Run For Your Lives Podcast Episode 198: The Substance

[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.

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

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

[00:00:39] This episode is the body horror film The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Forja and released September 20th, 2024.

[00:00:47] Yes, another new one. I feel like this has been the season of the newer films.

[00:00:53] Yeah, a lot of newer stuff. Of course, a big reason for this one, at least for me personally, is me getting a little bit of an early start on Oscar season, perhaps.

[00:01:07] Oscar noms aren't out yet, but, you know, maybe trying to get a little preemptive jump on it for myself.

[00:01:17] If I can.

[00:01:19] And then I'll speak at least for myself, because I think next season we'll definitely probably be kicking off with some Oscar nom movies if they fit our style.

[00:01:26] Once those noms are out, I'll be looking through that list.

[00:01:29] And so I bet Heretic will probably be somewhere in there.

[00:01:33] Some different stuff.

[00:01:34] But yeah, because I talked about it last year, if you're listening around, not quite this time of year, but like after the new year.

[00:01:42] Yeah, I am an Oscar death racer, which means every year when the nominees come out, I watch every single film that's nominated in any category.

[00:01:51] And this one was getting some buzz, which is interesting to, especially after watching it, to see a horror film getting Oscar buzz.

[00:02:00] We don't get that there very, very often, but I can see why.

[00:02:05] Because again, nominations haven't happened yet.

[00:02:08] But again, the director, I could see getting a nomination for this.

[00:02:12] Oh, absolutely.

[00:02:13] Cinematography would make sense, and then definitely makeup and hairstyling, special effects, things like that.

[00:02:19] There's a lot of, after watching it, going like, I can see why it's getting some buzz in certain circles.

[00:02:25] So we'll see.

[00:02:26] And it did get some Golden Globe nominations.

[00:02:28] It did, which always is a good indicator as well.

[00:02:32] Yes.

[00:02:33] Paik just wants to tick the box, saying he's watched this.

[00:02:36] Yeah, if I can get some out of the way a little early, that helps.

[00:02:39] It's good.

[00:02:40] If you listen to Buffalo Buffalo, this will probably come up on the podcast, because Jeff, one of our friends, is also very big into watching every single Oscar movie.

[00:02:52] So the two of them are now the Oscar boys.

[00:02:56] And hopefully they'll be able to succeed and get through all the films again this year.

[00:03:02] I've done it.

[00:03:03] I've managed to 100% even, like, the documentaries, the shorts, everything.

[00:03:09] Which is like 50-something movies by the end of the thing, usually.

[00:03:13] I've only managed to go 100% the past two years in a row.

[00:03:18] So I've got to uphold that now.

[00:03:21] It's been done multiple times, technically, more than once.

[00:03:25] So I've got to keep it up.

[00:03:27] So we'll see how this year goes.

[00:03:29] You've done really well.

[00:03:30] I am surprised, but not really, because you're a completionist.

[00:03:36] Mm-hmm.

[00:03:36] And once you get your mind set to something, you follow through with it.

[00:03:42] So I'm not that surprised that you did.

[00:03:44] With this movie, yes, I'm also surprised at the Golden Globe love.

[00:03:52] But after watching it, I feel like it's valid.

[00:03:56] There are some things about it that are...

[00:03:59] They definitely stand out.

[00:04:02] And I'm really looking forward to seeing how it does at Golden Globes.

[00:04:07] Like, it may not win.

[00:04:09] It did get some acting nominations, which...

[00:04:12] Mm-hmm.

[00:04:13] I mean, great.

[00:04:15] I mean, Demi Moore, who I grew up watching.

[00:04:19] I mean, it's great for her.

[00:04:22] And then Margaret Qualley, I grew up watching her mother.

[00:04:25] So it's really cool to see them get some attention.

[00:04:31] But this one, I think our conversation...

[00:04:34] I have...

[00:04:35] Let's just say I have a lot to say about some of the underlying theme of this.

[00:04:42] And I'm looking forward to the conversation we'll have about it.

[00:04:46] Yeah.

[00:04:47] It was kind of a last-minute thing, because we've already been recording all week a couple of other podcasts.

[00:04:54] We'll mention it at the end, but Peke and I started doing another podcast this week that kind of just happened.

[00:05:04] And so we'll talk about that more probably at the end of the episode.

[00:05:08] Yeah.

[00:05:09] But I'm stoked for it.

[00:05:10] It's been fun.

[00:05:11] Yeah.

[00:05:12] So we'll kick it off the way we always do with some production notes.

[00:05:16] It was filmed in Paris, Saint-Denis, and Antibes, France.

[00:05:22] Yes.

[00:05:22] The director, Coralie Farja, also co-edited and co-produced the film.

[00:05:28] Although Universal was originally going to release it, it ended up being the streaming service Mubi that ultimately released it.

[00:05:37] You're just making that up.

[00:05:38] I've never heard that word before in my life.

[00:05:40] No one has.

[00:05:41] But it's a streaming service.

[00:05:45] Apparently.

[00:05:46] I don't know.

[00:05:48] So The Substance did win Best Screenplay at Cannes Film Festival and also received the longest standing ovation out of all the films that were presented there.

[00:06:03] The budget was $17.5 million.

[00:06:06] It grossed $56.5 million, which is Mubi's highest grossing release.

[00:06:11] Probably only release.

[00:06:15] Because again, I don't think it exists.

[00:06:17] It does exist, Peg.

[00:06:18] I actually went and looked it up because I was concerned.

[00:06:24] It was 141 minutes, which, I mean, that's two hours and 21 minutes.

[00:06:29] It's not a quick watch.

[00:06:32] Yeah.

[00:06:32] Peg, can you give us a synopsis?

[00:06:34] All right.

[00:06:36] A fading celebrity takes a black market drug, a cell replicating substance that creates a younger, better version of herself.

[00:06:43] What could possibly go wrong?

[00:06:53] Yeah, the answer to that question will come out in the conversation we're going to have right now.

[00:07:02] Yeah, it's definitely something and everything that can go wrong.

[00:07:08] What did you think overall?

[00:07:09] Before we dive into the character study, which we always do, what did you think overall?

[00:07:14] I really, really liked this one for a number of different reasons, which is interesting because I didn't think that I wouldn't like it, but I was a little scared.

[00:07:35] I mean, Daphne, you know me well, and I'm sure a good bit of our listeners also do as far as knowing that body horror is my, I don't know if I'd say least favorite, but it's definitely a style of horror that I have the hardest time with.

[00:07:48] Certain things tend to make me super squeamy.

[00:07:51] Yes.

[00:07:52] I'm not a big fan of that.

[00:07:54] So I was a little worried about it, especially once it started, like not the movie, but those moments, those kind of scenes, once the like activation was taking place.

[00:08:04] And then I quickly, there's some things near the end of the movie that I had trouble with.

[00:08:10] But for the most part, a lot of the body horror in this movie really wasn't that big of a deal to me because a lot of it was medical and that's my field of work.

[00:08:18] So I was like, oh, I can handle that.

[00:08:20] I can handle needles.

[00:08:21] I can handle things.

[00:08:22] I can handle, that's fine.

[00:08:24] It's so like medical body horror.

[00:08:27] I deal with that all the time.

[00:08:28] I'm used to that.

[00:08:29] It's fine.

[00:08:34] I was like, and my eyes are just closed and I'll look at the screen for a few seconds while we're going to just let whatever's happening happen.

[00:08:41] And I'll tune back in in a minute.

[00:08:43] I had a feeling there were some points, especially at the end, that were going to bother you.

[00:08:48] But I'm glad that the other parts didn't because it was a little gruesome at times.

[00:08:53] You know, there were things that happened that are not things that are pleasant to watch, but.

[00:08:59] Yeah.

[00:09:00] See, a lot of the medical stuff.

[00:09:01] Now, just cutting into it.

[00:09:03] Sorry for the gross, you know, descriptive language I'll be using maybe sometimes.

[00:09:10] But this like tapping into the spinal cord when it's like all full of pus.

[00:09:14] And it was just like that one.

[00:09:17] I think it was only a little bit harder for me because I was actively trying to eat while watching that scene.

[00:09:22] And so I'm like, this is not going very well hand in hand.

[00:09:27] You should have known better than to try to eat something while watching this movie.

[00:09:31] I know.

[00:09:32] You know better.

[00:09:33] You knew what we were getting into.

[00:09:35] You're the one who said, let's record tomorrow night and we can do this one.

[00:09:40] Mm-hmm.

[00:09:41] Which is great because I really wanted to watch this movie.

[00:09:45] Yeah.

[00:09:45] I was very curious about this one.

[00:09:47] And again, for Oscar reasons, but then also just I've heard a lot of good things and I wanted to check it out.

[00:09:53] And so it's good time to cover it.

[00:09:56] Give us something to talk about.

[00:09:58] And yeah.

[00:09:59] So to answer your question in the longest way possible.

[00:10:01] Yeah.

[00:10:02] That's I did.

[00:10:04] I really enjoyed it.

[00:10:05] I thought it was really good.

[00:10:06] The body horror stuff wasn't as bad as I was anticipating.

[00:10:11] Of course, like a lot of the underlying themes and things were really interesting.

[00:10:14] And it had a good bit of, I wouldn't say humor necessarily, but it was.

[00:10:20] There's a satire element to it that there were things that I thought were like funny in a dark way.

[00:10:26] Yes, it did have dark humor.

[00:10:30] For me, I related to this because I am similar to the age of Demi Moore's character, Elizabeth Sparkle.

[00:10:39] I could relate to some of the things that were happening as far as this constant expectation for women to not age in the way that they are meant to.

[00:10:54] You have to use every product that you have at your disposal.

[00:10:58] You can't look the age that you are.

[00:11:00] You have to live up to somebody else's standard of beauty.

[00:11:07] It's.

[00:11:09] Yeah, it's very difficult being a woman sometimes because there are just these expectations.

[00:11:15] And especially when you're dealing with aging because you go through these different periods like you're in your 20s and then your 30s.

[00:11:23] And then once you hit 40, it really starts to happen.

[00:11:26] And it's not easy.

[00:11:28] Like I've struggled with it.

[00:11:30] And over time, it doesn't get easier.

[00:11:34] You just continue to try to deal with it.

[00:11:37] And I don't think it's something that men deal with as much.

[00:11:41] I think it's something that women do because we're held to this standard.

[00:11:49] And it's like a woman's value diminishes as she gets older.

[00:11:54] And that's something that doesn't sit well with me.

[00:11:57] So there were parts of this that were a little uncomfortable that way because I just got like pissy about it.

[00:12:04] But I also really think that the director did a great job of presenting this story in a way that I think women can relate to.

[00:12:15] And before we got on here to record, I actually watched an interview with her where she was talking about where the theme came from.

[00:12:25] And all of it really came from her own experience getting older because she's also in this same age range.

[00:12:34] And she talks about being violent to herself, like being angry to herself.

[00:12:39] You know, it's easier at first to deal with the aging process.

[00:12:42] But as you get older, it's more and more difficult.

[00:12:44] You can't just slap something over a zit.

[00:12:47] It's not that simple.

[00:12:48] It's wrinkles that you can't cover up and accepting yourself.

[00:12:53] So it's about self-acceptance.

[00:12:57] And I feel like in this movie, I didn't judge Elizabeth for wanting to do this.

[00:13:05] I judged the people around her for putting her in this position and making her feel like she had no choice.

[00:13:12] Like she's being discarded like, you know, a car because they want a new, fresh, fancy model.

[00:13:23] Yeah.

[00:13:24] And I get that.

[00:13:26] Like, I feel that.

[00:13:28] And so kudos, props to Demi Moore for being in this movie and being completely nude, putting it all out there.

[00:13:39] That was all her.

[00:13:40] That was not.

[00:13:42] Yeah.

[00:13:43] There was no body double.

[00:13:44] It was actually her.

[00:13:46] Like she literally put herself into this movie so much, just a lot of herself and was very open and vulnerable.

[00:13:55] And yeah.

[00:13:56] Yeah.

[00:13:57] And I admired that a lot myself as a viewer like that.

[00:14:00] That's of course, you know, not to like get into like the whole like body image, you know, like, you know, making it seem like, eh, not that.

[00:14:09] But like, just from a human perspective, I will say like Demi Moore still looks great.

[00:14:16] Like she's like.

[00:14:18] Yeah.

[00:14:19] There's still a lot to say.

[00:14:20] And she is, she's one of those people like just, you can tell like she's definitely getting older.

[00:14:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:14:26] But she's still incredible.

[00:14:28] And like, not even like, you know, I'm not even talking about image wise, like watching this movie and her, just her acting and her portrayal of this character as she goes through.

[00:14:38] Even when she starts throwing all kinds of old age, you know, prosthetics and different things over her.

[00:14:43] You see this metamorphosis.

[00:14:45] She is impeccable.

[00:14:46] Like.

[00:14:48] I don't know why.

[00:14:49] I guess I didn't, I haven't seen, I've seen her in a lot of stuff.

[00:14:51] She's been around for a while, but like, haven't seen enough Demi Moore stuff.

[00:14:56] But like watching this, just being like, oh no, she's an absolute treasure of an actress.

[00:15:01] Like, of course, like she's incredible.

[00:15:03] And always has been.

[00:15:06] Yeah.

[00:15:07] She was 61 when they filmed this movie and playing a 50 year old.

[00:15:12] And you would not know that she wasn't 50.

[00:15:15] Like she just has aged, I think, really well.

[00:15:20] And she wasn't the original choice for the role, but the director offered it to other people and they all turned it down.

[00:15:29] She didn't think Demi Moore would want to be in it.

[00:15:34] But Moore's agent basically made her read the script and got her on board and it worked out.

[00:15:40] So I'm glad she played this role.

[00:15:43] And I felt glad that she didn't hide behind body doubles.

[00:15:49] Like she put herself out there.

[00:15:51] Because it, I think this film, as gross as it can be at times, helped me a little bit in the process of thinking about getting older.

[00:16:02] Because I've, like I said, I've struggled with it.

[00:16:04] I don't like it.

[00:16:06] But I don't think anyone does.

[00:16:08] But watching her and then watching interviews that she's done about doing this movie just made me feel a little bit better.

[00:16:15] Yeah.

[00:16:16] I haven't seen any of that.

[00:16:17] But I get this feeling I wouldn't be surprised if it honestly was like very cathartic for her in some ways, too.

[00:16:23] Yeah.

[00:16:23] It's hard.

[00:16:24] I mean, there's just this double standard and expectation that is out there.

[00:16:31] And I know I've talked about it before.

[00:16:36] Yeah.

[00:16:36] It's very hard to live up to some of the expectations that are put out there.

[00:16:43] And so this movie, I think, went a long way to showing how destructive it can be.

[00:16:49] So I appreciate it.

[00:16:50] I appreciate what the director put into it.

[00:16:53] Now I want to go watch her other movie, Revenge, because I've heard really good things about it.

[00:16:58] It's definitely a run for your lives movie, so we could cover it.

[00:17:02] Maybe next season.

[00:17:03] Yeah.

[00:17:04] You said before we get into a normal character analysis kind of stuff, and it's like, well, this is another one of those movies where it's legitimately honestly it's one section.

[00:17:15] Because, I mean, breaking behind the scenes a little bit here, we have our doc that we can access and look at with our notes and different little things on it.

[00:17:25] Where you have, like, Elizabeth and Sue as two separate characters on there.

[00:17:28] But they really-

[00:17:29] Because there's two different actresses playing, like, these kind of different sides.

[00:17:32] It's the same person.

[00:17:35] Yeah.

[00:17:37] And so, like, I just have that all thrown together in one big chronological batch of notes with one other little section of just a few tiny little notes that I have on a few other characters that we see along the way.

[00:17:50] Oh, my God.

[00:17:52] I do want to say one thing that stuck out to me.

[00:17:57] In the opening of this film, we see them putting a star down.

[00:18:02] Mm-hmm.

[00:18:03] And you see, like, all the shininess of when it's new, and as time goes by, it gets a little cracked and broken.

[00:18:12] I loved that metaphor, like, looking at it that way.

[00:18:16] But also, the seasons that we see passing, like, spring, summer, wind, fall, you get to see the snow.

[00:18:22] When there's the full snow coverage, I was like, yeah, that doesn't happen in L.A.

[00:18:26] No.

[00:18:26] It doesn't.

[00:18:28] But that very much, to me, was also, yeah, there are seasons of life, and this is just, I feel like that set things so well for the movie.

[00:18:37] Yeah, there's a lot of really great visual metaphors, or metaphorical visuals, you can say it either way, that make up this movie that are really great.

[00:18:48] And you know, too, that we love when practical effects are used, and they used it for 70 or 80% of this movie.

[00:18:55] Mm-hmm.

[00:18:56] They wanted it to be, the director wanted it to be a certain way.

[00:19:01] She, they focused on the practical effects.

[00:19:05] Poor Margaret Qualley was in the suit for the final character that we see at the end of the film.

[00:19:13] Yeah.

[00:19:14] She was in that, and it took five or six hours to put her in that.

[00:19:30] Mm-hmm.

[00:19:31] So, yeah.

[00:19:33] There's a lot of clever little things in this movie that we'll talk about.

[00:19:38] Oh, yeah.

[00:19:39] There's so much great stuff.

[00:19:41] So, yeah, we'll dive in.

[00:19:42] We've talked a little bit about this main character, the first thing.

[00:19:45] And I love the name, the title cards, with the names where it's very much Elizabeth, you know, the big, poof, Elizabeth.

[00:19:52] And then, in white.

[00:19:53] Right.

[00:19:54] And then it's, you know, the basic, the, you know, matrix, the slate.

[00:19:58] Um, and then later after the activation, we get Sue.

[00:20:02] Boom.

[00:20:02] I think it was in pink, and it's kind of like the, the fresh paint, you know, the new beautiful thing.

[00:20:08] And then I'll go ahead and just jump to the Monstro Eliza Sue in green.

[00:20:16] I love it so much.

[00:20:19] But that was, like, I, I just had to, like, pause it and kind of crack up because there's that moment where I was like, oh, let's see what happens when you attempt to make an other out of an other.

[00:20:29] It was like, probably something terrifyingly horrible.

[00:20:32] Yep.

[00:20:32] Yep.

[00:20:32] Oh, we get Monstro Eliza Sue, which the name, the title, the fact that they made a title card for it.

[00:20:38] I was like, that is amazing.

[00:20:40] Bravo for that.

[00:20:41] Like, that's just the most perfect touch.

[00:20:46] Hey.

[00:20:49] Yeah, I, I definitely appreciated that too.

[00:20:54] Um.

[00:20:54] That's one of those dark humor things that was just hilarious to me.

[00:20:59] It was like, of course, of course, it gets its own name title card.

[00:21:04] It's, it's funny because the director talked about being, like, inspired by, like, the portrait of Dorian Gray, the fly, and Requiem for a Dream.

[00:21:15] And those were all movies I thought of when I was watching this, as well as another one, Mulholland Drive.

[00:21:20] There were things about it.

[00:21:22] Subtle things about Harvey in particular that reminded me of that movie.

[00:21:27] It was even down to when Sue was in the elevator and the body parts are falling out.

[00:21:35] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:36] Those are the same things that happened in the fly.

[00:21:40] Yeah.

[00:21:40] Like, same thing.

[00:21:41] Those were the initial things.

[00:21:43] So, yeah, it's, there's a lot.

[00:21:46] But I'm not going to rewatch this movie for the blood and gore, but there are things about it that I really appreciate.

[00:21:54] Yeah, it was the blood and gore.

[00:21:55] It was, like, some of my favorite stuff.

[00:21:58] It was some really good stuff.

[00:22:00] But, yeah, so, again, the character, Elizabeth.

[00:22:03] Elizabeth Sparkle.

[00:22:04] Oh, yeah, this Oscar-winning actress and this, like, big fitness star who's, as I said in the synopsis, yeah, she's kind of past her heyday.

[00:22:12] And due to her age and then especially the words she hears from her horrible producer, she just starts on this path of feeling unwanted and underappreciated.

[00:22:24] And, yeah, like, she is the old model car that is broken down and it's time for something sexy and clean and fresh and new and faster and better and, you know, all of the things.

[00:22:38] And so, yeah, that's where she's at there.

[00:22:43] And then there's no distraction quite like seeing your own face ripped off a billboard.

[00:22:49] I mean, she walks when she's at the studio and she's walking down the hallway and she's basically walking through memories of her career by these posters that were on the wall.

[00:23:04] And I don't know if you noticed, but that hallway and the carpet was very shining.

[00:23:08] Yes.

[00:23:09] As well as the bathroom that she went into was very shining.

[00:23:13] I'm like, oh, my God.

[00:23:15] A lot of just white and red and.

[00:23:17] Yeah.

[00:23:17] Yeah.

[00:23:17] Kubrick.

[00:23:18] There was a Kubrick feel to it.

[00:23:19] Absolutely.

[00:23:20] A lot of very Kubrick.

[00:23:22] Yes.

[00:23:22] Shots lingering on long hallways and extended, like, way that, like, interiors were shot.

[00:23:30] Yeah, for sure.

[00:23:30] Yeah.

[00:23:31] So she's walking down the hallways.

[00:23:33] She's walking through, like, this timeline of her career.

[00:23:36] Then she sees her face fall off the billboard.

[00:23:39] Like, all of these things just making her feel less and less of a person to the point where she's home.

[00:23:50] She opens up the newspaper and there it is.

[00:23:53] They're looking for the shiny new object.

[00:23:55] So she's smacked in the face again.

[00:23:57] Yeah.

[00:23:58] Of you're not valid anymore.

[00:24:02] We are putting you out to pasture.

[00:24:06] You know, you've aged out of the role that we had you in.

[00:24:11] We appreciate you.

[00:24:13] Thank you for coming.

[00:24:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:24:15] Goodbye.

[00:24:17] Yeah.

[00:24:17] We had a great time with you.

[00:24:19] Just, like, the focus.

[00:24:20] I, like, focused on that had.

[00:24:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:24:22] It was, like, the thing that stuck out.

[00:24:23] Um, yeah.

[00:24:25] And, of course, that billboard distraction gets her into an accident.

[00:24:28] Which she survives, like, pretty much unscathed.

[00:24:31] Uh, mentally heavily damaged.

[00:24:34] Uh, just been going through a lot.

[00:24:36] And that's where she meets this nurse or doctor there.

[00:24:41] And, uh, once I realized, like, kind of what was going to be going on.

[00:24:46] Like, once it was like, oh, there's the two versions.

[00:24:48] I, I made a, like, prediction.

[00:24:51] I like to do that on, like, first watches.

[00:24:53] I'll make little predictions.

