It wasn't closely.

What's the secret thing?

Just got to find something you love to do and then do it for the rest of your life.

I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me.

Hello and welcome.

To the Establishing Shot podcast where?

We do deep dives into directors and their filmographies.

I am your host Eli Price, and we are here on episode 117 of the podcast.

But it is a bit of a different kind of season in the podcast.

I do still have to wrap up the Spielberg series with the epilogue episode.

And I believe last episode I said that was going to be this episode, but I lied.

So sorry about that.

I am going to be getting around to recording that episode soon.

So hopefully that will be the next episode, and then you'll probably see that we will take a break maybe for the rest of the the year.

I haven't really decided if I'm going to release anything else yet.

I might do kind of a recap on the century so far, kind of go through my maybe top 21 movies of the 21st century so far, do something like that just for fun.

And so we'll see if I get around to that, Hopefully I will.

But if not, then life is just being life.

And yeah, you know, I'll get around to it if I can.

Life is pretty crazy right now.

And so the podcast is going getting a little slower for me right now.

So I hope you keep listening.

I hope you keep tuned into what we're up to.

In the meantime, if you would like to go leave a review that would help the visibility of the podcast a ton.

Maybe share your favorite episode on whatever social media you use.

That would help a lot to.

But yeah, those Apple and Spotify ratings and reviews help a ton.

So I would really appreciate if you can do that.

Yeah.

So this episode, it is Halloween.

So happy Halloween to everyone out there.

We are going to be releasing an A movie draft that we did in conjunction with, I think it was in the the episode for The Dark Knight Rises.

It didn't really have anything to do with The Dark Knight Rises.

It just happened to be spooky season during that episode.

And so we did this draft.

And so my guest for that draft was Zachary Lee.

You can find his work, He does a lot of writing for rodgerebert.com amongst other publications.

I believe he is part of the Chicago Critics, whatever their kind of critic group is called now.

So Zachary is awesome guy.

I always enjoy having him on.

But yeah, so this is going to be a horror sub genre draft.

So we take the the various sub genres of horror and draft movies.

We have to have one for each sub genre category.

And so I'll explain that as we get into the episode.

But yeah, I hope you enjoy this episode and enjoy mine and Zachary's choices.

But yeah, let's get into that.

We, we've got a really fun movie draft.

It's going to be different than any movie draft we've done before.

So I hope, I hope we can both figure this out and do it.

I've planned it in my mind.

But yes, we'll pick like a category or a topic that is in a movie and we'll just kind of go back and forth and draft movies that fall into that category.

But this time I wanted to do something related to horror.

We're in October.

I couldn't think of a good movie draft relating to Dark Knight Rises necessarily because we've already done the DC1, we've done the villains draft and The Dark Knight episode.

And so I was like, man, what are we going to do?

And I was like, well, it's coming to the end of October when this is releasing.

And so let's do a horror movie draft of some sort.

So we, we kind of decided that we would do a horror subgenre draft.

And so basically what we're going to do, I, I found an article by no Film school that I can link it in the, in the show notes if anyone's interested.

But it kind of breaks down the subgenres of horror.

Probably not like all of the subgenres, but like the the main ones.

And so it has like main categories and then like sub, main sub genres and then like sub genres within the sub genre and in that article.

And so, but we're going to go with the main sub genres.

So we're going to basically what we're going to do is still the same concept.

We want to draft, you know, the best team of movies so that we can win the votes when when it goes public.

But what we're going to do, instead of just going back and forth and drafting from a big pool of movies, we're going to have to draft one movie in each of these sub genres.

And so we don't have to draft the genres in a particular order, but we do have to fill one movie per per category.

And so I'm going to list these categories so that everyone can know what they are.

They are psychological horror, killer or slasher horror, gore or disturbing horror, monster horror, paranormal and then miscellaneous, which miscellaneous kind of covers stuff that doesn't necessarily fit into that other stuff.

So when you can think of like there's horror comedy or there's like found footage horror and a few other like kind of like sub genres that maybe don't necessarily fit into those others, those all fun fall under miscellaneous.

And then I figured too, we could get a wild card so that we could get an extra favorite in there.

So that's 12345677 choices that we've got to make their seven movies.

So yeah, I hope everyone is following what we're doing here.

I hope I explained it clearly.

Basically we're we've got to draft 1 horror movie from each of these subgenres.

And yeah, so Zachary's going to kick it off with the first pick.

Where are you going to go?

There's there's some extra strategy here because you want to get the best films, but you also want to like figure out which category you want to put it in.

I know, right?

Yeah.

And I will say it's, it's interesting 'cause I like, you know, per my Chicken Run story from earlier this episode, I think.

Yeah, I was not big into the horror genre until honestly, I'd say last year, maybe the little bit the year before.

So a lot of my horror watches are newer.

So I don't know.

