Hi everyone, and welcome to the Pod of the Damned.

I'm your host, Ian, and joining me once again this week is my fantastically wonderful Co host.

It's Candy.

How are you?

I am doing well.

I feel like you're buttering me up with that intro Fantastically wonderful.

I don't.

In fairness, I'm not usually particularly.

I know you're sweet.

I'm not usually particularly complimentary in any of my intros.

In fairness, it's it's really difficult to be complimentary about Nico, so I'm sure he just listened every single time he's not here.

I'm sure he just listens and he's like, that motherfucker, can you say something nice about me just for once?

Yeah, We're back again, though, guys.

On our last episode, it was our official celebratory 150th episode.

Thank you very, very much to everyone who's been downloading and listening to all 150 episodes.

There's actually been about 180, but we'll just like, we'll just glaze over that.

And we're back today recording movies.

Still no Nico.

We promise he will be back on our next episode.

Not in distress.

He will be back on our next episode.

Nico is back for spooky season, so don't worry for all you people out there who are like, where the fuck is this guy?

He will be back, and he will be back very, very shortly.

So don't you worry.

But for this episode, you're going to have to put up with just me and Candy.

This is episode #151 and in today's episode, we're talking all about The Conjuring last rites again.

We've kind of really made a bit of a conscious effort this year, I think to be a bit sharper in bringing you reviews of new releases.

It's always been something that we've relatively been not the best at is trying to get new release content out there relatively quickly.

We tend to always be like a couple of months behind the curve.

And I know The Conjuring isn't like brand new out of the gates, but it's still, I mean, it's still in theatres, it's still in the cinema and we're bringing it to you.

We've brought, we've done, we've really tried our hardest to do that for you guys over the past year, whether that's the Substance or Sinners or Bring Her Back or Ugly step sister and a whole host of other things as well.

So.

And to be fair, it's my fault we hadn't done this episode yet.

We were due to do it a a while ago.

But my birthday was our normal recording time and I just turned 4 and so 21 really need that #46 So I am the oldest person on the podcast.

46 was.

Harder than 40.

I got to tell you that one.

Really, really, I'm not going to lie, when I turned 30, I took that really badly.

I did not take turning 30 really well.

Well, The thing is I always look younger than my age and I'm like no make up today and I still look like, you know, people think that I'm like 30 or 32 or something and that's an amazing compliment.

It's a genetic thing.

We all look very young.

So when I was 30, I look like really young, like 20.

So if 30 didn't bother me, it was 40 that I thought was going to bother me.

Not too bad.

46 is like you're over that middle part of 40s.

You're starting to get to the late 40s and then there's 50 with.

Me, this is the thing, because 313233 and 34 really haven't bothered for me.

But next, you're around 35, and once you hit 35, once you hit that midpoint, you're closer to 40 than you are to 30.

Exactly.

And now I am closer to 50 and 50.

Blows my mind.

I'm like, what?

My mom is 63, you know, and she's going to be 64 in a couple of months.

But I'm just like, but she does it so well.

I don't know that it's going to be like that.

I'm going to do it that.

Well, yeah, so because it was my birthday, on our normal recording day, we had to delay this.

So we are getting this to you pretty quickly.

But yeah, it's my fault.

So, well, also on that note, Nico would have been back on the podcast sooner as well because me and him had also planned to do a recording last week.

We were going to record our perspective of the movie Sinners, because obviously I know, yeah, you and Ren have done an episode already on Sinners for us.

But myself and Nico, we haven't really had to have our say.

So we were going to do a bit of sort of maybe more of a mini sword with our thoughts on it, but I ended up getting called into work and I had to postpone that one.

So yeah, the last couple of weeks once again, you know, just a little bit of postpones.

But we're we're definitely getting ourselves back on track.

We've got a lot of recordings planned over the next few weeks because at the time of recording, today is officially the very first day of spooky season, baby.

Yes, spooky season is upon us.

We are.

For all of us, it's always spooky season, but now like the whole world didn't on in it and that's pretty cool.

Exactly.

Big.

More like glut of stuff out there.

I know and all three of us, me, you and Nico have all picked one movie in particular that we would like to record that we hadn't because we obviously have like our our schedule, our list of movies that we have planned coming up and things that we want to do.

But first bookie season, kind of like how we do it at Christmas where we all pick a movie that's slightly, it's like outside of the norm.

We've all picked one Halloween themed movie for us to review this year.

We won't go into what they are yet, but we're going to be recording my pick later this week.

We're going to be recording Candy's pick next week and then Nico's pick the week after.

So they've got that coming up for you.

Myself and Nico.

We're still going to be doing hopefully that recording of Sinners.

We've got hopefully a top five episode coming out this month as well and anything else that we can maybe squeeze in there.

I'm finally going to go see the Long Walk tomorrow and I'm really, really.

Excited for that opening day and I want to know what you think.

Yes, well, again, once that's been seen, no doubt we can maybe squeeze in an episode for that in this month as well.

So plenty for you guys to enjoy.

Let's do a little bit of the housekeeping before we get into the movie.

If you would like to support this podcast on our social media platforms, you can follow us.

We're on Instagram, threads, Blue Sky, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, all at Pod of the Damned.

You can e-mail us at podofthedamned@gmail.com and you can subscribe to us on Patreon on patreon.com/pot of the Damned Candy.

Where can you be found?

I've been a little bit of a ghost town the past couple of weeks, but I, I, I get back on social media and I, I will invest more this month.

But yes, I'm candy.

The final group can find me on Instagram, Facebook, but it will be it.

It's hooked to my Instagram.

Really.

If you go to my Instagram, you'll find everything else but Blue Sky threads.

All of those just Candy the final girl.

Awesome, right?

With that being said, let's dive into our movies TV topic.

For this week, we're talking all about The Conjuring Last Rites.

The devil has come to Pennsylvania.

Jack and Janet Smirrel Clive.

An evil presence has found its way into their home.

Eight people live in this house.

Eight people have experienced this.

Eight people are not crazy.

So when did this start?

Heather's confirmation?

7th of September.

There's something and we got it, Ed.

There's an evil here, something I've felt before.

This thing in your house is a demon.

It's the first one.

That we ever encountered.

We were young, we were scared, we ran away and after all these years it wasn't done with our family.

Saint Michael, defend us.

Be our safeguard against the devil.

Hit no many.

Touchers affiliate Spiritual Santos By the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I don't know how to protect you this time.

Lorraine.

Come down the house.

Lorraine, let me go.

This movie was released in 2025, was directed by Michael Chavez, and stars Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Mia Tomlinson.

The IMDb plot is as follows.

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.

Right, The Conjuring franchise.

Not really one that we've tackled at all.

Really not a lot.

To tackle, I mean, there is technically quite a bit in like The Conjuring version, the wanna verse, whatever you want to call it, yes, but the, I mean, I don't think there's there's been a lot of notes.

No, because.

It spends off from The Conjuring to there's the Annabelle movies, there's the non-stop and I got to tell you, I don't, I, I didn't really flock too much with the nun or Annabelle, but I, I did always sort of defend.

I've always been a defender of The Conjuring movies themselves, even though they're completely different than like the actual investigations and what have you.

So I was kind of excited.

I have a crush on both Patrick Wilson and Pierre Farminga.

So it's been I, I, I'm just like, I'll go see them do a movie.

So I was kind of like when we did our beginning of the year, I did bring this one up.

I was like, I'm gonna see it, and I hope that it's gonna be enjoyable.

Yeah.

So I kind of went into it with that, like, all right, yeah.

Do it.

So I'm kind of with you from most of what you just said there.

The only movie I think in the whole one verse that we have actually reviewed previously.

Myself and Nico did the very first Conjuring movie a long a long while ago.

I think that was a good few years ago that we did that one.

Now, and I'm a big fan actually of that movie.

I think it was really well done.

It's a fun theatre movie.

It's not so much fun like an A home viewing unless you make a big production of it.

It's much better in the theatre.

All of The Conjuring movies are a much better theatre experience.

It's like for funsies, you know, like not really extreme enough for me.

A lot of jump scary stuff that I don't really go for.

It feels a little cheap, but it's fun in theatres.

Yeah, 100%.

You know, and then and then just for reference, currently sits in 69th place on our leaderboard.

It has a 7 out of 10.

So like, it's a good score.

It's like it's out there.

It's respectable.

I don't think anyone's ever, ever, I mean, you will get people to say it, but I think for us as like horror connoisseurs, as people, we would consider ourselves experts when it comes to horror movies.

You know, we've been watching them for many, many decades.

We've seen thousands and thousands of horror movies, The Conjuring.

And that kind of movie is never, ever going to be a number one movie for us.

It's never going to be a top ten movie for us.

Because for me, and I think I did say this back, way back in that episode, I view The Conjuring much more as like an accessible horror movie rather than a horror.

Movie like mainstream or a starter or if you casually are a horror fan and there's no shame in that.

It's just for like us, you kind of got to do a little more.

Yeah, because.

We're just not like you're.

We're not new to this.

No and I.

Show it's something we've never.

Seen and in general, I kind of find The Conjuring movies very formulaic, very kind of paint by numbers.

There's not really any twists in them.

Everything kind of just happens as you would expect it to happen.

And like you say, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having these like entry level horror movies, these horror movies that are designed for people who are maybe not huge fans.

There's not a lot of gore in them.

And sometimes I think it's quite refreshing, you know, You know, when we come from a place where, you know, we're watching things like fucking Maniac and Terrifier 3 and all these kind of movies that are just pure fucking gore fests and all these like wild things going on, It is sometimes nice to go and see a kind of movie that maybe isn't so heavy on that.

You know, we'll, we'll talk about the sort of finer details of this movie.

And I think obviously me and Nico did probably bring it up when we did The Conjuring.

We'll talk a little bit about the Warrens themselves, because kind of.

Hard not.

To they're they're they, they had they, they were interesting people and that's probably me being relatively polite about them.

Yeah, that's.

Very.

Nice of you.

Yeah, Yeah.

I might not be so nice later on, let's just say that, you know, But for me, yeah, again, in terms of the whole one of anything is like I'm a big.

I love James Wan.

I think you know that.

Like he has done some really great movies.

You know, Dead Silence was really good.

You had saw which is, you know, an.

First Saw is is a really high up movie.

100% And I'm a big fan of him and I'm a big fan of Lee Whannell as well, who, you know, works with him on most of his projects and who has went on to become a really, really great director in his own right.

You know, you think of like the Invisible Man, That's an incredible movie.

And he's a, he's a really, really great writer and he's a great actor as well.

You know, he was also in, you know, the Insidious movies and things like that.

So, you know, I get so they, they all kind of.

And one of the main characters in saw Yeah A.

100% yeah, exactly so, but I'm not a big fan.

A couple of the Annabelle movies have like are OK, but like OK is again probably being quite polite and quite generous.

I'm gonna just take this moment to get that out of my system and it won't be long because there's not a whole lot to say except for like, OK, so we know and this is touching on the the warrants too, but I'm just going to get this out.

Like I said, the Annabelle that the warrants had locked up in the case, whatever it was technically a raggedy and doll.

We all kind of know what that looks like.

And if you don't Google, they had the chance to create because they probably couldn't get the licensing from the raggedy and raggedy Andy people to to create a new thing.

And they kind of just copied Chucky overall, except like it they made a doll that literally looks evil.

And so from the gate, I'm like, OK, you it's scarier if it's if it looks nice.

Yeah.

I I, I mean, I really feel like you skipped some steps and you couldn't that could have benefited the story.

But they they took it and they're like, we got to create what this Annabelle looks like.

Let's just make her evil looking.

I'm like, no, no, no, no.

You took away the threat.

Yeah, it was a big misstep straight off the bat, wasn't it?

Like it's just something that that takes you out of it.

Because you're right, you know, you have something that looks friendly and cute and fluffy and there's your juxtaposition, there's your, there's the thing that can draw people in.

But instead, like you say, they went, they chose to go for this particularly just creepy looking doll.

And, and you know why?

I mean, like, because my son and I were at a movie star and they have like, these little lanyards and they have all their horror stuff at right now, and there's Annabelle's face on one of them.

It's so they could sell things.

Yeah, of course.

And I don't I that makes me feel kind of filthy.

Like if you're creating simply something to be sold instead of something iconic, you're missing the point from me.

Yeah.

I mean.

Definitely make it be iconic first, then you can sell things.

There you go, make it be iconic on its own.

You know 100% and then you know you've got the nun movies in there and I'm not.

I went to the cinema to see both Nun films right The first.

Your heart.

The first, well, the first nun film, you know, I was intrigued by valet as a villain because I think aesthetically Valet is a good looking villain.

You know, aesthetically, yes, aesthetically, yes.

And I know this is probably where we disagree on The Conjuring franchise, but my favorite movie in the franchise is The Conjuring 2, no?

Oh, that's going to be a whole discussion, and there's a whole.

Discussion.

Because I actually had a point going into this after I saw Conjuring last night, came home from the movie theater and I would just kept thinking about Conjuring 2.

Because I remember as I came out, I saw them in theaters and when 2 came out, everybody was like, oh God, it's the best.

It's better than the first one.

And they were, and they were right, different.

Movie I was like, did I see a different movie?

So when I came home, I'm like, I need to revisit that one anyway.

And I've seen it several times.

But I was sat down and I watched it and I was like, no, I wasn't wrong.

It still does suck.

And why did 5 make me think of it is the question.

Why did why?

Several reasons.

I realized I was watching 2 after I'd just seen last right.

I have several.

It's it's a bullet point list, so we'll get into that as we talk, but.

But anyways, yeah, so like in terms of the Nun movies, yeah, that like, like the first Nun was the very first movie I'd ever been to the cinema where I fell asleep.

I genuinely fell asleep in the middle of the movie.

And then and then.

You went and paid money to see the second one.

And then I went and paid money to go and see the second one and then and then I fell asleep through that one as well.

Oh my God, you're paying for naps.

I'm paying for naps.

You know what?

They were good fucking.

They were good fucking naps.

So yeah, obviously not a fan of theirs, I think.

Yeah.

Is it the Curse of La Loronia as well?

I think as part of.

La.

Loronia yeah, I think that's obviously part of the French house.

I've still not seen that movie.

I've not heard great things about it.

So.

So yeah, The Conjuring Part 3, the Devil made made me do it.

I I still can't really get over the fever dream that is that Blondie scene.

You know the Yeah.

That was, yeah, that was a.

Joy.

Because I think because like every Conjuring movie has like a musical scene, doesn't it?

You know, like in Conjuring Part 2, you know, Patrick Wilson sings, Elvis sings falling in love with you.

You have the Blondie scene in Part 3 and this one it's David Bowie.

That we that we get and that that's also a bit of a fever dream of a scene as well.

So there is always that.

I'd this movie like Last Rites, it's not better than the first two.

It might be better than three.

OK so for me my experience was different.

I actually hated The Conjuring 2.

It's boring.

I didn't think it was scary in the slight as Valic as a, you know, an entity behind Bill Wilkins was a scarier force, I think in that movie.

And we find out it's this demon as a nun and his name's Valic.

And, you know, we got the defeat at the end.

And I'm just kind of like, what was the big deal?

The WMA do It felt a little bit more return to form.

Even though it wasn't great, it it felt better than two to me.

And I know that I'm one of the few who can say that I just too did not do it for me.

And I tried.

And that was the thing after I came home from Last Rites, I I watched you again.

I probably watch it the most because I keep trying to like it.

I can't.

I think the problem with two is.

I would rather watch the double made me do it because I just think it it was better.

I think the problem with two is right, even though it's my favorite, it's the one where there seems to be the least amount of fight to overcome, if that makes sense.

I like you have that in three.

Almost.

Simple, yeah.

And I but I feel like Last Rite falls into that same trap as well.

But is is also a last right is a slog of a movie to get through.

It's long.

It's really long.

I remember like feeling like I was at least, you know, I was like, I must be about 2/3 of the way through this by now.

And it was literally like 45 minutes had passed, you know, And this is like 2 1/4 hours, this movie.

And this one is a lot more into their personal lives.

I mean, we get that through each of the project movies.

You know, the central thing being the Warrens.

And of course, they have a daughter and this one, their daughter's grown up and it's just much more about their family.

And I get it's the last film they're doing specifically about the Warrens, but there were things one one thing I noticed right off the bat where I when I rewatched 2 right after a mirror.

A mirror was very important in the 2nd and it's very important in Last Rites.

And.

I'm like it just kind of felt like a 1 trick pony to me.

I just I first couldn't put it together like why is it making me think of 2?

The worst part is like see throughout, like the the sort of main sort of parts of this movie.

The mirror itself is actually quite creepy.

And, you know, I, I really like the scene where she's, you know, starting to sort of throw up the shards of glass after they sort of get, you know, they.

Chucked that part was.

Cool.

You know that?

I think that's really cool, but it so jumps the shark in the end when essentially the mirror comes to life, you know, and they're like having to battle and the big finale, at least in Conjuring Part 2, you know, the finale is they're battling the demon, they're battling Valic and this one, they're battling a mirror and it just it looks ridiculous.

It really looks ridiculous and.

And once again, it's it's spirits using a certain other spirits, yes, to get to them.

Yeah.

So I'm like, it's kind of copy paste a little bit of two, 2.

And I, I guess that's why I immediately thought of two, but I couldn't place it because I try not to think about two.

It was like, I'm going to do this while I'm fresh from lodging last rites to, to like see why I'm thinking of two.

Why, why it makes me want to revisit you.

It's very similar.

Yeah.

Except this time and you know, with the daughter being such a central figure, we find out the daughter also has the gifts that her mother has.

And it's like, and she's terrified of Annabelle.

I'm like, this is new information.

This would have been, it would have worked so much more had we dropped more hints that she was afraid of Annabelle.

But then now we're getting hit by it when she's an adult.

Like, why is this now?

So she's been saying this all this time with this gifted sight.

Her mother teaches her a song to like, get rid of the vision.

If I had to hear that fucking song though one more time in this movie.

Then dropped her pocket.

Whatever.

Yeah, you know it.

It is very much what what was it from Halloween Kills last night?

Evil dies tonight.

It gave me very evil dies tonight and.

Did evil die that night?

Evil did not die that night.

Yeah, if I had to hear that fucking little nursery rhyme one more time.

Honestly, like it was, it was making my ears.

It was making my ears bleed.

And to be like, well, you can look at that stuff, you know, you don't have to sing the song.

I'm like, OK, why didn't we get anything dropped?

You know, that that she had been afraid of the doll.

I mean, we've had how many Annabelle movies?

We've had like what, at least 2.

I don't keep track anymore.

At least two of the Annabelle movies.

And then we've had, you know, as we see Judy, the the their daughter in younger form, like there's no hint dropped at all that she has the sight.

So she's afraid of Annabelle.

I'm like, you can't just drop this when it's convenient.

It would have been better had it been slightly built up in these other three stories previously told or even spin off like something.

It just it felt very abrupt.

And then to constantly focus on it, on something that they just decided to put in as a gimmick.

Yeah, I mean, there's no.

Reason for us not to know this information.

Yeah, that's it.

Like it, it, it just felt like there was a huge portion of the story missing essentially, wasn't it?

Like, you know, there's this, there's there's this information that we're being dumped.

And it's like, well, what's happened in between, you know, 3 and 4 for this to happen, you know, and obviously we know and that the Warrens, you know, the four sort of cases that we have are not the four case.

Like there, there was many, many, many, many more cases that we that they that they did.

Let's talk about the Warrens then, because I feel like we're we'll.

Get that one out.

Let's get that the way the what a piece of shit Ed Warren was in real fucking life.

In particular, we were.

Talking my kids and I won't.

I was re watching Conjuring 2.

They were sitting with me and we were talking about the Enfield poltergeist case and they weren't really involved with it.

No, not at all.

They have.

To go talk to them for a few and Ed Warner just basically said you can sell the story and I'll help you and blah, blah, blah.

That's what they had to say about that.

And otherwise they were shown the door.

They had nothing to do with that case.

Yeah, nothing at all.

They literally showed up told told them that they could make money by selling the rights to the story for a boot.

Which they had learned, and it's the story that we don't get from them, which is their biggest story that made them famous.

And our whole involvement with the Amityville, yeah, we see the phone call, we see the aftermath, but we don't really see.

And I think that would have been the better.

Maybe I thought there was too much Amityville stuff.

Maybe the rights are tied up because there's like 20 Amityville movies, which I was joking.

Well, yeah, that's that's the thing, isn't it?

Because.

That would have been the story I actually wanted to see was from there that point of view.

Is the.

Fictional point of view.

Is that going to be out?

Yeah.

Is that though, is that the big mess then of The Conjuring franchise?

Because obviously we've, we've, we've got them doing Enfield, we've, we've got them doing, you know, the other cases, but we haven't got a movie of them doing Amityville, which is by far and away the most famous and well, most well known of all the cases that they dealt with.

I get, I get 100% what you're saying.

All around it.

Yeah, I get what you're.

I get what you're saying that that like, you know, there's so many Amityville movies out there and there's not a lot of good ones.

To be fair, there's.

I'm actually a fan of Amityville 2, but not because it's like great, just because it's interesting.

Yeah, they really just went all fucking out on that one.

And I feel like one if you're into it, 2 if you're a real weirdo and want to watch something pseudo good that really tried to do something different with the material after that S on you.

I stopped after the killer lamp in four and I have that one on DVDI might add.

Well, I mean, that feels like a bit.

It almost feels like a collectors edition, no?

Yeah, it's, it's special to me, but God is it awful.

It's hilarious.

But that's that.

That's right up our street, no?

The later ones, even after that, they're, they're not hilarious and they're bad.

If you're going to be bad, be hilarious, But if you're just going to be bad, I don't have that kind of time.

And I put.

Way too much time in the Amyville.

So I really think that they could have there's an opportunity to bring something fresh and actually good and and bigger budget and, and do something with it.

And then we get the personal touch of the ones.

I really do feel like it wasn't this opportunity A.

100% I think.

So right, Because it's just been this.

That's it.

It's always been a right story.

I think so.

I think, I think there possibly might have been an intellectual property issue surrounding that as well.

Maybe they just decided, you know what, like the, the, the Amityville does get so much attention.

Let's tell some of these other stories.

