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Madurai posted:It's never actually said, but strongly implied. Atticus describes them as "blobs covered with eyes," which doesn't fit their show appearance--though they do have a lot of eyes, and they do make the fluting noise described in At The Mountains of Madness Like, two major things I noticed, the first of which I am certain of: 1: Titus Braithwhite's backstory and deeds are 1:1 the backstory of Joseph Curwen from The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Joseph Curwen in CDW was an 18th century slaveholder who tortured and sacrificed Black people as part of magic experiments, his plantation burns down and his neighbors discover the arcane mass graves, and when CDW delves into Curwen's experiments and resurrects him, Curwen steals the body of CDW (who looks just like him) in order to live again as an evil immortal wizard. The latter isn't entirely in sync but it puts its own spin on it that I enjoy. 2: the things in the woods could be spawns of Shub. They could very well be this take on shoggoths and if so yeah that's fine do something new with them, but I get Shub vibes from them. They're birthed from livestock, they have infectious transmissive properties, they prefer to remain underground and tunnel around in deep dark woods and they can also be controlled. Spawn of Shub have this wild entropic nature to their makeup and bodies, too many eyes, gribbly fangy teeth, squamous skin and weird amounts of limbs. Also, that weird thing the kids were dancing around in the cult village looks like a totem of Shub by being a mass of wood "tentacles" knitted into a humanoid form. Imagery aside, metaphorically it makes sense when you consider that Shub represents a lot of Lovecraft's fear of POC, first and foremost being the fact I keep calling her Shub and not her full name. She's positioned as this primordial black fertility deity with a ravening horde of "mindless" "infinite" black spawn that are incredibly transparently part of Lovecraft's fear of white people being a minority. The white Sons of Adam are also manipulating and controlling the monsters as part of their Biblical power-play poo poo, treating them more as beasts of burden the same way they treat Atticus, Letitia and George, as opposed to other traditional mythos monsters like Nightgaunts and Byakhee that are treated as things to make a pact with for services rendered rather than pawns to control. Neither of these are remarked upon or confirmed in the text of the show, this is entirely me reading into what I'm presented, and I'm honestly here for that. I'm glad the show knows what it's working with and playing with without needing to call it directly by its name. The only thing it really does that for is House on the Borderland and that's entirely fair because that book is pretty obscure even in cosmic horror fandom circles what with being a 300 page book that was Lovecraft's favorite. It's not a quick and easy read. Vox Valentine fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Aug 25, 2020 |
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Aug 25, 2020 00:59
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I thought that episode was great. Some of the pieces didn't flow into each other all that great but that's really my only complaint.
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Aug 25, 2020 01:26
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I'm enjoying this show, but man - it's really schlocky. It started off pretty well, I enjoyed the scene with the sheriff - but the minute otherwordly monsters started appearing, it turned into a Stuart Gordon movie. I mean, I *love* Stuart Gordon's lovecraft movies, but they are definitely not high art. And that second episode was ludicrous - like a tacky version of GET OUT with one-dimensional villains and some howlingly bad CG work. It all feels weirdly un-HBO. More like a slightly-naff miniseries from a network channel, but with more overt sex and violence.
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Aug 25, 2020 02:10
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I like the schlock. If they took it too serious I'd eye roll and if they made it slower I bet the show would be boring. This feels like a weird mix between Ryan Murphy schlock and Sam Raimi. The guy playing Atticus is really good too so it's fun to see him matched up against all the lovely no namers they had to cast due to the budget. Keeps you in the moment more.
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Aug 25, 2020 02:19
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Madurai posted:I mean LOL at the Jeffersons theme but it's another distracting instance of non-period music (he types, over=concerned about immersion in this show about wizards and monsters). The anachronistic music doesn't feel particularly thought out or considered, it's like they're just doing it to be cool because it was so popular in Westworld. Same with them just randomly killing off main characters like Game of Thrones, only with added lack of stakes because we already know they can effectively bring people back from the dead and also anything we see could just be a magic hologram. So far this show feels like it's everything people incorrectly accused Watchmen of being, and I'm really hoping that they pull up. That Italian Guy posted:I love how Peele manages to put this kind of comedy in his horror work. That scene had me laughing out loud for good. Jordan Peele is just a producer on this show, he didn't actually write or direct anything. It's like crediting Danny DeVito for Pulp Fiction or Mel Brooks for The Elephant Man.
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Aug 25, 2020 02:19
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Once I've adjusted to the fact that this is more pulp action than horror and that its an anthology of shorts, well ok the second episode is still probably a bit too fast and not as good as the first but I'm gonna keep watching
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Aug 25, 2020 03:15
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Yeah, uh, this loving rules. It's a fun roller coaster. It's light and character driven, and characters are really great. Criticizing the stupid things is stupid, and I'm imagining the people doing that are neckbeard losers that don't like fun.Hostile V posted:smart things Thanks for this. I love that I can approach this show w/ very little deep knowledge of HPL stuff, so this poo poo is pretty cool for peering below the surface. anothergod fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Aug 25, 2020 |
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Aug 25, 2020 06:32
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Sleeveless posted:The anachronistic music doesn't feel particularly thought out or considered, it's like they're just doing it to be cool because it was so popular in Westworld. The show's creator (can't remember his name) has been doing this kind of thing since Underground. It's never been a straight up commentary on scenes, so much as an emotional tone thing. I expect people want more justified takes on this kind of choice, but it's really just straight vibing.
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Aug 25, 2020 11:37
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Hostile V posted:cool Lovecraft stuff megapuppy posted:I'm enjoying this show, but man - it's really schlocky. It started off pretty well, I enjoyed the scene with the sheriff - but the minute otherwordly monsters started appearing, it turned into a Stuart Gordon movie. I mean, I *love* Stuart Gordon's lovecraft movies, but they are definitely not high art. And that second episode was ludicrous - like a tacky version of GET OUT with one-dimensional villains and some howlingly bad CG work. I love Gordon's movies and had the same opinion. Take the movie Dagon. It's one of the later Gordon takes and it still spends time building up the creepy until you get to tentacle mermaids and the children of Dagon. Far from perfect but it's effective. Re-Animator and From Beyond are great B movies. Still one of my favourite "Lovecraft" (means its not a direct HP story but a love letter to his work) movies is In the Mouth of Madness. The tension builds and builds until the climax. For most of the film you get subtle nightmarish vibe that increases and increases till you get the monsters. It was made in the 90s but made with practical effects but it still holds up today. Also stars the amazing Nam Neill. I also watched the movie Underwater the other day and thought it was a decent addition to the sub genre that I never would have checked out if someone hadn't spoiled the end. I thought it was just going to be a straight monster flick. Not bad although the ending was a bit too hollywood. I'm still going to give it a few and don't mind B movies or ridiculous series. Ash VS the Evil Dead was silly as poo poo but also had some serious chops and was coherent. I miss Ash vs the Evil Dead.
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Aug 25, 2020 15:45
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DogsInSpace! posted:For most of the film you get subtle nightmarish vibe that increases and increases till you get the monsters. It was made in the 90s but made with practical effects but it still holds up today. Also stars the amazing Sam Neill. I too am a fan of That Italian Guy fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Aug 25, 2020 |
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Aug 25, 2020 16:00
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I really liked this episode. It had a nightmare quality to it the resonated with me where you kinda jump from scenario to scenario and everything has an impending feeling of dread.
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Aug 25, 2020 16:02
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Honestly the opening scene had me recalibrated that this isn't gonna be slow insidious cosmic horror but a love letter to goofy pulp fiction and while its a bit disappointing I'm okay with it
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Aug 25, 2020 16:12
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Yeah I can see if you were hoping for some serious poo poo you would be disappointed, but, like... I'm tired of that. I was about to cancel my HBOMax sub because it's all so heavy. I'm really glad that there's something that's fantastic and fun especially wrt something so heinous and topical like racism. I had to get myself in the mood to watch "The Plot Against America", but this one? Like, I know it's going to be heavy, but it doesn't feel that way.
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Aug 25, 2020 16:48
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Yeah when you make a hot button topic too heavy I feel like a lot of people eye roll. Not just the audience you're trying to reach but the audience you've already reached too. I just want a good ol fashioned kill racist old cops beat em up.
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Aug 25, 2020 18:09
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I know that it's partly because it's based on an episodic anthology book, but I was stunned at how Vampire Diaries fast they rushed through gimmicks here. Witches, doppelgangers, shoggoth-summoning, tesla coils, ancient bloodline guff, all swept back off the table as quickly as they were introduced? Just going off the Wikipedia...what the hell is the other 80% of the season gonna be!?
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Aug 25, 2020 19:47
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About the uncle and a spoiler from the book that was spoiler-tagged earlier ITT: Apparently the uncle makes it through the entire book alive, so I was hoping he'd just be dropping impending-doom foreshadowing the entire series like he did in the first episode.
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Aug 25, 2020 20:03
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Mameluke posted:I know that it's partly because it's based on an episodic anthology book, but I was stunned at how Vampire Diaries fast they rushed through gimmicks here. Witches, doppelgangers, shoggoth-summoning, tesla coils, ancient bloodline guff, all swept back off the table as quickly as they were introduced? Just going off the Wikipedia...what the hell is the other 80% of the season gonna be!? Yeah, introducing both the ability to erase memories and the ability to bring people back from the dead in episode two is the kind of line in the sand a show has to be pretty confident in itself to draw. I'm hoping it delivers.
