Horror Heavy Hitters

The Whore Heavy Hitters podcast discusses the movie Parasite. The film focuses on the poor Kim family infiltrating the wealthy Park family's lives. There is a plot twist with another family living in the Park's basement. The movie explores class differences and the cycle of poverty. The scariest scenes mentioned are the basement apartment scene, where the family is exposed to toxic gas, and the scene where the youngest Park child sees the man living in the basement. The stabbing scene is also mentioned as being intense. The movie is praised for its attention to detail and suspense. Good morning, afternoon, evening, whenever you're listening to this podcast, we thank you for tuning in. Welcome to the Whore Heavy Hitters podcast. I'm your host, Corbin Shurmur, joined by Morgan Walker, Ryan Hooper, Josh Munez, and Ayush Agarwal. All right, well, thank you for tuning in. And today we're going to be discussing the movie Parasite and in our podcast, we will discuss horror movies and each individual horror scene and how hard these scenes hit as terms of scariness, detail, such and such. So Morgan, would you like to lead the discussion with a little summary of our movie today? Sure thing. So Parasite mainly focuses on the story of the Park family and the Kims and their interaction between one another. So the Kims are a poor family living in abject poverty and the Parks are very, very wealthy family. And so we follow the Kims and their way that they weasel in to the Parks family's luxurious life, slowly taking over roles like the house tender, the tutor, the driver, and eventually kick out the original house ladies and whatnot. And so we follow them as they essentially are conning the Park family. And we slowly watch things unfold and, spoiler warning, find that there is another family who is also kind of mooching off of the Park family, living in their secret basement. And it all unfolds in this climactic end where there's a lot of stabbing, a lot of stabbing. Yeah, a lot. And I'd say it's your untraditional horror film. It's unique in that sense. What'd you guys say? Yeah, I think there's a lot of anticipation factors, a lot of emphasis on certain sounds. It kind of always keeps you reeled in the whole time. And there wasn't that many super traditionally jump scare scenes, but for the most part, you were always scared of what could happen next. Yeah, especially the plot twist they found in the whole ghost living in a basement. That's true. It's very true. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I felt like this movie kind of went integrated into kind of different types of movies. It was horror, but it was also, you know, exposing this class difference in Japan. And the whole time, it wasn't scary. I mean, we saw a lot of scenes where it was just kind of exposing us to the difference and how this family struggles compared to this other family. I'd also like to go back to that cycle thing. It ends up all cycling back around when they end up buying the mansion. It's like a vision that the son of the poor family has where he ends up buying the mansion and freeing his dad. So it all just goes back to that expensive mansion. Well, I see it differently. I think the rich generation are buying the same choices, but when the poor people do it, they get messed over, and it's a cycle that keeps continuing. Yeah, I agree. For me, the way I see it, it's kind of like this abject poverty cycle. Like, you know, you have the poor people trying to claw their way by trying to get some of the wealth that those wealthy Park family has, but then they end up suffering because of it. And it's just cyclical because, another spoiler, towards the end, the father, Kai Take, he ends up in the basement and becomes the new basement man. So it's pretty ironic. I mean, I think we're good to go on to our scenes, right? What do you think? Morgan, would you like to start us off by leading us with your scariest scene? Sure thing. So I took an unconventional approach because, you know, I think there's one obviously very, very scary scene throughout the whole movie, at least in the traditional sense. But for me, one of the most poignant scenes and like really scary in a way was that intro scene where we see the family living in this basement apartment, horrible conditions, trash everywhere, basically falling apart. And their condition is so desperate that when they're folding pizza boxes for a company for next to nothing, following a tutorial video that is an unrealistic expectation of what they should be able to do. And then there's a fumigation squad going through the whole streets and starting to spew this toxic gas to kill all the pests around. And instead of closing their window and securing their lungs from that chemical, they keep the window open and let those chemicals come in to kill the bugs they have going