What’s good homies?! We’re here for round two of our Spooky Season series. This week, we’re talking about two claustrophobic creature features from across the pond… it’s the “REC” and “The Descent” double feature pod! Since this is a double feature episode, we will NOT be going deep into the plot and story beats of each movie. Instead, we share what we love (and our nitpicks), discuss the shared themes between the two films, do some comparing and contrasting, and discuss some of the more academic aspects of horror filmmaking. "REC" (2007) is a Spanish found footage horror film directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza about a TV crew having the worst night of broadcasting ever and "The Descent" (2005) is a British horror film about a group of women trying to survive an onslaught of mutant cannibals in an uncharted cave system directed by Neil Marshall.

We kick things off with a brief discussion about the recent updates and DLC for “Cyberpunk 2077”, Otis being in “Robo-mode” lately, PALMREADER being sucked into “Crusader Kings 3” again, and some other ramblings. Then, we jump right into it. In this episode, we talk about what we love about both films, the awesome and smart stylistic and narrative choices of both “The Descent” and “REC”, our favourite scenes, the use of space and lighting in both films, the surprisingly cool cinematography, and what makes both of these horror films evergreen. We also talk about the growth of the horror genre of late and where these films fit in that evolutionary chain, why spelunking is insane and we will never do it, how gender is (or isn’t) used in “The Descent”, the despair in the final scenes of both films and why it rules, getting murked by a demonic zombie WNBA player, finding a realistic reason for characters to keep filming in found footage horror films, Juno and Sarah going ballistic on a gang of crawlers Royal Rumble style, the way both films use space to create claustrophobia, and more.

The aughts are an often maligned period in cinema that has recently had a resurgence of interest and a re-analysis. We are in a golden age of horror thanks to streaming platforms but many of the ideas that are presented and expanded upon now were forged in the fires of the early Modern Horror age. While these films are different types of horror films and about different things, there are some striking similarities and shared themes visible across both. So, we also take some time to unpack how these two films are in conversation with one another. Ultimately, these films are smart and genuinely scary creature features that are REALLY fun to watch. Also in this episode, PALMREADER is sour because he forgot to edit his notes, Otis loves That Mexican OT’s latest album “Lonestar Luchador”, The Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt’s “VOIR DIRE”, Drake’s new album “For All The Dogs”, an update on Otis’ comedy shows, Nas and Hit-Boy’s “Magic 3” and them being on an all-time run of collaborative albums, and a few more random thoughts.

We’ll be back next week with 5 scary video games that you should check out!

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