Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] Caving In With the Lovely Ladies of ‘The Descent’
“Feel This Bone.”
Well, July certainly flew by, but it’s been a busy month for us! We began the month by (rightfully) praising the unfairly maligned 1997 teen slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer, and followed that up with a character study in Lucky McKee’s May before praising Michelle Pfeiffer and her totally not-a-murderer husband Harrison Ford in Robert Zemeckis’ What Lies Beneath. Then we tackled our oldest movie yet in James Whale’s The Old Dark House before closing out the month with queer horror classic Fright Night.
Now, we’re kicking off August with one of our personal favorite films: Neil Marshall‘s 2005 masterpiece The Descent!
In the film, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina one year after a tragedy claimed the lives of her husband and daughter to spend some time exploring caves with her friends: team leader Juno (Natalie Mendoza), best friend Beth (Alex Reid), safety expert Becca (Saskia Mulder), medical student (and Becca’s younger sister) Sam (MyAnna Buring) and newcomer/daredevil Holly (Nora-Jane Noone), After descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, then learn they are not alone: underground predators inhabit the cave, and they have a taste for human flesh.
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Episode 85 – The Descent (2005)
Pack your climbing gear because we’re headed to the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina to go caving with the ladies (er….chicks with picks) of Neil Marshall’s 2005 masterpiece The Descent on its 15th anniversary! How is a movie this scary when the monsters don’t even appear until an hour into the film?
Join us as we….um….descend into a discussion of why Juno (Natalie Mendoza) is a compelling character in spite of all of her mistakes (thanks, Joe!). We’ll also investigate the potential queerness of Beth (Alex Reid) and Holly (Nora-Jane Noone) and choose between the UK and US endings of the film (spoiler alert: it’s an easy choice). Also, does The Descent feature the tensest scene in cinema history?
Plus, an educational TED talk about the differences between claustrophobia and cleithrophobia. Why can’t Trace stop bringing up the atrocious 2009 sequel? What is a dealbreaker movie and why do both of us consider The Descent to be one? And how do you give a lemon an orgasm?
Cross out The Descent!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re partying in Mykonos (but not with Lindsay Lohan) with a discussion of the infamous video nasty Island of Death! Major content warning for this one: it contains bestiality (in the form of goat rape), watersports, a crucifixion, incest and various graphic depictions of murder.
– Joe & Trace
P.S. If you subscribe to our Patreon you can listen to bonus episodes! This month, we’ve got audio commentaries on Deep Blue Sea and The Cabin in the Woods, as well as additional episodes on Deep Blue Sea 3 and Jay Baruchel’s(?!) Random Acts of Violence.
Here at Halloweenies, we love practical effects—there’s a reason why one of our categories is called “Great Graphics.” Well, consider this a full-length “Great Graphics” episode, where we talk to the effects team behind the titular puppet of Pinocchio Unstrung, in theaters this Friday. As the latest installment in the Twisted Childhood Universe, Pinocchio ups the franchise’s game by featuring a villain that’s entirely practical, created with a stunning mix of animatronics and, of course, puppetry.
So, take a seat at the workbench for a spirited interview between Halloweenie co-host Dan Caffrey and MASTERS FX President and Founder (and special effects legend in his own right) Todd Masters, Pinnochio Lead artist and Designer Kiana Larson, and Lead Animatronics Joshua Raymond. Learn how they pulled off such a dazzling and terrifying puppet, where they think the effects industry is headed, the movies that made them want to be FX artists, a few tidbits of Nightmare On Elm Street history, and more.
Pinocchio himself might even pop by for an appearance.
Stream the episode below and get tickets now for Pinocchio Unstrung. 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 Universal Monsters. This year? Hellraiser AND The Omen.
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Child’s Play) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.
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