1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,519 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 2: Hey you welcome to Weird House Cinema. This is Rob. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 3: Lamb and this is Joe McCormick. 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 2: Happy Valentine's Day, everybody here in today's episode. You know, 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 2: I really wanted to cover a paranormal love story of 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 2: some sort for the holiday, and I gave myself this 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 2: task and probably spend a little bit too much time 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 2: looking at different films. I'm trying to figure out what 9 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 2: would be what felt like the right fit. I looked 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 2: at a few different, very well regarded films that seemed 11 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 2: to fit the mold, but ended up being drawn into 12 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 2: today's selection. The highly stylish nineteen eighty three erotic horror 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 2: film The Hunger, a movie that was really only on 14 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 2: my radar for being a film in which David Bowie 15 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 2: plays a vampire. But it's actually so much more than 16 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 2: just that. It's become a cult favorite with many do 17 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 2: it's heavy goth vibes, it's LGBTQ themes, and it's absolutely 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 2: bursting at the scenes with visual and sonic pizazz. And 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 2: I tell you, I hope you like Venetian Blinds, because 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 2: there are a lot of them in this movie. 21 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 3: Yes, and doves, JJ was reminded. JJ also watched the 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 3: movie this week and we were talking about it off 23 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 3: Mike before we started this. JJ reminded me that there 24 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 3: are just doves in their house all the Time's full 25 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 3: of birds. They have like an open air attics, just 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 3: birds coming and going all the time. Yes. 27 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 2: Yeah, I watched this one with my wife, and in fact, 28 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 2: it was partially her suggestion. I was brainstorming all these 29 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 2: ideas and she pulled up some lists online of paranormal 30 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 2: horror films and she was like, how about The Hunger 31 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:47,199 Speaker 2: And I was like, oh, well, you know, The Hunger 32 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 2: has been on my radar a little bit. We've it's 33 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 2: come up in passing on the show before when we've 34 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: discussed David Billie films, And so she watched it with me. 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 3: She really enjoyed it. 36 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 2: She loved all the like the gothy eighty eighties vibe 37 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 2: to it. But also she pointed out, like, this feels 38 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 2: like a feature length music video, and in many ways 39 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 2: that is absolutely accurate and one of its strengths. 40 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, turn around Bright Eyes for ninety minutes or 41 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 3: a hundred or so. It's but don't let don't get 42 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 3: the wrong idea from that. I do think this is 43 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 3: actually a very strong film. I liked it a lot, 44 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 3: despite the fact that critics apparently largely did not appreciate 45 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 3: it when it came out. But I get the feeling 46 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 3: this one has has gotten a critical reappraisal, like a 47 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 3: lot more people like it now than did when it 48 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 3: first released. 49 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I believe that the cult following for it 50 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 2: was really building up, you know, within the decade following 51 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 2: its release, so you know, kind of a slow build there, 52 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: but I think it achieved cult status by at least 53 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 2: the nineties, as we'll discuss now. 54 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 3: One thing I want to say close to the top 55 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 3: of this episode is despite the fact that The Hunger 56 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 3: is not especially plot driven, I'd say it's more of 57 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 3: a mood driven or character driven, it does have some 58 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 3: major surprises in store, and we're gonna have to talk 59 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 3: about those surprises in the episode, So please be forewarned 60 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 3: if you want to see The Hunger without having anything spoiled, 61 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,079 Speaker 3: and I would recommend that a good time to pause 62 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:17,959 Speaker 3: and go watch the movie would be Now. 63 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 2: That being said, this movie is so committed to style. 64 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 2: I feel like It's one of those where if you're 65 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 2: spoiled on it, you can still really enjoy it. 66 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 3: So rob like you. I had never seen The Hunger before, 67 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 3: but I found it very, as I said, surprising, but 68 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 3: also delightful, interesting, different. It felt fresh at its core. 69 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 3: I think you could call this kind of a tainted 70 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 3: love tale. It's a story primarily about romantic relationships, but 71 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 3: one in which it is not all you know, steamy 72 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 3: arrows and desire and lust like a lot of vampire 73 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 3: love movies are. It's also not rom com energy. It's 74 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 3: all cute, falling for you kind of moments. And it's 75 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 3: certainly not the case that this is full of feel 76 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 3: good morals about the eternal and all conquering power of love. 77 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 3: This movie, like other tainted love tales, is about the 78 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 3: ambiguities and contradictions of romantic love, the sort of vast 79 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 3: gray space that defines a lot of what love is, 80 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 3: where people might feel one way but act another, where 81 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 3: it's impossible to put your emotions into words, you don't 82 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 3: know how to talk about what you're feeling or what 83 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 3: your frustrations with your love. Are situations in which people 84 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 3: genuinely love one another, but also cause each other pain, 85 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 3: where love just gets smashed into a million pieces against 86 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 3: the surface of problems that cannot be fixed. And strangely, 87 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 3: once I realized that was the kind of movie this was, 88 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 3: it helped resolve something curious I noticed while watching The Hunger. 89 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 3: Despite the fact that this movie has a different writer, 90 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 3: a different director, totally different plot, and for much of 91 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,919 Speaker 3: its runtime a different star, I really kept being reminded 92 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 3: of the other big David Bowie movie we have watched 93 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 3: on the show, which was The Man Who Fell to 94 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 3: Earth from nineteen seventy six, directed by Nicholas Rogue. That 95 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 3: movie stars David Bowie as a tragic alien agent on 96 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 3: a mission to Earth to secure water resources which could 97 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 3: save his home planet. But of course, that ultimately is 98 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 3: a story about failure, you know, about distraction and the 99 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 3: inability to sort of stay on task and getting led 100 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 3: astray by television and alcohol and love and all. 101 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 2: That and table tennis right. 102 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 3: Exactly, Yes, So I was thinking while I was watching it, 103 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 3: why did these movies feel so similar despite all the 104 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 3: totally different creative inputs. Could it just be that the 105 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 3: power of David Bowie is so strong that it paves 106 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 3: over everything that might be a little part of it, 107 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 3: but I really think there are some other truly strong 108 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 3: similarities in that both stories involve these tainted love themes. 109 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 3: They're both love stories that have genuine feeling and passion 110 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 3: in them. They're not just about people using each other 111 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 3: for sex or for power or whatever. They are love stories, 112 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 3: but they're also tragic love stories that cannot possibly have 113 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 3: happy endings, in part because of the sci fi or 114 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 3: supernatural mechanics that are operating in each story, and in 115 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 3: part because of the kinds of human failings and contradictions 116 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 3: that are present in all relationships of mortal humans, not 117 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 3: just aliens and vampires. And I guess, since it's been 118 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 3: a while, just a refresher. The love story central in 119 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,119 Speaker 3: The Man Who Fell to Earth is the one between 120 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 3: David Bowie's alien character and an earthling played by Candy Clark. 121 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 3: That story is at once both genuine and doomed, doomed 122 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 3: by Bowie's alien mission and then by the pressures of 123 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 3: money and betrayal and alcoholism. In The Hunger, I think 124 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 3: one of the central thematic tainted love questions is what 125 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 3: if you could only be with the person you love 126 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 3: by dooming them to a fate worse than death if 127 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 3: you choose to do it anyway, if you choose to 128 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 3: be with them knowing that your love is an unspeakable curse, 129 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 3: could it really be love? But at the same time, 130 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 3: could it really be love if you could stand not 131 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 3: to be with them in the first place. I guess 132 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 3: we'll have to answer those questions as we go on 133 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 3: throughout the episode. But another similarity I would say between 134 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 3: The Men Who Fell to Earth and The Hunger is 135 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 3: certain the presence of certain cinematography choices. Both of them 136 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 3: are very mood driven, and they both have a kind 137 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 3: of dreamy, elegic editing style with a lot of slow 138 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 3: motion and lingering on wistful and melancholy scenes featuring two 139 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 3: subjects who are suffering but who are unable to fix 140 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 3: one what's wrong between them? 141 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's worth noting. In the commentary track which I 142 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 2: listened to, part of the director Tony Scott does mention 143 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 2: Nicholas Rogue, the director of The Man Who Fell to Earth, 144 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 2: being one of his inspirations, though he singles out the 145 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 2: film performance more than anything. But of course the Man 146 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 2: Who Felt to Earth is still in the mix. There somewhere, 147 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 2: I imagine. 148 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 3: On the other hand, I would say The Hunger does 149 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 3: not have like the comic elements that we got in 150 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 3: The Manufeld to Earth when he's watching all the TVs 151 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 3: and screaming, get out of my mind. 152 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's not really much in the way of humor 153 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 2: in this picture, and I think that's one of the 154 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 2: things that the critics kind of picked up on. They 155 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 2: thought it was like too self serious, which I don't know. 156 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 2: I feel like, if you're dealing with a story like 157 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 2: this and you're dealing with, you know, these all these 158 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 2: gothic vibes on top of it, like, I don't know, 159 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 2: I don't think I really was wanting any comic relief 160 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 2: in this picture. 161 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 3: I certainly was not hurting for want of comic relief. 162 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 3: And no, this movie doesn't need that. It's just not 163 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 3: its style. It's not what it's about. Another surprising element 164 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 3: I found about The Hunger, at least a violation of 165 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 3: my expectations going in, was the relatively grounded science fiction subplot. 166 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 3: Did not think it would have that kind of thing happening. 167 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 3: So this will require some discussion of the plot, but 168 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 3: I guess it's good to lay out a bit of 169 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 3: the premise here at the top, because we can refer 170 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:29,680 Speaker 3: back to that as we talk about the cast and 171 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 3: so forth. So two of the main characters of this 172 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 3: movie begin the story as vampires, as vampire lovers, and 173 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 3: they are faced with a unique consequence of their condition. 174 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 3: In the lore of this movie, the vampires spawn enjoys 175 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 3: a long life of suspended youth and vitality for perhaps 176 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 3: hundreds of years, but at some point it all comes 177 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 3: crashing down as a kind of rapid degenerative aging disease, 178 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 3: where the vampire spawn suddenly grows old and withers into 179 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 3: a powerless but still conscious, crumbling husk over the course 180 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 3: of a few days or weeks. So in the movie, 181 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 3: Catherine Denov plays a sort of vampire queen of ancient 182 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 3: but otherwise uncertain origins named Miriam, who is in a 183 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 3: centuries long love affair with her vampire spawn, John played 184 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 3: by David Bowie. Originally a man, she turned into a 185 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 3: vampire sometime in Europe in the seventeen hundreds. There's like 186 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 3: a scene of them kissing in a barn in powdered wigs, 187 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 3: and so the situation is while they seem to have 188 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 3: been happy and ageless, hunting for blood together for hundreds 189 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 3: of years. Suddenly, in the modern day setting of the 190 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 3: film in New York in the nineteen eighties, John finds 191 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 3: himself rapidly aging, and he seems to know this was 192 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 3: something that could happen to him one day, but obviously 193 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 3: it leaves him greatly demoralized and distressed. So this brings 194 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 3: him into contact with another one of our major characters, 195 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 3: Sarah Roberts played by Susan Sarandon, who is a research scientist. 196 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 3: She's a gerontologist studying diseases that cause accelerated aging, and 197 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 3: her work provides some hope of a way to stop 198 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:31,439 Speaker 3: the advance of the cellular clock and arrest the rapid 199 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,119 Speaker 3: advance of age and decay, and so as John desperately 200 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 3: seeks her help, she becomes entangled in the lives of 201 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:42,199 Speaker 3: these vampires. She doesn't initially know their vampires, of course, 202 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 3: and it becomes more than just the kind of mechanical 203 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 3: science fiction connection to the story, like she becomes romantically 204 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 3: involved as well. But it was so strange to me 205 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 3: that the movie ended up having so much having as 206 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,079 Speaker 3: much science fiction as it did, and also the form 207 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 3: the science fiction, because it was not the kind of 208 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 3: you know, the kind of loose fantasy science fiction that 209 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 3: you get in The Man Who Fell to Earth. It's 210 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 3: instead a story about like research scientists in their lab 211 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 3: doing experiments on monkeys. And we can come back to 212 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 3: that later. But like some of the goorioesst and grossest 213 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 3: stuff in the movie is not from the horror premise. 214 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 3: It's from the sci fi premise. 215 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's so as we'll get to in more 216 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 2: detail in a bet. This is based on a novel, 217 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 2: a nineteen eighty one novel by Whitley Streiber, And it's 218 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 2: my understanding that the original novel is essentially one of 219 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 2: these kind of like how would this work treatments of 220 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 2: vamporism with sci fi elements bag backing it up, And 221 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,440 Speaker 2: I'm to understand that the script for the picture ended 222 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 2: up drifting somewhat away from that vision, and then Tony 223 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 2: Scott's direction and the work of all the other talented 224 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 2: folks involved in like the visual and sonic flare of 225 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 2: the picture are able to bring it into more of 226 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 2: a territory. So, you know, it's kind of an interesting 227 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 2: trajectory to like maybe start in something that's a little 228 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 2: more grounded in the sci fi and ending up via 229 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,439 Speaker 2: a curve, ending up with something more surreal and ambiguous, 230 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:14,959 Speaker 2: but the sci fi roots are still present. 231 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, totally. But it creates such an an unusual and 232 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 3: interesting millage of themes. It's just it doesn't really feel 233 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 3: like any other movie I can think of. 234 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, it really does stand apart. And I think that's 235 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 2: one of the reasons that it just so instantly captivated me. 236 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 2: Because some of the other pictures I was checking out, 237 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,680 Speaker 2: they they felt more like a definite artifact of their time, 238 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,559 Speaker 2: and or they fit more clearly into genres that we're already, 239 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 2: you know, more familiar with on the show. And this one, Yeah, 240 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,559 Speaker 2: it really stood out. It seemed to have a different 241 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 2: vision and exist in its own sonic and visual universe. 242 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 3: Now, another big surprise that this movie had for me 243 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 3: is that I really expect there to be more David 244 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 3: Bowie in this David Bowie movie. He almost gets the 245 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 3: treatment of Steven Sagall an executive decision. Maybe that's a 246 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 3: horrible comparison, Maybe more like Drew Barrymore in Scream or 247 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 3: Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea. Though of course 248 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 3: all of those characters, what happens is they die. The 249 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 3: fate of David Bowie's character in this movie is even 250 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 3: more tragic and horrifying than death. But I think it's 251 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 3: interesting that I don't know if there's a formal showbiz 252 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 3: term for this, but I would call it like a 253 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 3: meta shock. You know, it is a violation of your expectations, 254 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 3: which are established. Those expectations are established not through the 255 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 3: narrative of the movie itself, but through your real world 256 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 3: and knowledge of the movie's marketing context. So, for example, 257 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 3: it is a surprising move to kill off the character 258 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 3: played by the big star, the presence of whom ostensibly 259 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 3: brought people into the movie theaters in the first place. 260 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 3: That's always a surprising move. It's a bold and gutsy 261 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 3: move usually, though I think it's a lot less gimmicky 262 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 3: in The Hunger than it is in most of these 263 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 3: metashock deaths you get in the film industry. In this movie, 264 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:19,479 Speaker 3: it it feels less like a gimmicky attempt at surprise, 265 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 3: and instead it emphasizes the movie's kind of shadow themes 266 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 3: of unfairness and the injustice of love and of real life. 267 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, and I do want to stress for anyone 268 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 2: out there who happens to be interested in The Hunger 269 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 2: primarily because of David Bowie, still valid reason to be 270 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 2: interested in this film. David Bowie will not disappoint you. 271 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 2: The role. May have less screen time than you expected, 272 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 2: but he still makes the most of that screen time. 273 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 2: So definitely worth checking out for Bowie fans. 274 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,040 Speaker 3: Though also for some of the screen time he does have, 275 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 3: he looks like Richard Lynch or he looks like he Oh, 276 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 3: this is an unkind comparison, but he looks like a 277 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 3: better version of Guy Pearce and the old man makeup 278 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 3: in Prometheus. 279 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great observation. But you know, Prometheus didn't 280 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 2: have Dick Smith. As we'll be discussing special effects makeup master. 281 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 2: Dick Smith is largely responsible for the aging of David 282 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 2: Bowie in this picture. And I think it was Tony 283 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 2: Scott on the commentary track pointing out how or maybe 284 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 2: it was a maybe with Susan's frand and somebody's pointing 285 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 2: out how he's under so much makeup for parts of this. 286 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 2: But Bowie would just go to sleep in the chair 287 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 2: like he was like super easy going while they were 288 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 2: applying you know, hours upon hours of makeup and yeah, 289 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 2: and nobody did it better than Dick Smith. 290 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 3: It is really great old man makeup, way better than 291 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 3: all the other examples I can think of. 292 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 2: All right, well, more on that in a bit, but 293 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 2: first let's go ahead and roll out the elevator pitch. 294 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 2: As the song will play a huge role in the 295 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 2: opening sequence of a picture. I'm just going to quote 296 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 2: a few lines from the nineteen eighty two goth rock 297 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 2: hit Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bowhouse with one pronoun change 298 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 2: to make it fit better. The virginal brides file past 299 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 2: her tomb strewn with times, dead flowers, bereft in deathly Bloom, 300 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 2: alone in a darkened room, the. 301 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:19,679 Speaker 3: Count bereft in deathly Bloom. Yes, exactly. Oh what a delivery. 302 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 3: Who's the singer of bow House. 303 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 2: That's Peter Murphy and we'll sleep. We'll see Peter Murphy 304 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 2: in the opening sequence. 305 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,880 Speaker 3: Here, tremendous flat delivery there, very good. 306 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's a class it's it's probably one of, 307 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,920 Speaker 2: if not the best known, you know, goth tracks out there. 308 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 2: Like if you're going to do a goth dance night 309 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 2: at a club or something, they need to play Bella 310 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 2: Lugosi's dead at least for a little bit. Maybe not 311 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 2: the whole with like nine and a half minute runtime, 312 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,159 Speaker 2: but even still, like, yeah, go ahead and do the 313 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 2: nine and a half minute runtime, because the whole song's tremendous. 314 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 2: All right, we'll come back to bow House in a bit, 315 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 2: but first let's go ahead and listen to a little 316 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 2: bit of trailer audio from The Hunger. 317 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:05,920 Speaker 4: Sarah Roberts is in jeopardy. 318 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 3: Hey lady, how about it? 319 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 4: Stay with her? Help her, for she has begun to feel. 320 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 3: The awful horror of the Hunger. 321 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 4: John Blaylock, the Hunger has given him everlasting life until now. 322 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:28,119 Speaker 4: Pray for him. Miriam Blaylock. She feeds one day in 323 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,880 Speaker 4: seven on the unsuspecting, and soon she will turn into 324 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,199 Speaker 4: something that you will never be able to forget, no 325 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,359 Speaker 4: matter how hard and how long you try fear her? 326 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 4: What have you done to me. 327 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 3: For her life? Signs terminate right here? 328 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 4: Haunting, mysterious, sensual, strange, perverse, riveting The Hunger? 329 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 2: All right, Well, if you would like to watch The Hunger, well, 330 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 2: luckily for you, it's widely available on digital formats as 331 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 2: well as home video formats. There's a Blu ray, and 332 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 2: I was gonna rent the Blu ray, but it was 333 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 2: checked out when I dropped by Video Drum, so I 334 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 2: ended up having to make do with the DVD version, 335 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 2: which was also solid. I believe both the Blue and 336 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 2: the DVD feature the same commentary track, which is a 337 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 2: bit dry but still informative, featuring both Tony Scott and 338 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 2: Susan Sarandon, though it sounds like maybe they weren't in 339 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 2: the same room, like they recorded them separately and kind 340 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 2: of like splice them in. So if you like a 341 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 2: nice boisterous commentary track, that maybe this one isn't the one, 342 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 2: but it's still a lot of great info in it. 343 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,199 Speaker 2: All right, Well, let's run through the people involved here, 344 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 2: or at least some of them. We can't touch on 345 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:24,400 Speaker 2: everybody as usual. But the director is, of course Tony Scott. 346 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 2: As previously mentioned, he lived nineteen forty four through twenty twelve, 347 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 2: the late younger brother of Ridley Scott, who like his brother, 348 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 2: came up through British TV commercial production before branching out 349 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,959 Speaker 2: into films, and this was his first feature theatrical film, 350 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 2: and it really throws everything at you from a stylistic standpoint, 351 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 2: it's flashy, it's sexy, it's daring, it's somber, it's serious. 352 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,919 Speaker 2: It delivers all the flare of a music video or 353 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 2: a high end commercial, and as we alluded to at 354 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 2: the time of its release, it was not a success. 355 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,880 Speaker 2: Critics panned it, including Roger Ebert, who called it quote 356 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 2: an agonizingly bad vampire movie, circling around an exquisitely effective 357 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 2: sex scene. 358 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 3: Which sex scene. 359 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 2: I assume it has to be the big love scene 360 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 2: between Sarah and Miriam, which I mean, it's almost I 361 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 2: think a disservice to call it a quote unquote sex 362 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 2: scene because it's so stylish. It is like like the 363 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:26,879 Speaker 2: like the bed is glowing. I think one point, you know, 364 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 2: it's like it's it's very surreal. It's not it's not 365 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 2: raw or explicit, but it is still you know, highly 366 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 2: erotic and just. And to Ebert's point, it is effective. 367 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 2: But I also don't feel like it comes off as 368 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,159 Speaker 2: an oasis in a desert in this film or anything 369 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 2: to that extent. 370 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 3: No, I just would not agree with Ebert on this one. 371 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,919 Speaker 3: I think the film overall has a lot more to offer. Sorry, 372 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 3: just now that we're on the subject, of Tony Scott. 373 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 3: I was repeatedly thinking to myself while watching, I can't 374 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 3: believe this is made by the same director as Top Gun. 375 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 2: I mean, it is crazy to think about this, right 376 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 2: because Top Gun, which was his follow up, what four 377 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 2: years later, that was the next time that the studios 378 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 2: gave him a shot at. 379 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 3: A film, like three years later. 380 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 2: We always say, well, what this one's eighty would have 381 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 2: been made in what an eighty two and either yeah, 382 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 2: three or four years, so he didn't have to wait 383 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 2: that long. But still he was kind of shut out 384 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,400 Speaker 2: for a little bit there. But then he comes out 385 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 2: of the gate with again with Top Gun, which of 386 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 2: course is a massive hit. It was the highest grossing 387 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 2: film domestic or otherwise for nineteen eighty six. That's a 388 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 2: film that cemented Cruise's ascension into long lasting fame and 389 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 2: established Scott as not a director of erotic horror, but 390 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,959 Speaker 2: as an action and thriller director. You know, because when 391 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 2: you think about Tony Scott, those tend to be the 392 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:53,920 Speaker 2: films you think about. You think about things like eighty 393 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,959 Speaker 2: seven's Beverly Hills Cop two, nineteen nineties Days of Thunder, 394 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 2: ninety three's True Romance, Crimson Tied ninety eight, Enemy of 395 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,159 Speaker 2: the State, two thousand and four's Man on Fire, or 396 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,479 Speaker 2: his final film twenty ten's Unstoppable. But yeah, compare this 397 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 2: film to top Gun and I'm yeah, like, what connective 398 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 2: tissue is there? Really? I mean, I'm sure you could 399 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 2: probably get down and point to some of the stylistic 400 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 2: touches that are distinctly Tony Scott, But it does kind 401 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 2: of feel like a complete at least in my eyes, 402 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:32,920 Speaker 2: it feels like a complete restart of his cinematic trajectory. Now. 403 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,160 Speaker 2: Tony Scott would return to horror twice in the late 404 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:40,199 Speaker 2: nineties for two episodes of an erotic horror anthology series 405 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,640 Speaker 2: titled The Hunger, very much spinning off of this film. 406 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 2: Like I said, this is one of the reasons I 407 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 2: think we can assume that by the late nineties there 408 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 2: was a cult following for this picture, because they decided 409 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 2: to produce forty four episodes of a spinoff series on it. 410 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,840 Speaker 2: The first season was hosted by Terrence stamp Oh general, Yeah, 411 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,280 Speaker 2: he was your sexy cryptkeeper for the first season, and 412 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 2: then you're a sexy crypt keeper for the second season. 413 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,000 Speaker 2: Was none other than David Bowie. 414 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 3: Got to see this now. Well. 415 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 2: The two episodes directed by Tony Scott were The Swords 416 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,679 Speaker 2: from season one and that starred Balthazar Getty, Amanda Ryan, 417 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,920 Speaker 2: and Timothy Spall. And then there was a season two 418 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 2: episode titled Sanctuary starring Giovanni Ribisi and Lisa Repo Martel. 419 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 2: I've never watched it again. They made forty four episodes. 420 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,520 Speaker 2: Russell McKay directed like six episodes of it, and the 421 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 2: cast is pretty extensive as well. Gen Carlo Esposito plays 422 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 2: a vampire in one of them. I don't know if 423 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 2: it's a major vampire role or a small one, but 424 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 2: he's in there. Daniel Craig shows up, Margo Kidder, Lori Petty, 425 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 2: David Warner, Jason Fleming, among many others. I don't know 426 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 2: where off the top of my head, I don't know 427 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 2: where this aired. I'm guessing it maybe showed up on 428 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 2: USA Network at some point, but I I have no 429 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:57,640 Speaker 2: memory of this at all. 430 00:24:57,880 --> 00:24:58,800 Speaker 3: Sounds tremendous. 431 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, so yeah, by the late nineties, I feel like 432 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,240 Speaker 2: people were coming back around to this film. It's become 433 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 2: a cult classic for a variety of reasons. It's style, 434 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:12,680 Speaker 2: it's cast, it's goth vibes. It's LGBTQ elements. Now Tony 435 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 2: Scott sadly passed away in twenty twelve, but fourth noting 436 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 2: that this film and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner from the 437 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 2: previous year were both dedicated to their older brother Frank, 438 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 2: who had passed away in nineteen eighty all Right, I 439 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,880 Speaker 2: already mentioned that Whitley Streiber is the author of the 440 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 2: original novel upon which this is based, came out in 441 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,360 Speaker 2: eighty one, the first of a trilogy of vampire novels, 442 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,679 Speaker 2: and these were a follow up to his nineteen seventy 443 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 2: eight where Wolf novel The Wolfin, which was also adapted 444 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,880 Speaker 2: into a film nineteen eighty one's Wolfen starring Albert Finnie. 445 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,200 Speaker 3: Which I always confused with the movie Wolf starring Is 446 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:52,880 Speaker 3: it Wolf starring Jack Nicholson. 447 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, Wolf is the one with Jack Nicholson. Wolfin is 448 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,920 Speaker 2: the one with Albert Finnie. And then there's the howling, 449 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 2: you know, the Ocasionally there's a big werewolf bump in 450 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 2: the horror industry and you get several different horror horror 451 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 2: films about werewolves more or less at once. 452 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, we go through monster waves, don't we. 453 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, there have been several werewolf films recently. We're kind 454 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 2: of experiencing a werewolf bump right now. 455 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 3: That would make sense. Yeah, but I feel, you know, 456 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,239 Speaker 3: we had like zombies in the two thousands, and then 457 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 3: you had a vampire craze after that, and I don't 458 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 3: know what we're in right now. I think we had 459 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 3: a witch craze for a bit. 460 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's got to come out mummies again, but I'm 461 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 2: waiting on it anyway. This author has written numerous books, 462 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 2: including The Coming Global Superstorm, which was written with Art 463 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 2: Bell of all People, and adapted into the two thousand 464 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 2: and four film The Day After Tomorrow. 465 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:48,400 Speaker 3: Okay. 466 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 2: He's also well known for his nineteen eighty seven ufology 467 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 2: book Communion, which was adapted into a nineteen eighty nine 468 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 2: film in which Christopher Walken plays Whitley Stripe. 469 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 3: I've never read that or seen the movie, but I've 470 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,679 Speaker 3: had general cultural awareness of them. For some reason. For years, 471 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 3: I had in my mind Whitley Streiber categorized as somebody 472 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 3: who is like a promoter of UFO encounter is more 473 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:17,719 Speaker 3: than like a novelist. 474 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:22,320 Speaker 2: Well, I think he's apparently both like he definitely he 475 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 2: claimed very much claims to believe in UFOs and communion 476 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 2: is presented as a work of nonfiction, but then he 477 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 2: also has written a lot of fiction as well. I don't, 478 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 2: as far as I know, he doesn't actually believe in 479 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 2: the reality of vampires and werewolves, So that's separate from 480 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 2: the aliens. Okay now, and as far as the screenplay 481 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 2: goes here, James Costagan, writing as Ian Davis, is one 482 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 2: of the credited writers. He lived nineteen twenty six through 483 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,639 Speaker 2: two thousand and seven. Emmy Award winning screenwriter for fifty 484 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 2: nine's Little Moon of alban seventy six is Eleanor and 485 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,920 Speaker 2: Franklin and seventy five's Love among the Ruins. Who was 486 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,679 Speaker 2: also a writer on nineteen eighty five's King David, in 487 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 2: which Richard Gear battles George Eastman. And then we also 488 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 2: have Michael Thomas credited on the screenplay, screenwriter, perhaps best 489 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 2: known for his work on nineteen eighty five's Lady Hawk 490 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:18,200 Speaker 2: as well as twenty eleven's The Devil's Double. All right, now, 491 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 2: getting into the cast, starting at the top, this film 492 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 2: stars Catherine Daneuve, who mentioned her already. She plays Miriam Blaylock. 493 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 2: This is Our Vampire Queen and Yeah, Daneuve very very 494 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 2: talented actress here obviously born nineteen forty three. I'm not 495 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 2: sure I had seen her in anything before. French actress 496 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 2: who has only appeared in a handful of genre pictures 497 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 2: during the course of her long career. They include nineteen 498 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 2: sixty five's Repulsion, seventy seven's Lost Soul, seventy nine See 499 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:56,240 Speaker 2: Here My Love, in eighty eight Frequent Death. She's probably 500 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 2: best known for such films as sixty four As The 501 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 2: Umbrellas of Herborg, sixty seven's The Young Girls of Rockfort, 502 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 2: and nineteen seventies Donkey Skin. This is based on the 503 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 2: Donkey Skin fairy tale, which I think has come up 504 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 2: on stuff to blow your mind episodes before the fairy tale, 505 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 2: not the movie. 506 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, well, I think we might have talked about 507 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 3: covering the movie. 508 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I. 509 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 3: Think it's supposed to be pretty weird. 510 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I'm all for it. You know, if it 511 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 2: has been move in it, I'm certainly worth another book. 512 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 2: She also appears in two thousand Dancer in the Dark 513 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 2: and lends her voice to two thousand and sevens animated 514 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 2: film Persepolis, based on the graphic novel She was nominated 515 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 2: for an Academy Award for her leading role in nineteen 516 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 2: ninety three's End of Chime. So yeah, I think she's 517 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 2: terrific in this, as we'll discuss. While her character certainly 518 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 2: has plenty of like fim fatale elements, she's never presented 519 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 2: as like a cold, unfeeling vamp, and certainly Miriam could 520 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 2: have been presented in that way. Like her passion is real, 521 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 2: her love is real. I believe these things when when 522 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 2: when I experience her character on the screen, all this 523 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:08,640 Speaker 2: despite the tragic, supernatural ramifications of that passion and that love. 524 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, she's a very ambiguous character, is I mean, is 525 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 3: she the protagonist of the film or is she the 526 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,400 Speaker 3: villain of the film? Should we think of should we 527 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 3: think of John and Sarah as the kind of trading 528 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 3: off protagonists of the film and in a way to 529 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 3: move as the villain or in a way it's more 530 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 3: her story than it is anybody else's. 531 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 2: Though, Yeah, it does make me wonder who might be 532 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:44,000 Speaker 2: the the central protagonist of the novel, because there does 533 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,360 Speaker 2: seem to feel it feels like there's maybe a certain 534 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 2: amount of confusion with this with this story as it's 535 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 2: as it's presented in the film, like, yeah, whose story 536 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 2: is it? And you know, some would argue, you know, 537 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 2: rather strongly, that a film does need one key protagonist. 538 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 2: There may essentially be two, but there needs to be 539 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 2: in the writing of the thing, there needs to be 540 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 2: like one central protagonist. The writer needs to know who 541 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 2: that is. 542 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 3: I guess you could argue then it might be Sarah, 543 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 3: but Sarah also is never She's never really made fully 544 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:20,280 Speaker 3: aware of the whole emotional arc of the story. The 545 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 3: only character who really knows everything is Miriam, and so anyway, 546 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 3: I guess we can talk more about that in the 547 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,040 Speaker 3: plot if necessary, But either way, I agree with you. 548 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 3: Danov is wonderful in the movie. I mean, there is 549 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 3: I think a kind of coldness to her, but it 550 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 3: doesn't come off as cruelty necessarily. 551 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's the key coldness, but not cruelty. 552 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, she is somebody who's projecting. I mean, I guess 553 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,400 Speaker 3: this is a problem in a lot of vampire movies 554 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 3: because you have these characters who are supposed to have 555 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 3: lived many, many lives. You know, they've been around for 556 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 3: hundreds or thousands of years in her case, and it 557 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 3: always raises the question that the normal kinds of performances, 558 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 3: of human feelings and thoughts and intelligence and memory and 559 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:15,440 Speaker 3: everything that we get in the film in films is 560 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 3: based on the arc of a normal human lifetime. Like 561 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 3: you know, part of playing a character is what it 562 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,520 Speaker 3: means to play a character in their youth or in 563 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 3: middle age or something like that. Vampires achieve a kind 564 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 3: of age that no human ever does, and so that 565 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 3: raises questions of like, how does that age manifest in 566 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,600 Speaker 3: their character? How should it manifest in their emotions and 567 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 3: how they react to things and what their philosophical outlook is. 568 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 3: And I feel like Danuve contains a lot of that 569 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:49,680 Speaker 3: mystery in her performance. There is something that feels unreal 570 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 3: and a little beyond human about her, and a lot 571 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 3: of times it's because she is difficult to read in 572 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:01,880 Speaker 3: situations where otherwise an actor might be more inclined to 573 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 3: portray something very clear and overt. 574 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 2: Does that make sense, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree. You know, 575 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 2: there are these scenes I think, in particular about some 576 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:14,800 Speaker 2: of the scenes where David Bowie's character John is like 577 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 2: trying to discuss not only his his aging, his illness, 578 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:23,120 Speaker 2: if you will, with her, but also like the ramifications 579 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 2: of it, and you don't get the sense that she's 580 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 2: you know, unfeeling to it. But also she doesn't fully 581 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 2: engage with him on it either. She's in walking this 582 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,840 Speaker 2: line where it doesn't it doesn't come off entirely like 583 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 2: she's completely blowing him off or like, well, that's your problem, John, 584 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 2: you solve it. But she's she's also not fully embracing him. 585 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,720 Speaker 2: She is to some degree distancing herself from his suffering, 586 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,080 Speaker 2: but in a way that also feels more real and 587 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 2: more mortal, and is not like just this vamp queen 588 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:56,960 Speaker 2: who's like, I am done with you. You know, you 589 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 2: have served your purpose or something like that. 590 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 3: I agree, Again, it's a different take on the vampire 591 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 3: character than I'm used to seeing. 592 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 2: We'll have more to say about this character as we 593 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,319 Speaker 2: get into the plot a bit later. Now moving on 594 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 2: to David Bowie, who lived nineteen forty seven through twenty sixteen, 595 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,520 Speaker 2: again playing John Blairlocke. So far in Weird House, we've 596 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,400 Speaker 2: considered films where Bowie plays a space alien and the 597 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,960 Speaker 2: changeland king of a Goblin realm, so it's only natural 598 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,719 Speaker 2: that we now consider him as a vampire instead of 599 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,160 Speaker 2: covering all the main notes of his career will couch 600 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 2: this instead in terms of where he was with his 601 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:32,480 Speaker 2: music and acting career at the time. So we're only 602 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 2: six years out from The Man Who Fell to Earth, 603 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 2: and I believe the only other feature film he'd appeared 604 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:40,040 Speaker 2: in in addition to The Man Who Fell to Earth 605 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,960 Speaker 2: at this point was seventy eight, just a Jigglo. So 606 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 2: he really only had one what we would consider now 607 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 2: iconic film role in his filmography at this point, and 608 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:52,440 Speaker 2: I think was far from established as the cult film 609 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,799 Speaker 2: icon that he would later become and certainly would be 610 00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:00,840 Speaker 2: cemented in following his passing in twenty sixteen. Musically, this 611 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,000 Speaker 2: film falls between Scary Monsters and super Creeps from nineteen 612 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:08,280 Speaker 2: eighty and Let's Dance from eighty three, both massive critical 613 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,640 Speaker 2: and commercial hits, and by the way, Let's Dance includes 614 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 2: a track he did with Giorgio Moroder for the nineteen 615 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 2: eighty two it Route a car of film Cat People, 616 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 2: which of course is a remake of the nineteen forties 617 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 2: Cat People, except with Malcolm McDowell turning into a cat. 618 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:25,520 Speaker 3: I've seen the original Cat People years ago, and I 619 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,920 Speaker 3: remember I quite liked it, So we may want to 620 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,360 Speaker 3: come back to that on the show one day. But 621 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 3: the remake I have not seen, I'm to understand it 622 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 3: goes a little bit harder. 623 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I don't know. I don't know if I 624 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,359 Speaker 2: want to watch Malcolm McDowell turn into a cat every 625 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 2: time he orgasms, But I don't know. It's a product 626 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 2: of the time, I guess. As for Bowie in this film, though, 627 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 2: I think he's terrific. As well. As always, Bowie excels 628 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 2: at playing the outsider, and here he's kind of a 629 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:57,200 Speaker 2: double outsider. He's a vampire, thus set apart from the 630 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:00,960 Speaker 2: mortal world and a stranger to many aspects of but 631 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 2: he is also, as we come to realize, something of 632 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:07,680 Speaker 2: a thrall uninitiated into all the intricacies of vampiric existence. 633 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 2: Much of John Blaylock's journey is one of struggling with 634 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:15,359 Speaker 2: aging immortality, which Bowie handles with a kind of kind 635 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,319 Speaker 2: of like a quiet anxiety that feels very palpable on 636 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:18,840 Speaker 2: the screen. 637 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,319 Speaker 3: Even though at some points I think we referred to 638 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 3: his performance in The Man Who Fell to Earth as 639 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:29,920 Speaker 3: kind of quailudic he he also did have outbursts in 640 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,600 Speaker 3: The Man Who Filled to earth. Like there were moments 641 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:33,880 Speaker 3: where his performance got quite big, kind of like the 642 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:36,760 Speaker 3: pressure came up and blew the top off and he screams, 643 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,000 Speaker 3: get out of my mind, or when he like smacks 644 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:43,160 Speaker 3: the tray of cookies in the air. I recall less 645 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,240 Speaker 3: of anything like that in here. This is a much tighter, 646 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:51,239 Speaker 3: more subdued, controlled performance throughout, despite the fact that we 647 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 3: can see his character is suffering immensely. John Blaylock is 648 00:36:56,280 --> 00:37:01,799 Speaker 3: a character who, you know, he weathers his suffering with 649 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:06,640 Speaker 3: a kind of with a kind of quiet, melancholy and 650 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,680 Speaker 3: indignant resentment. Like there there are parts where you can 651 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:14,000 Speaker 3: see his ego is wounded, but it but it never 652 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,319 Speaker 3: turns into a big reaction. Instead, he just kind of 653 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 3: he subsumes it. Yeah. 654 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:23,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like there's a scene in the picture where he's 655 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 2: he's significantly aged and this this this youth that's been 656 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:32,520 Speaker 2: coming to the apartment for you know, like music lessons 657 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:35,200 Speaker 2: and and and so forth thinks that he is the 658 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,400 Speaker 2: father of John, and she's like, oh, you know, I 659 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,839 Speaker 2: thought that because you have the same eyes. And yeah. 660 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 2: His response is so haunting. He's like he's like he's 661 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,799 Speaker 2: says something the effective well that's that's that's interesting. I've 662 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,239 Speaker 2: known him for so long and I never realized that, 663 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,680 Speaker 2: you know, I don't know. The little moments like that 664 00:37:52,680 --> 00:38:04,600 Speaker 2: are just so well executed, all right. And then we 665 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:08,960 Speaker 2: also have Susan Sarandon playing Sarah Roberts, as we mentioned earlier. 666 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,480 Speaker 2: Born nineteen forty six, she's the first of three Rocky 667 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:16,320 Speaker 2: Horror Picture Show connections in this film. Susan Sarandon's career 668 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 2: entails a great deal of mainstream dramatic success, obviously, but 669 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:22,640 Speaker 2: for many of us, I think she's always going to 670 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,680 Speaker 2: be a legend for her performances. Janet Weiss a heroin 671 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,560 Speaker 2: in the nineteen seventy five film Rocky hor Picture Show. 672 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,480 Speaker 2: Her screen and TV credits go back to nineteen seventy 673 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,480 Speaker 2: and include such titles as seventy four as The Satan Murders, 674 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:38,840 Speaker 2: eighty seven's The Witches of Eastwick, ninety one's Film and Louise, 675 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:42,400 Speaker 2: ninety five's dead Man Walking, and twenty twelve's Cloud Atlas. 676 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:46,000 Speaker 2: One time Oscar winner for dead Man Walking and five 677 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 2: time nominee, including a nomination for Film and Louise. And 678 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 2: you know, I also have nothing but great things to 679 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:55,280 Speaker 2: say about Sarandon. In this picture, she's sporting a great 680 00:38:55,719 --> 00:39:00,359 Speaker 2: androgynous look with short red hair. She is essentially most 681 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:03,240 Speaker 2: of the film our protagonists. I guess you could argue 682 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:07,359 Speaker 2: a gerontologist whose obsession for her works and transforms into 683 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:12,880 Speaker 2: an obsession for the mysterious Miriam Blaylock. And while our 684 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 2: bisexual vampire duo here more stated with Miriam and implied 685 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,600 Speaker 2: with John, are maybe a bit more cliche in their 686 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,000 Speaker 2: depiction of bisexuality, you know, their indiscriminate supernatural beings the 687 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,520 Speaker 2: vampires here, I do feel like Sarah is presented in 688 00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 2: a especially for the time like refreshingly believable light. So 689 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:36,680 Speaker 2: her attraction to Miriam, despite her character having a boyfriend, 690 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 2: is not presented as something that is in and of 691 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 2: itself alarming or something that would otherwise be inconceivable for 692 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:49,200 Speaker 2: this character, you know, without the supernatural intrigue. So I 693 00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,120 Speaker 2: applaud that in this film for sure. 694 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:53,560 Speaker 3: Oh, that seems to me to be just kind of 695 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:57,319 Speaker 3: an understood part of her character, Like they don't really 696 00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:00,879 Speaker 3: discuss it explicitly, but like, for example, her her kind 697 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,160 Speaker 3: of jerk boyfriend is suspicious of her when he learns 698 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:07,720 Speaker 3: that she spent the whole afternoon with this mysterious, beautiful woman. 699 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:11,200 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah. And the fact that it is understood without 700 00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:13,880 Speaker 2: being like really called out in a way where like 701 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:17,360 Speaker 2: there's no scene where she explains it to him or anything. 702 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:21,040 Speaker 2: You know. Again, I think that's quite refreshing. 703 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:25,719 Speaker 3: I think Susan Sarandon's performance here is great, especially in 704 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,399 Speaker 3: the way that in the way that it changes over 705 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,759 Speaker 3: the course of the film, because when we first get 706 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:35,120 Speaker 3: to know her, she is in work mode. She is 707 00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:39,840 Speaker 3: fully a professional, and all we're seeing is her interaction 708 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,480 Speaker 3: with the research that she does, like her engaging with 709 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:48,200 Speaker 3: the topics of her work as a professional, and even 710 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:52,160 Speaker 3: when she first meets John Blaylock played by Bowie, it's 711 00:40:52,239 --> 00:40:56,040 Speaker 3: in that context. It's like a work thing. And then 712 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:59,920 Speaker 3: there is the strangest and most surprising shift, as like 713 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:05,160 Speaker 3: she is brought into the vampire characters' lives, that her 714 00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:08,839 Speaker 3: role turns into an emotional and erotic one, and that 715 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,799 Speaker 3: she instead we instead learn about what she wants and 716 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:17,160 Speaker 3: what she feels, and her desires and her suffering, which 717 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:19,239 Speaker 3: was not really part of the character at all when 718 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:22,560 Speaker 3: we first met her, except insofar as like her desires 719 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:27,680 Speaker 3: and suffering related to her struggles with her research. That's 720 00:41:27,719 --> 00:41:30,120 Speaker 3: a weird kind of arc to pull off within a story, 721 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,640 Speaker 3: and I think a surendum handles it so well. 722 00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:35,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, a lesser film and a lesser performance, it would 723 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:38,440 Speaker 2: have been the character taking her glasses off, you know 724 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,560 Speaker 2: that sort of thing. Yeah, where it's just a complete 725 00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:43,920 Speaker 2: shift and you just kind of roll with it because 726 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:48,040 Speaker 2: that's just how movies do it. But her performance brings 727 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,120 Speaker 2: those two sides together and make them both believable parts 728 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:55,080 Speaker 2: of the sane human character. Now we mentioned the jerk boyfriend. 729 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,120 Speaker 2: The jerk boyfriend is Tom have Her played by Cliff 730 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:02,440 Speaker 2: DeYoung born nineteen forty five, a sixties rock star. The 731 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:05,279 Speaker 2: group was Clear Light. I'm not familiar with him Turn 732 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:08,760 Speaker 2: Broadway actor. He was in Hair Turn film and TV actor, 733 00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 2: and he absolutely played Brad Major's and Farley flavors in 734 00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:16,799 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty one Shock Treatment, Richard O'Brien's follow up to 735 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:19,880 Speaker 2: Rocky Horr. So in this de Young would be was 736 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,560 Speaker 2: taking over the role from Barry Bostwick, who played Brad 737 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:26,880 Speaker 2: in the original Rocky r Picture Show. Clifty Young's other 738 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:30,120 Speaker 2: credits include nineteen eighty nine's Glory, nineteen ninety two's Doctor 739 00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:32,600 Speaker 2: Giggles and nineteen ninety six is The Craft. 740 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:36,200 Speaker 3: Don't forget also that he was in the nineteen eighties 741 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:40,359 Speaker 3: or maybe early nineties film called Pulse, which is an 742 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:44,799 Speaker 3: all appliances attack film. Like an evil I don't know, 743 00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,920 Speaker 3: alien virus or something gets into the power lines and 744 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 3: it makes the toasters go crazy and try to kill people. 745 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:55,080 Speaker 2: Oh Man, maximum overdrive. Yeah, all right, we mentioned the youth. 746 00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:59,240 Speaker 2: This is the character Alice Alice Cavender played by Beth 747 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:03,200 Speaker 2: Ellers nineteen sixty eight, a child slash youth actor at 748 00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:05,360 Speaker 2: the time, but she'd go on to a long and 749 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,839 Speaker 2: award winning career on the soap Opera's Guiding Light and 750 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:09,680 Speaker 2: All My Children. 751 00:43:10,239 --> 00:43:13,120 Speaker 3: Very tragic, innocent character. When you first meet her, you're 752 00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:16,520 Speaker 3: just like, oh no, I think she's gonna get her 753 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:17,120 Speaker 3: blood drank. 754 00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:22,400 Speaker 2: And yeah, now when vampires start drinking folks blood, you know, 755 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:25,799 Speaker 2: occasionally the law starts sniffing around. In this film. That 756 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:30,000 Speaker 2: character is Lieutenant Ali Greza played by Dan Hidea for 757 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:33,120 Speaker 2: nineteen forty. We reference him all the time. I feel like, 758 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:35,840 Speaker 2: but this is actually our first Dan Hidea film. 759 00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:41,120 Speaker 3: I was shocked how cute Dan Hidea is in this movie. 760 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:47,960 Speaker 3: I think of him as, oh, you know, a perennially crusty, mean, gristly, 761 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:52,279 Speaker 3: cantankerous old dude, or like the villain in Commando. But 762 00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:57,120 Speaker 3: either way, a kind of perpetually older seeming character actor 763 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,680 Speaker 3: who just has a different energy than the Dan Todaea 764 00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:03,240 Speaker 3: we get in this film. I think the major difference 765 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:04,920 Speaker 3: being this is one of the only times I've ever 766 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,719 Speaker 3: seen him with his hair grown out this long, and 767 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:11,080 Speaker 3: he looks positively scruffy as a police detective, which is 768 00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:13,640 Speaker 3: against type anyway. So I don't know what's going on, 769 00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:16,960 Speaker 3: but strange different turn for Dan. Yeah. 770 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:17,279 Speaker 4: Yeah. 771 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:20,080 Speaker 2: If you're not familiar with Danaday, a memorable character actor 772 00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:25,240 Speaker 2: with a real talent for playing often sleazy characters, villains 773 00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:28,640 Speaker 2: and so forth. Be it the vengeful husband in nineteen 774 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,480 Speaker 2: eighty four's Blood Simple from the Cohen Brothers, or Richard 775 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:34,920 Speaker 2: Nixon in nineteen ninety nine's Dick. He's been active on 776 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:39,480 Speaker 2: screen and TV since the mid seventies, and let's see, 777 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:41,400 Speaker 2: at this point in his career, he had just appeared 778 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,040 Speaker 2: in Alan Rudolph's cattle mutilation thriller in Dangered Species. 779 00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:48,000 Speaker 3: Now this just came up recently. That's different than the 780 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:50,560 Speaker 3: cattle mutilation movie that we did with Martin Landau. 781 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:53,839 Speaker 2: Correct, Yeah, different film. This one is more of a 782 00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:58,319 Speaker 2: conspiracy thriller and it's quite good. So I recommend it 783 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:01,319 Speaker 2: if if you need to have a viewing party back 784 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:04,800 Speaker 2: to back cattle mutilation films, you know, watch those two. 785 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:09,600 Speaker 3: Also, though dan Headea's character, correct me if I'm wrong, 786 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,560 Speaker 3: But I don't think the police make any progress one, no. 787 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,360 Speaker 2: Progress at all. He's completely ineffective. He doesn't even get killed. 788 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:18,080 Speaker 2: Like when he showed up, I was like, oh, he's 789 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:20,560 Speaker 2: getting the psycho treatment. This guy's going down the stairs. 790 00:45:21,040 --> 00:45:23,799 Speaker 2: But no, there's just like nothing comes to the investigation. 791 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:25,920 Speaker 2: And then he comes up, comes back at the end 792 00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:27,840 Speaker 2: of the picture and just kind of pokes around a 793 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:29,560 Speaker 2: little bit and figures out nothing. 794 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:32,800 Speaker 3: Why would they make him cute like this if Catherine 795 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:34,480 Speaker 3: Danube's not gonna drink his blood. 796 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:38,480 Speaker 2: I have no idea. Maybe they had to drop a subplot. 797 00:45:38,520 --> 00:45:40,640 Speaker 2: I don't know, all right, I said there were three 798 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:44,200 Speaker 2: rocky horror reference points in this picture. Well, the third 799 00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:47,200 Speaker 2: is the actor Rufus Collins, who lived nineteen thirty five 800 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:50,480 Speaker 2: through nineteen ninety six. He plays the character Charlie humphreyes. 801 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:55,520 Speaker 2: He's one of the other research scientists that Sarah is 802 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:56,040 Speaker 2: working with. 803 00:45:56,680 --> 00:45:59,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, so with Susan Sarandon, Clifty Young and Rufus Collins 804 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:02,680 Speaker 3: together are the three gerontologists who were working in this 805 00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:07,360 Speaker 3: lab brutally rotting monkeys alive in order to discover the 806 00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:08,200 Speaker 3: secret of aging. 807 00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:10,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a stop motion effect. By the way, when 808 00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:14,319 Speaker 2: we see that monkey rot it's pretty pretty nice. But yeah, 809 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:16,799 Speaker 2: Rufus Collins New York actor who started out in a 810 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:19,879 Speaker 2: living theater, which is an experimental acting troop of the day. 811 00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:22,600 Speaker 2: He worked in the UK as well, which maybe why 812 00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:24,640 Speaker 2: he's in this film because most of it was filmed 813 00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:28,280 Speaker 2: in London. But he has some wild credits, including Andy 814 00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:32,239 Speaker 2: Warhol's Batman Dracula from sixty four. I'm not sure what 815 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,000 Speaker 2: that entailed. I've seen it referenced almost as like a 816 00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:38,799 Speaker 2: lost film, so some sort of experimental Warhol project. But 817 00:46:39,040 --> 00:46:42,440 Speaker 2: he's in both The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Shock Treatment, 818 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:47,400 Speaker 2: playing an uncredited, uncredited Transylvanian. In the former, if you 819 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:50,480 Speaker 2: look in the background, there's like at least one black 820 00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:56,200 Speaker 2: Transylvanian with like really cool hair and sunglasses. That's Rufus Collins. Yeah, 821 00:46:56,239 --> 00:46:58,200 Speaker 2: and then he plays a member of the camera crew 822 00:46:58,239 --> 00:46:59,040 Speaker 2: in the latter picture. 