Slither (2006)

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Oh, no, no, it's not serious, nothing terminal. It's just a touch of consumption. And welcome back to Horror Queers. We're talking, would you hand me a piece of that, that possum over there? We're talking, he looks like something that fell off my dick during the war. And we're talking, Margaret packs a box lunch. And I'm Joe. And I'm Trace. And we're talking, we're itchy. It's probably poison ivy. For some reason, Joe, every time I watch this movie, that is the biggest laugh I get out of this entire thing. Oh, that's so funny because that's such an understated joke. I love it. Poison Ivy, where is she? This movie's so dumb. It's very dumb. Everyone, we are discussing James Gunn's feature directorial debut, Slither, a movie that I think we kind of clued y'all into this last week in the outro, but no one went to go see it in theaters. No, except us, apparently, because we both went to see it. But, yeah, zero dollars. Okay, wait. So, Joe, right off the bat then, I got to know. So, what was your theatrical viewing experience for this like? Did you go alone? Did you take someone with you? Oh, gosh. In 2006. I feel like I would have gone by myself or maybe dragged a friend to this. But I don't remember a lot of people in the theater, unsurprisingly. and I remember being one of the few people who laughed. Yeah, this was my junior year of high school, and I brought my then boyfriend and my sister. Okay. I think there were maybe two or three other people in the theater, but I can tell you right now that when the credits rolled, both my sister and my boyfriend are like, we're never letting you pick the movie again. What? Oh, come on. Okay, so I have a follow-up story to this. Okay, yeah. So back in the day, I used to invite people over for Halloween movie marathons. So it was one of the few times I would ask my non-horror loving friends to come and watch horror movies. And, you know, you're a programmer, so you understand the kind of rhythm and flow of this. So you don't hit them with the super scary stuff or the gory stuff. You know, it wasn't an evening of new French extremity or anything like that. But Slither was one that I actually programmed several times because even though everyone purported to hate horror movies, I would say this is a horror comedy. It's more gross out than anything, but there are some pretty good scares, and it's very funny, and it always went down well. Yeah, truthfully, I think it's that gross factor. And here's the thing. Slither is a movie that even I find a little too gross. In parts. But here's the thing, though. It's not gory. It's goopy. It's goopy. Yes, it is. And the slime in this movie is so hard for me to watch. Yeah, I agree with you. And truthfully, so my very first, if I remember the Alamo, I programmed, and I don't know if you don't know what that is. That is basically a day-long mystery movie marathon of like four or five movies that I host at the Draft House. And I did program Slyther for my first one as the closing film. Nice. Yes, that's a good place to put it. Yeah, you know, because after you're sitting there for four movies, you're like, okay, we need something with a lot of energy to make sure that the last one goes down well. And Slyther seemed like a good fit for that. Absolutely. Yeah, this is, I would argue, if you get the right crowd for it, a genuine crowd pleaser. Like, people can have a ton of fucking fun with this. If you can get past the goop. The goop can be an issue. It's true. And, folks, I'm also going to say, content warning if you are an animal lover, because every single animal in this movie dies. Yeah, but luckily they're all off screen, so you're only seeing, like, corpses of animals. Well, except the cow. You do see the cow die. You do see the cow die. Yeah. But it's also not great CGI, so how much you believe in it is also a question. You know, I will say, because I love this movie, so I'll just say that right now. This is like a four and a half out of five for me. Oh, yeah. And I agree. Like, it's a thing where the CGI is so wonky for the slugs for a lot of this. But then I think you have to look at how much practical effects are in this movie. And take the $15 million budget into account. Like, this is not an expensive movie. And I can confirm that nearly all of the budget went to the CGI, the practical effects, and the sets. And to be clear, if you've never seen the film, it's not as if the CGI is so glaringly awful. It's just more it never quite looks fully convincing. Like, you're never fooled. And yet, I would say that's also kind of part of the charm. Well, I think the fact that this is a horror comedy aids with that. You know, if this was a straight horror film, I would find a lot of the CGI. And that's where the CGI is coming from. It's mainly the slugs. Yeah. But I think there's only one really bad shot of the CGI, and it's after the Brenda Blob explodes and the slugs wash down. But there's a shot where you're seeing them kind of go over everyone as they're lying down, and it really looks like these CGI slugs are not in the same universe as the actors that are on screen. Yeah, the actors are lying down, and then we did it in post, and it's fine. It's fine. But other than that, I mean, I think the CGI is fine. But I think also it's one of those things where because we have such amazing practical effects when they're being used that really do harken back to the 80s practical effects we would get, because they're in the same movie as this kind of cartoonish-looking CGI, it just makes it that much more glaring. Yeah. I mean, did I watch this movie and think about the two other slug films that we have covered, which this movie clearly owes a debt to? And people saw it right away. You know, if you look this up on Wikipedia, you will see controversy, people saying this movie is a ripoff of Night of the Creeps, to which I say, bitches, shivers is also right there. Those are the two. But, I mean, I think it's also because James Gunn has talked about how this movie is an homage or an ode to a lot of the 80s movies that he grew up with. So it makes sense that we would go with Night of the Creeps, the 80s one. Well, but the funny thing is this. So, I mean, so, Gunn, I'll just jump into this. Yeah. Sure. Gunn credits the inspiration behind Slytherin to be his extreme admiration for David Cronenberg films. And John Carpenter's The Thing. And he also says he's been reading a lot of Junji Ito's manga Uzumaki, which I have not read, but I did look up some screenshots of. And, oh boy. Oh, it is good. I'll fuck you. You should get to it. The Horror Queers Book Club loved it. Okay, okay. But that being said, though, I feel like, and I didn't see this in my research this week, But I feel like in the past I have seen Gunn say that he had never seen Night of the Creeps when he wrote this. And given – but here's the thing, though. Given that he admits his admiration and love for all things David Cronenberg, I think it makes sense. He'd be like, yeah, Shivers was totally an inspiration on this when he hadn't seen Night of the Creeps. Which is possible, right? I mean, we often feel as if people are dodging the question or saying, oh, come on, it's right there. Surely you would have known if you were making a big-budget slug movie. You have to have been other ones out there. but I think sometimes we also give filmmakers a lot of credit for having just oodles of time. Like, they're kind of out there also just making a movie, so. Exactly. And here, I mean, I guess, you know, you might think, well, James Gunn's a big old geek, right? So surely he knows about all these movies, but also at the same time in 2006, like, the internet wasn't where it was now, and I don't know if Night of the Creeps, like, I hadn't seen Night of the Creeps when I saw this movie. It's true, actually. I remember it's got a very nice physical media release now, but I don't know how accessible it would have been. I mean, it was available on VHS, for sure. That's where I ever switched it. Yeah, but again, I still think that's considered kind of a cult film. Definitely that. So I'm just like, well, if Gunn's admitting that he's seen Shivers and likes Cronenberg, then why would he lie about not having seen Night of the Creeps, you know? Yeah, I don't think it's a lie. I think it's more just, it's a blank spot, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But anyway, so yeah, James Gunn, you know, best known as the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, The good The Suicide Squad and last year's Superman. Wow. I know you're not a big fan of his Suicide Squad either, but I really like his Suicide Squad. Here's the thing, and you might hear me say it during this very recording, I find some of his comedy a little bit juvenile, and sometimes it's a bit hit and miss with me. I think, I mean, look, we've done kind of a backstory on James Gunn in our episode on the live-action Scooby-Doo movie, everyone, so for a more in-depth look at that, go listen to that episode. Jesus God, things I've forgotten about, yes. Yeah, he wrote both Scooby-Doo movies. But it's the thing, yeah, he very much has, like, preteen boy mind in a lot of his writing, I think. But not the incel Zack Snyder kind of eye. Exactly. And I think that listening to him in interviews, like, he just seems very erudite, but he just has that kind of juvenile sense of humor. So I give him a pass when a bit of humor doesn't work for me because I'm like, eh, whatever. Like, I like the guy, whereas, like, with Zack Snyder, it's kind of like, do I like Zack Snyder as a person? Yeah, yeah. I mean, as much as we can know celebrities who we've never actually met, but no, I agree with you. I even remember when Disney made a big fucking mistake and they fired him. And, I mean, sure, he's ended up now working for DC, and I guess good for him, but he's one of those people where I have goodwill towards him because I do feel like he actually cares about the movies he makes, and he wants to make good movies. Yeah, absolutely. So, again, going back to these influences, you know, yes, all those things that I said. He wanted this film to be a throwback, as you said, to those 80s horror films. I did want to point out, so I'm pulling almost all of this from the extra features on Screen Factory's Blu-ray, which is stacked with extra features. And there's a 20th anniversary release that's apparently either out now or coming out soon. It must have the same, oh, because they're doing the 4K release for it. Yeah, yeah. That's why. But I will say that on this, they do a super cut of a bunch of people in the cast and crew, naming off movies that were part of the inspirational kind of movie films they were going for. Yeah, yeah. Elizabeth Banks says Critters. Hello. I mean, here's the thing. When I think of Elizabeth Banks, I also am thinking of someone who knows her shit. Oh, 100%. Now, funnily enough, though, Gunn did not actually intend to direct Slither as he wrote it to sell so he could make some extra cash while he tried to get his pitch-black superhero comedy super off the ground. that's one I've never actually seen I like Super a lot so this would turn out to be his second film this would come out in 2010 it stars Rainn Wilson and Elliot Page and I want to say Kevin Bacon's in it I really like this movie but it is dark like it is pitch black I would be selective about who I chose Super to be So you're not putting this as the final piece of dismember the element? I think for dismember it would work, honestly. Well, it's not really a horror film. But for that type of a crowd, I would. But for showing it to a friend, I would have to really decide. Let me just gauge. Yeah, a little bit. And here's the thing. It's not even that it's like, I don't know. It just goes into some dark places that I don't think that people would expect when you're hearing, oh, James Gunn's superhero comedy. Right. And I remember the reason I stayed away from it is mostly just because of Rainn Wilson, because I just don't really care for him as an actor. I have no relationship to The Office, so he never kind of bridged that divide for me. But, yeah, I remember seeing the trailers and thinking, this looks very curious. What an odd thing, because I think it was right around the same time as Kick-Ass, and I think I was confusing them the sort of low-budgety, interesting takes on superhero films. Yeah, and I think you're spot on. Kick-Ass is a really good comparison, and so if you're going into Super expecting something like Kick-Ass, it is, again, much more than that. I mean, I think the R-rated humor is very similar. It revels in bloody violence, but at the same time, it's just like there's something about Super that still feels baked in the real world, whereas I don't think Kick-Ass does. No. No. But anyway, okay, so after writing... Sorry, you're fine. No, you're fine. I mean, if this gets more people to check out Super, that's great. I do think it's a really good movie. There we go. But after writing Slither, he sent it to Paramount Pictures and Gold Circle Films. And you might be like, well, why Gold Circle? Like, Paramount, that's very different. One of them, I recognize the other. I do not. So basically, Gunn already had a relationship with the Gold Circle president, Paul Brooks. I don't know why they had the relationship already, but he knew him, and he was like, cool, I'm sending it to Paramount, and I'm sending it to this guy, my buddy Paul, over at Gold Circle. Sure. But this is a Thursday night, and on Friday morning, he had an offer to make the movie from both of them. So even Paramount was like, yes, please, come on, we will make this movie. Which, again, I'm like, that's kind of weird, like, given the plot of this movie. I think it's a testament to people seeing something magical in the script, though. Like, the jokes pop. I think you're absolutely right. But since he already knew Brooks, he went with Gold Circle. And again, like, Gold Circle had a relationship with them or, like, a deal with Universal Pictures. So it was a given that by going with Gold Circle, it was going to be a Universal release. Okay, yeah, because when you said, you know, here's two different places, one of them you definitely recognize, the other one you definitely do not, I thought, oh, you're choosing the one that's going to give you troubles with the distribution. But, yeah, I guess if they've got to deal with Universal, you think, okay, well, I'm still going to get this movie out. Yeah, exactly. And it was Brooks, actually, who kept telling Gunn that he needed to be the one to direct the film, and I guess eventually he relented. So that's how Gunn wound up directing the movie. Okay. This is even more interesting, though, because later in this interview, There's a new, well, new in 2016, 30-minute interview with Gunn, and he says this. I never wanted to be a screenwriter. I don't want to be a screenwriter because in those cases, you write something that someone else gets to have the final say on. Like, your creative property is taken out of your hands. And to that, I just say, well, then why don't you just write and direct them? I don't know. I mean, doesn't he mostly do that? Yes! I guess he had to learn the hard way. Maybe he just meant I never wanted to be just a screenwriter. He wanted to be a screenwriter and a director. Yeah. I mean, I think when you feel a sense of ownership over something, you want to see it through. You want to see it executed the way you envisioned it, particularly as you put it on the page. And it would be hard to then see that altered or edited when you see a final film and you realize, no, this is not what I wrote. Yeah. Well, it's the director's film, right? It's not the writer's film. And yeah, I would argue the editor is the one with all that power. I know. Yeah, it's such a power struggle. But anyway. It's why I don't believe in the O-Tro theory, because I don't actually think the director is the person who has the final say on everything. Interesting. Okay, okay. Well, when it comes to his directing style of the film, I love this. So Gunn said he doesn't think he was influenced by his time at Troma. I mean. So he says this, though. He says he basically had cemented his aesthetic by the time he got to Troma. So he then adds, though, Troma changed a lot more from me being there than I changed from being at Troma. Okay, brass balls. He says it in a joking way. I mean, he's very serious about what he's saying, but he doesn't say it in an egotistical way, if that makes any sense. It does, yeah. I mean, here's the thing. Troma was in a very different place when Gunn was there compared to, say, you know, when the Toxic Avenger was getting made, which, of course, gets a reference in this film. Apparently so. But either way. What do you mean apparently? It's all the fucking TV trade. I know. I know. I know. I am listening to you. But he says his experience there was very helpful in showing him what worked and what didn't work on a film set. So it wasn't even like the aesthetics he was learning. It was the behind the scenes of, okay, how to make a film production run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Right. Because, of course, folks, when we have talked about trauma, we have talked about how it really is, you know, nuts and bolts, but also nickels and dimes. So it's about making that money stretch and