Ethan Hawke suggested changing the ending of the movie. Initially the main character boy grows up to kidnap and torture other people in his basement, while making detailed Phantom Menace reviews.
And his unemployed brother is just sitting at home, unemployed, doing cocaine all day long. Must be nice! How do you think those wall street guys feel when they see that after spending all day at work?
About halfway through watching this movie, I realized that it's absolutely one of those pretty good horror movies that gets a sequel in exactly 7 years, that overexplains everything and has no creative input from anyone from the first movie. I can't wait for Brahms: Don't Breathe the Black Phone 2
"These are the movies that I like where the kids are trapped in the basement" - Mike. Obviously the Plinkett shtick is only the projection of Mike's inner personality.
I love how they worked Mike and Jay's extremely rapid aging and dementia into a storyline, it's a bit like how when Mark Hamil got into the car accident during the filming of Star Wars, they just worked the story around it. I'm glad the producers are taking care of them this close to retirement.
12:40 On the subject of people becoming aware of kidnappings - a lot of this came about due to different counties of police starting to share information with one another during those years. This is the same time serial killer awareness went way up, not because there were more of them, but because similar crimes across counties actually started getting connected to one another.
i will consider this as fact because you stated it with confidence and it's grammatically correct. i will never research this and this will help form many opinions in my future
@@armybirds they're absolutely correct. Back in the day, it was a lot harder for communication between police stations. Once they started sharing information between Counties/States the patterns started adding up.
"the first half hour... It's just kids in the 70s, swearing and beating the crap out of each other. And it was wonderful." - Jay Bauman, very normal human
The "novel" Mike picks up is written by Don Beveridge (aka "push the whopper button" guy). I like these callbacks and references in the RLM cinematic universe.
@@dividingzeros8727 not exactly thrilling either 😂 or particularly psychological, really. Nothing was done to really explore the state of the kid or evoke his feelings in the audience. Not really anything
I like when Mike and Jay talk about movies that maybe don't get as much attention and actually like it, makes me want to check it out myself. The reviews about marvel and star wars are fun and all, but I love to see some positive content.
The problem with re-watching movies is it makes me think about the last time I watched it and my vanishing youth and my mortality. So fuck that. Fuck robocop. Give me distractions.
A Pup Named Scooby Doo had a character that would show up every episode named "Redd Herring" who Freddy always thought was the culprit. I didn't get the joke until years later.
This definitely gave me heavy Shining vibes. I got the impression that Finny, his sister, and the Grabber had "the shining". That similar to Jack Torrance, the Grabber grew to adulthood having the shining without any guidance and it drove him crazy. That's why he said he heard the phone too.
in king's dark tower series the shining is actually kind common and all of the paranatural powers displayed are basically all aspects of it (carrie, firestarter, etc) and the bad guys from another reality kidnap people with it to do their nefarious deeds. It's really not horrifically far fetched of an idea.
If you've read a lot of Stephen King this movie felt super familiar. Kids talking like adults, overly violent bullies, creepy balloons, psychic child to an abusive dad...
It's like King and Hill (lol) simply cannot help themselves. Take an intriguing premise and just marinate it in extreme child bullying, abuse, drunken fathers, and psychic visions. It tends to take away from the overall impact rather than add to it for me. It just irritates me and I stay away from their work. But it clearly works for 99.9% of people and they are beloved, respected authors that I just don't get.
Glad they caught how the kids dad wore figurative masks much like The Grabber. I thought the overarching theme was about how devastating child abuse can be and that it unfortunately gave both kids the tools to navigate a crazed serial killer. Further solidified by the fact that when Finne defeats The Grabber, his dad is at his knees. Though, that is obviously not the end. There is terror at home for the kids.
Did somebody actually make a "boy in the wall" movie with 'Red Hering' living next door? Do they really not have any new ideas? I still laugh about Mike's pitch from back in the day. "Old woman in the wall"
lol, apparently the identity of joe hill wasnt revealed for awhile because he wanted to get a book deal without using his father for nepotism. i've read a few good joe hill stories, and supposedly heart shaped box is certified hood classic.
It’s a strange situation. On one hand it’s like sure, he would want to succeed on his own talents. And he is a very talented writer. But on the other hand, his writing style is very similar to his father’s, such that his stories could easily pass for being written by his father. Not as like a cheap knockoff or copycat, but like a quality story. But that’s not bad. For example if a father opens a restaurant with good food, and his son takes over and the food is just as good, everyone views that as a success and is happy. I read nosferatu (the one with the car) and it was good King.
@@sharpeslass5452 terrible book, yet the title of Nirvana's third most popular song. I know the two are worlds apart, yet being a fan of the song causes me to be irritated by this titling.
This was honestly the best piece of cinema I have watched in a while. The only part I disliked was when the protagonists broke character to do some kind of movie review in the middle of it, and celebrated child abuse? That took me out of it. But the twist ending really saved it for me. 6/10.
Would be even better if is was the new Best of the worst. The last Best of the worst did come out on May 29th. RLM are usually good at releasing one of those each month. But it seems this time there is going to be just 1 best of the worst in two months.
The existence of Raid Shadow Legends in the Rich-Evansverse implies Lightning Fast VCR Repair exists in some alternate reality of our own planet Earth, despite being located in a fictional location, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
@@have_a_good_day420 Ethan didn't talk. Jay didn't even realize it was him! Watch the movie if you want and admit that you lost 1.75hrs of your life or come back and cope and say it was amazing and there 100% is no other movie on your Watch Later that deserved to be enjoyed first. I don't care, we're both right and I'm bored at work.
16:30 - For anyone wondering why Jay says that Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) should have chosen "Joe Bachman" as his pseudonym, it's because Stephen King wrote a few books under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman."