[00:24:54] And so I said, well, the birthmark on this guy's arm is going to be so we can recognize him later when we see him as an old man.

[00:24:59] Right?

[00:24:59] Uh.

[00:25:02] When he's on and, like, off week or whatever.

[00:25:05] And, yeah.

[00:25:06] So later on when she meets up with him at the diner when he, like, followed her there.

[00:25:09] I was like, yep, called it.

[00:25:10] Birthmark doctor guy is very old.

[00:25:14] Uh.

[00:25:14] Well, you have to wonder, though, how old was he really?

[00:25:18] Yeah.

[00:25:18] Because.

[00:25:19] I know.

[00:25:21] The new version.

[00:25:23] The Sue version.

[00:25:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:25:26] We learn.

[00:25:29] Doesn't follow the rules.

[00:25:30] Yeah.

[00:25:31] And so.

[00:25:32] The older version of this guy, not as big of a proponent of the substance as his younger version was.

[00:25:37] No.

[00:25:38] Clearly.

[00:25:39] Understandably.

[00:25:40] No.

[00:25:41] And that is one thing I wasn't sure about that I kept going back and forth on.

[00:25:45] I'm still a little confused about.

[00:25:47] Is, yes, it's like the, you are one.

[00:25:49] And really focusing on that.

[00:25:51] But, like, how much division versus oneness really is there?

[00:25:56] Because it almost seems like they're battling against each other, even though it's battling against herself.

[00:26:00] Which is definitely a theme.

[00:26:02] And it is part of the underlying theme of this.

[00:26:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:26:05] You know, hurting yourself, harming yourself, hating yourself.

[00:26:09] But, like, within the logic of the story, where I was like, do they know what each – is it her own brain going back and forth?

[00:26:17] Because you would think so.

[00:26:18] Because there's certain parts of the movie where it seems like she's taken surprise, you know, by surprise that Sue is on TV or saying certain things in interviews.

[00:26:27] When it's like, but that was you saying those things.

[00:26:30] So does she remember or does she not when she's in the other body?

[00:26:33] But then there are other times where it seems like she does remember things from when she was in the other body.

[00:26:38] So I wasn't – it kind of kept going back and forth for me.

[00:26:41] I wasn't really sure.

[00:26:42] I wondered that, too.

[00:26:43] And I also looked at it like the younger version is how she feels about herself and seeing her older self and trying to reconcile not being the young person when she looks in the mirror and realizing that she's the older version of herself.

[00:27:05] Like, that's who she is.

[00:27:06] And that kind of represents this whole trying to look in the mirror and look at yourself and not be disappointed that you're not like you were at 25.

[00:27:18] Like, it's just a process.

[00:27:23] And I feel like there were those subtle nods in this movie that you could build connections with and realize the bigger picture.

[00:27:31] Like, body image issues that people have that everybody has, especially – but when you're looking at other people and you're comparing yourself to, well, I'm not that young.

[00:27:38] I'm not that attractive.

[00:27:40] I'm not that body type.

[00:27:42] I'm not this or that.

[00:27:44] And so it's just heightened to an extra level when the person that you're comparing yourself to on the billboard outside your window is you at the same time in a different way.

[00:27:54] And you're still jealous.

[00:27:56] Like, you're still feeling like, why – you know, why can't I be that person?

[00:28:01] Why am I not that person?

[00:28:03] But, yeah, I am that person at the same time.

[00:28:06] That's how you feel on the inside.

[00:28:08] It just doesn't show on the outside.

[00:28:11] And I think – I think they were connected, but I don't know that she really knew.

[00:28:20] Because if she knew, which – well, no, maybe.

[00:28:24] If she did know, that may have pushed her to take advantage of herself by wanting to stay –

[00:28:31] Yeah, because there's parts where the older version of herself is sitting there, like, hitting herself in the head going, just stop it.

[00:28:36] Just stop it.

[00:28:37] So it's almost this other little underlying theme of – it's almost like a commentary on addiction.

[00:28:44] But – because you see – there's the chicken leg thing, which, again, I don't know was even real.

[00:28:50] Like, they kind of put you in this place where you're not sure what's real, what's not, because they're kind of – both versions of herself are, like, having these, like, nightmares and fears of trying to sabotage each other and themselves.

[00:29:04] Which is great for horror, because it's, like, keeping us, the audience, like, off balance as well.

[00:29:08] It was like, is that real?

[00:29:09] What's not?

[00:29:09] What's happening?

[00:29:10] You're kind of in the same boat with them.

[00:29:14] But Sue gets this huge promotion chance, and she decides to take it at the detriment of Elizabeth.

[00:29:21] She's like, well, I know that it's eating away at her, but, like, this is my – this is our big break.

[00:29:28] This is why I did this, was to be the young, beautiful, hot version of myself so I can do the things that people don't think I can do anymore.

[00:29:37] And so that's – there's, like, this commentary on addiction.

[00:29:40] It's like knowing something is going to hurt yourself in the future, but you choose to do it anyway to fulfill an immediate desire.

[00:29:48] And then you blame it on yourself and this idea that, well, I was, like, a different person in that time.

[00:29:54] It's not me.

[00:29:55] I'm not in my right mind.

[00:29:56] It's somebody else.

[00:29:57] So when we have Elizabeth back in control and she's got these, you know, overaging and kind of body parts dying and she's mad at, oh, it's her.

[00:30:09] She did this to me.

[00:30:09] She did this.

[00:30:10] It's like, well, you did it to yourself because of what you wanted at that moment.

[00:30:14] It makes me, too, think of plastic surgery and what people put themselves through in the vein of trying to look better and make themselves look better in the immediate future.

[00:30:25] But then, you know, 10 or 15 years down the road, the plastic surgery doesn't age well and they end up at that point looking even older than they would have had they not had any work done.

[00:30:37] Yeah.

[00:30:37] Um, it's, yeah, it's a constant thing.

[00:30:41] And, again, yes, the connection between the two is never really explained.

[00:30:47] Yeah.

[00:30:48] But I have to believe, you know, yes, you're doing it to yourself.

[00:30:51] And the first time she does it, it's because she wants to have sex.

[00:30:56] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:57] Like, there's a young, hot guy.

[00:31:01] She's, you know, into him.

[00:31:03] He's into her.

[00:31:04] She wants to have sex.

[00:31:05] Won't hurt anyone if I just take a little bit extra.

[00:31:09] And she got a hit of it and then she couldn't stop.

[00:31:13] Yeah.

[00:31:13] It just kept going and going and escalating.

[00:31:17] Yeah.

[00:31:18] A little interaction with Fred from 10th Grade Homeroom, which was very awkward at first, but it was interesting to have him in there and then not for a while.

[00:31:28] And then they brought him back for something, which I'll get to.

[00:31:30] But, yeah, this is where she's in this place where it's like she can't even take the compliments from this guy when she's talking to him.

[00:31:37] And she's just in this rough place, which leads to, you know, she's looking at what this doctor guy gave her and takes it home, puts it in.

[00:31:47] And I will say that video, the pitch video for the substance was very ominous and foreboding and stressful music.

[00:31:54] I was like, the marketing team behind this is terrible.

[00:31:57] Like, you don't include you can't escape in a commercial for something you're trying to sell.

[00:32:02] I don't.

[00:32:02] Yeah, no.

[00:32:03] It's not going to make anyone want to do it.

[00:32:07] But unless they're desperate and I feel like Elizabeth was desperate.

[00:32:12] Yeah, because it's way too sketchy the way it's like call this number and then we hang up on you and then we send you this thing and you have to come to this address.

[00:32:18] And then she's going to that address and it's like.

[00:32:21] And the door doesn't even work.

[00:32:22] Yeah, it's like all these things.

[00:32:24] I was like, yeah, this shit's way too sketchy.

[00:32:27] There's a level of desperation that is required for you to keep following after this substance thing for a while.

[00:32:33] Because I was like, while she's like, before she even got to the door, I was like, she hasn't met anyone in person yet.

[00:32:40] Other than that first guy who gave her the thing.

[00:32:42] I was like, and there has already been four or five solid moments and things that I already would have said, never mind, fuck this.

[00:32:47] I'm out.

[00:32:48] This is a trap and I'm 100% getting murdered.

[00:32:52] It's true, though.

[00:32:53] I mean, there were so many red flags that she ignored because she was desperate and not desperate in the way of screaming and hollering and ranting.

[00:33:04] We're talking like she's privately, internally desperate.

[00:33:10] Yeah.

[00:33:11] She feels, you know, cast aside and left with nothing.

[00:33:17] Yeah, she's, she, I mean, I'm sure she has plenty of money saved to do things.

[00:33:23] She seemed to be pretty, you know, fiscally responsible and frugal enough celebrity.

[00:33:29] But yeah, just in this place where, like you said, that's unwanted and she's been released.

[00:33:34] No, let's be honest, fired from her job because of her age.

[00:33:38] And she's struggling with self-image and what her life is now.

[00:33:45] What is she supposed to do?

[00:33:46] What is she worth?

[00:33:49] So, yeah, that's what leads her down that.

[00:33:52] Again, this, you would think that whoever these people behind the substance, like the marketing team was like their motto in the boardroom was like, no, make it sketchier.

[00:34:02] We don't really want people to do it, but if they're going to, we want to try to scare them out of doing it as much as we can.

[00:34:09] Oh, man.

[00:34:10] And then she gets the box and then takes it home.

[00:34:13] And then as soon as like it starts, so she's standing there fully nude in the bathroom in front of the mirror and starts, you know, tying things off into it.

[00:34:20] And she's going through the box and all the things.

[00:34:21] I was like, there must have been an instruction video included somewhere because there's a lot of parts and pieces and rules that seem very easy to screw up.

[00:34:31] Yeah, I wasn't quite sure how some of those devices worked.

[00:34:35] The injectable thing, like the injection, the activator, that was the only thing I was like, okay, yes, inject yourself.

[00:34:44] That I understand.

[00:34:46] The rest of it, stabilizer, at the word stabilizer, that would be it.

[00:34:51] Like, how do you know what to do?

[00:34:54] And how that's for your second version of yourself.

[00:34:59] How do they know where to get the stabilization fluid?

[00:35:03] Shoot.

[00:35:04] I don't know.

[00:35:05] Yes.

[00:35:06] There must have been an instruction video that we didn't see where some guy says like, welcome to the substance.

[00:35:13] The substance and you.

[00:35:15] First what you're going to want to do.

[00:35:16] You know.

[00:35:18] Get ready to stitch your own backup.

[00:35:21] Yeah.

[00:35:21] There had to have been some preparation before this in some way or another because, yeah, there's a lot.

[00:35:26] And it's so foreboding.

[00:35:27] All this, you know, like you must switch every seven days.

[00:35:30] No exceptions.

[00:35:31] You are one.

[00:35:32] Don't forget.

[00:35:32] And it's like, this is bad, right?

[00:35:35] Like everything points to this is a terrible, terrible idea.

[00:35:38] Why are we still doing this?

[00:35:40] Yes.

[00:35:41] Yeah.

[00:35:42] The company itself is screaming at me.

[00:35:44] Don't do this.

[00:35:45] It's all bad.

[00:35:46] I'm still going to do.

[00:35:47] You know what?

[00:35:48] It's like kids.

[00:35:50] When you tell them not to press something and they feel like they have to do it anyway.

[00:35:56] Yeah.

[00:35:56] Yeah.

[00:35:56] And of course, I mean, we, because we get that little, the whole monster thing, monstro Eliza

[00:36:01] Sue at the end.

