Halloween we have been watching
01:44:03
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Welcome To Horror Presents: “The Return of We Have Been Watching”. Just in time for Halloween (or maybe just after, depending on the schedule) here’s a round up of all the spooky shit the WTH team have been shoving up their brains. This episode we discuss “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (2024); “Tucker & Dale Vs Evil” (2010); Abattoir Fermé’s “Hotel Poseidon”(2021); “Apartment 7A” (2024); “The Descent” (2005); “Eat Locals” (2017); “Salem’s Lot” (2024); and the podcast series “The Department of Midnight” and “Baron Sodor’s Theatre of the Doomed” (thanks to Joe Watson for that one). Along the way, Chris basically plans our schedule for the next 6 months, and we have the first (and probably last) Welcome To Horror Quiz! Been listening for a while? Pit your knowledge of the show against two of the hosts (who will be judged accordingly). No need to prep for this ep, but listeners beware, as here be (possible) spoilers and (definite) swearing. Join us!
Transcript
Show full transcript
LeeGood evening and welcome to Halloween Horror. I'm Lee.
ChrisI'm Chris.
AdamI'm Adam.
LeeThis episode will be dropping just after Halloween, but with it being the spooky season, I'm pretty sure we've all been watching more than usual.
LeeSo we're going to run through everything we've been watching, give you a quick catch-up.
LeeWe've got a fantastic quiz to come as well that has been in the background.
AdamDon't sell it.
Leeyes, and Adam, I think you had something you wanted to mention before we kick off.
AdamYes, well, happy Halloween everyone, even though it's probably belatedly, but just either take it as a belated Happy Halloween or a happy Halloween for next Halloween.
AdamOr just or just live every day as Halloween.
AdamThat's what we.
LeeThat's how I live.
AdamBecause to be honest, that's the one thing I've found with Halloween is if anything, my viewing habits go the other way.
ChrisNot a great idea.
AdamWell, I've been watching horror films.
AdamYeah, it's almost like, I'll take a holiday. I'll just I'll just watch that real-life drama that I've been meaning to catch up on or something like that.
Adambut yes, I wanted to give a shout-out to long-time listener and friend of the podcast, Joe Watson.
ChrisWoo woo.
Adamhe recently come up, he funnily enough, he sort of messaged to say about a couple of bits that he's been enjoying.
ChrisOh, cool.
AdamAnd if you remember, he obviously, he was him who got us to watch Hell House LLC.
LeeThat it was.
AdamSo.
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd so always always up for what he's and and obviously likes the show.
AdamSo we know his taste is fucking impeccable.
LeeAbsolutely.
AdamYeah, so so he's been listening, there's a podcast called Baron Sobador's Theater of the Damned.
AdamNow, I've listened to a couple myself and it's an Australian production, I believe.
AdamAnd basically it's basically an hour-long horror story.
AdamThat you get like an audio that sort of grey area between play and like full-cast drama and sort of, you know, with narration and stuff like that, and obviously.
AdamBut yeah, and just generally really good little sort of stories.
AdamRemind reminded me in a way, I think they're going in that same sort of Twilight Zone vibe.
ChrisOh.
AdamIt has that sort of or certainly the the first couple I listened to, they had that sort of feel to them and everything.
AdamSo it sort of borders into sci-fi and things like that.
AdamBut yeah, well worth.
LeeDefinitely a link to that.
LeeI'll definitely watch it.
LeeThat sounds.
AdamOh, I'll send it.
AdamOh yeah, it's it's definitely well worth a listen.
AdamAnd like I say, Joe that was the Joe's been listening to it and he's been really enjoying it.
Adamand the other thing that he's been listening to is there's, I don't know if.
AdamEither of you guys are aware of a guy called Ben Living.
Adambasically, if you go and listen to his stuff on Bandcamp, Ben Living does sort of synth and.
AdamSort of low-key sort of trip hop dance, but it's packed with horror samples.
ChrisOh, cool.
LeeThat sounds right up my alley.
AdamAll of all of the songs, the pictures are pictures from films.
AdamLike, it'll be large marge from from Pee-wee Herman and stuff like that.
LeeSo.
AdamAnd but but it's weird because again, it was just one of those ones that I'd been picking up on and I'd been listening to because he's especially on the way up to Halloween, he's just been releasing like a song every couple of days or whatever like that.
LeeWow.
AdamAnd yeah, just go and listen, just go and have a listen.
AdamIt's really good sort of like stuff, it's just like I say, it's just really, you know, definitely if you like horror films, specifically, if you like horror film music, you will like.
ChrisGoing to like it.
Adam80s or 90s, you know, you will particularly like it, it's very sort of synth-driven and beat-driven and stuff like that.
ChrisExcellent.
AdamYeah.
LeeSo that sounds great. I'll check in both of those out.
LeeThat sounds excellent. Thank you, Joe.
AdamThere we go.
ChrisNice one.
AdamThanks, Joe. Happy Halloween, mate.
LeeYay.
Lee
LeeOh, on a similar note, just my own recommend.
LeeI've been listening to it rather a lot recently.
LeeI've been listening to B.A. Johnston, who my brother got me into.
LeeIt's a Canadian guy who does like super low-fi music.
LeeBut he is obsessed with the 80s and early 90s, and all of his songs are just about like horror films, smoking weed, drinking beer.
LeeAnd and the cover of one of his albums, he's re-done the Ghoulies with himself on it.
LeeIt's awesome.
ChrisCool.
AdamCan I can I just say, and Dean introduce you to this man? I can't see how that appealed to him at all.
LeeIt was one of those, he said to me, have you heard of this bloke? I went, no, he went, good because I've just bought you a ticket to go and see him.
LeeI'm coming with you.
LeeI was like, right, okay, right, let's do that then.
AdamThat I'll I'll give him his due.
AdamThat's a bold move.
LeeYeah.
AdamYou know, because you you could listen to it and just go, this is dog shit, mate.
AdamBut.
AdamHe obviously knows.
LeeYeah, oh, I mean, just.
LeeWe're all going to jail with one of the best songs I've heard in my life.
LeeAnd I recommend everybody go and listen to B.A. Johnston, we're all going to hell.
LeeNo, we're all going to jail.
ChrisWe we.
ChrisIt might be his his you know, his next album.
AdamYeah, it just it just escalates.
Leeyes, so.
LeeTo kick off our Halloween viewing.
LeeLet's start with Adam this time.
LeeAdam, what have you been watching?
Adamwell, one film that well, actually, I'm going to start with.
Adamthere's a a podcast that I've been listening to and I did recommend to Joe when he'd been sort of talking about it.
Adamtalked about Baron Subador.
Adamthe Department of Midnight, which is fairly it's brand new, it's this year.
AdamAnd it's Warren Ellis who wrote Transmetropolitan and Planetary and loads of really cool comic stuff.
AdamHe also was the guy behind the animated Castlevania.
ChrisOh.
AdamSo he wrote all that that wrote it.
AdamAnd everything.
AdamSo he's a good guy.
AdamAnd basically there's sort of like, it's a guy who works for a department of an offshoot of the government that's like for in terms of scientific research.
AdamThat is to, you know, an oversight committee, i.e., right, we're keeping tabs on what you're doing and we're going to have to come in and shut this down if you fuck this up.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd and that but the nickname of it is the Department of Midnight.
AdamAnd basically it's the sort of over a series of stories, you just get these little sort of like, they're 20 minutes, half an hour, there are essentially two-handers.
AdamIt's the main guy sort of narrating via leaving a voicemail message with his.
AdamAppointed therapist and things like that.
AdamAnd then it's but also you just get these weird little tales of what I can only describe as like scientific ghost stories almost.
Adamit's all kind of based around the idea that dark matter is actually the backup information of the universe.
AdamAnd that that sort of like so everything that's happened is kind of stored as and that's what dark matter is, and so it's people doing research into that and resurrecting people and it's yes.
ChrisSort of like the Stone Tapes but on a grander scale.
AdamA much grander scale.
AdamYeah.
ChrisUniverse level.
AdamThe Stone Tape theory of everything is what it's.
AdamCalled.
Adamand there's there's some really good guests, Alicia Witt is on, I think the first one.
AdamShe's like the the guest.
LeeWow.
AdamGuest scientist/villain/person of the week.
LeeThat's quite a guess.
AdamAnd and the and the main guy, the main guy is James Callis who does it.
AdamIt, I think he's, he's a gruff man, it borders into gruffy.
AdamBecause you're just because it's it's in that sort of ballpark of like, you know, that's kind of it has that sort of feel to it.
AdamOnly obviously, the whole point of Gath Marenghi is it's done very nely.
AdamWhereas actually this is well, it's Warren Ellis doing it.
AdamSo it's like.
AdamYeah, he's basically sending it's, you know, he gets sent in as a guy to sort all this shit out.
AdamSo he's a.
AdamHe's he's your typical sort of he's a rogue, you know, he's a rogue agent who doesn't take no shit sort of thing.
