The Podcast on Haunted Hill

The podcast on Haunted Hill will contain spoilers and swearing.

The podcast on.

Hello, and welcome to the podcast on Haunted Hill, episode 153.

We are AI.

Stop.

We are not real.

My name is Gav, this is Dan.

We are your hosts, we are your sailors on the ship of horror movies and things.

Your little passengers looking out the window, and we're gonna sail down the ocean of movies.

Yes.

Seamen.

Seamen everywhere.

There we go, we've already done it as usual.

How are you?

Very well, my friend.

How are you?

Jolly, jolly well, as our English might say.

Jolly good there, jolly good, jolly good, old chap.

Yeah, I'm very good, thank you.

I'm excited because, as is the case with every three episodes, it's a time for another.

Series directed by some very British brothers.

So our patron, the crown for this episode.

The queen.

The queen belongs to Jamie, Jamie Jenkins, Jamie J.

Sammons.

She goes by many names, Queen Jamie, we shall call her.

Thank you very much, Jamie, for being a patron.

And yes, your reward is this episode.

Here it is on a tray for you.

Here you go.

Yeah, it's quite funny.

I was surprised when you told me these movies because I'd kind of forgot.

Well, I didn't know it was a sequel and I'd kind of forgotten about the first movie, but we will go into them nearer the time.

Yes, but to reveal what she has selected for us to discuss, we are selecting the Ford Brothers, directed in cinematography, written, et cetera.

I think possibly fairly unknown and under the radar.

The Ford, what, the movies or the brothers?

The movies.

Yeah, yeah, some people, I mean, Sarah had never heard of.

They are well known in like independent and guerrilla filmmaking.

And probably a real zombie genre fans.

And they did well at Fright Fest as well, which is where I believe they were both premiered as well.

I saw the premiere of the first one at Fright Fest.

Let's not tease our listeners any longer.

I will reveal what we're watching.

They can know because they can look at their phones.

We're going to be reviewing and looking at The Dead in 2010 and The Dead 2 India.

The Dead 2 India, just throw that in there.

The Dead 2 India from 2013, directed by the Ford brothers.

Sounds like a really bad train you don't want to get on.

The Dead 2 India.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like that ghost train from the last episode.

Yeah, don't get on it because you're not going to get there.

It's just going to go off into the ether.

But the interesting thing about these two, and we'll get into it, these two movies isn't so much the films themselves, which are well made for in many ways for the budget.

Jamie's at the bottom going, what the fuck you can talk about then?

But the good, the interesting thing about them is the stories behind them.

Which unfortunately, sorry to cut you off, go back onto the second.

Unfortunately, when that is the case, and we still have to look at these movies and quite often audiences, 99% of the time, it's only us 1% film nerds, geeks, lovers, makers, look up stuff like this or watch the BTS on the DVDs, which this was originally on, of these things.

Otherwise it gets overshadowed and you look at every film the same, which you should.

But unfortunately, some films, if you know the backstory, if you went back to watch the film or you knew the backstory before you watched the film, which is the case actually in Fright Fest, I think they showed that possibly, maybe not, maybe there's some DVD which I bought, but you get to more appreciate the film.

But carry on what you're saying to explain.

No, I was going to say, so I mean, we won't go into all the details now, but basically they had a tough time because they shot on location in West Africa for the first one and on location in India for the second one on a very tight budget, all guerrillas sort of independent filmmaking style and encountered a whole host of problems, disease, corruption, muggings and stuff.

Stuff we'll get into.

So it's rare that I would say it, but I would actually say for these two movies, if you've not seen them, look into the backstory, there's even a book that the brothers wrote, which we'll talk about again in a moment, properly about the stuff that went on.

Because sometimes when you understand, much like Sorcerer, although that was a fantastic film, once I learned all the stuff that went on behind the scenes, that elevated that movie even more.

And things like Texas Chainsaw, Evil Dead, once you start knowing the original Evil Dead and the original Texas, obviously, once you know the shit, the blood and tears that went on behind the scenes, you kind of have an appreciation even more for those movies, so it slightly elevates them.

And the same for me with these two, because the plots are fairly standard and they're fairly standard zombie movies, but when you know how hard it was to make them, you do kind of appreciate, oh shit, these guys actually really wanted to make this, you know?

So yeah, but yeah, that's what we're covering, Gav.

Yes, we are.

Any thoughts on that before we talk about it?

No, because we're going to get on to it.

We're getting into the films at the time, but I'll be putting, having my filmmakers hat on because I have a lot to say about stuff.

And I'll be having my zombie hat on because I'm a zombie.

What have you been up to?

What have you been doing?

Have you seen anything cool?

Well, very quickly, started potty training this weekend.

Have you never used a toilet before?

Never done it.

So how is your potty training going?

Finally, at Big Boy Nappy's and I'm into Big Boy Pants.

Couple of accidents here and there.

Did Alice know when you first said, would you like to go out with me?

That she'd be training you to use the toilet?

No, it's taken her 13 years.

I know, some women need to learn this about men, don't they?

Can you imagine that?

Imagine that.

I mean, it's probably out there.

Look, that could be a metaphor for some men and how useless they are, to be honest with you, and what women have to part with.

Yeah, yeah.

But no, I joke.

That's the main thing in my life at the moment is that the children have decided they want to go potty training, which is great that they decided it rather than us sort of trying to make them do it.

Other than that, all fine and dandy.

And I finally had a cinema trip for the first time in months and months and months and months.

It's all the same film you did.

So we can-

Has anyone ever called you dandy?

I don't think so.

All right, dandy?

Yeah, fine, thanks.

Pandy?

Gavaceous.

Gavatron.

The Gavatron.

I'm going with that.

But no, I got out to the cinema on a rare day off.

I know, and hang on, ladies and gentlemen, everybody join.

If you're not, don't do it if you drive in, it's dangerous.

But, little golf clap, because Dan obviously is a father with young children, and going to the cinema is quite a luxury, people without children, or who have children who have grown up, or not grown up, but mine, like, you know, I have opportunity to go.

Dan doesn't, so a golf clap.

Trying to hold down a full-time job.

Yeah, and just that, yeah.

And you're at a stage, you're so young though, if you do get a moment, it'd be nice to hang out with the other half, or actually get some sleep, you know.

So that's why it's a little golf clap, but audience members, please don't clap if you're driving a car or operating machinery.

Or flying a helicopter.

That's, yeah, operating machinery.

Because some of our listeners probably do.

But yeah, it's the same movie that you saw.

Listeners, if there is any pilots out there, please let us know.

Gav, what did we both see?

Separately, but we did see Ghostbusters, not Afterlife as it's called, Frozen Empire.

Empire Strikes Back.

Yeah.

Ghostbusters Frozen, let it go.

So, spoiler free.

Yes, we will, because it's still out at theatres.

And your thoughts on a Ghostbusters movie of the franchise, the fifth, I think.

One, two, three, four, five, six, if you think 2017.

Yes, fifth.

But it's kind of technically the fourth.

In the kind of continuation of the same actors, but there's one spin-off, so to speak, which is 2017.

Shall I go first?

Yeah, you do.

Yeah, I enjoyed it.

I had a lot of fun with it.

It wasn't for me, it wasn't as good as the last one.

It wasn't as good as Afterlife.

Afterlife had the emotional punch.

And it hit all the nostalgia note strings, which I know some people are like, oh yeah, but it was supposed to.

But I don't care.

I went with it.

I cried at the end.

I loved Afterlife.

This one wasn't that.

I still had a lot of fun with it.

What I did like about this one, though, and this is the nerd in me, which might go over some people's heads, but I really liked that there were a lot of Easter eggs to the real Ghostbusters, as in the cartoon, uniforms, characters, hairstyles, even sort of little bits, names and equipment and things like that.

Some slime, the way some slime is dripping through something is too nerdy to talk about.

But there was a lot of callbacks to that and the toy line as well, which I liked.

And then there was like some random Easter eggs.

Like there's a whole Christine Easter egg.

And I was like, wow, wow.

Okay, great.

Also, man crush Paul Rudd.

Love him, love everything he does.

So he's great in it.

It's always great to see Bill, Dan, and Ernie Hudson is looking fantastic for 78.

I sent you that picture of him the other day.

He is looking fantastic for a 78 year old man.

It's pretty-

He's only six years younger than my dad.

My dad does not look like him.

He's a hench, very hench-looking young-looking man for a 78 year old.

But yeah, and the biggest critiques I've seen have been people saying, oh, there's too many characters in it.

But for me, that's a problem for the TikTok generation who've got a very short attention span and want things to be A to B in 10 seconds flat.

Whereas I come from the old school, I'd love to see some of these TikTokers watch a film like Sorcerer or something where there's multiple characters intertwined in a story that you have to sit down for two and a half hours for.

I agree with some of what you said.

It isn't going to be one that's like a classic for years to come.

Still fun though.

Fun to see the Ghostbusters.

Loved seeing some different stuff, like really loved the car chase through New York, stuff that you never saw in the first one.

And yeah, I can't really talk too much about it without spoiling it obviously, but oh, I loved the body, thought the body looked great.

I loved that there was quite a lot of, well, not quite a lot, but there was some practical effects in it as well.

The carrier bag, the garbage bag was all practical, having read some of the facts afterwards.

And again, that's not a spoiler.

You don't know what that means unless you go watch it.

I can't remember what that means and I've seen it.

All right.

Yeah, and I loved the whole Winston's secret business thing that he's got going on as well.

Really loved all of that.

I need to watch it again.

Oh dear.

I can't even remember that now.

Yeah.

The Easter eggs kind of went over my head because that's me.

I did feel there's quite a lot going on really.

I think they kind of pulled it back a bit and made it a little bit more simpler, I think.

But I did enjoy, I kind of, it's a shame that I didn't get to watch it.

You know, that you kind of had this big evil thing in The Frozen, it's in the trailer, so I'm not spoiling it.

Eyes comes up and that sort of thing.

I kind of want that more at the beginning of the film and that's the threat, all right, do you know what I mean?

And that's their main goal.

Yeah.

Something like that, right?

It just kind of is here and there and there.

It was fine though.

I enjoyed it.

It was fine as I did laugh a little bit here and there.

I would watch it again if it was on Netflix.

I don't know if I'll get it for my collection immediately.

I might pick it up at some point.

It's fine.

Yeah.

It didn't have the after, it didn't have the whole actual thing.

I agree with everything you said.

Yeah.

But there was definitely some good stuff in it and it's definitely worth a watch.

And for me, as soon as you hear that meh, meh, meh on the big screen, you know.

That's the thing.

I'm gonna, I enjoyed going to watch it because I went to watch Ghostbusters movie and a thing and it's just the name Ghostbusters.

It's such a weird childish name, but it came from my childhood.

So for me, it is actually a part of my DNA.

Do you know what I mean?

With some things they are.

Rambo, Ghostbusters, there's a lot of this shit.

It's just Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So many things which are part of me and how I've grown up as a human.

So if I get a chance to go to cinema to relive a bit of that fun, and I took all my three kids to the new cinema in our town and there's not been a cinema in our town since I went to watch Oxbust with my dad.

And I've just got a new cinema.

So it's great to go and support the new cinema and watch it there.

So yeah, it's fun.

If you like Ghostbusters, well, why wouldn't you watch it?

Yeah, and if you like Ghostbusters, you're gonna like it.

And what this one does do more than the first than the last one is, it's in New York for the whole movie rather than in a little town out of New York.

So it feels a bit more Ghostbustery in that respect.

You've got the firehouse.

Yeah, I got the firehouse.

And it really ties in one and two to this one.

In fact, they mentioned the events of two.

They're like, oh, remember the Statue of Liberty?

Yeah, some things didn't like, Walter Peck, I don't think she'd been in it.

That was really forced.

And I don't like the woman in it.

The poor Rudd's, the mum, poor Rudd's, I don't like her at all.

She says there's nothing about her, which makes me go, can't wait to see her.

I literally don't like her.

Do you know what I mean?

Normally the kids are annoying, but the kids are good at it.

Paul Rudd's great.

She's really badly cast, I think.

And I loved all the gadgets, you know, and the drone traps, which this is all stuff that's in the trailers, you know, the drone trap and the little car traps.

It's fine, but I think we live in the world, obviously now streaming.

So like Sarah, she didn't bother going to watch it in the cinema.

Sarah fucking loves Ghostbusters.

She will go, okay, cool, I'll watch it when it comes on Netflix.

And I think some people will, because after life is bringing all that lot back from we've not seen since the 80s.

That was the first one.

Late 80s, early 90s, whatever Ghostbusters 2 was, at late 80s, 89 I think.

Yeah.

Yeah, you know, in the second one, I think.

So I think that brought everyone to cinema, because if you want to see that and have that emotional pull, and we all had it, most of us.

So, you know, yeah, this time around, and if they do a third one, which they probably will, it'd be the same amount going again.

It won't be, and it'd be the same film again.