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Aug 25, 2020 20:54
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At the end of the day it's 2020 and any show about killing secret racist sexist clubs is going to get me to watch. I mean I watched The Magicians and Agents of Shield so like my standards are low
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Aug 25, 2020 22:54
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anothergod posted:Yeah I can see if you were hoping for some serious poo poo you would be disappointed, but, like... I'm tired of that. I was about to cancel my HBOMax sub because it's all so heavy. I'm really glad that there's something that's fantastic and fun especially wrt something so heinous and topical like racism. I had to get myself in the mood to watch "The Plot Against America", but this one? Like, I know it's going to be heavy, but it doesn't feel that way. Ya I don’t think it’s a great show but I am just so tired of “slow burns” right now
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Aug 25, 2020 22:57
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I didn't really like that episode
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Aug 25, 2020 23:39
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That Italian Guy posted:I too am a fan of hah... Event Horizon is another I like though a different beast from In the Mouth of Madness. I remember that movie being on television staple for like a year and I spent so much time late at night watching it. Cold Skin? I thought I was the only fan. You ever check out the Lighthouse? Similar vibe but different and really good. Not Lovecraft but you can't go wrong with Prince of Darkness. That and Mouth of Madness make a good double feature as well as happen to be among the last good movies made by John Carpenter. I really think In the Mouth of Madness was his last good film.
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Aug 26, 2020 01:00
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Just watched episode 2 and I liked it, not quite as much as the first, but still good. The show being more of an anthology isn’t what I expected, but I’m willing to give it a shot. I think the show is better when dealing more with real life racism, but I can get down with blending in fantasy stuff too. I think the faster pace works for now, it doesn’t let the show get too bogged down considering it’s trying to be somewhat pulpy and not super high drama all the time. Other shows would have taken these two episodes and stretched them out to like six, and I can use something faster for a change. No clue if they’re going to weave in a larger storyline or what. I just hope this doesn’t turn into some mystery box show.
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Aug 26, 2020 04:14
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anothergod posted:At the end of the day it's 2020 and any show about killing secret racist sexist clubs is going to get me to watch. I mean I watched The Magicians and Agents of Shield so like my standards are low
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Aug 26, 2020 07:30
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DogsInSpace! posted:You ever check out the Lighthouse? Similar vibe but different and really good. I haven't but I definitely will now! And yeah, Prince of Darkness is great. And you mentioned Dagon already, but I also endorse that movie as a surprisingly decent Lovecraft adaptation. It's too bad there are so few good Lovecraft movie/series, but I guess it's a bit difficult not to run into the baggage that comes attached to his stuff, unless you tackle it face first like this series is doing. Speaking of, Hbomberguy did a video essay on exactly this a couple of years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8u8wZ0WvxI
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Aug 26, 2020 09:52
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I dug the second episode, but I understand why people didn't. My wife summed it up as, "That was only the second episode? It felt like they were rushing through a season finale." I agree with what another poster said about the quality of the nobody actors playing the Lodge people, I kept thinking that I would have liked Samuel more if he was played by Jeremy Irons or even like a William Fichtner level character actor.
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Aug 26, 2020 13:12
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Really liked episode 2 and I really love the weird musical cues because they feel significant. I'd never heard Whitey's On The Moon before but it playing as they rush through the climax of an occult summoning ritual that kills all the racist wizards really made me think about why that choice was made. It's just such an interesting thing to do because it feels like a bizarre choice. I think I'm really open to everything the showing is throwing at me because I realized after the opening to episode 1 that this isn't a spook-em-up horror series, it's a pulp adventure. It's Lovecraftian for sure, but it's also evoking a lot of the lesser-known Lovecraft (& friends) romps where something weird just kind of happens for 10 pages and that's that. Like others have said, the end of E2 felt like it could have been a season finale so I am desperately curious to see where this goes. It's just so weird and audacious and confident... I'm hooked!
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Aug 26, 2020 16:22
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mary had a little clam posted:Really liked episode 2 and I really love the weird musical cues because they feel significant. I'd never heard Whitey's On The Moon before but it playing as they rush through the climax of an occult summoning ritual that kills all the racist wizards really made me think about why that choice was made. It's just such an interesting thing to do because it feels like a bizarre choice. Using a spoken-word piece as part of the soundtrack was definitely a little jarring, but the choice of that particular poem seemed 100% thematically resonant with what was going on in that scene. It's fundamentally a Black man calling out and rejecting rich white folks spending obscene amounts of money on what appears to be a purely abstract endeavor "to advance science" while Black folks are suffering and dying... as a bunch of rich white folks engage in what appears to be a purely abstract endeavor to "advance science" that is literally tearing apart a Black man's body. (NB Yes, I know there were in fact a lot of actual, concrete scientific advances that came out of the space program, but I think the point still stands.)
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Aug 26, 2020 16:50
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It was a lovely choice, show don't tell. It's part of the standard hack director choice that simply can't stop putting a soundtrack over everything. Really it turned the whole scene into Darmok "Black people, when whitey on the moon" *everyone nods sagely*
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Aug 26, 2020 17:03
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Seems a little rediculous to immediately label the director a "hack" for making that choice. Especially not knowing if it was they, the writers or even the editors who decided on it, but ok. A little on those nose, sure, but it was poignant and made a good parallel to the absurdity of what was happening IMO.
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Aug 26, 2020 17:35
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Did they cut a scene after they go into the stone tower looking for the dad? Like they just appear right as he crawls up from the grass. It's like If the warden from Shawshank had discovered Andy's hole then teleported to his location as he climbs out of the sewer tunnel. I thought they were setting up a flashback scene but nope it's just "found you, let's go."
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Aug 26, 2020 19:14
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Yeah the 3rd act of that episode was edited very weirdly because they clearly had too much ground to cover and were looking for seems to jump around and get to the climax. That cut and the cut to black after the gunshot to the spongebath were bizzare.
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Aug 26, 2020 19:24
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oh yeah that was by far the thing that bugged me the most about this episode. the dad had been up there for how long at that point, 3+ weeks? and he happened to tunnel out of there through the ground exactly when they went looking for him? i do really like the show, and i don't mind it being pure action pulp, but that one was bad. i was positive it was a flashback.
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Aug 26, 2020 19:28
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AccountSupervisor posted:Yeah the 3rd act of that episode was edited very weirdly because they clearly had too much ground to cover and were looking for seems to jump around and get to the climax. Yeah that was the only thing I didn't really like about the episode. It's not like they had to cut for time, being as they are on HBO. The first episode ran 10 mins longer than this one.
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Aug 27, 2020 08:47
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For how fast they sped through poo poo in ep 2 its really weird going back and seeing the time they wasted on that duet and poo poo with her sister. Ep 1 feels bloated in comparison.
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Aug 27, 2020 09:15
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banned from Starbucks posted:For how fast they sped through poo poo in ep 2 its really weird going back and seeing the time they wasted on that duet and poo poo with her sister. Ep 1 feels bloated in comparison. I assume that stuff is setup for later, since the sister showed up in other clips in the trailer. Yeah, I thought this was a good episode, but it's a pretty bizarre shift in tone and pace. Just, going from learning that monsters exist to willingly being part of a magical ritual to open a gate to another world because you think you are the descendant of a weird cult leader in the span of... an hour or so. They maybe stuck too closely to the book here.
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Aug 27, 2020 09:35
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Watching the second episode reminded me of the time I sat through Southland Tales. A little more coherent, but not by much. It's too bad, the first episode was fantastic. Is this one of those projects where they sub in a different director or writer for each episode? Edit: it really bugs me that Tic's uncle dies off screen. The ending scene by the car is clearly supposed to be emotional and give Tic's character a motivation for the next episode. It falls flat though, since it's just kinda tacked on to the end after the weird CGI ceremony and the house imploding. The pacing messes up what should be a powerful moment. Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Aug 27, 2020 |
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Aug 27, 2020 13:52
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I feel like if the first two episodes were a movie it would need to either add or cut 30 minutes
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Aug 27, 2020 14:05
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I feel like Ep2 was way more bloated than Ep1. Ep1 was character development which is why you had the unnecessary scenes of Letitia and her duet with her sister. Had to establish that Letitia was accused of abandoning people and is now trying to make up for that which is why she's sticking hard to Atticus. Episode 2 had so much information to cram in to get to the point that they're in danger from more than just the monsters. Had to do exposition dumps for the sorcery, for the order of dagon, for Atticus' birth reveal, and they had to finally introduce his dad. I personally think they spent too much time on the moving on up scenes and the order being insidious rather than just having them come out as evil right away. The whole vibe of the episode made it feel like the three heroes were running for months before finally finding respite when it was literally just like a couple days between leaving their home and the monster attack. Just didn't make too much sense.
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Aug 27, 2020 18:29
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I'm glad we accelerated to full speed in 2 episodes because now for episode 3 we get horror house x (inverted) Assault on Precinct 13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oJ4jDuTtEI
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Aug 27, 2020 20:03
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was anyone else distracted by how the dude at the mansion was basically a human version of Raymond from the new Animal Crossing
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Aug 27, 2020 20:15
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