¶ Intro / Opening
🎵 Music
¶ Welcome and Our Return
Hi and welcome to Horror Movie Weekly, one badass horror podcast. This is episode 183 of
And uh
Once again, we are committing to uh bringing you a uh on horror movie weekly a weekly show. So fun, so fun to do that. We have two hosts who review one horror movie um every
Thursday.
Thursdays, we supposed to release on Sundays. Something like that. And we review the more well, it used to be the more recent horror films, but we have since changed to something very fun where if I'm not mistaken, we do between the years two. Two thousand five. in like twenty fifteen, something like that is our our choosing range just to catch up on some of that era of horror films that we love. And we are your delightful duo, two late night horror hosts.
And I'm Jay of the Dead podcasting from Pleasant Grove, Utah. And with me is my loyal best friend and co-host, one of my favorite people. He's broadcasting from Washington State wanna welcome the king of Horror Movie Weekly, the Pinnacle himself, Mr. Watson.
Hey buddy, thank you, Jay. Wow. So I am happy that we're back recording some horror movie weekly again after all this time. The Last episode of the show that we recorded together was back in April of last year on account of me moving out from the house where I'd spent the previous eight or so years and
Well shoot, now here we are in twenty twenty six. And uh, you know what's funny to me, Jay, I was thinking about this before we hopped on the mic, is I I can't imagine the return of this podcast will make it any easier for you to put out any of your
Oh I know, I know. Yeah, that's Yeah, it's not your fault at all, Watson. It wasn't your fault for moving because we we we had shows in the can, but Yep. Uh twenty twenty five was a hell of a year. I'll say that. And I looked I looked it up. We actually, do you know we recorded Six episodes for Horror Movie Weekly, if you count our special recording that we do for uh Spooky Flicks Fest. Okay, yeah, so I mean.
That absolutely.
It's not like we were totally on a a year sabbatical everybody. We were on a hundred percent vacation. Plus you could hear us occasionally over on Jay of the Dead's new horror movies. So
And two of the shoot, that yeah, two of the biggest episodes uh we did of that show last year were uh the two of us.
That's right. That's right. Yeah. So if you haven't heard the Thanksgiving episode, the Thanksgiving especially, I really liked that one from twenty twenty five. And then earlier that same month a a a special evening with Mr. Watson, something like that.
Was that the same month?
Yeah, that was like early November. Yeah, I mean it was Oh, that's funny. It is kinda funny. So, you know. It's uh feast or famine around here, I guess.
Yeah.
Anyways, um welcome to 2026 and thanks everybody who's still around. We really appreciate you. sticking in there with us. So Watson, let's get underway for uh micro horror movie reviews. What do you have for us?
¶ Watson Reviews It Ends
Well, my micro horror movie review here tonight, up until very recently, would have been reserved for Jay of the Dead's new horror movies, but It is no longer 2025, so it is eligible for this show because we're not I'm not talking about twenty twenty-five uh movies on on that show anymore. We're in twenty twenty-six, baby. That's how it goes. Mm-hmm. And uh well the film I'm talking about here is called It Ends. Twenty twenty five. Have you heard of this one, Jay?
Mm, I don't think so. Mm mm.
Okay, well it is the feature debut of writer-director Alex Ulam, I would think you might say it like that. And the synopsis I quite appropriately took uh from letterboxed.com reads A group of recent grads head out on a late-night drive for Grub, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending two-lane hellscape.
surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. Cramped together inside a Jeep Cherokee, and with the miles stretching infinitely ahead, they face a choice. embrace their new existence or fight to escape it. Mm-hmm.
So
Well uh yeah, it ends is a compelling film with a highly intriguing central mystery at hand. You know, what is this never-ending road? Why are our four leads trapped? in this otherworldly situation. How long can they last? It's a concise to the point concept with fewer frills and gimmicks that even that synopsis I just read might suggest. I'm not saying that this isn't a horror movie because it definitely is, but it front-loads the more overt in-your-face horror.
and then goes on to settle into purely existential territory. Like I do wish the film had leaned more into the blatant scares that we get early on and just kept that up, but I understand why the film doesn't linger there. This movie has something it wants to say about this impossible road that stretches on into infinity. And to tell this particular story you can't keep uh that first act momentum, uh that frenetic pace going the whole time. You know, the metaphor here
It isn't terribly complicated, it's philosophy one oh one, honestly. You don't need a whole lot of media literacy to arrive at the conclusion that, oh hey, the highway in It Ends represents this. But I will say the simplicity doesn't make the story less poignant. Where this film truly shines, I would say, is in how the characters are handled. Our four leads have different ways that they view life.
and the situation in which they found themselves. And this informs their actions throughout, right up to the point where each of these four has to make the decision to give up or persist. Now, there's one character in particular here, and I won't say which of the four it is, but this individual was my favorite right from the start, and I have to admit that I was genuinely surprised at the degree to which the script actually has this person's back.
Like I've come to expect that a story like this would be designed to deliberately mistake or misinterpret this character's Stoic. So that that's that might be the the way to word it. Stoic way of handling things. It might misinterpret that or mistake it purposely as some kind of toxic. trait or even that his way of handling things is somehow less genuine because he doesn't feel the need to become as emotional as those around him.
I won't say more than that, but this character's arc through the film was the most interesting to me. The last thing I'll say here so that this micro horror movie review remains micro in nature is that I found the ending lackluster, if not necessarily dissatisfying. So when you're writing a script where you are literalizing a metaphor on screen, the time will come when you are tasked with resolving the story one way or another, right? Do you swing for the fences?
And overexplain yourself, possibly at the expense of your narrative? Do you say as little as possible and just kinda hope and pray that your audience will go along just because? Can you walk that narrative tightrope where you actually manage to give a working in-world explanation as to the literality of your metaphor? Uh for instance, last year's Together, uh that we really
Yeah.
Jay uh on the that first evening with Mr. Watson.
Okay.
I felt it was able to pull this off in brilliant fashion. Uh that tightrope that tightrope walk, that uh that balance. Uh I would argue that Jordan Peel's us overexplains itself. To the detriment of the story and its metaphor, giving too many answers that only raise more questions that don't even need to be asked in the first place. You know, now it's not hard to think of many films that just don't even bother to explain themselves and that can be frustrating at times.
So there are three paths we're kinda dealing with here with uh resolving these types of stories and all I'll say here in closing is that it ends doesn't manage to strike that balance. It opts for one of the other two courses of action and While I didn't wholly dislike the ending here because it makes sense to me and is kind of cool, I can't say that it satisfies. Uh the joy here is in the ride, not so much the destination. So I'm calling it ends a seven out of ten.
Okay.
And at the time of this recording, you can only find this film to stream on Letterboxed for a hefty price. Yeah, they they rent films now.
I didn't know I was gonna ask you that. Yep they wow.
Stu I stumbled upon this as the only one I know of where this is the case. I'm sure there are more But uh I my recommendation is that you wait until the film finds itself on other VOD services for much, much cheaper. And at that point, go ahead and give it a watch. That's it ends twenty twenty five.
Thank you. One quick question about that. Um, does it remind you I'm just curious'cause th when you were describing the uh premise about the kind of the never ending highway to hell thing, there's that Christmas Eve set movie Dead End from two thousand three. Is it kind of in that ballpark?
It is. Yeah. It's at times it is more exciting. I think it does more with the setting. I think that there are a lot of folks out there who really have come to uh
Look at
Uh Dead End. Is that is that what it's called? Again, yeah, dead end. I've seen it twice. Yeah. And there's some folks out there who are s really starting to be like, Hey, that is a quintessential Christmas horror movie. I don't think it has the Christmas atmosphere at all. Like maybe about the same amount of Halloween atmosphere that John Carpenter's Halloween has, which is to say like
Well Dead End does have s snowiness, right? It has some snow. Not even snow? Yeah, maybe not.
