Episode #219 – 7 Questions With Wild Eyed And Wicked

In episode 219 of “Black & A Half,” Silas interviews the creative team behind the new horror film Wild Eyed and Wicked. Join writer/director G.S. Foxworth and cast members Michael Summers and Stephanie Esters as they discuss the making of the film, the allure of the horror genre, and share behind-the-scenes insights. Plus, hear their unique and entertaining answers to Silas’s famous “Seven Questions.”

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Video Interview

Audio-Only Interview

Review: Scream VI

SCREAM VI (2023)
R  ‧ Slasher Horror ‧ Hours Minutes

Written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick

Directed by Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

THE CAST

Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, and Courteney Cox.

Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream VI.”

THE STORY

(In their own words). Four survivors of the Ghostface murders leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. However, they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when a new killer embarks on a bloody rampage.

THE PREFACE

Okay, I have to make a confession before I start this review. I have only seen Scream 1 & 2, and to be completely honest I don’t even remember Scream 2 much. I also have a vague recollection that in some film in the franchise they started doing a thing where they were making a movie about the events in Scream but it was a fictional world within the fictional universe of Scream. But I didn’t know how it went. So I went into this film not knowing a lot of what is going on. I thought,  “A good film should stand on its own and make me just want to go see the films I missed. 

Jenna Ortega (“Tara Carpenter”), left, and Melissa Barrera (“Sam Carpenter” star in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream VI.”

THE BEST


The BEST things about the film

  1. The thrills. I was thrilled the entire movie. It was just super exciting. I don’t know if it’s because I was in the dark from the past movies, or if it was repetitive, or if there were swerves from the last film that I wasn’t picking on. All I know is that I was fully engaged and riveted the entire film. It works on its own. Having not known about a majority of the cast, I never felt lost. There were times I figured I should know more, but I think they did a great job of keeping the film self-contained while bringing in information that we need to know.
  2. The humor. I was honestly shocked to go back and look and see that none of the previous films are labeled horror comedies.  There’s this element of self awareness and meta humor within it that I was sure it was also a comedy. The creators just identify each of the films as a slasher horror, but this film I really do think has enough humor to get the horror comedy label.
  3. The ensemble. I think this is a pretty terrific ensemble of friends that we get to watch in this film. The acting between each other is nice, they come off as truly having a long term friendship that works well together. The acting across the board is pretty good.
L-r, Mason Gooding (“Chad Meeks-Martin”), Jenna Ortega (“Tara Carpenter”), Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Mindy Meeks-Martin”), Devyn Nekoda (“Anika Kayoko”) and Melissa Barrera (“Sam Carpenter”) star in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream VI.”

THE WORST

The WORST things about the film

  1. This is pure entertainment. I think the best horrors, the best comedies, the best of filmmaking happens when there is a social commentary being made. To say that this film is trying to get out a message  would be a paper thin argument.
  2. There’s some real twisting of laws of physics and common sense that needs to happen in order to make a lot of points of the film move forward. Suspension of disbelief needs to be pushed really far for this. 
Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream VI.”

THE COMMENTS

I don’t know how this ranks in the series. I need to see the rest of the series. I have no idea how much this film repeats itself from other films. All I know is that what was presented to me was pretty exciting. This film has made me want to go back, watch the original, then see all the ones I missed.

THE LESSON
The past comes back to you. 

IS IT REWATCHABLE

Yes. In fact, I want very much just to see how well the ending works/makes sense. And I will rewatch as I go back to view the whole series.  

Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream VI.”

THE FINAL WORD

A thoroughly entertaining thrill ride. I have not seen the last three films in this series and it made me want to run out and watch them all. It’s a pretty exciting film with a really terrific ensemble of actors. While it certainly has the violence for a slasher label, the film is full of really funny moments. In fact, there are elements that seem so absurd, I was a little surprised to discover it isn’t labeled a horror comedy. I could never have predicted the sixth installment of any horror film would be something I’d have been happy to have seen. But this one got me, it really got me. You scream, I scream, we all scream for Scream VI. 

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THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Scream VI gets a strong Like It. 

THE TRAILER

THE MEME REVIEW

Review: The Menu

The Menu  (2022)
R‧ Horror Comedy ‧ 1 Hour 46 Minutes

Written by Seth Reiss, Will Tracy
Directed by ‎Mark Mylod

THE CAST

  • Ralph Fiennes as Julian Slowik
  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot
  • Nicholas Hoult as Tyler
  • Hong Chau as Elsa
  • Janet McTeer as Lillian Bloom
  • Judith Light as Anne
  • John Leguizamo as Movie Star
  • Reed Birney as Richard Liebbrandt
  • Paul Adelstein as Ted. Lillian’s editor
  • Aimee Carrero as Felicity
  • Arturo Castro as Soren
  • Mark St. Cyr as Dave
  • Rob Yang as Bryce
  • Rebecca Koon as Linda
  • Peter Grosz as Sommelier
(From L-R): Judith Light, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, Janet McTeer, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, and Mark St. Cyr in the film THE MENU. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

THE STORY

“Young couple Margot and Tyler travel to a remote island to eat at Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant run by celebrity chef Julian Slowik, who has prepared a lavish molecular gastronomy menu where food is treated as conceptual art, although his approach to cuisine has some shocking surprises for the wealthy guests.”

MORE DETAILED STORY

(In their own words) A couple, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), travel to a coastal island in the Pacific Northwest to eat at an exclusive restaurant, Hawthorn, where the reclusive, globally celebrated Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish tasting menu for select special guests. Joining the couple are three young, already inebriated tech bros, Bryce (Rob Yang), Soren (Arturo Castro) and Dave (Mark St. Cyr), an older wealthy couple and repeat clients, Anne and Richard (Judith Light and Reed Birney), renowned restaurant critic Lillian Bloom (Janet McTeer) and her slavish magazine editor Ted (Paul Adelstein), and a famous middle-aged movie star (John Leguizamo) with his assistant Felicity (Aimee Carrero). Hosted by the immaculately dressed front of house staff led by general Elsa (Hong Chau), the evening unfolds with increasing tension at each of the guest tables as secrets are revealed and unexpected courses are served. With wild and violent events occurring, Slowik’s motivation begins to rattle the diners as it becomes increasingly apparent that his elaborate menu is designed to catalyze to a shocking finale.

Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes in the film THE MENU. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

THE BEST


The BEST things about the film

  1. The story – It’s a very creative story, one that I don’t think I’ve heard before. It’s suspenseful, thrilling, really funny, and you have trouble predicting where it’s going to go. Wonderful satire.
  2. The themes – There are just so many wonderful themes about class warfare. Rich vs Poor, Have vs Have Nots, Givers vs Takers. There are so many underlying themes, the more you talk about it, the more you see. 
  3. The writing – This is a really well written film. Subtle, great dialogue, and layers upon layer of meaning behind everything. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. More backstory of most of the cooks would have really helped understand more.
The cast of the film THE MENU. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

THE LESSON

The rich don’t deserve bread. 

THE FINAL WORD

This is a film that the audience should really devour. It is a tasting menu of satire, horror, comedy, thrills, and terror. Wonderfully written and speaks volumes about the role of class and the divide between the rich and the poor. This is not just another horror movie, it’s a warning that there is a breaking point and a message to the servant class about the power of saying ‘No.” Ralph Fiennes is a stand out as the celebrity chef Julian Slowik.

THE VERDICT

My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

The Menu gets a ‘Love It”

A course from the film THE MENU. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

THE MEME REVIEW

THE TRAILER

Review: Bodies Bodies Bodies

Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022)
R ‧ Horror Comedy ‧ 1 Hour 35 Minutes


Screenplay by Sarah DeLappe
Story by Kristen Roupenian

Directed by ‎Halina Reijn

THE CAST

 Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, and Pete Davidson.

THE STORY

(In their own words) 

When a group of rich 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game turns deadly in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party gone very, very wrong.

THE BEST

The BEST things about the film

  1. The comedy – very funny film. Possibly now a current favorite horror comedy. 
  2. The suspense – Trying to figure out who the killer is, waiting for twists, waiting for the next death, trying to figure the whole thing out, was amazingly exciting. 
  3. The satire. The satire of the film to me seemed to be a commentary on the juxtaposition of the starring generation. This is a generation that is really in touch with their emotions and aware how their words can harm other people. Yet at the same time they feel empty. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. It’s definitely a film of convenience. Set up too perfectly. 
  2. Some exposition to explain dumb things people did, seemed unnecessary. 
  3. My lack of a time machine to go back in time and watch this again for the first time.

THE REVIEW

After every screening I see, I’m supposed to give notes to the PR firm holding the screening, let me share with you what I said to the things I told them:

“A refreshingly and surprisingly wonderfully done horror comedy, with an emphasis on the comedy. 

Honest performances, never over the top, played for keeps never for laughs, but the laughs kept coming. 

Pete Davidson is fantastic. 

Wonderful ensemble! Acting, chemistry, they did it all so wonderfully. 

Can’t wait to see it again. 

It is the “do-not-miss horror of the year.” 

Spot-on satire of a generation that has amazing levels of empathy and understanding of other people’s difficulties yet can’t find their own purpose.”

That should give you a sense of how I felt about this film. 

They say it is a lot harder to write a review of a film you like than to write one for a film you hate.  It’s really hard for me to write this review. I just want to gush over how much I enjoyed this. 

I feel like I watch a lot of TV and film, and I just couldn’t predict this film. It’s horror, but it wasn’t as gory as I was afraid it would be. It showed it was also a comedy, but it was WAY funnier than I predicted. I thought I knew who the killer was, then I thought I knew who they were trying to make me think the killer was, then I thought I knew the red herring, cause it’s actually this other person….I was never right. I could just never predict what would happen. And that is absolutely exhilarating. 

I don’t think the film will be considered a film to “change the genre” but it at minimum should set a bar of excellence because this film is truly wonderful.  The writing is wonderful. The script is witty, the characters are fully developed, they are driven with clear motivations, they reveal things at just the right times, there are wonderfully developed social commentaries throughout the film, which is so wonderful to see in a horror comedy. 

The acting is surprisingly awesome. Pete Davidson was just terrific and it makes me want to go watch his other films to see if I’ve been missing something.  

THE LESSON

This movie is stacked full of lessons! It really is!

Lessons in white privilege, in ableism, in understanding the hardships others experience and trying to be an ally. But ultimately I came away with this:

Being an ally is great….but making yourself empty inside is horrible. 

REWATCHABLE?

Absolutely. One of the first movies in a while that I can’t wait to watch again. 

THE FINAL WORD

If you want a great laugh and scream movie, Bodies Bodies Bodies is it. It definitely has the blood and guts of a horror film. But it’s comedy makes me forget all that. This is close to the most fun I’ve had in a theater this year. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Bodies Bodies Bodies gets a Love It

THE TRAILER

Review: NOPE

NOPE (2022)
R ‧ Horror/Thriller ‧ 2 Hours 11 Minutes


Written and Directed by Jordan Peele

THE CAST

  • Daniel Kaluuya
  • Keke Palmer
  • Steven Yeun

THE STORY

(In their own words) Caretakers at a California horse ranch encounter a mysterious force that affects human and animal behavior.

THE BEST


(from left) OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya), Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) and Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) in Nope, written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele.

BEST things about the film

  1. The anticipation
  2. Incredibly imaginative
  3. Wonderful acting
  4. Perfectly timed comedy and terror
  5. It has its own genre
  6. Great messages underneath

THE WORST

The three WORST things about the Film

  1. THERE ISN’T A DAMN THING WRONG WITH THIS FILM.
  2. See number one.
  3. See number two.
Daniel Kaluuya as OJ Haywood in Nope, written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele.

THE REVIEW

Nope is a lot of things. It’s a horror, it’s thriller, it’s comedic, it’s…..a Jordan Peele film. While other filmmakers are out there just crafting new stories, Peele is out there creating his own genre.