823 00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:03,320 Speaker 3: He wears like neon sunglasses indoors in this movie. Lots 824 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:06,440 Speaker 3: of characters wear sunglasses indoors in the Hunger, but he 825 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:09,960 Speaker 3: is one of them, and his sunglasses are cooler looking 826 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:10,640 Speaker 3: than most. 827 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:12,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're a whole sit in. My wife and I 828 00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:14,439 Speaker 2: were coming on this. There's a scene later on where 829 00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:19,120 Speaker 2: I believe a Jigglow is brought back by Miriam purely 830 00:47:19,120 --> 00:47:22,040 Speaker 2: for the purpose or mostly for the purposes of blood. 831 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:26,600 Speaker 2: And he's wearing sunglasses, as is she. She's a vampire, 832 00:47:26,719 --> 00:47:29,200 Speaker 2: so we're like, okay, she can wear sunglasses at night, 833 00:47:29,239 --> 00:47:32,239 Speaker 2: but this dude's wearing sunglasses at night anyway. And the 834 00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:36,680 Speaker 2: apartment is so dark. Is anyone seeing anything? But yeah, 835 00:47:36,760 --> 00:47:40,440 Speaker 2: everybody's wearing sunglasses. Everyone's smoking like a chimney, all right. 836 00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:44,040 Speaker 2: And finally, it's worth noting that we have little more 837 00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:47,440 Speaker 2: than a cameo here, very bit part. But Willem Dafoe 838 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:53,120 Speaker 2: pops up playing second phone booth youth and he was 839 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:55,319 Speaker 2: like he was twenty seven or twenty eight at the time, 840 00:47:55,520 --> 00:47:58,520 Speaker 2: and it is this is the youngest I've seen Defoe 841 00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:00,800 Speaker 2: in a motion picture. This was only like his fourth 842 00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:05,120 Speaker 2: screen or TV appearance. Dude, he is smooth, Yeah, like 843 00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:06,920 Speaker 2: he you know, you think of Dafoe or you know, 844 00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:09,239 Speaker 2: or I think of William Dafoe. I think of like 845 00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:12,120 Speaker 2: that rugged face, you know, you know, a very very 846 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:15,000 Speaker 2: handsome face, but very rugged. The lines are important to 847 00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:17,759 Speaker 2: the overall work, and it's almost a little jarring to 848 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:20,120 Speaker 2: see him this young. He doesn't have much to do here. 849 00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:23,640 Speaker 2: He doesn't drink blood nor get his blood drink, but 850 00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:26,879 Speaker 2: this would This still qualifies as the first of five 851 00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:30,200 Speaker 2: Willem Dafoe vampire films that I know of, alongside two 852 00:48:30,239 --> 00:48:33,120 Speaker 2: thousand and one Shadow of a Vampire, twenty ten, Daybreakers, 853 00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:36,240 Speaker 2: two thousand and nine circ To Freak the Vampire's Assistant, 854 00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:39,440 Speaker 2: and of course twenty twenty four is Nosferatu. 855 00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:42,520 Speaker 3: He doesn't play a vampire in this, but he looks 856 00:48:42,719 --> 00:48:45,640 Speaker 3: like a vampire in his regular human makeup. In Streets 857 00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:46,360 Speaker 3: of Fire. 858 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:49,360 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, that would be that. And I guess 859 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:52,080 Speaker 2: like eighty five's Roadhouse sixty six and To Live and 860 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:54,560 Speaker 2: Die in La were really those are more of the 861 00:48:54,640 --> 00:48:57,399 Speaker 2: launching points of his career, so he was really under 862 00:48:57,400 --> 00:48:58,439 Speaker 2: the radar at this point. 863 00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:00,719 Speaker 3: Have you never seen Streets of Fire and you want 864 00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:03,320 Speaker 3: to have a good time, Just look up Willem Defoe 865 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:06,560 Speaker 3: screaming streets of Fire. That's that's a good face. 866 00:49:06,719 --> 00:49:09,800 Speaker 2: All right, Really, I'll try and speak this along. I 867 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:12,120 Speaker 2: realized we're taking a while on the connections here, but 868 00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:16,200 Speaker 2: we mentioned Dick Smith. Make up illusions is what he's 869 00:49:16,239 --> 00:49:20,960 Speaker 2: credited with here. Lived twenty two through twenty fourteen. You know, 870 00:49:21,239 --> 00:49:23,480 Speaker 2: a host of talented makeup artists were involved in bringing 871 00:49:23,480 --> 00:49:25,759 Speaker 2: these characters to life, but Dick Smith played a key 872 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:29,760 Speaker 2: role in David Bowie's on screen aging effects. We previously 873 00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:32,560 Speaker 2: discussed Smith in our episode on Scanners, which features a 874 00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:36,040 Speaker 2: number of amazing body horror effects, but he was also 875 00:49:36,160 --> 00:49:39,839 Speaker 2: legendary for his aging makeup effects, most famously that of 876 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:43,959 Speaker 2: f Murray Abraham's Saliari in eighty four Zama Dais, which 877 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:47,040 Speaker 2: earned him an Academy Award. His other credits include seventy 878 00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:50,359 Speaker 2: three's The Exorcist in nineteen eighties Altered States. 879 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:52,879 Speaker 3: Oh does he do the just the de I wonder 880 00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:56,360 Speaker 3: if The Exorcist was just demon makeup or if he 881 00:49:56,440 --> 00:49:59,480 Speaker 3: also was making Father Maren look older. 882 00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:02,960 Speaker 2: And yeah, I'm not entirely sure, but you know he was, 883 00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:06,560 Speaker 2: you know, clearly he was skilled beyond mere aging effects, 884 00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:09,600 Speaker 2: but he became well known for it. And to your 885 00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:12,640 Speaker 2: point earlier about Prometheus, yeah, I feel like there are 886 00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:15,720 Speaker 2: plenty of examples of movies that probably had more money 887 00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:21,719 Speaker 2: in behind them than films that utilized Dick Smith that 888 00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:26,320 Speaker 2: ended up being less convincing in their aging makeup. He 889 00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:28,879 Speaker 2: had a true gift for this sort of thing. Tony 890 00:50:28,880 --> 00:50:31,400 Speaker 2: Scott mentions in the commentary track that that Smith was 891 00:50:31,480 --> 00:50:35,560 Speaker 2: disappointed that the lighting wasn't more intense in some of 892 00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:38,960 Speaker 2: these scenes where David Bowie is aged and you know, 893 00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:41,120 Speaker 2: and you know, Tony's you know, basically saying, well, you know, 894 00:50:41,160 --> 00:50:44,240 Speaker 2: that's part of it. You also, it's not just the makeup. 895 00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:45,840 Speaker 2: You got to have the lighting, and you know, it 896 00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:48,520 Speaker 2: makes it more effective if things are not maybe completely 897 00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:51,960 Speaker 2: in focus or completely lit. But it's kind of telling 898 00:50:52,120 --> 00:50:55,800 Speaker 2: like that's how strongly Dick Smith believed in his makeup effects. 899 00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:55,920 Speaker 4: Here. 900 00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:58,920 Speaker 2: It's like, shine the lights on him. They can go 901 00:50:58,960 --> 00:50:59,600 Speaker 2: out in the sun. 902 00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,040 Speaker 3: Oh, he's good. I understand why you had the confidence. 903 00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:06,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, costume, we don't always mention costuming, but Molina Canna 904 00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:09,920 Speaker 2: Narrow was the costume and key to the costuming here. 905 00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:13,360 Speaker 2: Born nineteen forty six, another legendary behind the scenes figure 906 00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:16,560 Speaker 2: and thirty three time Oscar winner. Where do you even 907 00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:20,520 Speaker 2: keep all those trophies? I'm not sure? But there's this 908 00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:24,160 Speaker 2: one story, and this is one that that Tony shares 909 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:26,880 Speaker 2: on the commentary track. She's famously fled the set of 910 00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:29,120 Speaker 2: the film one day and they were like, where is she? 911 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:32,640 Speaker 2: Where'd she go? Nobody knew. Turns out she flew from 912 00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:36,920 Speaker 2: London to Rome just to get the right cloth for 913 00:51:37,160 --> 00:51:40,799 Speaker 2: like a pocket square on David Bowie's costume. She was like, 914 00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:42,640 Speaker 2: there's nothing here in London, I have to go to 915 00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:44,560 Speaker 2: Rome to get it. So she just just flew in 916 00:51:44,600 --> 00:51:46,200 Speaker 2: her own dime and came back with it. 917 00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:46,920 Speaker 3: Wow. 918 00:51:47,320 --> 00:51:50,840 Speaker 2: She's worked with such directors as Stanley Kubrick, really Scott Francis, 919 00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:53,920 Speaker 2: Ford Coppola and Wes Anderson, some of them you know 920 00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:57,760 Speaker 2: multiple times. We're talking such costume rich films as seventy 921 00:51:57,760 --> 00:52:01,280 Speaker 2: one's o' clockwork, Orange, nineteen nineties Dick Tracy and nineteen 922 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:02,400 Speaker 2: ninety nine's Titus. 923 00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:05,680 Speaker 3: Those are all eye popping films. Yeah. 924 00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:09,520 Speaker 2: The director of photography was Stephen Goldblatt born nineteen forty five, 925 00:52:09,719 --> 00:52:12,279 Speaker 2: South African born cinematographer who worked on such films as 926 00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:16,120 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty one's Outland, eighty five's Young Sherlock Holmes, and 927 00:52:16,239 --> 00:52:19,600 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety seven's Batman Forever, for which he was nominated 928 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:20,320 Speaker 2: for an Oscar. 929 00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:26,880 Speaker 3: That was the one. Yeah, it's boy Ling acid. 930 00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:32,000 Speaker 2: I'm gonna mention the editor. We don't always mention the editor, 931 00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:33,840 Speaker 2: but the editing in this film, I feel like, is 932 00:52:33,880 --> 00:52:38,400 Speaker 2: something else. There's some very alarming editing choices at times. 933 00:52:39,280 --> 00:52:42,440 Speaker 2: Pamela Power born nineteen forty two. She worked with Ridley 934 00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:46,920 Speaker 2: Scott multiple times on seventy seven's The Duellist, his Apple 935 00:52:47,040 --> 00:52:50,480 Speaker 2: Mac commercial from eighty four, eighty five's Legend, and ninety 936 00:52:50,480 --> 00:52:54,560 Speaker 2: seven's gij Okay. Now we get to the music, and 937 00:52:54,600 --> 00:52:58,080 Speaker 2: there are several people to mention on the musical note here, 938 00:52:58,160 --> 00:53:01,120 Speaker 2: so much like the editing, the music is pretty wild. 939 00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:04,600 Speaker 2: We have a mixture of needle drop classical tracks, experimental 940 00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:08,759 Speaker 2: electronic sounds, and then a riveting opening performance by Boohause. 941 00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:12,160 Speaker 2: Howard Blake born in nineteen thirty eight was the musical 942 00:53:12,160 --> 00:53:15,080 Speaker 2: director on the film. He also served in this role 943 00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:18,320 Speaker 2: on nineteen eighty's Flash Gordon, which we previously talked about. 944 00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:22,960 Speaker 2: Let's see that multiple classical tracks are used here. There's 945 00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:27,560 Speaker 2: also a score by Guiney Jaguera, who also did the 946 00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:31,120 Speaker 2: theme song for TVs. The Powers of Matthew Starr, and 947 00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:34,959 Speaker 2: Michael Rubini, who also worked on Matthew Starr but also 948 00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:36,799 Speaker 2: went on to score the likes of nineteen eighty four 949 00:53:36,880 --> 00:53:39,839 Speaker 2: is What Waits Below, nineteen eighty six is man Hunter, 950 00:53:40,239 --> 00:53:41,719 Speaker 2: and ninety two's Nemesis. 951 00:53:42,040 --> 00:53:43,520 Speaker 3: Oh, it's been a while since I've seen it, but 952 00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:46,000 Speaker 3: I remember Man Hunter having intriguing music. 953 00:53:46,440 --> 00:53:49,640 Speaker 2: That's the stylish picture. Yeah, all right. And then finally, 954 00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:54,840 Speaker 2: David Lawson or Dave Lawson is credited with performer, Additional 955 00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:59,280 Speaker 2: Electronic Music and Effects, Composer, Additional Electronic music and Effects 956 00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,760 Speaker 2: uncredited on that latter pump point. But this guy's pretty 957 00:54:02,800 --> 00:54:05,840 Speaker 2: interesting as well. There are a number of weird supernatural 958 00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:08,520 Speaker 2: synth flourishes in the film, and when I heard them, 959 00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:11,840 Speaker 2: I was like, this sounds like Jim Henson's Labyrinth. You 960 00:54:11,880 --> 00:54:17,360 Speaker 2: know these sort of there's sort of like cascading synth 961 00:54:17,480 --> 00:54:21,520 Speaker 2: waterfalls of supernatural intrigue, and they happen a lot in 962 00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:25,600 Speaker 2: this picture, and they happen periodically in Labyrinth, and sure enough, 963 00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:27,719 Speaker 2: I mean the same guy was involved in both of 964 00:54:27,719 --> 00:54:28,440 Speaker 2: these pictures. 965 00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:29,120 Speaker 3: Oh wow. 966 00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:35,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, So let's see he did supply. He supplied synthesized 967 00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:38,759 Speaker 2: electronic sounds for The Dark Crystal in eighty two and 968 00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:43,080 Speaker 2: also contributed to the Labyrinth score. Otherwise, he has a 969 00:54:43,120 --> 00:54:47,400 Speaker 2: handful of film credits on the major databases, though sometimes 970 00:54:47,440 --> 00:54:49,839 Speaker 2: he's not credited on the film, but if you look 971 00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:54,120 Speaker 2: up the score album elsewhere, you can find that he's credited. 972 00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:57,960 Speaker 2: Let's see, he worked on ninety four as Frankenstein. He 973 00:54:58,000 --> 00:55:00,279 Speaker 2: worked with Trevor Jones on such films as Angel Heart 974 00:55:00,280 --> 00:55:03,080 Speaker 2: in eighty seven Mississippi Burning in eighty eight. So he's 975 00:55:03,080 --> 00:55:05,720 Speaker 2: a British keyboardist who was a member of the UK 976 00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:10,200 Speaker 2: progressive rock band green Slade. I was unfamiliar with Greenslade, 977 00:55:10,200 --> 00:55:12,040 Speaker 2: but I pulled them up as I was working on 978 00:55:12,080 --> 00:55:14,560 Speaker 2: notes here and I like what they're laying down. It's 979 00:55:14,600 --> 00:55:17,440 Speaker 2: kind of a neat prog rock sound with some synth 980 00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:19,720 Speaker 2: in there. You know, maybe feels a little old fashioned, 981 00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:22,600 Speaker 2: but in a good way, you know. Okay, so he's 982 00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:24,920 Speaker 2: something of a synth legend. He played on the soundtrack 983 00:55:25,000 --> 00:55:26,759 Speaker 2: for seventy six. Is the man who fell to Earth 984 00:55:27,120 --> 00:55:29,480 Speaker 2: and worked with the likes of Jimmy Page and Kate Bush. 985 00:55:29,800 --> 00:55:32,640 Speaker 2: Said to own one of the largest synth systems in Europe. 986 00:55:33,320 --> 00:55:36,160 Speaker 3: The largest synth systems. What does that mean, like the 987 00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:37,240 Speaker 3: physically largest. 988 00:55:37,520 --> 00:55:39,799 Speaker 2: I guess it's kind of like, I think, maybe a 989 00:55:39,840 --> 00:55:44,160 Speaker 2: collection of synths, but they're active and all like hooked together. 990 00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:48,200 Speaker 2: I don't know. I found some There's a Psychedelic Baby 991 00:55:48,200 --> 00:55:51,719 Speaker 2: magazine has an interview with him from twenty twenty three. 992 00:55:51,760 --> 00:55:54,440 Speaker 2: It includes a number of photographs of him back in 993 00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:57,399 Speaker 2: the day and in present times. And yeah, the ones 994 00:55:57,400 --> 00:55:59,360 Speaker 2: from the seventies are pretty great because here's this like 995 00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:02,960 Speaker 2: long hair dude, you know, of course, surrounded by synths 996 00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:06,120 Speaker 2: and keyboards and all looks like he was quite the 997 00:56:06,120 --> 00:56:07,279 Speaker 2: synth wizard of the day. 998 00:56:09,120 --> 00:56:10,799 Speaker 3: I was trying to see if I could recognize any 999 00:56:10,840 --> 00:56:13,200 Speaker 3: brands to know what his style was. But I do 1000 00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:14,160 Speaker 3: not know what these are. 1001 00:56:14,800 --> 00:56:17,200 Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, even when I hear guys like this 1002 00:56:17,360 --> 00:56:20,080 Speaker 2: talk about their gear, I'm just not a gearhead for 1003 00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:22,439 Speaker 2: this sort of thing. So all the names of these 1004 00:56:22,520 --> 00:56:26,439 Speaker 2: various devices and innovations just go completely over my head. 1005 00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:31,520 Speaker 2: But I love the results. So you definitely hear his 1006 00:56:32,160 --> 00:56:36,440 Speaker 2: influence on the sounds of the Hunger. But again it's 1007 00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:38,279 Speaker 2: kind of all over the place. You have electronic, you 1008 00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:41,240 Speaker 2: have classical, and also some I guess more traditional score 1009 00:56:41,320 --> 00:56:44,880 Speaker 2: hidden in there as well, in addition to contemporary tracks 1010 00:56:44,920 --> 00:56:46,960 Speaker 2: like the Bauhause track that opens up the picture. 1011 00:56:55,200 --> 00:56:56,799 Speaker 3: Okay, well, is it time to talk a bit about 1012 00:56:56,800 --> 00:56:57,200 Speaker 3: the plot? 1013 00:56:57,760 --> 00:56:58,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, I let's jump in. 1014 00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:01,399 Speaker 3: So this is not one of those movies where we're 1015 00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:03,920 Speaker 3: going to do a kind of chronological scene by scene 1016 00:57:03,960 --> 00:57:07,120 Speaker 3: talk through the plot like we often do. Sometimes it 1017 00:57:07,200 --> 00:57:09,080 Speaker 3: just doesn't feel right with what the movie is. I 1018 00:57:09,080 --> 00:57:12,080 Speaker 3: think this is one of those cases. I've already described 1019 00:57:12,120 --> 00:57:13,960 Speaker 3: some of the plot, but here I think maybe we 1020 00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:16,760 Speaker 3: can do a kind of general overview and then talk 1021 00:57:16,800 --> 00:57:20,840 Speaker 3: about some specific scenes and elements and themes. So at 1022 00:57:20,840 --> 00:57:23,959 Speaker 3: the beginning of the story, John and Miriam Blaylock. That's 1023 00:57:24,080 --> 00:57:27,000 Speaker 3: David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. They live in a house 1024 00:57:27,120 --> 00:57:30,480 Speaker 3: in New York City, and they have seemingly been together 1025 00:57:31,080 --> 00:57:34,720 Speaker 3: for hundreds of years. Miriam is some kind of ancient 1026 00:57:34,920 --> 00:57:38,840 Speaker 3: being we see brief flashbacks of her in what appeared 1027 00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:42,760 Speaker 3: to be palaces and maybe ancient Greece and certainly ancient Egypt. 1028 00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:45,520 Speaker 3: There are these different kind of costumes. I think we 1029 00:57:45,560 --> 00:57:50,880 Speaker 3: see some kind of Egyptian priesthood paraphernalia. I don't know 1030 00:57:50,880 --> 00:57:54,520 Speaker 3: if you had any particular observations about the ancient flashbacks, 1031 00:57:54,520 --> 00:57:58,560 Speaker 3: but I couldn't detect a lot of plot from them. 1032 00:57:59,200 --> 00:58:01,360 Speaker 3: They were not full of information. They were more full 1033 00:58:01,400 --> 00:58:01,960 Speaker 3: of vibe. 1034 00:58:02,320 --> 00:58:05,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, these are not flashbacks in the Highlander sense where 1035 00:58:05,520 --> 00:58:07,320 Speaker 2: it's like, all right, we're going back now, and here's 1036 00:58:07,320 --> 00:58:10,040 Speaker 2: a definite time stamp of where we're going and when 1037 00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:14,680 Speaker 2: we're going to. It's presented very surrealistically and jarringly. There 1038 00:58:14,720 --> 00:58:17,040 Speaker 2: are multiple times like this in the picture where you're like, 1039 00:58:17,080 --> 00:58:20,479 Speaker 2: what's happening? Is this is the past? Yes, it must 1040 00:58:20,480 --> 00:58:22,000 Speaker 2: be the past, and then you kind of piece it 1041 00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:25,360 Speaker 2: together later. But yeah, Greco Egyptian is about the most 1042 00:58:25,360 --> 00:58:26,240 Speaker 2: I could make out of it. 1043 00:58:26,520 --> 00:58:31,280 Speaker 3: Though you could be forgiven for being confused when we 1044 00:58:31,360 --> 00:58:34,680 Speaker 3: cut to these palaces of the past, because in the opening, 1045 00:58:34,800 --> 00:58:37,320 Speaker 3: John and Miriam live together in this beautiful house in 1046 00:58:37,320 --> 00:58:40,440 Speaker 3: New York City that is very old world like they 1047 00:58:40,480 --> 00:58:44,000 Speaker 3: are apparently fabulously wealthy, and their home is full of 1048 00:58:44,120 --> 00:58:47,320 Speaker 3: magnificent art. It's full of marble statues that they say 1049 00:58:47,360 --> 00:58:49,680 Speaker 3: are thousands of years old, and it's got these big, 1050 00:58:49,760 --> 00:58:53,280 Speaker 3: spacious Baroque rooms and musical instruments and stuff. So it 1051 00:58:53,320 --> 00:58:55,760 Speaker 3: seems like the kind of place you might suddenly go 1052 00:58:55,840 --> 00:58:58,040 Speaker 3: around a corner and be in a room that looks 1053 00:58:58,120 --> 00:58:59,840 Speaker 3: like it is a palace in ancient Egypt. 1054 00:59:00,240 --> 00:59:02,600 Speaker 2: When I am in New York and I get to 1055 00:59:02,640 --> 00:59:04,439 Speaker 2: walk around New York and I see a home where 1056 00:59:04,440 --> 00:59:07,000 Speaker 2: people live, I just assume these are sorts of people 1057 00:59:07,040 --> 00:59:09,960 Speaker 2: that live there, and this must be ancient vampires with 1058 00:59:10,160 --> 00:59:14,040 Speaker 2: you know, generational wealth and supernatural blood. 1059 00:59:14,240 --> 00:59:17,120 Speaker 3: So the flashbacks they showed that, but they also show 1060 00:59:17,200 --> 00:59:20,840 Speaker 3: us Miriam and John falling in love when John was immortal, 1061 00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:23,760 Speaker 3: And I believe this is supposed to be somewhere in 1062 00:59:23,800 --> 00:59:26,320 Speaker 3: Europe in the seventeenth century. I think I read somewhere 1063 00:59:26,320 --> 00:59:29,080 Speaker 3: it said France, but I don't recall the movie saying France. 1064 00:59:29,760 --> 00:59:30,800 Speaker 2: It feels very French. 1065 00:59:31,440 --> 00:59:34,840 Speaker 3: So they are falling in love in powdered Wigland, and 1066 00:59:35,560 --> 00:59:39,480 Speaker 3: she promises him eternal life and eternal love, and they 1067 00:59:39,600 --> 00:59:43,320 Speaker 3: drink one another's blood to turn John into her youthful 1068 00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:48,360 Speaker 3: vampire lover for ages to come. And there's something about 1069 00:59:48,360 --> 00:59:51,920 Speaker 3: this scene where you know they promise, the promise is forever, 1070 00:59:52,640 --> 00:59:56,320 Speaker 3: and this promise of forever is repeated later in the story, 1071 00:59:56,400 --> 00:59:59,280 Speaker 3: like I think I'm remembering this right. There are scenes 1072 00:59:59,320 --> 01:00:03,000 Speaker 3: of them early the film, in their nineteen eighties New 1073 01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:07,000 Speaker 3: York phase where they're still trading these reassurances, Like there's 1074 01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:09,000 Speaker 3: one part where I think they're in the shower and 1075 01:00:09,120 --> 01:00:13,320 Speaker 3: John just asks forever and she says forever. Now, maybe 1076 01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:16,720 Speaker 3: here we should do an aside on the opening sequence, 1077 01:00:16,880 --> 01:00:19,440 Speaker 3: because that gives us a flavor of part of what 1078 01:00:19,480 --> 01:00:23,600 Speaker 3: they do in their nineteen eighties New York life. Before 1079 01:00:23,680 --> 01:00:25,720 Speaker 3: seeing this movie, I really did not know what it 1080 01:00:25,760 --> 01:00:28,120 Speaker 3: was going to be like, but I guess I assumed 1081 01:00:28,200 --> 01:00:30,160 Speaker 3: that the whole thing was going to be a lot 1082 01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:34,080 Speaker 3: more like the first ten minutes. This was not the case, 1083 01:00:34,120 --> 01:00:38,720 Speaker 3: But the opening sequence rocks strictly in terms of what happens. 1084 01:00:38,840 --> 01:00:41,920 Speaker 3: It's just our two original vampires, Miriam and John. They 1085 01:00:41,960 --> 01:00:44,480 Speaker 3: go to a goth club, they pick up a couple 1086 01:00:44,480 --> 01:00:47,080 Speaker 3: of dates. They bring them back home, and they drink 1087 01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:51,160 Speaker 3: their blood. But the sequence is so fun everybody. So 1088 01:00:51,240 --> 01:00:54,320 Speaker 3: there's the goth clothing, all this dark leather, people wearing 1089 01:00:54,360 --> 01:00:59,520 Speaker 3: sunglasses inside in the dark, and Bauhaus performing apparently inside 1090 01:00:59,560 --> 01:01:01,240 Speaker 3: some kind of animal cage. 1091 01:01:01,640 --> 01:01:06,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, you will observe many things in this film through slits, slats, blinds, cages, 1092 01:01:06,600 --> 01:01:10,960 Speaker 2: and of course translucent black capes and drapes and veils. 1093 01:01:11,920 --> 01:01:13,480 Speaker 2: And again, I also, I hope you're not trying to 1094 01:01:13,520 --> 01:01:15,800 Speaker 2: quit smoking while watching this film, because there's a lot 1095 01:01:15,800 --> 01:01:19,760 Speaker 2: of cigarette smoking. Yes, But yeah, that's Bowhouse lead singer 1096 01:01:19,800 --> 01:01:23,160 Speaker 2: Peter Murphy performing in the goth club himself looking like 1097 01:01:23,200 --> 01:01:27,520 Speaker 2: some sort of an undead creature, and they're performing their 1098 01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:31,320 Speaker 2: biggest tip, Bela Lugosi's Dead. I do wish they'd included 1099 01:01:31,360 --> 01:01:33,840 Speaker 2: all nine minutes and thirty four seconds of the track, 1100 01:01:33,840 --> 01:01:37,080 Speaker 2: because it's a tremendous track. I got to see Bowhouse 1101 01:01:37,120 --> 01:01:40,640 Speaker 2: perform at Coachella back in two thousand and five, and 1102 01:01:40,800 --> 01:01:46,080 Speaker 2: they opened with Peter Murphy performing Bela Lagosi's Dead whilst 1103 01:01:46,160 --> 01:01:50,720 Speaker 2: suspended upside down on stage. It was pretty great. So here, yeah, 1104 01:01:50,720 --> 01:01:54,600 Speaker 2: we get these scenes of the club, Peter Murphy, our 1105 01:01:54,760 --> 01:01:58,120 Speaker 2: vampire couple strolling in, but then we get also we 1106 01:01:58,120 --> 01:01:59,960 Speaker 2: can also get some like crazy cuts. This is where 1107 01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:02,400 Speaker 2: we first st start getting hit with like crazy cuts 1108 01:02:02,440 --> 01:02:05,520 Speaker 2: to them like driving and stuff later on, and then 1109 01:02:05,520 --> 01:02:10,040 Speaker 2: we keep cutting back to Peter Murphy's performance during the 1110 01:02:10,120 --> 01:02:13,920 Speaker 2: vampire blood drinking scene that shortly follows. 1111 01:02:14,160 --> 01:02:18,080 Speaker 3: That's right, So Miriam and John they both pick up someone, 1112 01:02:18,160 --> 01:02:21,919 Speaker 3: they bring them back together to their home, and they 1113 01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:24,560 Speaker 3: start like they're going to have sex, but instead they 1114 01:02:24,720 --> 01:02:27,520 Speaker 3: end up, of course, cutting them and drinking their blood. 1115 01:02:27,520 --> 01:02:29,720 Speaker 3: We'll talk more about the mechanics of the blood drinking 1116 01:02:29,720 --> 01:02:33,560 Speaker 3: in a moment, but we do see here something that 1117 01:02:33,720 --> 01:02:35,800 Speaker 3: is I think. While a lot of this movie is 1118 01:02:35,840 --> 01:02:38,880 Speaker 3: different than other vampire movies and very fresh and unusual, 1119 01:02:39,720 --> 01:02:44,040 Speaker 3: a common convention you see in vampire films that's also 1120 01:02:44,080 --> 01:02:47,880 Speaker 3: present here is that some of the most erotically charged 1121 01:02:47,960 --> 01:02:51,480 Speaker 3: imagery is used in the lead up to blood drinking 1122 01:02:51,760 --> 01:02:55,360 Speaker 3: rather than to sex. This does imply a kind of 1123 01:02:55,440 --> 01:02:59,440 Speaker 3: blurring of the lines between like the vampire's carnal desires 1124 01:02:59,480 --> 01:03:03,240 Speaker 3: and appetite. It's like, to them, is the blood sexier 1125 01:03:03,280 --> 01:03:06,680 Speaker 3: than sex? And if so, how does this affect the 1126 01:03:06,720 --> 01:03:09,480 Speaker 3: way we should think about the vampire's love stories. 1127 01:03:10,160 --> 01:03:12,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is a great point. Yeah, multiple points in 1128 01:03:12,520 --> 01:03:15,440 Speaker 2: the film, including some very subtle moments, it's clear that 1129 01:03:15,520 --> 01:03:19,200 Speaker 2: the desire to feed is also the desire for sex. Yeah, 1130 01:03:19,240 --> 01:03:21,320 Speaker 2: and one, I don't know, I got the impression that 1131 01:03:21,360 --> 01:03:23,280 Speaker 2: maybe the one is not merely a stepping stone for 1132 01:03:23,360 --> 01:03:25,720 Speaker 2: the other, like it, Like, I didn't get as much 1133 01:03:25,760 --> 01:03:27,960 Speaker 2: the idea that it's like, oh, well, only they only 1134 01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:30,560 Speaker 2: do sex because they just want to do blood. Like 1135 01:03:31,560 --> 01:03:32,919 Speaker 2: the two seem inseparable. 1136 01:03:33,040 --> 01:03:35,080 Speaker 3: I guess you're right, Yeah, they are kind of the same. 1137 01:03:35,520 --> 01:03:40,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a great scene later on where John is 1138 01:03:40,240 --> 01:03:44,800 Speaker 2: aging rather rapidly and he's in I guess it's so 1139 01:03:44,920 --> 01:03:47,000 Speaker 2: just a restroom, but it feels like a locker room, 1140 01:03:47,520 --> 01:03:51,439 Speaker 2: and there's like a shirtless man like splashing his face 1141 01:03:51,440 --> 01:03:53,920 Speaker 2: with water next to him, and he's like eyeing the 1142 01:03:53,920 --> 01:03:56,840 Speaker 2: guy's throat. And that too, is also a very like 1143 01:03:57,480 --> 01:04:01,000 Speaker 2: less overt, more subtle moment where there's a feeling of 1144 01:04:01,040 --> 01:04:04,440 Speaker 2: the desire both for flesh in the sexual sense and 1145 01:04:04,480 --> 01:04:06,880 Speaker 2: also blood in the vampiric sense. 1146 01:04:07,640 --> 01:04:11,600 Speaker 3: Now a note on the vampire mechanics here. The vampires 1147 01:04:11,600 --> 01:04:15,760 Speaker 3: in this movie do not, I believe, have fangs, or 1148 01:04:15,760 --> 01:04:17,640 Speaker 3: at least I don't recall ever seeing them. I don't 1149 01:04:17,640 --> 01:04:19,480 Speaker 3: know what the novel describes, but I don't think we 1150 01:04:19,520 --> 01:04:22,360 Speaker 3: see fangs in the movie, and that would make sense 1151 01:04:22,400 --> 01:04:27,360 Speaker 3: because instead they slice. The way they get the blood 1152 01:04:27,400 --> 01:04:32,000 Speaker 3: from their victims is they attack with a particular dedicated tool. 1153 01:04:32,280 --> 01:04:36,800 Speaker 3: They slice their victims' arteries with this little ank blade 1154 01:04:37,200 --> 01:04:39,320 Speaker 3: and then like they wear it around their neck like 1155 01:04:39,360 --> 01:04:43,400 Speaker 3: a crucifix, except it's an Egyptian style onc and then 1156 01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:46,120 Speaker 3: they cut the neck and then they drink the blood 1157 01:04:46,200 --> 01:04:47,760 Speaker 3: like you would from a water fountain. 1158 01:04:48,560 --> 01:04:50,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I believe you're right. No fangs. I never 1159 01:04:50,520 --> 01:04:53,680 Speaker 2: saw any things. And their tool users and they're feeding. 1160 01:04:54,400 --> 01:04:56,720 Speaker 2: There's a really fun Key and Peel sketch from years 1161 01:04:56,760 --> 01:04:59,440 Speaker 2: back about or where they discuss how vampires make too 1162 01:04:59,520 --> 01:05:01,480 Speaker 2: much of a man when they feed like they bite 1163 01:05:01,520 --> 01:05:03,640 Speaker 2: and then there's just blood everywhere and they're not getting 1164 01:05:03,720 --> 01:05:06,440 Speaker 2: enough of the blood into their mouths. Well, this vision 1165 01:05:06,440 --> 01:05:09,640 Speaker 2: of vampiorism at least excuses all the gushing and mess 1166 01:05:09,680 --> 01:05:14,600 Speaker 2: making because they don't have like dedicated like feeding mouth 1167 01:05:14,640 --> 01:05:17,200 Speaker 2: parts so much. They have to they have to stab, 1168 01:05:17,480 --> 01:05:19,240 Speaker 2: They have to allow for there to be a gush 1169 01:05:19,280 --> 01:05:20,959 Speaker 2: and then feed on it as best they can. 1170 01:05:21,360 --> 01:05:24,320 Speaker 3: I feel like the movie also takes seriously the mess. Yeah, 1171 01:05:24,600 --> 01:05:26,680 Speaker 3: like you see them cleaning up afterwards. 1172 01:05:27,000 --> 01:05:29,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, cleanup seems to be a big deal. And there's 1173 01:05:29,320 --> 01:05:34,880 Speaker 2: some hauntingly beautiful and very powerful scenes. I'm thinking, particularly 1174 01:05:34,960 --> 01:05:36,680 Speaker 2: after the first killing, we get the scene of the 1175 01:05:36,720 --> 01:05:41,360 Speaker 2: two bloody aunks landing in the sink during the wash up, 1176 01:05:41,400 --> 01:05:44,200 Speaker 2: and then of course we see the incineration of the 1177 01:05:44,200 --> 01:05:49,360 Speaker 2: corpses of the drained victims and they're like wrapped in 1178 01:05:49,560 --> 01:05:52,160 Speaker 2: black garbage bags, and then they're placing the incinerator in 1179 01:05:52,560 --> 01:05:55,960 Speaker 2: the plastic is like, you know, melting around. The bodies, 1180 01:05:57,280 --> 01:05:58,880 Speaker 2: all very well executed. 1181 01:05:59,120 --> 01:06:01,440 Speaker 3: The police do not seem concerned by the fact that 1182 01:06:01,520 --> 01:06:04,080 Speaker 3: John and Miriam have an incinerator in their basement. 1183 01:06:04,440 --> 01:06:06,360 Speaker 2: I guess it's like only murders in the building, Like 1184 01:06:06,400 --> 01:06:10,240 Speaker 2: all these buildings in New York have powerful incinerators that 1185 01:06:10,480 --> 01:06:14,680 Speaker 2: just completely adamized bodies. So I guess they're just used 1186 01:06:14,720 --> 01:06:14,960 Speaker 2: to it. 1187 01:06:15,320 --> 01:06:17,760 Speaker 3: So I wanted to pause for a moment here and 1188 01:06:17,920 --> 01:06:22,520 Speaker 3: explore the question of what other powers or limitations do 1189 01:06:22,600 --> 01:06:26,280 Speaker 3: the vampires have within the lore of the film. So 1190 01:06:26,320 --> 01:06:31,600 Speaker 3: we've established that they have arrested, aging or unnaturally prolonged youth, 1191 01:06:31,840 --> 01:06:37,360 Speaker 3: perhaps eternal youth in Miriam's case. Unclear. I was wondering, 1192 01:06:37,880 --> 01:06:43,960 Speaker 3: are they supposed to be invulnerable or resistant to regular injuries? 1193 01:06:44,880 --> 01:06:48,080 Speaker 3: I really don't think so. In fact, several things happen 1194 01:06:48,120 --> 01:06:51,680 Speaker 3: in the movie that made it seem like the vampires 1195 01:06:51,720 --> 01:06:54,840 Speaker 3: can be harmed by standard physical forces. I get the 1196 01:06:54,840 --> 01:06:57,960 Speaker 3: impression that in this world, like you could really wound 1197 01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:00,960 Speaker 3: a vampire. A human, regular mortal could really wound a 1198 01:07:01,040 --> 01:07:03,840 Speaker 3: vampire as easily as they could wound another human. But 1199 01:07:04,200 --> 01:07:06,200 Speaker 3: maybe I'm forgetting something to the contrary. 1200 01:07:06,600 --> 01:07:07,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think that's right. 1201 01:07:08,040 --> 01:07:11,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, the vampires do need to drink blood. In fact, 1202 01:07:11,800 --> 01:07:16,520 Speaker 3: they have this insatiable craving, and that is really framed 1203 01:07:16,600 --> 01:07:19,160 Speaker 3: more I guess this is actually quite common, but it's 1204 01:07:19,200 --> 01:07:21,440 Speaker 3: framed more as a weakness than a power. You know. 1205 01:07:21,520 --> 01:07:24,840 Speaker 3: It's like they need, they need to say this hunger, 1206 01:07:25,160 --> 01:07:27,920 Speaker 3: and it causes them to do things that are in 1207 01:07:28,440 --> 01:07:30,720 Speaker 3: some cases destructive to their own well being. 1208 01:07:31,280 --> 01:07:31,880 Speaker 2: Right, right. 1209 01:07:32,360 --> 01:07:35,920 Speaker 3: Vampires in the movies often have a kind of super strength. 1210 01:07:36,520 --> 01:07:40,120 Speaker 3: I think Miriam does have super strength because at one 1211 01:07:40,160 --> 01:07:43,120 Speaker 3: point we see her throw Sarah clear across the room. 1212 01:07:43,760 --> 01:07:46,520 Speaker 3: Does John have in human strength. I don't recall ever 1213 01:07:46,600 --> 01:07:48,480 Speaker 3: seeing in any evidence of that. 1214 01:07:48,880 --> 01:07:52,400 Speaker 2: If he does, he never employs it. So it's if 1215 01:07:52,400 --> 01:07:55,040 Speaker 2: he has that supernatural strength, using it is not really 1216 01:07:55,040 --> 01:07:57,120 Speaker 2: a part of his character. But I guess I'm inclined 1217 01:07:57,160 --> 01:07:59,240 Speaker 2: to think that maybe he doesn't have it, like maybe 1218 01:07:59,240 --> 01:08:02,680 Speaker 2: that's one of the limitations of him being the vampire spawned, 1219 01:08:02,720 --> 01:08:06,200 Speaker 2: the vampire thrawl, or a half vampiric being, however you 1220 01:08:06,240 --> 01:08:07,200 Speaker 2: want to describe it. 1221 01:08:07,760 --> 01:08:11,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, Now, there's no problem with them going out in sunlight. 1222 01:08:11,400 --> 01:08:14,440 Speaker 3: They venture out in the daytime throughout the film, and 1223 01:08:14,480 --> 01:08:16,439 Speaker 3: they don't have to sleep in coffins or in their 1224 01:08:16,520 --> 01:08:19,559 Speaker 3: native soil. They sleep in a big kind of you know, 1225 01:08:19,760 --> 01:08:21,760 Speaker 3: a wind blown music video bed. 1226 01:08:22,160 --> 01:08:25,320 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I mean I get the impression they sleep 1227 01:08:25,360 --> 01:08:28,280 Speaker 2: in a lot, but it's not like they can't go 1228 01:08:28,360 --> 01:08:29,080 Speaker 2: out in the sun. 1229 01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:33,719 Speaker 3: Yeah. I don't recall any apparent influence of religious imagery 1230 01:08:33,800 --> 01:08:34,400 Speaker 3: or material. 1231 01:08:34,960 --> 01:08:36,519 Speaker 2: I think there's one. I think one of the phone 1232 01:08:36,560 --> 01:08:40,000 Speaker 2: booth guys, not Willem Dafoe, but the other guy maybe 1233 01:08:40,040 --> 01:08:42,679 Speaker 2: has a cross on, But it's ambiguous if it actually 1234 01:08:42,680 --> 01:08:48,200 Speaker 2: has any effect on the vampirically affected character who views it. 1235 01:08:49,000 --> 01:08:52,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, so maybe Miriam has super strength, and unclear if 1236 01:08:52,880 --> 01:08:57,240 Speaker 3: John does. But apart from that, really, the only great 1237 01:08:57,360 --> 01:09:01,519 Speaker 3: kind of power we see of the vampire, I think 1238 01:09:01,720 --> 01:09:05,840 Speaker 3: is just the fact that they live eternally or so 1239 01:09:06,040 --> 01:09:08,839 Speaker 3: called eternally, that they do not age, they can maintain 1240 01:09:08,960 --> 01:09:12,519 Speaker 3: youth for a long time. Would you say that there's 1241 01:09:12,560 --> 01:09:14,640 Speaker 3: any other apparent power on display? 1242 01:09:15,240 --> 01:09:19,280 Speaker 2: I think that's mostly it now. Miriam in particular is 1243 01:09:19,560 --> 01:09:23,840 Speaker 2: quite seductive and charismatic. People are drawn to her, but 1244 01:09:24,160 --> 01:09:26,960 Speaker 2: I never thought that this was presented in a like 1245 01:09:27,040 --> 01:09:30,760 Speaker 2: definite Dracula's gaze sort of way, like she to Yeah, 1246 01:09:30,760 --> 01:09:32,479 Speaker 2: to an extent, you could say she casts a spell 1247 01:09:32,520 --> 01:09:35,400 Speaker 2: on Sarah, but I don't think in the literal sense, 1248 01:09:36,120 --> 01:09:40,000 Speaker 2: not in a way that overrides Sarah's agency in the seduction. 1249 01:09:40,160 --> 01:09:44,639 Speaker 3: You know, Yeah, Sarah doesn't seem like hypnotized. She seems more, 1250 01:09:46,160 --> 01:09:49,000 Speaker 3: I don't know, encouraged to give in to something that 1251 01:09:49,040 --> 01:09:49,800 Speaker 3: she does want. 1252 01:09:50,360 --> 01:09:53,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, it'd be more like being starstruck, except you know, 1253 01:09:53,360 --> 01:09:55,719 Speaker 2: it's like the vampiric version of that, I guess. 1254 01:09:55,960 --> 01:09:59,920 Speaker 3: Yeah. So anyway, worth noting that the vision of va 1255 01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:04,160 Speaker 3: emperorsm in this film is quite mechanically limited, Compared to 1256 01:10:04,840 --> 01:10:09,680 Speaker 3: most vampire lore, many of the standard horror tropes do 1257 01:10:09,760 --> 01:10:10,200 Speaker 3: not apply. 1258 01:10:10,760 --> 01:10:13,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, no garlic in this picture, No steaks, nothing like that. 1259 01:10:14,400 --> 01:10:15,719 Speaker 3: There is steak in the picture. 1260 01:10:15,840 --> 01:10:17,519 Speaker 2: There's a steak. Yeah, there's rare steak. 1261 01:10:17,560 --> 01:10:22,400 Speaker 3: Of course, a quite significant steak scene where after Susan 1262 01:10:22,439 --> 01:10:25,040 Speaker 3: Sarandon has been turned, she's like at a restaurant trying 1263 01:10:25,040 --> 01:10:27,759 Speaker 3: to eat some steak and just like yuck, only want blood. 1264 01:10:28,200 --> 01:10:30,680 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, And he's like, I can't believe you spent 1265 01:10:30,760 --> 01:10:32,360 Speaker 2: three and a half hours with that woman. You need 1266 01:10:32,400 --> 01:10:33,200 Speaker 2: to go to a doctor. 1267 01:10:33,560 --> 01:10:34,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1268 01:10:34,479 --> 01:10:37,400 Speaker 2: I think you have bisexual ititis or something. I don't know. 1269 01:10:38,200 --> 01:10:41,719 Speaker 3: Anyway, So to come back to our sort of zoomed 1270 01:10:41,720 --> 01:10:45,000 Speaker 3: out overview of the plot. In the opening again, John 1271 01:10:45,040 --> 01:10:48,040 Speaker 3: and Miriam they're living this apparently fabulous life. They live 1272 01:10:48,120 --> 01:10:50,800 Speaker 3: this big, beautiful house in New York. When they're not 1273 01:10:50,920 --> 01:10:53,800 Speaker 3: hunting for victims at goth clubs, they appear to spend 1274 01:10:53,840 --> 01:10:56,920 Speaker 3: a lot of their time on artistic leisure. They are 1275 01:10:56,960 --> 01:10:59,800 Speaker 3: both musicians. I think Miriam plays the piano and John 1276 01:10:59,800 --> 01:11:03,519 Speaker 3: play the cello, and they like to play music with 1277 01:11:03,640 --> 01:11:07,040 Speaker 3: a talented young teenage violinist from the house across the 1278 01:11:07,080 --> 01:11:10,639 Speaker 3: street named Alice. Does she take music lessons from them? 1279 01:11:10,960 --> 01:11:13,120 Speaker 2: I was unclear on that if if she just jams 1280 01:11:13,120 --> 01:11:16,479 Speaker 2: with them or she takes lessons at any rate, it's 1281 01:11:16,800 --> 01:11:19,360 Speaker 2: you know, it's probably fine. This is probably totally okay 1282 01:11:19,439 --> 01:11:21,320 Speaker 2: that she's coming over here and hanging out with these 1283 01:11:21,320 --> 01:11:23,560 Speaker 2: two ancient vampires. 1284 01:11:23,640 --> 01:11:27,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, not going anywhere good. Anything else to say about 1285 01:11:27,360 --> 01:11:31,960 Speaker 3: their apparently somewhat happy life in the beginning, I. 1286 01:11:31,920 --> 01:11:34,120 Speaker 2: Mean, not much other than it does seem like they 1287 01:11:34,160 --> 01:11:37,360 Speaker 2: are happy content. It doesn't seem like they particularly have 1288 01:11:37,439 --> 01:11:41,080 Speaker 2: any vampire hunters breathing down their necks or anything. And 1289 01:11:41,160 --> 01:11:43,360 Speaker 2: I guess they've been going at it for a long time, 1290 01:11:43,400 --> 01:11:46,280 Speaker 2: and they're staying on top of the fashions. Like sometimes, 1291 01:11:46,920 --> 01:11:49,960 Speaker 2: I mean, there's so many ways to treat longevity and 1292 01:11:50,040 --> 01:11:53,760 Speaker 2: vampires in fiction, and sometimes vampires are depicted as like 1293 01:11:53,960 --> 01:12:00,280 Speaker 2: totally out of keeping with modern fads and so forth, 1294 01:12:00,360 --> 01:12:04,120 Speaker 2: and certainly technology, and also maybe being rather bored, like 1295 01:12:04,360 --> 01:12:06,360 Speaker 2: they just run out of passion. These two seem to 1296 01:12:06,400 --> 01:12:09,640 Speaker 2: still have a lot of passion for what's popular in 1297 01:12:09,680 --> 01:12:14,600 Speaker 2: the world, changing musical genres and so forth, And you know, 1298 01:12:14,640 --> 01:12:18,360 Speaker 2: they're staying active. They're still killing people and drinking their 1299 01:12:18,360 --> 01:12:19,599 Speaker 2: blood and then burning them in the. 1300 01:12:19,520 --> 01:12:22,720 Speaker 3: Basement, and the way in which their hip seems to 1301 01:12:22,760 --> 01:12:26,080 Speaker 3: be I don't know, basically just keeping pace with culture. 1302 01:12:26,640 --> 01:12:31,320 Speaker 3: You don't get like that Saltation view where or it's 1303 01:12:31,360 --> 01:12:34,559 Speaker 3: like in Francis Ford Coppolas Dracula, where Gary oldman. You know, 1304 01:12:34,600 --> 01:12:36,920 Speaker 3: he's got the big bun head and he's decrepit and 1305 01:12:37,400 --> 01:12:40,880 Speaker 3: old world and then suddenly all at once he's rejuvenated 1306 01:12:40,920 --> 01:12:45,519 Speaker 3: and hip and stylish. Anyway, the trouble of the plot 1307 01:12:45,640 --> 01:12:49,479 Speaker 3: starts when John notices that he is losing his hair 1308 01:12:49,640 --> 01:12:53,719 Speaker 3: and he can't seem to sleep, and he notices several 1309 01:12:53,760 --> 01:12:57,720 Speaker 3: things and realizes he is aging rapidly. Apparently years are 1310 01:12:57,760 --> 01:13:02,080 Speaker 3: falling off of his life every day. Now. One question 1311 01:13:02,160 --> 01:13:05,280 Speaker 3: here I was trying to remember is what is the 1312 01:13:05,400 --> 01:13:10,080 Speaker 3: level of openness between John and Miriam about this. I 1313 01:13:10,120 --> 01:13:13,040 Speaker 3: seem to remember they do talk about it as if 1314 01:13:13,080 --> 01:13:17,000 Speaker 3: he knew this might happen at some point, Like I 1315 01:13:17,040 --> 01:13:20,960 Speaker 3: remember he asks Miriam how long it took for another 1316 01:13:21,000 --> 01:13:24,880 Speaker 3: person to decay in this way? Presumably this was a 1317 01:13:24,920 --> 01:13:29,160 Speaker 3: previous lover of Miriam's, But I also don't get the 1318 01:13:29,200 --> 01:13:32,479 Speaker 3: impression that he knew this would happen before he was 1319 01:13:32,560 --> 01:13:35,280 Speaker 3: turned Did you take that all the same way? 1320 01:13:36,160 --> 01:13:38,080 Speaker 2: I mean, it's this is one of the more thought 1321 01:13:38,120 --> 01:13:42,200 Speaker 2: provoking mysteries of the film, I think, because like logically, 1322 01:13:42,240 --> 01:13:43,840 Speaker 2: in the film, yeah, he seems to be aware that 1323 01:13:43,880 --> 01:13:49,320 Speaker 2: there were other lovers in the past, that they they 1324 01:13:49,360 --> 01:13:52,719 Speaker 2: went away, that they faded away one way or another, 1325 01:13:53,120 --> 01:13:55,920 Speaker 2: and that something like that could happen to him. On 1326 01:13:55,960 --> 01:13:58,679 Speaker 2: the other hand, there is the whole reassurances of things 1327 01:13:58,680 --> 01:14:01,559 Speaker 2: being forever. And then of course this also ties into 1328 01:14:01,600 --> 01:14:04,519 Speaker 2: how I think, you know, we all, to varying degrees, 1329 01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:08,120 Speaker 2: deal with or don't deal with aging and mortality. Like 1330 01:14:08,200 --> 01:14:11,800 Speaker 2: we all know that we will grow old and that 1331 01:14:11,880 --> 01:14:15,680 Speaker 2: we will die. That that is like the biological trajectory, 1332 01:14:16,840 --> 01:14:20,320 Speaker 2: and that you know, very little can can occur to 1333 01:14:21,720 --> 01:14:26,040 Speaker 2: change that path. And yet I think we often carry 1334 01:14:26,040 --> 01:14:30,320 Speaker 2: on like John, not thinking about it, finding ways to 1335 01:14:30,520 --> 01:14:33,439 Speaker 2: avoid the reality of it. And then when it does 1336 01:14:33,680 --> 01:14:37,320 Speaker 2: begin to occur, it, you know, it comes as a shock, 1337 01:14:37,640 --> 01:14:39,639 Speaker 2: but it's not a shock because we knew it all along, 1338 01:14:39,720 --> 01:14:39,920 Speaker 2: you know. 1339 01:14:40,760 --> 01:14:44,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, though, I mean for John, there's this interesting dynamic 1340 01:14:44,160 --> 01:14:47,880 Speaker 3: because it's like he short sold his life. Essentially, he 1341 01:14:48,520 --> 01:14:52,080 Speaker 3: had all these many many years, unnaturally extended life and youth. 1342 01:14:52,120 --> 01:14:55,080 Speaker 3: He's been young and vigorous for so long, and now 1343 01:14:55,080 --> 01:14:57,679 Speaker 3: it's all coming home. It's all coming home at once. 1344 01:14:57,760 --> 01:15:01,720 Speaker 3: It's happening so fast. Yeah. So anyway, John is in 1345 01:15:01,760 --> 01:15:04,679 Speaker 3: this state and on TV he sees a report about 1346 01:15:04,720 --> 01:15:08,479 Speaker 3: the work of a gerontologist named doctor Sarah Roberts. This 1347 01:15:08,600 --> 01:15:11,000 Speaker 3: is the character played by Susan Sarandon. She's written a 1348 01:15:11,040 --> 01:15:14,559 Speaker 3: book about her work and she's performing experiments along with 1349 01:15:14,600 --> 01:15:18,200 Speaker 3: a couple of colleagues, Charlie Humphreys and Tom have her 1350 01:15:18,720 --> 01:15:22,519 Speaker 3: Tom again is Sarah's boyfriend. Together they are trying to 1351 01:15:22,760 --> 01:15:26,400 Speaker 3: understand the process of aging at the cellular level and 1352 01:15:26,600 --> 01:15:31,000 Speaker 3: possibly halt or reverse it, particularly to help children who 1353 01:15:31,040 --> 01:15:36,560 Speaker 3: have diseases that cause accelerated aging and deterioration. And these characters, 1354 01:15:36,680 --> 01:15:40,360 Speaker 3: the scientist characters, are interesting because on one hand, we 1355 01:15:40,479 --> 01:15:43,920 Speaker 3: see what seems to me to be obvious care or 1356 01:15:43,920 --> 01:15:47,240 Speaker 3: a real desire to help people, especially children, like their 1357 01:15:47,240 --> 01:15:52,160 Speaker 3: motivations are represented as not impure, and yet they're also 1358 01:15:52,320 --> 01:15:56,960 Speaker 3: not lionized. The scientists are not treated as saints. They 1359 01:15:58,439 --> 01:16:01,760 Speaker 3: in some ways come off as quite brutal, like we 1360 01:16:01,800 --> 01:16:05,960 Speaker 3: see them performing these gory, horrifying experiments on monkeys where 1361 01:16:06,439 --> 01:16:10,160 Speaker 3: one of these experiments in a really great special effects 1362 01:16:10,160 --> 01:16:12,879 Speaker 3: shop by the way, causes like a monkey to rapidly 1363 01:16:13,000 --> 01:16:16,000 Speaker 3: age and then turbo decompose in minutes, like when you 1364 01:16:16,080 --> 01:16:19,160 Speaker 3: drink from the Fall scale in the Last Crusade. Yeah, 1365 01:16:19,720 --> 01:16:23,519 Speaker 3: we also see them. We see just sort of human 1366 01:16:23,600 --> 01:16:27,400 Speaker 3: failings of these scientists, like when Sarah and John first meet, 1367 01:16:27,760 --> 01:16:31,719 Speaker 3: Sarah is rude and dismissive to him, and she lies 1368 01:16:31,760 --> 01:16:35,719 Speaker 3: to him. John comes asking for help, and then also 1369 01:16:36,439 --> 01:16:40,360 Speaker 3: Tom have her boyfriend, the other scientist. He comes off 1370 01:16:40,400 --> 01:16:42,760 Speaker 3: as a total jerk, though at the same time there 1371 01:16:42,760 --> 01:16:46,080 Speaker 3: are also indications that he genuinely cares for Sarah. 1372 01:16:46,600 --> 01:16:48,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's put in a tough spot, I 1373 01:16:48,160 --> 01:16:51,360 Speaker 2: guess to some degree, and we're not maybe as privy 1374 01:16:51,400 --> 01:16:54,400 Speaker 2: as much to his side of things. But yeah, that 1375 01:16:54,520 --> 01:16:58,840 Speaker 2: scene where John is sort of cast aside by Sarah 1376 01:16:58,920 --> 01:17:00,600 Speaker 2: and she's like, just wait wait for me in the 1377 01:17:00,600 --> 01:17:02,760 Speaker 2: waiting room and I'll get back you later, and she's 1378 01:17:03,120 --> 01:17:05,559 Speaker 2: then she tells the security guy it's like there's another 1379 01:17:05,600 --> 01:17:08,840 Speaker 2: weirdo here. Just leave him alone. He'll probably get bored 1380 01:17:08,880 --> 01:17:11,639 Speaker 2: and leave on his own. And then we the viewer 1381 01:17:11,720 --> 01:17:16,080 Speaker 2: watch as John literally grows like decades older in the 1382 01:17:16,120 --> 01:17:19,960 Speaker 2: waiting room, a scene that I think could otherwise come 1383 01:17:20,000 --> 01:17:23,360 Speaker 2: off as comedic, like because when you're explaining it's like, 1384 01:17:23,439 --> 01:17:25,760 Speaker 2: you literally watch him grow old in the waiting room. 1385 01:17:25,800 --> 01:17:29,680 Speaker 2: It sounds like a comedic bit, but it's it's executed 1386 01:17:29,720 --> 01:17:32,960 Speaker 2: in a way that that does not feel funny. And 1387 01:17:32,960 --> 01:17:35,520 Speaker 2: in the effect, the makeup effects are, of course, so convincing. 1388 01:17:35,640 --> 01:17:38,280 Speaker 2: We don't see any kind of like transition effect. It's 1389 01:17:38,320 --> 01:17:40,599 Speaker 2: all you know, checking back in with him and seeing 1390 01:17:40,600 --> 01:17:43,840 Speaker 2: that he's visibly aged, and yeah, like he ends up 1391 01:17:43,920 --> 01:17:46,200 Speaker 2: leaving the waiting room a much older man. 1392 01:17:46,680 --> 01:17:50,360 Speaker 3: Yeah. And then as he's leaving, Sarah sees him again 1393 01:17:51,200 --> 01:17:54,240 Speaker 3: and he and he recognizes her, knowing that like she 1394 01:17:54,360 --> 01:17:56,880 Speaker 3: totally blew him off and lied to him earlier, but 1395 01:17:57,080 --> 01:18:01,120 Speaker 3: she sees now that he has visibly rapidly aged since 1396 01:18:01,400 --> 01:18:04,000 Speaker 3: earlier that day. And at this point she tries to 1397 01:18:04,040 --> 01:18:06,600 Speaker 3: apologize and she's like, oh, no, come with me. You know, 1398 01:18:06,640 --> 01:18:08,800 Speaker 3: we'll bring you in for tests, we'll see what's going on. 1399 01:18:09,280 --> 01:18:12,639 Speaker 3: But now John's pride is hurt and he refuses her help. 1400 01:18:12,760 --> 01:18:14,880 Speaker 3: And I think we kind of talked about that earlier. 1401 01:18:14,920 --> 01:18:18,240 Speaker 3: The way that John's personality is represented as kind of 1402 01:18:19,479 --> 01:18:22,280 Speaker 3: when he faces the you know, these extreme troubles, just 1403 01:18:22,360 --> 01:18:27,240 Speaker 3: kind of like taking it inside and pushing it underneath. Yeah. 1404 01:18:27,320 --> 01:18:30,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like this was his last, his only attempt to 1405 01:18:30,240 --> 01:18:33,000 Speaker 2: like reach out for help, and it didn't turn out 1406 01:18:33,000 --> 01:18:35,200 Speaker 2: the way he hoped it would, and there's not going 1407 01:18:35,280 --> 01:18:36,679 Speaker 2: to be a second chance for him. 1408 01:18:37,000 --> 01:18:40,559 Speaker 3: Yeah. And then there's a section here where John is 1409 01:18:40,680 --> 01:18:43,120 Speaker 3: you can tell he's hungry, so he's trying to feed. 1410 01:18:43,240 --> 01:18:47,799 Speaker 3: We see him have encountered. He's very he's very rapidly aging, 1411 01:18:47,880 --> 01:18:51,280 Speaker 3: turning old in the course of this single day. And 1412 01:18:51,360 --> 01:18:53,639 Speaker 3: he like goes into a bathroom the scene you talked 1413 01:18:53,640 --> 01:18:56,280 Speaker 3: about where he sees the man I don't know, shaving 1414 01:18:56,360 --> 01:18:58,519 Speaker 3: or whatever in the sink and he's staring at him. 1415 01:18:59,280 --> 01:19:01,639 Speaker 3: I think he tries to attack a skater in a park. 1416 01:19:02,360 --> 01:19:05,360 Speaker 2: Oh it's a roller skater. Yeah, and like they set 1417 01:19:05,439 --> 01:19:07,559 Speaker 2: up this really cool scene where it's like, what's happening 1418 01:19:07,600 --> 01:19:11,680 Speaker 2: where are we now? Another music video has started. This 1419 01:19:12,160 --> 01:19:15,760 Speaker 2: guy starts doing some cool skating and then here comes 1420 01:19:15,840 --> 01:19:18,600 Speaker 2: John attempts to stab him and drink his blood, but 1421 01:19:18,640 --> 01:19:20,920 Speaker 2: then it doesn't fully pull it off. For some reason. 1422 01:19:21,400 --> 01:19:24,200 Speaker 3: So he comes home and then oh no, because he's 1423 01:19:24,240 --> 01:19:28,360 Speaker 3: so old. Now, when the neighbor girl Alice comes over 1424 01:19:28,880 --> 01:19:32,639 Speaker 3: to play music, John has to pretend to be someone 1425 01:19:32,720 --> 01:19:35,679 Speaker 3: else because she won't recognize him. He looks so much older. 1426 01:19:36,000 --> 01:19:39,280 Speaker 3: And then even worse when she's in there, he talks 1427 01:19:39,280 --> 01:19:42,519 Speaker 3: her into playing some music for him, and we don't 1428 01:19:42,560 --> 01:19:44,680 Speaker 3: see it. It happens off screen, but we know what. 1429 01:19:44,880 --> 01:19:46,639 Speaker 3: He kills her and drinks her blood. 1430 01:19:47,160 --> 01:19:50,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, and he gets more heartbreaking from there with John, 1431 01:19:50,640 --> 01:19:56,920 Speaker 2: because he just gets progressively older. Miriam is walking this 1432 01:19:57,080 --> 01:20:01,719 Speaker 2: line between comforting him and keeping him at arm's length, 1433 01:20:02,520 --> 01:20:06,240 Speaker 2: and she's having to burn Alice's body in the basement. 1434 01:20:06,320 --> 01:20:09,360 Speaker 2: And then John comes down and he's he's so old. 1435 01:20:09,400 --> 01:20:12,200 Speaker 2: At this point he asks for one more kiss and 1436 01:20:12,240 --> 01:20:15,920 Speaker 2: then he asks if she will kill him, and you know, 1437 01:20:16,160 --> 01:20:20,600 Speaker 2: and in this and like heartbreakingly, she tells him, like 1438 01:20:20,680 --> 01:20:23,000 Speaker 2: you know, it doesn't work like that. You like, you 1439 01:20:23,040 --> 01:20:27,479 Speaker 2: don't die, you don't get to die, and uh and 1440 01:20:27,640 --> 01:20:31,040 Speaker 2: and again it's maybe a little unclear to what extent 1441 01:20:31,240 --> 01:20:34,000 Speaker 2: he knew this was the case or remembered it was 1442 01:20:34,040 --> 01:20:37,120 Speaker 2: the case. I'm not sure, but yeah, it's quickly made 1443 01:20:37,160 --> 01:20:40,519 Speaker 2: obvious that that, yeah, he's not going to grow old 1444 01:20:40,560 --> 01:20:43,720 Speaker 2: and die, He's just going to grow perpetually older, but 1445 01:20:44,200 --> 01:20:48,280 Speaker 2: have eternal life in a very non glamorous way. 1446 01:20:48,520 --> 01:20:51,200 Speaker 3: That's right. There is no death for a vampire. That's 1447 01:20:51,280 --> 01:20:55,160 Speaker 3: the twist. There is just aging and pain and decay, 1448 01:20:55,280 --> 01:21:00,439 Speaker 3: but actually no end. And then in a oh a 1449 01:21:00,479 --> 01:21:03,720 Speaker 3: hair raising scene where she takes him up to the 1450 01:21:03,760 --> 01:21:09,439 Speaker 3: attic and she deposits his aging body inside a coffin 1451 01:21:10,080 --> 01:21:14,400 Speaker 3: next to this huge stack of other coffins that are 1452 01:21:14,479 --> 01:21:19,560 Speaker 3: filled with Miriam's previous lovers, all of whom are reduced 1453 01:21:19,600 --> 01:21:23,080 Speaker 3: to husks inside the coffins, but are not gone. They 1454 01:21:23,080 --> 01:21:27,960 Speaker 3: are all still conscious inside. And she bids her other 1455 01:21:28,040 --> 01:21:30,920 Speaker 3: previous lovers to keep him company and to treat him 1456 01:21:30,920 --> 01:21:31,920 Speaker 3: with kindness. 1457 01:21:32,360 --> 01:21:35,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, very haunting. Yeah, thousands of years worth of 1458 01:21:36,720 --> 01:21:39,519 Speaker 2: lovers here, stored away in neat little stacks. 1459 01:21:48,680 --> 01:21:51,840 Speaker 3: So here the story switches. Miriam is left alone, and 1460 01:21:51,880 --> 01:21:55,639 Speaker 3: who should come to the house now but Sarah, Sarah, 1461 01:21:55,680 --> 01:22:00,160 Speaker 3: the researcher, the gerontologist. Her initial line of inquiry is 1462 01:22:00,200 --> 01:22:04,320 Speaker 3: where is John? She somehow got his address and she 1463 01:22:04,600 --> 01:22:08,280 Speaker 3: is trying to find him because obviously somebody who's aging 1464 01:22:08,320 --> 01:22:11,839 Speaker 3: as rapidly as him would be of interest to her research. 1465 01:22:12,439 --> 01:22:16,600 Speaker 3: Miriam initially tells tell Sarah that he went to Switzerland. 1466 01:22:16,680 --> 01:22:19,240 Speaker 3: I think so she thinks he's at a clinic there. 1467 01:22:19,720 --> 01:22:22,680 Speaker 3: But she comes in and she begins to get to 1468 01:22:22,800 --> 01:22:26,800 Speaker 3: know Miriam. And this is where the story takes a 1469 01:22:26,840 --> 01:22:32,320 Speaker 3: really different kind of turn, because I think the way again, 1470 01:22:32,520 --> 01:22:35,880 Speaker 3: Miriam is often presented in a kind of ambiguous way. 1471 01:22:35,920 --> 01:22:39,240 Speaker 3: We don't always know exactly what she's feeling. She's more 1472 01:22:39,280 --> 01:22:44,040 Speaker 3: hard to scrutinize than many of the human characters. But 1473 01:22:44,280 --> 01:22:48,960 Speaker 3: I suspect that the implication is that Miriam is now 1474 01:22:49,040 --> 01:22:52,360 Speaker 3: lonely because there was the idea, of course, she had John, 1475 01:22:52,479 --> 01:22:55,520 Speaker 3: and she loved John, And there was also the implication 1476 01:22:56,680 --> 01:23:00,880 Speaker 3: that she and John discussed that maybe one day, when 1477 01:23:01,040 --> 01:23:04,120 Speaker 3: Alice was older, she would turn Alice into a vampire 1478 01:23:04,160 --> 01:23:07,880 Speaker 3: as well, and she would become her new companion, and 1479 01:23:07,920 --> 01:23:10,559 Speaker 3: she'd been thinking about this. But of course John killed 1480 01:23:10,560 --> 01:23:14,920 Speaker 3: Alice and drank her blood. So now Miriam really doesn't 1481 01:23:14,960 --> 01:23:16,639 Speaker 3: seem to have a friend in the world. 1482 01:23:17,240 --> 01:23:20,720 Speaker 2: But then, oh, here's Sarah, and Sarah has a lot 1483 01:23:20,720 --> 01:23:23,600 Speaker 2: of things going for and there is there is an 1484 01:23:23,640 --> 01:23:27,679 Speaker 2: opening in the significant other market here in Miriam's house, that's. 1485 01:23:27,640 --> 01:23:30,479 Speaker 3: Right now, somewhere in here, I think. Actually Sarah comes 1486 01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:34,160 Speaker 3: twice to visit. In between their two visits, I think, 1487 01:23:34,240 --> 01:23:36,639 Speaker 3: or when the cops come to investigate, and this goes 1488 01:23:36,680 --> 01:23:41,960 Speaker 3: absolutely nowhere, absolutely nowhere. But Sarah does eventually come back 1489 01:23:42,000 --> 01:23:45,200 Speaker 3: to visit Miriam again. And here is where things really 1490 01:23:45,240 --> 01:23:48,799 Speaker 3: take a turn. Upon the second visit, it's it becomes 1491 01:23:48,800 --> 01:23:53,479 Speaker 3: increasingly clear that Miriam and Sarah are interested in each other. 1492 01:23:54,640 --> 01:23:58,599 Speaker 3: They are, you know, Miriam is playing the piano and 1493 01:23:58,720 --> 01:24:01,680 Speaker 3: they're talking about the what the music is. Miriam is 1494 01:24:01,720 --> 01:24:05,160 Speaker 3: explaining the piece of music, and Sarah keeps commenting that 1495 01:24:05,240 --> 01:24:07,320 Speaker 3: it sounds like a love song. Yeah. 1496 01:24:07,320 --> 01:24:10,960 Speaker 2: And on this second visit, Sarah also you know, shows 1497 01:24:11,040 --> 01:24:14,880 Speaker 2: up wearing a sexy outfit and it's not long before 1498 01:24:14,920 --> 01:24:18,479 Speaker 2: that outfit gets what some Sherry spilled on it, and 1499 01:24:18,560 --> 01:24:21,639 Speaker 2: you know, things things progress as you might expect. Much 1500 01:24:21,680 --> 01:24:23,599 Speaker 2: is said about the fact that she doesn't even like Sherry. 1501 01:24:23,800 --> 01:24:26,719 Speaker 2: Of course that's the other part. But somehow it's different 1502 01:24:26,720 --> 01:24:30,720 Speaker 2: with Miriam and and so they imbibe. 1503 01:24:31,000 --> 01:24:33,800 Speaker 3: Now, I guess this leads to the scene that Roger 1504 01:24:33,840 --> 01:24:39,880 Speaker 3: Ebert liked. This is the love scene between Sarah and Miriam, which, 1505 01:24:40,240 --> 01:24:43,040 Speaker 3: as we talked about earlier, there is a kind of 1506 01:24:43,160 --> 01:24:47,679 Speaker 3: mingling of the of the romantic desire and the desire 1507 01:24:47,720 --> 01:24:52,920 Speaker 3: for blood. And it's pretty clear what Miriam's aims are 1508 01:24:52,960 --> 01:24:56,679 Speaker 3: at this point. Miriam wants not only to drink Sarah's blood, 1509 01:24:56,760 --> 01:24:59,200 Speaker 3: but to give of her blood to Sarah as well, 1510 01:24:59,320 --> 01:25:03,200 Speaker 3: to turn her into a vampire. She wants companionship. Yeah, 1511 01:25:03,240 --> 01:25:07,360 Speaker 3: and so it's this weird dreamlike scene where ultimately I 1512 01:25:07,360 --> 01:25:09,920 Speaker 3: think in this scene they do drink of each other's blood. 1513 01:25:09,960 --> 01:25:13,080 Speaker 3: So there's like a wound in Sarah's arm where she's 1514 01:25:13,120 --> 01:25:16,479 Speaker 3: been pierced by the ONC, but she has also taken 1515 01:25:16,600 --> 01:25:17,679 Speaker 3: of Miriam's blood. 1516 01:25:18,280 --> 01:25:21,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and again this is a very artful, stylish sequence. 1517 01:25:22,880 --> 01:25:26,760 Speaker 2: It's certainly by by today's standards. There's nothing, you know, 1518 01:25:27,120 --> 01:25:29,400 Speaker 2: very explicit about it, though it is it is very 1519 01:25:29,400 --> 01:25:34,880 Speaker 2: erotically charged. And yeah, and Susan's Randon in her comments 1520 01:25:34,920 --> 01:25:36,439 Speaker 2: on you know, says that she thinks it was probably 1521 01:25:36,479 --> 01:25:39,760 Speaker 2: ahead of its time, you know, for eighty three. But 1522 01:25:39,880 --> 01:25:42,439 Speaker 2: but yeah, I mean, and to Ebert's point, it is 1523 01:25:42,479 --> 01:25:43,799 Speaker 2: a highly effective sequence. 1524 01:25:44,439 --> 01:25:46,600 Speaker 3: Now we do see Sarah kind of trying to go 1525 01:25:46,720 --> 01:25:49,200 Speaker 3: back to her own, her old life after this, but 1526 01:25:49,280 --> 01:25:51,439 Speaker 3: it's just it's not going to work out at this point. 1527 01:25:51,520 --> 01:25:54,000 Speaker 3: So there are several different scenes there. There are scenes 1528 01:25:54,040 --> 01:25:59,520 Speaker 3: of her increasingly tense and failing relationship with Tom, her boyfriend, 1529 01:25:59,560 --> 01:26:01,960 Speaker 3: Like they go out to dinner and they discuss things. 1530 01:26:02,000 --> 01:26:04,760 Speaker 3: Tom airs his suspicions and they you know, they are 1531 01:26:04,760 --> 01:26:08,120 Speaker 3: fighting about that. She doesn't seem to want food for 1532 01:26:08,160 --> 01:26:11,160 Speaker 3: some reason. It's like, she orders a steak, but she's like, 1533 01:26:11,400 --> 01:26:13,160 Speaker 3: I can't eat this, and I think it makes her 1534 01:26:13,160 --> 01:26:13,599 Speaker 3: throw up. 1535 01:26:13,720 --> 01:26:17,679 Speaker 2: Later, she said them oysters back. There's oysters are muscles 1536 01:26:17,680 --> 01:26:19,760 Speaker 2: every sage, but she sent them back and he's like, 1537 01:26:19,840 --> 01:26:20,880 Speaker 2: I can't believe you did that. 1538 01:26:21,520 --> 01:26:26,000 Speaker 3: Also, she starts doing some tests on herself in the laboratory, 1539 01:26:26,640 --> 01:26:33,000 Speaker 3: and their colleague, Charlie, he explains what's going on. He's like, whoops, well, 1540 01:26:33,040 --> 01:26:35,400 Speaker 3: looking at your blood, we see that you actually have 1541 01:26:35,520 --> 01:26:38,000 Speaker 3: some kind of alien blood in you. There's you, there's 1542 01:26:38,040 --> 01:26:41,000 Speaker 3: you blood, and then there's some other non human kind 1543 01:26:41,040 --> 01:26:44,280 Speaker 3: of blood and they're fighting for dominance within your veins 1544 01:26:44,320 --> 01:26:45,599 Speaker 3: and the other blood is winning. 1545 01:26:46,160 --> 01:26:50,320 Speaker 2: And so in this Sarah is feeling the titular hunger 1546 01:26:51,760 --> 01:26:56,720 Speaker 2: she is craving the blood. She is herself becoming a vampire, 1547 01:26:57,360 --> 01:27:01,559 Speaker 2: and like Miriam needs to feed, but she doesn't know 1548 01:27:01,560 --> 01:27:03,479 Speaker 2: how to do any of these things. She needs Miriam's 1549 01:27:03,479 --> 01:27:08,599 Speaker 2: guidance in order to fully transition into this life as 1550 01:27:08,640 --> 01:27:09,519 Speaker 2: a creature of the night. 1551 01:27:10,040 --> 01:27:12,720 Speaker 3: That's right, So there's more negotiation on these fronts. We 1552 01:27:12,720 --> 01:27:16,120 Speaker 3: see that Sarah is not immediately into the idea of 1553 01:27:16,880 --> 01:27:20,599 Speaker 3: drinking blood to survive, but she kind of ends up 1554 01:27:20,680 --> 01:27:23,080 Speaker 3: without a choice and it doesn't she so she's like 1555 01:27:23,160 --> 01:27:27,599 Speaker 3: extremely weakened and she ends up staying at Miriam's house 1556 01:27:27,640 --> 01:27:30,000 Speaker 3: and she's like in a bed there and at one 1557 01:27:30,040 --> 01:27:32,920 Speaker 3: point they have more interactions, but eventually Miriam's like, look, 1558 01:27:32,960 --> 01:27:34,479 Speaker 3: I'm going to do the work. I'm going to show 1559 01:27:34,520 --> 01:27:36,840 Speaker 3: you what to do. I'll go get a guy, and 1560 01:27:36,880 --> 01:27:39,080 Speaker 3: so she goes and there's like a great scene where 1561 01:27:39,080 --> 01:27:42,280 Speaker 3: she goes out and gets a guy wearing sunglasses at 1562 01:27:42,400 --> 01:27:46,759 Speaker 3: night and brings him back to the house for Susan 1563 01:27:46,840 --> 01:27:47,760 Speaker 3: Sarandon to eat. 1564 01:27:48,120 --> 01:27:50,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the Jiggolow character, and boy, they really 1565 01:27:50,840 --> 01:27:52,479 Speaker 2: went out of their ways to make sure you were 1566 01:27:52,560 --> 01:27:55,839 Speaker 2: okay with this dude getting fanged or not actually fank anked. 1567 01:27:56,640 --> 01:27:59,120 Speaker 2: And drained because he's like, he's rude, he's looking in 1568 01:27:59,160 --> 01:28:01,960 Speaker 2: the liquor crut and he like spits his chewing gum 1569 01:28:02,040 --> 01:28:05,880 Speaker 2: out in Miriam's apartment. So we're like, we're totally okay 1570 01:28:05,920 --> 01:28:08,040 Speaker 2: with this guy getting it, and it doesn't take long 1571 01:28:08,080 --> 01:28:09,519 Speaker 2: before he does get it. 1572 01:28:10,439 --> 01:28:12,760 Speaker 3: So at this point you might be assuming, okay, well, 1573 01:28:12,880 --> 01:28:16,320 Speaker 3: is Sarah just going to embrace the new lifestyle? Is 1574 01:28:16,360 --> 01:28:19,240 Speaker 3: Sarah this is what I am now. I am Miriam's 1575 01:28:19,280 --> 01:28:22,080 Speaker 3: vampire lover. I am her vampire spawn. I can have 1576 01:28:22,160 --> 01:28:25,280 Speaker 3: eternal youth, and I just need to pick up people 1577 01:28:25,320 --> 01:28:27,559 Speaker 3: at the goth club, bring him back here and drink 1578 01:28:27,560 --> 01:28:29,200 Speaker 3: their blood. And that's what we're going to do for 1579 01:28:29,360 --> 01:28:32,439 Speaker 3: I don't know however long it takes. I don't recall. 1580 01:28:32,560 --> 01:28:35,880 Speaker 3: Does she get any indication of that what happened to 1581 01:28:35,960 --> 01:28:38,680 Speaker 3: John will also happen to her eventually. Do they talk 1582 01:28:38,720 --> 01:28:39,200 Speaker 3: about that. 1583 01:28:39,560 --> 01:28:42,000 Speaker 2: I don't know that they talk about it at all. No, 1584 01:28:42,240 --> 01:28:45,960 Speaker 2: But I mean, obviously we the viewer knows that that 1585 01:28:46,000 --> 01:28:49,360 Speaker 2: would be the end result, you know, some centuries down 1586 01:28:49,400 --> 01:28:49,920 Speaker 2: the line. 1587 01:28:50,360 --> 01:28:54,519 Speaker 3: But instead of the full embrace of what happens, there 1588 01:28:54,600 --> 01:29:00,200 Speaker 3: is a twist. Sarah proves a more recalcitrant of a 1589 01:29:00,479 --> 01:29:05,280 Speaker 3: new Vampa. There's something more of her original humanity left 1590 01:29:05,400 --> 01:29:10,080 Speaker 3: than it seems like happened with any of Miriam's previous lovers. 1591 01:29:10,680 --> 01:29:14,760 Speaker 3: So instead of fully embracing the new lifestyle, there's a 1592 01:29:14,800 --> 01:29:19,639 Speaker 3: confrontation and a big, terrible climax. Now I forget exactly 1593 01:29:19,720 --> 01:29:22,320 Speaker 3: how it is triggered. What is it that Sarah does 1594 01:29:22,400 --> 01:29:26,040 Speaker 3: that ends up with Miriam like carrying her upstairs to 1595 01:29:26,160 --> 01:29:29,160 Speaker 3: like rapidly put her away with the other old lovers. 1596 01:29:29,240 --> 01:29:33,759 Speaker 3: Is it that she tries to make Miriam drink her blood. 1597 01:29:34,640 --> 01:29:37,200 Speaker 2: I'm a little unsure about how what exactly happens in 1598 01:29:37,240 --> 01:29:40,160 Speaker 2: this moment, but she ends up stabbing herself with the 1599 01:29:40,240 --> 01:29:43,719 Speaker 2: Anka during a very close embrace, one of these embraces 1600 01:29:43,760 --> 01:29:46,240 Speaker 2: where you're not sure at first who is stabbed by 1601 01:29:46,680 --> 01:29:50,400 Speaker 2: and who does the stabbing, But yeah, she stabs herself, 1602 01:29:50,960 --> 01:29:53,479 Speaker 2: and then Miriam is like, well this is you know, 1603 01:29:53,479 --> 01:29:56,160 Speaker 2: she's clearly heartbroken by this. You know, she clearly had 1604 01:29:56,280 --> 01:30:00,000 Speaker 2: very strong feelings for Sarah and saw a future with Sarah. 1605 01:30:00,120 --> 01:30:02,280 Speaker 2: But now she's going to have to take Sarah up 1606 01:30:02,320 --> 01:30:04,759 Speaker 2: to the attic and file her away with the others. 1607 01:30:05,080 --> 01:30:08,479 Speaker 3: Right, But then it is revenge of the zombies. The 1608 01:30:08,520 --> 01:30:14,519 Speaker 3: ex lovers emerge in their withered, dusty husk forms, and 1609 01:30:14,560 --> 01:30:18,160 Speaker 3: they all come out and they take their vengeance, or 1610 01:30:18,520 --> 01:30:20,519 Speaker 3: should it be thought of as vengeance? I don't know 1611 01:30:20,600 --> 01:30:24,040 Speaker 3: exactly what you how you frame it, but they surround 1612 01:30:24,240 --> 01:30:27,120 Speaker 3: and attack Miriam and destroy her. 1613 01:30:28,000 --> 01:30:31,120 Speaker 2: There are so many places in this film where I 1614 01:30:31,120 --> 01:30:34,600 Speaker 2: feel like a lesser film would would have gone in 1615 01:30:34,600 --> 01:30:37,479 Speaker 2: a different direction. I think there's certain pitfalls that a 1616 01:30:37,520 --> 01:30:40,200 Speaker 2: movie like this might have naturally veered into, and I 1617 01:30:40,200 --> 01:30:41,920 Speaker 2: think this is a key example. I think in a 1618 01:30:41,960 --> 01:30:44,519 Speaker 2: lesser picture it would have been a pure vengeance of 1619 01:30:44,560 --> 01:30:46,880 Speaker 2: the zombies, like they would have attacked her, torn her 1620 01:30:46,920 --> 01:30:51,040 Speaker 2: apart or something. Because the yeah, the undying husks of 1621 01:30:51,160 --> 01:30:54,439 Speaker 2: her former lovers do come out of their boxes. Yeah, 1622 01:30:54,479 --> 01:30:56,519 Speaker 2: And I think a lesser film might have had them 1623 01:30:56,880 --> 01:31:00,120 Speaker 2: be a direct physical cause of Miriam's demise. You know, 1624 01:31:00,200 --> 01:31:02,000 Speaker 2: she would have been torn apart by her demons in 1625 01:31:02,040 --> 01:31:05,000 Speaker 2: a literal fashion. But if we wouldn't have fit here, 1626 01:31:05,040 --> 01:31:09,240 Speaker 2: because you know, set lovingly aside, they still love her, 1627 01:31:09,360 --> 01:31:11,920 Speaker 2: they still pine for her. I don't think they would 1628 01:31:11,920 --> 01:31:16,000 Speaker 2: intentionally hurt her still, even in their reduced state. Plus 1629 01:31:16,720 --> 01:31:19,960 Speaker 2: though their longing is strong, they're physically quite weak and powerless, 1630 01:31:19,960 --> 01:31:23,120 Speaker 2: like they're almost dust at this point. What could they do? 1631 01:31:23,280 --> 01:31:27,640 Speaker 2: And she clearly has a heightened strength, So instead it 1632 01:31:27,680 --> 01:31:31,040 Speaker 2: feels more like it's like it's not as much it's 1633 01:31:31,040 --> 01:31:34,000 Speaker 2: their presence, certainly, but it's also the cumulative guilt of 1634 01:31:34,040 --> 01:31:37,760 Speaker 2: it all that overcomes Miriam and leads to what appears 1635 01:31:37,800 --> 01:31:41,479 Speaker 2: to be her physical death or physical demise, and this 1636 01:31:41,560 --> 01:31:44,479 Speaker 2: ends up ending the cursed existence of her thralls, like 1637 01:31:44,520 --> 01:31:46,160 Speaker 2: they finally crumble to dust. 1638 01:31:46,479 --> 01:31:50,559 Speaker 3: It is not exactly clear what the mechanism, what all 1639 01:31:50,640 --> 01:31:52,759 Speaker 3: is going on here, but it feels like it works, 1640 01:31:54,200 --> 01:31:57,519 Speaker 3: I will say. After this, I mean it's curious too, 1641 01:31:57,600 --> 01:31:59,479 Speaker 3: because this is not quite the end of the film. 1642 01:31:59,520 --> 01:32:01,439 Speaker 3: We also see something else with Sarah, don't we. 1643 01:32:02,320 --> 01:32:05,519 Speaker 2: That's right, because I really at this point in the 1644 01:32:05,520 --> 01:32:07,880 Speaker 2: picture I thought Sarah was dead. I thought she killed 1645 01:32:07,920 --> 01:32:11,400 Speaker 2: herself via the aunk, that's why she was being filed away. 1646 01:32:12,760 --> 01:32:15,479 Speaker 2: But you know, at the end we get this really 1647 01:32:15,520 --> 01:32:20,040 Speaker 2: excellent sequence where we see Sarah standing out in the 1648 01:32:20,080 --> 01:32:22,920 Speaker 2: balcony of this like modern high rise in what I 1649 01:32:22,960 --> 01:32:26,680 Speaker 2: believe is London, And it's quite quite fetching because you 1650 01:32:26,720 --> 01:32:29,519 Speaker 2: have the varied and at times quite old bits of 1651 01:32:29,640 --> 01:32:32,000 Speaker 2: architecture visible in the city, you know, so it kind of, 1652 01:32:32,640 --> 01:32:35,519 Speaker 2: you know, it kind of meshes nicely with this idea 1653 01:32:35,680 --> 01:32:39,920 Speaker 2: of empiric life. But Mike, I had several questions, like, Okay, 1654 01:32:40,040 --> 01:32:42,560 Speaker 2: is Sarah a vampire now? Or is she free of 1655 01:32:42,600 --> 01:32:45,439 Speaker 2: the curse completely in his mortal again? Did she? Or 1656 01:32:45,560 --> 01:32:47,599 Speaker 2: you know, did she dodge the fate and the curse? 1657 01:32:48,600 --> 01:32:51,719 Speaker 2: Has the experience unlocked some key into her own research? 1658 01:32:51,800 --> 01:32:53,840 Speaker 2: I assume she's keeping going with her work, but is 1659 01:32:53,880 --> 01:32:55,760 Speaker 2: it going to take a new turn now that she 1660 01:32:55,880 --> 01:32:59,799 Speaker 2: has has either been a vampire or partially been a vampire? 1661 01:33:00,000 --> 01:33:03,160 Speaker 2: Where is still a vampire? We don't know. We're left 1662 01:33:03,160 --> 01:33:05,640 Speaker 2: to ponder it. And what happened to Miriam? Like is 1663 01:33:05,720 --> 01:33:09,360 Speaker 2: Miriam completely destroyed? Or is she in one of the 1664 01:33:09,400 --> 01:33:10,080 Speaker 2: boxes now? 1665 01:33:11,000 --> 01:33:14,200 Speaker 3: Yeah? Yeah, good question. Yeah, so a lot of questions 1666 01:33:14,280 --> 01:33:16,759 Speaker 3: left open at the ending, and I don't know exactly 1667 01:33:16,760 --> 01:33:21,280 Speaker 3: how to interpret it. But but yeah, despite I don't 1668 01:33:21,280 --> 01:33:22,920 Speaker 3: know exactly what to say about the ending, But I 1669 01:33:23,439 --> 01:33:24,559 Speaker 3: love the film overall. 1670 01:33:25,840 --> 01:33:29,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was. I was quite impressed with it, you know, 1671 01:33:29,760 --> 01:33:31,559 Speaker 2: I like you, I kind of thought the first ten minutes, 1672 01:33:31,600 --> 01:33:33,400 Speaker 2: we're going to set the tone for the entire picture, 1673 01:33:33,680 --> 01:33:35,920 Speaker 2: and it ended up being a much more poignant and 1674 01:33:35,960 --> 01:33:37,799 Speaker 2: thought provoking motion picture overall. 1675 01:33:38,360 --> 01:33:40,320 Speaker 3: One last thing I wanted to mention before we wrap 1676 01:33:40,400 --> 01:33:42,400 Speaker 3: up here, and it was the thought about the interaction 1677 01:33:42,520 --> 01:33:46,600 Speaker 3: between the vampire themes of the story and the h 1678 01:33:46,800 --> 01:33:49,840 Speaker 3: and a common thing that's true about well. I was 1679 01:33:49,840 --> 01:33:52,400 Speaker 3: gonna say love stories and movies, but actually just love 1680 01:33:52,479 --> 01:33:56,000 Speaker 3: in real life, and that is the way that the 1681 01:33:56,120 --> 01:34:00,080 Speaker 3: vampire setting really helps the us against the world feeling 1682 01:34:00,120 --> 01:34:04,000 Speaker 3: of being in love. I'm not the first person to 1683 01:34:04,040 --> 01:34:05,680 Speaker 3: point this out, of course, you know this is a 1684 01:34:05,720 --> 01:34:09,280 Speaker 3: commonly observed thing, but there is a way in which 1685 01:34:09,400 --> 01:34:15,280 Speaker 3: true love really kind of it does encourage a kind 1686 01:34:15,280 --> 01:34:18,240 Speaker 3: of contempt for like the rest of reality. You know 1687 01:34:18,320 --> 01:34:22,439 Speaker 3: that when people are in love they like to talk, 1688 01:34:22,680 --> 01:34:24,799 Speaker 3: you know, like to you know, to say mean things 1689 01:34:24,800 --> 01:34:27,760 Speaker 3: about other people to each other, and to kind of 1690 01:34:27,760 --> 01:34:30,960 Speaker 3: be in a conspiracy. When people are in love, they 1691 01:34:31,080 --> 01:34:36,000 Speaker 3: like to do kind of selfish or irresponsible things against 1692 01:34:36,120 --> 01:34:39,680 Speaker 3: other people outside of that two person conspiracy. It's just 1693 01:34:39,760 --> 01:34:43,200 Speaker 3: kind of it happens naturally. I don't know exactly why 1694 01:34:43,240 --> 01:34:45,040 Speaker 3: that is, but it just seems to be a thing 1695 01:34:45,120 --> 01:34:48,760 Speaker 3: that flows naturally from this two person bond, and that 1696 01:34:48,880 --> 01:34:51,559 Speaker 3: works so well when your two characters are vampires, because 1697 01:34:51,600 --> 01:34:54,559 Speaker 3: that's exactly the mechanic of the story. It's like, we 1698 01:34:54,920 --> 01:34:57,840 Speaker 3: together are in on this great secret. We're working this 1699 01:34:58,040 --> 01:35:00,960 Speaker 3: little this little blood conspiracy. We can go out to 1700 01:35:01,000 --> 01:35:03,439 Speaker 3: the club and only you and I are in on 1701 01:35:03,479 --> 01:35:05,680 Speaker 3: the joke that the people that we bring home or 1702 01:35:05,720 --> 01:35:07,360 Speaker 3: that we're just going to kill them, and you know, 1703 01:35:07,400 --> 01:35:11,080 Speaker 3: their bodies end up in the incinerator. And you know, 1704 01:35:11,120 --> 01:35:13,639 Speaker 3: so we've talked about that us against the world quality 1705 01:35:13,760 --> 01:35:16,360 Speaker 3: in other great love movies we've done before. It's kind 1706 01:35:16,360 --> 01:35:19,960 Speaker 3: of there totally different themes, but they're in a danger 1707 01:35:20,000 --> 01:35:22,920 Speaker 3: diabolic you know, the way that the two lovers are 1708 01:35:22,920 --> 01:35:27,240 Speaker 3: in on crimes together and the same thing as present here, 1709 01:35:27,280 --> 01:35:33,120 Speaker 3: and that is such a fun and mysterious and interesting dynamic. 1710 01:35:33,200 --> 01:35:36,000 Speaker 3: Like it's funny to see it play out, and it 1711 01:35:36,120 --> 01:35:39,840 Speaker 3: feels good, but it also just raises these questions, like 1712 01:35:40,000 --> 01:35:42,679 Speaker 3: why is that so common that people feel and act 1713 01:35:42,760 --> 01:35:45,160 Speaker 3: that way when they're in love? Like what is it 1714 01:35:45,200 --> 01:35:47,200 Speaker 3: about being in love that does that to us? It 1715 01:35:47,280 --> 01:35:49,479 Speaker 3: kind of kind of makes us bad to the rest 1716 01:35:49,479 --> 01:35:50,080 Speaker 3: of the world. 1717 01:35:50,720 --> 01:35:54,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess that's one of the appeals of paranormal 1718 01:35:55,040 --> 01:36:00,320 Speaker 2: romances and paranormal love stories, because the experience of being 1719 01:36:00,320 --> 01:36:02,720 Speaker 2: in love, the experience of being in a romance does 1720 01:36:02,760 --> 01:36:05,680 Speaker 2: feel supernatural. It does have that kind of energy to it. 1721 01:36:05,760 --> 01:36:08,599 Speaker 2: You know, you're not It feels like you have fallen 1722 01:36:08,600 --> 01:36:11,160 Speaker 2: in love with a vampire or a were wolf, or 1723 01:36:11,200 --> 01:36:14,800 Speaker 2: a sasquatch or a centaur, you know whatever. You know, 1724 01:36:14,840 --> 01:36:18,639 Speaker 2: your interest happens to be on the page or on 1725 01:36:18,680 --> 01:36:19,120 Speaker 2: the screen. 1726 01:36:19,720 --> 01:36:21,879 Speaker 3: All right, Well, Happy Valentine's Day everybody. 1727 01:36:23,640 --> 01:36:26,439 Speaker 2: All right, just a reminder to everybody that's stuff to 1728 01:36:26,439 --> 01:36:28,919 Speaker 2: blow your mind. Is primarily a science and culture podcast 1729 01:36:28,960 --> 01:36:31,559 Speaker 2: with core episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on Fridays 1730 01:36:31,800 --> 01:36:34,000 Speaker 2: we set aside most serious concerns to just talk about 1731 01:36:34,040 --> 01:36:37,040 Speaker 2: a weird film here on Weird House Cinema. If you 1732 01:36:37,120 --> 01:36:38,800 Speaker 2: want to check out a list of all the movies 1733 01:36:38,800 --> 01:36:40,760 Speaker 2: we've covered over the years, and sometimes a peek ahead 1734 01:36:40,760 --> 01:36:43,679 Speaker 2: of what comes next, you can go to letterbox dot com. 1735 01:36:43,920 --> 01:36:46,920 Speaker 2: Our user name there is weird House, and you'll find 1736 01:36:46,920 --> 01:36:49,080 Speaker 2: a nice list of everything. And of course you can 1737 01:36:49,120 --> 01:36:51,519 Speaker 2: write into us as well, let us know what vampire 1738 01:36:51,520 --> 01:36:54,320 Speaker 2: film we should do next, you know, sometimes weeks ahead. 1739 01:36:54,360 --> 01:36:56,559 Speaker 2: We're going to do some other non vampire films for sure, 1740 01:36:56,600 --> 01:36:59,320 Speaker 2: but we'll keep coming back to vampires and were wolves 1741 01:36:59,360 --> 01:37:01,320 Speaker 2: and Mommy. It's inevitable. 1742 01:37:01,640 --> 01:37:05,400 Speaker 3: Huge thanks, as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 1743 01:37:05,720 --> 01:37:07,200 Speaker 3: If you would like to get in touch with us 1744 01:37:07,200 --> 01:37:09,559 Speaker 3: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 1745 01:37:09,640 --> 01:37:11,840 Speaker 3: topic for the future, or just to say hello, you 1746 01:37:11,880 --> 01:37:14,439 Speaker 3: can email us at contact at stuff to Blow your 1747 01:37:14,520 --> 01:37:21,920 Speaker 3: Mind dot com. 1748 01:37:22,000 --> 01:37:24,960 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 1749 01:37:25,040 --> 01:37:27,840 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1750 01:37:28,000 --> 01:37:31,200 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.