Archive for the Favorite Films Category

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Favorite Films: If You Loved ‘Backrooms,’ You’ll Probably Dig ‘The Cell’ Too

Posted in Essays, Favorite Films, Features with tags , , , , , , , , , on 07/28/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

To the surprise of no one, the summer blockbuster to beat is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey which, based on the reactions of critics and average-joe moviegoers alike, seems to be the best movie of all time ever made ever in the history of all times. But there’s still a curious mid-card match taking place far more unexpectedly: the jostling between two very low-budget psychological horror flicks, Obsession and Backrooms. Both are very unnerving, mostly sparing in the use of violence, and tap into Americans’ widespread fear these days of psychological insanity and not knowing what’s real (cough, MAGA, cough) versus physical violence.

The Bad Penny highly recommends both films – and one more, although it dates back 26 years. The Cell was a thoroughly original horror movie (more so than sci-fi, the genre in which it was primarily marketed and classified). It starred Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D’Onofrio, who didn’t make for the strongest acting ensemble, but that issue was mitigated by the fact that visionary Indian director Tarsem Singh helmed The Cell.

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Favorite Films: Musicians Who Like the Bad Penny Adore ‘The Thing,’ ‘The Big Lebowski,’ ‘No Country for Old Men’

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 07/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Fourteen editions deep in The Bad Penny‘s probe into movies that musicians enjoy the most – they’re usually watching them on the tour bus – we’ve been utterly blown away by the response. The number of bands eager to participate surprised us at many turns. Hell, some musicians seemed to only wanna talk about a movie in which they appeared as opposing to discussing an album they created.

Because we had amassed enough movie recommendations from the artists with whom we spoke, we took a time-out and compiled the selections of the artists. Participants include Napalm Death, Fireball Ministry’s Emily Burton (catch her here too!), Pigace’s Martin Atkins, Kilter, The New Loud, Meltt, Dez Dare, Oathbound, Dummy, Jacob the Horse, Dying Remains, Heavy Heavy Low Low and Point Break 2 (who had never foreseen this mayhem coming).

Among the 52 repeated picks, there are only three, hard as it may be to believe: The Thing (also Stephen Colbert’s favorite movie ever), The Big Lebowski and Big Trouble in Little China. Even more remarkable is that those films were low-budget and geared to niche audience. Let’s check out what the other band members deduced to be their favorite movies.

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Favorite Films: Fireball Ministry’s Emily Burton Digs ‘Jackie Brown’ ‘Aliens,’ ‘Big Trouble in Little Lebowski’ … and a Pick You’d Never Guess

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 07/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It was only a month ago that Fireball Ministry co-founder and guitar virtuoso Emily Burton graciously set aside some of her busy schedule to talk about her and all the current developments that are making her beam at the status of her influential, 27-year-old stoner rock band. (Read all about her successful litigation here.)

When we checked in with her for part two of our conversation, she was in much better spirits and game for talking about some of her movies of all time. For those who don’t live in the loop, musicians have extraordinarily long stretches between †venues, affording them some time to cozy up in a band, rewrite and rewrite and rewrite once again the band’s set list. Burton prefers the latter.

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Favorite Films: Tim and Eric Turn Vancouver Psych Squad Meltt Into a Puddle of Laughter

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews, Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 07/18/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Last we checked in with Meltt – Vancouver’s greatest psych-rock band this side of Black Mountain – we tried to channel their excitement over playing Boise’s Treefort Music Fest shortly before they graced the annual event three years ago. Fast-forward to 2026, and the duders were once again in good spirits, still giddy over the release of their fourth full-length, Pathways (Nettwerk), last month.

As much as we recommend you snag Meltt’s new release, when they graciously granted The Bad Penny the chance to catch up with them for a second time, we all agreed to mix it up and rope the band into our consistent-ish ongoing Saturday series, the self-explanatory Favorite Films. Each band member generously participated in the exercise – and, wouldn’t ya know it, The Bad Penny would’ve raved about many of the same flicks were the tables turned.

But, of course, this story is not us. It’s about Meltt, Pathways and movie recommendations that might inspire you to take a hop, a skip and a jump during your weekend. Scratch that: These selections might prompt you to pick up a chainsaw, commune with an octopus underwater or reminisce about Star Lanes (RIP) instead.

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Favorite Films: Dez Dare Digs Nicolas Cage, Mia Goth, ‘Moon,’ ‘Midsommar,’ ‘Ex Machina’ (and Puppets)

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 06/27/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

As we trudge through an cultural era of moribundity that will hopefully reach a conclusion some day, we rely more heavily on those of us who, while aware of the enshitification of the world, refuse to let it pop their bubble. One of the essential artists who lives his life in this regard is Darren Smallman, who goes by the name Dez Dare when performing his heartwarmingly zany, zest-for-life music with the reckless abandon of someone who refuses to let reality get him down.

Beginning in March, Dez started slipping out one song a month digitally, with the compiled result called These Days Are Wild & Blind and available now on Bandcamp.

Because we’ve interviewed Dez multiple times before about his music, we decided to rope him into our Favorite Films series this time around. Still, we’d be doing both him and you a disservice if we didn’t precede Dez’s film picks with this video for his new song “You Woke Up on My Side of Time.” (Pro tip: Never say no to puppets.)

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Favorite Films: Martin Atkins (Ministry, Pigface) ‘Bedazzles’ Us by Picking a Comedy With Dudley Moore, Peter Cook

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , on 06/20/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

If you want to get properly schooled in the history of post-punk and industrial music – and the music industry machinery that has both helped and harmed it over the decades – don’t read a music blog or turn to some know-it-all bottom-feeding on social media for information. Instead, seek out a revered guru like Martin Atkins, he of Pigface, Ministry, Killing Joke, Public Image Ltd and Nine Inch Nails note.

Atkins is a prolific author of books concerning the music industry; the studies coordinator on the very subject at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois; and owner and operator of the Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago. If you’re more inclined to enjoy Atkins making music instead of reading his tomes, look no further than The Howler: An English Breakfast, a record he issued on vinyl for the first time about three weeks ago.

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‘Send Help’: An Analysis of the Eye-Gouging Scene(s) in Sam Raimi’s Breakaway Horror-Comedy Hit

Posted in Essays, Favorite Films, Features with tags , , , , , on 05/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Just two weeks ago, we raved about the best movie of the year so far, Sam Raimi’s Send Help. But just as we can’t stop rewatching the deliriously entertaining horror-thriller-with-a-smile, we keep finding more in-jokes (or Easter eggs, if you prefer) with each subsequent viewing.

The most obvious one is the golfing motif, which is not unlike the collectible coin/button storytelling device that Raimi used in his last great horror-comedy, Drag Me to Hell. (The Bad Penny still maintains the latter flick is the better of the two discussed here.) Just as the coin/button completed the narrative circle of Drag Me to Hell with a sinister smirk, Raimi similarly introduces the golf club and brief discussions about golf at the very beginning and very end of Send Help.

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Favorite Films: Avant-Garde Trio Kilter Get Off on ‘Stalker,’ ‘Annihilation,’ ‘Street Trash’

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews, Lists with tags , , , , , , , , on 05/23/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Credit: Malena Marquez

If your tastes in music are liberal and erudite enough to encompass Khanate and Yakuza, you are living in sin with each passing moment you fail to avail yourself to Kilter. The instrumental metal-jazz trio from Paris and Brooklyn is counting down the hours till Kilter’s new album, Ten Billion Years, arrives via Excursus Production on June 19.

“A concept album depicting nothing less than the birth and death of our solar system, Ten Billion Years unfolds with cosmic-level grandeur, its instrumental compositions exploring spaces between the sounds of John Coltrane, Sunn O))) and Meshuggah,” reads a statement in press materials about the release. That jibes with us; does it for you?

If you’re sold, mark your calendar for a week from today, when Bandcamp hosts a Ten Billion Years listening party a week from today at 1 p.m. ET. And with that sneak preview still a week away, The Bad Penny is casting the spotlight on the burgeoning band by featuring them in the latest installment of our Favorite Films series. If the title doesn’t give it away, the ongoing feature allows musicians to share their favorite movies ever (and we usually publish it on Saturdays).

Buckle up (especially in the case of the first selection) for the picks that Kilter’s Laurent David (electric bass, production); Ed Rosenberg III (bass and tenor saxophones); and Kenny Grohowski (drums) handpicked for their installment of Favorite Films.

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If Sam Raimi’s ‘Send Help’ Has You Begging for More Horror-Comedy, Watch This John Carpenter Short Film in Full

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Videos with tags , , , , on 05/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Definitely more horror than comedy, Sam Raimi nonetheless made an indelible mark in a short film that was part of master-of-the-macabre John Carpenter’s 1993’s anthology, Body Bags. (Raimi made a couple of cameos in it; keep yer eyes peeled. Horror king Wes Craven also makes a cameo, and one of the main roles.)

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Jesus Lizard Screamer David Yow’s Acting Demo Reel Is Pure Gold

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 05/03/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

David Yow’s penchant for physical prowess is not only evident in his four decades as noise-rock’s ultimate madman; the Jesus Lizard frontman also taps into his mesmerizing contortions and transformations as an actor. Fans of Yow and his bands – which have also included Scratch Acid, Qui and Flipper – may be aware of his various forays in film, but only a select few have seen this wacky demo reel he used to clinch acting roles.

A short list of movies on Yow’s resumé include 2017’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore with Elijah Wood; 2023’s The Toxic Avenger with Peter Dinklage; 2018’s Under the Silver Lake with Andrew Garfield; and the 2015 cult-favorite horror anthology Southbound.

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