[00:36:02] But I was thinking, it's like, okay, so if it says you activate only once, only do once and

[00:36:08] discard after use one time use only.

[00:36:11] And it's like, we should probably just ship one preloaded syringe in the box then not a

[00:36:15] whole vial of liquid.

[00:36:17] Right?

[00:36:19] Yeah.

[00:36:19] When Sue decides at the end to do that again, I knew that was going to go off the rails,

[00:36:25] but.

[00:36:27] Yeah.

[00:36:30] Yeah.

[00:36:30] Yeah.

[00:36:31] But it led to some cool stuff.

[00:36:32] I will say the original, like initial activation stuff was actually, again, there's the body horror

[00:36:37] stuff where it started.

[00:36:38] And then I was like, oh, can I handle this?

[00:36:40] And then I was like, actually, yeah, this is actually just really cool.

[00:36:42] It's the practical effects of monster stuff.

[00:36:45] Honestly, like the mitosis division of the pupils was such a cool visual that I was like,

[00:36:50] oh, that is badass.

[00:36:52] That's awesome.

[00:36:53] Not the second time though, Peek.

[00:36:54] Not the second time.

[00:36:55] Not as much.

[00:36:56] No.

[00:36:58] Yeah.

[00:36:59] And like the eyes being used as a focal point for like a lot of the process that's going

[00:37:03] on internally was like unique and was really cool.

[00:37:07] And then, yeah, as you mentioned, having to suture yourself up afterwards.

[00:37:11] It was just like, immediately I was like, well, she has to switch back into the older

[00:37:14] body in a week.

[00:37:15] That's going to suck.

[00:37:18] Yeah.

[00:37:19] I wasn't sure how all of those things were going to work.

[00:37:22] And then it, I think the way that they shifted back and forth was actually less invasive, much

[00:37:30] less invasive than anything else.

[00:37:33] Also with the feeding thing, the medical worker in me was screaming at that the entire

[00:37:39] time with the food bag.

[00:37:40] You have to prime that IV.

[00:37:43] There was so much air going into the, do you want an embolism?

[00:37:47] Because that's how you get an embolism.

[00:37:48] I don't know.

[00:37:50] Exactly.

[00:37:51] Exactly.

[00:37:51] I've had to give myself injections that were thankfully pre-done on myself, but I've also

[00:38:02] had to give injections to my pets and making sure that there's no air bubble.

[00:38:08] Yeah.

[00:38:08] It's so important.

[00:38:10] So when she just plugs that food bag in and it's like little pieces of like the food liquid,

[00:38:14] just, it's like a little bit of food and then air.

[00:38:17] And then I'm like, what are you doing?

[00:38:19] Yeah, no, this is not a part.

[00:38:21] You're about to give yourself an embolism and die.

[00:38:23] That's what you're doing right now.

[00:38:25] And I don't think there was an instruction video, Peg.

[00:38:29] I think they just had to make it up on the fly.

[00:38:31] Uh-huh.

[00:38:34] Because it was very, very creepy.

[00:38:37] But then, yeah, her waking up in this new body as Sue, and she's just like checking herself

[00:38:45] out and dancing around in the mirror.

[00:38:47] And then even in the shower, she's like squeezing her butt.

[00:38:49] And it's like, where it's like, yeah, no, I can't blame her.

[00:38:51] It's like new, young, smooth body.

[00:38:54] Just got to keep checking it out as much as you can.

[00:38:56] Like, all right.

[00:38:59] The one thing that Margaret Qualley said is it's her and the, she was also naked, which

[00:39:08] helped me more like be comfortable with being completely naked.

[00:39:12] They kind of like helped each other.

[00:39:15] She did wear prosthetic boobs because they wanted a particular look.

[00:39:23] So she had to do that.

[00:39:25] But other than that, that was all her.

[00:39:28] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:29] Yeah.

[00:39:29] And then once she's living as Sue, before giving herself the name Sue, I was like, I

[00:39:34] figured she'd be auditioning for her old, old, own, own old job.

[00:39:39] I was like, how do you explain that you absolutely can't be there every other week?

[00:39:43] Like this person doesn't exist every other seven days.

[00:39:46] I was like, how is, you're not going to be able to explain that.

[00:39:48] And then they get that scene.

[00:39:49] I was like, oh, because Harvey's an absolute pig and dipshit.

[00:39:52] It's actually super easy, barely an inconvenience.

[00:39:54] Got it.

[00:39:57] Yeah.

[00:39:57] She has to go take care of her sick mother every other week.

[00:40:01] And he's willing to do whatever.

[00:40:04] Yeah.

[00:40:05] Because he's enamored.

[00:40:06] Yeah.

[00:40:07] With whatever she wants.

[00:40:09] Yeah.

[00:40:10] He was a creep.

[00:40:11] And we'll talk about it later.

[00:40:13] Harvey was the worst.

[00:40:15] I knew you were going to do that.

[00:40:16] Yeah.

[00:40:18] This was one of those, and we've covered one or two of them before, movies that I would call,

[00:40:25] I don't know if there's an official term for it.

[00:40:27] I decided to kind of pin my own term, maybe.

[00:40:30] Anti-chronistic.

[00:40:34] Okay.

[00:40:34] What I mean by it's impossible to really tell time and place and time frame.

[00:40:40] Because the things that are said, the design, the fashion, the cars, all the people, it

[00:40:46] all looks like an older time period than what we're in now.

[00:40:51] But then there's modern and even futuristic technology also in use.

[00:40:54] They're like on modern iPhones.

[00:40:55] And then even like all the substance technology is very like modern or futuristic in some

[00:41:00] aspects.

[00:41:00] But then they're all wearing like all these very like 70s and 80s, scrunchy, bright colors.

[00:41:06] And it's a fitness.

[00:41:08] She's a fitness star that's that big of a deal.

[00:41:10] Like nobody cares about fitness shows anymore.

[00:41:13] Like so it's all very like the time periods are like I said, anti-chronistic where they

[00:41:17] don't line up.

[00:41:18] You're like, it's old and modern at the same time.

[00:41:21] I did like the way that they separated between Elizabeth and Sue with their color choices where

[00:41:30] Elizabeth had more of the darker blue and the bright like gold coat.

[00:41:38] But on the flip side, Sue had more pastel-y pink and rose colored clothes.

[00:41:46] Except for when she was all dressed in black and wanting to jump the bones of the guy on

[00:41:52] the motorcycle.

[00:41:53] I called that look the girl with the dragon backed robe.

[00:41:57] Oh, yes.

[00:41:59] Yes.

[00:42:01] Yeah.

[00:42:02] But yes, this is an anti-chronistic where you don't know the time period, which is so

[00:42:09] good because I think what was the other movie that really we pointed that out in?

[00:42:12] I think it was It Follows.

[00:42:14] Yes.

[00:42:15] Is similar.

[00:42:16] And as I think it's great when that is used in horror because it adds an extra level of

[00:42:20] the viewer just kind of feeling off.

[00:42:23] Mm-hmm.

[00:42:25] Yeah.

[00:42:26] It's something that it's kind of unsettling.

[00:42:29] Yeah.

[00:42:30] Because you can't really put your finger on it and then you see a cell phone.

[00:42:36] Yeah.

[00:42:36] And then you see other things and you're just like, okay, I don't know when this is.

[00:42:41] Yeah.

[00:42:43] Yeah.

[00:42:43] Yeah.

[00:42:43] Like her apartment seemed retro to me.

[00:42:46] Yeah.

[00:42:47] In some ways.

[00:42:48] Vintage.

[00:43:17] Vintage.

[00:43:18] Because it kind of looks like it.

[00:43:21] Yeah.

[00:43:21] I can see that.

[00:43:24] I do think that Skies was more modern.

[00:43:28] This one.

[00:43:29] Yeah.

[00:43:29] But I mean, just the layout.

[00:43:31] The layout is very similar.

[00:43:32] Mm-hmm.

[00:43:34] It's very similar.

[00:43:35] Especially the living room in the hallway.

[00:43:38] Yeah.

[00:43:39] Yeah.

[00:43:39] There was a moment that I said, can we have Sue kill Harvey at some point?

[00:43:42] That would be fun.

[00:43:43] It didn't happen.

[00:43:44] But it would have been fun.

[00:43:44] You know, I was hoping it would.

[00:43:46] Yeah.

[00:43:47] I was thinking back to Megan when she gets all like crazy with the paper slicer and goes

[00:43:53] after the boss.

[00:43:54] And I'm just like, man, it'd be great.

[00:43:57] Yeah.

[00:43:57] I was hoping.

[00:43:59] There were parts with Harvey that reminded me of Mulholland Drive.

[00:44:03] Like, there were just things in his expressions.

[00:44:06] Especially with the creepy men that he had with him when he wanted her to smile and the

[00:44:12] way they were walking.

[00:44:12] It was.

[00:44:13] That was Kubrick.

[00:44:14] All were dancing.

[00:44:15] So Kubrick.

[00:44:16] Yeah.

[00:44:17] They were all like dancing down the hallway and like.

[00:44:20] It was like.

[00:44:21] It's silly.

[00:44:22] Honestly, it's silly.

[00:44:24] Yeah.

[00:44:25] For sure.

[00:44:29] Yeah.

[00:44:31] There was something familiar, too, about.

[00:44:36] Sue's pump it up.

[00:44:38] Like video.

[00:44:39] Like that whole performance.

[00:44:41] The first one she did.

[00:44:43] And I'm like, man, I feel like I've seen some of this before.

[00:44:46] It reminded me a lot of Eric Pride's call on me.

[00:44:50] It's a and it's a video.

[00:44:51] And it there's a lot of workout stuff in it.

[00:44:54] Like, man, that it just seems like that.

[00:44:57] Well, when I was doing some research, I found a note where.

[00:45:02] They use some of that, like that was kind of an inspiration.

[00:45:05] So it was kind of cool to figure that out.

[00:45:08] I'm glad that they did that.

[00:45:11] Yeah.

[00:45:12] And then.

[00:45:13] Let's see.

[00:45:13] So they again, they're one person.

[00:45:15] But you already see that they're it doesn't take long.

[00:45:18] It's like day two.

[00:45:21] And they're quickly.

[00:45:23] So I guess like week three, probably.

[00:45:25] We're like they've just switched back like once or twice.

[00:45:27] But they're already quickly developing this like.

[00:45:31] Hatred and pity and disgust.

[00:45:33] A lot of like Sue towards Elizabeth, where it's like.

[00:45:36] Again, there's like this division.

[00:45:38] Like she sits at home all week.

[00:45:39] Like eating junk food, watching TV.

[00:45:41] It's like, well, that's what you're doing.

[00:45:43] Like.

[00:45:44] And it's just like there's like this pity and disgust.

[00:45:46] Like, oh, why get a kind of control yourself.

[00:45:49] Get a hold of yourself.

[00:45:50] What are you doing?

[00:45:51] You know, and it's like.

[00:45:55] Yeah, it's.

[00:45:56] And she Sue is going to work and doing all these things.

[00:46:00] But that's what she chose to do.

[00:46:03] She wanted to go out and and do these things.

[00:46:07] Again, you know, the part that's Elizabeth wanted to rest, I guess, maybe she's been through a lot mentally from everything that's happened to her.

[00:46:17] It's kind of two sides of a coin.

[00:46:20] Yeah.

[00:46:21] Like eventually Sue, unquote, it's like the same.

