The Curators of Horror
The Curators of Horror
The Unsettling Feeling - Eyes Without A Face (1960) vs. Tusk (2014)
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Hosts: Emrys and Katie
Guest: Sarah
In our ninth episode we meet passionate, Aussie, horror amateur: Sarah.
We curate numbers, ice creams, & vomit and hug people. We get attacked by feral pigs, and backpack across the outback in the 90s, we take a brief detour to film noir, we attempt some face surgery but it doesn’t take, we go upstairs and it’s scary, the clown music kills our sense of impending doom, we go out in our murder car with our theme tune, we rename the movie for the American market, we’re invited to join the ‘Not-See Party,’ Justin Long gets poorly treated, we drink the tea… a lot, we don’t recognise Johnny Depp, we go FULL WALRUS, we have a shared traumatic experience, and we also discuss the movies Eyes without a Face and Tusk.
Movies
Eyes Without A Face (1960)
Directed by: Georges Franju
Written by: Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Jean Redon, & Claude Sautet
Where to watch:
US: Steaming on HBO Max, The Criterion Collection
US: Buy & Rent from Amazon, Apple
UK: Buy a DVD (sorry!)
Tusk (2014)
Written & Directed by: Kevin Smith
Where to watch:
US: Streaming on fubo, Showtime, kanopy, DirectTV
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
Bad Hair, Insidious Franchise, Razorback, Boar, Dirty Dancing, Child’s Play Franchise, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, The Exorcist, The Babadook, Wolf Creek, The Loved Ones, Halloween, Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerers’ Stone, Red State, Silence of the Lams, Saw, Hostel, Misery, The Human Centipede, Yoga Hosers, Moose Jaws, Frankenstein.
TV
Inside No 9, Motherland, Wolf Creek, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Podcasts
Hollywood Babylon, SmodCast.
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_01We're your curators.
SPEAKER_02That's Katie.
SPEAKER_01That's Emerson 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_01Each 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_01But 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_02Hang on, hold please.
SPEAKER_01I know it's season two.
SPEAKER_02It's definitely season two. Yeah. I've ordered my podcast the wrong way. Hang on.
SPEAKER_01I mean, does it really matter at this point what episode it is?
SPEAKER_02Episode nine!
SPEAKER_01Ah yes. Episode nine. It's very important that we knew that it was episode nine of season two.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01So yeah.
SPEAKER_02Your listeners need to know. Okay. I've had feedback. Really? I haven't really had feedback.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, whoever's given you that feedback needs to take a step back and look at their life and why they are obsessing over the number of the of the episodes.
SPEAKER_02They're like, love that podcast, but like why can't you get the episode numbers right at the beginning? What's that about? Yeah. Yeah. It's not the curators of maths, guys.
SPEAKER_01The only thing that I check into here is which episode it is, and then I turn it off. Why are you ruining it for me? We're not, it's episode nine. Episode nine, season two, episode nine. Yeah, enjoy.
SPEAKER_02If you didn't get that by now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. There's been eight other episodes before this one. Well there's been more than that before. Um so listen to all of those first and then come back here. Have you done that? Fantastic.
SPEAKER_02Or you know, if you just want to stay and have this one first, then that's fine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean this is gonna be a doozy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, a doozy.
SPEAKER_01A doozy. This I mean I don't know whether I'm excited or just plain sickened by the films that we're talking about this episode. Uh yeah, I mean it was it was thrilling to be honest. Yeah. We'll get into why soon. But yeah, it's been a very up and down kind of uh viewership of these. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02How are you?
SPEAKER_01I'm really good, thank you. Yeah. I'm gonna have an ice cream after this. So yeah, I'm looking forward to that.
SPEAKER_02Well, do tell the listeners are gonna want to know.
SPEAKER_01What kind of ice cream? Well, I'm very much a Magnum Double Caramel fan. Yes. But the thing that gets me about Magnum Double Caramels is you only ever get three in a pack. And they made them smaller. Which means if you have a husband like mine who has masses of his own ice lollies and stuff in the freezer, but still insists on eating yours, that you end up sometimes only having two when you've paid an exorbitant amount of money for three anyway. And I'm looking at Emiris with disgust because he does eat my ice creams, and I'm like, fuck you. Um but they made them smaller. They have made them smaller, which is just even more disappointing. But I decided to go a different route with last shopping expedition, and I went for the the Cabri crunchy ice creams.
SPEAKER_02It's like the chocolate bars like Cinder Toffee.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, it's like Is it Cinder Toffee? Yeah, like honeycomb. Yeah. Yeah. And then it has popping candy in the chocolate shell. And there's four of them in a packet, and they're still cheaper than the three pack of dubno double caramel magnums. So, and you're not getting any of them.
SPEAKER_02So I'm not even gonna ask for that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you better not.
SPEAKER_02You really made that into a story, I'm impressed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I can make anything into a story. In case you haven't noticed, this is this is what I do, this is why you wanted me here. I can talk about any old shit. My poor therapist. Seriously. Uh yeah, how are you? I'm really good. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02We're we're currently, as we record this, enjoying a week off from work uh where we were meant to be going to Disneyland in Paris, but you know Rona happened. We're not doing that this year, we're gonna go next year, but we still had the holiday. And in the UK, this week, you're allowed to like have people in your house and and like more places are open and you can hug people. Hug people. So it's a really good week to have.
SPEAKER_01I'm not saying that we've been going out on the street and just hugging strangers, we've been hugging responsibly. But it has been nice to feel like if you feel the urge to hug someone that you are no longer kind of like illegal to do it, um, which has which has been really nice. But I I mean, I'm surprised that you're so chipper considering you did spend a large portion of today covered in vomit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I did. Well it was a large portion, it was a relatively small portion, but it was it was it happened.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it was a large portion of vomit.
SPEAKER_02It was it was, and it smelled like strawberry.
SPEAKER_01To put this into perspective, it wasn't Emiris' vomit, it was the uh vomit of our two and a half year old, bless her heart, who after a lovely day out, um having some some delicious fruity snacks and then a strawberry ice cream, um, got a little bit car sick on the way home. And when Emheris took her out of the car, she just vomit all over him. I wasn't I wasn't anywhere close to the vomit, which was pretty hilarious.
SPEAKER_02I'm pretty sure that coat is dry clean only, but there you go. I I love her anyway.
SPEAKER_01Oh bless her. And she was absolutely fine. Yeah, no children were harmed in the process of this bout of car sickness.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah, I should probably have put a trigger warning in there in case anyone has like vom phobia.
SPEAKER_02But I mean, I feel like if you're coming to this podcast, you can't really have that many trigger warnings.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it's it's it's a fact of life. We all vomit at some point. Yes. I wonder if there's like a person in the world who's never ever been sick ever in their whole life.
SPEAKER_02Probably.
SPEAKER_01I mean that that would be amazing.
SPEAKER_02No, but you you don't know, you've not experienced it, you've never lived.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but that must be like terrifying to think of them being sick if you've never done it. It's the whole idea of like if you haven't given birth, you don't know what it's like.
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_01Then you can't explain to somebody what it's like if you haven't done it.
SPEAKER_02Are you comparing giving birth to vomiting?
SPEAKER_01I mean they're both pretty awful things. Speaking from experience. I'd to me, I'd rather be I'd rather be sick any of the day, any day of the week. At least it's quick.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But but yeah. Now I'm just getting down down the train of thought about people who've never had a poo, you know, like there are some people I don't think who've had a poo. I don't know what's happening.
SPEAKER_02Alright, I'm gonna change the the conversation into a different direction.
SPEAKER_01You mean you don't want to talk about people not having a poo? No, I'm good. Everybody poos, Emirates.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's the opposite of what you just said.
SPEAKER_01I know, some people maybe they don't. I'm pretty sure that there are some people who don't. Alright.
SPEAKER_02Pick a pick a rogue.
SPEAKER_01I don't know enough about this topic to have a real opinion on it.
SPEAKER_02Alright, so let's we've actually uh had the opportunity uh over this past week to watch uh more horror than we usually do. So let's talk about that instead.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02I mean, uh TV wise, considering this is episode number nine, I feel like it would not be inappropriate to mention the fantastic BBC show inside number nine, which is currently back with season six, which I'm really, really enjoying.
SPEAKER_01Not horror, but definitely horror adjacent.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think some of it goes into it.
SPEAKER_01Definitely creepy as, some of it, which is lovely.
SPEAKER_02The terror that is uh parenthood uh we've been enjoying in a series that we just discovered, which is called Motherland.