I'm, I'm curious to see you though how that'll work in my favour for the listeners of the Establishing Shop podcast, if they're more traditional old school horror film loyalists or they're, they're, they're down with the the modern stuff too.

So yeah, we'll see how it lands.

It'll be a learning experience for me too because I have no idea.

Yeah, I know we're testing the fuelers out, you know, for doing some crowdsourcing info here that yeah, you know, I'll go, you know, I'll just go straight for the for the gnarly, the the the gore disturbing film, you know, just because you know why?

Why not actually wait, sorry to me.

Can you cut that and go back?

I realized maybe it's better I should say the film 1st and then I'll do the segment.

Is that better or it it?

Doesn't matter to me.

OK, cool.

You know what?

I'll just, I'll just do it.

I'll just repeat it.

It'll be fine.

Sorry, I was I think in my mind I was like oh should I say the film 1st and then do the?

No, I think either way is fine if you want to tease it with the with the with the category first or just go straight into the movie it demos.

Straight into it.

OK, cool.

It doesn't matter.

Either way, sorry to me for that.

No worries.

Well, this won't be too tough to edit out in the bigger part of it.

But yeah, I know for my first pick, I'll go in line with the newer films.

I'll go with Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor.

So this was released in 2010.

Yeah.

It's, I mean, disturbing body horror.

Takes after his dad in a lot of ways, but has his own, you know, twisted take on it.

I think.

Andrea Risen, bro.

Right.

And then Christopher Abbott are in it and phenomenal, great stuff.

And so I'll I'll slap that into the the gore disturbing film category perspect.

So yeah, yeah, I haven't seen that one.

I'm trying to think too like if I've seen any Cronenberg of him or his dad's.

I don't know that I have.

It's just one of those kind of like I don't have like an expansive like horror genre like knowledge either.

Like I've tried to catch up with more and more over the years, but but yeah, I don't think the Cronenberg's are.

I don't think I've seen any of them.

So yeah, that's definitely a blind spot for me.

Honestly, you will probably sleep better.

I'm not.

It's like once a year.

I can appreciate the film for the themes that Hazen's trying to say, but it's one of those like, well, I guess I'll have to wrestle with my soul for a little bit.

See this.

Yeah, it's.

Yeah.

But, you know, curious.

Yeah, I, I caught up with a a particular film this past week, knowing that this was coming and feeling like I should watch this and I feel like I would have slept better if I would have left it.

But we'll see if I drafted at some point.

I'm going to go with probably what I think is one of the just probably the one of the most iconic horror movies.

I'm going to go with Psycho in the psychological horror.

I mean, it's right there in the the name of the movie, the genre that's perfect.

I, you know, I just feel like Psycho and Hitchcock, for one, like it's, it's a master class in suspense building.

And like, yeah, that psychological horror of just what's going on with Phil Bates and his mom.

Like, yeah, it's, it's very disturbing.

So I just think it's, yeah, it's it's to me, it's a master class of suspense by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.

So yeah, of course go with Psycho.

And there's some really good ones I had written down for that category, So it was kind of hard to choose.

But yeah, that's what I'm gonna go with.

There we go.

That's great.

Yeah, I'll.

Oh, OK, let me see here seeing you.

You went out swinging with that one.

So now I'm like, oh, I gotta think about these other categories now.

I'll go with.

OK, so next film, older film.

So one of the, I think probably no, actually it might not be the oldest, maybe second, second oldest title that's on here for me.

Also near addition to my heart as I saw it.

I saw it for the first time this year, but I saw its sequel first.

And then I saw it, so I.

Don't know.

I don't know if that was the right way to do it, but it is the 1992 film Candy Man.

Yeah.

I yeah, I saw it for the first time at a a small arts theatre in DC when I was staying there.

And yeah, I mean, you know, and I love NIA Decosta's film from a couple years ago.

I thought it was great.

And, you know, I'm being from Chicago and having witnessed the gentrification and, yeah, changing of the Cabrini Green neighborhood.

A lot of the the film really stuck to me.

But I think, yeah, I don't know.

I just in in similar themes of what we were talking about Eli and the podcast about generational sin and trauma and violence and what it looks like to have it, you know, and like, you know, you know, privileged people and like the way they like want to Co opt or turn other people suffering into like a a thesis or a project, you know, and I don't know, like what they unleash with that.

I felt like very timely and relevant and still very scary and fits neatly in the slasher genre, which is where I'll place my pick there for the next film.

So yeah.

So yeah, Candy Man, the 1990, the first one that came out.

Yeah, that was on my list for Slasher.

I don't know if I would have drafted it, but necessarily because I have one or two more that I like a little bit more.

But yeah, that that is, I think that's probably one of my top slasher films.

Yeah, for sure.

It's it's great.

Yeah, I did see the the kind of, I guess it's kind of like AI guess it's a sequel.

It feels like half sequel.

Yeah, it feels like half reboot, half sequel, half sequel because it's yeah, but yeah, it's it was OK.

Yeah, I thought it was really well made.

I didn't like some of the choices, but yeah, the the original 92 version is very good and like, like, yeah, just really good, like disturbing filmmaking going on in it.

So yeah, OK, OK, this is playing out interesting because like, yeah, I feel like I can wait on ones that you've already drafted on categories because you've already drafted in them.

But then again, like you can draft, you might be able to draft a movie you know in a category because some of them fit into multiple, right?

That that was what was fun and interesting is like, oh, where do they like slot and fit?

Like I could put, you know, I don't know, like Candyman into like, was that partly psychological?

And no, you know, yeah, so or monster, even if you think about it in a way.

Yeah, that's true.

OK, Where am I going to go here?

You know, I think, I think I am going to go ahead and just draft my favorite.

I think what I would say is like my favorite horror movie ever in the miscellaneous category.

There we go.

Because it's a found footage film and that is The Blair Witch Project.

I love The Blair Witch Project.

It is like so creepy, so disturbing and like even just like the mythos surrounded of like people like thinking it was real when they saw it and like back in the day.

Like, yeah, I, I just think it's like a really like a really good like piece of horror filmmaking, but really just like a unique phenomena of like filmmaking in general, in general terms.

So yeah, The Blair Witch Project, which was 99, it was in that that very strong year of 1999.

So, but yeah, I'm I'll put it in miscellaneous, which covers the the found footage genre.

No, that's great.

I have not seen that.

But it's, you know, reputation precedes it so very much it's what's 1 of that?

I want to kind of get to yeah, OK, interesting.

All right, so miscellaneous category there.

I honestly, I thought you're going to say like paranormal activity initially or something like that.

I don't know.

I don't even know if that's like shot and found footage or or will, which wouldn't no, no diss to those films, but yeah, I I was like, Oh yeah, clear witch like the revolutionary found footage horror for like of course that would be oh, this is tough.

OK, now I'm like like double checking like is this even?

Does it even count?

I might come back to that later.

I'll go with.

OK, so in the in the vein of Blair Witch and, you know, found footage technique, maybe it applies.

So I've another film in preparation for the sequel that came out this year to the film, which is where I found.

I feel like all these legacy sequels are giving me an excuse to like watch the Ogs for the first.

Time.

You know, things like that, but I'm going to go with the 81 the Evil Dead film for next pick.

And you know, we're talking about found footage, that sorts of thing.

I don't know, like I feel like so much can be said about the fun camera angles that are there.

You know, like I think the way it's it embodies such an off kilter sort of, you know, ambiance and and personality to it.

I mean it even goes further with like the second one, the whole tree stuff.

I'm I will caveat, I'm not a big fan of that.

I don't really know what the whole point of that was in this movie.

But as far as paranormal, which is where this falls under goes, I've really I don't know.

It's like, it's one of those films where like, it's it, it could be miscellaneous because it's also very funny, but it's, I don't know, like classic, like cabin friends or like, you know, there's this like there's no going back.

You just have to fight them.

There's a dread element that's there I I enjoy.

Yeah.

So I'll go with Evil Dead for my paranormal film.

Paranormal.

OK, yeah, that's actually another blind spot that like it's one of those that like, I probably, I might end up watching it this October sometime.

Yeah.

Someone that I've always wanted to get around to.

And you, I know for sure there's one of my friends that like loves like Sam Raimi horror.

And so like you might have won a vote with that one for sure.

I've gotten I got one vote potentially.

OK, so I think, I know, I think at this point in the draft like my strategy is pretty set.

I'm going to, I'm going to go ahead and draft a movie that I caught up with I think last year, the year before, a classic horror movie in Frankenstein, the original Frankenstein, I want to say 19th in the monster category.

I was like honestly, honestly like it was I was watching some of these older like monster movies because I was like, I want to catch up with some of these classics.

It was kind of like a more homework kind of endeavor.

And I was actually like blown away by Frankenstein.

Like the set pieces and stuff like are definitely of its time, but somehow hold up and fit the atmosphere.

And then like the just the ideas that are being dealt with about humanity, what makes a human human is really interesting.

And like, even like there's moments of like like really deep emotional, like resonance in this movie that like totally caught me off guard.

And so it's, it's become one of my, my personal favorites.

And so, yeah, I'm doing, yeah, Frankenstein and Monster.

Which?

What year was that one again, at least?

1931.

31 OK, great.

I'm adding it to the watch list right now.

Another blind spot, but the poster's classic, you know.

And yeah, it, it honestly, like, it honestly blew me away.

I was not expecting to love it as much as I did.

And like, I finished it and I was like, man, that's, I think I have it rated like a 4 1/2 star, like, so, yeah, yeah.

Fantastic.

Great.

Yeah.

Well, this is me just desperately trying to form connections and bounce off of between our picks.

