Out There in the Dark

Christopher Nolan’s imprimatur is such that every new release is met with an enthusiasm usually reserved for professional sports. As an auteur, Nolan is akin to a "gifted" kid: highly intelligent, hyper-focused, a bit nerdy, and occasionally insufferable. But whatever your opinion of him, his platform is massive—which is precisely what makes his latest project so intriguing.
Based faithfully on Homer’s The Odyssey, Nolan’s interpretation is an impressive, yet ultimately unmemorable film. While he sticks closely to the canonical text, the updates and changes he employs are both fascinating and problematic. The performances are uniformly strong, but Nolan once again struggles to write convincing female characters, seems incapable of humor, and remains so obsessed with structure and form that it hurts the emotional core of the story.
Join Azed and Tom as they answer the Siren’s call for this episode—even though everyone else begged them not to.
 

This week, hosts Azed Majeed and Tom Alexander step into the frame to track the erratic, brilliant orbit of Hollywood’s ultimate populist chameleon. From his raw, Roger Corman–style B-movie roots to massive cultural landmarks like The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, Demme proved that intense formal experimentation does not have to result in cold, intellectual detachment.
While legendary as an "actor's director" who captured uniquely intimate, substantive performances, Azed and Tom look past the surface to analyze Demme's precise formal grammar. They break down the mechanics of his iconic direct-to-camera close-ups and explore how his democratic, deep-focus framing shattered standard cinematic hierarchies—directly paving the way for the operatic ensembles of Paul Thomas Anderson.
The conversation dives deep into the "kinesic collisions" of his soundtracks (from Stop Making Sense to Something Wild), tackles the heavy sociopolitical and representation controversies surrounding Buffalo Bill, and delivers a vital psychoanalytic reassessment of his criminally underrated, gothic horror adaptation of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Ultimately, they argue for a complete reappraisal of a director whose auteurist stamp was a radical, open-armed humanism—proving that there is a distinct, undeniable feeling to being in a Demme movie, where the lens is driven by a profound civility and a refusal to look down on a single soul.

Not since the cultural phenomenon of Barbenheimer has the cinema seen a box office boom quite like this. But this time, the revolution isn't coming from legacy directors or massive studio IP—it's coming straight from YouTube.
In this episode of Out There in the Dark, we are breaking down the staggering, paradigm-shifting success of Kane Parsons’ The Backrooms and Curry Barker’s Obsession. Both of these micro-budget, high-concept psychological thrillers bypassed the traditional Hollywood machine, proving that a brilliant premise and a dedicated digital community can completely upend the studio algorithm. With no massive stars leading the way, these two films have officially achieved blockbuster status, rewriting the rules of what makes a modern movie event.
Join Azed and Tom as they get "obsessive" and noclip deep into the cultural significance, hidden anxieties, and cinematic architecture of these two groundbreaking films. Turn off the lights, lock the doors, and join us out there in the dark.

If cinema is the closest thing we have to time travel, then watching "old" movies is our most direct portal into the psyche of the past. These films do more than just capture a moment; they contextualize the global industry’s shifts, the trends of the era, and the evolving politics and psychologies of the public.
So many movies, so little time—but we’re on the case.
In this installment of our ongoing series, "Criminally Forgotten Movies," we dig through the archives to unearth two cinematic gems that deserve a second look.
Tom’s Selection: The 1943 American horror-thriller The Seventh Victim (dir. Mark Robson). This cult classic feels startlingly ahead of its time, weaving together threads of nihilism, "Goth" sexuality, and progressive subtexts.
Azed’s Pick: The 1979 "love" story Chilly Scenes of Winter (dir. Joan Micklin Silver). A masterclass in late-70s ennui, this film captures the aimlessness of aging hippies in the pre-Reagan era. Starring John Heard and the late Mary Beth Hurt, it remains one of Azed’s all-time favorites.
Join us as we bridge the gap between film history and the cultural snapshots these masterpieces left behind.

Once again it is confirmed that a large hotel is a world unto itself and that this world is like the rest of the large world. The guests here roam about in their light-hearted, careless summer existence without suspecting anything of the strange mysteries circulating among them."
 
