Latest / Dark Night of the Podcast / Episode 187-Candy Stripers (2006)
Transcript
- Roger: my goodness, dark night of the podcast, friends. I saying fans, but I'm to say it. Fans, followers, fabulous people. How about that? ⁓ I am jumping into this review today after taking about a week or so off. And I like this last week has been just so fricking busy. Troy. It has been crazy. My schedule has been so full. My plate is overflow with with bounty and just I've just been so busy. But I gotta say I was able to make time to go see Scream 7 even in the middle of having no time to myself. We didn't even record last week, but I still made time to go see Scream 7 and Troy. I know you did the same and I think it's very important that we bring this up because it's rare. that we get such a grand release of a franchise title such as Scream. So this is certainly something worth noting before we jump into the review today. Wouldn't you agree? TROY A ESCAMILLA: I would agree. I would agree. And it just it pleases me to see the film doing so well at the box office. Putting all the controversy aside, I'm looking at it from a specific lens of this. I'm a horror fan. Scream is a ⁓ that that really, really means a lot to me. I love the first scream. I love the second scream. So it was really important for me to to see this film in the theater and. Yeah, I had a blast with it. I don't want to say too much about it, Roger, because I know you posted your thoughts on it. I posted my thoughts on it. think I'm probably a little bit more warmer to it than you are. ⁓ So I think we think it's a really good segue to tell our listeners that if you want to hear of our thoroughly fleshed out thoughts on Scream 7 that you should probably join our Patreon because ⁓ are going to be up very soon. Mine is already up there. I know, Roger, you're planning on recording yours and then we are going to get together. Roger: Yeah. TROY A ESCAMILLA: you know, and record our thoughts because I think think the film I again, I don't want to I'm not going to spend any time talking about the film. just I really enjoyed it. ⁓ me, it's probably smack dab in the middle of my rankings. I still think it's better than three. I think it's better than five. I guess ⁓ on given day, I could go back and forth between four because I do love four. But I do not that it is as bad as. the critical reviews and the Rot Tomato score would signify. And I think that the box office return and it's still going strong. You know, during the week, it's still going strong. I think that that's a testament ⁓ to how hitting ⁓ They're going to it multiple times. ⁓ I think we're see this one really ⁓ racking a shit of money. Roger: Yeah, I mean, that's absolutely why I bring it up is because we have a Patreon. I would say I guess I'll say a Patreon special this month because of Screen 7 being a big to do that, you know, both Troy and I are going to share our individual opinions and then we're going to get together and we're going to we're going to throw fists. No, we're going to we're going to get together for a friendly debate because I'll say I was not a fan of it. The more I've sat on it, the the more issues I've had with it. we're both very passionate about the series. So I know we'll have a very respectful debate sure, but I think it's gonna make for really good conversation to alternate viewpoints on the title. ⁓ So, know, I'll say before anything, if you're not following the Patreon, you're missing out on lot of things. Consistently, we been updating this Patreon. Like I will say it, I know the last few months ⁓ we have on it. And we're on it again this month. got some fun things planned, including that damn weapons review, which we've been talking about and talking about. Well, we finally got that 69th, the grand 69. So we got to do it. We can't put it off. We got to do it. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, we need now we're going for 70. Yeah, yeah. No. I and I feel like I feel like there's a very good chance by the end of, know, by the end of the month, weapons will be an Oscar winning film because I think the cards are all in Amy Madigan's right now to win the Oscar because she just won the SAG award for the film. ⁓ that's a big one. That's a big precursor. So fingers crossed because, you know, horror has gotten shafted at the Oscars for the last decade if I've longer, but I'm saying there's pro there's actually there's notable films that should have been in performances. It should have been nominated in one Oscars and have not. mean, everyone thought I would have bet almost my life last year, Roger, that Demi Moore was going to win best actress. She had won every award leading up to it. And then Oscar night, she loses. I hope the same thing doesn't happen to Amy Madigan. so we'll see, but yeah, we will get on that weapons review. But, I right now it's all the film that you picked and I will say I just realized the only only positive I can start with is the fact that you picked a film directed by a woman and it is women in horror month. So we are kicking off ⁓ our episode of women in horror month with a film directed by a woman by the of Kate Robbins. So there's that there's that we're giving we're at least giving you that okay because you're not getting much else. Roger: Yeah. You know, never promised a lot with this one, but I picked this title. I've been sitting on this egg for a long time waiting for her to hatch. And finally I was like, she's stirring. I got to let her have her moment. I think it's because I was in the hospital with that surgery a couple of months ago and I keep going back. And so I keep thinking of like bland white, hospital ⁓ corridors. just, it just like, I guess it triggered a memory for me. following that surgery. And so this is a title in a series of titles that Troy and I have recently covered that like, let us be clear, it is not a good film. This is not a good movie. I'm not covering this movie because I'm gonna flourish it with compliments. That is not the case. But I want to enter this review with this very obscure title, that ⁓ saw this film right around when it came out. in 2006. And 2006 is the year that I personally started working on independent film. I turned 21 on a film set. I started doing this in my early 20s. mean at 20, you know, I started doing this. I may have even been 19 when I started, but it was 2006. I remember it clearly. And I was consuming a really high volume of low budget horror films. the lower budget, the better for some reason. I do not possess that desire, ⁓ that any longer. I don't like really, really cheap horror. I think I got it out of my system at a young age, but at this time I was infatuated with it. ⁓ I enchanted with the idea that you could make something out of so little or out of nothing at all. and I was getting a lot of experiences on these film sets. just roughing it and realizing like how you throw these things together and how you make a movie work. And it's because of these experiences, I learned my knowledge of the craft of filmmaking. And it probably shows because I watched really shitty movies. So, but this is how I learned. This is how I got my hands dirty is just consuming films like this. And so this film, like, you know, we've been talking about nostalgia and this film again, while it's not a good movie, I watched this film and there is still an aspect of joy that I take from it because it was just so influential and impactful at the time. really carried this film with me and thought, ⁓ you know, if they could pull it off, if they could throw it together with little to nothing, nothing but hospital hallways and big spider webs, ⁓ could do it too, God damn it. And I've carried that with me, that energy, I've carried it with me ever since. So this film... ⁓ It holds a weird, special place in my heart. But again, I acknowledge this is not a good film. I'm sure you agree. TROY A ESCAMILLA: I am. ⁓ you know what? Kate Robbins would be thrilled to hear that her film had had such an impact on you as an indie filmmaker. I bet. So yeah, I will say I think this film is an example ⁓ of having a script. Obviously, but then like, yeah, yeah. But like having this script and then being like, ⁓ we're going to film this movie, but not Roger: Anybody. You ⁓ I guess. you TROY A ESCAMILLA: not garnering the budget necessary to film what is what the script entails. And I think that is the film's biggest ⁓ is that you can tell the the script is if this movie would had a couple million dollars. I don't know the budget. I really don't. But if this would have had a proper budget, it could have been an interesting, fun movie. But instead, they overshot what they were capable of based on the script, but they didn't scale the script back. And it is so blatantly obvious. ⁓ And I just say, I did not really have a good time with this movie. I kept ⁓ this movie is only hour and 25 minutes. It feels like it's fucking five hours long. I kept look at it and ⁓ when the fuck is this going to end? And I know I will say I don't think the payoff is worth. having to sit through what you have to sit through. It's just not my type of movie. We covered. I'm going to I'm going to shout out the patron again. We covered a movie on our patron ⁓ on decoys decoys, which which this movie kind of reminded me of. But decoys had a lot of heart to it and it was a lot of fun. This movie just is not ⁓ I just ⁓ I'm I just did not connect with this movie at all. Roger: Mmm. Yeah. TROY A ESCAMILLA: I'll just say that I just I did not and that's fine. You know, we you connect with return to sleepaway camp. So what nobody did ⁓ but you know what I'm saying we have opinions Roger: Right. Listen, opinions, my opinion ⁓ 2006 versus my opinion today ⁓ two very different things. I think I had a lot of fun watching this as a young, stupid individual. ⁓ think consuming cinema I mean, it's riddled with flaws. You are absolutely right in stating also, it's too big its britches. ⁓ this is something that deserved bigger effects and just. more than just one set piece. I think that is my biggest gripe is this hospital, it goes on and on. how many floors, Troy, ⁓ exist in hospital? It is an endless maze of corridors. It's crazy. TROY A ESCAMILLA: It is yeah, I mean you are not getting a lot of variety in terms of visuals in this film. And we are covering the film is candy stripers 2006 it is a film that I had never seen. I mean if Roger had never ⁓ this to me. I probably wouldn't even know it existed and I would have been I would have been much happier for that but ⁓ I ⁓ odd to be so check it out. Yeah, I guess we get into it ⁓ and. I don't know. away. I was rolling my eyes because you have the most unconvincing, blind girl I've ever seen in a film this, ⁓ this blind girl her friend are driving down this, this isolated road. ⁓ And really the, ⁓ a radio broadcast talking about, Hey, have you seen, have you, have you seen any lights in the sky? Because tons of other people I based on ⁓ the calls we've been receiving. it's so it's kind of ironic because the blind girl is like, ⁓ do you think. I don't know where they're going to party. Maybe they're like, she's like, ⁓ is Bobby going to be there? And the other girl is like, ⁓ you need to let him go. And then they just happened upon Bobby's overturned car in the middle of the road. two gals, actresses, a very loose term. they, they, they get out of the, like the one gets out of the car. What's her name? There's Sue. Is Sue Suzy and Roger: Suzy? TROY A ESCAMILLA: Tammy Tammy's the blind girl, I think. Okay. I think, I think so. I'm just going to call her Tammy. so she gets out. Okay. So the, the first girl gets out and she, the blind girl sitting in the car and she hears a scream. So she gets, mean, they really Stevie wonder this gal up. I mean, this is the most like most unconvincing. They put the big old glasses on her. has that cane ⁓ and you you totally know the actress as a blind and she's just Roger: Is it really? Is her name Tammy? I didn't think she even had a name, that poor woman. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Acting like and I'm like, is this sort of a fence? Not really. I don't know. It just it's so funny because it's just like it's so obvious that they're playing put some glasses on her, give her a cane and throw her out and let her walk. I mean. And of course she trips over the dead body of Bobby and the two broads get back in the car ⁓ and trying to drive away ⁓ and the fuck in the backseat that fucking green tentacle comes out. ⁓ Roger: You TROY A ESCAMILLA: We get lots of green tentacles in this. Roger: we get a very ⁓ setup here. I mean, they are not giving us a lot to go off of. these two girls are quickly dispatched and the one you see her for a little bit longer before she's dead as well. And yeah, I mean, the blind aspect really is unnecessary. it's not anything too important. But then she ⁓ know, to top it off, not only is she waddling around with the cane, not selling it, but then she trips and she falls and her glasses come off and she has ⁓ those haunting white from like the beyond. And it's those are cool. when you see white eyeballs, like they're creepy, but like to just throw them on a blind girl just seems, I don't know, careless. it doesn't like every blind person has white haunting eyes. ⁓ TROY A ESCAMILLA: yes. Roger: ghostly eyes? ⁓ guess it could happen, but I don't- is that a real thing? can people even have white eyes or is that just something created solely for the idea of like of cinema? Troy, I don't know, is this a real thing? ⁓ TROY A ESCAMILLA: I'm sure there are people that have milky white eyes. these are just white. They're not milky. It looks like she has two ping-pongs in her eye sockets. It's very jarring. Again, it's totally unnecessary because there's no reason ⁓ for to make this girl blind. ⁓ There's plot that comes from her being blind. In fact, she's dead 20 seconds later because After this very quick. Loose scene that that I guess introduces us to a the idea that the lights in the skies are aliens and now these two gals have been attacked by the alien, is basically like I said, every time you see this alien, it's just like a green tentacle that somebody is puppeteering, you know, just popping out of places. Roger: we ever get a full idea of what alien force is here. I mean, we see it for a matter of seconds, literal seconds. I mean, it's quite possibly the most ominous alien force that we ⁓ ever dealt with on Dark Knight the Podcast. The things these ladies are of. Really, no, I mean, ⁓ this is ⁓ I use term loose a lot, but this set up and everything that comes from it, it's as loose as you get. I can't tell you a thing about these aliens. I can't tell you if the alien is the tentacle or if the tentacle is coming from the alien. At one point we see an alien face, ⁓ you only see it once. So I'm confused. where did the tentacles come into play? Is the tentacle just another entity that the aliens like send out to do their bidding? ⁓ It's confusing. It's very loose. But it gets us to the hospital. mean, we're going to the hospital and this hospital has employed more candy stripers than I have ever seen in my life. Like, what are they going to do with all these candy stripers? TROY A ESCAMILLA: What Mike what is what I thought what is what is a candy striper? They go around and don't they just go around and give treats and stuff to the paint because ⁓ they have in film I'm I was really confused because they have they have these candy stripers doing activities that are ⁓ only nurses and doctors be doing like they're taking temperatures there ⁓ and wait that is what a candy start ⁓ I don't I do not if I am in the I better not getting a fucking candy striper coming in and trying to take blood from me or Roger: That's... I do not believe. TROY A ESCAMILLA: doing anything. I'm like, honey, where did you how where's your medical background? just want I just I just want my just just give me a Twix bar and get out. mean Roger: Are you just doing this? Are you? And did somebody send you in here or are you just doing this? God bless Kate Robbins, Women's History Month and all. God bless her, but I am convinced that she doesn't know a lick about not just candy stripers, but like medical practice in general. There's a lot of things that happen with the doctors in this film that I'm like, that is not how that would go down at all. TROY A ESCAMILLA: You Roger: And so like Candy Striper is really going in with a loose idea of how a hospital operates and within the hierarchy of that hospital where the Candy Stripers fall. But apparently, I mean, they're diagnosing cancer in this film, like these gals, and they are in completely inappropriate ensembles to boot. These women, I've seen Candy Striper dresses before. I mean, there's a classic look, but they have never been this slutty. TROY A ESCAMILLA: They're two. Roger: These women are in like plunging deep V, plunging necklines, very fitted dresses, and it just feels very inappropriate for a workplace environment, especially in a hospital. TROY A ESCAMILLA: And we cannot, we're not, we are not overstating how many fucking candy stripers are in this hospital. It's full of them. There's more candy stripers than there are doctors. I'm like, what the fuck is going on here? Roger: It's like, like, wonder the aliens saw this hospital and they're like, we're setting up base camp here because it's brimming with candy stripers. these girls that are playing the candy stripers, not to get carried away, but I, ⁓ don't think a single one of these women ⁓ at all appropriate working a hospital at all. I mean, all of them look like TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah Roger: fucking whores and they got heavy makeup, they got lips, they got their knockers pushed up to their chins, that one with the platinum blonde hair and the gauged ears, like it's just, ⁓ just a very weird, like, I mean, I think if they were working on a low budget, there's still things they could have done with the aesthetic of these women that could have made them look more menacing, more uniform and in turn more alien-like. But this really is just like any female extras they could get, they threw a fucking candy striper dress on them and they just unleashed them in this hospital. And that's how it feels. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ this hospital. Well, yeah, from the from the opening crashing and tentacle scene, we do cut to this hospital. The first thing they have to show us is that fucking baby crying that one candy striper is I think this is Janine. She's probably the most the most prominent ⁓ and Lori, I think, to are probably the two most recognizable. Otherwise, they all blend together. I don't know who the fuck they are. The candy strippers are popping out like fucking like a clown car. They're just coming out and everywhere. All the nicks and crannies of this hospital. But so Janine goes and she gives that little baby a candy to shut it up. and then she, she into the room and she's getting medicine and I'm like, man, that's not your job. don't, then the doctor comes in and he's like, Hey sugar. And he's hitting on her and she's sort of, ⁓ sort of taking it back, but kind of receptive to it. I'm like, this is, I couldn't tell if she was offended or if she liked it. I mean, wasn't it a really weird reaction? Roger: thing else about this hospital is just screaming medical malpractice. So I guess you might as well throw an employee affair in the mix. But like this doctor is really comfortable just hitting on this gal. And she's like, yeah, she's kind of receptive, sweet Janine. You know, it's weird. I think it's weird because they bring her into play and the way she's introduced, it really feels like she's going to be the Queen Mother alien. or I don't know, whatever this alien lore is, it feels like she's really gonna be a focal aspect of it. it sticks that for a little bit. And then all of sudden, she's just gone for a huge chunk of the movie. And I think one of my issues in bringing in these female characters is not only are there way too many candy stripers, but there's just not... like really any identified characters that seem to be established in ⁓ ranking of importance. It seems like they're all just kind of doing the same thing and all on the same mission, but I'm not totally what that mission is exactly. if you want to talk about Luce, what the fuck are these aliens doing? ⁓ what is happening? What's their plan? But we do learn here that When this girl gets brought in, the blind girl gets brought in after this incident that happens, and it's a big to do. We do learn that the aliens pass on this alien entity, this symbiotic whatever, I don't know. What's even the term? I guess this parasite we can say maybe, they pass it on through and. That is really, that like, I guess it plays into what they're trying to do with the sexuality of this film. But there's several very inappropriate moments where people recommend somebody and these people should not be kissing each other. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Well, here's the thing is they just do it. I don't know if Kate Robbins is a lesbian herself, but this movie really just makes the assumption that every woman has the potential to be a lesbian because not one of them, time, no, every time an alien ⁓ asks one the candy stripers to kiss her, there's no hesitation at all. Like, okay, so let's make this clear. The blind girl's brought in, she's bleeding from the head. They put her in a hospital bed. ⁓ Andrews or whatever his name is, is in there with her and ⁓ he gets an emergency nurse. Nurse Sally comes in looking like Kelly LeBrock from weird science comes in and she's like, I have a baby that's not breathing. Dr. Come on. So he goes, and who does he leave in charge of this dying woman? The fucking candy striper. This woman is dying. Roger: Poor woman who's making minimum wage. This girl who is... TROY A ESCAMILLA: The woman is dying and he's like, can you stay and watch her and watch her watch her vitals? What the fuck does a candy striper know about vitals? He's like, watch your vitals for me, stay in here. And he's gone for a long time because she falls asleep. Janine falls asleep and we see her in all kinds of different positions before that blind girl wakes up and she's like, Oh, uh, come, come here. Come here. I'm dying. And Jean goes over to her and the blind girl is like, I'm dying. I want you to kiss me. I want you to kiss me. And Janine does not hesitate. She literally like go, she's granting this dying woman's wish, I guess. And as she leads down to kiss this woman, that fucking green tentacle comes out of the blind woman's mouth and goes right into Janine. But I'm like, Janine, were way, you were way too willing to kiss this woman that you don't even know. It's so weird. It's weird. Roger: Here's my big issue, my big gripe. This film really wants to be sexualized, but there's something really not sexy about this film. you see knockers, some boobs come out and everything, you you get all of that, but there's just something about it where it just doesn't hit. Even the moments where people are starting to hook up with each other and everything, it just has this weird energy to it. And I don't know if it's because it was crafted by a woman, but like it just, strangely ⁓ of the least sexy films I've ever seen, even though it's trying really hard to be. And this moment here with this kiss is kind of a perfect example because you're absolutely fucking right. for this girl to be like, I'm dying and Janine to be like, I'm sorry. the girl's like, don't call for help. Instead kiss me. If I was Janine, I'd be like, I'm sorry, ma'am. am employed at this hospital. That would be extremely irresponsible for me to kiss you, young woman. I'm getting, I don't know. I'm gonna go get that fucking doctor that's trying to fuck me. And I'm sure he can help you. For her to ⁓ lean and kiss this girl is just like ⁓ so It's just that ⁓ Janine got was coming. Really, I mean, she deserved to be taken over by this alien life force, whatever the fuck it is, because it just doesn't make sense. And that happens multiple times. Whenever someone's kissing somebody, there's one point at the end of the movie, and I'm jumping ahead, when that child asks paramedic to kiss her. ⁓ mean, like, that is unacceptable. ⁓ not. I won't be kissing you. I'm trying to do my job. But ⁓ Okay, Candy Stripers. So she kisses her. You see the brief visual of the tentacle. like I tried to give moments ⁓ return to sleepaway camp some credit. I'll say like, there's a few moments here where you see some of these visuals and they don't look half bad. Some of the tentacle effects don't look half bad. There are some moments of gore in this that don't look half bad. There's plenty that do. But it's kind of a cool visual. It's very oral sex. I mean, they're really making it look like fellatio the way they shoot it. These big, veiny tentacles. If you like tentacle porn, film ⁓ gonna blow your skirt up because it really looks like these gals are throwing big dicks. ⁓ It's going their throats, their eyes are rolling back. ⁓ It's sexual but again it's strangely not it's really weird but it doesn't look half bad i'll say that at least it's kind of a cool visual TROY A ESCAMILLA: Sure, sure. I feel like this film has a weird fascination with oral sex, right? Because the next scene... Alright, so the movie... shifts drastically something I wasn't expecting and that was a school bus. A high school school bus. And the is full of the basketball team this high school. And they all come off the bus and we meet our team captain, Matt. who's cute? And he has his girlfriend, Crystal, which... ⁓ boy. I don't even know what to say about Crystal. I feel like the character that we see here in this moment is different than the character we get at the end of the film. And it just is really jarring and she doesn't, she doesn't really fit in. I don't know. I just got this weird vibe from this character. It's particularly it just seems like it's two different characters. we see a character here and then she shows up later in the hospital and she's like this like one liner. She's supposed to be comic relief and it's just really jarring. And I just, The