Narrator
Welcome to EMTalk. These are the stories of saving lives from the people who save them. This
episode is Horror Gore. How real is it? Here to discuss saving lives is licensed paramedic, your
host, Judson Smith.
Juddson:
This is Zackary Keene. Or Zack, as you’ve heard me call him. Zack and I have been friends if I were doing it for years. So, 25, 26 years. Yeah, it’s a long time to be friends with somebody. Long
time. No, we haven’t, like, you know, stayed connected and hung out all the time or anything,
but that’s what makes a good friend is you can go back to it.
Yeah. Just be friends whenever it’s time to be friends. And so, we’ve done this. And so it’s really
exciting. The most exciting part is Zack, and I have always had similar interests. And when you’re
8 or 9, and your interests are horror movies and death metal, and Zack likes Metallica, I
wouldn’t count that as death metal.
But, you know, each his own. It’s hard to find other kids into that kind of thing, but that’s where
we were. I had an older brother, and that’s all he was about, and I honestly don’t know where
yours came from. Where did your love of this come from?
Zack:
My grandmother. She brought me up from probably about three to around seven, and she really
kind of just introduced me to these worlds of Michael Myers and Amityville, to name a few. You
know what I mean? And I don’t know if she did it for the scare factor or if she did it because she
enjoyed it, but I don’t know; it never scared me.
I always enjoyed it. Yeah. And it just took off.
Juddson:
So, did she look old? For example, when you have a memory of her, when you think of
everybody, when they have a loved one that they’ve lost, they think of them at a certain point in
their life when you think of your grandma. Wait, Is she still around here?
Oh, you know, two my grandparents, except for my grandpa. Dead. So I just assume. So what? I
mean, she’s how old now?
Zack:
She’s 76.
Juddson:
Oh, so she’s not really old?
Zack:
things to
No. No, she was fairly young when she had my mom. Your parents are young, though, right?
Yeah. Yeah. They’re approaching their thirties.
Juddson:
Yeah. But my dad is 75. Oh, my dad and your grandma could date. Yeah, I mean that’s
incredible. Well, you’ve got an older brother, so you know. Yeah. They said my dad they had me
when I, when he was like 40. Okay. So, I was raised by someone three generations older than
me, and they gave me different sensibilities, really, that I appreciate.
So you had a younger brother growing up. What was his name?
Zack:
Tyler. He’s a good man. He is just living the life. He’s engaged to marry a nurse, and he has a
Harley. He rides all the time, and he’s super into sports and sports. It’s a real tiny. No, I imagine
he got older.
He’s bigger. He’s taller than me by about six inches, and he outweighs by maybe 75 pounds.
He’s, He’s a big dude. Yeah. He’s no longer picking on the little brother days, you know, but he
was always cool. Like, always. We both. And we’re lucky and had a pretty cool sibling. And, it
worked out really well for us.
Juddson:
Like, I don’t remember my brother mistreating me or anything like that. So your love for movies
comes from your grandma, who in my mind, I was imagining being like old and Mike telling you
about Michael Meyers, but probably she was, like 40 something, you know, almost our age
talking about it, which is really, actually really cool that she still gets to be around and be a part
of stuff.
Zack:
Still, to this day, we’ll talk about horror, too. She still brings it up and she takes all the credit for,
you know, me going to film school and wanting to learn how to make movies and yeah, she’s
like that because I raised it.
Juddson:
I’m a disappointment to my grandpa, so he doesn’t take any credit. I’m just joking.
He’s not going to listen to this, but whatever. So, so mine came from my mother, who was
probably about the same age as your grandmother at the same time. And, and you and I talked
about this yesterday, but she named me after Stephen King character. The old man in Pet
Cemetery. Who gets his ankles cut?
That scene. Talk about disturbing. It was way more disturbing to me just because I could relate
to the name. Yeah. And that little kid Miko, is that what that kid’s name is? Oh, he’s in a bunch
of his stuff. I don’t know. He. I don’t know his exact name, but I remember the scene.
Zack:
Yeah. His name is Gage and Gage. Gage? But that actor always played some creepy role when
he was a kid. Yeah, yeah. Is that the same kid that was in New Nightmare? Yeah, I don’t know,
because those are quite a way. Yeah, those are two very this year. It’s in me because Pet
Cemetery was 89 or 90.
It’s possible. Yeah. It could be because he was like three in that first in Pet Cemetery. Yeah. He
was, he was a baby. Yeah. It’s so weird when you see actors like that in actresses like, you know,
the real popular in their kids is child actors, and some of them make it.
Juddson:
Some of them don’t. Yeah. It’s weird. And I’m sure it’s not a fun experience. No way. Like, that’s
really what you want to do with your time as a kid. Yeah. And I mean, if I could convince my kids
to do it, I would take their money. Yeah, I have no problem. Moral flexibility. You just have it.
Okay. So, I have Zack here because, this is October, and we’re talking horror movies. We’re
talking gore in horror. And, Zack, I would label Zack a horror movie expert and a film expert. He
might disagree, but everyone else would agree with me when you hear him talk about it. And,
it’s finding bragging to yourself that it’s a good thing.
Zack:
Yeah, I grew up with horror films as my favorite type of entertainment. After a long hiatus in
education after high school, I decided to pursue that further into film school. And, yeah, it’s the
best thing I ever did. Learning how to break down, analyze movies, and produce them. Super
cool.
Juddson:
And so when we were growing up, I, you know, I know this sounds weird, but I always pictured
you being involved in movies or writing or music. Those were the things I always thought you
would do with your time. Growing up, and you know, it seems like you’ve always had a talent for
entertaining.
Zack:
I appreciate that. And it’s, you know, it’s part of what drew the two of us together. One was
humor. Then this, and then, you know, we just we entertained people. That’s what we like to do.
Juddson:
Humor was our go to man.
Zack:
Absolutely. Still is. Oh, yeah. It’s still.
Juddson:
And now I’m recognizing it as a terrible defense mechanism. When I’m anxious or sad or have
any emotion it’s a defense. So, it’s the same thing. Yeah. Well, jumping into some stuff here,
what was the first horror movie you ever saw?
Zack:
The first horror movie I can remember seeing was the 1990 Tom Savini remake of the Night of
the Living Dead. Okay, that’s the one in color with Tony Todd in it. Yeah. And it terrified me. And
I don’t know why. Because they’re zombies, right? But the thing that terrified me the most
about it was these people were in a house was a nice, secure house. They had to keep these
things out. And it just so happened to be that it was on TNT. Joe Bob Briggs hosted Monster
Vision, and my dad worked nights, and he was never home at night.
So I’m watching this at about two in the morning. My mom’s sound asleep, and, yeah, I’m just
imagining people knocking on my windows and doors, trying to get into my house. That’s what
scared me more than anything. The zombies were fine, but it was the fact that they were safe in
the house, until they weren’t.
Juddson:
You’re at home, so home invasions are probably unsettling to you. Yes, very much, all right. And
we have genres of horror—you know, you’ve got slashers, a home invasion, and paranormal
religious could be its own. Some people group that with paranormal, but it’s a little different.
And then, I mean, a whole bunch of other ones.
Yeah. And then you could get into all the classic stuff like gallows.. And, yeah, that’s about the
fanciest thing that I know about movies. So that was the limit I heard. Yeah, that was my secret
weapon. And so, I know your answer to this, but favorite genre is favorite is horror.
Favorite subgenre of horror subgenre? There we go.
Zack:
Is, slasher 100% all the way lock and key.
Juddson:
And why is it slasher? Because I like that they create these characters within the horror that we
can watch grow and evolve. I like watching characters grow throughout film length, especially
installments in films. It’s just something I’m interested in, and I don’t know, but I like to see.
Zack:
I also like to see what other writers can do with material. Yeah, and when it tends to when they
turn them into franchises, you turn to get it. You tend to get a lot of that. You do. You get a lot of
different viewpoints on this. And so like somebody and a lot of times it’s people like you and me
that grew up watching that stuff.
And then when, you know, we, we end up in the film industry and then writers and then all of a
sudden, hey, I’m right in the new Halloween movie. And I good example of that is, the dude, the
dude that, is why can’t I remember that guy’s name? From Eastbound and Down.
Juddson:
Oh. Danny McBride.
Zack,
Danny McBride, Danny McBride helped write the new franchise for Halloween. If you see him in
anything. He’s never in anything serious, though. And so, to think that his mind came up with
some of that which set aside whether you like the new trilogy or not. You know, it’s interesting
to me that it’s just a fanboy.
Yeah, one day, I got the opportunity news like, let’s do this thing. Yeah. And I am trying to
remember which movie it is of his where he screens Friday the 13th part three in 3D, and he’s
standing in front of the screen while it’s being projected onto the wall. That was like a tidbit of
that movie that he wanted to put in, because he’s just a fan of slasher films.
Juddson:
I mean, and I’ve seen a lot of his stuff. I’m trying to remember what it is. It’ll come to me when it
doesn’t matter, but same. Yeah, yeah. So it’s it’s really interesting that you said like you get to
see these different perspectives. I mean, my, my favorite subgenre is definitely slasher as well.
Awesome. And it’s, it’s for a similar reason, but mostly it’s because it’s just like, yeah, it’s like a
villainous hero.
Zack:
Yeah. Like you get these guys that you, you like these killers that become your favorites. Yeah.
And you don’t do that. Very. You don’t usually have a favorite villain. Yeah. And these guys do
these terrible, terrible things.
Juddson:
And I say, guys, I keep using guys in a minute. Let’s talk about if, you know, female slashers,
which there’s a couple here in there.
Yeah. But, you all, everybody always has a favorite. And that’s so weird because the only other
place you find that is usually like, who’s your favorite baseball player or who’s your favorite,
superhero? And you, you know who my favorite murderer is? Yeah, well, it’s this guy. Yeah. So
who’s your favorite slasher?
Zack:
My favorite slasher is Jason. I love the. Oh, yeah, I love it. It’s out of love. The Friday the 13th
series, in general, is just something that I watch year-round. Yeah, I don’t wait till we have an
actual Friday the 13th to screen those waiting forever, which hardly ever happens. Yeah, I
actually got married on a Friday the 13th.
Juddson:
Was it in October? Zack:
It was in October.
Juddson:
Wait, how long ago was it? You know, be on the spot here. Oh, she doesn’t see this. It was in
Vegas in October. On 13th. On the 13th.
You got married on a Friday the 13th. There we go.
Zack:
Yeah. So, I just that that whole stigma of Friday the 13th follows me around because that wasn’t
done on purpose, you know? How was it not on purpose? We wanted to get married in October.
We wanted to have a horror-themed wedding and do it in Vegas, just like straight up, just, man,
just run away and get it done, you know what I mean?
We flew a bunch of family and friends out there, and we had a horror themed wedding in
October. That’s bloody war black and purple. But my daughter, who was two at the time, wore
like a she was the flower girl, but she wore like a, like a ghost veil. The whole setup, it was it was
pretty cool.
Juddson:
Okay. So anyways, it’s interesting that you say Voorhees because that used to be mine. I think
every Halloween, instead of being creative and coming up with something new, I would put on
the hockey mask, and I would be Jason. And what made him so cool to me was that he’s just
unbeatable.
He was just this force to be reckoned with. Yeah. Which actually needs to be more accurate
when you look at the original character. Yeah, that’s not what he was. It’s just a crazy little kid
that grew up insane and exactly killed a bunch of people. Get to watch him evolve, you know,
over the course you get no Jason or baby Jason in part one.
Yeah. Bang! Jason into the mask in three. But he’s still human, and he’s. There’s an imposter.
Jason and Jason in part five. God. And then we go to zombie Jason from their office, and we also
get Uber. Jason. How bro, I remember how hyped you were when Jason came out. Yeah, I was
stoked. I was I mean, I was excited, but you were like beyond.
Juddson:
Yeah. And and I was like, this looks stupid. But you know what was cool? The trailer was so cool
because it had bodies by Drowning Pool. Or no. Disturbed. No, it’s just a standing drowning
pool. It has that. And then you get to the movie, and you’re like, when they’re going to play the
song, man.
Zack:
When they’re going to do that never happens. It’s free. That’s why that’s when I started realizing
that trailers are just meant to make us mad. They’re teasing us, which is exactly what they’re
designed to do. So now that I understand what they’re for, you know, it’s not so frustrating. But I
really liked Jason, and I thought it was gonna be really stupid, but I thought it was just fun.
Juddson:
Like, they had a good time. Yeah, I just watched that one. Like last week, I watched it, three
weeks ago. Nice. Yeah, I do, I do the same thing. I have rotations, and I’ll go through them. I get
bored. I need to decide which horror movie to watch. I watch the Scream franchise again, or I
watch Halloween all the way through, and I don’t know if you’re the same way with it.
Zack:
Like, like me, for like, a lot of these horror movies are like warm blankets almost. It’s like, hey,
I’ve had a really crappy day or I’m having a stressful week. I know every night I can at least
watch a movie that’s going to give me, you know, some peace of mind. I can just relax, like,
really relax.
Juddson:
It’s like a warm blanket, 100%. All right. I would say the same thing. And I don’t know where
exactly where your mental health is. You and I have yet to really talk. We talked a little bit about
that, but only a little. Mine is usually pretty close to in shambles. So finding these things that
can, like, put me in a good mind state and bring me back to reality like that.
Which is odd to say that something like that could bring you back to reality, but it does like it
just does. It makes me feel like, everything’s going to be fine. Yeah, it’s all going to be good.
Zack:
Yeah. And then, you know, it makes it sound like there’s all these terrible things happened. My
life is really good.
Juddson:
There’s nothing bad happening. That tends to be the case with most people who have, you
know, the problems. I’m just like me. I’m just like you said we’re on the same page there. Yeah.
If you could describe it to people, we would become like mental health experts. Exactly. So.
Well. So. Okay. So warm blanket.
I love that you said that because that’s exactly how I feel about this genre. And you meet many
people that are like, what makes it so appealing to you?
Zack:
And, you know, you say it’s comforting. That’s a pretty weird thing to say about watching people
get murdered and chopped in half and stuff, but it’s really not that weird.
It’s just a movie. It’s all it is. It’s just for fun. Yeah. And when you when you really examine the
horror genre, like they’ve taken just every societal thing, you could think about trope or
problem or whatever, and they have found ways to either make it into a joke, making you do a
reason to die or develop some terrible character on it.
Juddson:
Exactly. And it’s just amazing what these people can do with this. Yeah. And so okay, so your
favorite slasher was, was Voorhees. Mine used to be Voorhees. It is developed into Ghostface.
We talked about this a little bit yesterday. I don’t think it could be anybody behind the mask and
you, you know, not that like I could be behind the mask on.
Oh, legitimately FBI. I don’t have any desire to murder people. But just it could be anybody and
every time you’re, you’re trying to figure out who did it, and you were telling me, oh, I have no
problem figuring out who did it. Well, I never know. And it makes me angry every time. Yeah. So
I want to take it to a different movie we could talk about.
I think you and I should do a podcast. Every podcast about every franchise we can come up
with. I agree, but I want to go into Halloween because we talked about it a little bit earlier, so.
Oh, nice. I love that we’re getting so boujee on this podcast. Halloween, your face you made
when I mentioned the new trilogy probably tells me the answer to this, but did you like the new
trilogy?
Zack:
I liked one of the movies in the trilogy. 2018. That one I liked, Halloween Kills. Okay. 18 could
have been better for me. I didn’t like the whole Rambo granny as, or, you know, the Jamie Lee
Curtis grand description. It’s a good description. It was a little too much for me, especially after
we’ve already seen so many iterations of her character.
Just good playing out in these films. Yeah. So I that just didn’t draw my interest very much. And
then the mask, the way it was in having his face somewhat exposed at times, that was
interesting. But what really draws me in to Michael Myers and in that type of slasher are the kill
counts. They’re usually so high, especially in the sequels.
Juddson:
I mean, in Halloween Kills, I think within the first ten minutes of the movie, he kills like 17
people or 17 firemen. Yeah. Because they so they I read a breakdown of that scene and they
said that in the, in the shot where the firefighters arrive, you can see there there’s like 17 or 18
people there.
Yeah. And they all get killed. Yeah. So I mean that’s incredible. Yeah, I show that. So when I visit
fire departments to, to do training, a lot of times I’ll show that scene. Oh yeah, I’m like, this is
what you get for being a firefighter. They don’t think it’s as funny, but I do. And, it’s great.
Zack:
It’s fun to see Michael Myers be so vicious. Yeah, like, because the last time we saw him be that
vicious was part six, I would say. Yeah. Curse of Michael Myers. Great one, by the way. It is. But
you have to really separate yourself from, like, the original idea of Michael Myers to like it. Yeah.
And, I liked it because they tried to, like, give some new mystery to it and, and new information
about it.
And people will argue that it’s one of the worst of the series. And I disagree. I hate number
three. And I know that people do like it, but it’s because I can’t look at it as if it’s not a
Halloween movie. And I, I get what they’re doing anthology, all that nonsense. But and I think a
lot of the people that really do like it have been bullied into liking it, but I really don’t know how
much of it is, genuine, admiration for that movie.
Juddson:
I really think a lot of it’s like, hey, I, I don’t hate it either. Like what? I mean, there’s nobody that I
was around or with when I rented that movie and we watched it. Nobody was happy. No,
because you’re like, Where’s Michael Myers? He’s one of these guys that’s like in a suit going to
turn into Michael Myers.
Nope. They will act like him and still look like agents from The Matrix. Exactly, exactly. And that’s
that’s all it is. It’s just it’s just a bunch of nonsense. Yeah. Plus, it’s just really weird. Weirdly
made. It is weirdly made. Yeah. And then part four just came back packing a punch.
Zack:
Man, I, I love part four. They introduced one of the greatest, horror actresses ever, especially at
that age. And that’s, Daniel Harris. Yeah. Like, you legitimately feel like that little girl is in danger
in that movie. And she was only like seven when she met. She was fantastic in that. Yeah.
Juddson:
It’s incredible. So when you and I were in elemental school and middle school, we were. We
were the Gifted and Talented program. If you’re not aware that canonized combined IQ with
boil water, that that’s true. I took an IQ test once, and I was so distracted the whole time, I think
I failed it, and I didn’t even know that you could do an IQ test.
You know, I have probably done this thing, but I was like, drawing pictures on it and stuff like
ADHD is crazy. Yeah. So we were in Gifted and Talented, where we’re from, and I am still trying
to figure out what that stood for. And, we would get made fun. Oh, you guys are the smart kids.
Let’s do it over the thing we like. And you did yours over serial killers, and I did mine over,
horror movies. And I remember, like, we collaborated on this thing, like, we talked to each other
about it, and, I used to seeing it. It made no sense inside of my project, but I used a scene from
Halloween four where Michael’s coming over the ridge of the roof because he just looked like
he had, like, like, physical problems.
And the way he comes over the roof always made me laugh. And so I it had nothing to do with
what my project was about. But that’s the scene I chose to put in as my visual.
Zack:
And, but you did yours on serial killers. And that disturbed the teacher a little bit. Yeah. I would
find myself, during researching, going to these real crime pages and finding some of the most
disturbing things that I had seen at that age.
Juddson:
I’m going to end up on a list or something for sure. Here. Speaking of, trying to, you know,
explain crazy, Rob Zombie’s Halloween. So you like the first one or you like the second one? You
don’t like the first? Rob Zombie doesn’t hate the first one. It’s just it could be better. There are
other Halloween sequels that I would rank lower than that.
But I thought his second installment was fantastic. And I understand your reasoning behind it. I
totally get it. I feel like the second one would have been better without being a Halloween
movie, but you would argue that the first one would be better that way. Yeah. And so it’s just,
you know, agree to disagree.
Zack:
The reality is I wouldn’t put either one of them on my favorite list of horror movies. So, I would
put other Rob Zombie stuff on there, like Devil’s Rejects. Devil’s Rejects are high up there. Yeah.
And so Devil’s Rejects, you mentioned this yesterday. Devil’s Rejects is like one of those films
that, like, is just a good movie, like all by itself because it’s just creative and scary and and
effective in a way where a lot of films aren’t where they show you these terrible people, the two
movies, this was a sequel.
So the entire movie, you see them do terrible, awful things and then the last 30 minutes. Yeah,
probably 30 minutes during Freebird where you watch them all die in a hail of gunfire, fire.
You’re like, no I don’t yeah. These people didn’t show up. And how there’s not one redeemable
quality about any one of them. Nope. Now I in three from hell.
They try the same thing at the very end and they just they don’t deliver the same way.
Juddson:
But, but I agree with you. Like at the end you’re like, why are don’t don’t let them die. Yeah. It’s
like they just murder people for no reason. Why do I care about these three characters? But it
goes back to like what we’re talking about.
You get drawn to these villains. Yeah. And they become like, you’re your anti-hero. Anti-Hero?
Yeah. And it’s just such a weird way to think. But I love it. It’s so much fun. And we’re not alone.
It’s more like you and I are just weirdos off on our own. The whole convention for this stuff.
Yeah, there are tons of people which I’ve never been to.
And it’s always because the Texas nightmare is always on a weekend, and I’m coaching a
baseball tournament. Which I think Texas Fright is coming up again.
Zack:
There’s there is something coming up in October in Texas. I think that one might be the cold
classic convention. Okay, that one’s in Bastrop, which is also just is awesome. Have a duty there.
The guys had that run that Roy Rose. He, they own a, they own the old gas station from the first
movie. The first devil is Chainsaw Man. Oh, Fred. Okay. Yeah. So, like the old school gas station
there, it’s it’s actually a bed and breakfast type joint, and they serve barbecue, so you can go
there.
And then they have a screen outside you can check out the houses from inside the shop and
then go back to your cabin. And what I’ve seen Gary looks like a place you can stay. Yeah. Yeah.
And it’s right off the side of the highway. It’s the there is is Bastrop Road. Like I’m in that area all
the time. I mean it’s awesome.
Juddson:
Yeah, we’re doing it. We’re doing memorabilia. It’s a good place. Yeah, it’s cool. So, if you know
the original story from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it’s actually a combination of two different
events or two different series of events. One was this instance where apparently this family that
owned a barbecue shop was occasionally mixing human meat with their product because meat
was too expensive to buy.
And I don’t think they were killing people. I think they were actually taking it off of dead bodies
and stuff. And then and that may not be accurate. Could that could be totally out of left field in
my brain. But and then the other is Ed Gein.
Zack:
Yeah. Which is also where the concept of Hannibal comes from, if I’m not mistaken.
Juddson:
And that is a very interesting story that I would love one day for us to talk about, because that is
is such a weird thing. Like, he really didn’t do a whole lot, but what he did was, is really weird.
Yeah. And so it just struck everybody’s curiosity because it’s like, what state plan with dead
bodies? And this is weird.
He exhumed. I want to think over 30 graves. Yeah. And they came into his house. They found,
like human. They found lamps made out of human skulls and different types of things made out
of bone. They also had. Do they found a fully, I guess the dead woman hanging in his barn
upside down in, like, the deer position.
Zack:
And so he was he didn’t kill any of those people. Yeah. At least they that they are aware of. He
killed. He killed one person. But I think it was. He ended up claiming it was an accident. They
didn’t mean to do it. Well, good for him. Yeah. Sounds like a good guy. But anyways, that’s
where, you know, these stories come from in a lot of these stories are based on pieces of truth.
Juddson:
Like, have you seen, The Strangers, you fan, Bryan Bertino.
Zack:
I love that guy.
Juddson:
Yeah. You said the home invasion scares you, though. That was one of the times in the last
several years that I was scared. Was watching that movie for the first time. Yeah. Because that
that is that movie is scared, well-made. It’s so powerful, its lack of scenery and lack of sound
design.
He just added so much to it. When she’s standing at the glass door, looking out in silence, and
it’s complete silence and you see the bag head guy walk up behind her, it’s terrifying. Oh, yeah.
Absolutely. Yeah. I don’t get scared often, but those kinds of movies scare me. And then, found
footage, movies, footage, movies that that is easily my second favorite subgenre is found
footage.
Yeah, there’s there’s so many of them. I know. Like, I think last night you said you were
watching, Halloween 3. Yeah.
Zack:
And I’ve watched that that series a few times, and, it’s good. Like, it really is. It goes off the walls
a little bit as it goes on, but, it’s very good fun footage.
Juddson:
Yeah. On set. And you can make these movies, too. It’s fun for independent filmmakers. You can
make a found footage movie for change compared to what they’re making. Yeah. You know,
other independent films for. And I have a friend who lives up in Maryland who made now four
of them based around the same story called the fear footage.
Zack:
The fear footage?
Juddson:
Yeah.
Juddson:
What’s it about? They can find it anywhere you can. They’re on Amazon. Like to rent, like, two
bucks. They are very effective in for the fact that they cost. So like, such a small amount of
money, but they punch so hard. Every person I’ve shown that to in my house, you turn off the
lights and run it, they scream out loud numerous times.
Zack:
I haven’t done that in a real long time. Yeah, and when I do, I pretend like it was somebody else.
Because at the theater, the hard part is you never know if you’re actually going to get scared.
And if you’re at the theater, you don’t want to look like a pansy. Yeah. And so you’re like, like
when you’re on a roller coaster and you draw a straight face it.
Juddson:
Yeah. You know, it’s so weird. Okay. So, what? I invited Zack here for today. Zack and I have this
idea that, like, let’s talk about the goriest, or at least our favorite, kills in different movies. And
so Zack will come from the perspective. And I’ll do a little bit of this, too, so he can understand
the effects and see how to think about how it is shot and the concept behind it.
And then I’ll bring in a little bit not a boring amount, but a little bit of medical knowledge to say,
okay, how realistic could that possibly be. And so Zack and I’ve been making these our own
separate lists of these different kills, which, I was excited when I saw your list, because it was,
surprisingly enough, neither one of us, double dipped.
Zack:
Yeah. We didn’t. So the one I do want to double dip on, though, is the big one of the year that
everybody’s talking about. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we’ll get to that one. I want to say that one for as
long as we can. Here is that movie is incredible. It really is a lot of walking. But it is incredible.
It is sound design, everything. The soundtrack is just nature itself. It brought back what slashers
started as or what the the Michael Myers slasher that we think of started as an, I guess, Black
Christmas dinner. And then, man, what was the what was the other one? There was another
one before Black Christmas, though. Eating time. Maybe. Maybe so.
Juddson:
Yeah, it’s a little bit. And there’s a little bit of it in Psycho. So you see that. So, anyway, let’s get
to our list. So I’m going to let you go first. So the first kill I wanted to come to you about for
medical advice was the, the death of Kevin Bacon and Sean Cunningham’s original 1980 Friday
the 13th.
Zack:
So he’s laying on his back in a bed and some underneath. He’s punctured through the neck by
an arrow, and when the arrow comes through, the blood starts spurting out and he just looks
like he’s in anguish and he’s suffering. And this is all practical effects. Yeah, yeah. Which is what
makes most of these slashers so cool.
Yeah. So yeah, he takes the arrow through the throat and it just kind of twists there for a
second. And, he perishes. So Tom is. Tom Savini was the effects director on that movie, which he
ended up becoming, like a legend in, in this realm, and, still is a legend. And so, tell us how you
how he did that.
So he had a pump underneath the bed. Basically. Kevin Bacon was kind of on his knees with his
head up like this, uncomfortable. And there was a fake neck here, and they had the pump
running up towards the fake neck. And whenever it came time for the blood to come through,
he had a pump that he was going to push it.
Basically, a siphon is the wrong word, but force it through the hose up. The pump broke in the
middle of the scene, and they were trying to save as much money as they could, so he just
ripped the pump off and blew through the hose to get it to expel the blood. So that’s why you
see it shoot the way it does instead of just kind of gurgle out.
Juddson:
I mean, and that’s such an awesome thought to have, like, oh, this thing isn’t working. Let me
blow some blood through this with my mouth. Yeah. Oh, gross. That’s what makes you a legend,
man. I am willing to do whatever it takes. So I have a fake neck. So we use these fake next to
teach paramedics how to perform tracheotomy or cry cos I write Emmys.
And so essentially, the way that your airway works, the trachea sits on top of the esophagus. So
the esophagus would be back here. The trick is up here. And so, to go through the neck, it
would have to go through, the way where it goes through in the neck, which is like straight
through the middle. It would have to go through this little spot here called, the, membrane.
It’s just a it’s just a crack membrane. And so it would go through that little slot, which is not very
big. It’s like as big as my pinky and stick through. It could definitely happen, but it have to get
through like some, some cartilage and bone and and other tissue and you would die from it, but
it might take a little bit.
Okay. And you would probably more than anything you have to you would, you wouldn’t bleed
out. I would actually think you would suffocate. That’s what I was going to ask. Yeah. Because
the blood would start going into the airway and you just suffocate on. Yeah. Because your air,
your lungs can’t expand if they’re filled with fluid. It’s the same concept as, like, pneumonia.
Like they just can’t expand anymore. So, pretty, pretty cool scene. And I agree that that deserves
to be on the list. It’s one of the, one of the iconic deaths of all time. And then, of course, Kevin
Bacon went on to be Kevin Bacon. Yeah. And denies ever having any part in Friday, the 13th.
Won’t speak of it.
Yeah. And you can literally be like, bro, look like it’s right here. There’s a picture of you, like with
an arrow through your neck, you know, like that’s not even really my neck wants to play guitar
and that is goats. Now, you came here? Yeah, I saw that. I’m like, nobody went. Sure I don’t, I
don’t think so.
