REBROADCAST: Dogtooth (2009)

[00:00:21] Hello, everyone. My name is Carolyn Smith Hillmer and I am the final girl on 6th Avenue. Today's episode is brought to you by me being on muscle relaxers. So it is time to party. I'm going to be discussing the greek movie today, Dogtooth. I wish I was excited to tell you about this movie, but I'm actually very apologetic and sorry for what you are about to listen to because I am going to be thinking about this movie for days on end, and I assume you will also. So if you decide to turn around now, I am not going to have my feelings hurt. [00:00:54] This film came out in 2009 and was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Yorgos Lanthimos is a greek director who did the favorite and the lobster and the killing of a sacred deer. All amazing movies. His movies are very focused on the atmosphere, which doesnt usually have like, a very heavy focus on the music, which I think is interesting. But youll see what I'm talking about. If you watch this movie, you can watch Dogtooth on AMC. It will run you roughly 1 hour and 37 minutes. And it is unrated as far as I can tell. I couldn't find a rating for it, so you may just want to assume that it's rated r. [00:01:35] Here is a summary of the movie, as per IMDb, a controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offspring in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound. The tagline for this film is the cat is the most feared animal there is. [00:01:54] If you're gonna stick with me through this episode, thank you so much. If you're not, then I understand, because I'm not sure that I would do it either. So enough time for chit chat. Let's get on with it. [00:02:05] This film opens with a cassette tape player. Haven't seen one of those in a long time. There is a brother, a sister, and a younger sister all in the bathroom of their family home, and they are listening to the tape. It's like a language learning tape. So thinking back to, like, hooked on phonics or some other, like, english language arts tape, that's kind of what they're doing here. They're learning about vocabulary. So there's four words that they're learning today. The words are c, motorway, excursion, and carbine. [00:02:41] So all the words, though, are being used in a sentence as an example, and they are assigned incorrect meanings. So, for example, the word c is used in a sentence as the c is the armchair that is located in our living room. So, like, they're assigning incorrect meanings to these words. So I don't know where these tapes kind of came from, but I will tell you that I thought I was tripping when I was watching this, because, you see, the subtitles say, like, the c is the. Is the armchair in the living room. I don't. It just stay with me. It doesn't get better. [00:03:24] The younger sister is in the bathroom talking about how she wants to play a game later that night where they turn on the faucets in the bathroom, like, all on hot water and hold their fingers under it for as long as they can, and the last person with their finger in the water wins. So she's just, like, making this game up. It doesn't sound like a fun game to me, but they look pretty bored. [00:03:49] Cut to a woman in the passenger seat of a car. She's blindfolded and wearing a security uniform. There is a man driving her, and he is asking her about herself and if she's washed her hair and her body recently. She says she did yesterday, and we can kind of put together that she's being blindfolded so she doesn't know where she's going. [00:04:12] The man brings her to his house. So, you know, that's how we find out that this is the dad of the family, and the son is in his bedroom exercising with, like, an accordion type piece of equipment. If you're familiar with the. The exercise, where you hold an exercise band in front of you with your arms straight, and you try to kind of push it out from side to side. The I must have. Must improve my bust exercise. That's. That's what he's doing. But, like, a manly version, right? Like, you know, so he's doing that. [00:04:49] The security guard walks in and greets the son. They're in his room, like I said, at this point, we discover that they're gonna have sex with each other. They undress very strangely, quickly. It looks like they're not really interested in doing this together, but that they're doing it because they believe that they are supposed to. [00:05:12] Super awkward to watch. I'm not sure how old the son or the woman is, but I did read that they are supposed to be considered adult children, so I don't think there's any issues with, like, you know, child sexual activity. But it still doesn't feel quite right because the age is ambiguous of both parties. [00:05:38] The older sister is in the living room, and she's making small talk with Christina, the security guard. So Christina is actually the only person in this movie that has a name so everyone else, you'll kind of hear me just refer to them as, like, the. The son, the mother, the dad, the older sister and younger sister. But Christina is the only one that has a name. So Christina, the security guard, the older sister asks Christina if she'll stay for dinner because they're having burgers, but Christina says that she can't stay. And they talk more about favorite foods like cheese, pie and fish soup. Christina ends up staying for a little while, but it's ambiguous if she stays for the actual dinner. [00:06:19] It's at this point that one of the sisters asks if they can have a video, because they don't have any videos with Christina in them. So the dad gets out, like a recorder, a camera. I mean, it's not a high tech video camera by any means. It's pretty rudimentary. [00:06:39] And starts to film the daughters and Christina sitting on the couch together. The son later joins, and you can just tell by the look on Christina's face, like she just wants to die. She doesn't want to be there, she doesn't want to do it, and she just feels super weird about the whole thing. So later after that, she gets back in the car with the dad, and the dad takes her back to, I guess, work or home, and she puts the blindfold on herself when she gets into the car. [00:07:08] The kids seem to be learning everything from language to basic math and science from, like, some books and a tape player, like, everything that they're doing, they're pretty much listening to. But there are some books in the house. There's not very many. [00:07:25] The younger daughter mutilates a Barbie doll with scissors and screams while she is inflicting the pain on the doll. So she will take the scissors and cut off the doll's hand and scream while she's doing it. [00:07:39] It's at this point that the kids are getting ready for dinner. The son is seen dressing up with a button down shirt and shining his shoes, and he then counts the stickers on his headboard. [00:07:51] All these kids are getting ready for a formal family dinner. At the table, the kids ask their dad for things like iodine and band aids and vitamins and eyebrow tint. [00:08:01] The dad says he will pick up these items for the kids. The younger daughter asks her mom for the telephone, and her mother then hands her a salt shaker. [00:08:12] So the kids are learning the wrong words for the wrong things. [00:08:18] How fucking confusing is that? I mean, I was sitting there with muscle relaxers in system, and I'm hearing her say a word that sounds like telephone and I'm reading in the subtitles in English that she says the word telephone and then watching her mother hand her a salt shaker. I was really close to writing AMC a strongly worded email to let them know that they have really, really, really wrong subtitles and that they need to hire a new translator. But no, that is just what the movie is. They are teaching their kids the wrong meanings for the wrong words. So if you find yourself getting confused, you're not alone. [00:09:01] The dad asks the son how many stickers he has on his bed. And the son says he has 76. [00:09:07] The sisters have way less. So the son gets to pick the entertainment for after dinner. So I guess however many stickers you get means, like, if you have the most, you're the winner. [00:09:20] The brother says that he wants to watch a video. So, like, I'm thinking they're gonna watch a movie and they're just using the word video to describe a movie. But actually, the video that the dad plays is a home video of the family and the kids. And the kids know all of the words and are mouthing along to the video while it plays. So I'm not exactly sure how they earn the stickers yet, but I would try to win every single week to avoid watching a video of myself because that sounds absolutely hellish. [00:09:48] Cut to the next day, the son is outside washing, like, the family car, and he walks over to a giant bush to talk to the bush. And the bush is, like, along the fence. So at first it's, like, kind of ambiguous, like, what he's doing. So he goes over to talk to this giant bush about how he washes the car better and details the car better and that the whatever entity he's speaking to at this time, but he's looking directly at a bushe, doesn't do it as good as he does. So he's angry and he starts to throw rocks at the bush and over the fence. [00:10:25] Kind of bizarre. But the parents notice from their bedroom window, and they have the son come inside. [00:10:31] He tells his mom, he started throwing rocks at me, and she says, your brother would never throw rocks at you. [00:10:39] But he was talking to nothing, so what the hell? [00:10:47] It's kind of ambiguous, but seemingly we can infer that there is a brother, whether that brother is real or imagined, and that brother lives on the other side of the fence. [00:11:01] And I guess he could have, like, escaped or not been a part of the family anymore or what have you. But everyone is under the impression that there is a brother that they have that lives on the other side of the fence. [00:11:15] Seemingly, he's in trouble because, you know, he was throwing rocks or whatever, and he's made to hold listerine in his mouth until the mom says he can spit it out. So this is just, like, a form of punishment. And the dad isn't super thrilled with this form of punishment. I think the dad is probably more towards, like, the sticker situation, and the mom is like, fuck the stickers. You're gonna hold full alcohol strength listerine in your mouth. [00:11:40] The car drives away. Whole family is outside, so probably dad just, like, leaving for work. And while they're doing this, there's an airplane that flies over the house. And the younger daughter says that she wishes that the plane would fall. [00:11:54] The mom slaps her across the face and says that whoever deserves it will get the falling plane again. [00:12:03] You just have to keep watching to, like, find out more. I mean, I think I. One thing that this director does really well is, like, plant little pieces of information for you, and then you have to kind of just continue to watch to figure it out. So, like, we don't get an explanation immediately about how the daughter wishes that the airplane would fall out of the sky, but we feel weird about it. [00:12:26] I think that only the dad is allowed to leave the house at this point. It hasn't been confirmed, but we're pretty sure because literally no one else ever leaves. A and he pulls into work at a factory, and Christina is, like, the gate at the security, the arm, like, to enter the parking lot. So that's where she works security. [00:12:45] He asks her when she's coming over again and if she is wearing the perfume that he bought for her. And he smells her just in case she's lying. So don't know if he bought her miss number five or what else he might have purchased for her, but he's really intent on making sure that she's wearing it at home. The younger daughter is reading an anatomy book, and the older daughter says that she has had a stomachache since last night. So the younger sister plays doctor with her and uses, like, the information that she finds out of her anatomy book to kind of diagnose her older sister with whatever ailment she thinks that she has and suggest a treatment. [00:13:24] The younger sister tells her to rest and not work out that day and says, we have 20 minutes. You should play with me. And that she has a new anesthetic to try out. So whatever it is, it's a liquid, and they're going to use a towel to huff it. So if at this point, we're assuming that they can't go outside. I have literally no idea how they discovered that they can huff things, because that was something that I had to have somebody teach me. Like, I never encountered that before, but, okay, this is also a game that she comes up with. I don't know why the younger sister comes up with these, like, ultra morbid games, but anyway, she says that whoever wakes up first wins. So, you know, she's just another game she's invented. Just, you know, a little cute, quirky, girly, fun game. [00:14:13] And the girls pass out on the bed with the towels on their face. Cut back to at work, dad is talking to a coworker about some, like, marketing materials. Like, it looks like they might be talking about, like, a logo or, like, a, you know, a pit sheet or a deck or something. And the coworker asks how his wife is doing, and the dad says she's about the same. And the coworker encourages the dad to take her out, even if she is in a wheelchair, but she is literally not in a wheelchair. So we can just understand that the dad is, like, using this as a lie to, like, not have people over for dinner. Like, he doesn't want outside people in his house, so he's gonna throw his wife under the bus by saying that she's in a wheelchair and sick and doesn't want people over. So bizarre. [00:14:58] At home, mom calls dad on this, like, disgustingly hideous green telephone to ask about his day and tell him that the older daughter has a stomachache. [00:15:09] Weird thing to update your husband on. Also, the phone is not, like, out where people can see it. It's, like, in the bedside table next to her bed, and she has to, like, find it and get it out and plug it in every time. That sounds exhausting. I would just rather not have a phone at all or leave it plugged in. [00:15:28] Cut. Now they're at a dog training facility, and the dad shows up because he evidently has a dog there that's being trained, and he comes to