Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] The Toxic Female Friendship of ‘Always Shine’
The last few weeks on the Horror Queers Podcast (we launched back in mid-January) have resulted in plenty of great discussions and hilarious shenanigans. We’ve tackled the implied twincest in David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers (1988), Jessica Rothe’s delightful performance in out-and-proud director Christopher Landon‘s 2017 horror-comedy Happy Death Day and even brought in a third to discuss the lesbian Rosemary’s Baby-esque film Lyle.
In the most recent episode, we discuss the toxic friendship at the center of Sophia Takal‘s (director of the “New Year, New You” episode of Hulu’s Into the Dark) 2016 film Always Shine. The film sees two actress friends (portrayed by Caitlin Fitzgerald and Mackenzie Davis) take a weekend getaway to Big Sur, where they attempt to re-establish a bond broken by years of competition and jealousy. As you might expect, things don’t go as planned. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you can stream it for free on Shudder or on Amazon Prime!
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Libsyn, Google Play, and RSS.
Episode 9 – Always Shine (2016)
Join Joe and Trace on their weekend getaway to Big Sur as they try not to murder each other out of fame jealousy! That’s right, we’re watching Sophia Takal’s Always Shine!
This chilling look into a very troubled female friendship between two competing actresses (portrayed by Caitlin FitzGerald and Mackenzie Davis) force the boys to ask some difficult questions: Why are outspoken women automatically deemed “bitchy” and/or “difficult” by our society? What makes a “good” woman? And finally, just what is a Sazerac (hint: it’s not called a “Salesrack”)?
Cross out Always Shine!
Coming up Wednesday: we continue celebrating Women in Horror Month (we know it’s technically over but we got off to a late start!) with an episode on Katt Shea‘s underrated and under-seen 1999 sequel The Rage: Carrie 2. Never seen it? Well, it’s available to stream for free if you have Amazon Prime, so give it a watch before Wednesday!
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Be sure to check out all of our online articles right here.
P.P.S. As an added bonus, if you subscribe to our Patreon you can hear Trace take Joe to task for his lukewarm review of Happy Death Day 2U! And dropping next week only on Patreon: our in-depth discussion of the remake of The Last House On The Left (2009) to celebrate its 10th(!) anniversary.
The Halloweenies cool off from the hot hot heat and splish splash with giant alligators as they revisit Alexandre Aja‘s 2019 creature feature Crawl.
Together, they discuss their love (or hate) for the timeless terror, their investment in Barry Pepper, and, uh, Demolition Man. Don’t ask. It should be noted this episode was recorded in September 2024 and is being unlocked for the summer. Oh, it’s also produced by Sam Raimi.
Stream the episode below. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and the Universal Monsters. This year? Hellraiser!
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter, ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.