making a profit, but then also hitting those timetables and so on. And I think that's how you can make a movie like this, which is really effects heavy for just $15 million. Yeah, this movie's hella ambitious. Very much so. Now, on the horror comedy aspect of Slither, Gunn said that he doesn't actually, like, when he's making one of these, he doesn't focus on the balance between the two genres that much. And this might be, like, a stock answer, but he says, you know, he's most interested in the interplay between what is real, like, what actually happens in the real world, and what is completely not real. And how those two different things interact in his films, and that he loves his character so much that he lets the characters dictate the tone. And that's something that I don't think I understand, because I'm not a creator. So I'm just like, well, yeah, you're writing characters, but like you're the god of the creator. So you can make them do whatever you want. But I guess that's where it's like, well, if you're writing real characters, you have to make them believable. And that's what he's focusing on. Well, I think for a lot of people, I mean, this is a common answer. You're right. It's a bit of a stock piece. But I think for a certain kind of writer, they will say, I didn't make this person up. They came to me. And then I have to treat them and their story as authentically as possible. and then it's like, well, what is actually situated within the world and what is, you know, the alien space slug? Exactly. And, you know, we can debate because, I mean, I don't know. I don't know if I would call these characters caricatures, but at the same time, like, they don't really always behave like real people, you know? Some moments are definitely heightened comedy for sure. But I think, you know, if you distill it down, the Bill Starla Grant Grant, you know, romantic triangle in the small town thing, That does feel pretty real to me. It does. And that's really what James Gunn said. He said the centerpiece of this movie, what this movie is about, is the dissolution of a marriage and that love triangle. Yeah. Yeah. And I think if people struggle to invest in the film, either because of the characters or the outlandish premise, I would say try to find, I don't know, the centering in that love triangle, because I do find that that's where a lot of the humanity lies. Yeah, absolutely. Now, when it comes to casting, he actually did seek out Elizabeth Banks after seeing her in both Seabiscuit and Wet Hot American Summer around the same time. These two films were released two years apart. But, I mean, again, I think it's because, I mean, like, it showed range for her. I've never seen Seabiscuit. Have you? I definitely was derived to see it in theaters by my grandparents. Okay. When it came to theaters, which, what, was like 2003? So I was 14 years old, and I will never watch it again. Yeah. I just, I mean, this is me disparaging something that I've not seen, but I just remember having jokes with friends where I was like, it's a Tobey Maguire horse movie. It just, there you go. At 14, I thought it was really boring. I'm sure it's a good movie. It did get good reviews. I think it got Oscar buzz when it came out, but I just, like, I didn't care about it. But nevertheless, I love the banks of doing dramatic acting in Seabiscuit, whereas My Heart of American Summer is very broad comedy. Yes, and I've seen her in that, and I quite like her. I mean, I always knew that she was a bit of a comedy queen, so it's been interesting to see her step into other different roles. Like, I've actually really enjoyed her directorial of it as well. I have, too. I think the first thing I ever saw her in was the 40-year-old virgin, where she has a smaller part, but that bathtub masturbation scene is like an all-timer. It's memorable. Yeah, yeah. But apparently, they had to change a lot of things about the film's shooting schedule to fit Banks' schedule, because Gunn just wanted her that bad. He was like, you are my Starla. I mean, I like that. I appreciate that because I feel this is a tricky role. And if you cast this wrong, I think the whole movie would fall apart. I agree. And I honestly think that she is fucking excellent in this film. Oh, yeah. I mean, she gets to play so many different levels in this movie, I think. I think she has the most challenging acting role, whereas I think Michael Rooker has the most challenging physicality role. I would not want to sign on for this role unless I knew exactly what this makeup job is. Robin-tailed. Boy, and apparently, James Gunn said it was painful for Michael Rooker. I'm not surprised. Yeah. Nathan Fillion said that it took him three hours to get in the makeup and two hours to get out of it, to which I was like, that seems pretty low. That is not as much as I expected, no. Yeah, but Garn had actually been a fan of Michael Rooker for a very long time, specifically pinpointing his roles in both Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer and Cliffhanger, saying that he really liked the vulnerability that he brought to the villain roles. Okay. Hey, I've seen Cliffhanger, and I do not remember him in it. Yeah, I don't think I've seen Cliffhanger since I was in high school. I remember loving Cliffhanger, but, yeah. Although, we'll have to re-watch it before the movie comes out. I mean, I can't believe we're still getting a new one. I can't believe it either. I've actually never seen Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer. You know what? I don't think I have either. But it's apparently based on a true crime. So, you know, if you ever want to watch it, let me know. I'm going to program it for you. But either way, whenever he came in to audition, James Gunn was like, I was basically bowing at his seat. I was like, oh my God, I love you so much. And he knew pretty much as soon as he auditioned, you're going to be my grant. That is wild. And they have a longstanding relationship now because Michael Rooker showed up in a bunch of his Guardians of the Galaxy films. Yeah, exactly. And apparently Gunn and Banks and Fillion and Rooker are all still really good friends and they hang out all the time. Okay. I love that. Interestingly enough, though, Gunn said that Mayor Jack McCready was the most difficult character to cast because, as he said, the role could become too cartoonish really quickly. And they auditioned about 50 to 60 people. And I don't have any names, but Gunn said a lot of great longtime actors in Hollywood, but they all went too broad, almost like a sitcom style of acting. And Gunn didn't want it to be broad. He wanted it to be real. And he said that Greg Henry just got it. Yeah, I feel like the trick for casting this one is you focus on the asshole-ness, not the larger-than-life elements of this mayor. Yeah, and I mean, he's the scene-stealer of the movie. In a movie full of scene-stealers. This is true. And yet, I would argue there is one thing that people always remember about this film, and it doesn't have anything to do with any of the actors we've mentioned. Is it the Brenda? Yes! Yeah. It's always the Brenda. I'm going to say right now, though, I think putting that in the trailers turns... It was a mistake. Yeah, it wasn't even a spoiler thing. I think it turned people off. Yeah, it's tough. Yeah. So, we'll talk about it. The last character really bit, um, is they auditioned more people for Kylie than any other character in the movie. And, since it was filmed in Canada, they could only cast so many people from the U.S. And, motherfuckers, you want those tax breaks? And by this point, they run out of U.S. slots. So, that's how we got Tanya Solnye in this role. Yeah, it's a shame. I looked her up, and she basically has two or three other credits than this. And that's about it. Which, I'm not going to pretend like she's a fantastic actress. I was like, would I prefer to see somebody like maybe Casey roll in this role? Yeah. She would have been too young, I think. But it's one of those things where I don't think the actual, I don't think this character is as essential as Gunn maybe makes it out to be. Yeah. But it is important. Yeah. I don't think the character really pops. And I think, unfortunately, she really just seems here as a way to deliver the exposition about the home world of the aliens. It's when it's like, that's a quick rewrite where you can just put that in another character in the movie. You can give that to Starla, of all people. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Now, during filming, the studio left Gunn alone for the most part, which, again, I find mind-boggling, giving the content of this movie. But I guess they just had a lot of confidence in him. Well, or it just goes to show how, like, business-savvy Gunn is. Like, he probably made a lot of really strong relationships with the studio. Right. Yes. I will say, though, the studio did request two cuts of the film by the time it ended. And they're probably not what you would expect because they were cut out. But basically, one, when they find the Brenda thing and she asked for the possum, which you did so eloquently in our intro, McCready runs out and vomits. And I guess there was a shot of where we actually see him vomit all over the plants outside. Oh, okay. They said, nah. They said, cut that. The other one is a second x-ray shot. So, you know, we get that shot of the first barb infecting Brent's brain. And there was going to be another one later in the movie where we see the worms wriggling in someone's head. And the studio said, cut that. And I'm like, okay. Neither of those seem essential. And yet I also don't feel like, what are they hurting to keep them in? Like, why was that a studio-made? I mean, excuse me, I'm kind of happy that that was all it was. Because none of those were really, like, content-based. You know, oh, we're worried this isn't going to play well. Or, like, people are going to be offended by this or something. It sounds more like personal preferences. But okay. I guess. But anyway, so as I said, the budget was $15 million, and they spent almost all of it on the worms, tentacles, and sets. When the slugs were practical, they were made of thermal gel, which is a strong and elastic material originally developed for the adult novelty industry. Shocker. Nearly 500 different prosthetic parasites were made for the movie, but on screen, most of them are computer-generated. So you might be like, well, why'd they make 500 of them? That's because they had to have the actors working with something when they were holding the slugs. Sure. Yeah. And then also, 300 gallons of methylcellulose slime was used during the making of this film. Oh, wow. That is not the stat that you want to hear. Usually we're talking about how many gallons of blood, right? Yes. Yes. Sure? It's slime. This does start to creep towards adult entertainment adjacent, doesn't it? A little bit. Yeah. I mean, again, it just looks like, I mean, it's not lube because it's just too viscous-y for lube, but still. So, bleh, bleh. South Harbor moved. Another fun fact, Slither used so much of the skin-making silicone, like I'm assuming on the Grant Grant big blob at the end, that it depleted the national supply. It took a month for the manufacturer to formulate more. Oh, my God. Guys, we got a gel shortage. So, let's talk about this release, though. So, first thing is this. Universal did not want to screen this movie for critics in advance. I remember that. Not because they didn't have confidence in it, but they just said, we don't think this is the kind of movie that critics are going to like, and it costs us money to send this out to host screenings, so we're just going to cut our losses and just release it because we think it's going to perform better that way. And important to remember, that's normally not the way it was. If a movie wasn't getting screened for critics, that was almost a certain, oh, this movie's a piece of shit and the studio has no confidence in it. Exactly. So I take what they're saying because 2006 was a very different time period. You know, when we talk about the elder days of film criticism and it's the old white men, that's still applicable in 2006. You know, that's really before Rotten Tomatoes was making efforts to diversify their critics' dreams and that kind of stuff. So I take what they're saying, but also that is an instant message. Oh, this movie is shit. Well, and so James Gunn thought about it overnight. And he was like, well, wait a minute. Now, I think critics are going to like this movie because I do think this is a really good movie. And so he wrote a long email to the head of marketing and the producer saying that, you know, not screening it for critics would be a bad idea. And he just really felt it in his gut. And they listened to him. So they did screen it for critics. Okay. And that turned out to be a very good idea because we're looking at an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 143 reviews, though the audience score is 63%. Boo. Letterboxd users have given this a 3.2 out of 5. And Gunn said, and again, this is the 2016 interview with him, but he said that at the time, Slyther was the best-reviewed American horror movie in 10 years. And I don't know if that's wholly accurate. That doesn't seem right, does it? Because I want to be like, well, he wrote Dawn of the Dead, and that got really good reviews. Although now I'm thinking, well, what else would have gotten good reviews? Because Saw didn't get great reviews. This is that difficult time period, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I guess The Ring got pretty good reviews, but maybe not as good as Slither. But either way, still really good for them. The Box Office is another story. So Gunn said that a few weeks before it came out, he looked at a list on Box Office Mojo. Remember when that was useful? Yep. And the list was of the top grossing horror comedies. And he looked at all of them, and he goes, these are all bombs. Oh, no. Like, all of these movies bombed. Yep. because as we remember every time we have this conversation about a horror comedy this is arguably the hardest thing for either audiences to accept or to get right the balance right exactly and i think it's the hardest thing to market because yeah people are like oh is it is it too scary to be funny or is it too funny to be scary and it just like that marketing doesn't work and i don't think the marketing was very good i don't think the trailer for this movie is that good like i think they should have hidden kept some stuff hidden from the audience Yeah, I remember being excited because it just looks so wild, but also I was already a fan of David Cronenberg, and I like this kind of, you know, semi-junkie space alien infestation stuff. So this was already my bread and butter, so I was always going to go and see it. But I remember thinking, every time I mention this to other people, nobody seems excited. No, because they were like, ew, it's that gross slug movie with that same blob one. I don't like slugs. Not about that, Karen. So, of course, Gunn started to get nervous after seeing that list of Box Office Mojo, and he was pretty right to do so, because Slither was released on March 31, 2006, on 2,000 screens, and opened in the number 8 spot with $3.8 million. And, oh boy, it would end its domestic run with $7.8 million. So not even halfway through. Not even halfway through. It earned an additional $5 million overseas for a worldwide gross of $12.8 million, again, against a $15 million production budget. So even though this is a cheap film, all things considered, it couldn't even break even. Yeah. And, folks, once again, again and again and again, reminder that horror doesn't often translate well internationally, at least not North American, and not at that time. So it would have been a hard sell to try to get this out internationally, which is where you can see a lot more money, but not back then. Yeah, not back then at all. But still, Gunn admits that Slither made his career and changed its trajectory, so he'll be forever grateful for it. And again, he likes the movie. Sure. And I think, if nothing else, you can see the genesis of a lot of his other, you know, interesting work. So aliens, lots of practical effect, big makeup jobs, special effects, extravaganza. Like, it all kind of starts here. Oh, he says the exact same thing. He says, if you've seen Slither, I think you can see a lot of it in my Guardians of the Galaxy films, especially the second one, because by this point he hadn't done the third film yet. But it's kind of like Raimi in that way, right? Where it's like, oh, you're not doing just a straight horror film in these movies, but you can see the horror comedy master in you in those films. Exactly. Yeah. This is a paid message from GoFundMe. My name's Ashley Kane. I'm the daddy of a little girl in heaven and a father to two boys on earth. I've got an incredible relationship with GoFundMe, both personally and via my daughter's foundation, the Azalea Foundation. GoFundMe has allowed me, the foundation, and thousands of people out there to give hope to others in need. you'd actually be surprised how many people out there are willing to show love and support you in your time of need my advice for anyone that needs to start a GoFundMe would be do it you don't need to feel shame you don't need to feel guilt you don't need to feel embarrassment if you need GoFundMe use GoFundMe start your GoFundMe today at GoFundMe.com that's GoFundMe.com G-O-F-U-N-D-M-E dot com. This message reflects one person's experience. But, Joe, what happens in this movie? All right. So we begin. I think he teased this in our outro last week where it's like, wait, what movie am I watching? Because this movie begins in outer space. Yes, with an asteroid. Yeah. So we get to watch an asteroid rumble towards Earth and it breaks up in the atmosphere. And then it lands this tiny little thing. in Wheelsey, so the small town of Wheelsey. And almost immediately, we are introduced to our main character, Sheriff Bill Party, who is played by Nathan Villian. And he is sitting in his cop cruiser with Deputy Wally, who was played by Don Thompson. And, you know, I think immediately it's, okay, science fiction, sure, small town, we know there's going to be an infestation. But immediately it also comedy where Bill just wants to get some shut and Wally will not shut the fuck up And you just like okay I feel like I immediately know who these two guys are Absolutely. Again, it has one of my favorite bits of comedy, too, where this asteroid just hits the ground behind them, but there's no pomp and circumstance around it. It's just like a boop. Yeah. It's a very funny side gag. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so we get an evil, dead-ass tracking shot. I wrote the same thing in my notes. I mean, it's hard, right? Like, basically, you can't do this kind of shot without people saying, oh, well, Rami got there first. You're completely just paying homage to it. Especially because we're going through the creepy woods doing this. Yeah, yeah. So we go through the woods. We reveal that this asteroid is kind of an egg. It cracks. And then that's where we get the title card. And then we go into this montage, this image of small town life. And, Trace, I guess I want to start this conversation off by asking you, do you think that Gunn is making fun of Republicans or small-town conservatives? I mean, I think there is a bit of satire in here. But after, I mean, well, okay, because after listening to him talk on the thing about how much he loves the characters, I'm kind of like, I don't know. Like, is he making fun of these people, or is he just, like, you know, finding humor? Like, is he laughing at them or is he laughing with them, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. And I think it's maybe a mix of both. It's a little bit of both, yeah. I do think that he likes his actual core characters in this film because he gives them proper personalities and arcs and that kind of stuff. Like, we actually get to know them. But so many of these local, you know, local color will say, I wanted to say local yokel because we've fully got people who look like they haven't seen a dentist in their entire adult life. It's just, you know, I think I'm not trying to be ungenerous, but it looks like we did go to a small town and we cast a bunch of non-actors to fill out the extras in this film. and it is giving personality, but it's also very much, you found yourself in a town where you could be experiencing a Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Yeah, yeah, you probably could. I gotta say, I, this is like not even like a big deep thing, but I love that the mascot for this high school is the cooter. Yeah. Okay, I don't know about you, but like cooter is 100% what we called the vagina when I was growing up as a kid, like that's what we called it. I didn't know that the cooter is a turtle. I would have thought it was some kind of weasel if you had to ask me. No, it is a North American river turtle with a dull brown shell and typically having yellow stripes on the head. Okay, there you go, everybody. You've learned something from this episode. But now I ask, well, why is cooter a euphemism for vagina? the kind of hidden part on the inside I don't know ladies if you know please let me know or gentlemen I guess I mean many people can know what's the etymology of cooter what is your relationship with cooter have you touched a cooter today yeah so amongst these idyllic scenes a small town life we do get an irate man calling another driver a cocksucker in front of a mother and child, and this is immediately revealed to be the mayor of Wheelsey. So this is Jack McCready, who was played, as you mentioned, by Greg Henry. And yes, of course, those two names are a combination of different John Carpenter characters. I was going to say, McCready is Kurt Russell and the Thing. I guess Jack would be the first name of his character from Escape from New York. Oh, yeah. Can Jack be a nickname for John? Is that a thing? Maybe. I don't know. Okay, sorry. I will belabor the point. Folks, have you touched a cooter and also do you know if Jack and John could be the same name? Yes, please. God, okay. So we move to a high school class, and we should note that there is a cameo from a young Dustin Milligan from Schitt's Creek in this. Wait, who is he playing in this? He's apparently the kid who is drawing the cartoon of Starla. Oh, I see. I was so focused on James Gunn's cameo in this next bit that I was like, that's what I thought you were going to say. So hearing Dustin Milligan, I was like, wait, what? Not even on my radar. No, it's only because I think it's in the trivia of this movie because I didn't recognize him until I saw that. Okay. Well, there you go. Anyway, yes. So this is our introduction to Starla. Elizabeth Banks. And, of course, she is teaching because if you see a classroom in a horror movie, people, it is always an important lesson. She's teaching about Darwin and evolution. Oh, yeah. So who is this? I do like her distinction between the survival of the fittest. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it actually has a certain amount of nuance to it, doesn't it? Yeah, and of course, it will be thematically relevant for Grant's journey as the film goes on. Absolutely, it does. So I will say I appreciate that you were obsessed with Cooter. I was obsessed with this sign because I love a bit of a blink and you miss it kind of smart joke. So we get a sign outside of the high school that says, congratulations to, you know, whatever the high school team is for placing third in the second division. The cooters. Congratulations, cooters. You're like, oh, this team is shit garbage, is what you're saying. But I actually guessed you I am a little surprised that we don't have more of a presence by the student body in this. But I guess it's not a high school movie, right? No, it's very much an adult film. Yeah. Oops. and with all the gel. All right, so after school, yes, Starla is having a conversation with James Gunn, but that's not the important thing. The important thing is that she's talking to another man, Trace, and this is not acceptable to her husband, Grant Grant. Grant Grant. I fucking love it. Do you empathize with this character that much? I do. I mean, I think he's a possessive asshole. He's a terrible husband, but also I think what happens to him is ultimately quite tragic. He becomes a very pathetic character. I do agree with that. And I think it's a thing, too, where, like, I mean, I don't really think about this too much, I guess. But because the entity, like, the space entity is, like, one being, you know, it's a hive mind type thing. But it does seem like it's also more Grant. I can't always distinguish between when Grant's the one speaking out of its mouth or when it's the creature itself. I usually default to Grant. Yeah. So the hive mind is the alien part, but a lot of the time I assume that if we're hearing the voice of any of them, it's Grant's voice. Yeah, and I guess, too, it's a thing where it's like no matter what, if you're affected by this thing, like, whatever its nature is, you co-op. Because that's why we see the people, like, you know, when they get impregnated, they just keep eating because they can't. Like, that's their new nature. Yeah, exactly. It's how they have to accommodate their new evolving mutation. Gross. Yeah. All right. So as Starla is being essentially escorted away by her overpossessive husband, Grant Grant, we do have Sheriff Bill watching from across the street because, you know, we're monitoring traffic and all this other shit. And this is where we get the first of two instances of background exposition backstory for Starla. So we learned that she, you know, was born poor and she essentially married rich. So that's why she went with Grant Grant, not necessarily because it was a great love affair, because, of course, that's who Bill is to Starla. Yeah, but then what do we think about this bit of a lesbian joke where, you know, Margaret's like, oh, blah, blah, blah. He's like, well, if he had a Gina, you'd marry him, too. Oh, it's funny. It says here in my notes, right here, don't do the Gina-Ginese joke, Tracy. But it's such a funny joke. You know, where Chinese people come from. Oh, boy. Here's the thing. I think if that offends you, this is probably not a movie for you, because that is the nature of many of the jokes in this film. And, again, that's kind of why I wanted to start the conversation about, is he making fun of these small-town people? Is this a bit of commentary on the nature of a small-town mentality? You know, we're going to get a joke later about the Japanese nails. Maybe it's not even a joke. Maybe it's just an observation. But this seems very isolated, Silo. these people don't get out of this town very much. So some of the commentary feels very 2006, very misogynist, very xenophobic, and so on. And I think it's an important snapshot for us to remember the times. But also, if you can stomach a James Gunn joke, I think most of this will, you know, pass the test. Yeah, and I mean, as a white person, I guess. I don't think this is, like, that offensive. It's not bad. It was just more like, oh, hey, 2006. Sure. Well, okay, but then let's transfer that then. How about the treatment of Margaret as a character? Quote, unquote, character. I was going to say, you're being a bit generous right now, aren't you? Yeah, here's the thing. She is barely there, but I also don't think that the movie is ever mocking her. I mean, like, McCready does, kind of, later in the movie, but I don't ever think that she's the butt of the joke of the film. I would argue that the joke is at the character's expense for how they just diminish her to a queer status. Yeah. Because, yeah, you know, like, I also included the joke that we make about her. The box lunch. The box lunch. Which, yes, I had never heard of before this movie, and I will admit I find it very funny, albeit in a tasteless way. So I have never understood why we, again, another euphemism for vagina is a box. Box. And the first time I ever heard this as a reference, as a joke, was in a Will and Grace episode from way back in the day. Oh, yeah. when it was Jack's straight son wanted to play with Karen's Xbox, Mega Mother's character, because she had an Xbox she didn't use. And he was like, oh, well, next time I come over, can I play with your Xbox? And she's like, yeah, anytime. And he leaves, and she looks down, and she goes, well, what do you know? This game's also called an Xbox. Oh, no. And I was like, why did we call it a box? It's not box-shaped. Because it comes from Xboxia. I don't know. So I knew what they were talking about when I first saw this, But again, I was like, what? This and Will and Grace, what the fuck is it with boxes? And texts written about queer women by straight men or white men or gay men. I don't know, man. For all I know, women have co-opted the term box. I don't know. Oh, I'm sure they have. And here's the thing. Again, like, this movie is not aiming to be PC. So if you come in here looking for, and I'm not going to excuse it, because Lord knows I've gotten up on my soapbox about people like Dave Chappelle saying, oh, I can't make jokes about trans people anymore. I guess comedy is dead. It's like, no, go fuck yourself off into the sun. But I don't think that Gunn's brand of comedy, it does feel like it's a little bit of a shotgun burst. Like, he's kind of taking aim at a lot of different people. I will say, this is still an almost exclusively white cast. So it's not like we're digging too deep in here. Well, and I think, though, and granted, like, I mean, I haven't really listened to Dave Chappelle's trans comedy outside of, like, you know, when the news article comes out saying, like, oh, like, Chappelle's in trouble again. But I always get a bit of mean-spirited nature from Chappelle. Oh, 100%. Whereas this doesn't feel mean-spirited to me. It feels like gentle ribbing. Yeah. Yeah. And as you said, the fact that we can't entirely tell if he's making fun of these people or if he's suggesting this is comedy that you would expect to hear from people like this, and I'm just trying to be a little bit accurate, while also, you know, taking the piss out of it. Yeah. Again, I think that's probably the best way to approach this. And maybe some people will say, I think you guys are giving him a big pass. You may also be true. Yeah, but I'm also, I mean, again, not even excusing it, but I'm also like, but he's coming from trauma. He's coming from trauma. It's a certain brand of comedy. Yeah, folks, if you had no issue with Toxic Avenger, you will enjoy this movie. Yeah, exactly that. But to circle back to your questions about Margaret, no, I mostly don't think we're making fun of her. but also she is not a character. Like, every time I watch this now, like, you know, because as I said, I've watched this several times over the last couple of decades, I always wish that we could just do a little bit more with some of the supporting characters because I do think that they're interesting, but so many of them are just really here to become zombified Grant Grant piece pieces. I'm always shocked by how little Jenna Fisher is in this movie. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, this feels like it puts your wife in the movie to give her the cameo. Sure, but with her, what, one and a half scenes? She actually is really funny. Oh, I like her. I like her a lot. Yeah. I was sad to hear that they got divorced later. Well, you know who he's married to now? Who? That woman that plays Amelia Harcourt in Peacemaker. Okay. So, like, yeah. Good for you, Game of Thrones. Yeah, I'm not going to say that he's punching above his level, but good for him. Yeah, good for him. Okay, so that night we get a taste of what Starla and Grant's life is like together, and he wants to have sex, and he does not listen to her, and it is uncomfortable. But I like that she stands up for herself, and she doesn't just say, yeah, I married Rich, but also it doesn't mean that you get ownership or possession of my body. So go rub one out in the shower, big guy. Oh, my God. Okay, but how funny is it when he flicks her nipples when she says, I don't have just some switch that you can turn on? God, I feel like it tells me a lot about Grant Grant's idea of foreplay or maybe even how much he understands women. Yeah, yeah. And we understand from this, and it's been a while since they've had sex. But he does behave really rashly about this. His solution, they're in bed. They're about to go to sleep. And when she won't have sex with them, he's like, well, I'm going to the bar. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's so tough to be married to a woman like Starla and not be able to get any play. Right. I read Grant Grant as something of a teenager himself. He seems very immature. That's kind of how all the male characters in this movie are. Yes. The women come off well. The men come off like juvenile dum-dums. A little bit, yeah. As you mentioned, he does go to the bar. I love the idea of doing the crying game at karaoke. With no emotion whatsoever. This joke slays. I find it so fucking funny. It's such a funny cut. I mean, it's not a cutaway, but we're just transitioning to the next thing. We just cut to this woman singing this song. It's so good. I know. Well, there is to know about the crying game. The crying game. Oh, boy. It's also, it hits a little bit extra hard for me because at this point, this is when I was dating my ex, and he literally took a class where the faculty member was obsessed with the crying game. So they had to watch it every single week and then write different types of essays and think pieces about it. So he was like, I fucking hate The Crying Game now. Yeah, I've only seen it once when I was in college. I liked it, but it was one of those things. I was like, okay, I admire it. I respect it. I don't need to see this again. I mean, the problem is that people blew it up into something it isn't. It's not The Silence of the Lambs. it's a drama about a man who discovers his queerness by falling in love with a person he discovers is trans like it's actually quite beautiful and very very well performed folks if you don't know it's a neil jordan movie so it's gorgeous and all i knew before going into it was yeah you know the twist yeah i know the twist and so i again like it was one of those things it was like oh this isn't exactly the movie that i thought it was going to be been also because the big reveal the twist is it's not like i thought it was actually very well done like Oh, it's very well done. It didn't feel as salacious as the word of mouth that had spread about it at the time. No. It's literally just another example of, oh, this is a kind of affecting romance about, like, it's really about Stephen Ray kind of discovering himself, as I said. Right. Like, yeah, no, the world hates trans people, so we wanted to turn it into almost a Wayne's brother level. Oh, my God. Can you, like, it might as well be, you know, When Nature Calls, the Jim Carries. The Aspen Turret. Oh, sorry, it's the first one, Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Oh, is it the first one? Okay. Shows you how much I know about the Ace Ventura films. The first one, Cordy Cox and Transphobia. The second one, he crawls out the butt of a rhino. Okay, good to know. These are important distinctions. You know what? Now I'm educated from this episode. There you go. Okay, yes, the crying game. Thank you for going on this tangent with me. So it's time to introduce low-class coded character Brenda Gutierrez, who is played by Brenda James, and she approaches. She has always had a crush on him, even though there is a age disparity. Okay. This joke. Ooh. I thought this was – this felt like a very trauma joke. But, Joe, what is this joke? Okay. So she admits, I've always had a crush on you. And he says, why, you couldn't have been more than 10 or 11 years old. and she goes, hell, I was game. Like, oh my god. Yeah, I did clutch my pearls at this, but then I was like, bleh. But it's also, like, horribly funny. It is really funny. I really do like the Brenda character. I love Brenda. She does not have a ton to work with because, I mean, you know, we get one and a half scenes from her and then she's, you know, a blob monster. But I think she, yeah, she injects a good amount of, like, humanity into this character for a character who's not really in the movie that much. Well, and I like her as a contrast to Starla, right? Right. Because she's basically Starla if Starla hadn't married Grant Grant. This is likely the life that Starla would be living, which is she's married to, I mean, we know that Berna has a husband. We never meet him because he is just gone, and she's at home caring for this baby. Not well. You mean the half Mexican? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We should know if that is a character who makes that reference. Oh, yeah, sorry. Grant flat out says, are you still with that half Mexican? That's what he says. Yeah. Yeah. That's when it becomes harder to like or feel sorry for Grant Grant and what's about to happen to him. You think, oh, no, you're racist. And you try to force yourself on your wife. Oh, maybe you should get fucked. Oh, you're about to. But here's the thing, though. for a movie taking place in a small town like Middle America, like, there's much less racism among these characters than I would expect, because as someone who has many, many, many family members in, like, Louisiana and the Six, there's a lot of racism in those communities. Not excusing it, I'm just saying this tracks for a person who lives in this type of town. Exactly, yeah, and the reality is this is our future antagonist, like, whether or not we're supposed to like Grant Grant in these early scenes, I'm going to say no. Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. It is his transformation that starts earning empathy, where it's like, oh, man, no one deserves this to happen to them. Yeah, even a racist misogynist. Yeah. Okay, so they end up making out in the woods, and then he gets distracted by this alien pod that he comes across. So he begins to poke it with a very phallic stick, And then this thing cracks open like other human anatomy. So no subtle metaphors here in this here film. But I do love, I mean, this is where the comedy beats work well for me is you expect something terrible to happen because it's an alien entity that cracks open when poked. Okay, bad things are going to happen. Beat, beat. Oh, and then the little poker thing comes out and just, you know, jabs him right in the gut. Well, because this screams the blob, you know, when the old man finds the blob, he pokes it with a stick and then it crawls up the stick and attaches to his hand. That's what this is saying to me. Oh, absolutely. I agree. I really like the x-ray shot of it going into his brain. Me too. I think it looks really cool. I will say, though, hearing that there was a second one, I think, hmm, I don't know if it would have played as well a second time around because I like the ingenuity. This stands out to me. This is one of those things where I go, oh, that's a really fun, interesting shot. You're right, but it was going to be different in the way because we were going to be seeing, like, the actual worm itself wriggling around someone's skull. And granted, I think we get kind of, like, a good look at that whenever Wally gets his head blown off and we see the slug fall out of his wound. But at the same time, it could have been, I mean, I don't need it, but I just, I think it's weird that we had to cut that. I mean, it's definitely a weird thing to cut. Yes, I don't know that you gain that much from taking it out, but I'm happy that we have one X-ray in, I will say. Absolutely. So it doesn't take long for Grant Grant to wake up from this. So it's not as if, you know, he's out for 12 hours or something. He kind of sits back up. But there's an immediate change in his personality. He doesn't seem particularly interested in Brenda. He's just going to immediately go home and clear out all of the meat in his fridge. Meat. Meat. Meat. My husband and I definitely do say that every time we get meat. Meat. Okay, so I'm not going to pretend like there's a super deep queer reading to this movie, but I do think it's interesting to chronicle who becomes the reproductive organisms and the shapes that they take and that sort of thing. So obviously we have now seen Grant Grant get penetrated by this miniature phallus in the form of this needle thing. and then it takes over and he becomes, you know, the kind of new leader. But then this will carry, I'm going to say, interesting gender changes in the people who come in contact with it. Well, and so here's a fun fact for you. So you know how he has these little tubules that come out of his chest to impregnate people? Proboscai is what I call them. Proboscai, there you go, yes. Well, so originally he only had one in his message. Oh, okay. added a second one because, and I quote, one alone looked too phallic. And I'm like, but Well, then you've just got two. They still look very phallic. But he's literally using it to have sex, like alien sex people, so it should look phallic, shouldn't it? Yeah, I wonder if they wanted to just get away from this idea because, like, the scene where he books are jumping ahead now, a couple of scenes will come back, but the moment where he goes to Brenda's house in the middle of the night and he decides I'm going to go after this low socioeconomic woman as opposed to my high socioeconomic wife in the shower. He basically sexually assaults her with these things. It is deeply uncomfortable. Yeah, I think this is the first time. I have seen this movie a lot, just like you. But I think this is maybe bad to say, but this is the first time that I was watching this. I was like, oh, this is a rape scene. It's a rape scene. It's 100% a sexual assault scene. It's very uncomfortable. Because she's also passed out, right? Like, she's, you know, she's got the alien jizz going into her, and she's kind of shaking and convulsing a little bit, and he's just kind of sitting there ho-humming. But she's fully, you know, eyes closed kind of out of it, and you're just like, yeah, no, there's no way to read this other than a rape scene. But it's right before she enters that kind of, like, yeah, like, tremory, shaky state. Like, it's that reveal of the tentacles coming out of him. And then, like, as she's fighting him up, punching him, she's grabbing the tentacles, and it's just like, ooh, it is uncomfortable. And, of course, it's all scored to this, like, country tune song. Oh, China, my boots. And everybody's cheering and clapping, and you think, oh, this is dark. Yeah, I actually think that this is the most uncomfortable. Well, sorry, I know we're not even there yet, but that is the most uncomfortable sequence in the movie, I think. Yeah, but again, folks, if you have not seen it, we will also see this happen to multiple men. So it is not gender essentialism in that capacity. It's like the alien wants to reproduce, and it doesn't care about the gender of its victim. So I appreciate that, sure, we have to start with a more conventional, you know, man-rapes woman. We will ultimately see several men. I'm not saying gay. I'm saying we will also see this turned around, and it will be rendered, I'm going to say, slightly more interesting, especially from a contemporary sex and gender perspective. Yeah, I just think that Brenda's sequence, it's framed the most to look like a sexual assault. Whereas when McCready or Party get tubed, it's not quite, it's more like an attack, not a sexual attack. Yeah, yeah, I would agree with that as well. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so, yes, Grant Grant has gone home. He has eaten all of the mooch. And then, I don't know why I said that like a little sad. I don't know why I said that. So, in the morning, Starla wakes up, and Grant isn't there. He is making a leaf bed in the basement. It's almost like he is reverting to a more feral state. You know, the fact that he feasts on a lot of dogs and strays in this movie kind of tracks because it feels like he's almost becoming, well, not almost, he's becoming more animalistic. And then he gets lured upstairs because he hears a very familiar melody. So, Trace, I'm curious, you know, we're coming on the heels of recording our episode on Ready or Not 2, and you had very strong opinions about the types of songs that got played in that. do you have an association with air supplies every woman in the world no i i don't even like i'm sure if i heard it right now i'd be like yeah i know that song but i guess you're every woman in the world oh i do not have i know the song you're talking about i have no relationship with it wait is there a movie it's connected to besides this one um i i think it's just a big song like i i've heard this air supply song so many times. I guess I would have thought that it would have been a wedding song because it feels very slow dancey. It does sound like a wedding song. It is their song, so it would be understandable to think that they played it at their wedding. So, yeah, maybe it just aced out by the time I was working in weddings. Entirely possible, yeah. Needless to say, so this is Starla trying to apologize for not wanting to have sex with her husband and actually exercising her bodily autonomy, which a woman should be totally able to do, even with her husband. But yeah, she's trying to make amends, so she's dressed in her white lingerie, and she's like, hey, let's make up. And he ends up getting emotional. And I kind of love this. Him getting teary-eyed is what turds are on. And she's like, cool, I'm down to fuck you now. But I think that to me is the most, like, indigent. This is very telling of where their relationship will go throughout the film. Like, this starts to fave things for Grant Grant. Well, because again, he's showing vulnerability. He's showing that vulnerability. Mostly no dialogue, just from the tears in his eyes. And that's what James Gunn really latched onto when he hired him for this part. But I think it goes to show also that it shows how close off Grant Grant is as a character normally. It's rare for him to be this vulnerable. Yeah, and it's like dude, you should not be afraid to be emotional or vulnerable in front of your wife, especially if you're looking to make a sexual and emotional connection with her. Like, maybe instead of just forcing yourself upon her without even trying to warm her up a little bit, maybe, I don't know, treat her like a human fucking being. But see, though, the thing. Oh, yeah, he doesn't do that. But the thing is, though, I think she is reading this as vulnerability, whereas I think for him, he already knows what he's going to do to someone to impregnate them with his little tentacle things. And so I think this is him realizing, oh, shit, like, I'm wanting to do this to her, but I don't want to do this to her. I don't know if he's quite there yet. I definitely get that in the other scene where he nearly attacks her in the shower and then he has to pull himself back. I think, if anything, he realizes his situation has begun to change and he's not going to be able to have a normal relationship with her anymore. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I actually forgot that this scene existed and I thought that this is when he was going to attack her and then he turns away. So I had conflated or compressed the two scenes together in my mind because I forgot that she actually does fuck him here. like oh yeah she risked getting infected but she doesn't know I remember seeing this the first time and I was like oh my god like this is she's going to get whatever this alien STD is which I think is why it's important that we learn oh no like it has to be these tentacle things like his penis I guess still works in a human way but doesn't actually transmit the slugs yeah because there's other changes that accompany being infected with these things later on like the ability to spit that will kill people apparently Oh, yeah. Sure. Anyway, we should note that he does have a pretty serious-looking infection in his chest where the tentacle thing went in, and he excuses it as a bug bite. And I love tracking his excuses and how ludicrous they get as the movie progresses. Yeah, at least at this point, though, you can buy this as a bug bite. He'd maybe have, like, an allergic reaction to it, but it doesn't look, like, you know, too gross yet. It looks inflamed, but it doesn't look, you know, pussy or contagious or something like that. Yeah. All right. So Starla goes to work, remember, at the high school, and she talks to her colleague Janine, who was played by Lorena Gale, about the change in Grant Grant. You slut. I love that Starla gets upset by this, like, I'm married. How dare you? Wait, wait. I'm sorry, Joe. Really quick, though. Can you spell pussy for me? P-O-U-S-E-Y Poussey No, because I definitely said pussy before But like, wait a minute, don't you just spell that P-U-S-S-Y Yes But why do you pronounce it a different way when it's spelled like that Cooter The things I think about I mean, clearly you're not listening to me You're just off of your own little word I was listening to you say pussy I said poosey alright so as Starla is talking about this great night of romance that she had with her husband meanwhile we see Grant Grant at the store he's at the grocery store and he's buying every piece of meat that they have it's a literal truck bed full of meat he starts all by buying give me like you know six no eight no ten no fourteen And then we just cut, and it's like the entire truck is filled with this shit. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's like he went to the Critter's frozen meat section factory before it was imploded, and he just took all of the meat. Yeah, exactly. Fuck, what was that place called? It was the vodka from Canada. It was Polar Ice Burgers. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Okay. So at home, Starla definitely clocks that there has been a new lock that has been put on the basement door, and Grant tries very badly to pass this off, as if it's a birthday surprise for her birthday that is several months away. You know what, though? Two months is close enough to where I could see him preparing something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's like George Clooney in Burn After Reading. He's making that dildo chair for her. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think the issue here is that what we know of Grant is that he seems like a Flowers at the Gas Station kind of birthday guy. Yeah, 100%. This is out of character for him, if that is in fact what he's doing, which we know is not what he's doing. Yeah, I know. So he ends up having to escape outside after this interrogation from Starla because he is, it's an interesting mixture of he seems almost in pain, but also we hear his stomach growling. So what we come to know of Brenda is that he's got to feed this need. And unfortunately, there's a straight pooch out on the lawn. So we cut to black as we hear the dog whining. Yeah, he gets those verbal girts, and then he goes and kills this dog. Did you just say verbal girts? No, verbal girts. It's bubble guts. Verbal girts. You ever heard that for diarrhea? Poussey? No, yeah. No, no. I've been using verbal girts for at least a decade. Okay. That's a new one to me, folks. Welcome. Who else uses verbal girts? Ladies, let me know. No, no. You've already asked too much. so that night grant ends up sneaking up on starla as she's showering and this is the first appearance of these twin proboscis so yeah uh we have moved on from just a simple bug bite to these motherfuckers coming out and this is gross it's very gross this is cgi and it's very obviously so it looks it looks okay i think when they first come out of his chest out of the shirt i think those are real. Like, when we have a close-up on them. But, yeah, there is a pretty, it's like a five-minute featurette on the Blu-ray, but it's like basically they take you through all the major CGI effect sequences of the film. Okay. And there's no narration. There's no dialogue. It's just we're watching the scenes, and they show you stage one, stage two, stage three, stage four, and in some cases stage five, about where they would go from, you know, nothing being on screen to, okay, here's the practical effect they're using. Here's a rough bit of the CGI. Here's where they're combined together. And so, I mean, even in this case, there are practical tentacles, but it's a thing where it's like when they need to, when they need to move extra far, then we're using CGI to cover up the practical effect. Okay. Yeah. Because I'll confess, I would have thought that these were almost always CGI just because of the way that they're moving. There is a puppetry element to it. So I guess I could believe, yeah, I mean, you've confirmed that, yes, there were real Proboscis at certain points. Yeah, but on a shot-by-shot basis, as to when they're practical and when they're not. I mean I think you seeing 80 CGI to 20 practical and maybe even less than that Yeah it not deep rising level tentacles but you never fooled I think it's because, too, everything that's CGI is meant to be a bit slimy, and so because of that, it's got this CGI sheen to it that's, again, meant to look a little bit slimy, but because of that, it makes it look more CGI-y. Yeah, that actually could be it right there. Yeah. Okay, so instead of attacking her because he recognizes this is still his wife, he doesn't want to hurt her, he ends up fleeing. So he makes up some dumb excuse that he's got work to do. He's going to meet her at the bar later because they're supposed to be going out together for something called deer cheer. Folks, it's the opening of deer hunting season. But, yeah, he will never make it. She will end up going to the bar, and he goes to Brenda for the aforementioned sexual assault scene. I don't know if Deerfests are, like, a very, very common thing, but there's a video— I wouldn't be surprised. There's a video game called Owl and Awake that came out in 2010, which had a sequel that came out, like, a couple years ago. But a big centerpiece of that video game is a deer festival. And every time I play it, I'm like, did this guy just watch Slither and just take that? But maybe it's, again, a more common thing across the United States. I mean, I've definitely seen deer hunting games in our heads. Yeah, I've seen that. But I mean, an entire festival devoted to deer. Here's the thing. This is a small town. And OK, so when I was talking with Jen about something, she confirmed to me that there are towns around her in Tennessee that do like a watermelon festival, an apple festival and so on. So I could very much get behind the idea that, yeah, if a small town has a high population of deer, we can turn it into a tourist attraction. Right. And, yeah, like, this is what we got as a small town. We've got to drive tourism in some capacity. Yeah, I just think it's funny. And, again, like me. Yeah, it feels very far removed from my lived experience. Exactly. I'll say that. Exactly that. But, you know, good for this town. Good for this town. Everybody seems to be having a very good time. As we mentioned, there's a sing-along with this band. I did want to just ever so briefly jump back to the Brenda attack sequence. because, you know, he shows up and she thinks, oh, okay, we're going to pick back up where we left off the other night because he was a little too drunk. So, you know, yeah, he asks about her husband. The baby is there. Trace, I've always wondered this, and lo and behold, Google did not let me down. So the baby is in its crib playing with a tomato. And I've always wondered, what the fuck is the baby doing with a tomato? And apparently, I wasn't able to confirm if this was ever in the script or if it was a deleted scene of some kind, but there's a mention where Brenda actually addresses this to Grant Grant, and she explains that a tomato is cheaper than buying a children's toy. So that's to connote or give you a sense of just how fucking poor she is. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Because if not, it just seems like, oh, my God, this woman is such a weird mother that she gives her baby a vegetable. Or, sorry, a fruit instead of a toy. Yeah, and I guess it's safe for babies to eat a tomato, so if it happened to bite it, it's safe for it to eat. Yeah. It always felt like such a weird touch in the film, and then when I found out what the intention was behind it, it actually makes Brenda even more of a sad character to me. Yeah, I mean, truthfully, a lot of bad things happen to a lot of people in this movie, and I would argue that, I mean, it's really a race to the finish between Brenda and Grant, right? Yeah. Who gets the worst deal? But I would argue that apart from Brenda putting the moves on a married man that she knows is married and she herself is married, like if you want to judge people for being adulterous, she's not great. But that's the only thing that she does kind of bad in this movie. And it seems like her husband kind of ignores her. Is he away on business or something? Is that what she says? I always took it to be that he was some kind of truck driver or, yes, he's just out of town. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. We should note she is watching The Toxic Avenger on the TV. With that baby. Honestly, that's a bad thing she's doing. She's showing the baby's doctor. You know what? You gotta raise him on trauma early. So, yes. Okay, so this is Crosscut, the sexual assault with the band and everybody having a very good time. Bill is obviously pining over Starla. She looks lovely in the way that she just looks richer and more put together than everyone else in this bar. Yeah. And they have a nice moment outside on the deck. You know, she gets a little cold. He gives her his sweater or his jacket or whatever. And, you know, we confirm, oh, these are the two people who should have been together. But she married Rich because she thought it would help her. And maybe it has. But also, they still carry the torch for each other. Yeah. Still as old as time. Sure, sure. So that night, Starla comes home and it's a dark house. And we do get to see this new iteration of Grant. So he's not quite in the shadows, but we can see that he has started to transform. So it looks like his skin is really breaking out. And he blames this condition on bee sting. This actually is a really funny bit. Just a bee sting. You're just like, sir, no. I loved how you tried to mostly successfully emulate Elizabeth Banks' accent. But yeah, I do love the, baby, what happened to your face? Yeah, her accent is off the chain, and I do quite like it. She's very much giving a southern lady of elegance, but, you know, like, she's not blue blood. She's not old money. She's new money. Very much. So he reassures her by saying, don't worry, I've already talked to the doctor, so don't fret. So she gets to work the next morning, and she calls Dr. Carl. This is voiced by Robert Zombie. Dude, I had no idea until I started doing my research. Good for him. I wouldn't have called it because it doesn't sound like Rob Zombie, so. Anyway, Dr. Carl, of course, says, I have no fucking idea what you're talking about. I haven't talked to your husband in ages. So this is ringing alarm bells about what is actually going on with Grant Grant. and then something starts to click on her drive home when she sees a bulletin board of nothing but missing pet posters. I did actually think this was really funny. It's funny but also grim at the same time, which this movie does exceptionally well. I actually did forget, though, how little Nathan Fillion's Bill Party is in the first 30 minutes of this movie. Like, it really is more of a focus on Grant and Starla, which I think is key, even though, like, I don't really care about their relationship. but like no it's like a romantic comedy where you know that this is the wrong partner but also you have to see how dysfunctional it is so that you can actually care about the rest of the journey but yeah this first part is definitely about their marriage and then the next part is definitely about the capture and kill and then the last third is the full-blown invasion and getting starling together but i will say though like once we get to the three days later break in a bit like it moves so much quicker than I remember. Like, we really go through all this stuff. I knew it wasn't a long movie, but I will say I have a very fond memory of all of the different things, for the most part, that happens in this film. And I'm constantly surprised at how much we managed to pack into about a 95-minute runtime. Me too. It seems like this movie should be longer for how much grand it covers, but you're right. It's because once shit happens, there's no going back. Like, we are full accelerator to the end of the film. Yeah. Okay, so, yes, she's called the doctor. She sees the bulletin board full of missing animals, and this is also where we see Grant Grant dragging a hefty bag full of what he calls meat munchies to a barn in the woods, and this is where we get our updated look at Brenda. Not the full glimpse, but we can see that she has been imprisoned. She's not looking great, but she just digs into this raw meat. So we very clearly understand the two of them are being altered in a dramatic way. So at the house, this is when Wally and Bill stopped by to question Starla because there were witnesses to Grant Grant going into Brenda's house. So, hey, Brenda's been missing for a couple of days. People are concerned. Your husband was the last person to be seen with her. And this is upsetting, right? Because it's clear that Starla knew there were issues in the relationship, but she almost doesn't want to believe that Grant Grant has stepped out on her. Well, because that's the thing, though. Like, yeah, I feel like the initial shock is, oh, my God, Grant just cheated on me. But it's also been like, wait a minute, something else was going on here. Because immediately we cut and she's prying the lock off this basement door. Yeah, clearly he's keeping secrets, but there's also a woman missing. So what is happening in the basement? So, yeah, she breaks off the door. I got to say, I think this might actually be Elizabeth Banks breaking this lock off with a baseball bat. She does it in two or three hits, and I think it's no edit, so good on her for the accuracy. She goes downstairs. It clearly smells terrible. The lighting is not good, but we can see, oh, shit, here are all of the missing animals and maybe some strays and maybe some wild animals and so on. But, yeah, this is goopy nastiness. It's so gross. But, yeah, it's fine. It's not even going to be the worst of it. No, no. So she freaks out, and she runs back upstairs, and she calls Bill because obviously something has gone wrong. And I love this visual gag where one minute the window is clear, and then the next Grant Grant in his new heavily mutated form is there. So it's not even bee stings anymore, folks. And here's the thing. Like, this is telegraph, right? Like, if you've seen a horror film, as soon as the camera starts following someone as they are pacing back and forth, you know at some point something's going to be there when we come back. Absolutely. But I love it. I love it. It's so well done. So here's the thing. I would argue that this movie is more comedy than it is horror. There's a lot of horrific things in it. There's a lot of great action set pieces, but we are often playing things for the comedic beat. Yeah. this sequence where Grant Grant attacks Starla, it is filmed like a slasher film. Oh, I wrote in my notes, this feels like the opening scene of Scream. Okay, thank you, because I was going to say, it feels like we could have gotten a credit for Wes Craven directing this. Yes, yes! I literally, yeah, I had that in the notes. And maybe it's because the house also kind of looks a little bit like Casey Becker's house, but yeah, because she's running, you know, to the back door, and I'm like, girl, he's already going to be there, which is exactly what happened. Yeah, I know. And you know what? If you pause it just right, I bet you can see his Starboskens. So, yes, he starts to strangle Starla with his arm, but that ain't no regular arm anymore, people. That is a full-blown squiddy tentacle arm. Thankfully, this is when Bill and Wally burst in. We take a few shots at him. Nothing connects. Squid, Grant Grant, manages to get away, and everybody is like, what the fuck did we just see? The squid. The squid. A human squid. Smash cut to the title card three days later. Three days later. So we still haven't caught Grant Grant, and Mayor Jack is now very worried because very, you know, Mayor from Jaws, this could affect tourism. Yeah, I like that we don't dwell on this too much, though. No, no. It feels like this is a playful shout-out to something that people are probably going to recognize the inspiration of, But also, it's more let's get to a joke about that's not a squid or a mutation. That's Lyme disease. You know, you get bitten by a tick. Oh, boy. I do wonder if this plays well for people who don't live in, like, North America or places with woods. Like, I wonder if desert folks or Australians, are you like, what the fuck is a deer cheer festival? What is Lyme disease? I would argue that based on those international box office numbers, this doesn't play well for international audiences. Touche, Trace, touche. So this is when we are introduced to Dispatcher Shelby, who is played by Gunn's then-wife, Jenna Fisher. And, yes, Jack is trying to make this argument. It's Lyme disease. Everybody's not buying that. They're kind of saying, okay, Mayor, thanks. Your input is not needed. In no small part because it's not as if Grant Grant has just disappeared. he's still attacking things. So we have almost the map equivalent of a red string board except that someone has taken the time to make a squid. Okay. The squid sticker? I'm sorry, I interrupted you. I was just going to say, I know I just said the word issue is my biggest laugh at the movie, but the cut to showing the marks of the attacks of Grant on this map being marked by these squid stickers. it's hilarious yeah because somebody had to be commissioned to make those those are special novelty items no i'm sure i can guarantee you they went to like a teacher's store and there's like stickers for like little kids for this yes oh the ever so common squid sticker that the teachers give out they have a bunch of different animals and shit they can use to teach children that is fair i can bet i can guarantee you if you go to a teacher store there's some place with animal stickers. Now, granted, is it, like, a sheet of squid stickers? No. They probably had to buy, like, you know, multiple sheets of animal variety stickers, but still. Sure, yeah. Oh, shit, Starla, they're out of cooter stickers. I had to buy squid. I can't believe we don't actually do a cooter joke in this movie. We just have the billboard with the team name on it. You know what? It's a one joke for people like you exclusively, and you love it. But I guess it's almost restraint in this movie, right? That we have a town called the Cooter, The school mascot is the cooters, but we don't actually make a verbal joke about the cooters. It's true. They leave it to assholes like us to just beat the joke dead into the ground. It's so funny. Just the word cooter. Cooter. Poussey. Okay. So, yeah, we recognize that there is a pattern. So Grant Grant has been attacking farms on the edge of town, And it seems to be that he's hitting them in a particular order so we can figure out where he's likely going to hit next. That would be the Strutmeyer house. So we're going to lay a trap for him. So this is what we're going to do. We're going to armor up the weapons that apparently the small town has at their disposal is impressive. Yeah. Including Chekhov's grenade trays. They will come back. Don't you worry. Don't you worry. But not in the way you maybe thought. You just have to remember, the comedy always comes first. So Starla decides, I'm going to come with you because you need someone who can still reason with the human being in Grant Grant. Because if we're still hoping to find Brenda alive, I've got to be able to reason with him. You can't just go in there and blow him away. That's not going to help you find her. So we've got our plan. Everybody suits up and out we go. So let's introduce the Strootmeyer family. This is teenager Kylie, as you mentioned, Tanya Solnir, who I was almost disappointed to learn not related to Jeremy, the director. I was like, oh, just a Canadian. Yeah. We have Father Otis, who is played by William McDonald. Mother, no first name, massage name, played by Harris Quinn. And then we have two preteen sisters, Emily and Jenna, who are played by Matreya Fetter and Amberlee Bartlett. If you say so. I apparently do. Yeah. I mean, not super important. We just need a couple of extra bodies, and we sort of have to start caring about Kylie. So, the police set up all around the property as Darkness Falls, and then we get more of Starla's backstory. So, this is part two of her Rags to Riches backstory. She was going to make a failed bid on going to Hollywood, and she actually tried to entice Bill to accompany her as her bodyguard. So this is back when they were