actress is, guess, fine, but I don't know. It was just really weird. And so this basketball team's all who, who, who they're going to go play this. They're a, big opponent. And we have, like I said, we have Matt, his girlfriend, Crystal's the head cheerleader. have Sheree who is. I get it. Is this like the basketball version of like a bat boy? Is she like the team assistant or something? Why is she here? Roger: Yeah. TROY A ESCAMILLA: I, this, this woman, she'll walk, she never leaves. she's in the hospital for a week. she never takes, she never leaves. ⁓ I I was also thinking, why aren't you going home? you're not injured, but we'll get there as well. And she's fine. I probably the most well-played and likable character in the film. I actually do like this character, although I think it's really interesting that she gets Roger: Like the water girl, I guess. TROY A ESCAMILLA: hotter and hotter as the film goes on. You meet her now and she's kind of just like a tomboyish mess, messy hair, no makeup. But as the film goes on, they start to turn her into Lara Croft putting dark eye, dark mascara and making sure her hair is all done. I'm like, this is weird. But then you have this, you have the two friends, Joey and Brian, right? And these two men look like they're 40 and in fact they're balding, but they're supposed to be high school men ⁓ or high school kids. And, you know, Matt gives the team a pep talk and he keeps getting texts from crystal who's saying, come on the bus now, now talk about inappropriate things. Roger. goes onto this bus and then it is hard cuts to this crystal gal on a school bus, giving Brian. A blowjob. now. Probably we're talking about unconvincing blind girls at the beginning of the film. This is probably the most unconvincing blowjob I've ever seen put on film. I mean, the actor isn't selling it at all. He's just like, you're so good at that. And then she lifts her mouth up that stereotypical and wipes her lips. I'm like this, okay, first of all, you're on a school bus. where are the teachers? Where's the chaperones? How are students allowed to give each other blowjobs on the school bus? But I would just throw it back by, cause you'd mentioned how unsexy the film is and this could have been a hot scene. I mean, both of the actors, ⁓ the actress and actor are both very good looking. ⁓ Roger: Mm-hmm. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Not that I want to see high school kids, partake in this activity, but it just, if you're going show it, at least make it seem like it's real. Do you know what I mean? Roger: totally agree with on that. And think that's why mentioned that earlier is there's something very disconnected about all of the sexuality over the course of the whole film. It's almost like the film has a weird teenager sense of humor to it. It feels very immature. And so even when they handle these sexy scenes, They're done in a way that feels like a cheap porn. And a lot of these moments just feel like they're. handled by people who've never actually had sex? I don't know. it just doesn't, it doesn't feel real. You're right. And that's all of the sexuality. ⁓ the moments where gals whip their tits out, it just feels really just over the and unnatural. There is just a ⁓ weird lack natural energy to all of the sexual encounters that occur over the course of this film the whole time. But I will regarding the characters and It's hard for me not to compare it to our last episode, Return to Sleep, White Camp. If you haven't listened to it, listen to it. Just because it was such an awful experience. And this is another bad movie. ⁓ ⁓ I'm of trying to weigh them against each other, which one was worse for me. ⁓ But I think one of the things give credit to Candy Stripers is at least the group of, the focal group of characters that you focus on. You know who your leads are. you know who your secondary leads are, they get an ample amount of screen time and they're fairly competent. Like Matt isn't horrible. Like he is often stuck in awkward and absurd situations that make no sense and maybe his responses don't feel natural because like this whole scene is fucking absurd. I too would not be able to pull off acting in that sequence nor would anybody, cause it all feels cheap and flat and weird. But he himself, is not necessarily bad in the role. Same with Sherry. actually pretty good in the role, but a lot of the things that her character is doing, a lot of the scenarios that she finds herself in are just so absurd and so ⁓ over top. They're so void of any seriousness whatsoever ⁓ that it's to thus take her seriously. But I really don't think any of the leading actors within the group of ⁓ the youths are necessarily bad per se. Even like you mentioned Crystal, she's pretty good in the role of being a bitch, but the character does make a series of weird decisions and does kind of go away for a while and then comes back and feels like almost a completely different character. I have that same note, I agree on that. Let's talk about also these cheerleaders where the budget was so sparse that they couldn't actually even afford cheerleader costume so they just put everyone in yellow tank tops from Wet Seal and called it a day and you're watching the most like lackluster basketball game ever seen. I mean there's like seven people in the crowd. These girls, all they can do is sidestep. There's no moves at all. These cheerleaders can barely hold a pom-pom. This whole coming up here in a little bit of them at the gym just is another moment that feels so cheap. So low budget and it's very obvious in that moment. TROY A ESCAMILLA: I do want to point out the after she gives him a blow job and he apparently gets off, he asks her when, when are we going to be able to do the real thing? And ⁓ like, no, I'm saving myself for marriage. And plus I don't want to get pregnant. and I think that's just important to mention cause it comes back at the end. ⁓ back at the hospital, you get this male orderly comes in and sees Janine crying because she had, you know, she saw this girl die. And he takes her to the break room and he comforts her by giving her that orange soda. And she's like, I'm scared. Can you hold me? And again, none of these people have any self control because he's sure. And he grabs, he like hugs her and then she starts like sniffing and licking him. And then she says to him, I want you. And she pushes him into that closet and aggressively begins unbuttoning his pants. takes her top off her bra off. We could see her boobies and then they begin fucking aggressively right in this, right in this hospital. until he just starts screaming and we hear her growling ⁓ and I a tentacle him. don't know. It doesn't really show us. ⁓ Roger: There's a lot of moments that I guess leaves it to the imagination, what's actually happening. Sometimes the audio mixing makes things seem maybe a little more aggressive than they're actually supposed to be. It's a weird. It's a little hard to identify what these aliens doing to these men. Part of me makes me think they're eating them. Part of me makes think that they're using them ⁓ as hosts for birthing. other aliens. It's real weird. It's real loose. That's the term for this episode. It's real loose. But yeah, I mean, it's a very awkward moment between these two characters. There's lots of little random male characters that come into play just to be dispatched. Lots of sacrificial lambs that we come across, and that's very much what this moment is. TROY A ESCAMILLA: And they all are willing to fuck. They're willing to fuck. ⁓ yeah. So this basketball. ⁓ that's going to be. ⁓ yeah. Who's up for it? Roger: All of them. Much like you and me, Troy. ⁓ man. ⁓ Come and get him. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Give me an orange soda and I'll do whatever. Uh, uh, so back to the basketball game. Basically what happens at the basketball game is the other, this other team. These men, mean, this is supposed to be high school, right? These men on both teams look like they're 50 and I'm like, what the fuck? Um, but what ends up happening is a brawl breaks out that one guy literally catapults Matt over his. Roger: That's all it takes. TROY A ESCAMILLA: over like lifts him up and throws him over him and Matt ends up landing on his leg and breaking it and then Brian tries to attack the guy he's punched and he falls on the floor and hits his head on the the the gym floor and gets concussion a small brawl breaks out you got Crystal screaming that was a foul that was a foul and then it cuts and they're in the hospital but yes I do want to point out how cheap this whole scene looks like there are yes you're right not even real cheerleader outfits. got like, I don't even know if this is the correct amount of players that you have, you need to have on a basketball team. I think they just had like four guys on each team, because that's what they could afford to pay. There's literally like three people in the bleachers and they're really trying to get into it. Did you notice them? They're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just three people. like, come on. It's, it's ⁓ Roger: this film, it's got, it's got spunk. I mean, they're, they're sure giving it their all with little to nothing but a bunch of striped dresses. But yeah, I mean, ⁓ extras are ⁓ on board and this bra sequence is kind of fun. it's fun seeing all of them team up together, even the cheerleaders. But this is really what, sets the wheels into motion of what the actual storyline is with our focal characters, because there's some major injuries. that happen at this specific game that brings them all to the hospital for an elongated period of time. Matt has had a fractured leg, I believe. So he is now going to be in a cast for the rest of the film. The whole remainder of the film, he is in a cast. So if he's not in a wheelchair, he's on crutches. which makes for kind of a weird pacing any scenes involving Matt. there's no like high speed chase sequences in this film. everything is kind of slow and kind of putts along because of his injury, but it's a major, major aspect of what gets them to this hospital. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Well, they're in the hospital and they get that whole moment where the doctor comes in with he calls in nurse Sally and they have to set set ⁓ leg and they're they're all giddy about it like this is gonna hurt and they do it and he fucking screams bloody murder and they are just they are thrilled to be able to be setting this this man's leg and making him scream in pain. Roger: ⁓ they're beaming. They're thrilled about it. And there's that really loud, overly exaggerated crunching noise as they reset it. And he's like, gonna have to do it again. And it's like, that's sick, dude. You're a medical professional. Why are you playing this some maniacal bad guy? This character's not even a villain, this doctor. He doesn't do anything wrong. TROY A ESCAMILLA: They love it. Yeah. No, well then it, but after he says it, it ominously cuts away and you just hear Matt screaming and fucking pain. later who's now possessed walks by that room and winks at Joey who gets excited and he, she, even wakes up Matt to tell him, Hey, that candy striper broad, she's hot. She she's totally into me. That's a total fantasy. crystal and Sheree wheel Brian in who's in a wheelchair because again, he has a concussion. during this conversation of the men kind of poking fun at each other, the word, the word faggot is dropped. Yeah. He's like, Hey, did they fix that limp rip? ⁓ I think it's Brian says it to, to, ⁓ to Matt, right? He's like, Hey, did they fix that limp wrist of yours faggot? So ⁓ just warning it's in the film and it's used, you know, derogatory and it's yeah. Roger: in a very derogatory way. TROY A ESCAMILLA: 2006, right? mean, people were up. Roger: What the fuck, Kate Robbins? I thought you'd be an ally because you're a woman, but you can go fuck yourself with this kind of language. How dare you in 2006 to be throwing out the term faggot. I could say it. I'm a gay man. Not this guy. Especially the way you said it. You mentioned the limp wrist comment. it's as derogatory as it could be. it's really, it's used as a slam. And yeah, it does not sit well with me. I forgot about that. I forgot about it until I saw it again. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ yeah. ⁓ yeah, I heard I'm like, ⁓ shit. mean, because I mean, it was 96, I might have been ⁓ okay. But this was 2006. This ⁓ mean, okay, so it is in there and I was a little taken aback by it because it is very derogatory in the way it's used. This crystal, she tells Matt she can't stay with him in the hospital for long because she has a hair appointment she has to get to. ⁓ we find out that also that Joey and Shari are brother and sister and Crystal has some weird animosity towards Shari for some reason. She's calls her a dork and, and all this stuff and the group, the group then leaves. Basically you just have Matt and Joey. Crystal has her hair appointment. guess Janine says she's leaving, but all she does in the movie is she doesn't go home. She sleeps in the lobby. I'm like, this is weird. this girl is literally. in the hospital day and night. She never leaves. And these, guess it's her brother, but where are their parents? why aren't their parents here? I don't know. Very weird. okay. So talk about, you know, lesbian action, being willing to got Janine and this other blonde stripper catching up to Lori. ⁓ Okay. Again. Roger: You said stripper and I like to think it was a slip. It makes sense. It really lands here. So I'm not, I'm not going to correct it. I'm just going to acknowledge it. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ s- shoot they all look like strippers roger and again the hallway Roger: They all look like whores! These candy stripers all look like recently-rich-hired cam girls! TROY A ESCAMILLA: And again, it's a hallway full of them. have so many of them that they're pulling each other into rooms, but they get Lori into this room and they're like, ⁓ we want to, we need to show you, we need to initiate you and show you something. So they take her into exam room C and immediately the blonde begins kissing her. she does like pull away and she's like, I'm not really into girls. And they're like, well, we're into you. And then like they forced that they force her to kiss and that green tentacle comes out of her mouth and it goes down, Lori's throat. just as there's a knock on the door from Dr. Dixon who comes in and he opens the door and reveals that the three girls are in there and he's like, what are you gals doing? And they're like, ⁓ nothing. And they're licking suckers now. Where the fuck they get suckers? But now the rest of the film, these gals are suggestively on suckers and licking lollipops and. Roger: As if the oral fixation aspect of candy stripers wasn't already happy-handed. Now these gals all have fuckin' ⁓ that they're lappin' on. I mean, and they are just workin' them. They're cheek to cheek rollin' them in their mouths. It's very, very suggestive. ⁓ ⁓ medical, ⁓ this hospital. I mean, like, this is a professional place of care. ⁓ TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ deep throat numb. Roger: where people are taken with medical emergencies. These girls can't just be distracting these men, on these suckers. ⁓ TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah Well, well, they're taking, they now they're the point. They're taking them away from kids. They're ripping them out of kids here. So, so they can suck on them. ⁓ Roger: Well, we learn here about the sugar fixation. The aliens, also we learn that they eat sugar, but then I also think they kind of eat people, again, real loose, but they have an addiction to sugar. And I can relate, I fucking love candy, but they are constantly seeking it out. I want to note here this whole bit. So you have Janine, we know she's an alien, ⁓ you've got Lori, who is... the girl who gets turned into an alien in this moment and does become one of the focal characters. I feel like they had Laurie on set the most out of all the candy stripers. So they're like, we're gonna make her a big character and she's beautiful, she's lovely. There's this other blonde who's on the DVD cover sucking on a lollipop and she's in this scene and I'm pretty sure that you'd never see her again. ⁓ so weird. ⁓ You know, you would think that in the early stages of this alien outbreak spreading, you would have seen the second alien, the second candy striper, get infected or you know, you would have seen what transpired in order for this to start spreading. But they just randomly showed Janine with another candy striper who's clearly an alien and they just bypass the whole moment between the two of them. I'm not saying I need to see every single one. But like, can't suddenly just this early on be like, now there's two. no, is it really, I guess it really is that easy just kiss women in this I guess I need to just buy that all of these candy stripers are just making out in the closets, know, making out the scenes because it's really easy for them to just infect each other. Because pretty soon, Troy, they're all aliens, like really fast. And I guess we have to believe they're all just Lick in each other's faces, make it out. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, well, yeah, because only ones that are really turned into aliens are female. think we got to acknowledge that. And then the prey are the men and they make it like when they ⁓ they do whatever they're doing to the men, the men slowly begin to just wither away and turn into spider webs and stuff. ⁓ But that night, Jeanine goes into and Brian's room and she goes up to Matt and she literally starts kissing on him and she's ⁓ She reaches down and starts giving him a fucking hand job right there in the bed. ⁓ and he's like, who, are you? And suddenly Dr. Bradley opens the door and sees this and he's like, what the hell are you doing? And she tells him, I ⁓ don't, don't jealous. I'm just taking him. I was just taking his temperature, bitch. You're a candy striper. That is not your job. wouldn't the doctor, wouldn't the doctor be like, ma'am, you, you, your, your job is like literally to deliver suckers to the kids. And are in here taking this man's temperature? ⁓ Roger: Get the fuck out of here! You're not supposed to be doing this! But like, I think the bigger issue at play here... And tell me if I'm wrong. Tell me if I'm overreacting. But... This is a minor. This is a high school student. I know he's being played by a 40 year old. But in this universe... This is a high school student. he's sedated. ⁓ TROY A ESCAMILLA: It is a Roger: medical professional is walking in and fucking like jacking them off. Like I'm sure I feel like the kid's fine with it. But this is ⁓ this to me the equivalent. What was the name of that teacher that bagged her student and then they got married? Mary Kay Laterno. Mary Kay Laterno. ⁓ This some Mary Kay Laterno shit. This Janine is, I feel like she's committing statutory rape. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Mary Jo Letourneau or Mary Kay Letourneau. Yeah. ⁓ Roger: That doctor shouldn't just be brushing that off. I'd be like, ma'am, we are calling the police immediately. You're under arrest because you just tried to fondle a minor. And that seems like a way bigger issue to me than it ever is addressed to this. These are, these are what? These gotta be like 17 year olds, 16, 17. Like she can't be touching their goodies, their giblets, their children. TROY A ESCAMILLA: They're supposed to be it. Yeah. Well, he doesn't, well, he doesn't care. The doctor doesn't care because he actually like takes her into an empty exam room and pulls out a bottle of schnapps, that she guzzles. And then she takes her blouse and bra off ⁓ right in front of ⁓ her. kissing him and slams him on the operating table. She gets on top of them and they're going to town and he's like in the thrust of ecstasy, Roger. kicks his feet. And he knocks open that door to reveal that other doctor do that. She fucked not 10 minutes earlier in there. Like it almost like a cocoon, but it's spider webs and the guy's still alive, and the doctor screams, Dr. Bradley screams himself. And then all of a sudden we see him being covered with these spider web substances. Roger: Some dollar general made a fucking killing when this crew came in during some October season and bought them out of of their Halloween spider webs, which normally run a dollar a bag. So I'm sure they had at least 50 bags for this film ⁓ they use all of it. I mean, ⁓ don't get a lot in this film, but goddamn, do you get a lot of cheap fake spider webs? And it is not effective on camera. And this is ⁓ main sign that the aliens are present. you start seeing it forming on the walls, you start seeing it forming on ceilings. ⁓ it, like cocoons ⁓ over bodies of the men that they kind of kill, but I guess don't fully kill because this guy's still alive and he's lightly covered in a layer of spider webs, but it looks so cheap. It looks so So lackluster. And it's not they ever morph into a more ominous layer of I don't know, a cocoon pod or something. All that happens is they just wrap them in more fake spider webbing. ⁓ And that's all they in this film. That's all they got is fake spider web. But they got, they sure got a fucking lot of it. TROY A ESCAMILLA: an abundance ⁓ that yeah, they used every fucking strand of it too but yeah, so So now dr. Bradley is is I don't I don't know if he's dead, but he's been attacked by Janine Sheree wakes in the lobby and I just can't I keep asking myself bitch. Why don't you go? Why don't you go home? Like why are you here? They go home She's sleeping overnight in the hospital for like days on end in the same She never leaves. And she wakes, and I feel like that's problematic because she has, obviously she has a health issue. She has diabetes because we see her take out her little insulin pen and give her a shot. I'm like, honey, should be eating. You should be taking care of yourself. Leave, go home, take a shower. Why are you sleeping in this hospital? Is your home life that miserable? Go, go. Roger: I think it's a few things. A, I think she only had one costume. B, they had to introduce the insulin because it's a major aspect. And so at least they explain where that comes from. They're in a hospital, so it makes sense it would be there too. But I think the big thing here is Cherie is very smitten with ⁓ right away, they make very clear that she's entranced with Matt. and she's pining for him. And so I think that she's staying there because she, like, he has his fractured leg, he can't leave. And so I think she's staying there to make sure he's okay. You know, and like, okay, I guess it makes her more endearing because she's so devoted to him when meanwhile, Crystal just waddles away to get her hair done. Cherie is staying at the hospital overnight to check on him. So I think that's really the main reason, but it still feels very forced. it's like, girl, get a change of clothes, do something. You know? TROY A ESCAMILLA: Dr. Dixon comes in and checks out Joey and actually tells Joey you could probably go home today. And this is the moment that Lori comes in sucking on that sucker ⁓ giving it her all ⁓ she winks seductively and licks it at Joey. And when the doctor tells Joey to stand up, he pretends that his back still hurts so he can stay and he winks at Matt. And Matt tells him, ⁓ you know, I had this weird dream last night. It seemed so real. I was getting laid. And then Janine walks in at that same moment. He's like, you, you were here last night. Again, these are candy stripers. And she's like, yeah, you remember me? I was, was taking your temperature. ⁓ Roger: Bitch, you were fucking foddling my dick and I am 17. Fuck off. Somebody arrest this woman with the bangs. Arrest her. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, then she gets Joey and puts them in a wheelchair and they take them to, guess, get x-rays. meanwhile, like Sheree is just like wandering around the hospital, going places she shouldn't be going. She walks by the cafeteria where all the candy stripers, Roger now are just ripping packages of donuts and sweets open and eating them. And they're yelling at the chef that they need ⁓ more, more He's Ladies, you're just gonna have to eat healthy because we're out of sweets. And they like rush over to the condiment section and rip open packages of like sugar and start dumping them in their mouths. Roger: That's Troy and I after a night at the Fun Hog. Just down in those donuts. Those donuts sure look fucking luscious though. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ my god, yes, we're at- ⁓ and then the yeah, and then that one gal walks by and takes that sucker out of that kid's hand. He starts crying. Roger: Fuck that kid. He can go fuck himself. I would do the same thing. TROY A ESCAMILLA: And then she's wandering around even more. She comes around a group of doctors discussing concerns ⁓ 10 bodies have been infected by something and they have them quarantined in the morgue. And I think the female doctor, this older broad Charlotte, is that her Dr. Charlotte? She's like, there's no need to panic. The bodies are contained in quarantine and we've notified the CDC who says we just need to keep them away from it, keep them at quarantine, keep them informed about what's going on. Roger: I feel like the way this is being handled amongst the doctors absolutely up to And I don't know anything about working in a hospital, ⁓ but there's quite lot of ⁓ I don't even know where bodies are technically coming from. I'm guessing it's the men that are covered in the spider webs, but it's not like you ever see a doctor discover a corpse or anything. I don't, I just, there's this weird disconnect again in the story. they keep finding the doctors, they keep thinking it's a virus, but. You never see like any of the doctors interact with the corpses or try to identify what's going on or any ever even find a body. you, nobody ever sees a body until the final, like 10 minutes of the film. And then you suddenly see all these bodies lining the hallways and everything. But it just, feels very abrupt that all of a sudden the doctors are there's a virus in the hospital, but we're not going to tell anybody. We're just going to keep it hush, hush. And then absolutely fucking not. if this started happening, if there was, If there was 10 people that died in one hospital, grown ass fucking adults, this would be leaking out to the news, this would be getting out to the media, this would be considered a major issue, and people would be getting informed about it. And it just seems like the doctors are really casual about this outbreak that's happening, this unexplainable outbreak. It just seems very, very, dare I say again, loose. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, yeah. Cherie goes into Matt's room and asks him how he's doing and of course he says he's depressed. this is when she tells him she really thinks that there's something ⁓ going on in the hospital. She heard the doctor talking about some and she says, especially the candy strappers are acting weird. And he agrees. He's like, yeah, we need to get out of here. Do you think we should get out of here? And she's like, yeah, yeah, I want nothing more. I totally agree. And she's all happy because she thinks he wants to leave with her. And then he asks her, do you have your cell phone? And she says, yeah. And he's like, ⁓ good, call Crystal and tell her to come get me out of here. you can tell she's, she's hurt by it, but, she does. She goes out in the hallway and calls Crystal, who apparently is like giving her a hard time because she's like, he told me to call you like quit. Why are you yelling at me? And her phone dies And then you get Janine wheel and Joey back in and telling him the smell of his aftershave. She loves it. ⁓ And says that he is not wearing any ⁓ aftershave he gets back in bed and he's obviously you can tell he's really cement with her and Sheree and Matt laugh at him and give him a hard time. Sheree says him, he must be, she must be pretty desperate to go after you. And Joey says, look, who's talking referencing her infatuation with Matt. who obviously has no interest in her back. there's this whole, yes, there's this whole thing with Sharib really being infatuated with Matt. And hey, I get it, I get it. Oh, he tells her he puts a Matt puts on his headphones so he can't hear. And Joey's like, he has crystal. What would he want with you? And she storms out of the room. Matt wakes up and is like, what's with her? Joey says it's a reality check. And yeah, again, heavily hitting us on the head that Cherie has this huge crush on Matt and we we've seen this before. We know exactly how this film is going to end up, right? I don't think it's I think it's it's really heavy handed and it's really obvious the two of them are going to end up together at the end. It's just maybe like a secondary plot. I really didn't need. Roger: Yeah, I guess that overall out of all the gripes I have with this, they're the least. the least of my issues lie with these two. ⁓ So they're gonna play off each other, we're probably gonna get the best acting in the film from the two of them. So if there's gonna be a relationship created, I guess let it be that, because at least they're both competent performers. But it doesn't feel like it has the payoff it needs. ⁓ when the movie concludes, should feel like there's more. more to it. We definitely don't get that. it feels all kind of by the numbers. But I wouldn't say they're poorly played. And I do think like the moments where they're confiding in each other is probably some of the best acting overall in the film. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah. Now, now comes into the room at night and now she's sexually ⁓ a minor because she gets Joey up the wall. She's ⁓ tells him you can use some physical therapy. She takes her breasts out and ⁓ pins them the wall, begins licking, begins growling. Suddenly her hand turns into that claw and it's rubbing his dick. At the same time, Matt wakes up and he can see this and he yells at Joey to open your eyes. Joey, open your eyes. And he throws a cup at Lori. And she drops to the ground and shrieks loudly, like into the camera. And I just, since the Sally comes in, nurse Sally comes in and wants to know what's going on. And Lori's like, he was like that when I came in and just waltzes out again, nobody's questioning why these candy stripers are ⁓ rooms with patients. Roger: Like consistently touching and groping patients. this is not the first time this has happened. And for this gal to come sauntering in and blame these boys. And if I, listen, if I were Matt, I would be like, dude, I just saw this bitch growl at me and she sounded like a monster. And my friend here is on the floor because she threw him down and she's buttoning her top up. So clearly she her tits out. everything is, everything here is painting a picture that a sexual assault just happened. But like Matt doesn't say anything. Joey is still fine with it. I guess he's having what is that? ⁓ What that you experience when you're abused, consistently abused, you start to believe like you deserve it? What is that? ⁓ TROY A ESCAMILLA: You I don't I know what you're talking about, but I don't know. like, think think I think that's one of the also like kind of the ridiculous parts of this film is like how they how they played Joey's character. Like he's going to ignore all of this, all of these blatant signs that something's going wrong just because he wants to get laid. Like he he pretended his backs will still bother him so he could stay longer because he really thinks he has a chance to fuck these candy strippers. That's just so absurd. But yeah. Sharia again, we see Shari sleeping in the lobby again. this is like the fourth day she's been here. Okay, girl. Get your rest. Back in the room, you know, Matt is taking off his, brace and he asked Joey if he's okay. And Joey's like, ⁓ you suck for interrupting the best sex I ⁓ had last night. And Matt is trying to like be their voice of reason. He's like, listen, dude, something is not right with these broads. Can you not tell like the way she growled? They, aren't human. ⁓ And like, ⁓ no, she has the hots for me. He's like, no, lift up your shirt. He lifts off his shirt. has a giant rash on his. side ⁓ Brian comes in the room now, get wheels himself into the room and Joey's complaining to him about, ⁓ Matt prevented me from ⁓ getting last night. Matt's fed up. He starts to get dressed. He's like, you know what? I'm getting the hell out of here. and they're like, ⁓ you really want to go? And he's like, yeah, let's get the hell out of here. They put them in a wheelchair. They wheel them out in the lobby, which now Roger, this ⁓ lobby is covered in fake spider webs. very ominous at the desk. wheel, they're wheeling, Matt and they see all the candy stripers ⁓ the, at the lobby desk pilot in those sweets. Roger: Sherry is still sleeping on that bench. So they're like, they're like, come on. And she like wakes up. She's like, okay. Everything goes from zero to 100 really fast. one moment, there's no spider webs all over the walls and everything seems fine. The next moment, the aliens are taken over. I mean, these candy stripers, there's now enough of them that like the next, I guess final act, I mean, it's a long chunk of the film, but. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah Roger: The rest of the film is now like an escape for survival. Unfortunately, it's all set in this goddamn fucking hospital. You never leave it. yeah, guess now that they've made this their hive, these ⁓ alien candy stripers not scared of revealing what's going on. TROY A ESCAMILLA: no, they see, when the striper see the, the, ⁓ the they start to follow them, but the group gets down the stairwell and, ⁓ get out and they go, they're on the pediatric floor and it's eerily empty. There's no stripers or anything there. and Joey makes Joey is starting to become in tuned with them. It's maybe like a hive mind thing. he, he, he kind of knows and can predict where they're going and what they're doing because remember he's been infected by them. based on him being ⁓ by ⁓ Lori that night previous. So he says to the group that there's no need for them to be on this floor because it's babies. And then that's when they start to notice that Joey's face is being covered, is like getting these spider webs on them. And they to get the hell out of there. They take the elevator down to the first floor. A crowd has formed and are being told they cannot leave the hospital now because The hospital's quarantined. Suddenly that this blonde platinum blonde candy striper comes waltzing in and the security guards like, ma'am, I'm sorry. You can't leave. And talk about Roger going from zero to 60 real quick. I mean, in front of everybody, she literally like rips this guy's throat out and it. A cop is there, pulls out a gun, shoots her in the head. The most fake looking headshot I've seen probably in a movie in a long, long, long time. And chaos erupts. Infected nurses are grabbing cops by the balls. One that gets his neck broke. Jeanine or one of those blonde chicks put that guy's head between her legs and like break his neck. Roger: with her her thick thighs. Yes, she definitely does. Jeanine's fighting all these cops off. it gets really fucking Like film, don't know, it ⁓ it's been ⁓ really kind I don't Yeah, I guess I'll say dragging like it's been just playing with the idea of these candy stripers, seducing men, seducing men. Now they're trying to seduce these teenage boys. And all of sudden, they're like, fuck it, we're just gonna kill everybody. And it was like, doesn't seem like they've been building to anything in particular. now that I guess they've kind of been outed because the amount of bodies due the quarantine, I guess they just have no other choice. But really there was no reason for this blonde woman to just waltz up and rip this guy's throat out. The candy strippers could have continued to be a little more ⁓ discreet, I suppose, but they decide instead just to just take everybody out. So all these people are getting massacred. I mean, I guess it kind of ups the ante a little bit. now, everyone's like trying to flee. There's that moment where they go to the elevator and that one doctor who looks like he's 15 as a candy striper on each arm and they take them upstairs. But yeah, now it's an escape for survival and the candy stripers are out for blood. And really now at this point, whenever they see a candy striper, they're like, we need to, we need to run. the candy stripers are now ⁓ out aliens. They're a dangerous force and they're ⁓ so very menacing. TROY A ESCAMILLA: well, Brian, Sheree, Matt and Joey are able to get on the, on the elevator. Yeah. And they're, riding the elevator. It stops on that floor and when it opens up, they see all the candy stripers like eating sweets and stuff. And then that maintenance guy gets on. He's like, I'm going to the third floor and then fucking Lori just steps on. And she is dumping sugar packets into her mouth. She tries messing with Brian who now is resisting her. ⁓ and Joey who, actually is like being receptive, but the others have to stop him from kissing her and all that shit. she slaps the elevator button emergency stop button to make it stop. And the maintenance dude, he's like, you can't do that. And she's like, well, which one of you tough guys is going to stop me? And then she starts a costing Sheree who's screaming and Brian tries to stop her, but she punches Brian in the face. And then she walked up to the maintenance man dude on the elevator and acts like she's gonna kiss him. But all of a sudden, her hand turned, why did they play a drilling sound? Does her hand turn into a drill? Did you notice that? There's a very loud drilling sound. Why is there a drilling sound playing when she literally just reaches in and rips his heart out, right? Roger: man, I don't fucking know. This whole bit is really weird. It's all really hokey. And it's, think part of it's like they're in this elevator set and there's a lot of people and they really can't even move around that much. So once Lori gets in the elevator, there's a lot of things happening and people are responding, but it feels very wooden ⁓ because they really physically respond that much. they're kind of sardined into this elevator. And so this whole bit with this janitor or this maintenance guy, is so fucking out of nowhere. It's so weird. You've never seen this character before. And okay, you can have this moment, but the way he responds to everything, it very unnatural. When she harassing the kids, ⁓ you think be like, what the fuck are you doing? Stop. And then she goes up and tries to kiss him and he smirks. guess ⁓ maybe the entranced people, I don't know, but all of his responses just seem like a series of ⁓ mishmash that don't naturally coincide one after another. Just ⁓ it's his reaction make sense and then he's immediately killed. So I mean, okay, you get a gore effect, that's fine. But I, this whole moment was completely unnecessary. It didn't lend anything the film. And I especially hate as he's getting his heart ripped out. And