AdamBut.
AdamYeah, but seriously, it's such a good show and it's also it's also one of those ones that's like, right, that was in the in the past 18 minutes, you've just introduced me to about three different fucking concepts that are like, I'm now going to have to think about for days.
LeeThat.
AdamSo, yeah, and like I said, the whole sort of dark mat thing just is fascinating.
AdamIs a fascinating theory and concept.
LeeYeah.
AdamSo yeah, so that's the Department of Midnight.
AdamIt's on any podcasting, I think the series was like six or eight episodes.
AdamProbably could do it in an afternoon, but I was listening to them as they came out.
AdamBut it's yeah, it's just really good.
AdamReally good stuff.
LeeI'm going to get on that, 100%.
ChrisCool.
LeeWho love a podcast.
LeeChris.
LeeWhat about yourself?
ChrisSo I thought, what am I going to do for this Halloween? There's there's loads of things I could watch, but I thought and I'm sure there's a list of things that you both told me I should watch.
LeeThat you can pick from.
ChrisHowever, I decided to throw it out to the internet.
ChrisAnd I was just like, right, I'm going to kind of come with a bit of a theme here, I want three films.
ChrisOne to be a comedy, comedy horror that I haven't seen yet.
ChrisOne to be something a bit quirky, you know, a bit out there, let's just see how it plays out.
ChrisAnd one to be something that actually tries to terrify me, right.
ChrisAnd I thought, well, it needs to be playing one of my phobias.
ChrisSo, essentially claustrophobia is definitely one of my like.
ChrisI mean, I'm sure it's lots of people's, who wants to be stuck in a very small space.
ChrisLike, really.
AdamAlso just just as a note there, any crazy stalkers listening, so that's claustrophobia.
AdamJust.
ChrisSo, so, I don't know, can you guess what I went for?
LeeDid you watch Buried?
ChrisNo, maybe I should have done. I did not come across that.
AdamWhat's the one with Kiefer Sutherland?
ChrisOh.
ChrisNo, but what was that?
AdamThe fella gets locked in a box.
ChrisI mean, that sounds good.
AdamIt was like 90s, I think it's The Vanishing.
ChrisI may I may have to put this on my list for when I really need to upset me myself again.
ChrisWell, right, so, so.
ChrisCame up with *The Descent*.
LeeOh.
LeeOh yeah.
ChrisOh yeah, right, I kind of thought it's funny.
ChrisI would have thought we would have covered that, I'm sure we've mentioned it.
LeeI haven't seen it.
ChrisOh, okay, that's interesting.
ChrisAll right, well, so it it ticked the box.
ChrisRight, but I'll start with, I'll start with the comedy.
ChrisProbably should do this one last, but, you know, we're going with this one first, right?
ChrisSo, came up with *Tucker and Dale versus Evil*.
LeeYes.
ChrisRight.
ChrisSo again, I was like, how have we not watched this?
ChrisI mean, it's like reminiscent of *Cabin in the Woods*, it's got that meta twist, like, I just, I was like, yeah, this is this is looking great.
Chrisnow, so it's got Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss.
ChrisNow, Tyler Labine has been in some things that I I should probably have watched.
Chrisright, so something you mentioned, Lee, it's always sunny in Philadelphia.
ChrisNot horror.
ChrisBut you said it's very good.
LeeLove it.
ChrisYeah, and and he was in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which I did watch and I enjoyed.
Chrisbut definitely need to watch that again.
ChrisAnyway, so, so he's clearly been in a few a few things.
ChrisBut yeah, like they him and Alan Tudyk just they worked so well.
ChrisLike, it's so funny to see the other side of things.
ChrisHow everything can be so misinterpreted so easily.
ChrisLike, the weird hillbillies look weird.
ChrisIf you're the other side.
ChrisBut they're just them.
ChrisLike, you know.
ChrisWhat why should they be perfectly sociable just like all the other, you know.
Chrisuniversity students who have been educated and and so on.
ChrisAnd like and it is so funny even from the start.
ChrisYou're just like, yeah.
ChrisYou can totally see how he just wants to try and he just wants to try and impress the girl a little bit.
ChrisThat's all.
LeeIt's just such nice guys.
LeeAnd everything just goes absolutely spectacularly wrong.
ChrisIt is so funny.
LeeI love that film.
LeeI've seen it three or four times now.
LeeIt is a real treasure.
ChrisIt is.
ChrisIt is, just, yeah, executed so well.
AdamI was going to say, here's the point where I have to say, I've never seen it.