SPEAKER_01Which has been out actually since 2016.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but we'd not heard of it before. And again, it's not horror, but some people would consider it to be.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean it would be some people's idea of a of a horror show.
SPEAKER_02But uh movie-wise, we watched uh a film that we've been wanting to watch for a while, which is called Bad Hair.
SPEAKER_01Oh yes.
SPEAKER_02Uh, which I thought was was really quite good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um I wouldn't say it's like one of the best films I've ever seen. It's a kind of a comedy horror, but um all about the horror of black hair and how difficult and painful it can be. Um uh to so much so that it's kind of almost become uh like a monster and yeah, it was very cool.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's not just you know black hair is the horror, it's the um trying to adhere to the social norms that white people have implemented as being you'll only look professional if you wear your hair like this, and you'll only be taken seriously if you wear your hair like this. That's like the the horror of it. But it was, I mean, some of it is actually really visceral and grotesque, and it was really interesting, and then some of it was just like Campers Christmas B movie horror, which I love as well. So yeah, it was really fun.
SPEAKER_02I enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_01I've also finished the Insidious franchise now, which was lots of fun. And I would really recommend it.
SPEAKER_02But you told me what happens in all of them, and it sounds really good, and now I kind of want to watch it. I'll watch it again with you. Okay.
SPEAKER_01I can sleep and you can watch it, it'd be great.
SPEAKER_02So you won't actually watch it.
SPEAKER_01That's fine. We'll be spending time together.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's about all the energy that I have. I mean, you should be careful how you say that. We have been together for twelve years. People will get the wrong idea.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I feel like you're doing a really good job of taking us down really quite painfully unfortunate conversation roads.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that's what I'm here for.
SPEAKER_02It's true, it's very true. I don't know why I'm surprised by this.
SPEAKER_01If you didn't have me, what would you talk about?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you'd just be sitting here on your own talking, which would be really boring.
SPEAKER_02So Yeah, that wouldn't be good.
SPEAKER_01But actually, we're not on our own, are we?
SPEAKER_02No, we're not, and I feel like it's an appropriate time for us to introduce our guest, uh, our next victim, we are very happy to have with us the lovely Sarah.
SPEAKER_06Hi kids, how's it going?
SPEAKER_02Oh, very well, how are you?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, good, thank you. I'm just I'm loving this dark path that Katie's taking us down. I want to I want to explore the whole, you know, vomiting and poo. Like, what would actually happen if someone that can't be possible, surely, someone not being able to poo.
SPEAKER_01Well, there are people who are born without bum holes. Like babies born without bums.
SPEAKER_02They're they're they're getting the the job done, because otherwise they wouldn't be able to survive that. I just think they're not doing it in the traditional way, let's say.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then there's people who have um stoma bags.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's kind of what it meant.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but it's but it's like apparently when you have a stoma bag, yeah, your you your bum still feels like it needs to poo sometimes, but there's nothing there for it to poo out anymore. Because sometimes like part of or whole of your bowel is no longer there. Isn't that interesting?
SPEAKER_02Listeners, I bet you're so glad that you're here to learn and be educated about this.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, it's just another it's that is somebody's normal. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02You're right, you're right.
SPEAKER_01That is somebody's that's somebody's lie.
SPEAKER_02Why not we take a moment to experience and think about what that would be like?
SPEAKER_01Pooh.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, it's important. It's important.
SPEAKER_02Oh. So uh Sarah, let's get straight into it so we are away from this conversation. Um, we're here to talk about horror movies. Um, so tell us a little bit about your relationship with horror movies.
SPEAKER_05With horror movies.
SPEAKER_02Please answer my question.
SPEAKER_06Well, this is taking a bit of a dark turn. I'm not sure. Kind of, yeah. Anyway, let's uh let's change that subject.
SPEAKER_01Horror movies, horror movies, horror movies. So yeah, I'm gonna behave now.
SPEAKER_06I guess I would describe my relationship with horror movies as I probably had a quite an alarming introduction to horror when I was quite young. And so, giving you the context, so the first horror movie I ever saw was an awful Australian film called Razorback. I don't know if you've seen it.
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_06Oh, you should you should put this on your watch list. Um, I'm by the way, I'm sure it hasn't aged well. It's probably must be early 80s, I want to say. You might need to look it up. But babies basically it's about a giant feral pig that runs wild and invades people's homes and like destroys them, kills the occupants, all of that kind of stuff. So when I was eight years old, I couldn't sleep, and I came into the front room, it must have only been probably nine or ten at night because mum and dad were generally fairly early to bed types. But I came into the front room to kind of like beg them to watch telly because I couldn't sleep, and I was probably just trying it on a little bit as you do when you're that age, and they unbeknownst to them. This was on the tell, they were doing other things like reading, or I think mum was on the phone to someone or something, and just said, Well, just behave yourself and go and watch telly for a bit. You've got you know half an hour and then you're going back to bed. And so I was watching wide-eyed while this giant feral pig ran into like a farmhouse and killed the entire family as a child of eight. I was like, oh my god, and keep bearing in mind that was literally my life growing up on a farm in rural New South Wales, knowing that we had a problem with feral pigs like on the farm, that was genuinely horrifying for me. So every time dad would talk about the pigs that got into the wheat and that kind of stuff, I had recurring nightmares about razorback being an actual thing and gonna come and kill me in my sleep. Um, so and the other wow, and the other and to give you a glimpse of kind of Australian rural life as well, living in an old house that my great-grandparents built, we had possums that lived in the roof that used to come down into the wall cavity as well. So by my bed, there was this permanent scratching like of an e. So if you could imagine like being quite little watching that and then being sent to bed when you're scared, and then having a possum scratching right near your head. Literally was like wide up.
SPEAKER_01It's terrifying.
SPEAKER_06No blankets over my head was gonna kind of cure that fear of giant feral pigs from from then on in.
SPEAKER_02I kind of want to just stop recording now so we can go watch this film. Like you've you've curated a film for us, it looks amazing.
SPEAKER_01I mean, to be fair, I do think that there is a relatively new version of Big Pig in Australia.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. So I was gonna say so. Razorback came out in 1984, but in uh 2017 a new film came out that's called Bore, which is also set in the Australian Outback and is about a big pig.
SPEAKER_01So I think definitely inspired by yeah, but I'd rather I'd much rather watch the 80s first. Me too, me too. I mean, I can want to be.
SPEAKER_06Absolutely terrifying. So that was my introduction to horror, and luckily as a kid, you know, it was quite isolated, and and dad was a bit of a he wouldn't let us get any like a bigger aerial, so we only ever got two channels, so we didn't really get a lot of mainstream telly. And mum and dad refused to buy a VCR as well, so didn't really kind of have a lot of access to movies growing up, and it wasn't then until I went like to school, I went to boarding school, so that was kind of when I was introduced to more horror, what we could get away with, I guess, in the boarding house by convincing our like house mistresses what we could actually watch. So instead of you know, dirty dancing and all of those kind of girly films, we try and push the boat out and we'd rent the child's play series and things like that just to kind of scare ourselves. Um yeah, and then I guess like it wasn't really, it's probably only been in the last 10 to 15 years. Oh, I'm so old. I'm like, oh you know, since I've been a proper grown-up, but actually it's like actually a significant kind of length of time, but um that I've kind of really gotten more into ho like in going to the cinema to see horror films. So I probably describe myself as a as a keen amateur horror viewer, like I don't know much about the classics, like I haven't seen a lot of the classics like Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th and things like that, but obviously I know of them, and my other half is a very keen horror fan, so I guess kind of a lot of influence by him. But I love the unsettling feeling that you kind of get when you watch something that's genuinely creepy and it stays with you afterwards for days. I love that feeling. I'm probably a bit sadistic from that point of view, but yeah, that's uh you're you're in very good shape. Obviously, yeah.
SPEAKER_02That goes without saying, but so it sounds like a bit of a bumpy, like quite terrifying start to things, but that's not put you off.
SPEAKER_06No, no, not at all, and actually you know, it's really interesting watching different different types and being exposed to kind of all the you know subgenres of of horror and all of that kind of stuff. So yeah, and I was really well, we'll get into it in a bit, won't we? But really interested to kind of learn why you picked the ones you picked for me. So they were, yeah, it was interesting, and and yeah, two movies I haven't seen, so that was really good.
