Film Shrapnel
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© Tobias and Craig
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The Film Shrapnel lads love films of all genres, though they certainly have a penchant for the weird, wonderful, and underrated, as well as the downright stupid, ridiculous, and trashy. Hosted by uni friends Tobias and Craig, they do their best to dissect every film they watch. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and follow on social media to never miss a beat.
142 Episodes
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The title of Ichi the Killer appears to you from jizz overflowing from a flowerpot after our protagonist ejaculates while watching a pimp savagely beat and rape his girlfriend. That pretty much sets the tone of this film. What makes Ichi the Killer stand out over the waves of other violent films (from Japan and elsewhere in the world) is its focus on sado-masochism. One character is a highly violent yakuza operative obsessed with receiving pain; the other is a simpleton who’s been manipulated into assassinating yakuza members—oh, and he’s also obsessed with rape! Women are treated horrendously badly in this film; there are plenty of highly unusual moments, and it is clearly designed to shock you. So, buckle up! Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
Lady Vengeance is Park Chan-wook’s final exploration into the theme of revenge, and yet again, he finds new territory to explore. It follows a woman hell bent on revenge after being released from prison. Known to most as a kind-hearted woman, her dedication to revenge knows no bounds. The ending is grim and phenomenal, pushing the theme of revenge even further to ‘organised revenge’ or ‘democratic revenge’. Lady Vengeance clearly attempts to link to the other two films in several ways (the theme of kidnapping is again explored), and as a result, it sometimes feels a bit forced. Nevertheless, it’s essential viewing for lovers of Oldboy. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
Oldboy gets so many things right—excellent plot, superb acting, an amazing opening, a filthy twist, and entertaining throughout. It put Chan-wook on the world stage, and it was only a matter of time before we covered this masterpiece on the podcast. Oldboy is also one of Tobias’s top films ever and includes one of Craig’s favourite fight scenes. It’s a film that any respectable cinephile probably has on DVD locked away for safekeeping (as we do, of course). And, Craig—for some strange reason—also put himself through the misery of watching Spike Lee’s remake and provides some commentary on how disappointing it is in comparison to the original. Essentially, it was a remake no one asked for, and it’s littered with poor decisions—almost none of it is redeemable. We’re both super happy to discuss Oldboy along with the rest of the Vengeance Trilogy, to understand the film in the context of Chan-wook’s broader work. Many people likely don’t know that there are other films associated with Oldboy. In our next episode, we’ll complete the trilogy with Lady Vengeance. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
What’s really great about Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is that it captures how revenge never ends well. It creates a cycle that cannot be stopped and has unintended consequences that can backfire on the ones you love the most. By the end of the film, you find yourself asking, ‘Who actually is Mr. Vengeance?’ To be honest, we weren’t expecting much from this film, but it’s excellent and criminally underrated. In short, it follows a deaf-mute who, with his anti-fascist girlfriend, decides to kidnap his ex-boss’s daughter for ransom to pay for his sister’s kidney transplant (and that’s all we’ll say for now). Tobias and Craig made the excellent decision to watch the entirety of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy—Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance. In the next two episodes, we’ll cover parts 2 and 3—the critically acclaimed Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. Apologies again for Tobias’s poor audio! At points, his laptop sounds like a roaring F1 car. We’ll buy him a new one one day. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
In this short episode, the Film Shrapnel lads discuss IMDb ratings and their accuracy. There’s a lot to talk about and Craig has prepared some talking points.Who primarily uses IMDb, and does that skew ratings for certain genres and prevent international cinema from getting as much attention as Western films? What about the top-rated films on IMDb? Does The Shawshank Redemption belong at the top? Are other measurements more effective? What about Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic?This episode is a redo of an episode we recorded last year for season 2, but unfortunately, we had mega bad audio issues, so we had to axe it. (It all started when Tobias and Craig disagreed on whether the 1999 version of The Mummy was a good film.) Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
We’re finally doing something Lynch! Why did it take us so long? With the legendary director’s death last year, we had to watch something of his, and it just so happens that Wild at Heart is one of Tobias’s favourite films of all time.It also features Nicholas Cage in a role that fits him perfectly, Laura Dern at her finest, and Willem Defoe stealing the limelight in the creepiest way possible.After Megalopolis and Neil Breen’s Twisted Pair, Wild at Heart was a breath of well-needed fresh air. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
What on Earth happened to this film? How did the legendary director of The Godfather end up creating this monstrously bad movie? Tobias and Craig are at a loss. Try as they might, there’s little redeemable to discuss in Megalopolis.What makes it sadder is Coppola sank his wine business to pay for this pitiful film, and it will probably be the last thing he ever makes. It’s a film he should never have made. Visually, it's yucky. The acting is horrid (except for a few cast members that we really like). But most of all, so much of it doesn’t make any sense.In fact, the plot is so muddled, it’s hard to believe Coppola worked on this film for decades before it got made.It’s a sad and frustrating film, and there’s a lot to talk about. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
Tobias tells Craig his plan to reimagine The Warriors—The Warriors FC—and Craig is more than happy to help him flesh out this idea.Here’s the plot: Imagine The Warriors was set in modern-day London. All the top English football firms are getting together for a big meet-up at the edge of the city. They’re going to team up for England at the World Cup to beat the crap out of all the other fans abroad, but suddenly ‘Cyrus’ is shot, and the Warriors FC are blamed and must escape home while other firms hunt them down. We talk a lot about English actors and get distracted by characters called Craig in movies (they’re always the worst). No West Ham fans allowed! Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
Tobias has been nagging Craig to watch The Warriors for years. Craig finally caved in, and it was super worth it. While it’s a dated film and there’s plenty to laugh at, there’s also a lot of good stuff to talk about, and it’s very influential.The plot is simple. A street gang must get from one side of New York to the other while the rest of the city hunts them down falsely believing they assassinated the chief of the biggest gang in the city.The Warriors is flamboyant and super 80s (for a movie from 1979), the dialogue is ridiculous, and the role of women is problematic. However, the bulk of the film is just a bunch of ‘kids’ trying to survive and get home. There’s no social message, though could’ve had more action.It’s a film that deserves a remake. Tobias has a plan, and he reveals it all in the next episode! Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
Twisted Pair was Craig’s idea, and Tobias absolutely hates this film. Despite that, there’s so much to talk about—but none of it is good. There’s not much intelligence here… BUT we did laugh a lot.What is Twisted Pair about? It’s pretty hard to tell. Like other Neil Breen films, he’s the director, producer, writer, and stars as the protagonist.What makes this one special is that he plays twins—one with a terrible fake beard. It’s like an awful student film, or as Tobias described it, “it’s like watching someone shouting at pigeons in the park.”There’s so much stock footage and green screen that it’ll make your eyes puke. Twisted Pair definitely belongs in the ‘so bad it’s good pile.’ We originally planned to do a month of Breen films, but it looks like there’s no chance we can convince Tobias to do that! We’ll need to recover from this. Might just read a book to recover from this one! Note: At one point, Craig says that Breen made his money as a real estate agent. In reality, he’s an architect. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
Following The Substance, we’re watching another excellent film from 2024. Surprisingly, it’s a horror film… with Hugh Grant as the villain? As strange as it sounds, Grant makes this film an amazing watch.What makes his role even more impressive, is that you can’t but help agree with the things his character says. Heretic could be called a ‘Christian horror’ movie. It discusses many of the flaws in Christianity but without belittling the religion.It suggests that Christians can still follow the faith despite knowing that there are some things that don’t quite make sense or parts of Christianity potentially borrowed from others.Lastly, it’s also refreshing to see Mormon characters played as regular people, not just an okay faith to laugh at. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
We’re starting Film Shrapnel season 3 with one of the best films of 2024! The Substance.Excellent use of the body horror genre to explore feminist themes around fame, body image and age. We loved this film. So much to talk about. Was this film robbed at the Oscars? We think so!We’re very passionate about this film! It’s the best Cronenberg film he never made. It’s hard to believe it’s only the director’s second-ever film. Had to record twice because of audio issues the first time. :( But maybe that helped us make this conversation more interesting. Enjoy! Follow us on social media:- X: @FilmShrapnel- TikTok: @filmshrapnel- Instagram: @filmshrapnel- YouTube: @FilmShrapnel
There’s something appealing about a Caribbean island infested with zombies, something romantic and quite fun, and the cheesiness of this film only adds to it. Maybe it’s the music and sense of adventure. We really enjoyed this one. Honestly, we had no idea we’d genuinely like some of the films from the video nasties list!
In Italy, Dawn of the Dead was marketed as ‘Zombi’, and Zombie Flesh Eaters is an unofficial Italian sequel where it is titled ‘Zombi 2’. Interestingly, in Italy, at least at the time, copyright law allowed anyone to make sequels to films even if they had nothing to do with the original.
Would this film be banned today? Probably not. As you can guess from the title, there is cannibalism in this movie and one particular scene where it may have put censors over the edge, but apart from that, it’s a tame horror movie and you should definitely watch it if you get the chance.
This is our last film of Italian Video Nasties season and our last episode of season 2 of the Film Shrapnel podcast. See ya in season 3!
Enjoy!