[00:46:25] But to differentiate, you know, has this idea of like.

[00:46:29] Building like a little hidden compartment and a bathroom to put in there.

[00:46:32] And I was like, yeah, eventually putting together this place to store the unused body, whichever one it is at a time.

[00:46:38] It's like that makes sense.

[00:46:39] You can't have anyone over ever if they're just going to find what seems to be a dead, naked woman lying on the bathroom floor at all times.

[00:46:47] You've got to do something about.

[00:46:48] Yeah, you can't.

[00:46:50] But hey, if someone had come over and seen it, maybe they would have noticed.

[00:46:53] Why are there air bubbles in the food bag?

[00:46:56] Right.

[00:46:57] Come ask them.

[00:46:57] You're not doing that right.

[00:47:00] Let me show you what to do here because you're not doing it right.

[00:47:03] You're doing it all wrong.

[00:47:06] And then I'm assuming that Sue wasn't a carbon copy clone of a young Elizabeth Sparkle because like footage of her young and as an Oscar winner and stuff would exist and people would know.

[00:47:17] So I guess it was like a different person that came out.

[00:47:22] Yeah, it's a different version, like a different.

[00:47:24] What do they call it?

[00:47:25] Revenant?

[00:47:26] Is it?

[00:47:26] No.

[00:47:27] Replicant.

[00:47:27] Replicant.

[00:47:28] I don't know what word I'm looking for, so I'll take it out.

[00:47:32] So just a different version, like.

[00:47:34] Yeah.

[00:47:35] Different spinoff in a multiverse.

[00:47:37] This is what she would be in a different universe, I guess.

[00:47:43] And then, as I mentioned, I know fitness shows like this were a thing, but that's so far removed from my reality in any way that I'm like, yeah, I don't get it.

[00:47:52] Oh, come on.

[00:47:53] Your mom didn't want to do the, oh God, what was it?

[00:47:57] There was not much Jane Fonda going on in the house.

[00:48:01] Like, whatever.

[00:48:02] We had some ridiculous things.

[00:48:04] There was one thing that it was a step and you could do step aerobics at home.

[00:48:10] It was so unfun.

[00:48:12] So unfun.

[00:48:13] And I admit, yes, I did it a bunch of times.

[00:48:16] It was boring.

[00:48:18] Not exciting at all.

[00:48:21] But yeah, I knew it wouldn't take long before she started to break the rules or parameters.

[00:48:27] Well, we'll just, I'll take one of these used stabilized things and just take one dose out and use it and I can give myself an extra day.

[00:48:36] And I'm like, yeah, it's not going to end well.

[00:48:39] And as we see, yeah, that extra time without the food made, like the food, it results in extra aging or dying off in places.

[00:48:48] And I was like, yeah, like she wakes up that just from a few hours extra time.

[00:48:53] And it's like her finger.

[00:48:55] It's like one of those old like witch fingers from the cartoon and stuff.

[00:48:58] I mean, it's just like fully like dead nail, dead skin.

[00:49:01] Like it's all just really bad shape.

[00:49:05] Yeah.

[00:49:06] And then I was where I was confused about some of the shared memories across the two selves because I was like, I thought they shared all memories.

[00:49:11] But then it's like when she sees Sue on TV, she seems caught off guard by it.

[00:49:16] But then.

[00:49:17] I think part of it is looking at herself in the body she was in at that point.

[00:49:22] And also being very angry that she's in the situation that she's in at that point.

[00:49:30] Her body is breaking down.

[00:49:32] She's looking much older than 50 and it's Sue's fault.

[00:49:38] Whatever half of her is Sue, it's her fault.

[00:49:41] Yeah.

[00:49:43] And she just is angry and her way of getting angry is to cook and eat.

[00:49:53] But she didn't seem to be putting on weight.

[00:49:56] She was just like cooking and eating all of that stuff, though.

[00:50:00] It's crazy the amount of food that she was cooking.

[00:50:02] I swear she went through a whole French cookbook.

[00:50:05] Yeah.

[00:50:08] Okay, I'll make all of it.

[00:50:11] I'm going to make all the recipes.

[00:50:14] Yeah, we never got the person who gave her the substance information.

[00:50:17] We never get a name or anything for that guy.

[00:50:20] But I just call him the old man when she runs back into him at the diner.

[00:50:25] And yeah, again, with the shared memories.

[00:50:29] Because he's in old man form and he remembers her when he was his younger self giving her the information.

[00:50:35] Because he followed her to see how things were going and was questioning her these things.

[00:50:38] So yeah, again, memories.

[00:50:40] I wasn't 100% sure.

[00:50:41] But she takes this advice of reminding yourself the original version of yourself that you still matter and you're worth existing.

[00:50:47] So she goes back and calls up Fred, this guy that she had talked to, who she remembers that he saw the beauty in her for her.

[00:50:56] Mm-hmm.

[00:50:56] That he was so enamored with this, oh my god, I haven't seen you since school and I've been following your career and you're just still the most beautiful girl in the whole world.

[00:51:03] And it's this, where she's, you know, enamored by that thought of like, wait, like there is, if I need to find something that gives me purpose in this body, in this self.

[00:51:16] Then she's like, well, let's reach out to this guy because he sees something there.

[00:51:20] And then as she's getting, she sets up this date and it's actually like really sweet and really kind of a beautiful thing.

[00:51:26] And then it's the going back and looking at the unconscious body of Sue and seeing, and then comparing herself to that, like the actual body.

[00:51:35] And then when she thinks she's ready again, it's back to the billboard sitting out there and she keeps second guessing herself and she ends up psyching herself out and standing the poor guy up.

[00:51:44] And it's just, she self-sabotages once more.

[00:51:48] Well, and she basically beats her own face.

[00:51:53] Like is slapping her face and rubbing her face and trying to get all of the makeup off.

[00:51:58] And it's just mad at herself because she can't be that younger version of herself.

[00:52:06] And you know what?

[00:52:07] I get it.

[00:52:08] I totally get it.

[00:52:10] It's not.

[00:52:12] Makeup doesn't hide everything.

[00:52:14] Once you get to a certain age, makeup can enhance things, but it's not going to take away stuff.

[00:52:21] And at that point she was fighting with herself.

[00:52:25] And angry at herself.

[00:52:27] I think that's what the director meant by violence.

[00:52:30] Like what you do to yourself because you're so angry that you can't change something.

[00:52:37] And she just gives up.

[00:52:42] And you can see on the phone that he's messaging her worried about her.

[00:52:46] Are you okay?

[00:52:48] And she just doesn't respond.

[00:52:50] She's over in the corner, just kind of in that zone we saw her out at the doctor's office where she breaks down.

[00:52:58] She's just, you know, devastated and feeling lost.

[00:53:03] Yeah.

[00:53:04] There was, I had to wonder, and it never really, it didn't, it never happened.

[00:53:09] But there was a part of me that I was like, are we going to see Elizabeth like vindictively retaliate?

[00:53:15] And purposely take something from Sue's beauty by like overstaying her turn or something.

[00:53:21] Just as this, like to get back at herself.

[00:53:24] I was like, again, it's just hurting herself.

[00:53:26] But I wondered if she was going to go that route at some point.

[00:53:28] And I think her version of that was stuffing herself with food and stuff.

[00:53:33] Again, that does nothing to Sue.

[00:53:34] It's just you're only hurting yourself literally in that aspect.

[00:53:37] But so then I wondered, like, is she literally going to try to physically do something to Sue to like, whether it is overstaying her turn to make her age or like see what happens, you know, or damaging the body while it's out of commission or something, you know?

[00:53:52] I wondered about that, too.

[00:53:54] And then I just think that it showcased where they were age-wise, mentally, where Sue is still young and immature in some ways and selfish.

[00:54:11] And on the flip side of that, Elizabeth is not selfish in that way.

[00:54:19] She's not going to do something to hurt Sue in that way.

[00:54:24] We see that because at the point where she decides she wants to end it, no more experiment, it's all over.

[00:54:35] She can't go through with completely like terminating her.

[00:54:42] Yeah.

[00:54:43] Yeah.

[00:54:43] And yeah, I mean, and I think that further shows the mindset that she was in at the time.

[00:54:50] Like she looks at everything and realizes, no, this is me.

[00:54:53] This, you know, we've achieved this or you've achieved this.

[00:54:58] It means I've achieved this.

[00:54:59] And she just feels endeared to the point where she can't go through with it.

[00:55:05] But on the flip side of that, Sue does not hold back when it comes to how she reacts to seeing the termination syringe and the walloping that she gives Elizabeth.

[00:55:19] Yeah.

[00:55:20] It's, and especially you, I was almost expecting, you know, before she starts bashing Elizabeth's face into the mirror, something like Elizabeth to like when they're sitting there in the mirror looking at each other, to turn on her and be like, you did this to me.

[00:55:33] Why are you mad?

[00:55:34] Like, like, clearly, like what, you know, you see why.

[00:55:37] Because, yeah, we get to that place where Sue like just decides to take over completely and drains Elizabeth to the point of her becoming almost this, what I would say like a beast or a creature at that point because we hadn't yet seen monster Elizabeth Sue.

[00:55:52] No.

[00:55:53] But, yeah, like she's like permanently gets herself.

[00:55:56] She's just draining her of all of this stuff, this stabilizing fluid towards like I'm just going to take over.

[00:56:03] I'm going to be the self that gets to live life.

[00:56:05] And Elizabeth is done for again, tossing her aside and be like, no, you're old news.

[00:56:12] Let's just let's stick with the new thing until she gets to that point that like the day before the New Year's thing, the keg is tapped.

[00:56:21] Right.

[00:56:21] Right.

[00:56:22] It's not rejuvenating anymore because the point of the seven days is to give the body a chance to rejuvenate what it needs to.

[00:56:33] Yeah.

[00:56:35] And Elizabeth didn't have the time.

[00:56:37] And plus, oh, my God, the sore on her back from.

[00:56:40] Oh, man.

[00:56:41] Yeah.

[00:56:42] And so she does have to switch back at one point because if she doesn't, she's going to die once it's tapped.

[00:56:48] And then once it switched back to Elizabeth, seeing what she's become.

[00:56:53] That's where she's like, OK, that's it.

[00:56:54] We're terminating, which the final kit has been delivered to your deposit box.

[00:56:59] I was like, wonderful.

[00:57:00] She's supposed to go out to that other location looking like that.

[00:57:04] Yep.

[00:57:04] At first I was thinking barely able to walk, but then I was like, well, nope, she's definitely got some hustle in her now.

[00:57:09] She was, you know, very set on that.

[00:57:16] But yeah, I was I know you said that she didn't go through with the termination, but she did for the most part.

[00:57:22] Kind of, but she didn't like completely.

[00:57:25] She didn't inject all of the solution.

[00:57:28] Not completely all of it.

[00:57:29] Most of it.

[00:57:29] But I was like, I was surprised she went through with it at all to the extent she did.

[00:57:32] But there was a moment I thought she was going to try to decide to like terminate herself, switch, like switch over and then let Sue keep going.

[00:57:41] And she does kind of try to do that after the fact.

[00:57:43] She injects most of it.

[00:57:44] And then that's where she's looking at the billboard.

[00:57:47] Like she's got the New Year's show.

[00:57:49] She's the.

[00:57:50] Well, it is me.

[00:57:51] You know, it's like, no, this is our dream.

[00:57:53] This is my dream.

[00:57:54] So it should be.

[00:57:55] And then that's where she tries to switch them back out.

