The question of “Why?” hovers over Alice Diop’s new SAINT OMER, as well as the 2016 French crime that inspired it, in the same way it hovers over 1967’s IN COLD BLOOD, Richard Brooks’ film adaptation of the Truman Capote “non-fiction novel” that helped establish the true crime genre as we understand it today. We bring that understanding of true crime to our discussion of SAINT OMER on its own terms— in particular how its removed observational style intersects with its complex emotional center — as well as in conversation with IN COLD BLOOD’s own mythologizing of madness. Plus, Scott reviews some 2022 highlights from one of our favorite film distributors in Your Next Picture Show. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN COLD BLOOD, SAINT OMER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.  Outro music: “Little Girl Blue” by Nina Simone Next pairing: Alfonso Cuarón’s CHILDREN OF MEN and HBO’s THE LAST OF US Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new French film SAINT OMER fictionalizes the true story of an inexplicable crime, giving the perpetrator’s story a full airing in a way that recalls Truman Capote’s formative non-fiction novel IN COLD BLOOD, and by extension director Richard Brooks’ near-contemporaneous film of the same name. So this week we’re looking back at how IN COLD BLOOD shaped the true-crime genre for better and worse, how Brooks and cinematographer Conrad Hall used expressive yet revealing black-and-white photography to create the cinematic equivalent of the non-fiction novel, and how the film’s unusual structure affects the impact of seeing its central crime play out. Plus, we respond to some feedback inspired by our recent episodes on CHILD’S PLAY and GLASS ONION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN COLD BLOOD, SAINT OMER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Kansas (Remembers Me Now)” by Orville Peck Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new tech-horror movie M3GAN achieved viral status before it even hit theaters, but its subsequent box-office performance suggests there’s more to this film’s success than just dance memes. Part of it can be chalked up to the degree to which it is a perfect January movie, but there’s also its well-balanced combination of self-aware humor, capitalist critique, and parental anxiety, all of which it shares with its most direct cinematic antecedent, 1988’s franchise-starter CHILD’S PLAY. After talking out our reactions to M3GAN’s use of magic-adjacent “emergent technology” to stoke very real human fears, we draw some connections to CHILD’S PLAY’s weaponization of the uncanny valley, skepticism about marketing to children, and understanding of childhood trauma. Plus, our resident Chucky expert Scott offers his suggestions for how to navigate the rest of the franchise. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHILD’S PLAY, M3GAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.  Outro music: “Titanium” by Anthony Willis & Jenna Davis (M3GAN OST) Next pairing: Richard Brooks’ IN COLD BLOOD and Alice Diop’s SAINT OMER Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new horror-comedy M3GAN is full of conscious, obvious throwbacks to other movies, but none as foundational as 1988’s CHILD’S PLAY. Director Tom Holland and writer Don Mancini’s now-iconic villain Chucky was not horror’s first killer doll, nor its last, and his legacy has evolved along with the franchise, but his origins as a dark, opportunistic satire of ’80s consumerism links him directly to the ideas animating M3GAN. So we begin our killer-doll double feature by revisiting those original animating ideas in CHILD’S PLAY, to consider what motivates Chucky in both human and doll form, the contemporaneous culture that shaped him, and whether it all adds up to an experience that’s scary and/or funny today. Plus, we take on an alternate pairing for TÁR and an alternate reading of KNIVES OUT in Feedback. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHILD’S PLAY, M3GAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Get Back Home,” by The Cabbage Patch Kids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once again, we’re kicking off the new year with a look back at the film year that was, with Keith, Scott, and Tasha sharing their respective lists of the Top 10 Films of 2022. There’s a lot of overlap this year, both among our respective lists and between the films on these lists and those we covered on the show, but there are also some discussion-generating outliers sprinkled throughout. Be sure to check out Keith and Scott’s full lists at thereveal.substack.com, and Tasha’s over at Polygon. If you have thoughts you’d like to share on our picks, your picks, or anything else about the past year in film, you can send an email to [email protected] or leave a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Naatu Naatu” from RRR  Next Pairing: Tom Holland’s CHILD’S PLAY and Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices