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Prisoners (Villeneuve 2009)
Prisoners is dark and twisted in the best possible ways. Villeneuve’s first English-language feature film. He has gone on to massive success for good reason with films such as Sicario (2015), Arrival (2016), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Martyrs (2008) remains the pinnacle of horror thus far in the 21st century. Exactly two films have thus far even reached into the same range: Proxy (Parker 2013) and this film. Watch it. Then watch it again and marvel.
SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE
Prisoners (Villeneuve 2013)
Martyrs (Laugier 2008)
TOPIC INDEX – Prisoners (2013) (times are approximate)
0:35 – Introduction
4:00 – Discussion begins
7:30 – Religion
11:30 – Vigilante justice
16:30 – conforming or breaking rules, institutionalism vs individualism
22:50 – sociology scene – Merton’s typology of deviance
30:00 – religion and/or masculinity
36:20 – the gender path
38:30 – race
45:35 – transcending the binary
47:30 – Keller and Alex
54:15 – ambiguity
1:03:45 – clarity
1:06:25 – situating the film in the genre
1:08:20 – end of the film and Pyrrhic victory
1:12:45 – emotional struggle and challenging empathy
1:21:15 – character arcs
1:26:00 – religion
1:28:30 – rejecting institutions
1:30:37 – back to gender
1:40:12 – vigilante and detective procedural sub-genres
1:46:10 – is this a horror film?
1:53:40 – Grading the film using the Collective Nightmares Rubric
Related Episodes
Martyrs (Laugier 2008)
Proxy (Parker 2013)
Related recommended films
Eastern Promises (Cronenberg 2007)
Peppermint (Morel 2018)
Destroyer (Kusama 2018)
Credits
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“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”
Episode 70
Keywords
horror, podcast, sociology, prison, cycle of abuse, abuse, torture, morality, kidnapping, race, gender, patriarchy, family, Pyrrhic victory, empathy, religion, masculinity, hegemonic masculinity,