I liked it. The two kids and Ethan Hawke did a great job. The scene that caught my attention with the sister's acting was when she started crying. I was like damn, good job kid. Yeah, sure I have a couple of issues. Still, solid job. Derrickson did the right thing by skipping Dr Strange 2. I had no idea this was based on a short story by Joe Hill. I'm so glad I avoided the trailer, it gave away the entire film. All I knew: Ethan Hawke in a creepy mask and directed by Scott Derrickson. Ok movie, you have my attention. Thrill me.
@Solar Coffee Russel Crowe has had so many violent outbursts, South Park made an episode of it. It's been like 20 years since he last smashed someone's face with a landline telephone and sent them to the ER though.
Actually just got outta the theatre seeing this, and yeah, solid premise, well-paced, well-intentioned stuff, good sense of direction, suitable creepy ambience, pretty varied tone, some moments of levity, I had fun with it. Didn't blow me away and I am getting a BIT bored of the 80's nostalgia trip horror seems to be coasting on somedays, but yeah, I enjoyed it for what it was 🙂
I want the RLM crew to make a very simple, minimalistic movie. They already have everything they need: A warehouse and a basement. Let's face it: Space Cop was an over-budgeted sci-fi extravaganza with world-shattering special effects!
What would the plot be, though? I once had a dream about RLM which I thought could maybe make an interesting movie from them, lol. MAYBE. It didn’t really have a plot, just a creepy/funny vibe. Mike and Jay were just two guys wandering around a town but there was something a bit off about them. They were sort of vacant and when encountering and talking with other people they were just…weird. Also their responses were very minimal. Sort of like they didn’t really know how to talk. Or didn’t feel a need to talk or say much. They for some reason rented a hotel room and I think they were like just sitting there, in the dark. There was a TV on, but it was playing nothing but static. For some reason someone knocked on their door (I think it was someone from the hotel room next to them who wanted to complain about the volume of the TV) but this made Mike and Jay panic. They opened the door and dragged the poor bastard inside and proceeded to kill and eat parts of him. I say “parts” because they quickly grew bored of the “meal” and tossed it aside grotesquely. And then went back to sitting in armchairs to watch the static TV. I can’t really remember why they panicked…it’s possible they already had other victims who were strewn about the hotel room. That would have made more sense as to why they would panic. Anyway, the dream didn’t really have much plot…it sort of ended with them fleeing out of the hotel window because there was a danger of them being caught. Not sure if it was an immediate danger, but I remember the imagery of Mike and Jay looking about quizzically before they fumbled to get through the window. This part was amusing because Mike was moving a bit like someone pretending to be a dinosaur- specifically like you would pose to emulate a t-Rex’s stumpy little arms. And he had a real derpy expression on his face, too. Like, confused and scared but only a little bit. There wasn’t a lot going on in the brains of… whatever these things were. I hesitate to use the word “alien”, because I didn’t get the impression they came from out of space or anything like that. In fact they might have been human but just…really warped humans without a single shred of humanity. Like, they were really *simple*. Anyway!!! I agree that I’d like to see them do a more simple down to earth type of movie. I just don’t know what it would (or should?) be about. That dream was so random, though. I did write it down in my dream journal, maybe I should go read that to see how well I remembered the details. Also, with the lack of real plot there wouldn’t be all that much to make a feature length movie out of. Maybe a short? Maybe they could make short little movie things. Things that don’t need a complex plot?
This is the second time Red Letter Media has referenced that old lady from the phantom menace. “Me bones are aching” When will we get a Disney plus show about that old hag?
I thought it was crazy that the Grabbers brother that lives in the same house was obsessed with figuring out who was behind the abductions, but he never once questioned why he wasn't allowed to go in the basement with the heavy locked soundproof door, why his brother was always sitting in the kitchen staring at the basement door wearing creepy masks, why his brother had a creepy windowless van constantly filled with black balloons, why their kitchen door has a combination lock on it, etc etc. It couldn't have been more obvious that his brother was the Grabber
What the heck, Mike; I loved Searching for Bobby Fischer. "He didn't teach you how to win. He taught you how not to lose. You're playing not to lose, Josh. You've got to risk losing. You've got to risk everything. You've got to go to the edge of defeat" - Laurence Fishburne's character
That movie came out when I was in elementary school, and played chess competitively. It’s a pretty good movie but the ending is ridiculous. No tournament-level player would offer a draw from a position they think they’re going to win. It doesn’t happen; if a player thinks they can win they just win.
@@matthewvivian7235 Yep. It was way back during Season 3 or something, but IIRC it was in an written interview. "Things you never want to hear from the adaptor of a theme-heavy series" for $500, Alex!
@@BlueSkullFish Um, no. If anything that is what the GOT show became because they ignored the themes GRRM has been working with, including but not limited to: the destructive effects of prophecy, revenge vs. justice, "can a JUST war exist?", the effects of war on the common people, the cycle of familial abuse, the limits of honor, the hypocrisy of benevolent tyranny, what makes a good leader?, etc. etc. Just because there is violence and sex in the books doesn't make them less thematic. And it's not just me extrapolating: GRRM has literally talk about the themes in his interviews.
I'm glad to see no origin story for the villain. Sometimes we just need to let them be villains. And no heavy sympathy for the villain trying to relate to the audience. Just a classic bad guy.
Gene Siskell was not a fan of using children under stress or in captivity or suffering as plot points for movies. He would often just get up and leave the theater.
The exact moment I knew this movie was going to be good was right after the kid gets the phone call from the first ghost. Once he finds out that he knows the kid it starts this montage of the dead kid's life. It's very surreal and dreamlike with shots of him as a child, playing baseball, hell I think there was even a shot of him pledging allegiance to the flag! Then, without warning, it hard cuts this with his eventual abduction and torment. Just sickening. Got the point across beautifully.
My niece is super into SCP and creepypasta stuff so my mom took her to see it, and I was like "so how much of a turd was it?" and she said "actually, it was kinda good." And now here's this... guess I'll check it out.
I think this might be the first time we've seen Jay groan in pain, (Mike and Rich do it constantly of course), they're always so innovative at RLM. I clapped.
Reviews like this are why I started loving this channel in the first place. Glad to see you guys review this movie and hope we can see more reviews of sub-30 million budget movies like it!
He can't actually, it is pretty hard to notice but I looked into it. Appereantly the way he was fixing the vcr was not correct which is some pretty subtle and clever attention to detail by Mike "the child molester" Stoklasa and Jay "the homosexual".
The thing about these 2 dudes is I watched the movie, would give it a 5/10, and after their review I want to watch it again because it sounds like a 8/10.
I've only read one story of Joe Hill's; that story being the comic "Locke And Key". Unlike his Dad, the man can stick the landing and thread the needle to the very end. It's one of my favorite comics of all time. Gabriel Rodriguez' art is top notch gorgeous too, so bonus there. I don't wanna come across as Joe Hill Hypeman or anything, but just off of "Locke And Key" he gets a lifetime pass from this shlub. Glad to see his work getting out to the masses beyond the print medium
Over time, as rampant alcoholism does its dance, Mike's appearances will unquestionably become exclusive to half-in-the-bag. It's already happening basically
@@marceloz7894 Appreciate you saying so bro, but I actually haven't read a legitimate book in like 15 years. I just wax poetic sometimes I guess... but unfortunately nobody's hiring poets in this economy, or any economy
I really enjoyed this film. Both kids have a future in acting but I was particularly impressed by the sister. Quality stuff for someone so young. And absolutely knew the last call would be Robin and still teared up. Earned catharsis in movies these days is rare but wonderful
Big agree, the sister was a pretty amazing actor, and the scene that made me tear up was when they reunited, also expected it but effective nonetheless
There is one line in that movie that is totally not her fault but that made me crazy and it's when she's talking to the mirror about the visions and she says like Jesus f****** Christ and then she like yells at Jesus for a second you can tell that that is a line written by an adult for a child no child would ever ever say anything like that feels bad bad but yeah she does a gamn good job they all did
I literally owned that pointy space ship model the kid used to attack the Grabber. I used it to stab my bookshelf when I was told to "go to your room".
Imagine if Rich still had his gaming channel and forced them to play this. Rich channel failed because of the dumb name. He should have call it Redletter media GAMING.
@@travellingshoes5241 You don't know yet? Raid: Shadow Legends is an epic RPG where you control your hero and armies to fight the bad guys. It's not boring or generic at all.
Ethan Hawke suggested changing the ending of the movie. Initially the main character boy grows up to kidnap and torture other people in his basement, while making detailed Phantom Menace reviews.
Was there also a talking pizza roll
I thought you were going to say we follow the life of the boy for the next 12 years...
Ha! Nice...
@@mjwgames9812 of course
@@mjwgames9812 Yes, it calls him on the phone
"A van is the most efficient way to kidnap someone." -Mike Stoklasa, 2022
don't forget "We do not see child abuse on camera in movies anymore" *applause*
sure, sure
One day Tesla abduct children endgame😱😱🤯🤯🤯🤯😜😬😬😬
@@erikomalley818 o c'mon 🧐🤔 you were a child once which means you are guilty
@@erikomalley818 key operative words "on camera"
Hearing Mike actually say "Raid Shadows Legends" felt so wrong.
Did they get paid for that?
@@TacoDan34 they have definitely become total Raid Shadow Legends shills yes
Lol I thought they were say Rage: Shadow Legends to not get sued.
@@TacoDan34 Did you missed that impressive and very expensive dolly shot of Mr. Plinkett? What do you think paid for that
@@JTM610 They did it elegantly by whispering it though
love how 11 minutes into the black phone review they finally start talking about the movie. I love redlettermedia
Would you expect anything less??
Wait, I thought this was "The Batman" review? I mean, they were talking about the Batphone in this review...
@@Corbomite_Meatballs Rich played an excellent portrayal
Only 5....
Good to see Joe King is following the 3 subjects of Stephen King writing: 1) child abuse 2) alcoholism 3) random supernatural crap
he's just Joe King around
Funny comment but the abusive father isn't in the short story.
Stephen king's books have better acting.
Don’t forget that nearly every story takes place in Maine (except for when they don’t)
Aren't you tired of watching superhero movies?
"This is an impromptu review"
Proceeds to have the highest quality intro skit in ages.
Man, always funny to see who shows up on other channels
Bringing more frog representation to RLM, I see.
you can always count on mike and jay to go that extra mile. pretty soon theyll be sending us free swagbags
Based frog man
What skit?
"My bones are achin', Ani! " Lady is the best Star Wars character created since 1981.
Storm's coming
Don’t forget That Tw’erp
I only have one question...did they ever make an action figure of her?
The disrespect to Admiral Ackbar is unreal
She's one of Palpatine's many forms. She told him to get home so the whole plan could be set in motion.
Loving the ‘me bones are aching Annie’ callback.
That old lady is getting her own show next year.
@@willamahrens538 a twelve part series detailing all of the horrible things she does with Waddo
so natural its scary
the weirdest part of this movie is how a part time magician can afford two properties
And his unemployed brother is just sitting at home, unemployed, doing cocaine all day long. Must be nice! How do you think those wall street guys feel when they see that after spending all day at work?
@@mat5473I don't do coke but I imagine it probably isn't cheap.
This is supposed to be before reaganomics.
I'm not sure how a part time magician can afford one property
Inheritance
10 years on, they still haven't topped "Fuck mooovies!" as the intro.
"I can't stop pooping in my pants!" is my favorite.
Big fan of boo00o0ooO0oo get fucked!
100 %, “fuck movies” is brilliant
"Fuck movies" sums up my attitude towards modern Hollywood movies
My favorite is "Half in the Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and then it cuts off lol
About halfway through watching this movie, I realized that it's absolutely one of those pretty good horror movies that gets a sequel in exactly 7 years, that overexplains everything and has no creative input from anyone from the first movie. I can't wait for Brahms: Don't Breathe the Black Phone 2
Or the prequel in 2025 simply titled “The Grabber”
0
@@RB-.- drop the “The”
After a half dozen sequels they try a stripped down soft reboot called "A Black Phone"
@@thomasgiles2876 Or better yet
"Phone"
“Kids in the 70s swearing and beating the crap out of each other, and it’s just wonderful.” --Jay Bauman
I gotta admit, that grit made the movie a whole lot more entertaining than most "sensitive" and "realistic" shit I've been watching the last decade.
Amen.
I was a kid in the 70s such joyful memories I can confirm👍
Jesus Christ, Red Letter Media brought up Raid Shadow Legends. This really is a dark episode.
Very cooool
@@michaelbush1374 wait… did it break new ground?
I actually clapped 👏🏽
@@pigactor LET'S ASK MR. SCIENCE MAN!
@@pigactor Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next product.
"These are the movies that I like where the kids are trapped in the basement" - Mike. Obviously the Plinkett shtick is only the projection of Mike's inner personality.
lmfaoooooooooooo
Oh, my bones are aching. Storm's coming up Annie. You better get home quick.
I love how they worked Mike and Jay's extremely rapid aging and dementia into a storyline, it's a bit like how when Mark Hamil got into the car accident during the filming of Star Wars, they just worked the story around it. I'm glad the producers are taking care of them this close to retirement.
I don’t really approve of this trend for using CGI to bring back performers who clearly died years ago, from a Tumms overdose.
The Mark Hamill story is a myth
It’s like poetry. They rhyme
Jay isn’t aging rapidly though. He’s barely aged relative to Mike and Rich.
@@thequinlanshow3326 no, blue harvest was the fake name they used for production of return of Jedi
Love how there’s a point where the franchise title switches from ‘Sinister’ to ‘Bagul’ in the minds of our hosts
Similar to how “Jeff who lives at home” turned into “Jeff he who lives at home”
Infinity War is the "Thanos movie"
Bagul is a genre.
Mr Plinkett's first problem was that he kept stabbing the VCR with a screwdriver when he should have been smacking it with a wrench.
Screwdrivers should only be used to separate the two halves of a demon core. Smh
Engineer Gaming.
rookie mistake
@@bradbucknerfl pro move! checkmate
Rookie mistake, cut him some slack
I was incredulous when Stephen King’s son chose a pen name so close to my own. I was like, “no way, you’ve gotta be Joe King!”
Great Dad joke. I hope you really put some mustard on the "King" part when you say it to people!
You Sir, have earned a like.
Very good
12:40 On the subject of people becoming aware of kidnappings - a lot of this came about due to different counties of police starting to share information with one another during those years. This is the same time serial killer awareness went way up, not because there were more of them, but because similar crimes across counties actually started getting connected to one another.
interesting thanks
i will consider this as fact because you stated it with confidence and it's grammatically correct. i will never research this and this will help form many opinions in my future
@@armybirds they're absolutely correct. Back in the day, it was a lot harder for communication between police stations. Once they started sharing information between Counties/States the patterns started adding up.
@@armybirds In fairness, 99.5% of all comments get grammar and spelling wrong. They deserve to loose.
@@tamlandipper29 hehe
Whenever the thumbnail is Plinkett holding a phone bewildered, you know it's gonna be a good one.
"My bones are aching, Ani!" made me laugh way harder than it should
Better get home quick!
Thar's a storm coming Ani!
Sorry for sneaking in on your private webzone chat. But in all honesty I didn´t get the reference about Ani. Please help!!!1111!
@@pekinobo Star wars prequels, Anikan has a caretaker that sounds like a decrepit spider calling out for ani
@@liam1999cool Thank You. I can not wait for those sequals to come out on the brand new format called VHS. In a more serious note though, Thanks.
The intro camera angle and shirt made Jay look extra tiny. Like a hobbit
like when he wears the vest in scientist man? that shit kills me XD
“IM MAD THAT IM SO TINY!”
Everyone like Keanu S’s comment so jay sees this
My girl ain’t no hobbit!
"He had to stand on a small box to be almost as tall as me!"
"These are movies that i like, where a kid is traped in a basement."
-Mike Stoklasa
It reminds him of the good ol' days
*trapped
Mr Plinkett would be proud.
59 MINUTES!!!
23:43
"the first half hour... It's just kids in the 70s, swearing and beating the crap out of each other. And it was wonderful." - Jay Bauman, very normal human
The first half an hour was boring.
The "novel" Mike picks up is written by Don Beveridge (aka "push the whopper button" guy).
I like these callbacks and references in the RLM cinematic universe.
Makes it easier on them to not clean the studio and use trash for props! Love these hacks!
Red Letter Media subverts Shyamalan's precedent in Old by not explaining the effects of glembiza too much. It's simple and refreshing.
And the remdesivir through line gives it a biting social commentary
it's Glembezza, fool. you obviously don't use /r/takinggrandpaspills at all smh
Glad to see Jay finally got to see a theatrically released horror movie that mildly amused him.
Careful not to trip on that low bar buddy.
@@thedarthbred I'll try not to.
