243 | Birth/Rebirth

• Directed by Laura Moss

• Written by Laura Moss and Brendan J. O'Brien

• Rated R 

• Runtime: 1hr 41min

• Stars: Marin Ireland, Judy Reyes and A.J. Lister

• Premiered at Sundance January 20, 2023

• Limited release August 18, 2023 

• RT: 96% critics / 75% audience

  Synopsis 

  A morgue technician has developed a method to reanimate the dead using embryonic tissue. When she tests it on the recently deceased daughter of a delivery room nurse and the nurse catches wise, they work together to keep the child alive at all costs.

Join us next time when we'll review Society of the Snow, currently streaming on Netflix.

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Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

225 | Infinity Pool

• Written & Directed by Brandon Cronenberg

• Stars Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman

• Rated R

• Runtime: 1hr 57mins 

• Premiered at Sundance January 21, 2023

• Released January 27, 2023 

• RT: 86% critics, 52% audience 

  Synopsis 

  A bored couple on vacation in a small foreign country runs afoul of the government and must face an unexpected punishment.

Join us next time when we’ll at long last be watching and reviewing Beau is Afraid, currently in theaters.

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Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

209 | Glorious

View fullsize

• Directed by Rebekah McKendry

• Written by Joshua Hull, David Ian McKendry and Todd Rigney

• Stars Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons

• Unrated

• Runtime: 1hr 19min

• Released June 18, 2022

• RT: 87% critics, 53% audience

  Synopsis 

A man wakes up to find himself trapped inside a rest stop bathroom with a Lovecraftian hell god voiced by character actor J.K. Simmons.

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Next up, we’ll be heading back into Ti West’s sick mind with Pearl, currently in theaters. Join us, won’t you??

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Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

206 | Nope

• Written & Directed by Jordan Peele

• Stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun 

• Rated R

• Runtime: 2hr 10min

• Released July 22, 2022

• RT: 82% critics, 69% audience

  Synopsis 

OJ and Emerald Haywood are siblings trying to keep their family’s horse training ranch in business after the unusual death of their father. Once the strange, supernatural events start up again, however, they soon realize that trying to capitalize on it in order to save the ranch may be more work than they originally thought.

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Next up, join us as we’ll be reviewing the newest A24 flick, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies.

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Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

158 | The Vast of Night

Directed by Andrew Patterson

Written by Andrew Patterson and Craig W. Sanger (teleplay)

Stars Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Gail Cronauer, and Bruce Davis

Premiered at The Slamdance Film Festival January 26, 2019, Released May 15, 2020

Rated PG-13

Runtime: 1hr 31min

RT: 92% critics, 65% audience

Almost the entire town of Cayuga, New Mexico is attending a basketball game, but Everett, the local radio DJ and Fay, the switchboard operator, have to work instead. They investigate a strange sound that has broken onto the airwaves and it leads to an extraterrestrial discovery that might put their lives in danger.

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Next up is a film that has been categorized as a “horror comedy thriller.” Trailers can be deceiving but judging by this one it doesn’t seem all that funny to me. If you want to be ready for our next episode you’ll rent She Dies Tomorrow and meet us back here in two weeks. I’ve seen it for $3.99 everywhere, so not bad.

140 | Under the Skin

Directed by Johnathan Glazer

Written by Johnathan Glazer & Walter Campbell, based on the novel by Michel Faber

Stars: Scar-jo

Rated: R; Runtime: 1hr 48min

Released April 4, 2014; Available on Netflix & Kanopy currently

Synopsis: An alien comes to Earth & takes the form of Scarlett Johansson so that she can pick up men & lure them into a pool of black water where their insides are harvested & sent back to her home planet, until she starts feeling bad about it & decides to try being a human for a bit.

Kitty’s personal notes about the film:

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Next up we’ll be rounding out the year with yet another remake. They’ve been pretty hit or miss and it’s certainly hard to compete with original films this year, like Midsommar and The Lighthouse. Here’s hoping this will be one of the hits! Join us for our next episode where we’ll be covering the remake of Black Christmas.

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Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

131 | High Life

Director: Claire Denis

Writers: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Geoff Cox, Andrew Litvack, Nick Laird

Stars: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche and Andre Benjamin

Rated: R, Runtime: 1hr 53min

Released April 5, 2019; Available for rent on Amazon, iTunes

Synopsis: In the future, death row inmates are given the option to volunteer for scientific experiments in space. The volunteers are misled about the nature of the experiment, as well as the fact that their trip into space is one-way. Robert Pattinson plays Monte, & when we meet him he is the only surviving volunteer on the ship. He’s not alone, though. We learn that the experiments were on human fertility in space, which were apparently successful, as there’s a baby there with him.

As promised, here’s a link to conceptual artist Ólafur Eliasson’s page.

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It’s finally time for some gd Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! We don’t know about y’all but we are pretty dang pumped for this one. Join us as we discuss our childhood (and maybe adulthood) fear of Harold.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

114 | Annihilation

Director: Alex Garland

Writer(s): Alex Garland (screenplay), Jeff VanderMeer (novel)

Synopsis: Lena (Natalie Portman) is a cell biologist & former soldier who is struggling to move on after the year-long disappearance of her husband (Oscar Isaac), a current soldier on a top secret mission. When he walks into their bedroom suddenly with no memory of how he got there & then just as suddenly starts to violently convulse, Lena is swept up into the secret mission. She & her dying husband are taken to a base overlooking an ecological anomaly that defies characterization, & soon a shocked but determined Lena has joined a team on an expedition into the dangerous zone from which her husband is the only one out of dozens to have returned.

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It’s the (alleged) most wonderful time of the year, so our last episode of 2018 is going to be holiday-themed. Hopefully you’ve seen this slasher gem already, but if not, get thyself a copy of the original Black Christmas post haste. We’ll meet you back here in two weeks to talk about it.

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Into/outro music courtesy of Peter Perfect. Check him out on Instagram | Soundcloud 

Other music this episode by Blank & Kytt, Mid-Air Machine, Bodysurfer and Asura. Check them out on the Free Music Archive

96 | The Endless

Writer: Justin Benson

Directors: Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead 

Synopsis: Justin & Aaron are brothers who escaped a UFO death cult 10 years ago. When we meet them they’re scraping by in LA as house cleaners & on the verge of having their shared car repossessed. Aaron, the younger of the two, remembers the cult fondly as a place where they enjoyed the outdoors & ate fresh food instead of the ramen they’re stuck living on now. Justin sees his younger brother as his responsibility & insists that he’s forgetting about the weirder aspects of the place. When they are sent a mysterious videotape from Camp Arcadia, Aaron convinces Justin that they should return there for the sake of closure. What they find seems to be an idyllic commune full of people having bonfires, making craft beer & just generally living their best lives. Aaron is enamored, but Justin is skeptical. Just what do they mean by the Ascension? And where are those pictures & videotapes coming from?

Intro/Outro music courtesy Peter Perfect. Check him out on Instagram | Soundcloud

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Next up, we weigh in on the critically adored box office smash A Quiet Place. So visit your local multiplex (being careful to avoid loud snacks) & join us back here in two weeks to discuss.