Welcome to our first October movie: 1997’s SPAWN, a true gem that has become a cult classi—no I’m just fucking with you nobody likes this movie, but they should! It’s aged weirdly well.
Note: you can download just the audio or the full video above, whichever you prefer! This is an audio podcast predominantly but we are now posting them as full videos for those who like video going forward.
Arrow Video has just releaed a brand new 4K remaster on blu ray, and you might be asking “WHY?” and to that I have no answer, I wasn’t in the room when it was decided. But I can tell you why Vinetrtainment is covering it this week: because YOURS TRULY got to record a bonus commentary track on the new release!!!
“Comic book expert and podcast host Dave Baxter”. That’s right. That’s me, baby. At least that’s what they’re calling me. Podcast host? Check. Comic book expert? … I’ll take it!
My commentary track tracks the ultimate dream that Spawn creator Todd McFarlane had when he released the comic in 1992, where that dream came from, how it evolved, how it connects to the movie, and how that dream is faring in 2025. While also talking at length about key characters and scenes as the movie goes. It was a ton of fun to put this narrative commentary together. And folks: it’s a lot more work than you think! I had to talk for 100 minutes non-stop! Without a co-host! I thought I was a mouthy son-of-a-gun but turns out 100 minutes was a stretch even for me.
Today’s episode IS NOT going to cover ANY of the information on the commentary track. I also paired the movie with what I think is the PERFECT pairing, at the end of the commentary track. We’re not going to reveal that pairing here, either. Y’all are gonna have to shell out hard earned cash for a movie you don’t want to experience that magic. I’m not sorry.
Instead, today’s episode is going to take a look at how this movie got made, what compromises were made in the making of it, and then honestly we shout out a lot of the bright spots and why it plays so much better in 2025 than it did in 1997.
And then of course we pair it with two very special wines that are still excellent pairings.
Wine Trivia Question of the Week
Answer below!
The Wine Pairings
I mentioned that this isn’t my perfect wine pairing, but of course there’s never just one truly good wine pairing for anything, and the way we each are hit by a work of art can differ, so for a number of you this may even be the “better” pairing than the so-called “perfect” pairing I reveal on the commentary track.
So here it is: Spawn, even as a comic book, let alone this movie, has always been popular but never well-recieved, outside of the artwork. The writing, the story, the narrative has almost always been critically bashed, or at least downplayed, from pro critics and fans alike. Very few have ever championed the idea that Spawn was a richly written comic on an issue by issue basis. Maybe the overall plot can be wild and/or interesting at times, but the writing itself is rarely celebrated.
So popular but rarely well-recieved. And a feature film that’s very middle ground, a “mid” kind of story; never too gentle, never too harsh, never too captivating, never entirely too boring. So I had to pair it with the ultimate “mid” of wines, that is always more popular than it’s actually liked, and like this movie tends to cost more than anyonee thinks it should: MERLOT.
Now I wouldn’t go for the great Merlots of Europe, the Right Bank Bordeauxs such as Pomerols or Saint Emelions - which will be pricey but much more mineral and more tannic and harsh in their youth than the Merlots of the New World. I think you have to go New World, because that’s what most people think of as “Merlot” (because the bottles actually say “Merlot” rather than the name of a place) and it’s type of Merlot that historically tends to be “mid”.
That said, I’m going to rec both a mid and a more stellar but priceir Cali Merlot. The mid is Charles Shaw Merlot at Trader Joe’s. That’s right, 2 Buck Chuck Merlot. It’s the best of the Charles Shaw reds by a country mile, it’s honestly quite pleasant, and for $4 you can’t go wrong with that: that’s the price Merlot should be :P
But I’ll also rec a truly fabulous Merlot, a wine that was made expressly because the winemaker wanted to convince people Merlot could be stellar: “You Had Me at Hell No” by superstar winemaker David Phinney of Orin Swift Cellars, the original creator of THE PRISONER wine, back when it was independently made and still considered good.
Samantha Smith, Phinney’s longtime executive assistant (read: chauffeur, gopher, right-hand ma’am, therapist, etc.), managed amidst her daytime job to multitask away at a book, Advice From John—an anthology of the brilliant, idiotic, and sometimes deep thoughts found at the bottom of a cocktail and then subsequently scribbled and scrawled onto the walls of dive bar bathrooms.
“You Had Me At Hell No,” captured at a dive in Texas, caught Dave’s eye while ruminating ideas on how to bring Merlot back into the mainstream fold—long pilloried for its second of fame in that movie two decades ago. All good things circle back around, so let’s revitalize this delicious, luscious, and fun varietal.
They describe the wine like so:
Dominating aromatics abound without effort—notes of blackberry pie, black plum, sage and lilac come from the glass. A flooding sensation on entry drives dark fruits onto the mid-palate with touches of savory, fennel and licorice as complements. Long on the finish, the espresso bean and continued concentration of blackberry throughout fades slowly with gentle and soft tannins.
I had this wine at Curated Wine Shop in LA, and yeah, that’s pretty accurate description. If a bit floofy. Helps that it has “Hell” in its name, too, to match with SPAWN all the better.
But Wait! Also Cinsault!
Because of the hellish aspect of this film Dallas initially wanted to go very simple with the pairing. HE recalled a conversation with a vintner in New York who had been working with Cinsault (Dallas originally typed “she was working in the Cinsault space” - that boy needs to get out of Los Angeles and detox from Hollywood, jesus christ) and she was saying how difficult viticulture can be in parts of Africa.
For those who don’t know, Cinsault is one of the minor grapes found in many Rhone Blends, especially Chatenauef du Pape and most Rhone roses. It’s often described as very fresh and punch that can skew a bit floral but with a strong fruit core. Fairly low in tannins but highly aromatic.
My favorite fact about Cinsault: it was crossed with the Pinot Noir to create South Africa’s standout varietal Pinotage!
Check it Out Now: Funky Soulful Rubber - An Ode to Pinotage
Okay, okay, those aren't actually the lyrics to the song - but quick! Without looking it up, what is the NAME of that song?
Dallas chose a Cali Cinsault: 2023 Filaments “Snows Crossing Vineyard”.
Made using 100% whole cluster and native yeast fermentation. The fruit was foot trod during initial fermentation and then twice daily punch downs throughout the remaining fermentation. After 15 days on skins, the wine was lightly pressed and barreled down Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 75 cases made.
Flavors of cinnamon, strawberries and sweet cherries, light bodied, light hued, anyone could drink the whole bottle. It drinks like this movie plays: effortless, just easy viewing.
Answer to Wine Trivia Question
D) Vin Gris or Grey Wine!
Champagne style sparkling wine is made by adding yeast and sugar to a bottle of finished wine, corking it, then letting a second fermentation occur inside the bottle, creating the carbonation. When the yeast is done eating the sugar, it dies, and the dead yeast cells remain in the bottle, called the “lees”.
These days, we let the wine age with the lees for a couple of years, but now have methods to eject the dead yeast cells without letting out too much of the carbonation. But back in the 16th Century, they couldn’t do this, so the lees remained in the bottle FOREVER. It would eventually turn the wine cloudy and grey colored. Hence, “Grey Wine”.
