We trace the Life of a Film from conception to production all the way to its release and reception. You know when you dive into a film's wikipedia and imdb after watching it? Then the director's page, then the actor's page. Our show does that for you. We use our nerd superpowers to obsessively tell the story of a movie: how it came to be, how it played out, and what it means today. It is a crash course on a single film filled with primary documents, lovely asides, and frequent guest voices. It…
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The season finale of our Rise of A24 series starts at the beginning, Harmony Korine's neon maximalist Spring Breakers (2013) as well as his first big break as the writer of Kids (1995). Problematic doesn't begin to describe the mid 1990s molotov cocktail of Kids . Harmony Korine was a skateboard kid in New York City when the nearly 50 year old Larry Clark discovered him. However improbable, a…
The penultimate episode in our Rise of A24 season features two psychological free falls, Denis Villeneuve's Enemy (2014) and the infamous Roman Polanski's The Tenant (1976) Special Guest: Hollywood Insider and great friend of the show, Ryan Slipping identity is one of the better themes for existential horror, but its narrative power can easily list the story until it capsizes. There is perhaps…
In our seventh episode of The Rise of A24 series, we revisit the pitch black thriller Green Room (2016) and its even even darker precedent Straw Dogs (1971). Special Guests: David, comedian and musician from Chicago, check out his band Humdrum Green Room is perhaps the most divisive film that splits apart your Film Trace cohosts. Chris loves this punk rock thriller, and Dan resolutely despises the…
In our sixth episode of The Rise of A24 series, we plunge into the cold dark heart of humanity with It Comes at Night (2017) and The Crazies (1973) Special Guests: Bridget D. Brave, horror writer and horror film aficionado I will admit. These are a couple of tough films. I t Comes at Night is bleak. The Crazies is messy. They both share a common Hobbesian DNA. That is, human beings can be pretty…
In our fifth episode of The Rise of A24 series, we go to church with Paul Schrader’s First Reformed (2018) and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Ordet (1955). Special Guests: Jen and Sarah of the great podcasts - Movies & Us and TV & Us Paul Schrader has spent a lifetime wrestling with the question of transcendence. From Taxi Driver to Master Gardener , his protagonists are often solitary men seeking clarity…
In our fourth episode of The Rise of A24 series, we are covering the newly minted cult classic Under the Silver Lake (2019) and the art cinema bonanza of L'Avventura (1960) Special Guest - James Adamson, the host of the great Double Reel Podcast, a monthly magazine podcast for the discerning film nerd. A24 had a cult following well before it broke into the mainstream in the 2020s. Their surprise…
In our third episode of The Rise of A24 series, we are covering Kogonada's quiet meditation on familial AI, After Yang (2022) alongside the wondrous Late Spring (1949) by Yasujiro Ozu. Special Guest - Lillian Crawford is a freelance writer covering film and culture for publications including Sight & Sound, BBC Culture, The Guardian, Times Literary Supplement. In addition to her writing, Lillian is…
“If Blumhouse is in a slump, I’d like to tell that story. I don’t want other people to tell that story.” Jason Blum, The Town, July 2025 In a baffling moment of industry transparency, Jason Blum called into The Town podcast on the morning after M3GAN 2.0 ’s disastrous opening weekend in late June to discuss what went wrong. Jason is the founder and leader of the highly successful Blumhouse…
In our second episode of The Rise of A24 series, we are covering the gonzo horror of the Philippou brothers in Talk to Me (2023) and the roots of elevated horror in Andrzej Żuławski's Possession (1981) Special Guest - Returning to the podcast, Writer and Horror Film Aficionado, Andrea Gomez A24 has built a reputation for edgy horror films. They helped to popularize the concept of elevated horror…
We are back with a new season of Film Trace. In this season, we will survey the short but illustrious history of film studio upstart A24. We will analyze how they have made such a massive impact on filmmaking in such a small amount of time. In this premiere episode, we are covering two new releases from A24: Sorry, Baby and Eddington . These two films act as bookends to the house style of A24. On…