AdamI know that Lee always raved it and to be honest.
AdamI've been waiting since we started doing Welcome to Horror.
ChrisOh, that we would we're going to do it.
AdamI'll watch that.
ChrisSee, that is the trouble with me going out there and just like.
AdamNo, no, no.
AdamThis is absolutely spot-on, we always said it's Welcome to Horror in the sense of if at least one of us hasn't seen it.
AdamIt definitely needs to happen.
LeeYeah.
AdamDo you know what I mean?
AdamSo that's you guys show it finally showing me Tucker and Dale.
AdamIt's like, it's a film that's been on my radar, I've just never got around to it.
ChrisIt it should be bumped up a little bit. I mean, the deaths are great and just yeah, the way it's interpreted and the way they deal with it and just the characters, they're all just wonderful, really.
LeeI mean, Alan Tudyk is amazing in every, I mean, him in *Resident Alien* just absolutely.
LeeAnd and of course he was Wash in *Firefly*, which you introduced me to.
ChrisYes.
LeeYears ago, I sort of kind of forgot.
AdamHe's not the big, isn't he the big robot in Rogue One?
ChrisYes, right, that's what I was going to say.
ChrisYeah, he's K K2SO like.
LeeYeah, the.
LeeNo, I know that.
AdamThe big droid.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisYeah, he is arguably the best droid in any Star Wars ever, basically.
ChrisI just.
AdamNo, actually.
ChrisLike he just he builds up.
ChrisI mean, you know, in one film you build up the character of a droid.
ChrisAnd you really feel for him when he is getting slaughtered.
ChrisYou're like, yeah, I did not think I'd feel that emotional for a droid at this point.
ChrisYou've done a great job.
LeeI rewatched that film three weeks ago and again we're blown away at what an amazing film.
ChrisIt is it is really good.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisLike they absolutely, they've knocked that one out of the park.
AdamYeah.
LeeSo yeah, good, cool.
LeeWell done, Tucker and Dale, excellent.
LeeAnd now now Adam can watch it as well.
AdamWe've got Well, that's the thing, I'm putting it on the thing of this is like stuff we haven't done.
LeeOh yeah, yeah.
AdamBecause that's that's there's an element to that of the quiz, I would argue, is that you'll be able to hear things that looks like, I thought we'd done more of that.
LeeYeah, yeah.
AdamDo you know what I mean?
AdamLike, so.
LeeYeah, I mean that definitely needs to go on.
LeeI any excuse to rewatch Tucker and Dale, I'll always go with.
ChrisCool.
LeeExcellent.
Leeright, so all of mine, I'm going to try and keep fairly spoiler-free.
LeeBecause they're all new films.
LeeWe've had so much new stuff come out in the last six weeks or so.
LeeI I've been struggling to get through it all.
Leeso the first for this evening, *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice*.
ChrisOh, right.
ChrisI watched the trailer, very tempted.
LeeGo on.
LeeYeah, see the trailer left me.
LeeI mean, it's it sounds like such an obvious thing today, I might be great or it might be awful.
LeeYou can say that.
ChrisYes.
LeeAbout anything.
LeeBut.
LeeIt did have that feel of this is either going to be spectacular or it is going to shit the bed.
ChrisI wondered, have they shown everything that's potentially good in the trailer?
ChrisAnd there's going to be not much left.
ChrisBut.
LeeNo, it was great. So we did it as a double feature.
LeeSo we watched the original one at home before going.
ChrisOh, yeah, nice.
LeeSee the new one.
LeeAnd we did drink Tiny Rebel's *Beetlejuice*, which is a watermelon sour, which they released for the film.
LeeAnd it's neon green and it's bloody lovely.
AdamI drank I drank their sugar-free Tango.
LeeOh, did you?
AdamWith a picture of General Tiger on it, they've done they've done quite well from marketing it.
AdamThey have, didn't they?
Leeyes, so *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* was good.
LeeI really enjoyed it.
LeeI thought it was just tongue-in-cheek enough.
LeeIt was great to have everybody back.
Leeand the additional, so you know, the new younger cast, I thought were excellent.
LeeIt's oh crap, I should have it open.
Leethe girl who played Wednesday.
ChrisFrom Wednesday, yeah.
AdamGeneral Tiger.
LeeThat's yes.
ChrisGeneral Tiger.
ChrisThat's the one.
LeeYeah, who was fantastic in it and worked so well.
LeeAs a basically as a new Winona Ryder.
LeeBecause she covers that same.
ChrisCan't think of someone more perfect, really.
LeeNo.
ChrisFor pretty much her role.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah, I think I think in the public consciousness, that's pretty much her role.
AdamOh, it's the new Winona Ryder.
ChrisYeah.
Leeyeah, and it just smashed it out the park.
LeeIt was really, it was a great story.
LeeIt was really well put together.
Leeit was a it was well-paced, it looked beautiful, it looked exactly like the original.
LeeLike they hadn't done too much to try and, you know, like CGI the shit out of it, basically.
Leeso it looked fantastic.
Leeyeah, I found it really funny and yeah.
LeeI it's an absolute recommend for me.
LeeI can't wait for it to come out on Blu-ray or whatever, so I can watch it again because it was so much fun.
AdamJust just a quick question and this might sound blindingly obvious and there's probably people will scream at this one when they hear me ask this.
AdamIs it Tim Burton? Because I don't even recall.
AdamWhether he was like no one seems to be mentioning him.
LeeIt is Tim Burton.
LeeYeah, I don't know, I don't know why nobody's mentioning him.
LeeHe's not on a list anyway, he's not like he's suddenly done something and he's been like, you know.
AdamBut also, that's another selling point.
AdamWhen you're telling me that Michael Keaton's back and Winona Ryder's back, tell me that.
AdamBecause no one seems to be saying that it's a, that's why I've had to ask.
AdamBecause I'm like, actually, they all think about it.
ChrisThey could have said by the director of *Beetlejuice*.
LeeYeah, yeah.
ChrisYou know.
LeeYeah.
LeeIt's it is Tim Burton through and through, it's exactly what you'd expect from him.
Leeit's got all those same stylistic quirks and callbacks and.
ChrisQuirky, comedy, weird, dark, perfectly blended.
LeeThat's great.
LeeYeah.
Leeyeah.
LeeIt's great.
LeeIt's a great.
LeeIt's a great way of getting all the old, as you say, the old crew back, so obviously Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara are all back.
Leebut yeah, then you've got Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe,
AdamOh, yes, yes.
LeeDanny DeVito who's got a little cameo in it.
LeeIt was.
AdamOn Statham.
LeeIt was fucking wicked, I really, really had a good time with it.
LeeSo, yes.
LeeGo and check out *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice*.
AdamWell, I'll have to give it a whirl then.
ChrisYeah.
AdamI've been sort of like, I don't know, you know, like a lot of.
AdamA lot of belated sequels, should we say.
ChrisYeah, like you don't want to be disappointed, really, you know.
AdamYeah, I'd rather I'd rather not watch it and just think, oh, *Blues Brothers 2000*.
AdamYou know, I'd rather.
ChrisYeah.
LeeExactly.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamYou know, *Blues Brothers 2000*, fine.
AdamBut.
AdamDon't don't even sit with the.
LeeYou know, oh yeah, don't do them as a double feature.
LeeYou'll blow your brains out.
AdamNo, you just got you just go, well, that's a fucking, that's a drop.
ChrisThat.
LeeExcellent.
LeeRight, Adam, what have you got up next?
Adamwell, this I'm I'm feeling that you may have mentioned this before.
AdamIf you haven't, Lee, I'll and you haven't seen this, go and watch this because I think you will like it.
Adam*Eat Locals*.
LeeYes.
AdamYou have, right, thank for that because I was just, yeah, because it was again, one of those things where I'm like.
AdamIf Lee, I couldn't remember if you'd done it on the like mentioned it on the show or mentioned it at all, but yeah, I just thought that's yeah, this is a bit of Lee, isn't it?
AdamCertainly.
LeeIt was it was one of those, I heard about it from nowhere, so I picked it up on DVD almost as soon as it came out.
Leeand then about two years later, a friend of the show, Sharon, messaged me and said, oh, I was chatting to a friend of mine who'd made this horror film.
LeeIf you haven't seen it, you should check it out and it was *Eat Locals* and I was like, I've seen it.
LeeIt's fucking incredible.
AdamYeah.
AdamSo yeah, and but yeah, no, just so for Chris, I'm assuming you've not seen *Eat Locals*.
ChrisNo.
Adambasically it's a it's a horror comedy.
AdamThe the eight vampires in England meet up for their annual meeting where they discuss like sort of territory and turf and things like that.
AdamBut unbeknownst to them, there's a anti-vampire sort of military strike force waiting in the woods.
AdamAnd they who but both sides are completely off kilter because the army think they've trapped a vampire.
AdamThey don't know the traps.
ChrisEight.
AdamEight.
ChrisYeah.
