Author | Lightnews

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 18h

Great book. The material about the utter decadence of the late medieval Roman Catholic Church was, um, eye-opening, even to this former evangelical kid.

I read Frances and Joseph Gies "Life in a Medieval Village" right after this as a companion/corrective and would recommend.

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 20h

Every time Guiraudie cuts back to the gravel parking area at the lakeside cruising spot, which functions as visual "The Next Day..." title card, I pump my fist like a 18yo kid watching THE MATRIX do bullet time for the first time.

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 20h

It's me, the cishet filmbro who adores Alain Guiraudie's very gay 2013 psychological / erotic thriller, STRANGER BY THE LAKE. (This may be relevant for this week's podcast ep.)

A shot from the 2023 film, Stranger by the Lake: A naked man rises from the waters of a rippling lake surface, backlit by the setting sun, as a man watches while sitting on a beach in the foreground.

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 4d

You Lanthimos-heads want more BUGONIA? You got it. On The Take-Up pod this week, Josh and I attempt to ferret out the secret Andromedans in our midst. Plus bonus talk re: IVANHOE (1952), Liz Taylor, and the latest work from friend-of-the-pod Katie Carter.

open.spotify.com/episode/5Fhu...

Bugonia

open.spotify.com

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 9d

Watched this for about the 20th time tonight and nothing about it makes any fucking sense, every stylistic choice is bizarre, and everyone acts and talks like an alien. 10/10, no notes, perfect film.

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 9d

When I talk about "vibes horror" where the sensation of a vivid, waking nightmare is privileged about trivial matters like plot coherence, what I mean is SUSPIRIA (1977).

An image from the 1977 film Suspiria: A young woman with long brown hair stands in front of a pink-hued mural of doors, flowers, and abstract shapes.

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 10d

Boys only want one thing and it's the lost Director's Cut of David Nutter's 1998 teen sci-fi horror film DISTURBING BEHAVIOR starring James Mardsen and Katie Holmes.

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 11d

For The Take-Up, I review BUGONIA. Good stuff from Yorgos Lanthimos, as usual. Close competition with WEAPONS for best ending of 2025.

This timeline mostly sucks, but I'm glad to live in a world where Lanthimos and Stone collided and matched each other's freak.

thetake-up.com/bugonia/

Bugonia - The Take-Up

Teddy (Jesse Plemons) has a plan. He has done his research. He has procured all the necessary supplies, including padlocks, steel cables, and bulk quantities of antihistamine cream. He has carefully p...

thetake-up.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 12d

At The Take-Up, guest contributor (and friend of the site) Cliff Froehlich praises Julia Loktev's urgent, epic documentary, MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART 1 - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW, which will be screening at the Webster University Film Series this weekend.

thetake-up.com/my-undesirab...

My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow - The Take-Up

A group portrait of seven independent Russian journalists, My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 - Last Air in Moscow – which screens at Webster University from Oct. 24-26 – saddens, inspires, and enrages in...

thetake-up.com

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 18d

This week on the The Take-Up Podcast, Josh and I welcome critic Alex McPherson to talk his "Permanent Cinema" selection, Edgar Wright's HOT FUZZ (2007). We get into the nitty-gritty of parody, homage, violence, genre, and the beauty of Dudes Rock Cinema.

open.spotify.com/episode/3r9K...

Hot Fuzz (with Alex McPherson)

open.spotify.com

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 25d

You want more ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER content? You got it! On the Take-Up pod this week, Josh and I get *very* animated (if a bit scattered) while enthusing about Paul Thomas Anderson's new feature. I also slide some praise for GHOST OF YOTEI in there.

open.spotify.com/episode/56IB...

One Battle After Another

open.spotify.com

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 25d

LRT: I spent waaay too much time in early 2014 thinking about the jaundiced psychological, societal, and political horror of Denis Villeneuve's masterful doppleganger nightmare, ENEMY.

www.gatewaycinephile.com/blog/2014/4/...

