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https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2016/12/09/dwayne-perkins-and-lynn-chen-are-dying-to-kill/
The new horror film Dying to Kill, starring stand-up comedian Dwayne Perkins, will make its debut this Tuesday, December 13 on Hulu. On this week’s Hard NOC Life, Dwayne — who also co-wrote the film — is joined by his co-star Lynn Chen, as well as the film’s writer/producer Koji Steven Sakai, and writer/director Raymond C. Lai to talk about the process that went into making the film.
Topics covered on the show include:
- How being a stand-up comic translates to a horror movie premise
- Pain and suffering as fuel for creativity and artistry
- The fine line between fandom and fanaticism
- The rise of internet trolls in the age of social media
- The filmmakers conscious decision to cast the movie as diverse as possible
- Dwayne and Lynn’s aversion to horror movies, despite starring in one
All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit “play,” and check this.
Watch this space every Friday for new episodes of “Hard N.O.C. Life” and go to our YouTube channel to subscribe! You can also download the audio podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud!
The new horror film Dying to Kill, starring stand-up comedian Dwayne Perkins, will make its debut this Tuesday, December 13 on Hulu. On this week’s Hard NOC Life, Dwayne — who also co-wrote the film — is joined by his co-star Lynn Chen, as well as the film’s writer/producer Koji Steven Sakai, and writer/director Raymond C. Lai to talk about the process that went into making the film.
Topics covered on the show include:
- How being a stand-up comic translates to a horror movie premise
- Pain and suffering as fuel for creativity and artistry
- The fine line between fandom and fanaticism
- The rise of internet trolls in the age of social media
- The filmmakers conscious decision to cast the movie as diverse as possible
- Dwayne and Lynn’s aversion to horror movies, despite starring in one
All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit “play,” and check this.
Watch this space every Friday for new episodes of “Hard N.O.C. Life” and go to our YouTube channel to subscribe! You can also download the audio podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud!
A lot of questions are answered in this week’s episode. Some of the events from the premiere makes sense! Can Todd (Elijah Wood) and Dirk (Samuel Barnett) get over their hurt feelings to save Lydia? Strap in guys, this is a bumpy ride.
Recap
Minutes before Dirk and Todd took that trip into the past…
Farah (Jade Eshete) finds herself in the trunk of a car. With no catch, she shoots near the headlights thinking the trunk may trigger to open. She’s not realizing that she is in Agent Weedle’s (David Lewis) car at the animal transfer unit. Her shooting in the trunk is what Gordon Rimmer (Aaron Douglas) heard in last week’s episode and had Weedle check it out. Farah figures out there is another way out of the trunk. Using her knife, she tears a whole into the backseat and pushes through comparing it to being born. Seeing Agent Weedle approaching the car with gun in hand, she manages to kill him by using the rearview mirror to help aim her gun. Seriously, that was an AWESOME shot!
Rimmer checks on Rapunzel/Lydia and finds Lydia/Rapunzel barking. Detective Estevez (Neil Brown Jr) surprises him by punching him in the face. While demanding he but Lydia back into her body he kicks him but Rimmer manages to escape hitting Estevez with the dog bowl and Rapunzel trying to bite him. Estevez goes after him.
Dirk and Todd’s Trip To One Week Ago
Arriving one week ago into the past, Todd and Dirk hear Rimmer’s voice so they quickly hide, taking the device with them. Rimmer walks in with Lydia Spring (Alison Thornton), his dog Rapunzel, Ed (Christian Bako), Zed (Michael Adamthwaite), and some other drones. He has the drones strap Lydia and Rapunzel to the machine. Using a similar device like Todd and Dirk’s only with markings, Rimmer uses it with the larger machine to soul switch Lydia into Rapunzel and vice versa. Rainey (Jessica Lowndes) with a sign marked on her face interrupts with her own group of drones and followers citing treason. Rainey has one of her men take Rapunzel. Rimmer demands his dog back. He tries to convince Rimmer that they have Patrick Spring right where they want him because he’s meeting him at the Perryman Grand hotel to exchange his daughter for the other machine. Rainey isn’t hearing it. She doesn’t think Spring is a threat anymore. They don’t need his machine. Rimmer wants things to change because Rainey’s been running things for WAY too long. He leaves taking the device with him.