Maybe, maybe they maybe it was a conscious decision on their behalf to not really do Amityville.

I just don't.

Think it was the good one.

No, no, I agree.

I think, I think, I mean, I know the problem I have with like Last Rites is this they, they really built this up.

They really build this, you know, as the the story to end the story.

This is what stopped it.

This is what ended the Warrens, and this is the what almost destroyed them and blah, blah blah, blah, blah.

And then it really just wasn't that scary.

It really wasn't that big a deal.

It wasn't.

Because they have this formula that since the first conjuring, we know it's going to get dead silent.

You're going to wait for the jump scare.

It's not going to happen when you think if you sit there, it passed the time when the jump scare would have happened and then a jump scare happens.

It's predictable and it's once unpredictability.

It worked in the case of the first one.

After that, it became formulaic, as you said.

And I really think that the fact that they stuck with that when they had this opportunity to like end it and make this big to do, I really think they focused on the wrong things.

And it almost felt like as well, right?

And forgive the comparison ever so slightly because it's not quite the same, but it is kind of the same.

Kind of fell into a similar trap to Halloween Ends in that it was telling a story that we didn't really care for.

I know we care for, like, we care for Patrick Wilson, we care for Vera Farmiga, but we're not really here to watch this love story.

We're not really here for the story of the daughter and the daughter's fiance, you know?

And like, I get that There was like, there was some OK moments of levity between, you know, Patrick Wilson and Ben Hardy, who plays Tony, which is, you know, the daughter's fiance.

There was some funny moments in there.

And like, yeah, there's some really heartfelt moments in there, but that's not really the story that we're interested in.

As horror fans, when we go see a horror movie, yeah, that's fine here and there.

Like, like in the other movies, I think there was a better balance of it.

This one, it was the balance.

Was that not the horror?

And when the horror did get delivered, it was undercooked.

It was just like, can it get scarier at some point?

And then the really, I mean, I'm a sappy person.

I'm, you know, in love with love kind of romantic person.

But that fucking wedding made me want to throw off.

Seriously.

The people from the past cases are at their daughter's wedding.

Fuck off.

You mean you didn't find that endearing?

No.

I wanted to throw up.

I was like, for fuck's sake, I'm somebody who's, like, in love with gothic vampires and shit.

And I'm like, oh God, no.

I mean, tell me those people who were haunted and their lives destroyed came to their daughter.

No, fuck you.

I, I, I was on service.

I will say I was, it was 100% lip service to the facts.

That's all that was.

I was kind of convinced that Tony was going to turn on them at some point.

Maybe I've watched too much like wrestling or something, but I.

Mean, I think it would have been more interesting if he had.

They kind of paint him a little sketchy.

Yeah.

I think like something at least would have come out of it and it didn't.

It's more of a passing the torch or something.

I felt like they were really sort of setting it up for he was trying to get close to the Warrens to sell some sort of story or to, you know, make a buck off them or something like that.

I really felt like that was sort the direction that they were pushing us in with the character.

And then it just became that really predictable, formulaic.

No, he's actually fine.

And they're just everything is good and like everything is la de da.

And it just fell so flat.

Like you say, even if they had done that turn, even though I was kind of expecting it, it would have felt fresh.

It would have felt different.

Because we've not really had that in a Conjuring movie where someone has turned on them like that, you know?

And someone, because they must have had people in real life who would have tried, like, who tried to get close to them during investigations, who were trying to make money off their names.

There must have been people like that in the real Warren's lives.

Well, absolutely.

And they themselves were like that.

So we it's not, it's even closer than you think because they were, hey, sell your story, make a buck, you know, that's what you do.

We learn that from Amityville.

That's what put us on the map.

That's why people know our names and.

Sorry.

Yeah.

I mean, it's it's, it's stuff like that.

Like they were opportunists and to to see somebody turn that on.

Yeah, that would have been great.

I just really questioned a lot of the choices they went with.

And especially, you know, this is the last Conjuring movie.

Like, they really could have done anything they wanted, but they went this way.

And I just.

I was puzzled by it, honestly.

I was.

I'm a defender.

Like, OK, they're just, you know, they're popcorn movies.

That's that's fine.

It's fun.

You know, I didn't care for you, but whatever.

I don't really aside from the first one, don't really care too much about any of them, but still, they're fun.

I don't, but this one was not fun.

I did the slightest.

I did go back and watch too after I saw this in the cinema.

OK, did it.

And were you also kind of like, why am I going back to watch too or?

Well, no, I was kind of looking forward to going back and watching too.

I like to.

I guess it's like, I guess it's weirder in my story because I don't care for two.

Yeah, I was.

I mostly just watch the first one when I get around.

Yeah, if I feel like watching these movies I just stick with the first one.

It was well done for PG13, genuinely scary.

It's just fun and.

That's it.

And I think that's the that's ultimately the issue for me, especially when it comes to this one and probably for three as well.

But they're just not scary and there's nothing in them like like the first one I don't find particularly scary, but I can see why people might find that movie scary.

The second one didn't.

Have that.

That is what's now an institution in horror, started by the 1st Conjuring of the new kind of jump scare.

Yeah.

So that got me in the theatre.

And that was the one where the guy threw the popcorn in my hair.

Yeah.

And his girlfriend got mad at him.

I was very angry, but I didn't show it, of course, but I was just like my fucking hair.

Like I'm not doing that, man, come on, dude.

But you know, it, it it.

And now every of and particularly in mainstream kind of jump scare type horror.

We all have that now.

It's now the rigorous.

It's what everyone does.

And so now it means nothing.

That's why, you know, my my kids would not be jump scared by stuff that jump scared me in the 80s, but they would get jump scared by the newer stuff.

And I'm just like, give it time, You'll get over it.

And they're like, oh, yeah, it doesn't scare me anymore.

I'm like, yeah, exactly.

It's just it's tricks.

And when the tricks don't work anymore, maybe you need to change your formula there movie.

And they didn't they they doubled down.

It did feel overly long.

I go to Alamo and like, you have a meal there and then you can have like, you know, different flavors of popcorn and stuff.

And I'm just like, God, how long is this movie?

I'm gonna order some fucking dessert.

Like I thought we would be gone by now.

And it really hadn't been that long.

And that is bad.

That's a bad sign if that movie is just dragging it.

Like The Long Walk was a bit of a longer movie and it didn't feel long enough to me.

You know, that's the side of something that you want to go back and watch, something you enjoyed watching.

You're just so caught up in it and your job as a storyteller, whether you're writing a book or you're it's a movie or something, you need to entertain people.

If I'm bored, that's the problem.

We've we've said it so many times before about so many different types of movies that we've reviewed, whether that's, you know, straight up serious, you know, really sort of telling a story horror movie, whether that's a horror comedy, whether that's, you know, a so bad, it's good movie.

Just don't be boring like to be.

Any be dude, don't don't bore me.

Be anything but boring, you know?

Be interesting, be quirky, be funny, be stupid, be ridiculous.

Just.

Be bad, bad, you know, but don't don't bore me.

That's like your job.

It's not for me.

So yeah, but I thought that was very telling and I was, I mean, it was just one of those movies.

I was very disappointed.

I was glad when it was over.

People, since the whole Marvel crap, everybody stays after the movie's over in case there's an after credits scene.

I'm like, I don't give two fucks.

If there is, I don't care.

I just want to leave.

I want to go.

I was kind of pissed off.

So I'm not one of the people who likes to sit after the credits anyway.

I'm like, come on.

I'm just, I expect that in superhero movies, not every movie needs to do this.

Please listen up, movie people.

Not every movie has to have an after credits or big credits scene.

You just leave.

But yeah, so I left.

I don't, I don't know if there was, is or will.

Yeah, I don't know anything.

About that, I also didn't stay till the end of the credits.

So that's, that's I, I was pretty keen to get out of the cinema at the end of this movie.

But yeah, I think thing for me as well is like, I went into this with low expectations.

I didn't go into this expecting to be blown away.

You know, I maybe I'm making a mistake when I go and see the long walk of going into that with pretty high expectations.

I went into weapons with pretty high expectations.

You know, I went into sinners with pretty high expectations, but I went.

Into weapons with low because I was not a fan of barbarian.

OK.

But I don't think I can give my opinion on weapons yet, so I won't no but more.

And I can't give you my full opinion on the Long Walk.

But but maybe we'll be giving our opinions of those very, very shortly, but.

Yeah, I had certain expectations.

Was I wrong?

Was I right?

Well, we'll find out.

But on this one I didn't have them hot.

No.

Wanted to be entertained.

I thought it would be like a fun movie, like, hey, we're just going to go out and see this movie.

No.

And I think, I think sometimes when you do go into a movie with low expectations, even if it's not a great movie, you still come out of it being like, OK, it maybe wasn't as bad as I'd sort of hyped it up to be.

No, no, this, this.

Moment here or this there and I couldn't pick out anything good right after I left it there.

I'm not going to lie to you like just like in the like last, because it was it was I think it was last week that I went to see this.

And in like the last hour into coming onto this call for the recording, I sat there and I went, oh shit, I can't actually remember a fucking thing about this movie.

What the fuck happened?

And I had to kind of like.

You jogged my memory.

Yeah.

I kind of had to like remind myself.

OK, Yeah.

So many similarities but yes even 2 was better.

This is just like a bad note to go out on.

Not to mention your diminishing returns and quality side things.

And it's like, and this is never and it's just diminishing returns.

Even if you like the second one, we've got these two other movies, you know, just in the main part of it, I'm like, OK, can we please let this die now?

Please, Please just do something else with this budget.

There's so many other horror voices that could do something with this.

100 percent, 100% Let me I just want to quickly get back on to the Warrens because we didn't get.

Too.

Too deep into them.

The Warrens were were not nice people.

And I think this is one thing because we'll also talk about Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in particular, because obviously as horror fans, them too are kind of like, they're kind of like your horror mum and dad, aren't they?

They're like they are.

And we love that we love them, love them dearly.

However, they are portraying the Warrens in a significantly more positive light than their actual life actions deserve them too.

Because in particular, Ed Warren, you know, who he, it's well documented that he was physically abusive in the, in the relationship with Lorraine Warren, he had an affair with a 15 year old girl.

So he was a pedophile, you know, and we also know like throughout all the stories and all the cases that they were very advantageous.

They took advantage of people's fears.

They they kind of preyed on people who were feeling vulnerable and scared.

And they were con artists.

At the end of the day.

They were just con artists who were out to make a quick buck off the back of either other people's misfortunes or by fantasizing stories about, you know, stuff that was happening that probably had very, very, you know, easy explanations for why they were happening.

But they were.

They were just.

Take advantage that.

They were just taking.

Advantage of that, that's what con artists do put on the grift.

And so when you know more about like what they actually did on some of these cases, you're like, how the fuck did they even come up with this story?

They're taking events that these people reported that these people that the Warrens weren't there for and I you know, as growing Catholics.

Sometimes I have some insights that do prove, you know interesting in in these types of films.

So the church would work with them right.

But here's the thing, the Catholic Church doesn't do exorcisms anymore.

They haven't for a very long time.

Even as far back as the early 70s when the exorcist came out, William Peter Blatty, who wrote the exorcist, even then, he was very he, he's still, he was a parks and Catholic his whole life.

He was much more true as of course, he started getting fantastic at the end with like, you know, the two priests and stuff.

But the church doesn't really do that anymore.

It's very outdated.

And so, but if the church is working through them, I don't believe that for a second.

They don't even entertain the idea.

The archdiocese and the fucking go all the way to Vatican City.

They got fucking bigger problems like trying to update themselves, which they haven't done in a couple thousand years.

So, you know, they want to get as far from this shit as possible.

And you have a self-proclaimed demonologist is what Ed was a self-proclaimed demonologist.

They just made shit up.

And Lorraine, who had like psychic powers that kept the rosary wrapped around her hand.

That's considered if you like, you see people and people aren't Catholic like you, you see a rosary and it looks kind of a little bit like a necklace.

You don't wear it.

You don't wear a rosary.

The only ones you do would be like a priest or a nun from their belt.

It's considered sacrilegious to do any of that, but she's so holy she can just wear it like that.

It's just you're not supposed to do that unless you are a member of the church.

So if you're Catholic you kind of just see right through it.

And the main family in five is a Catholic family.

They got 5 fucking kids or something.

I lost track.

Way too many kids.

There's a there's a lot of kids in all of these movies.

All of these movies I'm.

Like Jesus Christ, just try something else for a while.

It's almost as if, you know, it's relatively easy to manipulate children.

Could we have stumbled upon, you know, a technique of the wardens there?

Let's find families that have lots of kids because we can manipulate the kids into actually doing some of the shit that we want them.

To do irrational fears.

Yeah.

And is this me saying that there is no proof of paranormal activity?

No, I'm not saying that in in the world.

Do I believe that?

Not necessarily.

But I also don't really believe in God either.

So, you know, it's I need to see, I've had experiences I can't explain, which is how we create religion, how, you know, we try to find science that will detect is there anything after we die?

It's because it's their own fears.

It's that basic.

But with children, children have irrational fears.

I was afraid of the dark.

Why?

I don't know.

It was dark.

Children have these imaginations that aren't burdened with, you know, adult problems.

Yeah.

That's a create thing.

Yeah.

Simple.

I was afraid of the dark because of Halloween, because of the shape.

I always used to do that thing when you know, when you would maybe like get up in the night to go to the toilet and you'd actually like you'd, you'd walk to the toilet, but you'd Sprint back to your bedroom when you're a little, you know something.

Was going to get you.

Yeah.

I would do the thing that my mom would get mad at.

I'd turn on lights everywhere.

I went to the bathroom, come back, turn the lights off, but maybe leave one on, turn the hallway light off, damn it, you know, kind of thing.

And I couldn't have a night light anymore because she caught me reading by my night light too many times when I was supposed to be asleep.

So, you know, kids, we have irrational fears that as an adult we can go do we still get the heebie jeebies?

Sometimes when I get up in the night, I don't want to turn my bathroom light on.

How about these little like burning things?

I don't.

And I'm like, sometimes I'm like, what if something is in the shower?

But you know, as adult, you're like, there's nothing in there.

I'm going to go back to bed.

Yeah, exactly.

So it's easy to manipulate and people who have a lot of faith, and this is not me trying to shut down.

I have great respect for people who have faith in their religion.

But if you're it is part of your faith in in like Catholicism, for example, in this family to believe in this stuff, then you're going to believe it.

It's going to be easier to tap into that.

This is just looking at it on a basic form.

And these are career con artists.

They knew all the tricks.

Yeah, you know, we, we come to this as points.

We, we have both, you know, stated on this podcast before we, we are atheists.

I am, I am someone who has no belief in the afterlife.

I don't believe in ghosts and the paranormal and and things like that.

I I totally respect People's Choice to believe and choice to have faith.

Absolutely.

I have a lot of respect for people who have true faith.

It's just not my way.

I do try to live as a good person.

Yeah, And it's just, it's not for me.

It's I think for me, living like, like living life as a good like as a good person is much more about the content of your character rather than what religion.

Subscribe to On Sunday.

Yeah, and you know, you know, it's all and and you know, faith I have no issues with.

Religion I have issues with well.

Religion is basically a controlling tool.

Think of the dark ages.

I mean, and as once I was old enough to really start reading like more complex stuff at like, you know, 1911, reading about the dark ages, I'm like, OK, this isn't working for me.

I'm going to just tell my mom, you know, I'm going to come out to her as an atheist.

And she was just like, OK, I mean, like my mom was never, we had to convert to Catholicism.

My, my, her original family, they were all Baptists and I, I saw the conflicting war, the Baptist, the Catholics and the Catholics, the Baptist.

I'm like, wait, isn't it the same God?

Hold on.

I'm really confused.

So for me, just not the life for me.

But there are people who do try to do good.

My in laws, for example, they're religious and they, they do good.

They do charitable works and stuff like that.

That's great.

I really admire that.

Yeah, 100 percent, 100%.

So yeah, the Warrens.

Pieces of shit, yeah.

Not true religion, people.

Yeah, not true religion, I think.

Lorraine Warren died fairly recently, you know.

Yeah, yeah.

Like a couple, yeah.

Like a couple years.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean she was on as AI think as an executive producer for the first.

Wasn't just the first Conjuring movie.

I can't remember.

She may have been just the first, but I think Vera Farnia consulted with her on, like, wardrobe.

But how did you grow your hair?

And I think it's been a bit, but, I mean, it hasn't been too long ago, Yeah, that she passed away.

And Lorraine Warren did when they signed her on to be an executive producer in the in The Conjuring movie.

She did get it written into the contract that they would not portray Ed Warren as having an affair.

They wouldn't, you know, mention anything about him having sex with a minor.

They wouldn't mention anything about him being abusive.

So she she like got that written into the contract that none of those things.

Protecting her abuser after he was gone.

Yeah.

And that I thought probably.

Just spelled the story.

Can you imagine burying your own personal tragedy, your own story, just to make a buck?

Exactly.

I couldn't do that.

And I'm in love with Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren, but don't get that confused with the real one.

Yeah, don't get fear forming a confused with the real Lorraine.

Yeah, because as most people know, Patrick Wilson and Vera Fermeiga are very much the darlings of horror.

They are.

Love them.

They're probably they're they're like our modern horror icons, I would say.

And they've both now starred in a number of different, you know, franchises.

In the Tall Grass based on this story.

I think it's on Netflix.

It is on Netflix, yeah.

Yeah, based on the Stephen King and Joe Hill story.

Patrick Wilson that amazing.

I like they and even me saying that I did not like Conjuring Last Rites and it was a terrible, boring movie.

It had nothing to do with their performance.

No, no, that's the thing.

And one of the positives that this movie does have is once again, Patrick Wilson and Vera Fermega and Mia and Mia Tomlinson and and all the other like there's, there's, there's, there's good performances in here.

Really a lot of good performances.

And you know, this movie against I think cinematography is is decent.

I wouldn't say it's incredible in this movie, but I think it's decent.

So like, again, you know, that classic Conjuring score, which, you know, works, works very well for what they're trying to do.

So, you know, there is still positives to be taken from this, from these sorts of things.

And Patrick Wilson and Vita Farmiga are very much two of those.

You know, you've got Patrick Wilson who's also been in the Insidious franchise as well, which I think for a lot of people, Insidious and Conjuring franchises, I kind of go hand in hand a little bit.

Yeah, I was.

Talking to my daughter and she was mixing them up and I was like, no one is better than the other, and you're mixing them up just because Patrick Wilson was in both.

Yeah, I would rather watch Insidious.

But then you've also got that Lee Whannell, James Wong connection from the two as well, don't you?

Yeah, and there's.

Always the hidden millies in their stuff.

What I will say is insidious.

Was it 4 and five?

Oh boy, oh boy.

I actually think, thank you.

I actually think that Insidious 3, which doesn't, you know, the one that it like veers off from the story, from the I actually think that's a decent film.

I actually think that's like a.

Don't remember a lot about it, but I do remember liking it.

Not enough to watch it again, no.

100% I remember.

It was better than I thought it was gonna be.

Yeah, but you've also got Patrick, but.

It's like me defending Paranormal Activity 5 the mark one.

It's not good.

I remember thinking it wasn't a piece of shit like 4 was or three was.

I'm like, it was better than I thought, you know?

But it wasn't great.

It's it's like defending Final Destination bloodlines, right?

You know, it's not great, but it's better than the.

They didn't go with me to see it.

And so when it came on HBO, I was like, well, you should watch it because I I was better than I thought it was going to be.

It's better than.

It's not the final destination, but yeah, you've also.

I pretty much like the stop after too.

Yeah, I mean, so you've also got Patrick Wilson.

He's like you said in the tall grass, Bone Tomahawk, Car Candy, all these kinds of films.

And yeah, like he's very much just became kind of like the the modern day poster boy for horror movies.

Like he is, he's like he's.

Like more of like your mature audiences, not like your scream kings and scream queen types.

Yeah, the mature people, I mean.

Yeah, exactly.

He's.

The mom and dad I.

Think he's the, he's, it feels kind of wrong to put him in that sort of category because he's nowhere near that level.

But he's like the 21st century, you know, Vincent Price sort of thing.

You know what I mean?

Where you have these people who are like, these are the icons of horror for this, this era, this generation, this time.

And Patrick Wilson's very much like one of the icons of horror of this time, definitely.

Goes in the group.

You know, and then you've got Vera Farmiga, who we all love.

Vera Farmiga, you know, she's incredible.

Again conjuring her.

Sister Tesa Farmingo who did the final girls.

Yeah, an American Horror Story.

But I thought it was her daughter.

There's so much apartment.

Yeah, American Horror Story as well.

Yeah.

But yeah, I mean, Vera Farmiga, she was Norman Bates, mom and psycho.

The the basement house show.

I mean, she's, she's spending so much stuff and I just think she is just like, I hesitate to use this word, but like hauntingly beautiful.

Yeah, she's.

Very beautiful in a in a very unique way.

I think Vera Fermega is absolutely gorgeous.

Like she's stunningly got stunningly beautiful.

I think she she really, really is.

And she does have that.

She has this sort of like air of grace around her as well.

She has this sort of, she's very, she can be very demure.

She's very, you know, classy.

You know, she's I, I think she's fantastic.

And you know, she, she just seems to carry herself in a way as well, like.

A lot of like dignity.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm struggling to find the words, but yeah, definitely.

And yeah, much like Patrick Wilson and like you say, them two are now so closely associated with each other that even though that they've only really appeared in The Conjuring franchise together, but they're so associated with each other now that they they, they, they, they, they have kind of become the mum and dad of horror movies.

Absolutely, absolutely.

And so I really, my main push is one, OK, they're ending this part of The Conjuring franchise and maybe it'll end.

Everything else is going on with it.

Maybe this is really going to be the end.

I probably not, but I hope.

It's I'm going to tell you it's definitely not.

There are more Conjuring Universe movies coming.

There's just no more Conjuring.

I knew, yes, but I didn't want to admit it.

OK, got that out of my system.

Grief.

Grief counseling.

But this is the last one I watch.

I am done.

I'm done.

But I was also like, I really went for Patrick Wilson and Verafining, and they turned in a great performance.

And I thought if we have the other elements, it should be pretty entertaining.

