Happy Halloween! On the fifty- second episode of All the Film Things, my friend and ATFT regular, movie critic Matthieu Côté joins me for an analytical discussion about Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 psychological horror classic, The Shining! This episode is spoiler- filled and contains some explicit language.

The Shining, a classic psychological horror film which unnerves you instantly with its eerie score, almost entirely takes place at the Overlook Hotel that lies in isolation atop an Indian burial ground. Jack Torrance, played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson, accepts a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, when the hotel is out of commission, in order to get five months of peace and quiet to help him write his book. He brings along his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) and, over time, isolation begins to wear on them... especially Jack. Over the course of the film, Jack becomes increasingly mad while Danny's gift of "shining" haunts him of the hotel's evil past, present, and future. While the film is based on Steven King’s 1977 book of the same title, King publicly criticized the film on numerous occasions because of the liberties Kubrick took that departed from his original story. King wasn’t the only one who disliked the film because, shockingly, The Shining is one of those films, like 12 Angry Men and Fight Club, that wasn’t well- received at the time of its release. It wasn’t until the film started airing on TV at the end of the 80s that public opinion shifted in favor of Kubrick’s film. Today, 45 years later, The Shining is widely considered one of the greatest horror films ever made and contains one of Jack Nicholson’s very best performances.

This is Matthieu’s fourth time on the podcast and he has rapidly earned the title of “ATFT regular”! I had been wanting to do an episode on The Shining for over three years now and when I learned it was Matthieu’s favorite film of all time, I knew he was the one to join me in celebrating The Shining for both it’s 45th anniversary and Halloween. While Matthieu is enamored with the horror genre, I very much shy away from it. The Shining is my favorite horror film and one of the only few I can really watch, in the daytime of course. This episode was recorded on October 2, 2025.

Matthieu has been steadily interviewing filmmakers and actors through both his personal YouTube channel, @matthieucote2272, and through Horreur Québec for a few years now. Most recently, Matthieu was able to check off a bucket list interviewee off his list when he interviewed James Wan. Click to watch that interview here! Also, a few years ago, Matthieu made an analytical video essay analyzing a scene in The Shining titled “The Shining (And the Path to Redemption)- Scene Breakdown” which I highly recommend watching for his incredible insight to the character of Jack Torrence and performance by Jack Nicholson. Subscribe to Matthieu’s YouTube channel by clicking here to watch his past interviews, video essays, and more!

In this episode, we attempt to understand The Shining’s biggest mysteries and discuss the most popular theories about the famous ending. Our analytical conversation, though wide- encompassing, is a bit sporadic since there is seemingly infinite points of discussion through every aspect of this film. It’s overwhelming and we only scratched the surface. In this episode, Matthieu and I share our rocky roads to appreciating this film, Kubrick's clever tricks in deceiving the audience, and how Grady could have possibly opened that storage room door for Jack. All this and much more on the latest episode of All the Film Things!

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On the fifty- first episode of All the Film Things, my friend and ATFT regular, writer/ director Samy El- Kamel is back for an analytical discussion about Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 psychological drama classic, Requiem for a Dream! This episode is spoiler- filled and contains explicit language.

Darren Aronofsky’s sophomore feature, Requiem for a Dream, continues to be talked about today yet it’s a curious case as it’s respected but beloved may not be exactly the perfect word. This film is often regarded as "the best film you'll never rewatch" due to its bleak but impactful ending. Requiem for a Dream follows four people, all connected to Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto), who are striving to achieve their dreams in the most dangerous, self- destructing ways through their addictions. While Harry's mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn) tries her hardest to lose weight to look her best on television, he along with his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) and friend Ty (Marlon Wayans) are addicted to heroin. The three of them hope to turn their ideas of being successful businessmen into a reality but the need for heroin persists. Though widely considered a psychological drama, Aronofsky considers this film an “urban horror film” in the sense that the film captures a dream that turns into a nightmare. This film is based on Hubert Selby jr's novel published in 1978 and Aronofsky was happy to involve Selby in the making of this film (he even makes a cameo towards the end!). Even though Requiem for a Dream is still celebrated today, the film only earned one Oscar nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category for Ellen Burstyn. Of all the films I have seen, there is nothing quite like Requiem for a Dream from the cinematography to the editing to its lasting impact which has made me eager to devote an episode to the film.

This is Samy’s fourteenth time on the podcast, sustaining his place as the second most frequent guest on the show! I had been wanting to do an episode on Requiem for a Dream for over three years now and it was a hard topic to pitch to others. Those who have yet to see the film were hesitant to watch it while those who have seen the film, did not want to revisit it. Thankfully Samy, although slightly reluctant, was up for the challenge. While it is hard for both of us to say this is one of our favorite films, we have a deep respect for it and would probably regard it as one of the best films we’ve ever seen. This episode was recorded on September 18, 2025.

Samy recently premiered his latest short film, “Anatomy of a Panic Attack” at the “Take it or leave it” short film showcase at MOCA Jacksonville. While the short has not yet been released online, Samy's short film "Waveform" was recently screened at the Jax Fuse Film Festival. Watch short films "Waveform", "Neurafridge", and more of Samy's past work by subscribing to his YouTube channel, Barefoot Python Media, by clicking this link.

In this episode, Samy and I talk about our first experiences watching Requiem for a Dream, each character’s motivations for taking drugs, and why people should challenge themselves to watch the film at least once. While Samy discusses the impact of Sara Goldfarb’s storyline, I explain why the role of Harry Goldfarb is perfectly aligned with Jared Leto’s trademark character type. All this and much more on the latest episode of All the Film Things!

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