This marks director and writer Jordan’s Peele third film and third horror film….with the Peele style. This is easily his best work yet. A clear story, great characters, great performances and underlying themes and messages that will not be obvious to everyone when they first walk away. But there is a lot there. I think this film will be studied and studied. It’s a very layered film. 

The trailers for this film frankly give too much away, and yet, tell you nothing. It’s kind of amazing. I didn’t watch trailers for NOPE since the first teaser until after I watched the film. I’m glad I got fully surprised. 

The film is incredibly imaginative, well crafted, and full of suspense. The film flew by as I was on the edge of my seat from anticipation of the entire film. 

How scary? Like Silence of the Lambs? Gory at all?

I feel like if I say it’s not gory, people will come after me. I think the gore is actually minimal but it is used incredibly and effectively.

I’m not sure how scary it is. I walked in planning to pee my pants. I was pretty tense the whole time.

THE LESSON

Keep your head down.


THE FINAL WORD

Nope is a “yep”. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

NOPE gets a LOVE IT. 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER


When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Review – X (2022)

X  (2022)
R ‧ Horror • 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Written by Ti West
Directed by ‎Ti West

THE CAST

Mia Goth; Jenna Ortega; Martin Henderson; Brittany Snow; Scott Mescudi. 

THE STORY

(In their own words) In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast soon find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.

THE REVIEW

Horror is not my “go to” genre. It’s one that I’ve really tried to enjoy, but mostly I get too scared to watch alone, and reviewing movies can mean watching a lot of movies by myself. So, if it weren’t for a friend offering to attend the press screening for X with me, I wouldn’t have gone, though I was intrigued. 

I was mainly intrigued since the film is being distributed by A24 Films and over the last year, I’ve come to find that A24 Films tends to release surprisingly good films.  So I had a hunch I might enjoy it. And I did, I actually really enjoyed the film, though there is a lot to digest from it. 

The basic part of the plot is a group of young filmmakers are setting out to shoot an adult film. The director, Wayne,  wants it to be a huge financial success like Debbie Does Dallas. The cinematographer, RJ, wants it to be a more artistic film than most pornos. He wants it to be a high quality film and raise the genre up as a whole, that’s his mission and reason for doing the film, aside from just paying the bills.  Which is fitting because my impression of the film was that it was really raising the bar on horror films. It was shot with much more finesse than most horror films. Its acting is solid throughout, the writing is really good, the film moves in different directions than you suspect, and manages to captivate you as a viewer, not to just see what the next brutal killing will be, but you want to know how the story will end.   

This is also the second film this year I’ve seen Jenna Ortega in, and I have to say she is turning in some wonderful performances recently. I think she’s showing that she is going to be a force in cinema really soon. She’s not alone in a solid acting performance, but she is the character that gets to experience a major change during the story. She’s the only one that makes a choice to change her life and it’s compelling to watch. The entire cast does a very fine acting job. It’s one of the best ensemble pieces of the year so far. 

The film is tense. There is a huge amount of build up for the true action gets started. It lays a lot of groundwork in the beginning of the film, but in a really good way. The first hour of the film is used really well to set up how this thing will finish. Just excellent pacing throughout. 

There are also a couple of really cool editing choices. Superfast back and forth jump cut edits of different locations  and of what is happening. They are nearly jarring to the point of looking like a mistake when it first happens, until you realize they are making a deliberate choice. 

This is really a first rate film, not just an excellent horror. The sum of the parts of this make it a really good film. But don’t be fooled, it is a horror. There’s some graphic slashing scenes that aren’t for the faint of heart, it’s a horror. A really good one.  

DSC_2846.NEF

THE BEST
Three BEST things about the film

  1. Unexpected twists. 
  2. I like that it’s not just a slasher horror. It was actually very cinematic and had some heart to it. 
  3. Well developed characters. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. Some ridiculous choices by characters to advance the plot. 
  2. Too convenient for many parts.

THE LESSON

Ask permission from homeowners before you shoot a film in their property.

THE FINAL WORD

A surprisingly elevated horror film, bringing an artistic eye to a genre where you don’t expect it. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

X gets a Like It 

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

ABOUT SILAS

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.