I was wrong.

There was not a moment of scariness.

I think maybe at the very beginning we had a pretty decent start to the last rate.

You know, we have younger and Lorraine and she's pregnant with their daughter Judy.

There's a mirror, blah, blah.

And it and it affects, you know, puts her in labor, wants Judy, their daughter, but she has her and like the daughter dies.

I, I, I did, I did like that scene.

I like, I like that scene where you know you, you think that she's dead.

You know, you think that you there's and there's just that silence, isn't there?

And then?

Yeah, And I was kind of like, well, did they have another kid?

Like, what happened?

And then they started.

She was like, God, give my daughter back.

And I was like, OK, so we're going to do this.

All right, fine.

I can hang in.

I can.

I can hang tight on this one.

And, you know, I known from the one trailer I watched, I try not to watch trailers at this point.

Like, you know, it wants their daughter.

And this is, you know, I I'm trying not to be exasperated.

Good, good, good job.

I'm breathing, I'm breathing.

But so I went into this and we know that about Ed's heart trouble.

I'm thinking, you know, we're gonna really play that up in this movie and stuff.

But you know, the the where it starts, you know, and knowing from the trailer that this is, they were like, there's one case and we very first started that made us so afraid we didn't help.

And it was this case.

And but of course it comes back and it's not really about the family.

It's about them.

I mean, how self-centered, how fucking selfish.

And it's like, at least you could that was one of the strengths of The Conjuring franchise was that they can connect with these families.

I know it's just the fiction part, but like, there was a connection.

They're like, yeah, fuck you.

It's about our kid.

We don't care about you and some of the stuff the daughter does.

And at the end they're all hugging her.

I'd be like, yeah, I know you're not like possessed or whatever anymore, but like, don't come near me or my fucking dog, you know?

They're all like, oh, like, get the fuck out of my house and don't ever come back.

I know you're not possessed or anything anymore, but like, I'm so afraid of you.

Bye.

But of course, it wasn't really about them.

Who cares about them?

You know it's better, darling Warren.

Well, is there any other, is there any other scenes in this movie that you think are particularly, you know, redeemable?

Because we, you know, we talked briefly about, you know, the vomiting up with the glass or the mirror when that gets changed that.

Was a.

Cool moment I I like I did like the the moment where you the.

Phone thing was interesting.

I thought that could have been scarier, but it was like, OK, because it's pulling into the dark, the foam cord and the you'd seen that the twins had done it, but then when it did it again, you know it's not done.

And then it's just pulling it.

It's it is the part where she's like, you know, I'll get out of there.

And then you see the twins coming from like down the stairs and it's like, yeah, like you'd be, you'd genuinely.

Like that was really, it was building up.

I was into the moment.

I was like, OK, we can do a really good scene here.

Yeah.

And then we don't.

Yeah.

And then I did also like the moment of, you know, with the candle being blown out and then she's sort of looking it back on on the VHS tape and we're looking it back again and again and again.

I like that moment.

But again, I felt like they were building well to potentially something egg and something substantial and it just, it just didn't get there in the end, you know?

I guess you know, I don't know and I don't know why it didn't work for me.

I don't know.

I would love to hear from maybe somebody who enjoyed this more or maybe it did get to.

I don't know if I'm too seasoned or weary or whatever you want to call me before I just the the rewinding, showing the scene, stopping it, pausing it.

I'm like, am I supposed to be scared by this like weird phase or it's just not doing it for me?

Did anybody get as startled?

Did anybody get anything from that scene?

It went on way too long for just that little tiny thing that wasn't scary in the sled.

So I'm like, that is something that wouldn't even worked in the first Conjuring movie.

Like nobody's scared by the side.

Or maybe they are and it's just I'm world weary.

I don't know.

But it it was a dumb scene, but again, it could have been great.

So I it was a lot of could have, should have, would have we had moments that they were building that they just kind of let deflate.

Yeah, that could have been cool.

Yeah, I agree.

I agree because like I outside of those things there's not much I think is really there.

I think the only other one for me might have been the Father Gordon's death scene.

I was going to say that one was interesting, but that was also beginning of the movie.

We had a much stronger like at that scene, you know, and you see the cord come out while you know what's about to happen from the original scene, like the the mirror, the the the father in that and curio shop or whatever.

And he ends up hanging himself.

It's like, but he didn't why would he do that?

And you know, so that's what this thing is.

It makes people look like they're committing suicide.

We know the father didn't do that.

But so when that cord comes out, walks it kept focusing on that and you know, he's going to hang himself in it.

Well, this is kind of an interesting scene.

Yeah, it is because it's interesting, because it's different from everything else that we're actually getting in the movie at that time.

You know, we're getting all these really formulate moments.

We're getting these moments that are really anticlimactic.

But here's us.

Here's a scene that's completely removed from, you know, the the Warrens.

The Warrens aren't involved in this scene at all, but it's also completely removed from the actual investigation.

Like, it's not like it's, it's separate.

It's its own separate entity, for lack of a better word, where, you know, we actually get something that's a little bit different.

And you're like, OK, this is something that I can fuck with, you know, like we get this scene, like you say.

Not to mention bringing the Catholic into it.

It is a mortal sin to commit suicide.

You do not go to purgatory, you do not go to heaven.

You go straight to hell.

Yeah, the Catholics are really sorry about that shit.

So I'm sitting here like, why are they having this elaborate funeral for somebody who would be removed?

Wouldn't be to be buried in a Catholic cemetery?

That's the rules guys.

Catholics are all about rules and this guy committed suicide to their eye.

Why are we doing this?

It doesn't make sense.

It's not realistic in the slightest.

And I think one of the big things for me as well is if you go back to the previous Conjuring movies, there's no body count in in them.

The body counts are incredibly low.

So when when we obviously lose Father Gordon in this one, it feels like it kind of raises the stakes a little bit like this movie.

I think was was was relatively strong in that opening section, that first act where, you know, they're sort of setting the scene.

You know, we can't, I kind of like that open the opening scene, like you say with with the baby, you know, we get Father Gordon's death, the scene with the glass.

You know, these are all taking place in that sort of first portion of the movie.

These are all interesting.

This is all interesting stuff, but it doesn't go anywhere.

None of it.

Goes anywhere.

What they chose to build up really didn't amount to much.

Like I said, we find out about this, you know, Judy can see things and we find out in this last film that Judy is terrified of Annabelle.

Where was this information?

But it's it's made a big point in Last Rites because when she starts to get possessed, she sees a a little, she goes up to it and it grows into a giant Annabelle, which looks so fucking dumb.

Yeah, I didn't have that on my 2025.

And I'm like, this isn't scary to anybody because it's so fucking stupid.

I didn't have that on my 2025 bingo card, I tell you that.

No, I was just kind of like, OK, all right then.

But as well, like, you know, Father Gordon is a character that we know from the franchise as well.

You know, it's a character that we've sort of clung onto and, and Stephen Coulter, who Steve Coulter saw, who plays him is, is again, someone who is pretty well known in the horror sphere, 'cause it's also in the Insidious franchise is in the other Conjuring movies was in things like The Hunt and a few other bits and pieces as well.

I think the Purge TV series and the act and, and, and quite a lot of things really.

And, you know, so really like the the death of this character, this character that's been in the previous movies in a franchise where in spite of the fact that it's about.

No one really dies.

In spite of the fact it's about possessions and ghosts and from beyond the grave and all that, no one really dies in these movies, so it should feel like that.

This is a really sort of pivotal moment in this movie.

And the scene itself I really like.

I like the scene, but there's just no real payoff to it at any point.

It felt to me, and this is this is a wild theory of mine, like if you remember when the paranormal activities were coming out in theaters, remember when the big hype after the first one, second one's getting ready to come to the theaters in the trailer, it the entity kills a priest, but it wasn't in the movie.

And and so it's been like ever since really the extras been kind of a trope.

Like we want to see priests get in there and just really fight with their lives.

And I think they finally killed the priest.

You know, like they're they're happy now.

Like people talk about it enough that they're going to kill the priest.

You know, it just felt like something that everybody was like, why didn't they kill the priest and and paranormal activities too.

I don't know if you remember that big discourse over that.

I'm just like who fucking cares, you know?

Like, but it's been talked about.

So they killed the priest, but to what end?

That's.

Right.

For a vehicle like it doesn't even matter.

They don't refer back to it too much.

It's.

It's just the error.

Yeah, it ends up feeling like just an A piece of extra information that doesn't really have any.

And it is a grittier scene that I really enjoy a bit of a mind fuck like that's.

I like to have seen more of that, yeah.

100%.

That mind fuckery.

OK.

Well, that's kind of it for me in terms of the list of specifics that I kind of want to talk about this movie because I really don't feel like there's that much more to get into.

We've kind of been over all the main beats I think of, you know, where we kind of sit with this movie.

I do have one question for you.

How did you feel about the possession scenes?

Did they do anything for you?

No, they felt kind of.

I'm saying they didn't do anything for me.

They felt kind of cheap.

Yeah, I, I, I.

Monetarily cheap in general.

In fairness, I also felt like I I felt possession scenes and and devil made me do it were also really cheap and I haven't really felt like it's been particularly meaningful or well done since too.

I still I I I think too like the possession scenes with the girl, you know, when she's got the voice going through her and like, you know, that scene where they make Patrick Wilson turn around, but you can kind of see the the the girl in the background, you know, sort of contort it, you know, you can.

And I think some of those scenes are really, really well done and well crafted it.

Was better done and without, like I felt like maybe they they thought they were upping the sticks by we're going to show it full on.

And it just really was like, yeah, you're not bringing anything new to this possession.

Movies are notoriously hard to do and hard to pull up.

Ever since The Exorcist, everybody and their brothers try to do something.

Yeah, and, and and I don't think anyone's ever done it as well as The Exorcist.

Either because it was like it.

That's really A1 trick pony.

Once you've done what can be done with it, there's not much more you can do.

But if you're gonna show possession, you better bring it.

You gotta do something with it.

And it felt very much like everybody who's possessed in a movie these days looks exactly like that.

Yeah, there's they didn't, they didn't bring anything new to the concept at all.

Like if you're looking at it really superficially, you could probably look at it and go, well, there's nothing wrong with it.

And you're probably not incorrect by saying, well, there's nothing wrong with it.

But they're not bringing anything new to it.

And it's it's now something that we have seen thousands and thousands of times.

Before, I don't know if it's my weariness of of just I've seen so much horror.

You need to bring it.

You need to be a little bit unique and that's why that I've been much more watching.

I watch new horror, but like older horror that I haven't seen before is impressing me more because it's like we all the new school of horror where we are, which is a great place.

Some of us becoming Pesse like you've got to, we've got to up in it or we've got to do something different because we know and that's what you have to do with every era of horror.

We're now at that point and The Conjuring has shown us that.

Like, I don't know if it's maybe people who don't watch a lot of horror movies or maybe this was their first Conjuring movie or something because I can't even say.

Like a newer horror fan who just watched Conjuring movies.

I mean, you, you got to almost be new to the series for this movie to do it for you.

So yeah, maybe there are people out there that this is their thing and that's cool.

But people like me and I was so bored.

I mean, are you telling me that you wouldn't be super excited if we finally got the Crooked Man movie?

Oh God.

Because that's that's that's something that's always kind of been rumours to be happening.

Well, I mean, and it became like a creepypasta and there's so much like my fear is it would turn into the Slender Man movie A.

100% would turn into Slender Man the movie.

Exactly.

Like don't do that.

Let it be spooky, let it be a creepypasta, let it be something you know and it's an old raw and just leave it alone because it's whatever is that they want to do with it has already been done and you can't do anything different.

Because that's what the franchise needs.

It needs another nursery rhyme.

Let.

Me, Hobbit, Doctor Hockett, that whatever.

Right, on that note then, let's move on to our next segment and let's talk about some trivia.

Be my victim.

I am the writing on the wall.

As always, we will start off with the finances of the movie.

So according to IMDb, this movie had a budget of $55 million, which is huge.

What a huge huge.

Disappointment.

Budget that is and and this is obviously just a current figure because the movie is still in the theatres across the world.

I think it's definitely still in the theatres here in the UK and we're going to assume that it's still in theatres in the States as well.

I saw.

Opening day, which wasn't that long ago.

Yeah, but currently grossed at 436 million worldwide.

And this is the thing about The Conjuring movies.

We can say what we want about them, but that they make bank.

People like them, they make, and that's okay.

Yeah, 100% that's okay.

It's.

Just not my personal.

What I will say is this movie is made significantly more than Devil made me do it, the Devil made me do.

Made me do it was probably the lowest grossing.

206 two 106 million devil according to IMDb that's what devil made me do it gross and that was off a 30.

That was not a good time for the franchise.

As a whole, no.

And that's off a that's off a $39 million budget.

So it's the budget's only slightly less, but like less than half of the actual take.

And just for reference, because we'll go back live, Conjuring 2 had a budget of 40 million and grossed 322.

So in that sort of ballpark, who did better than the did better than three, but not as good as four.

And then the original Conjuring had a budget of 20 million and grossed 320 million.

So in terms of the actual gross at Last Rites is the the the biggest and will be the biggest by quite some distance when all is said and done, I think.

I think also hinging on the fact that they were like, this is going to be the last one.

It got me in the seat.

Yeah, yeah.

I went to see it.

I went to see 3.

I got to be honest, it got me to go.

We've kind of we've alluded to it already.

I I don't have a huge amount of trivia for this, just purely because of the fact this is a new release.

This is the biggest opening weekend of any horror movie of all time.

It grossed 100 and $194,000,000 in its opening weekend, which surpassed the previous record holder at chapter one.

Wow.

So yes, sit with that information for a.

Moment my dollars were that because I I literally saw the day.

It came out.

Whilst this has been slated as the final Conjuring movie, I think both Patrick Wilson and Vera Fermega have said that they are finally happy to be sort of putting the characters of Ed and Lorraine Warren to rest.

Other spin offs within the franchise will continue to be made.

I don't know what those spinoffs are.

Horses already dead.

Stop beating it.

I mean, we will get it's like it's like what we say with big franchises though, isn't it?

You know, right now Halloween is dead, right?

But in 10 years time we will get another Halloween movie.

You know, right now Nightmare on Elm Street is dead, but in 10 years time we will have another Elm Street movie.

You know what?

You know what I mean?

You know it will happen.

So I fully believe that we will get another Annabelle movie, that we will get another non movie.

I.

Think that they were kind of building up another Annabelle movie.

Yeah.

That's why Annabelle was so prevalent suddenly in the story again.

Yeah, because Annabelle hasn't been prevalent in the front the the the The Conjuring franchise really at all.

This is the.

1st movie.

I mean, they, they they just did give a little bit of the story in the main Conjuring movies in the first one, yeah.

And then you just see the doll in the box.

Yeah.

And then and then she gets her spin offs.

And so, you know, there is there is definitely there's, there's, I think there's definitely scope that they will do more in those movies.

And again, much like The Conjuring movies, those movies make money like they're money making movies.

That's the and that that's the problem when it comes to things like this.

They make money, you know, established names, established franchises.

They're safe bets for studios who pump that I.

Can't be mad at them, but I also think like what?

That 50 million split up five ways could have done for five new voices you.

Know 100% because.

I know people out there struggling to get their movies made.

They have great scripts, great ideas, and don't need that kind of budget.

Look at skin rig, it did well and most of the people watched it didn't fucking understand it.

I mean, you know.

Did it make this kind of money?

No.

It was a very small budget, but it was different.

Well, let's let's just put it into context.

Annabelle Creation, which came out in 2017, they had a budget of $15 million, which is a relatively modest budget, but it grossed 3.

It grossed $306 million.

These movies, these movies make bank.

And I bet, I guarantee you, even though The Nun Too was boring as shit to the point it was only the second movie that I'd ever fallen asleep to in the cinema behind The Nun, I guarantee you that movie made fucking bank as well.

Here you go.

The Nun Too, budget $38 million, grossed $269 million dollars.

It makes fucking money.

And as long as it makes money to that extent, any movie that's going to take 10 times its budget, the studios are going to keep pumping them out.

Well, and I think it's, if you think about it from like, OK, what's my experience with something like this where it actually meant something to me?

Being a kid in a Freddy movie coming out practically every year, That was exciting for me.

Were they as good as the one before it?

Absolutely not.

Did I enjoy it?

Yeah.

They just did all of the Nightmare on Elm Streets at that's like in Alamo.

Did I go?

You bet your ass I was it for Freddy's Dead with one of my 2 Freddy's Dead shirts.

Nobody fucking likes Freddy's dead.

I do it.

It was garbage, but I was like 12 years old.

It was fucking cool, you know, but like, I have that I was there and I was younger and more impressionable.

So it was always going to be this.

This might be somebody else's fright, you know, Nightmare on Elm Street.

This might be their Freddy movie.

They're younger or just more impressionable to the horror genre.

This may be the thing that they're glad there's spin offs, even if they're bad, like, ah, there's there's still more, you know, so I can't shine on that for that.

I think we've we've also kind of missed as well in 2023 and it's not been announced as being dead.

It's in fact it's still announcing people as part of the project.

An untitled Conjuring television series from HBO Max is also in development, which has James Watt.

HBO Max kind of perked me up a little.

Because.

That means it's not going to be like, you know, dumb down.

Yeah, well, maybe.

It will be.

I don't know.

So that is also in the works.

The Crooked Man spin off film, the project is kind of dead, but one is also said that it's not fully dead.

So you know, so there's more conjuring, there's more Conjuring universe movies coming.

Anyways, the final piece of trivia that I have we we we talked about all those sort of appearances from all the other families during the wedding scene.

James one is also one in in the crowds.

If you look closely, he also makes a cameo appearance in the wedding scene as well.

So I just thought that was a fun.

That's all I have for.

A minute when I saw Lily Taylor, because she's got a very distinctive face.

She was the mom in the first Conjuring she'd done.

She'd been kind of what they called an indie darling.

I'd been seeing her movie.

She did this one with River Phoenix when I was a.

Kid, she's she's a great actress, by the way.

She's phenomenal.

I saw her face, and it was very distinctive.

Yes.

And then they kept flashing through the audience, and I started recognizing, yeah, people, I'm like, oh, I should be paying attention to this.

Please let the movie be over now.

Oh wait, there's another 3 minutes.

Fuck my life.

Any pieces of trivia from you Candy?

No I'm still so new.

I think the the trivia will be fuck once this makes it digital and and Blu-ray and all that and we get our extras.

Awesome, right.

Let's move on to our final segment then, which is our ratings and our reviews.

Congratulations, you are still alive.

Most people are so ungrateful to be alive.

As always, we're.

Going to go with this one.

As always, we'll start off with the credit scores.

IMDb has this a 6.4 out of 10.

Metacritic has this, a 5.4 out of 10.

Candy, you, you were quite good at this.

In the last movie we reviewed, you were you were pretty spot.

And I'm pretty sure the last time the three of us were on an absolute, the last time Nico was on, I'm pretty sure you won the guessing game.

I think I did for the first time ever.

And so.

So let's I feel very hopeful on this one because of my personal bias.

OK, well, let's let's let's see if you can keep the streak going.

What do you think?

The wrong tomatoes?

Critics scored The Conjuring last rites.

I'm going to guess lower than the audience.

I'm going to go solid 550.

50 you're not 1,000,000 miles away, 59%, so maybe a little bit on the higher side, but you know, you're not 1,000,000 miles away there, critics consensus purportedly purport.

I can't say that word.

Yeah, that's the one viewer for me.

Getting Patrick Wilson's final outing as the Warrens Last Rite underwhelms as a climactic chapter for The Conjuring, but solidly up upholds the franchise's spooky standards.

What do you think the Rotten Tomatoes audience scored this?

I feel like it's not going to be super higher than the critics, but it would be higher considering the record-breaking amount of money people spent.

So remember, critics were at 59%.

I'm going to go a little bit more hopeful.

I'm going to do 6.5.

OK, you were right to go higher, but.

I went too high probably.

But you went way too low.

The On Tomorrow's audience score 78% fresh.

Fuck.

70.

My personal bias always comes into play here.

I.

Bet your your logic was was sound you that it was just the scale of it.

78% I think is a wildly high score I've.

Never, ever would have guessed that.

The audience.

I wouldn't be gone near the sevens.

The audience consensus the performances still possess in The Conjuring, and whilst Last Rites maintains its signature EU atmosphere, this conclusion falls short of the scare power of earlier installments.

The thing is, like, I feel like those consensus are all saying what we've been saying, but the score there doesn't really match better.

Yeah, the score there really doesn't match for me in terms of usually.

They're kind of close ish.

Yeah, but yes.

Sometimes it's flip-flopped on me, but like that one, I never would have guessed that high.

But maybe it's because not everybody's seen it yet.

It's still new enough.

That's only been, what, a couple of weeks?

Yeah, yeah, that's it.

It's literally been a couple.

Of years, I just don't think maybe at all the people that are going to see it and leave reviews.

I think that's going to be after digital and DVD and Blu-ray and all that.

If they still put out DVDs at this point, I don't even know anymore.

I just play Blu-ray.

So you know, I I think that's when we're going to get more critics.

People just buying it for the collection going wait, that's a piece of shit.

But I have the whole set.

Yeah, that's it.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

And we, we've all been guilty of that over various franchise, tremendously guilty over, you know, that's.

Why I own so many Amityville?

Because, and I saw before, like I said, I own the first four.

That's way too many.

Yeah, This is why I own.

This is why I own Halloween 3 anyways.

Wow, This is why I own all the Jasons, because I'm a big fan of five.

I'm a big fan of eight, but the first one not good.

No, not good at all anyways.

The first Jason is terrible.

As always, we throw it out to you guys at home, our followers and listeners, and asking for your scores and your opinions.

I've only picked a few out just in the in in in mind of time, but let's get into it.

Bert S Lechner on Threads said I had a really fun time watching it in theatres.

It had some fun creepy elements.

Definitely not going on my best horror of 2025 list though, but still a 7 out of 10 again.

Yeah, high score Ashley, because I love The Conjuring universe, but this movie was slow and they didn't even get to the haunted house until after an hour into the movie.

I wanted to see more of the case that ended at all.

It made it seem like it would be super scary and in depth about the haunting and it really wasn't.