But I know is it's a black and white film.

Is that am I correctly for?

But in my mind, Frankenstein is always portrayed with some elements of green on.

On Frankenstein, of course, I'm in the classroom, say Frankenstein's monster is always portrayed with some elements of green on him.

And so that ties in nicely for my next pick, which is the 2015 film Green Room.

So that was who was that?

Jeremy Saulnier is the director for that.

It was a no, they're a 24 film, so you know, you kind of know what you're getting there.

But I man, I saw this for the first time last year, also on Hulu, which shout out Hulu.

They have some great films just on their both their original content and they're just the ones that they get.

But I it's it's about a kind of a punk band that travel are doing shows and then they end up doing this one show, which ends up being this bar where these neo Nazis hang out, which is led by was it Patrick Stewart as like the head neo Nazi, which is just like, I don't know, played against type for him.

I'm just used to seeing him being like, you know, the elegant professor X or yeah, hard.

And he's like dropping F bombs and like saying questionable things all the time.

So definitely different.

And it's about their like fight to survive, I guess.

And you know, I don't know, it was it's just like, you know, from the get go, it's just very like tightly paced.

I I'm like double checking there with you here.

But I think it's like, yeah, 95 minutes, you know, so it's like already great timing choice.

It's like frenetically paced brutal.

I think, you know, very much like gets in your head too, because, you know, so I'm sliding this under psychological because you're kind of like you're in these confined areas and spaces and you're just like, how how are these people going to escape?

What have they gotten themselves into?

I mean, sadly very pressy and commentary about, you know, all right, you know, extreme, you know, and are extremists of any sort of, you know, political party being in a space and how you you know, how do you fight that?

And you know, for some people, it's not to get too graphic.

It's you take a box cutter to the stomach and that's how you win.

But like, is that really the we should win for the rest of time?

I don't know.

So, yeah, all to say, Green Room 2015 film.

I was my pick for a psychologic.

Yeah, yeah, that's another one that's been like floating around on my my watch list for a while that I just haven't gotten to.

So yeah, you're really like schooling me on my watch list.

You same with me so.

Yeah, Yeah.

Well, I guess the feelings mutual then.

Yeah.

OK, so this is my 4th pick.

We're starting.

We're going to start for sure.

You started it with your pick, but we're going to have to start overlapping our categories now.

OK, I'm going to go with.

I'm going to go ahead and go with my A movie that I caught up with last year that I really, really enjoyed.

It was like both fun and really disturbing, which is maybe a spoiler of the category.

I'm going to go with the thing.

Oh, yes.

The thing is, it's a great movie.

So good.

Yeah.

John Carpenter just kind of like it's wild.

It's crazy that Kurt Russell is in this movie of all people, but yeah, it's, yeah.

I mean, I think it fits for me.

And the gore, disturbing.

There's a lot of like body horror in this movie with the way this kind of like alien creature or Organism, I guess, like distorts like living objects and really weird, disturbing ways.

So yeah, I think it fits nicely into that, that gore and disturbing category in my personal opinion.

Yeah, Really good movie.

It's like, it's one of those things where it's like it's very disturbing and has some interesting things to say about, you know, what we're willing to do when, like, pressed up against the wall with fear and how we, like, treat each other.

But also like, it's kind of fun, like in a way that only horror movies can be dealing with such deep, like, dark issues and also be fun at the same time.

So yeah, love.

That no, I I also had just caught up with it last I think one of the theaters, they were like, was it like an anniversary or something last year I think.

Maybe.

Let's see.

Yeah, 1982.

So that would have been the 50th or the the 40th, yeah.

The 40th, yeah.

So I thought it was, I don't know.

It was.

I thought that was, it was also good.

So that's a that's a fun one.

Great.

I'll OK, let me see here.

I think Speaking of like one that's like both well, as you were saying, it's like disturbing, but also, you know, I don't know, like it's it's entertaining, enjoyable.

I think this other one saw last year and occupy.

It's it's one of it's another.

It's a similar fusion but this time of genre of like the body horror but also teen coming of age romance.

So it's Lucas films, Guardinos Bones and all.

So I think it's Taylor Russell and Timothy Chalamet and it focus, I mean, it focuses on these two cannibals lovers and their journey of trying to like navigate and build a life where, you know, they're always fighting with these impulses that they have to feed, as they say.

But also, you know, it's like element of like this is how we're made.

So who are we to deny how we're made?

And then also being like, but you know, we're ruined people's lives And what does it mean to keep appetites and desire in check?

So it's like, it's a very, it's like big no mistake.

It's like a very like when I say cannibal movie, I'm just like, OK, I guess we're really just going to show you just notion on somebody's head or something.

You know, like it'll go there, but it's very much like a it's you know, it's a road trip movie.

It's a it's a romance movie, you know, between these characters coming of age, you know, in a way with this twist.

