Movie Oubliette

To mark the film's 40th anniversary, we revisit Peter Hyams' 2010 – a brave follow-up to a literal monolith in science fiction film history. In what was then called a 'belated' rather than a 'legacy' sequel, the film adapts Arthur C. Clarke's novel and features a stellar cast of Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, Bob Balaban and, returning from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain as Dave Bowman and HAL 9000. Yes, it's full of stars. But it is a worthy follow-up that stands on its own? Or is it a pale imitation and a footnote? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Actor, writer and producer Amanda Jane Stern – whose psychosexual thriller Perfectly Good Moment has launched on Tubi this month – joins us to discuss David O. Selznick's production of Portrait of Jennie. Based on a popular novella by Robert Nathan that Ray Bradbury said "touched and frightened" him, the romantic fantasy won an Oscar for Best Special Effects in 1948, but was not a success. Set in depression-era New York, it starred Jennifer Jones as the titular Jennie, an enigmatic young woman who inspires an impoverished painter, played by Joseph Cotton. The film is well regarded among those who remember it or have rediscovered it, but it's not easy to come by on streaming services or physical media. Unless you stumble upon it on Youtube, of course. But does it deserve to escape the oubliette and be immortalised? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad find themselves exiled to a leafy island that looks suspiciously like Queensland in this episode, where they explore Martin Campbell's No Escape (1994) – an airy, outdoor adventure set in the distant future of 2022. It stars Ray Liotta as the scarred military vet convicted for shooting his CO after he covered up a war crime, who teams up with fellow inmates Lance Henriksen, Ernie Hudson and Kevin Dillon to defeat the evil Stuart Wilson's 'tribe' of sadistic killers and expose the greater evils of private prisons. Produced on a $20 million budget by Gale Anne Hurd, the movie got Campbell the gig directing GoldenEye (1995), but quickly vanished from theatres. But does it deserve early release from the oubliette to ease 90s prison movie overcrowding? Or should it be hurled back in with no chance of parole? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Happy Halloween! Duncan Skiles, director of the chilling The Clovehitch Killer and the forthcoming comedy thriller Neighborhood Watch, went trick or treating into the oubliette and brought back a Peeping Tom. This proto-slasher from Michael Powell, one half of the famous British duo Powell and Pressburger, emerged in the same year as Hitchcock's Psycho and explores similar territory: a handsome, unassuming man with a homicidal compulsion spurred by parental abuse. But while one film was an instant box office sensation that became a landmark in horror history, the other was savaged by scandalised critics and destroyed its director's career. Rescued from obscurity over a decade later by Martin Scorsese, Peeping Tom has become an influential cult favourite. But does it deserve to escape the oubliette with a fulsome sack of calorific treats? Or should it be thrown back with some candy corn and a rotten apple? Find out! Follow Duncan Skiles on Instagram, Facebook or his website! Look out for Neighbourhood Watch in Spring 2025. Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!