Some horror films end with a twist. These films start with a premise, wait until you’ve buckled in, and then swerve into oncoming traffic. Welcome to Rug Pullers, the subgenre where the story you thought you were watching was the bait. This week, Tommy, Pete, Kynan, and guest Chelsea Stardust tear into three films that gleefully yank the floorboards out from under you: Ghostwatch (1992), the BBC broadcast that gaslit an entire country into thinking their telly was haunted; Barbarian (2022), a movie that weaponizes airbnbs; and Strange Darling (2023), a predator–prey thriller that rearranges itself so often it could qualify as Lego.

We debate whether Barbarian’s “mother” is a monster or the most tragic character in the film, whether Ghostwatch’s bumbling TV presenters are brilliant or just British, and whether Strange Darling’s chapter titles are clever or just yelling at you in big fonts. Chelsea Stardust brings a filmmaker’s take on horror tropes, Kynan grapples with whether rug-pulls are honest shocks or cinematic pranks, and Pete wonders if humanity should collectively agree never to go into creepy basement-basements again.

These movies sucker punch. They remind you that horror isn’t about the monster in the dark, it’s about the floor that you’re standing on... and how you never noticed that it is made of quicksand.

Featured Films

• Tonight's Triple Feature:
  • Ghostwatch - Apple TV | Amazon | Letterboxd
  • Barbarian - Apple TV | Amazon | Letterboxd
  • Strange Darling - Apple TV | Amazon | Letterboxd
• View Our List on Letterboxd

• (00:00) - Welcome to Sitting in the Dark

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