Zack:
I think if anybody did, it was for both fans of his for other works, you know. And if they I don’t
know I picture a bunch of old ladies going, yeah, I, I could care less about Kevin Bacon, to be
honest. But he the icon all on his own. He’s done. He’s deserves what he has. So,
Juddson:
Okay, so I love that kill. Another really good one in that movie was definitely the beheading. And
you talked a little bit yesterday about how that was done, but it was cool. So how did they do
that?
Zack:
So it was shot with a hoist on Savini shoulders. It housed a fake head like a a cast of, the lady
who played Pamela Voorhees. And when they cut it off, they had another hose that came
through and fed the blood to shoot out that you have to blow through that one. No. That one,
they actually had a pump working. But he if you if you watch that scene very closely because it’s
in slow motion and the hands come up, one of them’s got a gold ring on and there’s hair all over
the knuckles.
It’s not Pamela. It’s Tom’s having his hands reaching up like that. Like. Like, how hard would it
have been to have somebody else do that, though? That’s. That’s the only thing to me that I’m
like. You thought of everything to that one thing. And that’s just, you know, why? Why you can
only think of some things. It’s it’s almost impossible.
Juddson:
It’s a lot of why they use CG for everything. Because it’s just too darn hard to do it, yeah, and
they can fix anything like that. It’s like, yeah, we’ll knock it out and post. Exactly. I love goof-ups
in these movies, though. They try to distract you with the violence. And then if you watch it
enough times, you’re like, what’s that?
Zack:
That’s pretty weird. Yeah. That guy has an iPhone and is supposed to be shot in, like 19. So.
Exactly. So, what is the head effect? Not the Mandela effect, or maybe it’s not an effect, but
there’s, this is how you can tell I have ADHD. There’s this theory that, like, there’s time travelers
and there’s this one, like, super famous thing I’ve seen where it’s like some guy at a boxing
match has an iPhone out or whatever.
Juddson:
I’ve seen that those, those kind of things crack me up, like, okay, we can create anything
digitally. How how stupid do you have to be to be like how that really happened? Yeah, I do, I do
love a good time travel movie though. I mean, there are some good ones. There’s one really
weird one. I think it was called detention.
Have you seen that movie? It has the kid from The Hunger Games in it that I see. And if I recall,
that is a time travel movie, but it’s a it’s a, it’s a horror comedy of the year, so. And, I would you
should watch it. It’s interesting. Check it out. It’s it’s got some, elements to it that are appealing.
And I like that actor. I can’t remember what his name is. Obviously, I don’t like him very much.
But he, I really liked the Hunger Games series because I’m like a little girl, and, and I saw all the
movies in theaters and everything.
Zack:
Nothing wrong with that. Not. Well, I like Harry Potter too, so I live.
Juddson:
I live in that world. I can tell you the spells. Watch me. That’s fine. And not offending me. And so
this the movie detention is a time travel horror movie. It’s pretty cool. Okay, so my scene to
counter that one.
Okay, I’ll start with the Terrifier two scene. Okay. So Terrifier two, you see, he goes to the
friend’s house, the one of the friends of the lead character, and, he comes in, and the first thing
he does is.
And I’m usually. You’re the one that reminded me of this slasher down the eyeball. So her eyes
get. I gets cut completely, and then he starts scalping her. And after he scalps her, he holds her
down and twists, breaks her arm and then twists it off. Yep. Which is very difficult to do.
Possible, but difficult. And then, he takes, a scalpel, I guess, and then cuts her back off, which I
have a scalpel here.
They are sharp enough to do that because I’ve cut a human body like that. Not not in that way.
And, cuts her back off. Basically. Yeah. And then you think it’s all over and you’re like, oh, thank
God it’s finally over. That was terrible. And then, as gleefully is a child on Christmas morning,
this dude runs back in the room with vinegar and salt and starts pouring it all over her and
rubbing the salt.
Zack:
The wound. Yeah, that’s the part that got me. Yeah, because I was like, bro, like you took it far
enough like it. It’s just that one step beyond that. That was a hard hitting sequence, man. All I
think that lasted like 6 or 7 minutes on screen. It was ridiculous. And then it goes on to your
point. She is crawling away with one arm trying to reach her phone, which is ringing.
And it’s the friend. Yeah, her friend calling her, and right before she gets there, he walks in like
like this smile. Just like, of course some vinegar and dumps some salt on you. Pretty vicious.
Pretty vicious. You don’t have to be super strong to rip somebody’s arm like that off. Otherwise
pretty realistic. I’m sure all those things are doable.
Juddson:
And would be very painful and would eventually kill you. And she’s still alive, though, when the
mom comes home, right?
Zack:
Yeah. I think she’s still, like, breathing or something, but she’s she’s been, like, all posed up in
the bed to look some funky way. It’s so ridiculous. Yeah. So do you go to Spirit Halloween when
it’s in season?
I go, like, all the time now. I got the shirt here at there. And, they have an Art the clown display,
and it’s him with the sunflower glasses on in the horn. It’s so weird because, like, when you’re
talking about, these people become icons like you see children dressed as Art the clown. I I’m
just going to tell you, my daughter is going to be.
Juddson:
With the sand, with the sunflower glasses. Oh, my God, that’s going to be super creepy. By the
way, she actually did a drawing for the drawing of Art the Clown for Damien and David. Damien
is a director, and David plays art together. And, I haven’t had a chance to get it to him yet, but
they she loves.
You said that you met those guys at one of the conference.
Zack:
Yeah. Yeah, we met them in Dallas two years ago, 2 or 3 years ago. They’re awesome people,
and they’re just. They’re just huge horror fans. Yeah. And, Damien, the guy who directed it, is
also in charge of all of his own special effects. He actually came through film school as, like, the
makeup effects guy.
This one ended up being a a good director, decent director, and realized he could do his own
effects for cheap. And that’s why they’re so, you know, heavy handed in his films. Well, in it,
when they made the first, when he made the first when he was like, okay, nobody’s going to
care about this isn’t me having a good time.
And then it was just like a cult classic, like instantly. And then he starts making the second one.
People start offering him money because they’re like, okay, maybe he can do this again. But he
also like, they were like this, this kid is so violent, there’s no way that people are going to, like,
come in the masses to watch this thing.
Yeah. And I don’t know that I would say they went out in masses to watch it, but it made money
and it did. I’ll say that the budget was raised on Kickstarter for Terrifier two, right? That’s right.
And, he I say, I’ll say, as far as to say Covid is what saved that movie. His Covid wiped out all the
major studio releases, and so exhibitors were just looking for material to put on screens, and
that one popped up.
Juddson:
And surely, surely enough, it’s like the only popular horror movie at the time. It could gain any
traction and it took off. It did make it made back quite, quite a bit above its budget. So yeah.
Which they’re using to go on to make the next one, which comes out next week actually. And of
course I’m going to be, at a concert the night it comes out.
And then, on an ambulance the next day. So I’m going to take forever for me to get to see the
stupid thing. We got to plan it.
Zack:
We’ll be there.
Juddson:
Yes, it will be awesome. And it’s at your old stomping grounds. Is the only showing, by the way.
Oh, really? Yes. So that’s where we’ll be. Yeah.
Zack:
Sounds good to me. I might be able to get something special lined up there. That would be
super cool. Yeah, that would be cool. I would love it. I would love it. I had the same idea I was
looking at movie times before you got here thinking. We got a plane to go see this thing
together. Yeah.