pick the dog up. [00:15:39] The dog isn't done being trained yet, so, you know, the. The trainer kind of walks him through, like, yeah, there's certain steps that we have to complete for the dog to be fully trained. He hasn't completed them yet. We need to know what kind of dog you want. Like, are you looking for the family companion dog, or are you looking for the dog that will kill somebody? Kind of like, just talking about what kind of training will be, you know, remaining for this dog. So the dad leaves without it because it's not done. [00:16:07] Then he is parked on the side of a road somewhere, and he's taking water bottles out of the back of his car and cutting the labels off of them and throwing them away in an outside trash can. So, like, he's not next to his house at all. I don't know, like, if he's taking the bottles off because he doesn't want people to see, like, what brand they are. Like, I don't know. [00:16:34] At home later that night, the mom and the dad have sex while wearing headphones that are kind of, like, plugged into. [00:16:40] Not a walkman, but maybe some other form of, like, mp3 player that I'm not exactly familiar with. [00:16:48] No clue what they're listening to. But the next day, the kids are making up more games to play. So their mom is sitting in the central area of the backyard, and the kids are blindfolded and have to find her. [00:17:00] This game is timed, and she's, like, calling out, I don't know, times and, like, using her voice to, like, lead the kids to her location. [00:17:11] So whoever wins the game, I guess, gets some stickers. So I guess maybe she also takes part in the sticker game. The stickers situation is kind of weird to me, but anyway, the sister is then seen taking a pound cake to the same fence that her brother was angry at. So she takes it to the fence location where they think that their other brother is on the other side of, and she starts throwing the pound cake over the fence. So I guess they want to make sure he gets fed. So she might be trying to take care of him and keep him alive because she really thinks that he's out there, but we don't think there's anybody there. [00:17:57] Christina comes back over and is kind of fed up with this sex schedule with the son. She's not getting anything out of it, if you know what I mean. So Christina approaches the older daughter when she's cleaning and comes into the daughter's room and closes her door and tells her that if she. [00:18:15] That she will give the daughter a headband that last time they had seen each other, the daughter had complimented her on. It's like, a sparkly headband. [00:18:25] So, like, we, as the audience understand that what it means to lick Christina is oral sex. She had, like, been previously in the scene prior talk to the son about doing that, and the son kind of just, like, wasn't really into it, and he was like, hey, like, don't tell my dad about this. Like this. This is a big no no. I guess so. Anyway, she wants this. And so she's gonna get it from the older daughter. And she uses the term lick. And, like, we understand that to mean something different because of the location that Christina is asking her to lick her. But to the daughter, like, that doesn't mean anything. So I was really uncomfortable with this because it, like, yeah, the daughter agrees to do it, but also, like, it's not really consensual because the daughter doesn't really understand what she's consenting to do. [00:19:25] Feels very exploitative. I don't know. And it's done in such a clinical way. Like, it's just a very straightforward, like, I want you to do this. And so she does it outside. Later, the kids are playing, and they are playing with a toy airplane. So now I see why the daughter wanted the real plane to fall out of the sky. She thinks that they're the same size and wanted the real airplane to fall so she could have another toy. So she thinks that, like, the ones in the sky are really that small. So what a life that would be to live, right? To be so naive. I bet I would be so happy if I just didn't know things about the world. [00:20:03] The brother starts to fight with her over the airplane, and she throws it over the fence on the outside of the compound. So let's just call it what it is. It's a compound. And the brother's pissed because he knows he can't go outside of that gate to get it. It's like the gate at the driveway. So, like, there's a little piece that you can see outside of. And he can see the airplane, but he knows he can't go get it inside. [00:20:29] The sister, the younger sister, she, like, sneak attacks her brother with this huge knife and cuts his arm. And she gets in trouble with her mom, and her mom slaps the shit out of her, which I probably would too, because I don't really quite understand what the purpose of that was. [00:20:47] So the son asks the dad when he gets home if he can get the airplane from the other side of the fence. So the dad is in the car, and the dad drives the car out of the gate while the son walks next to the cardinal. And the son never steps outside of the yard. So, like, where the fence and the yard meet, like, he never steps outside. And the dad probably was in the car in case his son tried to run. [00:21:16] But he ends up basically just, like, pulling out, seeing the airplane, opening the car door, picking it up and reversing back up the driveway. [00:21:24] That night, the giant son, he's a giant, climbs into bed with his parents to sleep, and they sleep in, like, a full size bed. So, man, I would be so pissed. [00:21:35] Also, just to backtrack really quickly for a second. The same day that Christina gets the older daughter to exchange oral sex for the headband, the older daughter and the younger daughter are hanging out, and the older sister tells the younger sister that if she licks her shoulder, that she will give her the headband. So that's, like, that's how we know that. Like, it doesn't really mean, like, they don't know what it means. It's very sad, actually. [00:22:09] So, the next morning, the son is, I guess, well rested and had a great time sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed. And he is in the yard doing, like, cartwheels, gymnastics, whatever, and he sees a cat, and it's, like, just a regular cat, like, a black and white cat. Super cute. Everyone is absolutely terrified of this cat. Like, I'm pretty sure they've never seen one before is kind of the conclusion that I came to because, like, if you think about it, like, if they've never left the house and they've never read, like, a book about animals or, like, if their tape recordings don't have anything about animals to teach them, or, like, if they've never seen tv or a movie, for God's sakes, like, they're not gonna know what that looks like. They're not gonna know what that animal is. [00:23:07] So everyone's really scared of it. And the brother sneaks up on the cat with a pair of, like, really, really big garden shears and kills it because he sees it as a threat, because he's scared, and he doesn't know what it is. So on his way home, the dad, like, I don't know why. I don't know where this man gets this ambition, but, I mean, you have to admire it at a certain