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The Self-Hating Queer Villain at the Center of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

Published

2 years ago

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Roger Rabbit Horror Queers

Mistress Doom.

After hanging with Jesse Hooker’s crew and analyzing the AIDS allegory in Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire western Near Dark, we traveled all the way to Sweden to look at the evolving friendship between Eli and Oskar in Let the Right One In. Now we’re changing up the pace a little bit with an off-kilter pick: Robert Zemeckis‘ 1988 masterpiece Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Yes, we’re aware that qualifying the film as “horror” is a stretch, but it falls under the Return to Oz category of “non-horror films that terrified an entire generation of children” umbrella, so cut us some slack! Oh, and do you disagree with our queer reading of Judge Doom? That’s fine, but we ask that you listen to the conversation before you comment (it’s at the 01:47:00 mark)!

In the film, down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) gets hired by cartoon producer R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) to investigate an adultery scandal involving Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner), the sultry wife of Maroon’s biggest star, Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer). But when Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), Jessica’s alleged paramour and the owner of Toontown, is found murdered, the villainous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) vows to catch and destroy Roger.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 174: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

We’re not bad, we’re just drawn that way! And we’re headed to Toontown to discuss Robert Zemeckis’ looney tune-y cinematic masterpiece (and every child’s nightmare fuel) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)!

Join us as we worship at the altar of Jessica Rabbit before applying a queer reading to Judge Doom (Don’t be a sourpuss! He’s a quintessential self-hating queer figure that might fall into the queer killer trope).

Plus: our lengthiest production history yet, discussing the film’s incredibly dark source material, sexy Patty Cake, and oh my God it’s DIIIIIIIIIIIIIP! All this for a freeway? You bet! And we’re gonna handle it JUST. LIKE. THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!

Cross out Who Framed Roger Rabbit!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re tackling our first Mexican film in Amat Escalante’s tentacle porn-y 2016 film The Untamed (which is currently streaming on Shudder)!

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 165 hours of additional content! This month, we’re discussing the 10th anniversary of Joseph Kahn’s Detention, as well as Hulu originals Master and Deep Water, Robert Eggers’ The Northman and a 25th anniversary audio commentary on Anaconda!

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A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

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Podcasts

The Double ‘Othering’ of David in ‘An American Werewolf in London’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

Published

3 days ago

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April 15, 2024

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After concluding March with Raja Gosnell’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (listen) and James Whale’s The Invisible Man (listen), we kicked off April with a discussion of  Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (listen).
Now we’re checking off another classic with John Landis‘ 1981 werewolf film, An American Werewolf in London.
In the film, American best friends David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are horrifically attacked while backpacking through the UK Moors. Jack is killed and David spends a month recuperating in the hospital, where he befriends attractive nurse Alex (Jenny Agutter) and kindly Dr. Hirsch (John Woodvine).
On the cusp of his release, the mangled corpse of Jack visits David, warning that on the full moon he will become a lycanthrope unless he kills himself. But David is unable to accept his fate and a series of terrible murders follow.
As the bodies (and the comedy) pile up, the question becomes: what will David, Alex, and Dr. Hirsch do to stop the deaths?
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
Episode 277: An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Try not to wolf out because we’re talking about John Landis’ classic, An American Werewolf in London (1981). Backpacking along with us is Xero Gravity, who went on a werewolf binge and has recommendations!
Up for discussion: Alex’s underdeveloped character, urban set pieces, dirty movie theaters, and British rural horror.
Plus: a queer reading of David and Jack’s relationship, Jewish horror, an unsexy sex scene, and extended tangents about werewolf anatomy.

Cross out An American Werewolf in London!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re undergoing a risky experimental treatment for a “different” kind of child with Netflix’s 2019 title, Eli.

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 302 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01E04, Late Night with the Devil, The First Omen, Femme, Abigail and a brand new audio commentary on the original The Omen (1976).

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