Emissaries from the Void

Ben & Arthur (2002) Queer history, bumpy escalation, the eclipse of niche filmmaking by YouTube and social media

Cutting room floor segments from our episode on Hard to Be a God (2013). This is a sample of the extras we upload regularly for those who patronize us on Ko-fi.com/emissariesfromthevoid — includes comparisons to other films and video games and an extended cut of Ari’s leftist rant.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989) —  Consumption, appreciation, waste, taste, charlatans, toxic generosity, Albert as God, God as manager, Albert as State, Georgina as Sophia, healthy masculinity, assigning blame for original sin, denied resurrection CW: Sexual assault, disgusting imagery, pervasive cruelty

Hard to Be a God (2013) —  The gray to black pipeline, pain worship, paper isn't power, Arkanar as mask-off Western civilization, anarchist philosophy, The Enlightenment didn't fix our core problems, what would you have God do?, supremacist thinking, wasted efforts, desolate beauty.   CW: Blood, implied sexual abuse, and pervasive cruelty.

Why a purple skunk? Proto inceldom, amateur art, art in the face of the Internet, monsterfucker furry venn diagram, outsider art, trying to save what we watch.

Vide Noir  The dark side of romanticism, the virtue of letting go, escapism, art drug, indulging the void, intrusive thought worms, accountability, misery multiplication, Finding Alaska Syndrome, toxic yearning. Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Head (1968) –  Capitalist determinism, artistic dissonance, decency standards, algorithmic pipelines, the information firehose, subliminal messaging, scrambled context, short-form content, white-washed exoticism, Neil Breen and Paul Thomas Anderson are the only free creators, AAA vs indie games, the holocaust can't be filmed, red-washing, fascism, slavery.

The Cell (2000) -  control, hyper-specific schizophrenia synchronicity, dream logic inside and out, savior complex, lack of consequences, learning the wrong lessons, equine segmentation, corrupted curiosity, religious trauma Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Yin Yang Insane (2007) Robert Z'Dar, Eternal Detours, Alleged Duststorm, War With Self, Desolation of the Soul Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Jennifer's Body (2009) Cross out toxic feminity, timeless lingo, growth from trauma, gender role revenge, soft rock satanists, eat your enemies, the gendered spice must flow. Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Stitch (2014) Horror tropes in a blender, a single good scene, "a big ass", wasted potential, hilariously bad practical effects, quantum hell dimension, tasteless endings, would have made a good anime Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

The Mask - 2023 Performance Art, the dark side of creative passion, Conor O'Malley, The Mask, conspiracy theory pipeline, dark comedy mockumentary, the decline of psyche on the Internet.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) –  The V~I~B~E~S, Christopher Marlowe, hipster art philosophy, funeral music for the world, art as "content," irony poisoning, corrupted blood, quantum entanglement, there is no shoe, creative fuel, strength in connection, Mad God, ethical consumption, nihilism vs optimism, forced commodification   Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Bears Discover Fire Technology, Humans vs Nature, the concrete hell, ascension, mistakes made by natural beings, how we'd treat aliens 

Hellraiser 1+2+Reboot Sensation, ongoing consent, limit experiences, addiction, a homeless dragon, sacrifice rewards program, curiosity predatio, the porous line twixt pleasure and pain, wearing Julia, releasing oneself, the anti-Lovecraft   Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Antichrist (2009) –  Gendered grief, "gynocide," Inland Empire, Fateful Findings, unreliable director, let buried birds lie, the grief-despair-pain cycle, pain is a tool, nature is Satan’s church, internalized misogyny, the wrong shoes, schizophrenia, therapeutic malpractice, extreme codependence, intrusive thoughts CW: Sexual Assault, Violence and Gore, Domestic Abuse Outro Music is Arcadia by Ka...

Possibly in Michigan (1983) -   Toxic gender, consumptive love, Ohio, masks we wear, love of perfume, commercialism, death obsessed, Dave Made a Maze

Dave Made a Maze – Imposter syndrome, ADHD, hyperfixation, why is Leonard, keeping the alligators fed, the illusion of creative control, tunnel visions, Hal Heartley, irresponsible creativity   Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses (2009) Low emotional intelligence, pushing away those you love, early internet humor, five second film core, "efficient product", people not wanting to deal with problems directly 

Color Out of Space (2019) —  Cosmic horror, bubble of safety, environmentalism, cosmically modified organics, invasive species, watch out: you might get what you're after, an "intellectually abusive voice," dysfunctional communication, familial legacy, contagious change, fence-sitters die first Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Midnight Special (2016) —  Space Jesus, cosmic forces with subdued undertones, picking a lane, unexpectedly enjoyable, good movies with underwhelming endings, electromagnetic manipulation, technokinesis, faith in the face of a cynical world.

A Dark Song (2016) Occult as therapy, trauma, revenge, healing, dysfunctional dynamics, the mental trap we make ourselves, inner demons enacting external tolls, angel summoning, learning to forgive, the price of revenge, ""black"" magic, the rituals don't matter, dying does wonders for one's priorities, garmonbozia, the ophanim in the room, a tattooed rat speaks, Vince Gilligan CW: Domestic violen...

Mad God (2021) –  Practical effects, Right VS Left Hand Path: Which is Better in 2025?, inside the atrocity engine, there’s always a bigger fish, as above so below, spiritual desolation, the shit we swallow, Mad as in ANGRY, endless cycles, infant alchemy, the life to suffering pipeline, ceasing the cycle within ourselves, The Last Man as Theif, The Last Man as God Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl C...

Active Volcano (2023), dir. Caroline Kopko — Mnemonic fallibility, the creative process, V~I~B~E~S, plus listener comments about "…World’s Fair.”

The Holy Mountain (1973) –  A spiritual Ocean's Eleven, ego death, mortality salience, tonal duality, paganism, horizontal conquest, sacred geometry, tossing the little man, suckling from the rebus, allegorical fourth wall, enlightened filmmaking, cinematic mercy