Dark Discussions Podcast

A weekly podcast discussing each episode of the Netflix television live action series ONE PIECE (2023).

Social media influencers have taken over the internet.  And in many cases, they can make a career out of it or get a jump in their own careers.  For example, Justin Bieber became a star because of it, and directors Jon Watts and Fede Alvarez who were discovered on social media.  If one searches Instagram, you can find all sorts of influencers including scantily clad models, all the way to travel vloggers.  The new Canadian film, INFLUENCER, now on Shudder, shows such a scenario but now in a horror film.

Madison (Emily Tennant), a travel vlogger, model, and advertiser is in Thailand.  Her personal life is a wreck, and she doesn’t much seem into her now fulltime job promoting herself, her sponsors, and the vacation spots she journeys to.  When she unexpectingly is forced to extend her trip, she meets another young woman, CW (Cassandra Naud), that will show her around.  Soon something unexpected happens that may endanger her life.

The film is directed by Kurtis David Hardner and co-written by him and Tesh Guttikonda.  Besides Emily Tennant and Cassandra Naud, Sara Canning and Rory J. Saper star as well.  Receiving fairly good reviews, the movie focuses on some modern themes like the internet and the small world we live in.  Your co-hosts take a look at this interesting film and give their thoughts.

A weekly podcast discussing each episode of the Netflix television live action series ONE PIECE (2023).

Even if his works as film have been very loosely based off the tales he tells, H.P. Lovecraft has been an inspiration to many filmmakers.  His story, THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE, originally published in 1933 in WEIRD TALES, a classic magazine during its time, is the basis of the new Spaniard film, VENUS (2023).  Directed and co-written by Jaume Balaguero, one of the co-creators of the REC film series, VENUS appeared on VOD in early September 2023.

As an eclipse is about to occur over Madrid, Lucia (Ester Exposito), an exotic dancer, steals a large amount of illegal drugs from the mob.  Hurt and on the run, she hides out in the Venus building, a sparsely populated apartment complex that her sister and niece live in.  With the mob searching for her outside, she discovers that inside the building she may have something worse that she must escape from.

VENUS not only takes its premise from the Lovecraft story it is loosely based on, but it also has the feel of many other movies as widely distinct as the EVIL DEAD RISE, DRIVE, HEREDITARY, and many others.  Your co-hosts take a look at the latest movie from Jaume Balaguero and give their thoughts.

A weekly podcast discussing each episode of the Netflix television live action series ONE PIECE (2023).

A weekly podcast discussing each episode of the Netflix television live action series ONE PIECE (2023).

DC movies have received varying degrees of success as each is released and turns into a box office smash or a disappointment.   When James Gunn took over as the head of the latest re-boot of the universe of the comicbooks to film, his first project was THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021), a standalone sequel to the original from 2016. 

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) once more puts together a super villain squad of anti-heroes to infiltrate the Latin American country of Corto Maltese after a coup overthrew the neutral government that now has turned the island nation hostile.  The squad is kept in the dark but takes the job as they will get suspended prison terms if the mission is a success.  Unfortunately for them, Waller may be as dangerous to their survival as Corto Maltese’s junta.

The movie is another success for James Gunn and gives him a big jump with Warner Brother’s Pictures and their upcoming universe.  The film didn’t gross as much as it was hoped as it was released during the middle of the COVID pandemic, but it has generated great reviews and much success after its initial theatrical run.  Your co-hosts take a look at this movie and give their thoughts.

Serial killers and demon possession isn’t necessarily an original concept in horror media.  But a recently released film on VOD after its initial run at theaters in April 2023 gives an interesting twist to the subgenre.  The movie is called NEFARIOUS (2023) and gained a lot of traction early with a large push from social media as well as fans of horror films in general.

Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is quickly put on the case of serial killer Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery).  It is execution day, and Dr. Martin has studied the case because he has been designated as the psychiatrist to determine whether Brady is mentally cognizant to face execution on death row.  Arriving at the prison, he finds a very meek man that has bursts of energy and ire.  But Brady claims he is possessed by a demon, and Dr. Martin begins to believe his split personality may be something more.

The movie was co-written/co-directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon.  The story is based off a manifesto novel A NEFARIOUS PLOT by Steve Deace.  The film received mediocre reviews from critics but gained rave reviews from audiences.  Your co-hosts take a look at this interesting film and give their thoughts.

A weekly podcast discussing each episode of the Netflix television live action series ONE PIECE (2023).

Released originally at the Tribeca Film Festival, the new movie BAD THINGS (2023) made its debut a few months later on the Shudder streaming service.  The movie takes place during winter in a remote deserted hotel with only a handful of characters giving it a feel of isolation and emptiness.

Ruth (Gayle Rankin) has inherited an empty hotel from her grandmother.  With her mother (Molly Ringwald) and friends giving her different views on what to do with the property, she decides to take a trip to the property and make it a girl’s weekend while itemizing everything and seeing the condition of the building.  But as tensions between Ruth and her friends begin to bubble, strange things happen at the hotel that make them believe something or someone else is with them.

The movie is directed by Stewart Thorndike from a script that she wrote.  Starring five performers including Hari Nef and Annabelle Dexter-Jones, the movie has been prominently advertised on Shudder’s main screen.  Your co-hosts take a look at this latest Shudder original and give their thoughts.