Madison Estes

This episode ended up being one of my favorites so far! Chris and I go over all the different directions the Saw writers considered taking the series and why everything turned out the way it did, plus we discuss popular fan theories. I hope you guys enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed talking with Chris about all the what-could-have-beens for the series.

1 week ago | [YT] | 3

Madison Estes

Read-o-ween went so well last night! We had at least 6 groups of people tell us they loved that we were passing out books. The attitude was very positive.

We had a doctor who later came back wearing a Jason Voorhees mask, and he took one of the pirate eye masks we were handing out, and he became the first Dr. Voorhees pirate ever (probably). Several tiny superheroes stopped by, Spider-mans, Supermans, one Hulk, a Batman (yikes!). There was also a Mr. J and a young Harley Quinn who had a very similar outfit to mine.

My favorite spooky outfit of the night is at the end of this slideshow. It was even more awesome to see in person (and she was so excited to see books she took her mask off to pick one out out haha).

Also, we dressed the pups up a little pigs because I was Cowgirl Harley Quinn. They did NOT tolerate the costumes well, despite the fact they are in fact, little pigs when it comes to eating lol.

#halloween #readoween #happyhalloween #halloweencostumes #reading #readingcommunity

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 18

Madison Estes

Hey everyone! The brand new episode of The Jigsaw Files Podcast is AVAILABLE NOW!

Join Chris and I as we rank and discuss our top 3 favorite traps...from each Saw film!

And let us know some of YOUR favorite traps in the comments.

You can find us on Spotify as well.

​ ⁨@TheJigsawFiles⁩

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujc4D...

4 months ago | [YT] | 7

Madison Estes

I hung out with my friend yesterday, and we talked about Weapons (spoiler-free), watched some Tales from the Crypt, talked about Stranger Things, sequel hooks, a few other horror subjects, and then finished the night off with more Tales from the Crypt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avB3R...

4 months ago | [YT] | 7

Madison Estes

Weapons is my third weird horror movie in a row, and while it works in some ways, I think it’s getting overhyped. The premise is fantastic—an entire class of children vanishes in the middle of the night, except for one student. The opening, told from the teacher’s POV as she’s blamed by the whole town, is by far the most interesting part of the movie. Unfortunately, while some viewers will enjoy the bizarre direction it takes, I found the mystery reveal a letdown.

From the director of Barbarian, I actually preferred that film because its sudden shift came after the first story arc felt complete. Here, the tone shifts are erratic, and the plot meanders. My mom and I came up with far more satisfying explanations for the disappearance. People on Reddit are calling the movie hilarious, but I didn’t find much humor in it; that's a bad sign when comedy is supposedly part of the appeal.

The movie frequently switches POV, sometimes replaying the same scene from another angle without adding anything new. The repetition dulls the impact of moments that were more effective the first time. The cop and drug addict POVs, in particular, felt unnecessary and distracted from the central mystery.

The third act drags until a brief, cool chase sequence in the last five minutes. Based on the trailer, I expected more mystery—maybe even a conspiracy—but the story is simple and stretched thin. If I’d gone in blind, I might have enjoyed it more, but the premise could have led to far more interesting places. There are some great horror moments in here, but I feel like overall the movie made a lot of missteps.

Rating: 3/5 stars

4 months ago | [YT] | 18

Madison Estes

The Home, starring Pete Davidson, is a mixed bag. While the film definitely stumbles in places, especially with a few disjointed scenes in the middle, the story pulls together by the end in a way that felt worth the ride.

The film follows Max, a former foster kid who gets in trouble for graffiti and ends up working in a nursing home. From there, things start getting weird. There are moments of misdirection (in the best way), and the story twists more than I expected. While I wasn’t a fan of the dream sequences, especially since it’s ambiguous whether they’re even dreams, the overall mystery kept me interested.

At one point, a woman who looks straight out of The Matrix shows up just once to warn Max about the nursing home and ask for help collecting evidence. It’s random, sure, but intriguing. I won’t spoil the plot, but I loved the choice of setting. Why don’t more horror films take place in nursing homes? They’re institutional, sterile, and full of power dynamics between vulnerable residents and their caretakers. It’s a setting ripe for unease.