teenagers. She didn't get very far. She's never left this town, blah, blah, blah. And this is really, you know, how she ends up on the road to marrying someone like Grant Grant instead of Bill. And she didn't get very far because Bill called her dad. Yeah, which, P.S., that's the right thing to do. I would just let her go. And, you know, if someone asks later, where is Starlight? I'd be like, oh, yeah, she fled town to go to Hollywood. No, that's dangerous. You can't send teenagers out on their own. Okay, but it's a teenager sending a teenager out on her own. He doesn't know any better. Well, I'm sorry. He clearly did know better. He clearly did. But also, this is why he ultimately becomes sheriff, right? Because he's going to play by the rules. He's going to do things by the book. He's going to do the right thing. And it's why he never got with Starla, because she still resented him for calling her dad on her. Fair enough. But, I mean, we've not talked about Mason Fillion. This was at a period where he is very dreamy looking. he would have been... Was he filming Firefly or about to get Firefly? Firefly was airing... Oh, no, no. Firefly was way before this. Firefly was 2000 to 2002. So this would have been actually around the time that Serenity was coming out. And also bombing, by the way. Right, right. Like, yeah, the main thing I knew Nathan Fillion from was actually his role as that evil priest Caleb in the final season of Buffy because I didn't watch Firefly. Okay, yeah. And, of course, he's become a staple of procedural television. So he did Castle for many, many years, and now he does The Rookie. Which I still can't believe is on. I mean, baby, you're not The Rookie no more. So unless that show is referring to other people that you're supervising, you're fucking, like, we should have renamed it Captain or, you know, Retired or something. It would be beneath me to not recognize the fact that since we're having discussions about misogyny and not always great men, Nathan Fillion, not great in real life. apparently he is sort of super misogynist to his female co-host so it's a bit of fuck that guy. I don't like this rule I don't like hearing this about people Joe I think so the reason I brought it up is not to be like name and shame blah blah like that's not the purpose folks we're not going to do it for every bad person who's ever existed it's more the fact that he gets by so much on his charisma like I think that he is really magnetic in these kinds of roles where he's a bit of an Indiana Jones style scoundrel who's cracking jokes, but also, you want to fuck him. I'm like, yeah, that's great, but that's also what allows him to get away with shitty bad behavior to his co-stars. I've never heard this. Am I even saying you're wrong because obviously you're pulling this from somewhere? I just, ugh. You hate to hear it. Yeah. Yeah, like, it's not like he's an abuser. It's not like this kind of stuff. It's more, he doesn't support, I think it was like he tried to block the pay raise or the equal pay for his co-star on Castle. so that he could be the top-billed star. I do remember, like, yeah, Castles didn't, like, really get the best ending or even a conclusive ending because I do remember, yeah, there was friction between him and Katya Stonic? I think so, yeah. Yeah. But, but again, I didn't watch Castles. I didn't watch it. I didn't pay attention to, like, what the actual drama was. Oh, sorry, Stonic Haddock, by the way. I was close. There we go. There we go. All this to say, I do like the chemistry that Felene has with Elizabeth Banks. I think that they make a very cute couple. and the movie knows how to play them well. But he's also just, he's really good at delivering these zippy, quippy one-liners. Oh, yeah. He's very believable in this role. Yeah, 100%. So good. So good. Okay. So we are set up at this house, and we've got this backstory, and then Grant Grant makes his final transformation reveal. So walking that catwalk, well, slithering that catwalk through the woods. this is a glorious piece of makeup, practical effects. We've been saying the slug, folks. If you have not seen this, do yourself a favor and just Google the image because I mean, honest to God, it is really fucking impressive. Yeah, and this is Michael Rooker in a, obviously, prosthetics. For the tentacles, he also has like four puppeteers, I think. Actually, I know by the end of the movie, when he's the big blob monster, there are seven puppeteers operating him and his tentacles, but also because he has people morphing themselves onto his blob body. Michael Rooker had to also support the weight of all of those people that were on top of him. Oh, wow. Okay. That's physicality. The only time that we get CGI here is when he slithers away on the grass. Oh, yeah, and you can tell. I remember distinctively people saying, oh, well, that one part looked really bad. And I was just like, can we cut the movie a fucking break? Yeah. And again, like, when he kills the cow, like, again, like, that's a mix of practical and CGI. But it's so far away that, like, even if it's bad CGI, you can't tell. Also, there's something incredibly exciting about watching this kind of creature effectively lasso a cow. Like, I'm not criticizing maybe wonky CGI because I'm trying to get my mouth closed because my jaw keeps dropping. about what the fuck is going on in this movie. Because at this point, you're just like, wait, what? What are we? He looks like that now? He's killing cows like that now? I do love that. You said squid. It got worse. Yeah, this is where we get the line from Wally. You know, that looks like something to fill up my dick. Hell yeah. Good stuff. Okay, so Starla gets out there. This is why she came, right? She's going to try to reason with him again. This only works if you cared about their relationship from earlier on. So that's why that first act is so important. she talks about marriage as a sacred bond. She's going to stick with him as they try to get help for, oh, God, whatever the fuck is going on with you right now. And it seems to be kind of working. Except, of course, that this is when Charlie, who is played by Ben Cotton, jumps up in there and is like, where the fuck is that girl? What have you done with Brenda? And we just get a whip crack sound effect as this tentacle slices through this man. Yeah. Resident Evil style. and many other things, but vertical all the way down. Yeah, to me, this was most like 13 ghosts with that lawyer. Although it's a different, instead of, you know, middle of the body, it's a different axis, but either way. Yes. Yeah, this is great. Even though, I mean, when he blinks and the little face slit opens up a little bit, it's a little CGI-y, but I mean, again, I'm not going to complain when someone's body just opens up and the intestines fill out. Fully, yes. And this immediately induces chaos, because because nobody was expecting that to happen. So this is when Grant Grant makes his slithery escape, but it's a lot of gunfire and holy shit, what the fuck, what are we doing right now kind of deal. Yeah. Okay, so we follow Grant Grant through the woods, and nobody figures out that this is a trap until way too late, but Trace, let's introduce Brenda's final form. So this is basically just a womb incubator with Brenda's tiny little face. It kind of looks like a boob with a zit on it. Actually, yeah, they did say it's like a boob with her head being the nipple. This is like if the Violet Bowie guard from Willy Wonka had a really bad eye. Oh, my God, I have that on my notes, too. I've got to say, even as a kid, like the Violet Bowie guard scene always made me really, really, really uncomfortable. Like, just visually, it is a haunting prospect. And this is the same kind of thing. And I will say, so this is a nine-foot-tall Brenda blob, which, by the way... Is it a balloon? Is that how they did it? It was built over a lightweight spring steel frame, and this helps her kind of, like, you know, lurch and jiggle without the use of special equipment. But there was one shot in the behind-the-scenes where you can see what's, like, behind her. Because this is the actress that plays Brenda. This is her real face in prosthetics inside this thing, and you're like, wait... Yeah, you can tell. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But you're like, wait, so I think like the back of her is actually more hollow than what you would think. But it took four people to operate Brenda. I'm not surprised. This thing is massive. It is absolutely massive. And again, yeah, this is something's wrong with me. It was in every fucking trailer. And I just I think I think it grossed people out too much. I think that hurt the box office. I really think it did. Yeah. It's tough, right? Because especially if you enjoy body horror or if you like that mixture of comedy and horror, this just absolutely sells the movie for me because it is such a curiosity. Like, I remember being blown away by this and thinking, holy shit, what is about to happen next? And this is a practical effect, too. So it looks really good. I mean, it's practical until she gets ripped. Then it's all CGI. Yeah. And that doesn't look super great. But also I'm forgiving it because at that moment, that's when we start to realize, oh, shit, it let us hear something terrible. Yeah. It's about to happen. I did like this, though, because I did get to watch this scene, like, without the CGI slugs. And so whenever she bursts, they actually just, like, release, like, a bunch of water at them, which is how they all slide. Yeah, that makes total sense. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I also I think it's Margaret who says, somebody get her to stop doing that because she keeps kind of lurching forward and Brenda just goes It hurts, bitch! It hurts, bitch! Yeah, I think that actually makes us very we're emphasizing the comedy, but there's still something very upsetting about this visual and I think the most upsetting thing about it to me is that Brenda is only focused, she is so hungry But that is the only thing she's focused on. She's not even saying, like, oh, my God, like, what's happened to me? Right. She's embarrassed because they find her eating these rancid dead animals. But also she can't help herself. That's why she has the line, you know, can you pass me that possum? Exactly. And, yeah, no, I fully agree with you. This idea that she doesn't even know what she's become because she's still in the midst of it. And that's horrifying in a completely different sense. Yeah. Yeah, this is kind of probably the most unique thing in this movie. Absolutely. Yeah, because we see slugs in Chivers and Night of the Creeps, but we don't see a critter ball of slugs. Oh, that's what I was going to say, though. So this is a nine-foot-tall model. That means this is actually one foot smaller in diameter than the critter ball at the end of Critters 2. That is wild. I do think this is maybe shot a little bit better because this looks more impressive. Yes, it absolutely does. Admittedly, a different budget. It's a bigger budget. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, yes. So, Brenda pops. If this was a hereditary category, best sequence. Oh, yeah. I would get it. For sure. Or maybe best death. Terrible. Yeah. And, yeah, the slugs, thousands of them just explode out. They're covering over all of these people, and we see that they seem to go immediately for people's mouths. So a couple of people managed to survive this and they get out uninfected. But we have lost, you know, Wally and the young guy who's also a deputy, a couple of other people. So only Margaret, Bill, Starla and Jack remain uninfected. Yes, correct. OK, so we then follow the slides for a little bit. So we've kind of using this as a bit of a transition to catch back up at the Strootmire house. wanted to give a shout out to Emily and Gemma. They seem like shitty little girls, but they are reading goosebumps in bed. I was going to say they're reading goosebumps. We also get our most directly obvious homage to Shivers because Kylie is in the bath and we watch as a slug swim up. It is almost a one-to-one. It's quite impressive. Yeah, and that's why, too, where I'm just thinking, like, y'all, stop complaining about how this is ripping off Night of the Creeps with the clear homage to Shivers is right here. It's right here. Yeah. Yeah. So Kylie ends up having to use her Japanese nails. So she's, she's got her, her nails did from earlier. Her dad remarked upon it, but this is ultimately what ends up saving her because she's able to grab this slug before it can fully get into her mouth and infect her. And then she manages to, you know, bite it, spit it out, throw it against the wall, burn it with the curling iron. But in the midst of holding onto it with the Japanese nails, she gets a vision trace of an alien world. This reminded me of something I cannot remember in the faculty, I know we get the tale from the queen about what her homeland was like, but do we ever get a vision or a cutaway to what that homeland was? I don't think so. Yeah, this felt like it was kind of a similar thing. I do wish this looked better and I don't mean like, oh, it's all CGI like dumb. It's all CGI. It just looks like a bunch of purple blobs like moving around and I don't get a clear image of what this home world looks like. And maybe that was the intent. I just, I'm just kind of like, this might've worked better if we didn't actually like see it. Yeah. It's giant slugs attacking something that kind of looks like a cross between a cow and a sheep kind of thing. But also it is giving the blobby creature thing from splice that the early one where they were showing it off to the audience. They didn't kill each other. Yeah. Yeah. So it kind of looks like that. It's just, yeah, it's very dimly lit, very obviously CGI. It's fine. I don't know. Would you prefer to just have Kylie relate this instead of actually see it? Yeah, I mean, I think that since she does relate it later, then that's totally fine. Yeah. This kind of feels like, well, we need to give people something cinematic. And I was just like, I don't know. Do you? That's fine. Yeah. I don't think we need it. Or leave it as a mystery, right? Like, we see her eyes going in the back of her head, but, like, you know, be like, oh. Yeah, she seems to be seizing, and then later on she says, I had a vision, and this is what the homeworld happened. Or it's a world destroyer. It kills everything and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Anyway, so she has managed to remain uninfected. The rest of her family, not so much. The slugs are everywhere. She has to get off the roof. She does a little, you know, jump and roll. She ends up hiding in the truck for the time being. I love this shot as she's hiding in the truck, and the slugs, like, swarm. basically cover the entire vehicle. And the way that we transition the next scene is we're focusing on Kylie's face as the shadows of the slugs on the windshield cover her up, and then we just fade to black with the slugs. Which is interesting, right? Because usually that connotes a transition in time as well, which I do think is meant to be the point because when we pick things back up at the barn as we're dragging the bodies of our fallen comrades out, you're very much led to believe that a little bit of time has passed because that's why they're starting to wake back up. But yeah, it's interesting because most of this, like this is an all in one night narrative. Yeah, it very much is. After that three days later marker. Uh-huh. Which is funny because normally I fucking hate those movies because you don't have an opportunity to watch characters grow. So I like this in between bit, right? Where we spend a couple of days building the characters up and then the last act all one night. Well, yeah. Think about Scream, right? the last 50 minutes of Scream is at one party. No, no, I don't think that's true. I don't have a T-shirt that says that, so I don't believe this. There you go. Okay, so Bill is trying to raise Shelby on the radio, but he can't get a hold of her, so he sort of, like, walks away. He does see a deer get infected, so we get confirmation that animals are not safe from these sleds either. It's not just a human being infected thing, which I think helps to distinguish it from something like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Yeah, I think so as well. And again, anytime you can infect an animal, it's always going to be fun. I mean, this predates Zombievers, obviously, but this feels like a Zombievers-y type moment. Or if you really want to go there, the unicorn in Cabin in the Woods. There we go. Yes. I'm sorry. Also, before all this happens, we have the mayor freaking out outside this barn again, and he's going to sue the government or the town or something or whatever. But I love that he just yells at Margaret, You can see right alongside me. I don't care if you're a lesbo. You don't deserve this shit. See, even back in 2006, we decided that queer people deserve right. Even fucking assholes like Jack acknowledge that. Even he knew that. Okay, so yes, we've dragged out these uninfected bodies. This is when Wally and the others suddenly start to reawaken, and we're cross-cutting this scene with Kylie discovering that her family is also back up on their feet, but they're acting very strangely. So, you know, we're talking about family fun day, but