SPEAKER_02Oh, we're glad to hear that. It's always a slightly better experience when you haven't seen the films. Are there any other um you you've obviously you've mentioned a few that you have seen. Are there any other horror movies that particularly stand out for you or any other kind of like stories or anything that relate to that that you want to share?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I guess my my the biggest kind of it's not really a wow moment when you watch a horror film. Um, not that kind of experience, but I suppose from a kind of blown away in that sense film was when I watched The Exorcist for the first time. I probably only watched it about six or seven years ago, and that was genuinely terrifying, and not in that kind of jump scare kind of a way, but I guess that whole thing of religion and it kind of getting under your skin and the whole how it affected everyone and all of that kind of stuff. I was just like, oh yeah, that's a good movie, and it left me thinking about it for days. So that's definitely kind of up there. There are some, you know, going on the theme of Aussie, Aussie horror movies after my Razorback experience. Love the Babadook, like that was brilliant.
SPEAKER_04Oh yes.
SPEAKER_06Um, Aussie, Aussie film, and then some really good ones that I think weren't very popular necessarily mainstream, but like Wolf Creek.
SPEAKER_01I love Wolf Creek, it's disgusting, and I love it so much.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's I think it's it. Really rang true like for us as an Aussie because obviously those backpacker murders were a very real thing for us in the in the kind of 90s, so you can kind of really see how you know isolated in the outback and some you know madman on the loose could really go to literally go to town on any unsuspecting foreign tourists.
SPEAKER_01The idea of having that much space to hide in is really it is terrifying, I think. But Mick Mick Taylor, is that his name? Mick Taylor. Mick Taylor, I'm sorry, that's probably deeply insulting, isn't it? Listen, it's all good. But he is he's such a good villain. Yes. And he is just have you seen the sequel to Wolf Creek? Have you seen Wolf Creek 2? I think I have. I don't think it's not really worth your time, to be honest. I mean, there's a bit in it. Yeah, there's a TV series with three seasons.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it's got the same guy in it.
SPEAKER_01And he yeah, he still plays Mick Taylor through the whole thing. Okay. Um I do think the TV series is actually worth watching. The sequel, I mean, there is a part in that where he kills a couple of tourists and well, he kills one of them and the other one doesn't realise, and then she sees him cutting up her boyfriend's body and putting it like basically to dispose of it, including um cutting his penis off with a big old knife. And I was like, okay, this is this is this is where we're where we are now, and we're watching this film. So yeah, it's it's it's it's I mean I would never I wouldn't call the first one classy, but um it's it's it's about uh as far away from classy as you can get by the time you get to the sequel.
SPEAKER_06Well, maybe I'll I'll put it on a very rainy day watch list when I've run out of ice.
SPEAKER_01I would recommend, yeah, the TV show is is is worth watching just to see him.
SPEAKER_02Have you seen the loved ones, Sarah?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_02Oh, it's a really, really good Aussie horror film. Excellent Aussie horror film. Uh we've we've done it on the podcast before, but I really, really recommend uh checking it out.
SPEAKER_06Okay. I'm gonna write it down so I remember.
SPEAKER_02Alright, well, I think it's about time that we reveal the movies that we have curated for you, Sarah. So let's do that right now. But first, a little uh warning to you listeners.
SPEAKER_01There's gonna be spoilers, basically. We we haven't said this in a while, and if this is the first time you've listened, there's gonna be a lot of spoilers. Because what is the point of talking about a film unless you get into the really gory details, no pun intended, particularly for the two films that we're gonna be talking about this week. There are a lot of twists and turns in any kind of horror film, but if you haven't seen the either of the films that we're about to talk about and you don't want to be spoiled, then maybe go watch them first. If you don't care, then let's get on with it because there's gonna be rife with spoilers. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02The first movie that we have curated for you is Eyes Without a Face.
SPEAKER_03Always discover what you do drunk, and we'll teach you to keep your mouth shut.
SPEAKER_01Hemingway said that.
SPEAKER_03Yes, he did. He said it to me.
SPEAKER_05I don't want you to go to Canada tomorrow for the podcast. That's what I do.
SPEAKER_02I travel around and I interview weird or interesting people. So look out, you crazy can't Wander Wallace takes a raunchy road trip up to the Great White North.
SPEAKER_03Hello. I'm an old man who has enjoyed a long and storied life at sea. And after eon's oceanic adventure, I know I do not wish to spend my remaining years alone. Why I have such stories to share. How far is Bifrost from here? It's about two hours from here.
SPEAKER_02About two hours away.
SPEAKER_03Hate American guys. Good evening.
SPEAKER_02Nice to meet you.
SPEAKER_03Could I interest you in some tea? So, what happened after the boat sack? I was alone. I'm dead. Something very swift and frightening moved by me. A walrus saved your life? The walrus is far more evolved than any man I've heard of. Thank you. You're welcome. I understand.
SPEAKER_04This guy took me to an egg. I don't want to die in Canada.
SPEAKER_02So, Sarah, tell us which of us do you think shows which of these movies for you?
SPEAKER_06Oh, this is so hard because they're quite different films in many ways. Some similarities, but yes, very different. I'm gonna say, and this is a pure guess, but I'm gonna say Katie picked Tusk and Emiris picked Eyes Without a Face.
SPEAKER_02And why do you think that?
SPEAKER_06Um I don't know. I think because you know me quite well, Emris, so I wonder if you picked Eyes Without a Face. Because you know I kind of like the cinema and cinematic cinematic. I loved the cinematic quality of that film, so I wonder if that was your pick. But now you're making me question my my choice now.
SPEAKER_02You are incorrect!
SPEAKER_06Oh damn it! Damn it.
SPEAKER_02Katie picked Eyes Without a Face, uh, which I had not seen before. Yeah and I picked Tusk.
SPEAKER_01Emris has very rarely seen a film if it has subtitles in it. Subtitles aren't his thing.
SPEAKER_02So let's get right into our discussion of our first movie, which is the movie that Katie chose for you. So Katie, tell us about Eyes Without a Face.
SPEAKER_01Eyes Without a Face, originally called Les Yeux sans visage. Les yeux sans visage, um, which is in French, French film subtitles. Bear that in mind if you want to watch this film, because you need to concentrate. Um it it came out in 1960, and I believe it's actually the oldest film that we've ever talked about on the podcast. It is indeed. Because we had Baby Jane, but that was 64, yeah. Something like that. Yeah. Um but it was directed by Georges Franjoux. Lots of really super sexy names in terms of who was involved with this film because they're all French, and French just makes everything sound sexy. Um it stars Pierre Brasseur and Ali de Valie. Seriously, I could do this all day. Um and a brief synopsis of this, very brief. A surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter very disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face. So tell us, Sarah, what did you think of Eyes Without a Face?
SPEAKER_06I I enjoyed it. I thought it was it was quite different, and I guess obviously I hadn't seen it either, so I didn't really know what to expect other than it's a classic. I really enjoyed the opening sequence, felt very film noir, like with a really weird kind of camera angles that you kind of don't expect, and and kind of lots of shadow and that kind of stuff. Um that was really interesting. I I thought it was it was quite, I wouldn't say it's slow actually. I want to say it was very languid, the the film in terms of kind of like the storyline and how it developed and that kind of thing. And you can see how it must have been an inspiration to so many horror films thereafter, like the whole you know, surgeon and kind of the the face transplants. And I think for the time in 1960, that must have been genuinely like shocking for audiences, like that scene where he cuts under her chin and peels the skin back, like for the time, like it doesn't feel particularly scary now, but I think for like 1960 that must have been utterly shocking for people that would have gone to see it, and probably I imagine even heavily censored maybe when it first got released. I don't know, but then it is French, they don't tend to censor anything.
SPEAKER_01Um, so I was gonna say this film would not have been made in America in 1960. There's just no way it is for for what it is, like you say, watching it from a modern perspective when we do have films, you know, we were just talking about Wolf Creek, for example, which is incredibly graphically violent. This film is not incredibly incredibly graphically violent, and it's also in black and white, which again adds an element of kind of distance to what's happening. But even now, there's a really sickening feeling that you get when you're like, are they are they actually gonna cut this woman's face off? Are they actually are they actually doing that? Is that what's happening? They're gonna cut her face off and then they're gonna take her face off and put it on somebody else. Like even now, you kind of sit there and go, That's not that's not cool, that's not good. And I think when this film originally came out, it was completely panned for the fact that it did show what was considered to be grotesque surgery, and I think I was reading that in the original screening, something like seven people passed out in the audience when this film was first screened, because they were just nothing had been seen on cinema like this before. Um, and I think that that's the reason why it is still within you know the horror fandom, it's still a film that is acknowledged as being a classic and being a very important part of the history of horror because there aren't a lot of French films from the 1960s that are remembered in the same way that this is, or at least within um kind of American um kind of horror culture and the the the world of horror in general.
SPEAKER_06And the the the bit when like they show like it's just kind of like stills, but they show how the transplant of the face hasn't taken, and it's just got that weird, grotesque where her face has kind of fallen and it's like all mushed up and sloppy, and you see that kind of progression, you're like, oh, that's actually really genuinely quite gross. Um, and the whole the dogs being kept in the basement as kind of the practice for the transplanting of and these weird kind of hybrid animals is all quite strange, but then the cages were all like really interesting shapes as well, and that kind of stuff, which just is a bit of an insight into this kind of disturbed mind of the surgeon that's obviously kind of obsessed with the guilt from causing this disfigurement to his daughter and trying to rectify it. Very unsettling from that point of view, and you can see how, yeah, like you know, that being the inspiration for Halloween for John Carpenter, that whole kind of you know, mask thing with the like you said her name so beautifully, Katie, in your um wonderful French accent. I can't remember that actress's name, but she was fabulous, like she didn't have like 90% of the film, she had no dialogue, so her body acting was amazing, almost kind of like a doll and very dreamlike in the way that like her scenes were portrayed from that point of view.
SPEAKER_02There's also like this whole chunks of the film where you don't even she's not even shot from the front. Like the whole I love the whole opening bit where everything we see of her is shot like from behind, and you you don't get to see her face until she puts on the mask, and then you do finally get to see her. Um I have to say, I hadn't seen this film before. It it was a black and white 60s film in French with subtitles. I was like, I'm probably gonna hate this. But I absolutely love this film, and I have to actually disagree with you, Sarah. I didn't think it was like slow and and like languid. I thought the I thought it was actually pretty for a film from the 60s. I thought the pacing was pretty good. I didn't think there was much in there that was kind of like wasteful, like you know, there was there was this really super super long shot of somebody, I can't remember one of the main characters in the house that they're in, going upstairs. Oh it's literally like five minutes of of the guy going upstairs, and I was like, oh man, this is just like what like do why do we need to see this? And then later on in the film, when one of the people that he's kidnapped to to you know rob her face, um heavily bandaged all over the place. And he's like, she's trying to escape, and the fact that we already as the audience know the geometry of the house makes it really good, and you're like, oh cool, that was there for a reason.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um there was a lot of waste in it.
SPEAKER_01And I think you said you could very easily believe that this was a film that was made more recently that was just shot to look like it was a film from the 60s, because I do think it's incredibly progressive. In some ways, I will put it out there, cinematically, it's very, very progressive in some of the ways that the character development and happens, and and in particular, like treatment of women in a film, um, it isn't great because it is a film from the 1960s. There's this whole element of you're not beautiful anymore, therefore you're fucked for life. Basically, you're never gonna have a good life because you've got this disfigurement on your face.
SPEAKER_02And also, there's the whole bit where like the policemen use a woman who's been caught shoplifting who looks kind of like the kind of woman that they would get as bait.
SPEAKER_01As bait, and she actually gets kidnapped by these people, and then just like maybe we should find out where she's gone, you know. Who knows? Who knows? She's literally strapped to a table about to get her face cut off, and they're like, Oh yeah, well maybe she maybe she didn't just go straight home to her mother, and uh yeah, it is that yeah, I would say it's very 1960s from that perspective, and this but also one of the main characters in this is another woman who helps abduct young women, which is very like creepy as it's um what's her name, Myra Hindley, is that her name from the Moors murders in in the UK who used to basically help her boyfriend abduct children. It's that idea of well, you can trust me because I'm a woman. It's it's it's it's very oh, it's just it's creepy because it's you know, as a woman, you shouldn't be doing that to other women. You should understand that that's not something that you should be doing in your spare time, and that makes it even more gross that she's literally picking off these women. I must admit though, the scenes of her in her little car, like going woman catching, were just brilliant because it kept playing that music.
SPEAKER_02I was gonna say, this music.
SPEAKER_06Because you're right, Katie, like that whole thing of like a woman going out to abduct other women and and you know give their faces to this to this girl and that kind of stuff was just genuinely creepy, but then I got transported out of that whole story with that music because all I could think about was Kirby enthusiasm, and I'm just there going, it doesn't it doesn't fit. Why is this kind of crown music from a comedy TV show like in a classic horror movie? And I and then it kind of really killed that sense of impending doom for me when it came.
SPEAKER_01I was kind of like, Oh, that was the bit that I was kind of like, it's a bit it feels a bit weird, like I don't know what the reason I I agree because when it first started playing, I was like, what the hell is this? Like this is this is bizarre, but then I think that it it kind of adds into that feeling of not really knowing what's going on and just feeling uncomfortable, that feeling of discomfort because it is music that you're like, why is what is happening? Like this is so bizarre, and I think that it's it's almost there to make you just kind of take a second and go, what the actual hell this even even from the music is trying to make you just feel a bit uncomfortable and a bit uneasy. But yeah, it did it did kind of make me giggle when she was in her murder car with a little theme tune.
SPEAKER_02I do love when this was released, this was released in the US, it was an edited version and it was retitled The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, which was particularly odd considering there's no one in the film called Dr.
SPEAKER_04Faustus.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's just you know, they're like, Oh, we can't market it as the original French thing. Apparently. It's like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all over again, isn't it? It's like, oh god, we can't call it we can't call it the so the philosopher's stone because no one will understand what that is, so we have to call it the Sorcerer Stone, you know. Yeah. Same kind of thing. American people, not American people, um American editors of films who for some reason feel like they need to dumb things down for their audience, which is just insulting. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, you're right. It's I loved the theme from this movie that you touched on it earlier, I think, Katie, where like that seeking outer beauty, like putting this value on outer beauty actually comes at such a high cost that it turns into something really ugly. Like, I think that for me was like a really powerful message, and I think to your point, Emirates, like actually still really relevant today in a very different way, obviously. But that's kind of like a you know, a good, you know, moral lesson for us all.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it is it is a bit grating that this young girl who like has a whole life ahead of her is locked away in this house and no one seems to know it. I mean, they fake her death so that they can do these experiments on her.
SPEAKER_02And basically like the first thing.
SPEAKER_01Because it's failed so many times. But they can't have her go out in the world as she currently is because uh it's it's like shameful in some way for something that is entirely not her fault. She was in an accident that her dad caused, and now she's basically being punished. For it, and then she goes pretty round the twist because she's been locked away, and because she's had these women die and had their faces sewn onto her face. Like it's one of those things that it may not be as impactful um visually as it was when it originally came out, but the themes and the subjects that it touches on are the things that you can't help but think about over and over and over again after you've watched it. Because we're just sitting there going, Yeah, she it wasn't just that she didn't like look like herself anymore, like she lost her face, and then on multiple occasions she was given the faces of other people for those faces to then basically die when they were attached to her, so that she then had to have them removed. I mean, no wonder she's out in the woods at the end of this film, like frolicking with the dogs and the birds and stuff, because she is like how traumatic would that be, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's another thing. Like, I spent a lot of the movie being like, What's with all these dogs? And like, and and like Katie couldn't remember. She was like, I think it's like security, and I was like, Really? And then obviously you have this one scene where you see him like taking a bit of like skin off the dogs, so he's obviously like tried to experiment on them as well. But then, you know, again at the end, you're like, okay, so why were the dogs there? And then you're like, so she could let them freeze so they could maul him to death.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that is why they're with them. That's why they're there.
SPEAKER_02And then there's also some doves for some reason, symbolic, you know, la la la la. Finn. Yeah. I love it, I love it. Finn. It's so it's so cliched, but in the best way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. It's a it's the perfect ending to this film. It really had to have a sad ending.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Alright, well, I think it is about time for us to move on to our second curation, which is the movie that I picked for you, Sarah, and that movie is Tusk. Tusk came out in 2014. It is written and directed by Kevin Smith and stars Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osmond, Genesis Rodriguez, and Johnny Depp are among the people in the cast. Uh, and a little brief synopsis of this. A brash and arrogant podcaster gets more than he bargained for when he travels to Canada to interview a mysterious recluse who has a rather disturbing fondness for walruses. So, Sarah, I'm dying to know. What did you think of Tusk?
