Horror Movie Talk

Gospel means the good news, and this episode has some of the worst news for our favorite characters. (0:46) – Welcome (1:45) – Opening Prayer (2:42) – Synopsis (4:42) – Sermon Synopsis Riley is missing, and Erin is searching all over the island for him. Father Paul is starting to sound more militant in his Good Friday Sermon, and Mildred is appearing almost as young as her daughter. We eventually find out what Riley’s fate is and have some of the most emotional moments in the series. MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) ZACH GILFORD as RILEY FLYNN in episode 105 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) HAMISH LINKLATER as FATHER PAUL in episode 105 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021

This episode of the aftershow we get to discuss some of the most pivotal revelations of Midnight Mass. (0:46) – Welcome (1:42) – Opening Prayer (2:58) – Synopsis (6:06) – Sermon Synopsis This episode starts with Erin at the doctors office, where they find one of the most disconcerting things I can possibly imagine out about her pregnancy, the baby appears to have vanished from inside her womb. This episode is pivotal to the series so far in that we finally realize what the flying, cat eating presence is, and what role it plays. We also learn that this new pastor is not new at all, but monseniour all young and vibrant again.  Finally, we get into pithy and heartfelt dialog about what life and death are and how they can mean different things to different people. MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) SAMANTHA SLOYAN as BEV KEANE in episode 104 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) ANNABETH GISH as DR. SARAH GUNNING in episode 104 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) CRYSTAL BALINT as DOLLY SCARBOROUGH in episode 104 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021

In this episode, we discuss the major revelation of what happened to Monsignor Pruitt. (0:45) – Welcome (1:38) – Opening Prayer (2:15) – Synopsis (4:09) – Sermon Synopsis This episode fills in details about what happened to Monsignor Pruitt. We also pick up right at the moment after Leesa’s spine is healed. The town clamors for more healings and Riley is skeptical. Signs of de-aging become more pronounced, but no one openly talks about it. MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) ANNABETH GISH as DR. SARAH GUNNING, HAMISH LINKLATER as FATHER PAUL, and SAMANTHA SLOYAN as BEV KEANE in episode 103 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021

We pick up where we left off, the day after the storm, but there is an unexpected surprise washed up on the beach. (0:45) – Welcome (1:44) – Opening Prayer (2:35) – Synopsis (6:26) – Sermon Synopsis This episode contains death, the building of relationships, the building of faith, and even the what appears to be a modern day miracle. We get to see a little bit more of the mysterious humanoid that stalks the island, and seems to be stalking Erin. MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) ZACH GILFORD as RILEY FLYNN in episode 102 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) ZACH GILFORD as RILEY FLYNN and HAMISH LINKLATER as FATHER PAUL in episode 102 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) KRISTIN LEHMAN as ANNIE FLYNN and HENRY THOMAS as ED FLYNN in episode 102 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) RAHUL KOHLI as SHERIFF HASSAN and ROBERT LONGSTREET as JOE COLLIE in episode 102 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021

In this first official episode of the Midnight Mass Aftershow, we cover Book 1: Genesis. We introduce the characters and start asking ourselves questions about where we think the show will go. (0:47) – Welcome (1:41) – Opening Prayer (3:19) – Synopsis (6:06) – Sermon Synopsis This first episode starts out with Riley Flynn being convicted of vehicular manslaughter and serving 4 years in prison. As he returns home to the island community of Crockett, we are introduced to his family and the other townspeople of note. Much ado is made of the return of Monsignor Pruitt the elderly priest coming back from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The townspeople are surprised to learn that Monsignor Pruitt is replaced temporarily with Father Paul hill. Along with the arrival of Riley and Father Hill, spooky things are afoot in the dark of night. MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) RAHUL KOHLI as SHERIFF HASSAN in episode 101 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021 MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) SAMANTHA SLOYAN as BEV KEANE in episode 101 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX © 2021

