Run For Your Lives Podcast Episode 193: Signs

[00:00:00] Hmm? Ah! Hmm.

[00:00:06] You're listening to the Run For Your Lives Podcast.

[00:00:09] Hey everyone! Welcome to the show. I'm Daphne.

[00:00:35] And I'm Pake.

[00:00:36] And this is the Run For Your Lives Podcast.

[00:00:41] This episode we are talking about the science fiction horror film Signs, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and released August 2nd, 2002.

[00:00:52] Okay, so are we gluttons for punishment for going for another M. Night Shyamalan movie?

[00:00:59] More Shyamalan. Okay, so he's not had the greatest track record on this podcast so far.

[00:01:07] Um, as far as... well, I don't know.

[00:01:10] Because have the movies been great? No.

[00:01:14] Have the episodes and conversations been really fun?

[00:01:17] Yeah, I think so. So what's the trade off? Is it worth it?

[00:01:22] Yeah, I'm not sure. Um, actually I do know. Even if the movie's not great, the conversations we have are fun and that is better to me.

[00:01:33] I like the fun conversations. I like the ones that I'm not expecting to be deep or the ones that I'm not expecting to be as fun or, you know, when we're shredding something.

[00:01:48] They end up being so much fun.

[00:01:50] Yeah.

[00:01:51] And I always look forward to them.

[00:01:53] Yeah, and even though, yeah, we did just recently do some Shyamalan with Trap and we also recently just did an alien invasion movie.

[00:02:01] Uh, so why not just combine them both now?

[00:02:05] Yes.

[00:02:05] And we've mentioned this one a few times recently because we're also kind of continuing the recent trend of recording an episode and going, oh, we should cover that movie sometime and then it literally be the next week.

[00:02:18] I know. So, yeah, it's been a couple of weeks since we've recorded an episode, even though everyone has been getting their episodes regularly.

[00:02:28] Mm-hmm.

[00:02:58] That may or may not be true or true now.

[00:03:03] So, I'm a little bit scared in a funny way to learn what you think about this.

[00:03:11] Uh-huh.

[00:03:11] So, we're going to start by doing some production notes, like usual.

[00:03:16] It was filmed in Bucks County, Newtown, Oxford, and Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

[00:03:22] It's the seventh highest grossing film of 2002 and ranks second of all the M. Night Shyamalan highest grossing films.

[00:03:31] His highest grossing film, of course, is The Sixth Sense, which is how he burst onto the scene and became one to watch and hasn't necessarily delivered in every film since.

[00:03:46] Yeah.

[00:03:47] The budget for this one was $72 million.

[00:03:50] It grows $408.2 million at the box office.

[00:03:54] It's 106 minutes long.

[00:03:57] Peek, bring us a synopsis.

[00:04:01] All right.

[00:04:01] A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm find mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.

[00:04:12] Hmm.

[00:04:13] Hmm.

[00:04:14] IMDB?

[00:04:16] No.

[00:04:16] I just went out onto the street outside my apartment and yelled at some random people and then came over and I was like, explain signs to me.

[00:04:24] And that's what somebody said.

[00:04:25] And I wrote it down.

[00:04:26] Oh, okay.

[00:04:27] All right.

[00:04:29] Wonderful.

[00:04:30] This is going to be great.

[00:04:31] I can tell already.

[00:04:34] Well, at first I said, explain signs to me.

[00:04:36] And it's like, well, they're the things that are on the corner of Rhodes that kind of tell you what to do with your car.

[00:04:39] I was like, no, no, no, no.

[00:04:40] The movie from 2002s.

[00:04:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:04:42] And then they told me that.

[00:04:43] Then they told you.

[00:04:44] Okay.

[00:04:44] Because I wasn't very clear at the first question.

[00:04:46] All right.

[00:04:47] You got to be clear, Peek, when you're asking things of other people.

[00:04:51] You really do.

[00:04:51] Because they might get confused.

[00:04:54] You don't want to build on more confusion in the world, do you?

[00:04:58] No, of course not.

[00:05:00] Okay.

[00:05:01] Because I think there's quite enough.

[00:05:02] If there's one thing you know about me, I hate chaos in all forms.

[00:05:07] I want things to be calm and concise and easy.

[00:05:14] Yeah.

[00:05:15] And planned.

[00:05:16] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:16] Yeah.

[00:05:17] You know me.

[00:05:18] Yeah, I know you.

[00:05:21] So you must not have had too much fun in Galveston because things weren't planned super great.

[00:05:29] And there was chaos at times with especially the karaoke night.

[00:05:37] So, yeah.

[00:05:40] Anyway, I guess we should start by breaking things down like we always do by character.

[00:05:46] I think our main character is Graham Hess, who was played by Mel Gibson.

[00:05:53] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:54] Which, yeah, it's been quite a long time since I saw this movie, like back when it came out.

[00:05:59] I was a lot younger.

[00:06:01] I had forgotten that this was Mel Gibson.

[00:06:04] So, like, before I even hit, I was like, oh, Mel Gibson.

[00:06:06] I was like, hmm, not a fan, really.

[00:06:08] But okay.

[00:06:11] But that's more recent.

[00:06:14] Yeah.

[00:06:15] But no, I didn't even let that bother me with this.

[00:06:20] Just going back and just taking this at face value of what it was at the time.

[00:06:24] And yeah, he does an incredible job with this one, I think.

[00:06:28] Yeah, me too.

[00:06:29] I mean, this film came out 22 years ago.

[00:06:33] Mm-hmm.

[00:06:34] It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but it really has.

[00:06:39] And when you see the kids, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin in it, you really realize it's like, oh, yeah, because they're adults now.

[00:06:48] And almost 30 or over 30 in some cases.

[00:06:52] Mm-hmm.

[00:06:54] It's like, yep, that was a while back.

[00:06:56] Yep.

[00:06:57] Yeah, I think me and Rory are similar ages.

[00:07:01] Yeah.

[00:07:01] For some reason, I thought it was Kieran that was in this and not Rory.

[00:07:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:07:06] But yeah.

[00:07:09] Got it confused.

[00:07:12] It was Rory.

[00:07:13] Yeah.

[00:07:14] Yeah.

[00:07:14] I've got their own note section, of course.

[00:07:16] But yeah, to talk about, just remember, yeah, starting this one up and even just looking at the cast, I was like, tiny baby Rory Culkin.

[00:07:22] And tinier, babier Abigail Breslin.

[00:07:26] Abigail Breslin.

[00:07:26] It's like, man, what a throwback.

[00:07:28] Man.

[00:07:30] Abigail Breslin was so adorable in this movie.

[00:07:33] Like, there were just things about her.

[00:07:35] I was just like, oh, my gosh, she is the sweetest thing.

[00:07:40] Mm-hmm.

[00:07:41] And I tried to wash away all references to another movie that we covered with her in it.

[00:07:48] Right.

[00:07:49] She didn't have to deal with any waffles in this movie.

[00:07:52] So we're good.

[00:07:53] No, she wanted spaghetti.

[00:07:55] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:01] But Graham, Mel Gibson, Father Graham Hess, former Father Graham Hess, former then back to Father Graham Hess.

[00:08:11] Yeah, we see him just, and it was, this reminded me, not to spoil it too much as a separate episode, but with No One Will Save You, with another alien invasion movie we just,

[00:08:22] covered.

[00:08:23] Yeah, we're like, yeah, there's the alien invasion that's kind of this big center point, but a lot of it is about grief.

[00:08:31] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:31] And this one more about family relationship and dynamics surrounding that.

[00:08:37] Yes, absolutely.

[00:08:39] Versus with that one, Caitlin Deaver's character was more just fully on her own.

[00:08:43] But here we still have Graham leaning on other characters and having the dynamics kind of tested and strengthened between them because of everything going on.

[00:08:54] Yeah, I think right out of the gate, you, the way that he, parents, just made me think sometimes the kids were parenting him.

[00:09:09] Mm-hmm.

[00:09:10] But not, it's kind of hard to explain.

[00:09:13] I mean, there's a scene where Morgan is like flipping the chicken on the grill, dad's gonna burn this again.

[00:09:20] So you, it's like the kids are watching out for what their dad has been doing.

[00:09:25] Yeah.

[00:09:25] Because he tends to not pay attention.

[00:09:30] Yeah, like a big part of it is him losing his faith due to the death of his wife.

[00:09:36] But then I think beyond that, he's just lost his drive.

[00:09:41] He's lost a lot of just himself.

[00:09:44] Yeah, direction is a good, great one.

[00:09:47] It's like, yeah, he's there for his kids, but also just a little bit more absent.

[00:09:52] And I mean, how is he not noticing the 40 glasses of water collecting all over the living room, you know, until it's gotten to that point?

[00:10:00] Like, he's just kind of a passenger in his house.

[00:10:03] He's a ghost floating around himself.

[00:10:05] And he's there, but like, not fully functional and available to his kids all the time.

[00:10:14] Yeah, it got me at one point.

[00:10:16] He was kind of bugged at his brother, Meryl, who's played by Joaquin Phoenix, for not like being attentive to the kids.

[00:10:25] And I'm just like, you're the father here.

[00:10:29] He's their uncle.

[00:10:30] He's come back to help you.

[00:10:32] Yeah.

[00:10:33] Why are you pushing all of this onto him?

[00:10:37] You should be paying attention to your kids.

[00:10:41] They obviously need you.

[00:10:42] And the whole arc and story between him and his kids throughout this movie, they really, you know, it is about grief.

[00:10:54] It's also about faith.

[00:10:56] It's about believing in something.

[00:10:59] And I think those two focal points, grief and faith, really drive the whole movie.

[00:11:08] Mm-hmm.

[00:11:09] Definitely.

[00:11:11] Yeah.

[00:11:11] And it's put in this lens of, yeah, alien invasion, which, yeah, as the synopsis stated, yeah, they start off with noticing these crop circles.

[00:11:23] And the animals are all acting really weird.

[00:11:26] Which then he's got, you know, was it?

[00:11:30] Houdini.

[00:11:31] Yeah.

[00:11:32] Who did it?

[00:11:32] The officer, Plaski, Carolyn.

[00:11:35] Carolyn.

[00:11:36] Yeah.

[00:11:37] Which, you know, we realized, like, at first, you know, it seems like, oh, they seem to have, like, sort of a good close relationship.

[00:11:43] And then you see why definitely they are a lot closer in the flashbacks and stuff later.

[00:11:49] Yeah.

[00:11:49] Where she's explaining, like, yeah, the dogs and animals are all getting, like, really aggressive and scared and kind of a bad situation.

[00:11:56] Which then it's like worries him.

[00:11:59] He's like, I literally just left my kids alone back at the house with the dog.

[00:12:03] Wonderful.

[00:12:03] Yeah.

[00:12:04] Because she specifically mentions they're peeing themselves like they've seen a predator.

[00:12:12] Yeah.

[00:12:12] Like, sometimes animals will, you know, that's what they do.

[00:12:16] They're so scared that they go to the bathroom.

[00:12:19] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:20] And he had just cleaned up Houdini's urine because he'd made an accident in the house.

[00:12:28] Yeah.

[00:12:28] So he rushes back to find...

[00:12:34] That Houdini is dead.

[00:12:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:37] Because he was attacking or trying to kill his daughter.

[00:12:44] Yeah.

[00:12:45] And Morgan had to protect her.

[00:12:47] But he had to protect Bo.

[00:12:49] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:49] And that...

[00:12:50] Yeah.

[00:12:51] Which...

[00:12:51] It's rough for me because I don't like...

[00:12:53] You know how I am about animals.

[00:12:55] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:55] But this is a little bit different, I think, because of the way the story is about the animals going crazy and...

[00:13:02] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:02] Everything, but...

[00:13:05] Yeah.

[00:13:05] You just...

[00:13:06] Yeah.

[00:13:06] You feel for him.

[00:13:08] I had a thought that I was like, Graham has no reason to have chicken on the grill while he's like out in the field with the officer.

[00:13:16] No, he does not.

[00:13:17] He's like, but we needed a plot device to put the grilling fork in Morgan's hand.

[00:13:20] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:20] So we're gonna have that happening.

[00:13:22] They set that up.

[00:13:24] When Houdini was growling at them, it actually looked like he wasn't growling at Bo.

[00:13:31] It looked like he was growling at something that was behind Bo.