point. Like, if you want to control people, like, this man, great person to learn from. Okay? Even though he's fictitious, he will get you the answer that you're looking for. [00:23:43] So on his way home, the dad stops on the side of the road and starts to, like, tear his pants and his clothes and his shirt, and he pours fake blood on himself, like, all over himself. Face, shirt, everything. Ruins his whole outfit. Like, I can't imagine. He just has, like, a thousand white shirts. Like, it's not really reasonable. But he goes home, and he tells his family that the brother on the other side of the fence was killed by a cat, just like, the one that was in the yard today. He says it's called a cat because they. The family did not know what it was and that cats are the most dangerous animal that there is in the world and that they eat the flesh of children. [00:24:27] So now the people in the house, like mom included, are terrified. And he makes everybody get down on all fours on their hands and knees and bark like dogs because he says that this is the best and only way to keep cats out of the yard. [00:24:44] So while I agree with him that cats are some of the most dangerous animals in the world, I would be more in reference to, like, a lion or a tiger and maybe not a house cat, but, you know, they are technically all in the same genus, species, genus, same genus. [00:25:13] So then the next, like, scene we get is them having, like, a. It's a funeral adjacent service. I don't know that I'd call it a funeral, but it's for the quote unquote dead brother that they have. And this is where, like, I was kind of like, okay, this brother never existed because he's not been living outside on the other side of the fence and not talking to anybody for, like, years and not eating and. [00:25:37] Yeah. Anyway, so they're having this service for the dead brother by wearing all black, and they're throwing flowers over the fence. So then the kids decide that they're gonna go swimming, and they end up practicing giving one another CPR. So, like, that's actually useful. I'm not sure where they learned about the CPR. [00:25:57] That's kind of why this movie is a little confusing, is because, like, they know how to do certain things but don't know about other things. So, like, they can give each other CPR, and the younger daughter is able to read an anatomy textbook and interpret it, but they don't know what a telephone is or that, like, you know, so it's just very, very odd. [00:26:23] The parents then decide they're going to watch porn together on the couch, and it looks like they likely had sex. And the mom tells the dad that she is pregnant with twins, so she's going to have one boy and one girl. And the dad tells the kids, your mother will give birth to two kids and a dog. [00:26:42] Again, me with muscle relaxers, I'm like, okay, the mom is going to give birth to a dog. [00:26:52] Okay, not following. But the kids don't question it because they literally don't know what that means, and they don't know that their mom can give or not give birth to a dog. Like, and anyway, this mom is a bit older. So, like, if she were pregnant and assuming these kids really are adult kids, like, there's just, like, no way that this is even possible. But I. I have no idea if she truly meant that she was pregnant or not because, like, she never, like, her appearance never changes through the whole movie. And if you're having. If you're packing twins, I'm just saying you're eating a little more. Okay. But she's not. [00:27:29] So the kids aren't super thrilled that she's pregnant because they're going to have to share, like, their stuff in their bedrooms. And the mom says that if the kids can behave, that she will avoid giving birth altogether. But if they don't start to behave and they keep acting up that she has no choice but to give birth. [00:27:48] And again, nobody questions anything because they don't know that you can't just, like, pick or choose if and when you give birth to twins and a dog. And, like, the mom doesn't even question the dog part, which, like, if we're assuming that the mom is, like, a normal, functioning human, just like the dad is, and, like, has the same agency as an adult, then why the fuck doesn't she say that she's not going to give birth to a dog? Hello? [00:28:19] So anyway, the dad makes the kids have a contest when they're in the swimming pool to see who can hold their breath. The winner gets a sticker. The mom is, like, looking at the dad through a house window and she has another toy airplane. And she, like, makes eye contact with the dad and, like, coordinates the fact that she's gonna throw it. So she throws the airplane into the yard, and the dad goes, like, holy shit, there is an airplane that just fell from the sky. It's in the yard. You have to go find it. And so the sisters and the brother, like, take off. They race to go get it. [00:28:57] I think the younger sister gets it. I couldn't really tell them apart. The younger and older sister have very, very, very similar facial features. And at this point, they're, like, both in swimsuits. They both have a swim cap on, so I really could not tell the difference, but I think it was the younger sister. [00:29:14] So later that night, the sisters are laying in bed, and the younger sister offers to lick the older sister again in exchange for a gift. The older sister has nothing to give her, but the younger sister basically says, it doesn't matter, and does it anyway. We assume that this time the younger sister gives her older sister oral sex because the sister tells the younger sister where she would like to be licked. But again, they're not using adult vocabulary of oral sex. They're just using this term licking. And this term licking doesn't mean anything to them. They just think that if they do it, they get something good. [00:29:55] Like, they don't really assign a lot of meaning to it. [00:30:00] Later that day, the dad brings home some fish and puts them in the swimming pool in the backyard. So, like, I. [00:30:09] A lot of stuff is happening with the dad. Like, we see a lot of the dad doing, like, just weird things behind the scenes. And this is just one of those things. So one of the daughters is, like, outside in the yard, I. And comes inside to get the dad, and she is like, oh, my gosh, there's fish in the pool. You have to come get them. Mom will be so happy because then, you know, we'll have fish for dinner. And she says, there's two fish. He goes outside and counts three, and, like, he doesn't fucking know that there's fish in the pool. Like, he's a great actor. Great actor. And he jumps in the fish to get them. [00:30:48] Fast forward, we're at dinner, and they are having fish at dinner. So he probably, like, makes the kids think that they can grow fish in the swimming pool and get them out. But, yeah, at dinner, though, the dad is going over the rules of when the kids can leave the house. So this is where we uncover what the meaning of the movie is. [00:31:09] So the kids can leave the compound when one of their canine or dog teeth, like the sharp ones in the front, come out of. So they can only leave the house when one of those teeth fall out. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Like, it can be the right or the left. It doesn't matter. And they can only leave the house in the car, but they cannot learn to drive until the dog tooth that fell out grows back. [00:31:36] So basically, they're never gonna leave because your adult teeth don't grow back. So they are under the impression that one day, like, one of their canine teeth, they're gonna fall out of, and at that point, they'll be deemed ready to leave the house. And then when that tooth grows back, they will learn how to drive. So those are the stipulations for leaving the house. And we know that those things are never going to happen. So we know that that means that they can never leave. [00:32:06] The older daughter then asks at the dinner table, no lessen what the word pussy means, because she saw it on the label of a tape on top of the VCR. And the mom tells her that it is a source of light that you can turn on and off. [00:32:25] Not super far from the truth, but, of course, not the right meaning of the word. And, yeah, why they're labeling videotapes with that word, I'm not entirely sure. [00:32:39] So the dad puts on a record and says that the record is the grandfather singing. It's not. It's Frank Sinatra. It's a song in English. It's a Frank Sinatra record. And the dad is talking over the song the whole time, which is honestly annoying as fuck, but he is translating it into the wrong words. So, like, he's saying, like, oh. Like, he's saying, you better behave your family like, you better respect your loved ones. Like, all these, like, things that the song is not saying. [00:33:16] Now we have Christina putting on her clothes to leave the house, and she's telling the son about a dream that she had where he was a zombie. He asks, or, sorry, Christina asks him if he knows what a zombie is, and he says, yes, but we're going to find out later that that's not true. He doesn't know what that means. [00:33:37] So then Christina goes after that into the older daughter's room again and starts to undress. And this time, she brought the daughter hair gel in exchange for this licking or oral sex that will take place. And the daughter says that she doesn't want that present and she wants something else. So she's starting to, like, learn these, like, negotiating powers, which is really interesting because she doesn't negotiate with her family. So it's kind of odd that she's starting to, like, pick up on these cues. [00:34:07] So she says that she wants some of these movies that Christina has in her purse. And Christina says, no, because, you know, they're not even Christina's. They're rented, so she has to take them back. And Christina says, no, like, I can't give you these. And the daughter's like, well, I'm going to tell my parents that you made me lick your keyboard, because, again, the parents teach them the wrong words and wrong meanings. So vagina, anatomically here, means keyboard. [00:34:42] So Christina then agrees to give her the tapes and says that she needs them back next week because she has to return them. And the older daughter then proceeds to perform oral sex. [00:34:52] That night, the older daughter is in the living room trying to watch the tapes from Christina, and her dad wakes up in the middle of the night and catches her downstairs. He doesn't find the tapes. She doesn't successfully get to watch them. We don't think so we don't know when she gets to actually watch them, but she does. So there's two tapes. We find out that they are rocky and jaws. One of the movies was rocky because she's mimicking, fighting and, like, spitting out cranberry juice. Like, she's getting hit in the face and she's boxing. And we can assume that the other movie is jaws because when she's talking about specific breeds of sharks in the swimming pool with her brother and sister, they don't know what the fuck she's talking about because why would they know about sharks? They probably don't even know what a shark is because they think they can have fish in the pool. So, you know, weird. [00:35:43] And then she starts to pretend to be a shark in the pool, which scares her brother. And she starts to, like, pretty much only speak in, like, movie dialogue. Like, she can, like, quote parts of the movie which. Okay, like, that's pretty fair. I mean, people do that all the time. I mean, shit, I can remember parts of movies, too. So, I mean, that's not really out of the question. So after this encounter, somebody tells dad that, you know, the older sister was able to watch some movies that, like, were outside the home because we know that the movie's inside the home are just home videos. [00:36:16] And so the dad is like, bring me the tapes. So she does. And also bring him a roll of tape. And he. He tapes the tape. The. Like, he uses the tape to tape the video tape. Like Edward, 40, hands to his hand, and he starts to beat the shit out of his daughter's head with the tapes. Like, he's really pissed. [00:36:38] Okay. So then after that. Later that day, obviously, older daughter has a headache, doesn't feel well. I can understand why. And so she's laying with her younger sister, and the younger sister gives her a massage. The older daughter says that she wants her younger sister to call her Bruce. So, yeah, she definitely watched jaws. [00:37:01] And before this, might I remind you, they didn't have names. Like, they don't call each other names even in the credits. Like, it's just older daughter, younger daughter, brother. So the fact that she learns what a name is, she wants to be called this name of Bruce. And it's a weird juxtaposition with the daughter, the younger daughter, because the younger daughter says, well, I want you to call me back. Like, b a c k. Like my back. [00:37:33] And, like, she's looking at the older daughter's back while she's saying it. So, like, one of those is a name, and then, like, one of those is not. And it's, you know. So the older daughter, who experiences watching an american movie, finds out that people have names, and the younger daughter wants to be called back. [00:37:52] So later, the dad goes to Christina's house and beats her with her own VCR player. And before he leaves, he makes sure to tell Christina that he hopes that her kids are born and with bad personalities and bad hearts because she has caused irreparable harm to his family by letting the older daughter watch those movies. [00:38:11] That night. The son screams out in pain while everyone's asleep, and the parents run to his bedroom to see. The younger daughter has a hammer and is standing over her brother with it. He says that she hit him with the hammer because she saw a cat coming through the window. Like, so he's saying, like, oh, this is unprovoked. And the daughter is saying, like, no, I saw a cat come through the window, and I was trying to hit it. [00:38:37] So the dad slaps the son because apparently he's being a little bitch boy. And after asking the son if he took precautions to make sure that the cat didn't enter the room, he then goes back downstairs with his wife. So husband and wife are in the kitchen, and they are literally having a silent conversation. I am not exaggerating. They