We watched Paranormal Activity 3 and I literally had nightmares. This movie has taken the tried and true formula from the first few, sharpened it, and really knocks it out of the park in terms of scares. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Paranormal Activity 3 Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch https://youtu.be/90r3CnPI0AM Synopsis While the first movie in the series focused on Katie (Katie Featherston), and the second focused on her sister, Kristi (Sprague Grayden) while they are in the present, the third installment focuses on their childhood. Katie and Kristi are at home in Carlsbad, CA in 1988 with their sexy mom, Julie (Lauren Bittner) and her remarkably likeable boyfriend, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith). Strange sounds and movements start to happen throughout the house and Dennis, who owns a wedding video film taping company takes a big interest in catching this on tape. Kristi, the youngest girl, has an imaginary friend named Toby, and well, Toby fucking sucks. Julie’s mother doesn’t seem to approve of her dating Dennis. Eventually our ill fated family get more paranormal activity than they bargained for. Review Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, Paranormal Activity 3 blows me away. So much about this movie works and it scares me to death.  With the kids being a central focus of the happenings in the house, I am basically on high alert right from the beginning.  The stationary cameras that are the calling card of this series are done so well in this that I still think about it when I think about framing and timing perfection within film. There is a reason for almost everything that happens in Paranormal Activity 3 that is rooted in decent enough logic and for everything else the scares are so intense that I can’t be upset. The way this movie uses sound is masterful. The slight movement of boring objects around the house keeps me on the edge of my seat.  Producers, take note. For the low cost of some fishing line, you can scare me way more than if you pay a huge crew of computer animators to design a monster that runs around and skins people. Mostly, the tension is the highlight of Paranormal Activity 3. While it may not work for everyone, I think the build and release cycles of tension in this are second to none. Every single time it day turned to night in this film, I was shook.   Score 10/10 Final Recommendations If found footage is something that you even mildly enjoy, this is a master class. Of the first three, I think this one is the scariest to me, and I love the oscillating fan cam!

Why start an aftershow before the show is available to watch? Because we are going to first give our overall review and tell you that you need to watch Midnight Mass. (0:00) – Welcome (1:33) – Synopsis (4:37) – Themes (17:56) – Score (20:20) – A Letter From Mike Flanagan Synopsis An isolated island community experiences miraculous events – and frightening omens – after the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest. Riley also returns home to Crockett island following his incarceration for the accidental slaying of a young woman while he was driving drunk. As we experience a community threatened by the death of their fishing industry, and an aging populace, we suddenly see new life being breathed into the church.  Midnight Mass brings us an even handed look at the themes of religion, death, and what it means to live a good life amongst those who do evil even when they believe themselves to be acting in the name of God. Score 10/10 A Letter From Mike Flanagan Welcome to Crockett Island. I’m just going to admit it—Midnight Mass is my favorite project so far. I don’t like saying things like that, as filmmakers are meant to fall in love with whatever we are working on at a given time—it’d be impossible to do the work if we didn’t—but this one is truly special to me. This project is more than a decade in the making. You may have noticed Midnight Mass as Maddie’s novel in Hush, or on the shelf in Gerald’s Game—two cameos that let me keep the project alive when it looked like no one would make it. When people on set asked me what Midnight Mass was, I smiled and told them it was the “best thing I never made”.As a former altar boy, about to celebrate 3 years of sobriety, it’s not hard to see what makes this so personal. It is also born of the things that scare me the most. The ideas that animate my work always scare me—but the ideas at the root of Midnight Mass terrify me to my core. Horror is an essential genre. It helps us develop bravery and courage in very small increments. It also gives us a safe place to examine the most uncomfortable truths about ourselves as individuals and as a society. The horrors and mysteries of Midnight Mass are some of the deepest—and the darkest—I’ve ever explored. The isolated community of Crockett Island sits, surrounded by grey water and overcast skies. While there are dark forces at work that are absolutely supernatural, this show is also about the most potent types of horrors—the horrors born of human nature. Horrors of fanaticism, corruption, and blind faith. Along with the figures who lurk in the shadows, whose plans for Crockett Island are far more sinister than we know, this show is about how belief shapes our communities, our world, and our fates. It’s a show about faith, fanaticism, addiction, recovery, destruction and redemption. The darkness that animates this story isn’t hard to see in our world, unfortunately. We see it in religious and political fundamentalism, in tribalism and racism, in science-denial, in systemic corruption, and in the eyes of normal citizens moved to acts of violence and horror by belief systems that have exploited their prejudices, fears, and blind faith. It speaks to a malignant insanity that has become absolutely normalized in our world. And as Carl Sagan said, “there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” It’s about something else as well: faith itself. One of the great mysteries of human nature. How even in the darkness, in the worst of it, in the absence of light—and hope—we sing. I hope you enjoy our song. Mike Flanagan Creator/Showrunner Midnight Mass Press Materials

