Revisiting Jim Carrey's AWFUL Psychological Thriller

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ABOUT THE SHOW:
This show celebrates Ryan's love for genre, film, games, art and entertainment through personal retrospective analysis that aims to explore what made them so good or even misunderstood.
SOURCE:
The Number 23 via Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.o...
MUSIC:
Wide Boys by Underbelly & Ty Mayer
A Hand In The Dark by Underbelly & Ty Mayer
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
Dark Toys by SYBS
Mysterious Strange Things by Yung Logos
Dangerous Toys by SefChol
For We Are Many by Cooper Cannell
Phantom by Density & Time

[@RyanHollinger]

*What was the Best or Worst Horror Film of 2023?* 👟 Big ups to Vessi for keeping my feet dry! Check out vessi.com/ryanhollinger for 15% off your first order! Free shipping to CA, US, AUS, NZ, JP, TW, KR, SGP.

[@solraczenatnof5853]

THE OUT WATERS

[@wstine79]

M3GAN, Cocaine Bear, and Evil Dead Rise are some of my favorite horror movies of 2023. Thank you for your awesome videos.

[@Lifesizemortal]

It was Talk to Me

[@thornydig]

Thanksgiving

[@orionwesley]

🤣 As I was playing Animal Crossing while this was playing, every now and again I'd look back and didn't realize how the number 23 kept multiplying on your face.

[@charlesfuzak]

I get Ryan's frustration with the lengths they go to constantly arrive at the number 23 but that is EXACTLY what obsessive numerologists do in real life. Which is why this works. Because its a real thing that actually happens. Adding, subtracting, linking, splitting, reversing. Whatever it takes to get to their specific number. Mental gymnastics be damned, they'll find a way to make it work.

[@trashteamracing8262]

I remember my friends and I seeing this movie. We all agreed it was terrible, but on our way to our cars we all couldn't help noticing the number 23 several times.

[@derek96720]

I agree. I don't think the movie itself takes the number 23 enigma seriously in any way, but rather focuses on how it's used as an object of obsession by Walter and his father due to their mental health issues.

[@TalonsUmbra]

I don't think Ryan understands this movie at all.

[@dishwater63]

@@TalonsUmbra Gonna agree with you and this thread. The entire point of the movie is not the number itself, but the compulsive nature of being so focused on something so mundane, it warps your reality. If anything, this movie is more poignant now than ever, as new conspiracy theories get spun up almost daily, from 5G being hypnowaves to control the masses to COVID being fake and the vaccine giving you AIDS. And people believe it because they believe they see the effects of it everywhere they go. Look, the movie Pi did the same damn thing and it's considered a cult classic. Is this a bomb strictly because it's a "big budget" film with a known actor?

[@AllG98]

The number of likes on this comment… 23(5)!

[@jadegecko]

No matter how gritty and badass you make a story, the name 'Fingerling' is always going to be silly.

[@TheUnapologeticGeek]

I mean, it’s at least *slightly* better than Topsy Kretts.

[@jadegecko]

@@TheUnapologeticGeek 🤣for real

[@NatalieF1981]

I saw this movie in the theatre, and every time someone in the movie said Fingerling this group of teens would LOL

[@karlsweeney2328]

I concur.

[@MartKencuda]

well you know, people go missing in the Fingerlings.

[@Whitewingdevil]

I personally found the concept of someone slowly losing their mind to an obsession with a concept or idea to be pretty creepy, like some of the cognitohazards people have written about in various SCP stories. That being said, an interesting idea does not necessarily make for an interesting movie, I think I enjoyed it more than you did, but it's by no means a great movie.

[@calemr]

When it comes to "People go mad over an obsession with a mundane thing" like that, I immediately think of Junji Ito's Uzumaki.

[@aubreymorgan9763]

same. the premise is the definition of 'reaching', and I think Carey gave an amazing performance for his first thriller. its one of those check your brain at the door movies and still enjoyable

[@HavelockVetinari]

There's a German movie from the year 1998 called 23 that also portraits a character slowly going mad over conspiracy theories. It's a far superior film.

[@MellowMutant]

​@@HavelockVetinariinteresting

[@aubreymorgan9763]

@@HavelockVetinari Pi (the symbol) did a good job as well covering a guy going insane looking for the god formula

[@robh678]

I remember seeing this as a kid. Afterwards I saw a local bike race was going to happen. I added up all the number in the date and saw it added up to 23. I thought to myself “something bad is going to happen” Nothing happened.

[@theclimbto1]

Just think how mind-screwed you might have gotten, if it did. A movie, then a realization, then a random event 'confirming'... you might have chased it!

[@geraldmartin7703]

Maybe something good happened.. Did you look for that?

[@zakbrown9256]

I mean if everyone didn’t die I guess thats a good outcome right? 😎

[@zakbrown9256]

They also caught the Zodiac killer from the bike race at the 23rd checkpoint the last victim was found! See even that would have been better than this movie 🤣🤭

[@bnbcraft6666]

9+11+2+0+0+1=23 😱

[@arcadia7459]

You know what's scarier than 23? *twenty-four*

[@WTFisTingispingis]

😨

[@chaddelong998]

wait......WHAT?

[@edatthegovernance]

You... you didn't have to. You didn't HAVE to.

[@deirdrejones5974]

I almost left a like but its at 23 so….

[@fodetoure1576]

Wrong! 7 is scariest, because seven ate nine!