Yeah but it wasn't really horror imo. Just psychological thriller. No scares to speak of.
@@dividingzeros8727 not exactly thrilling either 😂 or particularly psychological, really. Nothing was done to really explore the state of the kid or evoke his feelings in the audience. Not really anything
@@thedarthbred ⬆️⬆️😆😭
I like when Mike and Jay talk about movies that maybe don't get as much attention and actually like it, makes me want to check it out myself. The reviews about marvel and star wars are fun and all, but I love to see some positive content.
Just finished. Didn't like this movie. I'd rather rewatch robocop
The problem with re-watching movies is it makes me think about the last time I watched it and my vanishing youth and my mortality. So fuck that. Fuck robocop. Give me distractions.
This new format where you actually give a shit is very refreshing.
I always hope that one day, some writer will end the red hering as a plot device by naming him Redd Herington.
A Pup Named Scooby Doo had a character that would show up every episode named "Redd Herring" who Freddy always thought was the culprit.
I didn't get the joke until years later.
Reed Herington
Except the red herring is that they actually are the killer, not the red herring.
Call his brother, Steve Harrington.
@@MatStevens And iirc, the one time he wasn't a suspect, it was actually him
It's funny how after all these years I still want a 'That's right Jay!' T-shirt.
☝️Why hasn't this happened yet?
Right you are, Ken
That's right, Susan!
“I’ve got Candy in my Van” Ah yes. Rich Evans classic pickup line.
but who'd want to pick up Rich Evans?
‘I’ve got a Wendy’s ad in my room.’
@@Hamstray Ellen would...try getting that mental picture out of your mind.
@@craigcorbet
Rich?
This definitely gave me heavy Shining vibes. I got the impression that Finny, his sister, and the Grabber had "the shining". That similar to Jack Torrance, the Grabber grew to adulthood having the shining without any guidance and it drove him crazy. That's why he said he heard the phone too.
Look Mr Hawke, just come out and say it. You've read the script and the notes. Just tell us! Tell uuuuuus!
in king's dark tower series the shining is actually kind common and all of the paranatural powers displayed are basically all aspects of it (carrie, firestarter, etc) and the bad guys from another reality kidnap people with it to do their nefarious deeds.
It's really not horrifically far fetched of an idea.
I think you have to be a child to hear the phone so when the Grabber grew up he could no longer hear the phone and that drove him insane
@@kylekolek8335 but he seemed to hear the phone at the end, when he was being strangled by it
And the other kids said they couldn't hear the phone, Finney was the first
If you've read a lot of Stephen King this movie felt super familiar. Kids talking like adults, overly violent bullies, creepy balloons, psychic child to an abusive dad...
The Stephen King aesthetic, much like psychic powers, seems to be at least partially hereditary
Yep. It’s a total King thing.
Probably because it was written by his son? Lol
@@indridcruel6564 Correct. The same man turned Harry Potter into a devil. In the adaptation of his novel 'Horns'.
It's like King and Hill (lol) simply cannot help themselves. Take an intriguing premise and just marinate it in extreme child bullying, abuse, drunken fathers, and psychic visions. It tends to take away from the overall impact rather than add to it for me. It just irritates me and I stay away from their work.
But it clearly works for 99.9% of people and they are beloved, respected authors that I just don't get.
Calling it now next HITB is a 60 second review of The Batman where after 55 seconds of silence Jay says “it was fine”
"So Jay, what did you think of The Batman?"
**55 seconds pass**
"I didn't see it."
then they leave and the video is another 45 minutes of the empty set just so the video length doesn't give it away
Glad they caught how the kids dad wore figurative masks much like The Grabber. I thought the overarching theme was about how devastating child abuse can be and that it unfortunately gave both kids the tools to navigate a crazed serial killer. Further solidified by the fact that when Finne defeats The Grabber, his dad is at his knees. Though, that is obviously not the end. There is terror at home for the kids.
Indeed. Much like the end of 'Whiplash', where a lot of people took it to be that Miles Teller's character won in the end.
@@PalisadeFence pls ellaborate on the ending of whiplash
@@muthpeterpatriki always thought the ending was that him and the teacher respect each other now
@@under7890 Yeah but that drum solo tho
The Black Phone will always be fondly remembered by me as the movie where a young girl says, "What the fuck, Jesus?!", as a prayer. Quote of the year!
What the fuck indeed..😢
There’s every chance that more people have saw this review than actually watched The Black Phone.
It made 150 mil in the box office, which is 15 million $10 tickets.
Me
That dolly shot of mr plinkett was TOP FRICKIN NOTCH. I liked this movie and liked how it ended quickly and modestly like an episode of a TV show.
Did somebody actually make a "boy in the wall" movie with 'Red Hering' living next door? Do they really not have any new ideas?
I still laugh about Mike's pitch from back in the day. "Old woman in the wall"
Let me know if you need any help with any....YaaaAAaArd wOoOooOrk!
I'm still waiting for the epic fantasy version of Humpty Dumpty
"my bones are aching, Ani!" well played, sir!
This caught me by surprise !
lol, apparently the identity of joe hill wasnt revealed for awhile because he wanted to get a book deal without using his father for nepotism. i've read a few good joe hill stories, and supposedly heart shaped box is certified hood classic.
It’s a strange situation. On one hand it’s like sure, he would want to succeed on his own talents. And he is a very talented writer. But on the other hand, his writing style is very similar to his father’s, such that his stories could easily pass for being written by his father. Not as like a cheap knockoff or copycat, but like a quality story. But that’s not bad. For example if a father opens a restaurant with good food, and his son takes over and the food is just as good, everyone views that as a success and is happy.
I read nosferatu (the one with the car) and it was good King.