So it's a very like, I don't know, it's like it's one of those like it blends those all those genres really well.

So it's kind of hard to place, you know, when I was thinking about it, I was like, is it?

It's gore?

But it's not, you know, there's some psychological, you know, I don't know.

So that's my miscellaneous.

OK.

Bones and bones and all.

So yeah.

OK, cool.

Yeah, Yeah, I had heard good things about it.

Came out last year, right?

Yeah, 2022, So yeah, yeah.

I think I definitely heard good things about it and I haven't gotten around to to seeing it myself, but but yeah, it's definitely it was definitely like intriguing.

I heard about it.

I was like, oh, I'm like, try to check this out.

So I have let's see we you have two more and I have three more now.

So there's the wild card, which I need a slasher and I need a paranormal and OK, I think I know what I'm going to do.

I'm going to go ahead and go with paranormal and I'm going to go with Robert Eggers the witch for if you want to have it with the two V's the.

Vivage the bitch.

There you go.

That's right.

I this film is one that like kind of has grown in my estimation.

Like I've only seen it once like a couple years ago, but it's like a grown in my regard of it ever since I've seen it just like every time I think back of it, like the imagery of it, it's dislike.

So obviously Edgar's is like at this point known for like really being obsessive about like getting the period and the language and the, and like the design and everything, like exactly how it was and the the setting of his movie.

You know, it's when you watch the witch, you're very much in its world, which is an impressive thing that Edgars does.

I think the Witch is probably his best film of the, I think there's three so far because he has The Lighthouse and Northman also, and it's my favorite of those three.

And the way it deals with this, like the idea of cutting yourself off from community and the dangers you open yourself up to when you do that, even if it's maybe for like justifiable reasons or like, you know, at the end of the day, there's a bit of pride that comes with not being willing to like, give and take with a community.

It's set in like early America and I'm pretty sure.

And it's like this Puritan community or some sort of Christian community, either Puritans or something like that.

And he has a disagreement with like the elders of the community and he's basically like excommunicated from it, him and his family.

And then like, they're on the edge of these woods.

There's like strange stuff happening in the woods.

Their baby goes missing and it's just like dealing with that idea of what happens when you separate yourself from community and, like, what sorts of horrors might you open yourself up to by doing that?

Super interesting.

And like, really like, disturbing.

Well made movie.

Yeah.

So I definitely recommend that one.

The Witch.

I'm going to take it.

Did I say paranormal for it?

Yes, yeah.

Which would make it makes more sense when you watch the film why it's in the paranormal category.

But it's definitely so you'll have to go watch it to find out why.

I won't.

I won't give anything away.

Yeah, I know, I know.

Like the AMC's near me, they're doing like thrills, like they're bringing back some of the class, like those horror movies.

So I think I sadly missed that one, but I know it might be on Netflix or something, so I'll probably watch it.

But yeah, that's yeah, that's you saying it's like a good reminder, like, Oh yeah, I've been meaning to to catch that one.

OK, yeah, let me see here.

So final 2 for me.

I think I'll go with so.

OK, so you got The witch.

I'll go.

I'm so torn here.

I might have to just be a game time decision.

You know what, I'll go with the one I feel like I can speak more about at the moment.

But it was not quite the Witch.

But in other, you know, there was this film sleeper head of last year, Barbarian.

So Zach Prager directed that one.

Yeah.

Or were you going to say something?

You.

Know I was just going to say another like one that I have heard great things about but haven't gotten around to.

Yeah, no, it's OK.

I it will.

I will just say it is without because I want you to be able to enjoy it without, you know, me having to share too much.

But like, it's a there's a monster element to the film that I think what I enjoyed in particular about it.

One was that it it has a lot of twists and turns.

You don't quite know where it's going, but it explores this idea.

I think in general, I think it is actually, or rather it fits into this Canon that I've enjoyed lately of when I think about monster movies, I've one of the things that draws me to those types of films is this idea of like the monsters being instruments of divine justice for the oppressed or underrepresented.

And so, you know, I even think about like I love Godzilla.

And I think it was very recently I learned it's like a allegory or connection, you know, with the atomic bomb and, you know, being dropped on Japan and you know, like, I guess that was there, but it was like it's only been more recently of like viewed those films through that social lens or sociological lens.

So I'll just say, without giving too much, I think I like how Barbarian in its unique way fits into this this Canon.

So that that's my monster movie, let's say.

So yeah, that was released.

Last year.

OK, cool.

Yeah, yeah, I guess we'll both maybe it looks like we're going to just both save our wild card for last for a while.

Yeah, I'm going to go with the only category other than wild card that I have left is the killer slasher.

This is one that I've struggled with, like enjoying in the past.

Maybe similar with like the typical movie you think about with like the gore or by your.

But yeah, I've caught up with a few of these recently.