[@ryllo2886]

Okay fellow Ryan, I got a lot to unpack for you with this, regarding Dr. Sirius Leary. Because it is a funnier in-joke than you think and will add a little bit of context to the movie at large. (Took 30 minutes to write this, so would love some feedback) The number 23 conspiracy was partly popularized by iconic 1970's "standup philosopher/sitdown comedian" & writer Robert Anton Wilson in his book The Cosmic Trigger. It's about his self-experimentation with drugs, yoga & mystic techniques after his teen daughter was murdered in a botched robbery. (Also had her head cryogenically frozen JIC the future could resurrect the dead. California in the 1970s was WILD.) He intentionally set out to reach "chapel perilous", an idea partly borrowed from Arthurian legend, a state so consumed by conspiracism you become either a complete "model agnostic" (admitting "I dunno" to all narratives) or a paranoid schizophrenic. He ended up agnostic. While in his experimental delusions, he tangled with the number 23 coincidences (least interesting part of the book, tbh). The true meat of the book was his temporary delusion that aliens from the star system SIRIUS (which nomadic tribes today are known to track in the night sky) were beaming messages to him about the original 1700s Illuminati being a benevolent sex cult telepathically recruited into what's essentially the Galactic Federation from Star Trek. His friend Dr. Timothy LEARY was the Harvard professor turned LSD guru & President Nixon's declared public enemy #1. Leary wrote the introduction to Cosmic Trigger and Wilson utilized his idea of the 8 modes of consciousness the human race has/will go thru in order to become spacefaring hippies. He also encounters a Native American/pagan trickster spirits, Mescalito the Green Man (think Men and The Green Knight) & a pookah (literally the bunny from Donnie Darko). Wilson's an icon of the 1970s Californian paranormal and conspiracy culture. He was also friends with Philip K Dick (author of Man in the High Castle, A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall, Blade Runner) & was even a main character in VALIS, PKD's semi-autobiographical novel about his own fascinating paranormal experiences. (The movie within that book was made into a real movie, Radio Free Albemuth starring Alannis Morissette!!) As to why the writers chose to crib the 23 part of the book, I don't know because just look at the other crazy shit Wilson wrote about. The director of Mom and Dad says the Illuminatus TV show (Wilson's novel trilogy) he's making is his life's work. Absolutely had to get this out because 70s hippie occultism is my jam. Loved the video.

[@ryllo2886]

And Sirius Leary looks just like Bob Wilson now that I circled back to finish the video after the name reveal knocked me for a loop.

[@ngotemna8875]

You said you wanted feedback, so here is mine: Great read! Really enjoyed it. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge about this very interesting piece of history. Sounds pretty whacky overall haha

[@greyish7212]

"Blade Runner" isn't written by Philip K. Dick per say. "The Bladerunner" is a book written by Alan E. Nourse, the title was adopted by the 1982 Ridley Scott movie, while the actual contents of the film mainly used "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick as the basis. However, some of the editions of the Philip K. Dick novel would adopt the Blade Runner title after the success of the film

[@unisock]

No, you see, Jim Carrey urinating on set makes perfect sense - most adult male mammals average 20 seconds to urinate, and the average length of a flaccid human penis is 3.61… 20 and 3, 23, the number is everywhere!

[@SiriusSphynx]

... .61

[@geraldmartin7703]

Stop that right now.

[@twoevileyes]

​@SiriusSphynx and if we use half round up, we will get 24. But if we use ceiling, we get 23. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@rachelagron6172]

no it's 32 backwards ❤

[@whitedragoness23]

@@twoevileyesare you seriously trying to link 23 somehow with a ceiling? That’s crazy! You need a bat to hit it to get 23! Doesn’t anyone know anything anymore???

[@viktorberzinsky4781]

You're not supposed to find the number itself terrifying. You're supposed to find what appears to be some sort of strange, enigmatic chain of causality unnerving or at least strange and wonder what the significance is.

[@MightyMurloc]

I am NOT a paranoid person (no matter what They say about me). But I thought this film was a fairly decent depiction of pattern recognition AKA, if you LOOK for it, you'll see it.

[@caitlinbrewer4843]

Admittedly, after playing Kingdom Hearts 3, I spent a solid month seeing Lucky Emblems everywhere.

[@DanArnets1492]

@@caitlinbrewer4843 - If you were a guy, you might see one every time you look down at your underpants

[@laurenwasinger9436]

There’s a great short story by China Meiville about pattern recognition that is so haunting. It’s like my Roman Empire- I think about it five times a day.

[@theclimbto1]

And 'They' say a lot of things. I'm in the club with them, and it's just silly how much they bring you specifically up. I'm like 'guys, we're an evil cabal, SOOOO many people to discuss.'... and yet, they just LOVE discussing you.

[@radar9790]

You mentioned Manson’s birth year wasn’t relevant, BUT I couldn’t help but notice that if you subtract his birth month from his birth year you get 34-11=23. Just sayin.

[@AvalancheReviews]

I also got the feeling the book parts were inspired by either Sin City, or just pulpy comic strips in general. Really would have liked to see a movie where the entire thing takes place in those scenes. The set dressing and contrast. Could have made for this awesome neo film noir deal.

[@GlenLauderdale]

Was scrolling through KZbin and saw that this was posted 23 minutes ago. Laughed my ass off!😂

[@thoriumbrother]

I like the credits! The forced nature is exactly how people like the main character get obsessed with these things, so it gets you in the right mindset

[@BugsyFoga]

Always gotta respect comedy actors who attempt to branch out to other genres, whether it works out or not.

[@AugustRx]

Saw: spiral

[@cbot72]

I Am Legend or 2 Hour Photo, for instance

[@alextoschi2242]

To be fair, it absolutely worked out in Eternal Sunshine in the Spotless Mind.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Carrey has done pretty well in other more serious roles. This film, just did not work in general.

[@Moongrum158]

​@@cbot72Smith was better in Enemy of the State with Gene Hackman, and *cough*ONE hour photo*cough*

[@Kevinmcyeet]

I’m autistic with motor ticks and I’m unwillingly overly observant of the number 4. I track syllables being said or sung on my hand to make sure it’s a multiple of 4. I read ingredients and make sure the total syllable count isn’t multiple of 4 as well. It has overtaken my life in other ways as well. It’s not debilitating, just aggravating. I can see how people with further mental illness can go off the deep end

[@mastersquinch]

Dude, same. Like actually, with the number 4. I about had a meltdown the other day cause I noticed a grocery store card I had is only a bunch of prime numbers and cant be divided evenly lmao. 4 is my number.

[@madam-mint]

@@mastersquinch Most prime numbers feel…off, to me. Except 5, for some reason, because my favorite songs on CDs I owned seemed to always fall on number 5.

[@pumpkinicing]

Whoops, these are really old, but that might be OCD? I have autism and OCD, and theyre often comorbid, and that sounds EXACTLY like my numerical obsession. It was even with the number 4 for a while!! (Now it's 7. I guess.)

[@eleanorbodman6126]

I saw this film when I was a teenager and I always thought it was about OCD but that may be because at the time I was developing my own quite severe form of OCD based around numbers. I thought it was supposed to be obvious that relating everything back to one number seems like a stretch to everyone else who isn’t him but when you are in that mindset, you’re trying to make sense of what you can in a life where you’re lacking control. Maybe I need to watch it again but I took this film so differently. Obsession, control, more specifically OCD. Compulsion vs rational thought. Not this is literally about a conspiracy but about a man losing himself to an obsession…

[@erikfinkel2717]

naw bruh same. I have sacred numerology and pareidolia That could be because I have uncles who were obsessed with the occult, and I have Tourettes Neurodivergent who loves The band tool

[@laurisaarinen1126]

That's interesting, as i have OCD myself and when i saw this film, it was around the time my symptoms were at their worst... Yet that didn't cross my mind.

[@tonybarnes2920]

I don't get people who don't get this movie. It's obviously over the top, but maybe it's not understood as "over the top", because it's not bombastic? I find it fun and never thought it was a "serious thriller" (like say... The Game), because it establishes up front what it is... maybe just too subtly? The fluidity of "the rules" is to point out how absurd people who get into these conspiracies are. They will do ANYTHING to make the piece fit the puzzle they've concocted. The bad writing for "Topsy Crates", actually every absurd name, the fact that he lives through his suicide attempt and doesn't even have scars to remind him, so many things make it fun not "bad".

[@MrDilkington15]

Some people just don't understand movies they just don't get it to put it simple they are acoustic regards

[@kellydavis3219]

With all the spooky evil number examples I'm just reminded of John Cusack in 1408 getting the postcard telling him not to stay in the room, writing down how 1+4+0+8=13, smirking and saying "Cute."

[@dishwater63]

It also has some of the greatest dialogue in the tongue in cheek banter between Cusack and Jackson, with Cusack going on about demons and ghosts and hauntings and Jackson simply goes, "No, you're not listening to me, sir. It's an evil fucking room"

[@sepatorprod2044]

1408! A much better film, i'll watch it now

[@helenagackowska8398]

love 1408 :D

[@thor30013]

Don't forget that the hotel also follows the "no 13th floor" thing, so the 14th floor is actually the 13th, so there's 13 again. Is it dumb? Yes.

[@jessechavez4820]

God room 1408 was such a dog shit movie. Up there with prom night

[@PriestessOfSlaanesh]

Make all your silly jokes about the movie, yet your videolenght is 20:58. And guess what? 20 + 8 is 28... and - 5 is? Well? EXPLAIN?

[@drstuffy]

I actually view all the ridiculous summations and references to 23 as a strong point of the movie, because that's exactly how the brains of obsessive, paranoid, or delusional people work. I used to work with people with schizophrenia, and many of them would see absolutely EVERYTHING around them as proof of their delusion in some way, consistency be damned. Same with conspiracy theorists, to some extent.

[@lesliecogan641]

I have no delusion whatsoever. With all the personal parallels I have to 23; it only confirms all the information I've received out of thin air for 3 years consistently, that tell a whole other story. All my thoughts aren't my own, so any delusion would be on the source; believing that I can be deceived. Spiritual warfare involves good guys too.

[@lesliecogan641]

I've received plenty...Frump was born 55 weeks and 5 days before the UFO crash outside of CORONA NM in '47 on the 33° × PI parallel. I had lived my 22,888th day on his 77th, 6/14/46 birthday...also reads 6 144 6. My grandfather was born 6,666 weeks and 6 days before the day all the planets were in perfect alignment..6/24/22. Not exact, but T on that day had lived 27,770 days or 666,480 hours. His grandmother Elizabeth Christ Trump died on 6/6/66. From the day my mother was born it was exactly 444 months that he was born. I don't know why I'm being sent what I am, but wanted to say you're very wrong and a bit haughty to think you have an answer to the spirit world. Be more careful with your character, than your reputation, because your reputation is what other's see, but your character is who you really are. Let's talk. I want to learn your knowledge.

[@dinodm4083]

Imo a more substantial Jim Carrey thriller is The Truman Show. Sure it’s a bit goofy at times, but the existential dread of everyone around you being in on something and keeping you prisoner at the behest of a corporation is terrifying. Not to mention Carrey is the straight man to everyone around him and their weird behavior.

[@KanishQQuotes]

The stepford wife in the Truman show is what really disturbed me. She was getting paid extra as per her contract as Truman and him had sx ....and even planning to get pregnant

[@lesliecogan641]

I think I'm living what Truman did, and being that I've never watched movies, someone led me to watch it. I didn't pay full attention to it, but did notice some parallels to my life...that I'm just like him..always been happy no matter what, and very gullible at 63. I decided to watch it a 2nd time, to pay other attention to detail. I ended up with a full page of notes. This movie definitely shows hindsight is 20/20 for me, because I've had the strangest life, nothing's made sense... always the opposite result from what I have expected.

[@lesliecogan641]

To add; I'll say I've already been sent enough to know I've been lied to. It's meaningless really. I've lived a full life, like 3 lifetimes, but yet don't feel like I've lived long at all. I can see where you said with most people, that it would be terrifying to find out your whole life's been staged. My answer to that, truly having lived the most bizarre life, is I would be the happiest person in the world, if true. It would finally confirm that everyone who has had a problem with the most loving person, hasn't had a problem with me, but they've been paid to be that way and I still am who I am. 😁

[@wylon87]

Ryan modeling for Vessi is one of the most wholesome bits ever.

[@makukawakami]

What they couldve done is make the movie about how severe OCD can be monstrous to someone suffering from the condition instead of just saying numbers are evil

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

I think that's meant to be how it works in this case. The protagonist and his dad did all of the killings and the obsession with the number 23 was a piece of magical thinking on their part, as if discovering the hidden meaning of the number would make them innocent of their crimes. It's kind of the inverse of how ocd actually works, as people with the condition are typically afraid that horrible things could happen in the future if they don't do specific things that have no logical connection to that outcome and in this film the guy is trying to avoid taking responsibility for what he did and is going on this wild goose in an attempt to block out what he did and come out of it as the hero.

[@TheBeelzboss]

They didn't say at all that numbers are evil, the numbers hid an evil secret...

[@makukawakami]

@@casanovafunkenstein5090 my question is why did Agatha opened Walter's closet (pun intended) when she knows about his history with the number?

[@FTZPLTC]

tbh the movie kinda *is* that, for most of it. Weirdly, there's an episode of Voyager called "The Voyager Conspiracy" that did this very well, just having someone new to humanity being unable to cope with the fact that they can find patterns in everything.

[@axelolord]

Yeah, that's what I also thought about the movie and why I really really liked it. It's not about 23 actually having meaning, it's about OCD, insanity, paranoia and trauma. We just see it mostly from the perspective of that distorted mind. It's not supposed to make sense, we're supposed to see the process of that manic mind making sense of it despite flawed logic. Also as someone who dealt with occasional manic episodes and paranoia - yeah, it is very accurate. The nonsense of things even if obvious from the outside is a crucial part of it.

[@Badger_bandit]

The cut backs to you with more 23's drawn on your face had me giggling so damn hard. Love your videos so much! Make sure you take it easy during the holidays!! Look foward to your content always!

[@himersampsbutstronger5946]

Theres a surprising amount of people who go crazy overthinking numbers and math in order to try to apply a meaning to them. And there’s definitely a corner of the internet that’s like that. It’s not really that far fetched in fairness.

[@SomeRandomJackAss]

Isn't that what the movies Pi is about, though?

[@camronmoses8956]

​@@SomeRandomJackAss Yes. American Pi.

[@CoolChannelDreadTube]

This movie did give rise to the single greatest piece of movie trivia from IMDb: "Jim Carrey's birthday is 6 days before January 23rd." I'm not sure how people can keep ignoring these repeated occurrences.

[@kevingluys3063]

6=2x3 *23*

[@CoolChannelDreadTube]

😯

Well I was born young

And I have ears

[@CreepyKat86]

I’m one of those weirdos who finds almost every horror film interesting. I liked The Number 23. I guess I like a lot of bad horror.

[@laurelgardner]

I've seen some truly terrible horror, but there's nearly always something good in each one.

[@MellowMutant]

That's fair

[@IW3527]

You're definitely not alone there's some very likable bad horror films out there

[@TheBeelzboss]

most horror is bad, so yes...

[@braidedgirl757]

I liked it too

[@brooklynisalright]

I'm surprised very few made the connection between this movie, and Robert Anton Wilson. While the 23 Enigma was "discovered" by William Burroughs, it was popularized by RAW in his book The Cosmic Trigger, which also goes heavily into the Dog Star Sirius, and Timothy Leary.

[@JM-vp8zc]

This is apparently lost countercultural knowledge. Just finished reading the Burroughs Dead Roads trilogy, where 23 made a few appearances.

[@Arcananine77]

5:10 - 5:21 I now wonder what kind of behind-the-scenes stories we'd get if Jim Carrey and Jared Leto starred in a movie together.

[@WTFisTingispingis]

Fear

[@sirownzalotgaming3025]

5+10+5+2+1=23 wtf

[@matman000000]

They'd have a literal pissing contest

[@KanishQQuotes]

The spiritual successor of this movie should be: Number fifteen - burger king foot lettuce

[@dormiovibes]

As ridiculous as this movie was, it was strangely interesting. I actually consider it as a guilty-pleasure-esque movie.

[@KanishQQuotes]

It's a good concept, poorly executed. Also, Carey is always fun to watch and the visual style is pleasing

[@Tigerwolf1357]

I love you and all the content you put out, never stop and I look forward to every bit of content you plan on releasing next year! I want to delve into similar content creation talking about movies I love but I have nowhere near the knowledge or skill to do it in a way you compellingly do.

[@Evinex_0]

I like this man because he doesnt transition into his sponsors. He gets it out of the way so he can talk more about the movie. edit: Im talking about this video specifically, not his earlier videos

[@AugustRx]

Transitions aren't inherently bad but everyone does that horrible linustechtips thing

[@RoCkbunny769]

It’s how it’s supposed to be done per the FTC. You’ll notice more KZbinrs starting their vids with the sponsors. There’s a bit of a crackdown going on right now.

[@Evinex_0]

@@RoCkbunny769 true

[@joshelderkin9592]

​@AugustCrossroads ad transitions are inherently bad without question what kind of person defends that 😂 shits fucking annoying

[@Carcosahead]

Tbh those Vessi products look really good and make me wonder if they’re worth it

[@SP_A_C_E_D]

4:30 It doesn't if it makes sense that you leave out a time/date when convenient, its the obsession with the number. Also Shakespeare is relevant to the story because its about an author of a book who ghost wrote it and Shakespeare is the subject of discussion of him being a ghost writer for a group of writers.

[@anubusx]

I do enjoy this film!!!!

[@BlueBeetle1939]

Imagine my confusion watching this as a kid after enjoying Jim Carrey in the mask and batman forever

[@ZombielandVariants]

​@jaxjaxattaxx Have you seen "knowing" Nicolas Cage? 🔴🤷🏾‍♂️🔵 #followthewhiterabbit 🐰 🕳

[@foxrock66]

this WHOLE VIDEO you were so close, sooooo close to getting the movie. idk if you're doing a bit or being seriously argumentative about the concept because scizophrenia paranoia is very much a thing, so much to the point of insane, psychotic obsession. maybe it could have been done better, absolutely but everything you were making fun of is like...YES, YES THATS IT, THATS THE POINT. that's what happens to people who suffer from this! fiance of the account holder here and we LOOOVE love watching your videos after we've seen the adjacent movie and generally we tend to agree with what you say or you help us have genuine 'OOOOH' moments but we were kind of frustrated watching this one! we hope you have great new year hollinger and we look forward to seeing what you do this year!!

[@weirdautumn]

Was it awful? I remember liking it lol

[@anubusx]

Same here!!!

[@hoyofan533]

We can all like bad movies that dont live up on rewatch such as Shark Tale or Batman Forever

[@hartthorn]

This was one of my favorite "what the fuck was that?" movies. You're not wrong that it seemingly can't decide what the hell it's trying to do. Part of me suspects it was trying to do that thing of "You don't understand, this is what it FEELS like when you have OCD/Schizophrenia" or something. All the bullshit ways they get to 23 is just an example of it. It's not that the number ever really had any power, but that for obsessive types, once the answer gets stuck in your head, you'll keep finding ways to make questions that lead to it. And it's worth noting, schizophrenia is held to be highly heritable, and of the people we find who have this obsession it's a man, his father, and his son. And then one jack ass doctor. I feel like it might have been better if they more heavily leaned in on the irrationality of it all. Like having Carrey establish some "rules" early on in the trek that he then very clearly breaks as a way to show ALL the "rules" are just fuckin' fake.

[@angelofmusic1992]

lol the only time I’ve seen numbers be scary is Doctor Who and the Silence. Seeing a character suddenly covered in tally marks because they saw them, but then forgot about them, was kind of creepy

[@afckingegg7585]

The Silence was totally terrifying!!!

[@Etsba_]

The Silence are up there with the Weeping Angels for me, bloody terrifying! Ryan's face is also a tad reminiscent of The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - the bloke who has glyphs appear over his face & body.

[@jeremy8189]

This is one my favorite movies ever haha loved seeing Jim Carrey try his hand at something like this AND numerology is pretty interesting lol it's cheesy but something about it always drew me in

[@Zeithri]

I've seen this movie exactly _one time_, and always wanted to rewatch it since then. I actually quite liked it. I wonder if I'd still would these days. It never left my mind.

[@vincentvalentin5412]

I had the same experience.

[@teh1337guy]

Imagining this video going on for two hours and Ryan just progressively transitions into blackface

[@TheKatieLea]

Ryan makes sure to review it in .... 2023 I'm now a believer Also, if you count up the characters, including spaces in The Number Twenty Three ..... yep 23

[@chaddelong998]

EXACTLY. on 12/13/2023. it all adds up. forget the 1's, and the 20.....its 23+23 which is 23. 23 23 23 .... .