— Siegfried Kracauer, The Hotel Lobby
On this special episode of Out There in the Dark, Azed and Tom check in to Hotel Confidential.
This week, we’re shifting our focus to a unique collaboration. Hotel Confidential is a new three-day contemporary art exhibition that brings together 16 local and international artists to reimagine The Royal Hotel’s Annex in Picton, Prince Edward County. Curated by Christina Zeidler and Stacey Sproule, the exhibition transforms the hotel into a site for radical artistic experimentation and unexpected encounters.
The curators reached out to us to explore the cinematic DNA of the hotel, and we’re checking in for a deep dive. From the sterile isolation of high-end suites to the decaying hallways of the mind, we discuss six films that define the "hotel movie":
Grand Hotel (1932, Edmund Goulding)
Hotel Monterey (1972, Chantal Akerman)
Mystery Train (1989, Jim Jarmusch)
Barton Fink (1991, Joel & Ethan Coen)
Lost in Translation (2003, Sofia Coppola)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, Wes Anderson)
Films set primarily in hotels possess a peculiar, uncanny quality. Regardless of genre, the hotel is never just a backdrop; it is a structural machine. By offering both extreme privacy (the "Do Not Disturb" sign) and exposed public arenas (the lobby, the bar), hotels reflect both a rigid socio-political hierarchy and a Freudian dreamscape.
Whether they are exposing the machinery of capitalism or the hidden selves we keep behind closed doors, hotel movies invite us to see ourselves in a new light—as long as it isn't a UV light.

The Acadamy Awards is known for being a self-congratulating, elitist, popularity contest soaked in cringe inducing segments and usually that is an accurate description. The 2026 show thankfully seemed to focus a little bit more on the actual quality of the films nominated. Yes, there were the usual awkward, phony-baloney things going on, but with a spate of excellent features, docs and technical achievements the Oscar's are actually becoming relevant again. 
Azed & Tom do a quick and dirty wrap up of the actual Oscar's ceremony, the good, the bad and the ugly (The Bum Drum?). Also, a surprise announcement revealing our participation in an upcoming cool project! 

The spate of films being considered for this year’s Oscars is among the best we’ve seen in a long time. With titles like The Secret Agent, Train Dreams, and One Battle After Another, it seems the Academy is finally catching up to the audience's desire for challenging, experimental, and—dare we say it—non-English fare.
Perhaps this year, amidst the global anxiety, fear, and unpredictability, we are finally realizing art’s role in informing, enlightening, and fighting back against the darkness threatening to envelop the planet. What we see in this year’s nominations is a true recognition of cinema's power to throw light into that void.
Whether it’s a film about Brazil in 1977 like The Secret Agent, or one that infiltrates resistance groups like the fictional French 75 in One Battle After Another, these stories center on rebellion, resistance, and heavy ethical considerations.
Join Tom and Azed as they dissect this year’s Oscars and select their favored picks to win. Plus, Tom makes an impassioned plea for his personal favorite movie of the year: Melania.

Arguably most famous for spawning the self-evolving Halloween franchise, John Carpenter is a true cinema maverick. Crossing genre boundaries usually adhered to strictly by competent craftspeople, Carpenter may represent a bygone figure in cinema; a true auteur. Carpenter's films bear an umistakable signature style. Carpenter was as at ease with sci-fi,  The Thing and Escape From New York,  as he was in mind benders like In The Mouth of Madness or even in romantic comedy, Starman. From his distinctive scores, which he often pens and performs, to his use of unglamorous stars, his clearly leftist anti-capitalist politics, and his ability to create cult classics like The Live! (a favourite of leftist academics). Azed and Tom dive deep into the Carpenter's oeuvre.
And we also touch on the greatest moment in cinema history! Of course we speak of the premiere of Melania.

Few works of art have ascended to the level of universal archetype, even fewer by 19 year old women in 1818, but Mary Shelly's Frankenstein has achieved this place of distinction in the world of letters. The story of the writing of the novel (Lord Byron and the Shelly's stuck indoors during a stormy few days, deciding to write ghost stories as a way of passing time) is as mythic as the book. With the  invention of cinema our long and varied relationship with the whole Frankenstein mythos began. Starting in the silent era Frankenstein has been a consistent cautionary tale of hubris and ambitious overreaching and marks the start of the "body horror" genre. 
In this episode Azed and Tom discuss Guillermo del Torro's latest version of Frankenstein and take the opportunity to discuss the history of cinematic renderings of the Frankenstein story and it's influence on film as a whole. From James Whales' original masterpiece the themes of giving birth to something (or somone) who eventually destroys you, has been a mainstay of artistic re-imaginings from Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things onto del Torro's latest. Tune in and find out which Frankenstein themed films make our favourites list.

On this episode of Out There in the dark, we take a deep dive into PT Anderson‘s latest epic, weird, and thrilling One Battle After Another. At a time when our world is being rocked by corrupt and dark forces, Anderson explores with subtlety and humour, the issues that plague us on the daily. We also go through Anderson’s oeuvre from his first film, Hard 8 (1996) to OBAA. And we say a fond farewell to cinema’s greatest actors, Diane Keaton.

Toronto hosts one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and this year Tom and Azed managed to move off their respective couches and see a few films.  The festival has always been a defining characteristic of Toronto's love affair with movies, which draws huge audiences to see some of the world's least seen artwork. Of course, over the years, TIFF has embraced a more mainstream, commercial approach which has largely obscured the work of independent filmmakers but there is still a strong element of curating films from underserved and underrepresented artists. Join Azed & Tom as they discuss the history of the festival, what they saw this year, and the death of film icon, Robert Redford, who created the world renowned Sundance Film Festival.  A festival of festivals, if you will.

Ari Aster’s latest film, EDDINGTON, has polarized critical intelligentsia. While a few have hailed it as a “masterpiece” many others have decried it as at best an ambitious flop. As with Aster’s last “flop” Beau is Afraid, critics and audiences alike seem confused and disappointed by Aster’s non-horror films.  Without the surface excitement of supernaturally tinged serial killings or sadistic torture, Aster’s non-horror films seem to lean more art house than grindhouse. With Eddington, Aster has made his most accomplished and politically potent film to date. Set during the 2020 lockdowns, Eddington scales the mass paranoia and detachment from reality which proliferated at that time-and continues to grow- way down to a tiny western town. Embedding huge political and moral concerns in the fabric of everyday small town western American life is what gives Eddington its power and clarity. What happens in microcosm also happens in macro. That the petty bickering and fully formed silo’s of disinfo serve to mask the data processing center being negotiated to be housed outside Eddington, perfectly encapsulates the way our behaviors and ideas often are manipulated and exploited for corporate and fascist interests. Join Azed and Tom as they discuss one of the most controversial films of the year so far, a film they both believe is one of the best of the year.
 

EXCLUSIVE! WE HAVE THE LIST!
That's right, the list of the best movies of the past 25 years.  Putting aside our usual snobby pooh-poohing of so called "best of..." lists, Azed and Tom have created lists to end all lists. Stop saying list!
Taking off from the (failing?) New York Times' Best of the Century , which chose PARASITE as their top film, and Rolling Stones 100 Best List , which chose the slightly more reasonable There Will Be Blood as the greatest of the century, we decided to do a serious and definitive list of our own. We have very high opinions of our own opinions, and that's why no one likes us. Still, we persist. 
So, hey forget about the ugly, horrorshow taking place all around us right this second, and treat yourselves to the soothing, dulcet tones of Azed's listing off his wise and audacious selections. Apologies for Tom's part, just forward through or, for those who like a challenge, endure it and learn how to distinguish between Azed's excellent curation and Tom's mostly "meh" choices.
Written by Anonymous (not Azed)

As the world slides inexorably towards xenophobia, authoritarianism, and flat out racism, the cinema of Jim Jarmush offers a crucial counterpoint to the dehumanizing of the other as a means of social control.  Jarmush, a staple of the New York punk and post-punk art scene broke onto the scene with Stranger Than Paradise (1982) which introduced the cool, art house, minimalism that has become the hallmark of Jarmush's oeuvre.  By centering the outsider, the foreigner, the artist and the marginal, Jarmush cements his position as a humanist filmmaker in the tradition of the Transcendentalist filmmakers; Ozu, Dreyer and Bresson.  Join Azed and Tom for a deep dive into the restorative and poetic cinema of Jim Jarmush.

Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal is probably the most brilliantly strange "reality" show to date.  An uncanny mixture of documentary, memoir, comedy show, and adventure movie, The Rehearsal pushes the usual conventions of TV, deconstructing the elements that go into producing and directing an almost impossible series of thrilling, funny and bizzare segments. Fielder, a bona fide eccentric and oddball, is clearly interested in revealing the absurdity of attempting to document actual life, while sparing no expense (HBO's money!) to make the attempt nonetheless. As Oscar Wilde once said, "All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.”  More than any other creator currently making art, Fielder is in the Wilde camp. Art may be futile, but it's very futility is it's greatest liberty. 
Join Tom and Azed as they dive into The strange and beautiful world of The Rehearsal. Also in this episode: mini reviews of Sinners, The Shrouds, Thunderbolts and some reco's from The Cannes Film Fest.