[00:57:58] Which, again, would have been her memories or, you know, herself transferring back over to Sue to where it's still her.

[00:58:05] But I get because she had already put so much of the termination stuff to where.

[00:58:11] It really threw things out of whack.

[00:58:14] I to a point where I don't think the substance people that made this or ever even expected something like this to be able to happen.

[00:58:22] Where she somehow manages to have both selves active at the same time.

[00:58:28] Yeah.

[00:58:28] I didn't know that if we were going to see something like that.

[00:58:32] It kind of made me think of the show Severance.

[00:58:35] Yeah.

[00:58:37] Yeah.

[00:58:37] Which I.

[00:58:38] It's similar, but also there's no way.

[00:58:41] You can have them active at the same time.

[00:58:42] No, you can't.

[00:58:43] I don't know.

[00:58:43] Season two is coming out.

[00:58:44] Maybe they'll find a way to like have them fighting in the brain at the same time.

[00:58:48] I don't know.

[00:58:49] That'll be crazy.

[00:58:50] No, they're just going to sit down in the brain and have a calm discussion about who's going to take over.

[00:58:55] Sure.

[00:58:58] That show.

[00:58:59] God, I love that show.

[00:59:00] I can't wait for it to come back.

[00:59:01] Me either.

[00:59:02] It's going to be awesome.

[00:59:05] But yeah.

[00:59:07] Yeah.

[00:59:08] But Sue's pissed that Elizabeth was like killing her.

[00:59:11] So obviously.

[00:59:13] And I was like, does she have super strength?

[00:59:15] Like she's kicking her across the apartment.

[00:59:18] I'm like, what is happening?

[00:59:20] Yeah.

[00:59:20] I wondered if for a minute I got this mixed up with, you know, a Marvel movie.

[00:59:26] Right.

[00:59:26] Yeah.

[00:59:27] I also came up with like, it took me like this long into the movie to be like, why did she pick the name Sue?

[00:59:32] And I was like, this probably has nothing to do with it.

[00:59:34] But for me, I was like, Sue.

[00:59:38] Substance using Elizabeth becomes Sue.

[00:59:41] Oh, I think that's great.

[00:59:43] That's a great idea.

[00:59:45] Mm hmm.

[00:59:46] I mean, probably not, but.

[00:59:48] But that's fine.

[00:59:49] That's a great concept.

[00:59:51] Yeah.

[00:59:52] Yes.

[00:59:52] They have this like big fight that ends with like.

[00:59:56] Sue killing Elizabeth officially.

[00:59:59] And then so after Elizabeth dies.

[01:00:03] At least for a little bit, it seems like the split existence things you see it kind of like in their head, like combined back into one.

[01:00:10] So it's like, so is the experience as they keep calling this over?

[01:00:13] Like, did they find a way for Sue to take over officially and just become like it's done?

[01:00:19] And then she gets over to the studio for the show.

[01:00:22] And no, it seems not.

[01:00:24] That's when things really start to fall apart and drop off.

[01:00:30] Yeah, literally.

[01:00:31] Yeah.

[01:00:32] The tooth pulling I could do without.

[01:00:34] Yes.

[01:00:35] Didn't need that.

[01:00:35] That freaked me out a little bit.

[01:00:37] Didn't want that.

[01:00:38] And then she gets in the elevator and it was like, and I was just like, and I'm not doing the fingernail thing.

[01:00:43] That's just, I was closed.

[01:00:45] I'm not even, not even doing it.

[01:00:47] I'm not a part of this.

[01:00:48] And then her ear fell off and I was like, no, that's fine.

[01:00:50] I can do that.

[01:00:53] You just don't want fingernails to come out.

[01:00:55] No, it was just the teeth and the finger.

[01:00:57] It's the like very.

[01:01:00] Yeah.

[01:01:00] I don't know.

[01:01:01] It's hard for me to explain like why certain things do or don't, but like there's a certain thing.

[01:01:06] Like very visceral things like super over the top blood and gore.

[01:01:11] It's fine.

[01:01:12] Blood, guts, ears.

[01:01:15] I can handle.

[01:01:16] It's just like the little, I think I've mentioned it's like the things that like wouldn't be incredibly like deadly or fatal or trauma, traumatic to the body.

[01:01:29] It's like the things that are like small things that would just hurt really, really bad, but not like overall affect you that much.

[01:01:38] And that's the fingernails, the teeth, the eyes, the.

[01:01:42] Always going back to ready or not.

[01:01:43] The like hand hole, the things like that.

[01:01:46] That's the things that I'm like, nobody's going to die from that.

[01:01:49] It's just going to be excruciating pain for the sake of excruciating pain.

[01:01:53] Like that's.

[01:01:53] It's torture.

[01:01:55] Kind of.

[01:01:55] Yeah.

[01:01:55] It's like a torture.

[01:01:56] Yeah.

[01:01:58] And I'm like, no, I don't.

[01:01:59] I'm out.

[01:02:01] And then Monstro Eliza Sue.

[01:02:03] Which I love.

[01:02:05] And then as she said, then I just kind of got a little snarky at that point because like the satire had kind of really taken over.

[01:02:10] I'm just like, I'm talking to Eliza Sue as, as she's getting ready for, for the big show.

[01:02:16] I was like, oh, nice earrings.

[01:02:18] I mean, you don't really have ears.

[01:02:19] You just stab it into somewhere.

[01:02:22] Perfect.

[01:02:22] Perfect.

[01:02:23] You look great, darling.

[01:02:26] And then goes to the show.

[01:02:27] And I was like, so there's just topless women on a live televised holiday special.

[01:02:32] Sure.

[01:02:32] Why not?

[01:02:33] Okay.

[01:02:34] It's got to be a cable show.

[01:02:35] There's no way that they would allow that.

[01:02:38] I was like, okay, sure.

[01:02:40] And then the music starts.

[01:02:41] And I was like, it's, it's, it's Ric Flair.

[01:02:48] I knew you were going to do that.

[01:02:50] I did.

[01:02:52] Yeah.

[01:02:52] And then it was one hell of a new year's performance.

[01:02:54] They wanted boobs in the middle of the face.

[01:02:56] The casting guys, the casting guys like clearly stated that.

[01:03:00] So I don't see anything wrong.

[01:03:01] That's what they wanted.

[01:03:04] But yeah, no, that, that new year's show was so fucking metal.

[01:03:09] Incredible.

[01:03:10] Forget knocked loose on Kimmel.

[01:03:11] That was peak late night TV.

[01:03:13] I'll tell you right there.

[01:03:15] That was the most metal new year's late night show I've ever seen.

[01:03:19] It was so amazing.

[01:03:22] Top marks for me.

[01:03:25] Would watch again.

[01:03:26] Sure.

[01:03:28] For real.

[01:03:29] Like they did.

[01:03:29] They had like death metal playing while the blood is spraying out the arm all over the audience.

[01:03:34] I was like, this is the coolest thing ever.

[01:03:36] The best new year's show ever.

[01:03:39] Sure.

[01:03:40] Um, and then after the show, she's walking out.

[01:03:43] It's like, she broke a leg.

[01:03:44] Literally.

[01:03:45] And then fell and sploded.

[01:03:48] Oh God.

[01:03:50] Sploded.

[01:03:51] She sploded.

[01:03:52] And it all, all of that to lead to Demi's, Demi Moore's face in the center of a crawling brain matter blob.

[01:04:00] It was amazing.

[01:04:02] It was beautiful.

[01:04:03] Exquisite.

[01:04:04] I loved it so much.

[01:04:05] It was amazing.

[01:04:07] Definitely something.

[01:04:09] Like, I don't know.

[01:04:10] There's something about that visual.

[01:04:11] I'm weird like that to have like, like I said, Demi Moore's face in the center of a brain matter blob.

[01:04:16] Just on, on her walk of fame star, just one last moment of pure bliss before melting away.

[01:04:25] And I was like, that was gorgeous.

[01:04:26] That was beautiful.

[01:04:27] And I loved it.

[01:04:31] Yeah.

[01:04:33] I kept waiting for a bike to run over her face while she was sitting there.

[01:04:38] That didn't happen.

[01:04:39] But like what did happen was even more poetic in a way.

[01:04:42] She like, basks in this last glow and then melts and then just street sweeper.

[01:04:47] Gone forever.

[01:04:48] Yep.

[01:04:49] Only her cracked star.

[01:04:51] Mm-hmm.

[01:04:55] When she was spraying all the blood all over everyone, which I loved that part.

[01:05:02] So great.

[01:05:03] It was great.

[01:05:04] They actually used 36,000 gallons of movie blood.

[01:05:09] And I was just like, yes.

[01:05:11] Just coat the whole room and everybody in there.

[01:05:13] Yep.

[01:05:14] It was amazing.

[01:05:15] Even Harvey.

[01:05:16] What I would have given to be in that room with building Demi Park.

[01:05:19] Oh, that would have been so beautiful.

[01:05:21] Just amazing.

[01:05:22] Is that a bucket list item for you?

[01:05:24] You want to be sprayed with movie blood?

[01:05:26] I have been.

[01:05:27] I've been covered in fake blood.

[01:05:29] That's true.

[01:05:30] That is true.

[01:05:31] It's fun.

[01:05:32] But it's never been sprayed quite like that, has it?

[01:05:34] Not quite like that.

[01:05:35] Yeah.

[01:05:35] No.

[01:05:36] I mean, this was like basically a fire hose.

[01:05:39] Mm-hmm.

[01:05:40] It's great.

[01:05:42] So yeah, that pretty much wraps up that.

[01:05:45] I said I do have some other little quick notes about other characters.

[01:05:49] Harvey, like I said, just absolutely despicable and disgusting.

[01:05:52] Terrible, terrible, terrible human being.

[01:05:54] And then the gift that Harvey gets for Elizabeth, which is this French cookbook.

[01:05:59] When he gives it to her as like a parting gift, it's wrapped in Christmas paper.

[01:06:03] It was May.

[01:06:04] So just insult to injury.

[01:06:06] Um, it's like clearly something that was regifted that he just didn't even open and care for.

[01:06:11] Um, it was like a bottom of the barrel, like afterthought thing.

[01:06:17] Uh, let's see.

[01:06:19] Uh, Oliver, the neighbor.

[01:06:21] That dude was also kind of.

[01:06:22] Oh my God.

[01:06:23] Cringe.

[01:06:24] Unbearable.

[01:06:25] I've got a sack of tools and a big hammer.

[01:06:28] You know what I mean?

[01:06:29] And I was like, of course my brain immediately goes to Nathan Fillion in Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog.

[01:06:33] I don't know if you know that reference, but.

[01:06:36] No.

[01:06:37] The hammer is my penis.

[01:06:39] Um, and that's immediately what came to my head.

[01:06:42] Uh.

[01:06:46] And.

[01:06:47] Yeah.

[01:06:47] Pretty much everybody that's not Elizabeth in this movie sucks.

[01:06:50] Uh.

[01:06:51] So yeah.

[01:06:52] That was kind of the notes on that.

[01:06:55] Yeah.

[01:06:56] No one was good.

[01:06:57] No one was nice.

[01:06:58] Nobody.

[01:06:59] They were all creepy, creepy, creepy.

[01:07:03] Yeah.

[01:07:04] Yeah.

[01:07:04] So that's all the notes I have.

[01:07:05] I don't really have anything to add to that.

[01:07:09] I.

[01:07:11] Appreciated what the director tried to do.

