP (51:17.634)
there we construct it, bada bing bada boom, it seems to be happening again. So what are your thoughts on as above so below on Ut-Saprasik-Infra?
Bobbymom (51:21.011)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (51:34.555)
It didn't creep me out quite like that first one did.
KP (51:38.54)
Yeah, I thought some talented filmmaking. You know what I mean? It looked really cool and it was kind of gross, but I didn't, I was not freaked out.
Bobbymom (51:41.137)
Yeah. Yeah.
KP (51:50.35)
until the end when they were walking there.
Bobbymom (51:51.623)
I like the they're staying on theme, right? You know, like all these stories taking place at Halloween, Haunted Mansion-esque kind of thing. liked that setting.
Bobbymom (52:18.413)
it
KP (52:18.53)
Like your mother.
Bobbymom (52:24.531)
Yeah, I liked it. did not sit with me like the first story did. you make it a murder plot and then I'm a sucker for that. So I was very invested in it. It didn't hit me on a horrific level. But it was still a very good story.
KP (52:48.226)
No, I'm with you. And yeah, we don't have to hang around these too much. You know what mean? We'll get people in and out of this episode and then we're going to hit it. You know, but I'm with you on that. I thought it was good. It was neat. And I think that you could have the basis if he wanted to ever unpack this and have a little bit longer of a film. Explore that abandoned mansion in Madrid. Like, is there, you know, like a cultural thing happening there that everyone else knows about? Like, is this...
Bobbymom (53:06.034)
Mm-hmm.
KP (53:16.078)
So I'm there, then you go to the Diet Phantasma second interlude. Again, they're watching the subject through the observation mirror, they're drinking it, they have to burn her alive with a flamethrower. But then you have probably the most famous short film in VHS Halloween, which is Fun Size. It's written and directed by Casper Kelly, who co-created the Adult Swim, your pretty face is gonna howl, and some other
Bobbymom (53:20.531)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (53:37.554)
Yeah.
KP (53:45.632)
stuff too many cooks in the kitchen things I'm not really familiar with but you have these people that go to adult Halloween party disappointed and we have to read like I'm just so but basically you have this candy out in this bowl and a very trick-or-treat where there's this rule just take one so obviously these bad days can't do that so one bites into a chocolate wiener very strange candy bars yeah me no I'm
Bobbymom (53:49.341)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (54:03.71)
hehehehe Hey, who hasn't done that?
KP (54:15.212)
and it's all really bizarrely named Candy right outside this house. And then, know, again, Phallus and stuff like that, which is great name, by the way. Then all of a sudden, they find themselves pulled into an alternate parallel reality where they're stalked and chased by Fun Size, a Candy mascot costume who can shoot Skittles out of his hands.
Bobbymom (54:18.18)
Right, right.
Bobbymom (54:39.432)
That- it is so freaking ridiculous. But I enjoyed it. I can't help but enjoy it, like...
KP (54:42.958)
Yeah, I did too. Or I said skittles, maybe they're gumballs. Yeah, so basically they go down to this thing, they broke the rules and they're turned into the candy and then served up to other people.
Bobbymom (54:51.966)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (54:56.148)
It's so interesting because like as well when when so things Getting sucked into a different alt dimension always kind of like gives me anxiety when watching or reading something because there's always the idea that you're trapped You know, I'm a claustrophobic person anyway, so there's this idea that like you're trapped here You may not be able to get back same for when you're watching like, you know
KP (54:58.53)
Great concept.
KP (55:14.002)
yeah.
Bobbymom (55:23.572)
time travel stuff where I get real anxious about that kind of thing and so them getting alternate... hold on a second...
KP (55:35.032)
Yeah, I mean, I'm right there with you.
Bobbymom (55:37.574)
Sorry, my computer froze. I get freaked out by that. But as soon as you start seeing like, yeah, the gumballs or whatever... I... I sh-
KP (55:50.616)
Dude, how, how, how, what about the story of the, still wouldn't say yes to him wanting to propose even like at death. I thought that was like poor guy, man.
Bobbymom (56:00.581)
Well, you know what's so funny is that I was I I don't want to I don't want to spoil if you haven't watched it I've been watching this show and and Your main characters that you're rooting for getting together When they do it's not the way you expect it You think it's gonna be in this big climactic action moment and it's not it's when they were off the clock and they were at a concert together that's it and
And I was telling somebody else about I like I love this so much because they didn't like trauma bond You know their romance didn't bloom from a trauma bond and so in this situation I was like they can't this he can't even trauma bond with this
KP (56:34.872)
Hmm.