I dunno. There's something problematic about taking on the persona of your famous father. I'm sure there's a horror story there.
Everyone has their preferences but I thought heart-shaped box was a terrible book.
@@sharpeslass5452 terrible book, yet the title of Nirvana's third most popular song. I know the two are worlds apart, yet being a fan of the song causes me to be irritated by this titling.
@@sharpeslass5452 oh damn, he wrote Locke and Key? I didn’t know that. Those are amazing comics.
This was honestly the best piece of cinema I have watched in a while. The only part I disliked was when the protagonists broke character to do some kind of movie review in the middle of it, and celebrated child abuse? That took me out of it. But the twist ending really saved it for me. 6/10.
They definitely have a team of about 20 writers doing the interconnected plot of the Mr Plinkett Cinematic Universe.
Keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Thanks boys! Now I can go another week without ending it all!
Would be even better if is was the new Best of the worst. The last Best of the worst did come out on May 29th. RLM are usually good at releasing one of those each month. But it seems this time there is going to be just 1 best of the worst in two months.
The existence of Raid Shadow Legends in the Rich-Evansverse implies Lightning Fast VCR Repair exists in some alternate reality of our own planet Earth, despite being located in a fictional location, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Finally get to review Jay’s favorite horror movie, The Black Phone’s Daughter
= Black Blackberry
This comment is way funnier than most people will realize.
Ethan Hawke picks his roles very carefully and puts 110% in every time.
If Ethan Hawke is in it, I’ll watch it.
Meh you can skip it. He says like 5 lines all with a mask on. It could've been anyone
@@urgamecshk Tom Hanks talked to a volley ball for 3/4 of a film and it was magical. Any role can work if the actor is good.
@@have_a_good_day420 Ethan didn't talk. Jay didn't even realize it was him! Watch the movie if you want and admit that you lost 1.75hrs of your life or come back and cope and say it was amazing and there 100% is no other movie on your Watch Later that deserved to be enjoyed first. I don't care, we're both right and I'm bored at work.
@@urgamecshk You need to take it down a notch its not that serious kid
16:30 - For anyone wondering why Jay says that Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) should have chosen "Joe Bachman" as his pseudonym, it's because Stephen King wrote a few books under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman."
Thanks
I liked it. The two kids and Ethan Hawke did a great job. The scene that caught my attention with the sister's acting was when she started crying. I was like damn, good job kid. Yeah, sure I have a couple of issues. Still, solid job. Derrickson did the right thing by skipping Dr Strange 2. I had no idea this was based on a short story by Joe Hill.
I'm so glad I avoided the trailer, it gave away the entire film. All I knew: Ethan Hawke in a creepy mask and directed by Scott Derrickson. Ok movie, you have my attention. Thrill me.
yeah the kids were amazing
that's the one thing it never did. it never thrilled me lol it was rather drab for such an interesting premise
@@Teddyisoffline 💯💯. We are getting some good child performances as of recently
@@chasehedges6775 yeah defo
same im really glad i skipped the trailer i didnt know about the ghost element so was a cool suprise
You didn't get that Russell Crowe joke, but your brain did.
oh god what a great deep cut
But... I am my brain...
@Solar Coffee Russel Crowe has had so many violent outbursts, South Park made an episode of it. It's been like 20 years since he last smashed someone's face with a landline telephone and sent them to the ER though.
My favorite thing about this movie is the mask design . How it’s basically an interchangeable thing based on who’s in control
Tom Savini created the mask. It's awesome
Yes I watched the review, too, I heard Mike and Jay making the same point as well
They ripped that idea off from the old He-Man figure, Man-E-Faces.
@@namelessjedi2242 or the Quintesson from The Transformers: The Movie (1986), run time 1h 24m
@@allenu YOU GOT THE TOUCH...YOU GOT THE POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...
You can see how Mike immediately tried to hold back laughter after saying "Raid Shadows Legends"
Actually just got outta the theatre seeing this, and yeah, solid premise, well-paced, well-intentioned stuff, good sense of direction, suitable creepy ambience, pretty varied tone, some moments of levity, I had fun with it. Didn't blow me away and I am getting a BIT bored of the 80's nostalgia trip horror seems to be coasting on somedays, but yeah, I enjoyed it for what it was 🙂
I want the RLM crew to make a very simple, minimalistic movie. They already have everything they need: A warehouse and a basement.
Let's face it: Space Cop was an over-budgeted sci-fi extravaganza with world-shattering special effects!
The pacing, effects and dialogue quality in the first minutes of this video are a hundred times better than anything in SpaceCop.
That's the problem with producers don't wanting to gamble on big budgets. Too many cookies in the hand jar or something like that.
