Backrooms

[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it. This is The MESH. Footcandle Films. Film news and reviews from two guys who really like movies. This episode is brought to you by the Footcandle Film Society. For a schedule of upcoming screenings and membership information, visit the society's website at www.footcandle.org.

[00:00:35] Hello everyone and welcome to Footcandle Films here on the MESH.TV Podcast Network. My name is Alan Jackson. Across the table from me, the podcast recording table here in the MESH studios, is Mr. Chris Fry. Chris, how's it going? Good weekend, things are going okay? Yeah, yeah, things are going well. An interesting weekend at the movies, which we'll get to. I actually saw two films this weekend.

[00:01:01] So, yeah, one of which we're going to review and the other one which we may review in the future or maybe I'll have it as a recommendation. Not sure. Yes. Leave people in suspense. Okay. Unless they follow me on Letterboxd. I know which other movie you saw. Got you. And the fact that you're already positioning as a possible recommendation bodes well for your review of it. So, anyway, we'll keep that in mind. Sure. But we will leave everybody in suspense.

[00:01:23] I'm sure everybody will be waiting, feverishly clicking the download button for the next episode that comes out to find out if we spoil what that film is or not. Sure. But we're not going to talk about that film today. We're going to talk about the other one you watched this weekend that I also watched this weekend as well. And that is the film Backrooms. We are going to be reviewing the box office sensation on an opening weekend, a very big surprising opening weekend for an A24 film titled Backrooms.

[00:01:51] We will be reviewing that film shortly. After that review, we are going to indulge ourselves in a few trailers of some upcoming movies. We're going to watch, I think, three trailers of films that we have either been made aware of and we are now going to watch the proof of that movie's existence by a two to three minute trailer and give our analysis of what we see and what we're hoping for out of that movie.

[00:02:17] Or if we gauge our excitement, see if it's something we want to look forward to watching later this year when it's released. And as always, Chris Fry does have his weekly recommendation for us, a film he recommends we all to check out. He's going to share that recommendation with us. It will not be the film that you also saw this past weekend. Not yet. Not yet. You got something different for us. Okay, good. Is it a film I've seen? No. Oh, okay. At least I don't think so.

[00:02:45] So my cue list continues to grow at the end of this episode. Stay tuned for that. That'll be at the very end of the episode after we get done with the review and the trailer. But let's jump right into that first section, which is our review of the film from A24 Studios, directed by Kane Parsons, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. Did I do that right?

[00:03:15] Yeah. Think we got it? Okay. That is the film Backrooms. Let's discuss it now. I found something. In the store. Okay. What did you find? A place. I found a place.

[00:03:56] Hello? Anyone there? Backrooms. Backrooms. The new film by 20-year-old writer, director, and YouTube creator Kane Parsons is an interesting, and I'll go ahead and say it, odd film. A description of the film on Letterboxd reads simply,

[00:04:24] A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom. Were I a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, my membership inquiry emails must mistakenly go to their junk mail folder. I'd throw all my clout behind getting Backrooms a nomination for production design. Alan, what are your thoughts on the film, and is there anything of note you'd want to call the Academy or anyone else's attention to?

[00:04:51] I'm going to call attention to the fact that I am in admiration of this film. Okay. I hear a butt coming. Maybe. Maybe. Okay. But admiration, let me just start off first and just say, let's talk about the feat of this movie. Okay. You mentioned the director. Yes. 20-year-old. Yes. Kane Parsons. We'll go ahead and wish him an early happy birthday. He turns 21 on June 18th. Okay. All right.

[00:05:21] So, you know, early happy birthday. Early happy birthday, Mr. Kane Parsons. Yes. He'll be legal at that point. Right. Supposedly, this has been a film that has been discussed or trying to be shopped around for at least two or three years. So, meaning he was working on getting this film shopped around as a teenager at 17, 18 years old. And he has, which… It's all based on a YouTube series of videos. YouTube series that he'd done for a couple of years. Yeah. He did as a teenager.

[00:05:50] Became very, very popular. I was unaware of them. I was unaware either. Okay. It is a generational thing, I think, what we've learned. I think so. Because I guarantee you that probably our children, at least my children, were aware of these videos. Right. And were aware of some of the YouTube sensation online from this. So, you've got to back up and just give some admiration to the fact that a feature film was made. I'll go ahead and say, it's not bad. Okay? I don't think.

[00:06:19] I think it's okay. That is going to be the poor quote on the criteria in the collection. I don't think it's great. I have some issues with it. Okay. But it's not bad. And it made $115 million globally over the weekend. That's insane for a $10 million budget film by a 20-year-old kid. He's now officially the youngest person to ever have a number one movie at the box office. Again, pretty impressive. Admiration all around.

[00:06:48] I'm just going to go ahead and say, I did go into this movie. I saw it after I realized what the box office numbers were looking like. So, I kind of knew, okay, yeah, this is kind of picking up some steam. People are really connecting with this. And I had already talked to several of my connections of people who had seen the film. So, I kind of had some buildup for it. Okay. Going in to see it on a Sunday afternoon. Build up some anticipation, some expectations. Maybe a bit. And maybe a bit of a letdown from those expectations.

[00:07:18] So, I'll say this. I do agree. I think if I had never seen the YouTube series, and I had not until people made me watch it just in the last week or so. Prior to the movie. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I did have people share those with me and say, oh, you need to watch some of this. And I watched a little bit, but I mean, it didn't affect my enjoyment of this. Sure. Even despite that, I still think visually, this is a very interesting film to watch.

[00:07:42] And it is, I think, something interesting to watch just to see what they did with the visual elements of the film. Production design, like you said. I think some of the use of cameras at times was good. It was fun. It was creative. I just wish the movie had a little more going for it. It just felt relatively slight by the end of the day.