around. And all the while, they're still folding those pizza boxes and still doing this menial labor. It definitely isn't your traditional type of scary scene, as you said earlier. It just really shows you like how low that has gotten for them. And I think one of the main things that was in the scene is like while the gas was going through the house, the camera locks on to the YouTube video. Like the YouTube video of the pizza box folding is playing the whole time, and the dad is just locked in. It really is kind of crazy. Yeah. I guess it really got to that point for them, which sucks for them, but yeah. I think everything in that scene comes together to just add to this, not necessarily like thrill horror, but like this deep feeling you have inside that this is so incredibly wrong. Like the cinematography, pointing it straight towards the father's face as he looks in despair as he continues folding these boxes and there's gas all around them and they're choking. It all comes together and makes a pretty scary scene, in my opinion. The worst part of it all is at the end they get a 10% pay cut because they didn't even do the job correct. Like 25% of the boxes weren't even done correctly. So they sat in a house while fumigating gas was going through to not even do the job right. Just add salt to the wound. All right. Ryan, what was your scariest scene? So my scariest scene I think was probably the most traditional scary scene I think in the movie where Dasong, the youngest in the Park family, actually his mom, Miss Park, was talking about Dasong's incident when he was in first grade and how he saw ghosts in their house. So yeah. It's probably like the most traditional jump scare scene. It was so different from the rest of the movie too. I feel like there was no scenes like that. It made me jump. I was in my bed. I jumped. I'm not even going to lie. I was airborne. It was just so different. The whole movie is so anticipation based. When this kid sees the guy that was living in the bunker, he thinks it's a ghost. He doesn't know there's a dude living in his basement. We know that, but Dasong doesn't know that. His eyes were out of his head. I was like, oh, no. This is way too scary. But yeah, I literally went airborne out of my bed. It definitely shocked me because it was just so unexpected. It was all building up with anticipation. And that finally hit me. I was like, oh, gosh. Yeah, because it's so unexpected. Dasong is essentially just trying to enjoy his birthday. And it's, like, 4 in the morning and he's just downstairs eating his cake. I mean, imagine if that was you, right? If you just look to your left and there's, like, a blue man staring at you. You look almost lifeless. And he didn't even know that was a real. He just thought it was a ghost. He didn't even know that was a whole human. There was somebody living in his house that he didn't even know about. That's even the crazier part. Like, that's a human. He thought it was a ghost. That was a person. I mean, that man, like, the kid literally started seizing after that as well. It's, like, it's pretty crazy. Wait, that's actually so true. I didn't even realize that. Yeah, and then also, like, once you realize that that's, like, the sort of unsighting incident that caused Dasong to start drawing and stuff, you realize that that man is in literally every single one of the pieces of art he draws. Every single one. Mm-hmm. He's in every single one. Yeah, I noticed that second time for sure. So, like, it's a nod back to, like, this kind of mystery around this little kid's drawings the entire time. Like, oh, no, shoot, it was that dude in the basement the entire time. Yes. Oh, you're right. You see all these little things. Like, I never thought about that with the dude in the painting. But, like, if I watched it a second time, I'd be like, oh, my gosh, that's the dude. Yeah, and I think this movie really is built off details and suspension because, like, your traditional horror movie, there's not too much action, but you really pay attention to the details. Like, if I were to watch it a second or third time, I think I would like it even more, you know. Okay. I'll move on to my scariest scene. I thought that Ryan's scene was scary, but the reason I don't like horror movies is because gore, so I thought the stabbing, like, IMAX scene was the worst for me. It just, you know, it just freaks me out, you know. It gets me a little off my seat. Yeah. I don't think there was anything, like, surprising about it. You know, it wasn't, like, a jump scare or anything, but it was, it felt like the most kind of traditional horror movie kind of scene. That dude walking through the house, like, that dude living in the basement, he was walking to the house with a knife. I remember when the girl came down the stairs. I thought he was going to go kill the girl coming down the