Pete Davidson’s performance surprised me in a good way. You won't see his typical comedic personality here. In the first 20 minutes, he reacts to creepy events like a real person would. When a patient gets up looking distressed, Max doesn’t scream or panic—he’s just genuinely concerned. And when a resident starts being ominously cryptic, Max straight-up says, “Wait, no, you have to finish telling me what you were going to say,” which felt refreshingly honest and grounded. His final scenes are fantastic. I had a smile on my face for the last ten minutes—it was just pure fun.

So yeah, The Home is far from perfect. The execution is uneven, it can be confusing if you aren't paying close attention, and the tone drifts at times. But I still had a good time with it. For originality, solid atmosphere, and a strong performance from Davidson, I’m giving it a 3/5 stars.

4 months ago | [YT] | 14

Madison Estes

Wow, I just watched Together, and holy moly this was one weird movie. It’s a relationship drama wrapped in codependency, laced with body horror, and surprisingly full of humor. Despite the comedic elements, it never veers too heavily into corny territory, which I appreciated. I kept wondering how dark the ending would go, and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by where it landed. There’s also a mid-story twist that caught me off guard in a good way.

I also thought it was kind of sweet that the actors who play the couple are actually married in real life. They mentioned they could only have filmed something this intense because their relationship was solid, and yeah, I believe it. That would’ve been so awkward otherwise.

Sidenote: I watched it with my mom, who despised it. 😂 I can totally see this movie being divisive. It starts slow, and while the horror elements are present (with a few jump scares that didn’t really work for me), it’s really the relationship that takes center stage. Luckily, since most of the movie is about that dynamic, nearly every moment ends up feeling relevant.

Overall, while it’s not the scariest or best horror film of the year, Together earns serious points for originality and sheer weirdness. It’s flawed but fascinating. If you’re into strange genre-benders with emotional cores, it’s worth a watch.

Rating: 4/5

4 months ago | [YT] | 19

Madison Estes

I saw the trailer for The Long Walk (based on the book by Stephen King), and it's amazing. It looks exactly how I imagined while reading the book. Even the color filter is how I imagined it. This is my new most anticipated film of the year. Definitely go check it out and let me know what you think!

5 months ago | [YT] | 16

Madison Estes

M3GAN 2.0 delivers what the trailer promised. Camp, chaos, humor, crazy robot fights, and a wild plot about a global A.I. takeover with several twists and turns. Yet somehow, there are actual moments of thoughtfulness about humanity’s relationship with A.I. Who knew?

The genre shift was the best thing that could’ve happened to this sequel. If this had just tried to rehash the first film, it would’ve been a snoozefest. That’s why I predicted it would suck back in January, because who needs another carbon copy? Thankfully, the marketing did its job, and I gave it a shot. Zero regrets. It was an absolute blast.

Is it horror? Not really. Unless you consider Terminator 2 a horror movie. (Which, I mean, I guess if you’re a 90s mall cop, maybe?) But I think anyone that goes into this with an open mind who just wants to laugh will have fun.

To sum it all up? Megan still slays. This will probably be my favorite action comedy of the year. 4.5/5 stars

5 months ago | [YT] | 65

Madison Estes

28 Years Later surprised me in that it was a coming-of-age story as much as a post-apocalyptic horror movie. The first half of this movie is about a boy learning from his father how to fight the infected and navigate the unique environment that grants them some protection from the infected. The second half is what happens when that boy is forced into a terrible predicament and must make hard choices for the sake of his family. There are definitely some strong Walking Dead vibes throughout the film.

The one thing that separates this from all other zombie movies (aside from the fact they aren't actually dead, which is easy to forget at times) is the fact that the rest of the world remains largely unaffected by the rage virus. We see glimpses of this in the film with the introduction of an outsider character, but this remains the single most unique aspect of the movie, and I hope more of this will be explored with sequels.

As for the ending, I definitely feel like we could have done without the introduction of Jimmy. I was far more interested in this character when all we had was the scene where his name was carved into something, and leaving it at that would have raised my interest more than what was actually delivered in the last few minutes of the film. So I have to caution you, it's possible you will leave this film scratching your head at the choice of ending.

Despite my complaint, a very solid film. I'm looking forward to the next part. 4.5/5 stars

5 months ago | [YT] | 17