No, you're right.
Right. I think your comparison is apt. Yeah.
And uh m but uh it ends here makes more use of its surroundings and its setting. There's a little more action with regards to, okay, we're we're on this road, but there's also these surrounding woods and there are times where the characters will say, Hey, let's let's go in that direction and see
what this thing is about. And so there is more action and movement uh rather than just kind of this slow walk down this thing and Lynch's cool, but yeah, I mean no no hate on dead end, but I think it ends is probably the more they're equally fascinating in their own way, I would say, probably in the same way. uh but not in the same way, because one tells you more than the other, and that informs that movie, I would say, in in probably a positive way, and I won't say which.
Okay. Nice. All right. So Mr. Watson says it ends from 2025. Is a seven out of ten. He says wait to stream it when it's less expensive on VOD. Yes. All right, brother. Thank you. Appreciate it. Man. Yeah, I lo I love hearing you review movies. That's it's it's seriously a pleasure.
Thanks, buddy.
¶ Jay Reviews Faces in the Crowd
All right. My little pick here for this is one I've been wanting to r rev micro um review on this show for a long time now. It's just been on my list. I I first heard it about it on one of uh Bill Shetty's shows. Like they they did a coverage on it on one of his older horror shows. But it's called Faces in the Crowd from twenty eleven. This was a straight to video release. It's uh essentially a mystery thriller crime. You could call it like a a diet.
slasher or what what are some other anemic slasher Um, you know, it's w it's one of those like um it's not It's i there's not a lot of horror to it, to be honest, but but they did end up blending a lot of genres to get this. It was co written and directed by Julian Magnat. It stars Mila Jovovich in uh
She looks very nice in this film. She's got you know what I noticed about her eyes? She's always had remarkable eyes, but they have a lot of close-up shots of her eyes in this. Around her pupil and the outside of her iris. She has a blue ring and then the interior of her iris is like light green. Remarkable. Yeah, she has remarkable eyes. Just
She she's of uh prime Yugoslavian uh stock.
Yeah. Yes, indeed. Yes. Anyway I just thought I'd mention that. And then this also has the late Julian McMahon. And I only bring that to people's attention because he just died just last year, 2025. And I remember being kind of shocked because. He was a pretty young guy. He was only fifty six, and I knew him best as uh Doctor Doom in those uh two thousands uh Fantastic Four movies. Oh wow.
Oh okay.
A young, young, handsome dude, and yeah, that was just really bizarre. Anyway, he's in this film and then it's rated R has a runtime of one hour forty-three minutes. Here's the premise. So our gal here, uh, Emilio Jovovich, she plays Anna. And um basically she's out one night and there's this serial killer loose in the city. And uh she survives a a brutal murder attempt. He almost gets her. This is the premise. And um in her injuries from that
She develops a rare condition that actually exists in real life. This is not a screenwriter uh thing. It's called face blindness. That's like the slang. And she's unable to recognize faces. Can you imagine Watson what kind of hell your life would be if you couldn't'cause she can't even recognize her own face. Like when she looks in the mirror She remembers what she's supposed to look like, but she sees a different woman in the mirror.
That's like me when I shave off my beard. Just like who the hell is that? Like right now my beard's like down to my chest.
Oh really?
Yeah, I've got a long biker beard going right now and uh The second I shave this thing off, I'm just gonna be like uh I might as well uh yeah, be in Mila's situation here.
When you shave that off, will you send it to me so I can like stick it on my face?
Wait, send you the beard itself? Yeah, hell yeah. Let's let's go. This'll be great. Monkey Bone will have probably tried it on a couple times before it gets to you, but just know it'll have a little of his stank on it, but not much.
I'm always getting his sloppy seconds. Anyway. That's right. Anyway, so um basically, uh, Mila, she must rely on her fractured memories and a detective to continue surviving this uh stalking serial killer. So that's the premise. Just a couple little notes about this. This like I said it came out in 2011, Watson. So we got lots of uh lots of r internet references. from that time period especially that it kinda makes us a little bit of a time capsule like
Like there's a Facebook scene and a farmville scene in the ringtone. Yeah. Farmville. And the ringtone in this that she has is one that everybody will recognize and they have a blackberry in there and anyway, they're just really leaning into the technology. A couple of uh Nightmare on Elm Street references, which is fun. Just wanna throw that out there too. My favorite part about this film, which is really kind of neat. In order to give us, the audience, perfect empathy for our protagonists.
they give us the subjective point of view experience of any time she encounters someone, whether she knows them or not, they use different actors. So we are also seeing The same character, you know, like her best friends or her boyfriend, you know, and it's supposed to be that person, but it's a totally different actor. So you get this the same sort of like alienation as she does as a viewer.
And that's good. My only nitpick on that, and this is this is pretty nitpicky, I'm sure they didn't want to ad the hell out of this movie, but obviously for face blindness, she would still they would still have the same voices. But I think the filmmakers were like, We ain't doing that. Just just do the other actor's voice, you know what I mean? So
Anyway, I just put that out there. This is a great concept for a horror movie, because just imagine like your killer's out there and coming after you and you can't even recognize his face when he does. Ooh, that's that's that's kind of neat. There is a funny sex scene and in
And better than uh some some funny sex.
Yeah, it's a funny sex scene in this. And then what's funnier than that though, at the end, you know, with the the killer does one of the the killer's monologues, you know they do. And it is unintentionally his speech. the things he's spouting off are unintentionally hilarious. So and I was initially like at a five on this, uh, you know, but
It has a mellow dramatic ending and I'm like, come on, you guys. I mean ch so I had to drop it way down to a four and I'm just calling this a low priority rental, y'all. Oh
Didn't even get the four in a void, okay.
No, no, I mean because because there are a couple parts that make it quirky, like the humorous parts, unintentional humor, and it's just the neat concept by like the premise. This would be great if someone took it and tried again, but you know, they put on some big boy pants, grew a beard like you
You know what's funny, Jay? I recall renting this with my girlfriend at the time. Did you this and the movie the Jessica Alba uh The Eye.
oh yeah and
I remember nothing about either one of them, like nothing. Except for I do remember one of these two movies, it's either this one or the eye, ends Uh a really when you said melodramatic that reminded me uh it ends in a we we suddenly get a voiceover where there had not been one the entire movie and we we'll we all just we both just started laughing. Like, oh, okay, okay, sure. It might have been the
Yeah, I think
I don't know that it was I don't know that it wasn't this one, but um unless you recall that.
No, no, um this did not have the uh voiceover but it is equally as um as uh cringe as the the young people say. It it it's seriously I'm like, Re really? We're gonna do we're gonna do that? That is so cheesy. Anyway, uh it's awful. But um but still, you know It's a little bit of a cinematic oddity. I sometimes Watson, I know it's weird. Sometimes I like not super great horror movies.
Sure.
Sure, sure. Is it because we have some kind of Stockholm syndrome? We're just ab abuse victims of like, you know. 'Cause we we trudge through so much drek to find the gems that we just kinda get used to subpar, maybe. No? Sure.
Uh you know. You know, there's something to be said about, you know, not everything needing to be a gourmet meal. Sometimes a nice, you know, something easy, quick and, you know, fast and healthy is, you know, will will do the job too, even if it's not necessarily the
best thing you've ever had, it just d will do the job for the night and it's like, well, okay. You know. And it does as long as it you know, you you don't, you know, go to the the the fast food and, you know, and then all of a sudden you're you're you're sick And you know, you're feeling terrible and your insulin's spiking and you're just like, Oh, I I feel terrible You don't want a movie like that that makes you feel that way.
You know. Yeah, that's right. Absolutely. All right. Well that's our uh micro horror movie reviews. Everybody we remembered how to do it. So uh yeah, so we got it ends and faces in the crowd. There you go. Where else can you go to find uh Reviews like that.
¶ Introducing The Orphanage Film
Anyway, so Mr. Watson, I'm so pleased because he has this week's feature review and you chose this. I mean, it would be like months ago now. So we've been waiting months to do this, so let us know. What you chose and why you chose it.
Oh boy, my Jay of the Dead, my notes are a mess. Oh, this is a disaster. I I can't believe this. Okay. Yeah, the film I brought to the show here tonight is El Orfinato or the Orphanage. Two thousand seven? Hmm, we'll get to that in a second. Um and the reason I wanted to cover this movie on Horror Movie Weekly escapes me. Uh back in March or April of last year, yeah, around when we had recorded the previous episode.
That's how long it's been. I I believe my son and I were planning to watch the orphanage together. I had just really wanted to show him this film because it is an all time favorite of mine and if I remember correctly, my line of thinking was that I was just killing two birds with one stone. Yeah like
Oh hey, I really want to show my son this incredible film. Oh, you know what? I g I that'll be like probably a day or two before Jay and I record. You know what? We'll just make that the movie. And since I don't watch very many movies in a given week, I'll just make this my film for the next episode, and I think that is what happened, Jay.
Excellent. Well, thank you for doing that because I'm um very ha I was very happy to revisit it once again. So um without further delay then let's move into our feature review of the orphanage. I'm circa two thousand seven. Simon ! There are children. Who can see a hidden world? Whose imagination... Opens their eyes. So just a reminder, listeners, we do not reveal spoilers on this podcast unless we give you a warning first, which we will. Okay, Mr. Watson, take it away, buddy.
Thank you, Jay. The Orphanage is the feature film directorial debut of J. A. Bayona, one Antonio Garcia Bayona, that is. Uh the script was written by Sergio G. Sanchez. Uh Guillermo del Toro serves as the executive producer which gave this movie a huge bump in budget and prestige. Yes. And finally the film stars Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep
and Mabel Rivera. Now I'm not sure if these names are kind of cluing in clueing you in or not, but El Orfinado here is a Chinese language production. Just kidding. It is Spanish. Uh and uh it's uh out of Spain. And it's uh got a runtime of one hour and forty five minutes. I have not been drinking, folks. I I am sipping on a zero sugar strawberries and cream Dr. Pepper. There's no excuse for this. Okay. I know.
So
Man, it's really good. Uh subgenre wise we're dealing with supernatural, fantasy, horror, children in peril. Jay, is there anything else that we need to add here?
Uh did you say mystery?
No, I did not. Yes, absolutely mystery. Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
Now Jay, you'll need to help me with how to handle the year of release here. For years, buddy, I've cited this as a 2007 horror movie as it did. come uh, you know, out widely in its native Spain in two thousand seven. But only as I was looking into North American release dates literally right before I booted up the computer and we started recording.
Uh I I found that while the Orphanage did get a limited release in the US in December of two thousand seven after it had done the international festival circuit and all that, it seems that it didn't get a proper wide release. until January eleventh, two thousand eight. So Jay, this that that's a two thousand eight movie by our standard, is it not?
Yeah, that's correct. In fact I saw this in the theater and it was January two thousand eight.
Oh okay. Nice, nice. You you oh you got to see this on the big screen. I
I did. I did. In fact I have a s I have a story about that, but
Oh, okay. We'll have to compare our stories of seeing this because um yeah, I I I my first experience with this movie was uh uh very interesting. So As film setup goes, uh I cobbled together the synopsis from Apple T V and Fandango into something Frankensteinian that works well enough. So uh Jay, I actually had a difficult time finding a workable synopsis that does this film justice.
Even the DVD itself, which I was able to view on Amazon, was just misleading and strange. So I was just like, we're not using that. So what I've got here reads as follows uh the orphanage centers on Laura who purchases her beloved childhood orphanage with dreams of restoring and reopening the long abandoned facility as a home for disabled children.
Once there, Laura discovers that the new environment awakens her son's imagination, but the ongoing fantasy games he plays with an invisible friend quickly turn into something more disturbing. When tragedy strikes, Laura discovers strange occurrences in the house and must work to unravel the mystery and save her family. So Jay of the Dead, we're here. We're at opening thoughts. Buddy, can you tell us your opening thoughts of the orphanage two thousand eight?
¶ Jay's Experience and R-Rating
Yes, if I may. Can I give you the um so I have like just a couple little uh good story, grandpa, you know, kind of associations just to tell you guys uh Oh yeah. F first of all I have just forever been associating this or attributing this film with Guillermo del Toro. But as you said, he was the executive producer. I mean, he helped he helped give this thing some legs.
But but for the longest time I just always thought of it as his film and that anyway, I just wanna put that out there, it kinda drives me nuts and it's just because it says on, you know, everywhere it says Guillermo del Toro presents. Right? Yeah, so
Yep, I I I made the same uh sort of thing'cause I remember going, Oh, I don't know if I like this or Pan's Labyrinth better and I remember just going, Nah, the orphanage is m you know, my my jam. Yeah. And I love both. I mean, but yeah, I remember thinking that too, and being like, Oh wait, hold on. He didn't even do the orphanage. He just yeah. So
Yeah. So so that was the first thing. And another association I have with this is um it I got to see this a in the theater as I said and it was um winter time obviously and I saw the last showing, it was the late night screening for uh locals in Utah is the AMC improvo down there right up next to the mountains. And when I was in the theater watching this sucker the snow just dumped on I mean, it was a huge snowstorm. And so I came out and my car was buried in tons of snow.
And and it was like around midnight, right? And so it's super dark. There's not very many people in the parking lot and I'm digging out the car and it's freezing. And I'm genuinely kind of creeped out. Like when I first saw this, Watson, yeah, this movie did unsettle me. And I was I was surprised at how affected I was by it. So, anyways, I just always kinda remember that and that's like a fond memory. And then um my favorite little factoid, I guess, about this movie.
is it is rated R by the MPAA and the rating is for, and I quote for some disturbing content. And so, in essence, Watson, The orphanage is rated R for its scariness.'Cause I paid attention this time There is like one F word that I recall and there is one like gore type scene and it's pretty awesome and gruesome. But but honestly, like yeah, it's it's for it's Creepy, strong disturbingness. So I mean, I think that's pretty cool. Anyways. Yes. And then finally, I'll just kind of wrap up with this.
When I was re watching this, Watson, I'm I'm sad to say this at first, but but I was thinking, Wow, man, I don't know if I'm just getting impatient in my old age and and and I didn't Yeah, exactly. And I didn't remember like um everything that happened, right? I had actually forgotten quite a bit. I just knew I loved the film. And it's been forever since I've seen it. And so when I was watching us, I'm like, wow, this is a
Slow burn, not a lot happens very fast. It is interesting. The performances, you know, so there's lots of things that were keeping me to it. And then just at one point, You know there's a dude, he's kinda short and he's pretty overweight, and it shows him walking down the stairs. He's kind of struggling to get down the stairs. I don't know if it was a subconscious thing, but like subconsciously, I didn't remember where the film goes, but subconsciously this weight of sadness came upon me.
