LAND OF THE DEAD

Mike and Brian are joined again by guest Sarah J Miles to talk George Romero's return to the subgenre he created after a two decade absence with 2005's Land of the Dead. Working with a larger budget and a recognizable cast, Romero increased the scale and scope of his vision with another timely parable of a corrupt world where the walking dead aren't the worst thing humanity had to overcome.
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I proclaim this the summer of
George.
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Hey there everybody, welcome to
the pod and the pendulum.
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We are the show that covers all
the horror movie franchises one
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movie and one episode at a time.
As always, I'm your host Mike's
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Noonian and the Summer of George
continues with this week's
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offering 2000 fives a Land of
the Dead.
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As always, I'm not alone sitting
in the Co host chair from Bloody
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Disgusting Manor, Vellum and the
forthcoming podcast Holy
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Terrors, Mr. Brian Kiper.
Brian, how are we?
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I'm doing just fine.
I'm feeling a little bit like
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The Walking Dead today, I'll
have to admit.
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But hey, a little extra tired
means a little extra nerve
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divergent, so it should be fine.
I.
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Am definitely feeling definitely
feeling that rundown feeling
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right now and we're barely
working like we're on summer
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break and oh I know I don't know
what it is.
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It's just like.
In my situation, our dog isn't
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doing, he's feeling, he's not
feeling so good.
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So he's been up a lot and so, so
of the rest of us.
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And so that's, that's where,
that's where I'm at.
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But I'm good boy.
Guy.
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Like I said, maybe a little
extra spicy today.
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Let's say, well, we look forward
to that.
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I hope we look forward to that.
Joining us again, formerly of
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Ghouls Magazine, all the way
from the UK.
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Let's welcome film Blogger in
all around zombie fiend, Miss
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Sarah Miles.
Sarah, how are we doing?
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I'm doing pretty good and
there's some pretty good vibes
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here because the England ladies
just won the Euro football, so
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that's pretty cool.
Nice.
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So is it chaos there?
Like do people go bananas for
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like the women's sports as well?
Like if if England wins the cup.
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Not as much, although you know,
most of it's kind of pretty much
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acknowledged that usually the
ladies football team play a lot
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better than the men's.
I was there last summer when the
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men's team went to the was it
the Euro Cup?
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Yeah, yeah.
Euro, they made it all the way
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to the finals.
And I have to say that like one
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of the coolest sports watching
experiences I ever had was like
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being in a pub in Cornwall with
like a ton of people, like
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literally shoulder to shoulder
with people and just having
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everybody.
It reminded me honestly, the
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closest thing to that was like
2004 when the Boston Red Sox
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like went won the World Series
for the first time in 86 years.
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Like there's nothing else like
that.
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So it was really cool.
Oh yeah, like when we do go hard
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for sports in this country, we
we go hard.
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Now, would you fancy yourself a
soccer hooligan?
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Like, are you someone that's
going to roll up the sleeves and
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maybe ship somebody after a hard
game?
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Yeah, give them the good old
Chelsea Grin.
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No, no, I mean, my, my, my
parents and one of my brothers,
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they like it a lot more than me.
I just, I'm sorry.
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It's more a case of like, I'll
stick my head in the room, be
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like, oh, OK, we're winning.
OK, that's more than my wife
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will do.
Who?
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Famously picked up our kitten at
the time and told the room full
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of my friends we were scaring
the cat when we were all
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cheering so loud during a game.
So she is one of those like, oh
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boy, sports ball people.
So you know, but my dad.
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Also does like a bit of your
guys's football as well like he
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he does.
He does like a bit of NFL.
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We keep trying to make it the
thing over there and I don't
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think it quite lands.
I don't think we're there.
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We just one of those.
We have our, our soccer program
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here in Seattle is pretty
popular.
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It's the, the, the Sounders.
But yeah, we don't go crazy
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around here.
I mean, when the Seahawks won
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the Super Bowl, yeah, we we only
burn the city down.
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You know when you know, like UHO
is here or whatever or no, not
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WH the World Trade WTO, the
World Trade Organization, We we
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burned, we burned the city down
then, but.
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I was thinking Roger Daltrey.
When Roger Daltrey, Yeah, shows
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up, we riot.
We.
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Yeah.
But I remember when the Seahawks
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won the Super Bowl and the bus
came back, they just sort of
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were lining the sidewalks very
nicely, welcoming it and back
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and it was cool.
But it's like, we're so nice
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around here.
Yeah.
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We're a little bit of both.
I think we're it's points I can
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get a bit frightening, but
overall I think that it hasn't
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been too too bad.
Like when the Duck folks aren't
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rolling and remember the parade
for the O4 Red Sox on my friend
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Nate yelling at Johnny Damon
that he wanted to have his baby.
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So that's about as raucous as we
got.
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You know what?
Let's talk a little bit about
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this movie.
I could go on and on forever
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that.
Might be a tangent film that I.
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Know yeah, so this might be one
of those tangent, although this
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is a fun movie.
Like I have a fun.
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Story Let's do a little bit of
housekeeping and then get right
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into it.
If you see your first time
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listening, we hope you enjoyed
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super long way to new listeners
finding us.
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Welcome new listeners who have
found us through our Summer of
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George series.
You can go to our website pod on
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the Pendulum where we have all
of our back episodes listed.
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You can leave review there's,
you can leave us emails there,
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make comments.
It's really easy to search
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through and find.
I think Steven said we're now up
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to like 3738 franchises that
we've covered since 2019.
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Become a patron if you really
like what you're hearing by
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going to patreon.com/pot on the
Pendulum.
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And for as little as 2 bucks a
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content including which will be
up right after we were hit
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record on this episode, Brian's
take on Shadow of the Vampire,
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which concludes his series on
Nosferatu.
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And Steven and I just did about
two hours on 2025 Superman,
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which will be up as right before
this show comes up to round up
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July.
So tons of really cool stuff up
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at patreon.com/pot on the
Pendulum.
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And that is it for housekeeping.
Let's get right into it.
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Sarah, as our guest, can you
remind us or tell us about the
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first time you caught Romero's
Land of the Dead?
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And were you at that point like
as much of A zombie fan as you
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are now?
Relatively relatively as you
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know, I mean, I wouldn't say I
was maybe as widely watched, but
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I I definitely did like the
genre.
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Unfortunately, there's nothing
to kind of like too spectacular
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about the first time I watched
it.
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I think it was just kind of like
a case of just kind of like a
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bored afternoon was like, oh,
hey, I should finally watch
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this.
And that was it.
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I can imagine that the
atmosphere at the time when it
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came out was in some ways kind
of akin to when Star Wars
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Episode 1 came out.
Sure.
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Like, like, you know, that long
gap in between, Yeah, the old
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and the new sort of things.
I I can imagine.
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That was a that was a good
atmosphere.
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Yeah, I would probably say on a
smaller scale, but maybe with
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like the intensity of that for
the diehards as we'll get into
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where did this, I guess maybe
we'll talk about it more when
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like we get into the movie
itself.
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But did like the zombie films
that had come out like just
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before this kind of create more
of a resurgence or like re
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interest in in this like genre
film for you?
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I mean, it's like it wasn't
around that time that I saw it
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was only kind of like, I would
say maybe, I don't know, 7-8
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years ago maybe, OK.
It.
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Really was just like AI need to
catch up with this.
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I mean, it's like at the time I
knew of it obviously.
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And of course you did have
around the same time like Shaun
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of the Dead and the Dawn of the
Dead remake.
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So I mean, it's kind of a case
of it's like, would we still
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have this if it wasn't for those
films and, and particularly the
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popularity of like, because I
think Dawn of the Dead did quite
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well at the box office.
So yeah, it's interesting to
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kind of like case of it's just
like how the essentially the
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father of the genre wasn't able
to get another one of his films
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made until kind of like these
other people drew from him and
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got popular.
Yeah, we'll definitely dive into
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that and what was going on and
what kind of got this film maybe
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over the finish line out of like
development hell after a couple
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years.
Brian, how about yourself?
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Well.
I was thinking about what was
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going on around 2005 for me, and
I just wasn't watching a lot of
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horror at the time.
I wasn't seeing any of it in the
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theater.
I there the one exception
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because every movie I saw, I saw
with my wife at that time.
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We were pretty recently married.
You know, it was like around
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three years of marriage for us
at that time.
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And I was very busy with my
first career, which took a lot
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of, took, you know, frankly, too
much time of life to get to get
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rolling.
Is that your Chippendale dancer?
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Yeah, Sage.
Yeah, exactly.
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Just like that.
Me and me and Patrick Swayze and
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Chris Farley, you know, we're
all together in that.
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But yeah, actually that was my,
that was my the reason.
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Well, one of the reasons maybe I
wasn't watching a lot of horror
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was I was a church worship
director, so I was very Jesusy.
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And I don't know if you would
have.
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I don't know if I need to go too
far into all that.
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I am fascinated.
No, please.
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Do well, you know, it was, it
was my, I'd gone to college to
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00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,520
be a music teacher, but I knew I
wasn't going to be a music
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00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,520
teacher.
My plan was always to be a, a
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music director for churches.
And then I got into it and you
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are very overworked, very
underpaid, and there's not a lot
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00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,480
of room or ways to advance very
easily and things like that.
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So it was, it was very draining
and.
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Yeah.
But after 10 years, I finally
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figured that out and jumped back
into my What I went to college
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for and teaching has just been a
better fit.
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That's all.
I and.
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00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,200
There's more, as we know,
teachers.
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Yeah, teachers are teachers.
Are never overworked and
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00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,360
underpaid.
No, teaching is never training.
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No, but honestly comparatively
it's been much better situation.
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That's good to hear.
And so when the Holy Terrors
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00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,640
podcast starts playing, you'll
you'll hear the more of the
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00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:56,680
story, I'm sure if you listen.
But so the but anyway, even if
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00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,640
that wasn't the case, I wasn't
seeing a lot of movies by
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00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,480
myself.
I was going with my wife, you
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00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:06,400
know, and the only horror movie
I can remember, or scary movie,
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00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:11,200
I should say, I remember us
seeing together was Open Water.
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And there was a trailer for
Shaun of the Dead at the
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beginning of that.
And I remember thinking that
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looks amazing.
And I was right.
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But Land of the Dead, I, as I've
mentioned in the previous
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episodes, I liked all of the
previous movies to some extent,
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though Day at first was, I don't
know, a little extra disturbing
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00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:43,360
to me, I guess.
But I was looking forward to
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00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,320
this and I, but I didn't think
I'd see it theatrically, which I
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00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,800
didn't, but I ended up renting
it.
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00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,120
You know, there was still when
Blockbuster and Hollywood Video
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00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:57,080
were around.
So I, I rented it some night and
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00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,120
I watched it and it was like,
all right, you know, not bad,
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00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,800
some kind of interesting stuff.
And I didn't really think about
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00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:08,800
it since then until watching it
what, 2 days ago to talk about
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00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,000
it with you fine folks.
So and I like it.
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00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,920
I think it's a fun movie.
Not a ton of subtext in this.
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00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,120
I mean, the subtext is text of
this one, right?
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00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,760
And which is, but you know what,
there were things like I had
219
00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:25,800
listened.
I was, I used to listen to audio
220
00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:27,920
commentaries all the time.
Like I'd listen to the Dawn of
221
00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,320
the dead commentary.
And he's talking about with
222
00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,040
Sonic Tom Savini, how he's
writing a fourth one called Dead
223
00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:39,320
Reckoning, and it's about 911
and the the gulf between rich
224
00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,480
and poor and all this.
I'm like, OK.
225
00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:47,240
And so eventually they got it
made and it was obviously under
226
00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,840
this different title, but you
know, that's just, I haven't
227
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,480
really thought much of it since
seeing it initially.
228
00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,400
So.
But you know, I like it well
229
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,200
enough.
Yeah, it's a fun film.
230
00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,760
I know for myself like this was
actually a pretty like the the
231
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:09,000
actual experiencing this movie
was more enjoyable maybe than
232
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,440
the movie itself, which I do
think is a fun pretty enjoyable
233
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,440
zombie flick.
Like at the time I lived with
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00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:21,800
like 8 or 9 other guys at a
house in Alston right near
235
00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,360
downtown Boston.
And like our house was like the
236
00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:30,680
kind of like early 30s like punk
rock house where we were all in
237
00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:35,040
bands or did other art projects
but also like had jobs and could
238
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,000
pay bills.
Like our days of let's like now
239
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,160
live in a dump.
We're like well behind us and
240
00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,880
our house is just the one that
people tended to gravitate
241
00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,480
towards.
Like we'd throw barbecues and
242
00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,040
bands would play in the
backyard.
243
00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:54,080
We had a toga party on the 4th
of July where my wife, then
244
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,440
girlfriend like met all of my
friends for the first time, like
245
00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,640
wearing a bed sheet.
And I remember like coming down
246
00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,200
at like 2:00 in the morning piss
drunk from that night.
247
00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:08,720
And there's like 25 people I've
never met before all playing
248
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,520
some instrument or another in
the living room and being like
249
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:14,560
all right, I'm just going back
to bed.
250
00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,960
Like they can sort this out.
You didn't grab the guitar and
251
00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,880
just smash it against the wall.
No, we did not.
252
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:22,400
No, because we they were our
friends.
253
00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,800
Like to me, this was like the
coolest thing in the world.
254
00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,400
Just just toga parties and no
pollution that's I had.
255
00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,560
I had to make an Animal House
reference.
256
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,280
Not give my love a cherry that
night, although she she like
257
00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,560
basically carried me home from
the bridge where the fire we
258
00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,640
could see the fireworks 'cause I
was in no position to move.
259
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:48,160
And we found a banana pie on the
front stoop and just ate banana
260
00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:51,960
pie and said and it was just one
of the best.
261
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,000
Experiences come from.
It was just on like people
262
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,600
brought it to the BBQ.
OK.
263
00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:58,760
OK.
So that makes sense.
264
00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:00,960
Now, yeah, it was like a banana
cream pie.
265
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,160
And we just went to town on a
banana cream pie on the 4th of
266
00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,240
July.
So and like our house, like
267
00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:10,680
every, we had a message board we
all belong to back when those
268
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,440
were a thing.
And I just started a horror
269
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,760
movie night on Sundays where I'm
like, hey, if anyone's around,
270
00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,720
I'm going to like, throw some
burgers on the grill and then
271
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,880
put on a couple horror movies
around like 7:00 if anyone wants
272
00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:25,920
to come over.
Just don't be an asshole.
273
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:30,000
Invariably, we would have, like,
at its peak, maybe a dozen
274
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,960
people just show up, bring a
couple beers or something to
275
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,640
eat, and we throw on a couple
horror movies.
276
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,760
And it was just like a couple of
those people I'm still like very
277
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,160
good friends with.
That sounds perfect.
278
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:42,000
Really.
That is like.
279
00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:46,240
I'd miss those days so much
that, yeah, just having folks
280
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,080
over for stuff like that.
We.
281
00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,800
So when Land of the Dead came
out, we decided let's do
282
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,840
something special.
And we decided we were going to
283
00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,440
have like a zombie shuffle to
the theater because we lived
284
00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,160
like right near the train line
that would drop us off a few
285
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:05,520
blocks from the Regal Theater at
Fenway Park.
286
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,680
So we took whatever clothes
you're going to wear and we
287
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,640
rolled them around in all the
dirt so it would look like we
288
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,599
had come up from the grave.
And a bunch of us, like, did a
289
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:20,079
bunch of zombie makeup and
prosthetics and, you know, just
290
00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:24,440
looked all gross and disgusting.
And we rode the train the, the
291
00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,920
like 5 or 6 stops from our
house, about a dozen of us, 2
292
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,200
Lansdowne St. in in Kendall
Square, which is where the Red
293
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,440
Sox play, but also is where,
like at the time all of the
294
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,520
nightclubs were.
So on a Friday night, if you
295
00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:44,040
would go to Kendall Square and
you would go to Lansdowne St. in
296
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:48,360
particular, there would be like
all the college kids, like
297
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:52,440
dressed up to the nines just
going to have a good time.
298
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,200
And we get off the train and we
just start shambling towards all
299
00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,480
of these like super drunk
college kids that were dressed
300
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,200
for essentially like college
prom.
301
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:07,880
And but definitely I'm like,
huh, like I thought, you know, I
302
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:09,840
thought like Romero was a bigger
deal.
303
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:14,560
Like it didn't measure up to me,
like Shawn of the Dead or 28
304
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,000
Days Later or even Zack Snyder's
remake of Dawn of the Dead.
305
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,240
I thought, you know, it was a
good, fun movie.
306
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,800
Sarah, you just made a face.
I don't.
307
00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,480
Know what you're talking about?
No, that's all right.
308
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,040
But the movie itself, like it
was decent, and it's something
309
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,000
that's grown on me over time.
It does have all the subtlety of
310
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:41,720
a sledgehammer to the groin, but
that's OK sometimes.
311
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,880
So yeah, that was my experience
seeing this.
312
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:47,200
All right.
Should we get into the
313
00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,520
background a little bit?
Let's do.
314
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,280
It all right, so I've just
talked a lot, so maybe I'll kick
315
00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:58,120
it over to you.
