This week's pick is a thriller that starts out harmless and ends truly disturbing. Plus a gory Robert Rodriguez rewatch where the blood is played for laughs, Rachel's Member Spotlight, and four Club picks from you.
Let’s get into it!
🍿 My pick
Speak No Evil (2024)
Directed by: James Watkins
Thriller · Horror
Runtime: 1h 50m
Starring: James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis
Where to watch · Parents’ guide
What a terrific thriller! I saw the trailer for this once and knew I just had to see it. This is definitely “my” kind of movie.
I felt like I had to hold my breath a lot while I was watching. That’s a good sign of proper suspense and tension in a film.
If you’re not familiar with this one, here’s the gist:
An American family accepts an invitation to spend a weekend at the remote English farmhouse of a British couple they met on vacation in Italy. Their hosts seem friendly at first.
James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis are both amazing! I really enjoyed watching their two characters play off each other in such convincing ways. And when the story finally clicks into place toward the end, it does so in spectacular fashion.
If you liked The Invisible Man from last week, this one sits right next to it for me, along with Split and Get Out.
It starts out somewhat normal and harmless. Then it gets more and more awkward and uncomfortable, and it ends truly disturbing. That progression made for an incredibly effective thriller experience for me.
⏪ The rewind
Planet Terror (2007)
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Horror · Comedy
Runtime: 1h 45m
Starring: Rose McGowan and Freddy Rodríguez
Where to watch · Parents’ guide
If Speak No Evil has you holding your breath, this one’s the exhale: horror where the gore is played for laughs.
In typical Robert Rodriguez fashion, this is a weird movie with a very specific story it’s trying to tell in the only way he knows how. But he pulls it off perfectly, I think. If you’re not familiar with his filmography, I can see how someone would dismiss this movie right away.
The amount of blood, guts, and gross-out gore is astounding, but it’s used for humor. Some standout performances from Josh Brolin, Michael Biehn, and Freddy Rodríguez, too.
Behind the scenes: In U.S. theaters, Planet Terror only ever played as half of Grindhouse, a 2007 double feature with Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. Between the two movies ran some incredible fake trailers for movies that didn’t (yet) exist. One of them, Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving, became a real slasher movie in 2023. So a Planet Terror rewatch this week lines you up for next month, too.
🔦 Member Spotlight: Rachel B.
Writing from: Florida · Rachel on Substack
Where do you usually watch movies, and who’s on the couch with you?
I watch movies in my living room with my mom, who is my entertainment partner. We talk about the actors, we discuss the funny dialogue, what we like or don’t like. It’s been a beautiful tradition for years.
What do you put on to watch when you need to unwind?
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) • Where to watch · Parents’ guide
When I want to unwind, I want to watch something funny and lighthearted, nothing I have to pay attention to too closely. I could recite it word for word. I’ve loved it since I was a little girl, and I’m always in a better mood when I’m watching it. You can’t get too much more nostalgic comfort than, “Billy, we gotta talk.”
What’s one movie scene you could watch on a loop, and what makes it hit?
The Rocky IV training montage in Russia. Great music, great visuals. It’s just amazing and never gets old.
What’s a movie that found you just when you needed it?
Rambo: Last Blood (2019) • Where to watch · Parents’ guide
The 2019 film Rambo: Last Blood found me exactly when I needed it. This movie is not for the faint of heart, but it is an amazing film.
I first saw the movie a few months before my eighteenth birthday. At the time, I did not realize just how much it was going to positively affect my life. But to this day, it is the movie that has helped me the most, in more than one way.
I was not a rebellious teenager. I never snuck out, never partied, never even needed a curfew. I know, crazy. :) But I did have a bit of a stubborn streak (and by bit, I mean a lot), and right in the middle of my seventeenth year on earth, I went through a phase where I wanted to be treated like an adult and felt like I could make my own choices, even if my mom didn’t like them.
As soon as I started saying to myself, “I don’t want to do this and she can’t make me,” I saw and heard in my head scenes from Last Blood when Rambo’s niece hadn’t listened to the wiser, older people in her life who’d tried to keep her safe. I recoiled as if flames had just erupted in front of me. I don’t even think it took five minutes for that slightly rebellious side of me to die completely, and I owe every bit of that change to Last Blood, and Sylvester Stallone specifically.
If I had watched that film years before almost turning eighteen, I could have forgotten the message, or never truly learned it. But seeing it when I did helped me avoid any early adulthood blunders, and I will never be more appreciative of a film.
Your top 5 movies of all time, (as of today).
Rambo (2008)
Die Hard (1988)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
London Has Fallen (2016)
Show us your collection
This is my own Iron Legion. I have almost every single Iron Man suit Tony ever wore in the movies, as well as Tony himself. I love collecting the Funko Pops.
That’s awesome, Rachel—thanks for sharing!
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🎟️ Club picks
Thanks to everyone who sent in a pick this week. This batch runs from 1970s noir to a brand-new football doc.
Chinatown (1974) · 2h 10m · Where to watch · Parents’ guide
Submitted by: John M. on Substack: I pressed play because of Sam Wasson’s superb book The Big Goodbye. What stayed with me was the chilling realization that truth does not necessarily bring justice, and that power can corrupt not only the institutions meant to protect us but also the very possibility of setting things right.
Spy Game (2001) · 2h 6m · Where to watch · Parents’ guide
Submitted by: Bear Savo on Substack: I recently rewatched this. I was scrolling Netflix about 10 years ago and took a chance. I like the two leading men, Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The score is definitely dated, but the Cold War intrigue is sharp, the story is tightly woven, it’s well shot, and well edited. Directed by the legendary Tony Scott.
The Night House (2020) · 1h 47m · Where to watch · Parents’ guide
Submitted by: Steve on Substack: I heard it was good, watched the trailer, and needed to see it. The way I felt after watching the trailer, I was very interested.
Miller Night Football (2026) · 43m · Where to watch
Submitted by: Nathan C. on Substack: I love the NFL and grew up watching Monday Night Football. As soon as I saw HBO released this short doc on the fast and unusual tenure of [Dennis] Miller on the revered sports broadcast, I was all in. This experiment would have probably been successful if there hadn’t been a change in leadership at the network. Also, it’s great to see Miller reflect on the experience and still get a kick out of his own jokes.
🎬 What horror movie makes you laugh more than it scares you?
Drop a comment below with the title and one sentence on why, or send it through here. You can also drop it in the Club chat, where I’ve started a thread. The best picks land in next week’s newsletter and on the club’s Letterboxd list.
Until next Thursday, be kind, rewind.
— Gannon
This is a wonderfully chaotic double bill. Speak No Evil weaponises awkwardness and restraint, while Planet Terror basically takes restraint outside and shoots it.