Enemy — Gateway Cinephile

2013 // Canada / Spain // Denis Villeneuve // March 29, 2014 // Digital Theatrical Projection (St. Louis Cinema Chase Park Plaza) [Note: This post contains moderate spoilers.] A nauseating yellow pa...

www.gatewaycinephile.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · 26d

Villeneuve's masterpiece. I said it.

Crisping Lover @crispinglover.bsky.social · 26d

Enemy, 2013 Denis Villeneuve

"It's was Hegel who said that all the greatest world events happen twice. And then, Karl Marx added, the first time it was a tragedy and the second time it was a farce."

#filmsky #moviesky

Film poster. Infinite Jake Gyĺlenhaals on red background.

Still image. Two Jake Gyllenhaals have a heated moment.

Still image. Two Jake Gyllenhalls look at their hands.

Still image. Two Jake Gyllenhaals in a bathroom.

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Oct 2

This week on the Take-Up pod, Josh and I are joined by Billy Rock of Do You Like Apples for a discussion of Billy's "Permanent Cinema" pick, M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS (2002). Fate, faith, genre, invasion logistics, and MNS's storied career are discussed.

open.spotify.com/episode/64Uu...

Signs (with Billy Rock)

open.spotify.com

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Sep 25

Josh and I shift to new releases this week to talk Francis Lawrence's THE LONG WALK. Much discussion of Stephen King, adaptations, fascism, Vietnam, male-male situationships, and more. Bonus discussion of HIM and our favorite poorly regarded King films.

open.spotify.com/episode/3pK0...

The Long Walk

open.spotify.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Sep 18

Hey, it's me, the guy who sort of liked HIM.

"Do horror films even need to make sense, or are style, spectacle, and creepy vibes enough to keep a feature afloat?"

thetake-up.com/him/

Him - The Take-Up

Cameron Cade (Austin Pulliam) was raised to revere the American Holy Trinity: God, family, and football. In young Cam’s personal theology, the only figure that loomed larger than his high-expectations...

thetake-up.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Sep 17

This week The Take-Up opens its doors to St. Louis film legend Cliff Froehlich, who walks us through his formative experiences with Martin Scorsese's dark, galvanic, and still-contentious character study, TAXI DRIVER (1976).

open.spotify.com/episode/2ZWm...

Taxi Driver (with Cliff Froehlich)

open.spotify.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Sep 10

Was able to drop a shout-out in our closing segment for @emmasloley.bsky.social excellent new post-apocalyptic / zoology nerd novel, THE ISLAND OF LAST THINGS.

bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

The Island of Last Things: A Novel

A Novel

bookshop.org

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Sep 10

On The Take-Up podcast, our inventory of "permanent cinema" continues with my inaugural pick, Joel and Ethan Coen's arguably perfect neo-noir/western, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007).

open.spotify.com/episode/7fb1...

No Country for Old Men

open.spotify.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Sep 3

After a hiatus, The Take-Up podcast has returned with a format shake-up and a new mission: Establishing a "permanent cinema" of old and new classics. The first film up for consideration is Josh's pick, Todd Haynes' 2022 Douglas Sirk homage, FAR FROM HEAVEN (2002).

open.spotify.com/episode/0LA0...

Far From Heaven (2002)

open.spotify.com

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Aug 15

Anyways, WEAPONS is great. Like an adaptation of a lost Roald Dahl novel as directed by George Romero, not to mention the giddiest horror climax I've seen in ages.

thetake-up.com/weapons/

Weapons - The Take-Up

When it comes to horror cinema, a compelling visual hook can be an efficient and effective means to lure an audience into a story. Horror, after all, is arguably the most psychologically primordial of...

thetake-up.com

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Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Jun 11

I think I'm done.

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Apr 7

cemeteries grow larger the number of defenders is smaller
yet the defense continues it will continue to the end
and if the City falls but a single man escapes
he will carry the City within himself on the roads of exile
he will be the City

Arachnophiliac @arachnophiliac.bsky.social · Feb 22

I logged into the Other Site long enough to see an an apparently sincere debate about whether buying the new Criterion release of the film qualified as sexual violence perpetrated by you the consumer against the titular fictional character and what we even doing here

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