They would have to climb out the deep irony hole they have dug themselves into
What would the plot be, though? I once had a dream about RLM which I thought could maybe make an interesting movie from them, lol. MAYBE. It didn’t really have a plot, just a creepy/funny vibe. Mike and Jay were just two guys wandering around a town but there was something a bit off about them. They were sort of vacant and when encountering and talking with other people they were just…weird. Also their responses were very minimal. Sort of like they didn’t really know how to talk. Or didn’t feel a need to talk or say much. They for some reason rented a hotel room and I think they were like just sitting there, in the dark. There was a TV on, but it was playing nothing but static. For some reason someone knocked on their door (I think it was someone from the hotel room next to them who wanted to complain about the volume of the TV) but this made Mike and Jay panic. They opened the door and dragged the poor bastard inside and proceeded to kill and eat parts of him. I say “parts” because they quickly grew bored of the “meal” and tossed it aside grotesquely. And then went back to sitting in armchairs to watch the static TV. I can’t really remember why they panicked…it’s possible they already had other victims who were strewn about the hotel room. That would have made more sense as to why they would panic. Anyway, the dream didn’t really have much plot…it sort of ended with them fleeing out of the hotel window because there was a danger of them being caught. Not sure if it was an immediate danger, but I remember the imagery of Mike and Jay looking about quizzically before they fumbled to get through the window. This part was amusing because Mike was moving a bit like someone pretending to be a dinosaur- specifically like you would pose to emulate a t-Rex’s stumpy little arms. And he had a real derpy expression on his face, too. Like, confused and scared but only a little bit. There wasn’t a lot going on in the brains of… whatever these things were. I hesitate to use the word “alien”, because I didn’t get the impression they came from out of space or anything like that. In fact they might have been human but just…really warped humans without a single shred of humanity. Like, they were really *simple*. Anyway!!! I agree that I’d like to see them do a more simple down to earth type of movie. I just don’t know what it would (or should?) be about. That dream was so random, though. I did write it down in my dream journal, maybe I should go read that to see how well I remembered the details. Also, with the lack of real plot there wouldn’t be all that much to make a feature length movie out of. Maybe a short? Maybe they could make short little movie things. Things that don’t need a complex plot?
I saw this one in theaters with a lot of teens in the audience, and they loved it. They were actually cheering loudly by the end of it.
Same here my audience ate this movie up
The sad thing is how little of the audience will appreciate Jay's jerry lewis impression at the end.
I get it. I've seen Jerry Lewis in a museum.
Is that the new Fortnite character?
Professor Kelp and Buddy Love were the OG Incel and Chad
Yeah it's sad that everyone except a small group of our betters are knowledgeable about Jerry Lewis.
Dr Frink has it covered, so we can rest easy.
i called my grandma to find out who jerry lewis is
This is the second time Red Letter Media has referenced that old lady from the phantom menace. “Me bones are aching” When will we get a Disney plus show about that old hag?
“Storms comin Annie!” Man I reference that old lady all the time, I died when he said that
The production quality for this episode had gone up tremendously, That Ellen money must have finally come in.
Gotta love an out-of-court settlement
Another modern masterpiece. Bagul is truly one of the greatest directors of our time
Hes made 3 good movies, y'all throw around that "greatest directors of our time" a little to easily 🤦
@@Boobiejonshorts 3 out of 3 aint bad
@@TheGamerThing right but that's no where near enough films to consider him one of the "greatest"
@@Boobiejonshorts Given that he called the director "bagul" I think he's being a little sarcastic.
@@jasonfenton8250 everyone in the RLM community calls Scott Derrickson bagul 😂
I applaud Mike's commitment to the bit to actually pee his pants
Literally just finished the movie and I get a notification. That is some wild timing.
Love the Best of the Worst Easter Egg with the Don Beverage book at the end. "TELL the CREW to PUSH the WHOPPER BUTTON."
I thought it was crazy that the Grabbers brother that lives in the same house was obsessed with figuring out who was behind the abductions, but he never once questioned why he wasn't allowed to go in the basement with the heavy locked soundproof door, why his brother was always sitting in the kitchen staring at the basement door wearing creepy masks, why his brother had a creepy windowless van constantly filled with black balloons, why their kitchen door has a combination lock on it, etc etc. It couldn't have been more obvious that his brother was the Grabber
Cocaine's a hell of a drug...
its a metaphor
how about the fact there is a guy abducting kids in the town and the kids seem to have no fear of being abducted
the biggest plot hole
@@stubadub2k this was my initial criticism, it just got worse from there
What the heck, Mike; I loved Searching for Bobby Fischer. "He didn't teach you how to win. He taught you how not to lose. You're playing not to lose, Josh. You've got to risk losing. You've got to risk everything. You've got to go to the edge of defeat" - Laurence Fishburne's character
That movie came out when I was in elementary school, and played chess competitively. It’s a pretty good movie but the ending is ridiculous. No tournament-level player would offer a draw from a position they think they’re going to win. It doesn’t happen; if a player thinks they can win they just win.
0:31 Mike doing his Billy Butcher impression.
"Themes are for eighth grade school papers"- one of the douchebag writers that fucked up GOT (and Troy, imo)
Wait did David Benioff really say that?
@@matthewvivian7235 Yep. It was way back during Season 3 or something, but IIRC it was in an written interview. "Things you never want to hear from the adaptor of a theme-heavy series" for $500, Alex!
@@breezus3928 the game of thrones books have no themes. They are famously shallow books about sword fights
fucking yikes
@@BlueSkullFish Um, no. If anything that is what the GOT show became because they ignored the themes GRRM has been working with, including but not limited to: the destructive effects of prophecy, revenge vs. justice, "can a JUST war exist?", the effects of war on the common people, the cycle of familial abuse, the limits of honor, the hypocrisy of benevolent tyranny, what makes a good leader?, etc. etc. Just because there is violence and sex in the books doesn't make them less thematic. And it's not just me extrapolating: GRRM has literally talk about the themes in his interviews.
I'm glad to see no origin story for the villain. Sometimes we just need to let them be villains. And no heavy sympathy for the villain trying to relate to the audience. Just a classic bad guy.
I felt some strong "coraline" vibes with the kids on the phone giving him clues on how to escape.
Fantastic film!
Gene Siskell was not a fan of using children under stress or in captivity or suffering as plot points for movies. He would often just get up and leave the theater.
Him and ebert were two of the most petty movie reviewers of all time
It IS a cheap trick.
@@thecappeningchannel515 It can be a cheap trick, or it can be an element of a good film.