of course they're doing it just to do this effect because the other actors in the elevator, the group of friends can't really move. They're just standing there looking like gate mouth, but they're not even screaming. They're just like, ⁓ my God. ⁓ my God. She ripped his heart out. ⁓ What? all just look shocked, but like the reaction is severely understated. And it makes the moment, like I said, it just feels very hokey. It doesn't feel scary at ⁓ all. And I don't know, I feel there's a certain point with this film that they decided they're like, well, we're never gonna be scary. So let's just play it for laughs or just play it for the absurd aspects of what we're doing and like not worry about actually making any sense. Cause this moment, I don't know. I feel like that this could have been played so much better. They could have done this so much better and it feels just really, really awkward. This whole seems very awkward. TROY A ESCAMILLA: I have the same note about the reactions. the reactions are very muted. I mean, you're watching a guy have his heart ripped out. And then she has that corny one liner where she's like, some guys just, what she say? Some guys just lose their hearts or something that she throws the heart at a poster about heart disease or something. It is real corny. They get out of the elevator and they run into Crystal who I'm wondering how the hell did she get in? they let, they're not letting people out, but they let Crystal come in and she's all dolled up. And now this is a completely different character. ⁓ It almost reminds me of they're really trying to play her as like a ditzy, Elle Woods type character. which isn't really how she was introduced at the beginning. I mean, she still has kind of a bitchy streak, but this is a much just weird, weird variation of the first crystal we met. she's like, ⁓ what's going on in this hospital? There's bodies everywhere. And then she sees Joe, she's like, what's all over your face. That's disgusting. And they proceed down hallway, Roger. And there are like literally. dozens of bodies stuck to the wall with cobwebs and not the reactions, none of them are, I'd be freaking out. None of them seem to be that. concerned about it. Even one of them does startles, ⁓ Shari cause it's still alive and it reaches out towards them. ⁓ Matt goes over to one to like, maybe try to help it and it spits up blood, but they're, I don't know. It's just odd. And this is when the Brian, because Brian is noticing Joey's getting more more cobwebs covering his face. So Brian starts to accuse Joey of being one of them and like leading them to their deaths. He's leading the war. all lost. Roger: There's a part of me that wonders if they were actually filming in an active hospital ⁓ and they like just couldn't scream or ⁓ react at full volume ⁓ because never moments where the panic is hitting the point that ⁓ it should be, hitting the extreme that it should be. ⁓ In this situation, as I realized that this hospital is overtaken by an evil alien force and there are corpses spiderwebbed to the walls, would be panicking. There would be fear. ⁓ would be trembling. I would be sprinting to get out of the building. I would be freaking the fuck out. ⁓ people I think would. And there's just this weird level of calm that exists at all times that really feels like it takes some of the wind out of the sails of the film. it really if there was just more intensity, if this was shot in a way, if this was acted in a way that this felt more dangerous, more threatening, just like a bigger deal, I think this would be a better film. But everybody in this film is constantly so sedated and subdued in their responses. I really feel like people just, are completely underreacting to everything that happens. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, I mean, it's really hard to have any fear or, you know, feel any suspense when the characters themselves aren't projecting any fear or, you know, it's really odd. they continue, they hear a noise coming from a room and Joey peeks in and he sees that striper puking up that giant, puss sack worm thing. and they sneak past the door. And of course, when they, when Crystal, who insists she's, she's going to push Matt, when she grabs the wheelchair, her lip balm falls onto the ground and makes a noise. So the candy stripers are alerted and they hiss and they chase. They chase the group who take off running. Now we cut. To Sally who goes into Dr. Dixon's office and he's like, Sally, what's, what's going on with you? ⁓ he says, look different. Did you do something with the hair? And she's like, no, I just missed you. And she mounts him and just going to fuck him. then ⁓ old Dr. Weber, Charlotte we met her earlier. She comes in and asks what's going on. she, and she says, I thought we had an agreement. And he's like, ⁓ we do. We do. This isn't what it looks like. Maybe we can just have a three way. And she responds by. or Sally responds by punching him in the heart and ripping his heart out. And then the two gals are like, well, that's they got kind of like high five each other proud of their work and go out of the room together. Roger: You are telling me that this hospital is being overrun by murderous alien candy stripers at this point where the walls are covered in spider webs and this doctor is just sitting there casually I'm just working no big deal. the whole hospital is the midst of chaos. ⁓ I don't understand how this even managed to overlook the fact that there's an alien outbreak happening, but he seems... to be in his own world doing his own thing. And then like there's this whole moment, this very awkward moment where sex hair Sally comes in with her big sex hair, because now she's a slutty candy striper demon monster. So she comes in, she's an alien now, she's seducing him. And then that husky, that husky woman, like no shame on this broad, but this doctor, they ain't playing her for sexiness. They're not playing her to be one of the sexy candy stripers. So I guess they can go incognito. Like the aliens aren't slutty in appearance. This name comes in and then there's this weird bit where he's like, I guess we could just have a threesome. I'm like with her? ⁓ ⁓ you going to fuck this older woman? Is this something I'm going to be subjected to watching this movie? Luckily they rip his heart out, but it's just so weird because this TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah Roger: This gal is not sexy at all. they couldn't find a less sexy woman if they tried. And then they rip his heart out and high-five each other. And I'm like, but what was the end game here? what, so you're just ripping hearts out. You're at some point biting off, but then you're also wrapping some men in spider webs. ⁓ what are you trying to to the male population of this town? What's the end game? And then we had that moment, Troy, where the one alien was vomiting up that larva or whatever it is, but okay, so where do all these bodies come into play? I understand what the overall plot is. ⁓ And never really gets explained. ⁓ I tell you. I still can't tell you what these aliens are doing. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, I don't know. much of it doesn't make sense. ⁓ no consistency across the board of what the end game is. You know, sometimes they're going they're going ⁓ they're going after men, I don't know. So the group is able to barricade themselves in a room and Crystal, this is when she has that ⁓ breakdown because her her Stella jacket got ripped. And this is where Matt is like really tired of her shit because he's like, just get away from me. I've had enough of it. So he gets some crutches and the creatures are trying to get in. They're able to barricade the door. Joey is really starting to feel the effects of this. He's like, I'm not feeling good. and he says, you know, I, we have to get out of here. The only thing I can tell you is that the exit is on the Southwest end of the hospital. The stripers aren't there yet because they have no reason to be, cause remember he's in tune with them. Suddenly they hear a noise from the boiler. tub. Like, I don't know what this thing is. This is like a boiler or like a bathtub or something has steam coming out of it. And Brian's like, fuck it. I'm going to, grabs a pipe. He's like, I'm tired of running. I'm going to put an end to these broads right now and send them back to where they belong. He goes over the top and at first he doesn't see anything or hear anything and he bends down to look. And I mean, all of sudden a creature comes out of this hand comes out of this fucking tub, pulls him in. And then the rips Brian's fucking head off. Blood squirting everywhere. The rest of the group is finally, at least they're screaming. There's, they're somewhat reacting except Joey who gets blood on his hand and then licks it off. And they're what the fuck are you talking about? And he's like, it's sugar. It's sugar for the babies. They're like, what fucking babies. And you hear all like, like, ⁓ shit. It's a maternity ward for them. And Matt is like, going to burn these fuckers. So he gets some ⁓ paint thinner and he asked Crystal to use her lighter. He's going to set it ablaze. Joey's like freaking out. He's like, you can't burn the babies. You can't burn the babies. ⁓ they, they, they do. Matt does, he pours that paint thinner in and it lights all the babies ablaze and you hear him like screaming. It causes the sprinklers to come on and the lights to go out. And when the lights come back on, Crystal's like, see, I told you he was one of them talking about Joey. But this whole thing, Brian get his head ripped off. ⁓ guess this like hatching babies. I ⁓ know. don't know what the fuck's going on. Roger: But I thought that was what was happening when that one dame was throwing that thing up. I thought that was a baby. I don't fucking know. I mean, at this point, why fucking bother? The name of the movie is Candy Stripers, but we're sure trying. Here at Dark Night of the Podcast, we're trying to put the pieces together so you don't have to. At least we get another set piece ⁓ this boiler room. It looks pretty cool. ⁓ not down there too long. I like the shot of them getting chased down that corridor. ⁓ while the candy strippers are silhouetted, like running after them. So there's some fun visuals, but this whole bit with Brian dying, because Brian is the least developed of the characters. the asshole friend. he is the dick. He served his purpose. He's the first to go, the first of the inner circle to be dispatched. And again, getting him up to this vat, it just doesn't feel natural. It doesn't feel like, they feel like they have to get in there. And so he goes up, he's like, I'm going to take matters into my own hands. And then he gets grabbed by this tentacle. ⁓ it's kind of cool, but it's shot in a way where you really don't get a lot of detail. you see pulpy gore and you see his legs, you know, kicking as he's getting pulled into this weird vat. But it cuts, ⁓ it cuts away a way that makes it very hard to tell exactly what happens. I mean, you're able to tell at the end of it that he got decapitated. But it's not like you get a good clear visual, right? you don't see, you don't really see the gore in like a nice clear image. it's all really fast and choppy. And yeah, and then he's just gone and I don't know, it's fine. It's not an amazing sequence, but at least you get some tentacle play. at least you're seeing some practical effects at play. It's certainly not the worst thing we've ever seen on Dark Knight of the Podcast. I'll say that. TROY A ESCAMILLA: No, not at all. mean, happens quick. It's is surprising. And yeah, the whole thing with like babies just kind of baffled me. They off running because they hear the they hear two stripers coming down hallway ⁓ and they themselves in another room. Again, we cannot we cannot emphasize how fucking big this hospital is and how many rooms and just labyrinths exist. At moment, Sheree not looking too hot and she realizes ⁓ and reveals that she not find her insulin. So Joey takes it upon himself to take her to go find some, because again, they're in a hospital and this is when Crystal tugs on Matt to stay behind and she apologizes to him for her loser behavior, she says, and then she kisses him and they're kissing passionately when Sheree comes back in and catches them and she she scolds them. She's like, ⁓ I'm glad you guys have a chance to make out while the rest of our lives are in danger. We'll continue. And goes, and he tries to go after her, but Crystal stops him again and tells him, Roger, I'm ready. I'm ready for my first time. he's like, what are you talking about? She's like, yeah. He's like, you want to do it here? why all the, why do you want to do all of a sudden? She's like, well, cause I don't want to die a virgin. And he pushes her away. He's like, get the fuck away from me. And ⁓ her because know he realizes this gal is a fucking piece of work, a piece of fucking work. Roger: Do you think that Crystal was already over by the alien entity when they found her in the hospital to begin with? Or do you think that she is overtaken ⁓ this moment? I ask this because ⁓ think that would influence my opinion on her, what she says here. At least if she's trying to fuck him and she's an alien, I get that she's like, well, I got to get my job done. I got to fucking fuck this dude. TROY A ESCAMILLA: I thought- Roger: turn him into a cocoon or I don't know whatever I'm doing, I gotta do it versus if she's literally just crystal and she's like, well, I'm gonna fuck this guy now, even though I've made him wait all this time, because I think I'm gonna die. that sounds significantly shittier. I don't know either way, no matter how you shake it, this is not the time, whether you're crystal and you're just crystal or you're crystal and you're an alien in disguise, this is not the time to be asking for sex from this guy. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, I did. I don't know. my first viewing, I thought that she got turned when she gets separated from the group at this point. I thought like when he leaves her now, he leaves her and she's not. She doesn't ⁓ for a couple more minutes. I thought that's when it was. But then my second feeling, I'm like, wait, maybe she was possessed because she is such a different kind of character than when we first met her that maybe she did get possessed right when she got into the hospital. But alien? I don't know. Are they are they that I guess? guess they are that. kind of intelligent to be able to string a group along for a long time. I mean, look at like Joey's turning, although we don't know that men turn into these, like the men just die. Like we don't see any men trying to infect other people. It's just the females. So that's a great question. I don't know. I don't know. There's not a lot to go on. We'll just say that for the sake of this scene and to save her character, maybe that she was already an alien when they first met up with her. I don't know. Yeah. Roger: Yeah, that explains like her makeover too. Like her outfit change, big sexy hair. You and I, I mean we're men, but we would be in those candy striper dresses walking around taking over. We look great. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. ⁓ my god, I would look at... So, yeah, Sheree has gone upstairs. She has, you know, walked past several webbed men who are like gurgling blood. And I love this because the very first room she goes into, Roger, the very first drawer she opens, voila! full of insulin. Like this broad, she did not have to look very hard at all. Like talk about Jack Pot. I live in Vegas and I had never been this lucky. The very first fucking door she opens, it's full of insulin. And she stuck. Roger: Tons of it. I thought maybe like with diabetes maybe she could sniff it out or something. I don't know if she as a diabetic is she is she like in tune with these things? TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah But as she's piling in her pockets, that other candy striper gal comes up behind her is like, Hey, I want to give you your first kiss. can tell you've never been kissed. Sheree is backing away from her and the candy striper is mocking her for being able to tell it really is her first kiss. And this is when Sheree, guess she, she doesn't know obviously what's going to happen and what effect the insulin has on the zombies or the aliens. but she. She's trying to protect herself. So the only thing she has is the syringe full of insulin and she plunges it into the, the alien's neck. Okay. Then it cuts to Matt apologizing to Crystal. Like why you have nothing to apologize for And then they hear Sheree scream and they rushed to find her coming down the hallway and. Crystal remarks, ⁓ my God, she's hot. She must be one of them. And then again, I will, mentioned this earlier in the podcast, but it is really weird what they do with Sharice character and how they handle her appearance because you would think as the film goes on and all this running and all the, what they've encountered, she's been sleeping in this hospital for a week, hasn't had a change of clothes that she would look haggard, right? That she would look disheveled. She actually looks better and better and better as the film goes off. ⁓ don't know if you noticed that, they put makeup on her, her hairs. ⁓ I what is going ⁓ on. Roger: feel like part of that was maybe to almost the viewers to suspect that possibly Cherie at some point could be taken over by the alien presence, because there is a point where that's questioned. She is ⁓ getting full, like you had mentioned, Lara Croft makeover. ⁓ And the jacket comes off, she's now just in a tank top. ⁓ Her is kind of messy. Her makeup is more prominent. ⁓ I to think again, I think it's the insulin. I think when people have diabetes and they inject themselves with insulin. It's like an instant glow up. Their skin looks clearer. They look better. I don't have diabetes, so I don't know. But in my mind, she ejected herself and immediately she looks refreshed and reinvigorated. So maybe it's the insulin. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ my God. I, I just never seen a horror movie where somebody's being chased throughout a hospital by zombies and hasn't bathed in seven days and they actually look better at the, by the end of the movie. It's just, it's odd. yeah. And so Crystal is automatically trying to paint, paint this suggestion that Sheree is one of them because she's like, ⁓ look, she even brought two of them and they turn around. There's two ⁓ candy behind her ⁓ and ⁓ All of a sudden Roger turns into this badass and like, kung fu's one of them, kicks one of them, stabs the other with an insulin syringe. She like gives syringes to Crystal and Matt, like, here arm yourself. And they stab these things with insulin. Now, of course. How are these things going to die? Of course it's insulin because they love sugar or they've been gorging themselves with sugar the entire film. I will say though, I mean, 2006. They're using CGI when these aliens die and it literally is just like them shaking and then this distorting the of the person and it does not look good at all. I mean, it looks very digital. There's no like melting away. There's no like bleeding. There's no them, you know, disintegrating. It literally is a digital effect of their shaking and it's ⁓ really bad. Roger: looks like in the ring whenever someone has watched the ring tape and then they have their photo taken, there's that weird bloat, of like fish eye lens kind of distortion to that person's face. have you ever seen Grave Encounters? You remember the movie Grave Encounters? It's like a cheaper, a way less advanced take on the ghost faces, how they would warp. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yes, yes. ⁓ yeah. Roger: in Grave Encounters, this is that unlike a dollar budget. this is that kind of effect. I'm like the kind of like editing software that came with the computer. you know what mean? it really, ⁓ it looks really, really And like, that's the most you really get. you, again, you get kind of an alien reveal towards the end of the movie, but really when these gals are getting defeated, it's not like you get some big final, I don't know. like give me some big explosion, the body blows up or something, or like you said, let them body melt, do something cool with it. No, the girls just like tremble and tremor and their faces do that weird effect and then they just, they drop like a sack of potatoes. And like, it just makes for a very anticlimactic finishing move for these things. TROY A ESCAMILLA: It's. It's goofy looking. Yeah, it's not a good look for the climax. they do realize that insulin is what kills these things. So they rush back to the room and they load up from the insulin fridge and ⁓ even finds an air injector. You know, one of those, it's an air gun that would be able to shoot insulin, ⁓ and she's, armed with syringes, they're armed with this air gun, they head out and Joey stays behind to watch the the basement, I guess, to make sure that none of that candy strippers are coming up for them. they immediately run into a bunch of them. again, this hospice crawl with candy strippers. They're able to kill them all, inject them all. Crystal goes upstairs and Matt tells Sheree to follow her. And she hesitates, but she gets upstairs, she can't find Crystal, but she does run in Roger to two candy strippers, including Lori, who's been prominent. She shoots ⁓ the one. kills it but when she goes to shoot Laurie the air gun jams and Laurie's like laughing at her and grabs her and like moving in for a kiss all of sudden Joey charges behind Laurie and injects her in the neck with the insulin causing that horrible digital shaking thing and one of the more prominent candy strippers in the film is now dead. Roger: How about in the middle of this big showdown? Because there's several candy stripers that come and attack now what is Joey and Cherie. And Cherie takes a bottle of insulin and just smashes it into that blonde's face. And she dies. And I'm like, I don't think that's how insulin works. I guess literally you just touch it and it kills them and put in water guns and just spray it at these ladies. It's just so stupid. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah. Yeah, it's like, yeah, because yeah, yeah, you're right. was like, wait, is this acid? I thought you had to inject, but again, we're playing real loose here with real loose. Roger: ⁓ man ⁓ The sex hair Sally shows up at this point with her big old sex hair in the middle of this battle. She shows up and she seduces Joey in the middle of this fight and convinces him to receive a blowjob in front of his sister, I guess. talk about a poorly timed blowjob. TROY A ESCAMILLA: ⁓ yeah! ⁓ my god I mean, and he's perfectly fine with it. He's like, yeah, I want to blow job. And she literally starts it gets him on the floor, gets between his legs, starts going to town. And suddenly bites fucking dick off. Literally bites it off, it off. And we see, I know, you see the gaping like wound. looks, it looks, ⁓ mean, I guess it's a cool effect. It doesn't look necessarily like ⁓ it's too big of a wound. know. It just looks. Roger: What else do think she's gonna do? TROY A ESCAMILLA: For what it was supposed to be, it just didn't look right. But he gets his dick bit off. Here's ⁓ who has been fighting, battling, turning into an alien the whole film. He dies by getting his dick bit off because again, remember, ⁓ sex crazed. He can't down the idea of getting sex from these candy strappers even as he's turning into an alien and he knows that that's what their goal is. He still freely goes along with it. It just seems like a really stupid decision and a really bad. character writing choice because he, it seems like he has stepped up in these last couple of moments to be smart enough to tell them, hey, this is how you have to get out because there's the candy strappers aren't there. Hey, I'm going to kill Lori before she kills, uh, Sheree, but then he's just going to very freely let this possessed alien broad give him a little blow job kills him. Sheree does see this and she stabs Sally in the back of the neck with the, The insulin gun. Joey's dead. Sally's dead. She goes back into the hallway. She's almost caught by another striper. When she hides under a desk. when she emerges, Matt comes up behind her and puts a gun to her. And he says to her, how do I know you haven't turned? And she tells him, you go ahead and shoot me. go ⁓ And tells them then that Joey's dead. And that she's sad. He can see that she's sad. And he's like, well, I guess it's just me and you now. Well, suddenly crystal shows back up. She's like, Hey, I'm not dead yet. And they pull a gun on. they both pulled their guns to shoot her and she says, ⁓ go ahead, shoot me. It was like, okay, let's just, let's just all get out of here. Let's get out of here. They go to the elevator. He's in front of them. When the elevator doors open, crystal shoves him in the elevator and then attack Sheree. and she tries to play it off. by with Matt who's still on the elevator by saying, my God, Matt, Sheree attacked me in the elevator doors. He's trying to get him back open. She tells Matt, shoot the geek, shoot the geek. She's, she's one of them. And Sheree's like, yeah, shoot me, go for it. And he does like he shoots her in the back of the neck with the, the gun ⁓ Sheree's responses. Thanks. I needed that. And Crystal exclaims, shit. And then he shoots poor Crystal in the neck. She glitches, shakes, and dies. Poor Crystal. Again, I think you raised a really good question and our listeners can help us ⁓ debate and figure this out. Was Crystal turned when they met her the first time or was she turned in this brief moment that she left and got separated from Cherie? I don't know. Roger: want to go back really quick. I want to note with the moment where Joey had his dick bit off, you had talked about the gore effect. I find it charming and endearing, cheap, but endearing that when you look at the gore effect where the dick has been bit off, you can actually see the plastic tube where the blood pumps through. You can see it clearly if you look at