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Our third film of Italian Video Nasties season and our third film with John Saxon (totally unintentional, but a happy accident), Cannibal Holocaust is quite hard to describe. From the title, you can guess the film wants to build off the fame of Apocalypse Now and Cannibal Holocaust, but it is a very confused film.
Essentially, two American soldiers fighting in Vietnam contract a virus that makes them hunger for human flesh, but ultimately its not clear how the virus works and there seems to be some kind of ‘Us vs. Them’ or hive mind logic but the two of us can’t quite work out.
Nevertheless, it’s another film that we loved to watch though it does have some unusual faults (though that likely adds to our admiration). 100% would not be banned today.
Enjoy!
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Continuing down the Italian Video Nasties list, we’ve landed on an Argento film—Tenebrae—and the two of us were surprised that it’s nowhere near as shocking as Cannibal Holocaust despite both being banned in the 1980s.
Our opinion is that Tenebrae was banned because of its use of POV, putting the viewer in the position of a violent serial killer. Other than that, it’s not particularly violent compared to many films of today.
Also, we agree that we like it more than Suspiria which we watched last year. It feels better made and smarter with ideas, a message and clear themes. It also stars John Saxon (he’s in many movies we love) and can be considered a ‘Giallo film’— an Italian slasher mystery genre where people are murdered, and we don’t know who the killer is.
The Film Shrapnel lads also discuss if Argento is a good filmmaker or if his career is a success of many flukes.
Enjoy!
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We watched one of the most horrid films ever made—Cannibal Holocaust. It’s got everything you need to make you feel uncomfortable, cannibalism (obviously), violence, rape, and animal killings.
The most messed up thing about this film is that it is well-made. It's better made than it perhaps deserves to be. It raises ethical questions about violence for entertainment
(something we’ve discussed a lot this year). However, does the horrific violence against animals add to their point or take away?
Cannibal Holocaust is also considered the first found footage film, and it’s probably one of the biggest influences in cannibal horror movies in the 1980s. There are accusations that some of the violence is real, and some people may have actually been murdered. One thing is for sure, we won't be watching this film in a hurry again.
We found this movie when looking at 'video nasties', films that were banned in the UK in the 1980s. Pretty soon we realised there are quite a few from Italy, so we decided to venture into what we are calling 'Italian Video Nasties' season. Stay tuned for Dario Argento’s Tenebrae next week!
Enjoy!
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Here’s another lost episode one from our death match season (coming super late as we were extra disorganised this year—sorry, not sorry), its Battle Royale!
Battle Royale is highly regarded as one of the best death match movies ever made. Unlike other death match films, there are real characters that you genuinely care about, not just random background characters that get slaughtered. The stakes are real.
Get strapped in because this is a long episode (just a little under two hours), but there’s just so much to talk about Battle Royale. We really liked this film.
And yes, there are plot holes and things that don’t quite make sense, but we do wonder if some of these logical leaps are just characteristics of Japanese cinema that we don’t get as westerners. Plus, when a film is this good, the plot holes bother you less.
Enjoy!
P.S.—Here’s the video Tobias mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwb2glCshzY (The Running Man/Hunger Games MUSICAL SPECTACULAR).
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Though it may be the most critically panned Batman film ever made (and for good reason), this piece of trash was fun to watch. Most importantly, it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, who we think is acting his ass off.
However, the rest of Batman & Robin is a mess in so many ways. The plot sucks, the acting is vomit-inducing, the humour is misplaced at best, and there are way too many one-liners. So, as expected, the Film Shrapnel boys complained a lot while watching this one!
Enjoy!
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The beast that is Arnold Schwarzenegger is unleased! It does not get more Schwarteneggery than this! He’s an awesome dad! The blows up sh*t. He kills people. He never gets shot! He’s amazing. He’s all muscle! God bless this film in all its ridiculousness.
Surprise surprise, it’s another Schwarzenegger movie, so get strapped in. If you liked the cast of Predator, guess what, they’re all here. There’s only one issue with this movie—Danny McBride doesn’t make a great villain. Are we supposed to consider this guy a serious threat to Arnie? Pfff!
Stay tuned for more Schwarzenegger and other weird and wonderful movies.
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Conan The Barbarian! The epitome of Schwarzenegger movies! It’s fun in all the right ways. Great action, many beheadings, cult orgies, and James Earl Jones (RIP) shooting snakes at people. What more could you ask for?
One of the first swords and sandal adventure movies to ever make serious money, and it was seen as the standard for fantasy movies until the 2000s when Peter Jackson came along with The Lord of The Rings.
It was also produced by Dino De Laurentiis who produced David Lynch’s Dune, and A LOT of other super well-known movies.
P.S.—We had some audio issues with this one again! Sorry. Please forgive us. If not, as Schwarzenegger says, “To hell with you!”
Enjoy!
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