@@thecappeningchannel515 that can be said of anyone suffering in a movie lol
@@thecappeningchannel515 so were the Saw movie's
The exact moment I knew this movie was going to be good was right after the kid gets the phone call from the first ghost. Once he finds out that he knows the kid it starts this montage of the dead kid's life. It's very surreal and dreamlike with shots of him as a child, playing baseball, hell I think there was even a shot of him pledging allegiance to the flag! Then, without warning, it hard cuts this with his eventual abduction and torment.
Just sickening. Got the point across beautifully.
My niece is super into SCP and creepypasta stuff so my mom took her to see it, and I was like "so how much of a turd was it?" and she said "actually, it was kinda good." And now here's this... guess I'll check it out.
Ok
The commitment to the Lightning Fast VCR x Plinkett story, is amazing
love how the extent to which this series can continue is however many VCRs still exist to be props of destruction
This will serve as an excellent substitute for watching this movie. Thank you.
Not at all, I love RLM but you should fr watch it
I think this might be the first time we've seen Jay groan in pain, (Mike and Rich do it constantly of course), they're always so innovative at RLM. I clapped.
THEY BROKE NEW GROUNNNND.
I always thought that's what he was doing when he said "oh my gad"
It takes gravity longer to wear down such a small skeleton.
Mike: these are the movies that I like, where the kid’s trapped in the basement
Jay: mmhmm
🤣
I bursted out laughing with the "my bones are aching, Anni", I bet that sequence was an excuse for Jay to say that.
Reviews like this are why I started loving this channel in the first place. Glad to see you guys review this movie and hope we can see more reviews of sub-30 million budget movies like it!
So all this time Mr Plinkett could fix his own VCR
That's a serious plot hole 🕳
He can't actually, it is pretty hard to notice but I looked into it. Appereantly the way he was fixing the vcr was not correct which is some pretty subtle and clever attention to detail by Mike "the child molester" Stoklasa and Jay "the homosexual".
I think he waited so long for his VCR to be fixed he decided to get a degree in electrical engineering and fix it himself
I was really beginning to think you guys just killed Mr Plinkett and took his inheritance. Glad to see old Harry still kicking
14:20 Mike talking about the killer's kidnapping tactics like he's an expert on the subject
Jay "Its not that I liked seeing the kids be abused by their dad" Bauman everyone
The thing about these 2 dudes is I watched the movie, would give it a 5/10, and after their review I want to watch it again because it sounds like a 8/10.
Starting to think they’ll never review The Batman.
They probably didn’t find enough to talk about with it, understandably
Damn… now I’ll never know what my opinion of that movie is…
I love Sinister but it’s so funny how the guys constantly trash Bughuul lol
I thought it was very decent. Had a cool vibe. Never saw part 2.
@@MrHutto1 part two is awful
The first half of it is one of the best horror movies ever.
Will never understand why they disklike it but its funny when they do
Their sinister review is probably the one that I disagree with them the most.
I've only read one story of Joe Hill's; that story being the comic "Locke And Key". Unlike his Dad, the man can stick the landing and thread the needle to the very end. It's one of my favorite comics of all time. Gabriel Rodriguez' art is top notch gorgeous too, so bonus there. I don't wanna come across as Joe Hill Hypeman or anything, but just off of "Locke And Key" he gets a lifetime pass from this shlub. Glad to see his work getting out to the masses beyond the print medium
They’re saving the backstory for the inevitable prequel trilogy.
There has never been a movie I’ve wanted to see reviewed on Half in the Bag more than the awful new Jurassic World movie.
@The Rue Morgue Maybe they will now that it’s on digital?
I've never been this early! And I've seen the film before the RLM review, another rarity!
Deep cut: "My bones are aching, Anny!"
Over time, as rampant alcoholism does its dance, Mike's appearances will unquestionably become exclusive to half-in-the-bag. It's already happening basically
Only the good die young
"does it's dance" is so good, is that from a book?
@@marceloz7894 Appreciate you saying so bro, but I actually haven't read a legitimate book in like 15 years. I just wax poetic sometimes I guess... but unfortunately nobody's hiring poets in this economy, or any economy
I really enjoyed this film. Both kids have a future in acting but I was particularly impressed by the sister. Quality stuff for someone so young.
And absolutely knew the last call would be Robin and still teared up. Earned catharsis in movies these days is rare but wonderful
Big agree, the sister was a pretty amazing actor, and the scene that made me tear up was when they reunited, also expected it but effective nonetheless
There is one line in that movie that is totally not her fault but that made me crazy and it's when she's talking to the mirror about the visions and she says like Jesus f****** Christ and then she like yells at Jesus for a second you can tell that that is a line written by an adult for a child no child would ever ever say anything like that feels bad bad but yeah she does a gamn good job they all did
boring movie with obnoxious dialogue.
23:45 "This are movies that i like when kids are trapped in the basement" - Mike Stoklasa 2022
I loved the amount of nostalgia in this, good job. Take notes 'unspecified show'.
I literally owned that pointy space ship model the kid used to attack the Grabber. I used it to stab my bookshelf when I was told to "go to your room".
Thanks for posting. I was starting to go into RLM withdrawal.
Mike and Jay mentioning Raid: Shadow Legends made the game so much better for me!
Imagine if Rich still had his gaming channel and forced them to play this.
Rich channel failed because of the dumb name. He should have call it Redletter media GAMING.
I'm still not sure if those are just three words and a colon, or not.
Why do all the RUclipsrs promote that game?
@@travellingshoes5241 You don't know yet? Raid: Shadow Legends is an epic RPG where you control your hero and armies to fight the bad guys. It's not boring or generic at all.
@@hellfire5108 It's hard to tell if you're being serious or not. I lie to think you're not.
Mike waking up on the floor, confused and disoriented, was a great script decision.
I hope.
Came to watch more old episodes to fine this new one!
Most excited I've been for a while! New Half in the bag!
Thanks Fellas