Right after Rimmer leaves there’s some gunfire in the halls. There is a guy in a weird steampunk knight outfit shooting and electrifying the followers and drones. He reaches the room asking if the woman has the soul of Jake Rainey. She says yes, he shoots her right between the eyes. The mystery guy finds Dirk and Todd in their hiding spot wondering who they are. Dirk has solved the case and reveals that the guy behind the mask is Patrick Spring (Julian McMahon)! The man lifts his mask and it is indeed him!
Dirk then goes onto explain that Zachariah Webb, Edgar Spring, and Patrick Spring are the same man! Going into detail Dirk narrates the story of how Zachariah created the time machine but knew something was wrong when the machine came back with the symbols and Dirk’s note. To fix it, he travels to 1968 where he runs into the crazy hippies led by Jake Rainey. He demands his machine back but Rainey refuses. Rainey wants Webb’s machine instead. With too many hippies backing Rainey up, Webb retreats. To battle Rainey, Webb becomes Edgar Spring by creating his empire at the Ridgely building in the 80s. Rainey in the meantime had figured out he can use his machine to switch souls. A war raged between Spring and Rainey’s group “The Men of the Machine.” One night Spring was injured severely but his future wife rescued him. Spring fell in love and his wife gave birth to Lydia, but Rainey’s men killed Spring’s wife in 2001. For revenge, Spring travels forward in time to one week ago so he can finally end the war.
Surprisingly, Patrick confirmed that’s exactly what happened! Both Todd and Dirk warn Patrick that the group has his daughter and they are meeting his older self at the hotel. He doesn’t want them interfering so shoots out the tires from nearby vehicles. Todd thinks that because the older Patrick hasn’t died yet they can fix everything. Dirk for some reason seems hesitant but goes along with him. On their way to find transportation they stop by a souvenir stand at the zoo. Todd gives a familiar gorilla mask to Dirk saying that it is fate. With a giraffe mask, Todd steals a zoo employee’s truck then with Dirk drive to the hotel.
Meanwhile Rimmer gives his “follow me” speech about things changing to his drones. Once they have both machines they can do whatever the heck they want. Rimmer mentions Red (Shawn Stewart) meeting someone in the desert (who later turns out to be Ken). He also confirms that he has the kitten, refers to it as a “weaponized soul” and will only use it as a last resort.
On the way to the hotel, Todd is sounding like Dirk when he’s figuring things out. From Rimmer being Lux Dujour, to the police having inside people, to how the kitten also having the soul of a hammerhead shark, everything is connected! They arrive at the service entrance. Dirk wants them to think things through for once. As he’s talking Todd finds the lottery ticket. Dirk wants them to just role with it now that Todd’s starting to wonder how he found the ticket if it was in the truck. They try the service elevators first but almost run into Rimmer and his goons. The guys try the freight elevators next, but first Todd takes his master key. After seeing Patrick Spring take the freight elevator they go up the stairs.
The older Patrick Spring is waiting in the penthouse suite. Rimmer, with “Lydia” and his goons finally meet with him. Patrick realizes that Lydia is different. He sadly tells her he’s been preparing for this moment for 15 years. It’s finally over. Spring then calls past Dirk to let him know it’s time. The other Patrick bursts into the room ready to fire his guns. Rimmer’s wondering who the hell he is. Young Patrick reveals himself, confusing Rimmer. Older Patrick tells his younger self that it was always going to end this way. Young Patrick doesn’t understand why his older self is negotiating with the enemy. Dirk and Todd run in out of breath. Old Patrick tells Dirk his last words. That he loved Lydia and he’s sorry that he hit him. Rimmer is still confused as to what is happening. Dirk says, “oh no,” just when young Patrick fires at the guy holding the kitten, which has the cat flying, activating the shark, which proceeds to hit young Patrick so he falls to the ground (thank goodness that suit protected him) and kill the drones in the room. Old Patrick pushes Lydia to the ground just when the shark gets him. Killing done, the shark goes back into the kitten. Dirk and Todd help young Patrick stumble out of the room. The lottery ticket is on the ground getting blood on it.
Rimmer tries to go after them but Todd fires the electric crossbow at him so they can get away. They take the stairs to the 19th floor when Dirk runs into his past self. Dirk tells his past self that Todd is his best friend who lives in the Ridgely building. He also tells him to remember 3 questions, 1 answer and to get the kitten. Future Dirk gives Past Dirk the gorilla mask so he’s not seen and shoos him on his way. Todd looked with growing anger as this was going on. He figures that it was a time loop and Dirk lied the entire time they knew each other, screwing them both. As he’s yelling at Dirk he realizes that this is the moment he looks at his past self. After that moment, Dirk and Todd leave the hotel.
Rapunzel aka Lydia, makes it to the garage in time to hear Rimmer tell Ed and Zed that Patrick was dead. Something went horribly wrong. Rimmer needs to go back to the animal transfer unit and find out what Rainey knows.
Dirk, Todd, and young Patrick stop near an abandoned building near the river. Patrick throws away pieces of his outfit. While Todd is connecting the dots with what Dirk knew because of his future self. Dirk talks with Patrick. He introduces himself and tells him that he’s from the future and they found his machine. Patrick led them to unbury the machine by giving them clues to the map. He hits Dirk after he tells him how ironic it was that both him and the “men of the machine” were blind to their undoing. Todd comes to Dirk’s defense after they realize they left their time machine back at the zoo. Patrick explains that the bulbs go to a specific date. He gives them the one that goes back to 1886 and tells them of the note he received from Dirk covered in blood. Todd convinces Patrick that he’s going to go back to 2001 instead of trying to save Lydia again. He can’t fix everything. Patrick decides to go back like Todd suggested and pleads with them to save his daughter. It was them all along.
Alone again, Todd accuses Dirk of being a monster because of what he knew before everything started happening to them. Dirk tries to explain that he didn’t have enough context at first to figure everything but Todd’s not listening. Dirk lashes out after being called a liar that Todd would know what a lie looks like. Todd doesn’t want Dirk to talk to him again after this is over. They go back to the transfer unit seconds before Rimmer and crew make it back. Hearing them coming Dirk gets the machine and tries to set it to go back to 1886 but Todd argues that it won’t work because they need to go back to the present to save Lydia. Todd switches the bulbs in time for them to arrive right after the moment they left. Ed and Zed gets into the room and hits Dirk with an arrow in the shoulder. Todd shocks himself trying to get the arrow out of Dirk. Boom end of the episode!
Thoughts
This episode tied the time loop together beautifully! Director Paco Cabezas did an excellent job blending in scenes from the premiere episode as it connected to what Todd and Dirk did. Even some of the little things. For example, when Todd’s boss looked like he heard something in the hallway. We now realize it was future Dirk and Todd hiding from him. Remember the bodies that Detectives Estevez and Zimmerfield found? They are the bodies of Rainey’s followers when Patrick Spring attacked. Can you imagine how funky that building smells right now? It’s been a week since those bodies were shot up and electrocuted. Rimmer’s questions to Dirk and Todd last week make more sense as well. He saw them there on the day of the murder so wonders why they were there as well as seeing two Patrick Springs. I initially thought that Lydia was trying to get random help but what she was really doing was trying to get to her father at the hotel but by the time she arrived it was too late. She knew to go to the hotel based on what Rimmer told Rainey during the coup.
As soon as the TV screens showed Julian McMahon wearing different outfits I knew that he was Zachariah Webb, Patrick, and Edgar Spring. It explains why Zachariah and Edgar disappeared never to be seen again. Another clue was the fact that Julian McMahon was playing Webb and Patrick Spring. I remember seeing the news report either in the first or second episode and they showed a picture of Patrick Spring and it was McMahon. I hope we get more scenes where Dirk is retelling a sequence of events. It was hilarious him trying to reenact what Spring said to the hippies, then later Rainey talking about them going to war.
I find it interesting that Todd didn’t remember that he saw himself arguing with someone that day throughout the whole time he was in the past. It was funny when he sounded exactly like Dirk when he has one of his epiphanies. I can understand in some aspects why Todd was butt hurt that Dirk kept the fact that he saw his future self as they were working the case. Considering how Todd was reluctant to even help Dirk initially, can he really blame Dirk for not blurting out, “Hey you may think this is crazy, but my future self told me where to find you and you happened to be there” upon first meeting him. Dirk was right in that he didn’t have enough context to completely figure things out but he did have an edge compared to Todd. Why do I get the feeling Dirk was staying at the hotel that day? It seemed like it when Patrick called him telling him it was time.
I don’t know how I would feel about being in a time loop. That would be so frustrating to know that you couldn’t save yourself from making the same mistakes nor could you destroy your enemies. Based on the conversation between Patrick and Dirk, this is how Patrick knew to hire Dirk in the future. Patrick giving Dirk one of the bulbs he eventually sends the machine back to 1886. I was wrong about the third date in my last review, it must’ve been 1886 not 1996. McMahon, Wood, and Barnett killed it in their scenes together.
