Case File 121: Halloween H20
Rogues Gallery
It’s the season finale of Rogues Gallery, and our final investigation of the year leads us into the eerily empty halls of Hillcrest Academy for a look back at Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. What began as a modest direct-to-video sequel was reborn as a prestige anniversary event, bringing Jamie Lee Curtis back for one last confrontation with the Shape... or so we thought. We dig into how a late-stage rewrite and a scrapped subplot shaped this sleek, surprisingly brisk entry, and whether the glossy, post-Scream style enhances or undermines what made the early films so haunting. Along...
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Case File 120: Total Recall
Rogues Gallery
It's Fall Verhoeven on Rogues Gallery! Our retrospective of Paul Verhoeven's work is winding down, and we're capping it off with a trip to Mars in his 1990 action/sci-fi fever dream Total Recall. Join us as we dig into the chaotic production history, break down the wild practical effects, and debate whether or not this is all real or just an implanted fantasy. Get ready for some open-your-mind weirdness because we’ve got a lot of thoughts about this one. | | | Chris's | Kristen's Chris & Kristen's Web Series:
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Case File 119: Paranormal Activity
Rogues Gallery
A young couple sets out to capture proof of the strange disturbances in their suburban home, but what begins as an experiment in home video quickly spirals into a relentless descent into fear. With its no-frills found-footage style and chillingly simple premise, Paranormal Activity turned a $15,000 indie project into a box office phenomenon and reignited a wave of supernatural horror. On this episode, we dig into the indie sensation that terrified audiences, examine how it reshaped the horror landscape of the 2000s, and debate whether or not the scares hold up when viewed outside the hype. ...
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Case File 118: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Rogues Gallery
Lisbeth Salander had already become an international icon before David Fincher brought her to Hollywood with his visceral and uncompromising retelling of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but is this the definitive interpretation of this character and story? That's what we're digging into this week. So join us as we discuss Fincher's exacting craft, Rooney Mara’s transformation, the major differences between this and the previous adaptation, the sequels that never materialized, the enduring pop culture legacy of everyone’s favorite hacker vigilante, and much more! | | | ...
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Case File 117: Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Rogues Gallery
This week, we're diving into one of the weirdest invasions ever committed to celluloid: Killer Klowns from Outer Space. When a group of extraterrestrial circus clowns land in a small town, they don’t come in peace... unless “peace” involves cotton candy cocoons, shadow puppet executions, and balloon animal bloodhounds. Topics include: how the Chiodo Brothers’ low-budget labor of love turned into a cult phenomenon, why the clown aesthetic is so effective (and so unsettling), and how this movie manages to be both a parody of ’50s B-movies and an earnest entry in the horror-comedy...
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Case File 116: Saw
Rogues Gallery
We want to play a game. That's right, it's time to investigate 2004's Saw - the low-budget sleeper hit that became a phenomenon and kicked off one of the most lucrative horror franchises of the last two decades. But this original entry has some key differences from the majority of its sequels, so join us as we unpack the film we remember this being vs. what it actually is. Topics include: the short film that was sent out with copies of the script, the unusual course of events that led to Danny Glover accepting one of the important supporting roles, some of the major inconsistencies...
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Case File 115: Deep Blue Sea
Rogues Gallery
"Deepest. Bluest. My hat is like a shark's fin." - Henry David Thoreau This week, we're visiting the Aquatica Research Facility and submerging ourselves in the 1999 sci-fi/action/thriller Deep Blue Sea. Originally conceived as Jurassic Park meets Jaws, the filmmakers ultimately decided to take a page from Alien's playbook instead. Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of that approach, compare the finished film with earlier iterations of the script, go over our favorite characters and set pieces, dissect the lyrics of LL Cool J's tie-in song, try to make sense of the two...
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Case File 114: I Saw The TV Glow
Rogues Gallery
"Sometimes The Pink Opaque feels more real than real life." On this episode, we're traversing The Midnight Realm and opening up a case file on Mr. Melancholy from I Saw The TV Glow. Topics include: writer/director Jane Schoenbrun's inspiration for the story, our own personal connections to the media that this is influenced by, how authentically this captures the miasma of 1990s suburbia, the way our feelings about the movie evolved after subsequent viewings, interpretations of the ending, the incredible soundtrack, and much more! | | | Chris's | Kristen's ...
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Case File 113: Arachnophobia
Rogues Gallery
This week, we're headed to the quiet town of Canaima, where a deadly infestation is crawling just beneath the surface. We're breaking down Arachnophobia, the Spielberg-produced “thrill-omedy” that gave audiences a reason to check their shoes before putting them on. Topics include: the more straightforward tone of the original script, how the finished film aims to balance those genuine scares with campy charm, our favorite characters and moments, the complex logistics behind wrangling hundreds of real spiders on set, the comic book, the video game, the abandoned remake, and more! ...
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Case File 112: Jurassic World
Rogues Gallery
This week, we're strapping into our Gyrospheres and heading back to Isla Nublar to unlock the secrets of 2015’s Jurassic World. After spending over a decade exploring (and ultimately rejecting) various story ideas, Steven Spielberg finally hit upon a concept for the long-awaited fourth film in his blockbuster franchise... Open the park. But even with those guardrails in place, this installment went through a wild ride to get to the big screen. On this episode, we're digging into all the behind-the-scenes info and trying to figure out how we feel about this one ten years later. Topics...
info_outline"Deepest. Bluest. My hat is like a shark's fin." - Henry David Thoreau
This week, we're visiting the Aquatica Research Facility and submerging ourselves in the 1999 sci-fi/action/thriller Deep Blue Sea. Originally conceived as Jurassic Park meets Jaws, the filmmakers ultimately decided to take a page from Alien's playbook instead. Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of that approach, compare the finished film with earlier iterations of the script, go over our favorite characters and set pieces, dissect the lyrics of LL Cool J's tie-in song, try to make sense of the two straight-to-video sequels, and contemplate DBS's place in the pantheon of non-Jaws shark movies.
Chris & Kristen's Web Series:
The Strange Case of Lucy Chandler