Run For Your Lives Podcast Episode 197: Renfield

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

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

[00:00:10] Hey everyone, welcome to the show. I'm Daphne.

[00:00:34] And I'm Pake.

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

[00:00:39] This episode we will be talking about the comedy horror film Renfield, directed by Chris McKay and released April 14th, 2023.

[00:00:48] So we're not diving back too far for this one. It's one that made a lot of waves last year.

[00:00:56] And then, yeah, I didn't get around to it as much as I was curious about it so much.

[00:01:02] It's easy for things to slip through my fingers.

[00:01:05] And then it's always in the back of my head, I was like, well, we'll probably eventually cover it.

[00:01:09] So I'll wait. And then a year goes by. But now we're doing it finally.

[00:01:13] So yeah, it came out, God, two years ago this coming April. So that's a long time to wait.

[00:01:21] I also didn't watch it thinking we were going to cover it. And it only took us, you know, months and months and months to get to it.

[00:01:28] But a good friend kept bringing it up to us. So this is for her.

[00:01:33] Yes.

[00:01:34] Which I'm glad that I finally got around to it because I just off the bat, I really love this.

[00:01:40] It's a fun one that I already can be like, oh, I could see myself coming back to this one just for a good time.

[00:01:46] Cast wise.

[00:01:47] Oh, my God.

[00:01:48] I mean, Nicholas Holt is always great. We've always had a good time with him.

[00:01:52] And I mean, Nicholas Cage is at peak Cage moments of this movie that are just it.

[00:01:58] It's so perfect for him.

[00:02:01] Anything Ben Schwartz does, I approve of.

[00:02:05] He can do anything and he'll never do any wrong.

[00:02:10] Yeah, it was great.

[00:02:11] Awkwafina is always fun to see.

[00:02:13] Always.

[00:02:14] Always.

[00:02:15] Loved it.

[00:02:16] It was a ton of fun.

[00:02:18] The casting was great.

[00:02:19] I know that Nicholas Cage really idolized what Christopher Lee brought to the role of Dracula at the times that he played it and channeled a lot of that for this.

[00:02:33] He likes to take top billing in movies and this was not a movie that he really, I mean, Nicholas Holt was really the top billed star, but he really wanted to play Dracula.

[00:02:44] It was something he's always wanted to do.

[00:02:47] And so he decided, okay, I'm going to do this.

[00:02:51] I did think it was cool that Robert Kirkman was involved in the storyboarding for it.

[00:02:56] Yeah, I noticed that at the end, after I finished the movie and like the like title card things at the end, kind of the production stuff where it was like a skybound thing.

[00:03:05] I was like, oh, cool.

[00:03:06] Yeah.

[00:03:07] Yeah.

[00:03:08] So he was involved.

[00:03:09] And Chris McKay, of course, is the director.

[00:03:12] No.

[00:03:12] I mean, we've covered one of his other films before the Tomorrow War.

[00:03:18] Back, it was our season three season opener, basically.

[00:03:24] Like eight years ago.

[00:03:25] Yeah.

[00:03:25] Eight years ago.

[00:03:28] So I pretty much have given almost all of my production notes in this conversation, except for a couple.

[00:03:38] It was filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is great because that's where the movie took place.

[00:03:44] So, you know, cool.

[00:03:46] Yeah, I had to look.

[00:03:47] I was like, are they really at Cafe Du Monde?

[00:03:49] Okay.

[00:03:49] Yeah.

[00:03:50] Okay.

[00:03:50] Yeah.

[00:03:51] It got a lot of buzz, but not a lot of buzz at the box office.

[00:03:54] The budget was 65 million, but it only grows 26.9 million.

[00:03:58] And I really think this is the type of film that's going to get a cult following.

[00:04:04] Yeah.

[00:04:04] Like maybe 10 or 15 years from now, people are going to be looking back at it and there's just

[00:04:09] going to be a lot of buzz.

[00:04:11] So I think in streaming and other avenues, it's going to get a lot of attention.

[00:04:15] Yeah.

[00:04:16] It's just got all of the elements that make it a good cult classic.

[00:04:22] So I think that that's going to happen.

[00:04:24] It was 93 minutes long, which I think it could have been even a little bit longer.

[00:04:29] I, when it was over, I was thinking, man, you know, they did a great job telling the story.

[00:04:35] It could have been a little longer.

[00:04:36] I could see throwing some more stuff on it, but also I find myself, I don't know, is it

[00:04:41] part of getting older?

[00:04:42] Part of just because so many podcasts and covering so many things.

[00:04:47] I find myself when I see the runtime of a movie we're covering is one hour and something.

[00:04:51] I get so excited.

[00:04:53] I do.

[00:04:54] When I'm like, oh yes, this isn't going to take my entire day.

[00:04:58] Well, you know, you did just take your niece to see Wicked last week and that one.

[00:05:03] Yeah.

[00:05:04] The runtime was a lot longer.

[00:05:08] It was great.

[00:05:09] But yeah, by like, you know, two thirds of the way through that movie, you're like, you

[00:05:15] feel it a little bit.

[00:05:16] You're like, okay, I still have how long before this thing is over?

[00:05:20] All right, let's strap in.

[00:05:25] Peg, why don't you give us a synopsis on this?

[00:05:28] All right.

[00:05:29] Well, Renfield, Dracula's tortured henchman, is forced to capture prey for his master and

[00:05:34] do his every bidding.

[00:05:35] But now after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there is a life outside of

[00:05:40] his boss's shadow.

[00:05:42] Yeah.

[00:05:42] I knew nothing about this movie going into it.

[00:05:46] I hadn't really seen any trailers.

[00:05:48] And you know that I like to see the previews.

[00:05:50] Right.

[00:05:51] That's why I'm, it's very surprising that it's kind of the flip side, because usually I'm the

[00:05:54] one that like, no trailers, no ads, no anything.

[00:05:57] I want to go in blind.

[00:05:59] And you're usually just like, oh, here's this thing and this thing and this thing.

[00:06:02] And there's this thing.

[00:06:03] And here's.

[00:06:04] And so if you're like, I didn't know anything.

[00:06:05] And I was just like, I've seen all the trailers and like, knew exactly what I was getting into

[00:06:11] with it.

[00:06:12] So weird flip that we don't usually have.

[00:06:15] I may have seen something when it was coming out, but I didn't remember a single thing about

[00:06:19] this movie.

[00:06:20] So it was a lot of fun to go into it that way.

[00:06:24] Um, one of the cool things I learned about it is the director said that this is a direct

[00:06:32] sequel to Dracula from 1931.

[00:06:38] Can you imagine waiting that long for a sequel?

[00:06:41] There are people who saw that movie, like in wherever they saw it, and they didn't even

[00:06:47] live to see the sequel.

[00:06:49] Um, they probably didn't give it really much thought, but, um, it makes me want to go

[00:06:54] back and rewatch that early Dracula again, but have not had the chance to do it because

[00:07:00] I just saw Renfield today getting ready for this podcast.

[00:07:04] So the only other thing I'd like to point out is that Nicolas Cage and Nicolas Holtz, this

[00:07:10] isn't their first time acting together.

[00:07:12] They were also in a movie from 2005 called The Weatherman, which I did see.

[00:07:17] And it's not about the weather, really.

[00:07:20] It's about the man.

[00:07:24] No.

[00:07:25] No.

[00:07:25] Well, yeah, but yeah.

[00:07:29] So I feel like we should just jump in and start talking about these characters.

[00:07:35] All right.

[00:07:37] And we kind of have to start with Renfield himself, played by the amazing Nicolas Holt, who

[00:07:46] I, my, I know that a lot of people saw about a boy and that's where he, you know, I think

[00:07:52] that was the movie that people saw him in.

[00:07:55] And, you know, I think it may have even been his first movie that he was ever in.

[00:08:01] I did not see that movie.

[00:08:03] So my first introduction to him was the British TV series Skins, where he played Tony Stoneham.

[00:08:12] And he was quite a piece of shit as a character.

[00:08:17] I feel like I probably should have seen him in things before that.

[00:08:22] It probably was.

[00:08:23] Was he an X-Men?

[00:08:25] He did the X-Men.

[00:08:26] He was in X-Men.

[00:08:28] He played Beast.

[00:08:29] That's so it had to be that.

[00:08:31] That or because in my brain, I was like, no, Mad Max Fury Road was the first time I really

[00:08:36] paid attention, like with him.

[00:08:37] But I was like, but I think X-Men came first.

[00:08:39] And I think he did do that first.

[00:08:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:41] I think he did.

[00:08:43] But he was in Fury Road.

[00:08:44] Nux, one of my favorite characters from that movie.

[00:08:47] Because he had an arc.

[00:08:48] His arc was really cool.

[00:08:51] If we ever get the chance to talk about, I mean, we're not going to talk about Fury Road

[00:08:55] on this podcast.

[00:08:56] I mean, I guess we could because it's apocalyptic.

[00:08:58] But if we ever get the chance to talk about that on another podcast, I think we should

[00:09:03] because I would gush over Nux because I think his arc was incredible.

[00:09:09] Yeah.

[00:09:10] So.

[00:09:11] Yeah.

[00:09:12] And then, of course, Nicholas Holt's no stranger to this podcast as well.

[00:09:16] Talked about him before a few times.

[00:09:18] You know, a couple of times.

[00:09:19] A couple of times he's come up.

[00:09:22] And we really should get around to doing Warm Bodies.

[00:09:25] That's another one that's been suggested a bunch of times.

[00:09:29] So maybe next season.

[00:09:31] Not next week.

[00:09:32] I can promise you it's not going to be next week.

[00:09:34] Yeah.

[00:09:35] No, we've got some.

[00:09:36] I think we're pretty much set on the rest of the season.

[00:09:38] We know what we're doing.

[00:09:40] But we can plan ahead for next season and next year.

[00:09:45] Because, yeah, Warm Bodies, I think we should finally get around to.

[00:09:47] And then I was even thinking with the Nicolas Cage connection, we need to do Long Legs.

[00:09:51] I still haven't seen it, but I think we should.

[00:09:54] Oh, I have seen it.

[00:09:56] It is one of those that I think we're going to have.

[00:09:59] We would have such a conversation about.

[00:10:02] Yeah.

[00:10:03] And it's definitely got to be the right week to do it.

[00:10:08] But I think that it would be great.

[00:10:09] Yeah, so I think we can at least set those up for possibly next season.

[00:10:13] So, in the future.

[00:10:15] I mean, it's timely that we're talking about a Nicolas Holt movie because he's going to be in, wow, surprisingly, another movie called Nosferatu.

[00:10:25] So, he's, you know, he's got a thing with the undead.

[00:10:29] So, we saw him also in the menu, which had nothing to do with the undead.

[00:10:35] Mostly the soon-to-be-dead.

[00:10:37] But, yeah.

[00:10:40] He's been in a few things that we've covered.

[00:10:43] So, yeah.

[00:10:45] So, yeah.

[00:10:46] As far as notes go, like, there's, like, gaps in the stuff.

[00:10:48] Because, like, again, it is, it's Renfield.

[00:10:52] He's the title character.

[00:10:54] But it is more of a kind of ensemble in some places.

[00:11:00] Not always, but a little bit.

[00:11:01] Like, he, there's a lot of the movie that kind of carries with what him and Rebecca are doing.

[00:11:05] And then there's a lot of the storyline that really is, they're more Dracula notes because it's very much, like, what they're, you know, having conversations about.

[00:11:15] And then a lot of it is his beef with Teddy.

[00:11:18] So, there's just this.

[00:11:20] Oh, Teddy.

[00:11:21] He's always a part of other things, which is great.

[00:11:25] Yeah.

[00:11:25] Yeah, so.

[00:11:26] People have their own arcs in this movie and connections to other characters.

[00:11:30] So, it's kind of got a lot going on all at once sometimes.

[00:11:34] Yeah, so he's Renfield.

[00:11:37] He's Dracula's familiar assistant.

[00:11:39] He's not a vampire, but he is granted immortality to some degree.

[00:11:44] He doesn't age.

[00:11:44] He can still die.

[00:11:46] He's mortal as far as, like, for, like, mortal wounds and things.

[00:11:51] Like, he can be killed, just not by aging.

[00:11:57] Because it's kind of, he has limited vampiric power.

[00:12:00] So, he can do the job long term.

[00:12:04] He has to have little snacks of bugs that give him a little extra power boost.

[00:12:11] Yeah, that ties back to Renfield in the Stoker, you know, in the Bram Stoker novel.

[00:12:22] He, you know, he had to consume live insects because he needed the force.

[00:12:31] This isn't Star Wars, but it's some sort of force that he's needing.

[00:12:34] Right.

[00:12:36] You said a bug's life force gives him the power.

[00:12:42] Gives him yellow eyes and the ability to go to town on whoever, ripping off limbs.

[00:12:49] Is a bug's life his favorite Pixar movie?

[00:12:52] I don't know.

[00:12:54] I don't know.

[00:12:55] I don't know about that.

[00:12:56] Yeah.

[00:12:57] We see him at this, like, codependent, you know, dependent relationship addiction support group.

[00:13:06] And he's listening in and they're talking about their problems and things.

[00:13:12] Fishbone, mustard plug, voodoo glow skulls.

[00:13:14] That is a solid ska list, by the way.

[00:13:17] It's really good.

[00:13:17] I had a feeling you'd have an opinion on that.

[00:13:21] I loved that they started us off at that support group meeting and that he's talking about getting rid of his own monsters.

[00:13:34] Getting rid of monsters by giving mine what it needs.

[00:13:38] By him, I'm thinking, oh, my God, is he taking people from this support group and giving them to Dracula?

[00:13:48] No, he's going after the monsters that have done terrible things to the people in the support group.

[00:13:54] Yeah.

[00:13:54] I found that amazing.

[00:13:57] Because we learned right at the beginning, this guy, Mitch, that this poor girl is talking about.

[00:14:03] And he just is ready to go get and take care of Mitch.

[00:14:10] Yeah.

[00:14:10] So he's like at the support group to hear of.

[00:14:12] It's almost like that Dexter mentality or something.

[00:14:16] Where it's like, who are the people?

[00:14:18] He's like, if I'm going to have to go out and do this.

[00:14:20] He's having this crisis of conscience a little bit.

[00:14:22] And it's like, well, who deserves it?

[00:14:25] At least.

[00:14:26] Let's try to make it work in that aspect.

[00:14:28] And so he's listening to the people that are causing hell for these other people.

[00:14:32] He's like, well, then we'll go after them.

[00:14:34] Especially now that Dracula is in this period of needing to heal up.

[00:14:39] And Scott-loving Mitch becomes the first one that we see here.

[00:14:46] But going after him then leads to getting caught up with a hitman hired by a drug dealer.

[00:14:51] Oh my god, that hitman.

[00:14:53] This hitman who Renfield beheads by punching.

[00:14:57] He gets such supercharged powers to be able to do things like ripping limbs off and kicking heads off.

[00:15:06] And all I could think is what wrestler played that hitman?

[00:15:11] Because he looked like he could be a wrestler.

[00:15:15] Yeah.

[00:15:16] Like he looked like he was built really solid.

[00:15:20] I haven't looked through the casting to see who it was.

[00:15:21] No, I don't think it was a wrestler.

[00:15:23] But I'm just that, you know, that's what I'm thinking.

[00:15:26] In my head, that's what I'm thinking.

[00:15:28] Yeah.

[00:15:28] So that's kind of what he's doing is finding these people for him.

[00:15:33] Gets caught up in Teddy Lobo's situation with those, you know, the hitman being his man.

[00:15:38] And then just kind of becoming a thorn in Teddy's side.

[00:15:43] And so then Teddy has to like, you know, from running from that.

[00:15:47] Gets tied up with Rebecca.

[00:15:48] We can talk about Teddy and Rebecca and all that a little bit.

[00:15:51] Yeah.

[00:15:51] It just kind of ends up with Renfield becoming a problem for Teddy without Teddy even realizing it first.

[00:15:57] And then the next big kind of moment where they all meet up at like the bar restaurant.

[00:16:01] It's a very like goth kind of like the bar, which is interesting.

[00:16:08] Yeah.

[00:16:09] There's just happenstance.

[00:16:10] It's like, that's where Rebecca Renfield and Teddy all show up again.

[00:16:15] And you had that big show down there, which had the stunt work action choreography in this movie is just superb.

[00:16:21] It's so fun.

[00:16:22] It's so much fun.

[00:16:24] Yeah.

[00:16:24] Especially that bar fight scene.

[00:16:27] Yeah.

[00:16:27] Because Rebecca's looking for answers to connect to Teddy.

[00:16:30] Teddy and then he shows up so he can teach her a lesson, quote unquote.

[00:16:35] And all they end up doing is just interrupting Renfield trying to get his busload of cheerleaders.

[00:16:41] Because that's all Dracula wants.

[00:16:43] He's talking about he wants nuns.

[00:16:46] He wants the busload of cheerleaders.

[00:16:49] Like there were things he wanted.

[00:16:50] He reminds Renfield what he needs from him.

[00:16:54] And that relationship, I mean, he gaslights him.

[00:16:58] And then he also treats him like shit and says these things.

[00:17:02] And, I mean, Renfield got into this and I don't think he understood what he was getting into when he agreed to it.

[00:17:12] You know?

[00:17:13] Which, how do you not?

[00:17:15] I don't know.

[00:17:17] Yeah.

[00:17:17] When you're familiar to a vampire, your masters, they're not all going to be Nandor the Relentless, you know?

[00:17:23] No, they're not.

[00:17:24] This did give me what we do in the Shadows vibes.

[00:17:30] Not just from the TV series, but the movie too.

[00:17:33] Like the things that happened, just the different vibes.

[00:17:37] Well, there was a point there was like some background music that was playing while Renfield and Rebecca were sitting together talking.

[00:17:45] That I was like, is that the doorbell from what we do in the Shadows house?

[00:17:48] Like it sounded kind of like it had been.

[00:17:51] I was like, what?

[00:17:53] I know.

[00:17:53] I was waiting for Laszlo to bust in.

[00:17:57] My, how are you?

[00:17:59] No, that's not happening.

[00:18:00] Didn't happen.

[00:18:01] No.

[00:18:02] There was one earlier part where there was a fight and I think it was with the priest who said, we're the last of our kind.

[00:18:14] Mm-hmm.

[00:18:15] Exploding Vicar, which could also be another great ska band name.

[00:18:20] Yes, exactly.

[00:18:21] Exactly.

[00:18:21] So I'm listening.

[00:18:22] I'm watching and I'm like, oh my God, that's from Carmen Sweet.

[00:18:27] It's Habanera.

[00:18:29] It's something I hear in skating.

[00:18:30] It's a common song that's used.

[00:18:33] And I'm like, what is that doing on here?

[00:18:36] And then the headaches, just, yeah.

[00:18:39] A lot happens.

[00:18:41] It's just, well, I thought the music, while it wasn't all stuff I'd really heard before, it really fit what was going on in this movie and I was totally down for it.

[00:18:50] And I feel like I need to listen to the soundtrack now without the movie.

[00:18:55] Just to.

[00:18:56] Yeah.

[00:18:56] Yeah, that fight scene, that first big fight scene at the bar.

[00:19:01] So he's just trying to get a busload of cheerleaders and now he's having to deal with this.

[00:19:04] But yeah, he gets to kick some major ass alongside Rebecca and become fully smitten with her.

[00:19:10] Yes.

[00:19:12] He changes.

[00:19:13] It almost reminds me of Warm Bodies in some way where he starts to come out of this gloomy place and more into, like, he's wearing colors.

[00:19:23] Yeah.

[00:19:23] Like, brighter colors.

[00:19:25] And not so drab.

[00:19:27] And brushing his hair.

[00:19:29] Like, they're telling him what he should do in the support group.

[00:19:31] You need to, you know, do this and do this and brush your, have you brushed your hair?

[00:19:36] And stuff like that.

[00:19:37] And he starts to look like a person and having a life, like, trying to take back his life.

[00:19:43] Does he get pretty womaned?

[00:19:45] He, yes.

[00:19:46] Handsome fella, walking down the street.

[00:19:49] Oh, no.

[00:19:52] That will be on Peg's upcoming album.

[00:19:54] Yes.

[00:19:57] Yeah.

[00:19:58] Yeah, because after this, he goes back to Dracula and after being called a hero and being praised for saving people and being seen as something better and nicer, more positive.

[00:20:13] He goes back and he really feels that, like, heaviness and darkness that he's been in.

[00:20:20] Because, especially now, because Dracula's, like, based off of what he said, like, now he's set on this world domination and enslaving humanity.

[00:20:27] And he's like, that doesn't really vibe very well with my whole newfound heroism and liking doing things for myself that feel good kind of thing that's going on right now.

[00:20:37] So I don't know about that.

[00:20:39] Yeah.

[00:20:39] And Dracula's not having the new hero bullshit.

[00:20:41] Like, he does not want Renfield involved in anything like that.

[00:20:47] He wants him to be catering to his needs.

[00:20:49] That's his purpose.

[00:20:51] He's not really supposed to have a life.

[00:20:54] Yeah.

[00:20:55] So you see him pulling away.

[00:20:56] So as you mentioned, he gets the whole new wardrobe and he's cleaning up his life at the behest of this support group that he was going to.

[00:21:05] You know, he wants to stop putting all his energy into his boss so that he can grow to full power instead.

[00:21:10] So weird he'd word it that way.

[00:21:12] But yes!

[00:21:14] The dialogue in this movie stands alone.

[00:21:18] It's really great.

[00:21:20] And you can tell how he really grew to love and respect the people in that support group.

[00:21:28] Like, he connected with them probably because he was taking out their dirty laundry.

[00:21:34] That he was taking care of the people that were making their lives hell.

[00:21:38] Yeah.

[00:21:39] And I think he built that connection with them.

[00:21:41] And so, you know, he now, before he didn't have anything to lose, now he's got stuff to lose.

[00:21:50] And yeah, he's also got this crush on Rebecca.

[00:21:53] So he's going to go talk to her.

[00:21:56] He's going to give his witness statement to the police station.

[00:21:58] And Robert Montague Renfield.

[00:22:01] So, he definitely feels this connection to Rebecca.

[00:22:05] And I like that conversation they have with his, like, witness statement.

[00:22:10] Where basically the gist of it is, like, we're both people tired of following along under the thumb of some kind of powerful evil.

[00:22:16] And we're ready to stand up against it and do something different.

[00:22:19] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:21] And I think him saying that to her, like, really woke something up in her.

[00:22:26] There are things about her character that I was getting pissed for her.

[00:22:32] But we'll talk about it when we talk about her.

[00:22:34] But, yeah, he's very smitten with her.

[00:22:38] But unlike other things, we're not getting a kiss at the end of the movie.

[00:22:42] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:44] I was good with that.

[00:22:45] Yeah, totally.

[00:22:48] Yeah, and he's – so again, like I said, because we'll talk about other characters.

[00:22:51] So then I skip over a bunch of stuff.

[00:22:52] But then this continual kind of mishmash of things going on where you have Rebecca with – as we'll talk about her.

[00:22:59] But this whole corrupt, you know, crooked cops kind of situation.

[00:23:03] And the Lobos being this, like, one goal that she has is this vengeance on them and finally bringing them to justice.

[00:23:11] While Renfield is into their – you know, he made Teddy look weak.

[00:23:17] And so he's become, you know, enemy number one to the Lobos.

[00:23:22] And it all kind of combines to where –

[00:23:23] Yeah.

[00:23:24] The Lobos come in to try to take out Renfield, but Rebecca is there.

[00:23:27] Crooked cops turn on her.

[00:23:30] And so they run off together back to his apartment.

[00:23:35] He has him – she has him under custody in his own apartment after he's feeding her non-murder cookies.

[00:23:43] What's the recipe for non-murder cookies?

[00:23:46] I don't know, but I need to get it.

[00:23:48] They looked good.

[00:23:50] Yeah.

[00:23:51] But yeah, the, you know, Lobo – I don't have her first name written in my notes because it's never actually said.

[00:23:59] I know it's credited, but Teddy's mama.

[00:24:02] She was something.

[00:24:05] And that actress has been in so – like, I cannot pronounce her name.

