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Sam Van Helsing

@samshotfirst.bsky.social
585 followers 276 following 6.7K posts

Associate Editor @talkfilmsociety.com Host of Keanu Believe It podcast, featured on various others. Talks too much about movies, cartoons, and Keanu. ♿️ he/him Letterboxd: boxd.it/8EtJ

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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 51m
One day, in about 50 years, someone will be cleaning out a basement or storage unit after a loved one dies and discover untold amount novelty popcorn buckets. And proceed to weep into the dust covered maw of a sandworm that smells faintly of artificial butter product.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 4h
Important movie discussions happening in the @talkfilmsociety.com Discord
× X| 10/2/26, 8:20 AM
zombies... back...
samshotfirst Yesterday at 9:35 PM
Warring factions. Kate Beckinsale.
That's Underworld bayyybe
Cooljma Yesterday at 10:48 PM
Went to look at Kate Beckinsale's filmography to see what else this logic applies to, and the first movie I saw was Pearl Harbor, so l guess that's an Underworld movie too, now.
samshotfirst Yesterday at 10:49 PMtoo, now.
samshotfirst Yesterday at 10:49 PM
Everything can be an Underworld movie if you believe hard enough
Siobhan • DSMV Yesterday at 10:50 PM
robert eggers has one coming out soon
his second in a row
mschindler Yesterday at 10:57 PM
Oh damn. That's his endgame
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 20h
"I'm sure he never knew watt hit him" Since it's finally easily available again, I'm watching TALES FROM THE CRYPT for the first time. Kicking it off with Walter Hill directing Bill Sadler, smart move.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 21h
I forgot just how brutal it is. Beautifully made, twisted stuff.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 21h
Choi Min-sik in I SAW THE DEVIL is hands down one of the scariest serial killers I've ever seen in a movie. It's the matter of fact nature and abject cruelty of his character that really gets under my skin.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 21h
GODDAMN voice to text
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 21h
Liking again for your commitment to proper syntax 43 
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 22h
I was half expecting Hal to say "the light is winning" Rustin Cohle style in the final scene.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 22h
Where the season finale leaves John Stewart is unexpected but genuinely interesting and thrilling. Can we fast forward to the release of MAN OF TOMORROW? 
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 22h
If you have even a passing knowledge of the comics a couple of the revelations in LANTERNS were a given, but that doesn't detract from how strong the season was. Great characterizations, great acting, and a complete story. All I can ask for.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Movie #4: I SAW THE DEVIL (2010), dir. Kim Jee-woon Viewing History: Rewatch Where I'm Watching: Philo
static.klipy.com
I Saw The Devil Lee Byung-hun
Alt: I Saw The Devil Lee Byung-hun smokes a cigarette in front of them large blazing fire.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The SINNERS has a very nice doc. Nolan discs tend to be solid in that department as well, and I do love the almost as long as the movie AVATAR making ofs. My dream would be every movie I love having LOTR appendix level BTS material.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Felt compelled to check out the special features on Spider-Man 2.1. They have over three hours of making of material and three commentary tracks. Movie releases need to get back on this level.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#31DaysOfHorror
Screenshot of my rewatch log of signs. The four star review reads:

Still love this. My personal relationship with faith has changed pretty dramatically since first seeing this even so I find the way this movie talks about it effective and moving. It's also just a damn fun scare fest that's basically a haunted house movie except the ghosts are greys.