[01:07:13] And I think she succeeded.

[01:07:16] You know, shining a lens on society's obsession with youth and beauty and ageism and body manipulation and unattainable beauty standards and the pressure.

[01:07:30] I think she captured it really well.

[01:07:33] I appreciated this movie.

[01:07:36] Yeah.

[01:07:36] It was.

[01:07:37] I get one of those.

[01:07:38] I was like, I wanted to get around to watching it, but then there's like this kind of.

[01:07:42] Little bit of.

[01:07:44] Nervous.

[01:07:44] Not like nervousness, but yeah, just like apprehension to like, is it going to be too much?

[01:07:48] Like how am I.

[01:07:49] And then at the end of the day, being like halfway through the movie and being like, I'm so glad I watched this.

[01:07:54] This is incredible.

[01:07:55] I love this.

[01:07:55] Watch.

[01:07:56] I think I texted.

[01:07:57] And it just kept getting better after that.

[01:07:59] I texted you, I think halfway through watching it and said, I'm so glad you decided to pick

[01:08:03] this one for this week.

[01:08:05] Yeah.

[01:08:05] There was something about watching it.

[01:08:07] I just.

[01:08:08] Yeah.

[01:08:08] I appreciate it a lot.

[01:08:11] Well, there goes the feedback phone right on time on cue.

[01:08:15] So hopefully some other people have some great thoughts about this one as well.

[01:08:18] Let's check it out and see.

[01:08:22] All right.

[01:08:23] This week we actually do have a lot of feedback, which is awesome.

[01:08:27] Thanks so much for coming through with that.

[01:08:29] Got a little bit of feedback for last week's movie, Renfield.

[01:08:33] And then a few of you came through for The Substance this week, which is awesome because

[01:08:38] definitely a big movie to cover with a lot of buzz.

[01:08:41] So it's cool to get some thoughts from some people on that.

[01:08:43] And now that I've teed all that fun stuff up, let's go ahead and get into it.

[01:08:47] Daphne, start.

[01:08:48] All right.

[01:08:50] So Lara said, just caught this now.

[01:08:54] Loved it so much.

[01:08:55] Nick Cage is the most extra drack ever.

[01:08:58] Nicholas Holt is my latest celebrity crush.

[01:09:01] He's always funny and adorable in everything I've seen him in lately.

[01:09:06] Awkwafina was hilarious and gave me great big sister vibes to Holt's Renfield.

[01:09:12] Can't wait to listen.

[01:09:13] I don't know that he's funny and adorable as Lex Luthor.

[01:09:19] In Superman.

[01:09:21] Yeah, I saw that all the Superman stuff's been coming out today.

[01:09:24] Well, yesterday as you're listening to this.

[01:09:27] You listen to the recording, David.

[01:09:28] As we're recording this the night before today.

[01:09:33] And I don't care.

[01:09:37] And it's good for the people and the friends of mine that are super excited about it.

[01:09:41] I'm so happy that you're so excited.

[01:09:42] But I couldn't care less about Superman anything.

[01:09:47] He's the most boring superhero to me.

[01:09:48] And I'm going to get some hate mail for that one.

[01:09:50] But you know what?

[01:09:51] I'm just like, I'm not that interested.

[01:09:54] Even with James Gunn behind the helm.

[01:09:56] And I love James Gunn.

[01:09:57] But like, meh.

[01:10:00] Just meh.

[01:10:02] But good.

[01:10:03] It's a great casting.

[01:10:04] There's some good stuff going on.

[01:10:05] But not for me.

[01:10:07] Yeah.

[01:10:08] I had a really good friend ask me if I had seen the trailer.

[01:10:11] And I hadn't seen it.

[01:10:13] But I'm really a Marvel person.

[01:10:16] I'm much more of a Marvel person.

[01:10:18] And it's not because I feel like I have to choose one or the other.

[01:10:22] It's just because I'm drawn towards the Marvel superheroes.

[01:10:28] Yeah.

[01:10:28] It's just...

[01:10:30] Yeah.

[01:10:30] I only got so much time in a day in my life to pick the things I really want to care about.

[01:10:35] I'm like, DC's not it so much lately.

[01:10:38] Yeah.

[01:10:39] But who knows?

[01:10:39] Maybe it'll be incredible and I'll eventually give it a shot and love it.

[01:10:43] But...

[01:10:44] Yeah.

[01:10:44] Yeah.

[01:10:46] But yeah, Nicholas Holt being in it is cool.

[01:10:48] That's awesome.

[01:10:48] Absolutely.

[01:10:50] I love him getting good stuff.

[01:10:53] Yeah.

[01:10:53] I guess just to add on to my unnecessary negativity out of nowhere.

[01:10:59] No, we did hear back from our friend Tony.

[01:11:02] Good to hear from her.

[01:11:03] It's been a little bit.

[01:11:03] About Renfield as well.

[01:11:05] She said, I wanted to like this, but I honestly thought it was boring.

[01:11:08] So you know what?

[01:11:08] It's okay.

[01:11:09] We can all share our opinions on things that are just not our cup of tea.

[01:11:13] It's good.

[01:11:13] Exactly.

[01:11:14] And Tony, I have missed your thoughts on movies.

[01:11:17] So I was so happy to see your response to this one.

[01:11:22] And we heard from Dodie who sent us a message through our text portal.

[01:11:28] Ooh.

[01:11:28] Because we have that now.

[01:11:30] This is our first one.

[01:11:31] She said, great pod.

[01:11:33] Loved it.

[01:11:33] So glad you enjoyed Renfield.

[01:11:35] I'll look forward to warm bodies.

[01:11:37] Yeah.

[01:11:38] Yeah.

[01:11:38] We've been talking about covering that for a while and we've kind of slated it for next season.

[01:11:43] I think so.

[01:11:44] We're going to hope to get around.

[01:11:45] I think we've got a guest that we've had planned for like three years for that one.

[01:11:49] Yes.

[01:11:50] We know who we want to do that one with.

[01:11:52] Just working the timing out and stuff with that now for next season.

[01:11:55] I think it'll be fun.

[01:11:56] Yeah, definitely.

[01:11:58] Yeah.

[01:11:59] But now that we can move on from Renfield from last week, because people who are listening

[01:12:02] are like, wait, I thought this was the substance.

[01:12:04] I just listened to them talk about the substance for an hour.

[01:12:06] But yeah, no, we got the substance.

[01:12:08] A lot of great feedback for it.

[01:12:10] So I'll go ahead and take this first one from Cara.

[01:12:12] Cara?

[01:12:13] Cara?

[01:12:14] I'm sorry.

[01:12:15] Let me know for sure.

[01:12:16] Because I don't know if I've talked to you a whole lot.

[01:12:18] So Cara.

[01:12:20] Cara.

[01:12:20] Let me know.

[01:12:23] They say, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[01:12:25] Well, maybe enjoyed isn't necessarily the right word.

[01:12:28] I thought it was shot brilliantly and the overall message of the film is becoming increasingly

[01:12:32] relevant, especially with the popularity of plastic surgery and various aesthetic

[01:12:35] procedures, if I can speak.

[01:12:39] Body horror is not one of my favorite genres and I usually avoid it.

[01:12:42] But the theme of this film drew me in.

[01:12:44] The small ways the film showed how sexism and vanity interact and permeate our society

[01:12:48] were so well done.

[01:12:49] I found the sequence of Demi's character walking down the hallway past photos of her

[01:12:53] younger self to arrive at a current photo particularly compelling.

[01:12:56] The whole meta aspect of how older women are treated in Hollywood didn't hurt either.

[01:13:00] I thought both Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley were utterly brilliant, but I was especially

[01:13:05] floored by Demi's performance and willingness to embrace the grotesque.

[01:13:09] Overall, the film offered interesting commentary and could be useful in drawing people into the

[01:13:13] conversation that aren't quite there yet when it comes to feminism and our society's

[01:13:17] obsession with appearance.

[01:13:18] Can't wait to hear y'all's thoughts.

[01:13:20] P.S.

[01:13:20] I will never get over that close-up shot of Dennis Quaid eating shrimp.

[01:13:24] That may have been the grossest scene in the movie to me.

[01:13:26] P.S.

[01:13:27] Yes.

[01:13:27] I don't think we really talked about that one, but yeah, that was not fun.

[01:13:34] He was so over the top.

[01:13:36] Like, that character and his portrayal was so over the top that, man, yeah, that was just

[01:13:43] one of those other moments.

[01:13:46] Well, we also heard from our friend Sam.

[01:13:49] Ah, the substance.

[01:13:51] Growing older as a woman really can be a horror movie, at least in Western societies.

[01:13:56] The acting was superb and the cinematography was so beautiful.

[01:14:00] My only complaint is that I kind of wish they'd edited it down a bit in the middle.

[01:14:06] Not by much, maybe 10 or 15 minutes that felt repetitive, at least to me.

[01:14:11] As a horror movie fan since childhood, thanks mom and dad, I didn't really get the hype

[01:14:17] about how gruesome it was until I did.

[01:14:20] That last 20 minutes, woof.

[01:14:22] They just kept pushing it and pushing it.

[01:14:25] I don't know if I was supposed to cackle in joy at at least Sue B.

[01:14:30] Spraying the audience with her bodily juices, but I did.

[01:14:34] As much as I enjoyed the film, I don't think I'd ever watch it again, but that's okay.

[01:14:39] To me, some films are meant to be a visceral experience rather than a repeatable viewing.

[01:14:46] It definitely is the former.

[01:14:48] I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say.

[01:14:51] Thank you for covering it and happy holidays.

[01:14:54] Thank you.

[01:14:55] Happy holidays to you as well.

[01:14:57] It was a great one.

[01:14:59] We got one here from our good friend Penny.

[01:15:02] Great to hear from you.

[01:15:04] Penny says, what an impactful film.

[01:15:06] I'm so glad I saw it in the theater where I wasn't distracted so I could be totally immersed.

[01:15:10] The subject matter and commentary on aging and misogyny and objectification of women is dark and deep.

[01:15:15] The body horror is truly horrific and the performances.

[01:15:18] Demi Moore better get nominated for this.

[01:15:20] I was smitten by the production design and camera choices.

[01:15:23] The use of those long hallways and the contrast between the sterile white bathroom and the orange patterned carpet in the TV studio.

[01:15:29] The presence of the giant billboard against the view of the mountains.

[01:15:32] The blood and gore against the pretty and glittery TV presentations.

[01:15:36] All added to the horror.

[01:15:37] The close up of Dennis Quaid's mouth breathing thick smoke made me audibly gag.

[01:15:42] Truly a phenomenal film.

[01:15:44] More Quaid mouth stuff.

[01:15:46] Yes.

[01:15:46] It gets notes.

[01:15:49] Quaid mouth stuff.

[01:15:51] Band name.

[01:15:51] Called it.

[01:15:52] Yes.

[01:15:55] Our next one is from Howard and he says, the substance is totally insane and I loved every minute.

[01:16:02] Definitely worthy of its Golden Globe nominations.

[01:16:06] It's great to see horror getting attention.

[01:16:09] Yeah.

[01:16:09] And now we're just kind of sitting and waiting to see how that translates to the Oscars.

[01:16:14] I'm thinking it will to some degree, which is another reason why I chose to cover that this week is so I could maybe, you know, knock out some of my Oscars death ray stuff a little early.

[01:16:27] But even if it doesn't, you know what?

[01:16:28] Worth watching.

[01:16:29] It was great.

[01:16:29] But I think it will.