stairs, and I was like, no, don't do that. He just kept walking outside. His walk, too. Like, he had, like, a weird walk. He probably doesn't know how to walk much because he lives in a basement. Like, his walk was just even terrifying, too. I picked the same scene, but I'd like to add more details on that because I feel like that scene, instead of just, like, being scary, also, like, symbolizes, like, the difference between being poor and being rich, you know. And this situation, like, I don't know, made a good bit. Again, especially during the flood scene, it was, like, rainstorming. I don't know if you guys remember, but the campaigners, like, hide into their own basement, and then as they were huddled together, they find the husband was also living there. And I don't know, that whole scene was just quite a brilliant, like, cinematography. Yeah, like, that entire scene is crazy, and, I mean, like, it's all out in broad daylight at a kid's party, like. Honestly, that scene is actually extremely scary because he goes from murdering the son with a rock out of nowhere, and he just walks out in public with a knife, and, like, you don't even know what he's going to do next. All right. Is it your turn? Well, I mean, that was the main part of everything, really. But emotions reflect, like, the privilege and the distance between the visible and the invisible, like, between those living in the light and people hiding from, I don't know, suffering, I guess. He doesn't even look like a real person. He looks like he's not dead. Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah. And, like, especially, like, in the beginning, the person was, like, pissing on their house pretty much, and I thought there's no, like, the disrespect they get just for being, like, poor, I guess, you know. Also, like, I just noticed yours and Ryan's are the same basement scene but different parts of it. Because, like, Ryan's, yeah, because Ryan's got the part where the dude's peeking his head out of the basement. You have the part where they're all going down to the basement as a family trying to escape it. And also the fact that, like, he was living in the basement of a house for, I think it was three, four years. Mm-hmm. And that was better than what the loan sharks were going to do to him. Like, he's hiding from loan sharks, but living in a basement for years of your life, doing horse code with lights in the house is better than what the loan sharks are going to do to you. It's a crazy world. Yeah. Did you ever actually end up buying the house? Yeah. Oh, was it? Okay. And one thing that I noticed, like, throughout the movie is, like, stairs do play a pretty important role in telling the class divide. Mm-hmm. Because, like, even going from the house, which is on this hill and is high above everything else, and then going down into the basement, you're in, like, a different world. That's true, yeah. Class divide. And then you get back to the Kims' family home, which is way, way, way down by the water level. Yeah. I mean... Also, what I find kind of funny was, like, how the rocks that get down in the beginning are, like, oh. Right outside their window, too. They have a full view. Like, they look up, and they just see a guy just eating, just right on their nose. Yeah, that's not the first time. That's a normal thing that happens. Danger. It's ruined even more now. It's a mass murdering scene at the end. The song cannot catch a break. Mm-hmm. Poor kid. I don't know if that actually... I wonder if there's, like, a Parasite Part 2 where he buys the house. But I think that was just a dream. I thought he bought it for a second, and then, like, it cuts back to him, like, sitting on his couch. I think that's just, like, a dream. Like, it's an aspiration. It's true. I mean, I think if they were to have him actually buy the house, then it would kind of go against the whole message of the movie. That it's kind of just this unfair thing. Like, dreaming for this life isn't going to get you there. Because, I mean, it's... Everything went downhill since that rock came into their life. And, like, the dude who got the rock originally died from the rock. Or not died, but, like, got seriously messed up from that rock. Yeah. And that scene is so deep. The basement scene. Because the guy scaring this song basically traumatizes him. Like, it changes his life completely. Like, he becomes a whole different kid after that. He's, like, he's closed in. He's scared of almost everything. Like, he really... He almost got his life ruined, essentially, by the man. Yeah. The song is mentally... Dumb. Suffering every day. Ruined. Yeah. That can kind of show, you know, blessings can be curses in disguise. Exactly. Curses can be blessings in disguise. That scene is just the root for the whole entire movie. Okay. Finally, Josh, would you like to tell us your favorite scene? Or