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Critical Darlings

"Ready Or Not 2," "They Will Kill You," And The Decline Of Social Satire Horror

4/2/20261 hr 13 min

This week we’re eating the rich with two new horror films that share devilishly similar premises: Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come and They Will Kill You both feature women fighting back against satanic cults run by rich elites in order to protect an estranged younger sister, written with wry humor aimed at the ultra-wealthy. Neither film did particularly well critically or at the box office, but they raise a fascinating question for Critical Darlings: Has the Trump-era social satire horror film finally run out of steam? In this episode, Richard and Alison trace this specific strain of me...

Clips

Satirizing Billionaires Is Impossible
“I'm so sick of this”
When Themes Became Features
Toothless ‘Eat the Rich’
Babadook To Ready Or Not
What The Film Gets Right
Let Themes Emerge Naturally
Why Snowpiercer Endures
Elevator Pitches Onscreen

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

    [theme music] From Blank Check Productions, this is Critical Darlings, a podcast about the movies everyone's talking about, one new release after another. Please welcome your hosts, Richard Lawson and Alison Willmore.

  2. Richard Lawson· Host0:24

    [applause] Marie Bardy, it was nice of you to introduce us while also chasing us down the hallway of a mansion with some sort of weapon, 'cause, you know, she's hunting us.

  3. Alison Willmore· Host0:33

    Yeah.

  4. Richard Lawson· Host0:34

    Yeah, yeah.

  5. Alison Willmore· Host0:34

    I mean, that's just part of how podcasting works, though.

  6. Richard Lawson· Host0:36

    Yeah, [laughs] yeah.

  7. Alison Willmore· Host0:36

    I think that people don't see these behind-the-scenes aspects so much- Yeah ... and I appreciate that we're able to let people in on a, a little, you know, little behind-the-scenes action.

  8. Richard Lawson· Host0:44

    You know, and Marie famously, you know, a, a, a tycoon of some sort, you know, who is secretly running the world.

  9. Alison Willmore· Host0:50

    Yeah.

  10. Richard Lawson· Host0:50

    Um- And, um, and worshiping Satan, which I- Yeah, yeah ...

  11. Alison Willmore· Host0:52

    I mean, do we even really need to do that anymore?

  12. Richard Lawson· Host0:55

    Yeah, yeah.

  13. Alison Willmore· Host0:55

    I feel like people have made it clear- [laughs] ... you can run the world without that kind of aspect.

  14. Richard Lawson· Host0:58

    It's true.

  15. Ben Frisch0:59

    I didn't know that she was Irish.

  16. Alison Willmore· Host1:00

    Yeah, I know.

  17. Richard Lawson· Host1:01

    Well, you know, [laughs]- It's an important aspect, I guess, I guess ... yeah, that'll surprise you. Um, the voice you just heard is, of course, our producer, Ben Frisch. Hello, Ben.

  18. Ben Frisch1:07

    Good morning.

  19. Richard Lawson· Host1:08

    Um, this is our second time seeing each other this week, Ben, um, because I was a guest on one of your other podcasts, Slate's Culture Gabfest, which was very exciting.

  20. Ben Frisch1:16

    Yeah.

  21. Richard Lawson· Host1:17

    And that episode is out- Today. Oh, it's out today.

  22. Ben Frisch1:19

    Yeah.

  23. Richard Lawson· Host1:19

    Okay, amazing.

  24. Ben Frisch1:20

    Or yesterday.

  25. Richard Lawson· Host1:20

    Yeah. We talked about Bate, the new RZA meds show. We talked about A Company Retreat, um, the Jury Duty follow-up, and the new Robin album. And I never get to

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