And at first I thought it was because I was feeling bad for that gentleman who was struggling to get down the stairs. But then I just realized that this this film is is a heavy film. And then Watson, this is cra you're gonna think I'm lying, but I promise you I'm telling you the truth. I was like, you know it would be awesome for this movie if A, B, and C happened, right? And Watson, that is exactly what happens. And so I I think I think that subconsciously it must have been there.
My mind, but I was so pleased that that's how it goes. So yeah, the payoff, this is one of those it's a slow burn where the payoff is certainly worth it. And so I still I'm happy to report I still love the film.
¶ The Film's Deep Emotional Impact
Well I am happy that you are happy to report that.
Okay.
Well yeah, no, thanks for sharing all that the uh you know that that story of being in the snow and shoveling your car out after you know a this Well this while while this movie is lingering with you. Yeah, that's that's powerful. I can see that imagery. You know, my first experience with this film and at the risk of oversharing and I I well, I I guess I have to do it now that I said it, right?
Love it.
Hmm I d I don't like doing this, but I will. I I really I'm I'm mad at myself for even bringing this.
You're among friends, brother.
Yeah, yeah, that's true. You know, there was a a time long ago I rented this movie. and I was alone in my uh townhouse at the time. This would be probably late two thousand eight, summer of two thousand eight. And I had uh well Let's just say I knew that my marriage at the time probably didn't have a year left, if, you know, who knew? It was month to month, day to day, who knew? And my son and his mother were on vacation across the country and I had never been in
That far away from my son before. He was four, and I had never been more than, you know, just a few miles away from him, you know, like. going to work or something like that. And I was kinda I was kinda doing badly. I don't know why. I was just like, you know, by myself and really missing him and
down.
And then I turn this movie on. as I'm in this kind of state of just sort of distress, you know, just sort of knowing like, yeah, I I don't think this marriage is gonna last and man, I miss my boy and and, you know, I think I had a dream that the plane went down. I was like, I don't know what was going on and So I watched this movie, rent it randomly from the blockbuster in town, and whoa, I r remember just being emotionally destroyed, heart shattered, just at the end of this movie.
D you know, just like I couldn't even tell you the mess I must have been if you could have been a fly on that wall. Yeah. And uh maybe if you if there was a camera on me I might have looked like nothing was happening, but inside I'm just devastated. Yeah. And Like and this m so this movie always sat with me like that and
You know, I had a really profound and powerful experience with it, and so I always want to share it with people because I wholeheartedly adore this film. I can't tell you exactly what my top ten horror movies of all time list looks like here in twenty twenty six and beyond, but there's a good chance that the orphanage has a solid spot on that list. Yes. I find it impressive for a host of reasons, not the least of which being that it manages to pull off a lot of things all at once.
And it does so in spectacular fashion. Like it simultaneously is beautiful, tragic, poetic, whimsical, and utterly frightening. Yeah. There's a timeless aesthetic of the film, which reminds me of the others. Spanish productions, man.
Right.
Yeah, did d did you think of that at all?
It didn't occur to me about the um the others, but as soon as you said it I'm like, He's absolutely right. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, you could tell somebody that this movie, oh yeah, the print was in, you know, nineteen eighty two and then be like, Oh of course it was and like ah it was it was actually twenty twenty five and like of course it was ha it was two thousand eight or seven or whatever the hell. But yeah, I mean, you know, the timeless aesthetic of the film
The gorgeous setting and shot composition, the way the camera moves through this house, which is a character in itself, and the heart shattering central mystery that comes into play in the second act and doesn't relent until the final scene of the film.
Yeah.
Uh but in addition to that, and kind of in tandem with that, uh there's the fairy tale elements that lure you into a false sense of safety and then kinda bring you there through that darkness a and the scares. When they hit they're absolutely blood chilling. There are a few movies that affect me to the degree that the orphanage does. I'm so seldom moved emotionally in this way by a story.
This movie's just one big, beautiful, twisted, scary heartbreak. And I just want nothing more than to share it with anyone out there who has yet to see it.
Yeah, brother. I wish so bad that for like the four K they could take what you just said about one big, beautiful, scary, twisted heartbreak. And put that on the front of the box. Cause that was awesome. You nailed it. That's exactly right. Uh-huh.
Oh, thank you, Jay. Thank you, Jay. Um I have a question for you, bud. Sure. So, you know, I know that very few supernatural films work for you, but I have seen with my own two eyes times where you've uh opened your heart and mind and have allowed a supernatural film or two to work on you. Is the Orphanage one such film?
Oh yes, for sure. Absolutely. Yeah, because um See, what what bothers me and I'm sorry for people who are like, We know, shut up, you know, but but what what bothers me most is just the lack of parameters with supernatural films. And then I'm equally annoyed when some expert shows up and then gives us all the rules and parameters. It's like
Yeah, w I wanted to know, but but how the hell do you know? You know, it's like w w you know, how would you know all that? So anyways, but with this film, I feel like I often say that that horror stories they come from typically p a place of deep sorrow or deep anger or both in The supernatural so often when there's like a haunting or supernatural aspects to a film, there's a reason that the haunting is happening. There's some kind of prior evil, like the ghosts are
Upset about something. And for me, like the ones where the ghosts are just angry, it's like Okay, yeah, fine. But for me, what really is affecting is when there is sorrow involved. And and so because this is such a sorrowful type of film, it resonates with me, Watson. It really It is genuinely not just haunting in the sense of, hey, this is a haunted house type movie. It's haunting to me when I walk away from the film when the TV's off. I'm still feeling haunted by it.
¶ Layered Narrative and Horror Parallels
Yeah. Oh, beautifully said, Jay. Man, you know, you reminded me of something that you have um said a couple times on podcasts before, and it was this. It relates to the gosh, I'm not sure how to ask this without getting into Uh naming names in this movie, naming like say a character name, I have to ask this carefully, but also I'm not quite sure how to ask what I'm trying to get to. It's like when you you sort of know, it's like when you're on you know on a search engine, you're like
Okay, I have somewhere I'm trying to get I don't know how to ask this. But you have said it a a couple times on some podcasts before And I think a lot of it had to do with you know, you were talking about evil, prior evils and and coming from, you know, y the monstrous and sorrow and anger and and in this talk you've done a couple of times, this uh you brought up Pamela Voorhe. As a monster and why she does what she does.
Yes.
There is something similar, not so overt, but if you think about the events in the movie, there was something like that happening here and uh you you know, I where you go I mean no and wait and everybody like Wait is oh the orphanage is a s is a slasher? No, not not at all. If you haven't seen it, not even remotely. I'm just saying
They're thinking of Terminator, that's the session.
So yes, the the this the nineteen eighty four slasher uh terminator, yeah. The the starring O. J. Simpson, oh if only. You've heard that, right?
No.
Meant oh he was meant to be uh I think he was meant to be in that role or something.
That's crazy how
No, how how his life could have changed and the lives of others.
But
Wh where I was getting though is that in the the movie The Orphanage there is a character who is driven by a certain type of anger and this puzzle piece, if you will.
Yeah.
Uh becomes apparent later on. And then when you think about that and you really ruminate on it, you go, Oh, wow.
Brother.
Oh damn.
Yes.
It kind of hits you in waves here.'Cause it's not so it's not a Pamela Voorhees where they're s just telling you and just screaming it at you. You sort of have to go, Oh yeah, okay, wait.
Oh yeah. Yes. Yes. Wait. In in fact, I could take a picture of my notes for you, but I wrote Pamela, he's in my notes. So I'm I'm kidding me. Brother, I'm right there with you. I'm gonna take it I'll take a picture just to prove it. But but but honestly, um
I absolutely trust you.
No, I d I know. But there were seriously I was feeling that strongly and there are like two other places I think in in terms of like classic horror type references. I think there are two at least two other s that this really draws from that are as prominent as Pamela Voorhees, even.
Oh, interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Despite the mess that is my notes fo
Both.
This is a disaster. But um But the you know, I just like talking about this because I really just want anyone who is like, The orphanage, what what is this orphanage? I'm like, Well sit down and watch that damn thing and you'll see what this orphanage is.
Well, like let me just say it like this, uh and and people are gonna be like, What? No way. But um but but and I gotta be so careful about this. There was something from Gremlins that that I was reminded of with this film that's really s uh, you know, important to me as a horror fan. that I love. So that that was one like classic type thing. And there's also um let's see, the Changeling, uh George C. Scott.
Yes. Yes. So so yeah, like they're just seeing those sort of um references and parallels to other great horror stories was so exciting to me this time to pick up on those.
Oh, good eye. I don't I don't think I caught that, but yeah, next time I watch this and there will be a next time. You know you know, Jay, like I don't do a lot of rewatches in my life.
But I have those movies that absolutely will get that treatment and this is this is one of them. And so yeah, I'm I'm anxious to to make those connections because I think I know what you're talking about, but uh I'm picking up what you're putting down, but I just want to see it for myself now that I uh know what you're saying.
Awesome.
You know, what lies at the core of this story is this and what I think a lot of uh people who are yet to see this will find interesting, is this childhood game of sorts. This entire movie is an extended version of this game that Laura, our main character, used to play as a child. The same game that she and her son Simone play there in the first act, and the same game that he goes on to play with.
you know, what might be an invisible friend, and then it ultimately becomes this very game that Laura herself has to play in a I guess you could say a similar context. And as for the rules of this game, it's about a missing treasure and the search for that thing, and then the hope that upon finding it you'll be granted a wish.
So in the case of our main character Laura, we see all of this play out once she sets out looking for something that goes missing from her life. And the conclusion of this game is right there, in the beautiful final scene of the film when Well, without giving anything away, Laura makes a wish and in a certain sense it comes true.
Yeah.
When you internalize that and you think Okay, so this just happened. I'm not gonna say what, but Laura makes a decision and you go, Oh, whoa. And if I s say what that decision is, it's like one of the darkest things you could ever say.
Uh-huh.
But then that decision, that dark decision, is the f uh brings about the fulfilment of this wish and it's granted to her in this beautiful scene where, you know, we see the lighthouse, uh, you know,'cause this it's the seaside orphanage, everybody, that is right next to this lighthouse.
and man.
Uh I I'm telling you, i every time that scene hits, I I'm just like, dude, Jay, I get like taken away and like, you know, right I start realizing I think I have a heart. Yeah. Start going, Oh, I this guy does have emotions. I have them. They're here. They're right here. Yeah. And um So yeah, well what do you what do you think about this game as the heartbeat of the story? Because it really is the I guess you could say the key component for what drives things throughout. It's the through line.
Yeah, I love what you were saying and in fact I gotta just give you credit as as usual because Maybe this sounds dumb, but but for whatever reason it did not occur to me that um this scavenger hunt type game that she that she does over and over. I mean, we actually see it like a a few different times. that that ultimately like that the treasure that she is seeking, you know, is
a treasure indeed, let's just say. And and and for whatever reas for whatever reason I I don't know, I'm just dense. I didn't put together you know, what the what the genuine true treasure was that she was looking for and I'm like, Oh duh, okay. So yeah, as you were saying it, it really came across strongly to me. So Thank you for giving me that insight. I'm embarrassed to I'm embarrassed to admit it.
Oh man, well I I'm sure you you you absolutely uh picked up on the you know the Peter Pan Lost Boys motif.
These days. We're getting that a lot.
We we sure are, but listen, let's go back you know, uh back to two thousand eight, you know, eighteen years now and almost to the day, Jay.
Yeah. I know. That's wild.
Yeah, that is wild. Good lord. And um
Okay.
Oh boy, the passage of time, Jay of the Dead. But uh, you know, back then though, and especially in the scheme of this story, you know, that Peter Panlas boys uh sort of um, you know, motif is i is is fresh and feels good. How do I word this next part? Because you know, Simone's
Well we we do know that there are ghosts, okay? It is this is a supernatural, but we don't know the nature of these ghosts. Yeah. But they do tie into this Neverland, uh this idea of Neverland, in that uh, you know, Neverland and Peter Pan are fueled by belief. You know, by fantasy, which this movie embraces, but like the Lost Boys in the story and even in the horror movie of the same name, there is this
You know, this talk, you know, the son Simone even, you know, mentions um, you know, that he he may be a child forever. He says these things and you know, and he he believes even his imaginary friend, uh this, you know, maybe a ghost friend of his is still uh, you know, just like he is. And you start to make these Neverland Lost Boys uh
you know, connections and it it really makes sense when you uh get to the heart of the well, there's like the central mystery of, you know, this missing treasure, but then there's the additional mystery of the I guess you could say the supernatural goings on that are are around that. Yeah.
Yeah.
And all that's you know, and that just makes the story so layered and I was about to say dense, uh rich would would be the proper word. It feels it's very Like a lair cake, you know, you're not just getting you know, sometimes it's okay when a film is is its premise.
And there's not much more to it. Sometimes you can have a lot of fun with that. Yeah. And that there's nothing wrong with that. But there are times where you get a premise and it's just the place to start. And this movie is, you know, and this movie's one of those where, okay, we have this, you know, woman who's brought to this uh you know, back to her old seaside orphanage where she was as a kid. She wants to buy it and
make it her own and and, you know, raise these, you know, uh raise up these uh disabled children and, you know, kinda give them the home she had and this great place. And then you know, that's a nice starting off point. But it there's it goes so much farther than that. And it does become this heavy take on a a Neverland subtext and, you know, th this yeah this this dark, whimsical fairy tale that's going on, but then we have little boys in masks in dark hallways and
you know, uh other things that happen in the third act that are uh utterly frightening that I don't even wanna say'cause I don't wanna even put those images or th those expectations in anybody's minds of characters we mate later on and what they bring to the story, because I could say certain things and be like, Oh, the well there's an arrival of uh somebody by this profession and that could just be like, wait, oh okay. Like I it's cool that you don't even know that.
Yeah.
I may have said too much.
No, it's no, I'm with you. And and one thing that you said that I really loved is when you described it as the layer cake nature because actually there are some really cool concurrent things that are happening in this, which makes this film very impressive to me, because you've got the history of this orphanage and the children and then we've got the mystery of, you know, have you said forgive me for not knowing
Have have you said her her main endeavor, her most earnest endeavor of what she's seeking? Have you mentioned that? No.
No, I have not said that and I've wondered if maybe we should leave that out. I don't know. If you want to go there
No, I'm following your lead, brother. So yeah, if you haven't said it, I'll just say we've got her most earnest. endeavor that she's seeking. So we've got that story. And even though these things are related, it's cool that that's a story. And then we also have the subplot of
You know, the mystery of the hips the history of the orphanage. And so there are multiple things like that, Watson, that are happening kind of like You you know how when you read a novel there are some really cool through lines that are kind of being threaded together, and I feel like that happens within this film.
Well you you are absolutely correct about that, Jay. And one of the beautiful things about these two mysteries, one happening currently with our lead character Laura and and her uh uh you know, looking for this this treasure of of hers, th her earnest her most earnest endeavor, as you said, there's this mystery going on and then It ultimately wraps up in a much older mystery. And so it transcends time and space in its own way.