KP (56:41.986)
Yeah, I mean 100%. So on this one though, like really on point, the most Halloween-y stuff all except maybe the last one right there. I mean, it get any more Halloween than this. And you got wiener candy.
Bobbymom (56:46.078)
you
Bobbymom (56:51.923)
Yes.
I would love a full film based on this concept. I kind of am, and I looked after we watched it, looked this up and I noticed that this movie did really well with audiences, but obviously not with critics. And it made me wonder, when it comes to more serious movies, I can get very critical. I feel like I can enjoy just about anything, but I'm still.
KP (56:58.956)
Okay, so you're all in on this one, cool.
Bobbymom (57:22.484)
critical even in those movies that I enjoy. But when it comes to stuff like this, I just kinda...
just let go you know yeah it really does it really really it really really does yeah yeah
KP (57:31.502)
Yeah, and this one demands it, man. Yeah, it's a funhouse candy nuts. Nothing makes sense. It's just really, it's a lot more comic than the other films.
Bobbymom (57:43.378)
Yeah. yeah, this one. And it came at a good time, you know, in the anthology to kind of cut it with something, gives you, alleviate maybe some of the intensity you've been feeling with the previous.
KP (57:48.856)
Take your call, you're right.
KP (57:57.39)
Well, you know why that's good because in between this and the next one, obviously have the third in the little diet, phantasma, then the poltergeist extract. We now realize what that is, but the next film is by Alex Ross Perry and it's called Kid Print. Yeah, that one's, that one's dark. Um, he, did listen up Phillip and her smell again. I'm not really familiar from PA. Um, okay. So Kid Print.
Bobbymom (58:02.996)
Uh-huh.
yeah. Yeah.
Kid print, yeah.
Bobbymom (58:14.974)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (58:20.02)
Mm-hmm.
KP (58:23.31)
You got the fall of 92, American town is rocked by unusual spate of child and teenager disappearance and murders. Tim Kaplan runs a local video store where he films kid prints. This would go, it's a good double feature for Black Phone. And these documentary videos can be used ID and help search for missing children. So Tim and his wife are haunted by the reports. They go missing, show up dead with extensive mutilations and they want to protect their two daughters.
Bobbymom (58:36.276)
Mmm.
KP (58:49.006)
During a sparsely attended Halloween gathering in the town square, Tim's informed by the mother and police officer that 17 year old Olivia Hamill's gone missing. So I won't get into everything. So then they go to the clothes store. They discover several monitors playing tapes of children that either being tortured, begging for their lives or worse. And then he even finds his own, again, spoilers. Employee is the one terrorizing. He's actually using the videos to locate and coerce the children to torture and kill them.
Bobbymom (58:56.372)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (59:06.9)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (59:18.365)
Mm-hmm.
KP (59:19.022)
You see on screen skinning of a kid, you see physical torture, mutilation. It holds nothing back.
Bobbymom (59:25.49)
Yeah, this one wasn't for me. I heard someone say that if VHS Halloween was a candy bar, that Kid Print was the razor in the chocolate.
KP (59:41.155)
what a great way to word that. Great analogy.
Bobbymom (59:43.654)
Yeah, and
And it's very spot on. It's very true. And I had a rough time with this, if I'm being honest. I had a rough time with... try... One of the things that I have struggled with the most is to separate... Watching something that I know is make-believe and separate that when it comes to things involving kids.
KP (59:54.712)
Yeah, I mean, yeah.
Bobbymom (01:00:14.612)
Since I've become a dad, it's really been really hard for me to enjoy those types of movies.
KP (01:00:22.105)
dude, this is a brutal film and he knows it.
Bobbymom (01:00:24.5)
And it's, yeah, and it's to the point that I have avoided, I have largely avoided it. I was very nervous going into weapons. I was very nervous going into that. And I think it may have even swayed my overall opinion of it a little bit because of how terrified I was about what I was gonna think and feel coming out of that. And then this just kind of blindsides me, you know? Because you came off a mord,
KP (01:00:35.208)
nice, yeah.
KP (01:00:52.158)
man, yeah.
Bobbymom (01:00:54.48)
lighter toned, know, arguably lighter toned in relevance. And then you come here and to see like brutal violence against kids. I'm not saying there's not a place for it. It's horror, it's the horror genre. There's always going to be a place for that, you know. But it's, it's, it's hard for me to,
KP (01:01:12.974)
Yeah, it's a tough watch.
