Tyler and David discuss self-referential horror movies as well as Tyler’s Letterboxd.
Meta horror movies discussed include Wes Craven’s Scream and more!
Battleship Pretension is a movie discussion podcast started in 2007 by Tyler Smith and David Bax. Since then, we’ve done live comedy shows, written reviews, commentaries and more.
Battleship Pretension is a film discussion show and a film review website founded by Tyler Smith and David Bax. Beginning in March 2007, Battleship Pretension the show (known to fans simply as “BP”) embodies the type of laidback, free-flowing conversations had by lovers of film around the world. Battleship Pretension the website is dedicated to being a destination for those seeking worthwhile opinions on current releases, be they foreign, independent, studio pictures, theatrical, home video releases, etc. From its meager beginnings in Los Angeles, Battleship Pretension has amassed a worldwide audience and readership. From Germany to Korea to Australia, people have tuned in to share in Tyler and David’s love of film. As Battleship Pretension’s following continues to grow, the purpose remains the same: Reach out to the international cinephile community, invite them to join in the discussion and perhaps even start one of their own.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon confusingly uses the phrase “survivor girl” instead of “final girl”. I believe the latter stems from “Men, Women, and Chainsaws”. That film is essentially a version of the Belgian black comedy mockumentary “Man Bites Dog”, but about a heightened slasher villain rather than a grubby “Henry: Portrait of the Serial Killer” type “realistic” murderer. BTM does a good job of converting from a comedy into an actual slasher movie in the last act when the crew can no longer view the events with detachment.
Community would hang a lampshade on cliches and then just continue to do the cliche anyway, which is the kind of meta I dislike.
The big problem with The Final Girls is that it’s clearly inspired by R-rated slashers, but it is itself PG-13.
Cabin in the Woods struck me as too diffuse, whereas BTM is more specifically focused on slashers. It also begins with the POV of the technicians who aren’t scared when the subjects are killed, but we the audience don’t identify with them to the point of fearing for their lives either. I was never scared by it, unlike You’re Next (the rare horror comedy where the comedy doesn’t undermine the horror). The diffuseness is at odds with the premise that the “Gods” insist on a maximum of one survivor, because lots of horror movies (like the Japanese one whose ending we witness) can have multiple survivors!
I don’t even think the original Gremlins is scary. Gremlins 2 even clarifies that nobody died in that one (hard as it may be to believe for the old lady launched out of her window).
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Yeah, I guess we hadn’t fully landed on “final girl” when BTM came out.
I forgot about that line in Gremlins 2!
– David
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“Checks date”
Halloween episode?!?
No best of 2024 episode this year David?
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Ha! We’re just behind in posting and we’re catching up in order.
– David
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