SPEAKER_06So, I as a film it's very difficult to describe. I would say I think the best adjective I could probably find is well it's quite I was gonna say it's quite dichotomous. Like I know it's supposed to be a horror comedy, but it almost feels like it's two movies from that point of view, where actually, like, so I love Kevin Smith, like I'm a big fan, and I I think if you aren't a Kevin Smith fan, this movie would be very problematic for someone. Because there are so many like references to his world, like his podcasts and like really subtle things as well, like down to Wallace, who's Justin's Long Long's character, down to his ringtone is the theme from Hollywood Babylon, which is one of the podcasts that Kevin Smith does with Ralph Garmin. And Ralph Garman plays a detective in this movie as well, called Frank Garmin, which is like a play on his name because a listener wrote into a podcast and called him Frank by mistake, and they took that for the movie. Like, so there's all these little like Easter eggs in the film, which if you if you weren't part of that world, you'd just be kind of like, this is so random. Like it goes from being like genuinely, like genuinely horrifying, and that whole storyline of someone trying to kind of entice people back to their place to kind of build a walrus suit because they had this time when they were lost at sea and their best mate was a walrus for for some time. I mean it's utterly bizarre, but there are some very like genuinely horrifying moments. Like Michael Parks is utterly brilliant, and if you haven't seen Red State, like you will see him at his like terrifying best as a side note.
SPEAKER_01An absolute genius, isn't it?
SPEAKER_06So good, yeah, and that's that scene, like there are so many scenes where like the scene where he's kind of just cut off Justin Long's leg and and he's still working out like he's just coming to after being kind of doped up, and and you sit there, and it's this really kind of extended scene, and in the in the moment you're kind of like, what is he doing? Like he's just sitting there polishing this piece of bone, like it looks like a tusk, and you don't realize until later, and it's literally kind of you know, he's just sitting there watching and polishing, like this really methodical kind of meditative like action, and it's not until later that you realize that that's his bloody thigh bone. He's sharpening to become his tusk, and you like he's also in that scene, he's also laughing.
SPEAKER_02Like he's trying, he's telling him you got bitten by a spider, and he's just like laughing to himself because he can't like buy his own bullshit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's like, Oh, there was there was a what was it? What is he he calls the doctor? It's got he keeps saying it, it's a really stupid name.
SPEAKER_02What is it? I can't remember. Oh, I can't remember either.
SPEAKER_06But yeah, it was like commit the name.
SPEAKER_02Justin Justin Long's responses are there's no leg there, there's no leg there!
SPEAKER_01My leg is off! It's just so fun! My leg is off. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_06I love the juxtaposition of like, you know, the build-up in the beginning of Justin Long is really unlikable. Like his character, this kind of like shock jock pop podcaster. He's a real like he's a dickhead.
SPEAKER_02Like, let's face it, he's a I mean his podcast is called the Nazi Party.
SPEAKER_01As in N-O-T, new word S-D-E, not C, but with an American accent, it just sounds like Nazi Party. And it's so I mean, he is so obnoxious. I mean, this is it's particularly uncomfortable watching this film now that we have a podcast, because I'm like, fuck, podcasters are shit. But we we stay at home for our podcast, so but it's yeah, this idea that his character basically just takes the piss out of people and like he goes he's going like I always forget we like I've seen this film now about five times, which we should definitely talk about later because that is an unhealthy amount of times to have watched this film. But I always forget that the beginning of this film is literally him going to take the piss out of a guy who has a viral YouTube video where he accidentally cuts his leg off. Like how samurai sword. But how how like like like karmic is it that he's going to take the piss out of a guy who cuts his own leg off with a samurai sword who then kills himself because he's had such an awful time that he then meets a guy who cuts his leg off? It's but he is yeah, it's he is an absolute shithead, and the way he is with his girlfriend as well. Like I always forget like how horrendous he is with his girlfriend and his best friend, and you just he is vile, but all of that being said, what happens in this film genuinely, I think this is one of the most grotesque, horrific body horror films that I have ever watched, and I've watched a lot of them. And yeah, it's it's supposed to be funny, but but the the horror element of this is so strong, it genuinely makes me feel really ill watching it because it's just it's another level of of it's not like I mean it's like silence of the lambs meets sore, meets hostile, meets misery. Meets the human centipede almost, meets misery. When this guy is, I mean, the full process of what he does to these people is like he cuts both their legs off, and then he sews their arms to their torso, he cuts out their tongue because walruses can't speak, and he makes big holes in their upper jaw so that he can insert their leg bones back into their mouth as giant tusks. And if all of that were not enough, he then sews them into a walrus suit that is made of the skin of other people that he has killed, and he literally sews them into a human skin walrus suit, and if all of that were not enough, he then sticks them into this fucking like I do like to be beside the seaside, like screenscape with like and feeds them raw fish and makes them swim in the water, and it's just like what is this film? It's just the most ridiculous thing.
SPEAKER_02I just I literally just could listen to you guys just describe what happens in this film, and that would be all I would need from this.
SPEAKER_06Oh my god. But it's but that and that's so funny because it's like this like this homemade aquarium, like this the seal tank at the aquarium, like in his house, and you're like, how does that even exist? Like from this little log cabin in the woods, and then obviously cut to the end when it's kind of becomes like an animal park as well, where you can go and and visit like exotic animals, and you're like, oh, it's just genuinely absolutely terrifying. But that transformation as well, like Justin Long was absolutely brilliant, like in that in the walrus um the bit just the bit when he's in he's in the walrus costume and he's just going No, but he's no, but he's he's just screaming without a tongue.
SPEAKER_01He is screaming, and that sound is just I mean, I I've I I read a review of this film, and I think that the reviewer basically said Justin Long does tend to get like the shit deal in films. Like he in general, the majority of films that he's in, he gets treated so badly. Like in Dodgeball, he's the character who gets balls repeatedly thrown at his crotch. Like he's always being abused in films, but this is like another level of Justin Long getting just completely.
SPEAKER_02One of my favourite things is this thing you said about his dog.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. So there's there's um there's an interview with him. This is the thing. This film to me is like we found out about it actually from one of my friends because we were talking about films that we liked, and he was like, Oh, so you must have seen this film, and we were like, no. Um, and it's you know, when you're trying to describe Tusk to anybody, it just you you you go into a place that is just kind of pretty uncomfortable pretty quickly because it's so bizarre. But um, I I went down a full rabbit hole with this film. Like, I could not stop finding out about it, watching it, um, just digging, digging in deep. And there's an interview with Justin Long where he basically um the filming of this was pretty quick, I think. It was it was it was a pretty low budget film. His girlfriend came to visit him on set and brought their dog with him. And the dog was like, hadn't seen him in a little while, and you know, dogs are super excited to see see like their their best bud. And he was on set in the like kind of aquarium scene, and you know the bridge that they have, which basically they have this long bridge that um Howard Howe can go across to go to the walrus, but then he can like wheel it back, so it's basically like abandoning this walrus. The dog apparently, Justin Long was going, Oh hi buddy, like calling for him, and he could hear him, and he was like, Oh my god, it's like my best friend, and he went running across the bridge because he could hear him, hear Justin Long. He took one look at Justin Long and he apparently did the thing that like animals do in cartoons when all of their legs just go like try and slow down at the end of this bridge, and the dog literally was like trying to slow down because he was so freaked out and he just turned and ran away, like crying because he was so freaked out seeing Justin Long dressed as a walrus, but but yeah, it's just it's it's absolutely horrifying, and you're so right, like that that scene where obviously he's you know, you kind of it cuts to the scene, doesn't it, where his tongue's cut out and he's screaming.
SPEAKER_06And if that's not terrifying enough, Justin Long screaming in this walrus suit is when Michael Parks, Howard Howe, is mocking him and screaming him back, screaming back at him, and I'm just like, oh my god, like absolutely, like genuinely creepy, like wanna vomit, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01It's one of those I feel like I want to be sick, yeah.
SPEAKER_02It's oh Michael Parks has got some absolute blinding lines in this film. Uh there's two of them that I have to just mention because they just they So the first one is he says, To solve a riddle older than the Sphinx, to answer the question which has plagued us since we first crawled from this earth and stood erect in the sun. Is man indeed a walrus at heart?
SPEAKER_01Is man indeed a walrus at heart? And I'm like, what the fuck are you doing?
SPEAKER_02And then when he's when he's speaking to the to Justin Long's character, he says, Your life as you know it is over, Mr. Brighton. So if you wish to continue living, you will be a walrus or you will be nothing at all.
SPEAKER_05Oh, and it's just like you sit there and you're like, oh it's just awful.
SPEAKER_01Such gravitas, though. Genuinely, without him in this film, it would not be as disturbing as it is because he is so just commanding in this role. I mean, the amount of talking that he does. There's a lot of dialogue in this film. Literally, but it's it's basically just him monologuing about all of like his life.
SPEAKER_02There's like the Hemingway story, and then there's obviously like this the Mr. Tusk story, but it's really, really long.
SPEAKER_01That is one of my favourite scenes, actually, when Justin Long first goes into Howard Howe's house and he gets the tea, because I know that they made it like a matter of that they, you know, there's always this element in when you know that there's gonna be something in the tea. Do not drink the tea is just standard within like a horror film. And they were like, there's always gonna be a moment where it's like, oh, is he gonna drink it? And then they don't, and it's like that's where the the um the feeling of unease comes from. But they were like, we're just gonna have him just drinking so much tea, like more than it is natural for a person to do in a scene. So literally, he's just carrying this teacup around and just going, and he keeps going, oh, this is so tasty, it's so delicious. I've never tried tea like this, and you're like, What are you doing? You've driven into the middle of nowhere where this crazy guy is talking to you about walrus penises, and he's and he's pretending to be in a wheelchair as well.
SPEAKER_02And there's that moment where he just stands up and he's obviously doesn't need to be in a wheelchair and you're like, What?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, oh no, I was just gonna say that's like so Kevin Smith, though, isn't it? Like that over-the-top, like just in your face, kind of like completely unnecessary. Like it could have been really subtle, like you say, Katie, you know, that unease where you're like, Don't drink the tea, don't drink the tea, but instead he's literally drinking gallons of it.
SPEAKER_01He pours himself a second cup of tea. Like he drinks two cups of it. It's ridiculous.
SPEAKER_02Um, let's talk about Johnny Depp in this. Big fan of his old his his original work, not such a big fan of his more recent escapades, but in this film, like he is unrecognizable as Guy Lapont.
SPEAKER_01Well, I I can't remember when we first watched this film. Did you go through the whole film without realizing that it was Johnny Depp?
SPEAKER_02I went through a lot of it and then was like, oh my god, I looked it up when I was watching the video.
SPEAKER_01Because the first time I watched this film, I didn't know that it was him.
SPEAKER_02And his name is not on the film.
SPEAKER_01Like it's on IMDB, but he did it, I believe, as like a favour.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And the fact that his daughter is obviously in it.
SPEAKER_02Yes. That was that was one of the people who work in the convenience store. Yeah. Because this film's followed by a not very good film uh called Yoga Hoses, which is about those two girls. Because the other one is Kevin Smith's door.
SPEAKER_01Canadian horror trilogy that Kevin Smith is writing. And the last one hasn't come out.
SPEAKER_02Moose Jaws.
SPEAKER_01And literally the tagline, it's like Jaws, but with moose. So, yeah. One of the best film lines in this film is I don't want to die in Canada. I don't want to die in Canada.
SPEAKER_06And there is there are some really good like standalone comedy moments in this movie as well. Like, I see I did know it was Johnny Depp. And I I feel like he was almost playing a caricature of himself, like this Inspector Clousseau kind of type character that's so like so farcical. But then like he's obviously the one that's kind of doing the bit of the like exposition of the like the background story, and that's where you find out kind of you know the the guy what was his name? Um the dog, yeah, and then Gregory Gumtree, the hockey player. Gregory Gumtree, yeah. And that's kind of the the kind of throwback to the original story where this came from, which was like a Reddit post of someone in the UK advertising for a companion to come and talk, talk to if they'll dress like a walrus, and then this.
SPEAKER_01But you can come and live in my house like rent-free, as long as occasionally you dress like a walrus as this.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. And the worus was called Gregory, wasn't it? And it was, yeah, it was like a gun tree ad.
SPEAKER_02And the and the the the character that they're talking about is obviously the guy that he's tried to do this with before because when Justin Long's character is thrown into this uh you know, this indoor pond, he sinks to the bottom and sees someone else wearing a Warrus costume. There's another human skull who's obviously gone through this and not survived.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so gross. Oh, there was a spider. A spider in my in my toilet. Who is a brown recluse?
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, he is a genius. I can't, like, yeah. Johnny Depp in this film is, I think, to be honest, and it's quite a controversial thing to say. Yeah. I think it's probably one of his performances that I have enjoyed more than like any other thing that he's done recently, purely based on the fact that he did it, not being Johnny Depp doing a role. And it is, it is such a um a slapstick character, it is such it's so far removed from being a real observed, like, oh yeah, I'm really getting into the core of this character character. And he shouldn't work in this film, like you shouldn't kind of relate to him or think that he's a good character, but he genuinely is one of the only likable characters in the whole film because he's actually trying to do the decent thing, and he is completely idiotic and stupid, but it is core. He just wants to try and like help people and find this mass murderer, which is kind of it's endearing. You do kind of warm to him in this absolutely bizarre French-Canadian detective character.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's it is really good, and yeah, like that Michael Park scene where he plays this kind of really dumb yokel talking about the brown recluse spider. Oh, you're just like, oh, where is this going? And the bit where Justin Long as the walrus, like, it's almost the turning point where he. Like starts eating the mackerel as well with his tusks, and he likes and that prophecy comes true. Like, you know, Michael Parks' statement of you will be a warrus or you will be nothing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I think we have to talk about the ending of this film as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because he's gone full warrus. Yeah. And then Michael Parks is in the war, another Warrus suit, and they fight.
SPEAKER_01And he kills him. And he kills him. Michael.
SPEAKER_02Like Justin Long kills him. And he says, you know, he looks to him in his dying breath and he says, You are my Mr. Tuss.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And you have that flashback scene of him, like, when he's on the beach, like, or on this, like, stranded on this island with the real Warrus, and he's killed it. And then moments later he gets rescued and he's like, no.
SPEAKER_01Trauma. My friend. Trauma. My lovely friend, Mr. Tuss. But the thing that gets me is that obviously, whatever happened, Justin Long has been through some shit in this film. I'm not saying that he would have had some kind of normal life because he's been, you know, he's been like operated on past and like a level. I mean, we're talking about eyes without a face about a girl without a face. Like, I mean, what Justin Long's been through in this film is a lot worse than just having your face messed up in a car accident. Like, there's not really much going back from what's what's happened. It's the reason I get really icked out by any kind of surgical film, like The Human Centipede, for example, just you know, referencing that. You think even if you get rescued, you're kind of like you're you'll always be able to remember what happened because you've been changed in a way that is like irreversible. But the point is, is that he's he's switched in his head. He's gone full wall. So even though his best friend and his girlfriend find him and they're like, we can rescue him, there's no coming back. And he's basically living out his days in the shittest petting zoo that I've ever seen in my whole life. He's still got he's still got his big sippy cup, that's there. He's got a little beach ball on a pool, and they come, they come and visit him, and they just bring him a fish. But then there's this whole image of him at the end, like crying tears, and it's like, can a walrus really cry? Or is that is that the human part of him that is still crying? You know, these tears running down his face. Does that mean that somewhere inside he still knows that he is a complete douchebag human and he's not a walrus? But it's like such a bizarre ending to a film. It really is that you just have this shot of Justin Long walrus just crying and eating this raw fish.
SPEAKER_06It's utterly, utterly bizarre, isn't it? And the the weird thing is before that though, like it's just like an empty kind of like pond, and you don't see anything, and you're kind of wondering, like, there's almost that glimmer of hope where because it's like however many six months later or 12 months later, or whatever it is, and you're like, oh, maybe they kind of rescued him, maybe he's become a man again, maybe he survived and like gone back to some kind of sense of normalcy, and then you kind of it pans over and it's really slow, and you see this, yeah, shitty petting zoo, and but nothing's there, and there's just this kind of little hovel with this like you know, beach ball in a kind of slightly scum-covered pond, and you just like and then all of a sudden he's there, and they give him the mackerel, and you're like, oh, that's actually genuinely really quite disturbing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the best thing is that all of this movie is only exists because of a podcast. So we'll get very messy. Because of it because of Kevin Smith's podcast. Kevin Smith's podcast, they they rift on wouldn't it be funny if we made this story that you the one you talked about into a film?
SPEAKER_01Because they had people send in different weird things. It was based I'm I it's it's kind of you know, chat show, let's talk about random stuff.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And this this article came up, this this this gumtree advert about someone basically being like, you can live in my house for free, um, as long as you occasionally dress like a Warrus. And they riffed on this idea and basically in the process of doing this podcast, just came up with the entire plot of Tusk. Basically, specifically that end as as it is, like literally the whole thing. They were like, and then this could happen, and then this could happen.