Maybe I can mention others in honorable mentions, but I watched one recently that like shook me like to the core, I think.

And it's like, man, it's one of those where you watch and you almost wish you didn't wash it like our hat like.

But at the same time, you're like, man, that was like phenomenal filmmaking.

I'm going to go with the 74 classic of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Oh.

Great, I've not seen but I I understand the reaction to.

That I was like, one of the things that like you don't really think about is like how sound can be horrifying and like the sounds in this movie are like, it like just makes my skin crawl just like thinking about it.

And yeah, it's one of those that's like, I don't know, like, there's probably more.

The themes that it's dealing with are less like these deep emotional themes and more like maybe primal themes of like, survival in the will to live and that sort of thing.

But man, is it like a master class of setting, like beauty in the background of like absolute disgusting horror horror.

Like.

It's because there's scenes that you watch where there's where if you like, take out what's going on in the foreground, the background is like phenomenally beautifully shot.

But then like you add back in what's going on in the foreground and you're like, yeah, anyways, yeah, that's when I'm going for for Slasher.

No, it's it's interesting because I think the other film that I've seen destroyed, which I've not seen, maybe it's some more pivot later, was that movie Midsommar, which I haven't seen, I haven't seen.

But it's that same idea of beautiful backdrop with just like, absolutely horrific stuff going on.

So yeah, that'll be, it's like one of those things like, daylight doesn't save you here.

You know, you can watch this in broad daylight and you're just, you're still going to be disturbed.

Yeah.

I out so I guess for final selection, my wild card.

I know this movie has its fans as well as its detractors, but I think the more I think about it, the more I love it It's that it's the 2021 James Wan film malignant.

So this one was I think just, I think it got a limited release, but then really got a life on HBO Max.

But it's just such a fun.

Like the way I, you know, you don't expect some of the twists there.

I think like James did this right after, yeah, this was after he directed Aquaman, which is like a billion dollar movie.

So yeah, I firmly believe I'm like, I mean, I liked Aquaman, but I'm like, I'm even happier that Aquaman doing so well led to James being able to have the relational capital to be like, I just want to make this for me.

Yeah.

You're going to pay for it, Warner rose.

Because guess what?

I just made you a billion dollars, you know, or more so everything.

Yeah, like the any.

I don't know.

It's it's a it's a very I think just it's one of those movies that is funny in this in the ways that it commits fully to the kind of bonker premise, the bonkers premise and all the characters.

I think like Annabelle Wallace is the main actress in it, but she I think just some of the deline deliveries, like I think it's easy in certain movies to be like you're trying to go, you know, have each line be deeper or it's a double entendre of a greater theme.

But they're just like saying the line straight.

It's just a very like kind of has that B movie feel to it, but with great effects and actions.

So yeah, Malignant, there's my wild card pick.

Yeah, yeah, that's another one.

Like there's I feel like I have like a running list of more recent like horror movies that I just like haven't had the chance to catch up with.

It's one of those things like my wife is like not only like is she not interested in, she's like almost like pretty much like anti horror movie, like don't like don't watch that in my house.

So it's kind of like it's kind of like I'm like, OK, I have to like not talk about these movies with her at all.

Like not even mentioned just because like she's like, and it's not like I don't think it's a flaw.

I think it's, it's just like personality.

She's just like, I'm not interested in knowing any of that stuff.

And I'm like, I kind of like respect about her in a way, but also like, I really enjoy like digging into these movies and like out why they're so disturbing.

And but yeah, that's that's another one that I haven't had the chance to catch up with.

Maybe it's because the past few Octobers I've done a lot of like catching up with older stuff and like I kind of overlooked the the newer stuff.

But yeah, I am going to go with something relatively newer for my wild card.

It's I guess you could say it's a a personal favorite.

It might still be my favorite Jordan Peele movie and it's probably not the one most people would think I'm talking about.

I'm going to go with us.

Ah, there we go.

We have we have an US lover, which is great.

Yeah, I love us.

I am under no like pretense that us doesn't have like if you really like think hard about it a ton of like strange, like world building holes in it of like how does this work and how does this work?

But I don't honestly don't care and I don't think Jordan Pill does either because like really like the suspense of this movie and the design and the characters, like everything about it.

I just love and I love that like he's like making these like broad stroke, broad stroke, like interesting philosophical questions with what he's doing with it that like, I don't know, I just like everything about the movie and I think it's still maybe my Nope is up there.

I really appreciated Nope, Get Out I think is good but a little bit more straightforward, which is I think can be a strong point too.

But I personally enjoy the more like ambiguous stuff as far as like what is this movie about?

Let me dig into it.

And Us is definitely that so.

And then like Lupita and Yongo's performance as both characters.

Her and her like underworld self, it's just like next level phenomenal like.

I'm yeah, like if I'm ever making a case to the Academy for Y or should we take more seriously?