it. And I thought that was cute though, because it's clear, this is a piece that's affixed between his legs and it's ⁓ spraying pumping blood all over. ⁓ And that kind of indie charm that this movie does have time to time. As soon Crystal is reintroduced, they move really quick with this point. she's brought back into the story, Matt already doubting Cherie, which makes sense because all of the women in this could potentially be. aliens. And so how does he know? And now Crystal's thrown back into the mix. And she's really quick to toss him in the elevator and start fighting with Cherie. And if I were Matt, the moment I got thrown in there, I would be like, ⁓ it's her. But somehow I guess he doesn't piece it together that she's the one that threw him. I guess it's because his back was turned. This whole little fight happened. It's pretty brief. And then yeah, then Crystal is is identified as an alien and she's off. And I feel like this whole moment with her. I mean we're in the final act of the film and I just feel for any character to have a big final moment like yeah They have a little bit of a fight, but like yeah, like she she gets ⁓ Injected she she maybe has a longer tweaking moment than the other girls But it's just that ⁓ that lame fucking and then it like almost feels like it ends on like a freeze frame of her dead face ⁓ and it's just it feels like a really lackluster conclusion to ⁓ one of the players And I feel that's really the case with kind of all of the characters. Like when they die, it's more of a matter of convenience for the story. And it doesn't really feel like a really well constructed, well thought out scene. Joey got it the worst by far. that just didn't feel like a character beat that makes sense. at that point, I don't think he would want a blow job from this woman. Finally, he's gotten over his desire for sex because he knows what the fuck's going on. But no, like he's so quick to just. except oral sex from Sally who inevitably kills him. And it just, feels very weird, very awkward. And this moment here feels like they really rushed through it. There's so much of this film that's them just running around this hospital. I feel like they could have given these deaths, these final moments for these characters significantly more care and attention. So it didn't feel like you're just breezing through these sequences, you know? TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yeah, it happens real quick. Yeah. Would Matt, would Joe even, I mean, he's turning into an alien. Would he, yeah. Would he even want a fricking blowjob? Apparently. so yeah, they decide that they are going to find the boiler room and level the place. So there's a whole bunch of stripers that are still coming. They duck into a room. They go down the, ⁓ the, the trash chute and land in the, in the dumpster below has to hurt poor fucking Matt's leg. but when they're in the trash chute, we do get a moment where they. or like they land on top of each other and they almost kiss before getting out of the Ben. but they had to the boiler room. She grabs a sheet to use for a fuse. She takes charge and says that she's going to do this. She's going to light the boiler because he can't run and she can. So she drenches this sheet with paint thinner and goes to light it. But she's attacked at this moment by more stripers that she shoots and kills. And then when she gets, When she gets back to Matt, she lights the fuse and she gets it. runs and gets back to Matt. are attacked by Janine who shows up and He hits her in the face with his crutch, knocks her against the wall. like that, this is the moment you do see part alien face, right? Cause some of her cheek is comes off and underneath of it, you do see kind of like the alien face. and they take off running and then we just, hear of the explosion ⁓ and, ⁓ cuts to a news report about the explosion at the hospital where the death toll Rogers 119 and rising. yeah, you get searchers like, ⁓ we found one here and they're pulling out the rebel and you see Matt and Sheree laying under the rebel. They're put in the ambulance. They're still alive. And she comes to her like, ⁓ I'm so happy we made it. I'm so happy I'm with you. and they embrace and then they also find a little girl Roger in the rubble they put her in the back of the ambulance and the paramedics back there she's like I want my mommy the paramedics like what honey what honey kiss me kiss me mommy ⁓ and the door the door is shut and that's the end of the movie it's it's real fast this is fast. I mean, it charges through, which is fine with me because again, at the ⁓ first couple of viewings, was like, God, this is dragging. It's dragging. So I appreciate that they do speed the ending up. Is it rushed a little bit? Sure. But like the rest, there was parts of this movie that dragged a little too long with them wandering around the hospital. So I'm fine with it. I do want to point out, it does that thing with the credits where you're getting a lot of like behind the scenes, bloopers and stuff. Roger: Yeah TROY A ESCAMILLA: that I don't know. don't know. I don't know how I feel about those with a horror film. I don't think tonally that fits by showing like funny bloopers. But again, I guess this is more of a horror comedy maybe. So maybe it works. I don't know. But that's that's that's candy strippers. That's how it ends. Roger: I've got a couple things I've got to dissect here because you're absolutely right, like the film fucking drags, but everything that we're getting here in the last few minutes is like, I guess like what we would want from the majority of the film. Especially I'm thinking that final reveal with Janine. Like where the fuck has Janine been? She's been gone for like 20 minutes and all of sudden she has this big moment where she's revealed again and you do get that cool effect of her face like peeling away. And then you see her with a fully alien face and Troy out of all the effects in the film, this is probably the best looking thing that you see. the alien face actually looks pretty fucking impressive, but you see it for like 10 frames and then the building blows up. And why wouldn't you out like 10 minutes of these fuckers just running around this big old empty hospital and instead pad the end a bit more. Why wouldn't you end it with Janine, who is the first candy you saw get overtaken by this alien force, and conclude it with some big moment with her in this full prosthetic, ⁓ looking like an alien, and make the final showdown... feel like something, make it feel like you were building up to something, to show that for like seconds, literally seconds, and then end it with this explosion and then cut to like a new sequence, it just feels like you're about to get your nut and then all of sudden you saw a picture of an old woman and your dick just went limp. that's what it feels like. it really, it does. ⁓ it feels anticlimactic. And like, did you catch during the... the news footage when they show the footage of the hospital blowing up, that it's like a demolition site of a factory. It is not a hospital. It's got black tarp all around it. It is no way the same building at all. It's just really funny. But again, it's kind of charming. But then this whole bit where you got the rescuers going through the rubble, they find the two of them unscathed. They're knocked out, but they're not even injured. And then they have this moment in the ambulance and it feels like they could have really done something there. I don't know, maybe made Cherie possessed or taken over by the alien force. Do something with this ending, but instead it just ends on them hugging and like, I guess that's good that they ended up together, but it just feels very lame. And instead they go over to that weird moment with that little girl who's asking that freaking... paramedic to make out with her and I'd be like, young woman, no, you just suffered a head trauma. And I'm just trying to do my job. I'm not going to kiss you. But from the sound of it, the ominous note it ends on, I'm thinking that paramedic is to kiss that child. And I don't think that should be happening. There's a lot of statutory rape in this. TROY A ESCAMILLA: It definitely seems like he kissed her and that's like the so that the infection is going to continue. again, rushed ending and I do agree with you that they really could have taken out some of the some the earlier scenes that just kind of dragged a little bit and really went full force with like a Janine showdown. But they choose not to. sure again, budget, budget, budget. This this film did not have the budget necessary to make the script what it could have been. And that's the problem. But yeah, I mean. I don't know what more to say about it. It's just it's just a film that I. There, I guess there's fun stuff again, it's just not a type of film that I that's just not my type of film, I guess. I find like I said, I found like films like decoys to be much more effective. this one again, they have waited until they had the proper budget to proceed with, filming. And I think that could have helped it a lot. but yeah, this is one that. I mean, I will say what I prefer to watch return to sleep away camp or candy stripers again. How do you that? Roger: I burn them both. Like I'm not gonna honor that with an answer, Troy, I'm sorry. I'd rather watch decoys. I'm happy you mentioned decoys, because I did have that note here. Like in my closing notes, this is a film that's trying to do pretty much the same thing that decoys did, but with snow. You know, that was the only difference. Decoys, it was snow, with candy stripers, it's sugar. And I would rather watch decoys any day. I think there is like an indie charm to this film that they pulled it off. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Mm-hmm. Roger: I'm clearly a very small budget and they had sure hell of a lot of extras to get in those fucking candy striper dresses and run around with them. But it's a very, very cheap film. I think, yeah, the lack of budget is, unfortunately, this is a concept that just was too big for the budget that they had. TROY A ESCAMILLA: and a lot. and they spent a lot of their budget on fake cobwebs. So good on them, good on them. But yeah, guys, is, listeners, that is Candy Stripers. Let us know your thoughts, especially guys, if you have not seen this film before. We post all, on social media, we always post what films we cover and we post little fun little images from the film and as us discussing it, Roger has been really great about social media. So comment, let us know your thoughts on Candy Stripers when you see our posts. interact with them that'll help us maybe get more followers as well and get more people onto the show. Someone give us our 70th rating on Apple podcasts I'm going to reveal real quickly Roger what film I picked for our next episode and I'm thinking it's going to be a little bit of a palate cleanser because I know this film is pretty well received. I've only seen it one time and I heard someone mention it. A couple days ago and like wait that is a film I would love to cover again. I just because I want to watch it again and it's from 2015. I yeah, I generally don't pick newer films, but we are going to cover and I don't know if you've seen this film or not because I've never we've never really talked about it 2015's green room. Roger: ⁓ my god, I fucking love Green Room with the one and only Patrick Stewart and ⁓ my god, Imogen Putes who has the worst name in the industry. This is gonna win me back over watching Green Room because the last thing I think I watched her in was the goddamn Black Christmas remake and I've avoided her ever since but I forgot how good she's in fucking Green Room. ⁓ my god. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Patrick Stewart, Sir Patrick Stewart, Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Black Christmas remake. ⁓ Anton Yelkin, right? Rest in peace. But yeah, I heard someone mention it and I remember watching it and really liking it. So I want to revisit it and I want to discuss it with you and our listeners. So that is my choice for next week, guys, that it's going to be Green Room. Roger: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. Okay, I'm gonna make it a point to pick a film that I think is truly actually very good. There's been a lot of bad movies. It's been a stretch of real duds. So Troy, I'm gonna try to match this ⁓ of cinema, because this was a very celebrated film when it came out, and rightfully so, rightfully so. That's exciting. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Yes, it is. Yeah. ⁓ yeah. I remember it being pretty damn, pretty damn filled. So guys, thank you for tuning in. Let us know your thoughts on candy stripers and then tune in next week for a green which we hope will be a much more intelligent discussion. ⁓ I hope so. Roger: I mean, this one was full of some laughs though. I'll say that. I hope you all had a good time. We may not have liked watching the movie, but Troy, sure liked making fun of it with you. TROY A ESCAMILLA: Me too me too with that guys. Good night Roger: Good night.