Brian and Sarah, can you guys
316
00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:00,760
talk a little bit?
Like to me it feels like post
317
00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:05,360
Day of the Dead and that one is
a bit of, I don't want to say a
318
00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:09,680
flop, but it definitely
commercially underperformed and
319
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,640
fans didn't like it as much of
as Dawn of the Dead that it felt
320
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,600
like Romero was in a down swing
creatively and commercially.
321
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,200
And the zombie sub genre as well
from the mid 80s to this.
322
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,320
What was going on for Romero at
this time?
323
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,680
Well, I mean, I mean, he did.
He did write the script for the
324
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,000
remake of Night the Living Dead,
which Tom Savini directed in, I
325
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:38,800
want to say 1990.
Yeah, and then you also had
326
00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,920
Tales from the Dark Side, which
I haven't seen, but I've heard
327
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:44,680
good things.
Yeah.
328
00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:46,440
And I saw that in theaters as a
kid.
329
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,360
It was one of the first R rated
movies I ever stuck into.
330
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:50,240
It's.
The.
331
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,720
Real.
It's the real Creepshow 3.
332
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,840
Yeah, OK.
Yeah, it's it's much more along
333
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,000
those lines than than the actual
Creepshow three.
334
00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,840
Yeah, movie.
Directed by John Harrison, his
335
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:06,120
composer and collaborator.
It's really fun I I highly
336
00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,520
recommend it.
I need to watch more anthology
337
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,920
horror like I have seen the like
Creepshow and Trick or Treat and
338
00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:14,840
things like that but I really
need to like like look into it
339
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:16,960
more.
Sorry, tangent.
340
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,920
That's OK.
And of course he did the dark
341
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,080
half the Stephen King
adaptation.
342
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,160
And of course, Stephen King's
the copy of same slot had its
343
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:31,480
little cameo in Day of the Dead
with Bob.
344
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:36,680
But although fun fact, Romero
was going to do Pet Sematary
345
00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,160
1999, but it was just like a
scheduling thing.
346
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,480
They weren't able to arrange it
and then Mary Lambert didn't
347
00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,360
instead.
But I think that would have been
348
00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:48,280
an interesting one.
If if I like, I love Pet
349
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,600
Sematary, but I think I think
that that is kind of a very
350
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:56,320
interesting kind of what if.
My hot take is I've come around
351
00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:01,360
in like Mary Lambert's Pet
Sematary too say that I've heard
352
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,240
a.
Few people say that, actually.
353
00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:06,880
I kind of agree.
I I think that obviously the the
354
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:11,640
story of the first film is it's
a based on the novel.
355
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,240
It's a much more serious, you
know, idea and all of that.
356
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,720
But I think that too is just so
much fun.
357
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,880
It's it's got a little bit of a
moon streak to it, but it's,
358
00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:26,840
although it's, it's, I don't
know the, the it's, it's playing
359
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:31,280
in the sandbox in a way of that
mythos that I think is really
360
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,880
intelligent and fun.
I really like that one.
361
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:38,440
It's like Gremlins 2IN that she
had a blank check to do whatever
362
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:43,120
she wanted and Lambert has like
a very kind of like punk rock
363
00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:47,360
sensibility to her filmmaking
and that's what Pet Sematary 2
364
00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:50,200
is.
Where as good as the original 1
365
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,280
is and it's a solid like late
80s horror movie, it kind of
366
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:59,280
like a slavish recreation of the
novel in a lot of ways.
367
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,480
And I also felt kind of like the
miscast with the main
368
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,040
performances, like they weren't
my favorite, so.
369
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:08,440
Really.
Yeah.
370
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,200
I mean, I think the best cast
person in the original Pet
371
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,680
Sematary is Fred Guinn as Judd.
Oh yeah, that's true.
372
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,200
I should give him a pass.
He's fantastic.
373
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:23,720
Yeah, so here's the.
Others I think little.
374
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,280
He's great in that.
For a little kid performances, I
375
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:27,600
think for a little bird is
great.
376
00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:34,720
Yeah, yeah, I will say I my hot
take on Romero in the dark half
377
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,680
is I think he would have been a
better choice for the kind of
378
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,600
quasi sequel to that which is
Needful Things.
379
00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,440
I don't know if if you've ever
read that novel, there's like a
380
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,760
real satirical streak to it.
Like, it's very dark, but also,
381
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:54,240
like, really funny and rife with
a lot of commentary on
382
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,360
consumerism and community,
which, to me, those would fall
383
00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,520
right into Romero's wheelhouse.
And I think he could have
384
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,080
knocked that one out of the park
where the dark half is a bit
385
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:09,960
more straightforward.
You know, like King at that time
386
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,880
was really kind of ruminating on
his alter ego that had just been
387
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:16,720
outed.
Well, it's weird because
388
00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,880
frankly, I was going to say the
dark half almost feels like a
389
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,600
Bachmann story because it has
that sort of blunt force trauma
390
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:31,320
to it where because I remember
read that was one of the first
391
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,520
books that I read, but from King
when it first came out, I think
392
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,760
that was the first one that I
bought right when it came out
393
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,280
and read.
And I was just like, man, it's
394
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:47,160
it's like it's it's really,
really mean and it's nasty and
395
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:52,600
angry and it's got, you know,
someone beaten to death with
396
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:58,000
their own prosthetic arm and you
know, I it's it's really a mean
397
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:02,640
little book.
And whereas, you know, before
398
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,520
that I had read, you know,
movies, books, I mean, that
399
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,640
aren't necessarily, you know,
warm and fuzzy, cuddly, like The
400
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,160
Shining and stuff, but still
there was something different
401
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,360
about those ones before that for
me.
402
00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:20,000
And so when I read The Dark
Half, I was like, good Lord, he
403
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,680
just was.
And I was in like 6th grade and
404
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,640
I was like, wow, he's really
pissed off here.
405
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,520
Was King clean by then?
I kind of feel like The Tommy
406
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:36,760
Doctors is his last book when he
was like really in the thralls
407
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,520
of addiction and I think by the
Dark F he had like cleaned up
408
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,320
and I wonder how much of the
meanness is kind of getting
409
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,760
through that tough transition.
It was the, as I understand the
410
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,480
early days of his, of his
sobriety.
411
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,840
That makes a lot of sense.
He, I think he started it.
412
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,880
He was working on it while he
was making Maximum OverDrive.
413
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,680
He was like writing it at the
same time as he was directing
414
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,440
that movie, which is like, OK,
you can't do that unless you're,
415
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,120
as you have so eloquently said
in the past, sucking half of
416
00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:13,040
Bolivia up your nose.
But I believe he finished that
417
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:18,400
book sober.
So I don't which say what you
418
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:25,280
will about that, it's so.
But yeah, the Tommy Knockers is
419
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,920
clearly like, what the hell is
this?
420
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,760
I don't think I ever finished
the Tommy Knockers.
421
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,040
I think like.
It's it's.
422
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,680
About 100 pages in.
I'm like, I don't have to read
423
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,040
everything by him.
It's one of his worst.
424
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,400
I think like I swear I heard
someone once that King genuinely
425
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:46,680
can't remember writing Cujo.
Like he knows that he did, but
426
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,760
he cannot remember anything
about the process of it because
427
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:51,840
he was just that coked out.
Yeah.
428
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,280
Yeah, he wrote that in that's in
on writing his his memoir.
429
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,640
He talks about how he's like, I
like that book, but I don't
430
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,120
remember writing.
It, to be fair, he writes so
431
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:06,080
much.
I mean, there's probably a bunch
432
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,480
of stuff he doesn't even like
sober.
433
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,360
He's like, I wrote what?
Like, all right, I got a check
434
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:12,400
for it.
So yeah.
435
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:15,080
Well, what else had Romero been
doing?
436
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,800
Not to dive dovetail too much.
Like what else had Romero been
437
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,880
doing at this time?
We've got monkey shines.
438
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,120
Did anyone see monkey shines?
I've I've seen about the 1st 10
439
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,080
minutes of it.
I've seen pieces of it.
440
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,600
Yeah, I've never seen the whole
thing he did.
441
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,480
There was 2 evil lies now that
was him and he did one.
442
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,560
I think Argento yeah, did the
other.
443
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:42,040
It was Argento, both of them
doing like half of a film.
444
00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,160
Yeah.
And then Bruiser, now Bruiser is
445
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,200
was kind of really hard to see
for a long time.
446
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:56,080
I think it just got a release on
physical media recently like
447
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,000
Keno put it on, but I've never
seen that one.
448
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,080
And I I don't really know
anything about Bruiser to be
449
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,680
honest.
Again, none of these were
450
00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,960
particularly successful
financially.
451
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:13,200
I think the the biggest success
of those was Monkey Shines.
452
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:17,520
I remember people seeing it, but
it wasn't a hit by any stretch.
453
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:23,360
But I remember that movie coming
out and I remember seeing a
454
00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:29,240
little bit of it on TV, I think.
And they like, we're doing back
455
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:33,400
surgery on the guy and, and I
was really young and that just
456
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,360
freaked me out.
So I was like, yeah, OK, I'm
457
00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:37,120
done.
So that's as far as I ever got.
458
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,480
All this to say that, you know,
he's kind of in a pretty big
459
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,120
funk overall and just trying to
work within the Hollywood
460
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,000
system.
And that's not who Romero it's
461
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:47,600
really.
Not.
462
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:54,000
And he says at the time like he
was actually making more money
463
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,320
to not make movies.
Like these films would go into
464
00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:00,640
kind of creative turn around or
they would just get shelved and
465
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,040
he would get money for the
development end of it.
466
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,120
But none of them eventually got
made.
467
00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,720
But he was still like, doing
better financially than at any
468
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,800
point to like when he was
actually getting movies greenlit
469
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:13,160
in the.
Weird.
470
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,880
That's such like a weird way for
it to work.
471
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:20,960
This this book that I got on
Romero, which is around here
472
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:23,440
somewhere.
I know this is my I always do
473
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,320
this but it actually.
Has always post stuff from the
474
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,160
shelf.
There's this listing in here
475
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:35,480
that has not just the films that
got made, but the ones that he
476
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:40,200
wrote drafts for.
And so like in, you know, even
477
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:45,560
if I just go after Day of the
Dead, there's all these, there's
478
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,480
this huge listing of different
things that he did and I won't
479
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,000
do all of them because it would
take too long.
480
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,600
But there's like the
Necronomicon, the Mummy and the
481
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:59,360
return of the Mummy in the mid
80s, Whiz kid, whatever that is,
482
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,200
War of the Worlds, The Night
They Came.
483
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,120
And just like different drafts
of all these different things
484
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,960
that he did.
Yeah, another version of the
485
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,680
Mummy in the 90s.
Yeah, he was attached for a
486
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,880
while to the one that eventually
became the Brendan Fraser.
487
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,480
Yeah.
Film that like his, I think at
488
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,040
some point will cover that sure
trilogy.
489
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,840
Oh yeah, that's just a fun.
Those first two in particular
490
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:31,440
are, I don't know if they're
really horror, but they are a
491
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,200
lot of fun.
Yeah, they're good at, they're
492
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,520
sort of Raiders of the Lost Ark
adjacent.
493
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:42,320
But you know, the Raven then of
thinking all the way up to the
494
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:46,280
early thousands, the girl who
loved Tom Gordon, which is
495
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:52,280
finally getting made now.
Dracula, She's Tusk 2003.
496
00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,920
I don't know what that is.
So like the.
497
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,480
The.
Kevin Smith version.
498
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:03,000
The Kevin Smith one is 1.
He dreamed of like on a podcast,
499
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:06,360
just came up with the whole
movie, Yeah, while baked out of
500
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,800
his mind, and then decided to
make the.
501
00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:10,680
Movie.
You think?
502
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:11,680
Yeah.
Yeah.
503
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,520
And so, I mean, he was always
working on treatments and
504
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:20,160
screenplays and different
things, but there's so few of
505
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,120
them actually got made.
Yeah.
506
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:24,560
It feels like the thing.
Paid for it.
507
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,960
It's probably just so defeat,
like it feels sorry.
508
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,000
It's probably like, it probably
just feels like it's still like
509
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,160
a bit of a defeat in a way that
you know, your projects aren't
510
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,320
getting made and you know,
you're like, you're not getting
511
00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:37,080
to tell these stories you want
to tell.
512
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,840
I guess it depends like I don't
know how many of these were
513
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:45,360
necessarily passion projects or
Romero, because you'll see like
514
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:49,040
after this one hits like his
next two movies, he's like, I'm
515
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,440
just going to go and make what I
want and I'm going to do it.
516
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:55,320
I'm on my own terms, even if it
means I have a lot less money.
517
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,640
It feels like he was in his I
got to keep the lights on phase
518
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,200
and as long as like I'm getting
paid to work, like there are
519
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,080
worse ways to kind of make a
living and it does.
520
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,600
It's not.
There's nothing in there that
521
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,560
screams like this would have
been like a real a movie that
522
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,440
maybe he was super passionate
about that he wanted to see.
523
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,800
That's just like the way that
industry works sometimes.
524
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,600
Yeah, I mean, you even hear like
Martin Scorsese, what, you know,
525
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,280
he announces his next movie
right after a Killers of the
526
00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:26,800
Flower Moon.
Oh, he's going to make the story
527
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:28,080
of Jesus.
And that's like, no, I'm going
528
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,480
to make Devil in the White City
that no, I'm going to make, you
529
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,520
know, I'm.
Going to make a Sinatra biopic.
530
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,480
Right, right.
And so it's, and I think with
531
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:37,400
him, he's like, I don't have
that many years left.
532
00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:40,360
I better make something that I
really really want to make.
533
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:46,480
Or, you know, Tarantino writing,
you know, shelving the hateful 8
534
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,800
the script leaked and then it
was going to be the the movie
535
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,720
critic and now that's shelved
and you know who?
536
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,120
And I, I, you know, maybe he's
getting so much in its own head
537
00:31:56,120 --> 00:32:00,120
'cause his self-imposed last
movie, right like these things
538
00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:04,320
kind of go through was going to
be like a Vince Vega, Victoria
539
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:08,000
Vega team up at one point after
Pulp Fiction.
540
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:12,400
But I the thing that does get
Romero back on track, like in I
541
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:17,280
think 97, he directs a
commercial for the video game
542
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:21,160
Resident Evil 2, which is really
well received.
543
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,480
And if you've ever played
especially those early Resident
544
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:30,640
Evil games, they owe so much to,
especially Night of the Living
545
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:35,640
Dead, like that whole slow
shuffling zombie, the Bee movie,
546
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:37,840
like low budget movie feel to
it.
547
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,640
So to get Romero to direct a
commercial was kind of a stroke
548
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:45,640
of genius.
And then he's attached to the
549
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:50,040
Resident Evil movie, which
listeners, you can, if you want
550
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,720
to punish yourselves a little
bit, you can go back into our
551
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:57,920
archives and we have a whole
dramatic script reading.
552
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:02,560
I think we have it in multiple
parts cuz of various technical
553
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:06,080
and oh gosh frankly inebriation
issues.
554
00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,640
That was not one of our great.
The height of COVID.
555
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,400
The height of COVID.
You know what though, I might.
556
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,560
Need to hunt this down.
You don't even have to hunt for
557
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:17,320
it.
It's in the episode list.
558
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,160
But it was fun and we did it
with friends during COVID at a
559
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,720
time when we couldn't see
anybody so.
560
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,120
Yeah.
But yeah, the cast got smaller
561
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:31,560
and smaller with each part cuz
like people just could not come
562
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,800
back for it.
We need to do another script
563
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:35,920
reading this year.
We need to do something.
564
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,480
Fun.
I mean, you know, I learned so
565
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,240
much about Stephen King and the
making of Maximum OverDrive.
566
00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:44,680
OverDrive, we did.
Maximum King.
567
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:46,720
That was that was the my
favorite one.
568
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:47,920
That one was so much fun.
Yeah.
569
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:54,280
We did the Carrie Fukunagua
unused like script for it,
570
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:55,720
chapter one.
That's right.
571
00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:59,360
Yeah, where I think Stan was a
goldfish in that version of the
572
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:01,600
script.
We did the unmade version of
573
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:06,880
Halloween 4 where Michael Myers
was like a ghost type of deal.
574
00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:10,480
I don't remember anything about
the script.
575
00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,480
I just remember it was a good
time.
576
00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,159
And that's how we met Steven as
well.
577
00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:18,199
Like doing these script
readings, like we liked him so
578
00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:19,360
much.
Or like, do you just want to
579
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:22,560
keep coming on the show?
So that was a lot of fun.
580
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:27,760
But he gets attached to Resident
Evil and he writes a script
581
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,520
that's faithful to the game.
Like, it's not like I will
582
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,679
adapt, make Resident Evil fit
into the Living Dead series.
583
00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:37,199
He's like, no, he creates
something that is like fairly
584
00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,920
fairly faithful to to the game
itself.
585
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,320
That first one, like it takes
place in Raccoon City.
586
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:47,840
There's like the mansion,
there's the strike force team
587
00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:50,920
that's about others, like the
liquors, like the long tongued
588
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,360
monsters in it.
And it isn't production for over
589
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,360
a year.
