Emissaries from the Void
Emissaries from the Void examines cinema that is odd, obscure, oblique, or opaque, with an eye toward theming. The tone is casual but thoughtful, and commonly analyzes content through feminist and leftist lenses, but there are plenty of jokes and silliness as well. Our goal is to make media literacy accessible for films that often defy easy explanation. Surreality, expressionism, absurdism, dream logic, Layers of Artifice, the uncanny, allegory, and occult themes are all common features of the void, and we invite you to explore it with us. Lose yourself, find yourself, transform yourself in cinema’s mirror, but be warned: When you open yourself up to change, you can never be sure where you'll end up…
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday May 29, 2026
Friday May 29, 2026
Ben & Arthur (2002)
Queer history, bumpy escalation, the eclipse of niche filmmaking by YouTube and social media
Saturday Apr 25, 2026
Saturday Apr 25, 2026
Cutting room floor segments from our episode on Hard to Be a God (2013). This is a sample of the extras we upload regularly for those who patronize us on Ko-fi.com/emissariesfromthevoid — includes comparisons to other films and video games and an extended cut of Ari’s leftist rant.
Saturday Apr 11, 2026
Saturday Apr 11, 2026
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989) —
Consumption, appreciation, waste, taste, charlatans, toxic generosity, Albert as God, God as manager, Albert as State, Georgina as Sophia, healthy masculinity, assigning blame for original sin, denied resurrection
CW: Sexual assault, disgusting imagery, pervasive cruelty
Saturday Mar 28, 2026
Saturday Mar 28, 2026
Hard to Be a God (2013) —
The gray to black pipeline, pain worship, paper isn't power, Arkanar as mask-off Western civilization, anarchist philosophy, The Enlightenment didn't fix our core problems, what would you have God do?, supremacist thinking, wasted efforts, desolate beauty.
CW: Blood, implied sexual abuse, and pervasive cruelty.
Saturday Feb 14, 2026
Saturday Feb 14, 2026
Why a purple skunk? Proto inceldom, amateur art, art in the face of the Internet, monsterfucker furry venn diagram, outsider art, trying to save what we watch.
Saturday Jan 31, 2026
Saturday Jan 31, 2026
Vide Noir
The dark side of romanticism, the virtue of letting go, escapism, art drug, indulging the void, intrusive thought worms, accountability, misery multiplication, Finding Alaska Syndrome, toxic yearning.
Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
Sunday Jan 11, 2026
Sunday Jan 11, 2026
Head (1968) – Capitalist determinism, artistic dissonance, decency standards, algorithmic pipelines, the information firehose, subliminal messaging, scrambled context, short-form content, white-washed exoticism, Neil Breen and Paul Thomas Anderson are the only free creators, AAA vs indie games, the holocaust can't be filmed, red-washing, fascism, slavery.
Saturday Dec 27, 2025
Saturday Dec 27, 2025
The Cell (2000) - control, hyper-specific schizophrenia synchronicity, dream logic inside and out, savior complex, lack of consequences, learning the wrong lessons, equine segmentation, corrupted curiosity, religious trauma
Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
Monday Dec 22, 2025
Monday Dec 22, 2025
Yin Yang Insane (2007)
Robert Z'Dar, Eternal Detours, Alleged Duststorm, War With Self, Desolation of the Soul
Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
Sunday Dec 14, 2025
Sunday Dec 14, 2025
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Cross out toxic feminity, timeless lingo, growth from trauma, gender role revenge, soft rock satanists, eat your enemies, the gendered spice must flow.
Outro Music is Arcadia by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio