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While it probably goes without saying, this episode contains spoilers for The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, and The Happening. We also discuss the endings of Predators and Inception briefly.
But according to this article, you don't care about being spoiled.
Stay tuned for our next episode, where we'll discuss more movies with twist endings!
This episode is a bit shorter than the last, and I also managed to get the file size much smaller. You may still hear a bit of an echo on this recording. I think I have found a fix that we'll be able to employ in our next episode to prevent that going forward.
When it comes to films that reveal the lead character has been dead the entire time, there's two types. The first (SIXTH SENSE, OTHERS), where the ghost is still existing in and interacting with the real world, and what we're seeing is actually happening, works for me. The second (JACOB'S LADDER, CARNIVAL OF SOULS), where it's revealed the entire story was really just the fever dream of a dying mind, doesn't. I don't mind a dead character as long as it doesn't mean the whole narrative didn't actually happen.
ReplyDeleteI like SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, and THE VILLAGE. Couldn't get into SIGNS. LADY IN THE WATER is a little different than his usual fare, but I found it quite charming. Read HAPPENING, but have no interest in watching it. Zooey Deschanel is great, but she can't save bad dialogue, which is a problem she kept hitting in TIN MAN.
Great episode!
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo that's what the twist to Carnival of Souls is. Good to know. ;)
I will probably see both Lady in the Water and The Happening eventually, though I fully expect the latter to be pretty bad. And I actually liked Tin Man, but then I'm a sucker for re-imaginings of fairy tales and classics like that.
The problem with the second type is that the film often switches p.o.v. to a person who, if this is someone's dying thought, shouldn't be there. There should be no other points of view. There was a movie with Christine Taylor called Room 6 (actually, it's written R66m 6 but that's just ridiculous) that does this.
ReplyDeleteA rarer variation on They Were Dead the Whole Time is This is Hell and They Don't Know it. I've seen a few movies that pulled that, and there's a Stephen King short story to that effect.
I plan on getting around to Lady in the Water, but I think The Happening will, er, happen first because I have heard it is HILARIOUS. I will be watching Breaking Dawn Part 1 for a similar reason (the trailer sends me into gales of laughter, no joke).
Thanks so much!
Syrin...
ReplyDeleteCARNIVAL OF SOULS has been so heavily immitated over the years that the twist is completely predictable going in. Still a film worth watching, though. Plenty of great atmosphere and some really admirable filmmaking from a crew that had never done a feature before, and never would again.
Bethany...
One of the HELLRAISER sequels does a damn good job of pulling off the They're In Hell But Don't Know It spin.