are mouthing the words to each other, but there is no sound coming out again. I thought I was tripping. So they're silently talking about how they need to find someone to replace Christine and that no one outside of the home will ever be allowed to enter the house again. So at this point, they decide that they're going to let the brother choose one of the sisters to have as a sexual partner. [00:39:24] And the kids don't really think anything of it. They know that they don't like it, but they don't really think anything of it because, again, they don't have any interaction with the outside world, and no one told them there was anything wrong with it. So they take a bath together, all three siblings. And after the brother, with his eyes closed, fondles both sisters, he chooses the older sister. [00:39:46] Later that night, the older sister has the mom do her hair and makeup for her first sexual encounter with her brother. This is fucking disgusting. And she doesn't obviously want to do this. And after the sex is over, she starts to quote violent dialogue from Rocky to her brother about, if I ever see you in my neighborhood again, she's pissed. And she's using this dialogue for the movie to express how upset she is. [00:40:14] The next day, the son calls for his mother outside and says that he found two zombies in the yard. Who fucking knows how anyone came up with this shit in their house, but the zombies that he's talking to are like these little yellow flowers. [00:40:31] Again, I have no idea how they're coming up with this language. [00:40:36] When no one is around. The older daughter sneaks into her parents bedroom and finds that there is a telephone in there because now she's seen these movies and she knows what a telephone looks like. And she tries to, like, use the phone, but, like, she doesn't really know how because she's never seen it before. So, like, when she was watching the movies, she finds out that the word telephone is, like, for an actual telephone and not a salt shaker. And that her parents had been using, like, the word telephone to describe a salt shaker. So that way she couldn't know what an actual telephone is because if she knew what an actual telephone was, she would call somebody, blah, blah, blah. You understand? But she puts the phone away without calling anybody because obviously she doesn't know how to use it. [00:41:20] Okay, so at this point, the family is getting ready for, like, their parents anniversary party. And the older sister asks her younger sister to check and see if her canine tooth is, like, about to fall out because. Cause she thinks it's loose. And the younger one's like, no, not loose at all. Don't get your hopes up. Sorry about your luck. [00:41:40] And now cut to the sisters dancing together. Their brother is playing guitar again. Like, their brother knows how to play the guitar again. They know how to do some things and know nothing about other things. Very confusing. [00:41:55] But they're putting on a performance for their parents, so the younger sister asks if she can be done because she's tired. And the older sister is like, okay, one man show. Let me take it home. She starts to do some pretty erratic dancing, and she's doing the splits and all these moves from dirty dancing, footloose esque type moves. And she gets absolutely exhausted from it all. Can't blame her. [00:42:22] And the mom finally is just like, okay, I'm uncomfortable. Please stop. So the older daughter finally gets to sit down and have some cake. And she's huffing and puffing. And cut. Later, older daughter in the bathroom now with, like, a two pound or five pound dumbbell. She starts to hit herself in the face with it and start smiling. And blood is, like, running into the sink down her face. And she has successfully knocked out one of her canine teeth. [00:42:51] So now it's time for her quote unquote, great escape. She walks outside through the yard to the car and climbs into the trunk. So she climbs in, closes the trunk door. She's hidden. Nobody knows where she is. And the younger sister then goes into her parents bedroom and starts to lick her dad's chest, which is fucking weird and gross. But again, to reiterate, they don't really know what the licking means. They just know that if they lick, then they get something that they want. So he wakes up and she says that she wants the harpoon gun. And he says, that's dangerous, and walks into the bathroom to find the bloody sink and the tooth in the sink. So he walks outside. He can't find the daughter. He runs frantically on foot, looking for her everywhere. He can't find her in or out of the compound at this point. Now the whole family is in a frenzy. All of them are outside. All of them are looking for the sister. The brother is barking. The sister is yelling, Bruce. The mom isn't saying shit because we don't even know what kind of fucking character she plays. And by the way, I will have you know that her stomach didn't get any fucking bigger because she's not pregnant with twins and she's not pregnant with a dog. So, um, anyway, now they're all on the ground. The mom, the son and the younger sister are on the ground on all fours, barking because they're like, oh, shit, it must be a cat, which, of course, it's fucking not. And after that, the parents sit outside at their patio table and the dad says that the next morning he's gonna go pick up the dog. So nothing like this will happen again because I'm gonna go pick up our dog tomorrow. Blah, blah, blah. [00:44:30] The brother and the younger sister sleep in the same bed together that night. And the next morning, the dad leaves for work. [00:44:38] During this whole time, the trunk of the car is closed still and he has literally no idea that she's in there. And in the last scene, we see him arrive at work. He parks outside of the warehouse and goes inside. The movie ends with the camera focused on the trunk of the car and the screen cuts to black. So whether or not she gets out and lives a fulfilling life, we have no idea. Okay, so now grab your brie and your dollar 500 bottle of wine, because it's time to get pretentious. [00:45:09] What does all of this even mean? So this is just what I think, personally. This is what I got out of it. And from what I understand, it seems like many people will have many different, like, interpretations of this movie depending on, like, cultural background or socioeconomic background, but as, like growing up in America, this is, this is what I am reading out of it. [00:45:37] So, like, the only person who's smart enough to get out of this shithole life is the older sister. And like, slowly, day by day, she's uncovering that her world is not limited to what is inside of the gated compound that her parents have built for her. And I think that the worst part of all of it is that the parents seem to be like, they seem to be enjoying doing this to all of their kids. [00:46:01] Not in the sense that, like, they're like, you know, elbowing each other. Like, hehe, look, that was so funny. Like, we taught our kids to talk to the fucking bush. Like, it's kind of almost just like they feel very strongly that, like, this is the right thing to do. Like, they