Hit Factory

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You voted for it, we watched it.

We discuss the winner of our Patron Poll, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Double Life of Veronique - A new film to both Hit Factory hosts, and one that has become an instant favorite.

Enigmatic, ethereal, and steeped in a gentle magical realism, the film finds ways to make grand the quotidian and the interior emotional plane of existence, transcending attempts to articulate its power and majesty with mere words.

We discuss the brilliant Irène Jacob, whose dual performance as Weronika and Veronique communicates an entire world of feeling with her eyes, and we ask if this is perhaps the most beautiful anyone has ever been onscreen. Then, we make meaning of the film's many distinct totems of symbolism - refracted images, melodies, marionettes, and their significance as links not just to the film's two protagonists, but to the imperceptible bond between all people. Finally, we discuss director Kieślowski’s initial plan to release hundreds of slightly different iterations of the film in various theaters across the globe, and how the film's subtle graces are made more meaningful by their potential absence.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Director, co-writer, and star of The People's Joker (one of our favorite films of the year), Vera Drew joins for a discussion of the sexy, taboo-breaking, teen thriller Cruel Intentions. A 90s update of the 18th century Peirre Choderlos de Laclos novel 'Les Liaisons dangereuses' (aka Dangerous Liaisons), the film is a darkly comic and gleefully misanthropic erotic thrill ride featuring a top notch cast of up-comers-comers playing deeply unlikable - but incredibly sexy - people, who are all (in the words of our guest) "acting their asses off."

We discuss the sensational young cast, including Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Ryan Phillippe, and an exceptional Sarah Michelle Gellar, and find delights in the "teens play-acting adults" uncanniness of the movie's milieu. Then we revel in the film's preternatural handling on eroticism and desire, finding ways to constantly steam up the screen even while the actors (mostly) keep their clothes on. Finally, we find a through-line from some of Vera's other favorite films to Cruel Intentions, note how the movie defies a "so bad its good" valuation, and illimunate why criticisms of the film's supposed moralism might be reading it wrong.

The People's Joker is still in theaters and now available on VOD, Blu-Ray and VHS! Find showtimes near you or purchase your copy today.

Follow Vera Drew on Twitter.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

Writer, programmer, and filmmaker Juan Barquin joins to explore the work of M. Night Shyamalan and his breakout feature, The Sixth Sense. Now somehwat underrated in Shyamalan's impressive oeuvre, even and especially by M. Night die-hards, the film is a patient, startling, and deeply human ghost story that also functions as gorgeous melodrama, introducing Shyamalan's career-long pet themes of parenthood, familial reconciliation, the beauty of otherness, and the power of love as a shelter from the terrors of modernity. A critical and commercial hit, The Sixth Sense became the second-highest grossing film of the extremely stacked 1999 box office (behind only Star Wars Episode I), and netted six Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

We discuss the career of M Night Shyamalan, its peaks and valleys, and how his vision as an artist often places him at odds with cultural and critical trends. Then, we discuss the phenomenon that was/is The Sixth Sense, and how its power stems from far more than just its (very good) shocking twist ending. Finally, we discuss the filmmaker's singular humanity, and how his films reflect form and function aligning with profoundly personal vision, resulting in truly peerless work.

Then, it's time for some TRAP talk, as we give our initial thoughts on Shyamalan's latest film TRAP, now in theaters. We discuss the incredible work of Josh Hartnett as a serial killer evading capture at a pop concert, the gorgeous cinematography from Thai visionary Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, and the film's many narrative surprises (some more effective than others).

Follow Juan Barquin on Twitter.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Writer, critic, and editor of the Electric Dreams newsletter Fred Barrett joins the show to discuss the neon-drenched, saxophone-laden, softcore erotic thrills of Nico Mastorakis' In the Cold of the Night. The film is a hazy, dreamlike cut of meathead De Palma references, prolonged sex scenes, and fascinating gestures toward deep state mind control conspiracies that make for a truly singular thriller punching well above its presumed weight.

We disucss the history of director Nico Mastorakis, and how his time working withing the Greek junta regime informs the film's intricate subplots. Then we examine at the movie's absorbing atmosphere, and how it steadily brings you into its elevated, uncanny rhythms. Finally, we look at the film's intriguing explorations of pleasure and eroticism and how it pushes past the boundaries of "good taste" to arrive at fascinating, titillating places courtesy of too-close close-ups, a well-utilized bowl of marbles, and more.

Follow Fred Barrett on Twitter.

Read & Subscribe to Fred's newsletter, Electric Dreams.

Read "A Fever All Through the Night", Fred's words on In the Cold of the Night at Electric Dream.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

Film lover and zine-er Katie Stebbins joins to discuss Alan J. Pakula's smart, understated legal thriller Presumed Innocent featuring Harrison Ford in one of his finest performances. Taut, richly detailed, and featuring a considerable bench of "that guy" character actors (including John Spencer, Joe Grifasi, and Brian Dennehy), the film rises above the usual theatrics of the Grisham-era Hollywood legal drama with a crackerjack, densely-packed script that rewards upon repeat viewings while never sacrificing its immediacy.

We discuss Harrison Ford in the early 90s, his contemporaneous swings into dramatic territory, and the considered decisions to separate the film's protagonist Rusty Sabich from audience's familiarity with the Harrison Ford action-hero brand. Then, we look at the film's complex narrative features (adapted from a book by lawyer-turned-novelist Scott Turrow) and how the film weaves in its rich details with respect for its audience's ability to connect the dots. Finally, we discuss the Extended Presumiverse - sequel novels and television adaptations of the further works within the Scott Turrow canon, including the most recent AppleTV+ series by David E. Kelley starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.

Follow Katie Stebbins on Twitter.

Check out Katie's Etsy for cool prints and film zines.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We sat down for a brief conversation with Alex Cox, the director of Repo Man, Sid & Nancy, Walker, and many more to talk about the state of filmmaking today, the sensations Alex hopes one feels when watching his films, and the sanctity of digital media and curation in an era of endless, decontextualized content streams.

Alex is currently crowdfunding what may be his last movie, a Western version of Nicolai Gogol's book Dead Souls. Please consider contributing to “My Last Movie” on Kickstarter here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexcoxfilms/my-last-movie
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Producer and filmmaker Chadd Harbold returns to the show to discuss Terrence Malick's awe-inspiring WWII epic The Thin Red Line. The film marked Malick's return to the director's chair after a 20 year absence from filmmaking and features an ensemble cast of dozens of recognizable faces, including many massive stars of the period reduced to mere minutes of screen time and a handful of lines of dialogue. Based on the James Jones novel of the same name, the movie is unlike any war film ever made and showcases Malick venturing deeper into his style of meandering camerawork, striking images of the natural world, and contemplative monologues delivered in voiceover (occasionally by actors we seldom see onscreen).

We discuss the storied, decade-long journey of getting The Thin Red Line to screen, a process that involved Malick spending heaps of cash satisfying every one of his fleeting whims and every actor in Hollywood vying for a spot on the film's massive roster characters. Then, we discuss the film's juxtaposition of horrific war imagery with breathtaking shots of wildlife and nature - a visual contrast that enhances Malick's existential preoccupations with the nature of good and evil, darkness and light in the world. Finally, we praise Malick's working method, and how his decision to "shoot everything" allows his films to be born in the edit, often taking on thematic and visual nuances that were far from intentional on set, on the day.

Chadd produced a new movie, Crumb Catcher, which is out in theaters TODAY 7/19/24. Check showtimes at your local Drafthouse or AMC.

Follow Chadd Harbold on Twitter.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

Another solo Aaron & Carlee episode as we dig into an oft-forgotten erotic thriller of the early 90s, Nicholas Kazan's Dream Lover, starring James Spader and a post-Twin Peaks Mädchen Amick. A story of love, lust, and betrayal, the film exhibits a disorienting, fragmented editing style that adds fascinating dimensions to its characters' psyches and indicts the film's ostensible victim, Spader's Ray Reardon, in his own deception as more and more layers of Amick's (playing Spader's wife) carefully guarded true self are revealed.

We discuss the film's script and its thoughtful probing of the male ego; how a woman might take advantage of a man because of his own refusal to know her deeply, and how the slow revelations of truth can feel like deceptions to someone willfully ignorant. Then, we discuss the superlative performances from Spade and Amick, particularly the latter's singular ability to remain an object of desire even as she steadily becomes an antagonizing force within the film. Finally, we discuss the movie's relationship to other films that explore the casually kept secrets within matrimony and the turmoil that erupts when the facade of domestic bliss is shattered, most notably David Fincher's excellent 2014 thriller Gone Girl.

Own the documentary We Kill For Love, courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome or stream the film on the people's streamer, Tubi.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Hit Factory's Chief Canadian Correspondent and host of Junk Filter Podcast Jesse Hawken is back to discuss the work of French genre provocateur Claude Chabrol and his 1995 thriller 'La Cérémonie' starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert. Inspired by the true story of Christine and Lea Papin - two French sisters who, as live-in maids, were convicted of murdering their employer's wife and daughter in 1933 - the film follows Sophie (Bonnaire) a housekeeper for a wealthy family in Brittany who befriends Jeanne (Huppert), the local postal clerk. Together, the two slowly begin to form a shared psychosis, sharing a collective fantasy of paranoia, resentment, and eventually explosive violence. One of Chabrol's most championed works, the film was a key influence and inspiration for Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 film 'Parasite'.

We unpack Chabrol's prolific career as filmmaker, beginning with his origins in the Nouvelle Vague, before leaning into more commercial tendencies during his "Golden Era" of the late 60s through the 70s, and culminating in some of his most accomplished and acclaimed work in the 1990s. Then, we discuss La Cérémonie as genre exercise and how it yields further reward with repeat viewings. Finally, we attempt to make meaning of Chabrol's joke that the movie was "the last Marxist film" by unpacking its ideas about class resentment and the disaffected, uncaring attitudes of the rich toward working class anxieties.

Follow Jesse Hawken on Twitter.

Follow Junk Filter on Twitter

Listen & Subscribe to Junk Filter and support the podcast on Patreon.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

We've reached the halfway point of 2024, which means it's time to sit down with the joint CEOs of Hit Factory LLC and discuss some of the best films of the year, recent finds, and new additions the CarleeCore™ Canon.

Sit back as Carlee (the preeminent online authority on horny movies) shares her read on Luca Guadagnino''s 'Challengers', Aaron talks through a few international features topping his best of the year list, and we both explain why 'The People's Joker' director Vera Drew is the new Tony Scott.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.