[@Jazzyb3lle]

I havent watched the video yet but as someone who has OCD and had this conpulsion when i was a teenager to draw tally marks on my skin for hours at a time in small rows and even has them tattooed as an unfinished amatuer sleeve in a desperate attempt to free myself from said compulsion this feels up my alley in a oddly specific sense

[@Xalimata]

To me its less "scary number" and more "intrusive thought so bad you want to smash your skull open just to get it out" like an itch that is so bad you start to dig into your flesh

[@madameversiera]

This film is more interesting for showing the obsession with finding weird coincidences. I was also obsessed in finding double numbers lie 22, or 19. If you want to see something weird you will notice it all around you, so our mind plays this trick on us, making us think there's a secret eerie meaning to all these coincidences

[@harmonthebadger4051]

I remember finding this movie with my friends when we were like 13 and just laughing our asses off. Still can't see that number without thinking about this movie, though, for whatever that's worth

[@KanishQQuotes]

Did you say you were 13

[@NathanS__]

This movie is a great example of "conspiracy arithmetic" Where you can manipulate any number to mean anything as "breadcrumbs" of a conspiracy theory.

[@wstine79]

I'm surprised this video wasn't 23 minutes and 23 seconds long.

[@lindsayantwine1097]

Ok, I must comment on this one. Lol I saw this in theaters twice, I think? It came out in 2007, I was 22 years old. (How cool would it have been to be a year older??) Lol Keep in mind, I haven't watched it since then, so it's very possible my impression might be different now. But I freaking loved it when it came out. I just thought the concept was so cool. And it kinda turned me on to the idea of numerology. I also love when Jim Carrey does dark, serious roles. I was so excited when I saw you were posting a video on this. I may have to rewatch it now and see if my feelings are different. The one thing I've always believed tho, is this movie has the best throat cutting scene ever. When Dr. Leary opens his own neck, it's wonderfully gruesome and the camera lingers long enough (as I recall it) to let you actually see him do it. I dunno, I have always remembered this movie fondly. Gonna have to go rewatch it. 😆

What did you think after you rewatched it, I’m 23 by the way, so that’s kind of cool.

[@BRUTALSHANZ1988]

When the Number 23 came out I became obsessed with the movie. To me it felt like I was watching a combination of The Da Vinci Code with it's level of crypticness and the film noir aspect of as you put it Sin City. Also looking back at The Number 23 I see where Shutter Island drew inspiration from. Jim Carrey may have been miscasted however I just can't see another actor fill the role that he had given us. It's not easy to base your whole career on SNL and Comedy and transition into more serious roles like The Number 23 and The Man on the Moon. Call me biased but I am grateful of Jim Carrey for trying something new for once. Too much comedy can lead to burnout or the comedy falls flat. For example Dumb and Dumber was hilarious from start to finish. Dumb and Dumber To is just cringe to watch and the jokes are not funny. I have tried to watch the sequel twice and I dropped it at the exact same point. Either my tastes has changed or the jokes are written poorly. But either way The Number 23 isn't a bad movie. It's grossly misunderstood.

[@petrify4814]

Shutter Island was written 4 years before the Number 23 was made, unless you specifically mean the movie's cinematography and such.

[@evenstar04]

You mean In Living Color.

[@alexmartin3143]

😂

That’s crazy because my uncle is a big fan of both, he was alive when the fist came out, and then I watched the 2nd with him and he loved it, he thought it was gonna be dumb, but her liked it a lot.

[@TheBeelzboss]

Mark Pellegrino is an under-rated actor. He did a fantastic job on Supernatural as Lucifer, especially in the scenes before he allowed the angel to use him as a vessel.

[@afckingegg7585]

I'm glad I'm not the only person with an appreciation for those scenes. Never rewatched that episode because I never forgot it.

[@user-lb9xw4xf2q]

Pity he is a giant asshole

[@Veiled_Lepidoptera]

I have a weird soft spot for this film, ngl.

[@nuclear_war_games]

While the idea of the number 23 being connected to literally everything sounds ridiculous, it aint totally stupid as Jim Carry's character and his father might have an hereditary form of Apophenia which is a mental illness similar to Paredolia where you percieve patterns and connections in certain things which makes you believe that these parts are connected to you and you are part of some elaborate but imaginary conspiracy, just like Jim Carry's character who believes that the book "Number 23" is connected to him cause the connections he sees between the book and his life

[@skiptoacceptancemdarlin]

video starts at 1:45

[@mastersquinch]

I feel like the number isn't an actual threat, and I don't think the film is trying to say that either. I feel like the threat is obsession and paranoia. My bio mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and her brain works like this. She's CONSTANTLY talking about conspiracies and shit, it's obsessive. And that's to say nothing of all the numerologists and stuff. It's about pattern recognition- walter's psychosis is the threat, and the fact that people irl really do buy into stuff like this IS the thing thats compelling Don't get me wrong, the actual execution of the film isnt great (read: bad) lmao, but I think the concept and themes are a little better than you're giving them credit for

[@manticore6963]

OKAY I just noticed why this movie triggered some primal instinct in me and why it's so weird, seeing people talk badly about it...when I was a kid, back in 1998, a movie also called "23", but with the subtitle "Nichts ist, wie es scheint/Nothing is, like it seems", came out here in germany. No one was able to shut up about it...but because I was maybe 9 or 10 back then, I didn't watch it and later in life assumed, everyone was somehow talking about THIS movie and I simply didn't know there were two movies about the number 23 and conspiracies.

[@CommissionerC]

The one you are talking about used to be a favorite of mine back in the day, it's about the real hacker Karl Koch who as I understood genuinely developed an obsession with the number 23, and died on the 23rd. It's less a horror and more a very interesting character study and drama as I remember it from last time I saw it, which was a very long time ago to be fair.

[@oddbodkin9778]

The film makers are likely both fans of Robert Anton Wilson or read the books he co wrote (illuminatus trilogy)

[@bowenhorne0616]

12:20 so what I’m hearing is we should really be investigating the number 32?