your scariest scene? Yeah. My favorite scene was Ryan's. The kid singing... The song singing the man and his head poke out. I guess I would just add on to it. I would say the scene... It's really... It's really deep when it comes to, like, the plot of the movie. Because, like, you... You essentially understand why the family is, like, acting a certain way towards their kid. Yeah. Like, when I think about it now, like, the only reason that the whole Kim family was able to get into this scheme was because the... Ms. Park needed an art therapist because the song was all messed up. Like, had that not happened, they probably wouldn't have gone down that rabbit hole. Like, every... Every aspect of the family's life now has changed completely since then. Yeah. Hold on now. Is there a dude living in my basement? Is there... Is there... Is there a dude living in my basement? Is there... I'm going to be checking all my closets when I go home. I'm just going to make sure. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. That's not what you want to reunite. And that scene makes me think, you know, in a lot of these horror movies, we see, like, kids and they're, like, telling their parents, oh, I saw a ghost. Or it's... Or a real spirit or something. It just makes you think, like, wait, did I see any ghosts when I was a kid? Were they really ghosts? Hehehe. Hehehe. It's true. It's true. It's true. It's true. It's true. It's true. It's true. It's true. You guys had the same scene, right? Yes. Yeah, me and Josh and I used to have pretty similar scenes. Yeah. So I guess now we have to decide on the other scene that we're going to have our fight around. We basically all three had the same scene. Between Morgan and Corbin. Just different aspects of the scene. So we have the stabbing scene and then the intro scene. Mm-hmm. Hmm. Well, I mean... Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I didn't like it. The interesting thing is it's not something you'd expect a regular family to do, like, taking those fumes. Yeah, I mean, the reason I chose that one is because I really wanted to highlight what this movie was about. Because its horror doesn't necessarily come from the thriller and the jump scares and all that stuff. It comes from the absolute horror of what these people are going through. So yeah, we can do Josh and Ryan and Ayush's scene versus Morgan's scene because I feel like those two differentiate. One's more traditional, like, jump scare. The other one is more psychological. I'm thinking a little bit more about it. So I'll just be neutral on this. But how about you guys, you three already, just think of an argument on why that is the scariest scene that makes this movie. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. If you think about it, in the hit scene, the movie would've ended there if they died, but if you use the basement scene, nothing would've ever happened in the first place if the kid never got traumatized and didn't end up enjoying that shit. I would actually argue the scene is an important part or aspect of the movie because it kind of gives you a deeper look into the mentality this family holds, like how different parts of life are willing to struggle to get to within. Ring the bell. Imagine the bell's being rung right now. Ring. Ding, ding. But the fight begins. Yeah. Wasn't like the strongest I personally, I'm obviously going to argue for my own scene. Like, I do, I see what Morgan is talking about with this. It's not like your traditional scary, but it really is the premise for this movie. They could've very well died in that room. The movie could've ended there. They could've been dead because of those toxic fumes. But I do think, I think me going airborne on my bed is like, probably like, that's like the main thing that definitely scared me. I was gone. His face was way too scary for me. And the kid like, I think he fainted after. It messed Bro up for his whole and like, Bro was I keep saying, I feel bad for the guy. What I found really interesting in our scene was like the crazy guys in Morse code in the middle of the night to show appreciation for the kid's dad too. Because that's dumb enough to let it all slide. I definitely get where you guys are coming from. Because like, that basement scene with the dude rising up from the basement that is a master class in cinematography right there. Just the way that his eyes are contrasting against the completely pitch black background. It does strike like that instinctual fear that we have of the dark, really. I think that's like the epitome of your traditional horror jump scare within this movie. Yeah, he was eating a cake in his kitchen. And like this alligator like figure. I thought it was like, you know when you see alligators in the dark it's only their eyes showing? That's kind of what it looks like. It goes back to the prior