[00:08:09] And I also felt like I like when you've got a movie, Chris, for me, either really clarify and spell out for me what's going on or don't give me any indication of what's going on and let me interpret it myself. I need it to be kind of one of those two camps. Don't try to do a little teasing and telling me what you think I want to hear about what it's about and then still not really give me enough to really finish that thought.

[00:08:37] And I feel like this movie was trying to play both sides. It's like, yes, we want to be mysterious. We want to be and let the viewer interpret. But we're also going to have a very typical sit down at a table and I'm going to tell you what this movie is about. And it just didn't quite connect fully for me. So that being said, I am in admiration of the film. I do think it's a good film. I just didn't terribly enjoy it.

[00:09:04] But I also think it was just my there might have been some expectations built in of what I was looking for at the end of the day, too. So, yeah, that being said, Chris, I'm really anxious to hear what are your thoughts on what overall? What were your thoughts on back rooms? You had not seen anything of this this director like YouTube series or whatever. No, had not seen the YouTube series. Do we do a trailer? We did the trailer. We did do the trailer. And I was like, oh, interested in you. I think.

[00:09:28] OK, one of the many reasons why I'm glad we do not do this as a video podcast, not saying we won't in the future, but is that as one of us is revealing how we feel about something. The other person being me this time is just sitting across the table from now and smiling. Now, the person running the cameras could choose not to cut to me. And then, you know, audience would tip the hand that, you know, something Chris had was thinking about something. But I loved this film. Ooh.

[00:09:57] And the more I think the more I think about it, the more I like it. And I just saw this film last night. Yeah. And actually, it helps. This is one of the many reasons we have this podcast. The more I talk about it and the more I think about it, like I said, the more I like about it. And hearing you say some misgivings and I totally get it. I totally get it. But I'm thinking and kind of in the way when I was sitting in theater, I'm like, yeah, I could kind of see that at the end of the day, at the end of the film. There is some exposition.

[00:10:26] But in a way, the fact that it's like a double edged exposition because it doesn't really solve it. And it's actually like a red herring exposition because the last shot to me is like masterful. Yeah. I agree. I agree. But I can totally see how somebody and I could see some people saying, what was because this is being built as a horror film. And I but it's the type of horror film that I trust a 24 with.

[00:10:54] I say I'm like, OK, I'll go see it because I'm just expecting maybe there will be jump scares, but it's not going to like there's not gonna be a lot of gore. It's not going to bother me psychologically in a bad way. It's not going to scar me, you know. So I just it really delivered. But I think the thing and I'm going to subscribe to the the Bambi rule. If you can't say anything, can't say anything nice. Don't say anything at all. Not about this film. But and if you follow me on Letterboxd, you'll know the film I'm referring to. I'm not going to throw it under the bus here.

[00:11:24] There is a recent horror film that came out and had a lot of similar buzz. It's not, you know, in the same way about backgrounds, but a lot of a lot of buzz. And I saw it and I was just dumbfounded that people were just swooning for this thing. I'm like, I just don't get it. I just don't get it. You and I were talking off mic. He said, well, when you saw it, did you see it with, you know, a big crowd of people? And I was like, well, no, I saw it with three or four other people.

[00:11:53] And for a horror film, I can see how the that theatrical experience boost may have helped. Mm-hmm. This film, it was kind of, I was a little concerned, even though I hadn't seen the YouTube series. I heard the swell of anticipation and hype behind it. I saw it, you know, at night, which helped. And I made sure I saw it with more people than I did the last horror film. And I still think if I'd seen it by myself, I still think I'd been over the moon. But I think some of the audience reactions to some of the things helped.

[00:12:21] I will say too, if you're the, and I guess with most horror movies, maybe. I mean, well, I'm a sort of thing, maybe. It's better if you see this in the theater. Yeah. But with the sound design and just the shots and stuff, I really think it helps seeing it on the biggest screen possible because it just makes it that much more creepy. And horror is kind of like comedy. Some people will be like, well, there's nothing, you know, it's like, it's really tailors to people's tastes.

[00:12:50] You know, it's hard to do a comedy that appeals to everyone. One horror films, it's like, well, what scares some people? Some people just think is dumb or boring. This film dealt with something that apparently younger people may be aware of, or is like an idea that's scary. Something that I was not familiar with, a term called liminal spaces. Yes. And for those kind of like me, you weren't really aware what that means. I'll go ahead and say the brief description, according to Google, a physical or psychological

[00:13:18] in-between threshold, a place of transition. These states are known for feeling disoriented and nostalgic, evoking a mix of comfort and subtle unease. And that's where my biggest praise for this film comes is just the really odd production design that it's not like, you know, they're dismembered bodies hanging everywhere to freak you out. No, it's just things that are just, sometimes they're just slightly off and then sometimes they are really off.

[00:13:47] And it just, that kind of just eeriness, I just really, really admire. And I, I wonder, there was a film from a couple of years ago that came out called Skin of a Rink. Right. And this film reminded me of that because in that film, it's these two kids that wake up in this house and they can't find a door to get out of the house. They can't find their parents. And you just hear all this really odd noise and blurry imagery. It didn't really work for me. Yeah.

[00:14:15] But I remember a champion of said film who has since passed away. David Lynch was just like, this film's amazing. And it was cool because the director was a big fan, David Lynch. I wish David Lynch could have stuck around to see this film because I just really, I'd be really curious to hear his thoughts. Yeah. So obviously, I'm a big fan. Yeah, great. And I'm really happy. I really, no, seriously, I am. I like the film. Gotcha.

[00:14:45] I didn't quite, wasn't quite able to champion it the way you are, but I totally get it. And it's totally not for everybody. I could see some people that would be bored stiff watching this movie. It is a bit of a vibe movie too. It's like you kind of have to be able to go in and buy into what the film is doing. And if you're in that mode, if you're kind of in that, yep, I'm ready to do it. Then yeah, I think you have an amazing experience with it. This is the Midnight's movie, Midnight movie. Right. Right. And again, I found a lot to like.

