Introducing The Films That Ruined Us: A Podcast for the Movie Obsessed
Illustration by Sam Gilbey
Some movies change you forever. Some leave you emotionally wrecked, some haunt your dreams, and some take over your life in ways you never saw coming. We’re talking about the films that burrow into your brain, reshape your worldview, or leave you obsessed long after the credits roll. That’s exactly what our new podcast, The Films That Ruined Us, is all about.
We’re Miles Watts and Katy Cowan, two friends with a lifelong love of film. Miles is a filmmaker. Katy is a culture queen. Between us, we’ve spent years discussing, overanalysing, and passionately debating the films that have defined us—for better or worse. At some point, we realised that these conversations needed an outlet. If we were going to keep spiralling into the movies that had wrecked us, we might as well drag the rest of the world along with us. And so, The Films That Ruined Us was born.
We’re launching in late March with four episodes, covering the films that have shaped, scarred, and consumed us. In our first episode, we tackle the mighty Star Wars saga and the ways it completely took over our childhoods and beyond. Miles will be diving deep into The Empire Strikes Back, arguably the best sequel of all time and the film that cemented his obsession. Meanwhile, Katy will be taking on The Force Awakens, the movie that rekindled her love for the franchise and took her soul along for the ride.
From there, we move into the world of sci-fi, with an episode dedicated to those mind-expanding, reality-shattering films that left a permanent mark. For Miles, that film was Blade Runner, a movie so rich in atmosphere and existential dread that it refuses to be forgotten. Katy, on the other hand, has never quite recovered from Terminator 2, the action-packed nightmare that defined her childhood and made her fear the rise of the machines.
Not every movie ruins you with a grand spectacle. Some films hit hard in a much quieter way, digging into your emotions in ways you don’t expect. That’s where our third episode comes in, focusing on dysfunctional family movies that either struck too close to home or simply broke us. Miles chose Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a sci-fi masterpiece that is just as much about fractured family life as it is about UFOs. Katy, meanwhile, went for Little Miss Sunshine, a road trip film that disguises its emotional gut punches beneath layers of charm and humour.
And then, of course, there’s romance. If there’s one genre responsible for warping our expectations of love, it’s this one. We knew we had to dedicate an episode to the films that misled us about relationships, and so Miles went with Pretty in Pink, a John Hughes classic that left an entire generation conflicted about who Andie should have ended up with. Katy, meanwhile, picked When Harry Met Sally, a film that, for better or worse, made her believe in slow-burn romance and the idea that the best relationships are built on friendship.
These first four episodes are just the beginning. We’ll be releasing a new episode every Thursday, with plenty more themes to explore in the weeks ahead. We’ll be looking at movies we expected to hate but ended up loving, films that traumatised us as children, animated wonders that stayed with us for life, and the blockbuster hits that shaped pop culture—or maybe ruined it altogether.
So, if you’ve ever walked out of a cinema feeling forever changed, if you’ve spent years fixated on a film that messed with your head, or if you just love deep-diving into the movies that matter, join us. This is a podcast for the film-obsessed, the nostalgic, and anyone who’s ever had a movie get under their skin and refuse to leave.
Subscribe now…because some films don’t just entertain—they ruin you.