It's like her performance there and then Mia Goth's performances and you know, like X or Pearl that I guess like you have these two, you know, women just bring their age.

Like what do you, you know, why are they not being recognized in this way?

So it's funny.

Because the reality is that like, horror movies is one of the things that keeps like theaters alive.

It doesn't matter if a horror movie is good or bad.

Like people go see horror movies in the theater.

So it's funny that like The Academy Is like just totally ignores the whole genre basically.

It will it's interesting because I was seeing that, you know, the new Exorcist movie that's coming out.

I guess as we're recording this now, it would be coming out this week.

So October 7th like it's gotten some it's getting hit hard critically like it's or October 6th.

It's not going to do it doesn't like it got like a, you know, critically it's not doing well, but it's still slated to like open to like a 51 million plus I think like, Oh yeah, debut.

So it's like, yeah, as you said, these horror movies are critic proof, you know, like people just want to go for a for a good time.

So doesn't matter if it's bad or good.

And, and there is a sense in which, like, I don't know, I was listening to something recently, I can't remember what it was a podcast, but I don't remember which one, where they were kind of saying like, it's it's a kind of this weird thing about horror movies where like, it's both true that it's the best thing ever to go watch a horror movie in a crowded theater, but also, like the best thing ever to, like, curl up on your couch alone in the dark and watch a horror movie.

Like, both of those things are like, both true.

And I was like, yeah, that is true.

Like, yeah.

Yeah, that's that was that was a really.

Fun draft.

I need to do more along these lines where you have.

Like that was great.

Different categories I think.

I was going to name a couple of honorable mentions I wanted to shout out one that I think some people would say is not horror, but I put it in the horror category because I think it follows a lot of horror tropes with Alien.

I would say Alien is a sci-fi horror.

I think some people disagree.

But yeah, Alien, I mentioned Get Out I think is a great movie.

Hereditary I think is very good.

You know, Toni Collette's performance is like another example of what you were talking about.

Like this deserves an Oscar.

I personally do like the original Paranormal Activity.

I think it's fun.

It's like it's funny.

It's surprisingly funny, especially in the first portion.

And then like, it just does some really like well crafted jump scare and like that sort of thing.

And and it's probably like a nostalgia thing.

I I went and saw it like opening night in a crowded theater with a friend.

Yeah.

And like, I have memories of that.

Another another one that I feel like was really overlooked.

20 the 2020 The Invisible Man with yeah, Elisabeth Moss.

It was phenom.

Also in US, right?

Yeah, Yeah, she's great.

Yeah, that one's directed by Lee Whannell, who hasn't done a whole lot, but yeah, that one was phenomenal.

And one from this year that I that I've mentioned in a past episode is a skinnamarink I really enjoyed.

It's kind of one of those that it's hard for me to like recommend because I think like it's going to be like, either you absolutely hate this or really love it like I did.

Yeah.

And yeah, I don't know if you've seen it and where you stand, but.

I have not seen it.

And it's like for that reason where I'm like some people, they're like, they just found this the most madding thing ever.

Yeah.

And I'm just this is one of those like insert cinema is so back memes, right?

But I'm just like, it's one of those like, oh, can I, can I sit through something like that?

Maybe I've heard good things from people I trust like you, you know, and others.

So I'm like maybe it is worth it but.

It it's I think it's one it might be the biggest like differential between the actual like letterbox score and what I rated it from.

Like all my movies.

It has a 2.9 on letterbox which generally movies that fall below 3 tend to stick stay away from.

But I I rated it 4 out of five.

I really enjoyed it.

The night of the living dead.

Great.

Classic a blind spot for me, but I've heard things about that.

1, the there's two Nosferatu's that I think are both phenomenal, the original 19 version and Mourner Herzog's version from 1979 is really, really good too.

Yeah, those are, I guess those are some I could go on because they're, you know, I have a big list of horror movies that I have ranked on Letterbox.

But yeah.

What kind of stuff did you have any maybe a couple that you wanted to shout out?

Yeah, no, it I will say it's because I know Robert Eggers is doing a Nosferatu remake.

So maybe once once I see a trailer product or press photos that'll be like OK I gotta want do my Nosferatu catch up before.

I the original is like is surprisingly like very eerie and like effective.

OK.

Like when you look at like stills of it, you're like, oh, this is really cheesy.

But when you actually watch it, you're like wow, how did he make this like cheesy looking dude be so like effectively like creepy and eerie?

Yeah, no, that's great.

I've I'll keep an eye for that.

Yeah.

I, you know, honestly, I feel like in the monster category, I were the most honorable mentions there because I really enjoyed the there's this 2019 film by Alexandre Aha called Crawl.

It's a like a it's a yeah, about a, a swimmer and her dad and they're trapped in their house in Florida that's about to, you know, get hit by a hurricane and they have to fight off crocodiles.

And it's just like, I don't know, I just really, was it crocodiles or is it?

