Something in the Dirt (2022)
November 8, 2022 8:48 AM - Subscribe
When neighbors John and Levi witness supernatural events in their Los Angeles apartment building, they realize documenting the paranormal could inject some fame and fortune into their wasted lives. An ever-deeper, darker rabbit ho...
A Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead film, bless them. If you're not familiar with their weird, loopy sci-fi goodness, go check out The Endless. They also made the first season of Moon Knight and will be making season two of Loki. This movie is what they did while we were baking sourdough bread and binge-watching TV in the first part of the pandemic.
90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now playing in theaters. Coming to streaming in two weeks. JustWatch listing.
A Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead film, bless them. If you're not familiar with their weird, loopy sci-fi goodness, go check out The Endless. They also made the first season of Moon Knight and will be making season two of Loki. This movie is what they did while we were baking sourdough bread and binge-watching TV in the first part of the pandemic.
90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now playing in theaters. Coming to streaming in two weeks. JustWatch listing.
Oh, awesome! I am a huge fan and didn't realize they had a new movie out.
posted by whir at 10:55 AM on November 8, 2022
posted by whir at 10:55 AM on November 8, 2022
I have been advised by my family that I am coughing too much and sound like crap and should not go to a theater.
I'll probably see this on-demand in two weeks, looks like.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:41 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'll probably see this on-demand in two weeks, looks like.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:41 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
I finally saw this. It's good. Not quite to their heights, but as something done on a shoestring as a way to stay busy during lockdown, it deserves plenty of love.
In a weird way, it sort of parallels Jordan Peele's Nope, as it's essentially a rumination on people dealing with something extraordinary by attempting to monetize it. In this case, though, they're not clever people trying to take control of their own situation before it/they are exploited... it's two ordinary schmucks way, way, way too confident in their ability to capture/analyze/explain what may be essentially unexplainable.
Fittingly, for a story about two guys like this, the mystery is never explained. It's just something that consumes them and runs roughshod over them. That kind of ending may frustrate people. But I don't think Moorhead and Benson are trying to tell us anything about the universe. I think this is a COVID-era piece taking a look at religion, conspiracy theories, opportunism, etc. as poor substitutes for scientific rigor.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:50 AM on December 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
In a weird way, it sort of parallels Jordan Peele's Nope, as it's essentially a rumination on people dealing with something extraordinary by attempting to monetize it. In this case, though, they're not clever people trying to take control of their own situation before it/they are exploited... it's two ordinary schmucks way, way, way too confident in their ability to capture/analyze/explain what may be essentially unexplainable.
Fittingly, for a story about two guys like this, the mystery is never explained. It's just something that consumes them and runs roughshod over them. That kind of ending may frustrate people. But I don't think Moorhead and Benson are trying to tell us anything about the universe. I think this is a COVID-era piece taking a look at religion, conspiracy theories, opportunism, etc. as poor substitutes for scientific rigor.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:50 AM on December 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
I loved most of this, though it was a bit long for me and the end just didn't work for me in comparison to the rest of the film. I'm so glad they finally took a look at the piece of wood holding open the window but it also would have been hilarious if they never did.
Did anybody else kind of feel like this was a parody/pisstake of The Scary Of Sixty-First? I know the filmmakers for the latter said that it was a parody, but IMHO you can't make something terrible and then label it "parody" after the fact. (Don't see that movie if you haven't already; it seriously sucks.) The Lao Tzu and Ayn Rand on the bookshelf made me think they were mocking the contrarian selfish "edginess" of the Red Scare gals. Which I am in favor of.
posted by queensissy at 1:07 PM on September 3, 2023
Did anybody else kind of feel like this was a parody/pisstake of The Scary Of Sixty-First? I know the filmmakers for the latter said that it was a parody, but IMHO you can't make something terrible and then label it "parody" after the fact. (Don't see that movie if you haven't already; it seriously sucks.) The Lao Tzu and Ayn Rand on the bookshelf made me think they were mocking the contrarian selfish "edginess" of the Red Scare gals. Which I am in favor of.
posted by queensissy at 1:07 PM on September 3, 2023
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:48 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]