don't even question that this is the way that they should be raising their kids. Like, they are so convinced that this is how it should be done. [00:46:23] So we know that the mom is not pregnant because frankly, like I said, she's not of healthy age to be carrying a child and not carrying twins especially. [00:46:34] And we know that the dad knows that his wife can't give birth to a dog, but he chooses to tell his kids anyway. So it's like he's just like, whatever he can do and whatever she can do to get the kids to just be under their influence is basically what they're going to keep doing. And it's just kind of bizarre. But I. They're not taking joy in it, like I said, in the sense that they're like laughing and crying, laughing hysterically together in bed at night because of it all. But they actually think this is the best idea. [00:47:05] So we can also assume that the brother that lives on the other side of the fence, he never existed. All of this is just a control tactic. All of these are tactics to control their kids. And the kids don't question anything, so it's easy. [00:47:21] And I will say, though, that if they were doing the stuff, some of it to be funny, like, I would totally tell my kid that there's somebody to be angry at on the other side of the fence because that's fucking hilarious. Like, who wouldn't want to watch that? But I don't think that the parents in the movie, they don't exhibit the behavior that they are taking joy in it that way. But I think it's funny. [00:47:44] And I thought, um, like, really in all seriousness, this movie is just about training and manipulation. Like, if it wasn't shoved in your face enough already. Like, the dad just trains his family like dogs. Like, we see the parallel of the dog. Like, he has a dog that he dropped off at the training facility. He checks on the dog. The dog isn't ready to leave because it's not done being trained. The kids and the mind of the dad and in reality, are literally not prepared for the real world. So, like, they're gonna have to stay at home until he feels like they're ready. The dog is kept in a cage. The kids are kept in the house. [00:48:21] He just sees his kids like dogs. And that's probably why, literally, the kids don't even have names, not even in the credits. Like I said, they are so insignificant in his dad's or in the dad's mind that it doesn't even warrant giving them names because they're just dogs. And Roger Ebert, in his review, did give this movie three stars, which was pretty good for him. But he did say that he didn't laugh at all during the movie. And I definitely 100% laughed quite a bit during this movie because I was so unreasonably uncomfortable. This movie literally does not have a film score. Like, there's no music in this movie. It's so uncomfortable, and this movie is just so odd to me. But I think Roger Ebert said it best. Like, he said, his cinematography is like a series of family photographs of a family with something wrong with it. And I think that's totally true. Like, we're looking at this family through the lens that they want to be seen through, of. Like, we're just like an everyday lawyer in their lives, in their home, and I. They don't really care. Like, they're just like, yeah, we're not going to interact or interfere. We're not going to change the way we're doing anything. Even when Christina is there, Christina is the only outside person they have, and she never, ever, like, she never interferes with anything other than trading items for oral sex with the kids. So it's very odd to. And really, they don't show us any world outside of the compound either. But we don't need to see the outside world. We don't need to see it because the kids don't have anything to do with it. So to show more scenes in the warehouse or scenes at a mall or a grocery store wouldn't make a difference because the kids aren't going to be participating in that world really more broadly. I just think that this film is about for me. Again, this is just for me, but I think this film is about criticism or commentary about parenting styles. And there's so many different styles of parenting in the world. And this just takes the protective parent, protective parent to the extreme. And this film does that in the best way. So many parents take the approach of, like, well, my kids aren't allowed to watch that movie or go to that person's house or hear that word or whatever. It could be anything. And that never made sense to me because would you rather let them find out 18 years later that the world is fucked up? Or maybe you could just do your job as a parent, like, now, and talk about real things in the world and teach your kids, like, I don't know, food for thought, I guess. But I always think, and I do mean always, that the style of parenting that tries to shield their kids from the real world is lazy. Like, it's just laziness. They would rather defer that to someone else and make it someone else's responsibility. Like, why would I talk to my kids about sex? They're just going to learn about it from their friends. So that takes away my responsibility to teach my kids about that topic. And I don't want to teach them about that topic anyway because it makes me uncomfortable. Like, if you don't want to be a parent, just say so. Like, I grew up in a household where if I asked my parents a question, they answered it. I was never lied to or told that, like, it meant something different or that I wasn't really old enough to watch or hear or read something. Like, my parents didn't try to shield me from life. My parents raised me to be an adult. And even now, I'm not shocked in the world when someone tells me something like, oh, a guy in Florida killed people. I believe you. Like, I'm not surprised by how evil the world can be. Which really made my transition from living with my parents to living on my own actually relatively easy and prepared me to, like, take precautions basically for certain situations. Like, my parents never tried to be like, oh, like, you know, the world is all rainbows and butterflies and perfect and everybody just wants to help you. So, you know, if you're having a long day and somebody offers to take you home, like, just let them. Like, no, fuck that. No, my parents never did that. [00:52:37] They always taught me from the very beginning, like, that people are dangerous. Things are dangerous. The world is not a nice place. Here's why. [00:52:46] But my parents weren't lazy. So, you know, like I said, I think the style of parenting where you shield your kids from things or choose to explicitly not talk about things with them makes, like, it sets them up for failure. [00:53:03] And in all, I feel like this movie is just a criticism of that super overprotective parenting style. And it's a good critique at that. Like, the parents taught their kids that the salt shaker is called a telephone. And literally no one questions that until, of course, the older daughter watches jaws and Rocky and finds out that the telephone is an actual device that she can use to call people. But that was her, like, great awakening for sure. But to, like, blindly obey and accept whatever people tell you just because they're older