But then the plug is like pulled
590
00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:01,240
on the movie at that time and
Romero is let go from it.
591
00:35:01,240 --> 00:35:04,440
But all of a sudden, you know
that is something that said,
592
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,240
well, why isn't Romero making
this?
593
00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:10,760
And also like, why isn't he
making movies at all?
594
00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:14,680
Like he has three classic zombie
films and he did Creepshow.
595
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,600
We this guy needs to be making
movies again.
596
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:21,680
Why is he in director jail?
And then as this is going on,
597
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:26,320
like not too long after it, he
does turn in a script for Land
598
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,560
of the Dead, which at the time,
I think it might have been
599
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,200
Warner Brothers at 1st and then
eventually Universal.
600
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,840
They wanted to name it Night of
the Living Dead.
601
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,800
They're like, well, let's just
call it that.
602
00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:39,680
And Romero's like, that's a
horrible idea.
603
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:42,640
I don't want to do that.
And if you do, I just won't do
604
00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:44,520
it.
What I do want to do is call it
605
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:46,080
Dead Wreck.
Right.
606
00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:50,720
Which is also a really bad idea.
And they're like, no, George,
607
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:53,480
you're not doing that.
So they compromise with Land of
608
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:59,160
the Dead as the title, and then
911 happens and studio
609
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,080
executives see this movie where
at the climax of the film,
610
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,480
somebody basically slings a
bunch of missiles at a
611
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,840
skyscraper and a lot of
civilians die.
612
00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:13,000
And they're like, you know,
maybe this is not the right time
613
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,760
to make this movie.
And Romero has said studios only
614
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:20,720
wanted to make touchy feely feel
good movies that something like
615
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:26,160
this just wasn't going to land.
So the script gets shelved and
616
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:32,360
it's not until 2004 when, you
know, we enter the conflict with
617
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:36,240
Iraq.
And that's deeply unpopular that
618
00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:40,160
studios feel like there's enough
sentiment there for this kind of
619
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:44,600
anti war message to resonate
with audiences.
620
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:48,040
But something else happens in
between that and that is the
621
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:51,280
zombie resurgence.
And I'm going to turn it over to
622
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:55,000
you, Sarah and Brian, to talk
about a few movies that kind of
623
00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:01,720
came out between O1 and O5 that
made audiences a bit hungry for
624
00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,720
Land of the Dead.
Well, I mean, I mean talking
625
00:37:04,720 --> 00:37:07,720
about kind of like 911, I think
that one film in particular
626
00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:10,520
that's very fascinating in the
context of that is 28 Days
627
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:14,400
Later, because it started
production before.
628
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,920
And I think I think 911 happened
kind of about halfway through
629
00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,160
production and then it's
released afterwards.
630
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,280
So it's this weird kind of thing
where a lot of people very much
631
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:28,160
like it tapped into a lot of the
fear and anxiety of Post 911.
632
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:29,720
But it was being made before
then.
633
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:31,360
And it is interesting because
you wouldn't.
634
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,240
There's a lot of the stuff in
that early part of the film
635
00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:38,680
that's so iconic with Jim
walking around the abandoned
636
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,360
London.
They would not have been able to
637
00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:44,000
film that post 911.
Like it would have been
638
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,240
impossible.
Like there is no way that you
639
00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:47,480
could.
They would have been able to
640
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,520
clear like the road outside of
Downing St. for I think it was
641
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,520
20 minutes or so when they did
the scene with the bus on its
642
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:56,480
side.
Like impossible.
643
00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:58,400
That would have been just
absolutely impossible.
644
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:02,760
Well, just some of the imagery,
too, which if you recall, like,
645
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:06,760
New York Ground Zero at the
time, like those same memorials
646
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:10,000
are up, like persons that were
missing and all of those
647
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,480
memorials.
And my understanding is like
648
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:16,280
Boyle says, no, we filmed all
that before 911.
649
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:18,520
Like there's no way we would
have been able to get away with
650
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,760
that after the fact.
Yes, No, I think he said that he
651
00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:25,600
took the inspiration for that
from a earthquake in China.
652
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:30,320
I think that was like the direct
like inspiration for that sort
653
00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:35,200
of like board of photos and
messages that was in like a
654
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:36,320
dilly circus.
Yeah.
655
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:39,760
So I I and and of course, you
know, the whole zombies versus
656
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:44,000
infected thing, but it does kind
of really bring to the masses
657
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:47,960
the fast zombie, which
definitely some would say really
658
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:52,800
kicks things up a notch.
But then then then you also have
659
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,840
Shaun of the Dead, which, you
know, very, very more
660
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:59,840
traditionally Romero derived.
Yeah.
661
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:03,720
And very, you know, it's, it's,
it's, it's good because it, it
662
00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:08,360
has that kind of balance of
horror and humor, which I think
663
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:11,840
in Romero's Dead trilogy,
particularly in Dawn, you know,
664
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:13,960
it's, it's, it's in there.
You do have like the really
665
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:15,480
funny moments.
And then you also have the
666
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:19,640
moments that are like, shit, I
mean, the best kind of wait,
667
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,880
sorry.
I wanted to say, but my favorite
668
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,840
thing about Shaun of the Dead is
that it not only sort of
669
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,840
captures the I mean, the gore is
like Day of the Dead level
670
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:32,560
stuff.
I mean you have.
671
00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:36,320
People ripped.
Apart, you know, kind of things,
672
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,240
yeah.
But then you also have, like you
673
00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:41,760
said, the humor.
I think the humor is even, you
674
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,000
know, beyond the humor of of of
Dawn.
675
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:50,360
But where I think it really
captures the spirit of Ramiros
676
00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:53,160
is in it's just social
commentary.
677
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:59,160
It's basically saying these
doofuses don't even realize that
678
00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,760
anything is happening because
they are the zombies.
679
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:06,160
They are the actual zombies.
We are the actual zombies and
680
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:09,360
everything that's going on
around us, we're oblivious to it
681
00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,760
now.
I mean, that's and that's really
682
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,480
funny though too.
And that is, but ultimately, you
683
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,120
know, coming down to and then
the exploitation of the zombies
684
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,400
at the end.
I think it's 100% brought into
685
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:25,760
this movie.
And I don't know if that was
686
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:27,760
totally.
I don't know if that was, you
687
00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,520
know, Ramiro saw Shaun of the
Dead, which I know he was a fan
688
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:35,800
of, and said, hey, let's do some
of that, you know, or if it was
689
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,520
if he already had that in mind.
There's definitely a thing where
690
00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:42,960
Edgar Wright said that he talked
to Romero post Shaun of the
691
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,240
Dead, and he said, oh, what do
you think of the bit where we
692
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:47,840
quoted Night and apparently
Romero was just so into the
693
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,520
movie he completely missed the
fact that they quoted.
694
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:52,400
They're coming to get old.
We're coming to.
695
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:53,720
Get you, Barbara?
Yeah.
696
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:56,560
He was like, oh, I didn't even
know it's that.
697
00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:00,240
Yeah, it's it's brilliant.
It's probably at the top of my
698
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:05,080
favorite, like zombie films
period, because it is so funny,
699
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:08,840
but it doesn't sacrifice the
horror and it doesn't play the
700
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:11,320
situation light.
No, no, it doesn't.
701
00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:15,200
You know, it's a very serious
situation with very funny bits.
702
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:19,320
And to your point, Brian, I
think my favorite scenes in the
703
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:23,600
film are like, you have the
opening scene with Sean kind of
704
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:28,040
moseying to the corner store to
get a, you know, to get like his
705
00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:31,000
morning soft drink and an ice
cream.
706
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:35,160
And then the same thing happens
the next day in the same way,
707
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:37,480
but with zombies.
And he's completely out of it
708
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,480
and it's live.
With a stadium, Yeah, yeah.
709
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:41,880
Honestly, that whole kind of
like those two things side by
710
00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:44,680
side I think are just genius
basically.
711
00:41:44,720 --> 00:41:46,840
Genius.
Cinema, but I mean like the mood
712
00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:50,400
of it.
You go from hitting the pub
713
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:54,240
landlord with pool cues to Queen
and then you go into the scene
714
00:41:54,240 --> 00:41:58,720
with like Sean's mom and it's
like genuinely gut punched, like
715
00:41:58,720 --> 00:42:03,280
devastating.
It's it's just brilliant.
716
00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:23,320
Yeah.
Well, Speaking of Dawn of the
717
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:28,920
Dead, you know, in the wake of
28 Years, 28 Days Later, you
718
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,280
know, we get A and it's the
early days of the horror
719
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:34,720
remakes.
Like it's think Texas Chainsaw
720
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:37,840
Massacre.
It happened the year before.
721
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:42,320
So this is kind of like in those
early, early days where you have
722
00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:47,200
Zack Snyder's like, debut
feature film Dawn of the Dead,
723
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:50,880
which keeps the setting of them
all.
724
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,680
And that's really about it.
Like, it's a vastly different
725
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,000
movie.
I think it's probably Snyder's
726
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,800
best film.
Like, I'm not a huge Zack Snyder
727
00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:03,600
person, you know, my
understanding is people love to
728
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:07,320
work with him.
Like, he's a very good guy to
729
00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:11,800
work with.
So his films just decidedly
730
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:17,560
aren't necessarily for me.
Like there's a you get to 300
731
00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:21,480
and sucker punch and there's
like a hyper violent masculine
732
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,600
male fantasy thing going on.
And you know, my understand is a
733
00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:29,040
guy that will do push ups
everyday while yelling kind of
734
00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:33,760
mantras to himself really loud
and God love him if that's your
735
00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:36,040
thing.
But it doesn't translate.
736
00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:40,200
But dawn of the dead.
I remember seeing that in
737
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:44,880
theaters in getting up in like,
applauding at the zombie baby,
738
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,800
like the row of people I were
with, like all my friends are
739
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:51,840
like, this is amazing.
Like, why would we not want
740
00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:55,480
this?
But that seems to be the final
741
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:59,080
kind of cog in the wheel that
gets Land of the Dead greenlit,
742
00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,440
right, I think.
So this is true, and I mean oh
743
00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:05,040
boy will I go into it when we
get to the Zack Snyder Day of
744
00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:07,280
Dead.
So it is not your thing for
745
00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,800
sure.
It's it's not, I don't hate it.
746
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:15,400
And like I have, I've like
watched both cuts of the film.
747
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:20,320
I have seen it multiple times,
like, like I have tried with
748
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:23,520
Zack Snyder's John the Dead, but
I can never get away from the
749
00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:27,560
fact that it is just such a
stupid fucking movie.
750
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:31,800
Like it just like the opening
sort of 10 minutes.
751
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:33,880
It's like, yeah, that's very
cool, very intense.
752
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:36,320
And then got Johnny Cash, love a
bit of Johnny Cash.
753
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:43,080
But after that it is just a
non-stop parade of people being
754
00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:46,840
absolute fucking idiots.
And there just comes a point
755
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:49,440
where I'm just like, I'm done
with you.
756
00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:52,600
And I think, I mean, I have a
like theories about it because
757
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:54,560
of course it was written by
James Gunn.
758
00:44:54,560 --> 00:45:01,120
And so I I just, I wonder how
much James Gunn wrote it as
759
00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:03,920
comedic and then Zack Snyder
directed it.
760
00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:06,720
Straight.
Kind of thing.
761
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:11,560
With like again, like just a
blunt force drama going into it.
762
00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:14,960
And but I will say there are
things I like in it.
763
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:19,120
I think that the it's it's very
much a remake in name only in my
764
00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:21,480
opinion.
I don't think it takes like it.
765
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:23,680
Sure, it has the mall setting,
but I don't think it takes
766
00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:26,600
advantage of the mall setting in
the same way that the original
767
00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:30,320
does.
And yeah, just everyone in it is
768
00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:35,960
just so freaking stupid.
I definitely can't wait to talk
769
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:40,520
about the end of that movie
because it's one of the things I
770
00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:44,640
hate when a horror like, you've
spent close to two hours rooting
771
00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:48,080
for these people and then like
during the end credits, like
772
00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:51,880
their plan to escape is like,
sure, but now we're going to
773
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:54,600
have them like, devoured in 30
seconds.
774
00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:58,240
And it's kind of like, well,
what did I just spend the last
775
00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:01,720
two hours doing here then?
Like that's the kind of thing it
776
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,880
felt very like the end feels
very cheap to me.
777
00:46:05,040 --> 00:46:08,280
If you're gonna have a bleak
ending, go all in on the bleak
778
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:12,440
ending and not just tack it on
to the ending yet to the credits
779
00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:15,280
or whatever.
Yeah, I'm, I'm kind of think
780
00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:17,120
more with you, Sarah, on that
one.
781
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:21,960
I've seen it twice because I
read Ariel's book and she talks
782
00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:24,360
about the Dawn of the Dead
remake in it.
783
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:28,240
And I was just like, OK, you've
convinced me to watch this
784
00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:30,120
again.
And I did.
785
00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:34,920
And it was just kind of like, it
doesn't do that much for me.
786
00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:39,520
It's I, I like parts of it too.
I, I mean, I wish that I, I
787
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:44,080
think a lot of it is I just see
and I know that there is a
788
00:46:44,800 --> 00:46:49,000
school of thought about, you
know, style being the substance,
789
00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:52,680
but I feel like that is all that
is there.
790
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:54,600
It is slick.
Yeah, it's not saying.
791
00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:58,400
Pretty and has nothing behind
its eyes, it is saying.
792
00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:02,160
I agree.
Great big beautiful zombie of a
793
00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:06,760
picture.
Yeah, I rewatched it recently.
794
00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:10,400
Like as we started this series,
like I've gone ahead and just
795
00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:14,760
rewatched a bunch of zombie
films I really like and I still
796
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,360
really enjoyed it.
Like I found it like to your
797
00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:21,000
point, Brian, it's like and said
there's nothing there and people
798
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:25,160
act horrible and people act
stupid and the reason they leave
799
00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:27,720
the mall is I still can't really
comprehend it.
800
00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:29,480
There isn't.
One that this is.
801
00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:31,440
Sorry, this is.
Just like one of my biggest pet
802
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:34,640
peeves, that movie.
There is no good reason for them
803
00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:37,640
to leave that mall.
And they don't even like fortify
804
00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:40,080
that mall or anything.
They're just like, oh, we've
805
00:47:40,080 --> 00:47:41,320
locked the doors.
That's good enough.
806
00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:45,800
Yeah, but is a way to kill a
couple hours with some good
807
00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:48,520
effects and I don't know, I was
down with the sickness.
808
00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:51,800
It's all on.
I like the references to it in
809
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:55,240
The 40 Year Old Virgin.
You know where he's watching.
810
00:47:55,240 --> 00:47:56,360
Watch.
That in forever.
811
00:47:56,360 --> 00:48:00,080
Or he's the guys watching it in.
This in the electronic store is
812
00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:02,320
pretty funny.
I have not watched Polar just
813
00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:04,280
forever.
Yeah, so anyway.
814
00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:06,960
Well, talk a little bit about
the casting here.
815
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:11,800
Like it is a mix of established
and up and comers like Romero
816
00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:14,840
for the first time, Like he
actually has like a real budget
817
00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:18,040
to play with.
Like he's about $15 million and
818
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:21,680
he gets like Dennis Hopper to
come in as like the big bad in
819
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:23,960
this.
And Dennis Hopper, kid kind of
820
00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:28,720
gone from one of the real wild
men of New Hollywood with things
821
00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:32,480
like Easy Rider and Last Picture
Show and had been like
822
00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:36,400
unemployable for like a huge
stretch of time just because of
823
00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:39,560
so many substance issues and
being hard to work with by this
824
00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:41,920
point.
Like one of the few kind of
825
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:44,560
mainstream conservatives in
Hollywood.
826
00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:45,640
It's just insane.
To me.
827
00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:47,920
It's really is.
It's.
828
00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:53,080
Wild because I mean, he was the
epitome of the new left in the
829
00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:55,960
yeah, in in the, you know, an
Easy Rider and stuff.
830
00:48:55,960 --> 00:49:00,840
He was the cowboy.
He was, you know, so it was just
831
00:49:00,840 --> 00:49:02,920
wild to me.
And, you know, I mean, but I got
832
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:06,600
to say dude can act.
I mean to Oh yeah, playing the
833
00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:11,760
cowboy, playing, you know, like
Frank Booth in Blue Velvet and
834
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:16,760
then, you know, the terrorist in
speed and, you know, it's just,
835
00:49:16,760 --> 00:49:19,640
there's just so much that he is
capable of.
836
00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:21,480
And in this movie, he's he's
terrific.
837
00:49:21,720 --> 00:49:24,240
It's a very he's not in it that
much.
838
00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:28,640
I mean, he's, he's, he's a
glorified cameo in a lot of
839
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:29,400
ways.
He's probably.
840
00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:32,080
Very ill by then too.
I think he said not long after
841
00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:33,520
this they announced that he's
I'll.
842
00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:37,400
Yeah, he talks about he played
the role like Donald Rumsfeld.
843
00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:40,720
It's basically what I've read is
that he's trying to channel
844
00:49:40,720 --> 00:49:44,560
Donald Rumsfeld and like that
kind of like power player in
845
00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:47,720
Hollywood.