[00:15:15] Sure. I wish it had been a tad bit scarier for me. Okay. Because I felt like it tried to play so much with the potential for fear and not actually moments of fear itself. And I get it. That's a style. That's a choice. It's like, I want to build up more of what is down this hallway. What is down this shoot? What is around the corner? And I get it. There's a, there's an art to that.

[00:15:42] And I think the film does a good job of playing up the dread and the anticipation of what it is. But at the end of the day, I'm like, it still could have, it still could have delivered for me a bit more in the actual scares and actual intensity moments than it did. But I think the ones that did do, it did really well.

[00:16:04] Um, and also again, kind of going back to, we have with any movie like this again, I kind of didn't want to know anything by the end of the film. Like why? Okay. I didn't really do. I was actually totally happy with, all right, if this film just kind of ends on a, we still don't really know what this is. It's kind of left to our imagination to decide what was happening and what was causing this. Right. I'm fine with that.

[00:16:32] But I feel like there is a, a use of a character who shows up two moments in the film and then at the very end. Yeah. He's an actor. Oh, we can get Mark Duplass. Okay. He's in, he's, we're okay to say. Yeah. I think, you know, we're not, we won't see what his role is. It's a, it's really a more of a cameo role. Oh yeah. He's featured like in two quick shots and then we talk to him at the end. Right. And I kind of felt like that.

[00:17:02] I felt like that end scene almost just, it felt a little franchise building. It felt a little, Oh, well tell us what's going, what was going on here. And we're getting the impression that this is something bigger. There's something more to this. And it's like almost teasing that out without actually really giving any answer. And again, I don't need the answer. I'm not saying I need it spelled out. I got you. But it was almost like a, Oh, well let's, let's set up just enough that if we want to

[00:17:31] continue making these movies, we have the basis to it. Now I'm fine. If they want to keep making the movies, I actually think it'd be great. I'd actually like to see another one of these. And, and I think, I think there's obviously a world that's now built to do that. But I just, it just took me away from the film a little bit. Although I agree with you, the last shot that we see. Wonderful. Which happens after the conversation with Mark Duplass.

[00:17:58] We look at that conversation from a different viewpoint and the shot that we're left with. Yes. Right. I, I, I totally hear what you're saying. Understand why you're saying all of it. And I think I, the one, you know, I hadn't really read any reviews or heard any reviews, but I did see a briefing when I was logging some other things on Letterboxd.

[00:18:22] And someone kind of dismissed back rooms as a yellow tinted severance. And so I was like, huh. Having seen the trailer and seeing how they're like all these long hallways, liminal spaces with like this yellow wallpaper and everything. And knowing severance, the TV show, Apple TV show that we've both fans of, that's now three seasons in. Is that right? Two seasons in. Let's finish two. Okay. Two seasons in. Yeah.

[00:18:51] That was really highly popular. I can see how somebody who has seen that show, maybe a fan or could see this and just dismiss it as that. Because it does kind of use that unsettling, you know, idea. But to me, there was just, you know, so much more. Obviously I've talked about how I'm a fan, but I'll talk about that. Actually, there are two conversations where you get probably some of the most dialogue. There's the Mark two plus conversation kind of towards the end.

[00:19:19] And then there's a little couple of scenes before it. There's a dinner table scene. That scene was like, that scene was what made me wish David Lynch could have seen this. Because it's like David Lynch turned up to 13, not even to 11 from 10, but it's turned up to 13. And I was just like, oh man, this is just going so far out there. This is so incredible.

[00:19:46] And I can see how, I hadn't thought about it in the moment, how you're talking about the second, the Duplass scene, the conversation is kind of watering it down a little maybe. And then also setting it up for a sequel. I think because when he starts the conversation, it's like, oh, we're just going to explain it.

[00:20:05] But the way Duplass handles it, and he's not really sure what he's doing as this person who's talking to the other character in the room. I don't want to say who he's talking to. But just like it, it still kept me on edge instead of just kind of disappointing me, I guess. And I want to take this opportunity to say too, Renette Rinsva.

[00:20:31] I cannot think off the top of my head of another actress who has been in so many different and interesting movies so close together. I mean, last year she was in Sentimental Value. Year before that, she was in A Different Man. She's been in Worst Person in the World. Now she's been in this. It's like she, I had never thought about, oh, I'm going to look for movies that she's in and watch them. Yeah.

[00:20:58] But man, the stuff she picks to do, she just like, she makes me want to see stuff she's in because of how she seems to pick the films that she's in. Yeah. No, I agree. I think both she and Ejiofor are both really, really good. And I started with staying with Duplass, but he's only in a little bit. But I think everybody is giving, and this, okay, this actually goes back to last week's discussion of Mandalorian and Grogu and how we both like Sigourney Weaver. But we felt like, you know, it was a smaller role.

[00:21:28] We felt like she didn't really know what she was doing and, you know, just kind of, you know, maybe dialed it in or whatever. We don't know. But with this, you know, this is a indie horror movie, lower budget that you mentioned. But it has these three pretty big stars. And I felt like they were, they were dialed in. No, they were. They were giving it all. Chewy to Ejiofor, I think it's one of the favorite things I've seen him do. I really, really liked him in this.

[00:21:53] And Rensfeld, I think one of her talents is just using her face. She didn't have to say a lot. Just how she can convey confusion, being scared, like trying to figure something out. Like, I don't know, just the range of emotions she can do just with facial expressions. Good point. Yeah. I just, the acting in this film, even though I don't really usually think of horror movies as being showcases for actors. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:21] One other thing, obviously, I could talk about this film forever because I pretty much am. Yeah. The little bits of humor that are in the film and specifically the one I'm going to call out because I thought it was just genius. And they're like, I thought it was funny. And then the more I thought of it, I'm like, man, that's clever. Captain Clark's Ottoman Empire. Okay. Ottomans are a type of furniture. Right. Now I just got that. And Captain Clark's Ottoman Empire. I'm like, yeah, it's not like it. But it's just like if you get it, it's funny.

[00:22:51] And just like the way the setup of the store. I think at the beginning they say this is supposed to take place in the 90s. Yeah. Okay. So just. Well, the videotape. We see videotape footage and it's got a 1990 date. Time stamp. Okay. A time stamp. Like, I don't know. There's just a lot of stuff there.

[00:23:17] And actually in this day and age, so far removed from Blair Witch Project to do any type of found footage thing. Usually I'm just kind of like, I mean, I can't remember the last found footage thing I thought was interested me. And this didn't rely totally on that, but it used just enough of it where it gave it an interesting feel. So, yeah, just I find a lot to admire.

[00:23:40] But if I were to say I can see the detractor and I can see the downplay of like, well, but I wish. And I, you know, a lot of times I can say like, you know, this is, this is, I really like this movie. Is it an awesome, great movie that I feel like? Well, no, because some of the, some things, it's different between a good movie and a really great movie. And I think I am held back from saying it's really great.

[00:24:06] But because I happen to know that it's like his first film, his age and everything, I'm super, super excited about it. The admiration is what accelerates it for me. It's like, again, I can give it, I can give it some leeway on some elements of quality because I'm just, wow. Sure. They pulled this off and it worked and they made a good film out of this. And yeah.

[00:24:30] And the movie Snob in Me doesn't, is really excited to see what he does next, but doesn't want him to make a sequel to this. Because the way it was left odd and open-ended enough for me that, yeah, if they decide to kind of use that as a jumping point and do a sequel, I'd be like, well, now the thing would be going into that film and be like, okay. You know, are you going to ruin it by making a sequel?

[00:24:57] Or is there enough, you know, diversity that you can make it interesting? So I don't know. Well, I hate to break it to you, but after pocketing 81 million domestic only, 115 globally, number one film at the box office. Yeah. They're definitely already talking. But look, the film, I mean, this is a guy who worked on YouTube series of videos. Like the idea of serializing the story was kind of inherent to it.

[00:25:25] So it's not like it's going to be like, oh, I have no idea what I'm going to, he'll figure out something. And so even the Mark Duplass scene at the end, I felt like it was, it felt like it detracted from the film a bit for me the way it was handled. I understand. I also knew that, okay, yeah, this is basically letting us know there is a much bigger world of this experiencing going on.

[00:25:48] So that's obviously a very easy route to say, oh, now next film we're going to follow these individuals in this environment, in this place who are also now connected to this world. So, yeah, they set that up pretty easily for them. Sure. Which I understand. It would have been nice if this would have been a one-off and could have been confident and stood in that ground at the end of the day. It would have been really cool. It would have been an even more amazing feat for me if like, nope, they basically said, this is the story. This was it.

[00:26:18] We're done. We're going to wrap it up and make it a sealed package. Yeah. It just felt like that ending scene had other intentions. Understandable. Yeah. No, look, I don't have anything else to comment on because you hit on everything that I would have said positively. Everything you mentioned was exactly what I had on my list. It was all there. That was good. I could have used a bit more. This is weird coming from me.

[00:26:44] This is I could have used a bit more scare, which, again, is not something you normally hear me say. But honestly, I think the problem was for me, Chris, is the opening sequence, which is all found footage. It's kind of a red herring. And it was good because I was generally like on edge in that scene. Sure. It was like intense enough. I'm like, oh, yeah. Okay. This is where we're going. This is good.

[00:27:08] And then I will say there is a scene going down a long chute, which I thought was very, very well done. Yeah. Very effective. Right. That was about it on the intense scares or kind of what I was hoping for a little bit more of. Sure. There's a prolonged ending sequence involving a character. Being chased? Yes. Which was good. No, it was good. Right.

[00:27:36] It just wasn't really scary. It wasn't. I never really got a sense of fear from it. It was just a good chase scene. So, you know, with some interesting visuals in there to keep you a little bit off kilter. Right. But yeah, I could use just a little bit more. And this is, I am a scaredy cat and I want to see this film again because now I know how it's going to be. And now I won't be like freaking out. I can pay more attention to what I feel like. Yeah.

[00:28:06] And I don't know, are like little breadcrumbs and things that Kane Parsons and his co-writer on this, Will Sudick, who's written some other things as well. So I think maybe he wrote the majority of this and kind of helped turn it into a film. But, you know, they're both credited. So co-writers. But I can't wait to watch it again because now I won't be scared because I know how it goes.

[00:28:29] But I can see like, you know, for me it was just enough and I was glad because, you know, when it's too scary, I can't, you know, I get scared. But yeah, I'm curious to see it again. And one last positive that I want to have too. You've talked about how like the budget for making this film. And I appreciated that like some of the special effects weren't overly slick.

[00:28:53] Like the chasing that you're talking about that I actually found to be kind of some of that in a weird way humorous. Yeah. That was. Yeah. But still kind of scary because of what's going on. But they didn't try to make it super real. You know, it was just kind of like it was just, you know, and it helped to be this kind of like dream, dream logic or liminal space logic. And I really appreciated the fact that they're like, no, we're not going to. I guess I didn't have the money to, but they didn't try too hard.

[00:29:20] The one thing that I guess that I thought was really cool that obviously was CG was going into these spaces. They would kind of go through a wall. And I thought that was really well done. And I guess that's probably where a lot of the money went to making that. That's something that could have been really cheesy or could have been handled really poorly. And it was handled very good. I was kind of curious when they were approaching that scene. How are they going to do this without it just losing sense of reality here?

[00:29:48] So interestingly enough, the YouTube series that Kane Parsons did on this, where it's a lot of use of similar location and space and building layouts and all that was all done on 3D CGI in the YouTube series. Okay. Here, they built physical spaces for everything. Again, so that was my danger. It's like recommending production.

[00:30:16] I'm like, you know, I was so engrossed in the movie. I wasn't trying to figure out what was digital. But to me, I was like, surely some of this has to be practical. My understanding is a lot of it. Like most of it was practical, which is great. Again, another admiration. Like some of the shots because of some of the rooms that they're in, to me, are like art installations. You know, and it's just like, it's just so interesting. A lot to keep me going. So yeah. And it's, uh, it would have been so easy to try to pull this off in CGI or 3D environments.

[00:30:46] But it would have just not had the texture and the, the, the, the realism. I think our natural practical set kind of gives the environment. So yeah, I was happy about that. All right. So back rooms, Chris is a big fan, big fan. I'm a fan. And I, and I, again, don't get me wrong. I did like the film. I just did love it. And, uh, I gave my reasons why, but I think, uh, overall, I'm still just very impressed

[00:31:14] with the film and impressed with the, the feat that was pulled off to do this. So, all right. Well, that is, it's playing in theaters now. We'll probably be in play of theaters for a little bit longer than you would have expected for a, a 24 psychological horror film coming out these days. This one will be in the theaters actually a little longer. It was number one in the box office this past weekend beat star Wars second weekend. Okay.

[00:31:39] Star Wars had a between 75, almost 70, 75% drop from first weekend, which first weekend was not great for it to begin with. And to have that big of a drop, I mean, it made 20 some million dollars last weekend. And of course back rooms made 80. So it was like insane. Insane. All right. That is back rooms. Uh, check it out. And, uh, as always, let us know what you think.

[00:32:05] If you saw back rooms, we'll give you instructions at the end of the episode of how you can contact us and let us know. All right, Chris, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we've got some trailers to watch and talk about for films coming up in the coming months. And Chris's recommendation of a film. He thinks we ought to be checking out as well. So stay tuned. You're listening to foot candle films. We'll be right back. Want to discover great podcasts or maybe even start one of your own.

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[00:33:00] Welcome back to foot candle films here on the mesh dot TV podcast network. Alan and Chris here. We were just talking and geeking out a little bit more about back rooms during the break there. So yeah, interesting, interesting movie. Anxious to hear other people's thoughts on it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's a good discussion movie. Absolutely. That's why we featured it. All right. Let's talk some trailers, Chris. Okay. Trailers for new films coming out. Over the course of the next few months, we've got some ones to explore.

[00:33:30] I've got three trailers lined up for us. I believe one of the trailers you and I have both seen, but we're still going to bring it up because it's just a film from a very acclaimed filmmaker with some very popular stars in it that we're going to showcase a little bit later. But let me start off with one here, Chris, that you are not familiar with and I have not watched the trailer for. I've only read the description of the film. It is a film called In the Hand of Dante.

[00:34:00] Okay. It is going to be on Netflix, which is a- Oh, straight to Netflix. Straight to Netflix. Okay. Let me read the description because it's a pretty dense description. Okay. And then I'll tell you some of the people involved. Okay. In the Hand of Dante follows- This is a description off of the Netflix YouTube channel for the film. In the Hand of Dante follows the parallel lives of a New York author in the 21st century

[00:34:27] who embarks on a violent journey after he is recruited by a mafia Don to steal Italian poet Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy written in the poet's own hand. And Dante in the 14th century seeking inspiration to write his most important work. Each man unknowingly connected through time and their obsessive quest for love, beauty, and the divine. Sign me up. Yeah.

[00:34:57] Sign me up. Well, I'm going to make it even sweeter for you. Okay. When I tell you the director- It's a big swing. That sounds crazy. I mean, I know Dante's Divine Comedy. I haven't read it, although I probably should have. But yeah, that just sounds- Yeah. Well, let's spice it up a little bit then. So the director of this film is a Mr. Julian Schnabel. Oh, which I have not heard from him in a while. That's correct. Okay. So I think the last film he did-

[00:35:25] The one that I know that he did was Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Diving Bell and the Butterfly. That was back in 2007. Okay. He did a film called At Eternity's Gate, which is the one with Willem Dafoe, I believe. Okay. Back in 2018. Okay. Yeah. That was Van Gogh. Oh, Van Gogh. Okay. Yeah. I heard about it, but I didn't end up seeing it. Okay. He did that one in 2018. Okay. And yeah, I think that was about it. Hmm. Yeah. Diving Bell and the Butterfly kind of-

[00:35:54] I think he's best known for. A very, very good film from 2007. Notably, also the second film we ever showed at the- Maybe not second, but it was like within the first few months- The Footcaddle Film Society. Absolutely. That's right. But starring in this film, we have Oscar Isaac. Oh, okay. Oscar Isaac plays the New York author I mentioned in the 21st century. Okay. We have Gal Gadot is in this film. Gerard Butler. Miller, John Malkovich.

[00:36:27] Martin Scorsese. If I could get this film. Martin, is he giving up directing now? He's like, you know what? My passion is- He's the reverse. Like actors are always like, I want to direct now. He's like, you know what? I want to act. I don't want to direct anymore. I'm just going to act all day. We also have Al Pacino. Wow. And Jason Momoa are all in this film. Man. Yes. I want a scene with Scorsese, Pacino, and Momoa. Yeah. I mean- I don't get the context, but I want to sing with those three. So we're going to watch the trailer for this film.

[00:36:57] Whoa. Which is, I think, very interesting. Yeah. And then I'll tell you one more thing about this film afterwards. But let's watch the trailer for In the Hand of Dante and see what the trailer has to say about this film. Here we go. Who's Dante? Who's Dante?

[00:37:28] Behold a deity stronger than I who coming shall rule over me. What? I know this poem so well, I feel like I wrote it myself. How would you like to look at the original manuscript? It doesn't exist. If it did exist? I mean, it'd be the greatest literary treasure of all time. It'd be priceless. We'll make it affordable. What do you mean?

[00:38:00] You can't tell nobody about these things. That's a sin. That's a bad sin. Are you all right? Yeah, forgive me. Something familiar about this place. Familiar is good. Like home. Reminds me of something I can't quite get a grip on. Kind of a wisp of a memory that can't be caught before it fades away.

[00:38:31] You're leaving a trail of blood. This is probably going to start a war. This thing is ours and it is clean. There are people who know of its existence. Remember what I always told you? God's everywhere. And he hears everything. What about this broad? She's got nothing to do with nothing. That's my own personal life. Guys who work for me, they got no personal lives. Next time you see me, I need you to bring me $20,000 in cash. Why?

[00:39:00] Because I need to be dead. All right. That was the trailer for In the Hand of Dante. Yes. Coming out June 24th on Netflix. So just like three weeks away on that. Chris, your first exposure on this film, first piece of knowledge on it. What was your take on the trailer? What's your thoughts? Two thoughts. Well, three. Highly interested. I guess that's my first thing.

[00:39:28] Second thought is it encourages me that it is based on a novel. Because that makes me think that other than just an interesting premise, which sometimes you can have an interesting premise, terrible film. Not uncommon in my experience. So interesting premise, but there's a novel behind it that kind of fleshes out and everything. So that encourages me. Third thing, my thought, I'm bitter because June 24th means I can't put it on my top 10 anticipated films for 2027 because it would definitely be on there.

[00:39:57] But oh well, I get it early. So cool. Um, yeah, I'm, I'm really curious. It with a big swing like this though, you have to worry like, yeah, yeah, it's not getting a theatrical release. So it's like, okay, too edgy to make it in theaters. You don't know, but, um, I'm glad that it's going to be in the world. So it will be in the world. June 24th on Netflix. Right.

[00:40:23] Uh, I'll just, uh, I, what was your little tidbit that you were going to tell me? Well, no, the only little tidbit I will say is, uh, this film has been screening places. Yeah. It said Venice Film Festival. Right. And people hate it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But I still want to see it. Right. But yeah, the, uh, the response has not been great. Gotcha. In this film. So I'm just going to lay that out there just to temper our expectations a little bit. That's fine. That's good. That's good.

[00:40:50] You know, uh, it, it, it, it's, uh, yes, there's been, I've heard the word pretentious, pompous, preposterous. Uh, yeah, it's, it's, there's a lot floating out there, but still going to see it. But, uh, for no other reason, we have to rate it with the two other Scorsese performances. We have Mandalorian and Grogu, we have outcome and then we'll have this. So it's like, okay. Which Scorsese supporting a cameo performance do we like most of those three?

[00:41:20] Does he, is he credited as playing Dante, uh, Martin Scorsese? Uh, you know what? That's a good question. Let's see. From the little I gleaned from the trailer, it looks like he might, which is pretty funny if that's the case. Uh, let's see if, uh, IMDB tells us what role he's actually playing. Um. Um, the fact they showed one of the things was like, you know, Venice Film Festival and then I haven't heard anything and you've heard negative things makes me think this is kind

[00:41:49] of like, um, yeah, this is probably going to be a troubled, troubled production and probably, you know, will be, but I'm, I still, it's like a megalopolis type deal. It's like, okay. You know, but I admire the big, could be a big swing and a miss, but at least we got to watch it for the swing. Oh yeah. And just to see, uh, Mars Corse is Isaiah. So not Dante. Not Dante. Okay. I don't even see anybody playing Dante. Oh no. Oscar Isaac is.

[00:42:19] Okay. So it's dual role. Yeah. He's playing both time periods. Okay. Got you. Nick and Dante. Got Nick in the present day Dante back then. Okay. Good. All right. Well, let's, uh, let's move on to another one then. Um, this is a film that you, I feel like we've made at least mentioned it on the show, but I don't think we ever watched the trailer for it. Okay. Uh, teenage sex and death at camp. Miasma.

[00:42:49] All right. So this is, uh, Jillian Anderson, Hannah in binder, which, uh, Hannah in binder and not familiar with her. She is, uh, was on the TV show hacks. Okay. Have you ever seen that? I have not, but I was just recently told that it was good. And I think it, it just had a series finale. It just had a series finale this past week. Got you. Uh, I think she is, she's a actress in the film, but she's also, I think one of the creators or writers of the film as well.

[00:43:18] But, uh, this is a, uh, satirical slasher film. It is, uh, coming out on, uh, set for me at a theatrical release via movie on August 7th, which is interesting. Uh, Jane Schronberg, uh, third feature they did, uh, we're all going to the world's fair and I saw the TV glow, which you have recommended. I saw the TV glow, I believe. I think so. In the past. I did not see it.

[00:43:45] So I think it wasn't a review, but I do remember you talking about it positively on the show. Am I correct on that? Yeah. I don't know if I recommend it or not, but, um, yeah. Did you ever see we're all going to the world's fair? Yes. Positive on that one too, or? Uh, you know, I thought it was interesting, but it, you know, first feature for Jane Schronberg and, you know, obviously low budget, you know, and, um, you know, first film and

[00:44:11] everything interesting idea, but the execution didn't quite get there for me, but just the idea behind it in the kind of creepy tone. And I saw the TV glow, the same thing. And I feel like I could see development and progression in their, in their skills. So I'm really curious about this one. All right. Well, good. Well, uh, you know, it got a six minute standing ovation at can. So there we go. There you go.

[00:44:39] I mean, that ought to put it just automatically on our watch list. No, in all seriousness, yeah, those standing ovations are kind of, I think ridiculous, pointless, but, uh, it at least did get some positive feedback. I'll say from, from, uh, some early screenings at that big festival. Let's, uh, let's read the description of the film. Uh, the, the meta plot description here. After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the camp miasma slasher franchise is

[00:45:08] handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original movie star and now reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, Gillian Anderson, uh, shrouded in mystery, the two women, women fall into a blood soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium. So there you go. Wow. Uh, the cast is also includes, uh, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman, uh, Dylan Baker,

[00:45:38] uh, among several others. So yeah. Why, why do you say we, uh, take a look at the trailer for teenage sex in death at camp miasma out here? There are certain nights when you just get this feeling that some psycho killers and I'll chop you up into a million little bases. Oh, I like that feeling.

[00:46:12] I don't want to make another dumb sequel in the camp miasma franchise. I don't want to make a remake of a remake of a remake. I want to make something that feels fresh and new. She's amazing. Yeah. She's clearly the same person from miasma one, the final girl, but she's so much more.

[00:46:30] Did you choose to live at the abandoned sleepaway camp from the first film? Someone's got to be here when little dad comes back. Little dad isn't real. Well, not with that attitude. He isn't. If you've seen his movies, you know, he always goes back.

[00:47:03] All right. That is the trailer for teenage sex and death at camp miasma. Chris, is it everything you wanted from this trailer? It is definitely what I would expect from Jane Shambron. Interesting leaning a little bit more into the comedy maybe than her or their two previous films.

[00:47:27] And just the idea of a new kind of remake because clearly kind of paying an homage to Friday the 13th films because it's like, you know, it takes place at a camp and everything. So it's kind of like an artistic version of scary movie in an odd way. It's like it. Yes, it looks like it's going to be a send up of that type of movie.

[00:47:52] But from a very meta artistic angle. And just leaning into the whole coming of age, teenage sex, American pie type thing. Yeah, just a lot going on. And I can see I had heard coming out of Cannes. It didn't get distribution because I think it was very, very odd. Just a little much. But then Mubi picked it up. Mubi. Yeah, Mubi. M-U-B-I. So, yeah, if you subscribe to that service, congratulations. You'll get to see it.

[00:48:22] Otherwise. Well, I think it is going to the theaters. Oh, it's going to theaters first. Yeah, but Mubi is going to be distributing it. Got you. Got you. Got you. Okay. Yeah. So I think, but obviously it will go to Mubi quickly, I would assume. That's one thing so. You know, as well. Sure. Unless it's a back rooms. Who knows? Yeah, yeah. No telling. Teenage sex and death at Camp Miasma, August 7th in theaters via Mubi. Mubi. All right. Last trailer.

[00:48:49] This is a film called The Dog Stars. And this is directed by a Mr. Ridley Scott. We're all familiar with him. Yes. Sir Ridley Scott. Sir Ridley Scott. That's right. And it's starring Jacob Eldore. Who is kind of a hot up and coming actor at the moment. Working on the, he was in Wuthering Heights. He was in Frankenstein. Oscar nominated. He was in Saltburn. Yes.

[00:49:17] And he was on the TV show Euphoria, which I've never seen, but. I haven't either. Yeah. We also have Josh Brolin. We know Josh. And Margaret Qualley. So kind of three big name actors or at least emerging actors in the field. And then we got Ridley Scott directing it. And I've seen the trailer. You've seen the trailer for this. It's. Is it a zombie movie? I don't know. I saw it before Backrooms. And so that's the first time I'd seen it.

[00:49:45] So I'm interested to watching it again real quick to try to get a better handle. A post-apocalyptic movie. Right. Anyway. Yeah. Let's watch it now because this will be my first time watching it with intent to understand what the movie is. So let's take a look at the trailer for The Dog Stars. Jasper. Hey, come here. That's your mom.

[00:50:16] So what'd you do before the world ended? I was kissing my wife. Playing with my dog. Wondering every day how I got so lucky. You gotta have something to haunt you, right? Otherwise you might get lonely.

[00:50:47] We have no idea what's out there. What do you expect to find? Happy people everywhere. The world that was doesn't exist. Oh, so younger than the sun. It's just us trying to hold on to what was. And everyone else. This world fits you, Bing. Wake up. Defend. Survive.

[00:51:17] There's gotta be something better than this. The dream. Okay. That is the trailer for The Dog Stars by director Ridley Scott. He of Alien. The Martian. Gladiator. Black Hawk Down. What else? I mean, yeah. The man's just done so much. American Gangster. Gladiator 2.

[00:51:47] Napoleon. House of Gucci. I mean, just lots of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So your thoughts on the Dog Stars trailer? Yeah. Kind of a more green Mad Max type looking thing. But then there does seem to maybe be a zombie element. Not unclear. Unclear. It definitely has leanings toward that in the trailer. Or kind of a Last of Us type feeling. Yeah. Just not sure.

[00:52:15] Definitely divisions with people. Okay. So what's the tagline? I'll just give you the tagline. Sure. In a post-apocalyptic world. Okay. A virus wipes out humanity. Okay. Survivors face roaming scavengers called reapers. Okay. So I don't think it's zombies. I think it's just everybody's gone and there's a few people left. And most of those people are bad scavengers. Gotcha. Gotcha.

[00:52:42] And so the protagonist, the pilot, survived the flu but lost his wife. So yeah. I don't think zombies. But I do think people on the edge, on the fringes after most of civilization is gone. So yeah. Yeah. That is the dog stars. I think it definitely, you know, it's obviously doing a children of men type thing. Very much a post-apocalyptic.

[00:53:10] You know, we've seen so many of these stories of the last remaining people, whether it's zombies, whether it's remaining people and having to form new civilizations or fight one another. This one seems to be leaning heavy into the emotional side of it, at least from the trailer. Sure. It seems to be more focused on what it means to be human and the sense of loss.

[00:53:34] And anyway, if that's where the film's going and there is truly a more emotional element to it, great. I think that I'd be game for that. If it's just another post-apocalyptic movie where it's people on the run and chasing and hunting each other down, we've seen that plenty of times. So I hope it's something a little different. Yeah.

[00:53:59] If Ridley Scott's name was not attached to it, I probably would not be as interested, even though, you know, a lot of the people in the cast are good. But I am interested because he's doing it. I don't like all of his work, but I like a lot of his work. And I am just like with the previous film that we talked about, In the Hand of Dante, I am encouraged that this one is also based off a novel. So it's like, okay, this is kind of a tried and true story there.

[00:54:28] So maybe the fact that it's a novel and not just like, hey, let's do a movie about post-apocalyptic stuff. Let's come up with some kind of story. No, it's like, well, there's a kernel there. So, yeah, curious. Okay. Well, that is our three trailers for this episode. The Dog Stars, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, and In the Hand of Dante in reverse order. So all three I'm curious about, interested in.

[00:54:55] Probably the three, the one I'm the most excited to see right now. Which one do you give the Alan Jackson standing ovation? I want to see In the Hand of Dante. Okay. Just because I just want to see what they pull together on this. Sure. Very ambitious, big swing. Does it just, is it a swing and a miss? And then I'm also, secondly, I'm interested in the Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Dog Stars probably last.

[00:55:24] Again, I'm interested in all three, but that's kind of my interest order at this point. Fair enough. Okay. Well, Chris, we are at the end of the episode. This is the last segment. This is where you give us a recommendation of a film you have either recently caught up with or recently just remembered, and you want to share with us as a recommendation to add to our ever-growing and never-shrinking watch queue that we have. So, Chris, what is your recommendation this week?

[00:55:51] I'm going to recommend a film called Dust Bunny. It was from 2025. It released, I think, had a short theatrical release and then went digital online. This is directed by Brian Fuller, who I was unfamiliar with. I believe this is only his second feature film. The storyline is 10-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family.

[00:56:16] To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real. The stars in this film are Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the next-door neighbor, and also we have Sigourney Weaver playing an interesting character. I'll just kind of leave it because it's kind of fun to kind of experience it.

[00:56:41] But to me, this film came across as if Tim Burton had made The Professional. Okay? Lots of bright colors, seemingly crazy production design. Maybe it's... I know some things are probably CGI, but because it's probably smaller budget than what would afford it to build all these sets practically. But just a very visually interesting film. And I had seen the title pop up, but hadn't heard anything.

[00:57:08] And I actually have to thank my son because he logged it in Letterboxd and was just like, yeah, this was visually something interesting that's kind of refreshing these days instead of like, you know, sequels or something that's kind of stood out. And I was like, okay, I'll have to go check it out. And yeah, it was interesting. There's not story-wise... And I can see it's a hard sell because it is bloody and violent. Yet, it's kind of this touching story about this forced relationship between this, you know, man trying to take care of this little girl.

[00:57:38] So it's sweet in many ways, but then it's also can be... It's very violent. So it's kind of like The Fall in a way. This is a different... You know, that movie, The Fall, that I may have recommended, but I like a lot. Little heard of, maybe. And then this one, Dust Bunny. It's just... It's really cool. I mean, it could be better fleshed out and make an amazing movie. But as it was, I liked it quite a bit. So that's Dust Bunny. It's available on HBO Max. So a little background on this film, just to help people who may not be as familiar with it.

[00:58:08] So Brian Fuller is actually someone I'm very familiar with. Oh, okay. This is his first movie to direct. Okay. But he has written and developed many, many television series. Most notably, he did the series Dead Like Me back in the early 2000s. He did Wonderfalls. He did Pushing Daisies in mid-2000s.

[00:58:35] And my favorite, he did the Hannibal TV series that ran for, I think... That explains the Mads Mikkelsen connection. Yes. He ran for three seasons there. Gotcha. He's also written for the show Heroes, Star Trek episodes. He's done a lot of writing. Gotcha. And developing. He's been the showrunner on many of these series he developed. Gotcha. So Dust Bunny, he wrote and directed for the first time directing a feature film. Okay.

[00:59:02] Yeah, that's the Mads Mikkelsen connection for sure with that. So yeah, that's got me now even more interested because I do like a lot of his work from a showrunner and writing standpoint. But we'll be very curious now to take a look at it and see. Yeah, I enjoyed it. I can see why it was a film that was hard to find an audience just because it's an odd mix. But if it's your bag, I recommend you check it out. Okay, cool.

[00:59:32] That sounds great. Good recommendation. That's Dust Bunny from Chris as a recommendation for this episode. All right, Chris, we are at the end of the episode. We have done our duty. We have done our review of Backrooms, both positive reviews. Chris, extremely enthusiastic review. But yes, good positive review of Backrooms. Yeah. We had our trailers that we already recapped for you, the three trailers we showed, and your recommendation of Dust Bunny.

[01:00:00] If anybody would like to engage in conversation with us about any of the things we talked about or some ideas for things we ought to be talking about in the future, how can they go about doing so? You can contact us by sending an email to info at footcandle.org or leave us a voicemail at the Mesh.tv website, where you can also check out past Footcandle Film episodes, as well as other podcasts on various subjects from barbecue to comedy to mental health.

[01:00:25] We're also on Facebook at Footcandle Film Society and other social platforms as simply just Footcandle Film. Individually, Alan and I are on Letterboxd, where we try to track what we're seeing. I'm a little bit more active on there than Alan is, but he's still on there as well. Do us a favor, if you like the show, consider giving us a review on whatever platform you receive your favorite podcasts on, because it'll help us reach new listeners, and we'd appreciate it. So the 2026 Footcandle Film Festival is coming up September 18th through the 27th.

[01:00:54] If you're a filmmaker, sorry, the deadline just passed as of today when we're recording this. It was June 1st. But if you are a fan or a filmmaker and would like to attend the festival, we would strongly encourage you to do so. It'll be here in Hickory, Western North Carolina, and it's going to be a good one. All right. So there you have it. Ways to contact us and teasing a little bit about the film festival coming up at the end of September. So we'll look forward to that as well. So with that, we're going to sign off.

[01:01:24] Thanks, everybody, for listening to Footcandle Films. We'll look forward to talking to you next time we get together. Take care. See you in the ticket line.

[01:02:11] Special thanks to Carpal Taller for the show theme music. For more about Carpal Taller, visit www.carpaltaller.com. You've been listening to The Mesh, an online media network of shows and programs ranging from business to arts, sports to entertainment, music to community. All programs are available on the website as well as through iTunes and YouTube.

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