Based on the trailer of the season finale, I predict that the last stand will be taking place at Spring’s mansion. Farah and Estevez rescue Dirk and Todd so they can make their way to the mansion for the final showdown. I’m not sure how Amanda (Hannah Marks), Bart (Fiona Dourif), and Ken (Mpho Koaho) play into it unless they have a different situation they must resolve. Hopefully Lydia will be back into her own body. I admire Alison Thornton for acting like a dog almost the entire season. I don’t know if I could act like an animal for long periods of time. Ed wanted to become a panther, and I agreed with him at first, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve been human too long I guess.
I’m not ready to say goodbye to the show yet, but I won’t have a choice next week! What did you think of this week’s episode and the series so far? Predictions for the finale? Sound off below in the comments!
Photos courtesy of BBC America/AMC Networks
When I left Google in 2014 to found Abide, a tech startup on guided prayer, I had no idea how relentless the stress would be. When we still had no revenue, I needed to get my employees competitive salaries, to cover the cost of living in the pricey Bay Area. I owed investors hundreds of thousands of dollars before we had a single customer. Key influencers swore they loved our first product during trials, then didn’t use it in real life. A large business partner fell short on promises. And when our traffic took off, our servers overloaded, leading to 5:00 a.m. wake up calls, and long, hard days trying to right our infrastructure and keep our paying customers happy. On top of that, I have four kids and a wife to support.
The early days: Working out of a garage
For the first time in my life, I started to have late nights of insomnia and would feel a knot of anxiety deep inside. I was facing the anxiety that impacts roughly one in three U.S. adults, but I was fortunate to have some secrets to help me through.
Since anxiety is one of the top issues our customers face, we’ve run numerous trials to help people pray through their worries and anxiety, with some very interesting results. Some of the best counters to anxiety rely on family and faith.
Here are three things to do when I am overwhelmed with anxiety:
1. Talk About It With Someone Who Cares
My wife, Nadia, is incredibly supportive. She believes in me and in my dreams. One day, Apple accidentally removed our app from iTunes and canceled purchases from tons of our subscribers. Nadia listened to me, shared my anger, helped me to laugh, made me homemade sushi, and encouraged me to keep fighting. Then, she prayed for protection from spiritual attack and that God would call his angels to protect me. These prayers brought me huge strength, which leads me to my second secret.
Family support is everything. Here I am with my wife and four children
2. Take Time to Pray
Science shows that meditation and prayer are effective at lowering anxiety. Our studies and my own experience have shown three things about prayer that work.
- Consider the character of a loving God. Remember that God has plans for you to prosper (Jeremiah 29), God loves you with an everlasting love (Psalm 145), and God promises that no weapon formed against you will succeed (Isaiah 54).
- Name your worries and anxieties in prayer. Naming them helps take their weight off of your chest.
- Finally, when you name them, actively hand them over to God’s control. These simple steps are helping me live in confidence, boldness, and peace. With this confidence, I can face pretty much anything. Take a minute to try it for yourself.
Don’t know where to start in prayer? Try using Abide to pray through the scripture of I Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”
Praying with a mentor during the company launch
3. Know When to Shut Off Your Work
Running a company is a multiyear marathon. Sprinting without breaks will burn you out of the race. Even though it’s hard to unplug from emails and chat, I shut off my phone in the evening to eat with my wife and kids. On weekends, I play soccer with my twin boys, Amani and Zeke. I also take long walks with my wife, bike with my children, and picnic in Golden Gate Park. These small acts help maintain balance and give perspective to my work.
These are three tools I use to manage never-ending wheel of work stress. What are some effective habits you use to manage stress? Would love to hear your perspective in the comment section.
To find out more about Abide, check it out in the App Store.
Gotta catch ‘em all! But not make ‘em all, promise.
Andrew Richard / Jon Premosch / BuzzFeed
ICYMI, Pokémon Go came out in July — so obviously we decided we wanted live our 8-year-old dreams and be Pokémon for Halloween.
Fifteen Pokémon, to be exact. (We get really excited about dressing up, and, tbh, what else good has come out of 2016, except maybe Stranger Things?)
Jon Premosch / BuzzFeed
Lauren Zaser For Buzzfeed Life / Jon Premosch/BuzzFeed
Lauren Zaser For Buzzfeed Life / Jon Premosch/BuzzFeed