But you know, then in interviews
846
00:49:47,720 --> 00:49:51,280
he would say, but, you know, I'm
not playing like a Republicans.
847
00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:54,600
I don't think Republicans are
really all that evil.
848
00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:56,680
And it's like, you're so close
to this.
849
00:49:56,720 --> 00:50:01,600
You're so close to getting it.
And that's what's fascinating is
850
00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:03,720
that someone like Hopper comes
in.
851
00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:06,040
He really wanted to work with
Romero.
852
00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:09,280
Like, he had a lot of respect
for Night of the Living Dead and
853
00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:13,040
Dawn of the Dead in particular.
And he was really excited to
854
00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:17,960
work with Romero.
And to me, you get someone who
855
00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:23,680
knows this filmmaker, knows what
this guy's movies are all about
856
00:50:23,680 --> 00:50:27,720
and the message underneath it,
but doesn't recognize, like, I'm
857
00:50:27,720 --> 00:50:30,640
the bad guy here.
Like, and I'm the bad guy
858
00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:35,160
because of these ultra
capitalist beliefs and these,
859
00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:39,000
you know, basically feeding
people to the gristle of the
860
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:41,600
machine.
And he's like, yeah, but I don't
861
00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:45,560
really, I don't really see the
political context there.
862
00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:48,520
Like that is a next level of.
He's literally.
863
00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:51,880
Of dissonance.
He's literally dressed like Dick
864
00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:54,360
Dick Cheney in the movie.
Yeah, yeah.
865
00:50:55,200 --> 00:50:58,520
It's hard to miss.
It's not subtle.
866
00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:02,840
John Leguizamo would have been
the other kind of notable talent
867
00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:04,880
who had done things like Romeo
and Juliet.
868
00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:08,760
Son of Sam, Spawn, you know the
past.
869
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:14,480
He's gone, yeah, but he's just a
a tremendous kind of chameleon
870
00:51:14,480 --> 00:51:16,360
of an actor like he.
I always.
871
00:51:16,440 --> 00:51:17,480
Forget he's in.
Spawn.
872
00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:22,880
Yeah, I always forget Clown.
Yeah, he's one of those guys
873
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:26,560
that, like, you don't
necessarily think a ton of.
874
00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:29,960
And then he's great.
Like, you know, almost.
875
00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:33,880
He's in Carlito's way.
He's Luigi in Super Mario
876
00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:40,080
Brothers, which OK.
That's a movie.
877
00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:44,800
He and then he would like go on
to like anchor things like the
878
00:51:44,800 --> 00:51:48,880
Ice Age animated films.
That's probably what he's best
879
00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:52,520
known for at this point.
Well, he's in tremendous and.
880
00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:55,600
He's in Violent Night.
He's essentially playing a
881
00:51:55,640 --> 00:51:58,160
similar character that plays in
this movie.
882
00:51:58,560 --> 00:52:02,000
That's a good point in Violent
Night, but he's great in that
883
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:02,760
he's.
The menu.
884
00:52:03,440 --> 00:52:07,520
Oh, that's right, I forgot.
Jeez, he's great at the menu.
885
00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:09,200
I love him.
I really like that movie.
886
00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:10,640
Yeah, me too.
I kind of.
887
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:14,000
Feel like he's an under
appreciated performer.
888
00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:18,720
I've always really liked him.
I remember seeing him on, gosh,
889
00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:20,320
I don't even remember what it
was like.
890
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:24,760
A short lived sketch show that
came out around the in living
891
00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:28,920
color time of things, and it was
it was his show.
892
00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:31,720
It's like, hi, I'm John
Leguizamo and this is this is
893
00:52:31,720 --> 00:52:34,000
our this is what we got for you.
And it was like a sketch show.
894
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:37,040
I don't even remember what it
was, but it was.
895
00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:38,880
So that's where I first remember
seeing him.
896
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:41,960
And then, you know, he showed.
Then there's, you know, to Wong
897
00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:43,160
Foo.
Thanks for everything, Julie
898
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:45,480
Newmar.
And it's like, wow, that's the
899
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:47,600
same guy.
That's what a great performance.
900
00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:50,480
And then, you know, just
everything he's in.
901
00:52:50,480 --> 00:52:53,120
I think he's fantastic.
Yeah, I'd agree.
902
00:52:53,240 --> 00:52:55,520
Yeah, I would agree.
Yeah, I think first thing for me
903
00:52:55,520 --> 00:52:59,480
was definitely Romeo and Julia
kind of thing.
904
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:05,400
Although he was also in a failed
attempt to remake the British
905
00:53:05,400 --> 00:53:08,160
sitcom Only Fools and Horses.
There's like.
906
00:53:08,160 --> 00:53:11,960
I'm not familiar with that.
It's it's like the premises like
907
00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:15,440
these is like two brothers who
are kind of like a bit of sort
908
00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:17,880
of like Wheeler dealers.
They're always trying to get
909
00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:20,800
like a get rich quick scheme
kind of thing.
910
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:22,720
And or it's saying, oh, this
time next year we'll be
911
00:53:22,720 --> 00:53:24,640
millionaires.
But yeah, there was an attempt
912
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:30,600
to do an American remake of it.
And yeah, John Leguizamo was in
913
00:53:30,600 --> 00:53:34,000
that as kind of like the the
main role that in the British
914
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:36,800
show is called Del Boy.
It's kind of, it's kind of like
915
00:53:36,800 --> 00:53:38,680
one of the classic British
sitcoms.
916
00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:43,960
OK, like a Fawlty Towers and.
Oh yeah, yeah, that that kind of
917
00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:45,040
thing.
Like there's there's.
918
00:53:45,080 --> 00:53:48,520
Father Ted.
Oh yeah, yeah, it's it's so it's
919
00:53:48,880 --> 00:53:53,280
older than Father Ted, but yeah.
OK, so in the main role, we have
920
00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:58,320
Dylan Baker, who up and Comer at
the time, probably best known
921
00:53:58,720 --> 00:54:04,280
for starring in the CBS drama
The Mentalist, which is one of
922
00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:10,160
those shows that exists because,
like, Jim's Need shows to play
923
00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:12,560
in the background at 2:00 in the
afternoon.
924
00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:16,360
And you can just make these
things cheap and forever.
925
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:22,560
And he's probably a very rich
man for playing a role on a show
926
00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:27,120
that I don't know a single
person who's ever, like, watched
927
00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:28,520
and followed.
You know, it's one of those
928
00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:33,080
shows that, yeah, it's like, no
one is out there.
929
00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:34,800
Yeah.
It's not like we have a show
930
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:39,720
like Firefly that runs for like
13 episodes and people go Gaga
931
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:42,280
for it.
Like there's no mentalist stands
932
00:54:42,280 --> 00:54:44,720
out there.
There's not like or Supernatural
933
00:54:44,720 --> 00:54:48,120
where those two guys could, you
know, that cast could live off
934
00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:50,840
the convention circuit forever
if they ever needed to.
935
00:54:51,240 --> 00:54:55,680
No one is ever going to be like,
hey, mentalist convention, it's
936
00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:58,320
going down.
Let's book our tickets and
937
00:54:58,320 --> 00:54:59,400
flight.
You know what I mean?
938
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:01,680
Like, that's not going to
happen.
939
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:06,720
But he's he's all right.
Asia Argento is brought on cast.
940
00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:10,960
She's the daughter of Italian
horror maestro Dario Argento.
941
00:55:11,320 --> 00:55:14,440
And it is really complicated to
talk about her.
942
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:19,400
Like, she is someone who has had
a very storied career, mostly
943
00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:23,880
overseas, but that she has also
been like a victim of and a
944
00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:28,800
perpetrator of some pretty bad
sexual abuse.
945
00:55:28,800 --> 00:55:32,280
And I don't know how much we
want to dive into that here.
946
00:55:32,280 --> 00:55:36,360
Maybe not much except to say
that like it horrible things
947
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:40,760
happen to her and hurt people
often go on to hurt other
948
00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:45,320
people.
So and I have no jokes for once
949
00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:47,000
I have like.
Yeah, no jokes.
950
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:49,840
It's not really, anyway.
It's fun.
951
00:55:49,840 --> 00:55:52,840
It's one of those things where
it's like with me, I kind of
952
00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:58,600
like I said, there's sort of
this big gap in my sort of
953
00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:04,280
horror film knowledge where I
was on, you know, I was engaged
954
00:56:04,280 --> 00:56:09,600
with what was going on.
So I hear about actually Argento
955
00:56:09,600 --> 00:56:12,640
and I'm like, and people will
say, but you know, we're, we're
956
00:56:12,640 --> 00:56:13,800
not.
And, and they'll just sort of
957
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:15,680
skirt around the subject and
just move on.
958
00:56:16,080 --> 00:56:20,880
And I'm like, I have no idea.
I, I I I'm completely clueless
959
00:56:21,160 --> 00:56:23,240
about.
So essentially like she's one of
960
00:56:23,240 --> 00:56:26,560
the many victims of Harvey
Weinstein for sure.
961
00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:28,200
OK.
Like that is one of the things
962
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:30,840
is that she was assaulted
repeatedly by him.
963
00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:35,440
But then when she spoke out
against it, one of, like, a
964
00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:38,560
young male performer who was,
like, underage at the time said,
965
00:56:38,560 --> 00:56:41,440
hey, she took advantage of me
sexually.
966
00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:43,760
And she was with Anthony
Bourdain at the time.
967
00:56:43,760 --> 00:56:47,160
And she was very adamant that
this had not happened.
968
00:56:47,160 --> 00:56:50,600
Like, this is a lie.
They're trying to sully my name.
969
00:56:50,840 --> 00:56:54,360
But he had receipts.
And there were like a number of
970
00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:58,720
like, text messages and a photo
of them in bed together and some
971
00:56:59,160 --> 00:57:03,320
text messages that she had sent
that were pretty explicit at
972
00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:06,600
admitting it as well.
So or admitting some level of
973
00:57:06,600 --> 00:57:10,320
wrongdoing as well.
And it was, I feel like she
974
00:57:10,320 --> 00:57:14,600
almost tried to Bill Clinton her
way out of it where, you know,
975
00:57:14,600 --> 00:57:18,200
famously he said I did not have
sexual relations with that
976
00:57:18,200 --> 00:57:20,120
woman.
And it came down to like, well,
977
00:57:20,120 --> 00:57:24,640
how do you define sexual
relation type of deal, you know?
978
00:57:24,680 --> 00:57:26,520
Depends on what the meaning of
the is.
979
00:57:28,400 --> 00:57:31,640
OK, and it doesn't mean that she
was any less of a victim as
980
00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:35,560
well, but also that like she
also perpetrated some awful
981
00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:37,800
things.
And it was also weird that her
982
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:41,320
dad would film her naked in some
of his movies as well.
983
00:57:41,320 --> 00:57:46,680
Like that cannot be good for
anyone's mental well-being.
984
00:57:46,680 --> 00:57:49,840
That's was just weird.
So we'll be gone.
985
00:57:49,880 --> 00:57:50,240
Yeah.
Sorry.
986
00:57:50,240 --> 00:57:52,440
Sorry to open that.
Down.
987
00:57:52,440 --> 00:57:56,040
No worries, I think it fares.
Probably just about it.
988
00:57:57,520 --> 00:58:00,080
I'll probably put a little
disclaimer at the top of the
989
00:58:00,080 --> 00:58:01,040
episode.
Sure.
990
00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:04,240
For the ABUSA kids, Simon Pegg
and Edgar Wright, in a more
991
00:58:04,240 --> 00:58:09,480
delightful note, do make cameos
as zombies in this movie.
992
00:58:09,480 --> 00:58:13,720
Like they are the 2 zombies in
the kind of photo booth scene.
993
00:58:13,720 --> 00:58:16,160
I love that.
If you believe the rumors.
994
00:58:16,160 --> 00:58:19,880
Like Edgar Wright is supposed to
be Bub from Dawn.
995
00:58:20,200 --> 00:58:24,080
Sorry Day of the Dead, I don't
necessarily buy that, but he is
996
00:58:24,080 --> 00:58:28,200
made-up in a similar way.
Maybe isn't nod to that, but I
997
00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:30,760
don't necessarily buy.
Oh, that's what he's supposed to
998
00:58:30,760 --> 00:58:33,160
be, yeah.
I don't like that at all.
999
00:58:34,040 --> 00:58:36,600
Yeah.
So the movie's a hit.
1000
00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:41,920
It is released in June of O5,
pulls in close to $50 million
1001
00:58:42,280 --> 00:58:45,960
worldwide, triples its budget.
Not bad at all.
1002
00:58:45,960 --> 00:58:48,240
I think maybe they were
expecting a little bit more
1003
00:58:48,240 --> 00:58:52,800
given that it was Romero
returning to the series that
1004
00:58:52,800 --> 00:58:55,280
made him famous and zombies were
hot.
1005
00:58:55,520 --> 00:58:59,440
But it does really well and
Romero is absolutely miserable
1006
00:58:59,680 --> 00:59:03,760
making it and dealing with the
studio and decides after that,
1007
00:59:03,760 --> 00:59:06,920
like, fuck it, I am just going
to go back to independent
1008
00:59:06,920 --> 00:59:10,840
filmmaking and do my own thing.
And we'll talk more about that
1009
00:59:10,840 --> 00:59:14,880
in our next two episodes.
Let's dive into the movie for a
1010
00:59:14,880 --> 00:59:20,000
short bit, then call it a day.
So, Sarah, you have a note here
1011
00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:24,920
about Fiddler's Green as a name,
like the the main source of
1012
00:59:24,920 --> 00:59:26,480
refuge.
What can you say about?
1013
00:59:26,640 --> 00:59:29,120
That so I just I found that very
interesting kind of thing.
1014
00:59:29,120 --> 00:59:33,040
So I like the because the sort
of the rich section of kind of
1015
00:59:33,040 --> 00:59:36,440
like this, this sort of
settlement is called Fiddler's
1016
00:59:36,440 --> 00:59:43,240
Green, which traditionally in
old seafaring ballads was the
1017
00:59:43,960 --> 00:59:48,400
essentially the afterlife for
that loyal sailors would go to
1018
00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:53,640
like that would be their reward.
And it was, it's also kind of
1019
00:59:53,640 --> 00:59:57,440
thought that it was kind of like
a alternative to heaven for
1020
00:59:57,440 --> 01:00:00,400
pirates who would not typically
be allowed to go to heaven due
1021
01:00:00,400 --> 01:00:03,360
to all of the, you know.
Stealing and killing.
1022
01:00:03,360 --> 01:00:04,960
So fiddlers, green kind.
Of.
1023
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:09,080
That's traditionally, yeah.
But yeah, so Fiddlers Green was
1024
01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:11,400
kind of like this sort of
mythical, like alternate
1025
01:00:11,400 --> 01:00:14,520
afterlife.
But then there's this other kind
1026
01:00:14,520 --> 01:00:19,880
of use of it, I think in US
Cavalry men and sort of like the
1027
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:26,480
around kind of like the 1900s
kind of thing where where it's
1028
01:00:26,480 --> 01:00:29,680
more of a kind of purgatory.
And there's like a poem that
1029
01:00:29,680 --> 01:00:32,880
describes it as halfway down the
trail to hell.
1030
01:00:33,800 --> 01:00:38,000
And in the final verse of that
ballad is essentially kind of
1031
01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:41,960
like it.
It kind of essentially says,
1032
01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:46,160
describe someone being
surrounded by enemies and their
1033
01:00:46,160 --> 01:00:50,640
back against the wall and to put
their gun to their head and go
1034
01:00:50,640 --> 01:00:54,560
to Fiddler's Green, Which I
think which really kind of like
1035
01:00:54,560 --> 01:00:56,640
made me think of the kid at the
beginning of this movie.
1036
01:00:56,640 --> 01:00:59,560
Because like at the beginning,
the main guy, Riley and his a
1037
01:00:59,600 --> 01:01:02,360
lot of scavengers, they go out
and this young kid who's like
1038
01:01:02,360 --> 01:01:05,480
his first time out, he gets
bitten and blows his head off
1039
01:01:06,280 --> 01:01:08,760
kind of thing.
So I find like it very
1040
01:01:08,760 --> 01:01:10,720
interesting that they use the
name fiddlers Green because it's
1041
01:01:10,720 --> 01:01:15,480
very much a it's got very both
like positive and very negative
1042
01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:19,840
kind of interpretations to it.
So it which I think also really
1043
01:01:19,840 --> 01:01:22,880
reflects the fact that, you
know, this, this it looks like a
1044
01:01:22,880 --> 01:01:28,360
kind of paradise in this zombie
infested world, but really it's
1045
01:01:28,360 --> 01:01:33,840
its own kind of hell.
And I mean, kind of like the
1046
01:01:33,840 --> 01:01:37,920
whole sort of symbology of, you
know, we have the Richie Rich,
1047
01:01:37,920 --> 01:01:41,680
then we have coming people in
the surrounding area, and then
1048
01:01:41,680 --> 01:01:43,640
we have the zombies kind of
thing.
1049
01:01:43,640 --> 01:01:46,840
And the zombies kind of like
essentially rising up to take
1050
01:01:46,840 --> 01:01:50,960
out the Richie Rich people, but
then the people in the middle
1051
01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:52,520
kind of get caught in the
crossfire.
1052
01:01:53,000 --> 01:01:57,520
You feel like they are there and
they're kept around almost to be
1053
01:01:57,920 --> 01:02:03,920
like a buffer zone and nothing
else between the zombies and the
1054
01:02:03,920 --> 01:02:07,480
ultra wealthy.
That at the end of the day, I
1055
01:02:07,480 --> 01:02:10,320
think the expectation was like,
if anything were ever to go
1056
01:02:10,320 --> 01:02:15,000
down, the zombies could feast on
the poor and the rich could like
1057
01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:17,400
make their escape.
Like that was supposed to be the
1058
01:02:17,440 --> 01:02:19,640
plan.
I mean, like the whole, that
1059
01:02:19,640 --> 01:02:22,200
whole kind of like community,
even even aside from like the
1060
01:02:22,200 --> 01:02:25,160
events, the film, like there's
no way that could be sustainable
1061
01:02:25,160 --> 01:02:27,680
for much longer.
Like, this is meant to be like,
1062
01:02:28,240 --> 01:02:31,280
I'm not sure how many years
after the outbreak this is meant
1063
01:02:31,280 --> 01:02:34,120
to be, but sort of like without
any kind of like, means of
1064
01:02:34,120 --> 01:02:37,000
production for the luxury goods
they're all enjoying, Like,
1065
01:02:37,080 --> 01:02:40,840
there is no way this could like,
keep going for much longer.
1066
01:02:41,080 --> 01:02:45,520
And also the fact that, of
course, like, money, like Charlo
1067
01:02:45,520 --> 01:02:48,440
wants his money in order to be
able to buy himself into the
1068
01:02:48,440 --> 01:02:51,520
good life.
And then at the end, Kauffman is
1069
01:02:51,520 --> 01:02:53,240
making a break for it with a
whole bunch of money.
1070
01:02:53,240 --> 01:02:55,440
Money is meaningless.
Right.
1071
01:02:55,440 --> 01:02:57,840
It's like, what the hell are you
going to do with that?
1072
01:02:58,480 --> 01:03:01,440
There's no place for money in
this world anymore.
1073
01:03:01,440 --> 01:03:05,080
But they're just clinging on to
that archaic idea.
1074
01:03:06,520 --> 01:03:08,520
Yeah.
We have that one board member
1075
01:03:08,520 --> 01:03:10,800
who's like fucking pay them like
who cares?
1076
01:03:11,240 --> 01:03:14,040
Like they don't need to spend
money on anything.
1077
01:03:14,040 --> 01:03:16,520
All of their needs are taken
care of.
1078
01:03:17,160 --> 01:03:20,000
That is what what hit me re
watching this movie.
1079
01:03:21,040 --> 01:03:25,480
It made me rethink about like
COVID in 2020, in 2021 again, in
1080
01:03:25,480 --> 01:03:29,720
that there was a period during
that time, for as awful as it
1081
01:03:29,720 --> 01:03:33,720
was, there was a point where
it's like, oh, we can actually
1082
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:35,560
do things a little bit
differently.
1083
01:03:35,560 --> 01:03:38,840
Like the way that we've been
doing things maybe isn't
1084
01:03:38,840 --> 01:03:43,160
necessarily been good for us as
a society and as individuals.
1085
01:03:43,160 --> 01:03:47,160
So the idea that like you mean I
can do, I can be just as
1086
01:03:47,160 --> 01:03:51,680
productive, if not even more so
working out of home and doing
1087
01:03:51,680 --> 01:03:55,400
the same tasks.
But I don't need to be somewhere
1088
01:03:55,400 --> 01:03:57,880
8 hours a day.
If it takes me like 4 hours to
1089
01:03:57,880 --> 01:04:01,560
do them, it takes me 4 hours,
but I can have more time for
1090
01:04:01,560 --> 01:04:03,520
myself.
I can have more time to like
1091
01:04:03,800 --> 01:04:06,280
spend with my children.
I don't have to spend an hour
1092
01:04:06,280 --> 01:04:10,160
each way in the car everyday.
And this idea that we can
1093
01:04:10,760 --> 01:04:14,960
increase the social safety net
and have tax breaks for families
1094
01:04:14,960 --> 01:04:18,200
that were not just like an end
of year break, but every month,
1095
01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:21,880
like you're getting money to
basically take care of your
1096
01:04:21,880 --> 01:04:26,240
children, which was a huge
economic and lifted, I think
1097
01:04:26,240 --> 01:04:30,120
like it lowered the child
poverty rate, but I want to say
1098
01:04:30,120 --> 01:04:33,640
at least 33% and I'm probably
off by on that number.
1099
01:04:33,640 --> 01:04:38,360
And you had families that were
like, I can afford better food
1100
01:04:38,360 --> 01:04:42,160
and the necessities for my kid.
And it takes a huge weight off
1101
01:04:42,160 --> 01:04:47,520
my back that we had like outdoor
restaurants and nicer, like
1102
01:04:47,520 --> 01:04:49,880
greener spaces.
Like there was more effort put
1103
01:04:49,880 --> 01:04:53,240
in and we could have like kept
on that trajectory.
1104
01:04:53,520 --> 01:04:59,560
But instead, there was this
absolute race to put the systems
1105
01:04:59,560 --> 01:05:03,640
back in place that we had
before, even though there's
1106
01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:07,000
almost a universal
acknowledgement those systems
1107
01:05:07,000 --> 01:05:10,880
were already failing us before
the pandemic.
1108
01:05:11,960 --> 01:05:16,160
Oh, absolutely.
And I mean, it's also like the.
1109
01:05:16,680 --> 01:05:20,560
But yeah, it was just like, like
we all got dragged into the old
1110
01:05:20,560 --> 01:05:23,280
normality like as soon as they
could.
1111
01:05:23,320 --> 01:05:27,240
And yeah, it, it kind of like,
it does go back to that thing of
1112
01:05:27,240 --> 01:05:31,840
like the people who benefited
from the old systems trying to
1113
01:05:31,840 --> 01:05:34,920
hold on to them.
Yeah, as much as possible.
1114
01:05:35,080 --> 01:05:38,600
And I mean, I said in my notes
that like, like the the people
1115
01:05:38,600 --> 01:05:41,120
in Fiddler's Green and like
this, this whole kind of like,
1116
01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:45,120
you know, big tower separate
from like the sickness and
1117
01:05:45,120 --> 01:05:46,600
things.
It's very, very Mask of Red
1118
01:05:46,600 --> 01:05:48,120
Death.
Kind of thing.
1119
01:05:48,320 --> 01:05:51,720
Yeah, it is.
But they're like so removed from
1120
01:05:51,720 --> 01:05:56,960
the zombie threat that like that
when we do see like a zombie in
1121
01:05:56,960 --> 01:05:59,800
this kind of area near the
beginning when one of the
1122
01:05:59,800 --> 01:06:03,720
residents of the tower hangs
himself and trailer goes in and
1123
01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:06,640
like the guy's wife or whatever,
like like they're completely
1124
01:06:06,640 --> 01:06:08,880
useless.
Basically they have no that
1125
01:06:08,880 --> 01:06:11,600
she's just sitting, sitting
there screaming and crying or
1126
01:06:11,600 --> 01:06:16,640
it's like zombie hello, whereas
kind of like as the people from
1127
01:06:16,640 --> 01:06:19,320
like the raiding team they would
have they would just be on it
1128
01:06:19,320 --> 01:06:21,400
like straight away.
So they're just like so removed
1129
01:06:21,400 --> 01:06:23,400
from it.
Then you have the people in the
1130
01:06:23,400 --> 01:06:28,040
outer city who it's like they're
closer to the horror, but
1131
01:06:28,040 --> 01:06:31,520
they're also just kind of like
they're kind of desensitized to
1132
01:06:31,520 --> 01:06:33,840
it because they're using it for
that entertainment that like
1133
01:06:33,840 --> 01:06:37,960
with the things like the photo
booth and the games and using
1134
01:06:37,960 --> 01:06:39,760
for paintball practice and
things.
1135
01:06:40,120 --> 01:06:44,320
So they're just kind of like,
it's like they're, they kind of
1136
01:06:44,320 --> 01:06:47,880
don't take it seriously enough
in, in their own way until it's,
1137
01:06:48,240 --> 01:06:51,240
it's kind of tearing down the
gate, so to speak.
1138
01:06:51,280 --> 01:06:53,080
Right.
Well, you with that then.
1139
01:06:53,080 --> 01:06:55,640
You mentioned like that wealthy
family in the tower, like the
1140
01:06:55,880 --> 01:07:00,160
suggestion is the people that
have the most are the least able
1141
01:07:00,160 --> 01:07:03,360
to contribute anything of value.
Absolutely.
1142
01:07:03,360 --> 01:07:06,320
And I mean, there is, there is
also like a very, let's just say
1143
01:07:06,360 --> 01:07:10,560
like white Country Club vibe to
the whole tower thing.
1144
01:07:10,560 --> 01:07:14,040
Like the, the only person of
colour we really see is like
1145
01:07:14,040 --> 01:07:18,920
Kaufman's manservant and also
like the uniforms they got
1146
01:07:18,920 --> 01:07:22,080
people wearing in there.
It's like it's it's like very,
1147
01:07:22,080 --> 01:07:24,320
what's the word I'm looking for?
But like, like very kind of like
1148
01:07:24,320 --> 01:07:25,880
private army.
Yeah, sure, man.
1149
01:07:26,240 --> 01:07:29,960
Well, that the manservant like
Brian, you're more of our our
1150
01:07:29,960 --> 01:07:33,680
classic movie guru like that
feels like a very intentional
1151
01:07:33,960 --> 01:07:39,040
nod to the role of like what
most African American men and
1152
01:07:39,040 --> 01:07:40,760
women would have been relegated
to.
1153
01:07:40,760 --> 01:07:44,800
And like the even these where
they would be like the cook, the
1154
01:07:44,800 --> 01:07:46,840
Butler, the main.
Yeah, of.
1155
01:07:47,640 --> 01:07:51,920
Course, at the end when Cholo
comes back, Kaufman is spitting
1156
01:07:51,920 --> 01:07:54,800
off some delightful slurs.
For.
1157
01:07:55,600 --> 01:07:57,080
Latino man.
No.
1158
01:07:58,040 --> 01:08:02,360
But even the name Cholo, like
that in itself is a slur against
1159
01:08:02,360 --> 01:08:04,960
Latino men.
And that is like Skip Romero,
1160
01:08:04,960 --> 01:08:08,240
not very subtle in this movie,
in the kind of world that he's
1161
01:08:08,240 --> 01:08:10,400
creating.
Yeah.
1162
01:08:11,240 --> 01:08:14,480
Yeah, I do think also the
zombies, there's a very
1163
01:08:14,480 --> 01:08:18,880
deliberate choice to make them
all essentially working class
1164
01:08:19,319 --> 01:08:21,479
people.
So Big Daddy, I think we kind of
1165
01:08:21,479 --> 01:08:25,279
skipped over talking about
Eugene Clark as a big Daddy, who
1166
01:08:25,600 --> 01:08:27,479
frankly is.
It might be my favorite
1167
01:08:27,479 --> 01:08:29,960
character in the movie.
Oh yeah, 100%.
1168
01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:31,680
It's the zombies that make this
movie for me.
1169
01:08:31,840 --> 01:08:34,359
Yeah.
And so you've got, you know,
1170
01:08:34,359 --> 01:08:37,680
he's a gas station attendant.
And then you have the other one
1171
01:08:37,680 --> 01:08:39,960
who's the butcher.
And those are sort of the
1172
01:08:39,960 --> 01:08:44,120
prominent zombies are are, you
know, working class people.
1173
01:08:44,120 --> 01:08:46,399
You know, they're they're
they're people who make their
1174
01:08:46,399 --> 01:08:51,279
living go about their lives in
sort of a simple but productive
1175
01:08:51,279 --> 01:08:53,560
way.
And, you know, didn't make a lot
1176
01:08:53,560 --> 01:08:57,120
of money in life, but sort of
salt of the earth kind of
1177
01:08:57,120 --> 01:08:59,319
people.
You kind of get the it's it's
1178
01:08:59,319 --> 01:09:05,319
ironic that that you know, the
people who are in a sense, you
1179
01:09:05,319 --> 01:09:10,080
know, preserving the best of,
you know, society that was are
1180
01:09:10,080 --> 01:09:12,920
all zombies now you know,
they're all they're all dead.
1181
01:09:12,920 --> 01:09:17,359
They're all devouring the next
the portion of society, as it
1182
01:09:17,359 --> 01:09:21,160
were.
Yeah, I mean, when there's when
1183
01:09:21,160 --> 01:09:23,920
we see first see the zombies in
this, they're just, for lack of
1184
01:09:23,920 --> 01:09:25,600
a better term, living their
lives.
1185
01:09:25,600 --> 01:09:27,319
You know, they're just going
about their day.
1186
01:09:27,319 --> 01:09:30,640
They're just, you know, the
marching band just Tooting their
1187
01:09:30,640 --> 01:09:33,200
little instruments and things.
They're just they're just going
1188
01:09:33,200 --> 01:09:35,479
about the day.
And then and then the Raiders on
1189
01:09:35,479 --> 01:09:39,479
behalf of Kauffman and the
people in the tower, just like
1190
01:09:39,760 --> 01:09:43,800
Blaze in and, you know, mess
them up for the sake of getting
1191
01:09:43,800 --> 01:09:46,439
some supplies.
But also like that is where we
1192
01:09:46,439 --> 01:09:49,279
that first scene is also where
we see the that this is more of
1193
01:09:49,279 --> 01:09:52,720
a development of the zombies
intelligence as as big Daddy's
1194
01:09:52,720 --> 01:09:56,880
able to kind of like ignore the
fireworks or sky flowers and
1195
01:09:56,920 --> 01:10:00,600
he's just he's filled with rage.
You know, we see him kind of
1196
01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:04,640
like pushing other zombies out
of the way of like the bullets
1197
01:10:04,640 --> 01:10:07,360
and things like it's really,
it's really interesting to say.
1198
01:10:07,360 --> 01:10:12,000
For me, the 1st 15 minutes of
this are maybe the best in the
1199
01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:14,480
movie.
And I think they're, it's a
1200
01:10:14,480 --> 01:10:19,520
really, really solid opening and
you just kind of jump right in
1201
01:10:19,520 --> 01:10:23,800
and you really do see this as a
land of the dead where outside
1202
01:10:23,800 --> 01:10:27,080
out there they're like you said,
they're just kind of existing
1203
01:10:27,480 --> 01:10:29,640
more or less.
You know, yes, they're undead,
1204
01:10:29,640 --> 01:10:33,320
but they are I guess living
their lives as it were.
1205
01:10:33,320 --> 01:10:41,400
And, and this foreign agent that
wants to just stir up trouble is
1206
01:10:41,480 --> 01:10:45,440
disturbing this world.
And they are the ones that kind
1207
01:10:45,440 --> 01:10:50,240
of get, I don't know, they're
the ones that get the bad end of
1208
01:10:50,240 --> 01:10:54,640
that deal, it seems to me.
It is a very natural progression
1209
01:10:54,640 --> 01:10:58,280
of what we saw with like the
first 3 movies and that you have
1210
01:10:58,280 --> 01:11:02,440
like with a night, the initial
outbreak with Don, like what
1211
01:11:02,440 --> 01:11:06,160
happens a few weeks later and
how we thought it was contained
1212
01:11:06,160 --> 01:11:09,320
but actually it has spread.
And then with Day of the Dead,
1213
01:11:09,320 --> 01:11:13,600
how you know, as Doctor
Frankenstein says in that we
1214
01:11:13,800 --> 01:11:19,520
have 400,000 undead for everyone
living, remaining human.
1215
01:11:20,000 --> 01:11:25,160
And what you have in this movie
is whatever is left of humanity
1216
01:11:25,760 --> 01:11:30,040
contained in this like 1 not
even whole city, but a few
1217
01:11:30,040 --> 01:11:35,360
blocks of a city trying to live
out their days where the
1218
01:11:35,360 --> 01:11:39,160
stenchers or the zombies, they
have taken over every other
1219
01:11:39,160 --> 01:11:41,120
aspect of the land.
At this point.
1220
01:11:41,360 --> 01:11:44,960
To me, what Romero was kind of
saying in a lot of, because this
1221
01:11:44,960 --> 01:11:48,480
is not a subtle movie, like this
is very much as like, let's eat
1222
01:11:48,480 --> 01:11:51,440
the rich.
Like literally let's eat the
1223
01:11:51,440 --> 01:11:53,520
rich.
The only thing that's missing is
1224
01:11:53,520 --> 01:11:57,600
a guillotine in a scene.
And you know, which I would be
1225
01:11:57,600 --> 01:12:00,200
all for.
And I think what Romero was
1226
01:12:00,200 --> 01:12:03,240
saying is like, if we're going
to rebuild things, if we're
1227
01:12:03,240 --> 01:12:07,760
going to do things a little bit
different, we can't rebuild
1228
01:12:07,760 --> 01:12:10,120
things the exact same way we did
before.