[00:13:34] Yeah.

[00:13:35] But then he still, like, lashes out at...

[00:13:37] Lashes out at her.

[00:13:38] Yeah.

[00:13:40] Which...

[00:13:40] Yeah, that whole setup with just kind of the things that are going on as the animals.

[00:13:43] But even...

[00:13:45] At first, I was like, man, these kids are already a little creepy.

[00:13:47] The first time we see Bo and Morgan where they're out standing in the cornfield and, like, find the thing, I was like, what is going on with this?

[00:13:53] I was like, we don't need aliens.

[00:13:55] These kids are strange enough.

[00:13:56] Like, Bo, what is it?

[00:13:58] She says something that's just like, are you in my dream too?

[00:14:01] It's like...

[00:14:02] Yeah.

[00:14:02] What the fuck is...

[00:14:03] And Morgan's just like, I think God had something to do with it.

[00:14:06] And you're like, these kids are fucking evil.

[00:14:08] They're creepy.

[00:14:09] I don't know.

[00:14:09] And then, like, the rest of the movie, you're like, no, they're sweet and adorable and endearing.

[00:14:14] What was that at the beginning?

[00:14:16] Why are they creepy at the beginning?

[00:14:18] Well, I think M. Night Shyamalan got his...

[00:14:22] I got confused and thought maybe he was going to write a Children of the Corn film.

[00:14:27] Right.

[00:14:27] And then he's like, oh, wait, no, no, no.

[00:14:29] These kids are normal, mostly.

[00:14:31] Kinda.

[00:14:32] They are.

[00:14:33] As any kids could be.

[00:14:34] I mean, they had lost their mom six months prior.

[00:14:37] Yeah.

[00:14:37] Like, this has been a really trying period for them too.

[00:14:40] Because there's a couple of scenes that happened later that I was just so sad about.

[00:14:47] Because you can just see there's like this breakdown that comes.

[00:14:54] Graham has this emotional breakdown at one point.

[00:14:58] And you see, finally, this wall that he had put up between him and his kids and everyone comes down.

[00:15:06] And his kids finally get to connect with him again.

[00:15:09] Yeah.

[00:15:10] But that's not...

[00:15:11] I mean, that doesn't happen at this point.

[00:15:13] Mm-hmm.

[00:15:14] But you can see...

[00:15:16] After that point, you can look back and see, oh, wow, yeah, there is a wall there.

[00:15:21] Oh, absolutely.

[00:15:23] And I feel like Meryl is the nurturing one in the house.

[00:15:30] Like, he's the one that's really, you know, loving the kids and showing them, you know, some empathy and support.

[00:15:40] Well, there's one moment where Morgan turns and looks at Meryl and says, I wish you were my dad.

[00:15:44] And he's like, don't...

[00:15:45] We don't say that.

[00:15:46] Don't ever say that.

[00:15:47] Because there's still this, like, Meryl and Graham have this really tight brotherly connection.

[00:15:52] And there's so much love for them as well, which we'll talk about later, especially with Meryl.

[00:15:59] But, yeah, but you can see it's just, like...

[00:16:01] Which, I guess, is usual.

[00:16:04] I mean, I can say from experience that, like, a kind of sudden or tragic death or loss in a family that really shifts dynamics, it does.

[00:16:14] It calcifies things and, like, puts these weird walls and barriers between people that just don't know how to deal with it.

[00:16:20] And they end up kind of hurting each other in their own grief and process.

[00:16:25] I mean, you know, my childhood, losing my mom at, like, a little older than Morgan was in this movie.

[00:16:31] You know, like, yeah, I get that.

[00:16:33] Like, you know, a lot of things led to, like, me and my dad having a really strained relationship with me growing up.

[00:16:40] It's a lot better now as an adult, and I've been able to process a lot of things.

[00:16:44] But, yeah, it's...

[00:16:45] I think that's very common.

[00:16:47] And so to just kind of see that portrayed here, you're like, yeah, I can relate to that.

[00:16:51] Yeah, I wondered if you could.

[00:16:55] Because you did lose your mom at a similar age.

[00:16:58] Yeah.

[00:16:58] And your brothers were younger because you're the oldest.

[00:17:01] Yeah.

[00:17:01] And so having to navigate, you know, being the oldest child and having siblings and your dad's going through his own grief and your grief, how you connected maybe with what was happening in this movie.

[00:17:17] Yeah.

[00:17:18] Yeah.

[00:17:19] So there's...

[00:17:19] I can definitely...

[00:17:20] There's a relatable personal connection to Morgan here, for sure.

[00:17:25] And also just with watching, because I love seeing Rory Culkin.

[00:17:30] I'm a big fan of the Culkins in general.

[00:17:34] Really, I mean, there's a lot more of them.

[00:17:36] But, like, I even know, like, Shane did some acting.

[00:17:39] But, like, really, when I say, like, it's the focus is, like, Macaulay, Kieran, and Rory are the three that really have done the most, but also, like, have been more in the spotlight.

[00:17:49] And I'm just like, I don't know.

[00:17:52] There's something that...

[00:17:53] I mean, my upbringing was very different from them, but, like, kind of just watching them grow up through, you know, we're similar-ish ages.

[00:18:02] Macaulay and Kieran are a little older, but still, this, you know, seeing them growing up is, like, the little bit that I did.

[00:18:09] You know, the tragic.

[00:18:11] I mean, just rough childhoods and struggles up and down even through adulthood and, like, addictions and depressions and just seeing them high highs and low lows.

[00:18:23] And I just love that right now they all seem to be in really good places.

[00:18:30] They all seem, like, successful, but even way more important than that.

[00:18:33] They all seem very happy right now, and I love that.

[00:18:36] Yes.

[00:18:37] Yes.

[00:18:37] I watched Kieran on Succession, which I don't think you've seen.

[00:18:41] I haven't.

[00:18:42] You really need to see it.

[00:18:44] But Kieran's forever, in my heart, is my Wallace Wells.

[00:18:48] Yes, I know.

[00:18:50] I know.

[00:18:50] I know.

[00:18:51] It's going to come back to Scott Pilgrim.

[00:18:52] Look, he's not even in this movie, and I'm still going to find a way to tie it to him because his brother's in this one.

[00:18:57] I had a feeling he might do that.

[00:18:58] Right.

[00:18:59] He's incredible in Succession.

[00:19:02] He won the Emmy the last season of the show.

[00:19:05] It's a show that doesn't go on too long.

[00:19:08] It's a show that ends when it should.

[00:19:10] He won the Emmy, and he, I don't know if he made a deal with his wife or whatever, but they have two kids, and he wants more kids.

[00:19:20] And so he was being really cute in his acceptance speech and talking to his wife,

[00:19:26] Hey, I got the Emmy.

[00:19:29] You know, maybe we can make some more.

[00:19:32] Like, it was kind of cute.

[00:19:34] Yeah.

[00:19:35] And I remember watching him really early on in Father of the Bride.

[00:19:39] He was in Home Alone.

[00:19:41] It's just been one of those, like, it's just in that right, even for me, like, right age range and stuff to where, like, they've always just kind of been in that, like, not really full limelight, but, like, just in that, you know, periphery of, like, celebrity that I've always kind of watched and grown up alongside or under.

[00:19:58] Where, like, seeing them in things as they grow older and stuff, and then just hearing about them.

[00:20:04] I've always been a fan, because anything I've seen any of them in has always just been incredible.

[00:20:08] I think they're super talented and incredible, which, unfortunately, at a young age, being that talented, was manipulated and abused and taken advantage of in a lot of ways, which is really sad.

[00:20:21] But I'm glad to see them have all, at least seemingly from the outside, you know, come through that really well on the other side.

[00:20:28] So, proud of you.

[00:20:29] Love me some Culkins.

[00:20:32] Yeah, I think Macaulay, everyone knows him from, like, Richie Rich or Home Alone, but he actually has been in a couple of other movies that were a bit later.

[00:20:41] One of them was called Saved, which I think you would like, and Party Monster.

[00:20:47] Yeah.

[00:20:47] And those are two that people don't necessarily relate or realize that he's in those.

[00:20:56] But anyway, I think we should steer back from the Culkinpalooza to...

[00:21:01] We can't just talk about the Culkins for two hours?

[00:21:05] No.

[00:21:05] Oh, fine.

[00:21:06] Let's move on.

[00:21:08] Yeah.

[00:21:10] Yeah.

[00:21:11] So, Graham, before we get into, like, the serious stuff with him, I did love this, the idea of, you know, weird things are going on.

[00:21:18] They think it's these, you know, other local, like, brothers that apparently are just kind of the troublemakers of the area, which we see one of them, Lionel or whatever, which is played by Michael Showalter.

[00:21:30] Even though he's in just, like, that one quick little scene, I was like...

[00:21:33] Yep.

[00:21:34] My God, I love him so much.

[00:21:36] But, I mean, you know, that whole, like, Stella.

[00:21:45] That group, him and Michael Ian Black, that, like, little troupe and the stuff that they've done.

[00:21:52] So funny.

[00:21:53] Anything they've done.

[00:21:54] Wet Hot American Summer.

[00:21:55] Oh, my God.

[00:21:56] Talk about hilarious.

[00:21:58] Yeah.

[00:21:59] That, oh, my gosh.

[00:22:01] Yeah.

[00:22:02] Love that.

[00:22:03] So it was a fun little, like, oh, freaking Michael Showalter.

[00:22:06] That's great.

[00:22:08] But anyways, yeah, so they think it's them and kind of going out and putting on this as, like, let's just kind of scare them straight kind of thing and go out there and running around.

[00:22:18] And you can tell that Meryl has, like, dealt with, like, having to, like, step up for even his older brother and, like, other, like, he's the athletic kind of type, the jock, the sports guy that's, like, but always kind of a compassionate person, I would believe.

[00:22:36] Yeah.

[00:22:36] So he's had that ability to, like, step up and protect people and defend people.

[00:22:41] And so he's got that idea of going out there.

[00:22:43] And I just love watching Mal Gibson as Graham here.

[00:22:47] It's like, man, he really has, like, nailed – he's ahead of his time with a great Drax impression from, like, Guardians of the Galaxy.

[00:22:53] Let's see.

[00:22:54] That's all I could think of when he's going, ah, I'm insane with anger.

[00:22:58] I'm losing my mind.

[00:23:00] It's time for an ass whooping.

[00:23:02] Yeah.

[00:23:03] And then he's like, I cursed.

[00:23:04] Like, very Drax, even though that hadn't existed yet.

[00:23:08] Long before that movie ever came out.

[00:23:10] But that's what it made me think of.

[00:23:12] It's just this, like, you know, over literal stating objectives kind of thing.

[00:23:17] It's like, he has no idea how to be, like, aggressive or, like, outwardly.

[00:23:23] I feel like he's tightly wound.

[00:23:26] Yeah.

[00:23:26] Like, he's very in control.

[00:23:29] And he's built this wall and built this world in his head of his life to be just, you know, focused but not focused.

[00:23:39] Because there's a moment later when they go into town and he – yeah.

[00:23:45] Yeah, because he's a former priest.

[00:23:47] We find out, like, he was a reverend.

[00:23:49] And then after the death of his wife, he, like, completely lost faith and has this idea.

[00:23:54] He has that talk with Meryl on the couch of, like, when that happened, when she died, it was like, oh, there was nobody there with her.

[00:24:03] Nothing good.

[00:24:04] Nothing – you know, like, she wasn't looking at anything meaningful.

[00:24:08] And it's just, like, it's all bullshit.

[00:24:09] And he immediately just, like, turned his back on God and on his faith and left the church, stopped preaching.

[00:24:17] And you see he's really trying to distance himself.

[00:24:19] You know, all the townspeople and stuff keep calling him father.

[00:24:22] And he's having to be like, no, not anymore.

[00:24:24] Not father.

[00:24:24] Don't.

[00:24:26] And how cool, though, Merit Weaver.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:30] That was Tracy.

[00:24:32] Oh, my gosh.

[00:24:34] I mean, imagine him being in a pharmacy having to listen to her, you know, basically trying to confess to him because she's scared about, you know, the world ending.

[00:24:47] And then she has this whole confession.

[00:24:49] And it seems like she confessed a lot more things that she said or thought.

[00:24:53] Yeah.

[00:24:53] We don't get all of it, but the way he just goes back to his family and is like, also, nobody needs to be around Tracy one-on-one.

[00:25:01] Like, there's –

[00:25:01] Yeah.

[00:25:02] No.

[00:25:02] There's some issues.

[00:25:03] No one needs to do that.

[00:25:04] Like, nobody better be spending any time with Tracy.

[00:25:07] But –

[00:25:08] But again, look at the situation.

[00:25:12] There was Meryl with the kids at the pizza shop.

[00:25:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:16] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:16] Yeah.

[00:25:17] Because who's watching the kids?

[00:25:19] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:20] Who's paying attention?

[00:25:21] The book shop owners.

[00:25:23] Oh, my goodness.

[00:25:24] They were a riot.

[00:25:25] Oh.

[00:25:25] They were a riot.

[00:25:27] The guy in the TV.

[00:25:28] I've seen – I think this is just some big ploy to sell soda.

[00:25:32] I've seen 12 commercials.

[00:25:34] Now 13!

[00:25:38] That was amazing.

[00:25:39] But yeah, I do like getting caught up with Tracy, which, yeah, Merit Weaver.

[00:25:44] It was great to see her.

[00:25:45] Again, this, like, weird throwback.

[00:25:46] You're like, oh, my God, she's so young.

[00:25:48] Like –

[00:25:49] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:49] Which, of course, for me, is Denise from The Walking Dead.

[00:25:54] Yeah.

[00:25:54] And then also a limited series that was on Netflix called Godless that was –

[00:25:59] Oh, my gosh.

[00:26:00] She was so good in that.

[00:26:02] So, yeah.

[00:26:02] So good.

[00:26:03] I think she won an Emmy for that.

[00:26:05] I believe it, yeah.

[00:26:05] She won an award for that, I think.

[00:26:07] Yeah.

[00:26:08] She was incredible there.

[00:26:09] I know she's also known for something else really big that I don't watch.

[00:26:11] So probably it was Grey's Anatomy, ER or something.

[00:26:15] Think of there's some medical drama.

[00:26:18] ER?

[00:26:18] That's really pulling some – I mean –

[00:26:20] Yeah.

[00:26:20] There's some medical drama she was on that I don't watch, though.

[00:26:23] So my, like, extent of medical shows was I watched Scrubs.

[00:26:29] So – which technically, though, won a lot of awards for being the most medically accurate.

[00:26:34] Thank you for pointing that out.

[00:26:36] I did not watch Scrubs.

[00:26:37] I watched – I did watch ER and a bunch of the others, but I haven't watched anything recently.

[00:26:42] But I think she was on Nurse Jackie, I think is the show that she was on.

[00:26:45] Oh, okay.

[00:26:45] It was one of those.

[00:26:46] Yeah.

[00:26:46] One of those.

[00:26:47] Yeah.

[00:26:49] But she looks real young in this.

[00:26:51] Yeah.

[00:26:52] Yeah.

[00:26:53] I guess she really goes for the word douchebag in her insults because –

[00:26:57] I did the math.

[00:26:59] She was confessing for 34 uses of douchebag because she said there was 37.

[00:27:04] And then it was like, wait, does douchebag count?

[00:27:06] And then he was like, well, it depends on the context.

[00:27:08] He's like, well, Billy, you're a douchebag for kissing Brenda or whatever.

[00:27:10] And he was like, yeah, that counts.

[00:27:11] And she's like, okay, then 71.

[00:27:13] So I did the math.

[00:27:13] And that means over half of what she was confessing for was just the word douchebag.

[00:27:17] 34 out of 71 times.

[00:27:21] He thinks ass kicking is swearing and I'm not sure that's –

[00:27:26] I don't know.

[00:27:26] I guess my definitions and his don't align.

[00:27:30] Right.

[00:27:32] But I love that the kids are the ones who go to the bookstore.

[00:27:36] They get money from their dad so they can get a book and the book they go into to ask about is about aliens.

[00:27:43] Of course.

[00:27:44] They had to do that because no one else is doing any research.

[00:27:48] They couldn't get Meryl and definitely not their dad on board with it.

[00:27:54] But they go and get this book.

[00:27:56] And I have to tell you because we did just cover Trap a couple of weeks ago.

[00:28:02] So the illustrations that were in the book, you know who drew them?

[00:28:09] A six-year-old Salika.

[00:28:12] Yep.

[00:28:13] I don't – I don't – I don't know if that was the illustrations in the book.

[00:28:22] But because I have a note about it.

[00:28:24] That's the only reason why is I do have my own note about that, which is that M. Night Shyamalan's daughter Salika is credited in this movie.

[00:28:31] But in the credits, it's Bo Hess artwork, which means she would have been drawing pictures that were like – that Bo was drawing.

[00:28:39] Oh, okay.

[00:28:40] All right.

[00:28:41] That's what I assume is that she drew the pictures that it looks like Bo had been drawing.

[00:28:46] Oh, okay.

[00:28:47] And then, yeah, I was kind of doing the math there and I was just like she would have been pretty young.

[00:28:50] And I was like, yeah, she would have been about five when this was filming probably.

[00:28:54] Can you imagine?

[00:28:54] Oh, my God.

[00:28:55] She got credited in the movie anyway.

[00:28:59] They started early, those kids.

[00:29:00] Like, both her and her sister.

[00:29:03] Because her sister directed a film that came out not that long ago that her dad was involved with producing that actually fits.

[00:29:12] We might cover it, but not this season.

[00:29:14] I'm just going to say that.

[00:29:17] Not going to do it.

[00:29:20] Yeah.

[00:29:21] Well, Carolyn's the one who sends – who basically tells Graham, you need to get these kids out into town.

[00:29:30] Yeah.

[00:29:31] Doing something to keep their minds off this.

[00:29:33] But you can tell that Morgan is really set on it.

[00:29:37] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:37] He's –

[00:29:38] Wants to listen to the radio.

[00:29:40] Because that's – you know, they don't want to like freak him.

[00:29:42] They don't, you know – they choose – they don't want to freak the kids out.

[00:29:45] But honestly, I mean, Morgan is scared to some degree.

[00:29:50] But he's honestly just more intrigued by everything.

[00:29:56] Like, he's fascinated.

[00:29:57] You know, he's going to go out and look at the book.

[00:29:59] And he's got all the little sticky notes, like, separating sections.

[00:30:03] And he knows, like, he's already, like, making references in the book that he's like, oh, and then there's this and then this.

[00:30:09] And Graham is kind of teasing him a little bit or saying things.

[00:30:13] And he's, like, on him like, dad.

[00:30:16] I'm not – basically, I'm not going to show you anything that's in here if you don't take it seriously.

[00:30:22] Yeah.

[00:30:22] He really didn't want the kids to obsess over it.

[00:30:24] But no, Morgan and Bo are living by the words and images of Dr. Bimboo.

[00:30:28] Yep.

[00:30:28] So –

[00:30:28] Dr. Bimboo.

[00:30:32] Just amazing.

[00:30:33] And they're wearing their tinfoil hats.

[00:30:35] Oh, those fucking tinfoil hats.

[00:30:37] Like, I don't know if it was fully meant to be played as comedy.

[00:30:41] I think to some degree.

[00:30:43] But it just – it's the scene where Graham walks back into the house.

[00:30:48] And not only the kids, but then Meryl is sitting between them with his legs tucked up, looking like a little kid himself with the thing I said.

[00:30:54] I bust out laughing when I see that.

[00:30:57] It's just, like, it's so funny.

[00:30:59] I was like, the fucking tinfoil hats.

[00:31:01] It's so stupid, but I love it.

[00:31:03] And that was after Graham found him in the closet, hiding the TV away from the kids.

[00:31:08] But he's like, oh, he's all wound up about it.

[00:31:12] It's so comical.

[00:31:14] It's like, oh my gosh.

[00:31:17] Mm-hmm.

[00:31:18] Yeah.

[00:31:20] Going back to the heavier things with Graham.

[00:31:22] Yeah, like the – what caused him to kind of be in the place he's at?

[00:31:26] And I like the little details.

[00:31:27] You notice around the house, there are little outlines in places on the wall where a cross was hanging.

[00:31:32] And it's been taken down.

[00:31:33] And it's, like, a little dusty lake where you can tell where it was.

[00:31:36] And I think that's just – I love little details like that.

[00:31:39] Because you can tell that he went through and purposely removed them.

[00:31:43] Mm-hmm.

[00:31:44] Took them down.

[00:31:46] Yeah.

[00:31:46] Because he doesn't believe anymore.

[00:31:48] He has no faith.

[00:31:49] He's lost his faith.

[00:31:51] He doesn't believe anything is governed by a higher power anymore.

[00:31:58] He thinks it's all coincidental.

[00:32:03] Yeah.

[00:32:05] And Meryl, on the flip side of that, lives in a world of miracles, he said.

[00:32:11] Mm-hmm.

[00:32:11] So it's like, huh.

[00:32:13] So much in his life saved by spitting out a piece of gum.

[00:32:18] Yep.

[00:32:19] That story was hilarious.

[00:32:21] But yeah, there's great, like, you know, moments with him.

[00:32:26] I love the conversation between Graham and Ray.

[00:32:30] It's really interesting.

[00:32:33] The dynamic between them, where it's like, there's that priestly part of him that's like, you can tell, like,

[00:32:43] he could absolutely hate this man.

[00:32:45] And there is.

[00:32:46] Like, he's never going to like Ray Reddy.

[00:32:49] He's never going to be friends with Ray Reddy.

[00:32:52] But, like, there's not necessarily this, like, hate and vitriol towards him either.

[00:32:57] It's this sadness of, like, understanding, like, this wasn't something that was done on purpose.

[00:33:03] No.

[00:33:04] But you still took something from me.

[00:33:06] Yes.

[00:33:07] And that will forever be a wedge between us.

[00:33:10] But when he gets the call, I think those old priest instincts kick in.

[00:33:15] Where he's, you know, wounds being ripped back up.

[00:33:19] Because we just saw him at the shop, you know.

[00:33:22] And I think he's still worried about, like, is he going to try to hurt himself?

[00:33:25] Is something going on?

[00:33:26] And, like, that priestly duty kicks in and he has to go check on him.

[00:33:31] Because he still has a compassion for people deep within him.

[00:33:36] And going there and just finding the house kind of trashed.

[00:33:40] And then seeing him sitting out in the car.

[00:33:42] And you just have to be thinking.

[00:33:44] Because even I'm thinking, it was like, I'm headed to the lake.

[00:33:46] And it's like, and driving yourself just directly into it.

[00:33:48] Like, what's, where are you at mentally right now?

[00:33:51] Because he's got all of his stuff in the back of the car.

[00:33:54] And you have to remember back to the beginning of the movie when Houdini is peeing on the floor.

[00:34:00] And things are, like, and he's not acting right.

[00:34:05] And Graham is just going to call, like, a human doctor.

[00:34:09] It's because Ray is the town vet.

[00:34:13] Yeah.

[00:34:13] And he's not going to call.

[00:34:14] And he's not going to call him to come and take care of the animals.

[00:34:19] Yeah.

[00:34:20] Yeah.

[00:34:21] Yeah, but I like that conversation.

[00:34:23] Although, I don't know if I would have taken it very well for the person who would have killed my wife, even on accident, to say, it's like it was fate.

[00:34:32] Like, fuck you.

[00:34:34] Why?

[00:34:35] That was an ongoing thing, though.

[00:34:37] Because his wife said that, too.

[00:34:39] Yeah.

[00:34:39] Which I think is what really stops him in his tracks.

[00:34:41] Because he's like, because of this exactly what his wife had said.

[00:34:47] And then it starts some things in his head.

[00:34:50] But, yeah, it was an interesting conversation.

[00:34:52] And it also leads to him just being like, oh, by the way, I left one in the pantry locked in there.

[00:34:55] Have fun.

[00:34:55] Bye.

[00:34:56] And he drives right off.

[00:34:57] Yeah.

[00:34:59] And, of course, the cameo, Ray, played by M. Night Shyamalan.

[00:35:03] Because he does have a role in all of his movies.

[00:35:06] Of course.

[00:35:06] At least most.

[00:35:08] Yeah.

[00:35:08] Yeah, no, because you know me, I got to have my little snarky jokey notes in here and stuff, too.

[00:35:12] So I have when they're sitting at the pizza place.

[00:35:13] And it's like, is that him?

[00:35:15] Yeah.

[00:35:16] And then, but who is he?

[00:35:18] And I was like, it's the director of the movie.

[00:35:20] He shouldn't be here.

[00:35:24] But, Peck, he's been here the whole time.

[00:35:26] He's been here the whole time.

[00:35:27] It's like in a weird meta roundabout way, he killed your dog.

[00:35:31] And he's going to be the cause of anything bad or scary that happens to you in the rest of this movie.

[00:35:35] So we don't like him for that.

[00:35:36] Right.

[00:35:40] Yeah, no, definitely not.

[00:35:42] But he does also, Ray does give him a hint of things before he drives off that he doesn't think they like water.

[00:35:55] Yeah.

[00:35:56] Which Ray saying it really legitimately leads to nothing.

[00:36:00] Right.

[00:36:01] Like he has that idea and he puts it towards his like, well, we could also go towards the lake like Ray did.

[00:36:06] And then he totally loses that battle.

[00:36:11] Morgan wins.

[00:36:12] They're staying home.

[00:36:13] He's like, man, the kid plays hardball.

[00:36:14] Look, I love that Bo changed her vote.

[00:36:17] I do.

[00:36:18] Because he was trying to pull rank and it just didn't feel right.

[00:36:23] Yeah.

[00:36:23] To me.

[00:36:24] It was interesting, like, side of Morgan to be like, just to kind of blow up.

[00:36:27] But that's bullshit.

[00:36:28] You're cheating.

[00:36:29] It's like, okay.

[00:36:30] Whoa.

[00:36:31] I loved it.

[00:36:31] Yeah.

[00:36:32] I loved it.

[00:36:33] Because I felt like, again, the kids have all, they've had to rely on each other a lot and rely on Meryl because Graham is just, he's like a castle by himself.

[00:36:48] Like he doesn't let any doors open.

[00:36:52] And they had to do that.

[00:36:54] And when Bo changes her vote, I'm very happy that she did because I think that.

[00:37:00] Although I don't know.

[00:37:01] I feel like they would have been better off leaving.

[00:37:04] Probably.

[00:37:05] Because I feel like the aliens wouldn't want to go anywhere near the water anyway.

[00:37:08] They don't, obviously.

[00:37:10] They don't like water.

[00:37:11] Maybe they would have been better.

[00:37:12] They wouldn't have had a really close call with Morgan, but is what it is.

[00:37:17] Yeah.

[00:37:18] And then that's where it leads to the scene you were talking about earlier.

[00:37:20] The last meals scene, I kind of call it.

[00:37:23] It's not stated that way, but that's the intent.

[00:37:26] Is we get this, like, not only has, like, Graham lost his faith in God and in a lot of things, but this also, through this, like, final night of the movie, we're seeing him losing his faith in himself and in the situation.

[00:37:44] Tord, that's exactly what he's doing when, you know, they're trying to get food and it's like, he's like, yeah, just let them have anything they want and we're going to make it happen.

[00:37:52] Like, it seems like a really sweet moment where he's like, just, you know, anything for the kids and for the family.

[00:37:57] But it's actually, like, a dark place in his head because that's what he's thinking is last meals are the last night on Earth because we're all going to die.

[00:38:04] Like, he's just lost hope.

[00:38:07] But he's trying to at least put the positive spin on it.

[00:38:10] And he's like, well, we have one last meal together.

[00:38:12] And so, like, of course, I have to mark down, like, the last meal's chosen.

[00:38:16] I was like, well, Graham goes with a bacon cheeseburger, extra bacon.

[00:38:19] Solid choice.

[00:38:20] Great choice.

[00:38:21] Meryl, chicken teriyaki.

[00:38:23] Decent choice.

[00:38:24] It's such an athlete pick.

[00:38:27] Bo with spaghetti.

[00:38:28] Classic kid choice.

[00:38:29] Perfect.

[00:38:29] Great.

[00:38:30] Great.

[00:38:31] Morgan, French toast and mashed potatoes.

[00:38:34] And I was like, mm-hmm, you really are a weirdo, but respect.

[00:38:39] I can see why.

[00:38:41] I respect it, though.

[00:38:41] I don't know he's a kid.

[00:38:42] And kids have different things that they want to eat.

[00:38:45] I mean, hey, I respect it.

[00:38:47] I like it.

[00:38:48] It's a great – I mean, for him, it's like, you do you.

[00:38:53] Take the Good Mythical Morning.

[00:38:55] Kind of thing is – what is it?

[00:38:58] Just be yourself if weird as you.

[00:39:01] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:02] I like that.

[00:39:03] I think that's great.

[00:39:06] I think that him asking them and letting them, like, give their opinion or order or what they wanted to have was nice of him to do.

[00:39:20] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:21] And showed a little bit of caring somewhat.

[00:39:28] But what we really got was when they sat down at the table and Morgan wants to do a prayer.

[00:39:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:39] Which shows me the kids did not lose faith.

[00:39:42] Yeah.

[00:39:42] It was never about the kids losing faith.

[00:39:45] It was him.

[00:39:47] Yeah.

[00:39:48] And he gets really mean.

[00:39:51] Yeah.

[00:39:52] He's like, well, you're not going to eat.

[00:39:53] I'm going to take some of your food and I'm going to eat.

[00:39:57] And I don't think –

[00:39:58] And I was sobbing and –

[00:40:00] I don't think any of that anger was actually meant for his kids.

[00:40:03] No.

[00:40:04] Or for his brother.

[00:40:05] No.

[00:40:05] And even more than anger, I think it was just a physical representation of fear.

[00:40:11] He is terrified in this moment.

[00:40:14] And with that, it's just – he's been – like you said, that wall has been built and he's been packing it in and packing it in and –

[00:40:21] It's been stuffing.

[00:40:22] Yeah.

[00:40:22] The levee fucking broke.

[00:40:24] Yep.

[00:40:24] And –

[00:40:25] Boom.

[00:40:25] He blew up and he's lashing out.

[00:40:28] It's not super healthy to do but also it's something that people do and it's expected in these kind of situations.

[00:40:34] Like it's – that's human.

[00:40:35] That's natural.

[00:40:36] Yeah.

[00:40:37] Stuffing is a real thing.

[00:40:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:40:39] And I liken it to you stuff a suitcase with – like you're trying to fill a suitcase and you keep stuffing it with more and more and more and more.

[00:40:46] And then you try to close it and you think it's closed and then it goes boom and everything flies everywhere and stuff all just comes out.

[00:40:54] Yeah.

[00:40:54] That is a real thing.

[00:40:56] Like it's what people do as a coping mechanism and unfortunately the kids got the brunt of it.

[00:41:03] And yeah, both Morgan and Bo are just crying.

[00:41:07] But then you see there's this shift.

[00:41:10] It's because like they're crying and freaking out and then once all of the anger, all of the like negativity that had been stuffed had poured out, then all that was left was brokenness, was sadness.

[00:41:24] And then you finally see Graham able to let go and cry himself.

[00:41:31] Mm-hmm.

[00:41:31] The wall comes down and his kids.

[00:41:33] God, his kids are amazing.

[00:41:35] They're so – and like because they understand.

[00:41:37] It's like, yeah, it's still rough but like that we can end it with a group hug.

[00:41:42] And I kind of love – you know, because Morgan goes to him first and like there's not even any words spoken.

[00:41:46] It's just –

[00:41:47] No, he goes to comfort his father.

[00:41:49] Yeah.

[00:41:49] And then Bo shows up.

[00:41:51] And then like I even like said it.

[00:41:52] Then you see Graham's hand grabbed by the collar.

[00:41:56] Get your ass over here basically.

[00:41:58] You know, like it's just –

[00:42:01] It's comfort circle.

[00:42:01] And it ends and it's a nice moment right before shit fully hits the fan.

[00:42:06] That moment almost brought me to tears just because I've had experience with stuffing and I know how – what can happen and how you feel after.

[00:42:18] Mm-hmm.

[00:42:19] The explosion comes out.

[00:42:21] It's kind of like being a volcano.

[00:42:22] You know, the explosion comes out and then all of a sudden you realize what you've done and you're like, oh.

[00:42:30] And you see.

[00:42:31] And so for him to be sitting there and looking at his kids just broken from his words, you know, I just wanted to give them all a hug because, you know, you see that these kids are actually finally getting through to their dad.

[00:42:47] And they probably have not been able to connect with him since their mom died.

[00:42:51] Not like this, I would be willing to bet.

[00:42:56] We don't really see him as a parent before.

[00:42:58] Mm-hmm.

[00:42:59] So we don't know how he really was but I just get the feeling that his wife was like his conscience – not conscience but empathy.

[00:43:09] Yeah.

[00:43:10] Yeah.

[00:43:10] Like he had all of that before and then it's gone.

[00:43:17] You know, he doesn't – he's walled himself off and this is the point where I'm like, okay, Graham, welcome back to the world.

[00:43:25] Yeah.

[00:43:25] He'd lost a lot of himself with her, I'm sure.

[00:43:28] Yeah.

[00:43:28] It's what happens.

[00:43:29] I mean, he had two kids with her.

[00:43:32] They had a house.

[00:43:33] He was a minister.

[00:43:34] I mean, she was probably his soulmate and he was broken.

[00:43:38] Yeah.

[00:43:40] And again, this came out at a time where you have to think about mental health was not something that people really talked about even 22 years ago.

[00:43:50] Yeah.

[00:43:50] You know, it was just starting to get talked about.

[00:43:53] And so you have to imagine, you know, what support he may or may not have had.

[00:44:00] Yeah.

[00:44:00] And with Meryl being there, I remember Carolyn at one point saying, you know, telling him how much it means for him to be there and how important it is.

[00:44:13] And it's because those kids needed someone they could connect with because their dad was so closed off.

[00:44:19] Yeah.

[00:44:19] And now, like you said, the shit hits the fan, but they're a family unit again.

[00:44:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:44:25] Yeah.

[00:44:26] When the 24-hour news coverage has completely gone out, you know it's go time.

[00:44:31] Yeah.

[00:44:31] Yeah.

[00:44:33] And so they're kind of full mode, kind of trying to board everything up, close everything off, board up windows, doors.

[00:44:40] I was at one board for the main front door.

[00:44:43] That seems like a really huge oversight.

[00:44:46] But the actual oversight ends up being the attic.

[00:44:49] They didn't think about that one at all.

[00:44:51] Nope.

[00:44:52] And they left Isabel outside to fend for herself.

[00:44:55] Mm-hmm.

[00:44:57] Yep.

[00:44:57] Yeah.

[00:44:58] Poor Morgan.

[00:44:59] It's like, we forgot about Isabel.

[00:45:01] And then they hear her whimpering.

[00:45:05] So you know, that was like gave them at least the knowledge that, you know, they're there.

[00:45:12] They're definitely there.

[00:45:13] They're coming in from the top.

[00:45:15] This is definitely not a favorite movie of doesthedogdie.com audiences.

[00:45:20] No.

[00:45:20] No.

[00:45:21] No.

[00:45:23] I don't usually watch movies where the animal dies.

[00:45:28] It's just a thing.

[00:45:30] I just don't.

[00:45:32] Yeah.

[00:45:33] Yeah.

[00:45:33] So with them coming in and we kind of get the basement stuff, which I actually don't have any notes for as far as Graham is related.

[00:45:40] I kind of focused that more on some other people, but.

[00:45:44] Yeah, me too.

[00:45:45] We'll get to that.

[00:45:45] But really we're kind of Graham's arc, I think finishes his afterwards after the, you know, the night in the basement and coming back up.

[00:45:55] And everything seeming to be okay until, you know, his, his friend, the, the pantry raider.

[00:46:04] Who he can identify.

[00:46:06] Yeah.

[00:46:07] Because two fingers were gone that he actually chopped off.

[00:46:10] Yep.

[00:46:11] Yeah.

[00:46:11] Once he sees that, then we, we have that situation.

[00:46:14] And then that's where that last little flashback of his, that last night, that last moment with his wife comes back.

[00:46:21] And again, it's a very Shyamalan.

[00:46:23] Like, is there some supernatural thing?

[00:46:25] Is there some weird thing?

[00:46:25] Like, did she see the future in her last moments?

[00:46:28] You know, did she know what was coming?

[00:46:30] We don't get that explained.

[00:46:32] That's fine.

[00:46:32] It's supposed to be kind of vague and just mystical in a way.

[00:46:37] But then those, those last words of hers make sense.

[00:46:40] This, you know, and for Graham, see.

[00:46:43] Yep.

[00:46:44] And tell Meryl, swing away.

[00:46:46] And then you see what that means because then it flashes back to that conversation they had on the couch where it's like, are you somebody who sees miracles and signs?

[00:46:54] Are you somebody who just believes in luck?

[00:46:57] And so then he realizes that message for him, see.

[00:47:00] It's one word.

[00:47:02] See the signs.

[00:47:03] See the things it was meant to be.

[00:47:06] To, you know, because they talk about it was meant to be.

[00:47:09] It was fate.

[00:47:10] It all leads to this moment to do what needs to be done.

[00:47:13] No coincidences.

[00:47:16] And that's where he, you know, Meryl, swing away.

[00:47:20] Yep.

[00:47:20] And then all of those glasses that have been left laying around full of water.

[00:47:24] Again, no coincidences.

[00:47:28] For many reasons, they were left out.

[00:47:31] Water is like a poison acid to these aliens, which is likely why they left quickly.

[00:47:36] Because I mean, hey, humans are mostly water.

[00:47:38] The earth is too.

[00:47:40] Rain's going to be a bitch.

[00:47:41] We can't be here.

[00:47:44] Definitely not.

[00:47:45] And you hear at one point radio or the radios talking about people had died because of the toxins that the aliens were like, basically, basically making them breathe.

[00:48:01] Yeah.

[00:48:03] But then that they seem to be leaving.

[00:48:07] Yeah.

[00:48:09] And that, I think, gave Graham hope because of something that we'll talk about when we get to that section.

[00:48:17] Yeah.

[00:48:18] Yeah.

[00:48:18] But after all this, yeah, we kind of see then the jump after that to end with Graham.

[00:48:23] This experience is, strangely enough, like renewed his faith, previous faith.

[00:48:28] He's back in the cloth.

[00:48:29] He's back kind of like seeing things.

[00:48:33] It's like, yeah, it's been quite the ordeal, but it's brought himself closer.

[00:48:37] He's regained faith in himself, in his family, in this world.

[00:48:42] And yeah.

[00:48:45] Welcome back, Graham.

[00:48:47] Welcome back to the real world.

[00:48:50] So that kind of, because we should talk about, I mean, do we talk about what actually happens with Morgan or do we talk about it when we talk about his character?

[00:49:05] Oh, wait till we get to them.

[00:49:06] Okay.

[00:49:07] All right.

[00:49:08] So I think we do Meryl next, which again, I've thrown different notes in.

[00:49:12] That's always the first one's going to be the longest one.

[00:49:14] And then we'll kind of fill in the gaps.

[00:49:17] So Meryl, yeah.

[00:49:18] Young Joaquin Phoenix.

[00:49:20] That's the note.

[00:49:23] Just like interesting to see.

[00:49:27] And you know, I don't know.

[00:49:28] I don't know.

[00:49:29] I don't know, Meryl.

[00:49:30] I'm with Carolyn on this one.

[00:49:32] This definitely sounds like a classic case of female Scandinavian Olympians.

[00:49:35] They're known to do these kind of things.

[00:49:37] It could be.

[00:49:37] I mean, really?

[00:49:38] Mm-hmm.

[00:49:39] It could be.

[00:49:41] I remember Joaquin Phoenix was kind of a big deal because he had just been in Gladiator.

[00:49:47] Yeah.

[00:49:47] And that kind of, I mean, I watched him when he, we grew up watching River Phoenix and Joaquin, who was then known as Leaf.

[00:49:59] Mm-hmm.

[00:50:00] Um, I grew up watching them.

[00:50:03] And so I watched Leaf, aka Joaquin, grow up through acting.

[00:50:09] And so to see him in roles like this, it's, it's interesting, especially after the diabolical character he played in Gladiator.

[00:50:18] Uh-huh.

[00:50:19] Commodus was, please don't tell me that you haven't seen it.

[00:50:24] It's been so long that I don't remember.

[00:50:26] Okay, but you did see it.

[00:50:27] At least parts of it.

[00:50:29] Okay.

[00:50:31] The next time we hang out in person, Paik, we're going to have to balance the dropout TV stuff with some actual movie watching.

[00:50:41] Never.

[00:50:44] Because there are some movies that you really need to see.

[00:50:47] Uh-huh.

[00:50:48] And I feel like I'm going to have to, like, be there to facilitate or make it happen.

[00:50:55] Mm-hmm.

[00:50:56] There's a lot of foreshadowing in this movie that I really like.

[00:50:59] I mean, obviously, the glasses of water and Morgan's asthma, which we'll talk about because, you know, you've kind of been hinting at that.

[00:51:06] And, but I think one of my favorite little moments is honestly just, again, when Meryl is in this army recruitment office.

[00:51:13] And that's where we see Lionel and Michael Showalter.

[00:51:17] And they're talking about the baseball history, you know, where he's, you know, just could crack, you know, he still holds this, like, home run record.

[00:51:26] Set a record.

[00:51:27] Record.

[00:51:27] And, but then Lionel is also there to kind of give him some shit.

[00:51:32] But then it also explains, like, yeah, always just swinging as hard as he can no matter what.

[00:51:36] And it's just, like, there's a little foreshadowing where he's like, I've still got the bat hanging up on, like, you know, mount in the living room.

[00:51:42] So it's like, yeah, we get that foreshadowing, you know, it's going to be there.

[00:51:46] I liked when he went up after and just kind of was like to the guy, the one that was filling out the application.

[00:51:55] Yeah.

[00:51:56] Because he was kind of being an ass.

[00:51:57] Yeah.

[00:51:58] Also, that Army recruiter guy, he seems to be on to something with the recon assumption he's talking about, like, I know what he says.

[00:52:06] But then also his immediate thought of success is, like, models licking your feet or something kinky, weird.

[00:52:11] Okay.

[00:52:12] Sure.

[00:52:12] Yeah, I wondered about that.

[00:52:14] Keep that to yourself, man.

[00:52:16] Where did you read that as something that happens?

[00:52:19] I mean, hey, that's people's thing.

[00:52:22] Something.

[00:52:23] I've never understood it.

[00:52:25] I'm not a foot person.

[00:52:26] I'll say it.

[00:52:27] I know it's a brave thing to come out and talk about, but I don't get it.

[00:52:32] But you know what?

[00:52:32] To each their own.

[00:52:33] I'm not going to yuck somebody's young.

[00:52:35] If that's your thing, more power to you.

[00:52:38] You know what?

[00:52:39] Pink, you have two feet and they help you walk.

[00:52:42] So.

[00:52:43] Yeah.

[00:52:43] That's.

[00:52:45] Yeah.

[00:52:46] I don't get it, but to each their own.

[00:52:51] Let's see.

[00:52:53] Just like little notes.

[00:52:54] I love the, you know, when Morgan.

[00:52:57] It's like a weird little thing.

[00:52:58] He's like, everything that's in the history books is going to change.

[00:53:00] Everything in the history books could change.

[00:53:02] See?

[00:53:02] Is that it?

[00:53:02] But like him having to record.

[00:53:05] Which Bo is not going to let him use the ballet recital.

[00:53:08] And it leads to such a hilarious visual joke.

[00:53:12] He's like, I'll just use Uncle Merrill's tape.

[00:53:14] And they don't say anything.

[00:53:16] It's just literally like swimsuit special written on it.

[00:53:19] Yeah.

[00:53:19] And they don't say anything or acknowledge it.

[00:53:22] But as a visual joke, A plus, plus, plus.

[00:53:25] Yeah.

[00:53:25] It was hilarious.

[00:53:26] Comedic gold.

[00:53:27] I love it so much.

[00:53:29] It's like, okay.

[00:53:30] Yep.

[00:53:31] Yeah.

[00:53:32] Next time he puts that tape in, it's going to be a bit of a surprise.

[00:53:38] And then seeing Merrill make a full 180 so quick.

[00:53:41] Where at first he's the one that thinks it's such a dumb hoax.

[00:53:44] And oh, it's just these nerds that are doing all this stupid stuff.

[00:53:47] Oh my gosh.

[00:53:48] And the kids don't need to be afraid of anything.

[00:53:49] To where like quickly becoming very obsessed and sitting there in the closet watching the TV.

[00:53:54] And then even after Graham has left, he's still reciting like, and then they did this.

[00:53:57] And then they found this.

[00:53:58] And then they can do this.

[00:53:59] And da, da, da.

[00:54:00] And like he's so leading to him sitting there between the kids with the tinfoil hat on.

[00:54:04] Yeah.

[00:54:04] And he is the one that got to see the footage that came from the birthday party.

[00:54:10] Yeah.

[00:54:10] The legendary birthday party alien footage.

[00:54:13] The thing that most people immediately think of when they picture this movie.

[00:54:16] I do.

[00:54:17] I've mentioned that a lot, that the movies conjure up certain images.

[00:54:20] And that's, yeah, that's the one with this movie.

[00:54:22] Although after watching this movie for the first time in 20 years, does that hold up?

[00:54:28] No, not incredibly to me.

[00:54:31] CGI is much more noticeable now.

[00:54:33] And also Joaquin Phoenix's reaction is a little much.

[00:54:38] It is.

[00:54:39] It's a little Wahlberg-y.

[00:54:41] A little, oh my god.

[00:54:43] You can't, I can't see me on an audio podcast, but.

[00:54:46] He freaks out.

[00:54:48] Like he definitely freaks out about it.

[00:54:50] It's a little much.

[00:54:50] Which then like makes me think again, because with Trap and with like, does M. Night Shyamalan have a directing note of like, no, it's not enough.

[00:55:00] It has to be stupid.

[00:55:02] Like, it has to be a little ridiculous, your reaction.

[00:55:06] It has to be over the top.

[00:55:07] I want it to look fake a little bit.

[00:55:09] I don't know what it is.

[00:55:11] Because I mean, again, I know I led you on before we started recording of thinking I was going to trash this movie.

[00:55:18] No, I fucking love this movie.

[00:55:20] It holds up.

[00:55:21] It's incredible.

[00:55:22] It is a favorite of mine as far as, especially in the Shyamalan universe.

[00:55:27] But there still are little things I'm going to point out.

[00:55:29] Like that, that reaction.

[00:55:31] It's like, no, what was that?

[00:55:34] I don't know.

[00:55:37] I remember being genuinely freaked out at the footage on that.

[00:55:41] Oh, absolutely.

[00:55:42] It haunted my dreams as a kid, but it doesn't have the same effect now.

[00:55:46] Honestly, the hands under the door, either in the pantry when Graham chops the fingers off,

[00:55:52] or especially when they've locked the house down and you see the one hand come up under the main door before they run down to the basement.

[00:55:58] That does, like, that still has a much creepier factor to it now.

[00:56:03] Yeah, no.

[00:56:04] For me, it was always the birthday party footage when the alien steps out of the, from behind the tree, and you're just like,

[00:56:15] It just, it jumps me.

[00:56:17] It didn't jump me this time because I knew, like, I'm like, if this is coming, I'm going to,

[00:56:22] Yeah.

[00:56:23] I'm going to see it.

[00:56:23] It's okay.

[00:56:24] And I feel like it doesn't hold up as well.

[00:56:25] Visually, it just doesn't look as good.

[00:56:27] Shyamalan does not like CGI.

[00:56:28] He uses it very sparingly.

[00:56:31] So I think one reason why we didn't really get great looks at the alien is because he did a lot in reflection because it,

[00:56:39] he didn't want to do the effects heavy stuff.

[00:56:43] Yeah.

[00:56:43] He had plans for them to be more camouflaging and he just decided, no, he didn't want to do it because he didn't think that, he didn't like the CGI.

[00:56:56] Yeah.

[00:56:56] He didn't want it to come out and be, yeah.

[00:57:00] I appreciate, I agree with.

[00:57:03] And it leads to them kind of being forced to doing more of the, you know, tactic of rarely actually showing the aliens and letting your imagination fly with sounds and shadows and quick glimpses, which I think in general usually works better anyway in horror.

[00:57:25] I think so too.

[00:57:26] I think less is more.

[00:57:28] That is not, I will tell you what they go for with the terrifier series, but I like the less is more tactic because it does leave so much more to what you can think of in your head.

[00:57:44] The aliens are really only in the movie for a minute and a half.

[00:57:49] Yeah.

[00:57:50] Total.

[00:57:51] Which is great because.

[00:57:52] Yeah.

[00:57:53] Let characters, let, let suspense build itself.

[00:57:57] You don't need.

[00:57:58] And that was the thing.

[00:57:59] I feel like the suspense did build throughout the whole thing.

[00:58:02] We saw just what we needed to do.

[00:58:04] It reminds me of some of what Spielberg did with Jaws.

[00:58:08] Like less is more where I'm not going to show you stuff till I feel like it or till I want to.

[00:58:14] Technical issues kind of forced his hand on that one too.

[00:58:16] Yeah.

[00:58:17] But, but it works out in the end.

[00:58:19] I think it is better for it.

[00:58:20] Yeah.

[00:58:21] Um, I just have a note here that says Meryl is hammering nails like Val McKee in the beginning of Tremors.

[00:58:26] Uh.

[00:58:29] Yes.

[00:58:29] I would agree with that.

[00:58:31] It's like he swung like seven times and hit it once.

[00:58:34] Um, but okay.

[00:58:35] Yeah.

[00:58:36] Also when they're down in the basement, that stack of bags would never work.

[00:58:40] But he added that one can onto the top and now it's completely impenetrable.

[00:58:44] Good job.

[00:58:44] Yep.

[00:58:46] Uh, but yeah.

[00:58:49] Uh, last thing I have on Meryl, which is kind of a big moment is in the basement is kind of going to the big over reaching arc that I was talking about is instead of making the invasion a focus of the movie or really even that important at all.

[00:59:06] This movie focuses on family dynamic around grief and around faith.

[00:59:11] And that's what's great is so we have, you know, just the one night in the basement, the aliens have fled.

[00:59:17] Yeah.

[00:59:17] We hear there's some stragglers, but like the threat is over off screen.

[00:59:21] We don't care.

[00:59:22] It's done.

[00:59:23] Explain why they were there, why they're left.

[00:59:24] Nobody cares.

[00:59:25] That's not important.

[00:59:26] And that's okay.

[00:59:27] Um, but it leads to Meryl's speech.

[00:59:31] And so like, did I get teary or emotional?

[00:59:34] No, but this was probably the closest I got watching this movie is this scene is Meryl's like speech to Graham down in the basement with the, there's things that I can take and there's things that I can't take.

[00:59:45] That speech of the thing that I can't take is basically is watching you lose faith in yourself and whatever.

[00:59:55] I could see, you know, it was like, you thought we were going to, you did, you had no intention of, you know, we, you didn't think we were going to make it through the night.

[01:00:01] And when he says, you know, I could see it in your eyes that you'd completely given up is I don't ever want to see your eyes like that again.

[01:00:06] And it was such a powerful scene.

[01:00:09] Yeah.

[01:00:09] It was poignant.

[01:00:11] Delivery from Joaquin Phoenix was just perfect.

[01:00:15] Like, yeah, that's definitely the most impactful scene to me.

[01:00:19] I think is that conversation.

[01:00:21] Absolutely.

[01:00:22] And then Morgan's down there having a rough asthmatic night.

[01:00:27] Yes.

[01:00:28] We'll get to that.

[01:00:29] We see, you know, Graham helps him through the initial like attack and calms him down.

[01:00:33] But like his little body is still struggling hard.

[01:00:36] Yep.

[01:00:37] Well, because his lungs are constricted, like anyone with asthma will tell you they're, your lungs just, they're not working.

[01:00:47] When you're having an attack, your lungs are constricted.

[01:00:52] They're not functioning.

[01:00:53] Which I think turned out to be the thing that may have saved his life.

[01:00:58] Yeah.

[01:00:58] Yeah, definitely.

[01:00:59] Having an asthma attack saved him from inhaling the toxin.

[01:01:02] Which I guess is maybe the one and only time an asthma attack has been lucky and good.

[01:01:07] Yep.

[01:01:08] Having had asthma attacks.

[01:01:11] Yeah.

[01:01:12] I'd agree with that.

[01:01:14] Yeah.

[01:01:14] Mm-hmm.

[01:01:15] Yeah.

[01:01:15] Because I was wondering at first, whenever like we see him get it, like the toxin sprayed in his face.

[01:01:20] And it's like, we need the EpiPen too.

[01:01:23] And I was like, does epinephrine take care of alien poison toxin?

[01:01:27] Is that?

[01:01:27] And then it's like, no, but.

[01:01:30] It's, it's.

[01:01:31] Then we have Graham kind of almost like praying in this way.

[01:01:35] It's not directly a prayer to God.

[01:01:37] It's still him talking to himself, but it's this like putting faith in something, telling him, you know, because he had asthma attack, his lungs were closed.

[01:01:45] He didn't breathe it in.

[01:01:45] His lungs were closed.

[01:01:46] He's okay.

[01:01:47] Like he's just putting faith in something again.

[01:01:50] Yeah.

[01:01:50] And that was the beginning of him coming back, like furthering his trip back.

[01:01:56] Because it restored his faith.

[01:01:57] The fact that his son survived.

[01:02:02] Brought him back.

[01:02:04] Because he believed in it.

[01:02:05] And I think if you look at this movie, M. Night Shyamalan kind of said it himself.

[01:02:14] The signs in the movie, one is the crop signs, which turn out to be like a map for the aliens.

[01:02:23] And the other is signs from above, like believing in a higher power or something in the universe that is looking out for us, I guess.

[01:02:35] And the existence of it being there.

[01:02:40] It's good to go back and watch some peak Shyamalan.

[01:02:43] Yeah.

[01:02:44] Man.

[01:02:45] Like Sixth Sense and this.

[01:02:47] And even like The Village.

[01:02:48] Like it makes me excited.

[01:02:49] Like I don't know if we're going to do any more Shyamalan this season.

[01:02:54] But I definitely want to go back and maybe do The Village at some time.

[01:02:57] And like some of these earlier movies that before he, I don't want to say went off the deep end.

[01:03:01] Like I still, there's still part of me that's like has some love for M. Night Shyamalan because he's created some incredible things.

[01:03:08] But I don't know.

[01:03:08] I think he's just nowadays, a lot of his movies, it's like he's just kind of leaning into the really weird, wacky, unique thing and throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what works and what doesn't and putting it all out anyway.

[01:03:21] I don't know.

[01:03:23] I think if he had not had Hartnett portray Cooper in the over-the-top way that he did.

[01:03:35] Yeah, again, there's just something about Shyamalan.

[01:03:37] It could have changed it.

[01:03:38] Which leads to this theory again that I'm like, I think Shyamalan has a weird director quirk of wanting bad acting in certain scenes.

[01:03:45] Like it's supposed to convey something.

[01:03:47] I don't know.

[01:03:48] I think Joaquin Phoenix in this movie might have been the first time.

[01:03:52] That he had that.

[01:03:54] Yeah.

[01:03:54] Because we see it in The Happening, which came out.

[01:03:56] Yeah, for sure.

[01:03:58] But I don't remember it in The Village.

[01:04:01] Mm-hmm.

[01:04:02] But we will do The Village.

[01:04:03] I don't know if it will be this season.

[01:04:05] Probably next season.

[01:04:06] Yeah.

[01:04:08] Because there is too much Shyamalan at some point.

[01:04:12] You kind of have to say, okay.

[01:04:15] We don't need a Shyamalan overload.

[01:04:17] No.

[01:04:20] We've done a Shyamalan.

[01:04:22] Mm-hmm.

[01:04:23] Mm-hmm.

[01:04:25] So before we move on to Morgan.

[01:04:28] We need to take a Shyamalan at us.

[01:04:32] You're pushing that just as far as you can.

[01:04:34] A little bit.

[01:04:36] Just as far as you can.

[01:04:37] Uh-huh.

[01:04:38] Before we move on to the kids, I just wanted to point out that Mark Ruffalo was supposed

[01:04:42] to play the part of Meryl, but was unable to because he had a brain tumor.

[01:04:48] Mm-hmm.

[01:04:48] And it turned out to be a benign brain tumor, but he had to deal with that.

[01:04:52] So Joaquin Phoenix replaced him in this role.

[01:04:56] I kind of, I don't know how I feel because I feel like Joaquin Phoenix.

[01:05:01] I really enjoyed, other than that one weird scene that definitely has not held up and I've never rewatched it.

[01:05:07] But overall, especially because I thought maybe the most impactful scene is definitely led by Phoenix.

[01:05:13] So no, I love him in this movie.

[01:05:16] Yeah.

[01:05:16] I think the interactions as a whole between Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix and their character, like those interactions were really impactful.

[01:05:28] And like you said, just that one over the top moment.

[01:05:32] It's like, can we dial it back just to heya?

[01:05:36] Just to heya.

[01:05:37] I can't.

[01:05:38] That was a conspiracy theory in my brain now.

[01:05:42] It's a directorial note.

[01:05:43] It has to be.

[01:05:45] Maybe.

[01:05:46] More.

[01:05:47] That's me.

[01:05:48] It's, again, try to like keep dropout references to a minimal because there's not a lot of people that would get all the references, but it is like a make some noise.

[01:05:56] Sam's like, I'm going to need a little bit more.

[01:06:00] Now give me more.

[01:06:01] More.

[01:06:03] Remember the more you just gave me?

[01:06:05] Double it.

[01:06:06] Exactly.

[01:06:09] Yeah.

[01:06:11] Moving on to the kids.

[01:06:12] I wanted to point out what Graham's wife, when she gave the statement or her last words, basically.

[01:06:23] She also, in addition to telling Graham to see and Meryl to swing away, she said, tell Morgan to play games.

[01:06:30] It's okay to be silly.

[01:06:31] Mm-hmm.

[01:06:32] So I started thinking, he's wearing the tinfoil hat.

[01:06:36] He's, yeah.

[01:06:37] You can see him immediately.

[01:06:39] He's picking up the slack and cooking the chicken.

[01:06:41] Yep.

[01:06:41] He's trying to be more of an adult and we see him, he's doing the research and reading the books and he wants to know, like, he's, and I feel like, and apparently because she said that even before she died, that even before she had passed away, that like, maybe Morgan was already like trying to pick up this slack in his life of parenting himself and being an adult.

[01:07:04] Yeah.

[01:07:05] No, because I mean, he had to be what, like, nine, ten?

[01:07:09] Yeah.

[01:07:09] Let him be a kid.

[01:07:12] Exactly.

[01:07:13] And then tell Bo to listen to her brother, he'll always take care of her, I think really relates to him saving her life with Houdini and just always looking out for her.

[01:07:25] Even when she's crying at the table before he starts crying, when Graham has just been really mean or difficult for the kids.

[01:07:39] You can see, I mean, he's like, look at her.

[01:07:42] She's, you know, he's trying to point out, he's trying to protect his sister.

[01:07:46] I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you.

[01:07:48] Like, they have this close relationship.

[01:07:50] Mm-hmm.

[01:07:51] And Bo, I mean, how do you not?

[01:07:54] I mean, we're talking about baby Abigail Breslin.

[01:07:56] Mm-hmm.

[01:07:57] She's so adorable.

[01:07:58] Yeah.

[01:08:00] It's like, how do you, how are you mean?

[01:08:03] A minute ago you were taking orders for the fantasy restaurant at the end of the world.

[01:08:09] Mm-hmm.

[01:08:09] And now you're stealing her spaghetti.

[01:08:11] No, I'm sorry, don't.

[01:08:13] Mm-hmm.

[01:08:13] Please don't.

[01:08:15] Yeah.

[01:08:16] Yeah, she was interesting.

[01:08:18] Again, going back to that, like, creepiness at the beginning, which I don't know, the dream thing, it didn't make a lot of sense.

[01:08:24] But they did want to kind of instill you that, like, you know, there's moments where her and Morgan are talking when he's looking through the telescope up at the sky trying to see the ships or whatever.

[01:08:34] Mm-hmm.

[01:08:35] And he keeps asking, are you having those feelings again?