everybody looks a little sickly and gross. They're also calling her a bitch and a slut and a whore because Grant Grant is actually doing all of this speaking. So we see what it's like when Grant Grant doesn't know her. This is just how he treats women. But then if he's talking to, say, Starla through Wally's voice, then it's hey sugar plum I didn't I didn't even think about Kylie's family being coming from Grant's voice I mean you're totally correct that's exactly what's happening I didn't even think about that being the case so that actually makes it a bit creepier to me oh for sure because it's just like oh wow so this is how Grant Grant thinks about women yeah yeah but then it's also yeah like you're using the voice box of these little girls to say terrible things that's the thing yeah it's the girls being like come on little slut I also love the family fun day bit Yeah yeah I will say this also feels pretty evocative of Shivers right Because we used everyday people as sources of menace and they were acting very threatening and predatory. And, you know, that movie is very sexually assaulty. Folks, go back and listen to that episode. But that's what it feels like this is as well. Well, and that's the difference, too, for me. Because, yeah, none of the creeps, like, they just become zombies, for lack of a better term. Like, they don't really articulate a lot. Whereas shivers, those are sex people that are still talking to you, and they're trying to manipulate you into letting them in your house or your apartment so they can rape you, basically. And so that's, again, where this feels so much more in line with shivers than it does in Out of the Griefs to me. Yeah, because the ultimate goal here is to either kill people who can't be assimilated, assimilate people directly. As you mentioned, people will just join with the Grant Grant kind of blob at the end of the film. either that or we want to get a slug into them. So the main goal is assimilation and reproduction always. Okay, so Starla is rightfully unnerved by Wally speaking to her as if he is her husband. So this is, again, the telltale sign that Grant is the hive mind behind all of this. But this spell is kind of broken when Margaret says, why is he talking like that? And this is where we get our first instance of acid spit. So she takes it on the neck, and we don't actually see her die, but she, I mean, she looks like she has been stung by one of those creatures from the mist, which is going to pop. I wrote the same thing in my notes! Okay, we need to stop. We need to take... Remember when we used to be different people and now we're the same person? We've been doing this for too long. I didn't look this up, but I was like, I wonder if the makeup guy was the same, because, yeah, this looks like the exact same prosthetic that girl wears in the mist. Yeah, which is to say it looks good. It looks good. To the point that I'm a little disappointed when Margaret just kind of screams and falls out of frame and we kind of see her just lying there, maybe shaking a little bit. But I actually wanted to see this boil back or something. Yeah, her head exploded. Honestly, if this were made today, her head would explode because I feel like I can't see a single thing nowadays where someone's head isn't exploding. I mean, give it to Radio Silence, and they will burst everyone's head for it. It's Radio Silence, and it's the boys. There we go. Yes. Yeah. Okay, so we are back at the Strootmeyers. This is where Kylie runs to Bill because he has shown up. Remember, he was trying to raise Shelby, so he had to leave the others behind to try to get better reception. And she has been surrounded by her family in this truck. So when she sees Bill coming, it's a regular person. She runs to him. This is where we get the poison IV exchange. I appreciate what you're saying, itchy, but I do love Otis as being, Poznavi, maybe? Like it's a question? Yeah, like, I don't have an answer, and I can't fake this because I'm not convincing. Actually, because it's Grant saying that, so it's a continuation of Grant making excuses for the way he looks. Exactly. That's why I wanted to chart it throughout the course of the book. Yeah, I didn't think about it, but yeah, that's really funny. So obviously this is not convincing. which means that the family members are spitting and chasing after Bill and Kylie. I do enjoy Philly's delivery of, what's with all the spitting? So they run to the road, and the others who have survived have gotten into the police cruiser, and they have driven along. So we basically have Bill come upon Starla as she is impaling Deputy Trevor, who is played by Haig Sutherland, in the neck in the middle of the road. just like female rage and Bill just kind of looks at her and is like yep okay okay but then you have McCready going bitches hardcore which I do say a lot whenever I see a woman do something awesome as you should bitches hardcore bitches hardcore it's interesting right because I remember the first time I watched the film I thought that Jack and Grant Grant were cut from too similar a cloth And now I actually think that that's a bit of a strength, right? Because much like Brenda and Starla are parallels to each other, just with a different course based on who they married. I feel like Jack and Grant Grant are one in the same, right? They're both very powerful men. One is the mayor, and he's allowed to call people a cocksucker and suffer nothing. No, no consequences. No consequence. And the other one is Grant Grant, who, you know, seems to pay a very heavy price because he makes some bad decisions. So I kind of like that we are doing doubles in this film. For sure. For sure. Okay. So everybody gets in the car and we speed away because don't forget, we're still on the edge of town. So the idea is to get back to Wellsby. That is safety, you know, population safety numbers, all that other bullshit. Yeah. So I do enjoy this brief respite where we have a stunned silence. They're all just driving me like, what a big experience. I'm trying to process it. And, of course, this is where Bill tries to raise Shelby on the radio. And because it's James Gunn, we have to talk about how he backed up his mom's toilet. She said it's what you've done in there on Sunday that's dumb-backed it up. He's like, it's a tree. It got into the static tank. The roots get in there, and she uses lots of toilet paper. Nobody's buying this. It's one of those so fucking stupid moments in this movie, but it's actually really good as a soft reset to say, okay, we all went through something really harrowing. We have widowed down this cast, so there's not as many people left, but also we're still going to be giving you poop jokes. Yeah, and I think it does show James Gunn being like, look, we just went through a really pretty lengthy set piece of this invasion stuff. Yeah, calm it down, calm it down. Yeah, punctuate it with a laugh. Yeah, as you do. So Bill tries to get Shelby to shut the fuck up because Starla is also obviously listening to all of this. So he ends the call by saying, call the CDC. Let's get the experts in here. And immediately after this, we just have Shelby looking up at the rattling vent overhead as slugs pour down. Yeah, she immediately gets killed. Yeah, just screams and we're out. So back in the car, Jack has a meltdown over Mr. Pibb. Oh. It's the only kind of cola he drinks, right? It's pretty. It's the only kind of Coke I like. It's not Coke, man. Is that a cocaine joke? No. No. He's just calling it Coca-Cola because it's like how a pop is like all soda. It's like it's just Coke. You're asking for a Coke, but you just mean in general a soda. Right. But what he wants is a Mr. Pibb. Where the fuck is the Mr. Pibb? They probably had Dr. Pepper instead. I mean, here's the thing. I like them both. They're the same thing. I mean, that's why I like them both Yeah, exactly, they're entertainable to me, it's fine Poussey, yes Cougar Fuck Okay, so this is where Kylie talks about her vision So we can know, oh, this is a world fucking destroyer It's not gonna let up, everybody's at risk We've gotta figure out what we're gonna do But it's okay, we've reached Wellsby Everything is going to be fine Wait, so did you say Wellsby? Wellsby, that's the name of the town Oh, Wheelsy. I've been calling it Wellesby as well. No, you said Wheelsy. I swear to God. Started with Wheelsy, went to Wellesby, and I went back. The Wheelsy Cooters. The Wheelsy Cooters. I would also argue that after Kylie's exposition, she's still in the movie, but I would argue she ceases to be important after this moment. That's not true, Trey. She saves Bill from that deer. Yeah, whatever. It is. It's a bit of a thankless role. It feels... It's also of curiosity because everyone else in this movie, as we said, is an adult, and we just have to keep this teenager around, I'm going to argue, for the dumb, boring, safe, heteronormative family at the end of the film. Yeah, well, because, I mean, we didn't mention this, but in that bathtub scene, you do get a shot of her nipple, which I thought was actually kind of surprising. Yeah, yeah. When she first sees the slug and she, like, freaks out, the water's, you know, shaking. Her nipple totally pops out of the bathtub, and so I was like, I don't think the actress is a minor, but this is very much meant to be a minor. So I was kind of like, ugh. Can we get a consent form on set, please? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So they pass the town sign. It's already crawling with slugs. I mean, this would pack a better punch if we hadn't just seen Shelby effectively get killed. We already know that the slugs are in town. So I guess it's meant to punctuate the fact that they say, oh, we're safe now. Things are going to be okay. And then it's like, nope. Yeah. Yeah. So almost immediately they get T-boned. I will say Jenna Fisher's delivery of, hey, slugger, I got a surprise for you. And we talk all the time about how I fucking hate how T-bone sequences are set up. I actually really do like, well, because this one, it's not a surprise. Like, you actually see it coming before it even happens. And so I thought this actually was done very well for a T-bone scene. Well, and it's one of those things where we just said, okay, we're going to have a breather. We're going to have a joke because we've just been through a bunch of action sequences and killed a bunch of folks. And it's, oh, okay, the break is over. We're back into the attack sequences now because, yeah, we get T-boned. And then all of a sudden, I love this overhead shot of all of these infected people carrying Starla like she's in a mosh pit or something. Yeah, I like it. Yeah. Also, I almost called it a mob pit, which is why I had to draw the O. So it was a mosh pit. You know, as opposed to a mob hit where you go to, like, Chicago or New York, and it's, like, a bunch of gangsters in a club. And you jump in the pit of a club. And you jump, yeah. Okay. Yeah. You know what I mean. Yeah, get it. Okay. So Starla is carried away. And, oh, I did have to make another joke about the signs because I already enjoyed that one sign. So I love that we crashed in this T-boning accident. There was a sign that we drove into because we're technically outside of the church. So the windshield has just been smashed, but we can see Jesus saves. I am filled with Christ's love. I'll save. Don't love it. So Bill and Kylie are forced to make a run. They end up having to abandon Jack, who is unconscious, but they can't bring him with them because there's too many people. Question for you. I tried to look this up and Google failed me this time. we see an image of a black preacher ringing a bell. Yes. Do you know if this is meant to be a deliberate homage to something else? I was getting John Carpenter Knight. I don't know. Honestly, this is going to sound so bad. When I saw that, I was like, oh, there's a black person in this town. I mean, yes, correct. And he's a preacher. And he's a preacher. How refreshing. Yeah. Okay, folks, if you are messaging Trace about the cooter. You know, if you recognize this as a homage to something. Yeah. I think it must be like a Night of the Living Dead or something. Probably. Maybe. I don't know. Okay. So, Bill and Kylie are now by themselves, but they recognize, again, there's a kind of pattern. We're seeing people getting carried away. We should also note there's a very, very upsetting moment where they just see a guy on the ground being spat upon repeatedly by these things. Oh, yeah. As he's screaming. Yeah. It fucking hits. Like, honestly, I would rather just get slugged than get acided to death. Oh, yeah. No. Or the acid is on my face and I'm just dead immediately. I don't want to be burning repeatedly with these things. Right? Like your torso just dissolving in front of your eyes. No, no, no. No, no, no. Yeah. Okay. So before we figure out that everybody seems to be getting taken to one place, Bill decides we need to get to the police station so we can stock up on ammo and guns and weapons and all this other stuff. Also, we are remembering Chekhov's grenade is in there. And Chekhov's deer. And Chekhov's deer, yes. So I wrote in my notes, this is very Evil Dead 2 levels of comedy. Because this deer is giving animatronic wackiness. I do kind of love it. I appreciate it doesn't go on for too long. Yeah, it's totally. I mean, but in 2006, this was a novelty. This was like, oh, my God, we have a zombie deer. Yeah, it was very fun. And then Kylie is there with the fire extinguisher to take care of this thing. And we've got the guns. We've got the grenades so we can get out of there. And it's fine. Yeah. Okay. So, yes, we realize people are being taken to a certain place. And that is most likely where Grant Grant is residing. So we cut to Starla. She wakes up back in this white lingerie. And we're hearing all of the different Grant voices calling her a dumb bitch and a slut. And, you know, it's interesting because Grant Grant clearly knew that there was still something going on. Well, there was still feelings between her and Bill, because that's why he keeps referring to her as a slut and a whore, because she, like, went with Bill. Right. Yeah. I mean, it's such an easy target, right? Just like, oh, you're a whore, you're a slut. And it's like, well, I don't know, Grant, maybe you're better. Take some responsibility for your half of the marriage, maybe. But, I mean, at this point, he's all creature. He's kind of all, I guess, id at this point. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I must like how you like the shot of them carrying Starla away from the car. I love the shot of them placing her on the bed, like in unison. Yeah. Very delicately, right? It feels almost sacrificial, so, right? A little bit. Yeah, right. I wrote my notes. They gussied her up. They gussied her up. Also, we can note this is a different kind of a sexual assault because they clearly changed her clothes without her consent. Yeah, well, I'm not saying it's not sexual assault, but it's technically Grant doing all of this. I was going to say, okay, so it is her husband just in other people's hands and bodies. Yeah, exactly. What a weird fucking sentence. I know. Okay, so yes, she knows that she's in a dangerous situation. I love the ingenuity. So she finds a handheld mirror, and she recognizes this could be a weapon. I'm going to break the glass. I'm going to hide this under the garments and so on. So then she makes her way downstairs. And at the same time, we see that Jack is in the same house, but he is in the basement. Man, this is rough. Like, honestly, I mean, this character is pretty reprehensible, but, man, like, he didn't deserve this. It's another one of those situations where you think, oh, no one in this movie deserved the fate that they ultimately received. So he ends up using his lighter so that he can see what's going on. He's in another kind of pit. This is where all the dead animals were in the basement. But he's also surrounded by all of these other Brenda-style feeders. And, of course, we've got this woman who's like, Turn the fucking light off! Don't look at me that way! Okay, but this is the same woman, I think, when he runs away and tries to escape, but then gets tentacled himself. She's yelling at him, Damn Republicans! Gotta run all you Republicans out of town! Yes, yeah. Which is another reason why I wanted to start out that conversation, because that's just like, is the default assumption that Jack is a Republican? And I guess part of this is the idea that even in a small town, there will be party lines and that they're not. Everybody should just default be assumed to be a Republican. Yeah, exactly. I mean, Jack is clearly a Republican. I mean, that's obvious. But yeah, I mean, like there are totally people in this town that are Democrat. But yeah, I also think about the 2006. This is still Bush administration. Yeah, that tracks, doesn't it? So anyway, he tries to make a run for it, and he gets as far as the top of the stairs, and he just gets impregnated by these proboscis. And as I mentioned earlier, you know, this is proof. We see him, we see that there are other men down in this basement, so it is an equal opportunity infector. And I will note, though, when we saw Brenda get attacked, it definitely looked more sexual. It also looks like the Proboscide were getting her, like, closer to sexual organ. Well, that's because we're getting the eyes rolling in the back of the head with the eyelids flickering type thing. It just looks more like these things are getting her in the baby maker, whereas here it seems much more deliberate that we're getting Jack in the chest. And I just thought, I guess it doesn't matter where they get stuck, But, you know, even when Bill gets hit with these things, it also, yeah, it's interesting. I would have liked a little bit more consistency just from a kind of, like, physiology perspective. Like, how does it actually work? But also, who fucking cares? You just need an x-ray shot of seeing what they look like inside. I guess. Yes. Stay damn, studio. You know what? I needed it after all. Yes. Okay. All right. So, Jack has been gotten. Also, it's kind of funny that, like, apparently the effects are immediate because we go into this montage of, like, different people. So every woman in the world is back on the soundtrack. Bill and Kylie are sneaking through town. Stella is arming herself. And Jack just immediately begins eating human flesh. Very gross. Practical effect looks great. Oh, yeah. Again, because you see the skin rip when he pulls it off. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So Starla makes her way downstairs to the living room. I wrote in my notes that he, Grant, Grant Grant, has been Jabba the Huttified because he is so big now. He just is kind of occupying the room, right? You've done a real nice job decorating, baby. Yeah, and this is also why that earlier scene where she tried to plead with him in the field works, because he's also using his acolytes to repeat back words to her about the sacred bonds of marriage and all these other things. But she understands, I've got to play this smart. I've got to placate him. I've got to talk to him. Like, we're still married, and he is not a reprehensible squid creature. So, yeah. Oh. I really like all of this. That's the other thing, too. A really, like, a shot they used in the trailer for this movie and all the TV slots was the shot of them almost kissing. Yes. And, yeah. It's gross. It's quite gross. It's very gross. Because also, like, every time he breathes, he, like, spews out some gooey saliva. It's blech. Yes. I'm so surprised that you managed, well, first, that you went to see this film at all, because I would have thought you would have been too grossed out by it, but also that you say you have watched this repeatedly. Oh, no, I mean, I love this movie. And again, like, I do find this grosser to watch, more difficult to watch on a gross level than any kind of gory film, but at least it's not pus. That is fair. It's not white. It's clear, sticky goop. It's not white goop. Yes, that is true. It is not the icing on the Cinnabon. We should note that Bill and Kylie have made their way here, so they are kind of observing this. They are seeing various gross things. I don't like Gunn's decision to cast a pretty obese, naked man as the person we see assimilating with Grant out the back of the house. It feels like an extra, oh, isn't this disgusting kind of moment, and I don't think it was necessary. I'm not going to lie. The man's size did not play a factor into my thoughts at all when watching this scene. It is just this entire sequence is disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to disagree with you there. I read a horror book, I want to say back in high school, and I can't remember the title. It haunts me to this day, both the fact that I can't remember, but also the content. And it was like alien pods that people would pick up and it would do this kind of thing to them. It basically not disintegrates them, but it makes it so that they will join with other people. And this idea that people become a kind of Leviathan-esque mask. It reminds me of Akira a little bit. A little bit of that, too. Yeah. I mean, any time that we see bodies merging together and, you know, obviously it's very sexual. Oh, my God. And Joe, the obvious influence here is fucking society with the shunting. Yes. And I will say I knew that, but I can't directly reference it because I still haven't seen society. Oh, well, I have seen society. Also, you need to see society. I know. We say that every time it comes up on the pod. Yeah, there you go. Good thing there's definitely no anniversary coming up in the next couple of years because, oh, gosh, then we might have to program it and so on. Yeah. Okay. So we see that people are being assimilated. People who are not being assimilated are being burned to death with acid, or they're being turned into feeders. So, like, different rules, different folks, but everybody is like, this town has been completely overtaken. You know, I think Bill and Kylie, they might even say, like, we're kind of the last ones. Yeah, I would say that's safe to assume. Yes, I would say that's safe to assume. Also, point civilian for nailing the delivery of, well, now that is some fucked up shit. Oh, God, yeah. That's when he's seeing the big obese man get assimilated under Grant's blobbyness. Yeah, yeah. So, Starla makes her way closer to Grant. This is the near kiss. But, obviously, this is her ploy to try to take him out with this weaponized handheld mirror. And she does manage to stab him in something close to the neck. Yeah. obviously this is a tiny instrument. He is quite large and powerful at this point, so we just watch her get flipped around the room a couple of different times. Good wire work. Yeah, good wire work. And again, this is where we're getting a real heavy blend of CGI and practical with the tentacles themselves, but Grant himself and the blob stuff and all the people on him, that's all practical. Yeah, and honestly, I think it looks incredible. I think it looks so fucking good. This entire set is awesome looking. Like, it's gross looking. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely disgusting. Super duper impressive. Yeah. It's like the walls are coated in organic matter. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And yet, when we talk about things like the alien ship and the way that the aliens remodel their homes, we don't say anything about that, do we? No, we don't. Okay. So Starla gets the shit kicked out of her. Sorry. It's more she gets the shit whipped out of her. because of these tentacles. This is where Bill and Kylie kind of burst in with their guns and ammo magazine and were shooting the place out. Bill tries to pull the pin on this grenade, and it immediately gets flipped out of his hand, and then he has to go searching for it, and then he tries to bring it back up, and it gets whipped out the window and into the pool, and the pool just goes boop-boop. It's quite funny as a comedic stinger. I love the cut to Gillian's disappointed face as he sees the explosion in the pool. Yeah. So this is when he gets partially or briefly impaled by one, not both, of the Proboscis. And we will learn as not quite a retcon, but Kylie will helpfully clarify after the fact that you need both to be infected, or else he would have died at the end of this movie. It's so funny, though, because her lines, she goes, you need both them things in you to get all. And I always thought she said wormy, like W-O-R-M-Y. Yeah, what did she say then? Well, my subtitle said woomy, W-O-M-B-Y. Woomy, okay. But here's the thing, though. There were a couple of other mistakes with the subtitles on this movie. Like, there's that line where Philemon's like, oh, my easygoing nature is getting sorely fucking tested. And the subtitle said, my easygoing nature is getting sort of fucking tested. How interesting. Shout Factory, after game. Wow. Hey, you know what? At least a human being probably did them as opposed to fucking AI. Well, you know what? Another tick mark in support of AI, I guess. No, go fuck yourself. That is a joke. That is total sarcasm, everyone. I was not being serious. I was going to say, the podcast is now over. Okay. So, yeah. So Bill is in a state of panic because he is being infected by this thing. And thankfully, we do have a propane tank next to him. He has been, like, flicked out of the house at this point, by the way. So he manages to grab onto this open propane tank. He grabs the second proboscis that is not inside him, jams it onto the apparatus, cranks the wheel. So we are filling the proboscis. And by extension, Grant Grant, in his Jabba the Hutt form with gas, Bill yells at Starla to shoot him, which he does. And we explode Grant Grant all over everybody. Yeah, this is, I mean, the effects, again, pretty CGI heavy, but still, it's fun. It's fun. And it's a good way to send this guy out because, oh boy, gross. Yeah, I do appreciate that there is a moment, a very brief moment, where it kind of looks as if Starla is going to not pull the trigger because she sees her husband in front of her. But then it's like, your husband's a giant squid. Yeah, I do wonder. I mean, again, there's a different version of this movie where Starla and Grant are in love. Oh, actually, because that's the other Kronenberg influence, right? The fly. The fly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think between the two of them, you know, The Fly and then Shivers, like, yeah, that truly is this movie, isn't it? Yeah, 100%. Even though, I mean, Cronenberg didn't write The Fly, but still. Yeah. Okay, so Grant Grant has been dispatched, and so has everybody else, Trace. This is possibly, I mean, the movie kills. I love it. So funny, really well acted, well directed. This is my favorite aspect of this entire film. That everyone dies? Yeah, because in every other version that we see of this kind of tale, everybody just miraculously recovers as if nothing has happened to them. And I'm like, no fucking bullshit. You were corrupted. You were infected with an alien thing. It hollowed out your brain. It changed your anatomy. You're dead. And I feel like this is the other thing that contributes to this movie's failure, because this is, I mean, it's presented as a kind of, yeah, as I mentioned, nuclear family, heterosexual, blah, blah, blah. But, like, we killed everybody else, and that is not a feel-good, happy ending for this movie. Yeah. And people don't like that. Yeah, and so, again, I'm going back to James Gunn's Super here. Can I move to mind? I agree with you. I think it is dark. I think a part of me is kind of like, oh, the tone of the movie is so jovial and fun that I kind of wish it had a happier ending because of it. But to your point, but, like, that darkness of this ending, that is the bulk of Super. Oh, interesting. Okay, so folks, if you like this Debbie Downer ending, Super might be a movie for you. Yeah, 100%. Again, big recommend. It's not my favorite James Gunn, but it's really good, and it's very unique. Okay. So this movie is basically over. We watch the three of them stepping around these bodies as we do an aerial crane shot. You know, the music kind of kicks in, and it is a little jovial. It's kind of, okay, we're going to walk to the next town, and we're going to, I guess, have to start our lives over again. We get the joke that Bill always regretted not running away with her, and clearly we understand that they will be a couple moving forward. But the movie doesn't belabor it, and it doesn't overstay its welcome, because it's 95 minutes, and we're done. I do like the, oh, Kylie, tell Scarlett how I saved you from that deer. Oh, yeah, Bill saved me from a deer. Yeah, because we had a joke earlier where he said, oh, yeah, when we tell this story, it's going to be different. Yeah, I saved you. It's a nice payoff. And also, yeah, the flat delivery from Kylie. Pretty good. Yeah, but that is, that's Slither. There is a post-credit scene, I mean, scene in quotation marks, but we do see a cat approaching what looks to be Grant's brain, and the little barb thing shoots into the cat. Okay, so our sequel potential, which, of course, would never be recognized because this movie made so little money. Yeah, exactly that. But, yeah, Slither, good movie is good. Okay, so, Trace, I debated whether or not I would do the, you know, recurring players game, but it's not as much fun. This is a pretty Canadian cast, and we haven't actually seen many movies with, like, Michael Rucker and that kind of stuff. So I would like you to take two minutes and tell me, how would you make a sequel to this movie, but it has to be different? Like, it has to be Tremors 2 level different. Oh, okay. Well, that's easy. You just have the slugs morph into something else, so you evolve into something else. So... I mean, you gave him legs, just like Trimmer's too. Oh, my God. Little chicken slugs running around, right? I know. But, no, I don't... Like, maybe you have a... Okay. Oh, you have a rival alien race who's been in constant competition with the entity that possessed Grant. And then it's like, oh, ha, he came and failed. Let me go take my shot at Earth. Okay. Yeah, so a second invasion of a different alien. And a different species. features. Exactly. So then I guess, though, instead of homaging like, you know, Cronenberg Shivers, what would you homage? What would you homage? I mean, the obvious answer is Critters 2. Obviously. We're clearly not thinking about this because it's the week after we just talked about Critters 2. I know. Yeah, I don't know. I feel like the alien invasion subgenre is not particularly revolutionary. Like, they usually just come and it's either do they take up the small town a la faculty or do they go you know independence day and take up the white house as we say in the faculty so uh hmm yeah because my idea for a sequel would be to move this to a more populated area because so much of this is set in a small town where you've got a lot of space that you can play with even though a lot of it is indoors So I was like, what if you evil dead rise this or something like that? Yeah. Or demons shoot it. That's the thing, right? Because so many horror films, I'm like, oh, just make it a really interesting setting, right? Like do a setting we haven't seen before. Like set it at a fucking water park. Well, that's Piranha 3DD. But still, like, yeah, you just tell me, oh, it's this type of movie at this place. And make it a place that hasn't been done in a horror movie before. And you're like halfway there. Yeah. Because I do think that there are gentle references. You know, some of this is references to, yes, not just David Cronenberg, but I think also John Carpenter movies. But I think also Romero. Like, I do get Night of the Living Dead from this. So I guess you could, keeping with my idea, take it to the mall. Let's go to the mall. Yeah, actually, no. Oh, yes. Oh, I do like that. Even though, yes, it's clearly Romero's Dawn of the Dead. That's fun. That's fun. And, I mean, I just think the mall is such a creative setting. You can do so much with it. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I'm in complete agreement with you. All right. Well, folks, if you have ideas about where you think a sequel could go, obviously it's never, ever going to happen. But that's why we get to hypothesize. It's fun for the game. So let us know. Where would you take a sequel if you could make a reunion of sorts to slither? Let us know. But, yeah. So, okay, well, before we announce that we're covering next week, some quick housekeeping. If you want to get in touch with us, you can reach us on Blue Sky and Instagram at HorrorQueers. Shoot us an email at HorrorQueers at gmail.com. Find us on Letterboxd. Keep track of all the films we've covered. If you want to chat with other listeners, please join our HorrorQueers Discord. That link is in the show notes, just a reminder. If you have a moment, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And if you want more content, including ad-free main feed episodes, please support the show by becoming a patron at patreon.com slash horrorqueers. If you subscribe today, you'll get 477 hours of Patreon content, including this month's new episodes on Hannibal Season 3, Episodes 3 and 4, The Faces of Death remake, They Will Kill You, Lee Cronin's The Mummy, and, to coincide with that last title, a brand new audio commentary on Tom Cruise's 2017 film, The Mummy. Plus, the conclusion of our coverage of Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House on the requel tier. But, Joe? Yes? Oh, all things coming up, Mummy. What are we talking about next week? Well, that's pretty much giving it away, isn't it? But yes, because we do have Lee Cronin's new film coming out, it seemed like a good excuse to go back and check out an OG. And I think, is this one that neither one of us have seen, Trace? I have seen it, but I don't remember anything about it. Because I went through a phase where I was watching, like, every movie in that Universal Monsters box set. Right. And I think The Mummy was the most forgettable. Okay. Well, we're going to see if it can jog your memory, because that's where we're going next week. We're going to check out the 1932 version of The Mummy. I'm already prepared to talk about xenophobia, I guess. Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. I don't remember, honestly. Clearly. Clearly you do not. But I'm excited to revisit this so I can get a fresh memory of this thing. Because, I mean, it's been about probably 10 years since I actually watched it. Right. Okay. Well, a fun return for you and a first time for me. All right. Well, until next week, we can cross out Slitter. Indeed. And cross out Horror Cooters.