instinct. Dark and eyes equals danger. And the song was terrifying. He's trying to eat the cake. Yeah. He's like 7 years old. Especially as a kid. I mean, as a kid, you see something like that, you don't think it's real. You think you're imagining it. There's so many different aspects of it. Like in Princess Violet. The dude was, yeah, 7 years old. I would definitely say each scene has it's different style of horror. Because our scene is more traditional. But the open scene is like, it has a different sense to the characters that are involved in this movie. Yeah. I guess I should give my pitch for why I believe that that first scene is the scariest and packs the biggest punch. So for me, I feel like it really does set the tone for what kind of scary you're going to expect from this movie. Because you see the abject poverty. You see the desperation. And just the way that it's shot with this greenish gas slowly coming into the basement. You pan to their faces and you see them coughing and choking, all the while still doing the work that they have to do to survive. And that video ceaselessly playing in the background showing them how to fold these boxes. And then the dad, the look on his face, it's just it sends chills down my spine in an odd way. Like, it's this dread horror. Not exactly fear horror. It's more so dread that that could be real. Like that probably is real. People do experience that kind of stuff. It's kind of... It's crazy. It really is. His face says it all. Just no emotion. He didn't even cough. The rest of the family's coughing. I don't think I saw the dad cough once. He was just sitting there folding his box with the YouTube video. He zooms in. You're slowly zooming into his face and he's still watching the video, still folding. And then, boom, cuts. Like that. He's emotionless. You just sit there for a couple seconds. That's the normal. That's the usual. Not a thought behind his eyes. Corbin, as a third-party source, how do you feel about this? I don't know. Because it's... In the movie, it's two different kinds of horror. And that's why it's great to compare these two different scenes. But I would say the opening scene's better. Just because it's something so much different. You know, when you get hit somewhere where you don't normally get hit, it's going to hit harder. So that's why I like the first scene better in this fight. I think both are great. I also throw my vote in for the first scene. If we're going based on scary, I'm sticking to mine. I'm sticking to mine. That first scene is just so well done. Yeah. I do think some of ours is scarier, but that first scene is just so much more... Gotcha. You're deciding about who you take. Yeah. I would stick with the basement scene. I think it is just scarier. It is just scarier. The opening scene is more of a different type of feel. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. But like, oh my god horror. What is he doing? That's the opening scene. I guess it really is a different kind of horror. Scary horror? Horror like, oh shoot. That kind of horror? Definitely basement scene. For sure. It's so much deeper. It's so much deeper. The family is barely making amends. They'd rather risk their health or their availability just to finish these pizza boxes. In the end, you kind of see the mistake they made when they are turning in their pizza boxes. That is crazy. People probably do that. Right now, on a daily basis. Yeah. Ding, ding, ding. Ding, ding, ding. Okay, so the jumpscare scene wins. Woo. Yeah. And we have a winner. Woo. Is there anything else you guys would like to discuss or add on before we wrap this up? I guess a question I have is, do you guys think his father's still alive? Yeah, for sure, for sure. I mean, I think if there's a family living in there and he steals food every night, I mean, that dude, the original guy lived in there for four years. Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, a new family bought it. Like, when he went in the woods and was looking at the house, there was like a different family there. Someone who had just moved to the country. It's constant sacrifice after sacrifice in order to survive, you know, in a comfortable way. Yeah, I think it was like a white family. He said they were new to Korea. So as long as someone lives there, bro has food. If he just keeps safe and sneaks up every night. I'd definitely give the movie a nine out of ten, for sure. Yeah, I mean, from what I've read about the director, that's like his magnum opus right there. That's his best movie that he's done so far. Alright, is there anything else anybody would like to discuss before we wrap up? I think I'm good. Great film. Okay, great job, guys. Thank you for listening to the Horror Heavy Hitters podcast. We hope you enjoyed our introductory pilot episode. Thank you for tuning in. Goodbye. Thanks, y'all. Thank you, guys.