Alligators, I think it was.

It is alligators.

Yeah.

Alligators.

Yeah, but I thought that was so fun.

Actually, that has the whole place in my heart 'cause that's the first movie I locked that letterbox.

So it's like, OK, back in 2019 it was like, you know, crawl.

It was the first thing I did.

So maybe there's some nostalgia bias there, but I love I mean, and this one probably doesn't count as horror even though like maybe generally the franchises they're similar with Alien, but I thought the Prey movie for the the Predator, like yeah, film set and like I thought that was so fun.

Very well done.

Not once again, I thought that was great.

And then, yeah, I think there's just two more.

I think for psychological Rebecca Hall's film The Resurrection, that was also with Tim Roth, but thought that was very yeah, I don't know.

It was, you know, a lot of movies these days, you know, horror movies, the schtick is like it's about trauma, you know, like that.

It's like a meme in a way.

But the way I will just say the way she she doesn't does a great performance there, the way she embodies and explores out the theme.

She didn't direct her or anything, but I think she's the producer, executive producer on it.

But I really enjoyed her performance there exploring that theme.

And then what is one more Annihilation?

The Alex?

Garland is fantastic.

So good.

That was actually one of the on that article that you'll link in the show notes.

That was one of their recommendations for Miscellaneous.

And I was like, Oh yeah, that one, you know, demon bear that mimics human voice.

Like that's, that's yeah.

Nightmare fuel right there.

It is.

I'll, I'll.

That'll fit in very nicely, so.

It's funny for that one, Like, I saw that and I was like Annihilations and I was like, yeah, I guess it is horror, but that I didn't really put it on my list because I was like, I don't usually think about that as a horror movie.

Yeah.

Because like especially like the way it ends, it like reads way more as a sci-fi movie to me than a horror movie.

But but I can definitely see how like you could definitely say like, Oh well, it's still a horror movie.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think, I think that I did.

I had two more that I forgot to mention.

You mentioned trauma and I was like, Oh yeah.

I didn't mention my other choice for for slasher that I was trying to decide between.

I really like a nightmare on Elm Street.

I think I think it's really well done.

It's a it's the whole like dream world thing.

Maybe is like inconsistent how it works.

But I mean, it's a dream world.

Who says it has to be consistent?

But I feel like it's a actually like a clever work around to like how these like, killers usually like get around way too quickly in these movies.

And it's like, well, he's a dream.

So like, of course he can pop up anywhere.

There we go.

But but yeah, I think Nightmare on Elm Street is good.

And I would actually like I would.

My experience of David Lynch's Eraserhead was very much a horror experience.

My skin was crawling that whole movie.

Wow.

Yeah, it's a very disturbing movie in my opinion.

Yeah, but yeah, I'll, I'll read through the final list.

Zachary took Possessor and Gore, The Ninety 1992 Candy Man and Slasher, The Evil Dead and Paranormal, Green Room and psychological, Bones and All and Miscellaneous, Barbarian and Monster and Malignant.

For his wild card.

I went with Psycho and Psychological, The Blair Witch Project in Miscellaneous, Frankenstein and Monster, The Thing in Gore, The Witch in Paranormal, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Slasher and US for my wild card.

And I think we built a pretty great list of horror movies here.

Together.

I know I'm so excited to see the the people chime in there.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, that'll be fun.

But yeah, that's that's our movie draft.

I hope you enjoyed that movie draft.

I know I enjoyed it a lot back when I did it and so.

Yeah, a lot of great.

Movies a lot of great recommendations that maybe if you haven't gotten around to enough spooky movies, today's the last day.

Obviously you can watch them whenever you want, but if you want to watch them during the spooky season, today is the last day.

So maybe choose one of those and have a good spooky.

Evening watching one, but yeah, that that.

That probably pretty much concludes the episode.

Like I said, be on the lookout for what's coming next.

It might be a Spielberg epilogue episode.

It might be something else.

I'm not really sure.

I'm trying to plan that out and at this point I don't know.

But you will know when it comes out because you'll see it.

So enjoy that and I'll hopefully be announcing the next director.

I'm going to do.

It will probably be next year before we get to that, but but I'm excited about it.

And so yeah, it's been a great journey going through these first 3 directors.

Looking forward to wrapping up Spielberg with the epilogue and his movie next year.

At some point, we're going to be needing to do an episode on the Phoenician scheme, a Wes Anderson's movie that came out this year.

So that'll be on the docket for some point.

So we've got a lot of things kind of in the works.

But like I said this, the podcast might be slowing down a little bit, how you might see episodes a little less frequent, frequently for a while, but just keep tuned in, keep subscribed, and we will be seeing you soon.

That's it for this episode.

I've been Eli Price and you've been listening to The Establishing Shop.

We will see you next time.

Be here for a little while.

But look, I figure it this way, better to be king for a night than smoke for a lifetime.