We explore “The School Duel” as a grounded character study of violence and “Animale” as a haunting feminist plunge into myth and madness.
School Duel
We thought The School Duel would be a much rougher watch. It does deal with school shootings, and the depiction of a bullied teenager will affect some audiences, but it did not have the out-and-out carnage we were worried about. Instead, it is a well-told character study that sucks the audience in.
So, why didn’t we care that much for it?
The last third of the film feels like it is spinning its wheels. The part that should be the most exciting feels tacked on and pointless. It gets a little too much like a video game. And the ending undermines all the good that the earlier parts of The School Duel had carefully built.
Animale
Animale is a confusing French horror movie.
The storytelling is straightforward, and there is a lot of good here. It is atmospheric, dark, and has one of the most unique settings we have ever seen. The plot is very engaging, and the writing does an excellent job of providing character depth.
The final moments feature some amazing imagery that will stay with anyone who sees it. It is disturbing and will make anyone who sees feel something. The delicate subject matter is treated with sensitivity and ties everything together.
It is what happens after that that leaves us unsure how to feel.
ABOUT THIS PODCAST:
Every week AIPT Movie Editor Nathaniel Muir and his cinema partner in crime Blake Heath discuss indie and genre movies you have have never heard of, the ones you cannot hear enough about, and the ones you never want to hear about again.
Episode 369: ‘Find Your Friends’ (2026)
Aside from Art the Clown, what has Damian Leone contributed to horror? We also come dangerously close to gatekeeping while we discuss what extreme horror is. Plus a discussion on the 28 Years franchise somehow leads to a talk about The Bride.
We spend a good amount of time talking about Find Your Friends. About 98% of it is spent on the film’s writing. It does not take long to realize this is not a good thing. There have been plenty of movies that have led to a discussion about the writing. There has been nothing like this one.
The movie clearly deals with sensitive subjects. But it does it in a way that downplays the circumstances, the victim, and its heady themes. It is so bad that we have to constantly reiterate how we are not shitty men. (Who knows? Maybe we are. But that’s a different matter.)
How bad was the writing for Find Your Friends? So much so that we were constantly filing in story beats to make it make sense to us. And even then, we were still frustrated by what we had seen. This movie had all the ingredients to tell a powerful story about how women are treated. It instead was content to erratically work towards its admittedly wild finale.
Adventures in Movies! is a part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Morbidly Beautiful is your one stop shop for all your horror needs. From the latest news and reviews to interviews and old favorites, it can be found at Morbidly Beautiful.
Adventures in Movies! is hosted by Nathaniel and Blake. You can find Nathaniel on Instagram at nathaninpoortaste. Blake can be found on Twitter @foureyedhorror and on Instagram at foureyedhorror. You can reach us personally or on Twitter @AdventuresinMo1.
Music in the background from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com
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Adventures in Movies! is hosted by Nathaniel and Blake. You can find Nathaniel on Instagram at nathaninpoortaste. Blake can be found on Twitter @foureyedhorror and on Instagram at foureyedhorror.
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