SPEAKER_02And then they got people to vote and either send in Warrus yes or Warrus No. And if they got more yeses, then they would make the film, and they did.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I believe it was partially crowdfunded as well, in terms of like the audience actually wanting this film to get made, because they were like, Look, guys, if you really want this film, we will make this film for you. And it's I that is why it's kind of so bizarre and so like nightmare fuelish, because it literally just came out of this weird conversation, and that is why it kind of works. Like, I I must admit, I'm not the biggest Kevin Smith fan personally, because I just I I f I find him very, very bizarre, and I think I've I probably I should probably go back and try and watch more Kevin Smith films now because I remember watching them when I was younger and just being like, I don't I don't understand what what is trying to be done in this film. But this film works because the horror is so good and so disturbing. Like if you're gonna talk about a film that's gonna get burrow itself into your head and not let you rest, this film 100% is that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, big time.
SPEAKER_01And if it wasn't done by Kevin Smith in his style with his comedy and the way that he deals with things, it would have probably been too along the lines of like the human centipede for it to actually work in the way that it does because it would have been too upsetting and too grotesque and just too extreme.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, you're so right. And uh and it's testament actually to like Kevin Smith can kind of basically do whatever the fuck he wants, like that's the kind of moral to this story. I mean, who else would kind of crowdsource the plot for a movie or get people to kind of vote for it after a random conversation? Because he's quite a big pot smoker as well, so you can't like I can imagine how that would have just played out.
SPEAKER_02And this film had a budget of three million dollars, yeah. And it made 1.8.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean, it's just I'm not surprised because there's no way that this was going to appeal to more than than a few crazy people.
SPEAKER_02I like to think that it's it's recouped some more of that, you know, in in its cult status that it probably now has.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's now part of a franchise, isn't it? It's got two films that have come after it. Yeah. So it's definitely done something right.
SPEAKER_02So, I mean, I like to always ask the the morbid questions. So in this case, I've just got what would you guys do if you were in this situation?
SPEAKER_01Oh, for fuck's sake. What would you do? I'd just kill myself. I'm sorry. That's a trigger, trigger, trigger warning. Obviously, we're talking about the but I I there's no way I I wouldn't, I would probably starve because I wouldn't eat the raw fish. No, I would drown myself. There's multiple ways that he could have done that with being a walrus. Oh my god, I just know. Yeah, just stop.
SPEAKER_06The very scientific part of my brain, kind of when you think it through like some kind of home surgeon with no actual real skills apart from kind of reading anatomy books and like butchery, like yeah, books and things like that. You just kind of like I'm pretty sure that no one would actually survive that kind of like operation, like A, amputating a leg, B like amputating part of your arm and then sewing it so you've kind of got these weird, like short kind of flipper hand type things, then cutting out your tongue and removing all of your teeth, and then inserting these tusks somehow. Like, I like to think that I would have been put out of my misery much earlier than having to have been subjected to actually having to perform like a walrus and eating the mackerel and then killing my capta.
SPEAKER_01Killing your creator, it's like it's like you know, like Frankenstein, yeah, killing your creator. It's very very classic horror trope, you know. So my god, what would you do if you were a walrus?
SPEAKER_02I mean, yeah, I'd I'm with you guys. I'd just want to end things as as quickly and swiftly as well.
SPEAKER_01I think I just feel like you would go full walrus.
SPEAKER_02I would not go full worus, I would refuse.
SPEAKER_01No, I feel like you'd go full walrus.
SPEAKER_06Well I just the and this is the and this is the other part where I go, because like it was the same in human sense, Peter's. Well, I'm kind of like anatomically speaking, how does how does that work? Like, how does how does he shit? Like, he's alive for obviously weeks, months, like all of that kind of stuff, and he's just kind of crawling.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we've come full circle.
SPEAKER_02I love it.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say how does he poo?
SPEAKER_02Um and that will have to remain the unanswered question, I guess.
SPEAKER_01Forever that eternal question, yeah. Is man at his heart unable to poo?
SPEAKER_02When he's a walrus.
SPEAKER_01When he's a warus.
SPEAKER_06Katie, can we just talk about the fact that you've watched this film five times despite finding it so disturbing? Like, what's what's that all about?
SPEAKER_01I mean, it says a lot about me, doesn't it? I mean, to be honest, when we first heard about this film, I was like, well, I have to watch this immediately because I am I I've I've talked about it before on the podcast. When it comes to gruesome films and grotesque films, I very much have a kind of car crash, car crash mentality, which is I have to see it, I can't look away. Like, I'm not the type of person who'll be like, I know that this won't be good for me, I have to do it. So obviously, as soon as I found out about this film, I had to watch it immediately. Um, and then I was sitting with having watched this film, and literally nobody else had watched it, and I just was like, Well, how am I supposed to explain what this film is if I am the only person that I know who has watched this film? And so I then had to make Emris watch the film, and then Emirates was in the same position, and then we had a friend over, and we then made him watch the film. So that was kind of like you know, quick succession of um kind of having a really awful experience and then wanting somebody who you have a common ground with to share in the experience of the trauma that you've just experienced. So so at that point, Emris watched it twice as well. Um, but then I think I just was looking for a film and I was like, I haven't watched this in a while. I can't really remember. I mean, I remember it because how can you not? But I was like, I really feel like I need to watch it again for some reason because again, that is the voice in my head that says, I think it's a good idea for you when you're alone in the house to watch things like this or watch people get cut up with chainsaws and hung upside down, and you know, it's it's just something that I do recreationally anyway.
SPEAKER_02It's true, she does.
SPEAKER_01Um, and then when we sat down to watch it, I genuinely just went, oh, five times. It's just too much. And I just I just went, I was just like, I still do think it's a good horror film, but like five times. And so about the point where Justin Long is screaming at Howard Howe across the bridge, I quietly took myself out to do a little bit of washing up in the kitchen and then took our dog outside to have a poo. And I was like, yeah, I'll just do this and then I'll see what happens. And then I came back in and the credits were rolling, and I went, oh no. Oh no, I've missed the whole thing. What a shame. What a shame that is. But I mean, don't don't just don't do what I do. There's no need, there's really no need.
SPEAKER_02Or you know, like do because it's great and disturbing.
SPEAKER_01If you're so inclined. But you really I I mean I can say you really don't need to watch it five times.
SPEAKER_02I've seen it three times and I'm good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're yeah. Yeah. Three is three is okay, three is fine, five not so much.
SPEAKER_06Once is probably more than enough for most uh most people from from that perspective. But yeah. I don't know what that I don't know what that says about you. I just hope you use that pathological trait for good rather than evil.
SPEAKER_02Alright, well, it has come for that point in the podcast, Sarah. We were gonna explain to you why we chose these films for you, and I'm sure you can't wait to find out. And Katie is gonna go first.
SPEAKER_01So, Sarah, when I read your questionnaire, it was quite interesting because in contrast to quite a lot of people that we have on the podcast, you were basically like, I really like horror films, which it feels like we've had a run of people who are like, Oh, I'm not sure, or I just don't like them. So it was like, oh my gosh, someone who actually likes horror films. And from your answers, I could tell you're you're very kind of um measured in how you answered the questions, like very informed, and I thought, well, I have to do something a little bit special because you obviously, when you watch things, it's not just from a pure entertainment perspective. I think I can tell that you kind of draw on lots of different things in your watching experience. That definitely came across in your um in your answers, but then I was a bit stumped because I have used up quite a lot of my favourite horror films already on the podcast, but I noticed that we have a section of the questionnaire where you can kind of rank different styles of films in terms of your preferences, and three things that you had mentioned that you really love are horror films, yes, but you also mentioned foreign films and thrillers, and I was like, Well, do you know what? If I'm gonna do something that is special, that some people probably who aren't big fans of horror and cinema in general just won't be able to fully appreciate, it's gonna be eyes without a face because it it stretches your horizons as to what horror is and what horror can be, but it also does it in a way that's very, very classy and very iconic. And considering that what you've said is that you do love horror films, but you you would say that you're maybe lacking in the certain background or the more classic. I thought that's the avenue that I'm gonna go down, and that is the reason that I picked Eyes Without a Face for you.
SPEAKER_06Oh, amazing! That's very like intuitive of you, Katie. Um, and a really, really good pick, I think. So thank you for choosing it, and yeah, definitely broadening my horizons to some of the classics because it's definitely probably not one that would feature on you know the traditional list of classic horror movies for someone to watch. So, yeah, nice choice, and I really enjoyed it as well.
SPEAKER_02So, thank you for me too.
SPEAKER_01I'm just thrilled that Emirates finally watched a film with subtitles.
SPEAKER_02So, Sarah, I picked Tusk for you.
SPEAKER_01I can't wait. I can't wait to hear why you picked Tusk for you.
SPEAKER_02And I literally feel like the stars aligned because I have wanted to talk about this film on this podcast for nearly two years, and you are the lucky candidate, but finally the person I got to choose it for. So I'm gonna start by saying thank you to you. Um but yeah, so you talked about being terrified by a film about an animal uh that you know in the when you were young, and I was like, perfect, okay, that that's we're getting there a little bit already. Um when you were talking about the subgenres of horror that you liked the most, you said you loved comedy horror and psychological horror, and I was like, amazing. Um I know you didn't write this in your survey, but I know that you were a Kevin Smith fan, so I was like, yes, yes, yes. And then I'm literally gonna read what you've written here because so you said I like a good film that is rooted in reality and consequently gives a bit of a mind fuck, something that stays with you long after you've seen it, which blah boy this film will stay with you. And then you said that you like something that shocks, whether it's something truly terrifying or something that puts you on edge, making you feel really unsettled in some way, which this film does. You said, I love a good horror film that makes me feel psychologically uneasy for a few days afterwards, which this film will, and you topped off your survey by saying, Surprise me. So I bloody did, and I genuinely at this point don't even care if you don't pick it for either of the things because I'm just so so glad that we got to talk about this, and it's for all these reasons that I chose for you, Tusk.
SPEAKER_06Oh, and I mean, again, what a what a good pick. And on the surface, like, very different, the two films, like when you see them next to each other, or like you read a synopsis or whatever, you're like, okay, they're vastly kind of like literally on two ends of a scale almost. And I was like, okay, well, this is this is fun, like literally having no idea kind of what to expect. Yeah, and do you know what? And I love that actually the two of you have picked something with some really common themes, like that theme of obsession and guilt, like runs through both movies, and kind of the the bit at the end where you kind of both of the main characters of it have kind of accepted their fate in terms of like being a walrus or being without a face and calling- Not having a face, yeah, and go like going off into the world after being trapped in your own house for however long.
SPEAKER_02And their creators are both destroyed, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, exactly. But yeah, by their own hand, essentially. Yeah, really, really interesting. So really good picks for very, very different reasons. Um, but well done the two of you, very good gold stars for each of you. Yay!
SPEAKER_02Alright, well now it is time to be a little bit more specific than that, as we have two big questions to ask you, and here they are. The first question is, Sarah, which of these movies scared you the most?
SPEAKER_06Definitely Tusk. Um I was gonna say surely you couldn't kind of have respect for anyone if that that wasn't their answer, like out of those two movies.
SPEAKER_01Like I mean, maybe if you had like a proper surgery phobia phobia or something, but I mean Tusk has surgery in it as well. Okay. So like, you know.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, Tusk, yeah, hands down, that whole the that part of the plot and the terrifying uh yeah, that that just Justin Long embodying that that walrus and Michael Parks being seriously demented and amazingly demented, but yeah, genuinely, absolutely terrifying. Um yeah, loved it. Loved it.
SPEAKER_02And the second question, and the big question is which of these two movies was the best curated horror pick for you?
SPEAKER_06Oh, do you know what? And this is such a this is the one I really wrestled with because they are very different films, and Eyes Without a Face is cinematically like as a film, a much better film. Like, you know, uh absolute classic in its own right, like not even like within the horror genre. I don't I don't think like it, I think it stands up on its own from that point of view. And I love, yeah, like I said at the at the start, like I love the kind of film noir aspect of it, that you know, the storyline, all of all of that. So that feels very um, very me and a very good pick, Katie. And then on the flip side, there's something about tusk. That I really love as well.
SPEAKER_01There's something about task.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, no, and it's not, and I and I think the reason is because of all of those references that if you if you like didn't know much about Kevin Smith and kind of him, him and his world, you just wouldn't get like they'd be completely lost on you. But because there are so many little kind of references littered throughout to his podcasts and like the people that he works with and all of that kind of stuff, I was sitting there like there were genuine moments where I was just there going, Oh my god, this is gold to something that to anyone else they just wouldn't have noticed. So it was a really hard toss-up because I loved the film and the cinematic eyes without a face. I loved it, but then I like I don't know, I think on balance my favourite for all of those reasons is actually Tuss. And I was genuinely torn because they are so different, and I really hate doing favourites. I normally do like a top ten, so that was really tough for me for me to do, but genuinely, eyes without a face will definitely go into my like top like favourite classic movies for sure. It was very close, very close. Yay!
SPEAKER_02Oh, I'm so happy. Like, I'm happy because I won, but I'm also happy because I won with this film.
SPEAKER_00Oh, this film.
SPEAKER_01I mean, he's been waiting for the perfect person for this film for such a time. I really have, I really have.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so thank you, Sarah, for being my Mr. Tell.
SPEAKER_06Anytime, anytime. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01And you know what? This is just one of those moments where I sit here looking at my husband, the person who I have been with for nearly 12 years, and I think another film that I basically introduced you to that you have given to someone and won with. So basically, I win by a period of like degrees because there's so many films that you've watched that you wouldn't have watched if it wasn't for me.
SPEAKER_02Well, listeners, if you are keeping score at home, the scores are now tied up. Uh, I've scared a bit like Justin Long in that film.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02I've now scared five people and found the perfect horror film for four, and Katie has scared four people and found the perfect horror film for five, so the scores are tied at nine apiece.
SPEAKER_01On for episode nine. Oh, look at that! Oh my god, that's creepy.
SPEAKER_02999. If you turn that upside down, it's 666.
SPEAKER_01That is creepy. Creepy.
SPEAKER_02Um, Sarah, how did you find having movies selected for you that you hadn't seen before? How did you find the experience of that?
SPEAKER_06I loved it. I'm I'm like, this should be a service that someone provides permanently with so much choice fatigue at the moment with all the services that we have at our fingertips now. I just literally sit there and kind of like, I don't I don't even know what to watch now because there's so many things. I'm just like, too much, too much. Someone just tell me what would be great and I will watch it.
SPEAKER_02Sounds like a great testimonial, almost like you could write a brief review for our podcast saying those exact words. I think it'd amazing.
SPEAKER_01That would be amazing, wouldn't it? I checked out. If more people chose to um to go to their uh podcast supplier of choice and maybe rate and review.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That might be something that's really good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it might help more people find the podcast. So if you haven't done that and you listen regularly, um check it out. Do that. But sadly, we have reached the end, so all we have left to do is just say a massive thank you to Sarah. Thank you, Sarah!
SPEAKER_06Thank you. Thank you so much, guys. This was such a wonderful time, and thank you for curating the perfect movies for me. I'm very impressed, and I will lean on you to submit your services in that regard at some point in the future to expand my horror movie selection that I haven't seen yet.
SPEAKER_02Well, you curated a horror movie for us as well in Razorback, which we will definitely be watching. So we'll be coming back to you on that, and you should totally watch was it the loved ones and boar.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_02Um, some more Aussie horror for you to check out.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Thanks for joining us on the Curators of Horror. We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of Eyes Without a Face and Tusk. Which did you think was the best movie?
SPEAKER_02Are there any other horror movies that you'd like to recommend for our guest, Sarah?
SPEAKER_01You 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_01We'll be back in two weeks to reveal our next curation and in four weeks with our next main episode. We're still on that slightly different schedule, and we hope you don't miss us in your ears too much.
SPEAKER_02We really hope you enjoyed the podcast. If you did, rate, review us, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
SPEAKER_06And if you didn't, well, you don't deserve to be listening to this podcast in the first place. So up yours.
unknownAww.
SPEAKER_02True fan, love it.
SPEAKER_01And if if you didn't, just drink the tea that we sent over.
SPEAKER_02Really good. You can have seconds.
SPEAKER_01Really fine. Just it's nothing bad will happen.
SPEAKER_02Oh my goodness. Listener, is that a small spider crawling over towards your leg? The brown recluse. I think it might be.
SPEAKER_00You're a brown recluse.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. Thank you, Sarah.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, guys. Had a great time. Thank you for inviting me onto the show.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, Katie.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, Emerson.
SPEAKER_02Thanks for listening, and we hope you have a horrifying week.