Coming September 24, Horror Movie Talk presents the Midnight Mass Aftershow. We’ll breakdown each episode of the upcoming seven-part horror series by Mike Flanagan on Netflix with a companion aftershow episode. About Midnight Mass When Father Paul’s appearance on Crockett Island coincides with unexplained and seemingly miraculous events, a renewed religious fervor takes hold of the community. But do these miracles come at a price? From Mike Flanagan, the creator of The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass tells the tale of a small isolated island community whose existing divisions are amplified by the return of a disgraced young man and the arrival of a charismatic priest. Subscribe Now Subscribe to Horror Movie Talk on your favorite podcast platform so that you can binge the entire aftershow on the same day that you binge Midnight Mass on Netflix. Midnight Mass Promo Poster

This is not the greatest horror movie in the world, this is just a tribute. James Gunn’s love letter to monster movies is a shining star in the morass of 2000’s horror, It’s surprising that it doesn’t get more love. (0:34) – Intro (8:45) – Trailer (10:39) – Synopsis (11:19) – Review (17:15) – Score (21:48) – Spoilers (52:10) – Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes Game (1:01:01) – Outro @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Synopsis Slither tells the story of a loving husband trying to have sex with his wife by any means possible. He discovers a lot about himself and makes a lot of friends along the way. Actually it’s about a parasitic worm that arrives from space to terrorize a small town in South Carolina. The worm inserts itself into a sexually frustrated local businessman and multiplies until it takes over most of the town. Along the way a ragtag group of townspeople join together to fight back against the slithering invasion. https://youtu.be/SI0BcgVdSWg Review of Slither Slither is written and directed by James Gunn, before he got canceled and then uncanceled by Disney. His style shows here with just the right amount of humor and winking at the audience. It was obviously a love letter to the horror genre, as it imitates about a dozen other horror classics such as The Thing, Society, The Blob, Rats: Night of Terror, and Star War The Phantom Menace. The cast is great, the premise is fun, and the story is executed well. It drags at some points, but has some genuinely great scenes and set pieces that overshadow any momentary boredom.  More than anything, this is a fun ride and probably deserves more attention than it gets.  Score 7/10 Watch Slither Now Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout. Mentioned in the Episode https://youtu.be/_lK4cX5xGiQ

We watched Cube from 1997 and it held my attention from start to finish with an interesting premise and very little in terms of budget. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/Esjc0rPj3K4 Synopsis Cube has a simple premise, an assortment of individuals wake up and find themselves trapped in a maze of cubes. Each side and the ceiling and floor of each room they enter has a door on it.  Some cubes are booby trapped, and others are safe. Each individual brings a unique perspective and talent to the party, and they all must work together to escape the Cube.  In the end everyone gets more cube than they bargained for. Review Cube is an interesting low budget, sci-fi horror from the 90’s. While that low-budget feel is present in Cube, director Vincenzo Natali does a great job of masking it with a variety of clever choices. Saw, which came out in 2004, feels as if it were modeled after Cube, or maybe a loving tribute to the Cube. But it’s interesting to see what feels like the start of the puzzle gore genre. The setting and premise of Cube are compelling and force the audience to imagine the setting that they aren’t allowed to see. Whenever a movie makes me imagine the larger scale universes or sets that they hint at, it works quite well for me. The primary focus of this movie is on a handful of Cube dwellers and their attempt to escaped the Cube.  These are very highly exaggerated stereotypical 90’s protagonists that can fit into their own little boxes. These protagonist tropes range in the following ways: Nerdy student who wears glasses and can do math Disaffected office worker  Overly aggressive cop Empathetic doctor Autist Escape artist The puzzle aspects of Cube are often explained through confusing dialog with questionable logic, but I never found myself hung up on these problems. Instead I just had a little chuckle to myself about “simpler times” and let the movie unravel. At the end I found myself engaged and interested in the story and the reason for the Cube and I will be watching Cube 2: Hypercube. Watch Cube Watch on Amazon Click Here to Buy or Rent Score 6/10 Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.