than you or because you trust them means absolutely nothing. And this is why I've never understood the idea that, like, back talking is a thing. Like, if someone tells me to do something but I don't understand why, then I'm not gonna do it. Like, I'm just not. I don't just do things because people tell me to do them. And I think that that's a good quality to have. But apparently parents find that disrespectful. So, like, for example, like, if my parents told me that I had to brush my teeth twice a day, but I didn't do that already, then I would want to know why I was being told to do that. Like, why should I devote more of my time to doing something like that if there's no purpose? Is there a purpose? Oh, it's gonna make my teeth healthier. Okay, that sounds great. Then I'm gonna do that. Like, I have to have some reasoning. I don't just, like, blindly accept things from people, and I personally think that that's a great characteristic to have. [00:54:25] So I also think that some parents have this, like, twisted, narcissistic view of themselves that they're, like, inherently perfect people and have never done anything wrong in their lives, so they want their kids to be, like, the exact copy of them, which totally takes away your kid's ability to think freely. [00:54:42] And I. [00:54:44] Like, I think that does your kid a huge disservice. It also puts your kid at risk of being easily impressionable. Like, oh, yeah, mom and dad, I did coke at that party last weekend because my friends told me to do it. And, like, I don't ask questions about things that people tell me to do, so I just did it. Like, how is. How. Why, why is that? Okay, it sets your kid up for failure. Like, you take your kids to church every single Sunday unless you're dying or in the hospital. And then when your kid grows up and moves out you find out they hate church and they don't believe in God, and now you're mad at them because that's not how you raise them. Like, let it go. You set them up for you to get to be mad at them later. Like, how is that fair? [00:55:26] How selfish of a person do you have to be? That type of parenting and control is far from healthy. And you can see the perfect example of this with the kids in the movie, Christina tells the older daughter to lick her vagina. And like I said, this doesn't mean anything to the older daughter. So if she doesn't understand what it means, then she does it, and that makes it even more terrible because she's being exploited, because she's so naive that it makes her the perfect target. And because an older person, like, a person older than her, is telling her to do it, she just does it. And had her parents told her that that's not appropriate unless, like, it's fully consensual and there's no weird power dynamic at play that she's been taken advantage of. So her transition to the real world when she gets out of the trunk of the car is not going to be easy or healthy. Great parenting, mom and dad. Thanks so much for sheltering your kids this whole time. Like, it's just. It's just a great commentary that this type of parenting can't work. It can't work, and it can't build healthy, strong, free thinking adults. And that's why, like, whenever the older daughter gets these movies that she watches, that knowledge is her key to freedom. Like, she gets her knowledge that, like, her parents have been lying to her about all this, that she starts to question things, and that's why she knocks her tooth out, right? Like, she knocks her tooth out because she's like, oh, well, like, my parents say it's gonna fall out, but, like, I think I'm old enough and my tooth isn't even loose, so I'm just gonna get rid of it, and I'll play this game, and then I'll get to leave. So, like, the older daughter is. This is, like, a coming of age story for her, really, in, like, a really fucked up sense. And the younger sister and the brother are just gonna stay at home and just keep, like, perpetuating this cycle of, like, okay, like, I'm gonna take my sister's spot now because you and I are the only people left here, and we're the only people that don't question mom and dad. So we get to stay here, and then maybe one day, maybe it is true that our dog teeth will fall out because look what happened to our sister. Like, hers fell out, so she got to leave. Like, I can't wait for that to happen to me. So, like, it's just sets everything up for failure. And, like, I think that depending on, like, what background you have or even, like, where you grew up, like, we'll definitely have a different meaning on this. Like, I was listening to a podcast called unspooling, and they talk about how, like, the hosts talk about how, like, people, people from other countries, like, sometimes see this as a commentary on fascism. Like, the person in power at home is the dad. People do whatever he says. Nobody questions it. And you just blindly doing things that other people tell you. You're just obeying things that other people tell you to do, and you're not thinking for yourself. And how easy would it be to brainwash somebody like that? And that's why whenever the older daughter, if we can imagine a world where she does get out of the trunk of the car, she's not gonna have, like, a healthy, productive life for a very long time, if ever, because she doesn't even know what words to call things. Like, in their household, they were taught that yellow flowers growing on the lawn, which are just weeds, basically are called zombies. Like, they don't have a good understanding or conceptualization the world. [00:59:01] So, yeah, so that's that. That's that movie. And if you made it this far with me, thank you so much. If you chose to cut out during the middle, I respect it, and you're probably not going to hear this, but hey, I respect you for setting that boundary with yourself. [00:59:22] I have two quick things at the end. I know this one was kind of a long one. The first one is, I do finally have an Instagram for the podcast now. So that is final girl on six on Instagram. I'm going to start posting there a little bit, so if you would give me a follow, that would be amazing. If you have any suggestions for the show, you can message me there or at, you can email [email protected]. dot. That's finalgirl on six. Thenumb sixmail.com dot. And if you haven't already, please, it would mean a lot to me if you could leave me a five star review on Apple Podcasts. And if you feel so inclined to leave me a comment, I would really appreciate that as well. So thank you so, so much for listening along and sticking with me through this journey as I kind of figure out what kind of podcasting styles and what movies I like, but we're gonna stick to the elevated horror for a while. [01:00:18] I think they're my favorite, so I don't know that I'll ever change that. But if you guys have any suggestions or questions, comments, concerns, etcetera, please let me know and I will talk to you next week where I'll be talking about another elevated horror movie. So make sure you have all of your pretentious classical music playing in the background and are ready to talk about it in a very unpretentious way. This is the final girl on 6th Avenue podcast. Thank you so much.