Bobbymom (01:01:19.464)
There is an, it's, well the thing is, that at end of the day I watch a movie to enjoy it and there's no way I can enjoy watching something.
KP (01:01:26.88)
I mean, I would never rewatch. I would never, it's not a re, and again, I know that is Alex Ross Perry's intention. So you know what? You nailed that. And you don't really know if he's just doing like, he's doing it because he is reenacting trauma. Is he just doing it to be cruel? You know what I mean? And then getting away, like you don't really, it's hard to take away from this other than just the brutal murdering of children. You know what I mean?
Bobbymom (01:01:29.032)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:01:34.002)
Right. Right. Right.
Bobbymom (01:01:45.97)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:01:55.279)
Mm-hmm. Right.
KP (01:01:56.376)
There is a story, but it's not for me. And again, I try not to, I'm not judging it, but in some ways it's just not something.
Bobbymom (01:02:06.226)
New Bright.
KP (01:02:12.268)
I didn't have a lot of takeaways other than lookaways in this film and this short one.
Bobbymom (01:02:20.347)
Yeah, yeah, no, I'm with you there. This one was hard for me to even be analytical about. I was just, I was really just waiting for it to be off the screen.
KP (01:02:25.825)
Yeah.
Well, because it's like in the office when Gabe's talking about like however long of a shot of, I'd have to find it, you know what I mean? Like terror just for terror's sake. Like it's, you gotta give me, for me, you gotta give me, and I wasn't even a huge fan of song or any of that.
Bobbymom (01:02:36.147)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right.
Bobbymom (01:02:46.375)
I wasn't either. That's weird that I just talked about that actually a couple days ago, that just, that one just doesn't do it for me. Mm-hmm. 100%. Yeah, for sure, for sure. I had the same thought. Kid Prudence actually made me think of watching the first, Terrifier, the first time I watched a Terrifier. Yeah.
KP (01:02:55.052)
Yeah, me neither. And I get it. Like I get that. I get that more than I get this. You know, and you...
KP (01:03:10.146)
Yeah, like we're not huge fans of that. I think I like the concept of art more than I do the actual film.
Bobbymom (01:03:14.285)
I love the concept of like your kid for me and because I'm one of thousands of kids that saw The 90s it while it was coming on TV when I shouldn't have The freaky clown is always gonna get me. so I love the concept I saw I watched terrifying because I saw a clip of it on tik-tok and I was like, this is freaky. should watch this and but Yeah, but yeah what he likes saws up that
that girl, yeah, at a point I was like, we've lost the plot on this. We've gone past that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
KP (01:03:47.054)
Been there.
KP (01:03:51.822)
Yeah, yeah, I agree. There's a certain level of gratuitousness that it's for, but yeah, I'm never gonna be a fan of like onscreen mutilation and torture. It's just not my thing. And then this is kids and I get it. You wanna make a splash, but if that's, if I can tell that's what you're doing or that's how I perceive it, I don't like.
Bobbymom (01:04:01.126)
Yeah, yeah, no.
Bobbymom (01:04:08.05)
That's a great point. That's a great point. it's perceived that you are trying to push the envelope just to push the envelope, then yeah, you're literally just, this is just all for shock value. that's, you know, I don't have a lot of room for that.
KP (01:04:16.618)
It's sacrifice like story.
KP (01:04:31.918)
No, yeah, yeah, I didn't think that one. Then you have Diet Phantasma Epilogue, where it gets really nuts, possession, they try to escape, you got Formula 47, and they break through and kill all the researchers. Then you have the last film. You know, I wanna say this, this one was written and directed by Michelle Pitt Norman and R.H. Norman. They're married. I was a big fan of Home Hunt.
Bobbymom (01:04:45.652)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (01:04:53.172)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (01:05:00.069)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
KP (01:05:00.834)
It's called Home Haunted because it was a perfect little capstone to VHS Halloween. It brought the vibes back up. And I mean, how cool is it? You have this elaborate haunted house, know, the wife, the husband, the son, and he's like, I don't want to do it anymore. But then he goes, gets a record Halloween Horrors. plays it.
And it sounds like, whatever, I'll do this for you, dad. We're gonna do this. We're gonna run this back one more time. And all of a sudden the monsters from the decoration come to life. Killing almost everybody. Yeah, it's a little cabin in the woodsy when all the creatures are coming up through the elevator. And like, I mean, you get a witch massacring children. You get like zombies.
Bobbymom (01:05:28.596)
Mm-hmm.
I love the concept. Love that concept.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kind of psychological in a way. Yeah.
KP (01:05:50.966)
You get like a swashbuckler or something. You get like it's everything and everybody is just panicking and in terror and trying to get out and just all these animatronics come to life and they're killing you. Like the entrance to the haunted house is like a monster jaw in hands. It even comes to life and tries to break free from the buildings, the footages. So I enjoyed Home Hot. You did okay. that.
Bobbymom (01:05:55.827)
Right.
Bobbymom (01:06:03.485)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:06:09.363)
Hmm.
Bobbymom (01:06:12.851)
Hmm.
Yeah, I did too. I did, yeah.
KP (01:06:18.158)
For me, that's VHS Halloween. I'm in the middle on it. I think it's the middle of the pack anthology for me. And it loses the through line a little bit sometimes, but it's fun.
Bobbymom (01:06:22.002)
Mm-hmm.
Bobbymom (01:06:29.435)
Yeah, I, for me, think it's the best VHS since the first one. Yeah, for me, for me. I mean, mean, kid pernicide. Yeah, yeah. I wonder what 20 year old me would have felt about it though. You know, like he was a little less like, who could get lost in the plot a little bit more and didn't connect everything to a real life experience. I don't know. I just.
KP (01:06:34.496)
Wow, awesome. Yeah, that's neat. Yeah, Kit Prince, Kit Prince rough. And you know, I know that's the intention, et cetera.
KP (01:06:56.366)
Well, mean, it's meant, it's definitely meant to turn some people off. It's, it's, you could, if you want to have a charitable assumption, you could say it's, it's fearless. And that, that, and I think I read in Rod that commitment to tone could make it work for some.
Bobbymom (01:06:59.826)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:07:05.615)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bobbymom (01:07:10.085)
It's fearless, I'm not.
KP (01:07:12.206)
Yeah, we just love kids. Well, okay. All right, grab her. Goodness. Yeah, you know, it's there. Depiction of true evil, But that is Black Phone 2 and VHS Halloween. Please again, give us that review, share us.
Bobbymom (01:07:15.163)
Yeah. okay, pause.
Yeah.
Little kid lover. Yeah. Yeah.
KP (01:07:37.614)
It is october. It is spooky season. We could not be more excited. It's about midnight and we're wrapping this up so You know, um, but we're gonna be coming at you guys with bobby. We'll talk off camera I don't know if we want to do a nightmare on elm street whole thing a freddy verse jason verse michael, um Some others, you know, give them all tutorials. Uh, what do call it? Frankenstein thank you. You know, jacob. Lord is the creature heard he's fantastic. Um And whatever else may be coming
Bobbymom (01:07:50.194)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:07:54.067)
That'll be fun.
Frankenstein yeah yeah yeah yeah it looks so good
KP (01:08:07.192)
But we've done Halloween, we've done the history of Michael Myers, the history of Halloween, that's one of our, might be our most popular episode. Yeah, it's just so up. again, because every, well, like I've noticed during October, it gets hit again. Yeah, it's all about evergreen, you know what I mean? And it's just evergreen. People are always gonna, around this time, wanna watch Halloween. And almost every single one of them is horrible.
Bobbymom (01:08:14.043)
Is it really?
Bobbymom (01:08:21.318)
Nice.
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:08:28.604)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:08:32.691)
I know, I know, I know. I know.
KP (01:08:34.638)
I can all of these series. But that first one's so magical, the 1918 one's fine. You know, the third one was the anthology angle. Everybody loves to be a season of the witch, but...
Bobbymom (01:08:46.003)
I have such a theory about that that we'll have to talk about on the pause sometime. Yeah.
KP (01:08:49.228)
Really? Okay, so maybe yeah, I mean honestly, maybe we unpack Halloween again. we But people just like and subscribe you'll find out And again, happy Halloween happy spooky season. I hope you guys are all soaking it up man Watch as many scary movies as you can. This is just the coolest time of the year and then it only gets better from here It's cool. It's a blessing experience all this again. I'm a fan but you got Ken We watch way more scary movies than you see it people
Bobbymom (01:08:53.288)
Yeah.
Bobbymom (01:09:14.707)
What got, Rob?
Sorry people.