BIG MONSTERS

This month on Sitting in the Dark, we go big: big monsters, big fear, and big systems that respond to catastrophe with the confidence of a guy who just Googled “what is monster” on his way into the meeting. Kynan, Chelsea Stardust, Tommy Metz III, and Pete Wright take on three modern giant-creature films—Bong Joon-ho’s The Host (2006), André Øvredal’s Troll Hunter (2010), and Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One (in its Minus Color presentation)—and find a weirdly consistent thread across wildly different cultures: when the giant thing shows up, the institutions mostly don’t.The Host kicks things off with tonal whiplash as a feature, not a bug. The film’s mix of grief, comedy, and political bite becomes its own kind of monster, and the conversation circles what Bong is really lampooning, what still lands, and what hits differently on a rewatch. The creature design gets its due too—full daylight, hard to pin down, impossible to “know”—but what lingers is the movie’s sense that people become collateral long before anything with teeth arrives.Troll Hunter shifts the vibe without letting you off the hook. The group gets into the found-footage push-pull—shaky cam, “why are you still filming,” all that—then pretty quickly agrees that Hans, the deadpan troll hunter, is the secret weapon. The film’s charm is how seriously it takes the ridiculous premise: folklore becomes logistics, mythology becomes fieldwork, and the jokes don’t erase the danger. It’s one of those movies that makes you laugh… then reminds you you’d die immediately.Godzilla Minus One brings it home with a version of Godzilla that’s less “spectacle” and more “reckoning.” The group talks about the postwar setting, the human story at the center, why the black-and-white presentation changes the feel of the effects, and how this movie earns its impact through quiet scenes as much as destruction.Across all three films, the episode keeps returning to the same uncomfortable idea: these are blue-collar fights. The people who do anything meaningful aren’t the polished experts. They’re ordinary, exhausted, under-resourced, and improvising. Which might be the scariest part.Next month, Chelsea flips the table for her birthday picks with an ultra low-budget lineup: The Battery (2012), Hellbender (2021), and Starry Eyes (2014).🎬 Featured Films🍿 Tonight's Triple Feature:The Host - Apple TV | Amazon Trollhunter - Apple TV | Amazon Godzilla Minus One - Apple TV | Amazon📋 View Our List on Letterboxd(00:00) - Welcome to Sitting in the Dark(05:21) - The Host(28:30) - Trollhunter(50:28) - Godzilla Minus One(01:21:27) - Coming AttractionsSupport The Next Reel Family of Film Shows:Become a member for just $5/month or $55/yearJoin our Discord community of movie loversThe Next Reel Family of Film Shows:Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and MovementsThe Film BoardMovies We LikeThe Next ReelSitting in the DarkConnect With Us:Main Site: WebMovie Platforms: Letterboxd | FlickchartSocial Media: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | YouTube | PinterestYour Hosts: Chelsea | Kyle | Kynan | Pete | Tommy Shop & Stream:Merch Store: Apparel, stickers, mugs & moreWatch Page: Buy/rent films we've discussedOriginals: Source material from our episodesSpecial offers: Audible