[@Br666d]

Ive not seen this film in years! I can always remember enjoying it. Maybe time for a revisit!

[@DanArnets1492]

It's ambitious in the premise but lazy in the execution. IDK why Ryan hated so much a movie focusing on real problems normal people can face (paranoia, obsession, guilt, repressed memories, etc). It's not a great movie but I can see a similar script that actually comes out fantastic out of this.

[@afckingegg7585]

​@@DanArnets1492I mean, it's basically a worse version of the Machinist or Shutter Island. That's a big problem--every part of it has been done better before.

[@DanArnets1492]

@@afckingegg7585 - The Machinist is unintentionally hilarious if you're from the Barcelona area like I am. It was all filmed here but they really wanna make you think it's "generic American city" and, boy, it's fucking stupid if you pay attention plus you also have Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (the woman with the kid) in maybe her only "international role". Traffic signs, curbs, road markings, urban furniture, trees... It's all very much from Barcelona but they wanna make you think it's freaking Detroit or Baltimore or whatever. It's not unwatchable but the 2nd time I watched it (caught it on TV) I spent the whole running time with some filming locations website just spotting everything. It's really stupid why they didn't make it a story set in Spain. Christian Bale could've played some English/American/Eastern European immigrant worker, would've made it a lot more watchable and the isolation running theme would've been better.

[@afckingegg7585]

@@DanArnets1492 wow, that's very strange. I wonder why they did that.

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

This video is 20:56 long. 2+0+5+9=16 There are 2 prime numbers between 16 and 23: 17 and 19. In this sequence 23 is the 3rd prime number. 23!!!!!!!!

[@deadheart08]

I liked that one -.-

[@LeoEnigma]

i actually liked this movie not gonna change my mind!!!

[@guybrushmonkey97]

Loved the facepaint, have a great end of the year Ryan!

[@MouseChili]

I loved it. but it was the first R rated movie I saw in theaters. Jim Carrey playing the Sax the scene at the Post Office. Pretty sure they knew what they were making wasn't anything but a funny concept.

[@FrasFs]

Why are you shitting on the movie? There are plenty worst. I actually kind of liked JC in this and the story was interesting

[@DaxterL]

I do love the concept, but it's one of those high concepts that requires an experienced writer or someone who knows how to execute it well, this is so easy to fuck up, but done right it could have been so good. A murderer with mental illness then surpresses a memory through trauma, both mental and physical to the head. But subconscious slowly haunts him and reveals his dark past. I think it would work better if it went with a darker ending, where the pov character does take their life.

[@natatatm]

i feel like if Nolan was coming off of writing Memento and wanted to do another film with a memory loss concept, he couldve done a good job with this story. At the very least a better job. But at the end of the day i'd rather just watch memento.

[@eliotmccann2589]

First "hoyevver" drops at 0:08. Our penance from last episode has appeased Him.

[@urdaughtersbf]

I’ll always have a special place in my heart for this movie. It was one of the thrillers that got me into horror. Rewatching it as adult is very eye opening on the flimsy/convenient script. Another awesome video Ryan, happy holidays!

[@schulzbrianr]

Man I have to disagree, I always thought this was such a fun movie. Definitely not great, but I also really like Knowing. I think calling this the worst thriller/movie you've ever seen, when you have at least a dozen "found footage" movies with no cinematographic quality or acting chops is a little strong.

[@seeps9353]

I loved this movie when i first saw it. Maybe it was because i was young but i still wouldn't call it awful.

[@nu-metalfan2654]

I actually really liked this, this wasn’t awful at all. Jim Carrey is an underrated serious actor

[@ASmidgeOfPidge]

I've always found the whole "23 is a spooky number" thing funny because where I went to college put extra emphasis on your class year (mostly to make noise whenever it came up), and mine just so happened to be '23. So I definitely pay attention to its use more often than most people, but for the opposite reason as the conspiracy theorists.

[@lakotagrywlf]

We aren’t supposed to believe that there is anything scary and magical about the number 23. We are meant to be scared of how fast and easy the character falls into delusional conspiracy theories that have slim superficial validity. Now the real conspiracy, are we supposed to believe that you don’t already know this and aren’t just hoping to provoke people like me into correcting you for ‘engagement?’

[@gibbypeen5826]

Homie out here with the x files shenanigans lol

[@WhoIsRaphaelLeraux]

I remember really loving this movie as a teen... Not because it was a good movie, because it certainly isn't. But because I had been diagnosed with OCD and the character's obsession with the the number in it felt like the closest bit of obsessive representation that I had seen up to that point lol.

[@jasonhunter2819]

Holy shit, it wasn't until you mentioned them that I realized 23 and Knowing are different movies.

[@jonw8694]

This video is so pre-occupied with poo-pooing the "selective" picking of things that tie to the number 23 that it seems to miss the fact that this kind of non-sensical selective picking is exactly the point of the movie. It is showing that this kind of selective behavior, which only looks at what fits your theory, and ignore everything else, is the basis behind most conspiracy theories...and is utterly ridiculous. Actually, the video does acknowledge this a little after the 7 minute mark, but seems it then ignore this acknowledgement for the rest of the video. Not that I think the movie is great (it wasn't), but at least I get that the movie was trying to show that all the 23 "coincidences" that are pointed out are a sign of someone spiraling toward insanity, not a serious attempt at claiming there was an actual connection.