[01:08:37] Like, they keep hinting at this thing that Bo is, like, I don't know if, like, psychic, like her mother was, I guess, saying these things before.

[01:08:44] Like, there's some kind of, like, sixth sense, not even to make, like, another Shyamalan reference.

[01:08:50] But there is this innate, deeper, supernatural understanding or, like, state that I think her and her mother shared to some degree.

[01:08:59] Mm-hmm.

[01:08:59] And it's kind of an underlying thing that I kind of pick up on.

[01:09:02] Where a lot of it is this, like, feelings that she gets, like, something's with the water.

[01:09:07] And it's, like, why has she got this weird sensitivity about glasses of water?

[01:09:11] But it all is leading up to something.

[01:09:13] Again, there's no coincidences.

[01:09:15] Because with that telescope scene, while I'm thinking about that, because there's that moment where she, you know, her and Morgan are having that moment.

[01:09:22] And she says to him, like, I don't want you to die.

[01:09:24] And he's, like, who said I was going to die?

[01:09:25] And she seems to be dead set like this.

[01:09:28] And then when they're down in the basement and he's having his asthma attack and it's really bad.

[01:09:35] And they focus on Beau just a little bit to be, like, this is what I saw coming.

[01:09:40] Like, she had this, like, pre-cognition of it.

[01:09:45] Like...

[01:09:45] Have you heard that kids are really susceptible to, like, ghosts and things like that?

[01:09:51] I think in this case, when it came to the aliens and things going on around them, I think the kids were just more open to hearing and seeing what was actually happening.

[01:10:05] Versus the adults.

[01:10:06] I mean, we talk about this all the time on this podcast that, why can't you just listen to the kids?

[01:10:11] Because they seem to know what's going on.

[01:10:13] Right.

[01:10:14] With a few exceptions.

[01:10:17] Most kids, you know, they're in tune with what's happening.

[01:10:21] And I think in this case, that's, you know, what was happening.

[01:10:26] She was dreaming some of these things.

[01:10:28] And she couldn't even tell at one point that you mentioned, are you in my dream?

[01:10:32] She didn't even realize.

[01:10:34] Yeah.

[01:10:35] I mean, that is how we're introduced to this family is Graham wakes up and the kids are not there.

[01:10:43] And he hears things out in the field and has to go out and find them.

[01:10:50] And I think, you know, that's how we meet them in the first place.

[01:10:54] Yeah.

[01:10:55] Let's see.

[01:10:56] What else did I have?

[01:10:58] Talked about Morgan and his just deep fascination with everything, how deep he gets into everything.

[01:11:04] Just when they get back and then the little baby monitor is going off that he's talking with Carolyn has gotten the baby monitor from her idea of like this walkie talkie and then used it in a way to like listen into like signals of the aliens.

[01:11:16] And then like, he's just picking up like, it's a code.

[01:11:18] And I was like, it sounds like static to me, but okay.

[01:11:21] You know, it's like, it's a code and it's from the aliens.

[01:11:23] And it says, we get more action than you slugger.

[01:11:30] I don't get it.

[01:11:30] What does that mean?

[01:11:31] No.

[01:11:33] But then he's like, wait, no, it's voices.

[01:11:35] And then it's all, it sounds like he's like voices.

[01:11:38] I was like space whales.

[01:11:39] And then I realized who is like one of the producers on this movie, Kathleen Kennedy,

[01:11:43] which is in like Star Wars now.

[01:11:45] And I was like, Kathleen Kennedy was bringing the purgile into the cannon all the way back in 2002.

[01:11:50] Wow.

[01:11:51] It was just subtly there.

[01:11:52] Yeah.

[01:11:52] Just a little bit.

[01:11:54] Wow.

[01:11:55] I loved this part.

[01:11:57] I thought it was ridiculous where Graham sees Bo trying to climb on the car.

[01:12:03] Don't climb on the car.

[01:12:04] And then he proceeds to help her climb on the car.

[01:12:06] Right.

[01:12:07] Yeah.

[01:12:10] I get that too sometimes.

[01:12:11] Because I, again, doing like, you know, volunteer work and like hanging out with kids at the schools and stuff.

[01:12:18] I feel like I do similar things.

[01:12:19] I'm like, no, you can't do that.

[01:12:21] You're going to do that anyway.

[01:12:22] Here's how.

[01:12:23] Okay.

[01:12:23] We're going to do it safely.

[01:12:26] That is one parenting thing that I think they tell parents or new parents that you can't give in because once you start, they'll expect you.

[01:12:37] When you say no, they're not going to like believe that it really means no.

[01:12:42] But I think in some cases like.

[01:12:44] It's like, no, you can't jump around table to table, but let me time you and see how fast you can run back and forth across this entire courtyard a couple of times.

[01:12:52] Some freaking energy.

[01:12:54] You know.

[01:12:56] That is your role.

[01:12:59] That's.

[01:12:59] Yeah.

[01:13:00] Your role is to help kids burn off that energy before they go back to class.

[01:13:05] Mm hmm.

[01:13:07] Now, just sometimes I bring like sweets and candy and then contribute to the problem.

[01:13:11] Maybe.

[01:13:12] I think.

[01:13:12] But knowing you.

[01:13:15] Absolutely.

[01:13:16] Maybe.

[01:13:18] Who's to say?

[01:13:22] And yeah, I think that's all.

[01:13:25] The notes I have on them, I think mainly.

[01:13:29] Just in general.

[01:13:32] Even like other characters talk about Tracy.

[01:13:35] That was a right.

[01:13:36] M. Night Shyamalan's cameo, which again, kind of like trap.

[01:13:42] Not necessarily even a cameo.

[01:13:44] He is a character.

[01:13:46] Yep.

[01:13:46] In the movie.

[01:13:47] That is important.

[01:13:48] It's not just like, oh, look, director showed up in a shot.

[01:13:51] No, like he's he's cast in this movie as a pivotal character in some degree.

[01:13:56] We've talked about how young Abigail Breslin is.

[01:13:59] This is actually her film debut.

[01:14:02] That makes sense.

[01:14:03] Yeah.

[01:14:04] Yeah.

[01:14:04] I think I have.

[01:14:06] Yeah.

[01:14:07] Maybe a couple other little notes about the aliens.

[01:14:12] First, before I get into them specifically, just something I thought was that I was familiar with.

[01:14:17] And so I made sure to go back and look up where Carolyn has a line where she was just like, oh, you know, like two or three guys can do this with some rope and some boards overnight.

[01:14:26] You know, and then when Graham is in the pharmacy and the radio is talking about like, oh, we just think it also could be a bunch of copycats.

[01:14:33] And they mentioned copycats.

[01:14:36] Of course, these references are to the most famous incidents of crop circles, which is Doug Bauer and Dave Chorley of England, who together created over 200 different crop circle patterns all over different places over the course of the 80s and early 90s.

[01:14:55] And it was a viral sensation, so to speak, pre-internet.

[01:15:01] But how are you viral if it's pre-internet?

[01:15:05] Because it was such a big thing that like news stations all over the world were picking up on it, where these mysterious crop circles are popping up all over the UK and what's causing them.

[01:15:16] And if like for literally over a decade, all through the 80s, early 90s, and it was like early 90s where finally these two guys, Bauer and Chorley came forward and owned up to being behind all of it just as a prank.

[01:15:30] For fun.

[01:15:30] And like they had people, it's kicked up all of this like, you know, extraterrestrial conspiracies and all of these like people.

[01:15:37] And it's of course spawned copycats worldwide.

[01:15:40] Yep.

[01:15:41] As well, trying to do the same thing.

[01:15:43] And they even released a book, I think it's like The Golden Circles or something like that, about like how they did all of the stuff and everything.

[01:15:48] And I was aware of that situation.

[01:15:50] So then hearing some of those references in this movie, it's like, that's really cool that they kind of got a nod in a way.

[01:15:57] Yeah.

[01:15:58] That's great.

[01:16:00] Um, I do have another, it says the aliens just watched Field of Dreams and they just want friends.

[01:16:04] If they build crop circles, people will come.

[01:16:07] Uh.

[01:16:11] Um.

[01:16:12] And then just like other things with the, the aliens.

[01:16:15] Uh, again, only something only you can see.

[01:16:18] I picked my.

[01:16:20] Yeah.

[01:16:20] Zoom background specifically.

[01:16:22] You have been disappearing at different times.

[01:16:26] And I'm seeing Morgan.

[01:16:29] Morgan just popping up behind me.

[01:16:31] Yeah.

[01:16:31] I picked my Zoom background specifically.

[01:16:34] Uh, because I have another note.

[01:16:37] Think the ritual a little bit here.

[01:16:38] Um, I love the hand camouflaged to look like the black grate of the coal chute.

[01:16:45] Um.

[01:16:46] That kind of reaches out and grabs Morgan when he's sitting against it.

[01:16:50] That's what I like.

[01:16:51] Right there.

[01:16:51] You know how it is.

[01:16:52] This, the hand is in plain view the entire time, but you don't really catch it until it reaches out and grabs him.

[01:16:57] Because for you.

[01:16:58] Because there it is.

[01:16:59] Yeah.

[01:17:00] Mm-hmm.

[01:17:03] And I, I love that.

[01:17:04] Because again, it's one of those things where the hand moves and grabs him.

[01:17:07] Kind of.

[01:17:07] It more just like lightly like tickles him.

[01:17:10] Um.

[01:17:11] But you know.

[01:17:13] Uh.

[01:17:14] It doesn't, that's what sets off his asthma attack.

[01:17:16] Yeah.

[01:17:16] For sure.

[01:17:17] That like freaks him the hell out.

[01:17:19] But, uh.

[01:17:21] Yeah.

[01:17:22] But it was one of those where I watched that scene and then I immediately had to rewind it and watch it again.

[01:17:26] And the second that, which is this image that I have, is the second that it shows.

[01:17:30] Because Morgan's standing there like, hey.

[01:17:32] And then it goes back to Graham for a little bit.

[01:17:33] And then it goes back.

[01:17:34] The hand's there.

[01:17:35] And the whole time.

[01:17:36] And I love that.

[01:17:36] It's like.

[01:17:38] It's one of those little things.

[01:17:39] On a second watch.

[01:17:40] The little details.

[01:17:40] If you go back and look at it and you're like, yeah.

[01:17:42] It's been here the whole time.

[01:17:44] And I love it.

[01:17:46] Well, you like the little details like that.

[01:17:48] I do.

[01:17:48] I love little details.

[01:17:50] Uh.

[01:17:51] Which then, again, little details with what they called the Pantry Raider.

[01:17:55] The final.

[01:17:56] Because they mentioned that, like, the wounded aliens were left behind.

[01:18:00] And so that one had had his fingers cut off by Graham.

[01:18:04] And so, you know, everything seems good.

[01:18:05] But then he shows up and he's going to try to take Morgan and kill him.

[01:18:10] And you see the camouflage thing again in action as the hands are holding him.

[01:18:14] We see the arms and the hands kind of camouflaging into the pattern of his flannel shirt and holding him.

[01:18:21] But then also Graham's face appearing on the wrist and the arm as well.

[01:18:26] Like.

[01:18:27] Yeah.

[01:18:27] Even just things that are in the room are, like, appearing.

[01:18:30] Like, tattoos on his face when Bo screams.

[01:18:33] On his back, her face appears screaming.

[01:18:35] Like, he's, like, taking in his surroundings and trying to camouflage himself.

[01:18:39] It's just a really cool effect.

[01:18:40] I like it.

[01:18:41] Yeah.

[01:18:42] Anything else?

[01:18:43] That's it.

[01:18:44] That's all I got.

[01:18:45] All right.

[01:18:46] Well, I have just a couple things.

[01:18:48] So they shot the house and all of that on the property of Delaware Valley College, which is in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

[01:19:00] And they already had some corn growing, so they planted a bunch more.

[01:19:05] M. Night Shyamalan himself recorded the Brazilian video that we all see that creeps us out.

[01:19:14] When he was putting together promotional materials for this movie, he didn't want Mel Gibson's face on the poster.

[01:19:23] He wanted it to be promoted as an ensemble piece.

[01:19:27] And he didn't want the poster to refer to The Sixth Sense because he didn't want anything tied to that.

[01:19:32] He wanted it to stand out on its own.

[01:19:34] Without any of that.