1229
01:12:10,120 --> 01:12:15,200
Like that part of our culture,
that part of our site society,
1230
01:12:15,600 --> 01:12:18,520
it needs to be destroyed.
It needs to be eaten, it needs
1231
01:12:18,520 --> 01:12:20,720
to be consumed.
And that's the only way.
1232
01:12:21,000 --> 01:12:23,560
Like, that is the problem in
each of these movies.
1233
01:12:23,560 --> 01:12:28,000
Like the problem that the humans
invariably run into is they try
1234
01:12:28,000 --> 01:12:30,640
to recreate the comforts of
their old life.
1235
01:12:30,680 --> 01:12:34,120
And you know, you see that in
Dawn with them, like hunkering
1236
01:12:34,120 --> 01:12:37,160
down at the mall.
You see it in Day in that
1237
01:12:37,160 --> 01:12:40,440
they're like, well, we need to
figure out how to tame these
1238
01:12:40,800 --> 01:12:43,800
zombies so we can go back to our
old way of living.
1239
01:12:43,800 --> 01:12:48,120
And you're like, Sir, it is so
far past that point where that's
1240
01:12:48,120 --> 01:12:50,840
going to be anything we're going
to be able to do.
1241
01:12:50,840 --> 01:12:53,120
Like the time for that would
have been years ago.
1242
01:12:53,120 --> 01:12:55,840
In here, it's the same thing.
It's like, well what if we just
1243
01:12:55,840 --> 01:13:00,200
keep the working population fat
and happy and drunk with like
1244
01:13:00,200 --> 01:13:04,720
games and carnivals while we get
to live a cushy existence in.
1245
01:13:05,000 --> 01:13:08,160
There seems to be only like a
few people that are aware of
1246
01:13:08,160 --> 01:13:13,560
that or feel that disparity.
Yeah, comparing this to the
1247
01:13:14,000 --> 01:13:17,240
previous three, one of the
things that I think stands out
1248
01:13:17,240 --> 01:13:20,680
though is it's just a much more
open, expansive world.
1249
01:13:20,680 --> 01:13:23,240
Because all of all of the
previous three, like you've
1250
01:13:23,240 --> 01:13:26,600
said, Mike or Siege movies, the
threat is outside.
1251
01:13:26,600 --> 01:13:29,480
You have a small group of
survivors hunkered inside a
1252
01:13:29,480 --> 01:13:34,800
building, whether it's a small
farmhouse, a big mall or the
1253
01:13:34,800 --> 01:13:36,960
bunker.
It's kind of the same scenario
1254
01:13:37,000 --> 01:13:39,200
here.
They are going out.
1255
01:13:39,200 --> 01:13:43,800
That starts with them not
pulling themselves in, but going
1256
01:13:43,800 --> 01:13:48,000
out into this world.
And I think that really is
1257
01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:51,240
exciting and it's an exciting
way to start it.
1258
01:13:51,680 --> 01:13:55,000
And then I think for me, the
middle section has its ups and
1259
01:13:55,000 --> 01:13:56,840
downs.
I love the zombie stuff in the
1260
01:13:56,840 --> 01:13:59,240
middle section.
Every time they come back to big
1261
01:13:59,240 --> 01:14:03,880
Daddy and his little group that
he's forming that keeps moving
1262
01:14:03,880 --> 01:14:06,040
closer and closer to Fiddler's
Green.
1263
01:14:06,040 --> 01:14:09,080
I I'm always in on that.
And then, you know, some of the
1264
01:14:09,080 --> 01:14:12,440
things are kind of little.
You know, things are kind of
1265
01:14:12,440 --> 01:14:16,040
interesting along the way, but
you know, the the sort of
1266
01:14:16,040 --> 01:14:19,320
inciting incident.
Hey, I need, you know, he stole
1267
01:14:19,320 --> 01:14:21,520
dead reckoning.
I need you to go after it and
1268
01:14:21,520 --> 01:14:24,240
get it back.
I mean, it's, that's pretty
1269
01:14:24,240 --> 01:14:27,640
typical fair as far as
storytelling goes.
1270
01:14:27,640 --> 01:14:29,760
I mean, it's not particularly
it's.
1271
01:14:29,840 --> 01:14:32,200
Pretty whatever, you don't
really care about that it's.
1272
01:14:32,240 --> 01:14:35,760
Kind of a Western in that sense.
You know, it's that's very much
1273
01:14:35,760 --> 01:14:39,520
of A Western classic Western
sensibility, which is cool too.
1274
01:14:39,560 --> 01:14:43,680
I mean, but you know, it's not
it's not particularly
1275
01:14:43,680 --> 01:14:46,360
innovative.
Whereas I think that horde of
1276
01:14:46,360 --> 01:14:52,600
the zombies realizing that they
actually, when they're together,
1277
01:14:52,920 --> 01:14:57,160
they have more power than the
rich people, this limited number
1278
01:14:57,160 --> 01:15:01,080
of people inside this building
and they can overtake them if
1279
01:15:01,080 --> 01:15:03,520
they band together.
And I think that is really
1280
01:15:03,520 --> 01:15:06,480
fascinating.
And so for me, the 1st 15
1281
01:15:06,480 --> 01:15:10,640
minutes and like the last 20 or
30 minutes is where this movie
1282
01:15:10,640 --> 01:15:12,720
really sings.
And then in the middle, it's
1283
01:15:12,720 --> 01:15:15,280
sort of, it's got its ups and.
Downs we got to get there yeah,
1284
01:15:15,280 --> 01:15:18,880
we need to like get something.
We need an inciting incident
1285
01:15:18,880 --> 01:15:22,560
that will set up the world and
then we need a big climax so
1286
01:15:22,560 --> 01:15:27,160
like that second section is just
kind of exists to push things
1287
01:15:27,160 --> 01:15:29,760
along.
I think if there's like,
1288
01:15:29,760 --> 01:15:33,600
because, you know, unlike, say,
the Star Wars prequels, like
1289
01:15:33,880 --> 01:15:35,760
some people have come around on
those now.
1290
01:15:35,760 --> 01:15:38,640
And I think for like the
millennial generation, like,
1291
01:15:38,640 --> 01:15:42,360
even like, those are the movies
they might even enjoy more than
1292
01:15:42,360 --> 01:15:45,080
the original trilogy because it
feels like that's their Star
1293
01:15:45,080 --> 01:15:46,640
Wars.
And yeah, which?
1294
01:15:46,640 --> 01:15:49,520
I nod my head.
At but understand that at all
1295
01:15:49,520 --> 01:15:50,200
but.
Whatever.
1296
01:15:50,200 --> 01:15:53,640
Like it's like because you think
they saw it at a certain time.
1297
01:15:54,000 --> 01:15:58,200
I don't know anybody that would
say, yeah, the second Living
1298
01:15:58,200 --> 01:16:01,320
Dead trilogy from Romero.
Like, I actually prefer that
1299
01:16:01,320 --> 01:16:05,240
over the original 3.
Like that is a person that, you
1300
01:16:05,240 --> 01:16:08,280
know, you would probably kick
God of normal society at that
1301
01:16:08,280 --> 01:16:12,200
point for their views and that
you would publicly shame them
1302
01:16:12,480 --> 01:16:14,840
for them.
And I think maybe the reason why
1303
01:16:14,840 --> 01:16:20,680
is there aren't really any
compelling human characters in
1304
01:16:20,680 --> 01:16:23,040
these, in any of the three
movies.
1305
01:16:23,040 --> 01:16:26,560
Like we're going to talk about
Diary next week.
1306
01:16:26,560 --> 01:16:30,840
And it is just the most, there's
no one in that.
1307
01:16:30,840 --> 01:16:33,720
Like you're just like everybody
get eaten in the 1st 5 minutes,
1308
01:16:33,720 --> 01:16:36,080
please.
Just I don't want to watch any
1309
01:16:36,080 --> 01:16:40,040
more of this.
And here, like, I mean, Luisiamo
1310
01:16:40,040 --> 01:16:42,760
is great, but like Cholo is a
character.
1311
01:16:42,760 --> 01:16:46,120
Is it necessarily a character?
Yeah.
1312
01:16:46,280 --> 01:16:51,600
And he's not so over the top
like Joe Pilato in Day of the
1313
01:16:51,600 --> 01:16:54,840
Dead where it's such a memorable
performance, you're drawn to it.
1314
01:16:55,120 --> 01:16:57,880
So there's no like Ben, like
there is a Night of the Living
1315
01:16:57,880 --> 01:17:01,920
Dead by with Dwayne Jones.
There's no Peter and Raj and
1316
01:17:02,000 --> 01:17:05,040
Fran.
There's no Sarah or John or
1317
01:17:05,040 --> 01:17:09,000
Billy like there is in Day.
It's just like, you know, to
1318
01:17:09,000 --> 01:17:11,440
your point, Brian, it's just a
bunch of grunts.
1319
01:17:11,960 --> 01:17:15,480
Yeah, yeah.
And I think, you know, I think
1320
01:17:15,480 --> 01:17:18,800
for me, like Rosano stands out
because he's just kind of got an
1321
01:17:18,800 --> 01:17:22,720
IT factor that mostly other
actors don't have and it.
1322
01:17:22,720 --> 01:17:25,400
Yeah.
So I find the lead character in
1323
01:17:25,400 --> 01:17:29,920
this just kind of bland.
And I just like I, I'm not super
1324
01:17:29,920 --> 01:17:33,840
engaged with that and I.
I said Dylan Baker, it's Simon
1325
01:17:33,840 --> 01:17:36,120
Baker, that's how.
OK, sure.
1326
01:17:36,200 --> 01:17:37,560
I mean, that's how I feel about
him.
1327
01:17:37,960 --> 01:17:41,320
He's just like, he's just like I
don't I didn't even bother to
1328
01:17:41,320 --> 01:17:43,880
look up his name.
So you got farther than I did,
1329
01:17:44,240 --> 01:17:47,600
but I was just like I that's how
I felt about him.
1330
01:17:47,600 --> 01:17:51,200
Is like the character is not
written poorly, but I think it's
1331
01:17:51,200 --> 01:17:55,920
just not given the oomph, you
know, if you had because I know
1332
01:17:55,920 --> 01:17:59,720
originally Romero wanted to have
an African American actor in
1333
01:17:59,720 --> 01:18:02,600
this role.
He wanted to have a black actor
1334
01:18:02,600 --> 01:18:08,560
play their lead role here, you
know, just like Ken Forry, just
1335
01:18:08,560 --> 01:18:14,800
like Dwayne Jones and have
someone who could I I think if
1336
01:18:14,800 --> 01:18:20,360
you have, I don't know who who
that would be, but in 2005, but
1337
01:18:21,640 --> 01:18:27,000
someone just with a lot, I think
you get an actor like like
1338
01:18:27,240 --> 01:18:30,320
either of those guys in that
role and you have something that
1339
01:18:30,800 --> 01:18:33,440
is, you know, it doesn't have to
be a black actor either.
1340
01:18:33,440 --> 01:18:37,600
But I mean, just someone who
really has that kind of
1341
01:18:37,600 --> 01:18:40,080
charisma.
I think you could really have it
1342
01:18:40,080 --> 01:18:43,280
would elevate the whole middle
section of this movie so much
1343
01:18:43,280 --> 01:18:46,200
more.
But but, you know, so the studio
1344
01:18:46,200 --> 01:18:49,360
basically told him, no, you need
to have a white actor in the in
1345
01:18:49,360 --> 01:18:52,040
that role.
And then and so he made the the
1346
01:18:52,040 --> 01:18:55,040
lead zombie a black actor, which
you know, and he's great.
1347
01:18:55,040 --> 01:18:56,200
I love it.
Yeah, it's.
1348
01:18:56,560 --> 01:18:58,800
Great, that's.
The thing it's like because the
1349
01:18:58,800 --> 01:19:01,040
humans are just so blind, it
just means that we root for the
1350
01:19:01,040 --> 01:19:02,120
zombies.
Exactly.
1351
01:19:02,560 --> 01:19:05,240
Which I don't think is
necessarily bad because we're at
1352
01:19:05,240 --> 01:19:09,360
this point, I think we're the
zombies actually have taken the
1353
01:19:09,360 --> 01:19:11,760
role.
You know, as often happens in
1354
01:19:11,760 --> 01:19:17,040
series over time, where the the
the big bad of the previous
1355
01:19:17,040 --> 01:19:19,240
movie kind of becomes a hero
over time.
1356
01:19:19,480 --> 01:19:24,040
You start rooting for Jason, you
know, after a few movies, right.
1357
01:19:24,360 --> 01:19:26,200
Yeah.
And I think that's kind of it's
1358
01:19:26,240 --> 01:19:30,960
almost feels like the point of
this one, like you, you, the the
1359
01:19:30,960 --> 01:19:36,320
zombies are maybe on the right
track here as far as the where
1360
01:19:36,320 --> 01:19:39,840
things should be heading.
Yeah, they eat people, but.
1361
01:19:41,160 --> 01:19:45,560
There's a line in 28 Days Later
that one of the soldiers says
1362
01:19:45,840 --> 01:19:48,720
when, like one of the, I think
when it's Christopher Eccleson's
1363
01:19:48,720 --> 01:19:52,360
character talks about things
returning back to the normal.
1364
01:19:52,600 --> 01:19:56,040
There's like the one soldier
who's like, well, the world is
1365
01:19:56,040 --> 01:19:59,240
like a billion years old and
we've only been on it, no.
1366
01:20:00,200 --> 01:20:04,000
10,000 years is meant, right?
So he's like we're kind of a
1367
01:20:04,000 --> 01:20:06,000
blip.
So if humanity gets
1368
01:20:06,000 --> 01:20:09,720
extinguished, that actually
would be the norm.
1369
01:20:09,720 --> 01:20:11,960
Not, you know, man continuing
on.
1370
01:20:11,960 --> 01:20:17,080
And I kind of think of that with
this movie here in that humanity
1371
01:20:17,080 --> 01:20:21,880
has in some ways evolved in that
like this is what it's going to
1372
01:20:21,880 --> 01:20:25,360
be now that the zombies can
think and they do.
1373
01:20:25,680 --> 01:20:29,960
It's more even more than like we
saw this a bit with Bob in Day
1374
01:20:29,960 --> 01:20:32,720
of the Dead, and you see it in
Daughter of the Dead with people
1375
01:20:32,720 --> 01:20:36,440
just returning out of instinct.
And even in Night of the Living
1376
01:20:36,440 --> 01:20:40,280
Dead, the zombies start using
like rudimentary tools, like
1377
01:20:40,720 --> 01:20:43,360
they pick up rocks in order to
smash glass.
1378
01:20:43,360 --> 01:20:46,600
But here when they get to
Fiddler's Green and you have
1379
01:20:46,600 --> 01:20:50,200
that really thick, thick glass
that they would not be able to
1380
01:20:50,200 --> 01:20:53,800
breakthrough just through
physical force, that they use
1381
01:20:53,800 --> 01:20:57,480
the tools they picked up on the
way to smash the glass.
1382
01:20:57,480 --> 01:21:04,320
That when Big Daddy corners
Dennis Hopper Kaufman at the end
1383
01:21:04,320 --> 01:21:09,720
of the movie and he picks up the
gas, the gas nozzle, you think,
1384
01:21:09,760 --> 01:21:13,520
oh, he's going to like fill up
the car gas tank like he would
1385
01:21:13,520 --> 01:21:16,560
and his And he's like, Nope.
He's like, I know what gasoline
1386
01:21:16,560 --> 01:21:19,240
does.
It burns, it ignites.
1387
01:21:19,440 --> 01:21:22,200
So he sticks it through the
window and he covers the whole
1388
01:21:22,200 --> 01:21:26,840
car in gas and then sets it on
fire, which is really brilliant.
1389
01:21:26,840 --> 01:21:30,320
So you can see how they're
they're thinking like they have
1390
01:21:30,320 --> 01:21:32,720
evolved.
The the bit I like is when
1391
01:21:32,800 --> 01:21:35,200
they've kind of they get to a
barricade and he essentially
1392
01:21:35,200 --> 01:21:38,800
kind of directs the Butcher
zombie to use his hatchet.
1393
01:21:38,840 --> 01:21:41,200
Yeah.
Barricade and things like that.
1394
01:21:41,400 --> 01:21:45,800
Or when with the baseball girl,
he kind of like she goes to hit
1395
01:21:45,800 --> 01:21:48,640
someone with her bat and he's
like, no, no, this is how you
1396
01:21:48,640 --> 01:21:50,000
can shoot people.
Yeah.
1397
01:21:51,440 --> 01:21:54,680
Yeah, I I like that a lot.
I think the evolution of the
1398
01:21:54,680 --> 01:21:58,520
zombie is really one of the
great things about this movie,
1399
01:21:58,520 --> 01:22:01,680
and I think it was probably one
of the bigger criticisms of this
1400
01:22:01,680 --> 01:22:05,960
movie from certain corners of
the horror fandom.
1401
01:22:05,960 --> 01:22:09,120
I imagine because I can, I can
just hear them go to, but
1402
01:22:09,120 --> 01:22:11,880
zombies can't do that.
It's like George Romero
1403
01:22:11,880 --> 01:22:15,920
literally created them.
He can have them do whatever he
1404
01:22:15,920 --> 01:22:18,640
wants, you know to.
Tap dance.
1405
01:22:18,680 --> 01:22:20,200
They will tap dance.
Yeah.
1406
01:22:20,440 --> 01:22:24,400
And so I was, I was on board
with this on this viewing with
1407
01:22:24,400 --> 01:22:28,520
the with that.
And I liked it with Bub.
1408
01:22:28,920 --> 01:22:31,720
I remember thinking that was
really cool when I first saw
1409
01:22:31,720 --> 01:22:34,960
Dawn of the Dead or Day of the
Dead way back when, really
1410
01:22:34,960 --> 01:22:40,680
liking the Bub element and also
really liking the continuation
1411
01:22:40,680 --> 01:22:43,800
of that when I first saw this
one years ago as well.
1412
01:22:43,880 --> 01:22:47,640
And it only it reinforced it on
this viewing how kind of well
1413
01:22:47,640 --> 01:22:50,000
done it is.
It's not, it doesn't feel, it
1414
01:22:50,000 --> 01:22:52,080
doesn't feel forced.
It's like this has been a long
1415
01:22:52,080 --> 01:22:57,200
time coming and this like this
this thing that brought them
1416
01:22:57,200 --> 01:23:00,960
back and took over most of their
brains and doesn't require
1417
01:23:00,960 --> 01:23:04,600
function for most of it is sort
of receding in a way.
1418
01:23:04,600 --> 01:23:07,680
Yes, it's still keeping them
going, but the they're higher
1419
01:23:07,680 --> 01:23:13,000
functions are sort of regaining
slowly control over over this
1420
01:23:13,000 --> 01:23:14,640
tissue.
You know, it's pretty.
1421
01:23:14,640 --> 01:23:16,720
Proves Frankenstein right.
Yeah.
1422
01:23:17,400 --> 01:23:21,560
Eventually, like it took maybe
many years afterwards, but he
1423
01:23:21,560 --> 01:23:24,840
was correct.
And then, of course, the very
1424
01:23:24,840 --> 01:23:29,560
iconic shot of this film is when
they basically figure out that
1425
01:23:29,560 --> 01:23:31,680
they can just go through the
water.
1426
01:23:31,680 --> 01:23:34,760
And then, yeah, they're all kind
of like the heads coming up out.
1427
01:23:34,760 --> 01:23:37,400
And I love that shot.
And it's a great shot, yeah.
1428
01:23:38,200 --> 01:23:39,880
Beautiful.
What other?
1429
01:23:39,920 --> 01:23:44,480
Horrifying.
Zombie movies used that.
1430
01:23:44,480 --> 01:23:48,160
I feel like there's one where
like there's a zombie in a shark
1431
01:23:48,200 --> 01:23:50,600
that fight and I can't think of.
That's what.
1432
01:23:50,600 --> 01:23:52,320
That is but.
That's full cheese.
1433
01:23:52,320 --> 01:23:54,080
I feel like that's a.
Yeah, that's full.
1434
01:23:54,280 --> 01:23:56,520
Cheese film.
The zombies do the same thing.
1435
01:23:56,640 --> 01:24:00,360
Yeah, that's full cheese zombie.
He the zombie.
1436
01:24:00,800 --> 01:24:06,000
It was like, OK, let's exploit
Jaws and Dawn of the Dead in the
1437
01:24:06,000 --> 01:24:08,720
same movie.
So the zombie fights a shark and
1438
01:24:08,720 --> 01:24:11,720
like literally bites it.
So yeah.
1439
01:24:11,720 --> 01:24:15,240
So zombie or Zombie 2, depending
on how you want to call it,
1440
01:24:15,240 --> 01:24:17,840
Yeah, so.
The other thing that stands out
1441
01:24:17,840 --> 01:24:23,640
is just like the nonchalance of
even the soldiers in this movie,
1442
01:24:23,920 --> 01:24:28,840
in that like the zombies are
such a part of life that you see
1443
01:24:28,840 --> 01:24:31,920
them everybody getting careless.
I mean, you see that with
1444
01:24:31,920 --> 01:24:36,640
Cholo's character in that like
he causes the death of one of
1445
01:24:36,640 --> 01:24:39,120
his teammates.
Like when he knocks over the
1446
01:24:39,120 --> 01:24:43,160
cigars and he tells the guy to
pick them up and the kid like
1447
01:24:43,160 --> 01:24:44,920
doesn't even tend to look
around.
1448
01:24:44,920 --> 01:24:49,440
He just reaches down and then he
gets gotten that you see in the,
1449
01:24:49,560 --> 01:24:52,640
you know, like at this point the
zombies are being used as a form
1450
01:24:52,640 --> 01:24:56,000
of entertainment.
Like where come and get your
1451
01:24:56,000 --> 01:24:59,440
picture taken with them.
And that just seems like a very
1452
01:24:59,440 --> 01:25:02,760
bad idea where so many things
could go wrong.
1453
01:25:02,760 --> 01:25:06,200
And I don't even want to know
what the insurance liability
1454
01:25:06,440 --> 01:25:10,360
would be on something like that
if something bad were to happen.
1455
01:25:10,720 --> 01:25:14,080
And yet here we are.
And you know, it's a little kind
1456
01:25:14,080 --> 01:25:18,360
of a nod and a that to me.
And like the fireworks, which I
1457
01:25:18,360 --> 01:25:20,680
don't, it's a bit overwritten at
times.
1458
01:25:20,680 --> 01:25:22,880
Like let's call them sky
flowers.
1459
01:25:22,880 --> 01:25:25,760
It's like.
We wouldn't have forgotten what
1460
01:25:25,760 --> 01:25:28,600
they're actually called, yeah.
Yeah, like, no, like they even
1461
01:25:28,600 --> 01:25:33,440
say fireworks at one point and
like the whole like sky flowers
1462
01:25:33,440 --> 01:25:36,520
and it's like, no, they're just
fireworks.
1463
01:25:36,960 --> 01:25:41,760
But this idea that like we can
distract the masses, I think
1464
01:25:41,760 --> 01:25:46,680
even the phrase that was used in
O4 when we went into Iraq was
1465
01:25:46,680 --> 01:25:49,800
like, we're going to use shock
and awe that we're going to have
1466
01:25:50,120 --> 01:25:56,160
these displays of like violence
and carnage and destruction.
1467
01:25:56,480 --> 01:25:59,960
They're going to be so
overwhelming that the average
1468
01:25:59,960 --> 01:26:03,840
person is going to be like
approve of them in a lot of
1469
01:26:03,840 --> 01:26:05,480
ways.
Like, well, isn't it cool that
1470
01:26:05,480 --> 01:26:07,320
we have missiles that can do
that?
1471
01:26:07,720 --> 01:26:10,600
Not thinking like, well, at the
other end of that missile are
1472
01:26:10,600 --> 01:26:14,200
like a number of human beings
that are being blown to pieces.
1473
01:26:14,200 --> 01:26:18,680
And we can use like these sky
flowers and we can use these
1474
01:26:18,680 --> 01:26:22,000
cage games where like we'll
throw people in to get zombies
1475
01:26:22,000 --> 01:26:24,280
to fight one another to see who
gets to eat them.
1476
01:26:24,640 --> 01:26:28,480
Then we can have this carnival
atmosphere almost as a destroy
1477
01:26:28,480 --> 01:26:31,640
it it not almost.
It's a distraction so that the
1478
01:26:31,640 --> 01:26:36,280
masses that greatly outnumber
the rich never even think to
1479
01:26:36,280 --> 01:26:41,000
uprise, aside from like a very
small band of people that know
1480
01:26:41,240 --> 01:26:44,360
we don't have the numbers where
we can have any sort of impact.
1481
01:26:45,000 --> 01:26:47,560
It's very Roman Empire, you
know, give them bread and
1482
01:26:47,560 --> 01:26:51,440
circuses.
And I mean, I'm pretty sure in
1483
01:26:51,440 --> 01:26:55,440
that kind of like carnival area,
I'm pretty sure you do see some
1484
01:26:55,440 --> 01:26:57,840
of the a few of the richer
people in there as well.
1485
01:26:58,080 --> 01:26:59,840
So.
Clearly they like to like come
1486
01:26:59,840 --> 01:27:02,680
down and get their kicks among
the rabbles.
1487
01:27:02,680 --> 01:27:04,040
Slum it.
Yeah.
1488
01:27:04,240 --> 01:27:09,320
Slum it before heading back to
the safety and security of the
1489
01:27:09,320 --> 01:27:14,000
tower.
No, there's even the shot of
1490
01:27:14,000 --> 01:27:17,440
like the bird in the cage and
then later on you come back to
1491
01:27:17,440 --> 01:27:20,120
it and you see that's not even a
real bird, that it's a
1492
01:27:20,240 --> 01:27:23,440
mechanical bird.
On a character note, there is
1493
01:27:23,440 --> 01:27:27,240
like this Allen Van Spring,
because this film feels like it
1494
01:27:27,240 --> 01:27:30,440
ends the series.
Like what you have after this
1495
01:27:30,440 --> 01:27:35,240
with Diary of the Dead is like a
soft reboot of everything that
1496
01:27:35,240 --> 01:27:38,200
had gone on.
So it doesn't really feel in
1497
01:27:38,200 --> 01:27:41,160
place with Night of the Living
Dead and Day, Dawn and Land.
1498
01:27:41,160 --> 01:27:45,200
It feels like it's own thing and
then survival is a direct
1499
01:27:45,200 --> 01:27:49,120
continuation of that.
But there is like a person like
1500
01:27:49,120 --> 01:27:54,160
Alex Van Spring, he turns up, is
one of like the army men
1501
01:27:54,160 --> 01:27:57,720
guarding the city where he's in
charge of dead reckoning when
1502
01:27:57,720 --> 01:28:01,200
it's docked.
And then, like, that actor turns
1503
01:28:01,200 --> 01:28:05,600
up again in Diary of the Dead
very briefly, as like a group of
1504
01:28:05,600 --> 01:28:08,800
soldiers that board the van that
the kids are on.
1505
01:28:09,280 --> 01:28:12,640
And then he becomes the main
character in Survival of the
1506
01:28:12,640 --> 01:28:14,840
Dead.
And I'm almost wondering if this
1507
01:28:14,840 --> 01:28:19,440
is like a trilogy told in a sort
of reverse, that in the end,
1508
01:28:19,440 --> 01:28:22,880
like everything happened in
Diary in Survival and it
1509
01:28:22,880 --> 01:28:26,400
culminates in Land of the Dead
rather than it being a
1510
01:28:26,840 --> 01:28:28,640
continuation of the other
movies.
1511
01:28:28,640 --> 01:28:30,640
And I'm not sure where I land on
that.
1512
01:28:30,880 --> 01:28:35,000
Or it was just like happy
happenstance that I hired this
1513
01:28:35,000 --> 01:28:38,920
guy for one scene for two movies
and then made him the lead.
1514
01:28:39,680 --> 01:28:43,640
I haven't seen Diary or survival
recent enough to be able to
1515
01:28:43,640 --> 01:28:46,160
comment.
You're not missing a lot.
1516
01:28:46,440 --> 01:28:50,800
Yeah, I did pick up a cheap
Blu-ray of Survival of the Dead
1517
01:28:50,800 --> 01:28:53,240
though, so maybe we can I can at
least watch that one.
1518
01:28:54,000 --> 01:28:56,920
I am surprised those are not
preciously held.
1519
01:28:57,280 --> 01:29:01,840
I own 2 copies of Survival of
the Dead and I have no idea how
1520
01:29:01,840 --> 01:29:05,040
I'm like that.
Feels like 2 too many but here
1521
01:29:05,040 --> 01:29:07,840
we are.
Yeah, I think the real answer is
1522
01:29:07,840 --> 01:29:13,160
just random happenstance, but I,
I mean, I, I think as far as
1523
01:29:13,160 --> 01:29:15,920
kind of like little movie
theories go, I've heard worse
1524
01:29:16,400 --> 01:29:19,160
like.
Well, what's the worst one?
1525
01:29:19,240 --> 01:29:21,280
I kid, I kid.
What else do we?
1526
01:29:21,800 --> 01:29:24,200
Well, it's like, well, you know,
like all of those words like,
1527
01:29:24,240 --> 01:29:27,320
you know, some sort of like kids
film and it's like a a theory
1528
01:29:27,320 --> 01:29:29,640
about it that makes it like
really, really dark or
1529
01:29:29,640 --> 01:29:33,640
something, you know, like some,
some like like they'd.
1530
01:29:33,840 --> 01:29:37,480
Like people like.
Well, but no, like like sort of
1531
01:29:37,480 --> 01:29:40,560
like kids movies where they're
like, it's clearly like the main
1532
01:29:40,560 --> 01:29:45,640
character is is dying and this
is like his dying fantasy, OK,
1533
01:29:45,720 --> 01:29:48,200
kind of like that kind of thing.
Like, like people like to do
1534
01:29:48,200 --> 01:29:50,560
that a lot with like really
awesome movies.
1535
01:29:50,880 --> 01:29:54,600
Yeah, see, my thing is and I
love Home Alone and Home Alone
1536
01:29:54,600 --> 01:29:56,440
2.
I think those are so much fun.
1537
01:29:56,800 --> 01:30:00,680
And Home Alone 2 is Home Alone 2
is a horror movie.
1538
01:30:01,040 --> 01:30:04,640
I mean, to me, Home Alone and
Home Alone 2, like, those are
1539
01:30:04,680 --> 01:30:11,280
like, like Kevin McAllister grew
up to be Jigsaw is my thing is
1540
01:30:11,280 --> 01:30:16,360
like, that is because you see it
in a Home Alone too, where he
1541
01:30:16,360 --> 01:30:19,400
doesn't really need to torture
the Wet Bandits like in the
1542
01:30:19,400 --> 01:30:22,480
first movie.
Yeah, he has to defend the home
1543
01:30:22,760 --> 01:30:25,600
so you can see where it goes
awry.
1544
01:30:26,040 --> 01:30:29,040
But in Home Alone too, like he's
in New York City, one of the
1545
01:30:29,040 --> 01:30:32,600
biggest cities in the world,
where there's a cop on every
1546
01:30:32,680 --> 01:30:35,000
corner.
And any point he could have
1547
01:30:35,000 --> 01:30:38,840
gotten to someone that would
help him and not have to tort.
1548
01:30:38,840 --> 01:30:42,520
He just wanted to hurt people.
He just wanted to hurt the Wet
1549
01:30:42,520 --> 01:30:44,360
Bandits.
And he gets off on it.
1550
01:30:44,680 --> 01:30:48,200
So it's, to me, that's a dark,
dark theory.
1551
01:30:48,200 --> 01:30:51,800
But well, Nicotero comes back.
I just want to mention K&B
1552
01:30:52,080 --> 01:30:56,640
briefly because I do feel that
there are some of, like, the
1553
01:30:56,640 --> 01:30:59,800
best zombie effects in a film
here.
1554
01:31:00,120 --> 01:31:02,440
And then there's also some of
the.
1555
01:31:02,960 --> 01:31:06,080
And this is a trend that will
continue in the next two movies.
1556
01:31:06,400 --> 01:31:11,600
You see Romero employing CGI for
the first time, and it never
1557
01:31:11,600 --> 01:31:14,040
gets any better whenever he uses
it.
1558
01:31:14,120 --> 01:31:16,480
Yeah.
It's like, I mean, I like the
1559
01:31:16,480 --> 01:31:19,560
concept of like when you turn
around and there seems to be
1560
01:31:19,560 --> 01:31:23,440
like a headless zombie and then
it like flips its head over to
1561
01:31:23,440 --> 01:31:25,400
bite.
I love the concept of that.
1562
01:31:25,400 --> 01:31:32,200
The execution less so and I
think as a like a brand and I
1563
01:31:32,200 --> 01:31:34,320
think after the zombies
breakdown the barricade, they'd
1564
01:31:34,320 --> 01:31:37,000
like see a bunch of zombies that
have been caught in snare traps
1565
01:31:37,000 --> 01:31:40,600
or something and like just the
CGI face just like pops into
1566
01:31:40,600 --> 01:31:43,360
view and it's like, oh, oh,
that, that does look good.
1567
01:31:43,960 --> 01:31:46,720
A lot of it is with the blood,
like a lot of it is going to get
1568
01:31:46,720 --> 01:31:49,000
headshot.
You can see that.
1569
01:31:49,200 --> 01:31:52,720
And like, there's one, one
that's really egregious is like
1570
01:31:52,720 --> 01:31:57,440
when Leguizamo's character like,
shoots a zombie in the head when
1571
01:31:57,440 --> 01:32:00,960
it's lying on top of him and you
see like the blood splatter from
1572
01:32:00,960 --> 01:32:04,520
CGI and then you come back to
him and he doesn't have a drop
1573
01:32:04,520 --> 01:32:08,120
of anything on him.
You're like, OK, that doesn't
1574
01:32:08,120 --> 01:32:11,640
seem right.
Yeah, CGI does not do blood
1575
01:32:11,640 --> 01:32:14,920
well, No, it's never.
It still doesn't.
1576
01:32:15,160 --> 01:32:21,880
It still doesn't, no, but it is
good to see that there is, you
1577
01:32:21,880 --> 01:32:27,080
know, quite a lot of practical
effects still going on.
1578
01:32:27,080 --> 01:32:32,280
I know they augment it with with
CGI, of course, which, you know,
1579
01:32:32,280 --> 01:32:37,840
was sort of, you know, that's if
if you're going to do CGI, using
1580
01:32:37,840 --> 01:32:40,640
it as an augmentation is the
best way to do it, I think.
1581
01:32:40,920 --> 01:32:45,640
But yeah, I know Romero was
never really, he didn't ever
1582
01:32:45,640 --> 01:32:52,000
want to do it, but it kind of
became necessary, I think just.
1583
01:32:52,120 --> 01:32:54,120
Well, I think in the next two
movies, yeah.
1584
01:32:54,120 --> 01:32:57,880
Yeah, it's just cost prohibitive
to not have any.
1585
01:32:58,480 --> 01:33:01,520
Yeah, You know, I think he would
say like with survival, it just
1586
01:33:01,520 --> 01:33:05,720
let them keep shooting and then
we can fix it later and it just
1587
01:33:06,040 --> 01:33:08,800
it just he didn't have the
budget to do it.
1588
01:33:08,800 --> 01:33:12,240
Well, like you can do it and you
can get away with it to a
1589
01:33:12,240 --> 01:33:16,000
certain extent, but you go
especially like coming off of
1590
01:33:16,000 --> 01:33:20,160
watching like Day of the Dead
where I think that might be some
1591
01:33:20,160 --> 01:33:24,240
of the best effects work ever in
a horror movie.
1592
01:33:24,240 --> 01:33:29,080
And that's all 100% practical.
You have great make up here.
1593
01:33:29,080 --> 01:33:32,360
Like Brian, like you said, the
1st 15 minutes, you know, I
1594
01:33:32,360 --> 01:33:36,480
think of like the cheerleader
zombie and like that shot of
1595
01:33:36,480 --> 01:33:38,720
her, it's so good.
It's unfor.
1596
01:33:38,720 --> 01:33:43,920
And you do have like 1 scene of
like a the belly button scene is
1597
01:33:43,920 --> 01:33:47,320
so grotesque and just so
disturbing.
1598
01:33:47,640 --> 01:33:50,040
So when you get those scenes,
that's great.
1599
01:33:50,040 --> 01:33:51,680
It's unfortunate that you have
to.
1600
01:33:51,680 --> 01:33:54,480
And the bites look really good
here as well.
1601
01:33:54,480 --> 01:33:57,000
The bites like they keep.
That's one thing that's
1602
01:33:57,000 --> 01:33:59,880
consistent in all of these
movies is when you get bitten.
1603
01:33:59,880 --> 01:34:03,640
It looks great.
Well, I don't have a lot else.
1604
01:34:03,640 --> 01:34:06,240
I mean, do we have anything else
on Land of the Dead?
1605
01:34:06,280 --> 01:34:09,400
Really, I mean, I mean, one of
the saying about like the
1606
01:34:09,400 --> 01:34:13,320
subtlety of the film, there's
the line after bitten where he
1607
01:34:13,320 --> 01:34:18,080
says his buddy offers to shoot
him and he goes, Nah, I think I
1608
01:34:18,080 --> 01:34:19,480
want to see how the other half
live.
1609
01:34:19,480 --> 01:34:23,680
That's definitely a bit on the.
Yeah, it's not a sudden.
1610
01:34:23,680 --> 01:34:28,400
It just speaks to Cholo's
character like, well, it just
1611
01:34:28,400 --> 01:34:34,040
broke up a little bit there.
A bit fuzzy there.
1612
01:34:36,200 --> 01:34:37,680
Yeah.
Do you want to take that from
1613
01:34:37,680 --> 01:34:39,760
the top again?
And I'll just edit the other
1614
01:34:39,760 --> 01:34:42,520
part out.
Yeah, sure.
1615
01:34:44,120 --> 01:34:47,160
Yeah, No, basically like talking
about the extreme lack of
1616
01:34:47,160 --> 01:34:50,560
subtlety in this film.
There's the line that Chow has
1617
01:34:50,560 --> 01:34:55,800
after he gets bitten by a zombie
where he's where his mate offers
1618
01:34:55,800 --> 01:34:58,760
to shoot him and he and he goes.
Now I want to see how the other
1619
01:34:58,760 --> 01:35:00,240
half live it's like.
Yeah.
1620
01:35:01,040 --> 01:35:04,720
Wow, just just really, really
nuance, George.
1621
01:35:04,720 --> 01:35:07,120
Nuance.
Don't know what it is.
1622
01:35:07,400 --> 01:35:10,360
God bless yourself.
Because you could watch the the
1623
01:35:10,360 --> 01:35:15,040
first three, I think, and just
watch them as, you know,
1624
01:35:15,560 --> 01:35:18,600
whatever I think the second one
is, you know, it's a fun romp.
1625
01:35:18,640 --> 01:35:22,200
I never really thought about the
consumerism aspect of it when I
1626
01:35:22,200 --> 01:35:23,680
first saw that when I was
younger.
1627
01:35:24,800 --> 01:35:27,680
I didn't think about, you know,
Vietnam and revolution when I
1628
01:35:27,680 --> 01:35:29,320
was watching Night of the Living
Dead.
1629
01:35:29,320 --> 01:35:32,600
But then or, you know, even
Reaganism and Day of the Dead.
1630
01:35:32,600 --> 01:35:35,920
But you know that it's all there
in those.
1631
01:35:35,920 --> 01:35:38,440
But this one, it's like you
cannot miss.
1632
01:35:38,680 --> 01:35:41,160
Can't miss it.
The social commentary
1633
01:35:41,160 --> 01:35:43,040
especially, I think by this
point it's like.
1634
01:35:43,040 --> 01:35:45,760
Literally eating the rich.
Literally eating them.
1635
01:35:46,280 --> 01:35:51,040
Well, and here by this time,
Romero was very much known as a
1636
01:35:51,040 --> 01:35:55,120
political filmmaker.
He he all of his zombie movies
1637
01:35:55,120 --> 01:36:01,440
have a something in them about,
you know, the social commentary
1638
01:36:01,440 --> 01:36:05,360
was just a key part of his, of
his version of the zombie.
1639
01:36:05,360 --> 01:36:07,840
Yeah.
Yeah, there's a deleted scene
1640
01:36:07,840 --> 01:36:11,480
where Big Daddy is handing out
Che Guerrero shirts before they
1641
01:36:12,000 --> 01:36:15,240
go into the city, but that
didn't make it into the final
1642
01:36:15,240 --> 01:36:18,120
cut.
Like even like Romero's like
1643
01:36:18,120 --> 01:36:25,240
maybe that's a little bit a step
too far, which that would be
1644
01:36:25,240 --> 01:36:29,520
amazing.
Or yeah, some big daddy has a
1645
01:36:29,520 --> 01:36:35,440
Karl Marx tattoo on his neck.
And you just, I mean, well, it's
1646
01:36:35,440 --> 01:36:38,440
almost too it's, it's almost,
it's in a lot of ways for
1647
01:36:38,440 --> 01:36:42,200
Romero's detriment that he did
feel that he had to be that
1648
01:36:42,200 --> 01:36:44,960
person.
So I think that it's almost like
1649
01:36:44,960 --> 01:36:47,360
he constrains himself in his
writing.
1650
01:36:47,640 --> 01:36:50,880
Like there's the theme 1st and
then everything else around it
1651
01:36:50,880 --> 01:36:54,080
where I think that just would
have naturally come out in
1652
01:36:54,080 --> 01:36:58,000
Romero if he were just allowed
himself to just write what was
1653
01:36:58,000 --> 01:37:00,600
on his mind.
And then those themes would have
1654
01:37:00,600 --> 01:37:04,720
made their way into the movie in
a more subtle and nuanced way,
1655
01:37:05,440 --> 01:37:08,320
you know, And you and I think
the especially the next movie
1656
01:37:08,680 --> 01:37:12,240
really suffers for it.
Like the next film really,
1657
01:37:12,240 --> 01:37:16,560
really suffers for the text
being like right at the surface.
1658
01:37:17,000 --> 01:37:19,680
And it's a, to be honest, like
the thing about Diary of the
1659
01:37:19,680 --> 01:37:24,000
Dead, it's probably the most
relevant message in terms of
1660
01:37:24,000 --> 01:37:28,920
like what we're experiencing in
2025 and media manipulation and
1661
01:37:28,920 --> 01:37:32,880
media being used as a source of
entertainment rather than to
1662
01:37:32,880 --> 01:37:36,520
inform.
But it's just such a horror
1663
01:37:36,520 --> 01:37:40,760
movie that it's very hard to
kind of like dig into that.
1664
01:37:40,760 --> 01:37:45,520
So that's our hint for next
week's episode listeners, in
1665
01:37:45,520 --> 01:37:49,720
terms of you might get grumpy
mic when it comes to talking
1666
01:37:49,720 --> 01:37:51,600
about.
Well, that fifth entry syndrome
1667
01:37:51,600 --> 01:37:55,040
I think is, you know, because I
mean, it's the 5th, the 5th
1668
01:37:55,080 --> 01:37:58,600
movie is a lot of time.
It's a real it's the worst of
1669
01:37:58,600 --> 01:38:00,560
the series.
It's a it's a tough go in a lot
1670
01:38:00,560 --> 01:38:02,920
of cases.
Elm Street, Elm Street 5 and.
1671
01:38:03,720 --> 01:38:05,520
Friday 5.
Halloween 5.
1672
01:38:05,520 --> 01:38:08,120
Friday 5.
Though I know it's I know it's
1673
01:38:08,120 --> 01:38:10,320
not a great movie, but I love
Friday 5.
1674
01:38:11,280 --> 01:38:13,560
Well, you are all about topless
women, Brian.
1675
01:38:13,560 --> 01:38:17,720
If there's one thing I know it's
like, I mean, you've said
1676
01:38:17,720 --> 01:38:20,720
before, I like my coffee, like I
like my women naked.
1677
01:38:20,960 --> 01:38:24,320
So it's just just these, I
didn't say it.
1678
01:38:24,320 --> 01:38:26,240
Brian says it all the time.
Just.
1679
01:38:26,320 --> 01:38:28,320
Think about this.
I'm learning so much.
1680
01:38:28,400 --> 01:38:31,480
Psycho Movie is the remake so
hey.
1681
01:38:31,720 --> 01:38:36,920
Oh, trendy no.
It's Scream film is the first
1682
01:38:36,920 --> 01:38:38,600
radio science one that's pretty
decent.
1683
01:38:39,080 --> 01:38:41,720
It's pretty good.
It's yeah.
1684
01:38:41,760 --> 01:38:44,200
It's better than the 6th one.
It's better than the 6th one.
1685
01:38:44,200 --> 01:38:45,640
It's better than the 6th.
No.
1686
01:38:45,640 --> 01:38:48,960
I did like screen 5A lot, so I
can't argue with you there.
1687
01:38:49,320 --> 01:38:52,800
What was child play?
Proves the rule.
1688
01:38:53,440 --> 01:38:57,200
Child's play was the not bride
of Chucky, it was the seed of.
1689
01:38:57,640 --> 01:39:01,640
Chucky.
Seed of Chucky, which it's fun,
1690
01:39:02,000 --> 01:39:03,960
but it's definitely a step down
from bride.
1691
01:39:03,960 --> 01:39:05,440
It's better than three.
It's.
1692
01:39:05,840 --> 01:39:09,360
Pretty.
Yeah, it is better than. 4 is 4
1693
01:39:09,360 --> 01:39:12,200
is like often where like the
hidden gem is like you have
1694
01:39:12,200 --> 01:39:16,000
dream master final chapter
Halloween.
1695
01:39:16,000 --> 01:39:19,880
Like it feels like people have
come around in Halloween 4 and
1696
01:39:19,880 --> 01:39:22,880
that they're like, it's not as
good as Halloween obviously, but
1697
01:39:23,120 --> 01:39:26,080
it's the one that I would throw
on for Halloween season.
1698
01:39:26,400 --> 01:39:29,160
Yeah, because it's.
Just a really fun one.
1699
01:39:29,520 --> 01:39:31,280
Texas Chainsaw.
The next generation.
1700
01:39:31,280 --> 01:39:35,360
I love Texas Chainsaw Four.
I love that Renee Zelliger
1701
01:39:35,360 --> 01:39:37,960
telling Leatherface to sit down
and shut up.
1702
01:39:37,960 --> 01:39:42,560
And he does like I.
And whatever Matthew Kahanahay
1703
01:39:42,560 --> 01:39:46,600
is doing, I've come around on
that movie like that is so much
1704
01:39:46,600 --> 01:39:51,400
fun to watch.
So, all right, listeners, that
1705
01:39:51,400 --> 01:39:54,080
is, that is it.
Sarah, do you have anything you
1706
01:39:54,080 --> 01:39:58,400
want to pitch or promote or let
people know how to find you out
1707
01:39:58,400 --> 01:40:01,760
there in the interwebs?
Or you, like, know you're all a
1708
01:40:01,760 --> 01:40:03,600
bunch of weirdos?
Oh well, that's all right,
1709
01:40:03,600 --> 01:40:07,200
because I we are the weirdos.
Mr. I can mostly be found
1710
01:40:07,200 --> 01:40:12,440
lurking around on Blue sky where
my handle is at Sarah Joe Miles.
1711
01:40:12,440 --> 01:40:17,080
So you can also find me on
Letterbox, which where I'm Sarah
1712
01:40:17,080 --> 01:40:19,920
Joe Smiley and yeah, at the
moment.
1713
01:40:19,920 --> 01:40:24,120
I mean, I've been writing a lot
of anime reviews and things, so
1714
01:40:24,120 --> 01:40:26,320
not as much horror, but
hopefully soon.
1715
01:40:26,600 --> 01:40:28,560
Couple of things got the ball
rolling on.
1716
01:40:29,560 --> 01:40:32,040
Excellent.
How about yourself, Brian?
1717
01:40:33,120 --> 01:40:36,480
Well, you can find me at the
various socials at Brian Waves
1718
01:40:36,480 --> 01:40:37,800
42.
See here.
1719
01:40:37,800 --> 01:40:40,840
I, I feel like I'm repeating
myself a lot, kind of the same
1720
01:40:40,840 --> 01:40:42,480
things.
But my Young Frankenstein
1721
01:40:42,480 --> 01:40:47,040
article is now alive, as they
say, over at Matter
1722
01:40:47,040 --> 01:40:50,160
vellum.medium.com, so you can
check that out.
1723
01:40:50,200 --> 01:40:53,880
There's stuff at Bloody
Disgusting coming out fairly
1724
01:40:53,880 --> 01:40:57,400
often right now because, hey,
I'm on summer vacation, so I got
1725
01:40:57,400 --> 01:40:58,640
a little more time to write
stuff.
1726
01:40:58,640 --> 01:41:02,280
So, yeah, so you can.
That's really where you can find
1727
01:41:02,280 --> 01:41:04,800
my work.
Also, if you're a Mario Bava
1728
01:41:04,800 --> 01:41:08,080
fan, I have a couple of
commentaries on that box set
1729
01:41:08,080 --> 01:41:11,000
that's come out just right
around the time we're recording
1730
01:41:11,000 --> 01:41:14,640
this, so on Black Sunday and
Black Sabbath.
1731
01:41:15,960 --> 01:41:18,920
Well, listeners, you can find me
at Mike's Noonie and on Blue
1732
01:41:18,920 --> 01:41:24,040
Sky, same on Instagram, and
follow me on Letterbox at Mike
1733
01:41:24,040 --> 01:41:26,560
Chump Change.
And you can follow the show at
1734
01:41:26,560 --> 01:41:30,440
Pod and Pendulum both on Blue
Sky and Instagram as well.
1735
01:41:30,440 --> 01:41:34,080
Go to our site, Pod of the
pendulum.com and consider
1736
01:41:34,080 --> 01:41:38,800
becoming a patron at
patreon.com/pod of the Pendulum.
1737
01:41:39,080 --> 01:41:42,600
That is it this week for let's
see if we can cue this
1738
01:41:42,600 --> 01:41:45,000
correctly.
That is it this week for Land of
1739
01:41:45,000 --> 01:41:48,160
the Dead.
Sarah, thank you so much for
1740
01:41:48,360 --> 01:41:50,160
joining us.
You're coming back for Dawn of
1741
01:41:50,160 --> 01:41:54,000
the Dead and you're going to
just talk that shit the whole
1742
01:41:54,000 --> 01:41:56,880
time?
Oh yeah, that's the comments
1743
01:41:56,880 --> 01:41:58,640
section are going to be a
nightmare, sorry.
1744
01:41:58,800 --> 01:42:01,480
Excellent.
Well, that is great listeners.
1745
01:42:01,480 --> 01:42:03,840
Thanks so much.
Have a great week and we'll be
1746
01:42:03,840 --> 01:42:07,480
back next week with Diary of the
Dead.
1747
01:42:07,600 --> 01:42:09,920
It's the summer of Jord lumbers
on.