[@blacksheep6683]

Great interpretation/analysis!

[@pamelapeters3342]

I liked this movie because I also had a weird experience with the number 23 and was shocked to learn that seeing or becoming obsessed with the number was an actual phenomenon.

[@fakename8543]

what year is it?

[@aregulargenericname8794]

​​@@fakename854317 days to 2024

[@emmyvanorman-8908]

I saw this movie as a kid when it first came out and for some reason, it stuck with me. After this movie planted the seed of the 23 recurrence, I notice it everywhere. I'm turning 27 in just a few weeks and still I'm bugged by it. Its almost a cruel joke that my daughter was born this year of all years, because now I'll have to acknowledge it constantly where my daughter is concerned. My family has been picking on me avoiding this stupid friggin number for forever now.

[@arenomusic]

5:15 What Radar's source forgot to mention was that he pissed for exactly 23 seconds... truly haunting.

[@byetodd]

The movie is about paranoia... Paranoia will make you believe anything. That's the point of it revolving around a number, it's ridiculous, but paranoia will make it not. You have a bad take and should stop.

[@FullMetal625]

As soon as I saw the 23s on Ryan's face I was praying every time he cut back to himself there would be more and more

[@adriannebee2056]

How did you not bust out laughing each time you shot those segments where you drew more 23 on your face? Or are those takes lost to editing because I sure as hell laughed.

[@DDfan91]

I remember my friend in high school wanted me to watch this movie just to see if I would start see the number 23 everywhere like they supposedly did.

[@Raakshi]

I've had so many experiences with paranoid delusions about the significance of truly unrelated coincidences, the portrayal of that strange gripping obsession actually felt pretty believable and horribly relatable to me. The cause of mine is still undiagnosed but I'm better at handling the delusions when they come on, especially because media like this exists to remind me how dangerous it can be if I ever fall too far out of reality. Sure it's painted up as a big movie thriller, but that doesn't obscure the genuine terror it is to become helplessly obsessed over something that isn't there.

[@Bazzi69]

This better nit be about the number 23, that movie is good

[@Bazzi69]

It is, bruh wtf

[@2ndeaster]

The most memorable part of this movie is my local tv channel has a trailer for this movie and the word "segera" (mean coming soon in Indonesia) would glitch out to 23gera in a single frame. I think that was cool. Feeding the delusion of the number. Also doesn't help that my birthday is on 23rd and it also premiered on my birthday.

[@zirrian]

awful? it was good >:(

[@grxzy7950]

I have an OCD thing where i repeat number and words non stop in my head. Very frustrating. This movie kicked off a 23 thing that still comes up in my day to day life even now.

[@jaspurr2024]

Just clicked this video and my phones percentage was 23 😮

[@whateverwhatever4026]

Mine is at 69%...Niiice.

[@darkrequiemzero]

I hope you're doing better. I'm glad you're uploading still. Your videos are always great and have helped me discover many different horror movies. Ty so much

[@Bonklyboi]

If you look very closely you'll notice Ryan has the number 23 written on his face. 😮

[@MelvinDukowski]

i think this movie's problem is in it's framing. IRL paranoid delusions really are like the leaps in logic in Carrey finding 23 in everything. But, the movie is instead framed like this is all some deep and highly intelligent observation that the movie found before you. Yea Carrey *is* supposed to be playing a crazy person and sometimes he's treated like that. But the movies tone makes it feel like there might be something to it all. It's a movie that acts like it's smarter than you for not thinking like a literal crazy person. So much more of this movie could work if it really developed the angle that all of this is just a seriously derranged person.Hard boiled crime noir is just not a good fit for any of this.

[@ShFred]

Before even going in, I have to admit that my whole awful and scarring childhood's best memories were always around Jim's movies and his movies, no matter how bad or good will always have a special place in my heart, this one not excluded. If anything, this movie had weird Max Payne vibes and I'm all for it.

[@RaineHoltz]

See you next year Ryan, thank you for another year of producing great videos for us :)

[@patavinity1262]

I think you're missing the point here. Isn't it supposed to show how Carrey's character develops a crazy obsession with the number 23, and *believes* it's evil, rather than it actually being evil? I'm not sure the audience is meant to think that this really makes sense.

[@Endquire]

Jim Carrey read the script and recognized his own inherent malevolence in the story. So, he made the movie to foreshadow driving the girlfriend he emotionally abused to commit suicide. Thankfully, he beat the wrongful death suit and everyone gets to revere him for saying such enlightened recycled BS.

[@rrmonroe]

So this is what The Number 23 is like for people who weren’t already obsessed with Robert Anton Wilson and chaos magic.

[@arlobrubaker]

I avoided this movie because coincidentally, after my dad died on October 23rd the number kept unnecessarily appearing in my life to the point of being weird. I remember seeing trailers for this and thinking, "That is not what it's like" the way a police officer scoffs at a wacky buddy cop movie trailer. I didn't feel like watching a highly exaggerated and sensationalized version of what it's like to constantly notice the number 23. It's not spooky or thrilling, it just happens a lot and I notice it. Watching this video confirms my assumption and this movie would have felt insulting.

[@rasenshuriken7325]

I know I'm going to catch Flak with this, but 23 is my guilty pleasure movie and I can't even explain why.

[@klaghzyn8124]

I feel like you missed the point of the movie. 23 isn't a cosmic connected conspiracy, the character just thinks it is. He obsesses and makes leaps and omissions to always find the answer he's looking for.