Sam Kench

  • How a South Korean Horror Film Became A Japanese Musical

    How a South Korean Horror Film Became A Japanese Musical

    1998’s The Quiet Family from South Korean writer/director Kim Jee-woon is a dark comedy horror/thriller. When Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike decided to remake the film as The Happiness of the Katakuris, he did so as a musical with goofy humor and wild stop-motion animation. This video essay explores how the story translated into different genres… Read more

  • Savage Vengeance — possibly the worst movie on Tubi

    Savage Vengeance — possibly the worst movie on Tubi

    I was joined by Greg Mallette to watch Savage Vengeance, which is a strong contender for the title of the single worst movie on Tubi. Our live reactions and commentary are in the video below. 0/10 Read more

  • The Disappearance of Su Tissue of Suburban Lawns

    The Disappearance of Su Tissue of Suburban Lawns

    Suburban Lawns was a new wave band that only released a single full album + one EP, but that was enough for me to get hooked on their sound. When I looked for more from one of the lead singers, Su Tissue, I found that she dropped off the map entirely. Here’s the story of… Read more

  • The Tragic Story of Barbara Loden, the Lost New Hollywood Pioneer

    The Tragic Story of Barbara Loden, the Lost New Hollywood Pioneer

    The tragic story of Barbara Loden, who helped pioneer the New Hollywood movement but was almost entirely forgotten in her time. Her lone feature film, Wanda, wasn’t properly reevaluated as a groundbreaking achievement until many years after her death. The video essay below covers her entire all-too-short body of work. Read more

  • The Forgotten Nightmares of Made-for-TV Horror Movies

    The Forgotten Nightmares of Made-for-TV Horror Movies

    A joint review looking back at some made-for-TV horror movies that are at risk of falling into obscurity but are worth remembering and preserving. The TV movies included are: “Ghostwatch” and “Whistle and I’ll Come to You” from the U.K., “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” from the U.S., and “The Telephone Box” aka “La Cabina”… Read more

  • Unseen Journey — an old freemason recruitment video

    Unseen Journey — an old freemason recruitment video

    Grey and I found an old freemason recruitment video on VHS at a Goodwill and watched/reacted to it on camera. Here’s what happened: Read more

  • The Best Found Footage Horror Movie You’ve Never Seen

    The Best Found Footage Horror Movie You’ve Never Seen

    From Japanese horror filmmaker Koji Shiraishi, often considered a master of the found footage format, comes the underrated and under seen film “A Record of Sweet Murder,” which was made in South Korea and stars a partially South Korean cast. Here’s my review highlighting the movie as an under the radar gem. 8.5/10 Read more

  • The Films of 2024, ranked

    The Films of 2024, ranked

    Here is a ranking of all the films I’ve seen that were released in 2024. The video below covers all of the 2024 releases that I watched by the close of the year, but the text list below includes a ton of extra 2024 movies that I watched later on after making the video (updated… Read more

  • Every Video Game I played in 2024. ranked

    Every Video Game I played in 2024. ranked

    Here’s a list of every video game that completed in 2024 ranked from worst to best. The number of games that I finished in 2024 jumped way up from previous years, largely because I was trying to play more and a wider variety as I got going on my video game project: Hardcore Homicide. The… Read more

  • My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done Deserves More Respect

    My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done Deserves More Respect

    An entry in my Deserves More Respect series for Werner Herzog X David Lynch collaboration “My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.” Read more