Podcasts
Taking a Bite Out of the Controversial ‘Hard Candy’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
I Fucking Hate Goldfrapp.
After spending our month-long theme on toxic masculinity with difficult watches like Funny Games (listen) and Deadgirl (listen), as well as an easier watch in Murder By Numbers (listen), we’re wrapping up the month with a look at David Slade‘s controversial 2005 film Hard Candy.
Hard Candy sees precocious teenager Hayley (Elliot Page) go to a coffee shop to meet Jeff (Patrick Wilson), a photographer she met on the internet. Jeff thinks he is in for a real treat, but after a bit of flirtation Hayley drugs him and straps him to a chair, revealing that she knows Jeff preys on teenage girls. She has a plan to wring a confession from him, but Jeff doesn’t plan to do down without a fight.
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 257: Hard Candy (2005)
We’re wrapping up our look at Toxic Masculinity with David Slade’s feature directorial debut, Hard Candy (2005).
This secret rape/revenge film features powerhouse performances from Elliot Page and Patrick Wilson and plenty of uncomfortable moments.
Plus: comparisons to Promising Young Woman (and Saw X?!), a frank discussion of pedophilia, plenty of strategic framing, and the prequel we want to see.
Cross out Hard Candy!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re taking a reprieve from toxic masculinity and wrapping up November with our first foray into the world of cryptids with a look at Mark Pellington’s The Mothman Prophecies.
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for nearly 275 hours of Patreon content including this month’s SIX new episodes on Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, birth/rebirth, The Fall of the House of Usher, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Thanksgiving, plus an audio commentary celebrating the 35th anniversary of Child’s Play (1988).
Podcasts
Shakespearean Education in the Vincent Price-Starring ‘Theater of Blood’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Butch knows best…
After concluding May with discussions of the disaster “slasher” The Poseidon Adventure (listen) and Michael Biehn’s demon twink in the messy-but-watchable The Fan (listen), we’re heading back to the ’70s to discuss our very first Vincent Price film in Douglas Hickox‘s horror comedy Theater of Blood (1973).
In Theater of Blood, Vincent Price stars as Edward Lionheart, a disgraced Shakespearean actor who begins targeting the critics who shamed him. The gimmick? He’s taking inspiration from the death scenes in William Shakespeare’s plays! Aiding him is his daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg), who acts as the honeypot for her father’s macabre scheme.
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, and RSS.
Episode 388: Theater of Blood (1973)
Brush up on your Shakespeare and protect those poodles because we’re covering our very first Vincent Price film in Douglas Hickox’s horror comedy Theater of Blood (1973), a personal favorite of both Price and Diana Rigg.
Join us as we go all in on this somewhat episodic (but also educational!) proto-slasher, wondering if we’re supposed to know that’s Diana Rigg in hippie drag, and cackling at some of these murder set pieces.
Plus, “Handsy Dickman,” narcissistic gravestones, antisemitic stage makeup, and the ultimate debate: is it theatER or theatRE?
C/W: Attempted suicide, off-screen dog murder.
Cross out Theater of Blood!
Coming Up Next: We’re celebrating the premiere of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat with a look at the much-maligned 2002 adaptation Queen of the Damned!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 492 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 3 Episodes 5 & 6, Backrooms, Passenger, Leviticus, an audio commentary on the original Scary Movie (2000), and the return of our Requel Tier as we begin our episode coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.