[01:19:37] He was inspired or used the following movies as influences, including The Birds, Night of the Living Dead, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

[01:19:46] He even made the cast watch The Birds a few times.

[01:19:50] Mm-hmm.

[01:19:51] And then just a couple more things.

[01:19:54] James Newton Howard worked with M. Night Shyamalan on Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.

[01:20:00] He got nominated, though, for an Oscar for his work on The Village.

[01:20:05] So they had a good collaboration together.

[01:20:10] And there's actually an alternative version of the movie, but it had different noises for the aliens.

[01:20:18] And they actually sounded like they were demonic versus the more clicky noises that I think worked better.

[01:20:27] Mm-hmm.

[01:20:28] So, yeah.

[01:20:30] It's great.

[01:20:32] So we did it.

[01:20:32] So are you relieved?

[01:20:35] I am.

[01:20:36] I was picking on you a little bit before.

[01:20:37] You were.

[01:20:38] We were like, well, it's a good thing we're going to talk about a Shyamalan movie that you didn't hate.

[01:20:41] And I was like, I didn't say I didn't hate it.

[01:20:43] All I said was I liked it when I watched it when I was a kid.

[01:20:46] And I didn't.

[01:20:47] I haven't seen it since.

[01:20:48] I wasn't going to let you in.

[01:20:49] No.

[01:20:50] It's, again, early Shyamalan still holds up.

[01:20:53] There's a reason he definitely had a really great reputation early on in his career.

[01:21:01] He got a great start.

[01:21:02] He had some great movies that came out.

[01:21:05] And then somehow along the way, things just got strange.

[01:21:11] There have been a couple movies that he's done.

[01:21:14] He did one called The Visit that I really liked that one.

[01:21:18] Still haven't seen that movie, too.

[01:21:20] It's good.

[01:21:20] I think it's a good one.

[01:21:22] And then, of course, you mentioned Unbreakable.

[01:21:24] That was great.

[01:21:25] But again, that's an early one.

[01:21:36] Mm-hmm.

[01:21:37] That's a good one.

[01:21:39] In a way, connected.

[01:21:41] Mm-hmm.

[01:21:41] That I went and saw Split in theaters and had no idea Shyamalan was even connected to

[01:21:46] it until the end of the movie.

[01:21:48] I think that was all purpose.

[01:21:49] Kind of under wraps.

[01:21:50] Because he had been starting to build this reputation of not good movies for a while.

[01:21:55] Mm-hmm.

[01:21:56] I guess he had a lot more faith in this movie.

[01:21:58] So much faith that he didn't put his name on it to not take away from what people would

[01:22:02] think of it.

[01:22:03] Yeah.

[01:22:03] And I really loved Split and then seeing that he was included.

[01:22:06] Then it being a surprise sequel to Unbreakable, that then they could tie together and do Glass.

[01:22:11] And I really enjoyed Glass as well.

[01:22:13] I thought that was great.

[01:22:13] I've not seen Glass.

[01:22:15] I did see Split.

[01:22:19] But yeah, I kind of want to see Glass to kind of tie it all in together.

[01:22:23] Yeah.

[01:22:23] I just remember James McAvoy killing it in Split.

[01:22:26] Yeah, man.

[01:22:28] And Anya Taylor-Joy, too.

[01:22:30] They were just fantastic in that movie.

[01:22:33] But we did it, Peck.

[01:22:34] We got through this.

[01:22:36] We did.

[01:22:37] Covered some Shyamalan.

[01:22:38] Had a good time.

[01:22:39] Yeah.

[01:22:40] Shyamalata fun.

[01:22:43] Yep.

[01:22:44] There goes the feedback phone.

[01:22:45] So let's see what other people had to say as well.

[01:22:48] Yeah.

[01:22:48] I'm curious.

[01:22:50] All right.

[01:22:50] We do have one piece of feedback this week from the ever faithful, ever loyal, always

[01:22:57] expected now.

[01:22:58] Sorry you've done this to yourself.

[01:23:01] You've set a standard.

[01:23:02] Sorry.

[01:23:03] Catherine coming through again once more.

[01:23:04] As always, we always appreciate it.

[01:23:06] Yeah.

[01:23:06] Catherine says, oh, no.

[01:23:08] I'm so sorry, Daphne.

[01:23:10] Signs is my least favorite Shyamalan movie.

[01:23:13] Even after we did Trap, Catherine?

[01:23:15] Even after?

[01:23:16] Are you sure?

[01:23:18] Are you sure?

[01:23:19] Anyway.

[01:23:20] Even after the happening?

[01:23:22] Right?

[01:23:23] Are you sure about that?

[01:23:25] Um, but okay.

[01:23:27] We'll continue on.

[01:23:28] She says, the religious storyline is predictable and the alien's weakness to water and a baseball

[01:23:32] bat in that final fight scene always disappoints me.

[01:23:34] But I forgot about Houdini and how terrifying it was when he appeared to turn on Bo.

[01:23:38] Morgan's reaction was heartbreaking and I wish Signs had kept up with this intensity rather

[01:23:42] than adding the comedy of foil hats and I'm insane with anger.

[01:23:45] Sure.

[01:23:47] I really enjoyed the kids' performances and I do like Signs overall.

[01:23:50] It's just not as scary as I think it was supposed to be.

[01:23:53] Okay.

[01:23:53] I'll accept that.

[01:23:54] Yeah.

[01:23:55] Yes.

[01:23:56] I still feel like that alien reveal still kind of creeps me out in a little bit of a way.

[01:24:04] I've seen-

[01:24:05] Like I said, like I said in this episode, it definitely did when I was a kid when I first

[01:24:10] saw this movie.

[01:24:10] It didn't hold up this time.

[01:24:12] I was like, oh yeah.

[01:24:14] I've seen memes of it going around.

[01:24:16] Oh, there was just recently a picture I saw online of people who met M. Night Shyamalan

[01:24:22] at like a convention or something and he had that picture on a board and it said, thank

[01:24:26] you for traumatizing me as a child.

[01:24:27] Uh-huh.

[01:24:28] That's what it was.

[01:24:29] Yes.

[01:24:31] Well, if you would like to submit feedback, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram

[01:24:36] at Run For Your Lives Podcast.

[01:24:38] Email us at runfoyourlivespodcast at gmail.com.

[01:24:41] If you're enjoying the show, tell your friends.

[01:24:43] We are available on all other podcast players, including Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

[01:24:50] You can go to runfoyourlivespodcast.com for all the links you'll ever need and give us

[01:24:56] a review on Apple Podcasts.

[01:24:57] That is the best way to share the love and get us out there even more.

[01:25:01] We really appreciate it.

[01:25:04] We do absolutely appreciate it.

[01:25:06] And of course, speaking of sharing the love, got to give those shout outs to things going

[01:25:09] on in the podcast universe around us.

[01:25:12] Of course, the cast of us, which is covering Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon, or has been this

[01:25:17] season.

[01:25:18] That series has, or at least the season two of that series has ended this week.

[01:25:23] So you can go ahead and tune in and check in Jason and Lucy's coverage of the finale

[01:25:30] of season two of Daryl Dixon.

[01:25:31] Check that out.

[01:25:32] You got that.

[01:25:33] And then the listener feedback episode later in the week as well.

[01:25:36] So you can check those out.

[01:25:38] And then over on the Marvel TV cast, Jim and Penny, another finale talking about the ending

[01:25:44] of Agatha all along, the episodes eight and nine of that show that dropped together.

[01:25:51] They'll be talking about that really soon as well.

[01:25:53] So keep your eyes peeled and your feed, you know, or keep your eyes peeled on your feed

[01:25:59] to see when they drop that finale episode to talk about that.

[01:26:02] I'm excited to check that out.

[01:26:05] And then on the What is From cast, Alex and Lizzie with their coverage still of season

[01:26:10] three of From.

[01:26:11] Been incredible.

[01:26:13] And with this week's, the newest episode, they had a guest, Hannah Chermie, who plays

[01:26:18] Julie on the show.

[01:26:20] So continuing on with their incredible just like actors coming in and doing interviews

[01:26:24] and conversations and talking about the episodes with the cast, which so cool.

[01:26:29] Really, really cool.

[01:26:29] They keep doing that.

[01:26:30] So definitely check that out as a fan of From.

[01:26:32] And I say this all the time.

[01:26:33] And if you're not a fan of From, then become one because it's a great show.

[01:26:36] So get on it.

[01:26:39] Yeah.

[01:26:40] But outside of Podcastica, of course, we give some love to our friends over at TV Podcast

[01:26:44] Industries covering The Penguin right now and continuing on that.

[01:26:48] I have not been watching it myself, but I've actually been seeing stuff online.

[01:26:51] There's been some really crazy, interesting stuff going on on that show.

[01:26:54] So if you're a fan of DC and Batman stuff and in that universe, definitely check that

[01:26:59] out and listen to Derek and John coverage over there.

[01:27:01] TV Podcast Industries.

[01:27:03] And lastly, of course, if you want to hear more of me and Daphne hanging out with our

[01:27:07] good pals, Jeff and Jerry, just shooting the breeze, talking, hanging out, making each

[01:27:13] other laugh or groan with annoyance.

[01:27:17] Either way, whatever we managed to do, playing crazy games, talking, just whatever we do,

[01:27:23] we have a good time.

[01:27:24] And our live or in-person episode is up now.

[01:27:29] You can check that out, plus some other great stuff coming out.

[01:27:31] So yeah, it's a fun time.

[01:27:33] We're always having fun over on Buffalo Buffalo, so you can check us out there.

[01:27:36] You never know what we're going to be up to next.

[01:27:42] It can be a surprise.

[01:27:44] Yeah.

[01:27:44] But I will tell you something that will not be a surprise about what we're doing next.

[01:27:48] It'll be right here on this podcast because we're not going to hold that a surprise.

[01:27:51] We're going to let you know what we're doing next week here.

[01:27:54] You can come back to Run For Your Lives to find something fresh and new.

[01:27:57] And this time it is something really unique that we don't do too often.

[01:28:00] Daphne, what are we doing next week?

[01:28:02] Well, when the Chenubeth family and their neighbors in rural Georgia encounter bizarre

[01:28:07] events on their isolated farm, they struggle to put the pieces together to survive a mysterious

[01:28:13] and ominous threat.

[01:28:14] We are discussing the eight episode 2024 Peacock original horror series Teacup.

[01:28:23] It stars Yvonne Strahovski and Scott Speedman and is loosely inspired by Robert McCammon's

[01:28:30] novel Stinger.

[01:28:33] Yeah, we are.

[01:28:34] It's not the first time we've done a season of a TV show on here, but it's the first time

[01:28:39] in a long time since all the way back when we did the first season of Camp Cretaceous

[01:28:44] with Greg a long time ago.

[01:28:47] And so, yeah, we're jumping back into some TV because the show is newer.

[01:28:52] It just wrapped up like as you're hearing this like two weeks ago.

[01:28:57] And yeah, a lot of great stuff on that.

[01:28:59] And so, yeah, we were just talking like, is anybody covering this show?

[01:29:02] And it's like, we don't typically do shows, but there are enough fans and people interested.

[01:29:07] And we brought along a special guest who is always been kind of connected to this podcast

[01:29:14] in some way.

[01:29:15] You may have to stay tuned a little bit for that.

[01:29:16] But yeah, to talk it out and talk about the whole season.

[01:29:21] So a little bit longer an episode.

[01:29:22] We had a full eight episodes of TV show goodness to cover, but it was a lot of fun.

[01:29:26] So definitely check that out next week.

[01:29:28] Yeah, we did have a ton of fun.

[01:29:30] I'm looking forward to launching that episode.

[01:29:34] Yeah.

[01:29:35] And if you haven't watched first season of Teacup, if you've got Peacock or a way to

[01:29:38] watch it, get on it.

[01:29:40] It's not super long of a watch, like eight episodes and a lot of them are right over 30 minutes.

[01:29:44] So it's an easy binge.

[01:29:45] It's a great show.

[01:29:46] So check it out and let us know what you think.

[01:29:48] Absolutely.

[01:29:50] Well, we've reached the end of another fun episode.

[01:29:54] Thanks everyone for listening.

[01:29:55] I'm Daphne.

[01:29:57] And I'm Peyton.

[01:29:59] And if you have to run, you better run for your lives.

[01:30:03] Bye-bye.