Roger Corman (April 5, 1926 -May 9, 2024)—an iconic figure whose influence on Hollywood is nothing short of legendary—traversed the cinematic landscape from the late 1950's to the 1990's. Celebrated as the "Pope of Pop Cinema," the "Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood," and the "King of Cult," Corman was a pioneering force in independent filmmaking, forever reshaping the industry with his innovative spirit.
Throughout his illustrious career, Corman collaborated with an impressive roster of emerging filmmakers, many of whom would go on to dominate the industry. Names such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, James Cameron, and Jonathan Demme began their journeys under his mentorship. It has often been remarked that Corman’s guidance served as a vital training ground—what James Cameron famously referred to as the "Roger Corman Film School."
His influence extended beyond mentorship; he was a catalyst for creativity and innovation. Nicolas Roeg served as the cinematographer for The Masque of the Red Death, while many of his protégés achieved Oscar success. Corman’s reputation for fostering talent with a blend of encouragement and challenge left an indelible mark on cinema. As he famously advised, “If you do a good job on this film, you’ll never have to work for me again,” exemplifying his role as both mentor and pioneer in the cinematic world.
Join Azed and Tom as they explore the life and work of Roger Corman, a true maverick and inspiration for all aspiring filmmakers.  

The recent and tragic news of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, has left movie fans around the world reeling. While the unsettling details surrounding their passing may capture attention, this isn’t TMZ. Instead, we choose to honor the life and extraordinary talent of one of the greatest actors of our time. Gene Hackman was renowned for his unparalleled ability to convey authenticity—something that is notoriously difficult for actors to achieve. He masterfully portrayed characters with remarkable depth and complexity, from flawed anti-heroes to charismatic villains and enigmatic oddballs, always infusing his roles with genuine humanity.Join Azed and Tom as they celebrate their favorite performances by Gene Hackman.

One of the least explored subgenres in cinema is the short-lived, radical category known as "punk film." This genre emerged in response to the rise of punk music in the late 1970s, which served as a counterpoint to the hedonistic glam of disco and dance music—a genre I also enjoy. However, punk's emergence was more than just a musical trend; it was a political reaction against the shift toward right-wing and neoliberal policies in Britain and America. Punk embraced a "DIY (Do It Yourself)" ethos that challenged the notion of expertise as an elitist barrier to creative expression. With this DIY spirit, anyone could participate and create without needing to be a skilled musician or filmmaker.Notable examples of punk cinema include Susan Seidelman's *Smithereens* (1982), Allan Moyle's *Times Square* (1980), Julien Temple's *The Great Rock and Roll Swindle* (1980), and Gregg Araki's *The Doom Generation* (1994). However, the film that arguably stands as the "Citizen Kane" of punk cinema is Alex Cox's *Repo Man* (1984). This visionary film captured the punk ethos of early 1980s Los Angeles. *Repo Man* is smart, bizarre, hilarious, and cosmic—making it one of the standout films of the underground cinema of that decade. Join Azed and Tom as they explore this remarkable work by the often-overlooked Alex Cox.

Welcome to our annual Oscar's Bitch Fest. 2025, this year with 50% less 'bitchiness'.  Largely unpolitical, this year's Oscar's seem to successfully navigate the current chaos and produce an entertaining, actually funny and drama free event. However, smooth sailing can make for an uninspiring and somewhat boring ride. If it wasn't for Adrian Brody's eccentric acceptance speech, I wouldn't have cringed at all.  
Join Azed & Tom as they discuss the winners and losers, the surprises and the highlights of the 2025 Oscars. 
P.S. Azed crushing on Mikey Madison does not violate his restraining order.

With the passing of David Lynch we mourn the loss of a true artist and spiritual guide. Anyone familiar with Lynch, the man and his work, knew him to be a study in the paradoxical.  His All-American "boy next door" character and rural common sense, always sat oddly beside the nightmare cinematic worlds he created.  Mel Brooks, who hired him to direct The Elephant Man, called him "Jimmy Stewart from Mars".  For all the debate around auteurism, Lynch was the quintessential auteur. His films, from Eraserhead, through to the brilliant third season of Twin Peaks, are ireplicable, as influential as he has been, there is no equivalent visionary in today's cinematic landscape. Blending elements of surrealism, film noir, german expressionism, horror and soap opera, Lynch's oeuvre stands as a coherent, if highly symbolic, statement on darkness and light, good and evil, memory and fantasy.  In this sense, Lynch was more than just a great film director, his life and work are a model of the "art life", wherein one dedicates themselves fully to the serious pursuit of art as a way to excavate the hidden, often horrific,  realities behind the facades of the seemingly banal everyday.  Join Azed and Tom as they pay tribute to one of the greatest artists of our lifetime.