So yeah, someone that I feel like everyone's kind of on the same page, but it just seems to.

Be a little higher.

You know, they're still saying the same critique.

Is it, is it a little bit of that, you know, maybe that sort of bias?

You know, we, we love Patrick Wilson, we love Vera Fermiga, we like other Conjuring movies.

So therefore, even though we know that this one isn't as good, we're maybe going to give it a bit of a pass on the score.

I really feel like that knowing this is their last performance really did get bucks and seats.

It got mine.

I've only I've only picked out one more from the listeners, Nightmare Echoes Pod said.

I saw it with my oldest son.

We had a fun time.

I think the use of the rocking chairs in the movie were his favorite part.

I think in just Conjuring movies terms, I liked it better than three, but not as much as two or one six out of 10.

So I think I think that's kind of, I think that's kind of where we're at with it as well.

Yeah, well, maybe not you with Conjuring 2, but that's the sort of.

I don't know what's wrong with me or defective that I I I just really dislike.

So, so on one hand, in your left hand you've got the Blu-ray for conjuring Part 2, and in your right hand you've got the Blu-ray for conjuring Last Rites.

Which one are you putting on?

Two, no, no question, because I enjoyed the two.

Some of the movies.

Sitting down with my kids watching Part 2 immediately.

Maybe it was to scrub my brain clean.

I don't like to, but I sure did like it more than Last Rites.

Yes.

So thank you very much to those people who left us those reviews.

Thank you to everyone who left the scores.

We did get a lot of different scores as well.

Everyone who votes on our on our threads, on threads, we always post the threads to threads, Blue Sky, Facebook and Instagram.

So you can go and put your thoughts into any one of them.

You can e-mail us your thoughts as well.

But every single score that is given is taken into account when we attribute the listener score.

And we got a number of other scores.

On average, the listeners rated conjuring last rites 6.3 out of 10.

So, you know, that's lower than I feel like it's.

Higher than I thought it was going to be.

It's higher than I thought it was going to be, but I'm happy that it's quite a bit lower than that Rotten Tomatoes audience score.

Yeah, that was not expected from me.

But that just leaves me and you, Candy.

There's no score from Nico for this one because he hasn't seen it yet.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll, I'll go first.

We'll get my words either.

Way let's go for it.

What what are you scoring?

The Conjuring Last Rites I'm.

Wavering between being nice with my higher score or trying to be realistic and maybe mean.

I'm gonna give it a three.

It was it should I should never feel that bored considering I had just seen a longer horror movie right before it that was a little bit less on it being a horror movie than this movie.

And that movie just riveted me.

And it this movie felt longer and was less enjoyable.

And I still think, you know, at this point and, and, and how James Wan making these movies, like maybe here, this is the kind of lazy effort, especially for this big last case, you know, like kind of echoing what people said, but I'm a little bit more angry about it.

It's my time and I don't like to waste it.

I'm somebody who will happily see it as many Terrifier sequels as they can throw at me, as long as they get gorier and gorier and they're fun and it, even if the story goes to shit, art's going to really come in with those pills and make it worthwhile, just like Freddie didn't later.

And so almost Jason or anybody else.

But this just felt flat for me.

So flat that I'm mad about it.

Yeah.

This is the thing, isn't it about those movies, about the terrifying movies?

We go back and we think about terrifying one, for example, right?

There's no like, no plot.

There's no like the script's not the greatest, you know, it's.

The weakest.

It's the weakest one, but you know what?

You know what it's not?

It's not fucking boring.

It's not dull when.

We get to the meat parts of the story when we get to those kills, when we get to these situations, they're extremely memorable.

And if you're a gore fan or a hardcore horror fan, it is perfect.

And then you know you get to.

Some of the story.

You get to some of those later, you know, Freddie movies and some of those later Jason movies.

They're fucking insane.

They're batshit.

They're, you know, Jason.

Out like Freddy's dead I love it but there's some great kills, especially the map so fucks you know the whole theatre erupted when I saw.

That you know, everyone shits on Jason X, but you know what everyone fucking remembers?

The liquid nitrogen death.

Scene yeah, but you know, that kill that's, you know, Sean is one of his favorite Jason kills ever.

I'm like, really over the sleeping bag.

I mean, it's my.

Favorite.

It was kind of in that one.

It was.

It's my favorite Jason movie.

I'm sorry.

Why is Hey I like the two most hated which are 5 and 8?

Jason takes Manhattan and then.

Freddy versus Jason.

I was doing it this month, by the way.

Freddy versus Jason No.

Could could revisit it it's.

The second movie so I'll just go to bed and watch that one because the first one's a Freddy one but you know I like the ones that people don't like just and I I was late to being a Jason fan, but you know even with the like the lesser entries and some of these big franchises like the Freddy wins.

I don't like 5.

It's stupid, but the kills were fantastic.

I'll watch it for those kills.

Just fucking here we go.

Here's the part.

Here's the comic book kill.

Here's this, here's that.

You know, so this this offers nothing.

This offers me nothing.

It has no return.

If you're gonna have a franchise, and Juan knows this.

I really feel like this was lazy.

You he was trying to do fan service and then trying to do so much fan service, he kind of fucked himself.

I really feel like it was very lazy.

It felt lazy, and that's what made me the angriest.

Put your heart into it.

I'm a horror fan.

Give it to me like I I can respect, but if you're not going to give me the effort, why should I give you mine?

That's the thing, 'cause you know, Patrick Wilson and Vera Formica and all the other actors, they were putting their heart into it.

They were giving good.

Performances, but it's.

Just there's not really for me, those performances are what really is kind of gives gives the score to this movie that I'm going to give because I was, you know what, like ultimately I was so fucking bored.

And that's that's nothing to do with the performances.

I think the performances are good and I think, you know, again, our main characters, they do a great job.

You know, they're they're so incredibly likable that this movie get definitely gets a pass from the wider audience much more than it deserves because it doesn't really deserve one.

It certainly doesn't deserve a 7.8 from the Rottweilers audience.

I still think I like it more than three.

I, I really, really, really am like down bad on three, but it's not as good as two or well, it's not as good as one or two.

So I would say it's probably my third favorite.

And I mean, that's probably being quite generous.

You gave it a three.

I'm going to give it a four.

See, I was I had no point by this is either going to be the three or the four.

I'll, I'll give it the four more to do with performances and then, you know, like there was a couple of like interesting scenes in the early parts of the movie.

So yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll give that 4.

Which would be a good guy today.

Yeah, You know, I feel like, I feel like I'm losing my, my sort of reputation a little bit.

I feel like.

Yeah, I think once I've joined the show, we both changed things.

I've become a lot harsher other critics, Martin I would always, if you think about my old show, I was always writing stuff like it tried really hard.

Video Jet is a piece of shit shot on video movie from the 80s.

I gave it like A7 back in the day, like, you know, seven years ago.

But now, Oh my God, I fucked that movie up.

But I was always generous.

And since I've come in to show you, you have the generosity and I'm like, fuck this movie.

I've definitely, I've definitely sure, I've definitely softened.

I I need to change that.

I need to change that big time.

We all need to go in hard on these.

Yeah, but at it.

But well, you know what?

You know, that's how maybe just a sign of how bad it is when I'm saying, Oh, my score was really generous and soft and I gave it a four.

And that's all I've changed.

I would never rate anything below 5 back in the day.

But when I first started podcasting, like, you know, seven years ago, whatever.

But like, now, now I'm a lot harsher.

I'm just kind of like, OK, I can't let my heart take over.

But if it was like a Freddy movie, I'd probably, you could still get that e-mail from me.

But it'd be.

It's really hard now.

Yeah.

You know.

Well, given our scores, combined with the critics and you guys at home, the listeners gives The Conjuring Last Rites an average score of 5.54 out of 10.

And of the now 137 movies that we've reviewed on the podcast, it is in 105th place.

It doesn't even break the top 100.

It is one place below critters from 1986 and one place above Resident Evil.

Welcome to Raccoon City.

Oh, harsh.

That is, that's some, that's some company right there.

I don't even like critters and I'm like, damn, why is critters so low?

Not the movie we're doing.

I was like, oh, critters, what is it?

I don't even like it.

But you know, I, I like critters too, But you know, I, I just there, we have some bad movies that I've rated really from the heart and I just wish it was at least bad enough and funny enough that I could have rated it higher.

And I think my 3 comes from the performances.

Like there was just no reading inequalities.

And I get harsh on story because I write books.

This story, if you're not going to be like super exciting, like you talked about terrifying, you got to put into that story.

They, they just they focused on the wrong things.

And I'm sorry, but you deserve your score.

Well, I want to just sort of very, very quickly before we sort of wrap this up because you give it a three, let's I want to quickly look at some of the other movies that you've rated as a three.

This will be interesting.

So the.

Mood was by in that day.

The highest, the high in terms of the leaderboard, the one that's nearest the top that you rated A3 is House of 1000 Corpses.

Fuck that movie and the three was nice.

That's an 84th place currently.

I did.

I I defend my score on that.

Conjuring last night is the next highest that you've rated a three, so everything else that you've rated A3 is below it.

So a deep blue sea, Yeah, you gave a three to.

You gave a three to Resident Evil it.

Was terrible.

You gave a three to House of Wax, which I think I'm just going to I'm just going to come we're.

Talking OG house.

Of no, I'm sorry, I'm just going to come in and say there, you're giving a three to House of wax is a travesty.

What an absolute travesty.

I gave I gave House of Wax a sex absolutely I mean 555 of those six points that I gave it is for Paris Hilton dying on screen.

The only people I.

Remember that being the big deal at the time.

The only other movie that you gave a three 2 was Bloodbath at the House of Death.

Now I do I, you know, I think I would bump that up on point now.

Yeah, really.

I have to think on it.

It's it was such that type of British humor.

And I think I talked about this.

I've thought about it because I've, I've watched it since and I, because I've thought about it and I'm like, you know, I think I enjoyed that more than I thought.

It's just the British humor is not my type of humor.

Normally it's a little dry and.

We're just more.

Just like a different.

We're just funny fucks, aren't we?

Yeah, and then I remember you said what about Shaun of the Dead that made you laugh?

I'm like, absolutely.

But it wasn't as dry, so I think I had to sit with it for a minute, but I would bump that up maybe 2 points even.

I I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I did.

You know what's the funny?

The funny thing is, I fucking hate it.

I only gave it A2.

Like, you know, I've sat with it for a minute.

I do.

I love it.

No.

Is it?

I think more people should see it.

I think it would appeal to a lot more people.

It should have a bigger audience.

It's not necessarily for me, but I don't hate it as much as I thought it.

That's the only one that I would even change a little.

It's it's felt like a really long time since we've done a movie that is really sort of challenged up there at the top of the leaderboard.

Everything we've done lately is kind.

Of I feel like I'm bringing some movies that should be I don't know if they will, but my our next cycle of movies, I have very three specific movies in it like relate to each other, and I really think they should should be placing up there.

Yeah, and.

They aren't.

I'm very disappointed.

They're.

Like classics?

I, I, I'm, I'm having a look at our sort of our regular schedule instead, not the three movies that we're going to be doing for Halloween.

And I think looking at it, I would say there's maybe like four or five movies in there that will at least, I think challenge that sort of top 20, top 30 and maybe 1 pretty.

Strongly, at least about the first two of the films that I chose.

Yeah, and and outside.

The third one, I understand why not, but that we'll talk more about that at that time.

And I think outside of those ones, there's possibly 2 movies that I think will do very, very well, which we, you know, I'll let you know off air.

I try not to drop because it could be super obvious for me.

I've tried to be extremely vague.

Yeah, could be.

Could be, could be.

Well, with that being said, guys, that is going to do it for this week's show.

It's great to be back reviewing movies.

We had a lot of fun recording our 150th episodes and that was that was really fun to do and to sort of have a bit more sort of chilled recording time where we don't have to to review.

But obviously because of everything that's been going on in the last few months and we haven't released a lot of content, it is really, really good to get back to actually getting back to recording episodes and reviewing a movie, even if it's absolutely.

I've been chopping at the bit with the couple I've seen recently and one I'm visiting again, but it's there.

There's I think just the summer months get so busy.

Yeah, between what you and Nico do.

And then I don't work, but I, I do freelance stuff and stuff and that I was just kind of buried too.

So summer is is just a tough time to travel.

And then, you know, you add in all the health issues and things on top of that as well, and it becomes.

Surgery coming up so.

Yes, and of course, I'm sure all of our our listeners wish you all the very best with that as well.

And of course, you know you have the love and support of me and Nico every step of the way through as well, so.

And I'll get bored and be on the show anyway.

Exactly, exactly.

No bored.

Up next on the show #1 Nico will be fucking back on our next episode, the trio will finally be back together, and it's the first of our Halloween specific horror movies.

It's my pick for our Halloween special, and it would be remiss of me if we're going to do a Halloween special if we didn't do a Halloween movie.

And this time we're doing Halloween in 2018, baby.

Yeah.

And.

Halloween 5 could have been could have been Halloween 6 OK.

No, never mind.

Take it.

Back Halloween is.

You did this one.

I felt like to get at me, but it's all right.

That's all right.

You'll get.

Halloween is.

My review.

Halloween is the is our most reviewed franchise in terms of movies within the franchise that we've done because we've done Halloweens one to three.

We've done Resurrection as well.

So this is our the 5th Halloween movie that we're gonna be.

H2O.

Oh, that's right.

Yeah, we haven't done that.

No, we recorded resurrection.

That was when I think you had your your last surgery because we took it the off.

Because I was like, absolutely not.

Because that's when you guys did Freddie versus Jason.

We did Freddie versus Jason and we did Halloween Rush.

I think we might have done Jason X in that period as well.

And we were like, right, we're gonna get these fucking movies out the way because you're out of action.

I was.

Like no, I'm not doing it.

Anymore, but you're not escaping Halloween 2018.

I'm really excited to talk about this.

I always feel like you could there's, I always feel like there's a slight shift in my tone, even when I'm talking about Halloween movie, even if it's like Halloween resurrection, because I, I, I just, I love, it's my, it's my franchise.

I think probably how I found when I talk about Freddy movies.

Like this is, but this is the thing as well, because like but even going back to like the early for us in podcasting and when we would be on when I would come on your old show and when we would have guests on my old show, everyone was always I'm a I'm a Jason guy.

I'm a Freddy guy, I'm a Jason guy and I've always, I've always felt like the only one that bats for Mikey, like I've always felt like.

You got to feel bad for Sean too, because he's Leatherface and that's like the red headed stepchild of the, you know, nobody.

I think, I think he could convince Nico of that, you know, to be honest.

But but yeah, I've always felt like the old only the only Michael guy.

So, you know, I'll take any fucking opportunity to get him on this podcast.

And don't you worry, Candy.

I know you're sitting there and I know you're stressing about it, but Halloween Ends will be reviewed eventually.

Come on.

No, no, that'd be a great one to do while I'm recovering.

Is that?

Is that great?

Is that?

Really.

I don't.

Is that is that I could sense I?

Think you need, you need to dig up the old episodes of my old show and listen to what I had to say about it and you'll go, Jesus Christ, I better put on a helmet.

I think our listeners would really like to hear what you have to say about it.

Okay.

I mean, I feel like they're going to be interesting to hear what you have to say about 2018 and 2018.

We're not going to get into it, but 2018 is a widely kind of loved Halloween movie, you know, so that's it'll be interesting anyway.

But yes, all three of us, all three of us will be back for that.

We're really looking forward to it.

Next week we'll be recording Candy's Halloween pick, which we won't reveal just yet.

We'll reveal at the end of our next episode as well.

But you do hope to get a top five episode released in October as well.

So stay tuned for that and hopefully we can get a few other bits and pieces done over the course of the month.

Hopefully we can get weapons and long walk out to you guys as well and keep on this.

Hopefully this cool trend that we've got going of actually being able to review movies when they come out.

Yeah, we've done quite a few this year.

We've done really well, I think.

Yeah, we really have.

I mean, I can bring it up very, very quickly, but we've done the substance.

Bloodline sinners bring her back.

What else, Nosferatu?

We did, which was maybe not quite as quick out of the blocks, but we're still like a relatively new and ugly step sister as well.

So yeah, we've done a few and now of course conjuring last rites and we'll hopefully get, like I say, weapons and the long walk out as well to you guys, so.

I have a lot to say about both of those films.

Yeah, 100%.

So yeah, lots and lots to look forward to.

And as it's the 1st of October, the nominations for the 5th annual Damned Horror Awards are now officially open.

Can you believe it?

I know I, I'm like, I wonder who like what's going to happen?

Because like, we don't get to vote.

Like we kind of just give the awards we do have like our nominations for the horror Halloween thing that we can do.

But like, otherwise we'd really just, you know, you listeners are the ones to pick this.

And so sometimes we're just like, sitting on like, tenterhooks, like, oh God, what's going to happen in this bracket?

That's it.

Like we have, we have nothing.

We have no say in in this whatsoever.

The.

Award until I corrected it when I joined the show, I kept putting out Tom Savini.

But he's now in the Hall of Fame, you know, and we, we will have 4 brand new people.

So get your I hope you've got your thinking cap on for this year's Hall of Fame entry.

I'm flipping.

I have like a list of 10 names so I really got to start narrowing it.

Yeah.

Well, I can tell you right now that the first vote, the first the votes have already started coming in.

We already have nominations coming in.

Every single category has some nominations.

There's, there's going to be, I think it's going to be a super tight year this year in terms of.

Quite a bit to choose from and a lot of legacy films have made their comeback.

I'm curious how they're going to do.

I don't think the legacy films are going to do as well as the new titles.

What I I will say is though, like up until maybe a month or two months ago, I would have said that Sinners was probably the front runner for a lot.

However.

I would have said that too.

I did say that actually.

I think, I think weapons is gonna is is potentially.

Feeling the exact same way.

I think because I see that shift.

I think because of sinners coming out so early in the year.

You get that recency bias.

Away from spooky season and now we have this, you know, a lot more content this time of year.

Starting summer to fall is where we get a lot of it.

So I think there's a lot of contenders now and then.

People have not watched Centers for a minute, so there's been a lot since.

Having said that, the substance last year completely wiped the floor with it with just everything.

I don't think we've said it before.

I don't think we're going to get that this year in terms of whether it's Sinner's weapons, whether it's Long Walk, whether it's Bloodlines, whether it's, you know, I mean, I very much doubt it's going to be.

I know what you did last summer, but.

Yeah.

Or 28 years later, you know, but, but I think there's going to be a good spread this year.

Looking at the nominations that have already come in, there's already like 2 or 3 nominations out there that I just wouldn't have sort of picked.

I'm going to throw a curveball in there.

I think Alien Earth's going to get some love this year.

Just be.

Interesting and series, TV series have famously done well in the awards as well.

If you go all the way back to the very first horror awards, all but one award, it was actually won by a series and not a film.

Midnight Mass took away 22 awards that year and the very so and the very first season, a Squid Game took two awards that year as well.

Phenomenal.

And you know, Squid Games came, Squid Game came out this year.

You know who's to say?

As I mentioned, you know at the next month we are getting the first installment of the final Stranger Things.

Yeah.

And in Season 4, a stranger thinks it went a lot more heavy on the horror.

So I'm very excited for the final season.

I think, you know, that's gonna make some appearances maybe right there.

And there's still a lot of movies to come out this year as well.

Like this is not like the year's not over.

The running man.

The running man, I know that, I know we sometimes it feels like we maybe open this up pretty early, but it's more because we have to do it so that we can get voting done and things like that.

So there's still so much to come out this year and like if even if you just like if you go down the list.

Blackphone 2, Yeah.

Is people are really excited for that.

That's 17th of October and if that's it, and if that is as good as the first one, that's definitely in with a shout.

I was against it.

If you remember at the beginning of the year when we were talking about who were coming out this year, I was like, well, what can they do with that story?

I mean, come on.

It was so good.

They can't make a sequel.

Then I see the trailers as I'm going to see stuff like weapons on walk up, conjuring last strikes.

I keep seeing the trailer.

I'm like, OK, I think I might be in on this.

I'm going to.

I'm going to do it.

I'm going to watch.

It we have also have it actually comes out on the same day Frankenstein Frankenstein still comes out this year and that looked like you know, and the the the cast for that looks incredible.

Guillermo del Toro directing again if that's good and that hits the mark that definitely could be up there.

Five nights at Freddy's 2.

It sounds daft, but you know, you never know.

You just never know I'm.

Going to see it because Matthew Lillard.

Yeah.

I mean, I'm going to see it as well.

And I mean these are just a few examples of things that are still going to come out this year.

So there's definitely I think some some room for a last minute, you know, 1 to come in there and maybe just just sneak an award or two.

Let's just say that.

So I think there's definitely some, some straight, you've got this, The Strangers Chapter 2, which I don't think anyone is excited for.

And nobody.

Is but yeah, so.

The ends of the series that are like excited, like please let it die.

Yeah, 100%.

So yeah, there's lots and lots still to look forward to.

Check up our social media platforms because the threads for the nominations will take place throughout October and they will be reposted.

Repeat heatedly across all of our platforms throughout October, then once we.

Hit and I'll be sure to get those reposted on my social.

Yes and then once we hit November, that's when voting starts.

So October is about nominations and then November is very much bracket season and that's when voting begins and you know we start whittling things down.

So keep an eye on our social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram threads, Blue Sky, YouTube, TikTok, all at Pod of the Damned.

You can e-mail us at podofthedamned@gmail.com and you can subscribe to us on Patreon.

patreon.com/pod of the Damned Candy, where can you be found?

I'm Candy the final girl.

I'm at Candy the final girl on Instagram Threads, Blue Sky, and I'm on Facebook and you can just get that link from my Instagram because it pretty much posts almost everything from Instagram.

It's all tied together because I'm a simple bitch.

Wow, Candy, it's been absolutely fantastic being back recording and reviewing movies with you.

So thank you very, very much once again for joining me.

And thank you for having me.

It's been great.

Yes, thank you.

Building up in me like I got to talk.

As always, thank you very, very much to everyone who downloads and listens to our podcast and shares it and likes our things on social media.

We love each and every single one of you.

And until next time on the Pod of the Damned, just remember, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.