[01:16:31] And lastly, we have Catherine coming through as always.

[01:16:34] Says, I was pretty bored for the first half.

[01:16:36] The birth scene via spinal cord was intense.

[01:16:39] But otherwise, there's a compilation of montages of Elizabeth slash Sue in various stages of nakedness.

[01:16:44] I wasn't as bored with the second half between Sue pulling a drumstick out of her belly button and the amazing body transformations.

[01:16:51] I didn't like any of the characters, especially Elizabeth.

[01:16:54] Her body was already amazing.

[01:16:55] And even after she turned into the Grand Supreme Witch, she still didn't stop Sue.

[01:16:59] Her ending as a blob to be cleaned off her own star seemed fitting.

[01:17:03] The special effects were amazing and I really enjoyed the last 20 minutes.

[01:17:06] But the story of a woman brutally dying as a result of her vanity, while none of the horrible men face any consequences for their behavior, could have been told in 90 minutes rather than two and a half hours.

[01:17:18] I get that.

[01:17:19] Yeah, it's a really – it's definitely like – it's a different perspective than like a lot of feedback and stuff that I think we talked about.

[01:17:27] But it's absolutely just as valid that like you made really good points for sure that like – yeah.

[01:17:34] Like those are things that are definitely important and I'm glad you point those out.

[01:17:37] Yeah.

[01:17:38] That's why we appreciate the feedback that everyone sends in.

[01:17:42] It's always great to get different opinions because we all see things differently and sharing those opinions can help give us all a well-rounded view of what we are watching.

[01:17:56] So if you'd like to submit your feedback, you can do it on a movie that we're covering next week.

[01:18:01] You can do it on a movie we've already covered.

[01:18:04] We love feedback at any time on any movie, so please feel free to do that.

[01:18:09] You can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Run For Your Lives Podcast or you can email us at runforyourlivespodcast at gmail.com.

[01:18:18] If you're enjoying the show, please tell your friends.

[01:18:21] We are on all the major podcast platforms and a lot of the non-major ones.

[01:18:27] We're on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

[01:18:30] Those are three of the big ones.

[01:18:32] Visit runforyourlivespodcast.com for all the links that you'll ever need.

[01:18:36] And don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

[01:18:39] That is the best way to share the love and get us out there even more.

[01:18:43] We really appreciate it.

[01:18:45] Absolutely we do.

[01:18:46] Love.

[01:18:47] Anytime you guys help us out, share the love.

[01:18:50] Ratings, reviews, subscriptions, feedback, all of it.

[01:18:55] We really appreciate it.

[01:18:56] Of course, speaking of sharing the love, got to give those shoutouts to things going on in the Podcastica universe around us.

[01:19:03] So over on the cast of us, Flagship Show, they're continuing their Walking Dead rewatch.

[01:19:07] They are at the end of season three right now.

[01:19:12] We're covering Welcome to the Tombs this last week.

[01:19:14] You can go check that out.

[01:19:15] A lot of great stuff over on that rewatch.

[01:19:17] And then other great stuff going on as well in Podcastica.

[01:19:20] Cobra Kai over on Cobra Kai Cast.

[01:19:22] You can also check out House Podcastica to get feeds to a lot of these things as well.

[01:19:27] They are covering the episode Blood In, Blood Out, which is the penultimate episode in the second batch of episodes.

[01:19:34] And then we'll get that third batch of five early next year of this final season of Cobra Kai.

[01:19:39] So definitely check out their coverage of that one.

[01:19:41] Cobra Kai is great, as always.

[01:19:44] Still Slaying is back.

[01:19:46] Penny and Kara.

[01:19:47] Kara, again, tell me because I need to know for sure.

[01:19:51] They're doing great work over there, as always.

[01:19:53] So you can definitely check out their beginning of season four with season four episode one The Freshman.

[01:19:57] If you are a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, definitely go check out their rewatch podcast over there.

[01:20:03] Squid Game Season 2 is coming very soon.

[01:20:06] And you can go ahead and check out right now on the Squid Game cast.

[01:20:10] Jason and somebody named Daphne, whoever that is, recapped Season 1.

[01:20:19] You guys gave your hopes and thoughts for maybe what will be coming in the upcoming season two.

[01:20:25] Yes.

[01:20:26] And Jason doesn't like spoilers, so I had to be very careful to not share too much of what I already know.

[01:20:34] Because I tend to immerse myself and watch videos.

[01:20:38] And I've learned a lot about the new characters.

[01:20:41] And I think it's going to be a great season.

[01:20:43] I'm really looking forward to it.

[01:20:45] But I kept most of that to myself, as far as what I do know about Season 2.

[01:20:52] Nice.

[01:20:52] Yeah, so I'm excited for that to come back.

[01:20:54] It'll be a lot of fun.

[01:20:55] So if you're a Squid Game fan, definitely check out the coverage over on Podcastica here whenever they start that up soon.

[01:21:03] Welcome to the Apocalypse is Back.

[01:21:05] They release kind of bi-weekly, as in every other week version of that.

[01:21:09] But why do they have a timing word that means two very different things?

[01:21:14] But yes, every other week they release there.

[01:21:17] So there's a new one out this week.

[01:21:19] It is Darla and the Smithies.

[01:21:21] Very interesting one.

[01:21:22] I think it is the first episode of Season 2 where they have a guest improver with them on this one.

[01:21:30] So really cool.

[01:21:31] Go check that out for sure.

[01:21:32] They're always great.

[01:21:34] Randy, Jenny, Rob just killing it.

[01:21:36] It's hilarious.

[01:21:37] Every time they put out a new episode.

[01:21:39] It's just improv comedy.

[01:21:40] A group of people making it through the apocalypse.

[01:21:43] Meeting wacky people as they go along.

[01:21:45] It's great.

[01:21:46] Definitely check it out if you want a good laugh.

[01:21:48] And then lastly, of course, I somehow managed to wrangle Daphne into covering a Star Wars show.

[01:21:55] Somehow.

[01:21:56] So you can also check that out if you are a fan of Star Wars Skeleton Crew.

[01:22:01] Which, if you know what's good for you, you should be.

[01:22:03] Because it's incredible.

[01:22:05] It really is.

[01:22:05] I'm really loving it.

[01:22:06] Yes.

[01:22:06] It is.

[01:22:07] I'm having such a great time.

[01:22:09] And I'm not a huge fan by any means.

[01:22:12] But covering this show has been so much fun so far.

[01:22:16] Yeah.

[01:22:16] Not a big fan of Star Wars stuff, typically.

[01:22:18] But yeah.

[01:22:20] And I'm a huge Star Wars nerd.

[01:22:21] So I think it's an interesting dynamic to have the people talk about that.

[01:22:24] But yeah.

[01:22:25] So we covered the first three episodes all in one last week.

[01:22:29] And then you can go ahead and check out on the Star Wars TV cast or on House Podcastica.

[01:22:33] Our coverage of just episode four from this week is up now.

[01:22:36] You can go check that out.

[01:22:38] And join us in all the Neil love over there.

[01:22:43] It's...

[01:22:43] Yeah.

[01:22:44] This show is so adorable, intense, and fun.

[01:22:50] Yeah.

[01:22:51] Really.

[01:22:52] It's a great one.

[01:22:53] So yeah.

[01:22:53] Check that out as well.

[01:22:54] Star Wars fans.

[01:22:56] Having a blast.

[01:22:57] It's...

[01:22:57] Me and Daphne have never got to talk about a TV show week to week before.

[01:23:01] So it's really...

[01:23:01] It's a little different.

[01:23:02] We're having fun over there.

[01:23:03] It is.

[01:23:04] I think we got it down though.

[01:23:05] I think the flow is going.

[01:23:06] It's fun.

[01:23:07] Yeah.

[01:23:08] And then if for some reason you want even more of me and Daphne, again, you can always

[01:23:12] check out Buffalo Buffalo Podcast every week.

[01:23:14] We join our friends Jeff and Jerry for just some ridiculousness.

[01:23:18] Play some games.

[01:23:19] Make each other laugh.

[01:23:20] Joke around.

[01:23:21] Have a good time.

[01:23:22] Conversations.

[01:23:23] Just shooting the breeze and having a good time.

[01:23:25] It's always a lot of fun.

[01:23:26] We're keeping things going over there.

[01:23:28] So if you want to check that out, it's just...

[01:23:30] It's a nice laugh and hang out with friends for your daily commute or whatever.

[01:23:36] Whenever you listen to your podcasts.

[01:23:40] But after checking all of that out and because I told you you've made a commitment and you're

[01:23:44] promising me that you're going to go listen to all of those things and go check them out.

[01:23:47] Thank you.

[01:23:49] But yeah, but after you're done marking all those off your list, make sure you come back

[01:23:52] right here to run for your lives next week because we'll have something super fun for you.

[01:23:57] Of course, maybe a couple days early next week.

[01:24:01] I think there's like a holiday or something going on next week.

[01:24:04] I'm not sure something's happening.

[01:24:05] Yeah.

[01:24:06] I don't know, Daphne.

[01:24:07] What's going on next week?

[01:24:08] Well, when a group of mercenaries takes a wealthy family hostage on Christmas Eve, their

[01:24:15] plans are upended by an unlikely hero, Santa Claus himself.

[01:24:20] Armed with his wits and a knack for brutal combat, Santa fights to save the family and preserve

[01:24:26] the holiday spirit.

[01:24:27] For our 2024 Christmas special, we are covering the 2022 film Violent Night was directed by

[01:24:37] Tommy Workola and it stars David Harbour.

[01:24:43] It's a fun one.

[01:24:45] Another Christmas special over here on Run for Your Lives.

[01:24:49] It'll be a blast for sure.

[01:24:51] So yeah, go check it out next week and give us your thoughts on it.

[01:24:53] Now that you know it's happening, go watch it.

[01:24:55] Add it to your holiday movie rotation.

[01:24:57] Maybe not with the kids if you've got them, but...

[01:25:00] Yeah.

[01:25:01] Not recommended for children.

[01:25:04] But if you get it sometime to do yourself or if you are just an adult only zone and want

[01:25:09] to watch some great comedy, action, brutal, intense, fun Christmas movie, add that one

[01:25:17] to your list and then let us know what you think if you have or haven't seen it before.

[01:25:20] Yeah.

[01:25:21] And since we're going to be posting this one early, make sure that you get your feedback

[01:25:26] in Monday.

[01:25:27] If you really wanted to be on the episode, get it in by Monday.

[01:25:30] Okay.

[01:25:31] We'll post our graphic early so that you guys can find the thread and share your thoughts.

[01:25:38] And Peg, that's going to be episode 199.

[01:25:42] Wow.

[01:25:42] So that's a good place to stop.

[01:25:43] We're done forever now, right?

[01:25:45] No.

[01:25:49] That's a good rounded even number to quit and never go one more past that or anything.

[01:25:56] Given the list of movies that we've been talking about lately.

[01:26:00] There's so many more for us to cover.

[01:26:03] Mm-hmm.

[01:26:03] Yeah, we can't round it out even.

[01:26:05] So yeah, guess we'll just have to go at least another hundred.

[01:26:10] Oh, well.

[01:26:12] Darn.

[01:26:14] Well, that brings us to the end of another fun episode.

[01:26:18] Thanks everyone for listening.

[01:26:19] I'm Daphne.

[01:26:21] And I'm Peg.

[01:26:22] And if you have to run, you better run for your lives.

[01:26:26] Bye-bye.