[00:24:10] I don't want to pronounce it because I'm so afraid that I will mispronounce it.

[00:24:14] Her character name is Bella Francesca Lobo.

[00:24:18] I've seen her in a bunch of things.

[00:24:20] She's wonderful.

[00:24:21] And she's great in this role because there were just these moments of charm in the way that she was talking with Dracula that –

[00:24:29] There's this moment where, like, you know, Ashante, you know, and they're very much, like, immediately they hit it off to where, like, I could see in, like, Teddy's eyes.

[00:24:35] He's like, is mom going to bang a vampire?

[00:24:38] Like, he's very much like, uh-oh.

[00:24:41] What have I done?

[00:24:42] Yeah.

[00:24:42] Um, but yeah, that she is able to – because she's got, like, the police and all these people in her pocket – able to track down where Renfield and Rebecca went.

[00:24:53] Goes in after them, not expecting to send her men into just a straight-up bloodbath on them.

[00:25:02] Because, yeah, Renfield's just beating and impaling motherfuckers with another motherfucker's arms.

[00:25:07] That killed me.

[00:25:10] The things that he was doing by ripping arms off, it honestly made me think of stuff that Deadpool did at the beginning of Deadpool and Wolverine.

[00:25:21] I mean, just the madness with arms and things.

[00:25:23] That son of a bitch can fly?

[00:25:24] Yeah.

[00:25:25] It was crazy.

[00:25:27] But so fun.

[00:25:29] Ripping on faces and stomping people in half.

[00:25:31] Oh my god.

[00:25:32] It's what he can do with a bug's life.

[00:25:35] Yep.

[00:25:35] A bug's life goes a long way.

[00:25:38] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:39] Yeah.

[00:25:40] Except when he's in the car eating a bunch of bugs before they go.

[00:25:45] It's in every tooth.

[00:25:47] It's in every tooth.

[00:25:49] That was insane.

[00:25:51] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:52] And he's just shoveling it in, trying to get amped up.

[00:25:55] Like, he's doing some sort of drug.

[00:25:57] Yeah.

[00:26:00] Yeah, so we get Dracula and the Lobos working together, because Renfield has abandoned him, so he says.

[00:26:06] So now he needs somebody new to work with who can actually help him with his world domination plan.

[00:26:11] So what better than this widely feared crime family who's just all about evil?

[00:26:16] Like, that's their whole thing.

[00:26:17] Oh, yeah.

[00:26:19] I like it.

[00:26:19] You know what it reminded me of?

[00:26:21] The Zhangs in Sweet Tooth.

[00:26:24] Uh-huh.

[00:26:25] Yeah.

[00:26:26] I can see that.

[00:26:27] Yeah, it definitely did.

[00:26:31] Yeah.

[00:26:32] Teddy.

[00:26:34] I mean, Teddy really.

[00:26:35] Let's think about a better sidekick for Dracula.

[00:26:38] Teddy would be a better sidekick, probably, for Dracula.

[00:26:42] Just because he's evil and would want to do the bidding and would be fine with it.

[00:26:49] Yeah.

[00:26:49] Except he doesn't think, even though he's taken or snorted a millipede, that he's, you know, a henchman.

[00:26:59] Yeah.

[00:27:00] I really like that moment where he's just like, you don't understand.

[00:27:03] He's just going to use you, like, enslave you.

[00:27:05] And he was like, no, that's what you don't get.

[00:27:07] Our relationship is different.

[00:27:08] Master would never do that.

[00:27:09] And then, like, catches himself.

[00:27:10] He's like, oh, God.

[00:27:11] Like, it's coming out of my mouth.

[00:27:13] I don't even want to.

[00:27:13] It's like, uh-oh.

[00:27:14] Yep.

[00:27:14] Yeah.

[00:27:15] I liked that one a lot.

[00:27:16] This is what you've agreed to.

[00:27:18] Mm-hmm.

[00:27:19] Yes, we have Dracula and the Lobos together.

[00:27:22] They have Rebecca's sister and are ready to enact this devious plan.

[00:27:26] So we cue a My Chemical Romance-backed montage.

[00:27:30] And we get the weapons and bugs.

[00:27:34] Maybe we'll see a protection circle.

[00:27:35] They talk about that.

[00:27:36] Seems a little difficult to work out.

[00:27:38] But, you know.

[00:27:39] We'll see what we can do.

[00:27:41] And they're riding in style, taking Teddy's car from the impound lot.

[00:27:44] That was awesome as well.

[00:27:46] Yeah.

[00:27:47] Like, that's a great car.

[00:27:49] Of course they should be.

[00:27:51] I think they look better in it than Teddy.

[00:27:53] Like, they were.

[00:27:55] She's the boss.

[00:27:57] Yeah.

[00:27:58] And then, yeah, as you said, they get to the house and then, oh, shit.

[00:28:01] Dracula made Teddy his new familiar, giving him the same powers as well.

[00:28:06] He had an army of them.

[00:28:09] Yeah, along with a bunch of the Lobos men.

[00:28:10] It's like he is raising an army of powered, non-aging soldiers to do the Dark Ones bidding.

[00:28:16] It seems like what Dracula would do.

[00:28:19] Yeah.

[00:28:19] But even with all of them being all, like, hyped up, Renfield is, let's say, bugging out pretty hard himself.

[00:28:27] So he can handle the fight against all of them pretty well.

[00:28:31] We get a leaping knee strike from Renfield up to the top.

[00:28:35] It's great.

[00:28:35] Busaikoni!

[00:28:36] No.

[00:28:38] Takeshi would be proud.

[00:28:40] Or Bryan Danielson.

[00:28:43] Yeah.

[00:28:44] And then his final, like, fight with Teddy was fun.

[00:28:47] Full-on Mortal Kombat X-ray sequence of fatality.

[00:28:51] Oh, God.

[00:28:53] I was very pleased with that.

[00:28:56] There were little shots like that that just made this movie even more fun.

[00:29:02] Yeah.

[00:29:03] Yeah.

[00:29:04] I mean, it was gory.

[00:29:05] If you like gore, this movie had it.

[00:29:08] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:09] It definitely did.

[00:29:10] There were a few scenes where it was just like, oh, they actually went there.

[00:29:15] And, yeah, it was a ton of fun.

[00:29:19] I feel like it went by fast.

[00:29:21] I think that's why I said earlier that I think it could have been a little bit longer is because it went by so fast.

[00:29:28] Like, there were really no slow points at all.

[00:29:30] Yeah.

[00:29:32] And I like that.

[00:29:32] I'm not going to complain about it.

[00:29:34] No.

[00:29:34] It's great.

[00:29:35] Let's get through it and enjoy it.

[00:29:38] No downtime.

[00:29:40] Yeah.

[00:29:41] Yeah.

[00:29:41] The final fight with Dracula himself, a lot of being able to really, you know, finally step up and be yourself.

[00:29:51] Kind of that mentality of like, I'm tired of being under your thumb.

[00:29:54] Like, finally, I'm going to know that I do have strength within myself.

[00:29:58] That I am capable.

[00:29:59] And it's like all these, like, you know, mantras of the support group.

[00:30:03] Affirmations.

[00:30:03] Or all kind of affirmations and stuff coming back to him and then him using them pretty well.

[00:30:10] And the protection circle coming back into play.

[00:30:15] And then it's cocaine.

[00:30:21] That was great.

[00:30:22] With the whole, like, Rebecca figuring out that they could use the cocaine.

[00:30:26] Yeah.

[00:30:27] Yeah.

[00:30:28] So that was great.

[00:30:29] And then, yeah, so many torture implements that they can use to really decimate Dracula.

[00:30:33] To where, at the end, at the very least, he's going to have to try to come back from tiny blended pieces scattered and contained within little blocks of cement.

[00:30:43] That'll be tricky.

[00:30:44] Yeah.

[00:30:48] They, yeah, it's not going to work.

[00:30:50] I don't think.

[00:30:51] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:52] But also, Renfield uses Dracula's blood to do some good in the world.

[00:30:59] Yeah, they bring back Rebecca's sister and then all of the slaughtered support group people.

[00:31:04] But then I had to question, I was like, does that mean that all these people are now non-aging and will gain powers if they accidentally swallow a bug?

[00:31:11] Or is there a different process for that?

[00:31:13] Because it wasn't really fully fleshed out, like, because we know that, like, Dracula used his blood to heal Renfield.

[00:31:20] But, like, is that what also gave him his abilities?

[00:31:25] Yeah, I'm not sure.

[00:31:26] Familiarness?

[00:31:27] Yes, or is there a different process that you go through and then, like, the healing is, the blood is just healing also without other side effects?

[00:31:34] I don't really know.

[00:31:35] I'm hoping that the blood is just healing.

[00:31:38] And it's not something you can get at the pharmacy, even though Rebecca told her sister maybe that it could be.

[00:31:47] I did feel bad for Mark from the support group who said they saw things they can't unsee and they know things they can't unknow.

[00:31:57] And I thought, oh boy, yeah.

[00:32:01] Yeah.

[00:32:02] But he's excited and it was a great session.

[00:32:05] And I'm just happy that Renfield was able to get back all of his people because he needed them.

[00:32:12] Like, they were helping him become a better person and realize exactly what he had been going through.

[00:32:19] Yeah.

[00:32:21] Yeah.

[00:32:21] He had a lot of baggage.

[00:32:23] Yeah.

[00:32:24] Maybe Carol can now finally get through one story.

[00:32:28] You know, I hope so.

[00:32:29] I hope so.

[00:32:30] I recognize that actress.

[00:32:32] She played Tara in Terrifier.

[00:32:35] Okay.

[00:32:36] Oh, wow.

[00:32:37] Yeah.

[00:32:37] Yeah.

[00:32:39] I'm like, where have I seen her before?

[00:32:41] Didn't even recognize her, but yeah.

[00:32:42] Yeah.

[00:32:42] Because her hair.

[00:32:44] Her hair's a lot shorter.

[00:32:45] A lot shorter.

[00:32:46] So, yeah.

[00:32:47] She looked familiar to me.

[00:32:48] So, I went and looked it up.

[00:32:50] And, yeah, she was in Terrifier.

[00:32:51] But now we have to shift and talk a little bit about other characters.

[00:32:59] Like Rebecca, Dracula.

[00:33:00] A few notes for a few others.

[00:33:02] Yeah.

[00:33:03] Yeah.

[00:33:03] So, yeah, Dracula.

[00:33:05] I've talked about a lot of some of it.

[00:33:08] The blood and kind of his hold over things.

[00:33:12] Yeah.

[00:33:12] Him being unhappy with this poor selection of victims that Renfield is bringing lately.

[00:33:16] He needs purity.

[00:33:18] He feeds off of that purity.

[00:33:20] You know, happy couples and nuns and busloads of cheerleaders, apparently.

[00:33:23] That's what we need.

[00:33:24] Mm-hmm.

[00:33:27] I will say, you know, once he realizes through Teddy, it's a funny little moment.

[00:33:32] Like, Teddy is spared because he's like, I'm after this guy.

[00:33:36] And he's like, is that your roommate or whatever?

[00:33:38] But he's like, basically, he was like, you wouldn't believe what your guy was doing.

[00:33:41] He was saving innocent people.

[00:33:43] And Dracula's like, how dare he?

[00:33:45] It's the worst thing you can ever do.

[00:33:48] You know?

[00:33:50] And goes to confront him at his apartment.

[00:33:52] Which, the whole Dracula already being in the apartment when Renfield gets there.

[00:33:58] How can he do that if he, was he welcomed in?

[00:34:02] Yes.

[00:34:04] That was the joke that killed me.

[00:34:06] It's because when he, Renfield looks at him and then looks down at the welcome mat in front of the door that says, welcome.

[00:34:13] Damn it.

[00:34:13] Please come in.

[00:34:16] And I died laughing.

[00:34:18] I was like, Dracula entering the apartment because of the welcome mat was a hilarious joke.

[00:34:23] And it was very well done.

[00:34:24] So I guess you missed that one.

[00:34:26] But I did.

[00:34:27] And Renfield should have known better.

[00:34:29] I know.

[00:34:30] That's why he has that look where he was like, damn it.

[00:34:34] He should have known better.

[00:34:36] I mean, look at how hard he was fighting against it with Mark was like inviting Dracula into the support group.

[00:34:44] I know.

[00:34:44] I was like, no.

[00:34:47] Yeah.

[00:34:48] So, yeah.

[00:34:48] The reason that he's sitting in there is because he's got that welcome mat in front of the door that says, welcome, please come in.

[00:34:53] And it's like, oh, no.

[00:34:55] He didn't think that one through.

[00:34:57] So funny.

[00:34:59] And then, of course, Dracula's speech to Renfield in the apartment was just peak Nicolas Cage.

[00:35:07] The inflections.

[00:35:08] Like, you don't know.

[00:35:10] I'm just like, it's like, yes.

[00:35:13] That is just Cage being his cagiest.

[00:35:16] He was born the way he can.

[00:35:18] Only the way he can.

[00:35:19] At least once.

[00:35:20] And I'm glad that he did because he, I mean, Christopher Lee was a fantastic actor who played many, many roles.

[00:35:27] Dracula was one of those roles that stood out for Nicolas Cage to, like, do it the way, you know, channel Christopher Lee when he was doing it, but also make it Nicolas Cage.

[00:35:39] But also the very over-the-top caginess, which just works with a character that dramatic.

[00:35:45] Yes.

[00:35:46] Over-the-top and big anyway.

[00:35:47] So it's perfect.

[00:35:50] Yeah.

[00:35:50] And then him learning from the book.

[00:35:54] You know, who put these sick and disgusting ideas of happiness in your head, basically?

[00:36:00] And then he looks and sees it's from a church basement, basically.

[00:36:03] Yeah.

[00:36:04] He's like, oh, no, this is not good.

[00:36:06] That's right.

[00:36:06] Yeah.

[00:36:07] He's going to go after them and Renfield has to try to go save them.

[00:36:11] And it's just that moment where he goes, these are good people.

[00:36:13] And it's like, oh, well.

[00:36:15] Shouldn't have said that because that definitely sealed their fate.

[00:36:17] Because he's like, good, finally.

[00:36:19] That's what I've been wanting from you.

[00:36:23] Yeah, no.

[00:36:25] Yeah.

[00:36:26] And that's kind of that moment where he kills all of them and is just like, you abandoned me.

[00:36:31] And Renfield, oh my god, he wanted to save them.

[00:36:34] He was having such a hard time.

[00:36:36] He's like, so now I have the power to take the whole world and you get to be alive and suffer and watch as I do it.

[00:36:42] And it's just like, oof.

[00:36:43] And just, Renfield was a victim.

[00:36:48] Like, he was a victim in the sense of he should have known better than to go and partner up with Dracula.

[00:36:55] But evidently he didn't.

[00:36:58] Well, so yes and no.

[00:36:59] Like, he was to a degree.

[00:37:00] But also, I like that they have him, while talking with Rebecca, be like, no, I made, there were choices that I made actively that put me in this position.

[00:37:11] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:12] Like, he's not, he's at fault to some degree and he recognizes that and owns up to it.

[00:37:20] He knew that he needed help.

[00:37:23] That he was in a place he needed to get out of.

[00:37:25] So that is why he was at the support group in addition to, it was a great way for him to find victims for Dracula.

[00:37:36] Yeah.

[00:37:37] But he also could listen to the stories of other people and realize he's not alone in this kind of situation.

[00:37:45] Mm-hmm.

[00:37:45] That there are other people who struggle with being able to leave a situation and do the right thing because they're just so comfortable in where they're at.

[00:37:54] In the misery of it.

[00:37:56] And not knowing who they would be without it.

[00:37:58] Exactly.

[00:37:59] I think you reach a point where you only know the person you are in the toxic relationship and you don't know who you are outside of the toxic relationship.

[00:38:11] And it's scary to think about trying to figure out who that person is.

[00:38:16] Yeah, so it becomes this place where you'd rather be miserable and suffer in a familiar situation than be alone in something you're not used to.

[00:38:31] Exactly.

[00:38:31] And it's you reconcile yourself or you figure out that that's, well, I'll just stay where I am because at least the hell I'm in now is probably better than the hell I would be in without this.

[00:38:47] Mm-hmm.

