Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] A Homo-Repressed Bully in ‘Final Destination’
Knocking on Death’s Door.
The Horror Queers have spent the last several weeks checking out international queer horror in places such as Canada (Cronenberg classic, The Brood, in honor of its 40th anniversary), Germany (Otto; or Up With Dead People and its queer pornographic qualities) and France (Knife + Heart and its switchblade dildo-wielding serial killer), but it’s time to come back to the States!
This week, Joe and I are starting our five-week marathon of popular horror franchises with the hit 2000 pseudo-slasher Final Destination! Joining us is Terry Mesnard, the founder of the queer horror website Gayly Dreadful! For those of you who don’t know, Final Destination tells the tale of a group of high school teenagers (and one of their teachers) who get off a plane right before takeoff after one of them has a premonition of the plane exploding. Lo and behold, the plane does explode, and Death begins taking the lives of those who were meant to die on the plane.
What’s so queer about Final Destination? That’s an excellent question! Not only is the franchise creator (and co-screenwriter) an openly gay man, but Joe has a sneaking suspicion about the sexual orientation of Kerr Smith‘s douchebag bully Carter (cue the “you guys are reaching” comments).
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Episode 24 – Final Destination (2000)
Our Summer of Franchises begins by knocking on Death’s door with the 2000 pseudo-slasher Final Destination! Joined by Gayly Dreadful‘s Terry Mesnard, the boys look at the film that boasts a queer screenwriter (Jeffrey Reddick) and several gruesome Rube Goldberg-y deaths (and one surprise bus attack).
Join them as they debate the ridiculousness of the name “Clear Rivers,” the fact that the FBI agents are the worst and why straight guys like to poop together (seriously, why is this movie so poop-obsessed?).
Is a queer screenwriter not queer enough for you? Never fear! Joe has you covered with his theory about Carter’s repressed homosexuality. Plus, his secret dislike for Jaws comes out!
Weekly Game: the boys try to come up with their own convoluted deaths!
Cross out Final Destination!
Coming up Wednesday: Just in time for this week’s release of the Child’s Play remake, we celebrate the 15th anniversary of Don Mancini’s controversial camptastic sequel Seed of Chucky by discussing the genderqueer politics of Glen/Glenda and trying to figure out just how such a bizarre little film got made.
– Joe & Trace
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P.P.S. As an added bonus, if you subscribe to our Patreon you can listen to a full-length bonus episode on the new Octavia Spencer/Blumhouse film Ma and, coming up next week: we discuss the first three episodes of AMC’s Joe Hill adaptation NOS4A2!
It’s always a cruel summer, but 2026 is about to get crueler.
To blow off steam, the Losers hit the road to visit all the towns in Stephen King’s Dominion. Derry, Castle Rock, Ludlow, Boulder, the list goes on. They’ve got miles to drive and so many (scary) sights to see. At the end of the day, though, they have to ask themselves: Which one’s the best? And, more importantly, what does “best” mean in this context?
Stream the episode below. PayDays and Nozz-a-La, optional. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon).