The Curators of Horror
The Curators of Horror
Check Under Your Bed - Valentine (2001) vs. An American Haunting (2005)
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Hosts: Emrys and Katie
Guest: Nicole
In our third episode we meet adrenaline junkie Nicole, who grew up watching Horror with her dad, she loves to be scared and seeks out some real grotesque movies but she draws the line at E.T which is just too scary. After the credits have rolled on a really scary movie Nicole will check in the wardrobe and under the bed for any ghouls or ghosts.
We bring on the vuvuzelas, we get scared by the Judderman, Jonathan Creek, and wardrobes, we check under the bed before we go to sleep, we bone bones or is it Angel? we learn that all men are awful, we have a surprise penis, we rip the mask off - Scooby Doo style, we don’t cast Sir Ben Kingsley in a film unless he’s the villain, we search Jeremy Melton on the internet and find no results, we get aroused and have a nosebleed, our house is too big to notice multiple dead bodies, we say nope to little girl ghosts, we get possessed very quickly, President Snow and Carrie are our parents and we’re f*cked, we haunt someone for the most boring of reasons, we inexplicably hold back Sissy Spacek, we intentionally witness a haunting at a strangers house, and we also discuss the movies Valentine and An American Haunting.
Movies
Valentine (2001)
Directed by: Jamie Blanks
Written by: Tom Savage, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Where to watch:
UK & US: Buy & Rent from Amazon, YouTube
An American Haunting (2005)
Written and Directed by: Courtney Solomon
Where to watch:
US: Streaming on Hoopla, Tubi, Sling, Pluto
UK: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, STARS
US & UK: Buy & Rent from Amazon, YouTube, Apple
SPOILER WARNING: We will discuss the plot of these movies in full, so if you haven’t seen them, pause this podcast, watch them, then come right on back.
We also discuss the following:
Movies
The Princess Bride, Hammer Horror Movies, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, Final Destination, The Descent, What Lies Beneath, Hotel, Saw, The Snowman, Iron Man 3, The Ring, Paranormal Activity, The Orphanage,
TV
WandaVision, The Mandalorian, Jonathan Creek, Grey’s Anatomy, Angel, Buffy, Bones
Adverts/Commercials
Metz, Phones4U
Instagram: @curatorsofhorror
Email: curatorsofhorror@gmail.com
Produced and Edited by: Emrys
Recorded remotely using: SquadCast
Opening Music: Tiffany Hern
Closing Music: Spooky Scherzo by Sam Fonteyn
Welcome to the Curators of Horror.
SPEAKER_06We are your curators. That's Katie. That's Emris, and here at The Curators of Horror, we believe that there is a perfect horror movie out there for everyone.
SPEAKER_02So whether you're a lover or a hater or somewhere in between, we are on a mission to find you the perfect horror movie.
SPEAKER_06Each episode we convince an unsuspecting victim to join us on the podcast and to learn about their unique relationship with horror.
SPEAKER_02Each of us picks the perfect horror movie for our guest. We then strap them to a sofa, make them watch the movies, and then talk about it afterwards.
SPEAKER_06But who's the best curator? We're in competition, so each episode our guest will pick which film was their favourite and which one scared them the most.
SPEAKER_02Episode three.
SPEAKER_06This is just really confusing to me that you're like starting the episodes again because it's season two. Because I'm like, wait, what? Have I gone down like a wormhole and you've just removed all the other episodes that we've done? Because I just work on like the numbers, you know.
SPEAKER_02I forget that there's been a new season and we did we did 26 episodes in the first season, which was like a year.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And you won, obviously.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So to make it possible for me to win, we had to start again.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, but I don't know. I uh yeah, I just it throws me. Dear listener, if it throws you too, you're not alone. We should have a support group of some kind for you know. I don't I mean, I don't know what day of the week it is, let alone what episode number it is. So, you know, it's it's it always used to surprise me when you were like 24 or something like that, and now you're like three, and I'm like, what the fuck is happening? Numbers and shit. I don't know. I don't know. I think it's just a you know an indication of where I'm at in my life right now.
SPEAKER_02Or if you know, if you're new to this listener, then welcome to the third episode.
SPEAKER_06The third episode ever. Emirates just doesn't want you to listen to any of the other episodes because he does not want you to hear him getting beaten.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I don't want to be too contentious.
SPEAKER_06I know that you're what you're gonna say.
SPEAKER_02Uh there's been two episodes so far, and I have won both.
SPEAKER_06Two episodes of this season, not two episodes ever. It's like you it's like you're literally trying to erase everything that came before when you just lost and lost and lost.
SPEAKER_02I'm not erasing anything. I start off by saying, and obviously you won. So I'm actually I actually volunteered.
SPEAKER_06You know, sound bites and stuff. You literally just said there's been two episodes so far, and I've won everything. Of this season. You didn't say of this season.
SPEAKER_02Well, you interrupted me.
SPEAKER_06Oh, shut up. This is a good start, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02How is it feeling uh so far for you? Uh being uh, you know, not naught for four.
SPEAKER_06I mean, to be honest, again, it just feels like a representation of how I feel in life because I just feel like everything's a bit shit, including um obviously my ability to pick films for people. Feel like I don't know what day it is, I can't remember my place in the world or you know, who I am as a basic human being. All these things that I feel like are mutually felt currently by the majority of people because it feels like we're still in 2020 and it's been about five years. And yeah, but I'm not gonna start the podcast in that place. That's where I'm at, but to be honest, I am happy to be coming and doing this episode to talk about some films and have a bit of a chat, and it always makes me feel better. So huzzah. Huzzah, huzzah, and I might treat myself to a hot chocolate afterwards. I'm not making one for you though, just just me. Oh just me.
SPEAKER_02I was about to volunteer to make make one for both of us. Okay, you do that. I don't think I should now.
SPEAKER_06I made you dinner, you can make me hot chocolate. Okay, fair. There you go. And this is marriage, dear listener.
SPEAKER_02Maui.
SPEAKER_06This is Maui. It's what brings us together today.
SPEAKER_02And if you don't know what that's from, shame on you. Yeah, you should leave now. Turn the podcast off right now.
SPEAKER_06You should leave now if you don't know what that's from.
SPEAKER_02It's Princess Bride.
SPEAKER_06Yes. Anyway, how how are you doing? In your four for four little wearing a little paper hat of joy and one of those little streamers.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. The party blower thing going. Oh, what is that? Like a vovuzela? Is that what it's called? Something like that. I don't know. I knew if I said that it would bring Hila.
SPEAKER_06Oh like a what?
SPEAKER_02A Vuvozela.
SPEAKER_06Bring on the Vuvozela's.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_06Well, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh bless you. Yeah. Uh I think that's what it's called. I don't know. Um, I feel good. I feel um like it's probably not gonna last much longer, especially now I've like like rubbed your face in it a little bit. It's probably now my luck has run out.
SPEAKER_06I feel like I've been a much more gracious loser than you were. Because by the time we'd got to, you know, episode after episode of me thrashing you, you literally were just like, I don't like it anymore.
SPEAKER_05I don't like the podcast anymore. I don't want to.
SPEAKER_06I was like, all right, and I'm still here.
SPEAKER_02I was actually, I was this this afternoon, I was looking at um, because I keep a little um a little tally of how many films have uh been chosen as best pick, how many films have been chosen as scariest pick, and how many films have been were chosen as neither. And I've had like across all seasons to to break down the boundaries and confusion, I I've had six films I've chosen for people that they didn't like for either category, and you've had now four. So if you look across the whole thing, you are doing better than I am in that sense.
SPEAKER_06Cool.
SPEAKER_02How are you?
SPEAKER_06Uh yeah, I'm here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06I'm I'm I'm good. I'm I'm I'm okay. It's a funny old, it's a funny old world, isn't it? At the moment. It still is. I was thinking that by the time that we were in February, things might be a bit different, but apparently not. But hey, um, you know, things are things are things are looking up a little bit.
SPEAKER_02They are?
SPEAKER_06I mean, like people we know have had vaccinations. That's true, that's true. If we're gonna actually talk about real life stuff, I think it's awesome that finally I know people within my like, you know, whatchall it hemisphere. Is that what I'm talking about? Yeah, my circle, um, who are starting to get vaccinated, and that's just a really, really positive thing, and I'm very, very happy about that. So I'm focusing on that and um trying to just live with everything else that's going on and just never leave my house again, which is, you know, standard. And at least we've had some fun films to watch while we don't leave our house.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_06So there you go.
SPEAKER_02I don't think there's much else we've had on to watch uh since we caught up with people in our last episode.
SPEAKER_06No, but I would I would just like to say we mentioned Wondervision last episode, and I would like to reiterate Wondervision tenfold because it's just brilliant, and I'm really enjoying it. And get yourself a Disney Plus subscription, dear listener.
SPEAKER_02Hashtag not sponsored by Disney.
SPEAKER_06Not sponsored by Disney Plus, but you know, treat yourself with you know, it's a difficult time, and sometimes a little treat helps you, and a little bit of Disney Plus can go a long way. Just saying and watch some what watch some Wander Vision and also The Mandalorian if you haven't watched that as well. You know, just treat yourself. Um yeah, I'm really enjoying that. It's not really horror-related, but it's not I think that there'll be lots of people within the horror hemisphere who are fans of a bit of weird, and it is a bit weird, and I'm enjoying it. But like me, a bit of weird, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Me too.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER_02Cool. Well, talking of treats and treating yourself.
SPEAKER_06I thought you were gonna say talking of a little bit weird. No, I was like, that is a terrible thing to say. How dare you!
SPEAKER_02You teamed me up perfectly for a really lovely transition, and then you just started talking about weird stuff, and I was like, damn it, you've ruined this.
SPEAKER_06Oh, a treat.
SPEAKER_02A treat. Um, I think it's about time for us to introduce our next victim. So please, welcome to the podcast, Nicole.
SPEAKER_06Hello, the winned one is here. Nah, the treat is here.
SPEAKER_03The treat!
SPEAKER_06There we go.
SPEAKER_03I'll take that. I'll take either, to be fair.
SPEAKER_02Oh well, Nicole, thank you so much for agreeing to come on the podcast. It's actually been a bit of a long time in the making. Uh, we get all of our victims to fill in a little uh survey so that we can help the uh curation uh process. I think you filled yours in quite a while ago, so I'm glad we finally got round.
SPEAKER_03It was a really long time ago, and I have absolutely no idea what was on it. No clue. I don't remember that at all.
SPEAKER_02Hopefully you haven't changed too dramatically since then, and the films that we've picked for you are in at least some way appropriate. Uh, but let's get straight into it. Um, Nicole, tell us a little bit more about your relationship with horror movies.
SPEAKER_03I love it. I absolutely love it. I haven't always been this way. This is years and years of my dad convincing me and constantly putting me in front of the TV and being like, watch this, and I'd be absolutely shitting myself and just refusing to watch things for years, and I think he gradually wore me down. Um I was an absolute scaredy cat when I was young. Um, and I actually, it was probably wasn't until my mid-20s that I actually really started to like it. Um, you know, I used to have nightmares from film trailers that I saw on TV. Adverts, oh my god, adverts, the Judder Man. Do you remember the Judder Man?
SPEAKER_02Yes. I was it. Oh my god. It was an off-ice advert, I want to say.
SPEAKER_03Oh, it was some sort of alcohol. Yeah, I don't remember what but oh my god, he gave me many a nightmare. Um, and there was one actually a few years ago, well, a few years ago, it might have been with within the last 10 years, and I think it was for phones for you or some sort of phone company, and there was a horrible little girl, like ghost in it, like from the ring, and it was on primetime TV. It was horrible. Yeah, that gave me nightmares as well.
SPEAKER_02So I looked up a man while while you were speaking there, and it it it was a brand of alcohol called Mets, which I don't think exists anymore, but I remember it really vividly because it was really creepy. He was horrible. I don't think we've talked about adverts at any point on the podcast.
SPEAKER_06I don't I I don't think adverts have been something that has scared people previously. We've had video games and books and all kinds of random stuff, but never adverts.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well done for being original.
SPEAKER_03Congratulations. Yeah, thanks. Well, there was also um a Jonathan Creek episode, and I can't remember how old I was, probably about 10. And this must have been on at about seven or eight o'clock on a Sunday because I wouldn't have been allowed up any later to watch it. And it just absolutely and it scarred me for life, this Jonathan Creek episode. There was this sort of monster that came into somebody's house, and this person hid in you know those slatted wardrobes, the wooden slats, like in the doors. So they were hiding in one of those wardrobes, and this thing comes into the house with a massive sword, and he just looks around the room once, puts this sword up one of the slats really slowly, and when he brings it out, all this blood just like pours down this slattered wardrobe. So now I have a fear of slattered wardrobes, and unfortunately, the room that I always slept in in my grandma's house growing up has slattered wardrobes, so that's fun.
SPEAKER_06Oh god.
SPEAKER_02Oh no.
SPEAKER_06Do you know what? Emirates is the same with Jonathan Creek. Emirates actually introduced me to Jonathan Creek. It just it passed me by when I was growing up. And we always used to, when we um first like lived together, used to watch things on the computer when we were like going to sleep. Like before bed, we would watch things and we would sometimes have things playing as we kind of fell asleep. And I just started watching Jonathan Creek, and I was like, oh, this is pretty good. I want to watch all of the episodes. And Emerson's like, we are not watching that, we are not watching that at bedtime. No, I'm not gonna have that playing before I go to sleep. I'm not having it, I don't like it. And Emis is like a proper horror freak, like he's totally into all of the scary things, but for some reason, Jonathan, you and Jonathan Creek, he just can't, he just can't deal with it.
SPEAKER_02I love it though. Like, I love being scared. And for those of you who don't know, Jonathan Creek is a British BBC series about uh guy who is uh an expert in um stage magic and um you know kind of puzzles and solving things who gets called in to to try and understand um kind of crazy or outlandish um crimes or murders or whatever.
SPEAKER_06Disappearances and things. Exactly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it's the you know, like this person was locked in a room and they uh were killed by someone shooting them, but there's no way for anyone to get in and out, that kind of thing.
SPEAKER_06They drowned, but there's no water or all of that type of stuff.
SPEAKER_02I was so fascinated when you were describing the episode because I was thinking, oh, I wonder if it'll be one of the ones that I have that's like etched into my mind, and yours is different than mine. Mine is one of a creepy guy at a window in a house, and another one where they open the door to a cellar and there's a guy just like reaching up really creepy. Uh, but I do I do love a bit of Jonathan Creek.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, tell us a little bit more about uh your relationship with kind of your dad and horror, because that seems like that was the kind of the route into it for you. So how did that go?
SPEAKER_03I mean, he's always been a huge horror fan, like I say, and he was very much into his hammer horror back in the day. I think even when he was young, he said that his room was painted black for some time. So I don't think he was a goth, but I think he was just very into anything dark and weird and strange. Um and so yeah, he when I got to a certain age, obviously he tried to convince me to watch films with him. A really notable one for me, which has affected my whole life, was when he tried to get to get me to watch E.T. E.T. is not okay. And I know, Katie, that you agree with me there because I've heard you talk about E.T. before. He's not okay at all.
SPEAKER_04And it's still not okay. It's still not okay as well.
SPEAKER_06It's just oh no, I can't watch E.T. even now. Just thinking about E.T., you're talking about Jonathan Creek, thinking about E.T., I can't think about it for too long because it will just freak me out and I won't be able to sleep.
SPEAKER_03My palms are getting sweaty right now, thinking about it actually.
SPEAKER_04Oh no, it's that bad.
SPEAKER_02It feels like you two have quite a lot quite a lot in in common in the sense that um ET scares you, but also the fact that you are both a little bit older when you came to horror, and actually it it really freaked you out when you were young and you didn't really kind of go there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, definitely. I don't really remember any one film that got me into it, but I remember as a teenager watching films like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Final Destination, Scream, those sort of films. Um, and actually the descent, the the descent was one of my first films, I think, that I really, really enjoyed. And I still I actually hadn't watched it for a really, really long time, and we watched it a few weeks ago, and I still think it's great. I love that film.
SPEAKER_02We've covered that on the podcast before, and it is an excellent, excellent horror film. Really, really love the descent.
SPEAKER_06It is interesting to think that that's like one of the first films, like proper horror films that you really enjoyed because it is really extreme for what it is. Because, like, I know what you did last summer, and Scream and Final Destination, they have their moments. In particular, I think Final Destination, although it does get progressively more and more camp with every kind of sequel that they made. There's some really nasty bits in Final Destination that kind of really make your stomach churn, but the descent is so dark and so just it's one of those things because there's no rhyme or reason to kind of what happens in that film, and you just know it's not going to end well. And that's it's it's so oh, it's brilliant. I love I love the descent, particularly because it's so rare to see like a female-dominated horror movie, um, in which all the females are like, you know, kick-ass women, even though you know awful things happen, they are amazing independent women, which is great.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. What lies beneath is another one as well. That was one of the another first What Lies Beneath, but I don't actually really remember it that well anymore. But I remember that I when I was about 15, 16, I watched it, and I think it was the big thing that all teenagers were watching this film. I just remember a moment in the bath. Is there a minute in the like in the bath? Is she drowning or something? Yes. Yeah. There's little moments in there, but I don't really remember that film very well. But yeah, films kind of, I suppose, aimed at a teenage sort of audience are ones that sort of got me into it slowly. And then I slowly died inside, so I had to go to something a little bit more scary and a little bit more extreme.
SPEAKER_02So you two really are exactly the same.
SPEAKER_03You know, before long I was onto hostile, I was onto sore.
SPEAKER_02So for you, what makes a horror film a horror film?
SPEAKER_03That's really tricky because I think there's there's so many different types of horror, but I think that the the overwhelming feeling that I want to feel when the film is over is that I have to check inside every cupboard, under every bed, before I go to sleep. So that kind of feeling of being unsettled somehow. Not necessarily terrified, but just on edge, unsettled. I want it to make me feel like that.
SPEAKER_02Nice. I like that. Uh and you've you've talked about a few things that have freaked you out and a few horror movies that you've enjoyed. Tell us about the first uh experience you had, or the first one you can remember watching a horror film and how that went.
SPEAKER_03The the first time I remember being scared by a horror film. Well, I mean, I guess the first time I remember feeling absolutely terrified, I have to talk about ET again because it took my family years to convince me to watch this bloody film. And I remember that my grandma had it, it was on a VHS and it was recorded from the TV. And the first thing on this video was the snowman. So I would watch the snowman quite a lot. But when the snowman was coming to an end, I would know that it would soon flip over, and you'd be in the first scene of E.T. where they're all sort of in the dark and they're all waddling along, you know, they've just landed. So I would start to get that fear as the snowman ended. So now I have a little bit of a thing with the snowman too, which is lovely.
SPEAKER_02Our daughter is absolutely obsessed with the snowman at the moment, uh, even though it's February. We're just trying to like gradually wean her off watching that and other Christmas things that she's obsessed with.
SPEAKER_03Oh, it is brilliant. I love the snowman, but anyway, when it ends, I get the fear. But um when they finally sat me down, it was probably about age 13 because it took that long. I sat there and I had my hands over my ears, I had my eyes closed, and I watched the whole thing kind of through, you know, my fingertips, but I didn't enjoy a single moment of it. I don't understand what people are saying when they say that, you know, E.T. is this lovely, lovable character and there's this little boy. And I didn't even understand how this kid, you know, could film these scenes with this prosthetic alien because it was just the worst thing in the world to me. I hated it. And that's the first. Memory that I have of being absolutely terrified, and like I say, having to have something in front of my eyes pretty much at all times through it. And when it was over, I said, never again. That's it. I've done it now. I'm never doing it again.
SPEAKER_02Well done for going back, because a lot of people don't. A lot of people will watch something and then be like, nope, never going back to that again. So well done for facing your fear.
SPEAKER_03Well, I did, but do you know what? My children aren't watching it.
unknownBrilliant.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02Well, you obviously really love horror. So just give us a little bit to go out on. Just tell us a little bit about like what you love about it. Or if you're gonna recommend horror to someone who'd never seen a horror film before, what would you say to them?
SPEAKER_03Well, I would just say that it's it it kind of creates the feeling of adrenaline, doesn't it? I guess it's that old thing of feeling scared and feeling like you're in some sort of danger when there's absolutely no danger at all and you're completely safe. There's some i i you know, you it gets your heart pumping, it it's exciting at the same time as being scary, I guess.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I love that. That's that's exactly how I feel. It's like a safe way of of you know doing something to your body and getting you to react to something and feeling a certain way, but you're actually you know you're finer the whole time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I also do think that a very good horror film is kind of it's on the same level as fantasy for me. Fantasy is my other um genre that I absolutely love because it completely takes you away from your day-to-day life. And if you're watching a really good horror and you're really scared by it, you're really zoned into it and you're not thinking about anything else but your life at that moment. So I think it really just takes you away.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I love that. A bit of healthy escapism, very nice.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Okay, well, I think it is about time for us to reveal the movies that we have curated for you, Nicole. So let's do that right now. The first movie that we have curated for you is Valentine.
SPEAKER_00He loves me. Spend this Valentine's Day not with someone you love. He loves me. Someone you trust, he loves me not. And someone you know. He loves me.
SPEAKER_04Will you dancers when you dancers?
SPEAKER_00Remember the kid everybody ignored on Valentine's Day? Well, he remembers you. God, we were so horrible to that kid.
SPEAKER_01In eighteen eighteen, it began in this house. Now, nearly 200 years later, it's ready to finish what it started. Something you are.
SPEAKER_02Look for it on DVD. So, Nicole, tell us it is that point in the podcast for you to tell us. Which of us do you think chose which of these films for you?
SPEAKER_03Wow. Well, I to be honest with you, I really don't have a clue. But I'm gonna go purely on the fact that American Haunting is it it's kind of like a period horror piece, it's like a period drama-ish. And I've heard Katie speak in previous episodes about how she loves a costume drama, and so for that pure reason, because it's all I have, I'm gonna go with Katie from an American Haunting, and Valentine is Emiris.
SPEAKER_02You are correct.
SPEAKER_04I'm so happy I got that right!
SPEAKER_02Good good rational reasoning there as well. Very nice, very nice indeed. Well, we are gonna go straight into our conversation about these films that we have chosen for you. And we're gonna start with the film that I chose for you, which is Valentine. So let me tell you a little bit about Valentine. Valentine was directed by uh Jamie Blanks and written by Donna Powers, Wayne Powers, Gretchen Berg, and Aaron Harbert. Uh it was released in 2001 and stars a whole big old cast of people, but probably best known uh among them are Denise Richards, David Boreanes, uh Mary Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Coffiel, and Catherine Heigel, very briefly as well. And a little synopsis of Valentine. Five women are stalked by an unknown assailant while preparing for Valentine's Day. So, Nicole, over to you. Tell us what did you think of Valentine?
SPEAKER_03Well, this actually gave me nostalgic vibes because I think it really reminded me of those films that I've spoken about before. I know what you did last summer, Scream, Final Destination. It it kind of felt on the same sort of level as those for me. So it's it's really strange that I'd never heard of it before. I'm really surprised because I had never heard of it, and it kind of made me feel like I was 15, 16 years old again watching um watching one of my first horror films. So that was cool. And I actually think that the the not the very beginning, but the bit with Catherine Heigel? Heegel? I'm not sure. Heigel. I think it's Heigel. Yeah, Catherine Heigel. We meet her, and then I kind of think, okay, you're my protagonist, you're my main character, okay, we're getting used to you. Oh no way, she's dead. So um, yeah, that sort of reminded me of Scream a little bit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's true. Um, I think especially because she's probably the best known person in this film now. You think, oh yeah, she'll be the you know, like you know, I don't know much about this film, it's been chosen for me. She's probably gonna be the main character, and she just gets killed, and you're like, oh, okay. Gonna be lesser-known people that apparently at this point they thought will would be more successful or popular, and I don't think have done a great deal since, although some of them have.
SPEAKER_06Well, it's almost, I mean, I felt like I was watching the entire cast of Grey's Anatomy in this film, which is very strange. I was like, oh look, that person's in Grey's Anatomy, and that one's in Grey's Anatomy, and they're all friends as teenagers.
SPEAKER_04That's good.
SPEAKER_03See, the only one that I knew of was um Angel from Buffy. What's his name? David Boreanis? It's just Angel, isn't it? It's just to our generation, he will never be anything but Angel.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think to some people he's bones, but for most people he's Angel.
SPEAKER_06He's not actually bones. Is he not?
SPEAKER_02Oh no, yeah.
SPEAKER_06He's his bones is bones.
SPEAKER_02Bones is bone buddy.
SPEAKER_06His bones is bone his bones is bone buddy, because they bone. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Who the hell is bones? Can we just talk about that? Who the hell is bones?
SPEAKER_06There's a TV show. There's a TV show called Bones, which is about um investigating crimes when you have um like you know historic remains. So the remains of the person don't give you any indication of like where they've come from and stuff. So it's all about bones, basically. So the woman who is the best person at it, they all call her bones, and then David Boreanus is like the cop that works with her, but then eventually they they do bone as well. So it's multi-fashioned.
SPEAKER_03So it works, the name works on both levels, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. I I love how many just downright awful men there are in this film.
SPEAKER_06Oh my god, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02This I would say this film arguably, like obviously it's a bit of a slasher, it's a bit of like a mystery. Um, but if this film is kind of taking something from the world and going, uh let me take this thing that is in your life and make it scary, it's just men, yeah, basically.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the men are awful, especially that first um the first date scene. Yes, him Jeremy. Is that meant now? I'm confused with this guy. Because is that meant to be the little kid, or is that someone completely different?
SPEAKER_02He's a red herring, so he has the he just he happens to have the same initials as the little kid. Um, but yeah, he's just he's just a weird guy who refers to himself uh as Jason. Jason. Yeah, uh, which is just really odd. And then there's the guy who likes to rhyme. He's like, hey Kate, you want to date Kate?
SPEAKER_06The one who You want to be my mate, Kate? Tying trying on Kate's, you know, underwear and tights, pantyhose, that's what our American listeners will know those as tights, pantyhos, whatever. Um, type trying on a woman's tights in her apartment when she's not there, and then when someone comes in being like, it's not what you think. What do what do you think that I'm gonna think you're doing? What were you what were you doing? Trying to air dry them or something? Like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Like then you've got um creepy art guy who's like trying to just like invite his girlfriend into a threesome without actually asking her about it, which is really weird.
SPEAKER_06And who spends a whole conversation with another woman just talking to her boobs and being like, you're you really make that dress look good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. Um who else we got? Detective, the detective. The detective, who's obviously there to like help help them and protect them and solve a crime.
SPEAKER_06I think it's appropriate to commit sexual assault during one of the interviews, you know.
SPEAKER_02He just he's like, what the what we can do about this chemistry, and you're like, oh so grim. There's the guy who's trying to like um uh con one of the women as well.
SPEAKER_06An internet startup. God, it's been so long since I've heard the term I've got an internet startup in a film. That was so funny. I was like, oh, it's brilliant. Remember when the internet itself was like a start-up thing?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know. Then then there's an alcoholic, and then finally a guy who invites a girl upstairs to show her something.
SPEAKER_06To surprise her.
SPEAKER_02Uh surprise her. And the surprise is his penis. His penis.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I think we all saw that coming.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, there's some pretty tragic men in this film.
SPEAKER_06Every single man in this film, except for one, obviously, is a red herring because it's basically saying, look at how rubbish all of these men are. Every single one of these men could be the person who's killing off all your friends. And that is really not it's not nice, actually. Because it's really creepy that that whole aspect of as a woman, you literally cannot trust anybody.
SPEAKER_02So obviously, this film's a bit of a kind of a mystery story. So I'm wondering how you found that. Obviously, you you hadn't seen this before. So, how did you find your first viewing of that? And did you guess what was going to happen? Were you surprised by the the twist?
SPEAKER_03Well, I actually thought all along that it was the um the rich friend. I can't remember her name, but was she the girl that um actually did kiss Jeremy at the school dance at the beginning? I always thought that it was her the whole way through. And then when we think it is her and she, you know, falls down the stairs and they rip the mask off, Scooby-Doo style, and it's you know, all this hair falls out. It's like, aha, got it right. And then um actually when it turned out to not be her, and it was the boyfriend, I was a bit like, oh well, that's a bit of an anticlimax. Because I actually thought that they didn't make enough of him in it. I I don't know whether I really connected with his character very much, so I didn't care very much that it was him. I I think I would have preferred it if it was the woman.
SPEAKER_02He's kind of barely in the film, like he's in it for the sake of being the villain.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. It's like when you see, like we watched recently Iron Man 3, and Sir Ben Kingsley is in Iron Man 3. To this day, I cannot believe that Sir Ben Kingsley is in Iron Man 3, but you don't put him in the film unless you're gonna do something with his character, be it that he's the villain, or that you know, in that film there's a bit of a twist and stuff. Like, but I think that by casting Angel in Valentine, you don't cast Angel in something unless they're in there for a reason.
SPEAKER_02So I kind of stunt casting.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's like, look, look at this person that you're, you know, I mean, he was he was the the man of his decade, you know, for a certain for a certain kind of of of viewer, he would be like the love interest because he was so well known for being in um Buffy and then being in Angel. So I I think it's it's kind of a bit obvious that that you're going to be doing something with him. Because, like you say, they hardly use him at all during during the film, other than the fact that he keeps showing up and being like, Hey, I'm really, I'm really sexy and like hi. And brooding like so brooding, you know, it's yeah, it's it's pretty funny.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think they should have made more of him.
SPEAKER_02One of the um kind of criticisms levied against this film is the um uh Jeremy as he is when he's a little boy, or Adam as he is when he's uh David Boreanas, he seeks revenge against the girls who rejected him rather than against the boys who like beat the shit out of his clothes off. Which is exactly what I said punch on him.
SPEAKER_06That's exactly what I said when we were watching this film. I was like, oh yeah, because of course the man goes after the women who literally just said no to him because they didn't want to dance with him and give him a kiss, rather than the guys that beat the living shit out of him.
SPEAKER_02There is a bit in the film though, it's quite it's quite subtle, um, but it's in this in the script where the girls are talking about the head of that group of bullies uh died recently under mysterious circumstances. So it kind of makes you think he probably already kind of took care of the the main part of that group of people, at least. One of my favourite things in this is you have this opening scene where you know it's this awkward boy with glasses and kind of like bad teeth and everything who's going around and asking all these different girls if they'll dance with him at a Valentine's Day dance. And obviously now we know that David Boriana's Adam is the person who ends up killing them all. The way that they respond to him saying, Hey, would you will you dance with me? directly reflects the way that he dispatches them uh later on in the film. So Shelly, who's what's that? Catherine Heigel. Catherine Heigel, thank you. Uh she says, In your dreams, loser, and she dies lying down in a sleeping position. Uh Lily said just says, and she is the one who gets the maggots in the chocolates, and her body gets chucked in a dumpster. Paige says, I'd rather be boiled alive, and she gets thrown into a hot tub, a hot tub, is electrocuted. And then Dorothy, who's the the like you said, the rich the rich one who he actually did uh kind of kiss, uh says he attacked me. He makes everyone else believe that she is the one who has done all of these murders. Yeah. And then the the one that that survives and that he's obviously in a relationship with is Kate, who says maybe later, Jeremy. So they do get to dance together later. It's a lot later. I love that that kind of um structure and that formula that's really kind of interconnected with that first scene.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I really like that. I wish I'd noticed that. Can I just say as well for Jeremy, what a glow-up.
SPEAKER_06Very, very true.
SPEAKER_03I mean, you know, for all his fault, at least, you know, he went down looking good.
SPEAKER_02One of the other things that I really love in this film is there's a bit where one of the um women is like you know, concerned, curious about um Adam. Uh yeah, or about Jeremy.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh and she she goes onto the internet and she does a web search for Jeremy Melton. And there's no results. No responses.
SPEAKER_06There's no results on the whole of the internet about not a single Jeremy Melton in the world ever. And I was like, you can tell that this was made in the 90s because in the whole internet there is nothing about that name. And it's like, yeah, I wonder how many, how many times in your life you could search something on like a search ending uh engine and be like, oh, the internet is empty. There's nothing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, when you Google your own name on the internet, right? It it always comes up with just loads of shit.
SPEAKER_02Nicole, how did you find the kind of creepy cupid mask as a you know, as a kind of slasher killer identity?
SPEAKER_03I quite liked it, but then it again I'm a bit confused because at the very beginning, when Jeremy's being beaten to shit, some little kid comes through the crowd wearing that mask. So are we to assume that he was then given that mask?
SPEAKER_02Really good question, actually. I noticed that as well, and I don't I don't really know why that was in there either.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I mean, it's I think when when you start trying to for for as much as we enjoy to like um dissect things, because it's the type of people that we are when we watch, you can't think too much into too much with this type of a film, because you could basically be like, oh yeah, at some point he was given that mask, and then that did, or or did he like, you know, was that the first person that he then attacked afterwards and he took the mask from the kid who was watching him from the film, or whatever. It's just like it's it's yeah, if you think too much about it, you could just go around in circles forever. And I think in the end you have to go, is it actually worth it for the for the film? I don't think it's designed to be dissected on that level, is it? No, much as it's entertaining, not not to not to you know knock it for entertainment value, but if yeah, if we start picking holes, there's gonna be nothing left.
SPEAKER_02Um, so the other thing that really made me laugh while we were watching this is um the killer, who obviously we don't know who it is for most of the film. Uh every time they kill someone, they have a nosebleed. And right at the beginning of the film, Katie was like, Isn't there that thing where like some people when they get aroused, they have a nosebleed. So every single time someone died, all I was thinking was that person's just like got a boner. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Talking about bones again. I have never heard of someone having a nosebleed when they're turned on.
SPEAKER_06I don't know. I don't know where this is. This is I mean, I spend way too much time reading stupid shit on the internet, and this just came into my head. And I literally I said it to Emris at the beginning of the film, and then I was just like, I can't, I can't not think about this now. And it's really yeah, I I mean, yeah, I I do like the idea that he's that creepy though, that he gets a nosebleed whenever he's like, you know, enjoying himself.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06It's a bit like the Hulk, but creepy. You know, the Hulk the Hulk can't have sex because otherwise he turns into the Hulk. This guy's a bit like that, but with you know, being a creepy murdering type with a nosebleed.
SPEAKER_02Like I said before though, I think it's really cool the way that this film kind of plays on, I guess you know. know, women's fear of how creepy and awful and freaky men can be, even if they're people that that that you trust or that you feel like you know well, or if they're complete strangers or real weird people. But it's actually the person, it's the character in this case who turns out to be the killer who is the one that they know the most and that they have known the longest turns out to be the one that's behind it all. That is quite quite creepy, I think. Obviously it is a relatively lighthearted kind of like in you know let's put this on and be a bit scared and have a bit of fun. But I do actually think at its core that is quite a scary idea.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean we've all walked home with our keys in between our knuckles right I used to do that at uni all the time. If you if you're ever on your own ever you have your keys in between your knuckles just in case just ready to strike.
SPEAKER_06Yeah same same every time I used to walk home on my own from from college I used to do that. And I think because I was thinking about this when when we finished watching this film and I actually think that it's pretty interesting in terms of its message which is that you know basically men are arseholes who are who well it's it is that idea of you know men being in a position where they could become killers and I think that that is quite progressive for a film in the 90s to basically be like oh by the way girls you're not safe because all these men are like evil. They're capable of evil and you need to take care of yourself and stuff. But I think the difference between if this film was being made now in comparison to when it was made is that there's this massive undertone for every single one of these girls that they are being treated like this because they deserve it. Because they were horrible to somebody when they were like 15, 16 years old at school when they literally said to someone actually no, I'm not interested. And granted they didn't do it in a way that was very nice but just because you're not very nice to somebody doesn't then give them free reign to come after you with a knife and like kill you 13 years later. And it's just like there is this kind of this attitude that oh look at these look at these horrible girls who are really nasty to somebody they well they weren't very nice so they deserve the fact that they then get bumped off and then these other oh when they grow up they're very sexual which obviously means that they're evil and dirty because girls that like sex deserve to get murdered and you know it's I think that that is a very 90s way because I do think it's quite a strong female caste in terms of you have all of these women who are being preyed upon but there is just this massive feeling that they're getting their comeuppance in a way that they kind of you know well if you'd been a nicer person and you'd smiled at people and you'd let people dance with you and kiss you even if you didn't want to then this wouldn't have happened to you so it's it's it's weird.
SPEAKER_02I don't think it's trying to say that though I I don't think it's justifying I would I would argue that this is an acceptable reason to do these things at all.
SPEAKER_06I would argue that you watch this film as a man my love and you don't know what it's like to live in the women's world.
SPEAKER_02I'm not saying it's not it it's not um you know it's definitely trying to be like watch out but I don't think it's trying to say that this is acceptable baby not necessarily but I do think it definitely it does have and and many many films of the 90s do.
SPEAKER_06You know the way that women are portrayed in a lot of 90s films is either being a whore or a virgin. Do you know what I mean? So it's like it's it's not necessarily saying that it's okay that they're all getting murdered but there's definitely a very strong undertone that they wouldn't have been put in this position if they'd just been nicer in inverted commas you know and so it doesn't it doesn't matter if whether someone's going yeah it's right yeah let's watch them all get murdered and that's fantastic. But um but yeah which is which doesn't sit well with me.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if you can tell that from my from my um outburst about 90s films in general but yeah yeah I feel like if it was made now it would like the girls would kick a bit more arse maybe yeah definitely I also think it'd probably be a bit less um undertones of humor as well like like I feel like there's this like yeah this is funny and it's like no it's not it's it's really not funny to be funny in a hot tub that's the worst one isn't it I think of all the the most the hot tub is just horrible.
SPEAKER_06That's yeah it's creepy as can we just talk about one more thing though how many people get killed in that girl's house before someone even notices that one person has been killed in her house I was sitting there saying how big is your frickin' house I mean that's how you know on the scale of I've got a massive house to this house is just too big is that there's like five people at least who've got killed in this house before anyone's even noticed that anyone's gone missing let alone that there are you know dead bodies everywhere.
SPEAKER_02And it was just when you said that that there's the bit where the kind of like the girl who was like previously being ripped off by the con artist guy is like going through the house and the killer just walks in carrying another body yeah and you're like oh there you go that's finally someone's seen it.
SPEAKER_03At last the very last um comment that I wrote down is there's some lovely ways to go in this I mean one of them was the hot tub and um another memorable one is when one of them get their face rammed on a shard of broken glass in the shower. It was also very lovely. But the the hot tub one actually reminded me a little bit of the um the sunbeds in Final Destination where they get trapped in sunbeds.
SPEAKER_02We talked about that as well we were what we when we were watching it we were like what film is that I said Final Destination as well.
SPEAKER_06You did yeah my personal favorite is when uh the killer who's obviously dressed as Cupid uh shoots three arrows into one of them uh with a bow and arrow I just thought that was like they were like we've got to put it in somewhere so let's let's have it here I mean that's skills to be fair three in one right well I think it is about time for us to move on to the conversation around our next film which is the film that Katie chose for you Nicole so Katie tell us a little bit about An American Haunting so An American Haunting uh was released in 2005 and it has a pretty impressive cast actually um big names big heavy hitters um starring Donald Sutherland Sissy Spacek um also Rachel Herdwood who I know as being Wendy Darling in like the more recent a live action adaptation of you say more recent it was in 2003 which is before this film came out. I know no but I you know what I mean it's not the Disney one that came out like a hundred years ago um and yes it was directed by um Courtney Solomon who also co-wrote it with um Brent Monaghan um Brent Monaghan wrote the original novel that this particular film is based on a little synopsis for you for an American haunting based on the true events of the only case in the US history where a spirit caused the death of a man.
SPEAKER_03And um yes tell us Nicole what did you think of an American haunting well again this is one that I'd never heard of before which is it's crazy that you picked two that I'd never heard of which I loved um I really like the time hop back to the 19th century. I wasn't expecting that at the at the beginning so I really like you know the finding of the journal and then the hopping back because like I've said before I I I don't know if I've said it before actually but I love a period drama and anything costume drama I'm sold. I love it. And I always I also think that it's a little bit more spooky when it's a costume drama as well because everything was a little bit darker everything's by candlelight so everything seems a little bit more creepy. And I also thought that um everything was just quite grey in this film which I I quite liked. Everything just felt a bit spooky. One of the first things I've written down for this one is little girl ghost nope I don't like little girl ghosts I do not like them at all. Ever since the ring oh my god any little girl ghost and you just no no no but yeah I I like I like the era that it was um set in I I I did think that once it's Betsy isn't it the little girl I did think that once she started to show signs of possession it all happened very very quickly you know I think we were only about 20 minutes into the film and she was already being dragged into the air by her hair and I was like oh god how much further can this go now? Like we've already got to this point which is usually like the end of a possession film when it gets to that level so I thought it escalated quite quickly and I think I would have quite liked it to escalate a little bit slower than it did almost because it's all those little creepy moments where you don't actually see very much or hear very much that I find the most scary you know like the little creaky doors and the footsteps in the middle of the night and you know with um oh god what's it called paranormal activity it all happens really really slowly doesn't it and that's what makes that film for me really scary because we've all woken up in the middle of the night thinking shit what the hell is that you know it happens to everybody so I think that it it it all happened a bit quickly for me in this film.
SPEAKER_02I hadn't seen this film before either Nicole and I definitely got the vibe that it kind of this is quite a famous haunting in America and it kind of gave me the vibe that it was kind of expecting that you already knew some stuff about what was going to happen which I didn't. And also I I think part of the reason why I I'm kind of rationalizing why they got there a little bit earlier is if this is modern day then you know it's much easier to prove things and have people believe you about things now than it was at this point.
SPEAKER_06So like they're at a point where they have seen her physically lifted into the air by someone apparently grabbing her hair that they can't see and then smacking her about the face and the next scene is is four men in a room saying yeah but it probably wasn't really well to be fair it's one of them saying it's it's the teacher which I thought was pretty hilarious in terms of going going with like stereotype the teacher who is who is literally like having these other three men whom he actually like really respects and who are like big names in this particular town and they're like you know they're not known for for being you know kind of crazy or just talking crap and he's like no but it was dark it was at night time so so someone must have just been holding her up which I thought was one of the most funny things that the teacher is like no I'm not gonna I'm not gonna believe that there's like a spirit coming someone must have been there you just didn't see them because it was dark which was yeah pretty pretty interesting it does go again to kind of stereotypes of ghost films which is when you have the guy who is the practical I I don't believe that this is going to happen and he ends up being the one who I think becomes really deeply embedded in the whole thing and believes in it more than anybody else by by the time you get to kind of the end he's the one who's like no we have to get away from this this spirit in inverted commas the main thing that I learned from this film is if your parents are President Snow from the Hunger Games and Carrie you're basically fucked like there's there's you've got no chance you got no chance like it's it's you're yeah it's gonna be a bad life I'm sorry to be ready for that. Yeah yeah and he's just as evil in this of course as he is in the Hunger Games as well in the end I was gonna say I think one of the reasons why as well that we get to that kind of pinnacle of haunting as quickly as we do I think number one this is a a very very well documented haunting in the US it's one of those hauntings that has been like routinely referenced through the ages like people just haven't been able to let it go and in particular it is because it you know the the the death of the um the father played by Donald Sutherland um he he actually he did die in real life and I think it's like you know pretty much one of the only hauntings in history where someone has been seen to to die at least in in in US and so that's that's one thing obviously that is for it's quite well known but also this isn't a conventional haunting because the ghost that's haunting isn't conventional and the actual kind of story that they're trying to focus on is not to do with the haunting so it's a little bit I must admit it's it does feel a little bit strange in terms of how they've put the structure together because you it does suddenly you're like full blown like oh my god there's a ghost and it's doing God knows what to this little girl um because it's really nasty what happens to Betsy in this film and they don't pull any any punches with with how they show that on screen which is pretty intense um but the point is is that she's you know I mean spoilers massive spoiler massive twist she's actually haunting herself to a certain extent because the point is her father um abused her um and they there is a there's a whole sequence where they say part of her soul died that day and it's this part of her soul that is kind of tormenting her so that the truth can come out so that she can remember what happens so that she can then take her revenge on her father um which is yeah it's I think it's not an expected turn of events at all I think.
SPEAKER_02I think one of the things I really struggled with in this film is that I took the bait of the the red herring in this which is oh he sold some land to someone and charged them 20% interest usury you've lost your good name so we're gonna haunt you I was like that is the most rubbish terrible shit motivation for haunting someone I've ever heard so I was just like I just don't really care and I just kind of really really switched off and then when you get to the end where you have this massive reveal where you're like so he was like he was like raping her and abusing her and and she's actually the one who's kind of like been like you know haunting herself or getting this spirit to to to get revenge for what he's done and the mother's in on it and all that stuff. I was like oh this is amazing but that that's literally all delivered in like 30 seconds. Yeah and and I just I feel like the amount of time they spent on different things is completely off in this film. There's a great story here but the way that it's told isn't great and I also really struggled with the character development I just didn't really care about the characters until we were like right at the end and it was already kind of too late for me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah I have to agree with you there. I think that the yeah like you said the story is when you get to the end it's it's great because you do not see that coming at all but it's a bit disjointed and it doesn't spend enough time on some things and too much time on others and yeah I have to agree with you there.
SPEAKER_06Although it is still quite creepy. No it benefits from having a stellar cast dealing with the kind of clunky aspects of it. And I think the reason that I would still say it's worth watching as like a a haunting kind of ghost film is that I do think that it is it's interesting in terms of re-watching it with the knowledge of what of everything that's going on. I think it's one of those it's one of those films that maybe on a first viewing because I remember very distinctly my first viewing of this film was just that I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards and that's always my kind of bar by which I kind of judge whether or not a film is is is worth my time is that for all its problems it does kind of hook into you a little bit and you suddenly kind of go, oh God, I can't I can't deal with thinking about all of these things and and then obviously it kind of you know it starts with a flashback and it ends with a flash forward to modern day and the idea is that this this ghost is is is basically there for all children who are going through similar things that that Betsy Bell went through back in the 19th century or 18th century. I can't remember which century it is but um it and it's like that that that's kind of you know talking about not liking child ghosts it's like that is probably one of the most compelling child ghosts that I've ever heard of is a child ghost that's literally there to scare the shit out of people so that they stop mistreating children. Like that's pretty intense.
SPEAKER_02I feel like this I want this film to be a bit more like the orphanage like it's that kind of like it's not what you're expecting. It's not like malicious haunting it's actually like vengeful haunting for for real bad wrongdoing and I I really do like that about it. And I also really love the the introduction of the like the young girl whose face you don't see um all the way throughout the film and then at the end she looks up and it's her younger self. I think that is really powerful like that it it's it's it's like that um that bit of her that she lost or that bit of her that was corrupted by what happened is has come back to help her and to help others and I I I think that's a really powerful kind of positive story for people who've gone through like abuse or or you know like awful things like this.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06I do think we have to take a moment to mention um Sissy SpaceX face in this film. I just I just watching this film I I was like good god if there was ever a woman who was just built for horror like she I mean she has the fate she I mean she just she has carrie face because that's why she was cast as Carrie because she's no one will ever be more Carrie than Sissy Spacick is but her face is just the amount of shock and emotion that she can portray by doing absolutely nothing just hits me to the core every single time because she just is I I just I just adore her and I do I love the relationship that her and Donald Sutherland kind of have in the film and it becomes even more horrible when obviously you realize I think her character it I think it it hit me more now as a parent myself where there's that moment where she's like you know mother always slept really soundly and you didn't eat you don't even notice when I get out of bed and it's the the mother didn't know and when she finds out that's when Donald Sutherland Mr Bell is is not going to be hanging around much longer because mum's here and she's just sitting in the corner watching and just being like yeah you fucking piece of shit like there's also like three or four scenes where um like like Betsy's being like haunted or pulled around or something's happening to her and there's just all of these scenes of people holding Sissy space like back.
SPEAKER_02Yeah like she she's like no and they're like no don't and I'm like why are you holding her back she's she wants to go and help her. Why like what what are you doing?
SPEAKER_06It's just that it kind of it got to a point where I was like oh they're gonna hold her back again and then it happened there again there again I mean there is there is a bit where he's writing like it doesn't matter what what what they do it just it makes it worse if they try and interfere so that's kind of why but it yeah they don't show that very early when they're just like no sissy space leave your daughter alone in this room with the door shut with a ghost coming in and tormenting her like you know just sit outside just be quiet sissy space but no Nicole I'm curious did you know going into this that this was based on a true story?
SPEAKER_03No I'd never heard of it before at all.
SPEAKER_02Do you think like because I was thinking obviously at the end it says this is based on true events. They do that kind of like we're dropping this thing and you're like no really every time you see that
SPEAKER_03That's what gives me chills because it just adds a whole other level to things, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_06Well, I would say this is in terms of true events, just to set everyone's mind at rest. The the ininverted commas true events are the haunting of the bell witch, which is very, very documented, like I said. And it's something that I don't know, people back in the day must have not had very much to do because when there was a haunting, people used to go and like bear witness to a haunting in someone's house. Like just random people, members of the public and stuff, used to just rock up to someone's house and be like, I hear you've had a haunting. Can I come and like see if it's actually real? And then I'll write a testimony to say that I see it and I had, you know, I'm not your friend or whatever, and you haven't paid me to do it. And I was like, there is no amount of money in the world that you could give me to go and like witness a haunting at somebody's house. Like, how bored would you have to be? But yeah, basically, there were a lot of testimonies about this particular haunting and about the hat that it was legit and that type of thing, and that it was specific to um a father and a daughter, were the main focus of it. Pretty much everything else that's added into this film is like fictionalized. And I think it's almost like because it's such a well-known haunting, just that it kind of happened and historically it was these people, I think it was almost someone coming in and being like, I'm gonna write a reason as to why it happened. I'm gonna explain away all of the unexplainable things. And whilst I do think that that gives it a lot of twists and turns and intrigue, I sometimes actually think that it's not knowing that makes something scarier. So maybe they kind of missed a trick in terms of how scary this could have been by not just explaining it away in the way that they did and being like, and now I'm gonna tie it up in a little ribbon, and there that's the nice little story of this particular haunting, and that's exactly why it happened. The end.
SPEAKER_02Right. Well, we've come to the point in the podcast where it is our time to explain to you why we chose these films for you, and I'm gonna go first. Uh so, Nicole, I chose Valentine for you. Um, I do sometimes find it a little bit harder when we have guests uh on the podcast who really love horror because it's just that what I could give you is so, so broad. So I'm actually trying to take a leave out of Katie's book and just find one thing and really, really like try to connect to that. I think also the fact that I know you and we've we've known each other for quite a long time definitely probably did give me a little bit of an advantage, potentially, and a bit of it was just that I wanted to give you some good like 90s naughies nostalgia. Uh, you said in your survey and you've said in the podcast that that was the time when you were kind of getting into horror, and I know that was like a really big bonding thing with your dad. Uh, and I actually thought this was a slightly lesser known film that came out around that time that I actually really enjoyed, uh, even though it does have some flaws to it, and I kind of was banking on the fact that you hadn't seen it, so I'm I'm glad that I that I was right in the sense that you hadn't. I also know how close you are with like your group of girlfriends kind of from growing up and from when we were at uh uni together as well. So I thought you'd be able to kind of put yourself into it. But it was the one thing that you said in your survey, which was that that being left with a feeling of unease after viewing, uh, so you need to check under the bed and in the wardrobe. Uh so I wanted to pick a film for you that was taking something that would make the I guess the trusted men in your life that you love or the people that you walk down the street next to you just be a bit creepy and maybe kind of leave that like bad taste in your mouth, but mainly just hitting that hard nostalgia vibe. And that's why I chose Valentine for you.
SPEAKER_06Well, I definitely did. Well, I picked an American haunting for you. I again, I I I feel the same as Emris, that sometimes it's difficult to pick films for someone who says, Oh, I love horror films, because it doesn't, it it gives you a very, very broad spectrum um of which to pick from. And I think the thing that I um when I was reading your questionnaire, and from obviously when we've had this conversation today, I do feel like we have a lot of kind of interests and things in common, particularly regarding kind of what scares us and that type of thing. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna go with more of a of a of a gut feeling rather than getting too specific as to what's on the questionnaire. But one thing that I did notice that you um mentioned in terms of your your likes and loves of of films was that you did specify that you do really enjoy history, films based in history. So I thought, okay, so why not go for something that's more kind of costume drama-esque? And um three of the types of horror that you specifically said that you enjoyed were um paranormal, haunted houses, and ghosts and spirits. And I thought, well, what films do I have that I haven't yet done? Because I have done quite a few costume dramas that are like haunted houses and spirits and ghosts. And for some reason, this one just popped up in my head, and I was like, again, I like to pick films that I don't think that people have seen because I always think it's more interesting when you don't know anything about a film. And this is a film that I haven't really met many people that have um have seen it or or know about it. So I thought it's a pretty good chance that you probably haven't seen it, and um yeah, it just ticked some ticked some boxes in terms of the uh different types of films that you said that you had enjoyed, and I also hoped that it would it would give you a bit of a a bit of a shock and a bit of a twist. So um that is why I picked an American haunting for you.
SPEAKER_02Right. Well, it has come to the point in the podcast where we've got two important questions to ask you, and I'm gonna ask you the first one right now. So, Nicole, which of these two films scared you the most?
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna have to go with an American haunting because of the little girl ghost, she really freaked me out, especially right at the beginning when the girl is running through the woods and she runs into her house and she goes into her bedroom, and you think, ah, she's in her bedroom now. She's safe. No, she's not safe. Yeah, there were more creepy moments in an American haunting for me. Definitely. I think Valentine has a certain you're right in terms of it it does make you feel a little bit uneasy in terms of, you know, we've all been walking down the street on our own at night, and there's that feeling of, you know, there's someone watching me. But in terms of scare, yeah, I'd I'd go with the the spooky one every time, I think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think that's totally fair. I think uh I think I have to agree with you on that front. All right, well, uh second question, and the big question for you is which of these two films was the best curated horror pick for you?
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna have to go with the one that scared me the most, which is an American haunting.
SPEAKER_06Oh my good god. I'm genuinely, really, really surprised and really pleased, and yay, yay.
SPEAKER_03I did really I enjoyed Valentine. Um, I enjoyed the nostalgic element of it, and I like that I've found a different film of that sort of caliber, but I would always pick the one that scared me the most, definitely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's totally good. I think that's I think that's that's what you've got to be looking for, especially when you're big into horror like I know you are. You're on the scoreboard!
SPEAKER_06Yay!
SPEAKER_02There you go.
SPEAKER_06The tables have turned back to their rightful turning. No, I do know I was I was really I I do I do think um I I agree when it comes to what I look for in a horror film, um, I would have probably gone with um an American haunting as well. Because whilst Valentine, I found it entertaining, which is hilarious, because if I had watched this film when it came out, Jesus Christ, I wouldn't have been able to sleep. And now I'm just like, eh, it's just a guy with a knife. What's so scary about a guy with a knife and a bow and arrow and a massive drill and a you know, whatever else he uses? Whilst, yeah, like creepy children ghosts. I'm like, no, no, thank you very much, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02Cool. Well, we have reached the end. Uh so all we have left to do is just say a massive thank you to Nicole. Thank you, Nicole.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, Nicole. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure. I've really enjoyed it. And it's been a pleasure to do something during lockdown that's you know, that's different to going for a walk and cooking dinner. Making banana bread. I haven't done any of that yet, actually. Surprisingly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I totally skipped the whole sourdough starter thing. I feel like we should do that at some point, but we didn't we haven't done that yet.
SPEAKER_06I'm not making you a sourdough starter. Like you're looking at me like that's something that I need to take on on top of everything else that I'm currently doing, and I'm just putting it out there right now. There's no sourdough starter for you.
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_02Okay. I've tried.
SPEAKER_06Thank you for joining us on the Curators of Horror. We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of Valentine and an American haunting. Which did you think was the best movie?
SPEAKER_02Are there any other horror movies that you'd like to recommend for our guest, Nicole?
SPEAKER_06You can let us know what you thought over on Instagram at Curators of Horror, or you can email us at curatorsofhorror at gmail.com.
SPEAKER_02Head on over to our Instagram to vote for your favourite movie and to tell us which one scared you the most.
SPEAKER_06We'll be back next week to reveal our next curations and in two weeks with our next main episode.
SPEAKER_02We really hope you enjoyed the podcast. If you did, rate, review us, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER_03And if you didn't, well, I mean, you've made it to the bitter end, so it can't have been that bad, right?
SPEAKER_02It's such a good point. I mean, why would people be still listening now if they hated it?
SPEAKER_03Why would you still listen?
SPEAKER_02The other reason I chose this film, by the way, is it's like Valentine's Day around this time of year, so let's be topical.
SPEAKER_06Oh, see what you did there.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much, Nicole.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, guys.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, Katie.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, Emris.
SPEAKER_02Thanks for listening, and we hope you have a horrifying week. And happy Valentine's Day.
SPEAKER_06I hope a creepy child ghost doesn't come after you.
SPEAKER_02If you get some chocolates from a stranger, don't eat them.
SPEAKER_06I mean, whoever eats chocolates from a stranger is just a stupid person anyway. Come on. Could have dropped them on the floor or something.