[00:38:47] Because trying to handle something that's new or changing can be terrifying for people.

[00:38:55] Yeah.

[00:38:55] Especially when you've had years and years of a situation that's so toxic that it's eroded your sense of self.

[00:39:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:07] And I feel like Redfield was trying to get that back.

[00:39:12] And at the end, he does.

[00:39:14] He gets to be himself.

[00:39:22] Yeah.

[00:39:22] But we should talk a little bit about Rebecca.

[00:39:25] Yeah.

[00:39:26] Really, really loved her character.

[00:39:29] She was great.

[00:39:30] Yeah, Aquafina is fun.

[00:39:31] I enjoy her.

[00:39:34] And it's not long, yeah, when Teddy's running through the checkpoint, he gets out of his car with all the bricks of cocaine and is,

[00:39:41] I have a prescription for these, running off.

[00:39:44] And he's throwing them at her.

[00:39:47] Her and her partner, like that rapport is like, is he throwing drugs at us?

[00:39:50] It's cocaine.

[00:39:54] Which I was like, okay, this is already quite silly and funny and I love it.

[00:39:57] Cool.

[00:39:57] I felt so bad for her because I felt like she was trying to do something good.

[00:40:04] And you don't realize at first just how crooked the cops are in this movie.

[00:40:11] At least I didn't.

[00:40:13] Mm-hmm.

[00:40:14] When she thinks she's done something great and then arrested him for a bunch of different reasons and they're just letting him go.

[00:40:23] Mm-hmm.

[00:40:24] And then even blaming her with like, the trauma you put him through.

[00:40:28] It's like, wait, hold on.

[00:40:30] What is going on?

[00:40:31] And then you learn that her dad died and she and her sister are in law enforcement.

[00:40:38] Her sister's in the FBI.

[00:40:41] Yeah.

[00:40:43] Yeah.

[00:40:44] And not just died, but like at the hands of the Lobos.

[00:40:48] More specifically, Teddy is the one who is said to have killed him.

[00:40:52] Although she doesn't believe that.

[00:40:54] I love that when they have that kind of face to face in the bar where she's like, I know it wasn't actually you because you don't have the guts to do something like that.

[00:41:02] So which one of your men did you have do it for you?

[00:41:04] Yep.

[00:41:05] Yeah.

[00:41:07] Yeah.

[00:41:07] I don't know how much guts he had, really.

[00:41:11] Plenty of them at the end.

[00:41:13] Lots of them.

[00:41:13] They went all over the floor.

[00:41:14] Yep.

[00:41:16] And out his head.

[00:41:18] Mm-hmm.

[00:41:19] Yeah.

[00:41:20] Lots of things.

[00:41:21] Yeah.

[00:41:21] It was a mess.

[00:41:23] Clean up in a mansion.

[00:41:26] Not aisle five, but in a mansion.

[00:41:28] A beautiful house.

[00:41:29] Mm-hmm.

[00:41:30] That just happened to have windows that closed completely.

[00:41:34] Yeah.

[00:41:34] They didn't set those up before Dracula.

[00:41:37] Like, just for Dracula showing up.

[00:41:39] Like, that was a feature in the house already.

[00:41:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:41:42] So somebody was up to something.

[00:41:44] Either they had them put in ahead of time for their own use or someone who had the house before them did it.

[00:41:49] Because who knows how long they'd actually been living there.

[00:41:53] Probably a long time.

[00:41:55] It's probably been in the family forever.

[00:41:57] Well, it could have been.

[00:41:58] I mean, God knows why then that they had those drop-down windows.

[00:42:02] It closed up.

[00:42:04] The FBI tries busting in.

[00:42:06] You just...

[00:42:08] Yeah.

[00:42:09] Speaking of that, yeah, because we learned Rebecca's sister is an FBI agent who's there.

[00:42:12] And she's trying to, like, work through her in some ways.

[00:42:16] And that's the idea where you learn about their father.

[00:42:18] And so, like, okay, that we understand her vendetta and frustration with not being able to do anything about it.

[00:42:26] Yeah.

[00:42:27] Yeah.

[00:42:27] And she tries.

[00:42:28] But it's almost like she's a joke to everyone.

[00:42:31] Mm-hmm.

[00:42:32] And that bugged me.

[00:42:33] I'm like, she's trying to do the right thing.

[00:42:36] She seems like a good person.

[00:42:38] And everyone's...

[00:42:39] They're just being, like, jerks to her.

[00:42:41] And that...

[00:42:43] Yeah, bugged me.

[00:42:44] I'm like, why are you being so mean to her?

[00:42:46] She's trying to do the right thing.

[00:42:48] And it's because they were all in cahoots, basically.

[00:42:51] Yeah.

[00:42:52] With the Lobos.

[00:42:53] Yep.

[00:42:54] They just kind of owned everybody.

[00:42:57] You know, they go to try to find stuff on Teddy.

[00:42:59] Again, go back to the place where the bounty hunter was killed.

[00:43:05] And it's just like, oh, this...

[00:43:07] The Scoss lander in this movie is wild.

[00:43:11] No.

[00:43:12] It's some kind of message.

[00:43:13] I think it's lyrics from the Scoss song.

[00:43:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:43:19] Yeah, and then using the FBI to try to connect Teddy to the situation with the pen.

[00:43:25] Which immediately, as soon as she's, like, talking to her sister about running the DNA on the pen,

[00:43:30] I was like, yeah, you're gonna...

[00:43:32] What you find on that is gonna surprise you.

[00:43:34] You're not gonna find Teddy's...

[00:43:36] It's like, uh, this is not gonna go well as her and Renfield are getting closer.

[00:43:40] I'm like, yeah, no, I know exactly what's on that pen.

[00:43:43] And, uh, you're not gonna like what you find there.

[00:43:45] Nope.

[00:43:45] It's gonna be a little bit of a surprise.

[00:43:48] Which it was...

[00:43:49] She finds that information out, again, while at his apartment eating non-murder cookies.

[00:43:54] Which I like how she answers that.

[00:43:56] She's like, you know, it's like this prolific serial killer.

[00:43:59] Maybe the greatest.

[00:44:00] And then she's like, oh, yeah, I'm at his place right now.

[00:44:04] Like, it's no big deal.

[00:44:05] Mm-hmm.

[00:44:06] But he's in my custody and he made cookies.

[00:44:10] Like, what?

[00:44:11] Yeah.

[00:44:13] And then I think she thinks he's crazy at first when he's telling her all the Dracula stuff.

[00:44:19] But then with what her sister says on the phone about this, like this, he has to have been like 80 years old and these killings go all the way back.

[00:44:27] I think immediately she's like, oh, no, he's telling the truth.

[00:44:31] Okay.

[00:44:31] What do we gotta do with this situation now?

[00:44:34] Yeah.

[00:44:34] Yeah.

[00:44:34] How is this gonna...

[00:44:35] How is this gonna play out?

[00:44:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:44:38] Because the person I'm with is definitely not, you know, a 30-something guy.

[00:44:43] He's definitely a lot older, a lot more life experience.

[00:44:47] God knows, you know, how much of what he said is real, but some of it is.

[00:44:53] And so she was in a scary situation.

[00:44:57] And I think she handled herself incredibly, because even after that, I mean, like the whole plan, we've talked about their plan to going, but, you know, she had this kind of plan with Dracula that even she was able to keep that straight face and play that part with him.

[00:45:12] I loved that part so well.

[00:45:15] Yeah, he's trying to turn her to his side and I think is a ploy to hurt Renfield.

[00:45:22] But, yeah, he should have known that she's not gonna leave her morals that easily.

[00:45:26] She's playing into it so she can hit him with some sunlight.

[00:45:30] Not nearly enough to get the job done, but at least it kickstarts that final battle that puts a little bit of a hurting on him.

[00:45:39] And then, I mean, we see she plays a huge role because she's smart enough to, I mean, she uses Dracula's blood by shooting through his foot to revive Renfield so he can then come back and find his inner strength and take his power back.

[00:45:52] And then she makes the cocaine circle.

[00:45:54] That was...

[00:45:55] So good.

[00:45:56] They said any powder would work.

[00:46:00] It's funny because...

[00:46:01] Thank you, Wick and Tumblr.

[00:46:02] It was funny because before she did it, they have this one shot towards the cocaine and I was just like, how is that gonna play into this?

[00:46:11] Yeah.

[00:46:12] And then it all worked out just perfectly.

[00:46:15] Yeah, I was like, why is she looking at that?

[00:46:16] And yeah, when the circle comes up, I was like, where did that...

[00:46:19] Oh!

[00:46:20] Yeah.

[00:46:21] Yeah, it was great.

[00:46:24] Yeah.

[00:46:24] I think this movie overall was a ton of fun.

[00:46:27] I think that the cast was great.

[00:46:30] The, I mean, Nicolas Cage's Dracula was way over the top, which is where it needed to be.

[00:46:36] Yes.

[00:46:38] It, yeah, it was just a ton of fun.

[00:46:41] It's one that I'll definitely watch again just because it, it's one I can have on in the background and not have to pay close attention to.

[00:46:52] Yeah.

[00:46:53] But I can watch it and enjoy it again.

[00:46:56] For sure.

[00:46:56] So it's definitely one of those movies that's gonna go on my list of, yeah, I'm gonna throw it on in the background just so it feels like I'm not alone in my house.

[00:47:07] Yeah.

[00:47:07] I had a few more little notes, mainly just like Lobos stuff.

[00:47:11] Because again, Ben Schwartz, like I said, him appearing in anything ever always makes me happy.

[00:47:16] I love Ben Schwartz so much.

[00:47:19] Of course.

[00:47:20] I did not know he was in this movie.

[00:47:22] And so when he appeared, I'm like, John Ralphio on crack because he's like John Ralphio amped, amped, amped up.

[00:47:29] Which, that's saying a lot because just John Ralphio baseline is already too much.

[00:47:35] Too much.

[00:47:36] So this is like even more.

[00:47:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:47:40] Yeah.

[00:47:41] The worst.

[00:47:43] Yes.

[00:47:43] I love Ben Schwartz so much.

[00:47:45] He is the worst.

[00:47:46] John Ralphio.

[00:47:46] Well, Mona Lisa's the worst.

[00:47:50] They're both pretty bad.

[00:47:52] John Ralphio is such an incredible character in every way.

[00:47:55] Yeah, Ben Schwartz, so funny.

[00:47:58] Great improv comedian.

[00:48:00] He's got a really great improv special on Netflix that is so good.

[00:48:06] I highly recommend checking that out.

[00:48:08] He's done a lot of great stuff.

[00:48:09] I mean, like he was recently on Make Some Noise on Dropout and that was great.

[00:48:15] Of course, he's also the voice of Sonic and I'm so excited for the new Sonic movie that is coming out soon.

[00:48:21] Uh, this month.

[00:48:23] I'm definitely going to go see that because surprisingly the Sonic movies are very good.

[00:48:28] Uh.

[00:48:30] You've said that before.

[00:48:32] Yeah.

[00:48:33] So yeah.

[00:48:34] Just like Ben Schwartz can do no wrong.

[00:48:37] If he's in something, then I'm in.

[00:48:40] Let's go.

[00:48:41] Uh, but then his character, yeah, here, Teddy is a moron.

[00:48:46] But he's a lobo, which makes him practically untouchable anyway.

[00:48:49] He's just a moron without a leash.

[00:48:53] Uh, except for the one his mom has on him.

[00:48:56] Oh, and she does.

[00:48:58] Yeah.

[00:48:59] That is for sure.

[00:49:01] Yeah.

[00:49:01] He learns how to track Renfield, which leads him to Dracula's lair at the abandoned hospital.

[00:49:06] That was amazing.

[00:49:08] So good.

[00:49:09] Well, bye-bye all of Teddy's men.

[00:49:10] But he's spared because Dracula likes that he's all about evil.

[00:49:15] Yep.

[00:49:16] And he gave him, gave Dracula the news that Teddy was, or that Renfield was doing the unspeakable act of saving people.

[00:49:22] Oh my God.

[00:49:23] Uh.

[00:49:24] No one would really want to do that.

[00:49:26] No.

[00:49:27] Yeah.

[00:49:28] And then, the, her, uh, Rebecca's partner, when he turns on her, I saw it coming.

[00:49:37] Whenever she's like, did you call it when they have Renfield in custody after all the people at the church are dead?

[00:49:41] And then it's like, did you call it in?

[00:49:43] He's like, yeah, I called it in.

[00:49:44] And I immediately was like, to the Lobos.

[00:49:46] Yep.

[00:49:46] Like, I was like, I know exactly what's happening.

[00:49:49] They all come running.

[00:49:50] I mean, some things were predictable, but it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the movie.

[00:49:57] Because, yeah, the Lobos and then all of the cops that are on their payroll showed up, which was practically everyone.

[00:50:03] Fuck you, Kyle.

[00:50:06] I mean, they underestimated her if they thought that she would just give in and give them Renfield.

[00:50:16] Yeah.

[00:50:16] They don't know her very well if they thought that she would just give up.

[00:50:22] Because she was not going to do that.

[00:50:23] That's not who she is.

[00:50:26] So, yeah.

[00:50:26] So, it's an interesting way to see Teddy's kind of arc where he finds himself in a partnership with Dracula over a shared hatred of Renfield and a love of evil and power.

[00:50:40] That, like I said, Teddy made a better henchman.

[00:50:45] Mm-hmm.

[00:50:45] Because he didn't have a conscience.

[00:50:48] Renfield had a conscience.

[00:50:51] He realized that he didn't want to be doing those things anymore.

[00:50:55] That's pretty much it.

[00:50:56] Not a long one to talk about, but a fun one for sure.

[00:51:00] No, I feel like we covered it really well.

[00:51:06] It was a great discussion, as usual.

[00:51:10] I love the connections to the 1931 movie.

[00:51:16] I love that it's a sequel for a movie that came out, what, 93 years ago?

[00:51:24] Yeah, so I think that's a clever thing.

[00:51:29] And now I feel like I have to go back and re-watch the 1931 Dracula.

[00:51:33] So, I'm going to go ahead and do that.

[00:51:37] Well, cool, cool.

[00:51:38] Yeah, I think not much more to say about that.

[00:51:43] We do have a feedback phone going off, so maybe some others had some thoughts.

[00:51:48] Yeah, I wonder.

[00:51:49] Let me go get that.

[00:51:53] All right, a little bit of feedback this week, of course, from the ever-dependable Catherine.

[00:51:58] Love to hear what she has to say on anything, everything, all the time.

[00:52:05] So, for Renfield here, Catherine says,

[00:52:07] There's so much to love about Renfield.

[00:52:09] His colorful sweater, the powers from eating bugs, and his explosive bone-breaking kick.

[00:52:13] I've seen Nicolas Cage in Longlegs, Willy's Wonderland, and National Treasure in the last few months,

[00:52:18] and his ability to play such different characters is impressive.

[00:52:21] I did not realize this was a Robert Kirkman story until the credits, which explains why the gore is so intense, yet somehow enjoyable.

[00:52:27] I was devastated at the slaughter of the support group, so I was very pleased with the ending.

[00:52:31] Yes, me too, Catherine, because I loved the little support group.

[00:52:36] Mm-hmm.

[00:52:37] It was so helpful to Renfield, and I appreciated them being there for him, because he just went through such a difficult time.

[00:52:46] Plus, it gave him, you know, options for who to feed to Dracula.

[00:52:52] Mm-hmm.

[00:52:53] It was like a Dexter situation.

[00:52:56] It really was.

[00:52:58] Well, if you'd like to share your feedback with us, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram at RunFearLivesPodcast,

[00:53:04] or email us at RunFearLivesPodcast at gmail.com.

[00:53:07] If you're enjoying the show, tell your friends.

[00:53:10] We are available on all the major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

[00:53:16] You can visit RunFearLivesPodcast.com for all the links you'll ever need.

[00:53:21] And don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, as that's the best way to share the love and get us out there even more.

[00:53:28] We really appreciate it.

[00:53:31] Absolutely, we do.

[00:53:32] And, of course, got to give some shout-outs going on to some great stuff going on in the Podcastica universe around us.

[00:53:39] Of course, you can check out the flagship show, which is now titled The Cast of Us, where Jason and Lucy continue their Walking Dead rewatch podcast.

[00:53:48] They are finishing up season three this last week with This Horrowful Life, so you can definitely check out that episode.

[00:53:57] And then, also, over on the Cobra Kai cast, they're continuing on through this next batch of Cobra Kai episodes in the final season of that.

[00:54:06] So, definitely check out their coverage of Cobra Kai, if you're a big fan of that, like I am.

[00:54:11] And then, lastly, of course, in Podcastica, a new show this week just started up.

[00:54:17] Over on the Star Wars TV cast, you can check out coverage of Disney Plus' Star Wars Skeleton Crew.

[00:54:24] We've got some hosts over there covering season one, episodes one through three all together.

[00:54:30] Who's hosting that show over there on Star Wars TV cast?

[00:54:34] Let me check my notes real quick.

[00:54:37] Oh, so, Paik and Daphne are covering that show over on Star Wars TV cast.

[00:54:42] So, whoever they are, you should definitely go check that out, because I bet they're a lot of fun.

[00:54:48] Yeah.

[00:54:49] Yeah.

[00:54:52] So, it all came about very quickly that we were going to cover that show.

[00:54:58] We didn't even have a chance, really, to plan or prepare, other than watch the show, do the prep, and record the episode.

[00:55:08] So, we didn't get to give you guys a heads up before now.

[00:55:13] Yeah.

[00:55:13] We will be covering – because, I mean, here on Run For Your Lives, we have this movie.

[00:55:18] We have another one next week.

[00:55:19] We have our Christmas special.

[00:55:21] And then, we have the Look Back special.

[00:55:24] And then, maybe we – we're still working on trying to come up with a fun 200.

[00:55:26] We'll see if we can pull something fun together for you.

[00:55:30] So, yeah.

[00:55:31] As we're kind of rounding out this season, we decided, what else should we do other than just drop a whole load of another podcast on our lap as well?

[00:55:40] So, yeah.

[00:55:41] We will be doing Star Wars skeleton crew as well.

[00:55:45] This whole first season, I don't know if there's going to be a season two yet.

[00:55:50] I'm very anti-spoilery, so I don't even know exactly the plans, but I'm loving it.

[00:55:55] I watched those first two episodes the night they dropped and, like, immediately fell in love with that show and those characters and was, like, annoying the hell out of Daphne being like, you have to watch it.

[00:56:04] Watch it now.

[00:56:04] Please watch it now.

[00:56:05] I told you to watch it.

[00:56:06] And so –

[00:56:08] Yeah.

[00:56:09] And she's not even a Star Wars person, like, at all.

[00:56:12] But –

[00:56:13] No.

[00:56:13] I am a huge Star Wars nerd.

[00:56:15] So, it's just – it's so much fun, though.

[00:56:16] So, yeah, I've been nerding out about it.

[00:56:19] And then Jason was like, do you want to cover it?

[00:56:22] And I was like, I don't know if I have time.

[00:56:24] And then it was like, well, if Daphne is also being brought on board with it, it's like, you know what?

[00:56:27] Let's do it.

[00:56:28] It'll be fun.

[00:56:29] Yeah.

[00:56:29] We never really get to talk about a TV series.

[00:56:34] I mean, on Run for Your Lives, it's mostly movies.

[00:56:37] We've only talked about a TV series a couple of times.

[00:56:41] Yeah.

[00:56:41] So, this is giving us a chance to do something a little bit different.

[00:56:45] Yeah.

[00:56:45] And especially in the, like, week-by-week, episode-by-episode format we've never done together.

[00:56:50] So, yeah.

[00:56:51] I'm excited.

[00:56:52] I'm having a blast with that show.

[00:56:54] The first three episodes have been incredible.

[00:56:56] It's – for those who haven't watched it, even if you're like Daphne and not a huge Star Wars fan, definitely check it out.

[00:57:03] You don't need the greater over scope of the Star Wars universe.

[00:57:07] Some of it helps for, like, little Easter eggs and stuff.

[00:57:09] But I'll be talking about that stuff.

[00:57:12] But, yeah, just itself holding up on its own.

[00:57:14] It is very 80s action comedy inspired with kids.

[00:57:22] So, it's Star Wars meets Goonies meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

[00:57:25] So, I mean, if any of that sounds fun to you, then give it a shot because I think you're going to love it.

[00:57:30] Yeah.

[00:57:32] We're definitely having a ton of fun with it already.

[00:57:34] We dropped the episode for the first three episodes of the TV series.

[00:57:39] And we're going to go week to week.

[00:57:41] So, we'll be recording another episode next week.

[00:57:45] Yes, more recording with Daphne and Pink.

[00:57:47] Mm-hmm.

[00:57:48] Yes.

[00:57:50] It's worth it because it's a lot of fun.

[00:57:52] And they're not super long episodes.

[00:57:55] They're 30 to 40 minutes apiece.

[00:57:57] They've been so far, at least these first three.

[00:57:59] Yeah.

[00:58:00] Maybe like 48 for the pilot.

[00:58:02] But, yeah.

[00:58:03] So, definitely go check it out and check out our coverage if you're interested.

[00:58:06] We're having –

[00:58:07] As I said, we're having a lot of fun out there.

[00:58:09] We've recorded one episode so far.

[00:58:10] But it's – we had a lot of fun with that one.

[00:58:12] And I foresee the rest of this season and the rest of this journey being a lot of fun.

[00:58:17] We're going on an adventure just like these kids.

[00:58:19] So, it'll be a good time.

[00:58:20] It's tons of fun.

[00:58:22] I can't wait for the next episode to come out.

[00:58:24] But while we're doing that and Run Fear Alives, we're also still podcasting with our good friends Jeff and Jerry on Buffalo Buffalo.

[00:58:35] Yeah.

[00:58:36] So, we're still dropping those episodes.

[00:58:38] So, if you want more of us, you can check us out at buffalobuffalopodcast.com.

[00:58:45] Yeah.

[00:58:46] This week, if you want to go check out our Buffalo Buffalo fun, we're playing a game and a game and a game and a game and a game and maybe having a little extra party within the episode.

[00:58:55] Who knows?

[00:58:56] So, it's a good time.

[00:58:58] Definitely.

[00:59:00] All right.

[00:59:00] But aside from all that, after you're done listening to all of those incredible things, then you know you can come back here next week to Run Fear Alives.

[00:59:06] We'll have something else for you.

[00:59:07] And I'm excited for next week.

[00:59:09] So, I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

[00:59:10] Daphne, what are we doing next week?

[00:59:12] Well, when a former TV fitness icon is fired for aging out of her role, she encounters a mysterious drug that temporarily transforms her into a younger version of herself.

[00:59:23] We are discussing the 2024 body horror film The Substance.

[00:59:30] Yes.

[00:59:31] Starring Demi Moore.

[00:59:34] Margaret Qualley.

[00:59:36] Incredible.

[00:59:37] Yes.

[00:59:38] A little bit of Dennis Quaid action for people as well.

[00:59:42] Yeah.

[00:59:42] It's a lot of fun.

[00:59:44] It was really great.

[00:59:45] Also, a Golden Globe nominee and very possible Oscar contender in at least some aspects.

[00:59:52] So, get a little heads up on awards season as well and dive into that one to talk about it.

[00:59:58] Very few horror movies have ever garnered that type of attention.

[01:00:02] So, it's great to see another one coming out this season that has captured the Academy's, hopefully, attention.

[01:00:11] At least the Golden Globes are on board with it.

[01:00:14] So, hopefully, it will translate to something bigger.

[01:00:20] Yeah.

[01:00:20] I'm excited to share that one.

[01:00:22] There's a lot to talk about in it.

[01:00:24] Lots of metaphors and great acting.

[01:00:28] Great concept.

[01:00:30] Definitely come back for that.

[01:00:31] And if you check it out, give us your thoughts.

[01:00:33] We'd love to have feedback on that one for sure.

[01:00:35] That brings us to the end of another fun episode.

[01:00:39] Thanks, everyone, for listening.

[01:00:40] I'm Daphne.

[01:00:42] And I'm Peek.

[01:00:43] And if you have to run, you better run for your lives.

[01:00:47] Bye-bye.