Juddson:
Because nobody else. We’re going to see those movies with me at all. Allison won’t even watch
those ones. Nearly. I could probably make her, but she wouldn’t enjoy it. She likes horror movies
now. She’s, like, on it with me. She, like, buys me horror movie stuff, but it’s not really her thing,
necessarily. Those are a little.
Zack:
I understand. Yeah, those are in the top level. Yeah, it’s a totally different level. Okay. What’s
your next scene? My next scene was the Halloween two, Rick Rosenthal’s Halloween two, kill
that takes place in the. You called it a therapy tub? Yes. Yeah, therapy tub, a therapy tub. There
are a there’s a paramedic and an orderly who just decided to have some fun.
Juddson:
Paramedics are always jerks in movies, but the way they portray is, is like these dirty, terrible BD
with. He was definitely portrayed that way. I’m earning a doctorate right now. I’m not a terrible
dummy and I don’t talk like that, but sort of. So anyway, let’s keep going.
Zack:
So they do their thing and he gets up to dry off and she gets those to get up out of the pool or
the tub and is met by Michael Myers. He then dunks her face first after cranking the heat up on
this thing over and over and over again, and every time he pulls her head out of the water, it’s a
little more melted, a little more melted off. But his hand, like I said, that his hand is just frickin
perfect. Yeah, like Michael Myers is invincible. For whatever reason, curse of the wind or
anything they come up with, or he’s just evil.
Juddson:
So I do like that scene. Totally doable. You could easily kill somebody. Obviously you could
drown somebody, but, the heat would start to melt your skin, because this is the same way you
take a meat and skin off of, off of the animal bones.
Yeah. So it would work. It would work. Okay. My next one. Have you seen martyrs? Yeah. Okay.
So martyrs is, Fringe. Yeah. Fringe movie. And, the concept I’m not even going to go into the
concept of it because it’s just long and drawn out, but, it’s it’s very interesting movie. And there
is a scene at the end or towards the end where, they have this girl, she’s been held captive,
basically tortured all this time, and they proceed to, skin her alive, leaving only her face.
And they do this and they show lots of it, in obviously in effects. And it just seems like such a
terrible way to die. It really does. It just. It has to be like. Yeah, painful. Just painful. That entire
movie is a nightmare. It it’s just awful. It starts out at a thousand miles an hour, and I don’t think
it slows down until the credits roll.
Zack:
That, that that particular movie is part of what was called, like the French, the French
ultraviolent wave or ultra horror wave, like in the high tension era. Yeah, that’s that’s I’m going
there after this is awesome. But yeah, I don’t, Yeah, she she skinned alive and she glimpses into
the afterlife. Yeah. And that’s what they were trying to achieve.
Juddson:
They wanted to see what she saw when she went to the other side. That’s right. That was the
purpose behind it. Yeah. It’s such a terrible scene. Not the way I’d want to go, but nonetheless, a
creative idea really created. Especially the fact that it’s so that she can see the afterlife.
Anyways, so what’s your next one?
Zack:
My next one is also from a French horror movie. It’s from a movie called High Tension. Hot
tension is in French; however you want to pronounce it. My poster at home says hot tension. I
can’t say French words. So there’s a scene at the beginning of this movie about the French with
home invasions. They do it, and like everything extreme, they do.
Yeah, because Martyrs has a home invasion scene, too. Yeah. So, this girl is staying with her
friend from college, and she has her room at their house, their country house in the middle of
the country. French country. And she’s asleep at night, and she wakes up to the sound of
somebody breaking into the house and gets downstairs. From what she can see, it is a guy
breaking into the house.
Eventually, a character from the film—I want to say it is the father—gets his head stuck between
the banisters of some stairs, and the killer slides it, like, easily, like a half-ton bookshelf. Yep. And
just all force rams it into the side of his face and exposes it through the banisters. Yep. And I
thought that’d be a cool one to talk about.
Juddson:
Oh yeah, that scene is nuts. It’s similar. There’s another similar scene we could talk about that I
might mention later, but and it’s nuts. And it’s in it is because why would that be the way you
would think to kill that guy? Like, in that moment they went the extra mile. That killer. Did you
know in well, in when you know what the twist is, it’s like, how did how did that work?
Zack:
Yeah, I don’t know. I guess I guess we don’t have spoiler alert here if you haven’t seen it, go see
it. It’s been out for a really long time. Yeah. But it it’s shock. It’s actually the girl that’s the killer.
The room, the friend who’s visiting. Yeah. And, and so I have no idea how she would perform
that action.
Juddson:
That’s insane. But it was really cool. And anything that destroys your head. Totally doable. Yeah.
Take a lot of force, but it’s doable. Yeah, that when that kill got me and I didn’t find out until
later. That movie’s actually based on a Dean Koontz novel. Intensity of intensity. Yep, yep. It’s
based on intensity. And the the biggest difference between the book and that movie is that the
in the in the book, it’s just a straight up there is a killer.
Zack:
Like, there’s just a crazy guy. It’s not switched. I mean, there’s some some twists, but not to that
extent. Yeah. So but it’s a, it’s actually a really good book, you know, if you haven’t, if you read
I’ve read it. Read. Okay. Good. Yeah. But that that book is super weird. But yes, I think the maker
of that film kind of got in some hot water because it was very clearly.
Yeah, a copy of that book. Yeah, almost verbatim. Some of the dialog. Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty
bad. But whatever. I mean, that director, Alex Alexander, Aja, is one of the best directors to
come out of France, and he’s made a bunch of really big stuff. Oh, big, that is pretty shocking.
Most of the stuff he makes is so, glad that he decided to copy that book and get moving.
Juddson:
It is? Yeah. Get a story. Okay, so next one on my list. Let’s go with. Let’s go back to the
Halloween trilogy. And, Halloween Kills. And I know which one I want to do, but I want to know
if I will do that one. No, I’m not. I’m going to go. I’m going to go to Hobo with a Shotgun.
Zack:
Okay. So, Hobo with a Shotgun is a super weird movie. It’s the weirdest static. Kind of like class
Nukem high fever dream-ish. Yes. And so in this weird world of theirs, you get this character,
played by the actor Ricky in the trailer per voice. And he’s committed some crime. And so they
take a manhole cover and put it around his head.
It has, like, a unique cut out for his head. And then they take barbed wire, wrap it around his
head, and then tie two cars or and then go in opposite directions, and it rips his little sars’s head
off. And then just a spray of blood, and there’s like this weird thing where all these people are
dancing in the blood, and like, it’s just it’s such a weird, like, high violent scene.
Juddson:
That’s I don’t I mean, I doubt it’s possible to work that way. And, you can see, like, the rubber
bending with the manhole cover, and it’s just such a weird thing. I mean, why is that guy even in
that movie? It’s a weird. Well, do you know how that movie was financed? No idea. So when
you remember the movie Grindhouse, the double feature?
Zack:
Yeah. Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez. Yeah. They decided they both directed little short
movies they put together as a grindhouse double feature. They had a competition leading up to
the release of that film. For student filmmakers or anybody interested in creating a fake trailer
to submit to them, they would put the trailer between the movie. Okay.
Because they had a lot of other people come in and shoot fake trailers as well, as Rob Zombie
did. One. The guy who directed Baby Driver did one. Anyway, they submitted a trailer for Hobo
with a shotgun and won it. And then afterward, Robert Rodriguez was like, hey, here’s a bunch
of money.
Juddson:
He’ll make that movie. Yeah. So weird. They should have made the trailer and they should put
the trailer in the movie. That would’ve been cool. It would have. It would have been a good tie
in. Yeah. But that movie is super weird altogether. And there’s a bunch of crazy debts. Yeah. I’m
surprised you didn’t take the bumper head, but I still.
And that’s what I was thinking of when you mentioned the High Tension death, which, I mean,
heightens what up? Good pull. Because I know a lot of people have never even heard of that
high tension. Yeah, it’s totally worth a watch. And I’ve watched it, but it took me a few watches
because I kept picking, like when I was almost asleep, to start watching it.
Juddson:
Then I’d just fall asleep. Okay. What’s your next one?
Zack:
My next one is going to be the what I thought was the best kill of the the year this movie came
out. The Texas Chainsaw remake. It’s, directed by David Blue Garcia came out in 23, I think, or
22. And, there’s a scene where Leatherface, geriatric Leatherface, is being transported from a
foster home that he grew up in to the hospital where his mother is suffering a heart attack, I
think.
And something how she dies because of them. And he gets really mad at one of the, officers. It’s
in the back of his van with them, and he catches the officer’s hand, breaks it into a compound
fracture, and then shoves the bone that’s protruding through the cop’s neck. What a good idea.
Yeah. Did you see 127 hours?
Juddson:
Yeah, that’s what that makes me think of. Is that right there? But I remember that that movie
got a lot of hate. Because it was just so different from the normal context. And you and I talked
about how, like, it’s the only one where there’s actually a massacre. Yeah. The rest of them,
there’s like 2 or 3 deaths, and it’s not really that big a deal.
Zack:
Yeah, but in this one, like a whole bus full of stupid influencers gets killed because they’re trying
to, like, film the whole thing. Which, honestly, it’d probably be exactly what would have
happened. I love that scene. I loved it so much, man. It’s hilarious. It’s not I don’t I don’t know
how funny it was supposed to be, but it ended up being pretty funny.
Juddson:
That’s a good choice. That was a good choice. That whole movie is, like, 1,000% like the whole
way. Like, there’s 0 to 100 the whole way. Yeah. You know, they’ve got a whole bunch of, like,
stuff from the times in that movie to signify like, this is where we’re at. It is a society and all that
kind of stuff.
Everything’s in there for Texas Chainsaw movie to have it in it. It’s an in for the director came on
really late into the project and for him to add the things that he added and for them to be as
successful as Erland as well as they landed. Yeah. That’s a pretty good achievement.
Zack:
I think it’s, I think it’s a good Texas Chainsaw movie. I think it’s underrated, for sure. And, you
know, people just they have their own opinions. And a lot of people I think didn’t like because it
was direct to digital. Yeah. And so they didn’t they didn’t give it as much value as they would
other ones, which is stupid because we like a whole bunch of horror movies that are direct to
video.
Juddson:
Yeah. So what’s the difference really, in tone of the found footage? Movies are like that, most of
them. And they’re great. Yes, they’re really good. So this isn’t a specific kill, but have you seen
creep? Yes. With the dude from, the League or whatever. Yeah. They’re brothers. What’s their
name? I can’t think of their name, but there’s two.
There’s two creeps. Yeah, the first one is wild. Yeah, yeah. Like I didn’t know where that movie. I
knew nothing about that movie before I watched it. And so I had no idea where it was going.
And it just got weirder and weirder and weirder the whole time. Yeah, I was like, oh, that’s
pretty creepy. He portrays crazy very well.
Zack:
Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, it was pretty awesome. I like that movie. So with a good kill at the end, do.
Yes it does.
Juddson:
Yes for sure. Okay. I think we probably have time for about two more, so I’m going to do one,
and then I’ll give you another one.
Zack:
So, man, I don’t I’m trying to think of the most creative one, so I’m going to get one more.
I want to do something real creative. You have one in mind already? Are we going to are we
going to jump on the the yoga one together after the.
Juddson:
Yes. Okay. Yeah, that’ll be number three. We’ll come together on that one. Okay. So I’ve got one
I can throw out. Okay. In an Argentinian film called When Evil Lurks, basically a movie about
possession.
And possessing possession, taking over an entire town and it hopping from people to people,
and it causes them to do awful things. But these, this is in a world where this is normal. So the
world is established and the film starts you, you live in their world. It’s not on earth, okay.
There’s there’s other things happening here.
And, this lady is staring at her husband who is staring at a goat in the middle of a goat pen, and
there’s a bunch of hens running around through the, through. But the one goat is standing
completely still and staring at him, and she walks up to him and he says, you know, it starts with
the animals.
And he points his rifle at the goat, and she says, don’t do that. You’ll release it. And she points
his rifle to go, and he shoots it, she immediately comes from behind and hits him with an ax and
kills him. That’s not the tool I wanted to focus on, because after she does that and he falls, she
falls to her knees and begins hacking her own face with the ax over and over again.
And it shows it full frontal. I mean, you get hack mark, hack mark, hack mark until she I was, you
know, how many times can she do that before she hits brain and loses it? You know what I
mean? And it can’t go on very long, you know? So I’ll tell you, I’ve had, gunshot wounds to the
head people with that.
Zack:
And, really, you can survive that?
Juddson:
Yeah. I mean, you can survive a gunshot to the head. I don’t know how many times you can hack
yourself in the face with an ax. I guess if you’re doing it hard enough, eventually you would
reach brain, and there’s no way you can keep doing it. Yeah, but you’re you’re the front part of
your head.
You’ve got your frontal lobe, which really only controls, like, behavior and stuff. And more than
that, but it it doesn’t control all your motor functions, so maybe you could keep doing it. And I,
I’ve never seen that movie, so I’m going to have to I highly recommend that movie. Both of that,
both of that director’s films are on shudder and they’re both very, very good.
They’re Argentinians. They’re in Spanish. Okay. But it is well worth, you know, reading or well
worth watching. The movie can’t read, so it’s going to be difficult. I don’t even know what
happens in High Tension, because a lot of it’s in French. It’s like, what’s happening?
Zack:
Okay. So, the other one I had behind the mask, the rise of Leslie Vernon. Did you see it did such
a interesting movie because it it treats like being a serial killer is like a legacy. And so it’s this guy,
and he’s just, like, raised up to be this serial killer, and he’s trained by, like, his, his serial killer
idol. And it’s just so weird. And it shows him, like, doing cardio and stuff, and they kind of make
a joke out of it.
And so this whole time it’s just lighthearted, like, oh, this guy’s hilarious. He’s so like down to
earth, like he’s not going to really kill anybody. This is just for fun. And then finally you get to the
in and he’s in. It’s like, oh, he had this whole thing planned where he’s going to kill the film crew
and and all of this.
Like, this was his plan all along. And his final girl was actually the girl that was like doc doing the
documentary. Yeah. And so, his whole thing is his backstory. He has to have a good backstory,
and it has to happen in an apple, orchard. And so there’s this scene where, at the very end
where she traps his head inside of the, the apple press and is just twisting and twisting and
twisting and things like that, like in, Wolf Creek, you have the clamp scene where he clamps the
hand.
Wolf Creek two, I guess, and he’s grinding the fingers like clamping people’s body parts and
things for some reason, is really disturbing to me because it’s just you’re trapped. There’s
nothing you can do about it. You’re just there and then doing that and then cranking down on
the head like, I cannot imagine how slow and painful that would be.
Yeah, just hearing it first, you know, and then seeing his eyes, he takes the mask off. Yes. It’s that
that’s also like a hybrid found footage slasher, I guess. So that’s true because it’s made, like in
documentary style. Yeah. With with them running around with the camera. And it has, the
Loomis of the movie is actually, Robert Robert England, which is hilarious.
Really, really good idea to throw him in there.
Juddson:
Is that because it’s just ironic? Not ironic, but it’s interesting. Okay. So, we’re we’re going to
come to the end here and we’re going to focus in this last one, which is one that we both had
on our list, which is, what would you title it?
01;03;45;20 – 01;04;05;12
Unknown
Title the death scene, Extreme Yoga. That’s the best way to stream. Yeah, yeah. Because it’s still,
you know, it’s contorting and it’s hardening, I don’t know. Yeah. What if it was, like, goat yoga
and, like, he killed the goat and everything? Oh, then I don’t know. I would just be really pissed
off.
Juddson:
Yeah. I don’t like watching animals. Yeah. I mean, it makes it. That makes me feel bad, but
watching people die doesn’t seem to bother me. You know? So. Okay, so I’ll let you tell the
scene, because you’re going to do a better job of describing this.
Zack:
Yeah. So, a girl goes up to the top of a hill. This entire movie is basically shot from the
perspective of a slasher, like a back story and slasher, like a Jason Voorhees-type guy. Yeah. And
he dons this big gas mask, so he. You follow this looming giant man through the woods, and you
hear what’s happening going on around him. And that’s the story that you have to put together.
01;04;43;02 – 01;05;20;05
It’s it’s not it’s not just laid out in front of you. But anyway, he’s he’s perusing through the
woods, and he comes upon this girl at the edge of a, like a riverbank, slanted riverbank, doing
yoga. And she’s facing away from him for most of the time, and, finally realizes who he is. And
before she can do or say anything, he shoves a those grab the grappling hook arm through her
stomach, and she turns around, and then he reaches up with the same grappling hook and
hooks it into her head with his arm.
Through the thing, with his arm, through the stomach. Yeah. Looks it into the top of her head
and then puts his foot on her back, I think, and pulls it through. You watch the bones in the back
of her neck snap. And it pulls her head through the same hole in her stomach. Intestines fall on
to the ground.
You see, in this takes place slowly. This is not like a no. It’s very slow, very slow, all in frame, no
cuts. It’s just right there. Pulls her head all the way through the same hole that he caused with
his fist. And then yanks the chain, the the hook hook out of her head and rolls her down this hill
into what becomes this beautiful wide shot of the scenery that this movie takes place in, where
the river is falling on the side you can see mountains in the back, and right there in the
forefront, you can just see her body rolling down the hill.
This this movie is, is just I don’t know I don’t know how to it’s it’s like violent, but very well shot.
The scenery is amazing. It’s just pretty, like the whole movie is pretty, and, they just did a great
job of combining just this gross, terrible thing with this very beautiful surrounding and and then
you have that where he.
Juddson:
It’s just who thinks of that? Who thinks put a hole in somebody and pulled her head back
around through the hole. Yeah. Exactly. It’s it’s idiots like you or me sitting around thinking, how
could we kill somebody? What’s a way that nobody’s killed somebody before? Yeah, and it’s
hard to find that now. Like, it’s hard to find movies that don’t do it in some similar way to
something else. But I’ve never seen that before. Ever. In anything.
Zack:
Yeah, that one was definitely unique, and it seemed very well thought through. The director
definitely wanted to make a statement by making it seem like more of a piece of art than
slasher trash. Yes. Which in my opinion, he just made really pretty slasher trash. Yeah. Pretty
much. Yeah, to me it’s all art, but it’s really pretty slasher trash.
Juddson:
And I’m totally cool with. I left the theater almost applauding, and everyone around me was
like, that movie sucked. And I was like, I don’t think we had the same expectation. Yeah. And a
lot of people reacted initially the way I mentioned it earlier, just, oh, there’s a lot of walking.
Yeah. And yes, there’s a lot of walking.
But you got to think like, we never have gotten to follow the killer that closely. Instead, we have
to follow the, annoying characters that are just just thrown on, thrown up onto a screenplay by
some screenwriter that is not making near enough money. And these characters are played
awfully by actors and actresses that come and go.
Zack:
The reason they’re there is to die exactly. So why don’t we get a break from that? We follow the
killer instead. Just see what a life of his stuff doing is like. And they. And they chose this killer
that very much like Jason Voorhees. I would say, some would say too much like Jason Voorhees,
but that doesn’t matter.
They chose one that’s silent, which was interesting because then all you hear is what he hears.
Like you said, the way that you learn about him is through conversations that he overhears. It’s
just the whole thing takes place with him. There’s a couple scenes that are outside of his third
person view or whatever. First person view, but not many.
Juddson:
Yeah. And, there is a lot of walking. I’ll give everybody that. But like, how else do these guys get
places? Like they’re walking? They’re not like riding a bike. Exactly. And so you, you see what
that looks like. And, and you get the sense that there’s no fear in this guy. There’s no anything.
But I want this locket.
I’m going to kill everybody. Yeah. And that’s what he proceeds to do. And, it’s just it’s an
interesting movie if you haven’t seen it, if you’ve been hesitant to see it, it it’s on. Prime. I don’t
know if it’s shudder’s on shudder for free. Yeah. And I have I have shudder, so I, it just shows up
on mine.
But I, I’m like you like, I was in the theater in, like, there were people that just left. Yeah. And I
was like me by myself at that point. Yeah. I couldn’t even. My wife has learned to appreciate
horror a little bit more and certain things that I like. I’ll hype them up for just a little bit so she’ll
understand what she’s getting into.
And I told her that one, this is going to be like a walking scene, but it’s gonna be fun, I can tell
you. Like like she knows if there’s a slasher coming out. We’re buying a ticket for day one every
time. And when we got news of that one coming to Abilene, which I didn’t think it was going to,
we we got tickets.
Zack:
We went day one and we were not disappointed. It was it was a it was a Sundance film, I
believe. Yeah. And it it really didn’t perform that. Well, it, but it just started to grow like the
popularity around the idea of it started to grow. And that’s how it ended up actually making it to
some theaters. And it, it was good. Like, I think it’s a well-made slasher movie.
Juddson:
Yeah. I don’t think they’ll make a second one. Probably not. But, I think it is something different.
Like, we don’t we don’t get to see that. That was just totally different than what we’re used to.
And there were several over the top kills in that movie, that we could have talked about, but
that one, definitely.
Zack:
That was the kill of the year. Easily, easily kill the year. It was very interesting. So, you know, we
we could go on forever. There’s a million different horror movies, a million different subgenres.
We could sit here and keep talking about all of them and come up with different scenes. And we
actually came up with like 12 or 13, 14 different scenes.
Juddson:
And that was like just a quick list. And so, but, Zack and I will be doing this again at some point.
And, and you can hear more about some of these things that we love. But, Zack, I appreciate
you coming in on the podcast.
Zack:
I appreciate you guys having me in. Thank you guys for what you do, which is way more
important than, you know, me trying to make movies and tell stories. I don’t know about that.
You guys, you guys carry a heavy weight on your shoulders. And by supporting this community,
and you all deserve a big thanks.
Juddson:
Do appreciate it. Thank you.
Zack:
Absolutely. Thank you.
Juddson:
The art and entertainment we get are what make it completely doable. They keep doing it.
So it keeps us alive. So, I appreciate you coming. And, I’ll have you on again on this one some
other time, and we’ll do our own thing. And, as always, we are sponsored by Texas EMS school.
So if you’re, in the EMS field or are interested in getting into it, please take a look at us.
And, until next time, this is EMTalk the stories about saving lives from the people that save
them. This is EMTalk. EMTalk is sponsored by Texas EMS school. Join Judson Smith again next
time because the life he’s saving could be yours.