{"podcast":{"title":"Critical Darlings","slug":"critical-darlings-7771666","podcast_index_feed_id":7771666,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/THI7214278819","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/b70a2598-2185-11f1-9391-2f87e0e925cc/image/4c25862893adddea3f0c270dc90ba01c.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Blank Check Productions","episode_count":24,"summary":"Welcome to Critical Darlings: a podcast about the movies everyone is talking about, one new release after another. Every week, critics Richard Lawson and Alison Willmore cover the latest film driving the conversation—from big summer blockbusters to festival favorites, buzzy streamers, and major awards contenders. New episodes every Thursday. We’re a Blank Check Production! To catch up on our first miniseries covering the 2026 Oscars season, check out Blank Check on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Stick around on this feed for new episodes going forward. Produced by Benjamin Frisch Subscribe to Richard's newsletter, ⁠⁠Premiere Party,⁠⁠ and read Alison's work ⁠⁠at Vulture. Follow @blankcheckpod on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T18:19:24.868644+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666"},"episode":{"title":"\"Ready Or Not 2,\" \"They Will Kill You,\" And The Decline Of Social Satire Horror","slug":"ready-or-not-2-they-will-kill-you-and-the-decline-of-social-satire-horror","published_at":"2026-04-02T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/ready-or-not-2-they-will-kill-you-and-the-decline-of-social-satire-horror","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI8752391864.mp3?updated=1775086080","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI8752391864.mp3?updated=1775086080","summary":"This week we’re eating the rich with two new horror films that share devilishly similar premises: Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come and They Will Kill You both feature women fighting back against satanic cults run by rich elites in order to protect an estranged younger sister, written with wry humor aimed at the ultra-wealthy. Neither film did particularly well critically or at the box office, but they raise a fascinating question for Critical Darlings: Has the Trump-era social satire horror film finally run out of steam? In this episode, Richard and Alison trace this specific strain of metaphor-driven social horror, deconstruct it, and try to distinguish it from socially aware classics like Rosemary’s Baby. From racial allegories like Get Out, the trauma-informed The Babadook, class satires like The Menu, and alternate-reality anthology TV like Black Mirror, we ask why the recent crop of these types of movies are starting to feel so creaky, while less directly metaphorical films like Weapons feel more fresh. Next week, we’re trading our cult robes for overalls as we hop on a Launch Star and blast off with our best friends Mario, Luigi, and of course Birdo, to orbit The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.' Read and subscribe to Richard's newsletter at ⁠Premiere Party,⁠ and read Alison at ⁠Vulture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"This week we’re eating the rich with two new horror films that share devilishly similar premises: Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come and They Will Kill You both…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4388,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/ready-or-not-2-they-will-kill-you-and-the-decline-of-social-satire-horror/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/ready-or-not-2-they-will-kill-you-and-the-decline-of-social-satire-horror.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}