Also, considering how well the themes lineup with so many movies that were reactions to 9/11, it's wild that they started shooting on September 2.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Forgot that Merritt Wever and Michael Showalter pop up in consecutive scenes in SIGNS.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Movie #3: SIGNS (2002), dir. M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN Viewing History: Rewatch Where I'm Watching: Bought the 4K, but it's streaming on Hulu
static.klipy.com
Signs Omg Reaction
Alt: Joaquin Phoenix in Signs horrified Reaction something on the TV. Puts his handover his mouth and back in two coats in a closet
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Should've known there were fantasy leagues for Bake Off. Apart from being the most likable amongst a group of seemingly very likable entrants she also one of three obvious standouts. Safe bet.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Genuinely thought this was Krysten Ritter until I noticed it was a poster for VERITY.
A poster for the movie Verity, on a movie theater mobile app
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Occasional self-deprecation goes a long way as well
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
static.klipy.com
No Idea Dont Know What You Mean
Alt: No Idea what you're talking about defensive sarcastic
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Who am I rooting for on BAKE OFF this season? Well, it couldn't be the funny and cute redhead who uses a wheelchair, has a dachshund, and loves video games.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Appreciate it. But I've had pretty good run of sleep recently so I'm not too mad about it. And I almost prefer being fully awake over trying to sleep between 10 minute doses of dozing off.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Same. Combination of chronic pain flareup and shouldn't have finished that Pepsi an hour before bed. 
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
They're making it easy. They have a great this year.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I was very pleased to see not one but two voice acting legends, Carl Lumbly and Mako, in PACIFIC HEIGHTS.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
It had some wild tonal shifts, and while I don't think they all landed I appreciated them regardless. Felt like an American remake of a Korean thriller that doesn't exist in some spots.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A fun entry in the “had it coming” canon with a nice satirical edge. I like the way it takes basic stresses of yuppie life and uses them as tools of torment. Michael Keaton and Melanie Griffith are both very good here.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Movie #2: PACIFIC HEIGHTS (1990), dir. John Schlesinger Viewing History: First time watch Where I'm Watching: Criterion Channel
Michael Keaton in 1990's Pacific Heights wearing a white button down and sporting the classic Keaton cut
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I dug it. Really came together in the end for me. One of my favorite final shots all year.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Handsomely mounted and well-acted as usual with Greengrass pictures. I was mostly enjoying it for the first 2/3 but wasn't really seeing a point beyond the obvious. Then it all clicked into focus during the final reel, and especially with the final shot. I'm a fan.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Now watching THE UPRISING.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Happy birthday Steph!! Super glad to know you, and always appreciate your takes and recommendations. Have a great one!
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Remember when people made fun of CLOUD ATLAS because in the Neo Seoul section the characters referred to movies as "Disneys"? Yeah…
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
And then there were four. This Paramount/Warner Brothers news it's truly awful for art and, no hyperbole, for the already razor thin concept of democracy.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Winding down for the night with Jeremy Saulnier's GREEN ROOM commentary. As you do. Instantly learned that both the L and the R in his name are silent.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
So, Rutger Hauer in THE HITCHER is the best cinematic version of Randall Flagg we've ever had or are likely ever to have huh?
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This rocks. It may be the best looking movie of its kind. Awesome nightmare logic, atmosphere, and action (?!) with an all-timer villain performance from Rutger Hauer.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Movie #1: THE HITCHER (1986), dir. Robert Harmon Viewing History: First time watch Where I'm Watching: Criterion Channel
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Rutger Hauer's Intense Look in The Hitcher
Alt: Rutger Hauer's Intense Look in The Hitcher
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I stopped trying to force #31DaysOfHorror a few years ago, but since I'm still mostly stuck at home I'm going to give it the old college try this year.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Should’ve known you’d have a list! I wholesale stole half of this.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Good pick. I didn't put it on immediately because Eli Roth sucks, but kids don't know or care about director's shitty politics or personal life.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Happy Scary Season to all those partake! 🎃 🕯️ 🧛🏻 🌒 🐺👺 🧟
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Paging certified Movie Dad @blcagnew.bsky.social
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
How could I forget ERNEST SCARED STUPID? Watched that so much with the brother in question. This is the first time I've heard TROLL 2 referred to as good, worth checking out?
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Taking recommendations for horror movies suitable for my brother's nephews (ages 8 and 10), with Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark being the limit of scariness. Here's what I've come up with so far:
Screenshot of a letterboxd list entitled Horror Movies for Impressionable Youths. Movies shown: Coraline, ParaNorman, Gremlins, Gremlins 2, The Monster Squad, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Goosebumps
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
You're telling me that I don't need to wait 2 1/2 more years before more episodes of THE LOWDOWN come out? That can't be right.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I've seen ZODIAC and SE7EN easily half a dozen times each, and now I have a serious urge to rewatch DRAGON TATTOO.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Voice control can really piss me off sometimes. This was supposed to say "what it says about me", obviously.
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If you see this post a vampire that isn't Dracula.
static.klipy.com
Marceline Abadeer Playing Axe-Bass
Alt: Marceline Abadeer Playing Axe-Bass in black-and-white
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Sam Van Helsing @samshotfirst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I don't know what to tell about me that Fincher‘s darkest, most depressing movies are the ones I want to revisit most.
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