I mean quite literally because I mean what are ghosts if not that sort of uh you know, strange otherworldly transcendence, right?
Right.
You know, there's a scene in this that every time I watch this movie, well, from the second time on, I can't say what it is, but I will I I'll speak in code for all of us who have seen it and since uh I'm speaking to you and you have seen it, I'm I'm I'll speak in code to you, Jay, of the dead, and everybody out there you can you can listen along and see if you you're picking up what I'm putting down here. Just a a devastating scene is right before
I'm trying to word this Jay. Yeah. Right be right before Laura begins to seek uh this treasure. Mm-hmm. this missing treasure and goes on this treasure hunt. Yes. There's a scene where you can only pick it up on the second time and on where you watch it where you realize that's the moment that treasure got lost.
Mm-hmm.
Do you know what I'm talking about?
Yes.
And every time I see that, it just hits me and gives me goose. But it just d right now, Jay, it just happened. Yeah. Where I I see this just little gesture, this little thing that you wouldn't even think twice about. Y you yourself, uh uh any one of us would do it. We would make this uh action, do this thing. and it would have resounding consequences afterwards. And you don't know it that first time. You you can't know it. The film is designed so the much like hereditary
And another a comedy movie that I quite like, uh, with a star-studded cast, uh, called The Ten from two thousand seven, where the first time you watch it, you're not supposed to get certain things. You're just not meant to. But then it's that second time on where you you can pinpoint those moments and and go, oh, that that right there, that that's where it was. And it was fun to watch this with my son sort of knowing that just looking over and like just thinking, is he picking up on this?
And of course not because you you kinda can't. Right. And it's only upon, you know, when when all is said and done where you you can go back to that moment and realize, oh, that's the moment the treasure goes missing. And it's like, oh good lord, that and every time I think of that, it's just like Like it it Jay, it it just hits.
I know, brother. I know. Yeah. Yeah. This is a hard hitting film and and I did, I felt like an idiot earlier tonight, but I I think it speaks to because my understanding of um the way our brains work is that We do actually retain the things that we experience, the things that happen to us. So even if we consciously have forgotten something, for the most part, it's there in our subconscious, right? That like our brain records it.
is my understanding. Maybe that's not accurate. I don't know medically, but but I did have the experience watching this where I just completely forgot how it unraveled. And in fact, I know this. The first time I ever saw this, I was most interested and most keen on learning about the mysteries of the history of the orphanage, let's say.'Cause'cause there's there's um
There's a neat little m there's a mask in this film that's really cool. Yeah, and so that that's really where my focus was. And then this time upon revisiting it, definitely my focus was upon the seeking of the earnest treasure. So um yeah, that that affected me differently. But yeah, but I I it was amazing though how even though I didn't really remember where this was going or how it was going to unfold exactly I I did have a sadness uh just fall upon me that was very bizarre, brother. Oh
¶ Whimsy Amidst Dark Mystery
Yeah, absolutely, man. It is a heavy film. You know, but there are these touching and whimsical moments that kind of uh balance that or, you know, and st stand uh you know kind of uh Uh against it in contrast to that. You know, I think of in the first act there's a piano scene between Laura and her husband. I found it really touching. We're just introduced to this loving family unit here.
Yeah.
Uh you know, I imagine uh if he were here right now I'd be like, Hey Kagan, that's what you and the vampire Lestot do, huh? And uh he'd just laugh and I'd be like I'd just be jealous. Um
and I'm not I've seen them do um I've seen them do duets there with the four hands on the piano, yes.
Man, couple goals, right?
Yes.
Um the another whimsical or just kind of a funny moment, and I always point this out'cause it it always makes me laugh every time I watch this. Uh we meet this character at some point named Beninha. And it's this uh when we first are introduced to her, you know, we w there's a a sound, you know, Laura hears some sound outside and and then all of a sudden just this kind of whimsical music plays and here comes this old lady just kinda not
Kind of running casually off into the woods. And that's just it. You're like, huh?
Yeah.
And then she just goes and it's like this what WTF moment. Yes. It always makes me laugh because she just kind of goofily And I it's I think it's meant to have, you know, to bring levity to the the film there and th that first part because you don't you haven't met this lady yet and who she is and how she plays into the story, but she's there on the property and when Laura hears some sound out in one of the outbuildings and
Goes checking, here comes this old lady, just kinda doo doo doo doo doo, just past her out and out in the woods like it's nothing. Always laugh at that part.
Right. Or what about the fact that um, you know, the in this film one of the uh imaginary friends is named Watson. I think that was funny. That made me laugh.
Watson and Pepe.
Yes. And then and then a something I learned from this film that I never realized, did you know?'Cause apparently Spain had yellow pages, just just like the United States did. Uh yeah, yeah, because uh well at least that's how it's translated in the subtitles. Maybe that maybe they just gave us the American equivalent, but but I believe they said yellow pages. So maybe uh yellow pages was an international kind of phenomenon. But it's
I know that.
Weird.
C kinda like well it'd be more the white pages, but kinda kinda like that slasher from nineteen eighty four. Where uh uses the
Absolutely to to look up all those Sarah Connors. Yeah. You know, the one the one by one victim picking off. Oh man, I I
I will never tire of the I I will forever
I'm so glad.
Watch with a smile as you and Greg and Mortis are engaged in battle while the rest of us just, you know, we're in the peanut gallery just
You know?
Having popcorn laughing at it. It's it's the best. I I I w I love it. Because I I don't want to go into spoilers
Mm-hmm. Same.
So I don't know if I like like I said folks, my uh my bullet points are a mess. And I even track down my old'cause I reviewed this one other time. on exploding heads back in like I think twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen, many many years ago. and I even pulled up my notes from that. I mount I wound up being able to find them and just trying to see if there's anything spoiler free that I can share. But I think we
We we've done a decent enough job at that, I would say. I I don't want to get into the all the finer points that we did, uh even on that episode and
everything like that or or or here here and now.'Cause you know, it's shorter form first of all. And I'm sure if we we could turn this into another half hour easily just talking spoilers and talking about the m the meaning behind these things and pointing out key moments and how i this leads to this and But I think it's just worthwhile enough to know that there is this you know tremendous mystery happening on multiple fronts and
It's a dark mystery. And maybe as dark as it gets. Possibly as dark as it gets, Jay. I mean, if you think about what this mystery uh you know, w w what who it surrounds rather and, you know, the
the nature of these individuals and how you know, the sadness that that is. And that's that's part of the heaviness of of this movie when you realize, you know, we we did say children in peril. And, you know, there's this uh uh that is such a heavy element to this film, a a really profound uh element in this film and
it never fails to hit me at least, you know. I'm sure there are, you know, of course, a as with anything, there are gonna be people who are just like, I don't know, into the orphanage, I don't know, it's overrated, didn't really like it. And hey, you know, right on, you know, different strokes for different folks and all. But uh for for those of us, you know, who do dig it,
Uh, you know, there there's so much to dig. And for those of you who haven't seen it yet and might be intrigued by wondering, okay, what is what is this ghost story murder mystery? What what is happening here? I just yeah, I really want to
Uh
you know, put it out there that this this whole episode is just me b basically just being like, please go watch this That's all this is, man.
I back you, Watson, a hundred percent. And I hope the listeners too, if you do tend to be a clockwatcher like me. Now to be clear, Watson, I was not bored at all. It is very engaging, but I'm just saying it's deliberately paced. So I think if people go into this, just know you you need to be patient, but the payoff is worth it for me.
Yeah.
¶ Final Ratings and Lasting Impact
So but yeah, so are we are we at the uh final thoughts and ratings, sir?
Yes, w yeah, we are. Jay, will you uh bring us bring us there?
Sure. I just have t three quick little tiny things to say. And one is this does have a very, very brief moment of pig headed horror. There is a pig mask in this. Yes. There is a pig man.
That's okay.
So uh everybody, let's celebrate. And then, you know, this film is bittersweet for sure. I still say the best, the very best ghost movies. are sad and sorrowful and this is bittersweet. But but I'm really glad too that I just so happened to m micro review faces in the crowd because faces in the crowd tries to give us a bittersweet, poignant ending, but it is just absolutely cringeworthy. Whereas this poignancy that this film brings us to, while it is melancholy, it is powerful.
it it pays off and it's it's just incredible. The orphanage for me is a nine out of ten. I call it a must see for horror fans. And it's a buy. I own it. My son Spawn of the Dead owns it because I actually I actually watched his copy this evening. Which was kinda a cool little thing. And um And yeah, I think I think you listeners, I think you should own it too.
Amazing. Nine out of ten. I you you love to hear it, folks. You love to hear it. Jay, when you go n like n eight point five and higher, uh listeners uh listen up.
Thank you.
Yes. Did Spawn like this movie?
You know, I I'm so glad you asked that. It was one of those you might think I'm a bad dad, but it was one of those times where he wanted to watch a horror movie, I was busy doing something, he's like, Dad, recommend one I'm like, Well you gotta watch the orphanage. And so he did. So he ended up watching this on his own. I didn't get to watch it with him, which I feel a little bit I feel a little bit bad about now.
after it was over, he loved it. So yeah, and he's and he, you know, sometimes he does love supernatural horror, but sometimes he should. Yes. Sometimes he gets bored and stuff, but he loved it. He said it was freaky. So
Mm-hmm. Oh man, I'd love it if you could uh maybe put in the show notes uh if he has a rating uh that you could get from him uh by the time the show notes come out. I'd love to know what he what he rated.
Will do sir. Thank you.
'Cause I can give you my son's rating uh here in a in a second'cause it's it's the same as mine actually. Yeah, my my final thoughts uh and y and you know in fact I will I I have my notes here from exploding heads. I'm just gonna kinda do a cheat. And the read verbatim what I have written here.
And uh I think it it it s it s summarizes my thoughts pretty well here. This film works as well as it does because it manages to transcend genre lines. It's a frightening ghost story, it's a murder mystery. It's an adult fairy tale, it's a drama about love and loss, it's as dark as dark can get, yet it has childlike whimsy to it that brings light into the mix.
It's a classy film, plain and simple, and the word film absolutely applies here. Narratively speaking, the Orphanage is essentially a perfect movie in my eyes that only gets richer when you incorporate the fine filmmaking at hand here. So that's what I wrote there. When my son and I watch this, he is maybe even less emotional than I am. Uh and uh in certain ways.
He's he's a stoic, right? Like y you know
We're not them I mean we're we're goofy, but like I think like we're I I've never seen him I guess cry at a movie before.
Okay.
And this was the first time when we watched this last April that he actually had like a couple of tears in the eyes, like I did, kind of being like, you know, and you know, we're not ugly crying or anything. We're a couple of men here. What's going on? That's right. You know, it was you know, but it was like, you know, it was like
Okay, hey, you know, wiping the eyes and we're just you know we're just like going right and I was he's like y he just went sh yeah and I was like, All right, you know, and I mean nobody's sobbing, but you y the tears are in the eyes because of how this affects you and I was really uh happy that my son uh was able to See the film for what it was because he wants to write uh stories just like this. He's obsessed with uh darker uh fairy tales.
like things for kids, or at least that incorporate kids that have adult themes. Okay. And w this is why I wanted to show him this because we've been uh he you know, I'm s I sort of have him consulting on a story he wants to make into a video game'cause he he's he's into development and these sorts of things, game dev stuff.
So cool.
Uh and we over and over love to revisit this world that he's invented and I honestly think the stuff he's doing is I mean and I don't just say this because he's my son, but I'm like I'm I'm in in true awe at the story that he's trying to tell with these characters. It blows me away.
and I knew the orphanage would affect him in a way that would get hit those juices flowing and they really did and tears included. Um now speaking of the the tear part and and and we'll get to my son's rating, uh Skylar's rating here because it's the same as mine and uh but
¶ The Orphanage: A Date Movie
I just it's it's kinda funny there, uh, Jay. I um you know, this is one of those films and uh where I it's I've used it as a date movie, we'll say.
No.
Now maybe your girl isn't into foreign films, maybe she's not a cinophile and you're out of luck there. But if she is a proper cinephile, I'm telling you this movie gets the job done. Maybe she's rightfully
is like, oh Dustin, you're really emotionally unavailable and you're just like, Psh, yeah, right. But then it's like, Well, you know, I wanna see your sensitive side. I'm like, Well you last time I showed you that, you used it against me in a fight. But then, you know, she apologizes, we pour a couple of drinks, everything's fine again.
And then uh we put the movie on. And then, you know, ending hits and then I uh calculatedly shed approximately two tears, one from each eye, while remaining stoic and demeanor. Yeah. And then she goes, Wow, what a man and I go, That's correct. So Jay, do something like that. Uh you know, y you you think you you would show this movie to the next uh potential Mrs. Jay?
Oh yeah. Absolutely. Yeah,'cause I I have this new test that is that is this.
Tell me this.
Like for example, like uh there's this uh this uh gal at work. I asked her something about movies. She's like, I don't know. I don't watch movies. And I'm like, see ya walked away. All right. Like, don't even don't even talk to I don't have time for people who don't watch movies. Anyway.
Listen, shared values are what is most important in a relationship.
Like that, you know.
Right. And and listen, you value the cinema, Jay, so it it only
So much.
Only uh you know sp speak Yeah.
It only makes sen it only makes sense, yes. Mm-hmm.
Awesome. Uh yeah, this is one of those. And another one, uh just just it right before I get my rating is uh a movie called Happy Accidents. Uh that's another one of my go to's. I'm telling you, the orphanage and happy accidents, I mean it just it gets the job done every damn time.
Um
But my f my my friends. Secrets of uh m the the game by Mr. Watson. No, I'm not that way at all.
I ordered that because of you, by the way. I I own happy accidents.
I'm gl so glad you told me that because I was actually going to send it to you around Valentine's Day and suggest that you, Doctor Shock and and I cover that movie.
Let's do it. Let's do it. I love it. I I've been waiting because yeah, you told me this was an ace in the hole. And if I
The guy who directed blood?
Uh yeah, it's Brad Anderson, right?
Uh yep. In Session Nine and Blood. Yeah, he did he did this movie that's not a horror movie called Happy Accidents and w we'll have to get to that. That'll be a considering the cinema, I think, where like Yumi and Doc shock at the very least and whoever the hell else, you know, but like uh wants to get in. I think oh yeah, Max yeah, Mac Mac of course he's on he's the host of the that show too. Uh and I think he would love it. I think he'd be like delighted.
Um we're just talking about movies that delight us folks and and the orphanage is one of those, even if it is a dark delight, and my son and I both have the score ten out of ten. Yes. I have maintained for a long time that this is because of how this movie affects me a in a way that so few do. And I mean I don't I I I don't know of another one, another horror movie that does this to me. I don't know if there is one.
And that affects me like this anyway. This is its own particular thing and so it just it sort of bumps ahead in the line like when you uh you you tip the door guy or something and he he lets you forward in line a little bit, you know? It's it's you know, it's like uh I tip the bouncer and he's like, Oh, I'll go Go on in. Yeah. It's one of those sorts of things. And that's kinda how this is be th how this uh
This movie just
uh butts ahead of other movies just by the fact that it's it affects me like it does and so I hope that listeners out there will maybe want to be similarly affected and you know, I hope I'm not overhyping this. Just, you know, as with anything, go in neutral and just, you know, like just chill, mm-hmm, watch a movie and then just see where it takes you. Let this let this film
act on you and and take you on the ride it wants to take you on. And I I think if you ve if you avail yourself to it you'll be pleasantly surprised and you'll be you know, maybe a little heartbroken afterwards, but in with you'll be heartbroken with a teary eyed smile. And so I mean and w and what better way to uh show up in public with mascara running, uh even though uh I don't wear mascara. But if I did
Back in your punk rock days though, you did. When you're in the band.
There was a lot of uh pink hair dye, but that's uh about as close as we as we got to mascara, my guy.
I just I didn't know if you did the Keith Urban thing. I mean he you know
Oh that's that's done.
Oh yeah, for sure. Look at any picture of him.
Will I you know, I'm actually going to and and you know how he says his name? Keith Auburn.
Oh, I can't see.
Uh
So
You gotta you gotta be careful with the those Australians and those pronunciations.
Yes, you do.
¶ Next Episode: Dying Breed
Uh but yeah, man, I I mean we're here and uh everybody, I mean that's our feature review of the Orphanage two thousand eight, which I'm gonna have to get used to that, Jay. But I've said two thousand seven for so long.
Same.
But yeah, but two thousand eight Or Orphanage, The Orphanage El Orfanato by J. A. Bayona. And uh I I highly recommend it everybody and uh I'd I'd be pleased as punch if you would uh hit us up on any of the social medias after you watch this movie, especially if it's a first time. Well hell, I don't care. If you've seen the movie and you have thoughts on it, please let us know. But if this if it's a recent first time for you, you know, I just Tell us. I'm I'm rambling, Jay. Please take over.
I had a few drinks in me. I have not, my friends. I I yeah, drinking during the week is uh one of those things I don't do anymore and maybe that's why I'm I'm detoxing.
Well you're not really no you're I'm proud of you. So your son, Little Watts, he he's a ten as well. You said you both have the same rating. And and this is obviously a a buy. This is a buy.
Absolutely. We have a really good digital copy of it. Um I think I might own it on Blu ray actually. I wonder if somebody bought it for me. Did you buy it for me, Jay?
I don't think so, but I It's going on my list now though. No, I I n I know I sent you um the others twice.
Yeah, call that.
Yeah.
I love that. Yeah, he sent me he he like a long time ago, yeah, he sent me this awesome Criterion Blu-ray of the others and this stuffed polar bear. And I took this uh really cool do you remember this? I took this monochrome picture of the two side by side.
Yes.
Really good composition. I was proud of myself for this photo that I sent to the to the the to the gents in the chat and thanking Jay on social media. And then Jay uh months and months later is like, dude, I got something in the mail coming for you. And it's the other
Yeah.
It's like oh man, I wanna send it back to you so you can get your money back.
No, I'm just uh you know, I I'm getting senile in my old age.
I I love it, man. I love it. But I do own the orphanage digitally and I think there is a Blu-ray in my pile um that I thought you may have sent. Or or sent to me. Maybe Skyler bought it. That may have been what it was. But yeah, I do own it. It should be in yours, folks.
That's that's right. Agreed. And I know this is a little anticlimactic, but um it it's awesome. Spawn of the Dead is actually um he was on his phone and he answered me. I texted him, I said, uh Mr. Watson wants to know your rating for the orphanage. And he said, I don't remember. Sorry. So So sorry, but but I know I know he loved it when he watched it. He was very impressed'cause I was I was sort of expecting him to be like I don't know, Dad, it was kinda boring, but but now he liked it, so
Okay, cool, awesome.
Alright, well I think Up uh this episode of Horror Movie Weekly, episode 183, in our review of the Orphanage. Thank you, Watson. Excellent pick as always, my friend. And as we start to wrap up, just want to make sure you stick around to hear. my next pick for next time, what we'll be reviewing in episode one hundred eighty four. But before we get to that, remember you can leave us a comment in the show notes. It'll
horrormovieweekly.com or on x at horror underscore weekly. Um on the website too you will notice we do have um these uh QR codes for Venmo and PayPal if you'd like to contribute and donate to support the expense of um this show and the other three shows um other three podcasts so yes really appreciate that but uh yeah that that that's it for me mr watson where could people uh check out
Check me out here at Horror Movie Weekly and uh with the boys over on uh Jay of the Dead's new horror movies at new horror movies dot com.
Alright, absolutely. Uh Uh Watson, I was having so much trouble picking and now I'm I'm worried because I I'm like okay did I just review see what I mean my my mind it's uh it's uh I'm I'm losing it. Well I wanna do something serious. I I've got like six picks here and I was just trying to hope that like I would feel inspired or impressed to uh pick the right one. I just want it to be good. And'cause you know what it is? I'm paranoid because you always pick so well. You you always pick so well.
was a cheat this time. Like sometimes most of the time it's just kind of pick uh you know random just kinda oh you know trying this out. This was like a you know like I said a deliberate uh choice because I want to show my son one of the best movies, you know. And so when you bring something like this to the show, it you definitely crescize.
Yeah, I was gonna say I mean how am I gonna follow up that? Okay, I'm gonna just go for something. This sorry, it probably sucks, but I'm gonna try for some reason. This title is in my head as if I saw it or reviewed it within the past two years. So if if you're If you're like, yeah, Jay, you already talked about that um a year ago, then just yell at me. But it is
A film IMDB says it's from 2008. I'll have to double check later, but it is Dying Breed, directed by Jody Dwyer, and it stars uh Lee Wynell. And the uh premise here on IMDbs B sounds really wild. I'll just give you a little taste. Dying Breed interweaves the two most fascinating icons of Tasmanian history. The extinct Tasmanian tiger and the pie man. aka Alexander Pierce, who was hanged for cannibalism in night in eighteen twenty four. So I mean right? Let's go. Uh have you seen Dying Reed?
I drunkenly watched this in like 2014 and remember absolutely nothing about it except that uh Lee Wennell is an Yes.
Yeah.
And that I seem to remember being like, dude, I need to give that a proper watch. I was kinda mad at myself for falling asleep. Like and it it wasn't one of those'cause I I don't fall asleep during movies. It w this was one of those types of falling asleep a passing out if you will. And uh so I I I never did give this movie its due. And so it it it has been on my mind for a while, and so I'm I'm very happy you picked this because I rem I recall hearing nothing but good things about it.
Okay, good. Well thank you. And yeah, I did remember this correctly about it. It is part of the After Dark Horror Fest. three eight films to die for. And so yeah, I've um yeah, so and I bel I believe that's the same one. Anyway, unless there are a couple different films called Dying Breed, which is possible. I haven't as you can tell I haven't done a ton of homework But this is one directed by Jody Dwyer, so.
There we go. All right. So yeah, listeners, watch along with us. We would love to have you join us for that. And um just want to thank Mr. Watson, I want to thank the uh listeners of Horror Movie Weekly who are still here with with us. Really appreciate it. And uh on behalf of my Beloved co-host here, The Pinnacle, Mr. Watson. I'm your late-night horror host, Jay of the Dead, and you've been listening to Horror Movie Weekly, The Midnight Bowling of Horror Podcasts.
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